The NBA started yesterday, highlighted by a thrilling finish in the Lakers/Rockets game. The Cavs open tonight, against Dallas. The Cavs will start the season with Sasha Pavlovic (signed yesterday for $3 million/year), but no Anderson Varejao (who thinks he is worth $9 million/year, despite no team in the entire league considering such an absurd thing). Here is an analysis of the teams I think will make the playoffs.....

EAST
1) Detroit - the same team as always but in a weak conference there consistency should get the job done (in the regular season)
2) Boston - KG, Allen and Pierce makes for the best talent, but Doc Rivers still sucks as a coach
3) Cleveland - I see a boring season for them, as they will beat the teams they should beat, like always, but they have not improved at all (and for some reason, they refuse to sign any available players....I mean, at least sign Boykins)
4) Toronto - they seemed to have improved from last year...unless last year was a fluke
5) Miami - Wade is hurt, Shaq is old, and they have no depth.....but they now have Tricky Ricky
6) Washington - Gilbert Arenas is great and playing for a contract (note to Cavs fans: Arenas is a player on Washington....you may not know that since you lucked out in last years playoffs)
7) Orlando - picked up Rashard Lewis, but lost NBA Champion Darko Milicic
8) Chicago - I want to pick Milwaukee here, but many analysts say Chicago will win the East, so I should at least pick Chicago to make the playoffs

WEST
1) Phoenix - they were the best team last year, but got screwed. now Grant Hill should put them in a spot where the NBA cannot screw them
2) San Antonio - big intimidation factor with a cold-blooded killer like Horry on the court.....I just hope Nash doesn't have too much PTSD from his violent attack last year
3) Dallas - they are forever ruined after last year's disaster....unless they get Kobe
4) Denver - good team
5) Utah - annoying, but good team
6) Houston - they are a trendy pick this year, but there is no reason to think T-Mac/Yao stay healthy all year
7) New Orleans - just missed the playoffs last year, and seems they should be a bit better this year
8) Lakers - well, everyday it seems more likely Kobe will get traded, so all these predictions will change, depending on where he goes (most likely Chicago or Dallas).

I watched the Democratic Presidential Debate last night. What I saw was John Edwards and Barack Obama challenging the front runner. Edwards criticism was more biting and direct. I have to say that Edwards just isn't as sharp as he used to be. He had great convincing portions of rhetoric followed by nonsense. Obama stuck with the strategy he has used in previous debates of drawing distinctions rather than necessarily attacking Senator Clinton. It kind of looked at times like Edwards and Obama were throwing a one-two punch against Senator Clinton. Senator Dodd also gave a very eloquent statement about Senator Clinton's electability, which I agreed with. Bill Richardson tried to jump in and back Hillary up a little bit by saying that the candidates need to be more positive. I think Dodd, Edwards, and Obama raised question about Hillary being our nominee because their campaigns know that is how many Democrats are feeling.

What made this debate different in my mind is that Hillary was finally treated like a front runner by the other Democrats. She was challenged by everyone. I think it is about time and I didn't hear anything in last night's debate that I felt was out of line. I'm going to be curious to see how this debate is viewed by the media and our readers.

I thought these two headlines posted yesterday at HuffPo summarized the dilemma for many Democrats on the role of Bill Clinton in Hillary's campaign. If you look at the story on the left, the headline reads "Hillary Goes for The Kill." In this picture, Bill is is portrayed as the all knowing adviser. I was sitting at a table of Democrats last Friday night and someone made the point that the best thing Hillary has going for her heading into a Democratic Primary is Bill. It was an excellent point. He is still the most powerful surrogate amongst Democrats and in a primary he is HUGE.

Compare that sentiment with the story on the right where the headline reads "Ford Saw Clinton As Sex Addict: New Bio" and has that absurd picture. That is what Republicans think of when they see Bill Clinton. So looking at these two stores in such close proximity of each other got me wondering about which Bill Clinton independent voters think of when the see Bill next to Hillary? I want to believe they think of the picture on the left, but Republicans can't wait to remind them of the picture on the right. I think this is a conversation we as Democrats need to have before the primaries.

Related: Mike Gravel will be shut out of tonight's debate. As he points out, in the latest CNN poll he is in a statistical dead heat with Biden, Kucinich, and Dodd, who will all be participating. I think he has a valid point.

The City of Green is located just south of Akron and is a rapidly growing suburb with new homes and good schools. Democrat Councilman Andy Padrutt is running to be the next Mayor of the City of Green. It is great to see Strickland agreeing to do this 30 second spot and help down ticket candidates who are the future of the party in Ohio. The Chief Source staff wishes the best of luck to Andy and his campaign in these final weeks of the campaign.

Editor's Note: I know you all missed me. I hope to be back writing regularly, but coupling a busy schedule with a somewhat demoralizing feeling about the failed works of the Democrats in Congress leaves me drained of energy sometimes. Here we go.....

The California wildfires struck and caused great devastation. Fortunately, there was a seemingly decent government response, despite the unavailablity of some national guard resources (in Iraq). Nevertheless, FEMA still felt the need to spend its resources on a fake news conference. Why would they need a fake news conference when have FoxNews at their disposal?

One other thing about the fire and the positive response. It is absolutely silly to compare this to Katrina. The people in the fire's path had cars. They also had real warnings - like the government called their homes and told them to leave. Further, there was no "boy who cried wolf" syndrome like there was in New Orleans (who is evacuated yearly). But above all, again, they had cars. So they drove to a recovery center. At the recovery center they were given things like vouchers for hotels or Target. They then drove away. That was a common scenario. That was never an option in New Orleans. So it is encouraging that the fire response was improved, but I don't think it is that relevant to an urban crisis on par with Katrina.

