“Oh, That Head!”
The lead paragraph in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s story may be more than you wish to read about this: “A Marietta man left a bar early Sunday morning, got into an accident that decapitated the passenger in his pickup truck, then drove several miles home and went to sleep -- leaving his pickup truck parked overnight in his driveway with the body of his friend hanging out the passenger side window, Cobb County police said.”

A Really Bad Headache
That headache may be telling you something, especially if you’ve had it for more than a few hours. The untimely passing of singer Laura Branigan, 47, of a brain aneurysm serves as a tragic reminder of that fact. According to the Associated Press, Branigan had complained of a headache for about two weeks but had not sought medical attention.

Disneyland for Hippie Wannabes
The annual Burning Man gathering begins today. Bring the kids.

Open to All: If You’re Good Enough
Also beginning today: the U.S. Open Tennis Championships. The Los Angeles Times reports this Open may be the swan song for former champions Lindsay Davenport and Andre Agassi.

Philadelphia: The Athens of America
The Athens Olympic Games have just ended, leading to more talk, or publicity for the ongoing discussion, of Philadelphia playing host the summer games in 2024.

[Note: Additional items may be posted to “PP&T;” after initial publication but only on the day of publication, excluding post-publication addenda. Such items, when posted, are designated by an asterisk.]

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“Psst! The good vodka is in the back!” [*]
Courtesy of the Chicago Tribune:

The Bush twins’ ballyhooed “R -- The Party” was L -- the Letdown for the A-list GOPsters who wangled one of the hottest tickets of the GOP convention here.

Sunday’s fest at Roseland Ballroom was the first event involving the First Daughters -- 22-year-olds Barbara and Jenna -- ever promoted by the White House. But once the twins passed the cameras on their way in, they disappeared behind a blue curtain into a VIP corner leaving the heaving masses yearning for more than the brief peek at the pert young ladies.

“Pert”? Must have been early in the evening.

Mug Shots
The New York Post reports some Republicans are upset that an anticipated glossy two-page spread of party luminaries in New York magazine didn’t turn out as expected: The Post, on Page Six, calls the photo collection as published a “sneak attack,” and quotes an unnamed “media watcher”: “It’s the most frightening collection of mug shots since the card deck of Iraqi war criminals,” said one media watcher. “They cut off the top of Lucianne Goldberg’s head, made tomato-tressed temptress Georgette Mosbacher look cross-eyed, and turned the beauteous Jeanine Pirro into a plain Jane. Steve Forbes looks like the canary that ate the cat, and handsome attorney John Quinlan Kelly looks like he’s just received a death sentrence. Natural beauty Peggy Noonan looks like an escapee from Madame Tussaud’s, and as for Henry Kissinger, don’t even go there.”

“Natural beauty Peggy Noonan”? Get me outta’ here!

Podhoretz World
Meanwhile, Post columnist and born neocon John Podhoretz is signing the praises of political weblogs. Podhoretz the Lesser writes:

The last two years in particular have seen the explosion of a new medium -- the personal Internet newspaper, or blog -- that has already and will forever change the way people get their information.

This is a thrilling development -- unless you are a mainstream-media Big Fish.

The success of the Swift-boat vets’ ads is the tale of the triumph of the nation’s alternative media. The mainstreamers didn’t want to touch the story with a 10-foot pole, and they didn’t. But the alternative media did. Amateur reporters and fact-gatherers offered independent substantiation for some of the charges. It turned out the criticisms of the Swifties weren’t quite so easily dismissed. [Emphasis added.]

One wonders who and what constitute “the mainstreamers” in Podhoretz World. The disaffected veterans’ claims were widely reported and except on one minor, almost irrelevant, thoroughly discredited. It’s over and done with, though now the Kerry-Edwards team has to regain ground that may have been lost due to a calculated smear campaign for an uninformed batch of tightly interconnected partisans.

The real kicker comes when Podhoretz, extolling the wonders of blogs, observes: “[T]hese alternative phenomena have been of great benefit to conservative ideas, anti-liberal attitudes and Republican politicians.”

Trent Lott, please call your office.

The Oxymoronic Republicans
The Log Cabin Republicans, a self-styled gay rights group whose members, when spoken with privately, seem more concerned with lower taxes and “greedy welfare recipients” than much else, are running TV ads in the New York market this week, “attack[ing] the party’s conservative turn, including the president's support for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage,” the New York Times reports.

Get this: “One person briefed on the plans said the commercials would quote from President Ronald Reagan on the subject of the party as a ‘big tent.’” Right, because you know Reagan was talking about gays when he said that.

More On Mary Cheney
Mary Cheney, the dutiful daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, dutiful to the point of exploitation, is in New York for the Republication National Convention. David D. Kirkpatrick of the New York Times (“Cheney Daughter’s Political Role Disappoints Some Gay Activists”) notes that her high-level participation in the Bush-Cheney campaign has caused a stir from right to left: “Some on each side contend that the campaign is using her presence and Mr. Cheney’s comments to soften its image and appeal to moderate voters at a time when the nation's attention is focused on the convention.”

Sounds reasonable; that’s been my take on the deployment of Mary Cheney from day one. This, however, sounds unreasonable: “Social conservatives like Gary Bauer, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination four years ago, complain that Mr. Cheney’s public support for his daughter ‘demoralizes some sections of the base that they need in an election where we could all be counting chads again.’”

How to please the likes of Bauer? A public vow of disownment? A beheading?

Fearing of the Nation
Who’s afraid of The Nation, the small-circulation weekly magazine with a devoted liberal following? Fox News is.

The New York Times reports (“A Magazine of the Left Won't Speak to the Right,” by David Carr):

Ten days ago, the ad agency for The Nation sent a 60-second commercial to the cable network promoting its brand of political news and commentary as free of White House influence and corporate agendas.

“Nobody owns The Nation. Not Time Warner, not Murdoch. So there’s no corporate slant, no White House spin. Just the straight dope,” the commercial says.

While the ad will appear on Time Warner’s CNN, as well as NBC Universal’s MSNBC and Bravo, it will not appear on Fox News, a division of the News Corporation whose chairman and chief executive is Rupert Murdoch.

Just so you know: The Nation last year accepted a full-page ad from Fox News.

[* Note: Additional items may be posted to “Political Notes” after initial publication but only on the day of publication, excluding post-publication addenda. Such items, when posted, are designated by an asterisk.]

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A few hours ago I made contact by satellite phone with my source in the U.S. Army’s 427th Transportation Company, based in nearby Norristown, Pa.

I was informed this afternoon that the 427th is not yet in Iraq, contrary to my post of August 26, “U.S. Troops Still Lack Adequate Armor,” which was based on the best available information at the time. Instead, they currently are in Kuwait City. The reservists have been told to expect to be sent to Iraq “sometime in September.”

During the discussion I learned there are approximately 50 vehicles attached to the 427th, primarily palletized load systems (PLS), but also including four Humvees.

The Humvees already are “armored,” according to my source, who emphasized this process consists of replacing the Humvees’ original doors with reinforced steel doors. Most soldiers, though, consider this “remedy” inadequate, in part because the Army left the canvas tops on the Humvees, meaning any insurgent, rebel, or street urchin with a hand grenade could attack the vehicle from above.

My source tells me the Pentagon has indicated that January 2005 would be the earliest possible date for the “up-armoring” of the trucks.

Unofficially the reason for not armor-plating the vehicles is that the Pentagon simply “doesn’t have the money for it,” though my source adds that according to Army regulations no vehicle is supposed to enter any theater of operation without full armor plating.

The source said the Pentagon distributes to its troops a kit containing everything needed to properly up-armor the vehicles, but noted the 427th has been provided with no such kits.

