Good morning, City Desk readers, and welcome to another Freedom Friday!

Theory: Mainstream political reporters are to Sen. Ted Kennedy what Sports Illustrated's Peter King is to Brett Favre. Kennedy wasn't just any old senator--he was a monolith, a model, a(n) [insert ejaculatory praise here]; Favre, despite his retirement shenanigans, isn't just any old quarterback--he's the Lion of the NFL.

Read More "Our Morning Roundup: Ted Kennedy, Quarterback" »

Late last month, WaPo's Ian Shapira accused Gawker of ripping off his story about a pricey consultant: "Gawker's version of my story, headlined " 'Generational Consultant' Holds America's Fakest Job," begins by telling its readers to "Meet Anne Loehr" -- with a link to my story but no direct mention of The Post."

The fallout that ensued was tremendous. A few web-only writers went after Gawker, but even more argued that at least Gawker gave credit, whereas newspapers, television stations, and other old media frequently don't when they re-report a story.

Well, CNN recently did to criminal justice reporter Radley Balko, who lives in Northern Virginia, what Gawker supposedly did to Shapira, except it failed to give any credit where much credit was due.

Read More "Radley Balko Comments on CNN’s Unattributed Use of His Reporting" »

Single Payer Action promised yesterday to picket Whole Foods stores in New York, Austin, and D.C., and today, picketing they are: Neatly, sweetly, and sweatily, making the lunch scene at 1440 P St. NW the most bucolic  in the history of organic-food-store protests.

Holding up a piece of orange poster board three times as wide as she is that reads "Boycott Whole Foods," Carol Kramer is just waiting for Whole Foods CEO John Mackey to take it all back so that she can resume being a Whole Foods customer.

When asked if she misses the salad bar, Kramer makes a delighted face and then winces.

"I miss being in there," she says, nodding towards the door. Read More "Whole Foods Protesters Miss the Salad Bar" »

Good morning, City Desk readers, and welcome to the last Creative-Loafing-in-bankruptcy Freedom Friday! This time next week, we very well might be under "new management," as health-code-violating restaurants like to say.

Today: Lefties will picket the Whole Foods at P Street. Tomorrow: Righties will respond by handing out Whole Food CEO John Mackey's Wall Street Journal editorial. In the near future: At least one person plans to boycott Wal-Mart to punish the mega retailer for pulling its ads from Glenn Beck's show.

To all of the above, a newsflash: Boycotting is a) wrong and b) doesn't work.

Read More "Our Morning Roundup: Boycott City" »

In response to Whole Foods CEO John Mackey's August 11th op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, in which he decried the public option, the non-profit organization Single Payer Action has organized protests at Whole Foods stores in Austin, D.C., and New York.

From the group's organizing email:

We know that Whole Foods allows non-profit public interest groups to set up tables inside their stores to allow these groups to reach Whole Foods' liberal customer base.

Our demand: That Whole Foods allow single payer advocates to set up shop inside Whole Foods stores around the country and allow them to counter the lies and distortions of their CEO John Mackey on health care.

The "first wave"of D.C. protests will take place tomorrow (Friday, Aug. 21) from noon-1 p.m. at the Whole Foods at 1440 P Street NW. Washington City Paper will be there with cameras, recording the madness.

Good morning, City Desk readers, and welcome to another Freedom Friday! How about this "heat wave," enh? ENH?

Michael Phelps, Olympiad and hero to long-necked people everywhere, crashed his Escalade in Baltimore last night. To give you an impression of how bad the accident was, here's WaPo's headline: "Phelps Uninjured in Two-Vehicle Crash." There wasn't enough room in the headline to mention that the person in the other car was left uninjured as well--only "shaken up."

It's an important story because Michael Phelps is A FAMOUS SWIMMER AND IMPORTANT YOUNG MAN, and when he was fresh out of high school, he was arrested for driving under the influence. Five years is nothing in journalism years--so maybe the the solid graf that addresses Phelp's sobriety was worth including. Then again, there's this [emphasis mine]:

Police found no reason to perform any tests on him, [Officer] Guglielmi said. Officers also examined both vehicles and found no evidence of drugs or alcohol, he said.

Read More "Our Morning Roundup: When It Comes to Phelps, Only Bad News Matters" »

Darrow Montgomery, Washington City Paper's amazing staff photographer, just alerted me to a new Facebook phishing scam. While using social media to spread the good word of WCP, Darrow received an instant message from an old friend. Said old friend claimed that she was stranded in London after having been robbed at gunpoint of all identification and forms of payment.

But Darrow is smart and wasn't about to go wiring money across the pond. A call was made to his wife, who knows the stranded woman, and who was then able to verify that THE WOMAN IS NOT ACTUALLY IN LONDON; she's in Georgetown.

Turns out her FB doppleganger has been hitting people up allllll day. The proper authorities have been contacted.

Don't get scammed, y'all!

Good morning sweet, sweet, City Desk readers, and welcome to another installment of Freedom Friday! We have a new justice at the Supreme Court of the United States--isn't that exciting? Dear race-baiting Republicans: Better luck next time (kisses).

