Phawker

BY JONATHAN VALANIA When Buffalo Beast editor Ian Murphy called up the governor of Wisconsin late last month pretending to be David Koch — AKA one half of the infamous Koch Brothers — he not only humiliated a sitting governor and revealed him to be nothing more than a stooge for the corporate oligarchy, he also put a chink of transparency in the armor of a rapacious billionaire who has heretofore proven untouchable. Sure, it was juvenile, irresponsible and barely legal but I would argue that it was also the greatest feat of gonzo journalism since Hunter S. Thompson published Fear And Loathing On The Campaign Trail. George McGovern’s campaign manager famously said that Thompson’s book was “the least accurate and yet most truthful account of the campaign.” Arguably, Ian Murphy’s prank phone call was the least accurate but most truthful piece of reportage (yes reportage, it was fly on-the-wall immersion journalism taken to it’s logical extreme) on The Battle Of Wisconsin because it pulled back the curtain to reveal, in a way that everyone could easily grasp, the depressing reality that corporate puppetmasters now control the strings of politicians. Let’s face it, most Americans didn’t read Jane Mayer’s exhaustive and indispensable Koch Brothers expose in the New Yorker,  but in the wake of the blanket news coverage Murphy’s prank phone call garnered just about everyone understands the gist of her piece: elected officials serve at the pleasure of the corporate overlords that funded their ascendance to public office. And is not making the scales fall from the eyes of the general public — wherein they once were blind but now can see, to paraphrase an old hymn — the ultimate act of journalism? Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. With this in mind, we got Murphy on the horn to discuss all the above as well as his plans to run for Congress as the Green Party candidate.

PHAWKER: What were you hoping to accomplish when you called up Gov. Walker posing as David Koch?

IAN MURPHY: To prove one simple point: That at a time when Walker couldn’t be bothered to talk to the voters of Wisconsin, or even the Democratic Senators in exile, he had plenty of time to talk about crushing unions with an archconservative billionaire donor.

PHAWKER: Looking back, what do you think you accomplished? What do you make of how the situation in Wisconsin played out?

IAN MURPHY:I’d normally be too bashful to say this, but after spending a week in Madison, I’d say I changed the narrative. Before the call, everyone—most bought into the false premise that Wisconsin was broke and poor Scott Walker was only doing what he could to make things right. After the call, people realized that Walker was carrying out, as he saw it, the first attack on working families and unions in a nationwide assault—one partially engineered by the Kochs. A lot of people never heard of the Kochs. They know them now. And they see this attack on the middle class sweeping the nation.

The situation in Wisconsin isn’t over. They crammed that anti-collective bargaining legislation through, and it’s since been temporarily stayed by a judge. It’s not over. Many of the State Senate Republicans face serious recall efforts, and once he’s been in office for a full year, as is the law, Walker himself will face a recall. And after the week I spent in Wisconsin, I have to say, he should be worried. He lied about what he’d do as Governor, he overreached on ideological grounds, and the good people of Wisconsin are going to fire his dumb ass. It’s not over.

PHAWKER: What was the fallout/blowback? Death threats, job offers, free drugs? Have you heard from the Koch people? Is there any legal action pending?

IAN MURPHY: No, no, nothing but shwag. Nothing from the Kochs. The last thing they’d want to do is draw attention to this again while litigating a case that they have absolutely no chance of winning.

PHAWKER: How do you respond to people saying you are the liberal equivalent of James O’Keefe? Do you see yourself as a counterweight to O’Keefe striking a blow for the good guys?

IAN MURPHY: I respond by fighting back the urge to punch things. You can make comparisons about the way we obtain information, but it ends there. He edits raw data to fit his conservative narrative, regardless of the truth, and I’d never do that. If you mean I’m a truthful counterbalance to his lies, then I have no problem with that.

PHAWKER: Can we expect more hijinks like this from you?

IAN MURPHY: Perhaps. It’s really not wise to say, especially now…

PHAWKER: Why are you running for Congress and what do you think your chances are?

IAN MURPHY: For all the corny reasons. I love my country and I want to make it a better place. I want to fight for the righteous, not the rich and depraved. I want middle class America to thrive again. I want to give people the opportunity to lead decent lives and have decent jobs that pay a decent wage. I also want people to go to my website (murphycanhascongress.com). After getting into the hard data, I’d say my chances are a lot better than people presume would be the case, for a third-party candidate in a typically republican district. Perfect storm: the Republican, the Democrat and the Tea Partier split the vote, and we excite half of the eligible voters who normally don’t see the point in choosing between Schmuck A and Schmuck B. We’re going to get people off the couch and surprise a lot of cynics.

