Mumia People Angry, As Usual

Yesterday, in the wake of a court ruling upholding a new penalty phrase for Mumia Abu-Jamal, guess how supporters of ol’ Mumia reacted? Of course: They’re all irate!

Anything short of a ruling declaring Mumia president of America would make Mumia supporters irate, of course. The story was the lead on the French national news for some reason, and Pam Africa shouted “motherfucker” at someone a few hundred times, no doubt. And, guess what? Africa is holding a Mumia rally in Center City on April 26! And won’t that rally be exciting!

Oh, Michael Smerconish really wants blood, because he’s too lame to do his own killings and needs the state to carry the deed out for him.

Abu-Jamal’s defenders irate; detractors see mixed bag [Inquirer]

Mayor Finds Way To Watch ‘Wire’ For Free

Now that The Wire is ending and everyong is letting you know they watch it so they seem so hip, urban and cultured — and ‘cuz it’s a good show, no doubt — it’s obvious Michael Nutter is going to get in on that action. He’s holding a screening at City Hall on Sunday for the show’s finale. He also got HBO to sanction the showing, so he’s not committing piracy like we’re warned not to on so many FBI and INTERPOL bulletins we can’t fast forward through on some DVD players.

“As a fan, it’s tremendous,” said Nutter. “I want to say thank you to HBO for responding.” Oh, yes, benevolent HBO, allowing this free publicity and endorsement from the mayor of a major American city. The final episode of The Wire airs Sunday at 8 p.m.; you can win tickets for the City Hall screening through a couple of newspapers.

What’s excellent is how angry people are. Oh, wait, it’s the Internet, that’s why things are always excellent. The comment on the Daily News story is angry; the comments on Catherine Lucey’s blog post about it yesterday were angry. Hey, it’s Sunday night at 8. What else is Nutter gonna be doing?

Nutter to screen “The Wire” finale in City Hall [Philly Clout]
Nutter opens City Hall for HBO finale [Daily News]

Primetime Will Do: Thanks, Milton

When I’m feeling down (especially when it’s for no reason other than maybe “it’s been dark out”), I think sometimes these jokes come off as sounding really angry. Forget that! And just in time, Milton went all Ron Paul on the court and claimed there’s no such thing as the income tax. Regardless of the merits of Street’s argument, it’s already been deemed invalid by the courts. This doesn’t bode well for poor Milt. But, hey, maybe he can chill with Wesley Snipes or something.

For a while the trial was getting boring. It was all tax code and fraud and nothing all that fun. Then, suddenly, Milton takes the stand and, WHAM!, hilarity. And people didn’t think he deserved at least a City Council spot? It would have been incredible.

Anonymous Internet Users Angry

Also in PW this week, George Miller writes about people on anonymous Internet messageboards complaining about a Rita’s in Northern Liberties. (He doesn’t quote the word “douchebag,” though.)

People who moved in to an area and changed its character don’t want other people — or, in this case, corporations — to move into the area and change its character again. Well, duh. Chains strike fear into the hearts of the hip, and people are worried a Gap might open somewhere. Oh no! A Gap!

Rita’s stores are franchises, though, so this store has a local owner, a Ryan grad who flipped real estate and made lots of money somehow. But check out what his Rita’s is going to be like:

He bought the 900-square-foot corner unit rather than leasing it. It cost him another $30,000 to get the franchise license. And he’s dropped about $50,000 renovating the space. When it’s completed, the shop will have indoor seating—15 red, green and white barstools, and a 42-inch plasma television. There will also be outdoor tables.

“I think this adds to the neighborhood,” Thude says. “Not too many Rita’s have 15 barstools and a plasma TV.”

A 42-inch plasma TV? I thought Rita’s were just supposed to be storefronts? Now here’s something that’s actually changing for the worse.

The Water Ice Storm [PW]

Road To 10,000 Losses: Jim Salisbury Will Not Tolerate The Phillies’ Lies

Road to 10,000 Losses is a countdown to the Phillies’ 10,000th loss, coming sometime later this year. With 4-3 loss to the Braves last night, the Phillies stand at 9970 losses, only 30 away from 10,000.

The Phillies didn’t just lose last night. They also learned after the game Tom Gordon will be heading to Philadelphia to be checked by a team physician. The Phillies’ closer hasn’t been all that good this season, with three blown saves. The new closer is Brett Myers.

But, hey, manager Charlie Manuel successfully performed a double switch last night! After his double switch the Braves’ bullpen retired the next eight batters, but, hey, he tried.

Inquirer writer Jim Salisbury wasn’t happy with anything, though. In the spring, he remembers, the Phillies’ said Tom Gordon’s random visit to Philadelphia was nothing. Nobody believed that, since they wouldn’t send him to Philadelphia unless he had a possible serious injury.

Whom can you believe in the Phillies organization these days? Anyone? [...]

Remember that not-so-secret trip home to Philadelphia that Gordon took in the spring? Remember how team officials insisted that Gordon’s shoulder, which landed him on the disabled list last season, was fine? Remember how the Phils repeatedly said he went home for a routine exam?

Turns out that was a whole load of compost.

Wow. Not only are the fans angry, the sportswriters are angry.

Update: Oh, and the Braves catcher yesterday? A rookie playing in his first game, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, of course. The previous day the Phillies manage to hit the other two Braves’ catches with their bats in the glove — this one was the catcher’s fault — and head, respectively. Go Phils!

Phillies lose the game and Gordon [Inquirer]