Albert Garland hates his unborn twins. And I, for one, can’t blame him.
It’s OK for Albert Garland to Hate His Unborn Twins
He fears the havoc and sleeplessness that two infants will create. So why the pro-life backlash?
The flu tax is a hot topic on the Internet. A Google search shows hundreds of publications, blogs and TV stations have picked up the story about two bills, one in the House and one in the Senate, that include a 75-cent tax per shot on the flu vaccine. I wrote about the flu tax because one of the sponsors of the House bill is local Rep Jim Gerlach.
When Being Gay Can Get You Fired
Workplace protection for the nation’s LGBT community is as crucial as gay marriage rights.
Last week, Philadelphia City Council became a pioneer in the advancement of civil rights when it passed groundbreaking legislation that greatly broadens equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people living and working in the city.
Former NBC Page: In My Story, Matt Lauer’s a Hero, Not a Villain
I remember him as a kind, generous guy who helped me get a career start.
If you have something to say that's newsworthy, but you don't want it in the news, it's probably wise not to say it in front of a large audience of people, at a speech that's open to the public.
That's the lesson learned recently by Frank Luntz, the longtime Republican pollster and Fox News regular, when he spoke to an audience of College Republicans at his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, and made some relatively innocuous comments that were critical of Rush Limbaugh and other talk-radio personalities.
Luntz, according to the account in Mother Jones—by David Corn, the same reporter who broke...
Philly-Area Writer Helped Jason Collins Tell His Coming Out Story in SI
Why “I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay” may be on Franz Lidz’s tombstone.
Monday morning, NBA center Jason Collins came out of the closet in a Sports Illustrated cover story, making him the first openly gay male athlete in major U.S. sports history. The writer of the piece is 61-year-old Franz Lidz, who has written for Philly Mag and lives among roosters and llamas on a farm in Landenberg, Pennsylvania, 40 miles southwest of Philadelphia. I called him at home yesterday.
Collins' agent Arn Tellem essentially pitched you the story.
He was hinting about it earlier, but never formally asked me. We talk all the time—and he was just throwing out this hypothetical, that one of his athletes was gay. He didn't name the sport, didn't name the player I would be interviewing. He asked me if I'd be interesting in writing it. I said sure.
For years I've practiced a little ritual when I shop for clothes. I got it from watching my father, who, like his father before him, spent decades in the textiles industry until he was forced into retirement when his last remaining customer moved his manufacturing to Southeast Asia.
It's a three-part process that begins with me running my fingers along the inseams of whatever garment I'm considering buying to check the quality of the stitch (one of the best ways to tell how well your clothes have been made). Next, I check the label to see where it was made; and finally I glance at the price tag. Then I typically place the item back on its hanger and mutter obscenities under my breath while I search for the clearance rack.
Jason Collins Isn’t the Gay Jackie Robinson
But he still deserves credit for having the balls to come out in the NBA.
Obama’s New War on Drugs Is the Old War on Drugs
Don’t be fooled by the Obama administration’s recently revised drug policy.
Given the way things have been going lately, you might figure that the 42-year-old War on Drugs, hallelujah, is over. Nationally, we’ve seen a rebirth of the psychedelic movement, a shift in public perception of marijuana, and, as proven by the High Times Cannabis Cup, weed is very much legal in Colorado (and Washington). Even in Philly, we’ve got hundreds of people toking up at the Liberty Bell at each Smokedown Prohibition with little to no trouble, despite the efforts of whiney YouTube users armed with iPhones alone—not to mention that whole de-facto marijuana decriminalization thing.
What Does a Terrorist Look Like?
How the Boston bombing has played with America’s definition of fear.
Two weeks ago, the American public sat with bated breath to learn of the identities of those behind the Boston Marathon explosions.
Long before law enforcement learned the names of suspected bombers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the media and the public clamored for information that would help to orient their grief: Were the perpetrators “dark skinned,” as it had initially been reported?
George W. Bush Has a New Library, but the Same, Terrible Old Record
He was still a really horrible president.
No, really: George W. Bush really was a horrible president.
This week brings us the dedication of Bush’s presidential library, along with the latest in a never-ending series of efforts to restore his reputation among the public at large. George W. Bush is smarter than you, we’re told. George W. Bush is a truly good man, we’re told. George W. Bush is a man of great character, we’re told.
Plan a Green Funeral (So Your Grandkids Don’t Have to Drink Your Embalming Fluid)
Five ways to help the planet after you die.
Liberal Fox News Pundit: Keep Foreign Muslim Students Out of U.S. Colleges
Bob Beckel’s all-encompassing solution.
The Earth shook this week. Am I the only one who felt it? I couldn’t believe what I’d heard, and so I listened intently to make sure I’d gotten it right. Sure enough, I had. While watching The Five on Fox News, I heard Bob Beckel, the only liberal to sit on that panel, say that the higher academic system should immediately stop admitting Muslims and maybe even Chinese students. What? Bob Beckel said what? I felt the Earth shift. He said those who are here should be allowed to remain and finish their education but that we should no longer admit Muslim, and maybe Chinese, students because they “get an education here and then go back and hack us.”
From Cursing News Anchors to Baseball Players: When It’s OK to Swear on TV
And who gets to decide when it’s not.
If you ask me, the greatest moment of Julius Genachowski's soon-to-expire tenure as chairman of the FCC came on Saturday.
Shred Our Enemies, Not Our Constitution
The Boston bombing exposes just how much U.S. priorities are screwed up.
I’m exhausted. I’m tired of being tired. I’ve had my fill of manufactured crises and tragedy from our President, and I’m worn down by the actual crises and tragedies that seem to be happening almost monthly. The problem with exhaustion is, you want to give up. Bury your head. Surrender to the grind. But we cannot and we must not.
When Good People Do Bad Things
Friends describe Dzhokhar Tsarnaev as a good kid. So why is he a Boston bombing suspect?
Gay Boy Scouts Deserve Gay Troop Leaders
For a mentor-driven organization, Boy Scouts of America sure doesn’t know how to lead.
A Trip Home to Boston After the Bombing
"If you’re a Watertown resident that hasn’t been on TV, you’re doing something wrong."
It was Friday night, and I was traveling north from Philadelphia to my native Cambridge, hours after the Boston area had been locked down. By then we had shifted from tragedy to thriller, and avoiding talk of the “manhunt” was not possible. The man sitting across from me on the train had been watching the marathon on Boylston Street when the bombs went off, and was heading back north from Newtown, PA to watch his daughter perform in a college play. He said he didn’t want to pass judgment, but jihad seemed to be the likeliest explanation.
Four hours later, I...
I Don’t Need Healing After What Happened in Boston and Neither Do You
Sweet Caroline, can we please reserve the "closure" for people who were actually there?
