LL and other local observers have gotten plenty of mileage out of comparing Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's executive-power-aggregating habits to those of President George W. Bush.

Let the comparisons continue!

Early in October, the D.C. Council passed the fiscal 2010 city budget, after months of wrangling over how best to deal with a late-breaking drop in city revenue. The process had not exactly been a model of interbranch cooperation, with the council jawing about Fenty's methods of closing the $660 million budget gap and Hizzoner threatening a veto over school-governance matters.

But even with the final vote, the bickering hasn't ceased. On Oct. 15, Attorney General Peter J. Nickles dispatched a 13-page memo [PDF] to Fenty, who in turn sent it to Gray. The document lays out no fewer than 16 provisions included in the budget legislation that Nickles and his lawyers found to be objectionable---including six measures, he announced, that the executive branch should ignore completely due to "problems, including separation-of-powers and other Home Rule Act violations, that prevent lawful implementation."

Read More "Fenty Embraces “Signing Statement” Tactic" »

The black baby doll wearing a "Lil' monkey" hat - and cuddling with a stuffed monkey - is no more.

The Associated Press reports that Costco has pulled the African-American version of the "Cuddle with Me, Doll with Plush Monkey" after receiving complaints about its possible racist connotations. The white and Hispanic Lil' monkeys are still available (not racist), as is the black doll cuddling a panda (also not racist).

Read More "Black Doll with Panda: Okay. Black Doll with Monkey: Not So Much." »

Rob Dixon has at least one thing in common with Gandhi: Gandhi never played for the Bullets, either.

There's one difference between 'em, also: Gandhi never claimed he did.

Now, according to Dixon's charity, he'll stop making such claims.

Dixon was one of the good people featured during pre-game ceremonies at the All Star game. He runs Project Rise, a charity in the Boston area that for years has tried to get kids who otherwise might not go to college into college.

His tale was enough that he was voted via a People Magazine national contest as being among the do-goodingest folks in the country. Dixon and the other winners stood on the field in St. Louis last night as President Obama and all the living ex-presidents talked them up via videotape. Dixon was among a small group that got a personal presidential tribute: George W. Bush talked about Dixon's charity to the stadium crowd and a national TV audience. Bush didn't mention Dixon's basketball experience.

But while successfully campaigning for this People honor, Dixon claimed to have played for the Washington Bullets. That NBA experience was repeated in pretty much every news story about the People awards; he was identified as a "former Washington Bullets guard who left the NBA in 1983" by a publication near his hometown of Dorchester, Mass.

One problem: Dixon's name, according to Abe Pollin's franchise, doesn't appear on any Bullets rosters. The organization has no record that he ever did play for the team. Neither does any other NBA squad.

Read More "Update: Charity Says All-Star Honoree’s Bogus Bullets Boast Has Been ‘Addressed’" »

The Washington Kastles lost to the Philadelphia Freedoms, the team named after an Elton John song or vice versa, in their home opener last night. The big stories were the sellout crowd that filled Empty Parking Lot Arena, or whatever the temp downtown stadium is called, and the appearance of tireless Venus Williams, who gave a clinic to local kids by day and starred on the court at night.

The loss puts the Kastles at 0-3. Amazing how quickly they've blended into the DC sports scene.

***

Speaking of: The Nats lost again in Colorado. Just another day at the office for the boys: Three errors for Washington (none for the Rockies), one-run loss.

Austin Kearns, he of the $8 million 2009 salary, had a huge pinch hit single in the 8th inning. Huge not for the Nats, but for Kearns, since it put his batting average above .200 for the first time in a while. Alas, the team's mandatory all-star slot has already been filled by Ryan Zimmerman.

The Nats have a death grip on the 1st Pick in next year's draft, and are now 14.5 games out of second-to-last place in the NL East. The team can boast a record -196-run run differential differential (R2D2™) with the league-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.

Manny Acta et al will try to fight off the broom with a getaway-day game this afternoon in Denver.

AFTER THE JUMP: Inevitable Chris Cooley backlash starting already? The guy who taught us "Macaca" still thinks he's righteous? Alberto Gonzales banished to an American archipelago? The Irish play basketball?