In other other interesting news, the New York Times fired its second token conservative yesterday. Ben Stein, of the late John Hughes' Ferris Bueller's Day Off, was relieved of his financial column for acting as "a commercial spokesman for FreeScore, a financial services company," according to Felix Salmon. Not too long ago the Times declined to renew William Kristol's contract because of the error-riddled dreck he scribbled in crayon on ripped paper bags and then forced into the NYT courier's chubby cheeks for transport. I completely agree with both decisions but find it sickening that the Times can't seem to part with Maureen Dowd,  a plagiarist, total luddite, and liberal sycophant; or Alessandra Stanley, who writes her column using a quill filled with unhappiness and checks her reporting against the ingredients list on a box of crack-cocaine. Simply put:  The Times needs to hold its writers to a higher standard.

Birthers after the jump.
Read More "Our Morning Roundup: Birthers, Ben Stein, and the Nature of Reality" »

Good morning, City Desk readers, and welcome to Tuesday! It's not a themed Tuesday, because really, can't we just be grateful it's not Monday anymore? Jesus.

Lots of news about shoes, after the jump! Read More "Our Morning Roundup: Better Late Than Never" »

Kudos to CNN for leading its Obama Beer Summit story with who drank what instead of who said what. There's a special place in hell for people who pander. Also, did you know Obama had another meeting yesterday, with Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo? Of course not.

While we're on the topic of elevating abusive cops above world leaders, I've got two more candidates for future beer summits--and one of 'em's local!

Read More "Our Morning Roundup: We Need Another Beer Summit" »

Good morning, City Desk readers (both insured and uninsured), and welcome to our muggiest Freedom Friday yet! Bad ideas thrive on attention, and the Henry Louis Gates Jr. story is getting a ton of it. According to the arrest report, which Gates has said contains "fabrications," the arresting officer asked Gates to come outside and for his ID and Gates initially refused to cooperate. He was then able to prove himself the resident of the home and was instead arrested for being belligerent.

In essence, Gates was arrested for saying that he felt violated and oppressed on his own property. And President Barack Obama was right: The Cambridge police did "act stupidly." The arresting officer, Sergeant Jim Crowley, claims “there was a lot of yelling, there was references to my mother,” and yet neither charge would hold up even as a ticketable offense.

But for the record, finding yourself in handcuffs after arguing with a police officer isn't something that just happens to blacks and Latinos. Cops everywhere are always on the lookout for opportunities to assert their authority, and, as in Gates' case, they'll gladly misinterpret public safety laws in order to show a civilian who's the boss.

Read More "Our Morning Roundup: Do You Feel Safer?" »

We interrupt your regular schedule of news that matters to report that video-game maker Konami, the brains behind Dance Dance Revolution, Metal Gear Solid, and Silent Hill, has partnered with the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, the entertainment goliath behind Tim and Eric, Venture Bros., and Squidbillies, to release a video game for Xbox and Playstation based on the hit show Metalocalypse, according to a release from Cartoon Network Enterprises.

According to Brendon Small, the show's creator, Konami and Adult Swim went "above and beyond and found the biggest nerds in the industry to help develop and deliver what will without a doubt be the most successful downloadable cartoon death metal game in recorded history.”

But wait, there's more.

Read More "BREAKING: Metalocalypse Gets Its Own Video Game" »

Good morning, City Desk readers, and welcome to the running-like-a-scalded-dog edition of Freedom Friday! Last night, yours truly cabbed his sweaty, sushi-filled gut to Source for the initial performance of the Capital Fringe Festival's Bare Breasted Women Sword Fighting. What a show! It may have changed my perspective on a lot of things, porn included. I'll post a "hipshot" review of the show over at Fringe&Purge later this morning. Which reminds me: If you haven't read Washington City Paper's Fringe blog, you're really missing out--like these fellas missed out on every single Sadie Hawkins dance.

Child porn, compulsory abortions, and Obama birthers after the jump.

Read More "Our Morning Roundup: No Prison for Child Porn" »

Here's what our dear, dear Jule Banville--just gimme a sec to dry my eyes--had to say about tonight's musical offering at the Rock & Roll Hotel:

If Elizabeth and the Catapult hit its debut a touch sooner—and landed an iPod commercial, of course—it’d be Elizabeth Ziman, and not Leslie Fiest, singing with Tweedy on the new Wilco album. Instead, Ziman’s folksy, jazzy chamber-pop trio has built a loyal downtown following in New York, where Ziman grew up, and packed the Red and the Black last month at the start of the Taller Children tour.

JESUS! Did somebody say WILCO? WILCO ALERT! Lizzie and her Cat-o-pole playing music after the jump. Show deets right this way.

Read More "Tonight in City Lights: Elizabeth and the Catapult" »

Good morning, City Desk readers, and welcome to a somewhat hungover Fringe Friday! Your intrepid blogger, after much good-natured cajoling, ended up at last night's Fringe kick-off in Chinatown. Boy oh boy, did I have fun! I met Wrath, Gluttony, and Greed from The Sin Show, and according to all the cards I found in my back pocket this morning, I met lots of other friendly people, too! My only regret is the tequila! Trey Graham posted some photos from the launch party (he calls them "Fringe Fotos"--so fun, changing ph's to f's in honor of Fringe!) at the Fringe and Purge blog, which you should all bookmark and check regularly, for the hobbit references, and because a whole bunch of us will be bloggy-bloggy-blogging there nonstop until Fringe ends.

Why the whole world loves/hates the Washington City Paper, Michael Jackson's immortal soul, and some Friday zen, after the jump.

Read More "Our Morning Roundup: Shrimp and White Wine" »