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Media
In an article hilariously titled "Del. teen found in igloo with pot, bongs, knife," the AP says:
NEW CASTLE, Del. - Police responding to a report of a suspicious man carrying a gun instead found two legs sticking out of a homemade igloo. New Castle County police said the legs belong to Delaware teen who was arrested Wednesday after he was found to be carrying a survival knife, a hammer, 7.5 grams of marijuana and two marijuana pipes.
So, shit, the police found just his legs? That's effed! Oh, wait â¦
County police spokesman Senior Cpl. Trinidad Navarro said the teen was released to his parents. Police said he was charged with carrying a concealed deadly weapon, carrying a concealed deadly instrument, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.
Nope, dude is fine (relatively, considering he was arrested). The AP just phrases things awkwardly as hell.
I'll say this about the gambling industry: it sure is efficient!
Check out this example of what looks, to my untrained eye, more like an advertisement than a news article, posted just a few hours ago on Philly.com.
A New Jersey ticket came close - just as several Pennsylvania slips, including a $1 million one sold in Folcroft, did last week.
But only one North Carolina ticket hit all the numbers drawn Saturday night to win Powerball's $141.4 million jackpot.
The Jersey ticket did win $200,000, as did seven others, for having the first five numbers - 14, 22, 52, 54 and 59 - but not the Powerball of 4. Missouri had two such winners, while Illinois, Nebraska, Tennessee and Texas had one apiece.
Now the biggest jackpot around is the $32 million Mega Millions has up for grabs tomorrow night.
Powerball's top prize will be $20 million for Wednesday night's drawing.
Not to knock the author, or to suggest there's anything uncommon about this particular article: The Inquirer and Daily News post articles about the lottery all the time. Philly.com has a special link for it.
Sure, it's "news"; so's the fact, to a few people, anyway, that I once ate a piece of deodorant, thinking it was cabbage. But it's not much news. It is, however, exactly what the Lottery and the states that sponsor lotteries (and therefore get a cut) want: more players, more perceived legitimacy, more free advertising.
So close are these two institutions, in fact â the newspaper and the lottery â that Philly.com plugs both:
For more lottery information, go to http://www.philly.com/philly/news/lottery, www.powerball.com or www.megamillions.com.
I suggest the company takes its own pandering advice: visit the lottery websites yourself, stop wasting staff time handing out free ads to Big Gambling, and get back to what you're supposed to be trying desperately to preserve: actual journalism.
One. Trick. Pony.
Unfair, Dice Roller: I've also got a story about eating a pound of bait shrimp. But thanks for the insightful contribution!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Philly News Now and Yancey @YanceyG, lottery. lottery said: http://www.cash2day.ws How, exactly, does the lottery count as news? http://bit.ly/cR2o3M http://www.mad2miss.ws [...]
There is no need to thank me. Your insightful contributions and witty exclamation pointed responses are gratitude enough. The anticasino movement should give thanks for having a reporter who takes anything they say and runs with it!
Actually, if you read Isaiah's casino coverage closely, you'll see that there are very few stake-holders he HASN'T spoken with on the subject. The anti-casino folks just happen to be least evasive.
Over the past year nobody nobody has used clearer language for a better understanding of the current financial crisis than Elizabeth Warren. She first came to my attention with her first appearance on the Daily Show.
She was on again last night. I think you can just tell how much she is working because of how much she cares, and to that end, how frustrated she is getting that nothing is happening.
So for your viewing pleasure and absolute horror...
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Elizabeth Warren | ||||
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Philly News Now, Yancey @YanceyG. Yancey @YanceyG said: Elizabeth Warren on the Daily Show: Over the past year nobody nobody has used clearer language for a better unders... http://bit.ly/9ZRx8r [...]
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| The staff at 2B Groomed |
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The spread includes a piece on straight razors, a rogues gallery of famous mustaches (Billy Dee, Sam Elliott, Daniel Plainview), the history of the dopp kit, a defense of the man-spa and a piece on the barbershop revival: "In these economically addled times ⦠with men looking for ways to cut back, hot towels, straight-razor shaves and classic cuts (with a complimentary Guinness or scotch) are increasingly in demand."
The barbershop piece runs with a list of Playboy's top-10 barbershops in America, and checking in at No. 5 is Philly's own 2B Groomed Studios (270 S. 11th Street, 215-925-3505, 2bgroomed.com, appointments encouraged), run by the super-dapper Jahmal Rhaney (above), who stopped by this morning to drop off a copy of his tonsorial star turn.
