[Source: Philadelphia Inquirer]
HARRISBURG: What If We Ran The State Like A Democracy Instead Of A Pirate Ship? Hmmm…
HARRISBURG – One House member wants to see all bills and amendments posted on the Internet before a vote. Another wants to give rank-and-file members a chance to get at least one of their bills to a committee vote each session. But, wait, there’s more: No more midnight sessions. End “ghost voting.” Eliminate the two-week legislative land rush known as sine die. Like wayward men and women who have suddenly found religion, the Pennsylvania state House is at long last embracing reform. Yesterday, one by one, House members – some freshmen, others longtime reform advocates – proposed ways to make […]
VOTE FOR VETS Tells Specter Talk Is Cheap
By KYW’s Mike DeNardo An Iraq veterans’ group is launching an ad campaign urging some Republican senators — including Pennsylvania’s Arlen Specter — to support a resolution condemning a troop buildup in Iraq. “I cannot support sending additional troops to Iraq.” That’s Sen. Arlen Specter on Sunday’s “Face the Nation,” on CBS. But Jon Soltz, chair of the group called Votevets.org wants more. His group wants Specter to vote for a resolution condemning the buildup: “Arlen Specter is willing to say that he’s concerned about the president’s policies of escalation. But we don’t need talk, we need a vote.” Votevets […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR WITH TERRY GROSS Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was elected to Congress at the age of 29 and served in the House of Representatives for eight years. He just began his second term as a Senator. He is a member of the Senate Democratic Leadership team, and sits on the Senate Finance Committee; the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; and the Judiciary Committee. His new book is Positively American: Winning Back the Middle-Class Majority One Family At a Time. ALSO Before being elected into the U.S. Senate in 1994 Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) served in the U.S. […]
VIET-NOW: Specter Schools Prez On Constitution
Sen. Arlen Specter on Tuesday directly challenged President Bush’s declaration that “I am the decision-maker” on issues of war. “I would suggest respectfully to the president that he is not the sole decider,” Specter (R-Pa.) said during a hearing on Congress’ war powers amid an increasingly harsh debate over Iraq war policy. “The decider is a shared and joint responsibility,” Specter said.[…] No one challenges the notion that Congress can stop a war by canceling its funding. In fact, vice president Dick Cheney challenged Congress to back up its objections to Bush’s plan to put 21,500 more troops in Iraq […]
GAMBLOR: Shamed Slot Shack Changes Mind, Decides To Play By The Rules And Payout $102,000 To Winner
After days of unwelcome national media attention, PhiladelphiaPark Casino Saturday night paid the disputed $102,000 that a Feasterville slots player said he had coming to him. But Stephen Wilkinson, 56, a retired carpenter, said the jackpot was in his hand for “about two minutes.” His wife of 25 years, Nancy, grabbed the check for safekeeping. “We haven’t decided what we’re going to do with it,” he said. Wilkinson, a regular but small-time bettor, said that his son Sean, 23, had asked for help in paying off his 2002 Dodge Ram truck but that the family would take its time in […]
THE DECIDER: The Surge Will Work Because I Told It To Work And That’s How Things Work Around Here
FROM AMERICABLOG: In an interview, [Speaker Of The House Nancy] Pelosi also said she was puzzled by what she considered the president’s minimalist explanation for his confidence in the new surge of 21,500 U.S. troops that he has presented as the crux of a new “way forward” for U.S. forces in Iraq. “He’s tried this two times — it’s failed twice,” the California Democrat said. “I asked him at the White House, ‘Mr. President, why do you think this time it’s going to work?’ And he said, ‘Because I told them it had to.’ Asked if the president had elaborated, […]
BREAKING: Philebrity Smells FEAR OF A BLACK PLANET In Bob Brady YouTube, We Do Too
Watch it for a few minutes, and you begin to feel something weird; set to DJ Kool’s “Let Me Clear My Throat,” the clip ruminates on a clip of Chaka Fattah speaking on the House floor, before moving to stock footage of young black men dancing in the street, then Mayor Street, then, absurdly, Mumia Abu-Jamal and stills from pro-Mumia rallies. Suddenly, Bob Brady’s face appears on the screen. The montage continues, until just about the end, where a legend bears: “THIS MAY, DO THE RIGHT THING,” followed by a shot of a “Fattah For Mayor” placard with “Fattah” x’ed […]
A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND: Dikembe Mutombo Rides Shotgun With First Lady At State Of The Union
Dikembe Mutombo, Center, Houston Rockets Philadelphia 76ers 2001-2002 Dikembe Mutombo is a recently naturalized NBA all-star dedicated to improving the lives of others. After studying at Georgetown University to further his interest in bringing a medical practice back to his native democratic Republic of the Congo, Mutombo was recruited onto the basketball team and has been playing ever since. Currently playing for the Houston Rockets, he spends his off season working as an NBA ambassador for African causes. Mutombo’s foundation has funded a large portion of a $27 million dollar hospital opening in Kinshasa, which will be the first new […]
GAMBLOR: One-Armed Bandit Rolls Local Man
A retired carpenter in his mid-50s was playing a slot machine at PhiladelphiaPark Casino on Monday when a gambler next to him leaned over and said, “Hey! It looks like you’ve won a bonus.” Stephen Wilkinson, of Feasterville, could hardly believe his eyes. “My name came across the screen – ‘Congratulations. You are the power player jackpot winner. You’ve won $102,000.’ “ His joy was short-lived, however. Casino officials soon walked over and told him it was a mistake – a system malfunction. They said he had no money coming. “They offered me two comps for the buffet,” Wilkinson said […]
EDITORIAL: What Hillary Meant To Say
BY CITIZEN MOM Monday night on ABC’s World News with Charles Gibson, Sen. Hillary Clinton gave the anchor a live interview, offering some early clues as to how she’s going to answer “those” questions — you know, the woman-specific questions that, fairly or unfairly, Obama and Biden and the rest of the Seven Dwarves just won’t get. Every interviewer from here to primary day will find a way to get one in, and Gibson didn’t shy away, though he did throw in the pussyfoot flattery and the “I mean no disrespect, BUT” — can we just lose that shit already? […]
HIZZONER ’07: Rain Or Shine, BIG BOB Is In To Win
MEDIA ADVISORY BOB BRADY TO ANNOUNCE CANDIDACY FOR MAYOR Monday, January 22, 2007 (PHILADELPHIA) – Congressman Bob Brady will announce his candidacy for Philadelphia mayor on Thursday, laying out a comprehensive agenda for making the community safer, improving public schools, strengthening the economy, and lowering the tax burden for small businesses and families. The announcement is scheduled for: 5:00 PM Thursday, January 25 Philadelphia Convention Center Room 204 UPDATE: Johnny Doc Will NOT Run, Coincidence? We Think Not?
Some Ass Clown Punks Da Mayor On Wikipedia
According to the online encyclopedia – which has a well-earned checkered reputation as both an everyman’s Britannica and a site where bias, slander and outright untruths reign – Mayor Street once played Bozo the Clown. Wikipedia’s bio on the mayor included: “At the same time that Street practiced law, he also began a media career in Philadelphia. Street worked for television station WPSG-TV and, for a four-year period, he played the character Bozo the Clown on Philadelphia’s Bozo the Clown children’s television show. When Street ran for Philadelphia City Council, he ceased his media career.” “I’m sure that isn’t true,” […]