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September 3, 2000

The X-Files

Dear Conspiracy Theorists:

So you believe that a secret group of conspirators really hold all the power and are running things behind the scenes? How fortunate for you that you live in Washington, where you're pretty much right. However, the Federal City Council isn't secret, just secretive. Here's the latest bit of evidence to help you build your case. Last week, after Deputy Mayor and City Administrator Norman Dong was told that he wanted to resign voluntarily, Mayor Williams appointed John Koskinen as Dong's replacement. Koskinen was the Federal City Council's candidate for the position. In fact, Koskinen’s last previous position was as a consultant to the DC public schools on finance and procurement issues, but he wasn't paid by the DC government — his work was funded by the FCC. The FCC wanted him to be appointed as the Superintendent of Schools, but aside from that brief consultancy he didn't have any educational background, so he didn't get that position. Instead, he got the second most powerful position in DC government, the City Administrator's job.

Now, here's the conclusive evidence that this is all a conspiracy. Koskinen's consultant position with the DC schools isn't mentioned at all in his biography, and even though he revealed at his appointment press conference that the FCC had paid for his work there, not one newspaper, radio station, or television station mentioned it in their news accounts. The news that is suppressed is always the most important news, isn't it?

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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Junior's Escape
Bob Levine, rilevine@cpcug.org

Does anyone have an update on Junior's escape? The National Zoo's Orangutan that got loose earlier in the week. One rumor is that he was attempting to go to the Elections and Ethics office to register as a candidate for City Council. Given the current state of the election “Vote for Junior” sounds pretty good. Inter species government won't make a monkey out of you.

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School Board Candidates
Helen M. Hagerty, Helenmhag@aol.com

I read the list of School Board candidates in Saturday's Post Metro. As Mary Levy was quoted, it's not exactly a “blue ribbon group.” The fact that Peggy Cooper Cafritz is the Mayor's choice for President doesn't instill much confidence. This is all so disappointing. Once again, the public school children are the ones who lose. Does anyone have a clue as to who the appointed members might be? Also, don't school board candidates have to live in the District? I think P.C. Cafritz lives in McLean, VA.

[Candidates for the elected positions must live in the District. Cafritz is registered with the Board of Elections as living at 3030 Chain Bridge Road, NW; if she actually lived in McLean, that would be grounds for her disqualification. On the other hand, the appointed members do not have to be District residents, and Mayor Williams has avoided pledging that all his nominees will live in D.C., though it is unlikely that the Council would confirm a non-DC resident to one of those positions. — Gary Imhoff]

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What If This Caught On?
Jean Lawrence, JKeLLaw@aol.com

Out here Arizona way (we talk like that after a while), two local candidates have been playing, “She said..” “No, uh-uhhh, I did not” so long, the local paper is paying for them to take lie detector tests. And they agreed! I guess someone should have said, “Will you take a lie detector test, but I must warn you, this is an intelligence test. Answer carefully.”

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A Reason to Vote on 9/12
John Vaught LaBeaume, jvlab@yahoo.com

Voters in Wards 1, 3, 5, and 6 face a Dem Primary ballot this September 12 with a single candidate unopposed for three citywide offices. Turnout will likely be abysmal. However, this sad scenario does offer a great opportunity to for DC voters to take full advantage of our limited voting rights. For DC voters underwhelmed by At-Large Council Member Harold Brazil's lackluster record, you have a reason to go to the polls and register your dissatisfaction. By writing in Greg Rhett for At Large Council Member in the Dem primary, you can send a message to Brazil by holding his vote total and percentage down to an embarrassingly low level for an unopposed candidate. Your vote and voice in a low turn out primary is amplified (esp. in Wards 1, 3, 5, and 6, the latter Brazil's home ward!) and we can let Brazil know we want him to shape up.

Thanks to the positive feedback I received from my last post suggesting a candidate to coalesce around to write in, I have decided to write-in Gregg Rhett. Rhett's record of community service in his Eastland Gardens neighborhood of Ward 7 has garnered city wide acclaim. His voice for accountability, oversight and fiscal responsibility would serve DC well on the Council. Please drop me a line if you would like more info on Rhett or this grassroots effort.

