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Archive for “Congress” news
CNN, Netflix May Be Interested in a Bob Brady Reality Show
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 5/24/2013
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During the November elections, former Philly Mag and Daily News editor Larry Platt followed U.S. Rep Bob Brady around the 4th Street Deli with a camera crew, in the hopes of selling a reality show centered on Philly's Democratic Party boss. Though the Daily News writes that Brady looked "miserable" under the lights, Platt says he's condensed hours of footage into a promising 4 minute "sizzle reel" that CNN and Netflix, and eight to ten networks in total, are interested. The tentative name of the show: "The Last Boss." [Daily News]
Ed Rendell and Wilson Goode, Now Paying Chaka Fattah Jr.’s Legal Bills
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 5/13/2013
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Rep. Chaka Fattah's 30-year-old son Chip has been under investigation by the F.B.I. since 2012, apparently for financial improprieties. (The feds have also shown interest in possible political corruption.) In order to help him pay the legal bills necessary, Ed Rendell and other political players are starting a legal defense fund that includes several other big-time political players. Also involved in the fund are former Mayor W. Wilson Goode and George Burrell Jr., a former councilman and top mayoral aide to John Street. Rendell said the initial plan was not to release any names of donors, or their donation amounts. After feeling
What Jim Gerlach Wants You to Know About the Flu Tax
By Larry Mendte 5/03/2013
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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.
Watch Eastern PA Congressman Receive the Colbert Treatment
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 4/26/2013
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Consider this Matt Cartwright's freshman hazing. The first-term Democrat, who represents a district that has been gerrymandered drawn to include Scranton, Pottsville, and Easton, was featured on Stephen Colbert's recurring segment "Better Know a District." Cartwright, who says he's a fan of Colbert, nonetheless fell into his trap several times.
After Colbert interpreted 'transient' as 'transgendered,' Cartwright was quick to clarify that he was in no way referring to the gender or sexuality of migrant farm workers.
Colbert got him to say, in Spanish (more or less) "Hey you guys, get out of my neighborhood."
"Taught" him to ride a bike.
Cartwright, a graduate
Following Gun Vote, Pat Toomey Is Now More Popular Than Ever
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 4/26/2013
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So much for gun control being a political third rail. At least in Pennsylvania, where we cling to our guns, Senator Pat Toomey's recent, failed, efforts to strengthen criminal background checks have boosted his popularity to an all-time high. According to a Quinnipiac Poll released today, his approval rating stands at 48%-30%, and 54% of voters think more favorably of Toomey for the gun bill, versus 12% who like him less. The question that remains now is whether Toomey continues to hew to a more moderate path (he recently changed his mind on the Violence Against Women Act), or uses
Local Republican Jim Gerlach Creates Bill to Tax Flu Shots
By Larry Mendte 4/26/2013
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Twitter News, Cont’d: Anthony Weiner Back Online, Living Dangerously
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 4/22/2013
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And so he announced his return to Twitter like Anthony Weiner would, with cryptic text messages that don't seem like he meant to send them:
That is to say: You can now follow him @anthonyweiner instead, thank you. For more on Weiner, see my recent piece on why the former Congressman's sexual misadventures in fact make him a very promising NYC mayoral candidate.
@anthonyweiner— Anthony Weiner (@repweiner) April 22, 2013
How Not Having Bronchitis Cost Me $1,500 at Lankenau
By Maya K. Francis 4/22/2013
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We Can’t Find the Next Adam Lanza
By Annie Monjar 4/18/2013
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This past week, before yesterday’s shameless display of ideological stonewalling cast a cloud of senselessness over the U.S. Senate, the New York Times ran an optimistic headline: “In Gun Debate, No Rift on Better Care for Mentally Ill.”
Toomey’s Gun Control Bill Blocked in Senate
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 4/17/2013
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The Senate passed Pat Toomey's gun control bill today, by a vote of 54-46, gaining Republican support from three other Senators. But it needed 60 to overcome a Republican filibuster, so it failed. "I did the best I could. I wish it had passed, but the Senate has spoken and these things happen," Toomey said to the Morning Call after the vote. "It's always worth it to do the right thing." The bill would have expanded background checks to internet and gun show sales. New Jersey's Frank Lautenberg, who's in ill health, was wheeled in for the vote. At least today, he
