BARELY CAP-ABLE

Arbitration, here we come... right back where we started from. C'mon folks, you ought to know the tune by now, sing along. At least the Council had the decency to end this thing here, instead of stringing it along for a few more weeks. Or did they?

DC's favorite politicos went on yakking deep into the night, even after David Nakamura went to bed. Mayor-for-Life Marion "Red Cap, White Nose" Barry was at least as coherent at 11 pm as he had been 12 hours earlier, which ain't saying much. Catania and Fenty were still leading the No-Fun-On-Principle Brigade. I'm pretty sure the pro-baseball council members were drinking under the table. As for the rest of the council, stradling a fence for 15+ hours must be mighty uncomfortable.

JaNF and Capitol Punishment, bless 'em, are live blogging this donkey show. Time for random thoughts:

• Marion Barry should do public service announcements explaining complicated topics. His views on value engineering (linoleum is cheaper than marble) ought to be widely disseminated.
• David Catania is not a principled opponent of publicly-funded projects, he is an ass.
• I may have wildly underestimated Linda Cropp's skill at wrangling the Council.
• Marion Barry just said baseball money cannot be used to buy toilet paper for our young people.
• Shut up, Shut Up!, SHUT UP!!!
• Adrian Fenty is not a principled opponent of publicly-funded stadiums, he is an ass.

Final score: The stadium lease agreement passed the council by a vote of 9-4. Pending MLB's approval of the new terms, we have a stadium!!! (in theory).