8:15 p.m.

• Wow. This dreadful economy has hit EVERYONE.

Public documents show Michael Jackson has repeatedly failed to make mortgage payments on a Los Angeles home that has been used for years by his family.

• Yesterday I was watching PTI and they had this bit about Greg Oden being a Barack Osama fan and Wilbon practically had an orgasm over the whole thing. Good God. So the guy likes a politician who spoke with him. Big deal. However, Wilbon then said that it was soooooo great to see and hear an athlete talk about politics/race/etc. Here’s what Oden wrote.

Today I got a phone call from Senator Barack Obama. I was so nervous two days ago when I knew it was gonna happen and wanted to make sure he knew I had done my homework on him. I have a lot of respect for him and already had a really good feeling about him. As the time got closer, I got on his website, learned more about what he is about and brushed up on what I knew, so I got more comfortable with the idea of speaking to him one on one.

 

The conversation was quick - like two minutes but I got to talk to him like a real person. What I got from talking to him is that he is a real sports fan and he knew about the Blazers. He said that when I come back Brandon, LaMarcus and I will be a force next year. He also asked me about my knee, and he said he wasn't feeling my mohawk - lol. I laughed and explained to him that it's just a haircut to me and he told me he liked how I handle myself as a young man - "Thanks Mom." I did not talk politics with him. He talks about that stuff all the time and I'm going to keep learning more about the issues.

 

He is a very nice man and I am a big fan. I got the chance to go to his website (www.barackobama.com) and read up on some of his beliefs and there are things he is doing that I really support like his plan with education, civil rights, and health care. That's why Senator Obama is getting my vote.

 

I know people might question my support of education because I left school after my first year but I had an opportunity to become something not a lot of people can be - on a paid vacation. No, I'm just playing - a number one draft pick. Yes I do plan on going back to school and getting my degree. I'm actually going back this summer for sure. Everything I look at I look at the stand point from my little cousins or my family members outside my immediate family. Everything that I'm sure my mother looked into before she voted, when me and my brother were growing up, and before I got drafted. Senator Obama is a real person. Sometimes people forget that people in the public eye are real people also. I know I did with him at first. We are all citizens of this great country and I know I'm putting in my one vote. I know it's just one small vote, but it's big to me.

 

If the person I vote for wins it's gonna be because of my one little vote, at least that's what I'm gonna think. I think everyone should think that way. This will be my first presidential election to participate in as a voter and I hope that you younger voters will get involved. I think that our votes can really influence the outcome so go out, register and vote for who you think is the best candidate to be the best leader for this country and make sure you and your family will feel good about the new president that is elected in November.

OK, so…

I know people might question my support of education because I left school after my first year but I had an opportunity to become something not a lot of people can be - on a paid vacation.

…was a funny line. But back to Wilbon. I wouldn’t be comparing Oden with Jim Brown just yet. In fact, the discussion turned for a bit to athletes like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods that didn’t take the time to turn their spotlight in the public eye to talk about issues. Hell, one of the reasons I like Woods is that he just show up, does his thing and wins. In fact, the only person that doesn’t seem to make a big deal about Tiger’s skin color is Tiger himself. And while I wouldn’t consider Jordan outspoken when it comes to politics, he did campaign for Bill Bradley in the 2000 Democrat primary. (I’m also fairly certain he didn’t attend a White House ceremony with Bush I after the Bulls won a title, but I could be wrong on this one.)

8:45 p.m.

• Hmmm, I don’t recall these signs anywhere near me.

A convenience store chain's billboard advertising its fried chicken sandwich is ruffling the feathers of some residents. Sheetz unveiled the "Crispy Frickin' Chicken" billboards at the beginning of February.

 

The campaign consists of 100 billboards placed locations that carry the sandwich, spokeswoman Monica Jones said Thursday. The campaign is aimed at young adults, and the company did not intend to offend anyone, Jones said.

 

"We're kind of known for edgy, kind of brash advertising tactics, and we knew this would spark a certain amount of controversy," Jones said. "That said, we're proud of the campaign."

 

Sheetz will take down the billboards on Wednesday, when the campaign is scheduled to end, Jones said. The company recently removed one billboard in Hazle Township, near Hazleton, after local officials fielded complaints.

 

"There was a lady who left an angry voice mail," code enforcement officer Fran Calarco said. "And a man called and said he had small children and didn't think they should be exposed to that type of language. I told him I completely understood and agreed."

Of course, my first thought upon reading the above article was this post made back in ’06. Time for a trip to the ar-kkk-ives.

I’m suddenly reminded of another “incident” that took place in Ohio just to show that the better half isn’t a pure as the wind-driven snow. (There are many stories, including the time I told a bagboy to get cancer, but for some reason this one just came to my mind.) We were leaving a restaurant called O’Charley’s, which is kinda like an Applebee’s or a Friday’s, but a few notches above them, in my opinion (It’s a shame they’re not in the Shittsburgh area). Well, we were walking out to the car and I was carrying the better half’s doggy bag. I was being an idiot and either not giving her the car keys or the Styrofoam container; I can’t remember which. But I do remember what happened next.

 

As we were on opposite ends of our car, a van with a couple and their young daughter had just pulled into the spot next to where the better half was standing. Right when the van door opened and the little kid was getting helped out of her car seat, the better half shouted, “Give me that now, asshole!” Like a parrot, the girl behind her said, “Yeah, asshole!” My jaw dropped, although the better half didn’t hear her say it. The kid’s parents did though. In Mrs. kkk’s defense I don’t think she knew there were people behind her, but so what? It was still funny as hell.