America at War
Dear Washingtonians:
This forum, as I often say, is not about national or international
politics, except as they directly affect our lives here in Washington.
The war in Iraq began tonight with a targeted attack in Baghdad against
Saddam Hussein and the leaders of his army and regime. As I write, it is
too early to know the results of that attack. I certainly do not intend
to open themail to debate over American policy toward Iraq; there are
numerous other, more appropriate places for that. But here in DC, as I
write, I hear the Air Force planes overhead, flying over our city, and
it does not seem like the time to write about anything else.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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Tractor Terrorist
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aol.com
So much for DC's preparedness to handle any terrorist attack. Here we
have had, for nearly four days, a deranged tobacco farmer who managed to
single-handedly take the city hostage with a tractor on the Mall. The DC
police, Park Police, and the FBI could not seem to shut down this looney
and, instead, deprived those who would come into the city to work the
opportunity to come in safely and without unnecessary delay. Just think
what would happen if a terrorist or two with some real weapons would
camp out with fifty hostages in Union Station. We might see the whole
city shut down for two weeks or more. If this is an example of how the
city addresses a terrorist action, then we are in deep stuff when the
real thing happens.
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Uplifting Youth Development Story in DC
Phil Shapiro, pshapiro@his.com
If you'd like to read an uplifting story about a youth development
organization in DC, check out the success story at http://www.ctcnet.org/stories/v3/7.html
listed on the web site of Community Technology Centers' Network (CTCNet),
one of the largest national organizations working to bridge the digital
divide. I'm a big fan of CTCNet (http://www.his.com/pshapiro/ctcnetaward.gif).
This organization does great things. If there are any print or video
reporters on this list, please send someone out there to cover the
above-mentioned story. For those who might be interested, CTCNet will be
holding their annual conference in DC this year at the end of June. This
is a large conference with the possibility of more than 1000 people
attending this year. Details at http://www2.ctcnet.org/conf/2003/.
Along with the above uplifting story, there are countless other
uplifting stories at the other CTCNet affiliate organizations in the
DC-area, listed in the Member Directory on the CTCNet web site. If you
know of a nonprofit organization that ought to join CTCNet, annual dues
are $100. I can chat on the phone with folks about what the benefits of
belonging to this organization are.
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Timing Is Everything, or the Dog Ate My Budget
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com
Publication of the Mayor's proposed budget is late again this year,
as it was last year. On Monday, March 17, when the budget was scheduled
to be released, Mayor Williams held a press conference to announce some
details of his proposed FY 2004 budget and financial plan and its
transmittal to the City Council. Neither the Council nor the public was
provided with copies of the budget. The Chief Financial Officer
indicated that the budget wasn't ready and hadn't even been printed yet.
On Wednesday morning, March 19, Mayor Williams and CFO Natwar Gandhi
testified at a public briefing on the budget and financial plan before
the Council's Committee of the Whole. The budget books weren't ready to
be released. On late Wednesday afternoon, hours after the testimony and,
of course, too late for the Councilmembers to study it and prepare
questions for the Mayor, a few copies of the budget were released to the
Council, although no copies were ready for members of the public.
A few more copies may or may not be made available to citizens
tomorrow. But most citizens who want to or need to read the budget won't
be able to see a copy until it reaches the shelves of the public
libraries — and distribution to the libraries, and the libraries'
making it available to readers, will take more than another week. By
that time, many of the most important Council hearings on the budget —
hearings on Education, Libraries, and Recreation, on the University of
the District of Columbia, on the Department of Consumer and Regulatory
Affairs, the Housing Authority, on a host of boards and commissions —
will already have taken place. Citizens concerned about these
departments and agencies who want to testify on their budgets will have
to prepare without being able to see the budget, and will have to
testify in the dark.
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Dorothy Brizill mentioned a whole list of tax increases [proposed by
Mayor Williams for the FY 2004 budget], including the excise tax on
alcoholic beverages, and said all of them fall on individuals. Well,
actually, they all fall on individuals because businesses pass their
costs on to end users. But the alcohol tax deserves special attention.
