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Media
( The Fix Is In: Part 1 described how House Gaming Oversight Chairman Dante Santoni created a monster amendment that rewrote the table games bill; Part 2 describes how some Representatives tried, and failed, to fight the bill on the floor, and were stifled when a slick parliamentary move forced debate and further amendments to end.)
Part 3: Ever closer.
Last night, the House passed the table games bill â its sundry earmarks, provisions to let the casinos offer credit to slots players, extension for Foxwoods to get up and running, and comically low tax rates and license fees still in place â by a vote of 103-92.
The bill is being debated tonight Senate. where it may face a tougher vote.You can watch the debate live, on the Senate's own live video feed. It's fun. Really.
This means, of course, that citizens still have a chance to tell their representatives what they think of the bill.
Here's what I think about it: the Senate should reject the bill.
It's absurdly lopsided, offering massive concessions to the casinos for a tiny benefit to the state: a measley few hundred million dollars of billion in the total budget.
It's been corrupted: the bill is full of un-examined earmarks that should never see the light of day.
And it's wrong: it's a bill which empowers a predatory industry, one which has built its profits not on the casual one-time visitor but overwhelmingly on people who play in ways that hurt them and their families. This bill gives the casinos the tools â like credit â to exploit all the harder and faster.
If the bill cannot be defeated, it should be amended. Credit should be banned. The extension for Foxwoods should be erased. The taxes should be tripled, and the licensing fee should be determined by public auction.
If the General Assembly and Governor Rendell care, as they claim to, about gambling addiction and problem gambling, they should be fighting for, and not against, such measures as monthly or quarterly statements to gamblers, increased funding for addiction treatment services, limited hours of operation, and smoking bans. These are measures the casinos oppose â and the last time I checked, the casinos never ran for office.
Click here to find your state Senator by zip code. (top right of screen).
It's Our Money features an excellent report today by Kirstin Lindermayer on the prevalence of random library closings around the city:
On any given day this year, one or more branches of the 54-branch Free Library of Philadelphia have been closed unexpectedly due to staff shortages.
The daily closings have increased significantly since September, ranging from four to seven branches on most days. Ten branches closed or reduced their hours unexpectedly Dec. 3, for example.
Are we surprised? We are not. (Are we speaking in the first person plural for some reason? We are!)
Not surprised, because we saw this coming long ago: the moment, in fact, Mayor Nutter announced that all eleven libraries would remain open â but didn't give the Library back the money he had already cut anticipating the closings! (A move I dubbed the Nutter Special in a recent column).
That's not the only thing he didn't give back: even while librarians waited in ever-mounting fear for the pink slips that the mayor assured were on their way, he was already gutting libraries of their security staff.
Library guards, if you recall, were transferred to city prisons.
When the mayor did an about face and declared the system open for business, with no closures, those guards were already gone â a problem which, almost a year later, hasn't been rectified.
In addition to shrinking staff numbers, new regulations instituted in February require a library branch to have four workers, including one security guard, in order to open. But the system hasn't had enough guards to meet this requirement for months, partly because 11 guards were transferred to other city duties last December. The library replaced them with contract guards but money for that has run out.
Likewise, lower-level administrators â the people who check out your books for you, etc. â were transferred to 311: which was, of course, the mayor's pet project.
My colleague Doron Taussig presents the situation astutely:
You have to wonder whether it makes sense to stick to a five-day schedule, given these circumstances. And if you want to be a little cynical, you have to wonder whether the city isn't sticking to the schedule simply so it can say the libraries are open five days a week ... even though they're not, really.
Mayor Nutter ought to either restore the funding he took away, or be responsible enough to close some branches, even one branch, if he intends not to pay enough for the current system to work properly.
Or maybe there's another solution, I don't know: I'm not the mayor.
But Nutter is, and he'd better do something.
The current situation is a lot better than having any branch-- even one-- closed permanently.
[...] of a variety of reduced services. Philadelphia is making daily unscheduled, random, and generally unannounced closings of public libraries. It is not only due to rolling budget cuts, but also because of budget priorities: Mayor Nutter [...]
Caught this little slice of life on the Atlantic this morning, an interview with a prostitute in South Philly. Princess, as she's called, got laid off from her job as an office manager and has been unable to find work since, so, in her words, "I's opening my pussy for business." Her two kids, the story tells us, know what she does for a living, as does her approving father. For what it's worth, I'm sort of conflicted on the issue of prostitution: On the one hand, I'm of a libertarian bent on most social issues; what consenting adults do, no matter the arrangement between them, is none of our business. On the other, the prostitution industry carries with it an almost inherent exploitation of women.
