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Philadelphia 76ers
Did Gargano get hustled?
The shot-in-Philly, Adam Sandler low-key drama “Hustle” is a great basketball movie, despite some unavoidable formulaic elements. It deserves to be listed in the Top Ten Philadelphia sports movies, up there with “Rocky,” “Invincible,” and “Silver Linings Playbook.” It is now in theaters and on Netflix. There has been adequate
Donald J. Trump
Not exactly a full House
Having promised “significant new information” that was “explosive,” I think the Jan. 6 Select House Committee failed as badly as the Robert Mueller report that was expected or was hoped to handcuff President Donald J. Trump to Russia. It failed to do that and allowed Trump to falsely claim that
Journalism
How news reporting works
The Uvalde media/murder horror show presents me with the opportunity for a case study in “the media,” a primer for non journalists. First, “the media” is not a unified entity. When you say, “The media does this, or the media does that,” just what “media” do you mean? Fox
Israel
Guest essay: Israel’s right to exist, where it is
By Jerome Verlin “The Squad” just did grassroots American Jews a favor by introducing House Resolution 1123, “Recognizing the Nakba and Palestinian Refugee Rights.” [”Nakba” means “catastrophe” in reference to the Jewish state.] In branding Israel’s 1948 independence an unjust “catastrophe for Palestinians” and demanding a “Right of Return”
Culture
Who is our next Everyman?
Tom Cruise -- good for him -- has proved himself America’s most bankable movie star with his “Top Gun: Maverick” movie shattering all Memorial weekend records, like his jet shattering the sound barrier. He is durable, he remains a heart throb, but one thing he has never been is
Police
Hiring retired cops sounds good, but...
I like to give credit for good ideas, when possible, so I sent an email to City Councilwoman member Cherelle Parker for her idea to hire retired cops to help fill the decimated ranks of men and women in blue. It was explained in this inquirer story. There’s one
Cartoon
Today’s toon
You know the deal. If it makes me laugh, I use it. This made me laugh. And it is almost believable.
Guns
Poll question on guns
I am generally opposed to banning “assault rifles” for two reasons. First, we had a 10-year ban starting in 1994, and the results were mixed, at best. That’s why the law was allowed to sunset. Second, “assault rifle” is not a legal term, like the media-popular “weapon of war.
Guns
Guest essay: Gun laws rarely help
By Leah Libresco Before I started researching gun deaths, gun-control policy used to frustrate me. I wished the National Rifle Association would stop blocking common-sense gun-control reforms such as banning assault weapons, restricting silencers, shrinking magazine sizes and all the other measures that could make guns less deadly. Then, my
Culture
“Who’s on First” for 21st Century America
Here’s a modern-day satirical reworking of the famous Abbott & Costello “Who’s on First?” sketch. The author is William Kilpatrick. ABBOTT: Did you see this story in the paper about the boy who was charged with sexual harassment? COSTELLO: What did he do? ABBOTT: He used the wrong
Culture
Solving the school shooting crisis
While the facts -- such as questionable police action -- continue to unspool, one fact jumped out at me: Mad Dog Ramos entered the building through an unlocked door. A door, that a journalist on the scene reported, was supposed to have been locked, with a self-locking mechanism. Even when