Tying Up Threads
Dear Discussants:
I'm calling a temporary halt, after this issue, to two discussion
threads in themail. The first thread is about the Chandra Levy case.
We're still open to any discussion of the Metropolitan Police
Department's performance, particularly your personal experiences with
the MPD, but please lay off the Levy case unless you have new
information to contribute.
The second thread is discussion of themail itself, and its general
worthlessness or worthiness. It's not that I'm opposed to criticism or
praise, but a discussion forum that turns into a discussion of the
discussion forum itself is just too self-centered and tiresome. It's
navel gazing. A.A. Milne (yes, the author of the Winnie the Pooh books)
said that he wrote his classic English country-house mystery, The Red
House Mystery, because it was the kind of book he wanted to read.
Receive the kind of themail you want to read by writing it yourself, and
we'll pick up the self-referential thread after a few months.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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DC, We've got a really big problem here. If you look at the
statistics you'll see that our $300 million dollar budget that we
appropriate the MPD gets us a lot of useless spending. We have cuts in
our neighborhood protection through our PSA's, they are all low on
manpower. But Police Headquarters is well protected. Officers are pulled
out of our neighborhoods to guard an empty building in the evening. How
smart is this? Is Ramsey afraid someone will steal his eagles from the
top of the poles in front? Who approved that $200 thousand?
Unsolved murders and missing persons most of whom are probably dead
just not reported as killed. What a mess! Levy missing for 13 weeks and
they don't know any more today than they knew on May 1st. Clearly a lack
of leadership, and when you call the Chief's office to ask to speak to
him personally, you get real attitude with the remark that this office
isn't handling any calls concerning the Levey case, and I had the phone
hung up on me. What professional phone manners our $300 million gets us.
Gainer now asks like the spokesperson for the Department, as Gentile
stands by. One of could be taken off of payroll and the other one put on
the street. The real problem here is we have two acting chiefs —
Ramsey has the title, and is capable. Gainer is a wanna be, and
incapable, but has Ramsey thinking his image looks better when he speaks
for the department. What a mistake Ramsey, get Gainer out of there, set
a clear path and move the department and our city forward.
Let's not forget the botched up investigation of the first murder at
Gallaudet University. It seems like we don't hear much about this
anymore. But clearly, the University and our city suffered two deaths
due to poor police work.
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Murder of Women, Re Chandra Levy
Richard Urban, rurban@urbangrocery.com
An article in the Washington Times recently pointed out that
police had not interviewed known sex offenders in the Dupont circle
area. I recall that another young woman disappeared from 21st and R
Streets, NW, two years ago and her body was found later in the Potomac
river. (Was this case ever solved?). Also, I recall a woman was abducted
from Adams Morgan and subsequently robbed and murdered by a man who was
incorrectly paroled. The city was sued and had to pay some restitution,
if I recall correctly. And just two weeks ago, a young woman was
murdered in her apartment at 13th and O Streets, NW. Over one third of
serious crimes are committed by criminals out on parole. Should MPD not
be looking closely at known offenders, and, secondly, should we not
eliminate parole for serious crimes?
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The Chandra Levy Case
Joe Eisenmeier, jeisenm@home.com
There has been so much in the news of the search through vacant
buildings and through the park for Chandra Levy. Has there been any
thought of dredging lakes or waterways for her body? Remember the Susan
Smith case where she drove her car into the lake with her two boys in
it? If she had not spilled the beans, we still would not have known. I
think that might be a matter of serious consideration since other
searches have turned up nothing. I don't know much about any lakes in
the DC area but don't forget the surrounding areas (Alexandria and the
Baltimore Harbor are not that far away).
And how about the Riggins case here in Baltimore. He confessed to
putting his wife's body into a dumpster that he knew would go to an
incinerator to be burned. That is always another possibility. I'm just
throwing out possibilities based on other cases that have been in the
news. I feel strongly that you should give some serious thought about
the possibility that she could be in the bottom of some lake that no one
thought to look into.
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The problematic employment history of Mayor Williams's new Chief of
Staff, Kelvin Robinson, was outlined in an article by Serge Kovaleski
and Sewell Chan in Thursday's Washington Post (“Mayoral Hire
Left Last Job Amid Dispute,” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63733-2001Jul27.html).
This is just the latest example of a chain of bad — and poorly vetted
— top level appointments made by the mayor. As the Post
editorialized on Saturday (“The Mayor's Latest Staff Chief” http://http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63733-2001Jul27.html),
“The Williams administration has amassed an impressive string of
personnel disasters” and the mayor has “an uncommonly poor hiring
record.”