Princess, meanwhile, adamantly defends her chosen profession:
"I cause pleasure. I provide a service that brings people pleasure. I won't service married men or women, men of the cloth. See even hos got rules of morality," she laughs. "But seriously, I can understand why people who been brought up one way think it's immoral. I don't understand why it's illegal. With our government needing money, I wish I could pay taxes."
Curious to know what you Cloggers think.
Why don't you go have sex with a protistute Billman & tell us all about it? Do it without telling your wife / fiancee...tell her afterwards, then tell us on the Clog what her reaction was.
PROSTITUTE
How's that old saying go? The most expensive prostitute is one's wife? Funny but so true in a way - and the sex disappears for so many guys, or is used as a manipulation tool...no wonder so many married guys see whores, or wind up gay & having gay sex in parks & public restrooms.
I was wondering what business had her as their office manager??? "I's opening my pussy for business.", that's how I want the people who work for me to speak. I was wondering, was the purpose of this little blurb to educate or infuriate? If you're asking me to believe that this woman has been laid off from an office job and naturally turned to tricking, I'd have to say ...you're asking alot!
Let us know when you do some original reporting.
Prostitution in America (as with so many other things) is different than in other countries (forgive me - I JUST wrote a term paper for my Master's about this). In India, sex workers have a labor union, pay wage taxes, and as a regulated industry have far lower rates of unwanted pregnancy and abuse. Studies have repeatedly shown that sex workers are much more health-conscious and practice much higher levels of safe sex than the average...sex-haver...and the rate of STI infection is much lower than one would expect. And while internationally, those who turn to sex work to support a drug addiction or because they're being trafficked are a massive contingency of victims that need huge amounts of help, there does exist a faction of sex workers who enjoy what they do, who did not enter the profession via some kind of physical, psychological, or economic trauma, and lead generally fulfilling and safe lives. There's a sort of caste system with sex workers, even in the U.S., with escorts and in-house girls (such as Las Vegas, where the industry is highly regulated) at the top, who rarely experience any sort of abuse, are not allowed to receive pay if they test positive for drugs, and make a decent living wage. Street walkers are at a high risk for abuse, but it generally tends to happen the most if they're drug-seeking or working with an addiction. Women (and men, btw) who are trafficked into sex work are easily the most often abused, with the highest rates of mortality, infection, and unwanted pregnancies. The profile of underage sex work in the U.S. is alarmingly full of teenaged boys, not teen girls. It has been proven that a lack of employment opportunity is negatively correlated with prostitution (one goes down, the other goes up). Because America was founded on moral fibers, it will never be a valid form of work, and because it's not valid, it's not legal, and because it's not legal, it's not taxable. But when it comes to the oldest profession in the world, you only need to look around the rest of the world or to Las Vegas to see what regulation and decriminalization has done. You can't rehabilitate someone who's doing something that, under the eyes of the law, shouldn't exist.
The story sounds totally made up.
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| It's meta, dude. |
Disclaimer: I am woefully, scandalously under-qualified to write anything about TV. Until discovering I could watch shows on the internet (and what a discovery!), I hadn't watched TV since the late 90s. Having said that . . .
Anybody else feel like TV's been getting uncomfortably, overtly racist?
I've got two shows in mind: Curb Your Enthusiasm, and 30 Rock â both of which I watch religiously (although - 30 Rock's hurting these days, don't you think?).
And I like those shows! Man cannot live on blogging about casinos alone, you know?
But this racism thing is on my mind largely because it's actually started to upset the flow of those those delicious, smooth TV brainwaves through the old cranium.
You know what I'm talking about: Larry's household being taken over by a black family, and the storyline revolving partially around his trying to get rid of them; the minstrel-like Leon; the cunnilingus-loving Krazee Eyez Killa. Tracey Jordan's stupidity, Dot Com and Grizz's servility, Angie's bitchiness.
It's not like it's hidden, or something: the shows put it right in our faces â I mean, that's supposed to be the whole joke, right? They're not racist, they're meta. It's meta-racism - the opposite of racism.
But I don't really buy it. And yeah, I'm the asshole who's ruining the joke by talking about it: but of the many things that make Curb and 30 Rock hilarious, I gotta say: black people playing crazy black people doesn't top my list.
On a side note, The Office has managed to be witty, meta -- and yet doesn't, I think, do the same thing to its black characters: Stanley and Darryl are as real and fully-developed characters as the others, it seems to me.
Anyway, that's it. What do people think?
Tiger Woods is a racist...he doesn't like black women.
[...] as fun as watching 30 Rock is watching liberals laugh and then think (out loud on their blogs): “Does laughing at the antics of Tracy Morgan make me racist? This might be, at best, a [...]