The reservists’ unit for months has been on the receiving end of what they term “bull---- excuses,” “excuse after excuse after excuse,” and “a different excuse every time” regarding why the up-armoring hasn’t been addressed, adding that the Defense Department consistently has been short on specifics about deployment dates and the deficiencies in the unit’s equipment and materiel.

Moreover, morale in the group is so low that the unit’s platoon leader, already aware of the intervention by Rittenhouse to secure bulletproof vests, asked my source, in a sort of aside, to “make whatever calls it takes.”

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Man, oh, Mame!
I hope actress Bea Arthur, 81, of “Mame,” “Maude,” and “The Golden Girls” fame, was trying to be funny during a recent contretemps between herself and security guards at Boston Logan Airport. If not . . .

A First at MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology yesterday named Yale University provost Susan Hockfield president. The Associated Press reports Hockfield is “the first woman to hold the job at the prestigious science university where men dominate the faculty and the student body.”

Skateboarding and Parkour
Oh, great. Is this what we have to look forward to? Philadelphia is still grappling with the issue of skateboarding in public spaces, most notably John F. Kennedy Plaza, also known as “Love Park.” Meanwhile, the city of Chicago is facing a new menace, practitioners of something called “parkour.”

The Wonderful World of Disney
About ten years ago I attended a conference at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., a conference about, of all things, electric utilities (Zzzzz . . . ). I stayed at one of the Walt Disney Co.’s hotels, Disney’s Beach Club Resort, to be specific. Although I was impressed by the efficiency of the operation, I have to admit the whole thing creeped me out in ways I wasn’t able to adequately describe. Fortunately, Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, explains it all in a Los Angeles Times op-ed piece about Disneyland, “Taking a Ride on Disney’s Dark Side.”

[Note: Additional items may be posted to “PP&T;” after initial publication but only on the day of publication, excluding post-publication addenda. Such items, when posted, are designated by an asterisk.]

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Blogger “TBogg” on Wednesday posted a touching tribute to his father who passed away earlier that day.

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An August Surprise?
For what it’s worth -- consider the source: the New York Post, and on “Page Six” at that -- there’s talk of a big surprise at the Republican convention: An announcement that Vice President Dick Cheney will step down because of his poor health, leading to a staged “Draft McCain” effort that will land Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the number-two slot on the Republican ticket.

[Note: Additional items may be posted to “Political Notes” after initial publication but only on the day of publication, excluding post-publication addenda. Such items, when posted, are designated by an asterisk.]

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Yeah, yeah, I know, I’ve been blogging persistently about “The Hunting of the President,” and as well I should be given how impressed I was by the film.

Now it’s time for me to bring your attention to another worthy film, just now starting to appear in theaters: “Bush’s Brain,” an informative, fascinating, and appropriately infuriating film primarily about the nefarious, and I mean that, Karl Rove, and secondarily about the current occupant, and I mean that, of the Oval Office, easily, to borrow from Helen Thomas, the worst president in all of American history.

Below is a list of opening dates for “Bush’s Brain”:

August 20
Dallas: Angelika; Houston Angelika; and San Antonio, Texas: Fiesta.

August 27
Austin, Texas: Alamo; and New York: Cinema Village and the Sutton.

August 30
New York: Lincoln Center

September 3
Encino, Calif.: Town Center; Los Angeles: Laemmle Sunset 5; Pasadena, Calif.: Playhouse; Santa Monica, Calif.: Monica; and Washington, D.C.: E Street.

September 10
Portland, Ore.: Cinema 21; San Francisco: Embarcadero; and Seattle: Egyptian.

September 17
Berkeley, Calif.: Shattuck; Chicago: Music Box; Palo Alto, Calif.: Shattuck; San Jose, Calif.: Camera 12; and San Rafael: San Rafelo.

September 24
Milwaukee: Times.

You can watch for upcoming release dates close to you by clicking here.

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Remember back in October, and more recently in May, when the media was full of reports about the failure of the Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld’s Department of Defense to provide American soldiers with sufficient body armor and the accompanying lack of adequate protection for troops traveling in Humvees and other vehicles?

If you don’t recall this particularly shameful controversy, and the strange but not surprising participation in this abysmal failure of even the most rudimentary of logistical tasks by Gov. Jeb Bush (R-Fla.), see the collection of news reports assembled in July by the Kerry-Edwards campaign’s Rapid Response Center.

And if you think the situation has been resolved, think again. I recently learned otherwise from a member of the U.S. Army’s 427th Transportation Company.

The 427th, a reserve unit based in Norristown, Pa., assembled in Fort Drum, N.Y., in June, anticipating the customary six-month pre-deployment training period. Instead, the unit was sent to Kuwait in early August, giving them less than two months’ preparation, and this for a reservists’ unit, normally considered the last line of defense in the military. According to my source, the unit received minimal training during their tour at Fort Drum.

By the time you read this, late Thursday or on Friday, the 427th will have been moved into Iraq. According to my source, the units will be running supply convoys through territory so dangerous it is called the “meat grinder.”

Although the members of the unit have been supplied with personal body armor, my source emphasizes the unit’s trucks have no bulletproof glass or armored protection of any kind, rendering the soldiers vulnerable to attack by Iraqi rebels. The Army previously indicated it would upgrade the trucks prior to deployment but now says armor plating of the doors and floors of the trucks and the installation of bulletproof glass, essential for adequate protection, will not happen for another six months.

Until then, it seems, it’s up to the reservists to make do or “tough it out.” As you may have heard, U.S. troops in Iraq facing similar deprivation have turned to private donations of bulletproof vests to provide makeshift protection for their defenseless vehicles. It’s the same with the 427th. Rather than waiting for the Pentagon, the unit will be tacking up and taking down in their trucks bulletproof vests supplied by a group of Jersey City, N.J., police officers, this only after I called the officers explaining the 427th’s dire need for this equipment.

Another source, one who was on hand when the 427th left Norristown for Fort Drum, described to me an emotional scene, with the family and friends of the mostly working-class reservists obviously distraught at the prospect of the unit heading into Iraq so woefully unequipped.

The Norristown unit is located in the congressional district of (Rittenhouse-endorsed) Rep. Joe Hoeffel (D-Pa.), who is running for the Senate seat currently occupied Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.). I strongly urge Pennsylvania readers to contact Rep. Hoeffel, Sen. Specter, and Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) regarding this matter.

Yet this is not a local concern; it reflects the well-documented failure of the Pentagon to adequately supply the troops sent to fight this folly and to prepare for the aftermath of the “Mission Accomplished” invasion. Please, pick up the phone, write a letter, or send a personal e-mail message to your lawmakers in Washington. (You can reach anyone in Congress by calling, toll free, (800) 839-5276.) And call the Pentagon at (703) 545-6700 and the White House at (202) 456-1111.

[Post-publication addendum (August 27): See update: “Update: Insufficient Armor,” August 27.]

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Another Case for Will
More than 10 years ago, when the news first broke that “one of the Kennedys” would soon be arrested on charges of rape, a colleague blurted out: “I’ll bet it’s Will.” “Will? There’s a Kennedy named Will?” I asked. I won’t tell you how she knew, or how she thought she knew, but we soon learned it was in fact Will, or William Kennedy Smith. He’s in trouble again, accused in a civil lawsuit of sexually assaulting a Chicago woman five years ago.

Villa for Sale
Author Gore Vidal is selling his villa, La Rondinaia, on the Tyrrhenian Sea in Ravello, Italy. Asking price: 14 million euros ($17 million).

Out of the News
Remember Beanie Babies? If you can stand it, Thomas S. Mulligan of the Los Angeles Times brings it all back in “Another ’90s Bad Dream.”

