Laboratories of Democracy
Dear Lab Techs:
Fark.com gives this description of an article in the Examiner: “DC
drivers have 84 percent more accidents than rest of nation, which is a
five percent improvement over last year. And they still wonder why we
don’t let them vote,” http://tinyurl.com/6g6rc7.
I promised I wouldn’t write about DC v. Heller and the
Second Amendment again until there were substantive developments. There
haven’t been any substantive developments, but there has been a minor
one. However, I’m as tired writing about the issue as you probably are
reading about it, so I’ve demoted my latest rant to be a reply to DC
Vote’s latest take on the issue, below.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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For five years in a row, Woodrow Wilson High School has failed to
meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standards as set by the federal No
Child Left Behind law, and as a result has to undergo major
restructuring for the coming school year. The restructuring option
selected for Wilson was reconstitution, or the replacement of “instructional
staff relevant to AYP failure.” All Wilson teachers and administrators
had to reapply for their jobs, and eleven were not asked to return.
Among these was Dr. Arthur Siebens, Wilson’s renowned biology teacher
for the past eighteen years, a beloved and inspirational mentor and
educator. Dr. Siebens’ removal came as a surprise to him and to the
Wilson community because his performance has been stellar and he does
not teach tenth graders, the only high school grade that DCPS tests to
gauge AYP. The decision to remove Dr. Siebens was purportedly made by
Thomas Whittle, a designee of Chancellor Michelle Rhee, who had been at
Wilson for only three months. This decision was later reaffirmed by
Wilson’s new principal, Peter Cahall, who had just started at the
school. Neither Mr. Whittle nor Mr. Cahall provided a specific
explanation to Dr. Siebens for his removal, which is required under the
collective bargaining agreement with the teachers union. The Chair of
the Wilson LSRT subsequently reported that the teachers who were removed
“were seen not to fit in with the restructuring plan.” The LSRT
Chair also said that Mr. Whittle “knows what gets in the way” in
school turnarounds. Dr. Siebens was never told why he doesn’t “fit
in” and Mr. Whittle never observed him teach a class.
Since the decision to remove Dr. Siebens became known, current and
past students of Dr. Siebens, their parents and other supporters have
rallied to his defense in an effort to have him reinstated as teacher of
Botany, Anatomy and Physiology, and Advanced Placement Biology at
Wilson. We are coordinating this effort. As an instructor, Dr. Siebens
takes every measure to ensure his students are learning and retaining
the material, from hosting extra study sessions during lunch and on
school holidays, to writing, recording, and performing over thirty songs
to help students understand and memorize Biology concepts and
vocabulary. On a more personal level, Dr. Siebens takes the time to get
to know each and every one of his students, and brings an unparalleled
amount of dedication and enthusiasm to his teaching. In short, Dr.
Siebens is precisely the kind of teacher Wilson cannot afford to lose
and who should be back in his classroom where he belongs.
At a public roundtable hearing held before the DC city council on
Friday, July 11, four of Dr. Siebens’ former students testified before
Chairman Vincent Gray and other councilmembers in an effort to bring
attention to the unfairness of Dr. Siebens’ removal. The students’
prepared statements are at http://www.dcpswatch.com/wilson/080711.htm,
and a web cast of their testimony is available at http://octt.dc.gov/services/on_demand_video/channel13/July2008/07_11_08_COW.asx.
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Are Jersey Barriers Next?
Ed T. Barron, edtb1@macdotcom
Will the prohibition of taking photos in Union Station be followed by
strategically placed Jersey barriers in this great architectural
building. I, not so fondly, remember the old Union Station in the mid
’50’s when I was traveling back and forth to NY City via rail while
on duty in Fort Belvoir. How well they have restored this wonderful
building. I’ve been taking pictures inside for several years since we
moved to DC in the late ’80’s. I have examined all of those pictures
in great detail and can find nothing that would compromise national
security. Prohibiting taking pictures in Union Station by well meaning
tourists and residents is pure folly. Anyone with real terrorist
leanings would take all the pictures they wanted with a camera disguised
as an iPod or any of several other innocent looking devices. Will
confiscating cell phones be next? Once again I say that Homeland
Security is the WPA of this generation. Are Amtrak passengers any safer
with Homeland Security on the prowl?