Isaiah: Thanks for jumping over to my blog to respond to my take on this issue. I thought I'd come over here and offer one more thought. Which is: Good, smart comedy, at its essence, is very often transgressive. It can obviously go too far -- depending on who you talk to, it often does. But because of that, I think that means whenever you mix race and comedy it's inevitable that these kinds of questions will arise. During its day, "The Chappelle Show" seemed a daring take on our collective racial hangups; after Dave gave it up he suggested he'd gotten uncomfortable playing what he'd come to view as a kind of high-tech minstrel show. Seems the comedians are feeling their way forward on this stuff about as uncertainly as the rest of us.
Thanks for the comments - very thoughtful. I'm going to mull them over. Drew, I think you're on to something: the weirdness of perspective in 30 Rock is bigger than just a white/black thing. There's definitely an element of making fun of the ways of the rich and famous, that I find pretty entertaining. It also feels a little like out of touch and slightly prejudiced people making jokes, through their characters, about how out of touch and prejudiced they are -- but still being out of touch and prejudiced in the process.
30 Rock has been a little slow this season, but the most recent episode was really funny. I do not find it to be racist. I genuinely feel Tracy Morgan's character is everything he and Tina Fey discussed having him do on SNL but never got around to. His character at the end of the day is a lampoon of the average uber-wealthy/privileged person, not the average black person.
Yeah I can see that, but there are also jokes about their emotional intelligence and sensitivity, which I have always interpreted the punch-line as "look these big tough guys have feelings too." Those jokes would work just as well if Grizz and Dot-Com were the size they are and a different race. I think with Twofer they make more "People who went to ivy league schools are pretentious jerks" jokes than they make "look at this educated black guy jokes." Also, if you want to talk about race jokes, how many times has Jack told Liz that she looked "ethnic?" (ethnic white as opposed to American white) I feel like all of the characters on the show started as stereotypes and then were developed into more full characters. Jack: Corporate climbing heartless white man Liz: Career woman who doesn't have time for a family Jenna: Crazy Actress Pete: Emasculated married man Suri: Hot girl who doesn't think Kenneth: Backwoods Christian Sure there's racial undertones, but I think they make fun of everyone equally. It's an interesting debate for sure. There's lots of times watching that show when I say "Oh man, I can't believe they went there" and many of those times are about race-related jokes.
[...] Thompson asks a question my dear little elitist liberal heart doesn’t want to contemplate: Is 30 Rock racist? I’ve got two shows in mind: Curb Your Enthusiasm, and 30 Rock â both of [...]
True - but have you ever noticed how sometimes they'll do a joke with Grizz or Dot-Com, where the joke is that one of them can speak a full sentence or say something smart or somethign? Hmm? It's probably less useful to talk about whether things are or aren't "racist," (the way I just did) and more useful to talk about undertones of racism or of racial assumptions, or whatever. Do the writers try to make black characters like Grizz and Dot Com more multi-dimensional? Sure: but at the end of the day, you've got four black men on that show: one fool, two faithful servants, and Twofer - a character who's comedic premise is that he's black and educated. Those are some pretty old-school steriotypes for a show as postmodern as 30 rock.
I think on 30 Rock they represent more crazy boss/suck-up assistant relationships than just Tracey with Grizz and Dot-Com. They have Jack and Jonathon, Jenna and Kenneth, and to a certain extent Liz and Pete. They don't only show black characters in those roles.
That's funny, because I agree our culture's racism is reflected in the media but those are the last two shows I would cite as examples. I'm sorry. I like both of those shows a lot, I think they tackle racial issues in a refreshing way. I think they're progressive. They "play" on stereotypes to some extent but that they also dispel stereotypes by delving deeper into those characters.
OMG! did u see tonights episode? NOW what do u think????
Anyone of you knuckleheads thought about Larry? But it ain't racism 'cos he plays himself. Geez you morons!!!
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| Drew Lazor |
Huffington Post is reporting that General Electric has reached an agreement to buy out Vivendi's stake in NBC Universal. This sets the stage for Comcast to buy a 51% stake in the entertainment behemoth.
Leaving aside arguments against mass media giants leading to propagandized futures filled with uni-minded zombies, I find the news interesting on a Philadelphia front. I would imagine it would create jobs in general as well as make the new Comcast Tower a major hub in the entertainment industry.
What do you think? Would Comcast ownership of NBC Universal be beneficial to Philadelphia?
WHYY's Susan Phillips reports today that State Senator Larry Farnese and State Representative Mike O'Brien are both calling on the state to tell Foxwoods its time is up.
Said Sen. Farnese:
They should shut the door on this and we should move forward. And the city of Philadelphia should move forward on this. I think its a bad idea to try and give them additional time. Because they've never convinced anybody and they've never done anything to prove they can do what they say they're gonna do.
