There’s Politics
Dear Politicos:
Normally, after so many issues of themail that have been so heavily
political, I would be calling for a respite, and begging for someone to
write about something else. But it is just a month until the primary
election, and we'll all have to bear up for a little while longer. There
are a number of races and a lot of candidates who still haven't been
mentioned in themail, either positively or negatively, yet. What's the
best reason you have to vote for or against anybody who is either on or
off the ballot?
By the way, is this the best time for me to announce that I'm running
for mayor, or should I wait until after I've finished changing my name
to “None of the Above?”
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
###############
I learned and sang the song, "Washington, the Fairest City in
the Greatest Land of All" in the third grade at Phoebe Hearst
Elementary School in Washington, DC. I am now 58 years old and still
remember all of the words to the song, which is what prompted me to look
it up on the Internet [http://www.dcwatch.com/gary/gary9910.htm#washington].
Does anyone else know it?
###############
Fixed the Problem, Now Fix the Blame
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aol.com
Now that the DC Appeals Court has upheld the Board of Elections'
ruling that there were serious violations and crimes committed in
collecting signatures on Mayor Williams primary campaign petitions, it
is timely for the DC prosecutor to punish those who put the mayor in the
hole he is in. Even the embarrassed and outraged Mayor Williams should
be calling for the heads of those who sabotaged the Mayor's attempt to
get on the primary ballot as a Democratic candidate. The affidavit on
the bottom of every petition form is most clear that those collecting
signatures must have witnessed every signature and that the petition
collector is a registered voter who lives at the address he signs in at.
The penalties for fraud and abuse are very clear. Just below the
signature block is this statement: “WARNING: If you sign this
statement even though you know it is untrue, you can be convicted and
fined up to $10000 and/or jailed for up to five years.”
If we are to prevent these south Chicago shady shenanigans in future
elections here in DC, then we should go after the perps (there's a
mountain of hard evidence) and jail those folks (Bishops, et al.) for
fraud and election abuse. The Mayor has the opportunity to do something
proactive here. Let's see if he does.
###############
Tony the Bow-tied, Two-faced, Paranoid, Great
Satan? Give Me a Break!
Len Sullivan, lsnarpac@bellatlantic.net
From my viewpoint, the longer and more bitter the tirades against
DC's mayor become, the less credible themail's reporting appears. While
its initial probe into registration irregularities made good
watchdogging, trying to turn the mayor into the Ultimate Evil is
somewhere between irrational and sick. Anyone who reads the appeal by
the mayor's lawyers to the BoEE will find they have several reasonable
arguments, quite in keeping with the current US legal system and the
right of appeal. There is nothing duplicitous about the mayor's legal
team trying to make the case that he was certified as having more than
the minimum required valid signatures, and that the Board strayed from
sound legal practice by overriding it.
To deride the mayor two weeks ago, our philosophic leader used a
quote from Hofstadter to the effect that people who can't differentiate
between treason and "a comedy of errors or a museum of
incompetence" have a worrisome paranoid imagination. But this seems
to apply more to the accusers than to the mayor. Have I missed the
issues of 'themail' in which the actions and motivations of the Bishop
clan were exhaustively vetted? Does anyone honestly believe they were
hired to generate fake signatures/affidavits? If not an act of
incomprehensible familial stupidity, who would benefit from jeopardizing
the mayor's reelection campaign? Why not suspect sabotage? There's
plenty of other slander going on. Election 'dirty tracks' are a fact of
American political life. Has themail (or any of the media) done anything
to demonstrate that the Bishop clan is moronic rather than demonic?
Looks to me like this watchdog howls but won't hunt!
[Today, the DC Court of Appeals found that the Mayor's legal argument
was wrong on every count. The decision is available at http://www.dcwatch.com/election2002/williams14.htm.
The Board of Elections and Ethics has already made several referrals to
the US Attorney for criminal investigation and possible prosecution.
