Very Careful Not to Let the Citizens Know

Dear Citizens:

In the last issue of themail, I mentioned Howard Bray's lawsuit to require the District government to release the information that it has about its negotiations with the Casey Mansion Foundation and the National Park Service. The government doesn't want to release the paperwork, or even to admit that it has the paperwork, because to do so would prove that it has been dealing with the citizens in bad faith. Bray has been able to obtain a few E-mails from the National Park Service out of what is undoubtedly a voluminous exchange, and these few E-mails demonstrate the contempt that our government officials have for us (http://www.dcwatch.com/issues/mansion16.htm). In these E-mails we see Ellen McCarthy, the Deputy Director of the Office of Planning, corresponding with Dick Carr of the Casey Mansion Foundation; John Parsons of the National Park Service, who represents the NPS on the National Capital Planning Commission; Ash Jain, NCPC General Counsel; and Eugene Keller of the NCPC staff, Eric Price, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development; and Stephen Green of Price's office writing this:

“I have been very careful not to let the citizens know that there has been any change in our strategy of seeking a transfer of jurisdiction until Mrs. Casey had a chance to give the final go ahead. l am very frustrated that Alma Gates [the elected Advisory neighborhood Commissioner for the area] seems to know about the land swap (see copy of email she sent me below) and would like to request that we refrain from discussing this with the citizens until there is a real estate deal ready to go. . . . Can we please agree NOT to say anything to the press or citizens until this has jelled?”

Here are local and federal government officials conspiring to hide information from the citizens so that they can ensure that we will not be able to have any meaningful input into their planning. Here they are agreeing to keep their planning secret until after it is too late for citizens to have any say. And here in these E-mails is Ellen McCarthy agreeing to draft the supposedly independent opinion of Dan Tangherlini, the Director of the Department of Transportation, supporting the Casey Mansion Foundation's acquiring national park land for “security reasons” — at the request of Dick Carr, representing the Foundation, who then asks her to write another supporting opinion for the mayor's security detail to sign. If this is what is revealed in just four E-mails that Bray has been able to obtain, no wonder the DC government doesn't want to release the rest of its files.

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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How Many DC Government Employees?
Josh Gibson, joshgibson@alumni.ksg.harvard.edu

All snide comments aside, can anyone tell me roughly how many DC government employees there are? I haven't had any luck tracking this info down online.

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DC Sniper Movie
Gwen Southerland, Ward 5, gwensouth@aol.com

Tonight [October 17] there was a movie on the USA channel that was about the sniper shootings that occurred last year primarily in Maryland, Virginia, and the one shooting in DC. I was wondering if any of you had the displeasure of viewing this movie. The movie ran back-to-back twice this evening. Even though I have a meeting tomorrow morning, I just cannot sleep on this. I had several problems with this movie and I'd like to get some feedback from you too.

My displeasure and questions with this film are: 1) was any consideration given to the surviving family members? Did they give permission for this movie? What are their feelings about the portrayal of their loved ones being gunned down for no reason, other than at the pleasure of these two faces of evil, Muhammad and Malvo? 2) Why was this movie made when this case has not yet gone to trial? Is this premature on the part of the producers (and actors) of this film? And further, why was Chief Moose so hell bent on writing and profiteering about this very horrific event, again before the trial and its verdict? 3) Why was the movie entitled DC Sniper: 23 Days, when in fact there was only one sniper attack in DC proper? Most took place in MD and VA. 4) Do you all feel exploited and that our city with its own problem of homicides within the city now has to bear the stigma of “DC snipers” added to the label of “murder capital”? 5) Should the advertisers who participated in sponsoring this movie be boycotted? And there were many, let me list them for you. This movie was brought to us by: Tums, Netzero.com, Advil (which showed children in the commercial), Filtrete, KFC (promoting their kids meal, with children featured prominently in the commercials), Nexium (thepurplepill.com), Giant Foods (children in the commercial), Marlo Furniture, Ameriquest.com, Robitusson Cough Gel (children in this commercial), the American Plastics Council, Direct TV, Verizon Wireless, Taco Bell, Centrum (children also in this commercial), Yahoo Search, AT&T Wireless, Sonicare (toothbrush commercial), Pet Fresh by Arm and Hammer, Comcast, Wrangler, Claritan, Nokia, Universal Studios (trailer for movie Love Actually), Expedia.com, Scotch (blue painters tape), 3M Filtrete fillers, Flumist.com, AOL (hawking 9.0), IHOP, Proivdent Bank, USA (trailers for upcoming movies), National Drug Control Policy (featuring children in the commercial), Aqua Fresh, Touchstone (movie trailer), Veronica Guerin, Abeva.com, Windex, Advil Cold and Sinus Medicine (featuring EMS workers), trailers for the Matrix Reloaded (on DVD) and Touch Evil, Motorola, Ricola Herbal Throat Drops, and L.G. Thom (sells washers and dryers).

