Our Ethics Challenged Supreme Court

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1980s Showtime Lakers: The Real McCoy by Gregory Gee

My friends, my friends, my friends...HGP sports editor Gregory Gee - die hard Laker fan - has taken exception to the title-less/ring-less LA Clippers being called the New Showtime in La-La land.


In his own words:


The LA Clippers are not the new Showtime. Granted, Blake Griffin and co. make great ESPN highlights, but the comparisons to the famed 1980's Showtime Lakers ends there. Let me explain.

There was Showtime and now we have A Time To Show. Showtime had substance, it was more than a highlight. The LA Lakers won 3 NBA championships between 1980-1985 - while entertaining us along the way. They educated the basketball world that a well rounded, fundamental sound team could win and look good doing it.

They gave us the  "glitz and glam" of the no look Magic Johnson passes; the Michael "Cooper De Loop"  dunks; James Worthy streaking on the wings and finishing with the "snow cone" slams; and to seal the deal, the Kareem Abdul Jabber sky hook - the most unstoppable shot in NBA history.

These plays wowed us but take away the "glitz and glam" and what is revealed: solid coaching of superstars by Pat Riley, stellar leadership by Magic/Kareem - they led by example on and off the court. Next, this team played great defense or should I say great team defense. Lastly, General Manager and Laker great Jerry West provided the team with quality support players - who knew their roles - and star players responded by tossing aside their egos in the name of winning. The result: on any given night, anyone from Jabbar to Magic to Worthy to Byron Scott and even 6th man Michael Cooper could be the star.

The San Diego Slippers LA Clippers are nothing but a glitzy and glam guest in the Staples Center. Lob City tandem of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin are talented--and to reiterate, the duo are producing some great ESPN and Youtube highlights. Former champion Chauncy Billups' leadership has helped stablize a young team but once again, the comparsions end there. They have moments in a game or a week of "oohs and ahhhs" whereas the sustainable Showtime was symbiotic with basketball talent and fundamentals: SUBSTANCE FOLKS! Where can you find this on the, uh..., uh...Clippers?


Oh, by the way, the Shaq/Kolbe teams were the closest to the 1980's Showtime - that is until egos  prematurely ended the show.


Related Story: Are the Clippers the best team in LA?

GOP: The Politics of Hate

Tis the Season to be Hateful...

The language is unmistakable: You lie, chimed out Congressman Joe Wilson during President Obama's joint house appearance; Newt Gingrich routinely calls Obama the food stamp president; Arizona governor Jan Brewer disrespectfully wags her finger in the president's face (and then has the audacity to claim she felt threaten by him); Kansas House Speaker, Michael O'Neal emails a prayer calling for the death of the president  - two weeks after he apologized for sending an email referring to First Lady Michelle Obama as Michelle YoMama..

And let's not forget - thanks to the Tea Party and Donald Trump - this delusional Birther BS.

The election of Barack Obama was supposed to usher in a new era of post-racism. Fat chance, because like a crack fiend craving that next hit, folks on the far right need that next racially charged outburst - can do without it. To help us better understand this twisted addiction, Arthur Goldwag, author of the new book “The New Hate: A History of Fear and Loathing on the Populist Right,” in an interview with Salon.com states:


Why is this resurgence of the “old hate” happening now? 

We’re going through a historic shift in this country.  We were on an incredible run of prosperity in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, thanks to the New Deal social compact, thanks to big unions, thanks to very strong regulation – thanks to all the things that Glenn Beck’s followers think are the most evil things in the world.  Fairly unskilled, uneducated people were able to earn a good living, and send their children to college.  And that’s changed.  Income inequality is growing.  If you look at American history, the bottom has dropped out of rural people’s lives every five years, but there used to also be a manufacturing class that made a decent living.  There used to be a route for people that weren’t well educated to make a decent living.  There isn’t anymore.  There’s a lot of anxiety about our individual positions in our society, and our country’s position in the world. If you’re not educated to be able to understand it, and you’re trapped in a disadvantaged life, you might become really, really angry. 

So these resurgences of hatred, and conspiratorial narratives, are related to a basic type of class-consciousness – a stripped-down awareness of unfairness.

