Cory Booker Mocks Gay Rumors

NJ Senatorial candidate Cory Booker performed at Stu Bykofsky's Candidates Comedy Night which benefits the Variety Club charities on August 23. His well received comedy routine included bits that mocked about the rumors that he is gay, being frequently compared to Obama, and his friendship with Republican Governor Chris Christie. Of course, there were the requisite jokes about birth certificates, political pandering, Philly sports fans, and Oprah. Unlike several of the other candidates, the charismatic Booker was able to be funny without any hint of raunchiness.



He addressed the gay rumors after being accused of inseminating a panda by another candidate performer.

Booker said, "I have been accused of some incredible things like being a KKK member, Jewish, Republican, gay, and a member of the CIA, but never inseminating a panda."

He touched on one local issue.

Why did George Washington cross the Delaware in a boat? he asked. "Because even back then, the tolls were too damn high."

On the day of the event, Obama endorsed Booker as the Democratic candidate for the Senate in New Jersey. While proud of the endorsement, he carefully delineated the differences between the two.

"When Obama left school, he became a community activist. When I left school, I became a neighborhood coordinator," joked the NJ senatorial candidate. "President Obama was born in the United States. I was born in Washington DC. Given the way that they kept records back then, I may not be able to produce a birth certificate."

Booker made light of the criticism that he receives over his friendship with Republican Governor Chris Christie. He also dismissed the possibility of any friction between them due to the governor's endorsement of his Republican opponent.

"My opponents came after me for me being close to the Governor of my state when I am mayor of the largest city," he said. "Last night, when I was with Mary Pat and Chris brushing our teeth and we expressed our frustration."

Not one to take himself seriously, Booker mocked his celebrity status. Talking about the frustrations of the campaign trial, he said, "Thanks goodness, I have Oprah to talk to."

Two Bills Provide Hope for Higher Education in Pennslvania

The Oregon legislature recently passed unanimously a bill, “Pay it Forward,” bill that authorized a pilot program to students to attend Oregon public universities tuition free.  This innovative idea might have sparked a higher education revolution in Pennsylvania. Two Philadelphia area legislators, who are both running to replace Allyson Schwartz in the US Congress, raced to copy the innovative idea albeit taking different approaches. 

While many of my journalism colleagues have written about the race to introduce the bill, I believe that high education is too important an issue to play insider baseball with it. 

Pa State Senator Daylin Leach, whose district included part of Montgomery and Delaware counties, argues with Pennsylvania having one of the lowest college graduation rates in the country, the state vitally needs an overhaul of its higher education system so its citizens will have the skills to work in this economy and jobs don’t need to be sent overseas.

The bill of Representative Brendan Boyle, who represents Northeast Philadelphia in the Pennsylvania House, mirrors the Oregon bill.  He wants to mandate the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency to study the issue and run a pilot program.

“I am probably the only public official that still had $60,000 in student loan debt, said Boyle, who went to Notre Dame on an academic scholarship. “I have been a leader on higher education issues since I was elected to the House 5 years ago. I introduced the bill for the REACH Scholarships for academically gifted students, which was modeled after the HOPE scholarship program in Georgia.”

Leach will be introducing a bill in September that outlines a plan to implement the free tuition program. He is working with Representative Mark Longetti, who represents Mercer County.

“We don’t feel a need to study the issue, “said Leach’s chief of staff Zachary Hoover. “We think it is such a good idea that it should be implemented immediately.

Leach’s proposal, “Pay it Forward, Pay it Back,” initially calls for an extraction tax on Marcellus Shale to establish the fund. He expects the fund to be self-sustaining after 15 years.

“Students will be able to borrow from the fund to pay for their tuition interest free, said Leach. “It will not be a case of them borrowing $100,000, and owing $150,000 because of the interest they racked up."

Once they start working, those that borrowed will have their wages 4% a year until they repay the loan.

“For those that do not find a job, their loans will not be in default, explained the Senator. “The loan proceeds will be repaid by an insurance policy that they took out when they originally borrowed the loan. If the loan is for $100,000, they will borrow $110,000. $10,000 will be used to buy an insurance policy.”

For those that ask why they should care about high education costs when they don’t have children, Boyle has a ready answer.

“The indebtedness of our young people affects the economy, particularly industries such as real estate,” he said. “Young people are delaying purchasing home because of their large student loans. A local real estate agent told me that he used to see people in their mid to late twenties buying home, now they wait until they are in their mid-thirties.”