PHAWKER: Could you please clarify Matt Taibbi’s connection to/involvement with The Beast?

IAN MURPHY: Matt founded The BEAST in 2002 and then quickly left town. I don’t know the guy and he’s never acknowledged my existence. So I’d like to take this opportunity to challenge him to a no holds barred game of cribbage. May the best man win.

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED

This week, All Songs Considered hands the reins to acclaimed experimental musician Noah Lennox, a.k.a. Panda Bear. Lennox made the trip down to NPR’s Washington, D.C. headquarters while on a visit to his hometown of Baltimore. He sat down with host Bob Boilen to talk about his upcoming album Tomboy (out April 12). Lennox began by naming some of the albums that grabbed his attention in his youth, Nirvana‘s Nevermind being a particular touchstone. But he quickly moved on to contemporary picks by musicians from his extended artistic circle, including Mississippi songwriter Dent May, reclusive electronic maestro Zomby and his own Animal Collective bandmate Avey Tare. He also chose a few cuts from Tomboy, as well as one by Spectrum, a sunny project helmed by the album’s mix engineer Peter Kember. MORE

FRESH AIR

Before the Fukushima disaster, nuclear power was being rebranded as a green form of energy. But in the wake of the devastating nuclear accident that is still unfolding in Japan, many Americans are now re-evaluating the potential costs and benefits of nuclear power. On today’s Fresh Air, New York Times energy reporter Matthew Wald joins Terry Gross for a wide-ranging conversation about the history — and future — of nuclear energy in the United States. Though storage and safety mechanisms are in place, he says, many unknown variables exist that are nearly impossible for regulators to forecast. “Essentially, when you reach the Fukushima Dai-ichi stage, the question is, ‘Are you prepared for things you haven’t predicted?’ And the answer is, ‘How can you tell?’ ” he says. “We’re certainly prepared for some things we haven’t predicted, but [we're not sure] what it is we’re preparing for.” MORE

@Phillyeducation is worried the cover will inspire copycat chainsaw massacres in the schools. @PhillyDailyNews is all like ‘wha?’ And it just goes downhill from there. Read all about HERE

RELATED: OP-ED: Time For Queen Arlene To Vacate The Throne

BY CAROLINE SCHMIDT Friday April first we can celebrate the birthday of Milan Kundera, Otto von Bismarck, Method Man and Edgar Wallace. We can shed a tear for Marvin Gaye, who died, a day before his birthday. Here are our top five places to do this, in no particular order. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to be romantically involved with Charles M. Shulz (okay, I hadn’t, until I heard about this show) look no farther. Space 1026‘s April event This is a Love Letter is a collection of nearly one hundred letters written by Shulz over the course of two years to native Philadelphian and at-the-time-partner Tracey Claudius. Opening Reception: Friday April 1st, 7-10PM. Space1026 is located at 1026 Arch St, 2nd floor.

This month the Locks Gallery presents Standing on the Edge: 20th Century Sculpture. The show “explores the sensation of vertigo and the fragile balance of an individual when facing war, the forces of Nature, or nostalgia,” and includes works by Louise Bourgeois, Isamu Noguchi, Bryan Hunt, Alexander Calder, Roberto Matta, and Auguste Rodin, among others. I subtitle this show Sculpture vs. the 20th century. Opening Reception: Friday April 1st, 5:30-7:30PM. Locks Gallery is located at 600 Washington Square South.

Use Your Head!, the bike helmet art show featuring twenty uniquely adorned Bern bicycle helmets designed by Philadelphian artists, opens tonight with a silent auction at the Vox Populi building on the second floor.

Kick in the Eye is a group show of recent painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, photography and video that engages with fractured ways of looking and being seen, and the processes and politics of identification. It opens this Friday at Vox Populi.  The show is being run in conjunction with two evenings of film screenings at the International House. Curated by Andrew Suggs. Opening Reception: Friday April 1st, 6-11PM. Live performance by Lovett/Codagnone at 9PM.  Vox Populi is located at 319 N 11^th street, third floor.

Soft Smoke Rises in Gay Rings Above the Roof, a group installation that uses Gaston Bachelard’s Poetics of Space as a jumping off point, is opening this Friday at Bodega. Comprising handmade sculptures and household items, the show proposes to explore the casual intersection of art and life. Opening Reception: Friday April 1st, 6-10PM. Bodega is located at 253 N. 3rd St.