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DC’s Child and Family Services Agency
Deserves Better
Paul D. Craney, press@dcgop.com
Yesterday, DC’s Attorney General Peter Nickles defended the
appointment of Mr. Roque Gerald as interim director of DC’s Child and
Family Services Agency. Mr. Gerald comes with baggage, as recent
revelations show that in 1989 Mr. Gerald, who is a psychologist, had sex
with a suicidal and depressed patient in his office who later sued him
for damages. Mayor Fenty directed media questions to Mr. Nickles. “Would
a bank hire a bank robber, no. Why is Mr. Gerald being appointed for a
position in which he is disqualified for?,” stated Robert J. Kabel,
Chairman of the District of Columbia Republican Committee. “Having the
Attorney General answer calls to the press about a questionable
political appointee instead of helping to prosecute the criminals in the
Trinidad neighborhood is waste of valuable resources,” concluded Kabel.
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Taxi Meters May Not Be Working
Ralston Cox, Dupont Circle, ralston.cox@verizon.net
Ed Barron takes the position in the last issue of themail [July 23]
that taxi meters must be working because taxis are still on the street
and taxi drivers aren’t complaining — and then goes on to posit that
they must not have lost significant income as a result of the move from
the zone system to meters. I think this is a bit of stretch.
I ride taxis maybe once or twice a week tops, and have talked to taxi
drivers pretty regularly about the switch. Most understand that they
lost the fight and are doing what they can to make a living. I live in
Dupont and work downtown and find that my fare is almost exactly the
same as it was before. But I hear from the drivers that they have,
indeed, lost income. They’re hustling to make it up and changing their
habits to do so.
There are winners and losers in the market from changes like the
switch from zones to meters. I think it will be a while before it all
gets sorted out and we learn who won and who lost. Hard working taxi
drivers are trying to be the former, rather than the latter. For the
moment, I think it’s a toss-up.
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Jim Graham’s Representation on WMATA Board
David Sobelsohn, anc6d02@capaccess.org
In the July 16 edition of themail, in a piece entitled “WMATA and
Council Accountability,” Dino Drudi complained that the DC council’s
representative on the WMATA Board, Jim Graham (D-Ward One), “only has
a compelling political need to respond to constituent complaints about
WMATA from residents of his ward.” That may be true, but as a resident
of Ward Six I have found Councilmember Graham as responsive to my
criticisms of WMATA as if I lived in Ward One. Jim Graham, at least,
seems rightly to consider his position on the WMATA board as if he
represents the city as a whole. Case in point: WMATA continues to
publish MetroRail timetables only because, at my urging, Councilmember
Graham has pushed them to do so.
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DC Gun Law Public Misinformation Misfire
Mike Licht, notionscapital@yahoo.com
The DC Metropolitan Police Department distributes a pamphlet to
inform citizens about the new handgun registration law, which allows
them to have revolvers in their homes. Those pamphlets display the logo
of Project ChildSafe, an excellent program that distributes free trigger
locks.
But, as if there were not enough misconceptions about handguns in
Washington, the Project ChildSafe logo displayed on the MPD pamphlet
depicts a semiautomatic pistol, implying that this type of firearm can
be registered, while the text correctly states that civilians are
specifically prohibited from owning these guns under DC law.
See http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2008/07/16/good-intentions-misfire/
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I read William Haskett’s comment about the Second Amendment and
self defense [themail, July 20], and respect his right to his opinion.
However, he is obviously missing the point, which is that things are not
as they were when he was growing up. I am soon to be sixty-eight years
old, and I and have seen things that I thought would never happen.
However, a person has to adjust to the situations, and understand there
are those in society who are evil, perverted, career criminals and
predators who prey on honest citizens, young and old alike. When these
types attempt to rob, assault, rape, or do some other form of criminal
act on people, self defense is the only option. Too bad Alcatraz is
closed. Maybe it should be opened for those who cannot abide by the
rules of society.