Former Senator Questions US Pushing Snowden into Russia's Arms

The email correspondence of former Senator Gordon Humphrey, who represented New Hampshire in the US Senate from 1979-1990, saying that NSA leaker Edward Snowden had "done the right thing done the right thing in exposing what I regard as massive violation of the United States constitution'" was published in the Guardian this week.. Humphrey has no plans to become a "pen pal" with Snowden, but is working hard to get him out of Russia and receive asylum in a country more friendly to the United States. Yesterday, he was meeting with a lawyer that specializes in asylum issues to get advice. He also plans to get in contact with the Swedish professor who nominated the whistleblower for a Nobel Prize and others in Sweden. 

The former Senator said, "I believe that Edward Snowden is a whistleblower. The United States has isolated him so he can only seek asylum from unfriendly countries. I am working to stimulate interest in Sweden, a friendly but independent country, to offer him whistleblower protection."

He thinks it is a mistake for the United States to push Snowden into Russian arms. 

"Putin is not to be trusted," he said. "I am afraid that the Russian Intelligence Service will find Snowden in a comprising situation or manufacture one and then he will be forced to betray his country. Just this week, they convicted an activist on trumped up charges and sentenced him to five years for speaking out."

Humphrey is pushing for Sweden, a country that is friendly to the United States but independent, to take Snowden. He chose Sweden because of its history with the Nobel Prize and its long record of civil society. Perhaps most importantly because the hour long flight from Russia to Russia to Sweden will not require flying over another country. 

He said, "I was shocked at the level of arrogance and the dangerousness the United States risked in its efforts in preventing the plane of the Bolivian president from flying over European airspace."

Humphrey will not stop once Snowden has asylum. 

"Although government has never been a Boy Scout troop, the period that I served in Washington was the age of innocence compared to what is going on," said the former Senator. "We tried to do the right thing. I couldn't imagine that we would be tracking millions of people every day. This is the latest in a growing list of lawlessness. The IRS investigating organizations based on their political beliefs and subpoenaing an AP reporter's records are other examples. It is time to stand up. We have to restore our constitutional limits. We must return to the rule of law."

He wants to see those that ordered the massive spying prosecuted.

"We need to bring to justice those that have trampled our rights," said Humphrey. "Congress has so far made on effort to find out who ordered this and remove them from office. Yahoo and Google were forced to be accomplices and turn over private emails to public officials."

He blames the revolving door between government service and lobbying for creating the culture that allowed unquestioned mass surveillance to go on. 

"With the revolving door of government and lobbying, we have created masters, not servants, of the people. They are showing contempt for the people," said Humphrey, who deliberately left the Senate after two terms and hates even driving through Washington now. "Their attitude is that they can do what they please. They have forgotten that the people not government are their clients.

He does not expect current members of Congress to support his efforts. 

"There are 38 members of Congress serving on committees overseeing the NSA," said Humphrey. "Feinstein, who has been there too long, and the other members of Congress have lost perspective. They would have to admit that they did something wrong. That is why they are clamoring for Snowden's head."

He is hoping that former members of Congress, who can be more independent, will contact him. He has received a few emails of support, but none yet from any former members of Congress. 

Congressional Candidate Snubbed by Clinton In-laws

When Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz decided to run for Pennsylvania governor in 2014, the Democratic primary for her old seat became wide open. Marjorie Margolies, Chelsea Clinton's mother-in-law, entered the race for her old Congressional seat (Pa 13).  Many pundits assumed that she would become the front runner due to the fund raising prowess of the Clintons. So far, Clintons have not offered Margolies much support, which stands in contrast to the all out effort that former President Bill Clinton waged for Kathleen Kane's contested primary for Pa Attorney General.

Congressional candidate Marjorie Margolies raised $185,000 for the quarter. This puts her last in the race for dollars. State Senator Daylin Leach raised over $350,000, physician Valerie Arkoosh collected more than $285,00, and State Representative Brendan Boyle raised $252,000

Several Clinton loyalists, such as former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, Vernon Jordan, and former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, did contribute to Margolies' campaign. It is a little surprising that Margolies' Wall Street son or his wife Chelsea did not contribute to his mother's race.

For the Clintons' not to donate to the campaign is akin to a slap in the face. Without Margolies' 1993 vote for Clinton's budget, it would have failed in Congress. She made that vote knowing that she would lose her Congressional seat. 

Hilary Clinton could have given a boost to Margolies campaign when she recently spoke at Bryn Mawr College at the Women in Public Service Project. The project, which trains women in conflict regions to be leaders, is very similar to the program that Margolies runs, Women's Campaign International.  Yet there is no sighting or mention of Margolies.

Chelsea, write your mother-in-law a check. Otherwise, she might not be able to stay in the race.

Philadelphia Building Collapse Victim's Art Shows Her Enormous Talent

I thought it would be a fitting memorial to post pictures drawn by Anne Bryan, one of the victims of the building collapse in Philadelphia. Her enormous talent is exemplified in these pictures. The world lost a great painter and will hereafter be a little less beautiful. Her memorial service is tomorrow at 5 pm at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

Heike Rass, executive vice president of marketing and communications for the school, said, "Anne's death has hit PAFA hard. We are a tiny school, only 300 students. The graduate students know the undergraduates.

