Bangor Daily News, Jan. 10
After professing his company’s commitment to Maine and its horsemen, Shawn Scott has sold his interest in Bangor’s horse racing track during contentious hearings about his capability to run the track and to install slot machines there. Mr. Scott has proven that he is a shrewd, if not entirely organized, businessman. …

The trick now for state and local officials is to turn Mr. Scott’s gain into their gain. There are signs this is already happening. While Mr. Scott’s company, Capital Seven, chafed at the governor’s attempts to strengthen the state’s oversight of racinos, the new owners, Penn National Gaming, have already embraced the call for stricter rules. …

Voters statewide and in Bangor approved the installation of slot machines at harness racing tracks in referendum votes in November and June. However, the rules that governed such operations were drafted by Capital Seven and were weak. Gov. Baldacci has tried to strengthen elements that were unlikely to have been anticipated by voters, such as the fact that there was no limit on the number of slot machines that could be installed and that state expenses to oversee the racinos and deal with problems such as traffic and gambling addiction would far exceed the slot revenue allocated to the state. …

One day after officials from his company criticized the governor’s proposed rules at a public hearing, Mr. Scott announced he had sold his interest in Bangor’s racino. …

The governor’s legislation is not just about rules, it is also about money. So although Penn National has embraced tougher regulations, the company has not yet said whether it is willing to agree to a better deal for the

state. …

[Penn Gaming] wants a “stable business environment” and that any additional costs assessed by the state not be a disincentive for his company to invest in Maine.

These desires need not conflict with the governor’s quest for tighter regulation and more compensation from the state.


Realistic goals for military
The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colo., Jan. 8
One of the more disturbing and not sufficiently publicized aspects of the war in Iraq is the increasing use of “stop-loss” orders by the military to block the scheduled retirements and separations of military personnel. The Army alone has blocked the possible separations of more than 40,000 soldiers, 16,000 of them National Guard and reserve members eligible to leave the service in 2003.

No one knows for sure how many of those soldiers would have left if they had not been prohibited from doing so. Some of them would probably have re-enlisted. But the practice undercuts morale and has only become necessary because of a growing disconnect between missions and manpower.

… The other troubling fact is that by issuing stop-loss orders, the Army has gone above its manpower limit of 480,000, a figure set by Congress. One could argue, of course, that the real problem lies with Congress and the administration. …

It behooves them, then, to set more realistic goals for the military and to think twice before approving more overseas actions. …


Britney’s wedding a spoiled joke
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Jan. 12
It is probably unwise to read too much into the brief and foolishly undertaken marriage of pop singer Britney Spears. After all, Las Vegas is the most ephemeral of cities, and a wedding chapel open at 5:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning for a bride wearing a baseball cap and torn jeans doesn’t ring with the reverence that most Americans still view marriage. …

With an annulment easily obtained two days later, the singer and her childhood friend … are back being single and the publicity beast has been given a wedding breakfast to chew upon. The whole thing is a grand old joke.

Not to spoil the laughter, but sadly there are plenty of gay couples in America who live lives of quiet decency … and who would love to be married in earnest and for the best reasons – but, of course, can’t. To them, Ms. Spears’ prank is a bitter joke.


Ramifications of Somalia’s war
The Nation, Nairobi, Kenya, Jan. 11
The clan warfare raging in Somalia has serious ramifications internally and on the neighboring countries. The neighbors have had to deal with an influx of refugees and the spillover of violence as weapons are smuggled across borders.

The ongoing Nairobi peace talks, though welcome, are the 14th time such discussions have been held. And this latest round which has lasted over a year is making pretty little progress.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, the current head of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), couldn’t have put it better in his warning to the rival warlords that the international community is losing its patience.

Regrettably, the deep divisions between the various groups are still too painfully evident. However, the Somali rivals must realize that the time to put aside personal interests and differences and promote the wider interests of their country and people is now.