Something is Very Wrong Here
We’re entering a new age: an age of terra-cotta McDonald’s restaurants.

[Note: Additional items may be posted to “PP&T;” after initial publication but only on the day of publication, excluding post-publication addenda. Such items, when posted, are designated by an asterisk.]

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Chaney Endorses Kerry [*]
No, that’s not a typo. Temple University basketball coach John Chaney is pulling for the Kerry-Edwards campaign according to a report at Philly.com by Kevin Mulligan (“Owls’ Chaney Glad to Support Kerry’s Run”): “I hope and pray that Sen. Kerry just crushes this guy,” he boomed, “and I’ll do anything possible to help assure that it happens.” Welcome aboard, Mr. Chaney.

More On Bob Dole
If you were under the impression former Senator Bob Dole was or is anything other than a partisan hatchet man, his happy participation in the latest smear campaign against Sen. John F. Kerry should prove otherwise. Noel Koch, writing in today’s Washington Post, would both agree and disagree with that remark.

Koch’s remarkable op-ed piece, “When Bob Dole Said No,” puts the whole thing in perspective, and I mean historical perspective, taking the reader back 30 years to try to explain, or understand, how Dole ended up in the gutter today. Koch, special assistant to President Richard Nixon and an assistant secretary of defense under President Ronald Reagan, writes:

No one is better placed than Dole to know how arbitrary are the fortunes of war. It is not surprising to hear John Kerry’s wounds belittled by men who have avoided all risk of being wounded. . . . But it is surprising to hear Bob Dole doing it. Kerry not hospitalized for his wounds? Bob Dole was not hospitalized for his first Purple Heart either.

“It was just a scratch,” he later recalled. “I think one of our grenades hit a tree and bounced back.” He received a Bronze Star, but that came much later, and was a bureaucratic exercise having little to do with his service as a platoon leader in the extraordinary 10th Mountain Division on April 14, 1945, the day his war ended, in Italy. […]

Bob Dole spent little time in combat. But as a result of the time he did spend, he lay on his back for years, recovering, and helping others to recover. […]

It is hurtful that a man of Bob Dole’s stature should lend himself to the effort to dishonor a fellow American veteran in the service of politics at its cheapest.

There was a time when he would have refused. I know. I was there.

Meanwhile, Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill has sent a letter to her Republican counterpart, Ken Mehlman, asking for an explanation of the web of connections tying the Bush campaign and administration to the unhinged veterans’ group.

Fair Enough
The Republicans aren’t our only enemies: the “mainstream” media, with occasional exceptions, have done little to challenge the Bush administration’s dismal record of failure after failure, lie after lie. In response, Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting and other groups have organized a March on the Media for Wednesday, September 1, beginning at 7:00 p.m., and to be launched from the corner of Sixth Avenue and West 52nd Street, New York, right in front of Black Rock.

Enron Killed Salmon for Money [*]
It appears Enron Corp., the once mighty Republican Party fund-raising machine and all-around criminal enterprise, was knowingly slaughtering salmon in the Pacific Northwest so “Kenny Boy” and the gang could make even more money out of the contrived California energy crisis of 2000-2001.

[* Note: Additional items may be posted to “Political Notes” after initial publication but only on the day of publication, excluding post-publication addenda. Such items, when posted, are designated by an asterisk.]

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Housing: In New York and Beyond
As one who lived in Manhattan for several years I can so with no reservation whatsoever that housing – condos, co-ops, homes, rentals -- is the favorite topic of conversation of most residents. Anya Kamenetz, writing in the Village Voice (“Bright Lights, Big Rent Check”), underscores an issue that has received far less attention than it should: affordable housing.

Kamenetz’s article provides the customary anecdotes of young people trying to find a place to live in New York, not entirely happy reminders of my stay in Manhattan: my last apartment, a one-bedroom in a doorman building in Chelsea, cost me $2,900 a month, which gives you an idea of how drastically one’s life can change.

But she takes it farther along, noting, “The same real estate bubble that has been such a boon to retiring baby boomers is bad news for younger workers. They are starting their working lives with fewer assets and more liabilities, in the form of student loan debts, than previous generations, and they are facing higher housing costs than ever.”

I guess it would be too much to ask mainstream newspapers, so heavily reliant upon advertising from builders and developers, or lawmakers, so heavily reliant upon contributions from builders and developers, to take a different look at the so-called housing boom.

I still have one question for which I have yet to receive a satisfactory answer: If we recall that the “baby boom” was followed by the “baby bust,” to whom exactly do these people think they’re going to sell their overpriced homes?

[Thanks to a reader whose name I’ve forgotten despite our long correspondence.]

Cracking Down on the Year Abroaders
It looks like American colleges and universities are finally taking concerted steps to rein in the unruly mobs they send overseas by the tens of thousands each year. (“Colleges Tell Students the Overseas Party’s Over,” by Greg Winter, the New York Times, August 23.)

Winter writes:

[W]ith at least 160,000 students overseas each year -- more than twice as many as a decade ago -- many college officials argue that they are exporting drunkenness, misconduct and other trouble to an unprecedented degree, prompting an industrywide overhaul of policies and practices.

In June, for example, the Forum on Education Abroad, an association of more than 200 colleges and universities, urged institutions to adopt behavior standards that would stop some troublemakers from going abroad -- and bring others home. […]

Most incidents, college administrators say, stem from drinking, as they might on a college campus in the United States. Mishaps can happen anywhere, but administrators say they are particularly wary of destinations in English-speaking countries like Australia and England because they are more likely to attract students who have no language expertise or interest in foreign culture.

Unfortunately, Winter only pays passing notice to the real crisis in the tradition we once called “a year abroad”: the quality of extent of education students receive beyond their home campuses. He notes:

Whereas the typical student once immersed himself or herself in a foreign culture, often studying the language and society for years before going, today’s excursions are often quick group tours that require little knowledge or appreciation of the countries on the itinerary.

That observation reminds me of a young woman I used to know who spent a year in Urbino, Italy, focused on studying the language after two years of college-level course work, and returned still unable to carry on a rudimentary conversation in Italian.

[Note: Additional items may be posted to “PP&T;” after initial publication but only on the day of publication, excluding post-publication addenda. Such items, when posted, are designated by an asterisk.]

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Kerry Again Calls for Rumsfeld’s Resignation
Speaking in Philadelphia today, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John F. Kerry today renewed his call for the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald F. Rumsfeld.

The Associated Press reports:

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry today renewed his call for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to resign and urged President Bush to appoint an independent investigation to provide reforms after a report faulted all levels of the military for abuse at Abu Ghraib prison.

“It’s not just the little person at the bottom who ought to pay the price of responsibility,” Kerry said at a Philadelphia union hall. “The buck doesn't stop at the Pentagon.”

“What is missing from all these reports is accountability from the senior civilian leaders in the Pentagon and in the White House,” Kerry said. “From the bottom of the chain of command all the way to the top, there needs to be accountability. The Schlesinger report makes clear that Secretary Rumsfeld was responsible for setting a climate where these types of abuses could occur.”

Let’s call it what it is: Getting away with murder.

Los Angeles Times Calls for Boykin’s Ouster
In an editorial published today, the Los Angeles Times writes this about the Bush administration’s current and seemingly immovable deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence:

It is unfathomable why Lt. Gen. William G. “Jerry” Boykin has been allowed to keep his job. […]

The internal Defense Department report concluded that Boykin had failed to clear the speeches with the Pentagon, had not given a required statement that he was not speaking for the military and had failed to report that a religious group paid for his travel. His punishment is unlikely to go beyond a written reprimand.

