While everyone is getting into a lather about Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's use of an "autopen" to sign condolence letters to the families of deceased soldiers, Ann Coulter puts the "scandal" entirely in perspective.

It occurred to someone (who obviously has the best interests of America at heart!) that among the letters Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld sends out there must be condolence letters to the families of servicemen who died for their country. So liberals are in a lather that those letters were signed by autopen.

On the bright side, this is the first war America has been in where the number of casualties is small enough that it would even be theoretically possible for a Defense secretary to sign each condolence letter personally. When Democrats were running the Vietnam War, letters of condolence often began, "To whom it may concern" and were addressed to "occupant."

I've been so damn upset that Rumsfeld uses an autopen that I've barely had time to enjoy the "Giving Tree" season. Actually, I think it's time to come clean with my readers and admit that I belong to a small religious cult that celebrates the birth of Jesus this week. So things have been a little hectic.

And if the best liberals are going to give me to argue about this week is Autopen-gate, then I shall sleep well knowing that the secretary of defense has made so few mistakes for the past four years that liberals are reduced to carping about his autopen.

Alas, it wasn't an autopen, so I'm forced to continue to sign the checks to pay the bills the old fashioned way. But maybe I'll get one before next Christmas to sign my Christmas cards with.

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Carlos Owens is building an 18-foot tall mech (or battle robot) in his back yard.

Owens, a 26 year-old steel worker in Anchorage, AK, plans on finishing it next summer.

"This is a concept that's been around for a long time," Owens said in a telephone interview. "But I'm not going to wait for the other guy to come out and make it when I've got the capability to do it myself."

He's always had an eye for huge projects, and an inventor's itch. He built a 35-foot wooden version of his mecha when he was 19, he said, as a sculpture project because he couldn't afford the materials to make it function. The latest project, drawing on his experience in the Army and as a steelworker, is more ambitious.

"I've always been building things," he said. "But with the mecha I wanted to do something different than what everyone else was doing. It's hard to invent something new."

When completed, the idea is for the pilot to be able to strap himself into a central, padded compartment, and then control the mecha with the motions of his own body. When the pilot walks, the mecha walks. Raise an arm and open a hand, and the mecha does the same, with 46 possible movements planned.

Sounds like he's watched one too many episodes of Gundam Wing or someother Anime on Adult Swim.

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The Watcher of Weasels is looking to fill a vacancy among his ranks.

Indeed a prestigious place to watch from, mind you.

The rules are simple enough, and include weekly participation in the nomination and voting for the weekly Watcher of Weasels award.

Do you have what it takes to Watch?

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Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, head of the Los Angeles-based Brotherhood Organization for a New Destiny (BOND), was quoted in a release from BOND yesterday denouncing the Kwanzaa holiday, which is traditionally celebrated the week between Christmas and New Year's Day.

(Peterson) notes that while public school administrators and city officials attempt to ban nativity scenes, Christmas carols, candy canes and even Christmas trees from public places, Kwanzaa has been accepted as mainstream.

While commonly viewed as an "African" holiday, observed from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, Kwanzaa actually was created in the U.S. in 1966 by Dr. Maulana "Ron" Karenga, the head of a violent black-power group, United Slaves Organization, which was a rival to the Black Panthers.

In the 1970s, Karenga served four years in prison for conspiracy and assault in the torture of two female followers.

In a 1978 interview quoted in the Washington Post, Karenga said, "People think it's African, but it's not. I came up with Kwanzaa because black people in this country wouldn't celebrate it if they knew it was American. Also, I put it around Christmas because I knew that's when a lot of bloods (blacks) would be partying."

"If black Christians don't stand up for Christmas and reject Kwanzaa, they are allowing evil to have its way," Peterson said. "They will regret using a fake holiday to stamp out the true meaning of Christmas."

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DC Council Chair Linda Cropp (L) & Mayor Anthony Williams

The compromise reached by Mayor Anthony A. Williams, D.C. Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp and baseball officials allows private financing for a 41,000-seat stadium on the Anacostia River south of the Capitol but would eliminate a provision voiding the deal if private financing isn't found.

Estimates for the project, which includes land acquisition, street improvements, infrastructure upgrades and refurbishing RFK Stadium, start at $435 million.

The revised deal also splits the liability for cost overruns and missed construction deadlines evenly between the city and Major League Baseball, Williams spokesman Chris Bender said.

I would presume that the team store in Washington's Union Station will start selling merchandise and tickets again later today, after the vote is made official.

