THE BEAT PAGE: Howl CITY LIGHTS: 50 Years Ago They Wanted To Send Bookstore Owners To Jail On Obscenity Charges For Selling A Book We Now Celebrate On Public Radio, It’s Called Progress RADIO TIMES: We celebrate the 50th anniversary of Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Howl.” We talk with ANNE WALDMAN, a friend and colleague of Allen Ginsberg and JASON SHINDER editor of “The Poem That Changed America: ‘Howl’ Fifty Years Later.”
Mom, Dad, Ladies And Gentlemen Of the Jury, We Give You 174 Newspaper Stories That All Start With The Words BROTHER OF PHILADELPHIA MAYOR INDICTED, You Must Be So Proud
Philadelphia mayor’s brother indicted PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 28 (UPI) — Philadelphia Mayor John Street’s brother has been charged with fraud and tax evasion for allegedly selling his presumed influence to an airport contractor. Milton Street and two employees of Philadelphia Airport Services were charged in a lengthy federal indictment. The company was a joint venture formed to bid on a maintenance contract at Philadelphia International Airport and Northeast Philadelphia Airport. U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan said that the company hired Street in 2002, paying him $30,000 a month, because executives believed he would help the company keep its contract, NBC10 reported. “Milton […]
BANANA REPUBLIC: Appointed But Not ELECTED City Council Replacements Sworn In, Vow To Maintain Government Of THE MACHINE, By THE MACHINE And For THE MACHINE
Carol Campbell [PICTURED], Philadelphia’s newest councilwoman, sat with a benevolent smile on her face, ringed by a crush of supporters paying their respects. Stacked four deep, they plied her with kisses that left her cheeks stained with lipstick, and whispered words of congratulations into her ear. “Wait ’til you get a load of her,” said U.S. Rep. Bob Brady (D., Pa.) as he introduced the new Fourth District representative and fellow freshman Council members William Greenlee and Daniel Savage at a City Hall swearing-in session yesterday afternoon. Philadelphia’s political class, led by Brady, used the occasion to celebrate the virtues […]
HIZZONER ’07: Maybe It’s The Snappy Name, But We Are Really Likin’ This Jonathan Guy
From YOUNG PHILLY POLITICS: Jonathan Saidel Makes Me Go, ‘Hmmmm’ During Bob Brady‘s riffing, he started introducing other local politicians in the room, including … future Mayoral candidate Jonathan Saidel. The reason I bring this up is that I had never seen Saidel speak in person, and frankly do not know a lot about him. But, I would have to say, his speech very much surprised and impressed me, mainly for the fire with which it was delivered. And then, when talking to someone about the speech, I heard another story about Saidel, which made me think about his candidacy […]
THANK YOU FOR SMOKING: Big Pharma Bummed By Dem Congressional Control; Let Us Get Our Violin And Play A Few Bars Of ‘WELCOME TO CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY’ AKA God’s Intended Soundtrack For The Reaping Of Obscene Profits
Drug companies are particularly hungry for Democratic help, including the industry’s trade association. “We woke up the day after the election to a new world,” said Ken Johnson, spokesman for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. “We’re going to have tough days ahead of us.” A post-election e-mail to executives at the drug company GlaxoSmithKline details just how tough. “We now have fewer allies in the Senate,” says the internal memo, obtained by The Washington Post. “Thus, there is greater risk over the next two years that bad amendments will be offered to pending legislation.” The company’s primary concerns […]
THE BLOGS ARE COMING, THE BLOGS ARE COMING, RUN! Media Criticism Doesn’t HAVE To Be This Clueless
Or compromised. Unless your name is Ted Beitchman, and you are still — STILL, after four years — trying to punch a hole in the Philly mediascape with that glossy money-pit/inept score-settler/high-priced coupon flyer known as REALPHILLY — and getting about as far as a renegade spermatazoan trying to break on thru a Trojan Extra Thick. Hat tip to reader Philly Guy for the heads up. He reads it so we don’t have to. But check this sad swing at wannabe 215 Murdoch-ism. We just happen to speak Beitchman, so let us translate: Pay no mind to that moonbat slander […]
AS IT WAS WRITTEN: The Dems Won’t Win Until Hell Freezes Over Or Pynchon Publishes Again
