Marcy Wheeler: Five years ago today, Andy Card and Alberto Gonzales rushed to John Ashcroft’s ICU room to try to trick him into signing the re-authorization for George Bush’s illegal wiretap program over Jim Comey’s objections. Jim Comey arrived at the hospital in time to prevent C...

I left the house just before 9:00 AM to begin my hike through the snow and ice to get to work, and boy oh boy was it a mess. Thanks to the City’s budget deficit, the Mayor has cut back on ploughing and snow removal: the corner of 50th and Kingsessing Avenue was a thick sheet of ice, covering m...

The comments here are hilarious: seems the commentors at daily Kos think Rahm Emmanuel is the hottest thing since Brad Pitt, and then they get mad when a dick like me points out that Rahm is more than a bit oif a douchebag. I mean, what can one say to comments like: he is killer handsome. Strange, I...

Apparently, it was gossip site TMZ that broke the stroy of northern Rock’s big party on the taxpayer’s dime: A bank that received $1.6 billion in bailout money just spent a fortune last week in L.A. hosting a series of lavish parties and concerts with famous singers … and TMZ camer...

yesterday we learned that the CEOs of Goldman Sachs and Bank of America told the House Financial Services Committee that they “did not feel like [they] needed the 15 billion” in bailout funds: Lloyd Blankfein, CEO, Goldman Sachs: “I don’t necessarily think it was necessary at the tim...

I guess this means they’ll be giving the money back: Lloyd Blankfein, CEO, Goldman Sachs: “I don’t necessarily think it was necessary at the time, but — and this was said at the time — they were looking ahead at an emerging recession that was going to get worse, and for...

Jim Conte, art This is rich: As the country’s recession deepened, the government provided hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer funds to rescue the nation’s floundering banks. Now, lawmakers want to know how that money is being used: to increase lending to consumers or spent on exe...

Obama breaks his promises: Obama Administration Maintains Bush Position on ‘Extraordinary Rendition’ Lawsuit February 09, 2009 2:44 PM From Jake Tapper and Ariane de Vogue: The Obama Administration today announced that it would keep the same position as the Bush Administration in the law...

California voters kicked out Gray Davis. Philadelphians can do the same with the Mayor. well, well, well! Here’s an interesting little chapter of the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter: Article IX. REMOVAL OF ELECTIVE AND APPOINTIVE OFFICERS CHAPTER 1 Recall of Mayor and Other Elective Officers [s...

We’re now within days of starting a new city budget process in which I’ll be asking for citizen input, ideas and priorities BEFORE I put together a proposed budget to present to City Council. In recent weeks, I’ve been talking at churches, barbershops and homes. I’ve talked t...