Your Fightin' Phils...

Oh those Philadelphia Phillies. Coming back from 9 games down, winning the division, making the playoffs...

And yet, I bet that most Phillies fans thought it would go down like this, and continue to be unoptimistic about games 3-5. But this collapse still isn't as bad as 1964:

1964 was an unforgettable year of heartbreak in the city of Brotherly Love . With 12 games remaining in the season the Phillies had a 6.5 game lead over St. Louis and were selling World Series tickets only to collapse into a 10-game losing streak and a legendary choke/second place finish. Manager Gene Mauch would forever be vilified by Philadelphia fans and media, though he did not depart until the middle of 1968.

Phillies Notebook
Philadelphia Inquirer

Here's the sketch:

Ecko's new Star Wars clothes line

I kid you not. Here's a quote from post on the Star Wars website:

"Mixing street style with Star Wars iconography, noted fashion designer Marc Ecko has developed a new, limited-edition collection of Star Wars-inspired apparel under license from Lucasfilm Ltd. Making this the first time a major designer has teamed up with Lucasfilm, the line will be available this holiday season through top domestic and international specialty stores, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the ever-popular film saga."

Here's the link. May the Force be with you, and continue to destroy my childhood.

Kubies...check it out

Hat tip to: Drew Sheneman

Rudy Giuliaini - the President of 9/11

Both Clinton and Giuliaini hold enormous leads in New Jersey, and state republicans are trying to use Rudy to their advantage. Just this week, State Senator Sonny McCullough and 1st District candidate Nick Asselta attempted to suckle on the 9/11-tit in order to raise some much needed cash.

Too bad much of the GOP, especially in the 1st District, remain uninterested in the current crop of Republican candidates, Fred Thompson included. At this point, the GOP's presidential campaign could be summed up with a giant yawn.

Here is some biased coverage of the event in Cape May:

Asselta/Giuliani Rally Flop
Blue Jersey

“Count” On It: Rudy Rocked the New Jersey Cape
Red Jersey

And less-biased ones:

Giuliani Makes Campaign Stop in Cape May
Cape May Herald

America's mayor courts Cape May
Press of Atlantic City

Here's the sketch:

Welcome to Commerce, eh

Final installment of NYTimes 'The Hard Part'

Today you can find the last installment of The Hard Part by Andrew Jacobs in The New York Times. For those of you who haven't had the chance to read the series, it has chronicled the early part of Mayor Cory Booker's attempts to steer the city of Newark in the right direction.

Today piece, titled In Newark, the Mayor’s Crusade Gets Personal, follows Booker and his mentoring of 3 troubled city youths. And for those of you quick to criticize the mayor, and being a cartoonist, this is usually my modus operandi, I hope you give him a chance and read this article, because it's really touching in the way that Booker make himself accessible to these kids, and the larger public, in a way that his predecessor, the indicted Sharpe James, couldn't even dream of.

Here are some of the best pieces of the series:

Face Time With the Mayor (video)

Access to Mayor Doesn’t Solve All Problems

New Mayor Tests His Promises on Newark’s Reality

In Newark, the Mayor’s Crusade Gets Personal

Get a job Bodine...or several jobs

Another week, another Wednesday, so that means another cartoon for PoliticsNJ. Go check it out, and leave me a piece of your mind. But not literally, because that would be gross.

And for further reading on Assemblyman Francis Bodine, allow me to direct you to some great reads:

GOP piles on Bodine, as Dems cry "Boss"
PoliticsNJ

Bodine defends jobs outside Assembly
Courier-Post

Burlco lawmaker switches parties
Philadelphia Inquirer

Here's the sketch:

Asbury Park Press investigation into public corruption

For those of you that might have missed it, the Asbury Park Press (and six other Gannett papers) began a new series yesterday spotlighting where ethics reform has worked, where it has failed, and where it needs improvement. Apparently, they've spent the last three months measuring the progress of ethics reform in the state.

There are several interesting stories ranging from Bill Gormley, George Norcross and Francis Bodine. But it's their piece on Speaker Joe Roberts and his dealings with Norcross and U.S. Vision that is particularly damning.

Here are some of the more interesting links:

Profiting from Public Service: Four Years Later (main page)

Roberts and the boss: Perfect together

On tapes, Norcross boasts of his political influence