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If You’re Sick of Brazil, Vote for Griffiths
Aaron Lloyd, wayama@bellatlantic.net

I agree with Keith and John that we need change and we need it now. But I would caution them to not look just to the Democratic nomination and the Democratic party for salvation. John is right to celebrate the limited voting rights we have, but it would take a real optimist to say that the glass is half-full in terms of political powers. It fact, in a pure constitutional sense, the glass is totally empty, and our choices of council members are just one colonial, corporate sponsored and controlled overseer versus another. We are a colony, and any council person who doesn't make real democracy a number one priority is not really helping the city, but providing cover for our masters, the United States Congress, who disinterestedly rule our destiny without our consent or representation. And I'm sorry to say that most of the Democratic party fits the mold of talking a good game of “voting representation” and then profiting from the crumbs of power they get from our colonial status.

The alternative? The DC Statehood Green Party, and its candidate opposing Brazil, Arturo Griffiths. The Statehood Party, recently merged with the Green Party to form the DC Statehood Green Party, has a long history of placing statehood and full, equal representation first on the political agenda. Keith is right; monopolies such as Verizon are not responsive, and the local Democratic party has been a sold out, unresponsive monopoly for years, if not decades. Our party has never put profits first, but people. You can check out our other candidates at DC Statehood Green Party, http://www.dcstatehoodgreen.org, but I can tell you that I have known Arturo personally for over a decade, and he is principled, committed fighter for the people of DC. So guys, by all means, find a good write in candidate for the
democratic nomination. But if Brazil rolls along on his tide of money, please remember that the Democratic party is not the only game in town, and if we let it continue to be a monopoly, we have only ourselves to blame.

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D.C. Voters Guide
Kathy Sinzinger, news@thecommondenominator.com

The Common Denominator, D.C.'s hometown newspaper, has published a special Labor Day edition this week to distribute our “D.C. Voters Guide” for the September 12 primary election. The guide includes information about all the candidates who responded to our questionnaire (most of them did).

The Common Denominator may be purchased at bright red vending boxes throughout the city; at Safeway and Giant stores in the District of Columbia, as well as some suburban Giant stores; and at more than 100 other stores and newsstands throughout the city. An online version of our “D.C. Voters Guide” may be viewed by visiting our Web site at http://www.thecommondenominator.com.

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The Fuss About “The District”
Jim Myers, hilleast@aol.com

Things must be going well in D.C, if our worst fears are about the upcoming cop drama, “The District.” Should we picket, protest — or yawn? It's bizarre that a world capitol can get agitated about a piece of fiction. Admittedly, I have a small stake in the discussion. The producers asked my opinion about the show, and I've given it. So in this consulting role, I've seen more of what they're up to than others who merely read about the show in The Washington Post.

A few points: 1) The Post got their hands on an early version of the pilot —and trashed it. But read the fine print: The Post knew that the pilot had already evolved beyond what they saw, with new actors, different scenes and a different slant, particularly in regards to the character of the mayor. In “The District” that will actually air on CBS, Mayor Ethan Baker is NOT incompetent. Nor is he suspected of drug use. You can relax on that. 2) Obviously, the success of “The District” will depend on the appeal its characters. Maybe, America will warm to a D.C. mayor played by John Amos and an aggressive police chief played by Craig T. Nelson. And maybe it won't. America will also see a fictional D.C. consistently struggling under the thumb of a meddling Congress, where it has no representation. Should we protest that aspect of the show, too? 3) Like it or not, many of the crime and police issues in “The District” are taken from the streets of D.C., where the police sometimes divide their time between protecting the citizenry and handling special circumstances peculiar to a world capital. Police sources tell me that some themes in “The District” sound hauntingly close to reality. 4) Some observers are aghast that the show could have a white police chief (hired by a black mayor) in a city that is 61% black — like such a thing never happened before.

In the meantime, it can't be too awful that “The District” shows blacks and whites trying to work together. Can it?

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Ins and Outs of Infill
John Nielsen, JNielsen@npr.org

I have heard that the quasi-park now occupied by “Youth for Understanding” — in between Newark and Ordway Streets, in Cleveland Park — is up for sale. I imagine the site will eventually be purchased by a builder interested in what is known as “infill development.” This is supposed to be an antidote to sprawl, which no one is supposed to like. But I live across the street from this place, and I'm worried about what will happen to my neighborhood if a bunch of houses are built on what used to be a mostly open space. All of which raises a more general question? Is “infill” a good witch or a bad witch? I'm trying to get a conversation going here.

