MSNBC: According to the latest national NBC/WSJ poll, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney leads the hypothetical 2012 GOP pack with support from 21 percent of Republican primary voters — followed by Trump and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at 17 percent each, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 11 percent and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin at 10 percent. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is at 6 percent, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann gets 5 percent, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum receives 3 percent and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour gets 1 percent. Strikingly, Trump — who has received a considerable amount […]
What’s Good For The Goose Is Good For The Gander — Unless By Gander You Mean Congress, Then No
NICKOLAS D. CHRISTOF: If we careen over a cliff on Friday and the American government shuts down, hard-working federal workers will stop getting paychecks, but the members of Congress responsible for the shutdown are expected to be paid as usual. That’s partly because Congressional pay is not subject to the regular appropriations process, and partly because of Constitutional concerns. The Senate passed a bill proposed by Barbara Boxer of California that would suspend Congressional paychecks in any government shutdown, but the Republican-controlled House has blocked it. House Republicans approved a similar pay suspension, but it was embedded in legislation that […]
SIDEWALKING: Crystal Blue Persuasion
AIDS Fund’s Black-Tie GayBingo, Crystal Tea Room, 8:45 PM, April 1st by JEFF FUSCO
NO MORE TEARS: Fox Cancelling Glenn Beck’s Show
HUFFINGTON POST: Fox News and Glenn Beck announced Wednesday that Beck will “transition off of his daily program” later this year. Beck’s production company, Mercury Radio Arts, will instead work with Fox News to produce programs for the channel. In a joint news release, Fox News and Mercury Radio Arts, Beck’s production company, said that they will “work together to develop and produce a variety of television projects for air on the Fox News Channel as well as content for other platforms including Fox News’ digital properties.” MORE
STYLE COUNCIL: Vagabond Blues
BY REBECCA GOODACRE Vagabond is a distinctive fashion boutique with uncommonly good taste located on North 3rd Street in Old City, Philadelphia. The adorable flower box hanging outside the front window makes for a very welcoming shop front, but what it contains inside is even more inviting to fashion lovers. The store is separated into two distinct sections that for the sake of clarity we will refer to as ‘the front section’ and ‘the rear section.’ The front section is stocked with earthy tones, floral prints and cute leather accessories; perfect for a delightful feminine spring and summer day looks. […]
RE-LEARNING: The Miseducation Of Michelle Rhee
NEW YORK MAGAZINE: Though all modern presidents like to think of themselves as leading the national education debate, they rarely are; most important decisions are made at the state, mayoral, or school-board level. But if this decentralized uprising can be said to have a leader, it is the youthful, tough-talking, and telegenic Michelle Rhee. Four years ago, Rhee was chosen to run Washington, D.C.’s troubled school district by a young Democratic mayor, Adrian Fenty. She resigned just as abruptly this past fall, after Fenty was thrown out of office. But while Rhee’s head-cracking, heresy-spouting attempt to revamp the school system […]
Q&A: With Hampton Sides Author Of Hellhound On His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the International Hunt for His Assassin
Hampton Sides is an acclaimed bestselling author and a National Magazine Award nominated journalist. He won the PEN USA Award for nonfiction and the 2002 Discover Award from Barnes and Noble for Ghost Soldiers, a historical narrative following the rescue of WWII Bataan Death March survivors that was later adapted into the Miramax feature film The Great Raid. His next book, Blood and Thunder, was adapted into an episode of the Public Broadcasting Service’s American Experience series. Hellhound On His Trail, is a taut and thrilling account of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the 65-day manhunt for […]
MUST SEE TV: Sarah Silverman Touched By A Unicorn
For your consideration.
THIS IS HOW MARXISTS GET MADE: A Unified Theory Of Everything That Is Wrong With America
JOSEPH STIGLITZ: It’s no use pretending that what has obviously happened has not in fact happened. The upper 1 percent of Americans are now taking in nearly a quarter of the nation’s income every year. In terms of wealth rather than income, the top 1 percent control 40 percent. Their lot in life has improved considerably. Twenty-five years ago, the corresponding figures were 12 percent and 33 percent. One response might be to celebrate the ingenuity and drive that brought good fortune to these people, and to contend that a rising tide lifts all boats. That response would be misguided. […]
BOOKS: Fey Accompli
NEW YORK TIMES: “Bossypants” isn’t a memoir. It’s a spiky blend of humor, introspection, critical thinking and Nora Ephron-isms for a new generation. But it chronologically follows Ms. Fey through an awkward girlhood spent in Upper Darby, Pa., teenage years with a coterie of gay friends and a fish-out-of-water stint at the University of Virginia. “What 19-year-old Virginia boy doesn’t want a wide-hipped, sarcastic Greek girl with short hair that’s permed on top?” asks Ms. Fey, who calls herself Greek when she isn’t calling herself German. “What’s that you say? None of them want that? You are correct. So I […]
WORTH REPEATING: O Death
INQUIRER: My husband did well for most of his illness. A writer, Jeff finished two books after his first surgery and he retained his patient, amiable nature as he struggled to adjust to increasing disability. He was able to take care of himself until almost the last month, though the first major sign of impending death appeared well before that. He started sleeping more than the cats, and I grieved for the precious moments he was squandering. The other changes in this once quick-witted man – the guy who always won at Scrabble – began with glacial slowness. Then they […]
Sheen’s ‘Violent Torpedo Of Truth’ Misfires In Detroit
A.O. SCOTT: As it happened, Mr. Sheen and Detroit proved to be a disastrous match. The Fox, a lavishly ornamented, carefully restored 5,000-seat show palace evoking a lost golden age of spectacle, is beautiful, but the scene there was ugly, as a boisterous, liquored-up capacity crowd greeted Mr. Sheen with cheers that quickly turned to boos. The show — a ragged mix of video clips, ear-splitting music, profanity-laced monologues and clumsy attempts to encourage audience participation — did not so much end as collapse. After a little more than an hour Mr. Sheen turned the stage over to a rapper […]
Q&A With Fresh Air Jazz Critic Kevin Whitehead
Kevin Whitehead has been writing professionally about jazz and its discontents since 1979. His work has appeared in the pages of the Chicago Sun-Times, Downbeat and the Village Voice. He is the author of 1996’s New Dutch Swing and his essays have been anthologized in the Da Capo Best Music Writing 2006, Jazz: The First Century and The Cartoon Music Book. He currently serves as jazz critic for Fresh Air, where he habitually champions way-off-the-beaten-path but worthy fare while dispensing deadpan insights delivered with the bone-dry elegance of an Eric Dolphy solo. He’s just published his second book, Why Jazz? […]