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Powerline earned "blog of the year" honors from Time in this week's issue (though the article is only available online if you subscribe to the dead-tree edition of Time), primarily for their role in uncovering the CBS News - "Rathergate" scandal. I'm proud to have them on my blogroll, and to have corresponded with them and the other blogs who have gained national notice over the year.

Plenty of sources in the mainstream media continue to ignore blogs, but the bottom line is that we - as a whole - are an important of the news stream in the world today, and we get information and attention focused to where it's necessary.

Of course, it's also fun to take digs at the "bigs" once in awhile, too.

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Green Bay Packers receiver Robert Ferguson temporarily lost feeling in his legs last night after being clotheslined by Jacksonville Jaguars safety Donovan Darius.

Ferguson went up for a pass in the 4th quarter, and on coming down, Darius delivered a vicious clothesline to Ferguson's neck that sent his mouthpiece flying in one direction, his helmet in the other, and the fourth year receiver limply to the turf, unconcious.

Ferguson did not regain feeling in his legs until after he had been taken to a local hospital by ambulance. Jacksonville was penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct, and Darius was ejected from the game, which Green Bay lost 28-25.

After the game, Darius was unapologetic.

"It's part of the game," Darius said. "Brett threw the ball and Ferguson was wide open. I was just running over trying to make a play, trying to separate him from the ball. I never intentionally try to hurt someone. I love to play the game and I play it 100 mph. Unfortunately, he got hurt. I pray for him. Everybody that saw it from our standpoint said it looked clean."

But Packers receiver Antonio Chatman said it was clearly a dirty hit "because he got hit on the chin when he couldn't protect himself. I was just praying he was all right. We (receivers) don't go out to hurt nobody, or we'd be cutting them (defensive backs) every time. We block 'em like a man."

Darius said he's seen players stay in the game for hits worse than his.

"It was not intentional, I was just trying to make a play," he said. "I've done that in the past when I know I couldn't get an interception, I swung up, trying to get the ball. That's a technique."

Darius said he would appeal any fine the league hands down.

The viciousness of the hit recalled a hit more than 25 years ago delivered by the Oakland Raiders' Jack Tatum to New England Patriots receiver Darryl Stingley, which left Stingley permanently paralyzed.

Here's hoping that we don't see any injurious cheap shots like that in the League any time soon.

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LaShawn Barber has rerun a piece from 2002 which has seen a couple of title changes since it's first posting.

“Tis the Season to be Pagans,” “Why Black Christians Shouldn’t Celebrate Kwanzaa,” and now “Kwanzaa is for Pagans.” The underlying point of the piece is that all Christians need to be careful with spiritualized “celebrations” lest they become caught up with occultic and other forbidden doctrines.

Ah, but it's politically incorrect to even question the motives of those who manufactured Kwanzaa as a "holiday" to be celebrated -- and especially celebrated as a so-called alternative to Christmas.

Feh.

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...at least to those of us Hitchhiker's Guide fans...

Thanks to those who have sent greetings.

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In Gwinnett County, just northeast of Atlanta, Jennifer Corbin was found dead with a gunshot in her head on December 4. The gun used was beside her in the bed where her 7 year-old son found her. The son, the Corbin's oldest, said that he thought his father, Dacula, GA, dentist Dr. Barton Corbin, had shot his mother.

As the investigation continues in this tragic death, a number of circumstances are coming to light.

First off, according to Jennifer's sister, Jennifer had filed for divorce from her husband on November 29.

Jennifer Corbin, a 39-year-old mother of two boys and a pre-school teacher, tried to file a criminal complaint with Gwinnett police against her husband, Dr. Barton Corbin, on December 1, according to her sister, Heather Tierney.

Tierney says Jennifer told her she bought her own cell phone after her husband, a dentist in Dacula, Ga., filed for divorce on November 29. Jennifer said her husband eventually found out about it.

On Dec. 1, Jennifer apparently walked into a room of their house in Dacula to find the contents of her purse scattered across the floor and her phone missing, according to Tierney. Jennifer decided to confront Dr. Corbin and went to another room of the house, where he'd moved his belongings.

Tierney said that when Jennifer demanded her husband give her back her cell phone, he refused and tore out of the house wearing nothing but his bath towel.

When he got into a car and tried to drive away, Jennifer got behind the car, hoping to delay him long enough to get her phone back, Tierney said. Dr. Corbin wouldnÂ’t stop and ended up running over one of JenniferÂ’s feet.