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New Lot Development
Michele Rhodes, trunchbull@erols.com

I recently purchased a rowhouse on the 4300 block of 14th St. NW. While we are waiting for the contractors to finish a rehab of the property, we are still in our Adams Morgan rental. I was out at the property yesterday and looked out my back window to see DC police ticketing my car and a tow truck idling nearby. Now, I parked my car on a graveled strip across the alley from my lot. This strip is part of an empty lot (surrounded by an entire block of rowhouses) owned by a person that owns a multi-unit rental property next door. Two months ago, after the residents of that block protested the piles of garbage, abandoned cars, and general neglect of the property, the landowner was forced to clean up the lot. This he did, also putting in the graveled area where he would park his Georgia licensed limo. We assumed that this was a good-will gesture allowing us to park off of 14th.

Apparently, he is planning to develop this area by putting in townhouses. This is a small area with no streets, only alleys. I can't believe this project would meet fire and sanitation codes. Does anyone have any information about this guy and about this project in general? Incidentally, when I went out to find out why I was being ticketed, the officer told me that the landowner had requested ticketing and towing of all vehicles. When I protested that people have parked here for years, he very kindly took the ticket off my windshield and said that since I was moving my car I shouldn't get a ticket. I have never even heard of that happening before. Unfortunately, many of my neighbors were not so lucky and returned home to find that their cars had been impounded. No warning was posted by the owner. So much for good-will gestures.

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Close DC General Hospital
Lee Perkins, lperkins@cpcug.org

I agree [with Ed Barron]. Most poor folks go to the emergency room because it's the only thing open on nights and weekends. They really don't need the services of a hospital; they need a doctor or nurse. There should be at least one 24-7 clinic in each ward and several in wards seven and eight. Medical insurance providers in DC should be required to run such facilities on pain of losing their contracts. Smaller and better hospitals could take care of the rest.

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Traffic Violations Ignored
John Whiteside, Logan Circle, jmwhites@bellatlantic.net

We've heard a lot lately about the need for red light cameras to catch traffic scofflaws. It would help if the police actually enforced . . . or obeyed . . . the laws. Two incidents in two days: while waiting to cross 14th Street, NW, at Q, I watched a car headed north on 14th blow through a red light after it changed. Not one but two police cars on Q St. ignored it. Tonight, while heading south on Massachusetts from Rock Creek Parkway toward Dupont, a DC police cruiser weaved from lane to lane, cutting people off, heading through the yield sign at Sheridan Circle despite traffic being in the circle, and then made a few more signal-less lane changes right in front of other cars before stopping at a light, making it clear that the officer was not heading toward an emergency situation.

If you can run red lights in front of police without being pulled over, why should any driver in the District take the law seriously?

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World War II Memorial
Isabel Furlong, isabelf@email.msn.com

Most of you have already heard from me about the threat to our National Mall being posed by plans for a giant granite memorial sunk right in the visual center of our Mall. And by the truly hideous and imperialistic design of the memorial itself. Well, we are still trying to stop it. And time is running out. Last Monday the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation held a public hearing. The next — and final — approval meeting will be held on September 21 — the National Capitol Planning Commission. An acquaintance who is a member of the National Battle Monuments Commission (the people who are pushing this) told me that they “had the votes. It's a done deal. We will break ground on November 11, 2000.” Well, we'll see about that. Meanwhile — please call, write senators, newspapers, Congressmen, TV stations. Tell them you don't want anyone to dig up our Mall!

We can stop this. There are legal steps to take. But every person I have told about the site and the design is against it. Every person so far. We can't let this happen! Stand up and be vocal about this. Future Americans will thank you.

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Annoying Misusages of the Language Flourish in the Post
T. Jr. Hardman, thardman@earthops.org

The editors at the Washington Post have been either asleep at the switch, else have been assiduously revising their copy to reflect “English as it am spoke.” My own personal pet peeves in this regard are their consistent misuses regarding a person's intentions, “so-and-so is looking to do this-and-that”; and, the astounding misuses of “riot” and “mayhem” which fall far from the dictionary definitions.

Certainly the usage “looking to” can pass muster in speech — it is, in fact, an indicative regionalism by which one can reliably place the speaker as having been exposed to mid-Atlantic rural-poor colloquialisms transplanted to the inner city. However, “riot” is when three or more people act in a concerted manner which is calculated to terrorize a reasonable individual, and does include crowd violence as a sub-set — but this is not the sole act described by “riot.” A riot can be quiet, and affect only one or a few people. “Riotous crowds” is a proper usage, but “a riot” is not. Further, the Post consistently misuses “mayhem” as a synonym for their misuse of “riot” and in fact in some cases “mayhem” and “riot” are close to synonymous. Properly, however, “mayhem” is when a person or persons injure another so as to be unable to defend themselves, or their country in time of war, and comes from the practice of rendering someone ineligible for induction by press-gangs into military service, by the act of amputating part of a thumb or toe; else “mayhem” was such an intentional crippling of prisoners-of-war prior to release, as the injury would render them non-combatant. The intent of disabling the person from defensive capacity is the distinguishing criterion between the concepts of “mayhem” and “maiming,” the latter being any permanent disfigurement or crippling. Look it up if you don't believe me. Both “riot” and “mayhem” are Common Law Felonies.