A just-released study by Transportation for America says 26.5% percent of Pennsylvania’s bridges – or roughly 6,000 – have critical structural problems, earning the Keystone State the distinction of being The Most Dangerous State In The Union To Drive Across A Bridge. Don’t expect that to change any time soon.  “Are we trying to…find the funds for it? Yes. But I will go back, and you’ve heard me say it repeatedly: we inherited a $4.3 billion deficit that we have to resolve,” Governor Tom Corbett told Newswork’s Scott Detrow. In the mean time, we might want to start equipping bridges with life boats. Zing! In conjunction with the study, Transportation for America created this awesome interactive map: enter your address and it will show you all the troubled bridges within a 10-mile radius. Below is a screen grab of the results for Philadelphia, we started counting but gave up after 70. Welcome to life after Empire. Well, it was fun while it lasted.

[Click map to activate Internets]

PREVIOUSLY: The state Department of Transportation last year found 6,000 structurally deficient bridges statewide. Of those, 60 heavily traveled bridges were in the Philadelphia region and rated as bad as, or worse than, the condition of the Minnesota bridge that collapsed last August. MORE

Impersonating The Band hasn’t been a decently-paying gig since Scorsese filmed The Last Waltz in 1976, but judging by the full-up crowd at the Trocadero last time they came through town back in 2009 The Felice Brothers seem to be on their way. Actually, ‘impersonating’ sounds a little too dismissive and I like these guys, so let’s go with ‘evoking’ or ‘carrying on the old, weird Americana tradition’ of the Band instead. Besides, they have the pedigree (hail from upstate New York, sons of a carpenter) they’ve paid their dues (busked in the subways of New York; went acoustic at the Newport Folk Festival; woodshedd-ed at Levon Helm’s Barn Burner) and, more importantly, they are naturals. There are five Felice Brothers these days, but only two are actual blood brothers named Felice: waifish singer/guitarist Ian Felice, who looks like Dylan ‘63 and sings like Dylan ‘68; and bear-like keyboard/accordionist James Felice, who looks like a young Hank Williams Jr. in his beard and Zorro hat. A large part of the charm of the Felice Brothers live show is you get the distinct impression they would be having this much fun even if nobody showed up. There is something about the way they all smile when they play, like they share some wonderful private joke you want in on — kinda like The Basement Tapes. But if the electro-meets-The-Bad-Seeds hybrid of “Ponzi” –  the first track off Celebration, Florida due out May 5th on Fat Possum — is any indication, the Brothers have grown weary of The Band comparisons and want to make it clear they don’t live there anymore. – JONATHAN VALANIA

R5 Productions Presents: The Felice Brothers + Diamond Doves at The First Unitarian Church 8:00 PM tonight. Tickets: $20.00

DAVE DAVIES: I wish I knew how many hundreds of thousands of federal tax dollars have been spent investigating the New Black Panther Philadelphia voter intimidation case. We can add a few more, now that the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility has completed its review of the department’s handling of the matter. On election day in 2008, a pair of African-American guys wearing berets stationed themselves in front of a North Philadelphia polling place, calling themselves “security.” One of them had a nightstick. Though the beret boys didn’t interfere with ingress or egress from the polling place and not a single voter can be identified who was intimidated by their idiotic behavior, conservatives have been flogging the issue ever since. MORE

PHAWKER: Before Fox News started using this non-incident to scare white viewers — and the Justice Department spent a King’s Ransom worth of allegedly scarce tax dollars investigating this non-incident, and then investigating their investigation of this non-incident, all at the behest of faux-outraged conservative talking heads — The New Black Panther Party commanded a following that numbered in the tens. Please stop feeding the trolls.

RELATED:  In the final stretch of the 2008 campaign, a Fox News executive repeatedly questioned on the air whether Barack Obama believed in socialism. Now it turns out he didn’t really believe what he was saying. Bill Sammon, now the network’s vice president and Washington managing editor, acknowledged the following year that he was just engaging in “mischievous speculation” in raising the charge. In fact, Sammon said he “privately” believed that the socialism allegation was “rather far-fetched.” MORE

INQUIRER: The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced today that two retired priests have been placed on administrative leave while it reviews allegations that they have engaged in inappropriate behavior with minors. The two men join 24 other priests suspended by Cardinal Justin Rigali since the Februrary 10 release of a grand jury report on predatory priests in the archdiocese. MORE

RELATED: A Philadelphia grand jury report released in February alleges that the man, identified as “Ben,” had approached church investigators in 2007 with claims of repeated fondling and abuse by a priest at St. Mark during the 1970s. “Ben” had been an altar server at the church at the time. In 2008, church investigators notified “Ben” that his allegations could not be proven. Less than a year later, “Ben,” at age 36, committed suicide, according to the grand jury report. The priest, who was named in the grand jury report, has since retired. He has never been charged with a crime. MORE

PREVIOUSLY: Archdiocese Suspends 21 Priests Pending An Investigation Into Widespread Child Abuse Allegations

RELATED: Inquirer Names The Names

Times Square, 3:15 PM Tuesday by JEFF FUSCO

From Helplessness Blues, out May 3rd.