Yes.  It’s an old stereotype (it’s also a true stereotype) that rich Southerners drove wedges between poor whites and poor blacks so that they wouldn’t see that they were all in the same place.  That’s very connected to the anger people have today. One of the most infuriating things about Obama to people is that he walks into the White House like he belongs there. But their anger is not really about him.  It’s about them: their place in the world. Because he does belong there.  But their kids will never go there, because they’re poor and feel they’re without open avenues. read entire article

For more on this subject watch video posted on Progressive Soup (thanks Malcolm)

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Patriots Cut Player on Eve of Super Bowl

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick has never been on my list of classy guys. How the Patriots continue to be promoted by the NFL and sportswriters as a story book, All-American team is bewildering? Remember spygate of 2007:

The 2007 New England Patriots videotaping controversy, widely dubbed "Spygate," refers to an incident in the2007 National Football League season when the New England Patriots were disciplined by the National Football League (NFL) for videotaping New York Jets' defensive coaches' signals during a September 9, 2007 game from a sideline location, an act deemed by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to be in violation of league rules. After an investigation, the NFL fined Patriots head coach Bill Belichick $500,000 (the maximum allowed by the league) for his role in the incident, fined the Patriots $250,000, and docked the team their original first-round selection in the 2008 NFL Draft.

As part of their probe into the allegations, the NFL required the Patriots to turn over all notes and tapes relating to the taping of opponents' defensive signals; the Patriots complied with the order and the NFL reviewed and then destroyed the materials. This action was criticized on February 1, 2008 — two days before Super Bowl XLII — by U.S. SenatorArlen Specter, who requested to meet with Goodell. Specter requested the meeting despite the fact that Belichick had admitted to taping signals dating back to 2000 was reported by ESPN on September 14, 2007.^[5] After meeting with Goodell on February 13, 2008, Specter said that Goodell told him that Belichick had been engaged in the practice since he became head coach of the Patriots in 2000. Belichick said he believed he was operating within the rules as long as the tape was not used during the same game.

Nearly six months after the incident, the Boston Herald reported, citing an unnamed source, that the Patriots had also videotaped the St. Louis Rams' walkthrough practice prior to Super Bowl XXXVI in February 2002, an allegation denied by Belichick and later retracted by the Herald. Meanwhile, Matt Walsh , a Patriots video assistant in 2001 who was fired after the team's 2002 season, told the media the same week that he had information and materials regarding the Patriots' videotaping practices, but demanded an indemnity agreement before speaking with the NFL. source

Belichick, never one to ponder ethics in the pursuit of winning, now adds a new chapter to his callous and ruthless Modus Operandi:

Tiquan Underwood, the guy who loved being a Patriot so much that he did that to his hair, was released by the team on Saturday,  just hours before the Super Bowl.

It's callous and it's cold-blooded, but that's football, and that's Bill Belichick. I'm sure that Underwood is emotionally devastated, but that's a head coach's job. If he feels like another player might help a little more on Sunday, even if it's just for one play, then it's the coach's job to make that decision. Feelings aren't a part of it.

According to the Boston Herald, the move has no disciplinary motive behind it. The Patriots simply wanted another defensive lineman on the roster. Alex Silvestro (ironically, like Underwood, a Rutgers product) is the guy who will take his place. He's been on the Patriots practice squad all season.

Belichick recently spoke glowingly of the Rutgers players on the Patriots roster, Underwood, Silvestro, Nate Jones and Devin McCourty. source

I guess there is no secret on who I am rooting for today - even as a die hard Eagle fan - Go Big Blue!

Strong U.S. Job Growth Leads to Lowest Black Unemployment in Years

Two job related news stories bring good news for Democrats and President Obama: The overall unemployment rate continues to drop; and the stubbornly high unemployment rate of black Americans has significantly improved.

On cue, the GOP and Mitt Romney will respond by claiming the growth is very weak and that Obama's policies and big government regulations are hindering a more robust economic recovery.

Two things: President Obama inherited a free falling economy that was losing over 800,000 jobs a month before he even walked into the Oval Office. His first mission was to stabilize the patient, hence avoiding a Great Depression.

Secondly, to add insult to the GOP created injury, the Republicans in congress, for over three years, have not lifted one finger to help bring the American people relief. No, they have - due to partisan politics - obstructed and refused to partner with Obama on anything for the good of the country. Obama's number one priority was to help the country recover; the GOP's number one priority was to defeat and frustrate the president. For example:


The Republicans announced that no matter what Obama did, they would oppose it. Jobs bill? No. Deficit solution? No. Nothing matters to them but defeating Barack Obama. source

Read the following two job report articles.

President Barack Obama hasn’t unfurled a “Mission Accomplished” banner just yet.

But Friday’s jobs report showing the unemployment rate dropping to 8.3 percent, the lowest level of his presidency, is an unexpected boon for Obama’s reelection bid and a serious hurdle for his top competitor, Mitt Romney, who has staked his campaign on a jobs-and-economy message.