A couple years back, Trey Popp chronicled his straight-edge conversion in CP's pages:
The straight-edge specialists I used to frequent in India didn't sport twirling poles either, but considering what they charged for their services, such adornment was a cost better avoided. The going price for a smooth face ten years ago ranged from two American dimes to a quarter. After getting past high-strung nerves and an overdeveloped fainting reflex my first time in the chair, I was hooked. Why hunt for imported disposable cartridges when a man with 30 or 40 years of experience would shave me for a song? I threw away my lathering gel.
Given the scraggly state of my now-traditional winter beard, I may follow suit and pop down to 2B Groomed for one of their spruce ups and beard trims. Stay tuned.
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| Photo | The Dukes of Awesome |
Jason Fagone, in the new issue of GQ, lays the deed directly at Harrison's feet, recreating the scene from interviews, court records and police report. Here's a taste:
marvin darnell harrison was not supposed to be this guy, the black athlete with a gun. Insecure, obnoxious, prone to acts of catharsis —that was Terrell Owens, Michael Vick. But Marvin?
Marvin drank juice.
He was a worker. Marvin was the guy who never wore his gloves in practice because the gloves were sticky and made catching balls easy, and he wanted to practice the hard way. He was the neat freak who sat with his back to the press at a locker that would make a drill sergeant swoon. Marvin, who juked my repeated requests for an interview, was the perfectionist who evolved an ability to communicate almost telepathically with his quarterback, Peyton Manning, but barely at all with mere English. If he left any trace of his existence in the league, it was only in the record books: second (to Jerry Rice) in all-time receptions, third in all-time one-hundred-yard games, first in receptions in a single season. Through all this, his teammates claimed they didn't know him in the slightest. "He's like Batman," linebacker Cato June told Sports Illustrated.
Think about the discipline it would take to make a living as an elite star of a multi-billion-dollar entertainment juggernaut without ever once being truly seen. In this sense, Harrison's football career is not only historic; it's also a sort of miracle. The dude skipped like a flat stone across a rancid pool and emerged, twelve years later, dry as a bone.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Philly News Now, Yancey @YanceyG. Yancey @YanceyG said: Marvin Harrison: The Dirtiest Player: Photo | The Dukes of Awesome The rumblings about Philly native/ former C... http://bit.ly/5YnXgH [...]
Perhaps you're already familiar with Bush administration lawyer/Inky columnist/Philly native John Yoo, the guy who authored memos while at the Justice Department sanctioning the expanse of executive power during wartime (although, and not to be a stickler about this, but Congress never actually declared war), as well as the torture of enemy combatants. In essence, Yoo argued, and the Cheney/Bush folks were all too happy to agree, that enemy combatants fell outside of the parameters of the Geneva Conventions, and didn't deserve dick by way of federal or international protections. For advocating these far-right-field positions, which got adopted as policy under theocrat/world-class songwriter John Ashcroft, some folks want to get Yoo disbarred in Pennsylvania (third item).
In case you missed it, Yoo went on the Daily Show last night to pimp his new book (read the Washington Post's review here). And Jon Stewart did what Jon Stewart does: Watch it here:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Daily Show: Exclusive - John Yoo Extended Interview Pt. 1 | ||||
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| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Exclusive - John Yoo Extended Interview Pt. 2 | ||||
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Yoo's argument strikes me as not unlike Richard Nixon's famous declaration that, "When the president does it, that means it's not illegal," perhaps with a wartime caveat. And in part two, above, Stewart tries to pin Yoo down on exactly what he thinks the limits of presidential power are. The answer: Not much. In his view, if you dissemble it to the core, the potential for a gross misuse and abuse of executive power, a la Nixon, is part and parcel of the American system. You may get a Nixon or a Bush, but these same vast powers enabled FDR and Lincoln to enter WW2 and free the slaves, respectively. You take the good with the bad, in other words, because, in theory, if the bad gets bad enough, Congress and/or the courts can step in.
It's an — how to say? — interesting imagining of American history, though I'm not sure how one could read the Federalist papers and find a warm embrace of executive power, war or not. Still, I don't think it's a point that can be altogether dismissed. Lincoln did revoke habeas corpus; FDR did go behind Congress's back to support the Allies. And yet, these men rank among our greatest leaders.