The comments would be bad enough from a buck private. From a three-star general whose job includes gathering information for the campaign against Islamic radicals, they are unforgivable. Let Boykin retire and speak out as much as he wants. But do not give others the chance to assume that the general speaks for the Pentagon, the administration and the nation.

Well, in the unlikely event both Rumsfeld and Boykin were to be given the old heave-ho that would be two down, and a great day for the U.S. Of course, Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith, and Richard Perle would still be hanging around.

Does This Make Any Sense?
The vice president is trying to have it both ways, as is his wont. The L.A. Times reports (“Cheney Addresses Gay Marriage,” by Richard Simon): “Vice President Dick Cheney, whose oldest daughter is a lesbian, said Tuesday he believed that decisions about same-sex marriages should be left to the states, contending that ‘freedom means freedom for everyone.’”

Uh-huh. These states’ rights guy are hilarious. Push the issue down the pike for someone else to deal with and then claim freedom means the same thing everywhere, when in truth such freedom in inherently and unavoidably circumscribed, to be enjoyed only by “everyone” living in those states that deign to permit same-sex marriage.

Watch Barack Obama
I’ve been reading about U.S. Senate candidate Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for a while now, and have been pleased to see so much attention being given to so worthy a politician. I wasn’t too thrilled, though, to see the New York Times editors calling this attention “Obamania,” but we’re probably stuck with it. After all, the editors write: “Obamania is sweeping Kenya” as well.

By the way, Barack’s autobiography, if that’s the right word for his book, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, is now available in paperback.

Getting Involved
I’m hoping to attend my first MoveOn.org meeting this evening, a gathering to launch the group’s “No Voter Left Behind” campaign. The meeting begins at 7:00 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., Philadelphia. I heard more than 1,200 people signed up to attend, but I haven’t been able to confirm that.

A Timely New Web Site [*]
Just now up and running and off to a good start: Republicans for Kerry-Edwards.

[* Note: Additional items may be posted to “Political Notes” after initial publication but only on the day of publication, excluding post-publication addenda. Such items, when posted, are designated by an asterisk.]

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Apologies for yesterday’s unexplained absence. I had a couple of appointments in the morning and then became otherwise occupied by some job-search-related activities. (I know what you were thinking: “Gee whiz, the guy blogs for one day and then takes time off?)

We’ll start out slowly today with the latest in my ongoing “Overheard” series.

This one took place yesterday near City Hall. The dialogue below is between a 30-something mother and her four-to-five year-old son.

Mother: Now be a good boy today.
Son: Say please.
Mother: Please be a good boy today.

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It is now 7:18 p.m. (Eastern time, of course), and my beloved bulldog, Mildred, officially Chadwin VII’s Mildred Pierce, has yet to arise from her bed for the day. (“Her” bed being mine, of course, with the added advantage today of my having left my pillow thereupon, creating an entirely new set of strange positions in which Mildred might lie.)

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Wander over to Scarlet Pimpernel’s Freeway Blogger for a look at this (August 23 entry).

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My recent move, from Society Hill to Logan Square (or Logan Circle; there is some confusion or dispute as to the appropriate appellation, as noted in the kind “welcome to the neighborhood” e-mail I received today from reader L.H.C. of Avocado8, and in another from blogger Susie Madrak) went reasonably well. (Regardless of whether it’s Square or Circle, I’m now closer to Rittenhouse Square, the locale that generated the name of this blog.)

Every move is a pain in the neck. This one, however, leaned quite a bit more toward the painful side, primarily because it had to be arranged and completed within a mere five days’ notice, and because the nearby self-storage site I had pre-selected, which advertises itself as being open seven days a week, stops answering its phone after Friday night. (The move took place on Sunday, August 15.)

Fortunately, my movers, two men pulled from the classifieds who proved themselves entirely reliable and capable, are closely connected with an alternative storage site in Northeast Philadelphia to which they have access after normal operating hours. Although some three-quarters of my possessions are now 12 miles away as opposed to a quick jaunt or cab ride from my front steps, I can deal with it.

The new neighborhood -- again, Logan Square or Logan Circle (I’ll figure it out eventually) -- marks a significant change from Society Hill. I prefer the latter, at least from an aesthetic viewpoint, but the current location suits me just fine, and not only because of the aforementioned proximity of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Free Library of Philadelphia.

For example, earlier today I discovered a branch of the U.S. Post Office surprisingly nearby. Very convenient, but better yet, out front were two representatives promoting the campaign of perennial presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche. Gee whiz, I hardly knew these people were still around, but there they were, with their bizarre literature and cut-to-the-chase signage. (I’ll never forget viewing the television reports of LaRouchite Janice Hart presenting the Archbishop of Chicago, I think, with a slab of raw liver.)

And I can see the Cira Centre is starting to take shape, upwardly, near 30th Street Station. I’m so glad Pennsylvanians’ tax dollars are helping so needy an entity as Dechert L.L.P., the law firm formerly known as Dechert, Price & Rhoads, to revitalize a “depressed” neighborhood by encouraging a move from the firm’s present headquarters, now at so distant a location as 1717 Arch Street. (As I understand it, partnership distributions remain uncaptured by Philadelphia’s onerous wage tax. Ah, the good life.)

[Post-publication addendum: Barring further notice, I’m going with Logan Square over Logan Circle. And that’s because after running a quick errand this afternoon I found in the vestibule of my building several copies of the August newsletter of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association.]

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Despite my recent move and the continued search for remunerable employment, I’ve been able to get through several noteworthy books, both new releases and others from the recent past. This burst of reading has been aided by several factors: gifts from Rittenhouse readers from my Amazon.com Wish List, my new-found proximity to the main branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia (which is actually buying new books again, albeit slowly), and a massive diminution of what remained of my already limited social life.

For your consideration:

MUST READING
The Republican Noise Machine, by David Brock. Nobody, absolutely no one, knows more about the inner workings of the right-wing campaign to control both the media and the message than does Brock. While reading this book I alternated between states of astonishment, despair, and anger. And as recent events surrounding the Swift Boat Frauds reveal, the same despicable nonsense remains in the air. Amazing that the lowest of the low are reaching new lows.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Bushwomen: Tales of a Cynical Species, by Laura Flanders. “Cynical” is too kind a word for this gang. Flanders bravely delves into the strange world of the strange women surrounding and serving President Where’s Alabama? with considerable intelligence and humor. With separate chapters on each of the major “Bushwomen” the reader is able to prioritize his anger by selecting which to read first. I went straight for the chapter of Secretary of the Interior Gale “Right to Pollute” Norton. I did, however, catch a few small errors; for example, the pollutant-emissions trading system Flanders criticizes actually originated from within the environmentalist community, not heavy industry and the electric utilities, and has much merit.

Candyfreak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America, by Steve Almond. So nice to find a kindred spirit. Gee whiz, I thought I was a candy nut. This guy’s insane. Although Almond spends more time than I would have liked describing the manufacturing processes of various candies, his writing on the diminishing number of regional sweets made by small or family companies, and his observations about the influence of the oligopoly of Mars, Hershey, and Nestle, aided and abetted by Wal-Mart, make for great reading. Besides, he’s very, very funny.

Fourteen: Growing Up Alone in a Crowd, by Stephen Zanichowsky. Four more kids than in my family, and one helluva hellacious life he had. Zanichowsky’s limited schooling proves there is such a thing as a “born writer.”

Love Song for W: An Appreciation in Haiku, by David Simons. Haiku: So simple, gracious, beautiful, peaceful . . . and, when done right, powerful.

Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table, by Ruth Reichl. The former food and restaurant critic of the New York Times takes the reader through her fascinating childhoold, adolescence, and early adulthood, demonstrating that the adage “do what you love, the money [and happiness] will follow” is worth holding on to.

