Joe Biden First Pitch

{Thanks, Baltimore Sun}

You may have missed it but Vice President Joe Biden spent some time in Charm City on Monday as part of Orioles Opening Day. The VP threw out the first pitch and became the first sitting Vice President to do so.

An honor of a different kind for a Baltimore native.

Judge Andre Davis

{Thanks, Baltimore Sun}

While abroad on his 8 day trip to Europe, President Obama made some news here locally when he nominated federal judge and Baltimore native Andre Davis to a spot on the nation’s Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Why it matters? Being nominated to a federal appeals court is kind of a big deal. There are only 13 federal appeals courts. Appeals court judges are also often seen as potential nominees to the Supreme Court of the United States.

About Judge Davis:

Davis was born here in Baltimore in 1949.

He’s a 1978 graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law.

He was an attorney at the Department of Justice in Washington and then served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Maryland before beginning his judicial career.

He was a judge on Baltimore’s district and circuit court two state courts for seven years before then President Clinton nominated him to become a federal judge.

Clinton also tried to appoint Davis to the Fourth Circuit back in 2000, but the Senate never confirmed that appointment.

There’s hope that this time around Davis will be confirmed by the Senate.

To learn more about judge Davis watch WJZ’s recent report on Davis’s nomination.

A release from the mayor: Mayor Dixon Announces Overflow Location for Saturday

Baltimore, MD (January 15, 2009) – Mayor Sheila Dixon announced that the Inner Harbor Amphitheater and an area in front of the National Aquarium in Baltimore are overflow sites for residents and visitors to watch live on large video screens of President-Elect Barack Obama’s official visit to Baltimore on Saturday, January 17 at 4:15 p.m.
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Obama’s Victory {ABC News}

I write this piece on the eve of my beautiful grandmother’s birthday. My grandmother, who tomorrow-God Willing- will turn 77 years young, still walks the streets of Harlem on her daily outings as vigorously as she did the day she migrated to the Big Apple from her hometown of Goldsboro, North Carolina more that 50 years ago. I thought of her as I watched Senator Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. accept his victory as the 44th President of these United Sates of America last night around the hour of 11:00.  Addressing this nation with his new world order at task, he spoke of a woman named Ann Nixon Cooper; a 106 year old former homemaker and socialite from Atlanta who for the first time in her life was able to cast her vote for an African-American nominee. For more than a century on this earth, this extraordinary woman has witnessed America evolve before her eyes. I wonder if Mrs. Nixon Cooper or my grandmother ever thought, in their wildest dreams, that they would see a black man being prepared to take the helm of this country. I think of my maternal grandmother who passed way in 2004, the same year that Barack Obama was just making his mark in the national political arena by giving maybe the most important speech of his career at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. I think of my mother, as all she could say was “Oh My Goodness,” in between her sobs of joy as she watched the nation erupt in jubilee on her television. I think of my father, who was an award-winning journalist at the Village Voice during the 1980’s, when young black people were being killed at an alarming rate by a bigoted NYPD and the devastating crack epidemic. I think of my grandfather, who fell limp across his bed crying when he received the news that Malcolm X was killed at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City.

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From today’s b, the paper

Four one-of-a-kind Cabbage Patch Kids dolls with the likeness of presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain and vice presidential candidates Joe Biden and Palin will be auctioned on eBay.com.

The dolls sport outfits inspired by their counterparts, the Palin doll wearing her signature rimless eyeglasses, red suit and heels.

Cabbage Patch spokeswoman Margaret McLean said Monday the company made John Kerry and George Bush dolls for the last election. She said she couldn’t find figures for which of the dolls raised more money, but the company plans to keep track this year.
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From today’s b, the paper

It seems as though the presidential race has been going on for about seven years. So for those of you (i.e. most) with ADD, b wants to help. Here’s our look at the A-Z of the 2008 election, from the ACORN controversy to the zzzzz’s most Americans were letting out during the first two presidential debates. Just call us the Webster’s of democracy.

A — ACORN:
Short for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, the liberal group, founded in 1970, hired more than 13,000 part-time workers to register voters in minority and poor neighborhoods in 21 states. AP reports some of the 1.3 million registration cards submitted to local officials used the names of cartoon characters or pro football players, leading to allegations of widespread misconduct. Must avoid urge to make blind squirrel joke …

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From today’s, b the paper

Political buttons? The last time we checked, it wasn’t the 19th century. And bumper stickers? So 2004.

Modernize your candidate support with some of these offbeat options. There’s everything from John McCain- and Barack Obama-friendly dog clothes to condoms (Levi Johnston not available for comment). And we somehow found Joe Biden memorabilia, which proved as elusive as the Ark of the Covenant.

There’s just a few weeks to go before Nov. 4, so show your creative political pride while you can.

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Obama-McCain in Debate No. 2 in Nashville

Last night’s debate was nothing special, though I do think it was a lot more exciting than debate No. 1. For many folks, it was must see T.V., but I didn’t see it as a game changer.

Most debate experts will tell you that when candidates are to engage in a series of debates, the first debate is often the most important, because the winner walks away with a clear advantage. Since debate number one was a draw, last night’s debate between Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain became that much more important.

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Senators Barack Obama, left, and John McCain

Tonight is the night, as they say.

Millions are likely to tune in tonight for what will be the second presidential debate. Senators John McCain and Barack Obama will square off at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. The debate will be moderated by NBC News Special Correspondent and “Meet the Press” Moderator Tom Brokaw. Read the rest of this entry »

Millions tuned in for the vice presidential debate to see how Gov. Sarah Palin would stack up against Sen. Joe Biden. How does the “newcomer” fare when up against the “known commodity”? Part of me wished last night wasn’t the only time you’d get to see the two of them side by side.

Some people might think it’s all about the top of the ticket – that’s who voters will look to in deciding whom they will cast ballots for in November. What happened to the belief that the selection of a vice president is the first great test of a potential president, and therefore the first opportunity for our next president to show his or her judgment?

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Workers prepare the stage for the VP debate {AP Photo}

I’ll be tap-tap-tapping away on the typer, live blogging the VP debate from my working man’s castle in North East Baltimore beginning at 9 p.m. EST.  Drink ‘em if you’ve got ‘em.  The rules are simple:

1. Every time Palin gives a response that sounds like it was run though a free online language translator, I’m going to have myself a sip of a crisp, refreshing adult beverage (from the Land of Pleasant Living).

2. Every time Biden harps on the Alaska governor’s lack of experience, I will also take a nip.

It’s a good old-fashioned debate party, friends, and you’re invited. But remember: the first rule of Debate Party is, you do not talk about Debate Party…without a beer in your hand.  Let the bloodletting begin.

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