Do we the good citizens of the District of Columbia write to these companies to ask these questions? Personally, I will not purchase any of these products anymore, if I can do without them.

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Taxation with Representation II
Ron Eberhardt, rge1022@aol.com

Matt Forman has it exactly right [themail, October 15] and except for my own similar position on the subject I have never heard another person speak to it. This representation thing has everything to do with partisan politics and nothing to do with improving the quality of life for D. C. residents. The recently released Rand Foundation report says that every DC government service (from most minimal to most important) costs two to three times more to deliver than in other big cities across the country. As we know, regardless of cost, it is most often delivered poorly or substandardly.

After twenty-three years of hope I have surrendered to the reality that DC Government will never change. Moreover it has become a purely predatory government, sticking it to citizens at every turn. Huge increases in fees, its never ending quest for money from parking tickets, and now camera enforcement of the lowest threshold speed in the U. S. for a major metropolitan area. It's all about collecting money and, as the evidence strongly supports, wasting it. DC is overstaffed at every level by a full fifty percent, and it underserves its citizens at every level by half of what we can reasonably expect.

Numbnut Williams thinks that, given such a dismal performance and the resulting quality of life, he can attract 100,000 new residents. I suggest he work on keeping those he has!

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More on Citizens Summit III
Lars Hydle, Larshhydle@aol.com

The facts on the Citizen Summit III and the Crime Forums are even worse than Dorothy Brizill's eloquent description in your last edition. The tables where attendees sat at the Summit II were organized by “Neighborhood Cluster,” thus advancing the effort, spearheaded by the Office of Neighborhood Action and the Office of Planning, to enhance the role of the clusters at the expense of the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions. And the administration cited attendance at the summit, or at later “cluster meetings” on the Strategic Neighborhood Action Plans, as evidence of support for its neighborhood action plan. If you attend Citizen Summit III you, too, risk being counted as a supporter.

For example, last year when I raised questions about the clusters, a Neighborhood Planning Coordinator replied that he was surprised, since I had attended the summit and a cluster meeting. I was two of the “more than 10,000 people” who, the Mayor boasted in his second inaugural address last January, had attended such neighborhood action events. The Metropolitan Police Department's PSA restructuring plan is also based, as recommended by the Office of Planning, on the clusters, not ANCs, Several ANCs and neighborhood associations, as well as the Federation of Citizens Associations of DC, have called on the MPD to align PSAs with ANCs, not clusters.

Fortunately, the Council last week passed emergency legislation to require the MPD to send its PSA restructuring plan to the Council for review, and Judiciary Committee Chair Patterson has promised to hold hearings.

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DC Appleseed and the Cost of Special Ed
Ed Dixon, jedxn@erols.com

DC Appleseed and Piper Rudnick released a report (http://www.dcappleseed.org/images/specialeducation.pdf) in September outlining the complications in due process within the special education programs at DCPS. The report probably gives more detail to the special education process at DCPS than any other publicly available document, including those by the DC Auditor and especially those that never seemed to surface from the Council's Special Education Task Force. That is a good thing and hopefully the detail will provide a public framework for how due process can improve at DCPS. But by the report's own admission, "[w]ithout question, the lack of appropriate special education programs and services at the local schools is at the core of most disputes. And as long as available services fail to meet the pressing needs of students throughout the District, disputes are inevitable, and the District will continue to be forced to expend disproportionate resources on subsidizing private school placements, related transportation expenses, and the costs associated with formal due process hearings. This shortage of available services should be of great concern to the entire District government — not just DCPS — and addressing that shortage should receive the highest priority."