TV has been great this fall. New episodes of The Office (Thurs, NBC, 8pm) and Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia (Thurs, FX, 10pm - watch this show if you haven't!) have been great. Also, after a slow start to the season, Curb Your Enthusiasm (Sun, HBO, 10pm) has regained its top form all the back in Season 3.

Here is a great reason to be down the Democrats: the approval of 5th Circuit Judge Leslie Southwick. Most Dems voted against him/her, but none of the leadership had the courage to filibuster him/her. This despite Southwick being against punishing employees who call black co-workers a "good ole nigger." Southwick finds that phrase only "somewhat derogatory." Southwick has also issued opinions labeling gays as second-class citizens. And the Democrats allowed this type of judge to take the bench. What a joke.

Ricky Davis was traded to the Miami Heat. That puts the Heat right back at the top of the pack in the East. Will they win it all with 3 big-time scorers.....or will Boston be too much....or will LeBust make me look foolish again? My NBA preview is on its way.

Early this year, a journalist named Matt Lepacek was arrested because he asked Rudy Giuliani a question about Rudy's knowledge about when the WTC towers could collapse. Adding that to the "bro" arrested for asking John Kerry too long a question and you have to wonder what is going on. Why are American citizens not allowed to even ask questions anymore?

Speaking of Rudy, in the days after 9/11 he haulted the search for ground zero survivors 24 hours after securing $230 Million in buried gold from the scene. Coincidence? These types of unknown stories are exactly why I pray he is the GOP nominee (which is looking more likely everyday - I think Huckabee might now be the best chance to stop him).

Man that last thread was littered with land mines, eh? I wanted to chime in all day, but it was one of those thin-ice topics where you have to spend so much time choosing your words and making sure your analogies don't offend that it takes an hour to write sentence number one. I'd been meaning to write a race/culture post for a while and the last thread was just the jolt I needed.

I'll start off by saying that I find both sides of this race debate frustrating. On one side I often see people who have a burning desire to imply (but can't just come out and say it) that blacks are some inferior, bottom-feeding race that have no one to blame for their troubles, aside from Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. People who say shit like "Get over it! Slavery was like 200 years ago!" These people don't want to listen when you point out that Martin Luther King Jr, who stood up in the face of police dogs and fire hoses would have been 78 years old this year had he not been murdered for simply speaking out about equality.

On the other side, I see people who are often unwilling to face statistical realities and scared to even admit that yes... there are fundamental differences between races. Would anyone here honestly argue that Asians don't have a knack for math? If you had to bet your life's saving on the outcome of a spelling bee, would you not put your money on the Indian kid? Would any gringo that's traveled in Latin America argue that Latinos don't have festive dance in their blood? Or that Koreans are more introverted than Americans?



If we are even willing to acknowledge these differences the next question of course is are these racial or simply cultural traits? My guess: some are racial, some are cultural, some are a bit of both. Here's all that matters to me though:

(1) Different races are fundamentally different in all sorts of ways. It's OK to admit and even embrace this. However, no amount of statistical evidence proving one race is superior to another in such-and-such category could ever validate discrimination against an individual based on their race. Period.

(2) On the other hand some cultures (and sub-cultures) are categorically superior to others (How we judge a culture is a whole 'nother can 'o worms). Cultures are fair game for scorn, mockery and criticism, and voluntary members of those cultures are fair game as well.

Do we need to be accepting/tolerant of every subculture out there from Amish to Hippie to 'Thug Life' to Wicken to Polygamy? It's one thing to support people's right to subscribe to any stupid, self-destructive subculture, and as long as they're operating within the law, I do. It's another thing all together to treat any and every culture as sacrosanct.

(I'll never forget Whoopi Goldberg on The View suggesting that, being from the deep south, dog-fighting was a part of Michael Vic's "culture" implying that 'cultural crimes' should be protected by 'cultural immunity.')

Bottom line: many of our nation's inner-city Blacks (along with many inner-city Whites and Latinos) have subscribed to a particularly shitty, corrosive subculture, it's that simple.

If we can arrive comfortably at that conclusion, the next question is WHY. Why is it so prevalent? Is there cultural baggage, discrimination, exploitation or general disadvantage involved? This is where the liberal can step in and make an argument that the mere existence of this 'Thug Life' culture is a product of generations of (or continued) oppression by whites. I'm not saying I agree or disagree. Just saying that this is a starting point for an honest discussion.

Unfortunately we seldom get that far because we're too afraid to admit that the culture is shitty in the first place at the risk of seeming racist. Instead we sometimes even defend it as if it's an inseparable part of the African-American racial fiber. Which, if you think about it, is truly offensive.

The sooner we draw a line in the sand between race and culture, the sooner we can work towards racial equality and racial tolerance while at the same time shamelessly challenging any dead-end subculture that ails our nation.

One of our readers Silent Majority says: "Why not discuss the difference in imgages from Qualcomm Stadium (resulting from the fires in SOCAL) in San Diego and the Superdome in New Orleans (resulting from Katrina). I want to hear how such enlightened individuals as yourselves spin the stark contrast."



The top photograph shows the New Orleans Superdome with the roof blown off and surrounded by water. The second picture was taken at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium two days ago on October 24th. Qualcomm will close to evacuees today at noon so that the San Diego Chargers can play this Sunday.

Enjoy the game.

Unrelated: I have decided to go to Saturday's Halloween Party in Highland Square as Stephen Colbert. I hope to see you there.