Some of those referred are undoubtedly villains and some (the younger
Bishops and Ann Lewis) are more victims than villains. But the US
Attorney's office is the right place to conduct a real investigation. It
has ability to offer immunity and plea bargains in exchange for
testimony, and may therefore be able to discover what really went on in
the Williams campaign. In the meantime, anyone who claims that the
Mayor's campaign was sabotaged by the vast anti-Tony-wing conspiracy has
a responsibility to suggest who was involved and how they slipped those
fraudulent petitions past the innocent, duped campaign officials and
candidate. I could spend my time hunting down the sabotage conspiracy,
but I'd be more likely to be successful hunting for Bigfoot in Rock
Creek Park. — Gary Imhoff]
###############
The Mayor’s House
John Whiteside, john at logancircle dot net
I'm sick of hearing the mayor criticized for not owning his home. The
implication seems to be that if you don't own your home, you're not
really involved in the city. That snobbish sentiment is a slap in the
face to the many DC residents who rent their homes. Aren't they real
Washingtonians? I guess those who lack the inclination or financial
resources to purchase a home in this overheated real estate market
should be considered second-class citizens — at least according to a
number of themail readers.
Of course, we can criticize the mayor for being dumb on this count.
Had he bought a home when he took office, it would probably have
increased significantly in value. Of course, then we'd have to nail him
for making money off of gentrification.
###############
When people talk to me about Mayor Anthony Williams' administration,
they keep telling me: “Well at least he's not Marion Barry.” The
implication is that things are better under Williams. Tell that to a
friend of mine who has lived and worked on Capitol Hill for years. One
of the local homeless people threatened her life after she objected to
his p***ing and s***ing on her property. The US Attorney won't touch the
case because it's not high profile. The police won't arrest him. She
appealed for help to the offices of both Mayor Anthony Williams and
Councilmember Sharon Ambrose, but they did nothing. She is afraid for
her life so after all these years of living with a dysfunctional city
government, she is going to move out. Living under the Barry
administration did not drive her out. But Williams did. This perfectly
sums up the state of the District. Local residents who work for a living
live in fear while the thugs reign.
Another incident also sums up the state of the city. A while ago,
there was a fire in SE Capitol Hill. Both of the hose trucks at the
neighborhood fire station were in the shop. So the firemen had to use a
garden hose to douse the flames.
[I apologize for the censorship of the above vulgarities; I'm
constitutionally against it. But more and more corporations, and a few
individuals, are using message blocking software that is dumb and
inflexible, and that bounces back issues of themail with more than the
mildest curse words. — Gary Imhoff]
###############
Public Actions Are an Indicator of Private
Conduct
Larry Seftor, Larry_Seftor@compuserve.com
Marquais Smith complains that critics of Mayor Williams carp about a
legal “formality” when we should be looking at his overall
performance. The same logic, of course, could be applied to many
politicians. As attractive as it sounds, this reasoning is flawed.
Although public figures have a public role, the majority of their
actions, in fact, are conducted in private. We don't know how Mayor
Williams conducts the business of mayor in his private sessions. We
don't know how he selects nonpublic staff to do his work. We don't know
the type of guidance he provides and we don't know how he checks the
work that is being done in his name by his office. The result is that
actions that might have significant and long term consequences, albeit
with no immediate impact, are hidden from us. The only way we can judge
his competence to perform is to examine, under a microscope, his public
actions. Collecting signatures for a petition may seem mundane, but it
is a test that we in the electorate have a right and a responsibility to
use as we judge the suitability of candidates for office.
Incidentally, I love Marquais Smith's term “formality.” It is
perfect for that pesky law that one just feels that one should not have
to obey. We should all remember it for that next time that we are put
out by, for example, a traffic law, or a building code, or any other of
those inconvenient laws.
###############
A Disappointing Campaign Poster from James
Clark
Bob Summersgill, summersgill@yahoo.com
I just saw a rather disappointing campaign poster from one of the
four Democratic candidates for Mayor who managed to collect 2000 valid
signatures. It speaks for itself:
James Clark
Mayor
A Strong Mayor for Black Citizens
DC Government Jobs for Black Citizens
Say No to Campaign Forgery
Williams is a Stooge for White Ward 3
###############
Before You Vote, Visit Candidate for Mayor’s
Web Site
Sharon Clifton, ccadadc2@aol.com
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/election/candidate/?year=2002&state=DC&id=137058.
Visit Arthur H. Jackson for Mayor.
###############
Redistricting and Voting
Gregory Ferrell, Ferrell56@aol.com
Recently many voters who were redistricted into other wards have
discovered that the Board of Elections has failed to informed the voters
as to where they should vote. In Ward Six, the Board has deleted from
the voters list the names of all registered voters on the west side of
19th Street from C Street to the 600 block. The west side of 19th Street
is still a part of Ward Six. Along with the current corruption in our
election process, the Ward redistricting will cause many voters to be
hindered from voting.