Fourteen years ago, Dolly Hearn was found dead of a single gunshot wound to the head, the gun used, found in her lap.

Dolly was a dentistry student in Augusta, GA, and had reportedly tried to break up with her boyfriend, a fellow student. She was afraid of the boyfriend, and had told friends that he was borderline violent.

Dolly hoped that he'd just graduate and move on with his life, leaving her alone.

A few days later, she was dead.

The boyfriend's name: Barton Corbin.

Hearn had been dating Corbin, a fellow dentistry student at the Medical College of Georgia. She was breaking up with him before her death.

In the months before her death, someone broke into her apartment, and another time someone vandalized her car.

Hearn suspected Corbin in the incidents and so did detectives.

Asked if Hearn was afraid of Corbin and if she was trying to get away from him, Richard County Sheriff’s Sgt. Scott Pebbles, the lead detective in the Hearn investigation, said, “You know I can’t speak for what she felt inside. I can only tell you that the police reports had been filed. Those were obviously a matter of public record and there were obviusly some issues between the two.”

Detectives questioned Corbin after HearnÂ’s death but the case languished until Dec. 4 this year when CorbinÂ’s wife died exactly the same way.

Once the case gets a little more traction -- and considering that the Michael Jackson case won't heat up until at least the end of January to the beginning of February, look for this one to show up there and on the voyeuristic court shows (Fox's Greta VanSusteren and others) up and down the dial.

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1 Swiped, with attribution for my blog. And it appears the email address you have listed is not functioning.

Posted by: theco at December 19, 2004 11:16 AM (GGsPW)

2 I heard Greta at FOX is seeking treatment...

Posted by: Radio Guy at December 19, 2004 11:38 AM (UzuSp)

3 I think the Missouri woman who was murdered and had her baby ripped from her body is probably your next big Court TV case.

Posted by: Gib at December 20, 2004 03:35 AM (PsC2M)

4 I think the article you've captioned may have been a little confusing. Jennifer Corbin did not file for divorce first. The article reads that "Tierney says Jennifer told her she bought her own cell phone after her husband, a dentist in Dacula, GA., filed for divorce on Nov. 29. Jennifer said her husband eventually found out about it." Jennifer bought the cell phone after her husband filed for divorce and it's the cell phone that was eventually discovered. Gwinnett County Court records show ONE filing naming Barton Corbin as the Plaintiff and Jennifer Corbin as the Defendant.

Posted by: CKBME at December 21, 2004 11:48 AM (w/jqY)

5 I lived in Washington Ga at the time of Dolly's death,it was her childhood home and where her father was one of the only dentists. No one there ever believed Dolly took her own life.

Posted by: susan at December 22, 2004 11:54 AM (XtnZr)

6 Great Article, I enjoyed reading all the details. My thoughts and prayers go out to this family.

Posted by: Robin at December 22, 2004 04:47 PM (c73br)

7 I would like to inquire, which may lead to an interesting story: How many suicide cases are actual murder cases? One of the oldest forms of death that can often be manipulated to suit a killer, suicide. So many families have questioned or protested the death of those they love. From self inflicted stabbings, hangings, gunshots, and so forth, can all be distorted by a murderer. Whose to know the truth of a person's death, if it's not a true suicide? Just as the 14 year-old case in Augusta. Just as in this situation, the newly release suspense novel, Won't Be Denied, threads on the same MO as the Gwinnett dentist. The main character seeks to make a way to commit a crime that misleads the police as a sign of suicide. How prevalent are murders portrayed as suicides? Thank you for your time. Sincerely, C.F. Jackson www.cfjackson.us

Posted by: C.F. Jackson at December 23, 2004 07:34 AM (OPflN)

8 The cases of Dolly Hearn and Jennifer Corbin are apparent to any one absolutely alike. Was it providence that Jennifer had to die in order for Dolly's case to be brought into the limelight? If so,may justice prevail. I feel such sorrow for both families and was very heartened to hear that members of Dolly's family attended Jennifer's funeral and that they are there for each other. I imagine that what they could tell each other and probably did about Dr Corbin was identical in the way these women were treated before their deaths. I saw Dolly's brother on TV for the first time tonight and could not begin to fathom what he and the rest of Dolly's family have went through and felt these past 14 years. How hurtful it must have been to lose this beautiful young woman and never have closure or the killer when even the law suspected him all those years. I do resent highly the fact that Dr.Corbin,just because he is a Dr.,did not have to do the things that a person of lesser means would have to go through with the law when his wife is found shot dead. The rest of us peons would have been arrested if not that day then a lot sooner than Corbin was. He got himself all lawyered up and even had his lawyer answering his door to his residence.If it is proven by law that he did these 2 murders,I hope he gets his just desserts. How smug he must have felt all these years when he was never arrested for Dolly's murder. My heart goes out to the Hearn family and the Corbin family. God Bless them all.