Although Robinson isn't scheduled to go on the payroll until August
1, he has been working out of the mayor's office since the announcement
of his appointment on July 11. Over the past two weeks, he has already
alienated a number of people at One Judiciary Square with his arrogance,
lack of knowledge of the District, and his general inexperience.
Robinson told a senior EOM staffer that Mayoral aides and Councilmembers
would soon find out “that there was a new sheriff in town.” Even
before officially assuming office, he demanded that all employees in the
Executive Office of the Mayor provide him with their resumes so that he
could personally review their backgrounds and qualifications, and he let
it be known that failure to provide resumes would be grounds for
dismissal. (Meanwhile, the Mayor's Office of Communications won't
release Robinson's own resume.)
Over the past weeks, not just the press, but also senior members of
the mayor's staff and cabinet, political and community leaders, and the
mayor's political supporters and fundraisers have openly questioned the
choice of Robinson, but now they are also asking how long he will stay
in office — or whether he will actually ever assume office. They are
also echoing the Post's doubts about the administration's
appointment process and the mayor's managerial ability.
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The Usefulness of Joint ANC-Community Task
Forces
Nicholas Kauffman, kauffman@prodigy.net
Dear Palisaders, a colleague recently brought to my attention the web
site for ANC3F (Forest Hills/North Cleveland Park). In particular, note
that ANC's formation of an ad-hoc Tree and Slope Protection Committee.
Is our ANC3D interested in forming these ad-hoc task groups to deal with
serious neighborhood issues, or relying on PCA action groups? For
example, a PCA Zoning Committee could fill critical neighborhood needs
such as tree and slope protection? If the latter is the case, we
shouldn't be seeing any diametrically opposed positions between the two
organizations, as has happened on more than one occasion. Judging from
what other community groups are doing, do we need to get our Palisades
act together a bit better?
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Beep and Weep
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aol.com
Mayor Guiliani, in the Big Apple, has undertaken what might be his
last assault on the little crimes. Over the last several years, Rudy G.
has made New York City a much nicer place to live and visit. The quality
of life for New York denizens has improved dramatically in terms of
crime reduction and cleanliness of this once very dirty city. Mayor
Guiliani got rid of the “squeegee men”" cracked down on
turnstile jumpers, precluded graffiti on subway cars by making them
graffiti proof, and ticketed litterers. The enforcement of laws that
deal with these minor crimes resulted in a whole new attitude among the
residents that has really paid off.
The Mayor’s latest initiative is to enforce the horn blowing
regulations which allow blowing one’s auto horn only in emergency
situations. Posses have staked out notorious locations, like the
entrances to the Hudson River Tunnels, where taxi drivers (and others)
seem to vent their frustrations daily by blowing their horns. These
miscreants are herded off the main roadways into mini chutes established
with traffic cones and get a summons for their folly. The first ticket
costs (hold on to your wallet) $350. The second offense will cost you
$875. Don't blow your horn in New York City.
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“The Capital Underworld” in 1932, Capital
Records in 2001, and Canetti in a DC Summer
Mark David Richards, Dupont East, mark@bisconti.com
DC has and will always be corrupt ” this gives its citizens and the
nation something to talk about. From Chapter Eight: “More [Washington]
Merry-Go-Round” (1932): “Compared with New York and Chicago,
Washington is not a wicked city. It experiences brief flashes of gang
warfare which the local press tries to play up as important. It revels
in the murder mysteries of Mary Baker, Navy Department clerk, and of
Virginia McPherson, daughter-in-law of the assistant to the Secretary of
War. It is baffled by the robbery of the Salvadorian Legation,
accomplished as a larger consignment of Scotch whisky had arrived and
was piled up in the rear garden. And it is horrified at the nocturnal
operations of more than a hundred Negro degenerates who swooped down
regularly upon the encamped Bonus Army as soon as it became dark.