Read More "Cheap Seats Daily: Alberto Gonzales Banished to American Siberia?" »

The Washington Post just posted an article announcing that an elementary school in Upper Marlboro, MD might be named after Barack Obama, if the proposal is accepted at a vote tomorrow night.  The article goes on to mention that schools named after sitting presidents are not uncommon in this country, citing the examples of George W. Bush Elementary, opened in 2003 in California, and Richard Nixon Elementary, which welcomed Iowa students in 1970.  Leaving aside the fact that these other schools were named after possibly the two worst presidents in history, isn't it a little soon for schools to be named after Obama?  He was only inaugurated 155 days ago, while the other presidents had been in office for at least a year before they got a school named after them.

We do need to find more names for public buildings, especially in this city.  It gets confusing when you have to differentiate between which Reagan building to meet someone at, or use first names when figuring out which Kennedy goes with which arena/school/office.  But Obama's legacy is yet to be determined.  He's the first black president, which of course gives him precedence, but maybe the citizens should hold off for a few months.  Just to save the students from any possible embarrassment.

The Washington Times has a great story about DEA leftovers from the Bush administration still going after medical marijuana despite the new president's stated desire that the federal government stay out of the way in these matters.

Pot is legal for sick folks according to state law in California. But DEA agents have been on a binge of raids there lately involving firms that provide medical marijuana to the needy.

George W. Bush, according to the story, always told his troops to ignore California codes.

Why would Bush, being of the party that boasts of its love of states rights, be so gung ho against pot?

It might have something to do with all the drug use he was alleged to have done during his lost years, but never confessed to.

Or the answer of his anti-pot bent might be found on another leftover from his administration: the web site of the White House Office of Drug Policy.

On the section for "Street Terms," in the B's, you'll find "Bush" listed as a cool-kids' synonym for pot.

That's gotta hurt.

'Course, you'll also find "Righteous Bush," "Bobo Bush," "Kate Bush," and "Potten Bush" on the same official White House list of marijuana euphemisms.

"Kate Bush"? For real?

Is there a chance in hell Michael Phelps or any other American stoner ever really smoked "Kate Bush"?

George W. Bush made his last trip as Commander in Chief over the weekend. He went to Norfolk, Va., to christen the U.S. Navy's newest aircraft carrier.

Here's the Cliff's Notes version of the President's speech:

The aircraft carrier which we commission today may be the Navy's newest ship -- but she has already had an interesting past. Her catapult testing took place during an unseasonable cold snap. Her christening was thrown into chaos by a fierce nor'easter. And during construction, the shipyard was closed down because of Hurricane Isabel...She will carry nearly 6,000 of the finest sailors and Marines in the world. She represents the craftsmanship of many skilled builders, and thousands of hours of preparation...She's also a tribute to a new generation of American soldiers and sailors and Coast Guardsmen and women, airmen and Marines who have stepped forward to defend the United States America...I ask that God protect this ship, and let her know only victory and peace. And I ask God's continued blessings on our wonderful nation. Thank you.

I listened to some of the address, and it really came through that President Bush was talking about one helluva lady.

The lady's name? "The USS George H.W. Bush."

So why does the military only name its warships after men, but always refers to them as women?

I mean, did Bill Parcells come up with this policy?

Outside of the Busboys and Poets coffeeshop at 14th and V Streets NW, there's a large plexiglas box filled with shoes. It's called "The Empty Shoes of War," and each pair of shoes symbolizes an Iraqi civilian killed in the war. As a volunteer for Code Pink, local blogger and activist Nikolas Schiller had helped out with the event where the memorial was unveiled.

So when Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi whipped his shoes at President George W. Bush yesterday, Schiller was struck by the podiatro-political nexus. As he writes on his blog, "Last night I was reminded of the shoes in the memorial and conceived the idea of putting up a small guerrilla thank you note as a way to publicly thank al-Zaidi for doing something millions of people around the world would love to do if they were given the opportunity."

He put it on the plexiglas box: