Ego and Saving Face
Ego and Saving Face in themail, April 4, 2001
Dear Selfless Readers:
You and I, of course, are selfless and self-sacrificing, caring nothing
for our own egos. But you know that people like us are rare, especially in politics. As
the current crisis with China shows, what counts most at every level of politics is
satisfying and gratifying the egos of politicians. To China, making sure that their
politicians do not lose face is, for now, more important than resolving the tensions
between our nations. On a more modest and local scale, right now the members of the
Control Board and Mayor Williams are more concerned with saving face, and with not
admitting that they made a mistake, than with building a workable health care system for
the District. They are on a path that commits them to compounding their past mistakes, to
paying more for less health care, but they don't know how to get off that path without
embarrassing themselves.
Alan Sager of Boston University, perhaps the most prominent national
expert on public hospitals, gave a speech at DC General Hospital on March 30, “Threats
to Urban Public Hospitals and How to Respond to Them.” The outline of that speech, at
http://www.dcwatch.com/issues/pbc010330.htm,
shows not only how and why the mistakes were made that got us into this mess, but how the
Control Board and the Mayor can extricate themselves from the mess without losing face. If
you know members of the Control Board or the Mayor, if you can get to them, do them a
favor and give them a copy of this paper. Do all of us a favor — in this crisis, all
of us are the hostages.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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Should D.C. residents be tipping those who pick up recyclables? One crew
member approached us in an alley this week and noted that we hadn't given a holiday
gratuity despite the great service (which isn't particularly great anyway). Because this
work is done on contract with the District, somehow it hadn't occurred to us that we
should be tipping the crews. Or does everyone out there tip the sanitation workers, public
works repairmen, etc.? Even if we did tip, where does one leave it — inside an old
soup can? Guidance appreciated.
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A Ceremonial Resolution in the Council of the
District of Columbia
Mark Richards, Dupont East, mark@bisconti.com
"To declare the sense of the Council in support of the 'D.C.
Democracy Seven.' Whereas, The District of Columbia is the last (landlocked) colony of the
United States of America, living under the political rule of the U.S. Congress —
pursuant to Article I, Section 8, Paragraph 17 of the U.S. Constitution — in which it
has not voting representation, in either the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of
Representatives. Whereas, Congress unjustly holds ultimate power over all annual budgets,
the local judicial system and any legislation enacted by the Council and/or the citizens
of the District. Whereas, An example of Congress' abuse of this power is that it
effectively overturned a D.C. citizens' ballot initiative which passed with 69% of the
vote in the 1998 election. Whereas, All avenues for redressing these grievances have been
pursued by D.C. citizens, including two U.S. Supreme Court cases and a Congressional
struggle for voting representation in the Committee of the Whole. Whereas, On July 26,
2000, seven citizens of the District of Columbia — Steven Donkin, Deborah Hanrahan,
Bette Hoover, Queen Mother ShemaYah, Tanya Snyder, Karen A. Szulgit, and Martin Thomas
— felt it necessary to make the voices of D.C. residents heard during a Congressional
floor debate on their own city's FYO1 budget. Whereas, These seven citizens, hereafter
known as the 'D.C. Democracy Seven,' stood up to cast their votes in opposition to
Congress' interference because they had no representative on the floor who could vote for
them. Whereas, March 29, 2001, is the fortieth anniversary of the ratification of the 23rd
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that enabled electors in the District of Columbia to
vote for President and Vice-President. Whereas, The D.C. Democracy Seven have brought
national attention on the lack of basic civil and human rights for the citizens of the
District of Columbia. Whereas, The first trial of the D.C. Democracy Seven ended in a
mistrial on October 31st, 2000, as a hung jury was unable to convict them for standing up
for their democratic rights and the rights of all citizens of the District. Whereas, The
retrial of the D.C. Democracy Seven ended with a D.C. jury acquitting the codefendants on
February 15th, 2001.
Resolved, By the Council of the District of Columbia, That this resolution
may be cited as 'The D.C. Democracy Seven Recognition Resolution of 2001.' Sec. 2. It is
the sense of the Council that it supports the D.C. Democracy Seven and urges the United
States' Attorney, Wilma Lewis, to end the annual prosecution of the D.C. democracy
activists working to attain the democratic rights afforded to all the citizens of the
fifty states of the Untied States of America. Sec. 3. On the 30th day of March 2001, we
find it fitting to declare as 'D.C. Democracy Seven Day' in the District of Columbia. Sec.
4. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon the first date of publication in the
District of Columbia Register.”
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I find it hard to see this issue as racial. I don't really care if the
posters were black or white. One of the few E-mails I heard quoted the poster stating his
intent to smoke some blunt (marijuana) after he/she got off duty. Probably one of the main
reasons that there have been so few postings in themail about this is that we are all so
wired and know that our names and E-mail addresses are attached to our postings. Any city
official or police officer who would write an E-mail that expresses the intent to commit a
crime is too stupid to be drawing a city paycheck, and certainly too stupid to be carrying
a gun and night stick for that paycheck.
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Like Ralph Blessing's son, our 14-year-old daughter also received a jury
summons. Last year both she and her younger sister each received them. The girls thought
the summonses were wonderful, and they begged us to let them go down to the courthouse to
try to “get on a jury.” This year I tried repeatedly to get through to the
Clerks office on the “Jury Line” to see about getting my kids off the jury list,
but I could never get through to a live person. I ended up having my daughter answer the
questions (particularly the one about her age), sign the questionnaire and mail it back to
the court. Last year that was sufficient. We'll see what happens this time.
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World War II Memorial
Ann Loikow, Cleveland Park, john1@erols.com
Senator Hutchinson's efforts to nullify any reasoned review of the
proposed World War II Memorial for the Mall are even more outrageous if you know the
facts. The latest include the incredibly negative environmental impacts (not considered in
any environmental review by the National Park Service) such as the facts that: a. the
memorial, which will be recessed 15 ft. below the existing grade so as not to completely
block the view of the Lincoln Memorial, is in the 25-year flood plain and will become a
temporary detention basin during floods; b. the Memorial will be below the water table so
ground water will need to be continually pumped out of the area; c. the ground water is
contaminated with arsenic (at 10 times the EPA levels) and with benzo(a)pyrene, also above
the EPA levels (residue of which may be left on the Monument when flood waters recede); d.
this ground water will be pumped directly into the Tidal Basin, without any treatment, and
then flow into the Potomac River; e. the operation of the sump pumps will dewater (lower
the water table) parts of the Mall, dehydrating and possibly killing existing vegetation,
including the Olmstead elms lining the Reflecting Pool; and f. pumping out the ground
water will also cause subsidence and compaction in the soil of the Mall, all of which is
fill in this area, and possibly affecting the foundations of the Washington Monument
(note, the Memorial's pumps would be well below the foundation of the Monument).
It would be very ironic if the Memorial becomes the box that caught the
falling Washington Monument! And, for those who care, the Park Service has said that the
“sacred soils” from the military cemeteries around the world spread with so much
fanfare at the dedication of the site by President Clinton will not be preserved during
construction and the site dedication plaque will just be offered to the Archives!
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Commitment?
John Whiteside, Logan Circle, john@logancircle.net
Thelma Brown writes that Mayor Williams is clearly not committed to the
District because he doesn't own a home here. Well, in that case, the majority of DC
residents don't count as real citizens, because they are not homeowners. Ms. Brown also
complains that the Mayor now is asking “taxpayers to buy a home for him,” which
is an obvious distortion; we have at least one proposal under which taxpayers wouldn't
have to pay for a mayoral residence at all; and in any case, such a residence would never
belong to Mr. Williams, and he could be tossed out of it by a vote of the citizens of DC
(even those uncommitted, faux-citizen renters that Ms. Brown distrusts). And the evidence
to support all this: an imaginary conversation Ms. Brown had with an imaginary mayor in
her head.
Criticize the mayor's actions, statements, policies, and record. Hold his
feet to the fire when he does not deliver. You don't have to look to hard to find very
real reasons to do so. But if the best arguments against Mr. Williams one can find are
that he rents is home, he wasn't born here, and he had the temerity to live in Virginia, a
casual observer would have to conclude that he must be doing a good job. PS: I don't care
whether he has ever stood in line at DMV. I care that when I did so in 1996, it took
hours, and in 2000, it took minutes.
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Thank you, Thelma Brown. You are correct, those who wanted Williams
elected were either dazzled by the B.S., paid off, or hoped to be paid off; those who
pulled the lever for Williams were fooled by the previous group! During the election, when
the D.C. Statehood Party's candidate, John Glouster, pointed out that Williams was in fact
a carpetbagger, we were drowned out by the Democratic party's money sloshing about town.