Posted by: Beverly Hawkins at December 23, 2004 01:35 PM (yYgeh)

9 I live in Gwinnett and have seen the guy around at a few bars. There's a huge scientology movement here that no one seems to want to talk about.I wonder if he had any connections to W.I.S.E. They should search his home and computers for LRH literature. There was another shooter/stalking case with similarities (to the 1990 case) a couple weks ago involving a mail order russian bride. Place is going to hell faster than Clearwater.

Posted by: mat at December 23, 2004 03:38 PM (PPcsx)

10 Mat- Could you elaborate? I'd reallylike to know more about WISE. Kind Regards, Heather

Posted by: Heather at December 26, 2004 03:32 PM (6A8oN)

11 Does anyone know Barton Corbin's whereabouts after the Hearn death, leaving Augusta, and prior to meeting his deceased wife????

Posted by: AH at December 27, 2004 09:12 AM (OYEUv)

12 How sad that a man thinks he can get away with this..twice. And how sad that he did. The police didn't do enough to protect the wife after he ran over her foot. It's that assault with a deadly weapon? My daughter asked me a week ago why women don't get away from abusive men. I told her they may try, but the police don't do much to help or protect them. I know from personal experience. The best way is to arm yourself and hope the psycho doesn't catch you off guard

Posted by: Mellisa at January 13, 2005 03:17 PM (UQbQF)

13 Could you elaborate? I'd too really would like to know more about wise

Posted by: Mail order brides at February 09, 2005 11:40 PM (icx4E)

14 W.I.S.E. = World Institute of Scientology Enterprises. Many businesses and/or Associatons have religious backing. For example, we're all familiar with the Salvation Army, which is a Christian Church and a registered charity. Similarly, the Church of Scientology backs certain organizations. A quick google search found that Narconon (Narcotics Anonymous) and the Citizen's Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) are backed by Scientology, as are I'm sure, many others. But I'm not sure what Scientology has to do with the article.

Posted by: julie at September 18, 2005 06:35 PM (kJcST)

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Philadelphia area minister Jesse W. Brown penned a letter to hislocal newspaper pointing out that the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board decided to have some urban package stores open on Sunday, while "state stores" in rural communities -- especially those with more conservative (of course this being code for "white") populations -- would be closed Sundays.

According to Jonathan Newman, Chairperson of the Liquor Control Board (LCB), some communities in the state would not be forced to accept the Sunday sales.

"We have some stores in rural pockets where it wouldn't work because of the religious, conservative beliefs," Newman said.

As an African American pastor in an urban community who has fought for years against the intrusion of liquor sales in our neighborhoods, I take great offense at Mr. Newman's statement, made in a city with population that is just 2.6 percent African American. The statement made it very clear that this Administration is far more concerned about religious beliefs of Whites than those of Black Pennsylvanians.

Discrimination?

I don't think so!

More like sound business practice!

But then again, this is coming from a resident of a state that is dry Sundays (gotta love Georgia, right?), and would much rather be able to buy booze on Sunday morning after church while doing my regular grocery shopping as opposed to making a special trip Saturday night.

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OK. This year, I'm going to enter the Dead Pool.

I missed it last year, and kicked myself for doing so.

For those of you who see this as morbid, keep in mind that as a former reporter and talk show host, I developed this sick gallows humor over the years -- working for CNN (even though it was in Sports) didn't help any; if anything, it sharpened it a bit.

Anyhow, here's my list of fifteen:

Michael Jackson -- I really think he'll do himself in before the end of next year. IMO, the trial will end up getting to him, especially as some of the really sick stuff starts to come out.

Keith Richards -- He already looks like he's been embalmed, why not finish the job?

Gerald Ford -- Notice that you haven't seen ol' Gerry lately -- not even at the unveiling of Bubba's Presidential Double-Wide last month.

Pope John Paul II -- The Vatican (and all the networks) has been getting ready for this for hte past several years. Nothing cynical to say here; just looking at the Holy Writing on the Wall.

Abe Vigoda -- I didn't realize he was still alive! I remember Fish from Barney Miller; wasn't he old then!?

