By the end of the year, two massive blimps may be floating in the skies above Washington as part of a new defense initiative for the region.

It’s the day before disgraced former Ward 5 councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr. will be sentenced for his theft of $350,000 of city funds, and the jostling over how much time he should serve continues.

Any optimism about the 2010 edition of the Redskins that was left in reserve after last week’s heartbreaking loss to the Texans has surely evaporated after yesterday’s humiliating 30-16 loss to the St. Louis Rams. Yes, they lost to a Rams team that was starting a rookie quarterback, sporting a 3-31 record in their previous 34 games and hadn’t scored more than 23 points in a game during coach Steve Spagnuolo’s tenure. But the Redskins Charity Express rumbled on, faithfully keeping expectations low and handing out wins to undeserving opponents (see Detroit, Carolina, and Kansas City last season).