Also, how can the Mayor issue stamps to voters with his name for a
write-in election? I was under the impression that write in votes are
those who wrote the name of a person and that voter's signatures
distinguish that voter's vote from others. With a preprinted stamp with
Anthony Tony Williams name on it, how can we the citizens be assured
that the vote cast is from one individual voter and not the same person?
###############
Mayor Williams and the DMV
Faith Williams, faithmw@yahoo.com
I did find my renewal of license and registration to be the easiest
ever. People were pleasant. I have used to good effect the ombudsperson
to get hold of numbers that were not responding. My quality of life on
the whole has gone up under Mayor Williams's regime.
He does seem ignorant about politics, but I don't really mind that.
###############
The DMV Inspection Station
Alan Abrams, Tacoma DC, awabrams@starpower.net
Re: Pete Ross's message on the DMV Inspection Station. Once again,
with or without the cameras, DC does not have to maintain and staff this
expensive facility; rather it should delegate vehicle inspections to the
private sector. It should license local service stations so citizens can
have inspections performed in their own neighborhoods. Repairs, when
needed, could then be performed on the spot, instead of requiring extra
trips for repair and reinspection. Plus local businesses would get a
boost.
This issue goes to a core problem of the District government: failure
to delegate responsibility wisely.
###############
Change of Address at the DMV
Annie McCormick, amccormick@itic.org
I went this morning at 9:30 to the Courthouse to get my driver's
license changed to reflect my new address. The form was a little
confusing, as it stated “renewal” or “duplicate,” and then right
underneath that question it stated “is the renewal or duplicate a
result of change of address” and then further down “Do you have a
current license and for what state.” Does a duplicate mean you have
lost your license and need a replacement or that you can actually carry
around two licenses?
I managed to get out of there in an hour. The operator even asked me
if I wanted a number different from my SS#, to which I stated yes, and
she made it so. She said I could ask the photographer if my old photo
was on file to use it (it was not). The downsides: 1) I have gained some
weight and when I filled out the form to reflect that, my new license
came back with my weight of four years ago 2) The DMV stated that
licenses are now good for five years, yet when I got mine it showed it
was good for four years, although the new license expires on my
birthday, which is a good way to do it. 3) Even though I am an organ
donor, I do not see where that is noted. All in all, I'd give the
experience a B+.
###############
Strange Occurrences at the DMV Inspection
Station (Part 2)
Pete Ross, peteross@prodigy.net
As a Democratic Candidate for Shadow Senator, I continued to campaign
at the inspection station on August 5 and 6. 1) Mr. Fuller (an employee
of the DMV) came from the DMV in his truck and parked it on I Street
(close to Delaware Avenue), blocking the inspection line and causing
cars in the inspection line behind his truck to have to pull dangerously
into oncoming traffic to get around his parked truck. When I suggested
to him to move his truck across the street, he told me to mind my own
business. Using my cell phone in his presence, I called 911 to report
this dangerous situation. He then decided to park his truck on the other
side of I Street.
2) At approximately 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, August 6, I noted Mr. King (a
manager at the DMV inspection station) talking and joking with seven DMV
employees and three police officers for twenty minutes at the corner of
I and Delaware Streets, SW, which is two blocks from the DMV. I went to
Mr. King and suggested that he and the other seven DMV employees assist
residents in line waiting to have their cars inspected. The group
disbanded and began to provide assistance to customers waiting to have
their cars inspected. 3) Five minutes later, Officer Carroll (Badge
#1800) told me that I should not campaign as I had been (in the same
manner as all of the other candidates) because I was creating a traffic
hazard. Many political candidates campaign and get petitions signed at
the DMV inspection station. I was campaigning in the same manner as the
other candidates who were there on Tuesday, August 6, and in the exact
same manner as other candidates have campaigned at the DMV station for
many years. I spoke to twelve other political candidates who have
campaigned in the same manner as I have, and none of them has ever been
told to stop doing what I was doing at the DMV station.
The moral of this story is that if people point out shortcomings at
the DMV Inspection station, they can expect police harassment.
###############
Quite possibly the most prominent and influential African American
government official here in Washington is Justice Clarence Thomas
[mentioned in posting by Marquais Smith in the last issue of themail]. I
think the following new article about him is educational: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23641-2002Jul30.html
As welfare benefits are now running out for many of us here in DC,
the following excerpt seems worth noting: "If there's anything
America knows about Justice Clarence Thomas's sister, it's that he once
singled her out publicly as an illustration of what welfare dependence
can foster. She is so dependent, Thomas told The Washington Post
in 1980, “she gets mad when the mailman is late with her welfare check
. . . What's worse is that now her kids feel entitled to the check, too.
