The excellent Rep. Mike Pence on the treasonous action of the US House:
"Here are some examples of what the Democrats consider 'urgent' needs that require 'prompt action: '
-- $25 million for payments to spinach producers
-- $120 million to the shrimp industry
-- $74 million for peanut storage
-- $5 million for shellfish, oyster and clam producers
"Spinach, shrimp, peanuts and shellfish? That's not a war funding bill, that's the salad bar at Denny's."
Yes, I know. This is a political blog. Usually. I throw in history and sports as I see fit, but normally this blog deals with national and international politics.
So why haven't I been talking about politics lately?
Because it sucks.
Really, it sucks. Right now is the worst time politically I can remember since the Carter years.
George W. Bush is a failure. Incompetent. Yes, he had a disaster on September 11, 2001, a large part of the blame for which that does not fall on Usama bin Laden should fall on Bill Clinton. But a disaster can be an opportunity, and it was. And George W. Bush blew it.
Afghanistan -- we win the war in Afghanistan against the Taliban, no small feat after the death of Ahmed Shah Massoud. Or we win the initial phase of it. We're struggling with the peace, though, because the war on drugs, as in eliminiating Afghanistan's poppy crop, is more important to W than the War on Islamofascism.
Iraq -- Again, we win the initial phase of the war, but we struggle -- because we don't have enough troops, because Donald Rumsfeld, W's defense secretary, wanted to fight war on the cheap.
Iran and Syria -- Actually wants to talk to these people. Idiot.
Immigration -- Do I even need to start here? Wants amnety. Won't seal the border.
Judges -- Actually tried to get Harriet Miers on SCOTUS.
Environment -- Won't force through the necessary drilling for oil. Believes there is human-induced global warming.
I could go on. W is horribly bad. But his opposition, the Dems, are so much worse. Treasonous. Sanctimonious.
Like I said, politics sucks right now.
The new arena for my Pittsburgh Penguins is a done deal:
Penguins owners and public officials today jubilantly discussed the details of their long-sought agreement for a new arena in Pittsburgh.Now let's get a deal done to keep my Chargers in San Diego County.
At a news conference at the Sen. John Heinz Regional History Center in the Strip District, Gov. Ed Rendell made the formal announcement of the 30-year agreement. He noted that he and local officials had come up with a Plan B for funding in case the Penguins' partner, Isle of Capri, did not win a casino license for Pittsburgh. Isle of Capri had pledged to build an arena for the team, but it did not win the license.
Mr. Rendell said Plan B had been changed because of competition from Kansas City, which has a nearly finished arena and was wooing the Penguins.
The team will no longer have to pay $8.5 million up front. Instead, the state will pay $10.5 million from public development funds.
In addition, the team will only have to commit $2.2 million of its own in annual lease payments, a reduction, but will have to make up the difference by seeking $2 million in naming rights, an increase. Overall, however, the $4.2 million per year team commitment is a $200,000 increase over the figures spelled out in the original Plan B.
Mr. Rendell said public officials agreed with the team that the previous $270 million construction cost estimate might be too low, and the funding calculations were increased to consider a $290 million pricetag.
The team and the state will split the costs of any increase in construction cost between $290 million and $310 million. The team will cover any cost overrun above $310 million.
The governor said Kansas City had offered a great deal to the team. But what "tipped the balance" toward Pittsburgh was the strong support of the local fans.
And once again, Mr. Rendell said the deal could not have been done without the revenue expected from new slots casinos.
Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato noted the region is also getting a multi-purpose facility for concerts and other entertainment.
He said the Penguins have been offered a $15 million credit as incentive to spur development around the arena, rather than leaving it as parking. He said officials have set a goal of developing 2.8 acres a year, with the whole area developed in 10 years. The Penguins would lose development rights to areas they don't complete each year.
PITG Gaming, the winning bidder for the city's slots casino, could be given a chance to get involved in development, and Hill District officials will be consulted about what they would like to see next to their neighborhood.
Mr. Onorato said officials have received a pledge from unions for a labor stabilization agreement.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl also emphasized that Hill District leaders would be involved in development around the site.
Team owner Mario Lemieux said the goal had always been to keep the team in Pittsburgh. He thanked Mr. Rendell, even though he noted the two had not always agreed.
Mr. Lemieux also cited National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman for his input into the negotiations.
Sources last night told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that an agreement had been reached over the weekend following a "very productive" meeting Thursday that broke an impasse in the talks. Mr. Bettman had sat in on those talks in Philadelphia.
