ROLLING STONE: In “Obama’s Big Sellout,” Matt Taibbi argues that President Obama has packed his economic team with Wall Street insiders intent on turning the bailout into an all-out giveaway. Rather than keeping his progressive campaign advisers on board, Taibbi says Obama gave key economic positions in the White House to the very people who caused the economic crisis in the first place. Taibbi also points to the ties Obama’s appointees have to one main in particular: Bob Rubin, the former Goldman Sachs co-chairman who served as Treasury secretary under Bill Clinton. Click above for Taibbi’s video breakdown of his […]
CONCERT REVIEW: Top 5 Things You Should Know About Josh Ritter At The TLA Last Night
1) No one has ever been happier about playing in his own band. From the moment he literally bounces onstage, Josh Ritter is positively ebullient, grinning ear to ear like he can’t believe he stumbled into this group of musicians. He prances around the stage, his odd brown ’fro and unbuttoned collared shirt looking slightly familiar, though you can’t quite place why or where. 2) Sure, he digs into his catalog, but it’s mostly a night for new songs. Ritter just finished recording his latest album, due sometime around April, so he presents them mostly in their young form. “These […]
PAPERBOY: Slow-Jamming The Alt-Weeklies
BY DAVE ALLEN Like time, news waits for no man. Keeping up with the funny papers has always been an all-day job, even in the pre-Internets era. These days, however, it’s a two-man job. That’s right, these days you need someone to do your reading for you, or risk falling hopelessly behind and, as a result, increasing your chances of dying lonely and somewhat bitter. That’s why every week PAPERBOY does your alt-weekly reading for you. We pore over those time-consuming cover stories and give you the takeaway, suss out the cover art, warn you off the ink-wasters and steer […]
HEY, JOE LIEBERMAN: What Part Of ‘The American Public Wants A Public Option’ Don’t You Understand?
REUTERS: Most Americans would like to see a “public option” in health insurance reform but doubt anything Congress does will lower costs or improve care in the short term, according to a poll released on Thursday. The survey of 2,999 households by Thomson Reuters Corp shows a public skeptical about the cost, quality and accessibility of medical care. Just under 60 percent of those surveyed said they would like a public option as part of any final healthcare reform legislation, which Republicans and a few Democrats oppose. MORE CBS NEWS: During the 2008 elections, Joe Lieberman attended the Republican National […]
CINEMA: The Magnificent Anderson
THE FANTASTIC MR. FOX (2009, directed by Wes Anderson, 87 minutes, U.S.) BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRITIC One hates to agree with such braggadocios bluster but yes, that Mr. Fox is quite fantastic. Director Wes Anderson (known for creating painstakingly mounted neurotic whimsy like The Royal Tenenbaums and The Darjeeling Limited) takes an unexpected artistic left turn into perhaps his most satisfying film to date. One thing even Anderson’s critics concede is that he has a knack for quaintly-detailed set design, so setting him loose in the hand-crafted world of old-fashioned figure animation is truly a match made in Heaven. […]
MUST SEE TV: Apocalypse NYC
With a Gershwin soundtrack.
CENSUS: Honey, I Stopped Shrinking Philadelphia
DAILY NEWS: Good news, Philadelphia! After decades of population loss, the city has stopped shrinking, according to revised Census Bureau estimates delivered to the city earlier this week. On Monday, the city received a letter from the Census Bureau raising the 2008 population estimate by about 93,000. In October, Philly challenged the bureau’s 2008 estimate of the city’s population, which the bureau had set at 1,447,395. It was the first time that the city had challenged the bureau’s estimates since a challenge program began earlier this decade. The new estimate of Philadelphia’s ’08 population is 1,540,351 people, 4,220 higher than […]
MARILYN MONROE: Some Like It High
CONTACT MUSIC: A movie showing MARILYN MONROE smoking what appears to be marijuana is set to go on sale. The never-before-seen silent film, recorded by Monroe’s pal at a party in New Jersey in the late 1950s, was tracked down by collector Keya Morgan, who paid $275,000 (£172,000) for the footage. The Some Like it Hot star is shown puffing on the joint, laughing and drinking wine. The woman who shot the four-minute clip has asked to remain anonymous, only revealing her first name as Gretchen, but has confirmed the cigarette contained marijuana, explaining, “I got (the pot). It was […]
A NEW LOW: Man Who Died Awaiting Treatment In The Emergency Room Was Robbed By Other Patients
DAILY NEWS: According to Philadelphia police, Rivera walked into Aria Health’s Frankford Campus, on Frankford Avenue near Harrison Street, about 10:45 p.m. Saturday. He was alone, and apparently had walked from his nearby home on Duffield Street near Foulkrod, his son said. Rivera complained of feeling pain in his left arm and abdomen, and was told to sit in the waiting area, said police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore. At some point during the next hour, Rivera, a longtime bilingual counselor at Olney High School, lost consciousness. He inadvertently became a target, Vanore said, to three other people in the waiting […]
BIMBO ERUPTIONS: It’s Raining Other Women
Not the alleged Tiger Woods smackdown but an incredible animated simulation courtesy of, of all places, a Chinese newscast. NEW YORK POST: At least two more buxom beauties claim to have had torrid affairs with embattled superstar golfer Tiger Woods — including one whom he bombarded with more than 300 text messages and warned last week that his wife was getting suspicious, according to Post sources and two bombshell reports. MORE RADAR: More women have come forward claiming that they’ve had affairs with the golf superstar, as RadarOnline.com was first to report on Tuesday. Jaimee Grubbs [PICTURED, LEFT], the latest […]
POTUS: Why We Fight (And Fight And Fight)
Remarks of President Barack Obama—As Prepared for Delivery The Way Forward in Afghanistan and Pakistan United States Military Academy at West Point December 1, 2009 Good evening. To the United States Corps of Cadets, to the men and women of our armed services, and to my fellow Americans: I want to speak to you tonight about our effort in Afghanistan – the nature of our commitment there, the scope of our interests, and the strategy that my Administration will pursue to bring this war to a successful conclusion. It is an honor for me to do so here – […]
WEEKLY UPDATE: Scrapple TV News
All the news that shits. With your host, AP Ticker. Enjoy.
GREATEST HITS: Today I Saw Revisited
[Artwork by ALEX FINE] BY JEFF DEENEY This installment of Today I Saw Revisited presents two scenes from African Methodist Episcopal churches in North Philadelphia. My experience with the black church community in Philly is that it is totally vital to the function of social services at the grassroots level, and forms the backbone of community support for thousands of families around the city. However, there is a strong conservative streak that runs through many of Philadelphia’s black churches that some white liberal social workers find vexing. The Biblical literalist positions of some churches put them at odds with progressives […]