Compared with the big-time racketeering of New York and Chicago all of
this probably is puerile and petty, but it plays an important and
influential part in the life of the nation’s capital. Furthermore,
Washington’s underworld has two or three distinctions of which in a
modest sort of way it can really boast. One of these is the ease of
securing immunity. The capital may witness few crimes, but in few cases
is the culprit ever brought to justice. Another distinction is the
complete and unrestrained freedom of the neighboring counties of
Maryland, where an amazing White Slave traffic, operating through a
chain of tea houses, furnishes recreation to capital residents. Finally,
Washington probably boasts more small, independent bootleggers per
capita than any other city in the country and has established a unique
and universal system of liquor distribution. . . . Police occasionally
interrupt these too-obvious law-breakers, but the great rank and file of
bootleggers and petty criminals who ply their trade in the nation’s
capital enjoy an immunity almost unsurpassed even in New York and
Chicago. This is due to three factors. The first is the influence of
Henry Mencken’s Free State of Maryland, which surrounds the District
of Columbia on three sides. The second is the natural laziness of the
capital police. The third is the prestige and pull exercised by so large
a number of those enjoying official status, a factor which makes
convictions difficult and disrupts police morale.”
Even liberals gasp at the horror: From Mother Jones, “How we got to
two million — how did the land of the free become the world’s
leading jailer?” (July 10, 2001): http://www.motherjones.com/prisons/overview.html.
DC ranked No. 1 above the fifty states for its incarceration rate and
per capita prison spending, and below the fifty states (51st) in per
capita education spending and growth in higher education spending; DC
ranked second for the greatest disparity between white and nonwhite
incarceration rates, and 40th for highest proportion of drug offenders
— see “Debt to Society,” http://www.motherjones.com/prisons/atlas.html.
Anyone have thoughts about these stats? (Thanks to Sam Smith for
pointing this out: http://emporium.turnpike.net/P/ProRev/freedc.htm
)
But here at home in DC, things actually look pretty good. Friends,
family, beautiful weather, a public pool, intriguing eyes, a good book
— summer in DC can make the ugliest things seem tolerable. Here are
some day dreams from Elias Canetti in The Human Province (1978):
1943: “Might you perhaps overestimate the transformation of others?
There are so many people who always wear the same mask, and when you try
to pull it off, you realize it’s their face.” 1961: “A city with
secret street-names; policemen tell you where you are if they trust
you.” 1968: “Too brief, too brief, too little time for the people in
the world. If he had known all of them, it would not be enough, and he
would have wanted to know more.” 1971: “Thanks to his forgetfulness,
something finally became of him.” 1972: “What one thinks daily may
not always be important. But what one has not thought daily is
tremendously important.”
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Stop Complaining about Corruption
Malcolm L Wiseman, Jr., wiseman@us.net
Geez, Gary, even Hoppy took a break from time to time! Your constant
denigration of “Washington” as the corruption capital of the country
is quite nauseating. You can't even write about something refreshing
without jabbing “Washington” as the antithesis. Who the heck is
“Washington” anyway? The people, the entire local government, the
federals, the culture, our way of life? Just who or what are your
talking about? And is it all that bad, all the time, as is your moaning?
I think not.
Anyone such as myself, who has been around the world and lived in
many places in this country, knows that corruption to some degree exists
everywhere. Even if it doesn't make the local papers, the locals know
the “dirt” and where it's hidden. The District of Columbia as I know
it, the part that is outside of the National Capital Service Area, has
no corner on the market in corruption. As a matter of fact I'd venture
to say that we're “cleaner” than many big cities, and therefore
Hoppy isn't that far away from here. As a DC native, I also know that
unhappy people all over the country, some who have never been here or
anywhere else for that matter, grouse about “Washington” because
we're here and they're there, and they don't know any better. All they
know is what the TV and the media tell them, and when the story is about
“Washington” it's normally bad news or a snipe such as your veiled
screed in themail today.
I don't buy the specious arguments of those that say they complain so
because they want to see things get better, especially if they are
mostly on the sidelines and the only thing one hears from their cheering
section is “Gripe!, Gripe!, Gripe!” There's only one very bad,
invidious fact of life in DC that has to get better, and that is our
colonial status and second-class US citizenship. This historical canker
is at the root of most of our problems governmental and otherwise,
despite the “blind-eye” of our detractors turned from it. I invite
you and others who watch DC in themail to become a part of our
solutions. You're welcome! By the way, I, for one, preferred the Lone
Ranger, an equal opportunity employer. What's more, everyone loves
Rossini's William Tell Overture!