So, dear Cloggers, here's the question: Does John Yoo have a point? Or does his conception of almost limitless executive (wartime; presumably, the beneficent president gives it back when things settle down) power scare you?
It was interesting. I was listening to the unedited one and, yeah, I kinda see the point. The guys we admire (FDR is, and will always be, a hero of mine) did some things that were... well, bad. Sometimes the ends do justify the means, but most of the time it doesn't. We do give the President certain powers during war time, but its a bit of the trade-off we get for protection. That said, its a thin line. Like he said, sometimes it works out (FDR) and sometimes it doesn't (Nixon and Bush).
Afraid? Hardly. I am relieved someone of his intellect and reasoning was called on for this type of analysis in dealing with an enemy which chose to cut off the heads of their prisoners. I will bet the Lincoln and Roosevelt Administrations never bothered to consult their in-house attorneys for parameter definitions prior to enacting what is being viewed by today's historians as dangerously close to abuses of power, but in their day were probably the correct path to take. I question Yoo's judgment to submit to an interview by a jackass like Stewart with his obvious agenda and stacked audience - just like City Paper. I think Stewart admitted he did not fully read the book! He also did not let Yoo answer a question completely without repeatedly cutting him off. Yoo handled himself admirably. Yoo would do better explaining his position on C-Span rather than a fluff show such as this one.
Well, folks, it's game on: the House is debating the table games bill as we speak (my understanding was that it can't be voted on until about 5:00 tonight; will report back on that).
I'll be covering the discussion (or whatever's left of it) and vote today via Twitter and on the Clog â simultaneously in this case!
My Twitter coverage (PhillyfrScratch) will be streamed below.
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| Isaiah Thompson |
Tonight, the state House of Representatives is set to vote on the table games bill â a bill that contains more shady clauses than a Santa convention.
Does it matter? Do I spit into the wind?
Maybe so: but at least I'm spittin'.
This bill is about much more than whether or not you can play blackjack at a casino.
- It expands the powers of casinos to extend credit
- It expands their powers to share information about pools of potentially lucrative gamblers.
- It keeps enforcement and scrutiny of casino operators under the Gaming Board, despite almost uniform agreement among law enforcement officials that it shouldn't be.
- It grants special favors to private interests â including, CP found, favoring a company represented by a top Harrisburg lobbyist to get the last unawarded casino license.
- It extends the opening time for Foxwoods.
- It offers casinos laughably low tax rates and licensing fees â even though its sole purpose, ostensibly, is to raise money for the state.
- It appears to create a new category of casino supppliers, subject to less scrutiny.
The list goes on.
Meanwhile, Governor Rendell â the same who refused to tax the massive gas drilling operations underway in Pennsylvania â maintains his hostage tactic over the small pot of money tied to table games, threatening to lay off 1,000 workers if the bill isn't passed by Friday.
His office argues that, because the projected â key word, there â revenues from table games were included in the budget to the tune of $250 million, the state legislature simply must pass this bill.
Perhaps Rendell â and, indeed, the state legislature â ought not to have included money in the budget that would come from an activity not yet legal! Rendell signed off on a budget that expected money from table games without having seen the actual law that would provide for table game in the first place.
When, lo and behold, the law turned out to be riddled with earmarks, casino giveaways, and greedy in-fighting among the legislature, and therefore got held up â Rendell is all the more to blame for allowing such provisions in his budget in the first place.
Yet it seems to me that the media has played easily into Rendell's hands, covering all sorts of issues â even a natural history exhibit â in a context of something terrible happening "if the House doesn't pass table games," â as if passing table games was some sort of abstract bureaucratic hurdle that simply must be overcome; as if Rendell's bullying and threatening layoffs is somehow more reasonable than the delay of a thoroughly corrupted law.
Example: "Rendell: Might have to close Pa. museum, parks" â Inquirer
Example: "Rendell: Without table gaming, the state budget is ruined." â Business Insider
Example: "Rendell: Layoffs to come if no table games by Jan 8" â Inquirer
Example: "At last, a table games deal" â Allentown morning Call
I've made my personal opinion clear before and, in the interest of disclosure â an, frankly, as an appeal to readers who trust my reporting â I state it again. This bill is a disgrace. It expands the power of a predatory industry, and it reeks of pay-for-play politics.
If you'd like to contact your representatives to urge them to vote either way, you can look them up here by zipcode.
