Page 6 The Public Record • August 4, 2011
Last week, Philadelphians for Ethical Leadership sponsored the Forum on Public Integrity at the Parkway Central Library. The event coordinator and Republican political activist, BEN MANNES, asked Special Agent JOHN ROBERTS, of the FBI’s Philadelphia Public Corruption Squad, and PATRICK BLESSINGTON, former head of the Attorney General’s Public Integrity Unit and current Chief of Special Investigations for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, specifically to address the audience on the topic of public corruption. Philadelphia CONTROLLER ALAN BUTKOVITZ was also invited to speak; however, Butkovitz nor any representative of his office came to the event. The discussion was very lively, with active participation on the part of the audience. While, the event was bipartisan, most attendees were Republicans. Candidates for City Council at Large JOE McCOLGAN, DAVID OH and MIKE UNTERMEYER, as well as LINDA BATEMAN, Republican candidate for Register of Wills, were in attendance. Former candidate for Mayor JOHN FEATHERMAN and political activist KEVIN KELLY were also there. Last Thursday night, AL SCHMIDT had a fundraiser at the United Republican Club. The Host Committee included STATE REP. HJOHN TAYLOR, former candidate for City Controller MARIE DELANY and Republican WARD LEADERS WAKLT VOGLER (21st Ward), BILL PETTIGREW (23rd and 54th Wards) and KEVIN PASQUAY (45th Ward). A number of other ward leaders showed, including MIKE CIBIK (5th Ward), LINDSAY DOERING (8th Ward), ANDREW GENTSCH (51st Ward), JOHN STAHLMASTER (62nd Ward), CHRIS VOGLER (55th Ward) and MATT WOLFE (27th Ward). Mayoral candidate KAREN BROWN was also in attendance. As there can only be three City Commissioners and the Democrats will most assuredly pick up two of the seats, only one Republican can win in November. The herd wants to know if the ward leaders in attendance at this event are going to abandon JOE DUDA, the other Republican candidate for City Commission, or are they going to embrace both candidates. This Elephant believes some of the attendees will back both candidates, but most will actively support Schmidt. Some notable Republicans and Duda supporters were not there Thursday, including MIKE (Cont. Page 17)
For this week anyway, Philadelphia is going to be the center of the African American journalistic universe. And by the end of the week, I’ll know whether or not I should ever consider running for any office of any sort of office ever again. By the time you read this column, we’ll be into the second day of the 36th Annual National Association of Black Journalists convention. The convention is a time where members of NABJ, an organization whose roots were planted right here in Philadelphia, get together and talk not only about what’s going on in newsrooms, but also about the issues of the day. We also get a muckety-muck or two. For example: Attorney General Eric Holder (and just about everyone in the Obama administration not named Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden) will be spending some time with NABJ. Arianna Huffington will be here to justify not paying the writers who turned the Huffington Post into the juggernaut she sold to AOL for $315 million. And last but not least, the Rev. Al Sharpton and Princeton University professor Cornel West will spend some time continuing the argument they began on MSNBC about President Obama and whether or not he’s done enough for Black folks. (Did I mention that the Rev. Al is probably getting a show on MSNBC thanks to this? But there are journalists of all colors that MSNBC won’t even give a look in this regard. Sad but true.) But what I hope comes up during the professional development workshops, gala movie premiers, issue related luncheons, and other things is that things are really, really rough for people of color in journalism, and as the largest organization of journalists of color in the nation, we need to take the lead in doing something about that. I’ve mentioned in a previous column that I’m running for an office within NABJ. To be exact, I’m running for Vice President-Print. Someone pointed out to me earlier this week this particular designation doesn’t really fit what print journalists do anymore and that’s true. Print journalists are shooting and editing (Cont. Page 17)
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City Hall Sam is down the shore. He will be back in town next week. Yo! Here we go again with this question: Can you guess which of the following are true and which are false? Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning. Alfred Hitchcock didn’t have a belly button. A pack-a-day smoker will lose approximately 2 teeth every 10 years. People do not get sick from cold weather; it’s from being indoors a lot more. When you sneeze, all bodily functions stop, even your heart. Only 7% of the population is left handed. Forty people are sent to the hospital for dog bites every minute. Babies are born without kneecaps. They don’t appear until they are 26 years old. The average person over 50 will have spent five years waiting in lines. The toothbrush was invented in 1498. The average housefly lives for one month. 40,000 Americans are injured by toilets each year. A coat hanger is 44 inches long when straightened. The average computer user blinks seven times a minute. Your feet are bigger in the afternoon than any other time of day. Most of us have eaten a spider in our sleep. The REAL reason ostriches stick their head in the sand is to search for water. The only two animals that can see behind themselves without turning their heads are the rabbit and the parrot. John Travolta turned down the starring roles in An Officer and a Gentleman and Tootsie. In most television commercials advertising milk, a mixture of white paint and a little thinner is used in place of the milk. Prince Charles and Prince William NEVER travel on the same airplane, just in case there is a crash. The first Harley Davidson motorcycle, built in 1903, used a tomato can for a carburetor. Most hospitals make money by selling the umbilical cords cut from women who give birth. They are used in vein-transplant surgery. Humphrey Bogart was related to the late Princess Diana. They were 7th cousins. If coloring weren’t added to Coca-Cola, it would be green. Let me now answer this question – “Which of these statements is false?” Surprise! They are ALL true – including eating a spider; hmm....
HONORING America’s Unions and their members who bring the benefits of Organized Labor into all communities! Hosted by Tri-State Labor Day Parade and Family Festival Committee and Philadelphia AFL-CIO A portion of the revenue from your advertisement in this supplement will go to help the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO defray expenses of this Annual Celebration and Salute to the American Labor Movement!
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