DC's excise tax on alcohol is less than half the national average, lower
than Virginia's and similar to Maryland's (but ten cents a gallon
cheaper for wine). DC has one of the two highest per capita rates of
alcohol consumption in the country. I estimate that bringing the excise
tax to national average levels would raise about an extra $7.5 million
dollars, about what we spend on basic drug treatment. Some sales might
be lost to Maryland, which is also considering raising its excise tax,
and to reductions in consumption.
But most alcohol is consumed by heavy drinkers and underage drinkers.
Heavy drinkers are unlikely to reduce their consumption of alcohol
because of modest price increases, but we know that price increases do
decrease youth consumption, a good thing. Twenty-five percent of DC
householders (excluding homeless and people living in institutions like
college dorms) report having two or more problems related to drinking.
Sixty percent of kids 12-17 drank alcohol in the past year, as did 77
percent aged 18-24. Any reduction in consumption by any of these groups
will have positive health benefits. Yes, some alcohol is good for you.
So is some aspirin, but too much will give your bleeding ulcers and blow
out your liver. Healthy drinking is defined as two drinks a day for
adult men, one for women and seniors, and none for children under 21.
Increasing the tax on beer from nine to 25 cents a gallon, on wine from
30 to 77 cents, and on spirits from $1.50 to $3.84 will not be
burdensome on moderate drinkers.
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Erich Martel's tome on the inaccuracies on the Banneker exhibit was
very interesting indeed. I'm delighted he did the research and checking
to discover the errors, but frustrated that such major errors were ever
entertained in the first place. There are plenty of others that float
around DC, one of most repeated perhaps being the “fact” that Duke
Ellington lived at 1212 T Street, NW He didn't. Perhaps its the easy
address to remember. However, you'll see it in the various versions of
Black Washington, on TV reports, the U Street Historic District survey,
the Afro-American, and the Post. When all it takes is a reference to the
Duke's own biography, and a peek into the City Directory to determine
that he lived with relatives at two addresses around the corner from
there; at 1805 and 1816 13th Street (from 1910 to 1917). While I, too
have been fooled and have errors in my own books on Washington
neighborhoods, I'm always careful to correct them for the latest version
when they are pointed out. It reminds me of the scenario that if all
those that claimed their ancestors come across on the Mayflower actually
did, it would have been larger than the Titanic
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Mayor Lies about Dupont Fire, 911 Fiasco
John Aravosis, John@SafeStreetsDC.com
In his February 27 appearance on WTOP radio's “Ask the Mayor,”
Mayor Williams claimed that there “wasn't a delay” in responding to
the January 15th deadly fire in Dupont Circle. In fact, the 911 logs
show that there was a 2 minute and 40 second delay. Williams told WTOP:
“This whole incident with 911 over in Dupont Circle . . . in terms of
a material delay, in terms of when the signal got out and units
responded, there really wasn't a delay.” You can watch a video clip of
this quote here: http://www.safestreetsdc.com/graphics/mayorfire/nodelay.avi.
Several residents calling about the Dupont fire were put on hold
(because half the 911 operators on duty were sloughing off), thus
causing a 2 minute and 9 second delay in 911 finding out about a fire in
the area (at that time, a police officer on the scene incorrectly
reported the fire as being at the Colombian Embassy over a block away).
It took another 31 seconds before 911 got a call with the actual address
— that's a 2 minute and 40 second delay. On its face, the mayor's
comment is a bold-faced lie. But it gets worse. It took 7 minutes and 43
seconds for the first emergency vehicles to arrive on the scene. The
fire crews would have had an additional 2 minutes and 9 seconds to
respond had the 911 operators not been goofing off when those first
calls came in. That would have meant a 28 percent quicker response time.
A response time that might have saved 24-year-old Christopher Smith, who
sustained burns over 100 percent of his body and died as a result two
days later. (Imagine your house is burning down around you, and your
loved ones are in the next room — would you think that almost 3
minutes on hold with 911 “wasn't a delay”?)