Coming up: table games' shady provisions explored.
Gov Rendell: What do you plan to do if the casinos don't earn your projected money in the state budget???
Thank you for continuing to uphold justice for the unheard & unseen citizens of Philadelphia. Thank you to CP for not being run by corporate America.
@Elizabeth Gutman: Rendell could always push through legalized prostitution and cocaine sales, threatening to close Pennsylvania's elementary schools.
[...] way it passed was by threats and bribery of pet projects to buy legislators' votes. Read this insightful commentary by Isaiah Thompson of the CityPaper. And of course, as we learned late Monday evening, this bill exempts the [...]
What's really weird is that presumably to prevent casinos from competing with normal lenders, they are only allowed to lend for the purpose of gambling. What does that mean? It would seem to imply that after getting such a loan you either have to win (always unlikely) or gamble it away. Walk in with nothing, walk out with a debt. The beauty part is that the casino need not charge usurious rates for these loans, since the gamblers will normally lose the money right back to the casino, and then have to pay it back too. Unless they can bet it all and break even, and then walk away and use the money for something else? It makes no sense at all. Money is fungible, or it used to be. This really is a strategy for the casinos to go beyond the empty pockets of destitute gambling addicts, and seize their other assets as well. We'd best start building more homeless shelters.
[...] The 1000 state employees whose jobs are secure now that the table games bill has been signed by the governor are breathing easier. Still, we’re not crazy about the Governor using them as pawns in his battle with the legislature. [...]
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| pbs.org |
| Good luck, Dave! |
I'll leave it to others to make big pronouncements about what, if anything, this says about the state of things at Philly's daily newspapers, but there's no question it's a big loss for the Daily News: Dave Davies is leaving the paper, after twenty years, to expand WHYY's multimedia and web operations and to serve as interim news director.
I've lived in Philly for less than two years â but it took less time than that to see that Davies was one of the best, most valuable journalists in town. And I've only met him a few times in person â but those few times were enough to see how intelligent, full of integrity, and downright friendly Davies is.
I don't see how the Daily News will replace him; WHYY, on the other hand, can only benefit from having Davies on board.
So a big congratulations, good luck, and thanks for all the good reporting goes out from the Clog to Davies, a true Philebrity.
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Remember that new slogo — Philadelphia: Life, Liberty, and You — that everyone was wretching about a few weeks ago for being dull, uninspired, cliched, Web-fonty, group-thinky and essentially relegating the pursuit of happiness to also-ran status among our country's founding principles?
CP tech columnist CP contributor/Technically Philly co-founder Brian James Kirk Christopher Wink is throwing down the gauntlet.
In the spirit of the new year and because we know you donât want to do any real work this week, we put an open call out to the designers and developers and tinkerers and artists in our community. Make a designerâs design for the City of Philadelphia.
Submit your ideas for a logo that would better suit the City of Philadelphia — yes, it can be sarcastic or heartfelt. It can even include the Liberty Bell or a cheesesteak if you think they sum Philly up well ⦠and you can endure the taunts of your peers. Weâre thinking standard display images, but we wonât begin to limit you, the audience. If it fits in an e-mail or can be linked to, we want to see them.
How do you enter, you're wondering?
All submissions need to be sent to info [at] technicallyphilly.com [files or links] by the final whistle of this Sundayâs 4:15 p.m. Eagles last regular season game, against those bastard Cowboys.
Granted, the prize isn't exactly jawdropping — bragging rights and maybe a button on the site, a promise to try to put the winning design in front of the city peeps responsible for these things, and a beer at TP's next group meetup — but we'll point out that that beer officially makes the reward bigger than what the city gave the Star Group for its trouble.
So get on it, PhotoShop monkeys, Quark jockeys and InDesign lackeys and whip up a slogo to be proud of.
I love taking credit for work I didn't do, but CP contributor and Technically Philly co-founder Christopher Wink threw down this particular gauntlet, not I.
Thanks for the heads-up! Here's the one I did:
Thanks for the heads-up! Here's the one I did: http://luvataciousskull.deviantart.com/art/City-of-Philadelphia-Logo-149019106
[...] put together in five days of a holiday week a slew of better choices. So we challenged you. Others put out the word until last night, when we closed the [...]
[...] week we told you about a little impromptu contest Technically Philly/CP contributor Christopher Wink was putting on to come up with new branding ideas for the city in the wake of the slogo that was [...]
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