PPP sends an SOS in Massachusetts

Public Policy Polling (whose client list is almost exclusively Democrats) has an eye catching poll putting Republican Scott Brown on the right side of a statistical dead heat in the Massachusetts special election for U.S. Senate (48-47).

PPP also makes sure the Democrat (Martha Coakley) gets some pointers on how to leave defeat in the jaws of victory (although it’s nothing Coakley’s people couldn’t have thought up on their own).

Unfortunately, this means Coakley has nine days to figure this out and “fix” it.

Then again, the Cincinnate Bengals had six days to figure out the Jets, and we all saw how that went.

Now, where can I scrounge up a Scott Brown for Senate web badge?

Cross-posted (with different title) to VV

On the Arenas incident

Sports radio has been all over the Gilbert Arenas gun incident, but the Virginia blogosphere has (from what I can tell) been largely silent.  Being that I’m the lone (or at least one of the very few) bloggers in the Commonwealth who follows the NBA, it’s high time I say a few words here.

To be honest, what threw me was Al Sharpton calling on Commissioner David Stern to come down on Arenas.  Seeing Sharpton use this as an opportunity to play political gatekeeper (i.e., it’s OK to criticize a high-profile African-American player because Al Sharpton says we could) just sticks in my craw.

Finally, there was the gun-control crowd, who are happily using this as the latest excuse to conduct surgery on the 2nd Amendment.

However, there are two issues here.  The first is DC’s ridiculous gun restrictions, which were so bad as to be partially tossed out by the Supreme Court.  The other issue is (to put it in legalese) the rights of the Association.  The NBA isn’t the government, and they can choose to do what they like based on what’s best for the NBA.

The NBA prohibits guns in arenas, with the arenas’ obvious consent.  They have property rights, too, rights Arenas violated when he brought the guns – loaded or unloaded – into the building.

Based on this ESPN accout, Stern was probably going to wait until the DC investigation was completed, but decided Agent Zero’s flippant attitude forced his hand.  I’m not so sure about that – some people use humor as a deflection mechanism – but even Arenas himself understands he doesn’t have a leg to stand on here.

Again, if David Stern were a government official imposing a fine or jail time (and if the guns were unloaded, as is now apparent), I’d be more than a little upset.  He’s not; he’s the CEO of a private corporation acting well within his right in what he thinks (and I am compelled to agree) is in the best interests of said corporation.

As for me, this seems like a good time to end my flirtation with the ‘Zards and accept the pain of being a Knicks fan again.

Oh no, not again

At this point, what you are about to read is third-hand (from a reader to Norm at TQ to yours truly), but it should still worry every Virginian:

I saw Sen. Stosch speak at the Goochland Republican meeting last week . . . he made it clear we were going to have to have more taxes this year.

Thanks to the electoral calendar in Virginia, we didn’t have to hear from the State Senate Republicans last year – and Mr. Stosch has just reminded us why that was a good thing.

Meanwhile, if any Steve Hunt supporter who has access to him is reading this, please make sure Mr. Hunt disavows this nonsense – ASAP.  Otherwise, the Senate caucus could once again snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Cross-posted to VV

Benedict XVI slams global warming alarmism

From the Daily Mail (UK):

Pope Benedict XVI has launched a surprise attack on climate change prophets of doom, warning them that any solutions to global warming must be based on firm evidence and not on dubious ideology.

The leader of more than a billion Roman Catholics suggested that fears over man-made emissions melting the ice caps and causing a wave of unprecedented disasters were nothing more than scare-mongering.

The alarmist edifice continues to collapse.

That was something

That was easily the best performance I’ve seen out of the Jets since 2002, when they waxed the Colts in the AFC Wild-Card round.

Keep in mind, Cincinnati actually played to win in the first half (albeit with some injured guys rested) and they were down 27-0.  Chad Johnson said he’d take his old name back if he was shut out by Darrelle Revis.  Well, he pulled the goose-egg in receptions before he was benched with a bruised knee; Ochocinco is no more.

Or at least it should be, but odds are #85 will use the injury as an excuse – and truth be told, if he comes back on Saturday and lights Revis up, no one outside of New York will remember last night.

As for me (born three years after Super Bowl III), the happy times being a Jet fan are few and far between.  This was one to remember.

UPDATE: As expected, this was Johnson’s reaction to dropping Ochocinco (New York Post): “Child please!”  That said, he did give credit where it’s due.

Ochocinco said he’ll have an MRI exam today on the knee.

“Oh yeah,” the receiver said when asked if the injury affected him, “but there’s no excuses. Darrelle played a hell of a first half. Whether I had one leg or not, Darrelle did a great job tonight.”