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One of the most irritating posts to the themail in memory was Paul
Dionne's set of instructions for us on how to conduct ourselves when we
write to themail. It is not that anyone Paul is addressing is going to
modify their behavior one whit because of what Paul thinks. What bothers
me is that Paul's attitude represents, in my view, a sea change in how
some think we are supposed to conduct our public dialogue. I believe
that freedom of speech means that, apart from a few forbidden areas
(e.g., yelling fire in a crowded theater), we can all say pretty much
what we want in any way that we want to say it. The result is a
cacophony — but it is a cacophony that our founding fathers, and I,
believe is of value. What is really remarkable here is that Gary's
little sandbox is a small forum for free, unrestricted speech. Our
forefathers would be proud. And I don't think they would see any value
in the ground rules that Paul would impose upon us before we are allowed
to speak up. Paul's choices are the same that the rest of us have: 1)
skip over offending postings; or 2) or respond, as I have here. What
seems over the bounds to me is the censuring message: “don't post here
unless . . . . ” For those who think that the issue is a minor one in
a small mailing list, I'd offer the book Not Out of Africa in
which Mary Lefkowitz shows that in some college settings truth and
scholarship have been set aside because of concern that some student's
feelings might be hurt. As I said, a sea change.
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By the way, the Westerns channel is available on Comcast (District)
Cablevision digital service as well.
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School Choice: A Better Way
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aol.com
Thirty years of study shows that money is not the answer to improving
test scores in inner city schools. There is just no correlation between
per pupil spending and test scores. The most famous demonstration of
this lack of correlation is the Kansas City experiment which resulted in
the expenditure of over $2 BILLION to build fifteen state-of-the-art
schools and to reduce class sizes to a mere thirteen students per class.
The money, spent over a period from 1985 to 1997 resulted in no
measurable test score improvement and, in fact, Kansas City schools have
now lost their accreditation. If money isn't the answer, what is?
Vouchers provide choice. And choice works in improving the test
scores of those permitted to choose private, established schools.
Vouchers, unfortunately, are looked upon as the educational equivalent
of food stamps. Another way to get choice has been promoted by Lawrence
Reed, President of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Reed proposes
tax credits (not deductions) that directly reduce the taxes owed. The
amount of tax credit would be up to one half the community public school
per pupil spending level. That amount, it is estimated, would cover
educational expenses at 90 percent or more of private schools. Now here
is a proposal that just might catch on that will allow our kids to get
their choice of schools that can provide a decent education and a real
increase in test scores.
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Illinois House Committee Supports DC Voting
Rights in Congress
Patrick Pellerin, pellerin@verizon.net
At the request and suggestion of U.S. Representative Ray Browne
(D-Shadow), the Elections and Campaign Reform Committee of the Illinois
House of Representatives has favorably reported out a resolution
encouraging all state legislatures to support a vote in the U.S Congress
for DC citizens. This resolution is part of a continuing effort by
Representative Browne to gather support nationwide for a vote for DC
residents in the U.S. Congress. Similar resolutions were passed by the
Philadelphia and Chicago city councils based on meetings with
Representative Browne and he will soon be visiting with the Boston city
council asking for their support as well.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
DC Independent Media Center presents “Corrections,” featuring a
special Director Discussion with Ashley Hunt plus a panel of other
guests on Tuesday, July 31, at 7 p.m. at Visions Cinema/Bistro/Lounge,
1927 Florida Avenue, NW. Admission $6.
“Corrections” is a story of justice turned to profit, where the
war on crime has found new investors: venture capital and for-profit
prisons, this is the story of the private prison. At a time when the US
has achieved the highest rate of imprisonment in the world — at a cost
of $40 billion a year — with statistics that tell us 1-in-4 African
American men are under correctional supervision, the U.S. public is
slowly awakening to an unprecedented crisis of mass incarceration. This
crisis is also the source of booming profits for a growing number of
corporations, government agencies, unions and officials who invest
heavily in keeping the crisis going, no matter what the social,
political or economic costs to the public. For more information see: http://dc.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=10344&group=webcast.
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“U Street” Streetscape Project Community
Forum
Gloria Hood, ghood@mannadc.org
A community forum is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 9th at 7:00 p.m.
(6:30 for refreshments) to discuss the planned “U Street”
Streetscape project. The forum will be held at the True Reformer
Building, John Langford Auditorium, located at 1200 U Street, NW, on the
2nd floor. Share your vision for “U Street” with the steering
committee and architectural team. Please RSVP by E-mail reply or call
Gloria Robinson at 232-2915.
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Ward 6 ANC Redistricting
Charles Burger, Caburger@msn.com
The Ward 6 ANC Redistricting Task Force would like to invite the
public to its first general meeting on July 30th at 6:30 p.m. at the
Tiber Island Community Center (Tiber Island Coop) at 429 N Street, SW.