Just my two cents' worth, now back to your standard programming.

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Begging the Question
George S. LaRoche, LaRoche@us.net

Well, I couldn't resist. I agree with Mr. Diaz [Gregory Diaz, zaidmot@aol.com], but “begging the question” (petitio principii, in Latin) refers to a more discrete logical fallacy than merely “avoiding answering the question posed” (depending on the context, all logical fallacies can have this result). Joseph Brennan, author of one of the more widely used text books on traditional logic (A Handbook of Logic) defines it as the fallacy “in any argument in which [one] assume[s] as true what is to be proven.” The philosopher J.L. Mackie provides a slightly less dense explanation in his fine essay in the [Macmillan] Encyclopedia of Philosophy (no less respectable than the Cambridge): “An argument that begs the question . . . uses the conclusion [of the argument] as one of the premises.” The hallmark of the fallacy is circularity; in the final analysis of the argument, it forms a circle, running from proposition to conclusion back to proposition.

An example of the fallacy (with which I have been grappling for a couple years in the Twenty D.C. Citizens law suit (Adams v. Clinton), because it was used by the Defendants) is a pattern of argument which boils down to the following: “Congress MAY treat the District of Columbia differently from every other place where it has identical power under the Constitution BECAUSE Congress has treated the District of Columbia differently from every other place where it has identical power under the Constitution.” In short, the LEGITIMACY of the act is said to be derived only from DOING the act.

But serendipitously, this instance of the fallacy also shows why formal logic has never taken hold and guided our thinking. We don't live in a world guided by the wisdom of philosophers, but "politicians" in all their guises, whether it be those who actually run for office, or merely stand in front of cameras to shape our lives (in a way, we're ALL politicians now). One of the granddaddies of our political culture was Otto von Bismarck-Schoenhausen, and he provided us with a definitive indicator why formal logic remains largely irrelevant to our lives; he said, “politics is the art of the possible, the attainable, the art of the next best.” Insofar as we think more about what we can do than we think about whether it should be done, insofar as we crave attention more than we crave respect, insofar as we care more about “winning” or being “players” than we care about being right or even coherent, and (to return to Mr. Diaz's comments) insofar as we are more eager to have the microphone than to have something worth while to say, Bismarck's insight is part of the defining “logic” of our behavior.

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Circling the Question
Gene Hoffman, eugene_hoffman@yahoo.com

Gregory Diaz brings up an interesting point on two accounts. First, it's interesting how the phrase has come to mean that an assertion calls or begs for an explanation. For example, the mayor asserted that 12th Street would not be dug up for another five years. The street was dug up yesterday. That “begs the question, Who knew?” Second, begging the question does not mean that one trying to duck a question. Rather, the term denotes the fallacy of founding a conclusion on a basis that also needs to be proven. Another definition, this time in the Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy (dueling authorities!) holds that an argument begs the question if it contains a premise that would not be accepted by a reasonable person who is inherently prone to deny the conclusion. For example, “Jesus loves me this I know 'cause the Bible tells me so” could be represented as an “argument” that begs the question because a reasonable non-Christian would would dispute both the conclusion and its premise. Finally, arguing in a circle, the basing of two conclusions on one another, is yet another type.

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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

Poetry at Washington Printmakers Gallery
Buck Downs, bdowns@columbiabooks.com

Please join us on Saturday, September 9, at 7:30 p.m. at Washington Printmakers Gallery (1732 Connecticut Avenue, 2nd floor, on Connecticut between R and S, two blocks north of the Dupont Circle Q Street Metro Exit) for a reading by Heather Fuller and Kristin Prevallet. Heather Fuller's poetry has been astonishing people all over the country for several years now; luckily, she's still one of our own, and lives here in DC. A graduate of the George Mason MFA Program, she's the author of Perhaps This Is a Rescue Fantasy, Beggar, Eyeshot, and forthcoming in 2001 from Edge Books, Dovecote. She's currently the literary editor of The Washington Review. Linguistically innovative, politically incisive, her poetry is sure to reorient you.