Don't take my word for it, take the words of Inspector Ira Grossman,
the head of the MPD's 911 office: “The call records show that when the
first 911 call was received at 05:58:29, there were sufficient numbers
of call takers to handle the calls. Yet, the calls for that time period
were not answered timely; seconds count. One and two minute wait times
for 911 calls are egregious deficiencies that must be properly
investigated and addressed.” (Perhaps the mayor didn't get the memo.)
In a time of imminent war, when our 911 system is going to be crucial to
defending our hometown security, it is unconscionable that the mayor of
the nation's capital would outright lie about the very obvious flaws in
our 911 system. Think about it: If this problem isn't fixed, then the
next time someone tries to call 911 to prevent a death, it could be
yours. Please E-mail the Mayor and tell him to take our 911 problems
seriously: feedback@dc.gov, mayor@dc.gov.
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This quote from themail should be the opening byline of every issue:
“Finally, a reminder: the need for all these taxes results from the
city's gross mismanagement of taxpayer revenue. The District spends more
money per resident for police and more money per pupil for education
than any other jurisdiction in the US. The result? One of the highest
crime rates and one of the lowest educational achievement rates in the
US. The city doesn't need more money, just competent management.”
[Matthew C. Forman, themail, March 16, 2003]
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In reference to “Can They Do That?” [themail, March 16]: Two of
the cars you mentioned were assigned to the Special Operations Division
(license plates starting with 86**). They train on a range near Laurel.
The others were likely conducting training with the SOD units (who
function as the instructors for regular patrol officers). Since you say
it was about 9:30 a.m., they were probably on a lunch break, since the
training conducted there usually requires a shift that starts about 5:30
a.m.
So, the answer is an emphatic “Yes!” They can do that. By the
way, if you have questions or problems, the proper place to bring them
up is with the MPD, not here — because if an investigation or
disciplinary action is warranted, the MPD needs to have the information,
and it won't necessarily make it back to the right places.
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Cameras in High Crime Areas
Naomi J. Monk, nmonk10501@aol.com
Is it not unfair to blame the police for community problems since
every one living, working, or visiting a neighborhood is in part
collectively responsible for working towards improving the quality of
life in a neighborhood. This statement brings us to using three
approaches to policing for prevention: law enforcement, neighborhood
partnerships, and systemic prevention. It takes a village to raise a
child. Likewise, it takes a community and those outside of the
neighborhood to work as a team with all three of these approaches of
policing for prevention at the same time. So, why not be a part of the
solution by actively participating in improving the quality of life in
your neighborhood.
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Regarding Citizenship
Neil Richardson, Executive Office of the Mayor, ananda001@aol.com
Sue wrote in themail recently that I made her “sick” regarding my
ruminations over the responsibility that citizens have in serving their
community (like helping schools shovel snow). I understand Sue's
symptoms. Like many other folks, Sue suffers from civic despair. It's a
feeling that institutions and our leaders are not living up to our
expectations. Some people pull back and step away from civic life and
other folks express themselves, like Sue, through rage. Rage, sometimes,
is a good thing, in my opinion; rage has been the catalyst for every
meaningful revolution. But it can make it hard to hear and see reason.
When rage is unreasonable, it is difficult for other people to connect
to it, to channel the energy into something constructive. Judging from
my E-mail box, many folks found it difficult to relate to Sue's rage. I
offer this to Sue: an antidote to civic despair is re-calibration. Many
folks experience civic despair because change and progress are not
happening as fast as we wanted or as promised. What is our notion of
time? How long does it take to make change in a system? In the District,
we are experiencing and undergoing progress and positive change in many
ways. There are myriad examples and the majority of residents (not
necessarily readers of themail) affirmed this progress in November. Yet,
I agree there is much left to do. Even so, I think, folks really need to
think about what their notion of time is. Think about how long it takes
to change people’s mindsets, their work habits, their aspirations. Are
your expectations realistic? What is realistically possible?