Robert "Sheets" Byrd -- Couldn't happen to a nicer klansman-turned-moonbat.

Courtney Love -- Why isn't she dead already!? I'm convinced that her internal gas tank is blinking "empty" (along with what passes for her brain), it just hasn't coughed it's last yet.

Osama Bin Laden -- OK, I'll finally admit that Osama Yo Mama is still alive, but he can't run from the eternal celestial 7-11 forever.

Pervez Musharaf -- I really think some Islamakazi is gonna nail Pakistan's president. It's not like they haven't been trying.

Kim Jong-Il -- Headline: "Crazy dictator pushes starving subjects too far, subjects bite back." 'Nuff said.

Abu Al-Zarqawi -- With every tom, dick & harry in Iraq looking for this goon, someone's gonna nail him. Soon.

Richard Pryor -- A hard life and multiple schlerosis have taken their toll on poor Rich.

James Doohan -- Scotty has made his last personal appearance, and dementia is setting in. I don't think he can engineer his way out of eternity.

Ted "Jabba the Drunk" Kennedy -- Pickled liver, pickled brain, pickled Ted.

William Rehnquist -- Once he steps down from the Bench, he won't be long.

If you want to join the pool, you've got until the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve to pick 15 of your own and get 'em in. Laurence has all the rules over at The Dead Pool, as well as a list of prizes for the taking.

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The Washington Nationals, after being dealt a significant blow by the DC City Council with regard to construction of a new stadium, shuttered the one memorabilia store they had opened, and began refunding money paid for season tickets today.

Major League Baseball has told its vendor to suspend sales of the items indefinitely. The temporary Washington Nationals store set up near RFK Stadium is now closed.

The team has also suspended the hiring of front office and support personnel. Major league Baseball officials have said the Expo's baseball operations will continue but efforts to sell sponsorships. arrange broadcast deals and conduct other marketing efforts are all on hold.

It is unclear whether the Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos will play this season in Washington, Montreal or some other city.

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Chevy Chase, who still can't seem to get his career back on track, unloaded on President Bush with both barrels Tuesday night at an awards ceremony he hosted for moonbat group People for the American Way at Washington's Kennedy Center.

Chase unloaded on the President near the end of the event. His tirade left most of the moonbats there speechless.

Chase took the stage a final time and unleashed a rant against President Bush that stunned the crowd. He deployed the four-letter word that got Vice President Cheney in hot water, using it as a noun. Chase called the prez a "dumb [expletive]." He also used it as an adjective, assuring the audience, "I'm no [expletive] clown either. . . . This guy started a jihad."

Chase also said: "This guy in office is an uneducated, real lying schmuck . . . and we still couldn't beat him with a bore like Kerry."

People for the American Way distanced itself yesterday from the actor's rant. "Chevy Chase's improvised remarks caught everyone off guard, and were inappropriate and offensive," Ralph Neas, the liberal advocacy group's president, said in a statement. "It was not what I would have said, and certainly not the language People for the American Way would ever use in discussing any president of the United States."

Founder Norman Lear agreed, telling us: "I thought it was utterly untoward, obviously unexpected and unscripted and all that stuff. And, uh -- it was Chevy Chase. He'll live with it, I won't."

Sen. Tom Daschle, the former minority leader, looked taken aback when he went on directly after Chase. His opening line: "I've had to follow a lot of speakers, but -- "

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The ACLU and the "politcally correct" would have us dump the phrase "Merry Christmas" in favor of whatever else they can come up with, usually "Happy Holidays." And while I would certainly wish "Happy Holidays" upon everyone to encompass folks who don't celebrate Christmas (as with the just ended Hannukah holidays -- Happy belated Hannukah to those of you who celebrate it), I will not be bullied into downplaying my celebration of the birth of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

And the ACLU can take a flying leap.

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British Environment Minister Elliot Morley predicted that the notion of a White Christmas for England (and by extension, the middle lattitudes) is 65 percent less likely over the next 50 years.

Norman Baker, the British Parliament's Liberal Democrat environment spokesman, summed up the analysis this way: "Britons will soon be left with only dreams of a white Christmas, as the chances of it actually happening become more remote."

Despite the fact that London has experienced only six white Christmases in the past 45 years, Baker said any future lack of snow could be blamed on only one factor. "Global warming is the main reason for this shift in seasonal weather and is responsible for changing the world as we know it," Baker said.

Baker believes the analysis should prompt a call to action on climate change.

