Hello friends, I hope you all had a great and safe weekend. 
It's supposed to be HOT, HOT, HOT here in Los Angeles the first part of the week so, I'll definitely be drinking a LOT of water  and trying to stay cool.
Interesting start to the NBA playoffs or as I like to call them; "Six Weeks of Hell and Bad English from Charles Barkley".  Is the run of the Celtics' "Big Three" already over after one championship season?  What happened to Portland at HOME agaisnt the Rockets?  "Paging the Miami Heat!  The playoffs have started!"  Hey Orlando, you CAN NOT lose an 18 point lead at HOME and expect to win!  Somebody tell CP3 and the Hornets that it's okay to make shots during the playoffs.
As expected, most GOPers and other right-wing nutjobs are criticizing President Obama for shaking hands with Hugo Chavez.  Of course, these same lunatics forget that l0ng before it was popular, Richard M. Nixon went to China AND Russia and shook hands with Chairman Mao and Lenoid Breshnev respectively.  It's called DIPLOMACY!
Speaking of the GOPers, here's a couple of interesting stories from the weekend

Meghan McCain: "Old School" Republicans Are "Scared Shitless"  I'm not predicting anything for Meghan McCain but, she makes some very valid points that her party's leaders should be listening to and heeding.  Of course, that probably won't happen.

Steve Schmidt, McCain Campaign Manager: Religion Could Kill The GOP  I can't wait to hear Rush and his ilk try to destroy both Schmidt and Meghan McCain this week.

AP: Republicans "Struggling To Reinvent Themselves," Playing Only To BaseTom Davis: Republican Party Has Become "A Private Club With An Admissions Test"
GO DODGERS!
 
 
 

Today, Tuesday, April 15 2009 may be "Tax Day" in America but for me, it's a great family day.  This evening, my cousin David S. Cunningham III will be sworn in as a Superior Court judge in Los Angeles.  Our uncle, the Right Reverend Ronald M. Cunningham Sr, the presiding prelate of the Eighth District of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, will swear him in.  Along the family members in attendance will be my siblings Nathan, Stephanie and the eldest, Janice Frazier Scott of Memphis Tennessee. 
Even though I speak to or exchange emails with Jan practically every day, when she arrived at the airport last night, it was the first time I'd seen her in person since September 29, 1998.  That was a sad occasion, the funeral of our baby sister Carolyn Elaine.
Today is a happy occasion.  A VERY Happy one in fact.  And one that I will treasure for the rest of my life.

I hope you all had a great and glorious Easter, Ressurection Sunday or Passover this past weekend.
Let's get to it!  
AP: Obama Passed His First Test - Of course he did.  This is what happens when one makes sure of the facts before speaking/acting!
I can't wait to see how the Repugs try to "spin" this.  Rush Limbaugh has been very disingenious with his "praise" of the president this morning.

Krugman On Tea Parties: "Republicans Have Become Embarrassing To Watch" Yes, but they are also so much damn fun to watch and listen to these days!

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Palin Skipping Town As Stimulus Showdown Looms

Republicans "Baffled" By Lack Of Involvement

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• | Sarah Palin If Sarah Palin is the GOP's "frontrunner" for 2012, then I'm the frontrunner to eventually replace Joe Torre as manager of the Dodgers.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry To Attend Tea Party With "Fellow Patriots"

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• Comments (217) So, is Perry implying that if you DON'T attend a Tea Party that you're NOT a patriot?

From the "Department of Politics Make Strange Bedfellows":

Former GOP Rep. Lazio To Chair Fundraiser For Barney Frank

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Keeping One's Eye On The Enemy

Rahm watches Fox every night

By MICHAEL CALDERONE | 4/13/09 12:29 PM

Rahm Emanuel tells Bret Baier the White House senior staff watches his show every night.

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Obama Puppy Fixation 'Fairly Stupid': Newt Gingrich

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The following item might explain Newt's "grumpiness" yesterday:

71% Of Americans Trust Obama To Handle Economy: Poll

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• | Economy

Tonight's men's championship game can't come fast enough for me. 
Thirty years after Earvin "Magic" Johnson led Michigan State past Larry Bird's undefeated Indiana State team in Salt Lake City Utah in the highest rated college game ever (still), the Spartans will carry the weight of their state onto the floor of Ford Field as they face the Carolina Tar Heels.
Two of the game's greatest players, Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson will probably give the teams a stirring pre-game pep talk in tHeir symbolic roles as their school's most famous alums.  CBS' cameras will give us plenty of shots of them in the stands, rooting for the schools they once led to NCAA glory.  And, we'll also be treated to a pre-game segment on the legendary 1979 game between Magic and Bird that not only transfixed the nation but, changed both the Final Four and NBA forever.
Many well-meaning reporters and pundits have glommed onto the theme of what a championship could mean to the state and people of Michigan.  We all want and pray for better days there (and across the country) but let's be honest; one game, win or lose, isn't going to solve the economic problems of Michigan or anywhere else.  Sure, a win by the Spartans would be a great story, maybe even a fairytale, all things considered.  BUT, more than likely, it's going to be the Tarheels and their coach Roy Williams cutting down the net and accepting the trophy at the end of the game.
I'll be wearing my "lucky" Carolina blue shirt that I haven't washed since the tournament began three weeks ago, mucnhing on tacos and popcorn, washing it all down with O'Douls as the Tarheels win their fifth championship and first since 2005.
Well, unlsess Roy somehow manages to snatch defeat from victory as he's been known to do in the past.
GO HEELS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
 
