HOT DOC: Open Letter To The Drive-By Media

[via ATTYOOD] Dear Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos, It’s hard to know where to begin with this, less than an hour after you signed off from your Democratic presidential debate here in my hometown of Philadelphia, a televised train wreck that my friend and colleague Greg Mitchell has already called, quite accurately, “a shameful night for the U.S. media.” It’s hard because — like many other Americans — I am still angry at what I just witnessed, so angry that it’s hard to even type accurately because my hands are shaking. Look, I know that “media criticism” — especially when […]

THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW: East Germantown

[Photo by JUSTIN ROMAN] The Valley of the Shadow is an ongoing series documenting how those in Philadelphia’s poorest and most violent neighborhoods publicly mourn and commemorate their dead. Jeff Deeney knows these neighborhoods well from his days as a social worker. The hope is to shine a light on the city’s untouchables, brighten the darkest corners and gather-and-share ultra-vivid and all-too-real stories of loss, grief and remembrance. BY JEFF DEENEY One of the hard things about being a social worker in Philadelphia is seeing your client’s block turn up in newspaper crime reports. Sometimes details about shootings and homicides […]

CONTEST: Do You Cebu?

How does a shot and beer with big Bob Brady sound? We have just been given 10 tickets to giveaway to Phawker readers. Hit us back at FEED@PHAWKER.COM and we will duly deputize you as a member of the pajama-clad media. PROGRAMMING NOTE: We will be live-blogging from inside the belly of the beast tonight. JONATHAN VALANIA will be inside the press room, translating the candidates comments into something closer to the truth and providing an update on the size of Howard Fineman’s ass. He’s bringing his calipers. TIFFANY YOON will be shooting the pageantry and street theater of the […]

U SHOULD READ THIS: Gamblor Is A False Profit

BY CHRISTOPHER CALDWELL FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES In March, the Massachusetts House of Representatives rejected a measure that looked unstoppable when it was proposed by Gov. Deval Patrick last September: the authorization of “destination casinos” across the commonwealth. The plan was for Massachusetts to sell three 10-year licenses for at least $200 million apiece and then tax the casinos’ takings at 27 percent, raking in $400 million a year. That, went the reckoning, would cover a $1.3 billion budget shortfall. Patrick was backed by The Boston Globe, big casino corporations and some trade unions. His opponent, the House speaker, […]

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: He Is The One

Dear Friends and Fans: Like most of you, I’ve been following the campaign and I have now seen and heard enough to know where I stand. Senator Obama, in my view, is head and shoulders above the rest. He has the depth, the reflectiveness, and the resilience to be our next President. He speaks to the America I’ve envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that’s interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit. A place where “…nobody […]

Frida’s Just Another Word For Nothing Left To Lose

Miro Dance Theatre invites audiences to a behind-the-scenes look at Self-Portrait, Miro’s newest work which will premiere at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on May 2. Commissioned by Art After 5 in conjunction with the Museum’s Frida Kahlo retrospective, Self-Portrait is a solo dance work celebrating Kahlo’s life and art. The performance, deeply inspired by Kahlo’s paintings and diary, reflects on the artist’s struggles with illness and her penchant for self-expression. Performed by Miro’s Amanda Miller, the multi-dimensional “living performance sculpture” combines dance, live animation, elaborate set design, and video. As part of this Open Studio, guest artist Julia Zagar […]

NEWS CLUES: Like A ‘Sweetheart Deal’ With The Truth

Union Dude Pleads Guilty To 98 Fed Charges, Denies ‘Illegal Payments’ To Doc A Philadelphia electrical contractor pleaded guilty this morning to 98 federal charges – but not to two counts alleging that he made illegal payments to union leader and State Senate candidate John J. Dougherty. The case against the electrician, Donald “Gus” Dougherty, has been closely watched because of the forthcoming election and an FBI and IRS investigation of John Dougherty that sources said remains active. But it was Gus Dougherty in court this morning, pleading guilty before U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno to tax evasion, filing […]

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE: Live & Direct From The City Democratic Committee’s Jefferson-Jackson Dinner

[illustration by ALEX FINE] BY JONATHAN VALANIA Talk about a confederacy of yutzes: Harris Wofford, bless his heart, has completely lost it, and I am not just talking about his voice, which was in short supply when he took the lectern to introduce the guy who would introduce the guy who would introduce Barack Obama; next up, Chaka Fattah is hands down the LEAST inspiring speaker I have ever had the displeasure of suffering through; and Bob Brady is a great party cheerleader, and the guy you want doling out the patronage goodies, able to keep a vast running ledger […]