April 13, 2005 [LINK]

National Guard backs out

After criticism from Sen. John Warner and concerns about the appropriateness of such a venture in war time that were expressed by some generals, the National Guard decided against spending $6 million for a three-year naming rights contract at RFK Stadium. It's probably all for the best, but I just hope the contract doesn't go to some group like BDM, AFGE, or AARP. Speaking of which, Rudy Riet sends word of a citizens' group in D.C. that wants to call RFK "Taxation Without Representation Stadium." That, of course, harkens to the slogan of D.C. statehood rights advocates, such as Adam Eidinger. Personally, I think the original constitutional rationale for excluding congressional representation for residents of the Federal District no longer makes any sense, since most of the political insiders against whom that constitutional provision were aimed live in the suburbs anyway, and I don't think Maryland or Virginia would accept any loss of their precious congressional seats. So I say give D.C. a seat in the House, but not in the Senate, since the District never existed as a state in its own right but is an artificial creation of the rest of the states, and remains beholden to them.