 
 

In a book about the history of the long-running television program “Saturday Night Live”, Chris Rock talked about his friend, the late Chris Farley thusly - “Hmm, let’s see. Two guys both named Chris, born a year apart, get hired at SNL on the same day. One was a white guy from Madison Wisconsin, the other a Black kid from Bed-Stuy Brooklyn. Which one do you think would die from a drug overdose in his early 30s?”
I thought about that quote while watching the LeBron James interview on “60 Minutes’ last night.
Two guys enter the league straight out of high school - One is the son of a former NBA player, raised in a two-parent home in an upper middle-class suburb of Philadelphia when not living in Italy where his father played professionally. The other was raised in the projects of Akron Ohio by a single mother who had him at the age of 16.
Which one would you think would be charged with rape, described as a “selfish and bad teammate” and become immersed in several controversies at various times during his career while the other is celebrated as a great teammate and role model, was a very vocal and visible supporter of Barack Obama’s presidential bid and has become the face of the NBA at the age of 24?

FROM "CANDORVILLE"

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Feeling the pinch at the grocery store? Make meals for under $10.

QUESTION OF THE DAY
To Save GM Or Not To Save GM
Obama's Auto Team Heads To Detroit; McCain Pushes Bankruptcy Option
What happens in Detroit and Washington this week will have an everlasting affect on the economic structure of this country. Let’s pray that the “powers that be” make the right decisions.
COVER STORY: NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Why Rush is Wrong
The party of Buckley and Reagan is now bereft and dominated by the politics of Limbaugh. A conservative's lament.
Why Rush is Wrong | Newsweek National News | Newsweek.com
President’s Political Protector Is Ever Close at Hand
By JEFF ZELENY
David Axelrod’s political advice carries more weight than most anyone else’s on President Obama’s payroll.
MICHAEL STEELE IS AN IDIOT!
Have you ever had a supervisor or boss who didn’t have a clue but tried to cover that fact up by being and acting “outrageous”? If you have, then you know exactly what the folks at the RNC are going through with Michael Steele. Michael Steele: "I'm Trying To Move An Elephant That's Become Mired In Its Own Muck"
More on the GOP’s “Handkerchief Head”:
Steele Failed At Priesthood, Law And Consulting Before Trying Politics
And even though they stole the idea from an episode of “Cheers” when a shady doctor tried to cure Cliff Claven of his proclivity to ramble on about any subject, this was a great SNL skit WATCH: SNL: Rush Limbaugh Electric Shocks Michael Steele On Update
Is Focus on Limbaugh Blurring the Big Picture?
By JOHN HARWOOD
Some of President Obama’s would-be Republican allies consider the focus on Rush Limbaugh a step backward. Personally, I’m glad that the Dems are forcing GOPers to take a public position on Limbaugh and his vitriolic “BS”.
Who’s the one Republican capable of criticizing Rush Limbaugh without fear of being forced to retract/explain his or her comments? My vote goes to, drum roll please,
Gingrich Piles On Rush: Hoping For Obama's Failure Is "Irrational"
"You've Got To Want The President To Succeed" I’m going to listen to the first few minutes of Limbaugh’s “Attack on America” this morning just to hear his response.
More Lindsey Graham nuggets: Lindsey Graham: Rush "Doesn't Play In The Republican Party"
Speaking of Republicans who can’t keep their “message” straight (pun fully intended about this guy), Lindsey Graham Contradicts Himself On Earmarks In Under A Minute
I was watching and it was a priceless moment along the line of John Kerry’s “I voted for the war before I voted against it.”
Boehner: Limbaugh talk a distraction Politico - Mon Mar 9, 4:29 AM ET
House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) accused the White House Sunday of building up a conflict with Rush Limbaugh to “divert people’s attention from the spending binge they’ve been on the last six weeks.” I wonder how John “The Undertaker” Boehner (admit it, that’s EXACTLY what he looks and talks like) explained to his struggling, battered by the economy constituents why he thinks Obama’s stimulus bill is a bad idea. Oh that’s right, he has a job! With benefits!
McCain: 'We fought a good fight'
By ANDY BARR | 3/8/09 12:42 PM
McCain concedes that the $410 billion omnibus bill is likely to pass the Senate early next week. I wish I knew which John McCain will show up on any given day. He veers from praise for President Obama to outright vitriol, often within the same speech/hour.
Sen. Joe Lieberman now sings Obama's praises AP - 1 hour, 8 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Sen. Joe Lieberman has changed his tune on Barack Obama. After campaigning across the country for Republican John McCain in 2008 and attacking Obama as naive, untested and unwilling to take on powerful special interests, Lieberman now showers praise on the popular new Democratic president.
Orszag to GOP: 'There they go again'