Also, the attempt to down play the role of plaintiffs' attorneys in due process and the omission of the 1985 Congressional amendment to federal special education law are concerns. This amendment enforces better education for all students and makes the state pay out attorney legal fees on top of all other damages to special ed plaintiffs. The report suggests that the law suits would go away if the problems, which the system lacks resources for in many instances, would go away. Also left out of the historical narrative in this report was the damage caused to DCPS during the Control Board era both within the system and by the city's politicians as a whole. This damage caused a large destruction of administrative records and institutional memory that were pertinent to carrying out the mission of special education.

Both Anne Gay and Judith Smith were interviewed in this report, along with others intimately related to special education in DC and nationwide. Their recent suspensions, though not specifically pointed to in this report, are addressed by the conclusion that the system of accountability is broken. Though DC Appleseed and Piper Rudnick suggest that a system of accountability should exist in spite of adequate resources, it is hardly imaginable that bureaucrats wouldn't cover their own backs while most of the city's politicians cover their backs by talking about how the school system is overfunded. In spite of this rhetoric, the city is sending lobbyists to the Hill at a tune of half a million dollars to try to get more money in part for special education (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33500-2003Oct16.html). In this case, the city's actions speak louder than words.

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Re: Fooled Again
Bell Clement, bellclement@msn.com

I’m all for healthy skepticism, but must throw in my two cents in response to Gary’s editorial concerning DCPS’s handling of the Jonathan Herring case [themail, October 15]. (One) I met Anne Gay while she was principal of Janney Elementary. My son was having difficulties with reading and Ms. Gay heard our concerns with intelligence and compassion — and helped us. She was admired in the Janney community, which I think only reconciled itself to her loss with the idea that as a system-wide manager for special education she would be distributing her significant talents more broadly. I’m inclined to think that Ms. Gay is continuing to give her all for special needs kids in her current role. (Two) I must add, with regard to the unreleased DCPS / Appleseed report that certainly Gary’s right, more openness is better and less openness necessarily prompts questions. However, I am acquainted with a couple of Appleseed staff and impressed with their savvy and integrity and their disinclination to kowtow to local bureaucracies. If Appleseed agrees with DCPS that there are reasons the report should not be public, I’m inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt on this one. Oh. And my kid’s doing great.

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Citizens of Other Countries Should Vote in DC
Dave Bosserman, Voting for All DC Coalition, orilla@erols,com

Wenzell Taylor, wink12@juno.com, asked [in themail, October 15] the same questions other people often ask about “non-citizen voting.” Here is my attempt at explanations, I hope others will do better. 1) “Why should a noncitizen have any say in local government?” In my neighborhood, Mt. Pleasant, about one third of our residents cannot vote on local matters or elect local officials because they are not US citizens. Yet, they live here, work and pay taxes here, send their kids to school here, and are governed by laws and officials over which they have no say. This is alienating — no pun intended — and holds these good people outside our civil society. This, of course, may lead to problems and disturbances in our society down the road. I believe we should engage these people who are residents of DC, but not US citizens to become citizens of DC and active members of our civil society rather than isolating them outside it. We should be letting them learn what it means to be citizens here.

2) “How and why is a noncitizen even able to serve in our military?” We need them so we accept them. If they die, they are sometimes awarded citizenship posthumously. This has been happening forever. 3) “If a person has lived here for many years, why hasn't he or she become a citizen yet?” The road to citizenship is long and often hard, and sometimes not in the cards. Many are here on “temporary” terms that preclude citizenship but that are renewed each year. 4) “Why should we continue to allow noncitizens to rob citizens of jobs?” These workers are here because we need them. If the jobs were not here for them, they would not be here. Our policies of managing both immigrant and temporary workers need complete overhaul to bring them into reality.

These questions are important — perhaps more than the answers. These workers are our invisible and dispensable work force. Most of us do not know much about them and do not find it easy to learn about them and their plans, problems, and hopes. The public discourse here is important on its own regardless of the outcome for this non-US-citizen voting issue. I would phrase it as voting rights for people who are not yet US citizens — they are all citizens of somewhere and do not deserve being labeled noncitizens, non-persons, or any other non-whatevers. Let us have more questions and more answers.

