Hail to the Mittens: If you’ve bought any Redskins-licensed material or attended an event at FedEx Field recently, you may, indirectly, have been supporting Mitt Romney. Turns out Redskins owner Dan Snyder and his wife, Tanya Snyder, have each given $2,500—the maximum amount allowed by law—to the former Massachusetts governor’s presidential campaign. Romney is the only candidate either have contributed to this election cycle. Which means that if the Eagles beat the Redskins on Jan. 1, and Newt Gingrich wins the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, Snyder can be a two-time loser that week. -2

MasterCab: Taxi fares are going up in the District next year—but at least now passengers will be able to go into debt to pay for their rides. Along with the fare hike, some fees are being eliminated (like the surcharges for having a suitcase with you), and credit card machines will become mandatory for all cabs. No word on whether the new rules will actually require the taxis to do things like “take calls from far-flung neighborhoods” or “pick up passengers who aren’t white.” -1

Would You Like That Shrink-Wrapped?: Purchasing larger-than-advisable quantities of basic household goods will soon beeven easier. A deal to bring Costco to the Shops at Dakota Crossing, a retail development planned for the Fort Lincoln area, is basically wrapped up, and construction on the membership warehouse will start soon. The good news: Kirkland branded beer for all! The bad news: The area is currently a marshland, which will have to be paved for the development. -1

Frozen With A Chance Of Continued Frozen: As if anyone needed yet another reason to gripe about the insufferable Sen. Joe Lieberman, he’s now come out with a warning that federal workers should expect to continue toiling for their 2010 salaries for quite some time to come. Chances are good the GOP will demand a federal pay freeze be extended in order to help pay for the extension of a temporary payroll tax cut for all workers. Chances are also good Lieberman will do whatever the GOP demands, then lecture everyone on how national security requires it to be done. -1

Yesterday’s Needle rating: 46 Today’s score: -5 Today’s Needle rating: 41