Mr. Onorato and Mr. Ravenstahl said today the deal would require no local tax dollars. And Mr. Rendell credited the state's new slots casinos for providing much of the needed funding.
PITG will contribute $7.5 million a year from its revenues, and the state will kick in another $7.5 million a year from its share of the pot.
Mr. Rendell said today that the state's contribution from the casino revenue will not take away from the casino funds designated for property tax relief. He said a separate pot of casino revenue has been set up for economic development and he designated some of that for the arena.
The arena is expected to be ready for the Penguins during the 2009-10 season, and the deal is designed to keep the team in Pittsburgh for 30 years. The current lease for the Mellon Arena expires in June.
Team owners had visited Kansas City, which has a new arena but no hockey team, and Las Vegas, which has neither. But officials had said from the beginning that their preference was to stay in Pittsburgh, where there is an established fan base.
Saw 300 this weekend. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give it a 300. Much better historically than I thought it would be, though it certainly has issues. I mean, the Spartans wore more than just helmets and codpieces when going into battle. Victor Davis Hanson says this was how they were portrayed on ancient Greek vases. "Heroic nudes," they called it. But it's not what they actually wore. One of the reasons they were able to defeat the numerically far superior Persians was the quality of their armor.
The Persians, too, had issues. They did not look like orcs from Lord of the Rings. The Spartans were not nearly as enlightened and the Persians not nearly as evil as the movie made them out to be, though Xerxes historically was a cruel and murderous tyrant.
Still, with all that, the essence of the Spartan stand at Thermopylae in 480 BC was preserved. Even the phalanx tactics were pretty well shown.
Even better, the movie was pro war, as in, the message appeared to be supportive of the War on Islamofascism and the War in Iraq.
Go see it. Now.
I'm not sure how much I should be cringing be over this:
Believing the timing is right to distinguish their new era, the Chargers are unveiling a new uniform and logo, the team's first significant design changes in 18 years.Oddly, I had some nightmares over the past year about a Chargers uniform change. Gift of prophecy?
“It's time,” team President Dean Spanos said yesterday. “We're looking to the future. This is a statement that the players want to make about the team and the future.”
Feedback from running back LaDainian Tomlinson, the league MVP and face of the franchise, ultimately convinced Spanos that the change was viable. Tomlinson was the first player made aware of the change and had input in the final stages of the 20-month process of revamping the iconic bolt logo and jersey.
“I think it is our time to have our identity,” Tomlinson said of the current group of Chargers players, who have amassed the third-highest number of victories in the NFL over the past three seasons.
“This team is on the cusp of achieving something special,” said A.G. Spanos, the Chargers' director of marketing programs, who formulated the new look along with Chief Operating Officer Jim Steeg. “ . . . I like the fact we're giving them a look people will associate with these players.”
Chief among the changes are a redesigned gold lightning bolt outlined in powder blue, white helmets and a freshly contoured overall look.
The bolts on the helmets and jerseys will be framed in the powder blue, which many fans have said should be the team's primary color. The Chargers will continue to wear their powder blue uniforms twice each season.
the situation surrounding my Pittsburgh Penguins is deteriorating, for reasons that are not entirely clear. Lemieux's declaration of an impasse could be a negotiating ploy, but Rendell, Ravenstahl and Onorato have to get their act together. Fast.
I was Googling some history today and I came across this haunting image
Rather beautiful, isn't she? Albeit with some passive-aggressive in the eyes.
If you've never seen her before, don't feel too bad. Very few people have, at least not where she looked like this, in 118 years. But you might have seen a picture of her, if you're an afficionado of famous crimes.
In those pictures, though, she didn't quite project this gorgeous image. Instead, she looked like this.
The picture posted above is by Jane Coram, and shows a probable appearance for Mary Jane Kelly, before the face of her murdered corpse was "hacked beyond recognition of the features" on Friday, November 9, 1888, by Jack the Ripper.
The Ripper not only took Kelly's life, but took her name and her memory, forever altering it so that those few who now know of her know her only as a bloody, faceless pulp lying on a blood-soaked bed at 13 Miller's Court.
Kelly was no saint -- she was a prostitute, after all, albeit an affable and well-liked one with some education -- but she in no way deserved her fate. She should be remembered by the picture above.
Next time anyone tells you to be sensitive to the plight of a murdering thug, think about Mary Kelly. And how they so easily can take more than just life.