By MIKE ALLEN & JONATHAN MARTIN | 3/9/09 7:10 AM
Orszag signals that the administration plans to stand up fiercely to critics of its economic policies.
You might not have noticed, what with trying to hold on to your job, house, car, life but, one of the biggest stories in Washington these days is Michele Obama’s uncovered arms:
Should Michelle Cover Up?
By MAUREEN DOWD
Let’s face it: The only bracing symbol of American strength right now is the image of Michelle Obama’s sculpted biceps.
March 8, 2009
This, along with the assertion by former Bush 43 Chief of Staff Andrew Card that President Obama is disrespecting the Oval Office by taking off his suit jacket and allowing others to do the same, shows why so many Americans think that the GOP is made up of a bunch of losers far more interested in “style” than “substance”. Like Bill Maher said in the current issue of Rolling Stone, “It’s not lie Obama’s going to show up with cornrows and a neck tattoo.”
PHOTOS: Obamas Celebrate Ted Kennedy's Birthday
Crime Solvers With Chemistry, Waiting (and Waiting) for Sparks to Ignite
By FELICIA R. LEE
“Castle,” which begins Monday on ABC, is a new twist on the old formula in which an oil-and-water male-female duo crack cases amid dollops of unresolved sexual tension and witty banter. I have high hopes for this show and am looking forward to tonight’s premiere.
U2 performed at a “secret” concert at Fordham University on Friday’s “Good Morning America” to cap a week of New York City based promotions for their new CD, “No Line On The Horizon”. (They also performed on CBS’ “Late Night with David Letterman” for five straight nights.) This got me to thinking, what Black artists could/would do the same thing at say, Howard University. A buddy of mine suggested Prince, Michael Jackson, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Beyonce and Alicia Keys (my #1 choice0 among others.
I saw “Cadillac Records” and “Slumdog Millionaire” this weekend. Let’s just say that if you’ve got Beyonce Knowles in your film, you’ve got to figure out a way to get her onscreen sooner than an hour into the story. And, maybe I waited too late but “Slumdog” just didn’t hold my interest.
IS DREW ROSENHAUS THE BEST AGENT IN THE NFL?
Owens Finds a New Home in Buffalo
By JUDY BATTISTA
The Buffalo Bills — not known for making risky moves on big-name players — signed the mercurial Terrell Owens to a one-year contract believed to be worth $6.5 million. I was reading and listening to the radio Saturday night when this came across as “breaking news”. I would have thought that Katt Williams would win an Oscar before TO got another NFL contract but I , along with every NFL “insider”, was wrong, wrong, wrong!
No. 2 North Carolina 79, No. 7 Duke 71
Tar Heels Secure A.C.C. Regular-Season Title
By VIV BERNSTEIN
North Carolina’s victory against hated Duke was also the final game on home court for Tyler Hansbrough, the university’s all-time leading scorer.
If you know anything about me, it’s that “my teams” are the San Diego Chargers, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Carolina men’s basketball team. I never, ever root for any other football team, the Dodgers have my heart no what and I haven’t had a NBA team since Magic retired.
How strong are my ties to the Dodgers and Carolina? Well, yesterday, with the Suns at San Antonio for a game with play-off implications on ABC, I listened to the Dodgers/White Sox EXHIBITION game (and Manny wasn’t even playing!) on the radio while watching Carolina close out the regular season by defeating Duke 79-71 at Chapel Hill. Among the sell-out crowd in the “Dean Dome” was Michael Jeffrey Jordan. The fact that “Air” was in the house speaks volume about Carolina/Duke and “Senior Day”. I can’t remember a single photo of MJ at a Charlotte Bobcats game this season, a team he co-owns and “runs” but there he was in Chapel Hill yesterday.
This is “Conference Tournament Week” in college basketball. A week-long orgy of games that ends with “Selection Sunday”, the unveiling of the NCAA tournament brackets. As far as I’m concerned, “Selection Sunday” should be a national holiday complete with a Stevie Wonder song. I’m serious.
Did you see the reports of Charles Barkley “serving time” in Phoenix’s infamous “Tent City Jail” over the weekend? I can’t remember the last time an inmate wore a Nike sweat suit (“Our athletes even wear our clothes to jail!”) and had a press conference IN JAIL! By the way, you don’t realize just how humongous “Sir Charles” is until you see him next to “normal-sized” people. As one of my friends said yesterday, “That’s a big MF!”
I’m going to go out on a limb and boldly predict that the Yankees, led by Captain Derek Jeter, will somehow manage to carry on without A-Rod for a few weeks. In fact, in some ways, I bet they welcome the time away form the traveling freak show that his life has become in recent years.
AND FINALLY
Chuck Daly Faces the Fight of His Life
By HARVEY ARATON
People around professional basketball are rallying around Chuck Daly, the Hall of Fame coach, who has pancreatic cancer. One of the true class acts in all of sports. Here’s wishing you all God’s grace and love Chuck Daly. You deserve them.