ROBIN PECKNOID, SINGER-SONGWRITER, FLEET FOXES: Hey, my name’s Robin and I’m a singer in and songwriter for Fleet Foxes, here to write the promotional biography meant to accompany and explain Helplessness Blues. I’m just going to write down some thoughts I have about the album and give you some context. Let’s do this. So, for a bit of background: we’re from Seattle, and the members of the band are me, Skye Skjelset, Josh Tillman, Casey Wescott, Christian Wargo, and now our buddy Morgan Henderson, who helped out on the album and will join the band on tour. The band began as just me and Skye in Junior High, playing songs in his bedroom, until we moved to Seattle, settled on a name, and began meeting other musicians and playing with different people until we met all the guys currently on board. Casey joined in 2005, Christian in 2007, and Josh joined shortly before our first album was released, but after we’d recorded it. So, that’s some background information. Good luck working that into something intriguing. We released our first album in 2008, had a lot of unexpected support from people and the press and we ended up on tour until October of 2009 (we’d expected to do one or two U.S. tours and hoped to start our next album in the Fall of 2008!)

Recording started with demos at a building in Seattle that’s been multiple recording studios since the ‘70s, from Triangle, to Jon & Stu’s, to Reciprocal Recording, to the Hall of Justice. A number of incredible albums have been made in that building over the years, including Bleach by Nirvana. So we were lucky enough to take over the lease when Death Cab for Cutie moved out in October 2009, and I started writing songs more seriously again. A couple months later, Joanna Newsom asked me if I would open some shows for her. As a huge fan of hers, I was completely honored and flattered that she’d want me to open her shows, and I felt like I needed some new songs that I could play alone. So, a number of the songs that ended up on this album came from the writing that preceded those tours. Having to play the songs alone meant I was really focusing on having a clear lyric and a strong melody, which ended up being a great change of focus for me as a writer because I’d spent a lot of 2009 messing around with non-songwriter type music and not always finding it satisfying.
(more…)

MICHAEL REAGAN: Thirty years ago, on March 30, 1981, my father, Ronald Reagan, went to the Washington Hilton to address the AFL-CIO. After the speech, he left the Hilton by the VIP exit, surrounded by aides and Secret Service agents. A small crowd lined the sidewalk—including one disturbed young man, John W. Hinckley, Jr. As my father waved, Hinckley pulled a revolver and fired six shots in 1.7 seconds. MORE

RELATED: Every modern president has been given a code name by the Secret Service. Some code names have been apt; some have not. John F. Kennedy was Lancer, a clear effort to evoke Camelot, the legend often associated with Kennedy. Reagan’s predecessor, Jimmy Carter, was Deacon, an appropriate code name for a former Sunday school teacher and devout Christian. But neither Timberwolf (George H. W. Bush) nor Eagle (Bill Clinton) had any particular resonance. Reagan’s code name fit him well. It was first given to him in 1976, when the former California governor was assigned Secret Service protection during his unsuccessful attempt to win the Republican nomination. Because the military—which manages communications for the White House—is responsible for drawing up a list of potential code names, a U.S. Army master sergeant was charged with the task of reviewing an inventory of available military call signs that could be used for Reagan. He thought Rawhide was suitable because the former actor had appeared in several westerns and was known to be a rancher. MORE

BBC: Over the Secret Service radio, the word went out: “Rawhide is OK, Rawhide is OK.” And the decision was made to take the president back to the White House – the safest place in Washington. But Mr Parr, with Reagan in the back of the car, started having doubts. At the city’s Dupont Circle he asked the president how he was feeling. “He said he was doing OK, ‘but I think I’ve cut the inside of my mouth’. And he started spitting up this bright red blood, real frothy, and I took one look at it and I looked at his mouth and I saw that it was ashen grey, little bit of blue around the lips. “And I just took a quick decision, I’m taking you to the hospital, and he said ‘OK’.” That act probably saved the president’s life. Reagan managed to walk unaided from the car into George Washington University Hospital but then collapsed. MORE

