Joe, you can't link to arrest statistics to show that blacks commit more crimes. It shows that blacks are arrested more often for crime. Further, white people are most frequently victimized by other white people. Black people are most frequently victimized by other black people. So, unless you are interested in playing to the perception of white people victimized by black perpetrator, it would make more sense for the crime to be another white person.

It's clear that she had no intention of every returning the ball since she had already kept multiple balls already. I don't understand why it is okay to be a complete ass to your neighbors just because you are old. Then, she compounds the problem by being a complete ass to the police. Asking to be handcuffed? Give me a break. She could have sent the same message by keeping the balls for the rest of the day then returning them. Keeping them forever is just nasty. Also expecting kids to be perfect little neighbors who never touch your lawn is unrealistic in a city regardless of how well those children are being raised.

Well, to counter that, look at the Minnesota Twins.

The Twins have been in Minnesota since 1961, and they had immediate success throughout the 60s. The key to building a fan base is to have some success. Once you draw fans in and kids start loving the team, you have developed lifelong fans. The Marlins and Rays don't have that luxury given how long they have been teams. Florida has tons of baseball fans. Spring training is huge, and many people have chosen their favorite teams based on who they watched at spring training growing up. The Rays can follow the Twins model, but it takes time. DC is going to have the same problems. You can't develop a big fan base by fielding the worst team in baseball.

FreddyK- I have more memories from the Redsox winning in 2004 than you'll ever have as a bandwagon Rays fan. Basically no different than the "support" the other Florida team has gotten since winning 2 W.S.

It is not the fault of baseball fans in Florida that they don't support the Marlins despite their 2 WS wins. They did firesales after each one selling off the key members of the team. Imagine the Red Sox winning the WS and getting rid of Beckett, Varitek, Ortiz and Ramirez. Would Sox fans be happy?

Also, the Rays have had one good season in 10 years. You have to do something at sometime to get fans to love you and be loyal. This is the first time that has happened. If next year, they have low fan attendance, then we have a problem.

I however, think you all have SO MUCH HOPE for what he can do that some of you are driking the koolaide from a fire hose.

I don't think any president can do all that they promise. Congress would never allow it. But, a president can change the direction and focus of a country, and that will a nice start.

And, while we spend all of this money making sure airline passengers discard their water and nail clippers, we leave parts of our infrastructure wide open with little to no security, like our ports, trains, metros. It just makes no sense.

I really like our Bill of Rights. Let's keep it, even if it means that we allow folks to show their stupidity.

Voter registration fraud is an incredibly inefficient way to effect voter fraud. The levels of participation required before a meaningful difference can be made at the ballot box is huge. And, I can't believe that it is being ignored that ACORN flagged the suspect registrations themselves. If ACORN is trying to perpetuate voter fraud, warning the registrars of possible fraud is probably a bad move. It's a waste of resources to focus on that sort of voter fraud when there are so many more effective ways to perpetuate electoral fraud, such as intimidation and tampering.

Mutt, the story is everywhere now. It looks like the ABC may have broken the story, but now it is everywhere, including NY Times, Wash Post, AP, blogs.

While I think Mahoney should lose his seat over this, this is no where near as bad as Foley hitting on underage pages. That was an abuse of power, underaged children, and just generally gross.

What a hypocrite. He was running on morals meanwhile starting an affair. And, that tape! He is an ass. It's unfortunate, but this seat needs to swing back to the Republicans.

Vernon, I don't think this is a partisan issue. Dems (like Obama's vote on FISA) or Repubs, it doesn't matter. There is just no grounds for the govt to be tapping phone calls. It's Big Brother stuff and it is scary. Surveillance should be used when the govt should have probable cause, just like it says in the Constitution. Ignoring stuff like this because "I'm not a criminal anyway" leaves us with the 4th Amendment. The only people the 4th Amendment protects are criminals because the only remedy it provides is to suppress evidence of a crime. We need to be more proactice about protecting people from govt intrusiveness. The govt has shown throughout history that it cannot be trusted with unchecked powers. We need to make sure that we don't cede such power.

Renters are not without rights. If the banks are not following the law by notifying the occupant, then the Sheriff shouldn't evict people. Sounds reasonable. This is a legal balancing act for the Sheriff. He has to ensure the safety of people and property as well. He is not the private security guard to bankers.

The govt's job is not to fix the economy. Neither party can really do that. However, the govt could have had smart policies in place that limits the catastrophe of a downturn. I have no faith that McCain's advisers (see Gramm) get that concept. They prefer the free market until they need a bailout.

Transexualism is a form of mental illness and should be treated by a psychiatrist not a surgeon.

Then this case was definitely correctly decided. You cannot discriminate in hiring based on a disability.

At least Republicans and Democrats that aren't politicians can unite against this farce. Free market, my ass.

The Library of Congress has a history of discrimination, including losing a class action lawsuit. The case was just ridiculous. Offering her the position, then rescinding the offer based solely on sex change. The hiring official didn't even bother to find out if such a change would affect her perception by those she would be working with in Congress. It doesn't help that she was super qualified for the position. The result in this case was exactly right, and hopefully they will have to pay some big money.