Gov. Rendell to 60 Minutes: Youre Simpletons!

Outburst at Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes is pure Rendell, observers say
This Sunday, on CBS's 60 Minutes, an event will occur that will shock the heck out of everyone in America. Except those who live around here. Ed Rendell's going to blow up at a reporter. The outburst is recorded and ready to roll. The subject is casinos. Lesley Stahl, longtime CBS reporter, one of the smarter people in the business, is pressing Rendell about casinos and their effect on addictive gamblers. He takes it less than well. "People are losing money for the state to get its reven...

Rendell Calls "60 Minutes" Staff "Idiots."
No Going Gently Into That Good Night Here. From our friends at The Inky : "A clip being televised this morning shows an angry Gov. Rendell saying "you're simpletons, you're idiots" during a CBS 60 Minutes interview. The segment is to air Sunday evening as part of an examination of the proliferation of casino gambling across the country. Interviewed by correspondent Lesley Stahl, Rendell reportedly was explaining that gambling addicts already had opportunities elsewhere. But by allowing casin...

Rendell Explodes On Lesley StahlYoure An 'Idiot!'
Governor Rendell isn't a big "60 Minutes" fan, apparently. In a preview of this week's show on the "60 Minutes website," Rendell yells at reporter Lesley Stahl, who's covering the state gambling boom. The Governor calls her an "idiot" and "simpleton" in the clip. You must login to comment. The Fox Nation is for those opposed to intolerance, excessive government control of our lives, and attempts to monopolize opinion or suppress freedom of thought, expression, and worship. Read more... We invite...

Rendell defends bringing slots to Pa.
HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, in an interview with the CBS show "60 Minutes," angrily defended his decision to bring legal slot machines to the state. Clips from the show to be aired Sunday show Rendell arguing that gambling addicts already have available casinos. He said that now, at least, Pennsylvania will benefit instead of Atlantic City, N.J. "You guys don't get that," Rendell snapped at interviewer Leslie Stahl, who interjected "I do get that." "You're simp...

Gov. Ed Rendell Goaded into Turning into Hulk on National Television
Don't make out-going Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell angry. You wouldn't like him when he's angry. Apparently… A CBS promotional video clip shows an angry Gov. Rendell saying "you're simpletons, you're idiots" during a 60 Minutes interview. The segment is to air Sunday evening as part of an examination of the proliferation of casino gambling across the country… Rendell reportedly was explaining that gambling addicts already had opportunities elsewher...

The Big Gamble
Lesley Stahl reports on the proliferation of gambling to 38 states and its main attraction, the slot machine, newer versions of which some scientists believe may addict their players. Sunday, Jan. 9, 7 p.m. ET/PT. 60 Minutes Overtime is a weekly Web show that begins where the weekly television broadcast ends. The posting of advertisements, Profanity, or personal attacks is prohibited. By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement. J...

Gov. Rendell: Dems 'scared' to talk healthcare in 2010
Democrats received an electoral drubbing in November because they lacked the courage to defend their Healthcare Reform Legislation, according to Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D). The legislation was rarely mentioned by Democrats on the Campaign Trail. Even popular provisions such as one that required members of Congress to buy the same Health Insurance available to other Americans weren't widely talked about. Speaking to Democrats in Omaha on Wednesday, Rendell said members should have been pr...

Winter storm bringing more snow to blizzard-weary North
© Reuters/Lucas Jackson Snow falling in Times Square, January 7, 2011. Snow fell across the mid-Atlantic and Northeast states on Friday, bringing several inches of fresh accumulation to a region that has scarcely dug out from the Christmas weekend blizzard. The latest winter storm will drop snow from the Great Lakes east to the Atlantic seaboard and New England throughout Friday and into early Saturday, forecasters said. The Northeast could see one to five inches of snow from Maryland ...

Stephen Baker: Why IBM's Watson Is Smarter Than Google
While working on my book about IBM's Jeopardy-playing computer, the most common question I encounter is this: Doesn't Google already answer questions? The short answer is no. Google depends our brains in two ways: It gets us to think like a computer when formulating our query, picking three or four words that will make most sense to the machine. Then it directs us to the neighborhood of the answer we're looking for, but leaves it to our infinitely more nuanced brains to find exactly what we're...

Bernanke to speak with the press
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will take questions from reporters next month as the Central Bank continues to ramp up its Public Relations operations. Bernanke will speak to Journalists at the National Press Club Feb. 3, and will take questions, according to The Wall Street Journal.  The move is the latest attempt by the Fed to improve its communications with the public, as it continues to face criticism from skeptics, including several members of the GOP, over its recent policy decisi...

Tom Coughlin Lets His Critics Know Where They Can Kiss Him
We all know that Tom Coughlin is a man who sometimes lets his emotions get the best of him. Thanks to the cameras that NFL broadcasters keep trained on him for 60 Minutes every Sunday, the world has seen Coughlin overreacting like a madman to everything that happens on the field of play. Arms wave, cheeks get red and the occasional punter gets reamed out by a man who rarely seems to be anything short of apoplectic. When he's standing in front of the media, however, Coughlin is a very different c...

SEC Rule Likely to Trigger Facebook IPO in 2012
Like this Story? Share it: Mark Zuckerberg, the 26-yr.-old founder and CEO of mega-social media site Facebook, talks to Lesley Stahl about his life and his business, now worth an estimated $35 billion. Mark Zuckerberg, the 26-yr.-old founder and CEO of mega-social media site Facebook, talks to Lesley Stahl about his life and his business, now worth an estimated $35 billion. (AP) San Francisco - With so many investors becoming fans of the company, Facebook will be legally required to begin sharin...