They have no motivation for doing better or getting out of that
situation” (ME: or for demanding long overdue legal reforms that
bloated bureaucracies still predictably resent).
Meanwhile, where official favors overtly benefiting ANY race are
concerned, the article quotes Justice Thomas as saying “[t]here can be
no doubt that racial paternalism and its unintended consequences can be
as poisonous and pernicious as any other form of discrimination. (Adarand
Constructors v. Pena).” (ME: such as using photogenic African American
temporary beneficiaries of wasteful government programs to make
altruistic reformers somehow seem racist). Justice Thomas is certainly
not without his controversies. Those who reject the notion of a
necessarily big government amidst our record high $6 trillion dollar
national debt (http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opdpenny.htm)
often spark a lot of debate and even anger, in fact. It's hard not to
appreciate how he has kept in mind Malcolm X's clever insights as
communicated in his early 1960's speech “The Ballot or the Bullet”
however. Malcolm said “if one political party is your enemy then the
other doesn't have to try nearly as hard to be your friend.” How does
that sound? I wonder if I'm the ONLY one who has noticed that none of
the DEMOCRATS' presidential or vice presidential candidates for 2004 is
African American. Perhaps Justice Thomas realizes some things that some
of us still try to deny?
###############
Quick Response
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aoldotcom
Last week I called George Washington University to report a safety
hazard at the school on Foxhall Road at the intersection of Whitehaven
Parkway. GWU had placed some temporary signs on the northwest corner
advertising a summer tennis camp. Unfortunately that corner is a very
hazardous corner in the morning and evening travel hours. It is a very
dicey proposition getting northbound onto Foxhall from Whitehaven since
cars are coming south very quickly and down a blind curve. The GWU signs
merely exacerbated the problem. A day and a half after a call to the
Safety folks at GWU resolved the problem. They moved the signs to where
they have no impact on visibility North or South.
Interestingly, though, the morning after I called in the problem to
GWU there was a cop with a radar gun lurking behind those very signs to
catch early morning speeders on this 25 MPH road. As usual I was closely
tailed by someone with a cell phone in one hand making frustrating and
rude gestures with the other hand. That morning I surely saved a few
folks from getting a ticket.
###############
In her recent post to themail, Councilmember Patterson explained that
she believes that term limits restrict the right to vote and violate the
Constitution. It might be instructive for Ms. Patterson to realize that
the Constitution itself authorizes term limits for the presidency under
the 22nd Amendment, Section 1 -- so I doubt that the District's attempt
at the same would be deemed unconstitutional.
###############
Term Limits: A Rejoinder to Councilmember
Patterson
Lars Hydle, Larshhydle@aol.com
It's true that Council Member Patterson correctly voted in 1995, her
first year in office, against raising the campaign contribution limits
imposed by the voters in Initiative #41; that she opposed term limits in
her 1994 campaign and since; that the limitation on more than two
consecutive terms would not have taken effect until 2004 or, if she were
reelected this time, not until 2006 for her. Still I must take issue
with her statement that “had the matter been put to voters, I believe
term limits would have been overturned.” I know of no evidence that
the voters had changed their minds since imposing term limits in 1994,
or even that Councilmembers thought they had. When the Council Committee
on Government Operations held hearings on the term limits repeal bill in
March 2001, 30 witnesses testified against the bill, only two for it.
Nine Council members, including Patterson, voted against Councilmember
Fenty's amendment making the bill a charter amendment that would have
had to be approved by the voters, which indicates that they did not want
to find out what the voters thought.
Patterson's statement that it would have been irresponsible “to
'punt' the issue back to the voters in a costly special election” is
extremely lame since it was the Council who chose to bring up repeal in
2001 even though term limits would not take effect until 2004; if they
respected the voters but wanted to avoid extra costs, they could have
brought it up this year so that the vote would have been during the
primary or the general election.
Councilmembers should be particularly reticent about overturning
voter initiatives when they have such a blatant conflict of interest,
and are the principal beneficiaries of their own actions. They should
show more respect to DC voters, their own constituents, than the
Congress does. Councilmember Patterson is right that the voters have
“term limited” Councilmembers in recent years by defeating them in
regular elections. Ward 3 voters can, and should, do that to her this
year.
