Ball 3

The Minnesota Vikings recently reached a tentative agreement on how their new $975 million stadium will be financed.   Although the deal is still very preliminary and there are many details to be fleshed out, the StarTribune reports that it will look as such: Under the preliminary deal, the city would contribute $150 million in construction costs to the downtown Minneapolis project. The state would add $398 million, while the Vikings would pay $427 million. The city also would pay approximately $180 million in operating costs over the next 30 years, multiple sources close to the negotiations said. With huge numbers getting thrown around, there are bound to be some questions raised.   Why do the Vikings need a stadium that costs nearly a billion dollars?   What benefits does the city get to justify spending tax dollars on a stadium?   And, most importantly, is this deal fair for the taxpayers, the team, and the city? The reality is that

During every national election, there is some debate over the education problems in this country.   However, unlike healthcare or immigration debates, the two candidates tend to have largely similar views on what needs to be done to fix this country’s education problem.   The candidates often push for tougher standards, more charter schools, new ways to hold teachers accountable, and more funding. This time around, it looks like Rick Santorum is going to break the norms and change the narrative on public education in America.   The Los Angeles Times reports that , “Santorum went so far as to refer to public schools as ‘factories’ and say that federal or state support for education is an ‘anachronism.’” When you look at Santorum’s website , you get the impression that he views schools in the same way that an economist views a business; he seems to view parents as consumers who can pick their children’s education from a long list of options.    Santorum has homesc

Rick Santorum’s trifecta primary sweep last week proves that Mitt Romney faces a huge uphill battle in winning the Presidency.  Romney faces a multitude of problems that are holding him back in the polls.  As Charles P. Pierce of Esquire writes , the Romney of today no longer resembles the former Massachusetts governor: Romney's description of his time as governor up here in the Commonwealth was hilarious to those of us who remember how hard he worked with a Democratic legislature to get his health-care law passed. It was hilarious to hear him talk about he was a "severely conservative governor," when we recalled how he worked with Sal DiMasi, the now-convicted Speaker of the Massachusetts House, to get Romneycare passed in time to be able to run on it in 2008. It was hilarious to hear him talk about how he presented balanced budgets up here (Pro tip: Like any Massachusetts governor, Willard had to do that — it's the law) and how he did it without raising tax

The Card Players As Alexandra Peers of Vanity Fair recently reported , the small, oil-rich nation of Qatar recently spent $250 million on Cézanne’s The Card Players .   While the painting is highly regarded and is thought to be instrumental to the Cubism and abstract movements, the price was a shock to the art community.   The purchase of the painting is part of Qatar’s push to become relevant in the tourism industry.   They are trying to create some of the best art museums in the world.   In 2010, Qatar also won the bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup .   Who did Qatar beat out in the last round of voting to host the tournament?   America .   That’s right, a country the geographic size of Connecticut with a population the size of Memphis, beat America in a vote to host the most important tournament in the world (you could argue for the Olympics, but realistically the World Cup is more important).   Qatar’s recent push on the international scene is indicative