THE REFORMER: Seventy-five years ago, our nation was in the midst of one of the most dangerous and troubled periods in its history. In March 1933, about 15 million Americans — 1 in 4 workers — were unemployed. Five million American families — 1 in 7 — were barely surviving on an inadequate patchwork of private charity and public relief. In the little more than three years since the stock market crash of October 1929, more than 4,600 banks had failed. On March 3, 1933, a “bank holiday” was declared across the country and every remaining bank was either closed […]
STAR WARS: Vetoed Opening Credits Idea
A fleeting jazzy hommage to the magic of Mr. Saul Bass.
SNAFTA: Hillary’s ‘NOhio’ Firewall Holds
NEXT STOP, US: The political road show that has crisscrossed the nation is now destined for Pennsylvania.Victories for Hillary Rodham Clinton in Ohio and Rhode Island last night, and a tight race in Texas, seemed certain to give her the momentum she needs to bring the race to the Keystone State. Not since Jimmy Carter in 1976 have residents in the state had a real voice in a presidential primary. As Gov. Rendell said just hours before the polls closed in Ohio, “We’ll know by the end of the night whether Pennsylvania will be irrelevant or the center of the […]
PHAWKER TV: Anne Dicker’s Got Balls
On April 22nd, Philadelphia voters will not only choose presidential nominees, but also who will represent them in Harrisburg. State Senator Vince Fumo is up for re-election and three other Dem party candidates are vying to take the nomination away from him. As a service to voters in our fair city, Phawker will be taking a hard look at the men and women who want to be your next State Senator. First up, Anne Dicker. RELATED: As State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo recovers from a major heart attack, his chief spokesman said there was no reason to believe he would […]
JUNK SCI: How Does Your Garden Grow?
BY ELIZABETH FIEND LIVING EDITOR Although there’s still a chill in the air and a bit of winter left, if you want to do a garden this year, start now. That’s right. The key to gardening is to be on top of everything. Gardening is based around the weather and the weather waits for no man — or woman. You probably have a growing mound of garden catalogs by now. A few arrive in my mailbox every day. Overwhelming! But If you don’t have catalogs, try buying a mail-order plant ONE time, and you’ll be flooded with garden catalogs for […]
BLOCKED: No Redeeming Social Or Educational Value
This just came in over the transom from a loyal Phawker reader and Philadelphia School District employee. It appears that Phawker has been deemed ‘Innappropriate For Our Educational Environment’ by the Philadelphia School District. Well, there goes our evil plan to turn the youth of Philadelphia into informed and engaged citizens. If Phawker is blocked at your place of employment, let us know at feed@phawker.com. Include a screen grab JPEG of block notice we will post it up like a red badge of courage. After all, nothing draws ’em in like the lure of the forbidden.
PBS FOR THE HUNGRY: ‘Philly Food’ Debuts Tonight
BY AMY Z. QUINN Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews, you say? Well, I’ve been suspicious of the little bites o’ peanutty goodness since back in ’05 when the company was sold to Just Born Inc. and they started tinkering with the recipes. But I can forgive, since no list of so-called Philly foods would be complete without my all-time favorite candy. For them alone, I’m planning to check out tonight’s premiere of a new WHYY original, The Philly Food Show, an Ed Cunningham production exploring all the usual local munchies and then some. Yes, cheesesteaks and hoagies and pretzels and scrapple (crisp, […]
TEXAS HOLD ‘EM: Showdown At The Ohio Corral
DAYTON BUSINESS JOURNAL: With a day to go before the primary election, a Zogby International poll for Reuters/C-SPAN/Houston Chronicle that was taken between Feb. 29 and March 2 shows Obama with 47 percent compared with Clinton’s 45 percent. The previous poll from a few days earlier showed Clinton with a narrow 47 percent to 46 percent lead. The same poll showed the race in Texas, which also has its primary Tuesday along with Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont, narrowing. Obama had a four percentage-point lead several days ago, but that has shrunk slight to a three percentage-point lead at 47 […]
WHY WE LIKE MIKE: He ‘Gets’ The Wire
PHILLY CLOUT: Mayor Nutter is such a huge fan of the gritty HBO drama, The Wire, that he has organized a special City Hall screening of the series finale Sunday night. Wendell Pierce, the actor who portrays affable Detective Bunk Moreland, is scheduled to attend. Nutter hopes other actors from the show will sign on also. City Representative Melanie Johnson said that after the 8 p.m. screening in the Mayor’s Reception Room, Nutter will host a question and answer session with the actors. Johnson said the roughly 100 tickets for the screening would be evenly divided between invited guests and […]
THE FLINTSTONES: Thank You For Smoking
Sure, we know what you’re thinking: It is OBSCENE that the cigarette companies used to be allowed to advertise on kid’s cartoons! But let’s all just take a breath here. Fact is, the science is inconclusive. Archaeologists have YET to offer even a shred of scientific evidence to counter Fred’s claim that nothing took the edge off another nerve-jangling day in pre-historic times like a smooth-filtered Winston. That’s a fact, Jack.
WORTH REPEATING: A ‘Cancer’ On The Presidency
HUFFINGTON POST: As the Clinton campaign struggles to pull out of a potentially terminal nosedive [on the eve of] the decisive Ohio and Texas primaries, much of the blame for the former First Lady’s difficulties is falling on the shoulders of her controversial chief strategist, Mark Penn. Critiques of Penn run a wide gamut: * that he mistakenly assumed that Hillary Clinton would easily bulldoze the opposition,powered by money, endorsements and a legendary name. * that his strategic strength resides in managing general election campaigns but he has an unreliable sense of the primary electorate. * that Penn had an […]