RECOMMENDED
Fanatics and Fools: The Game Plan for Winning Back America, by Arianna Huffington. As an admirer of Huffington I was disappointed that her radiant -- and effective – charm, wit, and ability to throw an appropriate barb, so evident from her appearances on television, too often falls flat on the page. Regardless, Huffington’s is a unique, common-sense, and much-needed voice deserving our attention amid the bizarre cacophony that constitutes political discourse today.

Unveiled: The Hidden Lives of Nuns, by Cheryl Reed. A rich and compelling account of the lives of the diminishing ranks of women in religious orders in the U.S., this book will shatter every stereotype the reader might have of who nuns are and what they do and have done. A strike against Reed for the gratuitous use of the slur “cracker” or “crackers” in reference to the Eucharist. And I’m surprised a woman who spent four years interviewing, researching, and living with Roman Catholic nuns doesn’t seem to know the difference between the Ascension (Jesus) and the Assumption (Mary) nor the difference between the Immaculate Conception (Mary) and the Virgin Birth (Jesus) nor the difference between a monstrance (display) and a tabernacle (storage).

Wayne: An Abused Child’s Story of Courage, Survival, and Hope, by Wayne Theodore with Leslie A. Horvitz. A fascinating and ultimately sad account of a person made whole after a childhood of life-threatening misery. A bit muddled in the middle, and a strike against Theodore for the book’s ending, when the author convinces (with a not inconsiderable amount of haranguing) his family to appear of “Sally.”

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Since I last blogged about “The Hunting of the President,” the outstanding film based on the book of the same name by Joe Conason and Gene Lyons, several theaters have been added to the list of venues.

(As previously noted here on July 27, in “The Good You Do,” Philadelphia was added to the list several weeks ago. “The Hunting of the President” will also be playing in nearby Voorhees, N.J. Screenings at both venues begin September 3.)

Below is a list of upcoming openings, a list available at the film’s web site (just click “Theaters”):

AUGUST 27
Ann Arbor, Mich.: Michigan Theatre; Fayetteville, Ark.: Malco’s Mall Twin; Norfolk, Va.: Naro Cinema; Sacramento, Calif.: Crest Theatre; and Santa Barbara, Calif.: Plaza de Oro.

SEPTEMBER 3
Boca Raton, Fla.: Mizner Park; Denver: Starz Film Center; Falmouth, Mass.: Nickelodeon 5; Cleveland: Shaker Square Cinemas; Columbus, Ohio: Drexel Grandview; Dallas: Regent Highland Park Village; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.: Gateway; Honolulu: Dole Cannery Theater; Houston: Angelika Film Center; Indianapolis: Key Cinemas; Miami Beach, Fla.: Regal South Beach Stadium; Nashville, Tenn.: Belcourt Theatre; North Miami Beach, Fla.: Intracoastal; Orlando, Fla.: Stadium 20 (Winter Park); Philadelphia: Ritz Five; Phoenix: AMC Arrowhead (Glendale); Pittsburgh: Harris Theater; Portland, Ore.: Regal Fox Tower; St. Louis: Tivoli Theatre (University City); Sarasota, Fla.: Burns Court Cinema; Scottsdale, Ariz.: Harkins Shea Cinema; Sunrise, Fla.: Sunrise 11; Tampa, Fla.: Old Hyde Park Village; and Voorhees, N.J.: Ritz Sixteen.

SEPTEMBER 10
Atlanta: Midtown Art Cinema; and Dayton, Ohio: The Neon.

SEPTEMBER 17
Austin, Texas: Regal Arbor Cinema; and Poplar Bluff, Mo.: Kerasotes Showplace 8.

SEPTEMBER 24
Arcata, Calif.: Minor Theater.

OCTOBER 22
Williamsburg, Va.: Kimball Theatre.

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As my new home, in the Logan Square area of Philadelphia, is within fairly easy walking distance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, a friend and I decided to take advantage of the museum’s Sunday “pay what you can” admission policy to take a look at A Young Woman Seated at the Virginals, by Johannes Vermeer.

The Vermeer is on loan to the Philadelphia Museum through the end of March 2005 from a still-unknown private collector who bought the painting at auction at Sotheby’s last month.

A Young Woman Seated at the Virginals is a very small painting, just 10 by 8 inches, but it’s a Vermeer, and that alone makes it worth seeing. It is also one of only two Vermeers in private collections; the other “belongs” the Queen Elizabeth II.

While viewing the painting my friend mentioned the painting recently had sold for $30 million. “Thirty-point-seven,” the security guard standing nearby corrected. “You forgot the change.” At that point I asked the guard if she knew that Edvard Munch’s The Scream had been stolen from the Munch Museum in Oslo earlier that day (see: “Munch’s ‘Scream’ Is Stolen From a Crowded Museum in Oslo,” by Walter Gibbs and Carol Vogel, the New York Times).

No, she hadn’t heard that, which, frankly, surprised me. Surely a major theft in Oslo would not portend a similar occurrence in Philadelphia, but it would seem to me that an armed heist of an extremely valuable work would have led the supervisor of the museum’s security staff to round up the troops for a cautionary “See, this could happen any time, people” sort of speech.

Meanwhile, speculation abounds regarding the identity of the collector who provided the loan. Philadelphia Inquirer art critic Edward J. Sozanski writes (“A Secret Buyer, A Rare Work in Philadelphia,” August 22): “The Art Museum’s refusal to entertain even peripheral questions about the lender suggests that he or she might be a local collector or philanthropist who has a relationship with the institution. Would a perfect stranger grant the museum a favor of such magnitude? There are too few clues now to speculate, but I presume that eventually we’ll learn who the mystery benefactor is.”

Since most people are terrible at keeping secrets, I suspect word will get out before the loan ends next spring. If not, the painting will thereafter appear in someone’s home -- at the Gerald Lenfests or Leonore Annenberg’s place, perhaps -- and then it’s a quick call to the papers with the news.

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Are People Chewing These Things?
The McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals division of Johnson & Johnson has introduced a new version of Tylenol, this one mint-flavored and marketed as Tylenol Cool Caps. Pull quote from “A New Way to Spell Pain Relief: M-I-N-T-Y F-R-E-S-H,” by Eric Dash, the New York Times:

Borrowing marketing strategies out of the playbooks of chewing gum, beer and soft drink manufacturers, McNeil packaged the Tylenol samples to show the mint medicine package bursting out like a pack of Wrigley’s Big Red, and last November it hired a new advertising agency, Deutsch in New York, to redesign its campaigns. It even retained Faith Popcorn, the trend-spotting marketing consultant. And, in what must be a first for the brand marketed as the one hospitals trust most, McNeil has hired dozens of “Tylenol Cool Caps Girls” to wear revealing outfits while they distribute samples in hot spots like Times Square and Miami Beach.

(I didn’t know anyone put their faith in Popcorn anymore.)

Presumably the Cool Caps Girls warn those accepting samples of Tylenol Cool Caps that the pain reliever is not recommended for everyone (people with liver problems, for example, should not take Tylenol) and should not be taken during or after the consumption of alcohol, but, hey, why let that get in the way of cheesy marketing campaign.

One has to wonder, though, about Tylenol users who can actually taste the product: “Consumers have told us, ‘This tastes different, that it’s a different experience for me, and yeah, it makes the pills easier to take,’” said Kathy Fallon, McNeil Consumer’s director of communications. “But this is certainly not about making medicines fun, because medicines are serious business.”

No, certainly not. And those Cool Caps Girls cavorting around Times Square and Miami Beach? Serious business.

[Note: Additional items may be posted to “PP&T;” after initial publication but only on the day of publication, excluding post-publication addenda. Such items, when posted, are designated by an asterisk.]