What has happened to the nations’ capital city, where the mayor and
police chief appear to not listen to the citizens and are not concerned
about the honest citizens protecting themselves? Do they not understand
criminals do not get the weapons they use legally? They steal them, have
them enter the USA at ports of entry disguised as something other than
weapons, they go across the borders and smuggle illegal weapons back
into the USA, and worse yet, gang members are being allowed into the
military where they have access to weapons and tactical training. It
would be interesting to know how many arms rooms in the military have
had weapons stolen or how many have come up “lost or missing” for
various reasons.
In closing, I wish all the honest citizens the best of luck in the
future and hope they will stop having to live in the situations that
currently exist in DC.
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House Members Attempt to Reintroduce Gun Bill
Jaline Quinto, info@dcvote.org
Representatives Mark Souder (R-IN) and Mike Ross (D-AR) have moved to
introduce a bill to repeal DC’s gun control laws, even after the
Supreme Court has already ruled that the existing laws are
unconstitutional in the historic District of Columbia v. Heller
case. Though DC Mayor Adrian Fenty will file a bill in Congress
proposing new gun legislation, Rep. Souder is pushing to reintroduce
H.R. 1399 “to restore Second Amendment rights in the District of
Columbia” by discharging the bill from the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform.
“Once again, Congress is attempting to overstep its boundaries on
an issue that is clearly one of self-governance,” said Ilir Zherka, DC
Vote Executive Director. “Rep. Souder and some of his colleagues in
the House are interfering with DC and using it as a testing ground for
legislation they would never impose on their home districts. The Supreme
Court has already spoken on this issue and the message is clear. DC’s
gun laws are not constitutional. The mayor and the DC city council are
working to write appropriate, new legislation addressing the ruling.
Souder’s bill is antidemocratic and unnecessary, thanks to the Supreme
Court ruling.”
The bill would “repeal the District’s: 1) registration
requirement for possession of firearms; 2) prohibition on possession of
handgun restricted pistol bullets; and 3) requirement that, under
certain conditions, firearms in the possession of certain individuals
must be kept unloaded, disassembled, or with the trigger locked.” In a
statement released yesterday, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)
called upon her colleagues in the House to show respect for DC home rule
by not taking part in efforts to discharge HR 1399 from the committee.
She emphasized that the DC government is already taking measures to
address the Supreme Court ruling and asked members to “take the lead
in ensuring the same respect for the District of Columbia and for her,
that all members would expect for their districts and themselves.”
“This bill would overturn measures that the DC government has put
in place to ensure public safety for their constituents,” added Zherka.
“Like every state in the nation, DC taxpayers elect officials to serve
in their interests. Sadly, certain members of Congress have a history of
disrespecting DC residents’ right to participate in American
democracy. It’s unconscionable that they would try to assert their
authority over more than half a million people who are not their
constituents.” DC Vote is planning to send a letter to every member of
the House, signed by members of their coalition, urging them to oppose
Rep. Souder’s discharge petition because “it would violate the
fundamental right of local democracy and self-government.”
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Laboratories of Democracy
Gary Imhoff, themail@dcwatch.com
One of the most-cited benefits of federalism, of having a federal
system, is that the states can be “laboratories of democracy.” The
states can have different laws and even, considering Louisiana,
different systems of law. The federal government doesn’t intervene and
insist on uniformity or even consistency. We believe this allows for
legal experimentation that gives us the ability to determine which laws
are necessary or unnecessary, effective or ineffective, productive or
counterproductive. But the constitution and the Bill of Rights put a
limit on federalism. Since the courts have definitively determined that
the Fourteenth Amendment applies the Bill of Rights to the states as
well as to the federal government, states cannot pass laws that abridge
the rights of citizens that are guaranteed, directly or indirectly, by
the Bill of Rights.
It should be noted that opponents of the Second Amendment still
dispute that the Second Amendment applies to the states. Since there has
been no definitive Supreme Court case directly on this point, some
future court case will settle that issue. But, since the District is a
federal district that is not a part of any state, that question doesn’t
arise in our situation. DC is a federal district, and our ultimate
lawmaking body, the source of our local government’s authority, is the
Congress of the United States. Congress has delegated its authority to
the city council of the District of Columbia, but it retains, as Article
I, Section 8, of the constitution specifies, the power, “To exercise
exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever,” over the District.