Pennsylvania should be gearing up for "Public School vs Common Sense" feud
The State-run Philadelphia School District will be facing a $450 million Budget Deficit this year. They're already suggesting up to 30% in cuts with a Budget meeting scheduled for tomorrow. Public School advocates and teachers alike are already starting to complain and point their finger at Pennsylvania's new Governor, Republican Tom Corbett. The writing is therefore on the wall that we're about to have a showdown much like the one playing out on a national stage across the river in New Jersey. ...

Casey looks pretty solid
PPP's early looks ahead to the 2012 Senate races have found a lot of the Democrats first elected in the wave year of 2006 to be extremely vulnerable for Reelection- Bob Casey is not one of them. He has solid approval numbers and leads five prospective opponents tested against him by margins ranging from 7 to 23 points. 41% of voters in the state approve of the job Casey is doing to 29% who disapprove. He's on positive ground with Independents but the most striking thing within his numbers is th...

Crash into popular South Jersey bar kills passenger, seriously injures two
SOMERS POINT, N.J. - A passenger was killed and two people were seriously injured early Thursday when the driver of a southbound Honda apparently lost control of his vehicle along a narrow stretch of Route 9, authorities said. The car, allegedly speeding, struck a fire hydrant and a utility pole, and then crashed into a popular Jersey Shore bar. Kevin Botta, 33, of Somers Point, who apparently was a passenger in the vehicle, died at the scene. The driver, Antonio Vargas, 21, also of Somers Point...

Use of Garden State produce to be promoted
TRENTON - Gov. Christie has signed Legislation aimed at boosting sales of food products made with Garden State produce. The measure signed Wednesday designates baked goods and other items prepared with homegrown fruit and vegetables as "Made With Jersey Fresh." It also encourages the state - as well as service areas along the Garden State Parkway, New Jersey Turnpike, and Atlantic City Expressway - to buy "Made With Jersey Fresh" products and promote them to customers. - AP ...

Mother urges Philly death-penalty jury to spare her son's life
It is a past many a woman would struggle to hide: sexual molestation and beatings by her stepfather from age 8 to 15, when she fled her Lower Bucks County home to live on the streets of New Orleans. She abused Alcohol and a myriad of illegal drugs; worked as a Prostitute in Atlantic City; married a long-haul trucker she met hitchhiking; bore six Children, one stillborn and another who drowned at 14 months; was repeatedly committed to mental Hospitals; and was exorcised by a Memphis congregation ...

N.Y.-A.C. train service halted
The train was started in February 2009 by three casinos - Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah's Resort, and Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa - to lure New Yorkers. It has never run at a profit. The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority put $2 million into it the first year to help cover the $5.9 million in losses. The authority has said it will provide no more money to the train. Because your contributions are currently under review, no comments can be made at this time. Philly.com comments are inten...

Lauryn Hill, Back on Stage
Lauryn Hill at the Blue Note on January 5, 2011 (via handcraftedbymartin). Former Fugee and semi-recluse Lauryn Hill launched her "intimate North American tour" late last month in Boston and then came down to the Big Apple for six nights of packed performances. And wouldn't you know it, videos of her shows are

Anya Landau French: Wynton Marsalis, "60 minutes" and the Case for People-to-People Travel to Cuba
For those who missed it, 60 Minutes aired a segment on last October's visit to Havana by Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra earlier this week. It's a must-watch for jazz, Marsalis, Cuba and New Orleans enthusiasts alike. (View the entire 13-minute segment here) I hope someone in the White House caught this segment because it's a deeply moving reminder of why promoting broad people-to-people contacts between the U.S. and Cuba is the right, sane and humane policy. Photo ava...

Bernanke Cites Economic Improvements
Reuters reports: (Reuters) - The U.S. economy may finally be hitting its stride even if growth remains too weak to put a real dent in the nation’s jobless rate, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Friday. Offering no real clues on the future direction of Monetary Policy, Bernanke sounded cautiously more upbeat than he had in his most recent public remarks. He cited improvements in Consumer Spending and a drop in jobless benefit claims as hopeful signs a languid recovery w...

Merchants want parking limit enforced
Denise M. McLane hoped that a sign in the front window of her downtown consignment store before Christmas would have the done the trick in telling people not to take up parking spots all day on Public Square. It didn't. So she put up another one earlier this week that reads, "New Year New Hope for Parking and Good Neighbors." Ms. McLane, owner of Solitary Consignment, and a growing number of other Public Square merchants are complaining about employees of various downtown businesses using ...

Bernanke grows more confident in recovery
By Pedro Nicolaci da Costa WASHINGTON | Fri Jan 7, 2011 7:48pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy may finally be hitting its stride even if growth remains too weak to put a real dent in the nation's jobless rate, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Friday. Offering no real clues on the future direction of Monetary Policy, Bernanke sounded cautiously more upbeat than he had in his most recent public remarks. He cited improvements in Consumer Spending and a drop in jobless be...

Government Spending Per Minute: $6.85 Million
House Republicans on Thursday trimmed about $35 million from the House's operating Budget, a move that Speaker John Boehner hailed as "a strong signal" of the new Congress' "commitment to making the tough choices necessary to end Washington's job-killing spending binge." But while $35 million is a lot of money to the Average American, it's worth thinking about just how "strong" a signal the House really sent. Consider: According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the government's pr...

In Mocking John Boehner, David Letterman Derails a Valuable Conversation About Statesmanship
Hailing from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Calvin Freiburger is a Political Science major at Hillsdale College. He also writes for the Hillsdale Forum and his personal website, Calvin Freiburger Online. For all of the ways in which contemporary society claims to have broken free of stereotypes, there’s still one sure-fire way for men to raise eyebrows: cry in public. John Boehner, the new Speaker of the House, is learning that the hard way. On 60 Minutes, the GOP leader tearfully confessed that ...