DAILY NEWS ENDORSES BARACK OBAMA: THE CHOICE in Tuesday’s Democratic presidential primary is not only the one between a white woman and a black man. It’s a choice between the past and the future. Should Democrats choose someone who will employ hard-won — even bitter — experiences gained in a past Democratic administration, or reach beyond political truisms toward a new (and untried) model of governing? Neither choice is obvious. Perhaps that’s why the race has gone on for so long. But the long slog through 44 primaries and caucuses has confirmed for us that Sen. Barack Obama’s vision of […]
NPR 4 THE DEF: Giving Public Radio Edge Since 2006
FRESH AIR As the race for the Democratic nomination heats up in Pennsylvania, campaigns are spinning the local press at a pivotal moment. Philadelphia Daily News senior writer and occasional Fresh Air guest host Dave Davies [NOT pictured, left] offers an inside-the-tent view of his state’s primary circus. He’ll tell us what goes on behind the scenes as the campaigns’ staff and surrogates give their talking points and daily spin to the local press. ALSO, During his tenure in the U.S. Senate, Rhode Island’s Lincoln Chafee was often called the body’s most liberal Republican. A determinedly mainstream legislator now registered […]
A LETTER FROM ANNE DICKER: Help Me Help You
Dear Phawker Readers, There’s a war going on in South Philly this Tuesday – it’s Election Day, and the residents of the First District have to find a replacement for Vince Fumo. Hopefully, someone who won’t think stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars is totally kosher. Let’s fight the machine..and have fun! My name is Anne Dicker. I’m a tough broad (but nice, really, I am nice) progressive 34-year-old who lives in Queen Village with my husband. I am the only independent, honest, FBI-free candidate in the race, but I need your help. [EDITOR’S NOTE: As per the request of […]
LIVE & DIRECT: From The 26th Democratic Debate
BY JONATHAN VALANIA They are already calling it The Gotcha Debate. Lucky us! First up, we discuss how Obama is a latte-sipping, Volvo-driving, NPR-listening, America-hatin’ so-and-so and why that is so bad, and don’t you agree Hillary? Stephanopoulos just asked Obama if Reverend Wright loves America as much as he does. What next, loyalty oaths? Dude volunteered to go to Vietnam, George, where were you? * Now for a brief yet pointless detour into vox populi with a coupla questions from embittered Pennsyltuckians. Joe Stupid Sweater from Pittsburgh wants to know why Hillary lied about sniper fire in Bosnia and what […]
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 […]
SCOTUS: Kill Them All, Let God Sort It Out
NEW YORK TIMES: The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld Kentucky’s method of putting criminals to death by lethal injection, not only clearing the way for Kentucky to resume executions but ending an unofficial moratorium in the 35 other states that have the death penalty. However, Justice John Paul Stevens, while concurring reluctantly with the judgment of the court, wrote that he now believed capital punishment itself is unconstitutional, and that Wednesday’s ruling might serve to reignite the debate over whether it should exist in the United States. By 7 to 2, the court rejected challenges to the Kentucky execution procedure […]
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 […]
WORTH REPEATING: God, Guts And Guns
NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL: We thought the Republican presidential primaries were over. So we are at a loss to explain why Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton have been wandering around Pennsylvania and Indiana and anywhere else they might find a vote or a dollar arguing about which one cares more about guns and religion. Whose brilliant idea was it to leave six weeks open before the Pennsylvania primary? MORE RELATED: I, POLLSTER: Phawker’s Hilariously Un-Scientific Pennsyltucky Primary Keystoned Cell Phone Poll
EX-CELEB SCIENTOLOGIST: ‘Destructive & A Rip-Off’
FOX NEWS: Ruggedly handsome actor Jason Beghe was best man at the wedding of “X-Files” star David Duchovny (his childhood pal) and actress Tea Leoni. In 1998, he starred as Demi Moore’s love interest in “G.I. Jane.” He’s been featured in numerous TV dramas such as “Criminal Minds,” “Numb3rs” and “CSI.” In 2005, Beghe appeared in promotional spots for the Church of Scientology. But now, Beghe has escaped the church after taking courses since 1994. He’s made a video that’s up on YouTube. This is what he has to say: “Scientology is destructive and a rip-off.” He also says: “It’s […]
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 […]
WORTH REPEATING: Can You Say ‘Dickipedia’?
DICKIPEDIA: John Sidney McCain III (born August 29, 1936) is the senior United States Senator from Arizona, the presumptive Republican Party nominee in the 2008 presidential election, an angry old man, and a dick. In the Republican Party, there are two kinds of dicks: those that support the Iraq War but were too cowardly to fight in a war when they had the chance, and, much less common, those that support the Iraq War and did fight in other wars when they had the chance. McCain is the latter kind of dick. During the Vietnam War, McCain became a naval aviator. […]