PYNCHON’S INVISIBILITY By Theresa Duncan. “My silence was the silence of ten men.” –David Berman I don’t really think about Pynchon’s invisibility, because somewhere in the back of my mind I know that like the Cottingsley Fairies he hides from THEM but reveals himself to US. So he’s always there, you know, the game of fort/da forever over, because you can’t lose what you never had. Pynchon’s invisibility is so much more vivid, isn’t it? Than seeing some warmed-over wonder read at the 92nd Street Y and you have to go “that’s his voice?” matching it with the better one […]
Top Eight Reasons The Whole Slots On The Delaware Farce Smells Like Ass
From Young Philly: 1) A Democratic Governor, and a powerful Democratic State Senator, both from Philadelphia, decide that the best way to fuel economic development in Philadelphia is to put big slot barns down in the middle of neighborhoods. We can’t get the real changes we need to level the property tax and school funding inequities, so instead we take old ladies’ social security money as they feed it down a one armed bandit. Awesome. Of course, the jobs that are coming are generally low paid. And, there is very little in promises that the jobs will even stay, as […]
ET TU JOHNNY: FBI Comes To Union Boss’ House, And Not For A Picnic
Kiss of death for Doc? By DAVE DAVIES When FBI agents showed up to search union leader John Dougherty‘s South Philadelphia home last Friday morning, they took pictures of the house, sources said. […] Dougherty is associated with several entities that have received grand-jury subpoenas over the last year, but the search of his home is the most direct engagement yet between Dougherty and federal investigators. Dougherty has not responded to requests for comment on the search, which was reported in yesterday’s Inquirer. Dougherty, 45, is business manager for Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and one […]
STATING THE OBVIOUS: Santorum NOT To Run For Prez, Says Wife Would Kick His Fuckin Ass, In So Many Words
Santorum: No oval office run Some backers sought an ’08 campaign, but he said: “Absolutely, positively not.” By Carrie Budoff Inquirer Staff Writer Don’t expect to see Sen. Rick Santorum’s name on the 2008 presidential ballot. “Absolutely, positively not. Absolutely not,” Santorum said yesterday on The Michael Smerconish Show on WPHT-AM (1210). “My wife would throw me out of the house if I do anything in ’08.” Even though he lost his Senate seat last week by 18 points to Democrat Bob Casey Jr., some supporters hoped he would still fill the social conservative niche on the Republican ticket. William […]
THE WALLS HAVE EARS: Hamas Was Herre And The FBI Was Listening
Hamas-case jury hears tapes of 1993 Philadelphia meeting By Jeff Coen Tribune staff reporter November 17, 2006 A federal judge Thursday refused to stop the trial of two men accused of activities supporting the militant Islamic Palestinian group Hamas, rejecting their attorneys’ argument that an organization’s meeting should be protected by the 1st Amendment. Lawyers for Muhammad Salah of Bridgeview and Abdelhaleem Ashqar of Virginia moved for a mistrial after prosecutors began playing secret recordings of a 1993 meeting known as “the Philadelphia conference.” The gathering saw 20 supporters of Hamas, including Ashqar, discussing strategies for handling “the movement” in […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
Fresh Air from WHYY Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2006 Books: John Edwards and the Virtues of Home Former vice presidential candidate John Edwards has edited a book, Home, in which both public figures and lesser-known professionals reflect on the places where they grew up. The former senator currently lives in Chapel Hill, N.C., and campaigned for Democrats in advance of last week’s midterm elections. He talks about the Kerry-Edwards campaign and his thoughts on his own possible presidential bid in 2008. WHYY: Why Ask Y
Joey Vento’s South Philly Rowhome Racism Goes Upstate, Joins Forces With Hazleton Mayor, Another Scapegoater Of The Undocumented
Last week, Barletta was bowled over when he opened an envelope sent by Vento, owner of Geno’s Steaks in south Philadelphia. Inside was a check for $10,000, by far the largest contribution the city’s legal defense fund. “You could definitely say that’s a lot of cheesesteaks,” Barletta quipped. Lou Barletta knew Joey Vento wanted to help. But the Hazleton mayor didn’t realize just how much. Vento said he made the generous contribution because he agrees with the mayor’s effort to rid Hazleton of illegal immigrants. “I’m definitely on the same page with the mayor,” Vento said. “We could be brothers; […]