In case anyone has gotten the idea that multinational corporations are magnanimous, civic-minded pillars of society, this was revealed in a column by Stu Bykofsky.

Apparently, a man whose dog had been dognapped, held for ransom and tortured, and presumably killed, attempted to have Verizon track the number from which the dognappers called. He was told the police knew the procedure with which to get the information…which ended up meaning waiting 12 days and being charged 150 dollars.

For a phone number that was part of a criminal investigation?

Is it just me, or does it seem like corporations get away with a little more than the average citizen? Imagine if an average Philadelphian knew the number from which a criminal had contacted a victim, and waited twelve days to get back to the police, and then charged them $150.

Why can Verizon get away with this? It’s bordering on contempt. And for that matter, how hard is it to track that kind of information?

You know, Bill Cosby has been pissing off lots of people for years now. It was around 2004 and the 50th anniversary of the Brown versus Board of Education Supreme Court decision that he began his transformation from legendary entertainer to third rail.

“People marched and were hit in the face with rocks to get an education, and now we’ve got these knuckleheads,” he said addressing an audience in Washington back in the summer of 2005. “The lower economic people are not holding up their end in this deal. These people are not parenting.”

He has taken an active role in criticizing the shortcomings of black American culture, in the parenting, lifestyles and priorities. For it, he has gotten the Huxtable beaten out of him from black leaders, progressive whites, race commentators and activists of every other size, agenda and caliber.

He has tried to develop dialogue, through his discussions and speeches, even his website.

The thing is, news about Bill Cosby, who did his undergrad on North Broad, is intensely important to any and all Temple students worth the Hooter in their heart. And, you gotta at least respect someone for thinking an issue so important that he thinks his career, his reputation is worth risking. The Cos has done both, news and risk, again.

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As if there isn’t enough bad news coming out of Iraq, two developments are making me wonder just how much longer the current situation will remain in place before we cry Uncle, or replace the Draught Horse with another kind of draft. First, desertions are at a 27-year high. While this is not that shocking, considering public opinion and the difficulty in Iraq, it does not sound all that well. Isn’t the Army already stretched too far?

Second, Defense Sec. Robert Gates has announced he will begin laying off employees if new war funding is not approved. Gates warned that he would direct the Army and Marines to develop plans to lay off employees and terminate contracts.

My first question is, “Can they do that?” The Army and Marines do not seem like organizations that can lay off their employees without negative consequences. I understand that almost any bureacracy can trim some fat, but how many people will they have to fire to make a dent? To finance just one day of operations, $200 million of payroll cuts would have to be made.

This might not matter, if Congress coughs up the requested amount of taxpayer money. Then again, that would only postpone this same problem, unless Iraq’s future starts looking rosy fast.

Either way, it looks like it is going to be a rough Christmas for Army recruits, recruiters, and staff.

I need a kid to hit.

Yesterday was College Day, which kindly let me avoid the $15 entry fee for the Franklin Istitute, the 180-year science educational facility near Logan Square. I hadn’t been there since I was a little tyke, ten or twelve, just about the age you really should be to go there.

Good God do I wish TFI was more Institute, even if it had its popular interactive portions, but I was all for seeing Identity, its newest exhibit. It was publicized as an exploration and explanation of the correlation between genetics, environment and our personal development, both physical and emotional. Pretty rad, man.

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I encountered on young man walking with beers in each hand as he chanted, “suck my ass, Temple.”

Well, I finally made it to a Temple football game, and what a game it was! Temple was facing the might Nitanny Lions from Penn State, led by their venerable coach, Joe Paterno. They are a strong team that has suffered some unfortunate losses this season. What better way than to boost morale than by sharpening the Lion’s claws against a weaker Temple Owls?

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As I wrote about in my column a few weeks ago, PennPraxis, the UPenn design team contracted to create a community-based redevelopment plan for the Delaware water front, will shortly be releasing its findings. The presentation will be held downtown at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on Wednesday, November 14th. RSVP is required, here. Attendees are supposed to show up at 6:00 PM, but from what I’ve been told over 1,000 people have already registered, so you may want to show up early.

I can only reiterate what I’ve already said in my column. The central Philadelphia riverfront is a span of the city that is over half the size of Center City, and largely undeveloped. Furthermore, it is probably the largest span of undeveloped land that sits in proximity to our central commercial district. It is crucial to our future that we take advantage of this area, even if only because waterfront property routinely is the most valuable real estate. I encourage everyone who can to attend this survey and educate themselves about the potential our city has.