WALL STREET JOURNAL: The federal government is working on a sweeping series of programs that would represent perhaps the biggest intervention in financial markets since the 1930s, embracing the need for a comprehensive approach to the financial crisis after a series of ad hoc rescues. At the center of the potential plan is a mechanism that would take bad assets off the balance sheets of financial companies, said people familiar with the matter, a device that echoes similar moves taken in past financial crises. The size of the entity could reach hundreds of billions of dollars, one person said. Another […]
ABOVE THE LAW: Todd Palin Refuses To Testify
ASSOCIATED PRESS: ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s husband has refused to testify in the investigation of his wife’s alleged abuse of power, and key lawmakers said Thursday that uncooperative witnesses are effectively sidetracking the probe until after Election Day. Todd Palin, who participates in state business in person or by e-mail, was among 13 people subpoenaed by the Alaska Legislature. Palin’s lawyer sent a letter to the lead investigator saying Palin objected to the probe and would not appear to testify on Friday. “The objections boil down to the fact that the Legislative Council investigation is no longer […]
OBAMA/BIDEN: Back In The Saddle
CNN: Sen. Barack Obama has widened his lead over Sen. John McCain, according to CNN’s latest “poll of polls.” Sen. Barack Obama leads Sen. John McCain by 3 percentage points, according to CNN’s “poll of polls.” The senator from Illinois is ahead of McCain in national polls by 3 percentage points, 47 percent to 44 percent. Obama was up by 2 points in the poll of polls released earlier Thursday. McCain led in national polls last week, but by the weekend, the candidates were tied. Obama recaptured the lead for the first time in 10 days Wednesday. The latest poll […]
THE GIRL WHO CRIED WOLF: Goode Aide Calls Fox29 ‘Racist’ For Filming Her Goofing Off On City Time
CLOUT: City Councilman W. Wilson Goode Jr. came to work today with an attention-grabbing piece of legislation that could change the way some of his colleagues get elected. But he quickly was overshadowed in Council’s chambers by his chief legislative aide, Latrice Bryant, who held up a series of handmade signs that said “Fox29 in racist” and “K.K.K.” Fox29 reporter Jeff Cole has been following Goode and Bryant, filming their comings and goings. And Bryant is not at all happy about it. Cole confronted Goode after Council’s session wrapped up, asking if he thought Fox29’s reporting was racist. Goode didn’t […]
BOOK: Gorby Approved Pope Assassination
NEW AMERICAN: His vociferous support for Russia’s heavy aerial bombardment and invasion of Georgia notwithstanding, Mikhail S. Gorbachev is scheduled to be presented the Liberty Medal on September 18 by former President George H. W. Bush. The medal, ostensibly to honor men and women “who have strived to secure the blessings of liberty to people the world over,” is awarded annually by the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. “Awarding the Liberty Medal should not be construed as an endorsement by the Center of President Gorbachev’s views on the Russia-Georgia conflict,” the center’s president, Joseph Torsella said in a report that […]
PAPERBOY: Fall Guys And Crazy Cabbies Edition
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 […]
WAR GAMES: How Sarah Palin Got Hacked
ASSOCIATED PRESS: Hackers broke into the Yahoo! e-mail account that Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin used for official business as Alaska’s governor, revealing as evidence a few inconsequential personal messages she has received since John McCain selected her as his running mate. The Secret Service contacted The Associated Press on Wednesday and asked for copies of the leaked e-mails, which circulated widely on the Internet. The AP did not comply. The disclosure Wednesday raises new questions about the propriety of the Palin administration’s use of nongovernment e-mail accounts to conduct state business. The practice was revealed months ago _ […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR The Bush administration’s global anti-terrorism campaign was meant to prevent another terrorist attack on the United States. But journalist Jane Mayer says that policies like extraordinary rendition — whereby suspected terrorists are transferred to countries that allow harsh interrogations not permitted under U.S. law — have compromised American values. Mayer cites that case of Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen who spent nearly a year in a Syrian prison after being deported from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport during a layover. Mayer has written for The New Yorker on what she calls “the outsourcing of torture,” on […]
REVIEW: Old Crow Medicine Show
BY DAVE ALLEN The fellas in Old Crow Medicine Show might look like shaggy hipsters, but they’re steeped in Appalachian string-band tradition and exude down-home soul. The band’s latest, Tennessee Pusher, strays only slightly from their roots as the boys holler and yearn about the seedier side of Appalachia. The sound of the band’s all-strings lineup – fiddle, double bass, slide guitar, and a banjo/guitar hybrid called a guitjo – is thinned out slightly on Pusher. Where it previously packed a fervid intensity, with plenty of hard-pickin’ and double bass-thumping so heavy you’d swear they had a drummer, there’s now […]
HOT DOC: Not In Our Name
Dear Friends: We may have thought we wanted a woman on a national political ticket, but the joke has really been on us, hasn’t it? Are you as sick in your stomach as I am at the thought of Sarah Palin as Vice President of the United States? Since Palin gave her speech accepting the Republican nomination for the Vice Presidency, Barack Obama’s campaign has raised over $10 million dollars. Some of you may already be supporting the Obama campaign financially; others of you may still be recovering from the primaries. None of you, however, can be happy with Palin’s […]
TODAY: Time To Make The Donuts Rock The Vote
Rock the Vote’s Voter Registration Campaign has Reached an Unprecedented 1.5 million & Counting… NEXT STOP: “The Road Trip ‘08” concert at Community College of Philadelphia WHO: Artists: Talib Kweli, Solange, The James Gang. Featuring special appearances by Joe Pantoliano, Ken Swift of the Rock Steady Crew and Max Kennedy WHERE: Community College of Philadelphia – Winnet Courtyard 1700 Spring Garden St. WHEN: Thursday, September 18th, 2008 Time: 3pm WHY: 2008’s election stands to be remembered as the most historically significant and hotly contested race in many years. As such, promoting Rock the Vote’s mission to “engage and build the […]
OBAMA: Fundamentals Of Our Economy Are UNsound
Obama campaign ad: “Plan for Change” HUFFINGTON POST: Obama’s improved fortunes are relieving an epidemic of Democratic anxiety from Beverly Hills and South Central Los Angeles to the Upper West Side and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Recent fears among Democratic activists have been based on a brief spate of polls. After holding a relatively consistent lead for five months, Obama, two weeks ago, suddenly looked vulnerable. In six out of seven national polls conducted from September 5 to September 11 and tracked by RealClearPolitics, McCain led: Over the past six days, however, Obama appears to be regaining his footing, […]
All Of This Happened While You Were Sleeping
REMAIN IN THE LIGHT: David Byrne, Zoellner Arts Center, Bethlehem, PA, Last Night ROLLING STONE: Byrne uses bodies in motion to advance the ambiguous narratives his multi-cultural rock — think of it as modern dance for people who don’t like modern dance. [Photo by JONATHAN VALANIA]