Foul ballpark: gays vs. sports welfare.

• Author: Taylor, Jeff A.
• Position: Citings - Brief Article

Now THIS IS a culture war: baseball vs. drag queens. One of the few groups concerned about a world-class fiscal error coming down the pike in Washington, D.C., is the city's gay community.

The utterly baseball-obsessed city lathers have opted to offer Major League Baseball a staggering $440 million subsidy in the form of a new stadium for the vagabond Montreal Expos. The deal far outstrips any other offer on the table for the team and essentially gives the franchise a stadium for free with no strings attached. If the franchise wants to move again in a couple of years, it will incur no penalty--a powerful incentive for the city to continue to do absolutely anything to keep the baseball team happy. A worse deal is difficult to imagine.

D.C.'s gays certainly feel that way. To make room for the...