• Congratulations to Barry Bonds, who broke Hank Aaron’s National League career homerun record on Saturday night. Given the Feds’ obsession with prosecuting Bonds for his alleged steroid use, little positive attention was given to the milestone by Major League Baseball or the sports media. Next year, Bonds should break Aaron’s overall homerun record by late July. Hopefully, he will get the respect he deserves.
• Shout out to Temple University’s football team, which scored its first touchdown this weekend. Temple 7, Opponents 165. GO OWLS!!!!!!!!!!
• On Sunday, Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey said that his team lost because they were “outcoached.” I can’t help but wonder what would happen if Terrell Owens had made the same comment.
• Now that Toni Kukoc seems set to retire from the NBA, who holds the “Danny Ferry/Jeff Ruland/Christian Laettner” award for the most disappointing Great White Hope in the league?
• Maurice Clarrett, who was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison for aggrabated robbery and carrying a concealed weapon, has asked to be placed in a prison with appropriate fitness equipment. Apparently, he wants to remain in football shape so that he can mount a comeback after his likely release after 3 1/2 years. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
• The NHL regular season is set to begin soon. Does anyone care?

“The devil came right here… And it still smells of sulfur today.” – Hugo Chavez talking about Dubya

For the past several days, Hugo Chavez has made a powerful case for himself as the heir apparent to Fidel Castro as the voice of the Third World. In a string of powerful speeches, the Venezuelan President has managed to rile up Democrats and Republicans alike with his harsh criticisms of US policy, as well as President Bush himself. During a speech at the United Nations, Chavez referred to Bush as “the devil.” In another New York speech, he called Bush an “insecure, sick, but dangerous alcoholic.” Immediately after his comments were made public prominent members of both parties condemned Chavez’ comments as disrespectful, offensive, and unnecessary.

To many people, his words were right on time.

While I agree that Chavez’s ad hominem attacks on Bush were (slightly) over-the-top, it is important to view them within the appropriate context. Since the 9/11 attacks, Bush has fed the American public a steady diet of derogatory comments about various nations throughout the world. Unfortunately, terms like “axis of evil” — a term coined by George W. Bush to categorize an ever expanding list of so-called rogue states– have never managed to unsettle American politicians (particularly on the Right) as much as Chavez’s statements. This is higly problematic since Bush’s vitriol is accompanied by equally vicious foreign policy.

If we are to allow such language from Bush, we must do the same for those who offer principled critiques of American policy. Given America’s hegemonic position in the world, people like Chavez provide a necessary counter-voice to Bush and his cronies, who are too often given a free pass for their imperialist actions.

In addition to his provocative words, Chavez has promised to continue sending discounted oil to the American poor. Regardless of his motivations, the gesture will provide necessary relief from the unprecedentedly high oil prices that have emerged during Bush’s tenure as commander-in-chief. Additionally, Chavez has pledgd to continue using revenue from Citgo to support Venezela’s most impoverished communities.
Not bad for a few days in the country.

Had enough of ‘conservative’ rip-off artists in Washington? Here’s a list of the worst offenses we’ve seen since 2001.

By Nomi Prins

1) The Bush administration has created the biggest budget deficit, debt, and trade imbalance ever while cutting funding for domestic needs like education, Medicare, and Medicaid.

2) The administration’s tax cuts favor the rich, no matter how you look at it. About 87 percent of tax benefits go to the 14 percent of households with incomes above $100,000. Households with incomes below $75,000 — three-quarters of all households — get just 5 percent of those benefits.

3) Bush signed the largest corporate tax break package in two decades, $136 billion. After World War II, corporations paid half the cost of running the federal government. Today, they pay 7%.

4) The price of gas doubled under Bush. The top oil companies earned $25 billion during the quarter that Hurricane Katrina struck compared to $50 billion for all of 2004. Former Exxon-Mobil, CEO, Lee Raymond got a $400 million exit package.

For the rest of the story, click here.