###############
Richard and Natalie: I am part of the Friendship Heights group that
is vigorously opposing the proposed development for the Washington
Clinic site (FhORD), and I just read your thoughtful comments on this
issue posted to themail. Of course the concept of Transit Oriented
Development makes sense, and I believe in it. It doesn't mean, though,
that high-rises should be built within 2500 feet of every Metro station
in DC. If it does mean that, lots of us should sell our houses and move
now. The key question is how much increased density makes sense,
especially when the transit stations are in well established, stable
neighborhoods. Too much density, too much height, no preserved green
space, no integration with the neighborhood, etc., will destabilize the
neighborhood, and is not smart. The Chair of the Zoning Commission, in
fact, said that she was on the Mayor's task force on Transit Oriented
Development, and that this Application is NOT an example of Transit
Oriented Development, by a far cry, but instead is simply “give us
more density.”
I urge you to focus on the facts, and then to carefully weigh the
issue of this development in this neighborhood. The land is currently
zoned at the highest level of any residential land in Tenleytown to
Friendship Heights. It is part of Ward 3 in DC, not Friendship Heights
Maryland or Ballston. As a matter of right development, under current
law, on the Washington Clinic site (just less than 1 acre) a developer
could build 76 or so apartments or 30-40 town homes, which is the
typical urban infill development for this sort of land. All of the New
Urbanism and Smart Growth literature talks about getting communities to
accept "dense" housing, usually around 40 units/acre. This
density is as high or higher than the maximum residential density
planned for the new Takoma plan. Our community would not oppose
matter-of-right development. Further, matter-of-right development would
support the DC tax base as much as the proposed rental apartment
building, plus it would encourage longtime DC residents, like me, to
stay.
I am not a NIMBY, and I don't oppose reasonable development -- within
the law and integrated with the character of the neighborhood, even if
considerably more dense than the neighborhood. There are developers who
strongly agree with this, and who are salivating over the opportunity to
do such development on this beautiful piece of land. If Friendship
Heights DC is destined to become like Friendship Heights Maryland, and I
am destined to live in the shadow of a high rise or behind its parking
lot, I am moving. It just can't be the case that, as this developer
argues, if you live in DC within a 1/2 mile of a Metro station, you
can't have a reasonable expectation that zoning laws will be complied
with --- or changed through a public planning process, not through
“spot zoning” of one private parcel. I urge you to consider the
facts, and to read our material at FHORD.org.
###############
Friendship Heights Development
Richard Layman, richlaymandc@yahoo.com
I should have said specifically in what I wrote, that I didn't mean
that a Ballston-type development was necessarily appropriate on that
piece of land. On the other hand, six new row houses near the Tenleytown
Metro, instead of more, seems to make little sense. I agree in the need
for green space, but often, and I think this pertains to Takoma Park,
the urban area can handle more buildings. I will say that apartment
buildings on Connecticut Avenue seem to do okay, and that a development
like that directly on a major arterial road, close to Metro, is likely
to reduce the number of cars that would normally come from 200+
apartments, and it maybe isn't such a bad thing — it may not have the
same kind of impact on a neighborhood of single family homes and town
homes that you believe.
As you know better than I, there are a number of high rises on
Wisconsin Avenue in the Maryland part of Friendship Heights. I still
think we have to watch out for exceptionalism. In my neighborhood, I
have pointed out that the parking lot on the corner of my block could be
appropriately developed as a mixed-use taller building, even though such
development could impinge upon my property, particularly with regard to
sun. Nonetheless, if I believe in the general principles I espoused in
that post, then I have to mention that, so as to not be hypocritical.
Nonetheless, you have done a great job with your website.
###############
Who the Tree People Really Are
Sheila Hogan, shogan@caseytrees.org
We would like to address a comment made by Lea Adams in an August 4
post entitled “Tree People” claiming that no DC youth were involved
in the DC Trees Inventory project. GCA Casey Trees understands the value
of fostering leadership qualities in DC’s youth and is committed to
this goal. The assertion that GCA Casey Trees has no local students
participating in the DC Tree Inventory is simply inaccurate. The DC
Trees Inventory has been an extraordinary success, largely due to the
more than 450 volunteers who committed their time and effort to make it
happen. Every day 28-35 teams comprised of adult volunteers and/or DC
public high school students hit the DC streets to assess the health and
condition of street trees, with each team covering 100-plus trees per
day. The teams were under the leadership and supervision of a university
intern chosen from a nationwide pool of talented students, and were
selected for their perceived ability to make the final call with regard
to species identification, disease diagnosis, site and soil analysis,
and other technical decisions.
