I remember reading an interview (I think it was in Vibe magazine) with Meshell Ndegeocello, where she said something to the effect of “Mexicans are the new niggers”, and I had to agree with her. It’s not politically correct to give brothers and sisters the “you don’t belong here” treatment anymore, so the easy targets are Mexicans and Middle Easterners. The state of Arizona (which has a very high Mexican immigrant population) just passed into law a bill that requires immigrants to carry their alien registration at all times and requires police to determine whether people are in the country illegally. Loosely translated, that means it’s open season on the Mexicans in Arizona. Look, we obviously need immigration reform, but this isn’t the way to do it. All the cops are gonna do is ID everyone who is darker than cardboard. Well, I was gonna say that they’ll ID everyone darker than cardboard that doesn’t have nappy hair, but I betcha dark-skinned black folks are gonna have to watch their back in AZ too since they can very likely be mistaken for Africans, Haitians or Jamaicans. To recap: by using the word “immigrant”, the state of Arizona most likely is referring to Mexicans and others of Latin descent and quite possibly Africans, Haitians and Jamaicans…NOT Russians, Irish, Polish, Italians or quite possibly Asians. So now, people of color in Arizona are basically living in a police state. It’s not hard to believe that this is the same state that didn’t recognize Martin Luther King’s birthday as a national holiday until the mid Nineties. You can definitely cross Phoenix off of my vacation list.

After treating the NBA regular season in pretty blase fashion, I’ve started watching the playoffs again. I’m a little surprised that the Western conference first round has been as competitive as it’s been, with the most surprising development being that the Dallas Mavericks have, yet again, folded like a cheap suit in the first round. They’re down 3-1 to the San Antonio Spurs, who should be cumulatively running on fumes at this point. Look, I begrudgingly admire Tim Duncan, Tony (Pepe Le Pew) Parker and Manu Ginobili (and Coach Pop), but Dirk and company should be beating the pants off of these dudes. Considering how much the Mavs have underperformed in the playoffs over the past few years (losing in the finals to the Miami Heat, getting knocked out of the first round by the Warriors), you have to wonder if Dirk Nowitzki and/or Mark Cuban is cursed! And Kudos to the Orlando Magic for sweeping their way out of the first round. Might a little Vinsanity be standing in the way of a championship for Bron Bron.

I don’t watch “SNL” too much, but I did tune in last weekend because I like Gabourey Sidibe (and now I know how to pronounce her name!). Man, the writing on that show has gone to total shit. Aside from her monologue, Gaby wasn’t very good (she flubbed more than a couple of lines…perhaps she was nervous, which is understandable. Live TV is a quite different animal than a movie). But there was not ONE decent skit. How come Saturday Night Live is only good when Justin Timberlake is on it? And why didn’t anyone have the brainstorm to match Gabby up with JT for a skit, seeing as she’s been quite vocal about her love for the man.

Finally, a get well shout to Bret Michaels, who suffered a hemorrhage near his brain stem on Friday. He’s still in critical condition, and conflicting reports about his actual condition have been circulating. Granted, I was never the hugest Poison fan and I wasn’t going anywhere near “Rock of Love”, but he seems like a good dude, and the fact that’s he’s only 43 scares me…mostly because I’m a fellow diabetic. It’s certainly possible that either the hemorrhage itself or the fact that complications after the hemorrhage may be related to that condition. Couple this with the death of Casey Johnson a couple of months ago from complications relating to diabetes and I’m a shook man. Especially since I’m trying to change my diet and physical regimen. When you’ve been eating whatever you want for 30+ years, it’s very hard to grasp the concept of not being able to eat something, and I have no problem admitting that I have as many good days and bad days. But ultimately, I want to be healthy. So get well, Bret. And if anyone sees me walking around Boston with an ice cream cone or a Dagwood-style sandwich (on white bread only) in my hand, make sure you slap me.