Our civic dysfunction is a long one and probably starts and ends with
our perverse relationship with the Federal government. Even so,
residents need to constructively step forward into public life, not the
reverse in a kind of backwards civil disobedience. Attributes of a
citizen include, for me, an ability to act selflessly, see possibility,
and to practice proactive leadership. These things make up a kind of
public spirit. I have never met Sue. I am sure she is a fine person but
I have to wonder what the character of her public spirit is. What is
yours?
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Rebuilding Klingle Road Would Not Alleviate
Air Pollution
Lisa Colson, Mt. Pleasant, Mo_nat@hotmail.com
Last Thursday I attended the DC Council’s public hearing on Klingle
Road. While two thirds of the testimonies were from supporters of the
Mayor’s plan for a hiker/biker trail, a few who support rebuilding
Klingle Road talked about how it would help reduce air pollution. This
is not true. According to the Berger Report, Klingle Road would have
negligible benefits to traffic congestion. Therefore, the reduction in
air pollution would be negligible as well. To add to this, in 1999, the
Population Reference Bureau did a case study on air pollution and
transport use in the Washington region. It noted that the major cause of
air pollution in the region is from cross-suburb commuting, not
transport use in the District of Columbia proper. Since air pollution
knows no boundaries (ward, state or national), to truly reduce air
pollution, we need policies addressing the significant contributions to
air pollution (like, vehicular commuting in the suburbs, instead of
idling cars due to the lack of Klingle road).
Some testifiers stated that DC is the asthma capitol of the US. I
found nothing supporting this claim, although asthma is a growing
problem. According to the American Lung Association, 7.9 percent of
adults in DC have asthma. Several states have a higher percentage with
Maine at 8.9 percent as the highest (“Asthma Trends in Morbidity and
Mortality 2002”). Although I appreciate the concern about air
pollution, rebuilding Klingle Road will not significantly improve air
quality, reduce asthma cases in DC or alleviate other ill affects from
air pollution.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
International Law Perspectives on the Right to
Vote, March 20
Timothy Cooper, worldright@aol.com
A conference on international law perspectives on the right to vote
and political democracy in America will be held on March 20, at the
Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress. The conference is
cosponsored by the Law Library of Congress and the American University
Washington College of Law Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
and Program on Law and Government. To register for this event, go to http://www.wcl.american.edu/secle,
or call 274.4075. Registration fee $15.
Conference schedule: 10:00-10:30 a.m. Opening Remarks, Dr. Rubens
Medina, Law Librarian of Congress; and Dean Claudio Grossman, American
University Washington College of Law. Introduction, State of the Right
to Vote and Democracy in the US: An Overview of Challenges and Prospects
in the New Century, Prof. Jamin B. Rakin, American University Washington
College of Law; and Applied International Standards, Hadar Harris, Esq.,
Executive Director, American University Washington College of Law Center
for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Panel I,
International Standards, How They Apply to the Right to Vote. Patrick
Merloe, Senior Associate and Director of Programs on Elections and
Political Processes, National Democratic Institute for International
Affairs; Paula Newberg, International Consultant and Special Advisor to
the United Nations Foundation; Dr. Robert Pastor, Vice President for
International Affairs, American University and Director, American
University Center for Democracy and Election Management; Dr. Eduardo
Stein, former Minister of Guatemala and head of the 2000 and 2001
election Observation Missions to Peru for the Organization of American
States (OAS); and Hadar Harris, Esq., Moderator. 12: 45 p.m.-2:00 p.m.,
luncheon keynote address by Alexander Keysaar, Kennedy School of
Government, Harvard University. 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m., Panel II, Bringing
it Home: Strategies to Bring International Law to Bear on Domestic
Electoral Reform. Tim Cooper, Executive Director, Democracy First; Wade
Henderson, Executive Director, The Leadership Conference on Civil
Rights; Marc Mauer, Executive Director, The Sentencing Project; Prof.