We have watched in horror as our dire predictions have come true: the selling off of any
and everything from our schools, school children, the public hospital, our valuable real
estate (the employment office on C St.), ad nauseam.
I hope this lesson has not come too late for the people of our city, and
perhaps the voters will remember next time which party has always spoken for the ordinary
citizen, the D.C. Statehood Green Party!
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Norton vs. Brazil, Dead Heat of
Indifference
Phil Carney, philnopus@erols.com
Harold Brazil has four campaign posters in front of 1333 16th Street, NW,
five months after the election and six months after his staff promised to remove all
Brazil's campaign posters within three days after the election. But we cannot and should
not be excusing the incompetence of one elected official, because most of our so called
leadership are just as indifferent and incompetent. The indifference of our elected
officials to District laws and residents should be a national disgrace. And it isn't even
a local disgrace.
Oh what the heck, I can play the game too. District law requires campaign
posters to be removed from public space within 30 days of an election. Where are Mayor
Williams' Department of Public Works Inspectors who are required by law to write $35.00
tickets for each illegal campaign poster? Well, I tried. Sorry, but I don't feel any
better knowing that Mayor Williams and DPW are just as indifferent to District laws and
residents as Norton and Brazil.
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Your Money or Your Vote
Steve Leraris, Leraris@aol.com
I haven't seen anything in the mail regarding these bills: S. 603, http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:SN00603:
and H.R. 1193,
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.r.01193:.
They would either give DC residents full voting representation or make us exempt from
federal taxes until we get full voting representation. Is anyone contacting friends/family
in states to contact their member of congress to cosponsor, support and vote for these
bills?
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More self righteous vandalism is now blighting our city. Large Xerox
pasted notices in public space proclaim the Mayoral recall petition. I don't care whether
you support or don't support recalling the Mayor. I do care that our city is being
trashed. Posting notices in DC public space is illegal and pasting notices in DC public
space is permanent vandalism. Please tell these self righteous vandals to stop trashing
our beautiful city. Call 543-4244 and ask these vandals to please respect District laws
and respect District residents. DPW Inspectors have shown an underwhelming commitment to
writing $35.00 tickets for each illegal notice in DC public space. Want to bet that this
time, they will do their job?
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Richard Layman, writing on Boston's move to put probation officers in
patrol cars, in the March 21 issue of themail, referred readers to a website for an
article by the Manhattan Institute's City Journal. That site was “under
construction” when I visited today, but I believe I found the article in question at
the Institute's own site: http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/broken_windows.htm.
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Has Anyone Read...
Mark David Richards, Dupont East, mark@bisconti.com
The Death of White Sociology: Essays on Race and Culture, Edited
by Joyce A. Ladner (1973, Black Classic Press, Baltimore)? Back cover: “In the 1970s,
the battle for racial equality being waged in the streets and the legislatures took to the
ivory tower. Black students, researchers, and instructors had long been witness to the
distortion of their history, their communities, and their identities in the classroom and
in the field. The Black community had long borne the brut of academia's failings. But
many, like the contributors to Joyce A. Ladner's The Death of White Sociology,
took up their pens and raised their voices against miseducation and bias in social science
research. The contributors . . . — E. Franklin Frazier, Ralph Ellison, and Kenneth B.
Clark among them — laid bare the White perspective in sociology for what it was:
race-based perspectivism rather than scientific truth. They asked questions: Why were the
works of Black, thinkers in sociology and related disciplines being ignored? Why were
White researchers who defined Black people and interpreted Black experiences getting
published more easily than Black scholars? Why was Black victimization undermined and
Black criminality overblown? To help correct the situation at its roots, Black
sociologists and others in the social and behavioral sciences called for racial
integration of the research process. Some also called for Black control over Black
studies. These pioneers took the process a step further politicizing their disciplines in
order to contribute to the uplifting of their people.”
