The blogs are buzzing about Fumo. Here is a quick round-up.
Clout has a great slide show of Fumo arriving for jury selection.
Citypaper will have live updates from inside the court room.
Capital Ideas points out that Fumo could lose his government pension if convicted.
Philebrity makes five predictions about the trial.
It's Our City compares Fumo with a New Jersey power broker facing charges.
Philadelphia Will Do is looking forward to Fumo testifying.
Fumo makes it into the Daily Muck at the national blog Talking Points Memo.
Finally, the Inquirer has a story about jury selection. And don't forget the Daily News editorial.
Comments (1)
There is no doubt Fumo has made lots of friends in the press over the years, and that some of them may now be suffering from an latent aversion to vilifying somebody they like. Fumo’s Svengali like hold over many in the press is no where more apparent than in the comments, or lack thereof, coming from Zack Stahlberg.
“It is the most anticipated event of its kind that I can remember,” said Zack Stalberg, president of the Committee of Seventy, a government watchdog group in Philadelphia. “Vince has been such a large figure for so long a period of time that I think the whole region will be watching this one closely.”
That’s it? No moral indignation over the sleaze of Philadelphia politics that Fumo and his cronies have come to typify? This why Zack Stalberg is an embarrassment as head of the Committee of 70 Good Government Group.
Stalberg has yet to make a single negative comment in the press or on the Committee of 70 website condemning the culture of corruption Fumo and his cronies epitomize.
You get the feeling Fumo must have passed along lots juicy little tid bits of information to Stahlberg over the years when Stalberg was editor at the Daily News, and that now Stalberg does not want to comment on a person he has come to know and admire. That may be natural, but it is unacceptable for a guy in Stahlberg’s position.
That would be fine if Stalberg were just an ex-editor, but he’s not. He’s collecting $180,000 a year to a head a watch dog group. What good is having a watchdog if the damn dog just sits there and watches as the burglars come climbing through your window? Stahlberg seems more lap dog than watch dog in his comments.
Who cares if Fumo brought home $8 Billion in goodies to the city he represents? It’s our money!
How much of that did he route to his buddies, and his contributors?
Look at the DRPA’s $300 Million spending spree. There is nothing illegal about all Fumo’s buddies who got a piece of that pie, and other pies over the years, it is just disgustingly outrageous and typical of the good ol boy network Fumo and company exemplify.
Hey Zack, if you are not outraged by the money Fumo stole and manipulated, maybe it’s time you gave up your position and took over Gary Tuma’s job as Fumo’s press agent, or start work helping to raise money for his defense fund.
If we’re going to have somebody not willing to say a single negative thing about Fumo, we might as well just have Jim Kenney as the head of the Committee of 70, another ball-less wonder.
Fumo and his cronies are crooks, and manipulators who have abused their power to enrich themselves and their friends. If Zack Stahlberg finds anything admirable about the antics of this master manipulator he should give up the post to someone not so moonstruck.
Posted by Vinnie Gambone | September 10, 2008 3:58 PM