"It is not only Christmas that will be affected. In the New Year we can expect more of the extreme weather, floods and gales suffered across the Continent this year. This is a global issue, but the government needs to make reducing greenhouse gases one of its top New Year's resolutions," Baker said.

This morning's low here in Atlanta? 18 degrees. And of course, it was even colder out away from the city, and up toward the North Georgia Mountains.

It's 42 this afternoon here, and we're expecting an even colder blast early next week, and the weatherman actually mentioned a possibility of snow for that timeframe.

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The home and away jerseys are available for sale from the MLB shop (at a whopping $190 a pop), but at the rate this mess is progressing, they may only be collectors' items from a team that could have been.

Speculation is running rampant (though there is no confirmation anywhere) that Major League Baseball will pull out of DC entirely, and play games elsewhere during the 2005 season.

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Thanks to an eleventh hour amendment to the stadium financing provision, the Washington Nationals (formerly Montreal Expos) may be forced to leave the Nation's Capitol after next season.

DC City Council Chair Linda Cropp put a last-minute provision into play at a council meeting last night which would force the previously agreed-to publicly financed stadium be partially paid for with private financing.

Jack Evans, baseball's most passionate advocate on the council, said the provision could be a deal breaker.

"This gives baseball an out," he said. "Changing the agreement will then negate the agreement, and then Major League Baseball will go somewhere else."

Council Chair Linda Cropp offered the private-financing provision, saying it would be crucial for her support. She was considered the swing vote on the 13-member council.

Cropp said she was not satisfied with concessions offered by baseball that would have made the deal more financially palatable for the city. When the council gave its initial approval to the law on Nov. 30, it called for the city to issue $531 million in bonds to finance the plan.

"I have not seen the movement from Major League Baseball that I would have liked in the past two weeks," Cropp said. "My dream of dreams is that we will get enough private financing that the costs of building the stadium will be eliminated."

Of the various city proposals for the Nationals-used-to-be-Expos, Washington's proposal, which centered around a publicly financed stadium, appeared to be the best fit for the team.

Cropp's last minute Machiavellian tactics have put the other potential cities (Las Vegas, Portland, Norfolk, Monterrey, San Juan and Northern Virginia) back into play, not for this season, but for any future seasons.

I'm sure Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos, the most vocal critic of the Nationals being allowed to play in Washington, is pretty happy with this development. Angelos insisted that a team playing in DC would siphon money away from his team and his own revenues.

As things stand today, the Nationals are expected to begin play April 4 in Philadelphia against the Phillies, and have a home opener scheduled for April 14 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

UPDATE: The uniform unveiling set for 2:00 this afternoon has been cancelled. Could be a sign of things to come, or in DC's case, NOT to come, thanks to Cropps.

According to WTOP Radio, an announcement of the reason for the cancellation will come later today.

That's too bad. 33 years fans have been waiting for major league baseball in Washington, and thanks to one knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing moonbat, the hopes'll probably head down the drain.

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Despondent liberals, desperate to isolate themselves from the remainder of the nation, have put together a website (ChooseTheBlue.com) which discloses what companies donated to the Kerry campaign and the Democratic National Committee this year as opposed to donating to the Bush campaign or the Republican National Committee.

Costco workers gave more to Democrats, for example, while Wal-Mart's preferred Republicans, according to campaign finance records. Donna Karan's people lean left. Fruit of the Loom's give to the right.

For Ann and Bill Duvall, the site's creators, Nov. 3 brought great disappointment--and a call to action.

"We woke up that morning just really devastated and depressed, and in some ways I'm grateful that we came up with this idea because that's where we've been able to put our energy," Ann Duvall, 56, said.

Using information from the Federal Election Commission Web site and the Center for Responsive Politics site, www.opensecrets.org, the Duvalls give their fellow Democrats a gift that could keep on giving.

"If each American who voted for John Kerry spends $100 in 2005 on a blue company instead of a red company, we can move $5 billion away from Republican companies and add $5 billion to the income of companies who donate to Democrats," they say on the site.

Then there are those of us who just want the most bang for the buck. In which case, sites like this are useless.

UPDATE: Someone pointed out a second site that is geared toward disgruntled blue-staters, BuyBlue.Org, where you can find more information about how companies donated.

But like the aforementioned ChooseTheBlue.Com, conservatives can also use BuyBlue.Org to help govern their buying habits toward more conservatively donating stores and companies.

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Heads up, Texas-folk and take a gander at this.

I've never heard of this outfit, but I'm willing to bet that supporting US troops is not on the agenda.

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