THE NEW REPUBLIC: If the Obama landslide dragged Axelrod to Washington against his better judgment (his wife said he’d never forgive himself for staying put), the one judgment he never set aside was the inanity of D.C. custom. Even before Obama arrived at the White House, Axelrod had grand plans for scrambling protocol. Recent presidents had materialized at the Capitol like patriotic bunting. Axelrod imagined Obama traveling by train from Springfield, Illinois, gathering up ordinary folks along the way. “We wouldn’t just bring their concerns to Washington, we’d bring them to Washington,” says one inauguration official. Compared to the feats […]

DAN DELUCA: From its title, Maya, you might think M.I.A.’s confrontational (and disappointing) new album would be her most personal to date. Instead, its wall of digital noise, which aims to offer insight into the wired-yet-alienated way we live, loses her human voice amid the clutter. M.I.A., who was accompanied by a DJ, several dancers, and three burka-clad backup singers who remained in a dimly lit corner of the stage, did connect with her fans physically. She crowd-surfed stylishly in her long-sleeved buttoned-up black-and-white ensemble during a ruggedly rhythmic “Bamboo Banga” and the closing, cathartic “Paper Planes.” She sat atop […]

MAGELLAN STRATEGIES: Today Magellan Data and Mapping Strategies released survey results in the state of Pennsylvania of likely general electon voters.  The survey of 1,430 respondents finds: – Congressional generic ballot, Republican candidate with 47%, Democrat candidate 37%. – Republican Tom Corbett leads Democrat Dan Onorat0 by 12 points, 50% to 38% respectively. – Republican Pat Toomey leads Democrat Joes Sestak by 8 points, 49% to 41% respectively. MORE

INQUIRER: The shutout win not only guaranteed Philadelphia another division title, but also the best record in the NL, meaning they will have home-field advantage in next week’s NL division series – and beyond, should they advance. “It’s just amazing what this bunch has accomplished,” said Jayson Werth, who homered, doubled and had four RBIs, but may not be back if there’s a fifth straight next season. “And we’re not satisfied yet. Not done yet.” This fourth division crown marked the most this franchise has won in succession. The Mike Schmidt-Steve Carlton Phils had won three straight from 1976 through […]

Belmont Plateau 1:05 PM by JEFF FUSCO

MALCOLM GLADWELL:  Gil Scott-Heron is frequently called the “godfather of rap,” which is an epithet he doesn’t really care for. In 1968, when he was nineteen, he wrote a satirical, spoken-word piece called “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.” It was released on a very small label in 1970. It is the species of classic that sounds as subversive and intelligent now as it did when it was new. Scott-Heron calls himself a bluesologist. He is sixty-one, tall and scrawny. Writer visits Scott-Heron at his apartment where he was watching a tape of the Rumble in the Jungle fight between […]

ED SCHULTZ: “Here’s the bottom line: what we’re seeing out of this governor of New Jersey is just go to the money, cut whoever you have to cut, there is no ramification for any of this because he’s a cold-hearted fat slob anyway,” Schultz said. “The bottom line is, when he doesn’t like what he hears he accuses the other side of shouting. It’s a typical, typical right-wing approach to the competition. And that’s how they view their constituents when they don’t agree with them.” MORE RELATED: Reefer Sadness

PREVIOUSLY: ‘I Dabbled In Witchcraft’ PREVIOUSLY: ‘I Will Stop The Whole Nation From Having Sex’ PREVIOUSLY: Witchcraft Is Least Of Troubles With O’Donnell PREVIOUSLY: The Thirteen Dumbest Things Delaware Senate Candidate Christine O’Donnell Said

NEW YORK TIMES: Federal law enforcement and national security officials are preparing to seek sweeping new regulations for the Internet, arguing that their ability to wiretap criminal and terrorism suspects is “going dark” as people increasingly communicate online instead of by telephone. Essentially, officials want Congress to require all services that enable communications — including encrypted e-mail transmitters like BlackBerry, social networking Web sites like Facebook and software that allows direct “peer to peer” messaging like Skype — to be technically capable of complying if served with a wiretap order. The mandate would include being able to intercept and unscramble […]

RELATED: At turns disturbing, confusing, disgusting, hilarious, mesmerizing and stone cold beatific, Oddsac is perhaps best explained by clarifying what it is not: it is neither a rock documentary nor a concert film, nor is it the kind of film you would see at the cineplex. There are no stars, no car chases, no dreamy romantic interests who meet cute and live happily ever after. In fact, there is no plot, no linear narrative arc. Instead, there is a series of hallucinatory vignettes: a girl attempting in vain to stanch the flow of black goo oozing out of the walls […]

ASSOCIATED PRESS: Comcast Chief Operating Officer Steve Burke [NOT pictured, above] will succeed Jeff Zucker as CEO of NBC Universal later this year, when Comcast takes control of the broadcaster. Burke, 52, was seen as a likely successor to Zucker. He first joined Philadelphia-based Comcast in 1998 as president of Comcast Cable. He is credited with leading Comcast’s delivery of video on demand, which was introduced in 2003. He has also been president of ABC Broadcasting and president and chief operating officer of Euro Disney SA. Burke inherits a struggling fourth-place network in need of change. The network’s news division […]