MICHAEL REAGAN: The medical team, led by Dr. Joseph Giordano, became intensely concerned as Dad’s blood pressure dropped and he seemed to be going into shock. They took him into the operating room and prepped him for surgery. At one point, Dad pulled his oxygen mask away and said, “I hope you’re all Republicans.” The doctors and nurses laughed and the tension in the room was broken. Dr. Giordano—a registered Democrat—said, “Today, Mr. President, we’re all Republicans.” MORE

TIME: It’s been 30 years since John W. Hinckley Jr. stood outside the Washington Hilton Hotel on a gray, misty day and tried to kill the President of the United States with a .22 caliber that he’d loaded with six Devastator bullets, designed to explode on impact. He is 55 now, younger than the four people he shot that day. One of his victims, the main target — my father — died more than six years ago. Three others remain. Former White House press secretary James Brady is 70. The most gravely wounded and the first one shot, he sustained a massive brain injury that left him paralyzed on one side and forever impaired. Timothy McCarthy, now 62, was a Secret Service agent trained to take a bullet for the person he was protecting. That’s what he did. He dived across my father and was shot in the abdomen. Thomas Delahanty is 76. On March 30, 1981, he was a District of Columbia police officer. After being struck in the back by one of Hinckley’s bullets, he was left with permanent nerve damage and was forced to retire. MORE

Dear Jodie:

There is definitely a possibility that I will be killed in my attempt to get Reagan. It is for this very reason that I am writing you this letter now.As you well know by now I love you very much. Over the past seven months I’ve left you dozens of poems, letters and love messages in the faint hope that you could develop an interest in me. Although we talked on the phone a couple of times I never had the nerve to simply approach you and introduce myself. Besides my shyness, I honestly did not wish to bother you with my constant presence. I know the many messages left at your door and in your mailbox were a nuisance, but I felt that it was the most painless way for me to express my love for you.I feel very good about the fact that you at least know my name and how I feel about you. And by hanging around your dormitory, I’ve come to realize that I’m the topic of more than a little conversation, however full of ridicule it may be. At least you know that I’ll always love you. Jodie, I would abandon the idea of getting Reagan in a second if I could only win your heart and live out the rest of my life with you, whether it be in total obscurity or whatever.I will admit to you that the reason I’m going ahead with this attempt now is because I cannot wait any longer to impress you. I’ve got to do something now to make you understand, in no uncertain terms, that I’m doing all of this for your sake! By sacrificing my freedom and possibly my life, I hope to change your mind about me. This letter is being written only an hour before I leave for the Hilton Hotel. Jodie, I’m asking you to please look into your heart and at least give the chance, with this historical deed, to gain your love and respect.

NATIONAL JOURNAL: The U.S. Secret Service has released its audio recording from the moments before John Hinckley Jr. fired his revolver at the president to the frantic arrival of first lady Nancy Reagan at George Washington University Medical Center, where her husband was undergoing emergency surgery. The 10-minute recording, from March 30, 1981, of the Secret Service’s “OSCAR” channel, which linked the Presidential Protective Division agents around Reagan with the agency’s “Horsepower” command post at the White House, begins with an agent announcing Reagan’s exit from the side door of the Washington Hilton hotel. MORE

Please standby for a Q&A with Ian Murphy, editor of Buffalo’s The Beast, AKA the man who called Wisconsin governor Scott Walker pretending to be David Koch, one half of the infamous Koch Brothers.  Coming soon to a Phawker near you!

PREVIOUSLY: KOCH SUCKER: Wisconsin Governor Punked By Alt-Weekly Editor Pretending To Be Koch Brother

RELATED: The newly elected governor of Maine, Paul LePage, is outspoken. He said that after his election readers could expect to see in their newspapers, “LePage tells Obama to go to hell.” When he refused to attend a Martin Luther King Day event, he said of the NAACP, “Tell them they can kiss my butt.” Not to be outdone by other Republican governors who are attacking unions, over the weekend he ordered the removal of a 36-foot mural celebrating labor from the lobby of the state Labor Department building in Augusta, and is retitling its conference rooms to remove the names of past labor leaders. His reason? They might make businessmen uncomfortable. How many such businessmen visit the Labor Department? And how many faint with panic at the sight of a mural that depicts historical scenes from Maine’s labor movement, like women building ships during World War II, and a 1986 paper strike? MORE

This is the mural the Republican governor of Maine ordered removed from the walls of the Maine Department of Labor because it might offend the oligarchs business community.