Captain Midnight
Dear Secret Squadron:
Since the big news — the release of the Supreme Court’s decision
in Heller vs. DC — didn’t happen today, everything
that I planned to write tonight is premature. Since the Court will
release the decision tomorrow, by Sunday’s issue of themail everything
I planned to write will be outdated. Therefore, I spent most of the
afternoon doing something more productive. I watched the 1942 serial
version of Captain Midnight. Captain Midnight was yet another of the
adventurous aviators so popular in pulp fiction in the 1930’s and 1940’s.
The character was invented for a radio serial that lasted several years,
and was continued in the movie serial, a comic book, and, best of all,
in a television series that lasted for only two years but that ran for
decades afterward in reruns as “Jet Jackson, Flying Commando.”
Captain Midnight must have been the worst-kept secret identity in all
adventure fiction. Everybody, good guys and villains alike, knew he was
really Captain Jim Albright, and by the time of the television series
Captain Albright and Captain Midnight were openly the same person. The
movie serial is filled with airplane crashes, car crashes, people being
thrown out of racing cars, and fist fights in which Captain Midnight
fights three, four, five, and more gangsters at once. Perhaps the most
repeated line, after Midnight is obviously killed in yet another
disaster, is “Nobody could have survived that.” And yet he does
survive, to fight another day. Yes, here comes another of my strained
comparisons: he survives, as our city survives, even when the situation
looks like it couldn’t get any worse — and then gets worse.
The most memorable line of the whole serial, however, comes in
Chapter 8, when head villain Ivan Shark (and if you think Ivan Shark is
a good name, his daughter is named Fury Shark; how great is that)
addresses a meeting of all his henchmen, after they have let Captain
Midnight slip through their clutches once again: “My only weakness is
the helpless fools who serve me.” And isn’t that always the way? It
is the cry of the Chancellor, surveying all the teachers and
administrators in her domain whom she hasn’t hired herself. It is the
despair of the Acting Attorney General, attempting to treat the lawyers
in his office with the same highhandedness with which he dispensed of
his subordinates at Covington Burling. It is the anguish of the mayor,
sitting with clenched jaw through one more televised CityStat
conference. How is it possible that their schemes can be foiled, when
their plans were so brilliant? The explanation has to be the one Ivan
Shark gave: “My only weakness is the helpless fools who serve me.”
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
###############
OPD Asks Verizon, “Where Is FiOS?”
Phil Harmon, ccceo@opc-dc.gov
Today, the DC Office of the People’s Counsel called on the DC
Public Service Commission to direct Verizon Washington, DC, to provide
sworn testimony on the public record on the status of deployment of FiOS
in the District of Columbia. “William Roberts, Verizon DC’s
president, promised me personally the Company would expeditiously work
to deploy FiOS to DC consumers. Verizon needs to put its money where its
mouth is,” said Elizabeth A. Noel, DC People’s Counsel.
“OPC negotiated in good faith with Verizon to develop a settlement
agreement on the Company’s Price Cap Plan.” Along with a number of
consumer benefits, Verizon agreed to quickly pursue a FiOS cable
franchise with the District. “Instead of a plan for DC deployment,
consumers are seeing reports of aggressive deployment of FiOS in
surrounding jurisdictions. If Mr. Roberts cannot honor his personal
commitment to DC consumers, then OPC will be forced to withdraw from the
settlement agreement,” stated Ms. Noel. “Indeed, at public hearings
held before the DC Council’s Committee on Public Services and Consumer
Affairs on February 7 and 9, 2008, consumers expressed concern and
frustration with the unavailability of FiOS. Testimony from the
Communications Workers union indicated Verizon is actively cutting staff
and moving resources out of the District of Columbia to serve suburban
interests. Evidence indicates Verizon has overcome hurdles elsewhere.
Verizon is reportedly “boosting the speed of its FiOS . . . Internet
service” in cities in Maryland, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas,
and Washington State. Surely, the Nation’s Capital deserves some
consideration, not indefinite deferment,” said the People’s Counsel.
“Verizon needs to give up the shell game with DC officials and
consumers. If the Commission is not going to require the Company to put
its plan for District FiOS deployment on the record, then OPC will no
longer be a party to the settlement agreement. Either Verizon bargained
in good faith or not,” said Ms. Noël.
###############
Klingle Road Lives On
Patty Hahn, Pahahn@gmail.com
Thanks much to Taylor Simmons for the note about Klingle Road [themail,
June 22]. May it stay open, and those of us who were astonished and
dismayed at the DC council’s recent handling of the Klingle Road issue
should remind our councilmembers (especially around election time) that
we’re mad as hell, etc. For your information, Ms. Cheh was kind enough
to attend a small group session last weekend in Cleveland Park, where a
number of us sat down with her and told her how unhappy we were with
both the vote and the stealthy way it got onto the council agenda. (To
be fair, a few from the “keep it closed” faction showed up too.)
