Joe Bonamassa....

For those who enjoy listening to great blues guitarists, last night's Joe Bonamassa show at The Birchmere in Alexandria, Va. was equivalent to the Super Bowl. The 32-year-old phenom performed before two sold-out shows at the intimate theatre on 3/30 and 3/31.

Bonamassa, playing with a three-piece band, opened with the title track from his latest album, "The Legend of John Henry", which currently sits at No. 1 on Billboard's blues chart. For nearly the next two hours, Bonamassa performed a variety of songs from his seven studio albums. Recently, Bonamassa received the Guitar Players Reader's Choice Award as the best blues guitarist in 2008 (second year in a row).

He is considered by many in the music industry as "the next Stevie Ray Vaughn" as he weaves in slow, more classic blues tracks with raw, hard-edged songs. After a few more shows in America, Bonamassa will play in Europe for the majority of 2009, including a performance at legendary Royal Albert Hall on May 4.

If you get a chance to see him live, do not pass it up!

Choose Life Plate Becomes Law in Virginia!

Today, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine signed SB 817, the "Choose Life" license plate into law, making Virginia the 24th state to offer the pro-life plate. As many of you know, Senator Richard Stuart (R) drafted the bill and then Senator Ken Cuccinelli (R) amended it on the Senate floor and pushed this legislation through during the last legislative session. It was passed with solid bi-partisan support. It's a huge win for those in the pro-life movement, and also for those who hold dear our First Amendment rights.

In his statement, Governor Kaine (who also happens to be President Obama's hand picked National Chairman of the Democrat Party) said: "Because Virginians -like all Americans - regard freedom of expression among our highest values, courts in the Commonwealth and elsewhere have reviewed license plate programs to ensure that government regulation of plate messages does not discriminate based on the viewpoint expressed by a particular group."

We couldn't agree more - (and that's a first!)

This is a great momentum builder for the Cuccinelli for Attorney General campaign. All across the Commonwealth, thousands of people, many involved in politics for the first time, are joining the Cuccinelli team.

Senator Cuccinelli is the ONLY candidate for Attorney General who has a PROVEN RECORD of getting things done. He has cast thousands of votes and has never wavered from his conservative principals, something that unfortunately has been in vogue in Richmond and Washington for years.

LeBron James Sinks Incredible Shot on "60 Minutes"

WOW!

LeBron James gave an interview to Steve Kroft, which aired last night on "60 Minutes," and sunk an incredible throwaway shot on his first try.

"The Fox Nation" Goes Live Today

Fox News is launching its new web site, "The Fox Nation" today. Here's an opinion piece by Grover Norquist on the new site...

FOX Nation for America

By Grover Norquist

Founder and President, Americans for Tax Reform

I believe that FOX Nation has the potential to do to the Internet what FOX News did to cable television. That is, be a disruptive, transformative–but also profoundly constructive–media force.

Just as FOX News brought a new vision and voice to the media landscape in the 90s–fair and balanced reporting, plus strong debate and commentary–so FOX Nation will bring still more vision and voice in the decade to come. Only this time, the vision and voice will come from you, the American people. That’s right: Thanks to FOX Nation, all Americans will now have a landmark forum, a watershed opportunity to speak out on the issues they care about, want to learn more about–and do more about.

FOX Nation itself takes no position on issues–although unlike so many other Web portals, FOX Nation does begin with the presumption that America is a special and unique place, a blessed land to be treasured and defended.

So members of the Leave Us Alone Coalition, I predict, are going to love FOX Nation as it fully rolls out in the weeks and months to come. That’s right, conservatives, libertarians, and other believers in limited government have found a new home–at FOX Nation.

The Leave Us Alone Coalition consists of all Americans who want the government to stay out of their lives, confining itself and its power to protecting the vital concerns of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Other than that, we believe, the government–federal, state, and local–should Leave Us Alone. Let us make our livings, let us raise our children, let us run our lives, without the dead hand of statist intervention.

The Leave Us Alone Coalition is not asking the government for others’ money, time, or attention. Instead, we want to control our own money, control our own property, and control our own destiny. That’s the American Way.

And that’s why I am confident that the Leave Us Alone Coalition will appreciate the larger power of FOX Nation. Of course, FOX Nation will only be as good as the American people. Which is to say, FOX Nation, indeed, has the potential to be great.

Across our history, Americans have made use of new tools in their struggle for freedom, just as the government has often used those same tools in its effort to suppress freedom.

But I believe, deep in my heart, that in the long run, freedom is always the victor, because freedom taps into the deepest creative wellsprings of the human spirit. Free people, and people who want to be free, will always fight the hardest. And now free people have yet another tool in FOX Nation.

Notre Dame Shame

From CatholicVote.org....

President Barack Obama will deliver the commencement address at the University of Notre Dame this May.

In addition to delivering the address, the President will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree. In short, one of our nation’s premier Catholic institutions will honor the President, and hold out him as an example to its students as someone worthy of emulation!

Given President Obama’s utterly shameful record on life, how could a Catholic university honor him?

The University could have politely and quietly told the White House that their standing invitation to the President of the United States was not available this year. Better yet, they could have said that while they would welcome his contributions to the public debate over how to solve our economic crisis, his regrettable policies in favor of a culture of death make it impossible for them to welcome him.

Notre Dame has regrettably hosted pro-abortion speakers in the past, but President Obama is a champion of the abortion cause.

Sadly, it is now indisputable that our President has become the world’s leading promoter of abortion, embryo-killing cloning and research, taxpayer-funded abortion, and a vigorous opponent of conscience protections for medical professionals. His campaign promises to find ‘common ground’ have sadly been ignored, or perhaps were simply lies. And this Administration has only just begun.

Is there anything a president could do that would disqualify him or her from delivering such a prestigious address?

If there is such a threshold, Barack Obama has not disqualified himself with Notre Dame officials.

And so we must act.

We have spoken with professors, students, and leaders at Notre Dame over the past 48 hours and have concluded that a massive protest will be practically difficult, and even counterproductive. The University has a right as a private school to prevent all protestors from entering campus, and could legally arrest those who violate this rule. Secondly, a protest could create exactly the wrong impression.

Therefore, we are recommending four courses of action.

1) CatholicVote.org has partnered with the Cardinal Newman Society, a dynamic organization dedicated to the renewal of Catholic higher education in establishing http://www.notredamescandal.com/. Together our aim is to collect thousands of signatures and present them to University officials. Sign the petition now.

2) Contact Notre Dame and charitably express your outrage. CatholicVote.org is large enough to have a major impact, and we urge you to contact Notre Dame President Father Jenkins at (574) 631-5000.

3) Join your fellow CatholicVote.org members in a prayer of reparation on May 17 from 2-4 PM. We encourage you to organize local groups to pray for mercy for the decision by Notre Dame, but also for our nation for continuing to permit the tragedy of abortion.

***If you live in the Midwest, or near Notre Dame University, we invite you to personally join us in prayer at the Grotto on the campus of Notre Dame from 2-4 PM on May 17, where we will be joined by several Notre Dame professors, alumni, and current students. The gathering will be a peaceful and prayerful.

4) Please forward this message to your family and friends. Let them know about Notre Dame's decision to honor the most pro-abortion President in American history. We must not remain silent over this scandal!