While 8 percent-plus unemployment is still a perilous number for any incumbent, the clear downward trend in the jobless rate complicates the Republican narrative that Obama is an out-and-out economic failure who has no hope of turning around the economy.

The lower that number goes, strategists in both parties say, the harder it will be for Romney and others to rely on a glum national mood and a purely jobs-focused sales pitch to turn voters against the incumbent.

“Those numbers are good news for the country and they are good news, politically, for the president,” said Steve Schmidt, who ran John McCain’s 2008 campaign. “It puts particular pressure on Mitt Romney as the nominee to offer a big, bold, sweeping agenda of reform and economic growth and contrasts with the president’s vision. He’s simply not going to be able to run a campaign built on a foundation of criticism.”

It’s not just the political world where eyes widened in response to the economic news. Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank in Chicago, said: “It’s certainly good news for Obama.” read more

And news on black unemployment:

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 243,000 in January, and the unemployment rate decreased to 8.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS )reported Friday.

The number of unemployed persons declined to 12.8 million in January. Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (7.7 percent) and blacks (13.6 percent) declined in January. The unemployment rates for adult women (7.7 percent), teenagers (23.2 percent), whites (7.4 percent), and Latinos (10.5 percent) were little changed.

Black unemployment saw the biggest drop — from 15.8 to 13.6 percent. And for the first time in a long time, those numbers aren’t being fudged (much) by people who have dropped out of the workforce. Unemployment overall is at 8.3 percent now, and the BLS says that workforce participation is holding steady.

“These numbers are important because one, we now have the lowest unemployment rate in nearly three years. It’s also one of the biggest drops in black unemployment—nearly two points—that the BLS has recorded in years,” said Shani O. Hilton, Colorlines.com’s D.C. Correspondent. read more

Super Bowl Fun Facts by Greg Gee

Drum roll please...
I will now predict a sure winner of Super Bowl 46 with these two facts: 


1) All former super bowl champions have had double digits wins in the regular season...therefore, the New York Giants cannot be champions because they only had 9 victories during the season.  


2) No team with a defense ranked as low as 22nd best has ever won the super bowl, therefore the 31st ranked defense New England Patriots cannot be champions.


Ok, so I'm messing with yall. Here are some other fun facts with players from each team - enjoy the game:

Patriot Players:
Fun facts: Tom Brady, married to Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen, was selected as a catcher (the least glamorous position in baseball) in the 18th round of the 1995 Major League Baseball draft by the Montreal Expos.
Fun facts: Wes Welker was nicknamed "The Natural" while at Texas Tech. … Only one player in NFL history – Gale Sayers – had more all-purpose yards in their first three seasons in the league.

 Fun fact: Rob Gronkowski's great-grandfather, Ignatius, was a member of the 1924 U.S. Olympic cycling team in Paris.

 Giant Players:
Fun facts: Justin Tuck was nicknamed "The Freak" by college teammates at Notre Dame. … He's the second youngest of seven children. … At Central Coosa County High School (Kellyton, Ala.), Tuck averaged 17.6 points and 11.3 rebounds as a senior for the Class 4A basketball State Champions.

Noteworthy: Jason Pierre-Paul was born in Deerfield Beach, Fla., to parents who emigrated from Haiti in 1983. Jean Gabriel Pierre-Paul, Jason's father, went blind and his last vision of Jason was as an eight-month year old child. His father listens to games on the radio.
  
Fun fact: Hakim Nicks never lost a game in high school and completed his senior year with MVP honors in the 4-AA state championship game for Independence High School (Charlotte) with eight catches for 205 yards and two touchdowns.

Fun facts: Born Elisha Nelson Manning on Jan. 3, 1981,… On his first career snap, Manning handed off to Tiki Barber, who ran 72 yards for a touchdown. … Eli married college sweetheart Abby and they have a daughter, Ava Frances, born in March 2011

Watch the NFL's Funniest Moments 2011 video:

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 Related Stories: Greg Gee's Super Bowl Picks

‘Soul Train’ Host Don Cornelius Dead Of Suicide

With supreme sadness and heavy heart,  I report the apparent suicide death of Don Cornelius.

 He is and forever will be a monumental figure in black culture, music and entertainment. In our house-hold, each Saturday afternoon, Soul Train was must see TV. 

To Don we salute: Love, Peace and Sooooul!

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Don Cornelius, creator of the long-running TV dance show "Soul Train," shot himself to death Wednesday morning at his Los Angeles home, police said. He was 75.

Officers responding to a report of a shooting found Cornelius at his Mulholland Drive home at around 4 a.m., police said. He was pronounced dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at 4:56 a.m. at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said Los Angeles County Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter.

"Soul Train" began in 1970 in Chicago on WCIU-TV as a local program and aired nationally from 1971 to 2006.

It introduced television audiences to such legendary artists as Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Barry White and brought the best R&B, soul and later hip-hop acts to TV and had teenagers dance to them. It was one of the first shows to showcase African-Americans prominently, although the dance group was racially mixed. Cornelius was the first host and executive producer.

"There was not programming that targeted any particular ethnicity," he said in 2006, then added: "I'm trying to use euphemisms here, trying to avoid saying there was no television for black folks, which they knew was for them." source

Soul Train Golden Moment: Five Stairsteps sing - Ohh Child

Are the Clippers better than the Lakers?: Watch Blake Griffen Own Kendrick Perkins

With the addition of Chris Paul and the experienced Chauncey Billups, many NBA fans are daring to ask - the once unthinkable question: Are the LA Clippers the best basketball team in LA? My LA & Kobie fans (HGP sports editor Greg Gee included) don't sleep on the Clippers.

Blake Griffen/CP3 and crew are younger, more athletic and more exciting to watch(check out the video of Blake just posterizing Kendrick Perkins) - not to mention, after twenty some games into the season, the Clippers have the better record. To be fair, it's a bit premature to answer that question. But the mere fact we can even pose this question with a straight face is saying something.

And yes, Show Time at the Staples Center now has to be clarified: Clippers or Lakers?

 

  For more:

Lakers-Clippers rivalry? Are you kidding? This is now officially a street fight.

It used to be all that mattered when the Clippers played the Lakers was whether Jack Nicholson bothered to show.

No more. This one clearly mattered. By the final period, there threatened to be more technical fouls and near-fights than basketball plays. The basketball wasn't that bad, either. Spectacular, actually, if you are measuring intensity. The Lakers will measure it any way you want. Led by that old hand, Kobe Bryant, they prevailed in a rough and rugged fourth period to win, 96-91. read entire article

Cut Your Beverage Tab at Bars, Restaurants & Resorts

It's possible to spend less for drinks at bars, restaurants and resorts. Here's my list of do-it-mostly-yourself drink recipes.

• Spiked & flavored coffees: At bars, restaurants and resorts you can save a lot by ordering plain American coffee and a shot of Baileys Irish cream liqueur or other liqueurs. One shot of liqueur is good for spiking several rounds of coffee, especially if the establishment offers bottomless cups of coffee. Final ingredient: Tip the waiter or bartender generously.
• Virgin drinks: When lounging poolside at a resort, beach or hotel, save money by ordering the non-alcohol version ofpina coladas or other mixed drinks. Spike your virgin drinks with your own small bottle of rum or vodka. At one one resort, virgin drinks were $4-5 each, compared to $8-12 for the spiked versions. Note: Only use this recipe at resorts where it's customary for guests to carry DIY snacks, sodas and food. Many resorts have no problem with customers bringing brown-bag treats from hotel rooms, beach bags, the food court or other take-out establishments. Final ingredient: When you order the virgin drinks, be sure to tip the waiter or bartender generously. 
• Watered down drinks: One area resort serves strong drinks. When I asked for a watered down version, one fellow customer chided me. She told me take the strong drink as-is and to request an extra glass of soda to dilute the original drink. In this fashion, it's possible to create your own two-for-one drink special. Final ingredient: Tip the waiter or bartender generously.
• DIY iced tea or iced coffee: Some hotels and resorts offer guests free (hot) coffee and tea bars, with high-end herbal teas and gourmet coffee. At one resort where we were staying, I made a cup of hot passion fruit tea and requested a cup of ice from the bar area. With the ice cubes and the hot herbal tea, I was able to create a tall glass of iced tea at no charge. The same strategy works for turning hot coffee into a chilled-out drink. And of course, it's good karma to tip the bartender for the ice.
• Drink water: It's healthier. It's cheaper.

For the love of the Super Bowl

My sister Karen sent me this astounding poll of what major life events people would skip to watch the Super Bowl.

Some of us love football, but a few select individuals said they love it so much they'd skip some major life events for Super Bowl tickets.

In an online survey sponsored by CouponCabin.com, of 2,625 U.S. adults polled, about 21 percent said they'd miss an important work-related duty to attend the NFL's big game, and about 20 percent said they would miss a loved one's wedding or a funeral to watch the ballet of bulldozers on the gridiron.

The poll, conducted by Harris Interactive from Jan. 9-11, also revealed that America's love affair with football is so deep that about 15 percent of those surveyed said they would skip the birth of their child to attend the game.

Quick Clicks

There's no word on how many football fans would sell their soul for Super Bowl tickets as that question was left out of the poll.