Results tagged “georgew”

Climate change has rapidly become part of our national discourse. As early as four or five years ago, the issue was treated by many as a paranoid conspiracy. Now, political figures from governors to presidential candidates to George W. Bush himself seem unable to avoid the fact that not only is our planet becoming warmer, but it is also losing the ability to produce key resources such as oil and clean water. Here’s a look at recent Earth-related news:

Perhaps Senator John McCain is feeling pressure to court the remaining Christian conservative votes he has not already pulled out from under former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who is a former evangelical pastor. Many far-right conservative voters have expressed doubts about McCain’s allegiance to their values, including notorious radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh. This may be the reason why in the past week he has been openly embracing fiery evangelical leaders.

While Editor Jill has been out covering PLAF events and neglecting her regular posts, we've found that some of you have really missed "Monday Manners." With one PLAF diary left for Jill to write, it looked like Phillyist would once again be mannerless this week, until good ol' Bill Hayes stepped in and asked if he could write a post about something Jill's not qualified to cover anyhow. Please enjoy this column – Jill will be back next week!

and wouldn't let me out of the house until I admitted that, yeah, the dude was kind of funny. (After her thankfully brief Dane Cook obsession, Birbiglia was practically Carlin, I promise.) By which I mean: I know Mike Birbiglia. And Mike Birbiglia? Is hilarious.

A steaming hot pile of our favorite things from around the internets.

Phillyist paid tribute to her this week with a heartfelt letter to her and an obituary.

The best of the internet, squirted out in flavorful neon globules, just for you.

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend.

The shapeless dough of the internet, formed into tasty pellets and baked to perfection, just for you.

Hey, Philly, this Sunday, September 17th, is National Constitution Day! That's because on September 17th, 1787 the Constitution was signed right here in our very own Philadelphia. The 17th is a Sunday this year, which means some folks are observing on Monday, so there are events and celebrations throughout the weekend and into next week. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the National Constitution Center has a particularly large number of events going on, and most of them are free, or free after admission to the museum.

All our bags are packed, we're ready to go. We're not leaving on a jet plane, but by this time next week, we should be completely settled in the new Chez Phillyist. But we couldn't load the UHaul without updating you on all the good stuff our sister sites have been up to.

• Pat Robertson calling for his death notwithstanding, Hugo Chavez is showing generosity to Philadelphians by shipping five million gallons of heating oil for distribution to area low-income families, and it will be available at a 40% discount. Mayoral hopeful and current U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah brokered the deal. Chavez, President of Venezuela, recently called President George W. Bush a "genocidal madman".
• In a really stupid move, Pennsylvania lawmakers are mulling over the idea of taxing gym memberships. Granted, Men's Fitness magazine says we've improved since last year - we're the 25th fattest city in America instead of the second fattest city in the U.S. - but we're fairly certain it's not the best idea ever had to penalize people for trying to be healthy. The legislation being considered would also levy a tax on advertising services, campground fees, laundry services, candy, tanning, management consulting, and concert tickets. Yeah, because the Ticketmaster fees don't already make going to a concert annoyingly expensive.
• In sort of related news, people all over town are abuzz with the gossip that 12th Street Gym owner Robert Guzzardi is a big contributor to Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. 12th Street Gym is smack dab in the middle of the Gayborhood and heavily utilized by the Philadelphia gay community. Santorum is not exactly a friend to the LGBT community.
Continue reading "Yo, Philly In the News"

It's the first First Friday of 2006, and Healdlong Dance Theater is participating with some free performances. Among their offerings is Thrash - a performance piece that incorporates snippets of public address by George W. Bush and the affect Bushisms have on the human body. (Phillyist can relate; we're not dancers, but we've certainly experienced some visceral reactions listening to him ourselves.)

People are already gathering at the Park Hyatt at Broad and Walnut to see President George W. Bush pimp his Strategy for Victory for Iraq. The sold out presentation to the World Affairs CouncilPresident's speech is due to start shortly before noon, will last approximately 40 minutes, and - at the insistence of the White House - will not have a 'question and answer' session following the speech.

Having invaded Iraq two years ago, we're not sure why there's a plan for victory being presented .

In our times of the Vice President's (now former) Chief of Staff, Scooter Libby, being indicted for obstruction of justice and perjury, (now former) House Majority Leader Tom DeLay being indicted for conspiracy and money laundering, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist being investigated by the FEC, and Philadelphia City Councilman Rick Mariano being indicted for several counts of corruption, it hardly seems possible that there are any decent and ethical politicians left in this country. But take heart! Philadelphia's ethical standards are now amongst the highest in the country.

Philly is a liberal town. If President George W. Bush picks a local judge to nominate for Supreme Court justice, that should be a good thing, right? Alas, no -- President Bush managed to find Philadelphia's most extreme Right Wing judge, Samuel Alito, to nominate. He's so conservative that his nickname is 'Scalito', a reference to his Antonin Scalia-like tendencies.

Halloween is always an interesting time around Philadelphia. There are the big events, like Terror Behind the Walls at the Eastern State Penitentiary, and smaller events, like just about any haunted hayrides through the many woods of Philadelphia's suburbs.

Cindy Sheehan is coming to the Philadelphia area later this week for a panel discussion, memorial service for U.S. troops who have died in Iraq, and several anti-war rallies.

Junior Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum is looking at quite a fight in next year's mid-term election. He's currently trailing likely Democratic opponent Bob Casey, Jr. (son of much-beloved, longtime PA governor, Bob Casey) by nearly 14 points in a Quinnipiac University poll. Possibly defrauding the Penn Hills school district, Santorum's incredibly unpopular opinions about the right to privacy and the right of government to make our medical decisions for us, his public declaration of support for full Amtrak funding which he promptly voted against, and that time Santorum blamed the liberals for causing Catholic priests to diddle little kids...well, none of that helps him. However, pollsters indicate that Santorum's flagging support is "because Santorum is too aligned with some of the White House's flailing policies." Enter the new, softer side of Rick Santorum. It began in March with a poll that showed Catholics were increasingly becoming anti-death penalty. Santorum immediately backtracked on his own hardcore support of the death penalty. And now Santorum has begun a campaign in earnest to prove to Pennsylvanians -- indeed, the whole country -- that he really isn't a hypocritical liar bent on allowing government to butt into every aspect of our lives. Instead, he's a lover of animals and children and veterans, concerned about the fiscal well-being of all Pennsylvanians, even at the risk of alienating his bosom buddy, President George W. Bush.
• Despite voting against every single attempt to add money to the Veterans Administration fund to pay for healthcare (Democrats had been fighting for more funding since Spring), Santorum all of a sudden became the chief backer of additional funding for the VA. See, he really does support the troops! Now maybe he can get them some body armor.
• On Tuesday Santorum introduced a bill to eliminate the telephone excise tax, that 3% tax added onto your phone bill. 3%! Why, that's a whole $1 or $2 per month! That savings would have been severely offset, however, if Santorum's minimum wage bill had been approved.
• Santorum has now decided to appeal to our love of animals by taking on the puppy mills. We guess this goes hand in hand with his new found respect for life for those in prison.