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Before I left for a moving-related hiatus that took more time than expected (and, yes, I’m back now), I neglected to provide readers with the results of the latest Rittenhouse reader poll asking, “In which of these states do you expect the closest popular vote between Kerry and Bush?”

Ohio edged out a narrow “victory” over Florida, the two states garnering 34 percent and 31 percent, respectively, of votes from readers participating in the poll. I was strangely pleased to see Pennsylvania manage only a fifth-place standing. I take that to mean that most readers are convinced, as I am, that Pennsylvania will go to Sen. John F. Kerry come November.

By the way, I voted for Ohio.

The complete results are presented below:

1. Ohio: 113 votes, or 34%
2. Florida: 105 votes, 31%
3. West Virginia: 43 votes, 13%
4. Iowa: 19 votes, 6%
5. Pennsylvania: 18 votes, 5%
6. Wisconsin: 17 votes, 5%
7. New Hampshire: 15 votes, 4%
8. Michigan: 7 votes, 2%

Thanks to all who participated in the poll.

[Post-publication addendum: Reader M.P., an Ohioan, draws our attention to a timely article in today’s Washington Post: “GOP Hopes Local Turmoil Won’t Hurt Bush,” by John F. Harris. Harris writes: “[A] a host of local controversies have scuffed the Republican brand name in Ohio. The most malodorous of these involves allegations of improper fundraising and self-dealing by the two consultants [Brett Buerck and Kyle Sisk] to Republican state House Speaker Larry Householder.” And here’s a quote from Gov. Bob Taft (R): “Ohio may be this year’s Florida. This will be too close to call until November 2nd. I don’t think there’s any state that’s going to be as closely divided.”]

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I can’t believe the erupted while I was on hiatus. It almost seems superfluous, from the standpoint of blogging to weigh in on the matter now that it’s already “old news.” Instead I’ll direct you to comments I made to the Philadelphia Inquirer in “Most Agree Admission Was Gripping,” by Daniel Rubin, on August 13.

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I know I’m not, or not supposed to be, blogging, but I couldn’t resist offering a new quote of the week, this one supplied by reader P.C.:

Behold a republic, resting securely upon the foundation stones quarried by revolutionary patriots from the mountain of eternal truth -- a republic applying in practice and proclaiming to the world the self-evident proposition that all men are created equal; that they are endowed with inalienable rights; that governments are instituted among men to secure these rights, and that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Behold a republic in which civil and religious liberty stimulate all to earnest endeavor and in which the law restrains every hand uplifted for a neighbor’s injury -- a republic in which every citizen is a sovereign, but in which no one cares to wear a crown. Behold a republic standing erect while empires all around are bowed beneath the weight of their own armaments -- a republic whose flag is loved while other flags are only feared.

William Jennings Bryan

Now back to our regular disrupted programming.

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Due to time constraints and other complications associated with my upcoming move, blogging here has been suspended until further notice, or until I start up again.

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Reader S.H. writes:

Esteemed Mr. Capozzola:

Batman and Robin would never say “holy moly.” Their corporate bosses wouldn’t let them.

That particular exclamation happened to be Captain Marvel’s catchphrase, and he worked exclusively for Fawcett Publications until a DC Comics lawsuit took him out of action for a couple of decades.

Trust me, I know.

Your dedicated reader,
S.H.

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Reader R.P. writes:

You wrote [in response to a searcher’s query]:

“Meg Whitman lesbian.” I don’t know, maybe. Whitman, the head honcho of trinket-vending eBay kind of looks it. But who cares? Now, tell me she’s giving big money big time to the Bush/Cheney freaks and I’ll be back with another story.

I found this at Fundrace.org:

Meg Whitman
President/C.E.O.
E. Bay Inc.
George W. Bush
$2,000
2145 Hamilton Ave.
San Jose, CA 95125

So, please, be back with your story.

Thanks.

Your fan,
R.P.

The Rittenhouse Review responds:

For now, at least, given time constraints, I’ll let R.P.’s message speak for itself.

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There’s a new quote of the week posted in the sidebar at right. It comes from an Associated Press story, “GOP Reaching Out to New Voters: the Amish,” by Lara Jakes Jordan, as published in the Philadelphia Daily News yesterday:

“If I know Republicans and their grass-roots operations, they’ll spend most of their time trying to phone bank the Amish,” said Kerry [campaign] spokesman Mark Nevins.

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Due to an inexplicable confluence of unfortunate technical difficulties caused by Verizon.net, our DSL provider, problems Verizon proved to be completely incapable of resolving, even measuring Verizon’s capabilities against the lowest of all possible standards.

My conversations with multiple Verizon representatives went something like this: “We’re sorry. We made a mistake. We yanked your DSL service a week earlier than you requested. Unfortunately, having done so, we can’t get the DSL connection back up and running for at least another seven days. Will dial-up suffice in the meantime?”

Further revealing its utter ineptitude, Verizon today shut down two of the three voice lines coming into the house, five days earlier than the work order specified. Despite my best efforts, I was unable to reach even a single human being at Verizon today. The best I could do was to use their phone-based menu of options to set up a service call on Monday. Our window of opportunity? 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Nine hours!

The reason I’m blogging from home today is thanks to the speedy response of Comcast Corp.’s cable-based internet service. (Actually, we had to go get the self-install kit, but that’s more than Verizon could offer.) I’ve had problems with Comcast in the past, but, gee whiz, so far, so good, so fast.

All of that is to explain the light volume of posts at Rittenhouse over the past few days. Readers should anticipate a lighter-than-usual volume of posts during the coming week, as I’ll be moving on Thursday and, as you know, there’s much to do in the meantime to prepare for the relocation.

Actually, I’ve moved so many times in my life, I’m getting pretty good at this. Still, wish me luck.

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Don’t forget to vote in the latest Rittenhouse weekly reader poll, posted Sunday in the sidebar at right, which asks, “In which of these states do you expect the closest popular vote between Kerry and Bush?” Readers are asked to select from among: Florida, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

As previously noted, the poll is open through 7:00 p.m. (EDT) on Sunday, August 8, except in Florida where, if you’re a Republican, you can vote whenever, wherever, and however many times you like.

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Rusty and Andrea to Part Ways
Rusty Yates has filed for divorce from convicted murderer Andrea Yates after 11 years of marriage. “The divorce petition cites that the couple has no children,” the Houston Chronicle reports.

Save at Wal-Mart, Pay More Taxes
A study released yesterday by the Labor Center of the University of California, Berkeley, finds that inadequate wages and benefits paid to California employees of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. required Wal-Mart “associates” to seek $86 million a year in state aid, including food stamps, Medicare, and subsidized housing. According to the Los Angeles Times, the study also asserts that if California retailers reduce wages and benefits to Wal-Mart levels, spending by the state’s public-assistance programs would rise by $410 million annually.

Weary Ankles
Smarty Jones, the almost-ran-the-Triple-Crown horse of 2004, is heading for retirement. If, that is, one can call sowing oats on a Kentucky farm, at $100,000 a pop, so to speak, “retirement.”

Teenage Girls Sought
Fayette County, Ga., authorities have issued warrants for the arrest of Holly Harvey and Sandra Ketchum, both 15, for the murder of Harvey’s grandparents, Carl Collier, 75, and Sarah Collier, 73, killed Monday in Newton Plantation, Ga.

[Note: Additional items may be posted to “PP&T;” after initial publication but only on the day of publication, excluding post-publication addenda. Such items, when posted, are designated by an asterisk.]

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It sure sounded real, didn’t it? “A serious business,” said President George W. Bush. “Alarming,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge. “We will spare no expense,” said New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Whether National Security Adviser Condoleezza “Mushroom Cloud” Rice, who has been keeping a low profile lately, said anything at all I’m not sure.