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Sassafras
David Buschhorn, dbuschhorn@hotmail.com

In reply to “Banks 'n Sassafrass,” Steph “Nature Girl” Faul [themail, January 18, 1998]: I am trying to find out what I have. It isn't sassafrass, but the leaves are (descriptively, anyway) exactly like them. I really wish it was sassafrass, since I make my own root beer and ginger ale and would really cherish a close source of that product, other than the local health-food store!

The primary difference between my leaves and sassafrass is that mine are serrated along the edge, rather than smooth. Otherwise, I have mitten shaped, oval, and maple-leaf shaped, all on the same branch. If anyone can help me identify this tree, I would appreciate it, since it will be cut down and added to the compost pile soon. The nitwit who owned the house before me planted it directly beneath the power line. The only other tree he planted is an arbor vitae, placed immediately in front of his satellite dish, pole. As I really don't like arbor vitaes, that will go as well. It is only about four feet tall, so can be replanted in someone else's yard, if they want it. I don't have satellite anyway but I can't tell you how I dislike those plants.

I have a photo of the leaves and can easily take a digital photo of the entire plant, if it helps.

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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

Housing Needs for the City and Region, October 21
Cheryl Cort, ccort@washingtonregion.net

Does the superheated housing market in Logan Circle contribute to concentrated poverty in Ivy City? A discussion with Margery Turner, Urban Institute, at the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Room 412, Tuesday, October 21, refreshments at 6:30 p.m., program at 7 p.m. A new study led by Margery Turner shows a troubling trend in the rise in concentrated poverty in certain DC neighborhoods. Evidence suggests that displacement of poor families from strong housing markets in neighborhoods like Logan Circle might contribute to the concentration of poverty in neighborhoods like Ivy City. What are the implications of these trends for housing policy in the city and region? Join us for a discussion with Margery Turner as she presents her findings and considers strategies to address current challenges. See Housing in the Nation's Capital 2003, prepared by the Urban Institute for the Fannie Mae Foundation, at http://www.fanniemaefoundation.org/publications/reports/hnc/2003/hnc2003.shtml.

This effort builds on Ms. Turner's earlier analysis on gentrification and how its negative consequences can be avoided if affordable housing is preserved in areas facing high demand for home ownership. See, Leading Indicators of Gentrification in DC Neighborhoods, http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=900461. RSVP (attendance only), to WRN, 667-5445, or staff@washingtonregion.net. This event is free of charge. For more about WRN, see http://www.washingtonregion.net.

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William Schulz at Woman's National Democratic Club, October 21
Patricia Fitzgerald, pfitzgerald@democraticwoman.org

On Tuesday, October 21, at 12:30 p.m., at the Woman's National Democratic Club, 1526 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Dr. William F. Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International, will speak on his book, Tainted Legacy: 9/11 and the Ruin of Human Rights. Dr.. Schulz was appointed Executive Director of Amnesty International (USA) is March 1994. An ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, he came to Amnesty after serving for fifteen years with the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA), the last eight (1985-1993) as President of the Association. As President of the UUA, Dr. Schulz was involved in a wide variety of international and social justice causes.

During his years with Amnesty he has traveled extensively, both in the US and abroad. Throughout his career he has been outspoken in his opposition to the death penalty and his support for women's rights, gay and lesbian rights, and racial justice. His latest book, Tainted Legacy: 9/11 and the Ruin of Human Rights, discusses the Bush Administration's War on Terror and its prioritization of security at the expense of human rights. The New York Review of Books described Schulz as the person who “has done more than anyone else in the American human rights movement to make human rights issues known in the United States.” Tainted Legacy furthers that reputation by offering a clear road map to a world in which human rights and national security are not mutually exclusive. The cost is $25 (includes luncheon). For reservation or more information, contact Patricia Fitzgerald, 232-7363 or pfitzgerald@democraticwoman.org.