Kristin Prevallet's book Perturbation, My Sister is a psycho-sexual surrealist shocker that twists the problem of image inside out. She's also the author of Lead, Glass, and Poppy, and in a recent collection of visual pieces, Key Food, she goes on a shopping trip that has to be seen to be believed, so come see it. She was one of the editors of the influential journal Apex of the M and currently lives in Brooklyn. We hope to see you there and for all festivities afterwards.

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CLASSIFIEDS — FOR SALE

Yard Sale
Dona Lenkin, lenkind@od.nih.gov

Yard sale Saturday 9/9, 10 -2, rear of 4916 Butterworth Place, NW. Furniture, CDs, books. LPs, art, McCoy pottery, other collectibles, knick knacks, geegaw, tchotchkes, frufu. Rain date 9/10.

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ANC Administrator Position
David J. Bardin, Chair, ANC 3F

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3F seeks part-time administrative support averaging 15 hours weekly. Specific hours are reasonably flexible. Word processing, E-mail and bookkeeping skills necessary. Interest in DC government operations and community issues a plus. Position announcement posted on the ANC's web page — www.dc.net/maudlin. Fax resume and cover letter to 966-2585 or mail both to ANC Chair, 4701 Connecticut Avenue NW #501, Washington, DC 20008.

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CLASSIFIEDS — HELP WANTED

Bilingual (Spanish-English) Secretary Wanted
Jon Katz, Jon@markskatz.com

Secretary for trial law firm (full time and part time) — bilingual Spanish-English — Silver Spring, near Metro station and plentiful inexpensive parking. Hiring immediately. Attractive pay and benefits, particularly for experienced person. Great step up for experienced self-starter. Full Spanish-English fluency essential. Experience preferred, and paid for. MS Word preferred. Rewarding work helping with trials, immigration, and prelitigation. Ideal for an experienced person seeking a new challenge and appreciation (financial and personal) for a job well done. Please fax or send resume and cover letter that identifies “Secretary Announcement” in strict confidence to: Jon Katz, Marks & Katz, LLC, 1400 Spring Street, Suite 410, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910; fax: (301) 495-8815, www.markskatz.com.

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CLASSIFIEDS — SERVICES

Computer Services Offered
Paul G. Dionne, PDionne@speakeasy.net

A few weeks back someone wrote in about needing computer consulting for the home. I am starting to do free-lance computer consulting and am offering my services. So if you need some work done on your computer, need a little one-on-one training, or just want to figure out ways to get yourself better organized, then drop me an E-mail. I also do databases and web pages!

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CLASSIFIEDS — SPACE

Great Office Sublease in Silver Spring
Jon Katz, jon@markskatz.com

1400 Spring Street, Silver Spring. Sublease up to two nice windowed offices in the greenest and most beautiful business area of downtown Silver Spring. Near Metro, plentiful inexpensive parking, and Silver Spring District Court. Conference room to share, and additional secretarial space (for cubicle) possible. Attractive monthly rent (less expensive than downtown Washington and lower than many Silver Spring buildings); month-to-month lease available. 24-hour access for tenants; on Saturdays, lobby remains unlocked, and A/C and heat stay on through 1:00 p.m. Call Jon Katz, 301-495-4300. For more information, see http://www.markskatz.com/announcements.htm.

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CLASSIFIEDS — RECOMMENDATIONS

Excellent Web Designers
Kelly Mack, kmack@advocacy.org

For anyone on the lookout for an excellent web design company — check out i-compass at www.i-compass.com. They do fabulous front end (web design) and back end (interactive components) of websites. For such high quality, they are extremely well-priced. Talk with Chris.

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Computer Help
Gabe Goldberg, gabe@acm.org

Margaret Yoma Ullman, ullmany@intr.net, [asked for help in buying and setting up a new computer]. Capital PC User Group (CPCUG) is a local 3000-member organization whose motto is “users helping users.” Among other member benefits is the HelpLine, several hundred people available for helping members with questions such as yours. Another offering is the “Before You Buy or Build” seminar, a four-hour session on three Saturdays/year offering an in depth tour of current (usually updated as of the day before each seminar) PC hardware/software/technology. That's followed by the "build" at which people construct their own PCs under guidance of a mentor. But the “buy or build” means that the seminar is very valuable for people who want to buy, not build, their PC. Another CPCUG offering is a dozen plus SIGs (special interest groups) which meet monthly — I run the Internet SIG. Visit http://www.cpcug.org for information on CPCUG, check the six-month calendar for upcoming events.

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