Speaking of Rice, the question today is whether the threat was imminent, “historical,” off in the future, or possibly something else entirely. As an editorial in today’s Washington Post states:

[A]lthough this latest information pointed to precise targets, only a broad time frame was supplied. Some of the information reportedly in al Qaeda’s possession, on the structure of the buildings and their security, had been collected over a period of years. World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn told his colleagues yesterday that “there is no information that indicates a specific time for these attacks.” Hence the odd sight of police pulling trucks over, as if attacks were imminent, and journalists parking their trucks directly in front of the buildings, as if attacks were only theoretical. [Emphasis added.]

Theoretical or theatrical?

The news reports out late yesterday and in this morning’s papers raise serious doubts, as if any more could be tolerated, regarding the credibility of the Bush administration. The New York Times reports (“Reports That Led to Terror Alert Were Years Old, Officials Say,” by Douglas Jehl and David Johnston):

Much of the information that led the authorities to raise the terror alert at several large financial institutions in the New York City and Washington areas was three or four years old, intelligence and law enforcement officials said on Monday. They reported that they had not yet found concrete evidence that a terrorist plot or preparatory surveillance operations were still under way. […]

“You could say that the bulk of this information is old, but we know that Al Qaeda collects, collects, collects until they're comfortable,” said one senior government official. “Only then do they carry out an operation. And there are signs that some of this may have been updated or may be more recent.”

How recent?

Frances Fragos Townsend, the White House homeland security adviser, said on Monday in an interview on PBS that surveillance reports, apparently collected by Qaeda operatives had been “gathered in 2000 and 2001.” But she added that information may have been updated as recently as January.

The Times then soft pedals the administration’s own backpedaling:

The comments of government officials on Monday seemed softer in tone than the warning issued the day before. . . . The officials said on Monday that they were still analyzing computer records, photos, drawings and other documents, seized last month in Pakistan, which showed that Qaeda operatives had conducted extensive reconnaissance.

“What we’ve uncovered is a collection operation as opposed to the launching of an attack,” a senior American official said. […]

Federal authorities said on Monday that they had uncovered no evidence that any of the surveillance activities described in the documents was currently under way. […] Another counterterrorism official in Washington said that it was not yet clear whether the information pointed to a current plot.”

It appears, then, that what we have here is a case of standard, and hopefully much improved, ongoing intelligence gathering. That’s good. We’re all in favor of that, especially when it’s done effectively and consistently, and someone, somewhere actually takes note of the intelligence community’s findings. But why the big show of force and fear?

Meanwhile, the Washington Post today reports (“Pre-9/11 Acts Led To Alerts,” by Dan Eggen and Dana Priest):

Most of the al Qaeda surveillance of five financial institutions that led to a new terrorism alert Sunday was conducted before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and authorities are not sure whether the casing of the buildings has continued, numerous intelligence and law enforcement officials said yesterday.

More than half a dozen government officials interviewed yesterday, who declined to be identified because classified information is involved, said that most, if not all, of the information about the buildings seized by authorities in a raid in Pakistan last week was about three years old, and possibly older.

“There is nothing right now that we're hearing that is new,” said one senior law enforcement official who was briefed on the alert. “Why did we go to this level? . . . I still don’t know that.”

More interesting, with respect to the January 2004 updating of information so ominously cited by Townsend, the White House homeland security adviser, the Post reports: “[O]fficials could not say yesterday whether that piece of data was the result of active surveillance by al Qaeda or came instead from information about the buildings that is publicly available.”

Sounds like ongoing intelligence gathering, but as engaged in by the other side. To be expected, to be countered, to be obstructed. But need it be turned into street theater at the whim of the White House?

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Alexandra Scott, of Wynnewood, Pa., entrepreneur, philanthropist, and cancer victim: 1996-2004.

The Philadelphia Inquirer has the best reports: the first by Marc Schogol and Jennifer Moroz, and another by Matthew P. Blanchard.

The Inquirer reports donations to the charity formed by Miss Scott, Alex's Lemonade Stand, may be mailed to: 333 E. Lancaster Ave., No. 414, Wynnewood, Pa., 19096. Credit card donations may be made by phone by calling (215) 563-6417 or online at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Condolences for Miss Scott may be recorded on line at Legacy.com.

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Put a Button In It
Have some fun: Wear a Kerry button as you go about your errands, and drive a few Republicans crazy, including the whack job on Bainbridge Street, Philadelphia, this afternoon who screamed to me, with a crooked face and remarkable ignorance: “Your man’s got no experience in government!” On the flip side, there were the two thirty-something women in Washington Square who saw the button and yelled out “Go Kerry!”

Do a little educating: Wear a Hoeffel button. If anyone asks, take a few minutes to explain that this year Pennsylvanians have a real chance to send an outstanding Democrat to the U.S. Senate.

Watch Barack Obama
I’ve been reading about U.S. Senate candidate Barack Obama, Democrat of Illinois, for a while now, and have been pleased to see him receiving the coverage he deserves, including lengthy profiles in the New Yorker and the New Republic.

Like many others, I was extremely impressed by Obama’s speech to the Democratic National Convention, a speech that has resulted in added visibility, including “An Appeal Beyond Race,” by Scott L. Malcomson in Sunday’s New York Times, and Victor Navasky in the August 16 issue (posted July 29) of The Nation (“The Real Story in Boston”): “So maybe the story behind the story of this convention has to do with the next generation after all. And I haven’t even mentioned Barack Obama, the U.S. Senate candidate from Illinois who electrified the convention Tuesday night (and whom Studs Terkel thinks may one day be President).”

That wouldn’t surprise me one bit.

It’s All in the Details
Today President George W. Bush said he supports creating a high-level position, that of “national intelligence director,” all but bragging that he has a agreed to a principal recommendation included in the conclusions of the 9/11 commission’s report.

Let’s hope the media mouthpieces point out that the commission’s report called for the NID to be a cabinet level post, a notion the president specifically has rejected, and with his typical eloquence: “I don’t think the person should be a member of my Cabinet. I will hire the person and I can fire the person. I don’t think that the office should be in the White House, however, I think it should be a stand-alone group to better coordinate.”

And let’s hope the Sam and Susie Stenos on the campaign beat can recall so simple a fact as that Sen. John F. Kerry advocated the consolidation of major intelligence functions more than a year ago, and that for three years has been pushing for more aggressive anti-terrorism funding for critical, practical measures such as improved security at ports (fairly obvious, one would think).

Kerry Leads Bush in New Poll
Polls are yawners, particularly at this time of year, but the latest one I’ve seen, released just this afternoon by the Washington Post and ABC, shows Sen. Kerry ahead of the president among both registered voters and likely voters: “The new poll shows Kerry now claims the support of 50 percent of all registered voters, compared with 44 percent for Bush, with independent candidate Ralph Nader at 2 percent. . . . Among those most likely to vote, the race is tighter: Kerry holds a 2-point advantage over Bush in the current poll.”

Even more important, I think, at least at this early stage: “The survey also suggests that perceptions of Kerry as a dour pessimist may have eased somewhat. He is now viewed more favorably than Bush by the public.” [Emphasis added.]

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Work Until You Die
In case you haven’t noticed the ads yet, screen legend Lauren Bacall is doing TV commercials for the little-known retailer Tuesday Morning. You know, I would have thought Bacall’s place in The Dakota already had been paid for.

What a Racket
Publicly financed stadiums aren’t enough? Strangely capitalized partnerships not quite cutting it? Local tax subsidies insufficient? Apparently not. Now sports franchise owners have their grabby hands out for another $2 billion in tax breaks.