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Research Row House Histories, October 23
Krista Schreiner Gebbia, krista@dcpreservation.org

Every wonder when your row house was built or who lived there before you? In this hands-on workshop, Gail Redmann, Vice President of the Research Library and Collections of the Historical Society of Washington/City Museum, will teach participants how to use HSW resources and public records to uncover the mysteries of your home’s past. (If you want to uncover the mysteries of a building other than a row house, that’s fine too. Just let us play out our theme.) Proceeds will support DCPL and HSW/City Museum. Thursday, October 23, 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at The City Museum, 801 K Street, NW (Mt. Vernon Square). Admission $6 for DCPL or HSW/City Museum members; $8 for nonmembers.

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Joe Lieberman DC Campaign Event, October 23
Sean Tenner, DC Democracy Fund, stenner@mrss.com

Local primary-minded voters will have a chance to hear presidential candidate Senator Joe Lieberman's views on voting rights and other DC issues when he appears at a campaign event in the Cada Vez Restaurant/Night Club on 1438 U Street from 7:00 to 8:30 on Thursday, October 23 (U Street/Cardozo Metro). Lieberman's local crew has been busy reminding District voters of his role winning tax breaks for DC residents and championing Senate Committee passage of last years' No Taxation Without Representation Act.

Join DC Democracy Fund and District leaders to hear what Lieberman would do for DC as President. You can also read all of the presidential candidates' own words about DC issues in the January 13th DC Primary Voter Guide by clicking here: http://dcfirst.org/candidates/index.php.

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Ward 6 Special Election and Meeting on Public Schools, October 18
Amy Mauro, amy_mauro@yahoo.com

The Ward 6 Democrats are hosting a panel discussion on DC Public Schools reform at their October 28 meeting at 7 p.m. at the H Street Playhouse at 1365 H Street, NE. “The Ward 6 Dems are following through on their pledge to turn themselves into an active, issue-oriented organization by hosting this forum on education,” said Tommy Wells, School Board member for Wards 5 and 6 and a member of the October 28 panel. Other panelists will include Iris Toyer, Co-Chair of Parents United for DC Public Schools, Deborah Spitz of DC Appleseed, a local think tank that has sponsored studies of school reform and governance, and Ward 6 parents and educators, including Jennifer Smith, principal of the Capitol Hill Cluster Schools. The panelists will address issues of school reform and will take questions from the audience.

A special election will also be held at the October meeting to fill a Ward 6 (male) seat on the DC Democratic State Committee. The October 28, meeting will be the first regular meeting of the new leadership of the Ward 6 Democrats elected in June; the September meeting was cancelled due to Hurricane Isabel. “The state of public education remains one of our most pressing issues,” said Jan Eichhorn, Ward 6 Democrats President. The special election is the first order of business on the meeting agenda. All nominations will be made from the floor. Any male voter registered as a Democrat residing in Ward 6 is eligible to be a candidate to fill the vacancy. All nominees must be present. All voters registered as Democrats residing in Ward 6 may vote in the election. Immediately following nominations and brief speeches by the candidates, voting shall begin and will remain open for one hour.

The special election, previously announced for September 18, will be held because a Ward 6 seat on the DC Democratic State Committee is now vacant due to the recent death of Larry Gray. In presidential election years, the Democratic voters in Ward 6 (and other wards as well) elect two females and two males to sit on the DC Democratic State Committee (DSC). At the October 28 meeting, a new male DSC member will be elected to serve the remainder of Larry Gray’s term, which expires in September 2004. If the election is contested, voting shall be conducted by secret ballot and shall end sixty minutes after the period for voting commences. For further information on the special election, E-mail Ward6Dems@aol.com or call Dan Wedderburn, Chair of the Party Organization and Function Committee of the DC Democratic State Committee at 333-7171 or Ward 6 Democrats President Jan Eichhorn at 547-8855.

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TechTalk: When Venture Capitalists Say No, October 25
Barbara Conn, bconn@cpcug.org

This TechTalk about creative financing strategies and resources for business, presented by Ron Peterson, President of Three Arrows Capital Corporation, is packed with means and sources you can use to fund a business. If you're ready to launch or boost your business to the next level, join us. Ron will regale us with stories from and techniques used by successful entrepreneurs for creatively raising capital for startup ventures and expansion.

