Archive for August 16th, 2008

Watching WISH-TV (on WNDY-23) report on the ribbon cutting ceremony attended by notables such as Jim Irsay, Gov. Mitch Daniels, Mayor Greg Ballard, among others - Forrest Lucas, owner of the company which holds the naming rights to Lucas Oil Stadium has posed his opposition of the pop culture shortening the name.

In an era where stadium have shortened names in local pop culture - couple of examples Jacobs Field in Cleveland was commonly known as “The Jake” granted the naming rights were later sold to Progressive Insurance, The former Candlestick Park in Pelosiland was known as “The Stick”, US Cellular Field in Chicago known as “The Cell”. Granted I still refer to it as “Comiskey” alas I digress… just NEVER EVER sell the naming rights to Wrigley Field.

Back to the jist of this post - Forrest Lucas objects to the name “The Luke” because his company was involved in a legal tussle with Russian oil company Lukoil because that company’s name and his company Lucas Oil Products are too similar.

So in respecting Mr. Lucas’ wishes in not referring to the stadium by a name similar to his business competition, what will people shorten Lucas Oil Stadium to? (More Below The Fold)

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Under heavy fire for promising in his 2006 election bid to lower gas prices and failing to deliver, Baron Hill has made much of the menace of “speculators.”

“Speculators,” Baron says, are largely responsible for the price of gasoline. Without them, he says, gasoline would cost $2.75.

Now, when Baron was running in 2006, gasoline cost $2.16 a gallon. Why Baron would think that amount was too high then, but that $2.75 would be okay now, is a mystery to me.

But I digress. Baron Hill obviously thinks that speculators are a major cause for the high price of gasoline.

He said as much again during his recent interview on WGCL in Bloomington: (more…)

Hugh Hewitt thinks that it would be a nifty idea for McCain to leave the selection of his vice president up to the delegates at the convention:

If Team McCain feels the need to energize the troops, they could take a page out of the Democrats’ 1956 convention, where Adlai Stevenson threw the choice to the delegates. (Estes Kefauver won on the third ballot over Hubert Humphrey and John F. Kennedy.)

Such an announcement on the eve of the Denver gathering would drain coverage from the Dems as our modern media loves a horserace, especially one in which the rules would be so wide open. And if would-be veeps did the smart thing, they’d declare and campaign openly, using the opportunity to pump for seriousness abroad, sustaining the victory in Iraq, expanding our push for energy exploration and, of course, bashing Obama. We’d have surround-sound of quality GOP oratory for the next two-plus weeks leading to the vote, and genuine drama in St. Paul.

The plus sides of this include the media horserace angle, the venting of base frustrations via a competitive process, the energizing of that same base coming out of the convention, the sucking of air from the Obamassiah’s cult rally in Denver, among others.

(Read more after the leap) (more…)

The News & Tribune reports that Baron is concerned that he won’t have enough seats at a forthcoming event for everyone that wants to see him:

Hill hosting discussion on economy

• Congressman Baron Hill will host a discussion on gas prices, the housing market and health care from 9 a.m. to noon on Sept. 5, at the Paul W. Ogle Cultural and Community Center at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany. The event is open to the public, but due to limited seating, those interested are asked to reserve a space by calling Hill’s Jeffersonville office at 812-288-3999.

Given the overflow crowds at his town hall in Seymour, it is easy to see how he might think that there might not be enough seats:

(Read more after the leap) (more…)