Christine Burnette, Princeton University; Prof. Alexander Keysaar,
Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Prof. Jamin B. Raskin,
Moderator. 4:15 p.m.-6:00 p.m., tour of the Thomas Jefferson Building in
the Library of Congress. 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m., reception in the Great
Hall. Please allow extra time for security check and scans.
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CHIME Presents French Music for Winds, March
22
Dorothy Marschak, chime-dc@erols.com
Ventos Alegres, a wind trio of oboe, clarinet and bassoon, will
present a free program of French Music for Wind Instruments, Saturday
March 22 at 2 p.m. at Cleveland Park Library, Connecticut Avenue and
Macomb Street, NW (Cleveland Park Metro stop). The performers, Betsy
Reveal (clarinet), Eric Wagner (oboe), and Mark Noble (bassoon), are
frequent soloists as well as performers with the Pan American Symphony
and other local orchestras and chamber music groups. They will trace the
history of 20th century wind trios for these instruments, demonstrate
the special features of both double and single reed instruments, and
play selections by some of the best-known French composers: Milhaud,
Auric, Ibert, Cantaloube, Pierne and Boutry.
This program is part of the series “Music Around the World” of
twenty-two free programs presented this year by CHIME (Community Help In
Music Education) at eleven DC neighborhood libraries. For a complete
schedule of these programs, and to learn about other CHIME activities,
visit our web site, http://www.chime-dc.org.
We are a volunteer organization, and rely on donations and volunteers
for support. There is information on how to help on our web site, or
contact info@chime-dc.org or call
232-2731.
Other upcoming events: March 19, orientation for prospective music
mentors, 6:30 p.m., a partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters. CHIME
Mentors are screened, insured and matched with Littles by Big Brothers
Big Sisters; they take their Littles to music performances for which
CHIME gets free tickets, and can also offer instruction and other forms
of mentoring. For more information or to apply, visit our website or
call 232-2731. March 29, Sax Appeal: The Saxophone Through the Ages,
with Rhonda Buckley, Director of the Sitar Center of the Arts and some
of her students, Mount Pleasant Library, 2 p.m.
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Evening at Embassy of Ethiopia, March 27
Michael Karlan, events@dcyoungpro.com
The DC Society of Young Professionals is hosting an Evening at the
Embassy of Ethiopia on Thursday, March 27. The Ambassador and his staff
are our hosts as we experience a taste of Ethiopia with complimentary
authentic Ethiopian food, Ethiopian wine, art, film, and a very special
unique musical and dance presentation by a world renowned authentic
Ethiopian group. This event is $60. For more details, to purchase
tickets, or to learn about all of our events, please visit http://www.dcyoungpro.com,
E-mail events@dcyoungpro.com,
or call 686-6085.
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Ride with “Team Taxation Without
Representation,” Register March 27
Julie Eisenhardt, jkeisenh@hotmail.com
The deadline is quickly approaching to sign up with Team Taxation
Without Representation for RAGBRAI 2003. Come have conversations with
cyclists from across the nation at fifteen miles per hour about DC's
colonial status while enjoying the scenery of America's heartland.
RAGBRAI is a seven-day, 450-mile tour across Iowa that attracts over
8,000 bicyclists each year. The deadline for registration with Team
Taxation Without Representation is Thursday, March 27. For more
information, contact jkeisenh@hotmail.com
as soon as possible!
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CLASSIFIEDS — HOUSING
Large, luxury one-bedroom apartment with den in the Courthouse
section of Arlington, VA. Minutes from downtown DC, IMF, World Bank, and
State Department. Immediate occupancy through July, then month-to month.
New building, ten minutes from the Metro. Underground parking. All
amenities, including full-size washer and dryer. Unfurnished. Cats OK.
Best offer. Call 288.8966 or E-mail trier@comcast.net.
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CLASSIFIEDS — RECOMMENDATIONS
I've got cracks in the masonry in my basement on walls both inside
and outside. With all this cold weather and freeze and thaw routine, I'm
in need of a contractor to do some work. Seeking recommendations for
masonry folks (or tuck pointers) who can repair cracking brick walls,
possibly some plaster.
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