WORTH REPEATING: A Little ‘Taps’ & Sympathy

BY JONATHAN VALANIA If you are the parent or spouse of a U.S. serviceman, Sgt. Anthony Dekanich is the last person you want knocking on your door. When Sgt. Dekanich pays a visit, it means only one thing: Your son or daughter or husband or wife is dead. Vested with the unenviable duty of notifying next of kin–or NOK–that their son or daughter has been killed in action and arranging their burial with full military honors, Sgt. Dekanich is responsible for seeing that spouses or parents get a properly folded American flag and that the dead get a little “Taps” […]

WORTH REPEATING: The Sergeant Lost Within

[Photos by EUGENE RICHARDS] NEW YORK TIMES: In Iraq’s Anbar Province, in May 2005, Shurvon, who joined the Marine reserves seven years earlier at 17, partly as a way to pay his community-college tuition, was riding back to his base after a patrol when an anti-tank mine exploded under his Humvee. The Humvee’s other soldiers were tossed in different directions and dealt an assortment of injuries: concussions, broken bones, herniated discs. Along with a broken jaw and a broken leg, Shurvon suffered one of the war’s signature wounds on the American side: though no shrapnel entered his head, the blast […]

LIFE ON MARS: The Phoenix Has Landed

NEW YORK TIMES: “Follow the water” has been NASA’s mantra for its Mars exploration for more than a decade. Phoenix will be the first space probe to directly touch Martian water when its robotic arm digs down to the ice layer, expected a few inches beneath the surface, and scoops up some for examination. Phoenix reached its destination after a 422-million-mile journey that lasted almost 10 months. During the final, tense minutes of the descent, long stretches of quiet in the mission control room at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory were punctuated by cheers and clapping as confirmation of crucial events […]

KILLADELPHIA: 4 Killed Since U Busted Out The Grill

INQUIRER: The four deaths in Philadelphia brought the city’s homicide toll through yesterday to 122. There were 163 murders as of May 25 last year. The first of the four Philadelphia homicides was discovered at 10:31 p.m. Friday, when police found Oanh Na Lieu shot multiple times inside a BMW parked on the 2600 block of South Seventh Street in South Philadelphia. Lieu, 22, of West Philadelphia, was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:45 p.m. * Three Philadelphia men were shot dead in separate incidents in the city in the early today. According to Homicide Sgt. William Gallagher police […]

CINEMA: Whip It Good

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (2008, directed by Steven Spielberg, 124 minutes, U.S.) BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRITICWhen Raiders of the Lost Ark arrived in 1981, it was a 180-degree turn from the epics that the other New Generation Hollywood directors were making; let them have their glowering Colonel Kurtzes and their wife-beating Jake LaMottas. Spielberg and Lucas would reinvent the movie serials of ’30s & ’40s, with their iconic heroes and all the thrills of 13 chapters stuffed into a two-hour feature. Spielberg’s gift with pure action transformed Raiders into something transcendent, and in the […]

NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t

FRESH AIR Home Before Dark, the 46th album from singer-songwriter Neil Diamond, is No. 1 on the pop charts. It’s the first time Diamond has had a No. 1 debut in a career that’s spanned nearly five decades. For the new album, he enlisted producer Rick Rubin, who also worked on Diamond’s 2005 album 12 Songs — but who’s known more for his work with groundbreaking rap acts. Diamond’s guilty-pleasure hits include “Sweet Caroline,” “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon” and “Cherry Cherry.” Writer Michael Chabon won a Pulitzer Prize in 2000 for his novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier […]

HOT DOCUMENT: Diagramming The Mind Of Hillary

[via 236.com] THE GREATEST HILLARY IMPERSONATION ON EARTH! This woman is, like, Lucille Ball-talented, somebody give her a show, or the Veep slot. UPDATE: ABC News’ Kate Snow Reports: In an interview with the Argus Leader, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., took the unusual step of invoking the assassination of Sen. Robert Kennedy, D-N.Y., when discussing the continuing Democratic nomination battle.”My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don’t understand it.” Clinton said. Obama […]

NEWS CLUES: Like A Plural Marriage To The Truth

Booker Fired From Q-102, Phawker Trying To Give A Damn…Still Trying Chris Booker is out as morning host at Q102 as the Clear Channel station moves to a show that’s more music-intensive. The station also confirmed that producer Blaire Galaton and sidekick Angi Taylor also were let go. Sidekick Diego Ramos will remain at the station, but the show will not carry his name. Booker this morning said he was “surprised. Very, very surprised. It’s very successful show. I’ve been fired before for low ratings, but never for being No. 1.” It’s been a weird year for Booker, who was […]

KILLADELPHIA: Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

INQUIRER: Leaning up against the counter in his second-floor gun shop in South Philadelphia, Gregory J. Isabella just sighed. On Tuesday, his business, Firing Line Inc., and the business of a competitor, Colosimo’s Inc. in Center City, found themselves in the crosshairs of Mayor Nutter, who referred to them as “gun traffickers.” Isabella’s been in the gun business nearly a quarter of a century, and it’s always the same. Politicians are constantly squawking about guns. Lots of squawk, not a lot of real action. “You look at all these politicos and all these bureaucrats,” Isabella said. “They are hypocrites. They […]