We will have informational presentations from ANC2D and ANC6B to better
understand how our existing ANC's operate. Our second meeting is planned
for August 13th, with the location to be announced. If you have any
questions please contact Chuck Burger, Chair of the Task Force, at
543-7336 or caburger@msn.com.
###############
Opportunity to Comment on Draft DCPS Strategic
Plan
Clacey, dcvoice@dcvoice.org
DC Voice is sponsoring an information session on the draft DCPS
Business Plan for Strategic Reform on Monday, August 6, at 5:30 p.m. The
session will be held at the Public Welfare Foundation, 1200 U Street,
NW, First Floor, Charles and Claudia Marsh Board Room. The session will
feature a presentation by Dr. Steven Seleznow, Chief of Staff for the
Superintendent of Schools.
We urge you to attend this important session to learn about plans for
the future of our schools and to give your feedback on the Plan before
it is finalized in mid-August. Please RSVP to DC Voice, 986-8535, or dcvoice@dcvoice.org.
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The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (WASA)
invites you to attend an upcoming public information meeting to discuss
its draft Long Term Control Plan (LTCP) for the city’s combined sewer
system. The proposed $1.05 billion LTCP is designed to reduce Combined
Sewer Overflows (CSOs) that discharge to Rock Creek, Potomac and
Anacostia Rivers. Residents will learn the benefits of the draft LTCP
for area waterways and the impact of the plan on their water and sewer
rates. All meetings will begin at 6 p.m. and will be held at the
following locations:
Wed., August 1, Kellogg Conference Center, 7420 Georgia
Avenue, NW; Gallaudet University, 800 Florida Avenue, NW; Tues., August
7, Mount Pleasant Library, 3160 16th Street, NW; Thurs., August 9,
Georgetown Library, 403 7th Street, SE; Tues., August 14, Anacostia
Branch Library, 1800 Good Hope Road, SE; Wed., August 15, Shepherd Park
Library, 800 Florida Avenue; Wed., August 22, Southeast Library, 3260 R
Street, NW; Thurs., August 23, Washington Highlands Library, 115
Atlantic Street, SW; Tues., August 28, Tenley-Friendship Library, 4450
Wisconsin Avenue, NW; Wed., August 29, Capitol View Library, 5001
Central Avenue, SE.
Light refreshments will be served. A copy of the LTCP
can be obtained at www.dcwasa.com
and can be reviewed at the following public libraries: Martin Luther
King Jr., Shepherd Park, Capitol View, Tenley-Friendship, Mount
Pleasant, Washington Highlands, Northeast, Woodridge, Southeast. For
more information, contact Dr. Mohsin Siddique at 202-787-2634 or via
E-mail: mohsin_siddique@dcwasa.com.
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CLASSIFIEDS — FOR SALE
For sale, bunk bed, very sturdy, bright red metal, integral ladder,
good condition, $90. kdmclynn@starpower.net.
###############
Congressional Black Caucus, DC Business
Showcase
Arthur Jackson, jacksonahjgroup@aol.com
D.C. area businesses are needed to help sponsor a Networking Showcase
at the US Congressional Black Caucus Conference, September 25 and 26. We
are hosting an daily open house at the 26th Annual conference of the
Congressional Black Caucus to encourage Caucus support for D.C.-based
business and we're seeking volunteers to serve as hostesses and
greeters. For more information, E-mail ahjgroup@earthlink.net
or call Mr. Mitchell at 508-1059. Earlier this month, the AHJ Group
announced a campaign to increase certified DC-based small, minority, and
women owned business in our city. Thanks to themail, we've been
over-flooded. And we will try to assist every business.
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CLASSIFIEDS — RECOMMENDATIONS
I'm tackling a home improvement project and need to find a few good
contractors; I was hoping for the wisdom of this group. We need to find:
(1) a roofer; (2) a gutter cleaner/repairer; (3) floor work on our
basement, to replace wall-to-wall carpet with either tile or, even
better, sand and polish the existing concrete.
Obviously I need this done sooner rather than later, particularly
fixing the leaky roof! Our house is over 100 years old and is a downtown
townhouse, so in general I'd prefer to work with contractors who have
experience and sensitivity to old-house issues (ancient slate roofs, in
particular) Many thanks for any leads. I will compile a summary for this
list.
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