Call Me Clueless
I guess it’s all in who you don’t know. Killing time while waiting for an appointment, this morning I read Howard Gensler’s gossip column, “Tattle,” in the Philadelphia Daily News, and played a little game I enjoy.

It’s called “Who’s That?” and to play one uses the primary bold-faced names in the column. Play along using today’s “Tattle” column: Paris Hilton: know her (“Know” here meaning, “I’m familiar with the name but might not be able to pick him/her out of a line-up.”); Nick Carter: never heard of him; Usher: no idea; Joseph Bonanno Sr.: heard of him; Paul McCartney, heard of him; the Bangles, familiar with them; Guy Ritchie: not a clue; Esther Ritchie: no idea; Demi Moore: know her; Ashton Kutcher: hey, two in a row; Sarah Dunn: wait, three in a row! (Dunn is a former Philadelphian whose first novel, The Big Love, has been getting favorable reviews; Stephen Sommers: no idea; Bob Ducsay: nope; Jennifer Aniston: got that one; Cindy Margolis: can’t place her; Benji: know him, but he’s unlikely to be the one I remember; and finally, Lindsay Lohan: forget it.

Today’s score: 9 known, 7 unknown. That’s pretty good for me.

[Note: Additional items may be posted to “PP&T;” after initial publication but only on the day of publication, excluding post-publication addenda. Such items, when posted, are designated by an asterisk.]

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In the August 2004 issue Philadelphia magazine published its annual round-up, the “Best of Philly 2004,” the glossy monthly’s late-summer gift to advertisers.

Neither the article nor the issue is yet on line, but I’m pleased to report that in the section “best of media, sports, and politics,” written by someone named Tom McGrath, Philadelphia named Jessica Pressler of PW: Philadelphia Weekly best “newspaper columnist (slightly ridiculous),” a well-intentioned accolade, I think, but regardless, one richly deserved. (Pressler has been mentioned, only positively of course, at Rittenhouse several times in the past.)

“Better than anyone,” McGrath writes, “Pressler pokes fun at the misplaced excesses of the city’s scenesters and the idiocies of its media (ourselves included)” (p. 157).

Philadelphia didn’t select a best local blog, exactly. Instead, the very same Tom McGrath gave something called “atrios.blogspot.com,” also, and more accurately, known as Eschaton, a weblog written by someone sort-of named “Atrios,” a “Best of Philly” award for best “place to visit if you hate George Bush” (p. 156).

In so doing, McGrath observed, “There’s no weblog about Philadelphia that’s worth reading . . . ,” a remark I’m taking as either an insult, an oversight, or a compliment. I’ll get back to you. By next August, I promise.

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Since it seems every one is talking about “swing states” or “battleground states” and the, I think, mythological “swing voters,” this week Rittenhouse asks readers: “In which of these states do you expect the closest popular vote between Kerry and Bush?”

Readers are asked to select from one of eight options. The states presented for your consideration are based on recent polling data from a variety of sources. In alphabetical order they are: Florida, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

The poll is displayed in the sidebar at right. Votes will be taken now through 7:00 p.m. (EDT) on Sunday, August 8, except in Florida where, well, anything goes. (So long as it goes a certain way.)

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Here’s a regular “Friday Feature”: “How Do You Get to Rittenhouse?”

For readers not familiar, this is a “Friday Fun” feature serving up just a sampling of searches that recently brought visitors to The Rittenhouse Review.

And, so, here we go, from the ridiculous to the sublime and back again.

manoj night shyamalan fan club
Actaully, what I recently learned from devoted reader, B.F., that the real name of M. Night Shyamalan, was actually Manoj Night Shayamalan, wasn’t quite correct; most-devoted reader C.F.C tells me his real name is Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan.

Reader C.F.C. still plans to see to “The Village,” which starts in theaters today, Friday, as do I. But knowing C.F.C., she will go see it with a bunch of “the girls.” Knowing me, I’ll go alone.

Martha Strewart skylands address
I know where it is. It’s in Maine. Actually, I have the very exact address. Just don’t, really. I mean, come on. [Full disclosure: I once went to a party at which Ms. Stewart was one of the most famous guests. She would not remember me.]

Jonathan Steinberg
Why, why, do I see this one so often? Are you baiting me? Yes, he’s my former supervisor. My co-supervisor, actually. All in all, a decent man. And I’m not picking up on this one again. We’re done with this, okay?

Meg Whitman lesbian
I don’t know, maybe. Whitman, the head honcho of trinket-vending eBay kind of looks it. But who cares? Now, tell me she’s giving big money big time to the Bush/Cheney freaks and I’ll be back with another story.

wet shirts contest
Which one? Which one, I mean, at which I performed? Because there several, and there were prizes.

ann coulter embarrassed republicans
Self-definition, personified. If personified is the right word.

scandals sex holly wood photo
Holly Wood? Wasn’t she in my geometry class? I’m going to have to ask Cora.

afghan throw dance in the city Renoir

I have no idea what you’re talking about.

newspaper review a black woman civil war memoirs by susie king taylor

I have no idea what you’re talking about.

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I don’t what they’re doing, or what think they’re doing, with the op-ed page at the once-great Philadelphia Inquirer, but what they’ve been doing recently on that page is a disgrace and an embarrassment, to all of those who work at or for the Inquirer, and to those, new to this city or otherwise, who remember when, not so very long ago, a time I remember, when you could buy the paper, on weekdays, for 20 cents, when the Philadelphia Inquirer was without doubt one of the greatest newspapers in the United States of America.

Those, as they say, were the days.

Today as a mere blogger, though one with a little bit of experience as a writer, I offer you just one example of the manner in which Philadelphians have been exposed, on that once thoughtful page, to some of the worst examples of publishers’ “cost cutting,” in this case by the Inquirer’s parent company, Knight-Ridder Corp.

Not long ago, on Friday, July 23, to be specific, the Philadelphia Inquirer devoted nearly half of the day’s op-ed page to a piece entitled, “Flavors We Constantly Change For Ice Cream Makers,” a pathetically entitled essay about a local brand of ice cream, with a few cute remarks about strawberries and jalapenos thrown in, one produced by Turkey Hill Dairy of Lancaster, Pa., a few doodlings that only became worse when the author, who happens to be named Lisa Gochnauer, who is employed as “a marketing associate” for, one guess only, Turkey Hill Dairy, of Lancaster, Pa., put pen to first word.

I am using, here, the phrase “op-ed” with the utmost and most guarded generosity, for this 722-word piece, the very one that was published by the Philadelphia Inquirer, by any reasonable evaluation, was nothing more than an advertisement -- a free and unpaid (more acurrately, paid-for) commercial -- a glowing, all-but in-house produced promotion for, from, and by the Turkey Hill Dairy.

I know a few people who work at the Inquirer. I can’t imagine they were anything but horrified by this blatantly commercial behavior; this advertisement disguised as opinion; this creativity posting as journalism.

Unfortunately, the writers I know at the Inquirer are too good, too smart, and too talented even to be read, just occasionally it seems, by the men and women in the offices upstairs. Too many times, I have seen their work -- the work of so many talented writers I’ve decided to leave unnamed today -- ignored by the Inquirer’s editors, publishers, and salespeople; their brilliant articles, research, and hard work, overlooked, downplayed, and possibly suppressed, all in order to sell a few more ads in Center City, South Jersey, and the nearby suburbs; or just a couple of more home-deliveries in Society Hill, Chestnut Hill, or on the Main Line.

Whether or not those who labor hard and long for the Inquirer, and for the Philadelphia Daily News, which happens also to be owned by Knight-Ridder, are as outraged by the July 23 “op-ed”/advertisement from Turkey Hill Farms, I do not know. But they should be. And if they aren’t, they damned well out to be.

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