ASSOCIATED PRESS: After months of debate, President Barack Obama will spell out a costly Afghanistan war expansion to a skeptical public Tuesday night, coupling an infusion of as many as 35,000 more troops with a vow that there will be no endless U.S. commitment. His first orders have already been made: at least one group of Marines who will be in place by Christmas. Obama has said that he prefers “not to hand off anything to the next president” and that his strategy will “put us on a path toward ending the war.” But he doesn’t plan to give any […]
DAILY NEWS: An Obamacare Explainer
DAILY NEWS:The U.S. House already has passed a sweeping health-care bill, and the Senate narrowly voted Nov. 21 to open debate on its own measure, crafted by Majority Leader Harry Reid. If the Senate approves a bill and the two houses of Congress work out an agreeable plan, we could have the most significant new domestic program enacted since Social Security. “I think we’ll see a bill passed, and there’s a pretty good chance of including a public [insurance option,” said Pennsylvania’s newly Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter. “We have to take one step at a time.” The battle will be […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR From 1967 to 1969, Tommy and Dick Smothers challenged the censors at CBS and the political establishment who tried to tame their wildly popular — and politically left-leaning — show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. The brothers lost their show, but later won a battle in court. TV critic David Bianculli joins host Terry Gross to talk about the legendary comedy duo who tackled political issues and censorship.Based on extensive interviews with the Smothers Brothers and other key players, Bianculli describes the siblings’ lives both onscreen and behind the scenes in a new book, Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored […]
HOT DOCUMENT: Season’s Greetings From POTUS
jonathan — Tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day, Americans across the country will sit down together, count our blessings, and give thanks for our families and our loved ones. American families reflect the diversity of this great nation. No two are exactly alike, but there is a common thread they each share. Our families are bound together through times of joy and times of grief. They shape us, support us, instill the values that guide us as individuals, and make possible all that we achieve. So tomorrow, I’ll be giving thanks for my family — for all the wisdom, support, and love they […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR You may recognize these names from recent headlines: Sen. John Ensign, Rep. Bart Stupak and Rep. Joe Pitts. Stupak and Pitts have become familiar names through the media’s health care overhaul coverage; their abortion funding amendment introduced an 11th-hour twist as the House of Representatives approached a vote on a landmark health care bill. Ensign was the focus of media attention over his affair with a campaign staffer. Just last night, a Nevada man disclosed that he found out about his wife’s affair with the state’s junior senator — his best friend — via a text message. The […]
BREAKING: New Jersey Governor-Elect Subpoenaed By Jailed White Supremacist/FBI Informant
NJ.COM: A subpoena has been issued for Gov.-elect Chris Christie to appear next month at the federal trial of North Bergen Internet radio host and blogger Hal Turner [pictured, right]. Michael Orozco, Turner’s lawyer, said in an affadavit supporting the subpoena, that Christie, as the U.S. Attorney, knew that Turner was working with the FBI, Christie gave legal advice to the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force regarding Turner, and issued a “Blanket Letter of Declination,” refusing to prosecute Turner. In late June Turner was charged with threatening federal judges in Chicago, stemming from an editorial on his Web site that […]
AD BUST: This Is What Extinction Looks Like
[Video: Your flight has an impact. Plane Stupid’s new cinema ad, written and commissioned by creative agency Mother and made by production company Rattling Stick. Director Daniel Kleinman.] EDITOR’S NOTE: No polar bears were harmed in the making of this PSA. DISCOVER: In May the U.S. Department of the Interior classified polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Documented declines in sea ice and anticipation of massive melting that threatens the bears’ habitat prompted the action. MORE RELATED: Unless the pace of global warming slows or stops, polar bears could disappear within a century, says a University of […]
PROTESTERS: Bring Us The Head Of The Fed
BY GREG ADOMAITIS There were a lot of angry white males — as well as a few angry white females and a ticked off kid or two — demonstrating on the west side of City Hall Sunday morning. About 200 gathered to demand an end to the Federal Reserve and the general disrespect the government has treated its citizens with recently. Rob Pepe, a primary organizer of the rally and member of the Montgomery County school board, has been at work in this realm of politics for 26 years. “I hope today creates more awareness about the criminal cabal that […]
WHAT A TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE: The Khyber Pass, The Bionic Woman & The Clash Of Civilizations
[Photo by SYNDPROD] WASHINGTON POST: NEW DELHI – Police in India suspect that David Coleman Headley, a man with Philadelphia ties recently arrested in Chicago on terrorism charges, conducted scouting missions of the targets in last November’s attacks in Mumbai, including the city’s main train station, the popular Leopold Cafe, and the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower and the Oberoi Trident hotels. Hotel records show that Headley stayed in both hotels in 2007, authorities said. He also allegedly posed as a Jew to visit one of the other eventual targets, Chabad House, home to an ultra-Orthodox Jewish center, said a […]
WORTH REPEATING: The Four Year Wait For Health Care Reform To Kick In Is Political Suicide
INQUIRER: His biggest concern is with the timetables of the two bills. Most of the House version does not go into effect until 2013. In a move meant to reduce costs, the Senate bill waits until 2014. “To me, this is a huge mistake,” Starr said. While some important provisions that would affect coverage for young adults and people who cannot buy insurance because of health problems take effect earlier, “most of the uninsured will not get coverage from the Senate bill for more than four years.” That leaves Democrats with a political problem — few results to show voters […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR Private equity firms buy undervalued or under-appreciated companies, impose short-term improvements and sell them for a fast profit. Some of the companies they’ve bought include Hertz, La Quinta, Dunkin Donuts, and Toys R Us. Josh Kosman, a private equity expert, says that the way the firms have been able to buy these businesses — through leveraged buyouts — means the majority of the money for the buyout has come from loans that the firms dump on the company they’re supposedly fixing. Now burdened with debt, many of those companies owned by private equity firms are in danger of […]
WEEK IN REVIEW: Scrapple TV News
All the news that shits. With your host, A.P. Ticker.
WHY WE LOVE ABE: The $60,000 Letter Lincoln Sent To Kid’s School Teacher Who Accused Kid Of Lying About Having Met The Commander & Chief
BBC: A letter written by former US President Abraham Lincoln to a schoolboy nearly 150 years ago is to go on sale for $60,000 (£36,000) in Philadelphia. George Patten was with his journalist father when both met the commander-in-chief. The American Civil War leader wrote after the eight-year-old was mocked by his disbelieving classmates. The handwritten signed note confirms the pair met and was sent two weeks after the president’s inauguration. The letter reads: “Whom it may concern, I did see and talk with master George Evans Patten, last May, at Springfield, Illinois. Respectfully, A Lincoln.” Lincoln put pen to […]