A fund has been set up to defray the funeral costs of those killed in the building collapse. If you wish to donate, go here. 

Tumblr Banker Establishes Quattrone Center for Fair Administration of Justice - Video

Frank Quattrone and Pennsylvania Innocence Project dinner  chairman Carolyn Short

Investment banking giant, Frank Quattrone, had a busy May. Quattrone, the CEO and founder of Qatalyst Partners in San Francisco, advised Tumblr, which was sold to Yahoo for $1.1 billion. His wife, Denise Foderaro Quattrone, was honored at the Pennsylvania Innocence Project dinner earlier in the month. 

Denise Foderao Quattrone, who is tiny, is second to left. 

It was announced at the dinner that the couple, who are both Penn Alumni and Philadelphia natives, is establishing the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.The idea for the center originated after Frank Quattrone's entanglement with the legal system. He was convicted of obstruction of justice and witness tampering in 2004 and ordered to serve 18 months in jail. The appeals courts dismissed one of the charges. Quattrone later signed a deferred prosecution agreement that admitted no guilt.

After his ordeal, Quattrone realized that there must be other innocent people in prison who did not have his resources to fight their charges and selflessly decided to help them. This has motivated the Quattrone to quietly work to reform the justice system and help those that have been wrongly accused.

The new Quattrone Center could introduce a new paradigm for the criminal justice system. It will be a game changer for the wrongfully accused. With the help of the center, the innocent may now have a chance of clearing their name. It will be interesting to see if other Penn alumni that have had their skirmishes with law enforcement, such as Michael Milken and Steven A Cohen will contribute to the center.





When one listens Frank and Denise Quattrone's moving account of their legal odyssey, it is immediately apparent that our criminal justice system is broken.The average person has very little chance of proving their innocence without a "fierce warrior" as he lovingly calls his wife. Denise worked so intensely on his case that the defense team devoted one lawyer to answering her emails.

While their fellow members of their economic class typically donate to the arts or medical institutions, the Quattrones have chosen to help the lowest of the low-prisoners. The couple doesn't just write checks. They get their hands dirty. Denise Quattrone researches the exonerated for the National Exoneration Registry, which details every known person exonerated since 1989. University of Michigan law professor, Samuel Gross, estimates that she has found 1/2 of the names on the registry.

She often meets the families of the wrongly accused at a San Francisco hotel to offer her support. She also sponsors a retreat for these families and has paid for them to fly to hearings.

The Quattrones work with many of the innocence projects across the country. They were one of the first to unite the disparate state organizations. Representatives from several of these organizations were in attendance at last night's dinner to pay respect to the Quattrones.

The innocence projects do not only work to free the innocent. They also lobby law enforcement and legislatures to instill best practices to facilitate reversing a wrong conviction in the future. Richard Glazer, executive director of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project noted, when I interviewed him for Metro , would like to see more district attorney's office establish conviction integrity units within their own offices. 

The Pennsylvania Innocence Project is pushing the legislature to pass laws that would make evidence preservation rules uniform throughout the state. “Evidence, such as rape kits and blood, is currently kept randomly. Our investigators find them in court, medical examiners, or DA’s files,” said Glazer. 

As a bonus, I have included two short clips showing the warm side of Quattrone. 

Ensler Announces 2 Billion Rising And Call to Justice for 2014

Eve Ensler, founder of V-Day, was at the Free Library of Philadelphia on Saturday night to plug her new book, "In The Body of The World". Near the end of her book reading, she announced that One Billion Rising will be expanded  for V-Day 2014.

V-Day, which was founded to draw attention to violence against women, was originally commemorated every Valentine's Day with performances of her play, "The Vagina Monologues". She created One Billion Rising, which mobilized one billion people to dance in the streets to protest violence against women, to mark the 15th anniversary in 2013.

"We are going to have 2 Billion Rising and a Call to Justice for 2014," she said. "We are asking women who have been attacked to file charges." If the statue of limitations has not expired, then we are asking to go to the court and file charges. If they have filed charges, we are asking them to go to find out what is happening. Can you imagine the lines of people that will be forming outside courthouses all over the world?

Call to Justice could produce a seismic change in the way that violence against women is looked at. There is strength in numbers. Women, who had previously kept silent about the attack, might be more willing to come  forward in a group situation. With so few sexual assaults reported, the optics of lines of women waiting to press charges against their attackers might change public sentiment.

Ensler recently was diagnosed with stage 3 uterine cancer. She has surgery and chemotherapy. Nothing keeps this women down.