Huffington

LOS ANGELES - The leadership of the AFL-CIO and California's largest labor organization asked Democratic officials yesterday not to run in the state's recall election, a boost to Gov. Gray Davis' goal of keeping fellow Democrats off the ballot to improve his chances of avoiding removal. Davis' campaign believes his chances of defeating the recall effort are stronger if no Democrats are offered as alternatives. But some Democratic leaders are worried that if they don't offer a candidate, they will be giving the Republicans an open field should Davis lose.

YOU CAN fool all the people all the time if the advertising budget is big enough," says Ed Rollins. Mr. Rollins happened by Michael's cafe this week where I was lunching with speechwriter-columnist Peggy Noonan. We greeted the genial Ed, who had worked for Ronald Reagan and other Republicans, including Christine Todd Whitman and the unelectable Michael Huffington. Rollins became famous at the end of the latter's campaign, saying: "In three decades as a political junkie, I never worked a more miserable, depressing, or rotten race than the 1994 Huffington Senate campaign.

Washington -- In Hollywood, the Web site TMZ.com has already transformed celebrity culture, putting stars on notice that cell-phone-toting tattlers and aggressive paparazzi are ready to splash their indiscretions all over cyberspace. Now, the site that first disclosed Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic rant and the medications stored in Anna Nicole Smith's refrigerator is coming to the nation's capital. And local denizens are wondering why. Sometimes called "Hollywood for ugly people," Washington usually rewards policy wonks.

Trying to draw lessons from the Webby Awards given out last week for one organization's idea of what's best on the Internet, you mostly come away impressed at the greatest awards-show gimmick ever: Winners' acceptance speeches are limited to five words. Five words. Not one more. So last year, Al Gore, picking up a lifetime-achievement award from the Webby-dispensing group known as the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences, said, "Please don't recount this vote." This year, Arianna Huffington, accepting the best political blog award for her year-old Huffington Post site, said, "Darlings.

After drawing national attention for his attempt to muzzle a football player who supported gay rights, a Maryland delegate walked back his position Sunday and said Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo should be allowed to speak out in favor of same-sex marriage. "Upon reflection, he has his First Amendment rights," Del. Emmett C. Burns Jr., a Baltimore County Democrat, said in a telephone interview. "And I have my First Amendment rights. … Each of us has the right to speak our opinions.

San Diego. -- It's a big state, so many numbers are bound to be big, but still: In this year's first half, Californians made 332,000 legal gun purchases, a 6 percent increase over the same period last year, a year when California gun sales soared 19 percent. This is one reason why Gov. Pete Wilson would be smiling promiscuously were he not parsimonious with smiles. He is not happy about the anxieties driving gun sales, but he is one of the nation's most seasoned politicians and he knows when issues are breaking his way.The issues dominating California's gubernatorial campaign, crime and illegal immigration, are considered by many voters to be a single issue, the latter being part of the former.

If you've got a yen to quiz attorney Christopher Darden about the O.J. Simpson trial or to talk fiction with writers Barbara Taylor Bradford and Jackie Collins, you can do it -- if you can write a big enough check.It costs $300 just for a chance to hobnob with any author, or $2,500 to chow down with the author of your choice, but the money is going to a good cause: children's reading programs throughout the Los Angeles County library system. Volunteer hosts will each welcome well-known authors and 10 to 24 paying guests for an evening.

I hardly know where to begin with my disgust over the editorial "The language of violence" (Jan. 11). Once more the editors of The Baltimore Sun demonstrate their myopic, one-sided political views. They start by stating that Sarah Palin and the tea party are not responsible for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' shooting. They then proceed to completely undermine this assertion by lambasting conservatives for their supposed political invective. They dismiss Republican denunciations of this violence as ringing "hollow" and conclude with the assertion that most of the heated political rhetoric flows from Republicans.

All-Star guard Joe Johnson agreed to a maximum contract to stay with the Hawks, his agent said Sunday. Arn Tellem confirmed an entry he wrote for the Huffington Post Web site, in which he said Johnson "announced his intention to re-sign with the Hawks for six more years." Tellem wrote that Johnson chose to remain in Atlanta over Chicago and New York, where he would have been reunited with Mike D'Antoni , his former coach in Phoenix. The Hawks could pay him nearly $120 million, while other teams could give Johnson, a four-time All-Star, only five years and pay him about $25 million less.

On weekday mornings, I'll post the most controversial, shocking and (of course) ridiculous stories for your reading pleasure. That way, when you walk into work, you'll be the master of witty conversation. Articles • One less independent thinker in Washington:  Ron Paul won't seek re-election to Congress. ( The Facts )  • Classy, as always:  Bill Maher hopes Bachmann and Palin split the MILF vote. ( Huffington Post )  • Probably a good idea: Casey Anthony might live in disguise upon release from prison ( Chicago Sun-Times )