Yesterday, the Inquirer's Jennifer Lin broke the news on a buried clause in a proposed amendment to the amazingly pernicious table games bill that would give Foxwoods yet another extension to get up and running.
The casino actually just got an extension in August, giving it another two years to open. This amendment would have allowed it to take yet another year.
But Foxwoods appears to be in serious financial difficulty. They've been unable to find sufficient funding for their South Philly waterfront location; and, the AP reports today that Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut just announced that they'd be defaulting on a debt payment, prompting Standard and Poor's to lower their credit rating to a 'D.'
Why, then, do there seem to be efforts afoot in Harrisburg to help the faltering casino afloat?
[...] http://citypaper.net/blogs/clog/2009/11/18/phila-pols-say-foxwoods-should-get-the-boot/… WIN tickets to see “A Christmas Carol” · Classifieds · ⢠Place your free classified ad now. ⢠Billboards · Wednesday, November 18 2009, 2:53 PM | Cloudy, and 55° F | Tomorrow: High: 59 F Low: 49 F Sun and clouds … [...]
The writer asks, "why, then, do there seem to be efforts afoot in Harrisburg to help the faltering casino afloat?" Answer: Because the local investors are the governor's friends-Ron Rubin, Ed Snider, Lewis Katz, Peter DePaul, etc.
It's Our Money â now edited by former CP news editor Doron Taussig â has been blogging the strike like crazy.
A few hilights:
* Ben Waxman proposes that the transportation workers' give up their right to stirke in exchange for "binding arbitration," â in other words, if an agreement can't be reached, a decision is simply made by an arbitrator or a panel of arbitrators.
* Anthony Campisi compares the last SEPTA strike to this one.
* Doron Taussig picks a few of the best how-I-got-to-work stories submitted to the blog.
And much more â so check 'em out.
[...] It's Our Money goes strike-wild :: The Clog :: Blog Archive … [...]
My friend just sent me this link and I am baffled yet mesmerized. It's one of the most surreal things I have ever seen. Does anyone have any idea what this is about?
It's somewhat NSFW so be careful with the speakers.
h/t Rusty
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| photo by Mark Stehle |
| The Nor'easter. |
CP Choice Winner Shannon McDonald — you know, the Temple student reporter who exposed racist coptalk in a ridealong story — has some unexpected and ambitious plans for her NEast Philly newsblog: She wants to give the operation a real-world presence the form of a storefront. Which is why McDonald and co. are applying for a $40,000 Knight Foundation grant (which, Google tells me, does not come with a talking car). Quoth the application:
We intend to rent a small, centrally located office that will serve as an open newsroom for residents and our small staff. We'll choose a resident from each neighborhood to receive basic journalism training, professional support, access to multimedia equipment and a small payment of roughly $15 per post, if they share an update from their neighborhood at least once a week. They will include coverage of monthly civic meetings, but also updates on community events and interviews with other residents. Their coverage will then be curated by our professionally trained editor, whose time will be freer to track trends and write larger, more in-depth pieces when necessary.
Oh - that's why a lot of news web sites disable commenting
Black people are the ones to dehumanize and constantly want others to feel sorry for them and accuses people of racism more than anyone!
Terrible. I'm sorry, but her reporting smacks of petty destructiveness. The guy got fired? Awful. White people like to dehumanize other people by accusing them of racism. next.
[...] The staff blog of Philadelphia CityPaper caught wind of this. [...]
Who said anything about black people? They're just trying to get by like everyone else. I'm talking about the white obsession with anti-black racism. It's another form of white people demonstrating that they're better than you.
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So, the much anticipated Global Creative Economy Convergence Summit begins on Monday, October 5 with an 8:00 am lecture by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love. The two-day conference, held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, is one of the few opportunities you'll have to immerse yourself among forward thinkers on topics ranging from video game design, to social media, to entrepreneurism, to sustainability. You'll hear from creative professionals, technology experts, and business and cultural leaders. You should really register for this conference because a) it's cheap (your can grab a no-frills registration for $75), b) it's right here, so airfare and accommodations are not required, and c) how often do you get to set your mind on fire over a two-day period. You may even walk away with some new perspectives that you can put in play. Invest in yourself. After all, chances are, if you're reading this, you're part of the creative economy. Go forth and mingle.
Tom, maybe I should qualify what I mean by cheap. I receive scores of invitations throughout the year, to register for similar conferences held around the country. The standard price is around $399, although I've seen plenty with similar kinds of speakers at around $625 and a few that are even more. At the end of the day, though, the value in attending a conference like this has a lot to do with your ability to meet and engage with thought leaders. For many intellectually curious people, it's worth the $75.
since when is 75$ cheap? especially for the "creative economy" which, last time i checked, is based on witty repartee and Malcolm Gladwell books.
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