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Before Harlem There Was U Street: A Walking Tour
Scott Pomeroy, pxleyes@bellatlantic.net
Take a walk with us to the days when U Street was Washington's “Black
Broadway.” This is where Duke Ellington grew up and was inspired, where all the
musical greats played local clubs into the wee hours of the morning, where movie palaces
mingled with pool halls, restaurants, and barber shops. Here also, in the shadow of Howard
University, African Americans created a strong community that produced leaders for the
city and the nation. Saturday mornings, April through October, 10 a.m. to noon. Meet at
the Duke Ellington mural, Cardozo Shaw Metro Station, 13th and U Streets Exit. Tickets are
$12, call 232-2915 for reservations. A project of the DC Heritage Tourism Coalition and
Manna Community Development Corporation with support from the Marpat Foundation and the
Public Welfare Foundation. For information on other city walking tours call 828-WALK.
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April 7, 3-5:30 p.m., Writing Circle: “Tea with Maugham,” $20.
This month's workshop offers an opportunity to engage and explore with the British writer
W. Somerset Maugham. Together, we'll be reading and responding to his short story “The
Consul,” (Vol. 2 of the Complete Short Stories). There will be copies of the story
for everyone at the workshop, but if you have a chance, please read it beforehand. April
21, 2-5 p.m., Women with a Dream, $30. Using collage and writing, this workshop will help
you give energy to your goals and visions, gain insight into the obstacles in the way, and
gather confidence toward making your dreams manifest in your life. This is art for
non-artists; no previous arts experience is required. You'll learn how to think about your
life from an artist's perspective — to use the creative principles of gathering and
generating, clustering, evaluation, design, expressive writing, and manifesting the vision
in the world. April 28, 2-5:15 p.m., Creative Recovery: “Dancing the Weather and
Painting the Journey,” $20. This month's workshop builds upon the group themes of
self-expansion/discovery and journey that emerged through dance and writing in the March
workshop. (For a more complete description of the Creative Recovery series, please see
“Workshops” on ITA's web site: www.artsforlife.com.
All workshops are currently being held at 1836 Kenyon St. in Mt. Pleasant.
ITA (Institute for Transformation Through the Arts, Inc.) is a nonprofit that uses
arts-based programs to support the health and well-being of people and communities.
Workshop fees are tax-deductible and help to support our publications and our programs for
underserved populations. For more information about these workshops, for directions, or to
register, contact Juliet Bruce at 202-667-3766 or visit ITA's web site at http://www.artsforlife.com.
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Footlights — DC's only modern drama discussion group — meets
monthly to discuss plays from the modern theater. On Thursday, April 19, we'll discuss
“After Darwin” (1998), by Timberlake Wertenbaker. “Fascinating” (Herald),
“brilliant” (Spectator), “After Darwin” dramatizes the
development of Darwin's theory of evolution on his voyage to the Galapagos, and his
ultimately fatal conflict with the ship's devoutly religious captain — all set as a
play within a play, with an ambitious amoral actor as Darwin and a principled patrician as
the captain. Our discussion takes place 7:30-9:30 p.m. (dinner at 6:30) at Luna Books,
1633 P St., NW, three blocks east of Dupont Circle. It will feature Georgetown University
Professor John F. Haught, founder and director of the Georgetown Center for the Study of
Science and Religion and author of God After Darwin: A Theology of Evolution
(2000). You can get copies of the play at Olsson's, Politics and Prose, and Backstage
Books. For reservations E-mail gruenberg@footlightsdc.org
or call 638-0444. For general information about Footlights, visit http://www.footlightsdc.org.
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Cleveland Park Citizens Association Membership
Meeting
Isabel Furlong, isabelf@email.msn.com
CPCA meeting on Saturday, April 7, 10:15 a.m., at Cleveland Park Library,
Conn. Avenue between Newark and Maccomb Sts. NW. John Richman, Starwood Development, will
speak on plans and schedules for renovation of Mazza Buildings, 3500 block, Connecticut
Avenue. Also, special reports and updates on the Cleveland Park Commercial Overlay Debate,
the future of Rosedale, the Cathedral Tour Buses are back, redistricting, and the World
War II Memorial on the Mall. CPCA is your forum for discussion and alerts on community
issues. Join us and bring a neighbor.
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This Thursday, April 5, we host our Cherry Blossoms and Secrets of the
Mall tour. Enjoy a private walking tour where you will learn the story behind these
beautiful cherry trees, as well as other secrets and little known facts. Our tour guides
are very popular, and have a truly impressive historical knowledge of this city. This
event is followed by a reception at Palominos. 7:00 p.m., tour leaves at 7:15 p.m. sharp.
Meet at Smithsonian Metro stop on the Mall. Price: $20.
