Three up, Three down

By The News Virginian Staff

Published: June 28, 2008

Three Up
For gun rights advocates, along with strict constitutionalists, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down the Washington, D.C., gun ban might have been uncomfortably close. But the immediate effect of the Supremes’ 5-4 decision was unambiguous: The right of individuals, rather than regulated militias, to bear arms was upheld. The Second Amendment lives. Crooks and potential tyrants beware.
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Anheuser-Busch, maker of Budweiser and owner of Clydesdales, will remain a U.S.-based American original, at least until the ink on this page dries. The St. Louis-based brewery rejected as too low a $46-billion purchase offer from InBev NV. Of course, Bud’s Belgian suitor will be back, perhaps to acquire Anheuser-Busch by way of hostile takeover. In the meantime, Anheuser-Busch’s European stock soars.
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Sports coaches rarely leave on their own terms, long true at the professional and big-time collegiate levels and increasingly so at high schools. Waynesboro baseball coach Jim Critzer departs from the Little Giants bench with the program on an upswing. He took the club to the Final Four of the state playoffs for the second straight time earlier this month, then headed for the exit. He leaves on a note high enough to shatter glass.

Three Down
Quick, get Osama on the horn. Charlie Black, a top aide to John McCain, has just the plan to push his boss past Barack Obama at the polls this fall. It requires a few explosions and a lot of mayhem. For McCain, Black explained, another jolt of terrorism “certainly would be a big advantage.” OK then. Keep those fingers crossed. (We’re kidding. Really.)
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Meanwhile, back at the Pentagon, defense officials are wondering whatever happened to that $2 billion they shipped to Pakistan. The Government Accountability Office, complete with oxymoronic moniker, issued a firm smack to the wrists of defense check writers who sent Islamabad big bucks for a long list of military items, including the construction of roads and bunkers whose existence cannot be verified. So where do we get in line for our free money?
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Forgive Arnold Schwarzenegger if his grasp on the realities felt by most Americans is less than muscular. He is, after all, the governor of California. During a trip to Miami for an energy summit hosted by fellow Republican Charlie Crist, Schwarzenegger dismissed the idea of offshore drilling. Of course, the governator probably has fewer worries about gas prices and money than the rest of America.