Gather your friends, colleagues, and family members and bring them to this Saturday, October 25, 1:00 p.m. (check-in: 12:45 p.m.), TechTalk of the Capital PC User Group (CPCUG) Entrepreneurs and Consultants Special Interest Group (E&C SIG). Our TechTalks are free and are held each month. This month's CPCUG E&C SIG TechTalk is at the Cleveland Park Library (Second Floor Large Meeting Room) at 3310 Connecticut Avenue, NW, just over a block from the Cleveland Park Metrorail Station on the Red Line. For more information about this TechTalk, the speaker, CPCUG (a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization), and to register for the event, visit http://www.cpcug.org/user/entrepreneur/1003meet.html.

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WABA Anniversary Auction Gala, November 8
Eric Gilliland, gill@waba.org

The Washington Area Bicyclist Association and Ambassador Boudewijn Johannes van Eenennaam Invite you to the WABA Anniversary Auction Gala Saturday, November 8, 7 p.m.-10 p.m., at the Royal Netherlands Embassy at 4200 Linnean Avenue, NW. A cornucopia of goods and services will be offered in a silent and live auction to benefit WABA's bicycle advocacy throughout the year. Heavy hors d'oeuvres, dessert, and wine will be served. Black tie optional. $60 per person, $100 per couple for members; $75 per person, $125 per couple for nonmembers. For more information and registration, please visit http://www.waba.org.

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Building Marvels, November 16
Julia Neubauer, jneubauer@nbm.org

On Sunday, November 16, 2003, the National Building Museum will offer an afternoon of architectural fun and education. From 2:00 to 4:30 p.m., visitors are invited to attend the free program, Building Big with Kapla, which will show master Kapla builders at their most ambitious. In the grandeur of the National Building Museum's Great Hall, with its soaring 75-foot-high Corinthian columns, builders will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for Kapla structures, which was set in Canada in 1996 at 49 feet. The builders will erect a slender, freestanding tower at least fifty feet tall out of some four thousand four-inch-long wooden planks without the use of nails or glue. The tower's diameter will be only 22 inches. The name Kapla comes from the Dutch "kabouter plankjes," meaning small planks. Each identical plank is long and thin and can be used to create a variety of structures, such as bridges and domes. In a Kapla Construction Zone, kids of all ages will be able to create their own structures. Experts will be on hand to provide tips for building everything from simple constructions to extravagant creations. Building Big with Kapla is appropriate for all ages. The program is free and does not require registration. Equipment necessary for the construction of the Kapla tower is kindly provided by Sunbelt Rentals.

From 5:00 to 6:30 p.m., the Museum will present a lecture by David Macaulay. Trained as an architect at the Rhode Island School of Design, Macaulay is known around the world for such books as Cathedral, City, and Castle, which reveal the complexities of architecture, engineering, and everyday objects. At this lecture, Macaulay will talk about his new book Mosque (Houghton Mifflin), which demystifies the design and construction of a 16th-century Turkish mosque. Author of many titles, including Building Big, which was made into a popular PBS television series last year, Macaulay will also discuss the process of writing and creating books. He will sign copies of his books at 4:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. While parents and older children enjoy the lecture, youngsters ages 3 to 11 may join Museum staff for construction activities in Museum classrooms. A limited number of spaces is available. The cost for this program is $12 Museum members, K-12 teachers, and college students; $17 nonmembers; $5 children 17 and under. Prepaid registration is required. The public may visit http://www.nbm.org or call 272-2448 for more information or to register.

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CLASSIFIEDS — VOLUNTEERS

Pediatric AIDS/HIV Care
Emily Piccirillo, emilyp@starpower.net

Pediatric AIDS/HIV Care, Inc. is a WDC nonprofit dedicated to supporting and preserving the well-being of children in families living with HIV. With the highest adult transmission rate in the country, there are more children than ever in need of our services. As we expand our fundraising strategy, we are in need of assistance from folks who are great at data entry for creating our donor database. This help would be greatly appreciated and a tremendous contribution to our program and the kids of DC. Please contact Emily Piccirillo, Executive Director, at emily@pediatric-care.net or 347-5366, if you might be interested.

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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.