This Saturday, April 7, beginning at 8:30 p.m., is our First Night
Passover Seder. Enjoy a full Passover dinner. Over 350 people attended this last year!
This Seder offers you the opportunity to learn about this holiday with your fellow young
professionals. This Seder is both interactive and participatory, yet it is also fast and
fun. No prior Passover knowledge is required, as Cantor Singer from Adas Israel Synagogue
will explain each step as he goes along. The food provided includes matzo ball soup,
gefilte fish, sliced turkey, grilled vegetables, assorted kugels, vegetable cutlets and
stuffed peppers for the vegetarians, and dessert of macaroons and Passover cookies.
Prepaid registration ($35) is required for this event. In honor of the
Jewish holiday, we will not accept any payments at the door. Please notify us at the time
of ticket purchase if you would like our vegetarian option, or if you have special dietary
or other requirements. Also, please E-mail us if you would like to be one of the readers
or singers at this event. Congregation Har Shalom, 11510 Falls Road, Potomac, Maryland.
For directions, please visit http://www.dcyoungpro.com/events.htm
or http://www.mapquest.com/. To order, please call
686-6085 or visit www.dcyoungpro.com/tickets.htm.
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This Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Mary's Center for Maternal and Child
Care, located at the corners of Ontario Road and Kalorama Road, NW, will be holding an
open house to invite the community in to see our newly expanded space. There will be a
Reception/Silent Auction Friday April 6 from 6-8 p.m. and an Exhibit/Silent Auction
Saturday the 7th and Sunday the 8th from 12:00 p.m.-8 p.m. If you have any questions,
please contact Leslie Sargent at Mary's Center 483-8319 x306. Visit our web site at http://www.maryscenter.org.
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1,000 Voices for Children
Netta Apedoe, netta@afj.org
On Wednesday, April 18, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., DC Action for
Children will sponsor 1,000 Voices for Children at First Trinity Lutheran Church, 309 E
Street, NW. For more information, phone DC Action at 234-9404.
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CLASSIFIEDS — WANTED
Need a good home for your used, reliable equipment? Prefer some electronic
programs. E-mail with brand, asking price. ElkaBooth@aol.com.
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CLASSIFIEDS — RECOMMENDATIONS
A friend of mine is planning on trying to sell her Dupont Circle/West End
condo on her own sometime next month. Can anyone recommend a good real estate attorney to
oversee the paperwork? Does anyone have any comments/suggestions for selling property on
your own?
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CLASSIFIEDS — CITY PAPER PREVIEW
Dave Nuttycombe, webmeister@washcp.com
From washingtoncitypaper.com's LOOSE LIPS column, appearing this Friday:
TROUBLE IN PARADISE? The story goes that following a less-than-stellar performance at a
community forum, where he hadn't been given sufficient information about issues of
possible concern to residents, then-mayoral candidate Anthony A. Williams jacked up one of
his most trusted aides, got kissing-close to his face, and warned: “It's my fucking
ass on the line; get your shit together.” The moral of that tale: Williams doesn't
suffer repeated mistakes, and, when his future is at stake, all bets are off. He wraps
himself in his pragmatic politician's cape and surprises even his closest allies with his
actions.
The mayor's decision to ease out his chief of staff, Abdusalam Omer -- a colleague and
intimate friend for the past five years — shows Williams at his most pragmatic.
Anyone surprised by Omer's departure, which takes effect April 13, doesn't realize that
the mayor realizes that his “ass [is] on the line” and doesn't understand that
Williams understands that he has to shape up his operation for the championship mayoral
match — even if, so far, there aren't any major opponents.
Read the entire Loose Lips column here: http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/lips/lips.html
From washingtoncitypaper.com's CITY LIGHTS page, here are a few early
warnings for upcoming events:
FRIDAY: “Fumes” features mostly young artists, plus photographer Fred Maroon. On
view from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday to Saturday, April 21
at Decatur Blue, 919 Florida Ave. NW, 2nd Floor. Free.
THURSDAY: Charles Lewis and Bill Allison discuss their book The Cheating of America:
How Tax Avoidance and Evasion by the Super Rich are Costing the Country Billions —
and What You Can Do About It at 7 p.m. at Olsson's Books & Records, 1200 F St.
NW. Free.
More details and more critics' picks are available online at http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/pix/pix.html
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