First Cuppa Coffee – March 31, 2012 : Ron Burgundy Edition

Editor: The OB Rag was down for most of yesterday, Friday, March 30th, so, we’re posting Doug’s “First Cuppa Coffee” that he wrote for yesterday here.  

Democratic crime wave coming to an end…  Professional campaign treasurer Kinde Durke will plead guilty in the next few days to embezzling more than $8 million going back over a decade from over mostly Democratic political campaigns and organizations.  Federal officials noted that Durke was once considered the most reliable treasurer for Democratic politicians at all levels in California, and had access to more than 700 campaign-related bank accounts.  Locally, Congresswoman Susan Davis is among the many candidates whose campaigns were looted by Durke, who reportedly used the monies for personal reasons, including ice cream runs at Baskin-Robbins, groceries from Trader Joe’s and trips to Disneyland.

Is the NFL dying?….Big Time Norts Spews….  The local press has been all abuzz lately over the sale of the LA Dodgers ($2 billion, woo hoo!), the un-sale of the Padres (will play baseball for spare change?) and the sputtering startup of Fox Sports San Diego. Local baseball fans on Time-Warner Cable may not see baseball games, at least until a deal is reached, and this is, we’re told, at least as big an abomination as Obamacare.  Meanwhile the really big story—one that portends the end of Professional Football is out there lurking in the bushes of backwater journalism. To summarize, you take the New Orleans Saints scandal about defensive players being paid bounties for causing injuries, add a heavy dose of the research that’s come to light recently about football-related brain injuries and mix with a couple of cups of high priced personal injury lawyers, there exists a scenario whereby the economics of pro-football cease to work. Today, owning a franchise is akin to having a license to print money– excuse me if I ignore all the hand wringing while NFL owners hide behind their own personal wall of tax dodges and under-the-table deals. Tomorrow, the game could be gone. As in not played anymore. Wow. Good thing all those local sports reporters can’t read more than 200 words at a time, they’d have something serious to worry about.

 VEEP watch…. Now that those killjoys at the Daily Fishwrap (UTSD) have called for the GOP primary to end, it’s time to start the all-important quest for a Vice-President, because, you know, it will be almost as fun as the primaries were. It’s well known that the Republicans would love to have a candidate of the Female persuasion for that all-important position. Unfortunately, two of the leading contenders are already out of the race.  Condoleezza Rice told Fox & Friends last week that she’s not interested in the job.  Tea Party favorite and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley is expected to be indicted on charges of tax fraud any day now. No word on Sarah Palin yet…

Local wrap ups…  The Romney family has decided to put their plans for car-elevator at their La Jolla abode on hold…  Columnist David Brooks over the New York Times has a laudatory piece about Nathan Fletcher’s decision to dump his GOP affiliation in today’s edition. If nothing else, it’s worth a read just for ‘the defend the GOP at any cost’ trolls’ comments at the end….  Anchorman II is on the way.  Will Ferrell will reprise his role as TV anchorman Ron Burgundy next year, and the gossip is exploding locally. Rumors that the film will be made on location at KUSI are completely untrue. We were unable to confirm or deny the rumor that Carl DeMaio has a cameo in the film…  The award-winning (and really hot!) jazz band at San Diego’s School for the Creative and Performing Arts has just returned from a concert in Germany and will be featured on KPBS TV news this evening at 6:30pm…

Today would have been Cesar Chavez’s 85^th birthday. If you noticed that traffic on the freeway was a little light this morning, that’s because it’s also a holiday for some folks. There will be a march today, Saturday, at 10 am starting at Cesar Chavez Park and ending up downtown honoring his legacy.