Results for us pro-roadies were not at all encouraging, but I hope we
have long memories as well as energy to keep working on this issue.
###############
Customary Practice
Paul Wilson, dcmcrider at gmail dot com
In the June 22 issue of themail, Mayor Fenty was quoted as saying,
“The citizens of the District of Columbia have my commitment that we
will review everything we’re doing, compare it to what other big city
mayors do and compare with what governors do. And if it is not following
what those big city mayors are doing, then we’ll make an adjustment.”
The mayor might want to consider that the District is number 27 on
the list of American cities, according to the Census Bureau’s 2005
population estimates, sliding in between Louisville (#26) and Nashville
(#28). In 2000, we were #21, between #20 Boston and #22 Nashville.
Admittedly, Nashville and Louisville are outliers because they have
municipal governments consolidated with their surrounding counties. As
far as governors go, I really doubt the governors of Vermont (49th of 51
in population) and Wyoming (51st of 51) jet around the country with a
dozen state police officers in tow.
As Gary rightly notes, none of the above really matters anyway, as
the mayor is obligated to follow DC statute, not customary practices of
his peers in mid-sized cities and the very smallest states.
###############
I really feel for the people in Washington, DC, having to live under
the conditions described in your articles. I wish I had an answer for
the problems in DC, but I don’t. And it appears that nothing short of
a revolt will resolve the conditions that currently exist in our nation’s
capitol. As much as I hate to say it, integrity, professionalism,
honesty, pride, and devotion to duty appear to be nonexistent. The
phrase on all police cars “to serve and protect” appears to have
meaning only for certain persons in power, which is “to serve and
protect themselves.” I wonder why the Department of Justice hasn’t
become involved in the actions of these certain individuals and began
investigations for abuse of power, violations of rights, malfeasance of
office, or other inappropriate/illegal actions. Maybe these same persons
are hoping for a spot in the cabinet of Obama (if he is elected
president). Now, that is a scary thought!
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Forty Years Since the Riots, June 27
Andre M. Johnson, proimage3@aol.com
The Historical Society of Washington, DC, in partnership with WPFW
radio and host Askia Muhammad presents the openings of two provocative
exhibitions. Riots are the Language of the Unheard and the Art of Frank
Smith. These two forty-year retrospective shows look back at the
transformative year of 1968. The event will take place Friday, June 27,
from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Historical Society of Washington, DC,
located in the Old Carnegie Library Building at 801 K Street, NW, with a
live simulcast broadcast with WPFW radio.
Riot are the Language of the Unheard is a multimedia exhibition
consisting of photographs, video footage and artifacts investigating the
grievances that led to the riots of 1968, the efforts to address those
grievances the riots and their ripple effects. Contributors to the
exhibit include the Historical Society of Washington, DC; District of
Columbia Archives; The Washington Post; the Exposure Groups; and
contributors to YouTube.com. The Artist Frank Smith came of age during
the height of the Black Arts Movement in the late ’60’s. One of the
early members of the AFRICOBRA(African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists),
Smith sought perfection in creation of a unique African American
aesthetic that pays homage to cultural traditions, specifically of
rhythm and quilt making, yet transcends artistic styles to create his
own. Just like jazz and the transformative 60’s when Smith began his
career, he improvises, moves fast and demands freedom — freedom of
color, freedom of space. Many of his works are large pieces, assemblages
of several works, or alternatively, pieces of one large work and layered
with vibrant strokes and fabrics of color.
The exhibits will display rarely seen artifacts, photographs and
videos. You will also be able to hear live interviews with city leaders,
activist, poets and of course the legendary music of the ’60’s. This
event is free and open to the public and refreshments will be served.
For further information regarding this program and others please,
contact the Historical Society of Washington at 383-1828.
###############
National Building Museum Events, July 1
Jazmine Zick, jzick@nbm.org
Tuesday, July 1, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., Book of the Month: Digger
Man. Readings at 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 12:00 p.m. Join us in
the Building Zone for a special reading of Digger Man written by
Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha, which follows the imaginary
adventures of a little boy and his yellow digger. Free. Drop-in program,
recommended for ages 3 to 5.
Tuesday, July 1, 12:30-1:30 p.m., Building for the 21st Century:
Designing Buildings for the Environment and the Community. Dennis Wilde,
principal with Gerding Edlen Development, discusses his firm’s
innovative method of incorporating both community and environmental
considerations into building design: the Livable Place Index. Free.
Registration not required. Both events at the National Building Museum,
401 F Street, NW, Judiciary Square stop, Metro Red Line.
###############
themail@dcwatch is an E-mail discussion forum that is published every
Wednesday and Sunday. To change the E-mail address for your subscription
to themail, use the Update Profile/Email address link below in the
E-mail edition. To unsubscribe, use the Safe Unsubscribe link in the
E-mail edition. An archive of all past issues is available at http://www.dcwatch.com/themail.
