The opening skit of the recent Saturday Night Live show featured Dan Aykroyd as Senate Minority Leader, John Boehner (R-Ohio), in a funny Republican “meeting of the minds.” These GOP leaders sit around the table to discuss the so-called Republican agenda. Their top priorities were disowning the Obama Stimulus Package (to excuse themselves from any blame about the economy), complaining about the Obama girls’ sleepovers and plotting to get the President impeached after only 3 weeks. Their resounding chant: “Majority here we come!” With the recent negotiations surrounding the stimulus package, it makes you wonder if there is any truth to this skit! Check out the video.

President Barack Obama even has Jay-Z fired up. Check it out..

Jay-Z My President is black Remix LIVE 1-18-09 from pleasedontstare.com on Vimeo.

According to HollywoodLife.net, Superstar Beyoncé recently released a statement saying, “I am so honored that I will be performing for President Obama and the First Lady. To sing At Last while they have their first dance is a dream come true.”

This statement about her Inauguration 2009 performance is all good except for one thing - one big thing. It was supposed to be a secret. The site says the Presidential Inaugural Committee had hoped the song would remain “classified” until the President and his wife stepped on the floor for their first dance on inauguration night. Yikes, talk about letting the cat out of the bag.

Beyoncé’s inability to keep this bit of news hush-hush may be a surprise to her fans. After all, she kept her wedding plans to rapper Jay-Z a secret for months. Come on Beyoncé, where’s the tight-lipped Sasha Fierce when you need her?

Are you interested in hearing the original version of At Last by Etta James? Listen to the song at Last.fm. Eventhough Beyoncé has a golden voice, she has some legendary shoes to fill on this one.

xxoo, The Caramel Bella

I love politically active celebs and music with powerful messages. LL Cool J and Wyclef have created a song called “Mr. President.” It is a direct address to Mr. George W. Bush. They bring up topics like the Iraq war, Sept. 11 and the lack of health care. Hopefully, our President-Elect, Barack Obama, will do a much better job.

Smooches,

The Caramel Bella

Let’s play a game of “What-if?” What if Mos Def was elected president or Wyclef?  Although Barack Obama won this election, it looks like he might have some competition from Mos Def and Wyclef in 2012? Mos Def has some great ideas about a flat 10% tax, having an election weekend instead of election Tuesday, and universal health care.  And Wyclef, who is a Grammy-winning producer, artist, and social entrepreneur (started non-profit Yéle Haiti to help impoverished Haitians), would focus on America’s image worldwide.

Check out the videos below.

Mos Def

Wyclef

-The Caramel Bella

Now that Obama has been elected president, environmentalists worldwide are wondering if the planet will benefit. Andrew Revkin of the New York Times’ Dot Earth blog is concerned about the world’s population growth and resources. He has requested proposals from the public on how Obama can help the planet on a limited budget.

While others are wondering if Obama’s plan to help the Big 3 Detroit automakers invest in fuel-efficiency research and develop a new generation of clean cars. His idea would cost $3 billion dollars over 10 years. Obama is also calling on more plug-in hybrids. Can Detroit automakers meet the challenge?

Green Congress? Most environmentalists seem to think the world will get a bit greener with Barack Obama. But how green is the newly elected Congress? After all, the prez has to get his bills through both the Senate and the House. Some key Senate additions for green initiatives are Tom Udall of New Mexico, Mark Udall of Colorado, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Kay Hagan of North Carolina, who took seats from Republicans who opposed environmental measures. There were several House upsets (like Betsy Markey of Colorado) that may also help to change the balance of green power in Congress.

No green light for two California green propositions. Both Prop 7 and Prop 10 didn’t pass on Nov. 4 by 60% or more. Proposition 7 would have required California electric utilities to get half of their power from renewable sources by 2025. And Proposition 10 would have given rebate incentives to Californians who purchased natural gas or alternative fuel vehicles. Experts say many state residents found the initiatives ill conceived or too expensive.

And in other environmental news…

Fuel from fungus? Yes! According to a Montana State University researcher, a microorganism found in a South American plant contains a fungus with an essence of diesel. And this “myco-diesel” could power a whole bus without processing it all.

Thinking about buying a more fuel-efficient vehicle? Check out The Daily Green’s list of the most fuel-efficient cars and SUVs. It’s no surprise that the Toyota Prius came in first with 48 mpg in the city and 45 on the highway. But check out the rest of the list.

Also posted on Pop + Politics

Brad Garrett, who is well-known for his role as Raymond Barone, the brother of Ray on the hit show, “Everybody Loves Raymond,” apparently loves Barack Obama.  Who knew? I caught up with the 6′ 8-1/2″ actor/comedian at the Obama California Headquarters Election Night celebration to get his thoughts on Obama’s presidential win. Garrett, who has appeared in Music and Lyrics recently and was the voice of Riff Raff in Underdog and Gusteau in Ratatouille movies, said America is back.

Interview, Multimedia Production, Video Editing: The Caramel Bella

Last night at the Obama California Headquarters Election Night celebration, I caught up with Grammy Award-Winning R&B/Gospel sensation, Mary Mary. They were the lead act for the Obama party. The duo just released their new album “The Sound,” which hit #1 on Billboard’s Christian & Gospel Album Charts, #2 On The Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart, and #7 On The Billboard Top 200.  They performed their current lead single, “Get Up” and the platinum-selling hit “Shackles.”

The ladies were excited about Senator Barack Obama’s historic presidential win. The duo has believed in his candidacy since he appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” They even attended Obama fundraisers, did “word-of-mouth” campaigns, and worked with BET to get out the youth vote to support their candidate.

-The Caramel Bella

Interview, Multimedia Producing & Editing: The Caramel Bella