With regard to DC youth, we trained and supervised 22 public high
school students hired through the Department of Employment Service’s
“Passport to Work” program, as well as 15 local youth participating
in the Earth Conservation Corps' Eagle Corps program. They learned an
enormous amount through participating in the DC Trees Inventory project
— from tree biology and science to the “latest and greatest” in
GIS data collection and environmental analysis technology. These local
youth also contributed a great deal to the DC Trees Inventory — both
by way of assisting with the tree and site analysis, and by facilitating
communications with residents of their home neighborhoods.
I invite you, Ms. Adams, and all the readers of themail who are
concerned about restoring and enhancing the District's tree canopy, to
join GCA Casey Trees, Urban Forestry Administration, USDA Forest Service
and community leaders to an August 15th presentation celebrating the
finale of our Street Tree Inventory at the National Building Museum.
This presentation will inform you of the process, results, and next
steps of the Tree Inventory project. The program will also focus on
recognition of all the participants, paid or volunteer, local or not,
young or old, who contributed to this effort of unprecedented scale.
(For details on the August 15, 2002, Street Tree Inventory Finale and
for more information on GCA Casey Trees, please visit www.caseytrees.org.)
###############
Tree People: We’re Not All Blonde Teenagers
from Montana
Lorie Leavy, lleavy@email.usps.gov
As a community volunteer for the DC tree inventory being conducted by
the Casey Trees Endowment Fund, I wanted to respond to Lea Adams’
posting and correct her mistaken impression about “tree people.” My
understanding is that teams have most typically consisted of one college
intern assisted by one or two adult community volunteers and/or DC high
school students (or, in some cases, AmeriCorps or EagleCorps
volunteers). I don’t know the number of high school students who have
participated, but I was told by one of the interns I worked with that
most have been bright, involved, and extremely helpful. Like the adult
volunteers, they received several hours of classroom training plus a
half-day of instruction in the field in preparation for this summer’s
inventory of street trees. Casey Trees had the option of contracting out
the inventory work to professional arborists, but they intentionally
structured the project to include teenage and adult volunteers in order
to develop a base of expertise and commitment that would remain in the
community after the inventory was completed.
As for the condescension Ms. Adams thought she detected, I can only
offer that from my own experience the best response to curious (and
sometimes hostile) inquiries has been to keep it short. With 200-300
trees to survey in a day’s work, there just isn’t time to give
in-depth explanations to the many questions received, so sometimes the
responses might sound a little canned or simplistic.
###############
August is District of Columbia Voting Rights
Month in Hawaii
Mark David Richards, Dupont East, mark@bisconti.com
Statehood Shadow Representative Ray Browne (DC), in his effort to
demonstrate national support for equal Congressional voting rights for
DC, has secured a Proclamation from the Governor of Hawaii, as follows:
“Whereas, the right to self-government through the election of
representatives to the national legislature is a fundamental
characteristic of a free people and the founding principle of the United
States; and Whereas the citizens of the District of Columbia willingly
accept the burdens of United States citizenship, paying higher taxes per
capita than the citizens of all but one state, serving in every American
war and being among the first to be called to serve in the war against
terrorism; and Whereas the District of Columbia contains over 500,000
citizens who pay approximately five billion dollars annually in local
tax revenues, plus 2.5 billion dollars in federal taxes; and Whereas,
Washington, DC's local budget is paid for by its taxpayers despite the
fact that 41 percent of its land is used by the federal government and
cannot be taxed, and services provided to the federal government are not
reimbursed except under extraordinary circumstances; and Whereas the
United States Congress can override any local ordinance or resolution
passed by the District of Columbia City Council; and Whereas, the
citizens of the District of Columbia are denied their rights to full and
effective representation in the United States Congress, where they are
represented by a single, nonvoting delegate in the House of
Representatives and have no delegate in the Senate; and Whereas the
people of Hawaii urge the United States Congress to recognize and
guarantee to the District of Columbia's citizens their fundamental right
to voting representation; Now therefore, I, Benjamin J. Cayetano,
Governor of the State of Hawaii, do hereby proclaim August, 2002, to be
District of Columbia Voting Rights Month in Hawaii, and join citizens
across the nation in supporting this important issue. Done, at the State
Capitol, in the Executive Chambers, Honolulu, State of Hawaii, this
sixteenth day of July, 2002.” (Note: The Governor's current residence
is at Washington Place in Honolulu — see http://firstlady.state.hi.us/washingtonplace.htm.)
Recall that after Congress passed the 23rd Amendment on June 16,
1960, granting DC the right to vote for Presidential electors equal to
the smallest state, Hawaii (which had become a state in August 1959) was
the first state to ratify the DC amendment on June 23, 1960. In fact,
Republicans and Democrats in that state rushed to beat the other to
support DC first! As a state that is multiethnic with a nonwhite
majority, Hawaii understands DC's situation from a unique perspective.
It supported DC statehood in 1993. DC is lucky to have a loyal
state/friend like Hawaii — thank you Hawaii! http://starbulletin.com/1999/10/18/special/story4.html
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Meet and Greet Kathy Patterson
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aol.com
Kathy Patterson will meet the folks from AU Park on Wednesday evening
beginning at 7 p.m. The event will be held at 4743 Massachusetts Avenue,
NW (diagonally across Mass. Ave. from Crate and Barrel). Bring your
issues and questions and please RSVP to 244-6808.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — SERVICES
Need Help With Your Computer Needs At Home Or
In The Office?
Nick Chang, nick@embassy.org
PC hardware/software installation and upgrades; maintenance,
troubleshooting and network support; Back-up and archive your files and
E-mail on CD-ROM; setup computer network for the small office; build
customized database in Access or other programs; web training and web
page development; Reasonable rates. Excellent references.
237-0130.
###############
DC-Based Small, Women, and Minority Business
Wanted!
Bob Steinberg, ahjgroup@earthlink.net
Government contracts totaling more than $200 million will be issued
in the next six months. Your business can acquire certification as a
LSDBE Business. Ask about business plans and marketing. Contact The AHJ
Group 271-5522.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — FOR SALE
Pottery Barn Melrose style (summer bed and bath catalog, p. 61, or
look it up online). Brand new, in box (slight defect, long story) Reg.
$220.00, sell for $175.00 (or trade for my own “redneck boy toy”!)
###############
Huge Multifamily Block Sale
Christina Gaspar, dcgaspar@yahoo.com
Bargain bonanza! Saturday, August 10, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., 3700 block
of Warren Street, NW. Furniture, toys, books, CDs, tons of housewares
and small home appliances, clothes (lots with tags), electronics, and
more.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — FREE
We have recently completed a household move, and have available free
to a new home (preference will be given to a destination within the
District!) dozens of nearly new moving boxes. The greatest number are of
book size, which we found to be far and away the most useful, but there
are also numerous other larger sized boxes which are convenient for
bulkier, less dense items.
I'll also take this opportunity to give a plug for Liberty Movers.
They are a local outfit composed of off-duty District firemen. They were
courteous, quick, and we ended up with not a scratch or a single broken
item (though the same could not be said for the male head of household,
who promptly broke a plate on the kitchen floor!). Though not
inexpensive, their charge was quite reasonable, and we think they were a
very good value. Contact Jim Reilly at Liberty Movers, 301-607-8231.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — RECOMMENDATIONS
Looking for a Good Dog Trainer
Faith Williams, faithmw@yahoo.com
Our dog Ms Ruby yaps horribly at the sight of other dogs. A trainer
in Colorado says she's afraid; this may be true, but her fear includes
the tiniest dogs you can imagine. Also, at the adoption fair where we
found her, she was completely relaxed and calm looking amid many dogs. I
know dog trainers are really people trainers, but we're not barking.
Will anyone with suggestions please E-mail me at faithmw@yahoo.com,
or call at 362-0189?
###############
themail@dcwatch is an E-mail discussion forum that is published every
Wednesday and Sunday. To subscribe, to change E-mail addresses, or to
switch between HTML and plain text versions of themail, use the
subscription form at http://www.dcwatch.com/themail/subscribe.htm.
To unsubscribe, send an E-mail message to themail@dcwatch.com
with “unsubscribe” in the subject line. Archives of past messages
are available at http://www.dcwatch.com/themail.
All postings should also be submitted to themail@dcwatch.com,
and should be about life, government, or politics in the District of
Columbia in one way or another. All postings must be signed in order to
be printed, and messages should be reasonably short — one or two brief
paragraphs would be ideal — so that as many messages as possible can
be put into each mailing.