Congress’ legal authority over the District and the right to keep and
bear arms are Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton’s least favorite parts of
the constitution, and she issued a press release (http://www.dcwatch.com/issues/gun080722.htm)
earlier this week denouncing both of them, and denouncing members of
Congress who support a bill (http://www.dcwatch.com/issues/gun070308.htm)
that would bring the District into compliance with the Supreme Court’s
decision in DC v. Heller.
In DC v. Heller, the Supreme Court settled the issue of
whether DC’s gun laws were unconstitutional and abridged the rights of
DC citizens; it found that they were and that they did. The next step
must be to repeal those unconstitutional laws and, if desired, to
replace them with other gun regulations that respect the constitutional
rights of the people who live in DC. It is the duty of the lawmakers in
the District of Columbia, the city council, to do that. But what should
happen if the city council fails to do its duty? DC Vote, above, claims
that, “DC Mayor Adrian Fenty will file a bill in Congress proposing
new gun legislation.” This is a fanciful invention, since the mayor is
not a member of Congress and can’t file a bill in Congress. It also
claims that, “The mayor and the DC city council are working to write
appropriate, new legislation addressing the ruling.” But they are not.
The mayor and the council are writing legislation that flouts and defies
the ruling; they are pursuing a policy of “massive resistance” by
retaining old gun ban restrictions that are explicitly rejected by the Heller
decision, and they are considering new restrictions that invite further
litigation. Whose responsibility is it to bring DC into compliance with
the constitution, if local elected officials refuse to do it? We can go
through years of litigation and appeals, defiance and delay, which is
clearly the strategy of the mayor, attorney general, and council.
Eventually, after years or decades of resistance, the courts will impose
gun laws that are consistent with the Second Amendment on the District.
Or Congress can pass legislation imposing constitutional gun laws on the
District, as is its constitutional right and duty. Even the laboratories
of democracy, which can experiment with most of their laws, have to obey
the higher laws of the constitution and the Bill of Rights.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
For Your Eyes Only, July 24
Elizabeth Price, info@nomabid.com
The summer-long James Bond Film Festival, hosted by the NoMa (North
of Massachusetts Avenue) Business Improvement District (BID) in
Washington, DC, continues this week with a free showing of “For Your
Eyes Only” on Thursday, July 24, starting at sundown.
The film will be shown outdoors at the intersection of Florida and
New York Avenues, NE. The site is located directly across Florida Avenue
from the New York Avenue Metro station on the Red Line and the
Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
headquarters. Attendees are encouraged to bring a blanket and walk,
bike, or take Metro. Nearly two hundred people attended the most recent
film showing. All James Bond Film Festival movies are subtitled for the
hearing-impaired.
The James Bond Film Festival will be held each Thursday night through
August 28, rain or shine, with each film showing preceded by an Odd-job
and other Bond character look-alike contest. The film series will take
place on the future site of MRP Realty’s Washington Gateway project, a
one million square foot mixed-use project that will begin construction
later this year. A movie schedule and map are available at http://www.nomabid.org.
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Unity Rally Against Violence, July 24
Kathy Henderson, khenderson029@aol.com
Please your neighbors in a unity rally to denounce violence in the
Langston Terrace, Carver Terrace, and Trinidad communities. We deserve
safe communities, and will accept nothing less; we are taking a stand
against sense violence and crime; enough is enough. On July 24 at 6:00
p.m., we will assemble at the corner of 21st Street and Maryland Avenue,
NE, and march to 16th and Levis streets, NE.
When citizens have a stronghold, criminals cannot get a foothold. For
more information, call Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner India
Henderson or former commissioner Kathy Henderson at 397-2777.
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Fun Family Films Under the Stars, July 25-27
John A. Stokes, john.astokes@dc.gov
The District’s Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) will hold
“Fun Family Films Under The Stars,” its 2008 Family Movie Night
Season, this summer. “Fun Family Films Under The Stars,” which
continues until late-September, will afford residents of all ages and
families of all sizes the opportunity to enjoy viewing the free,
family-oriented films in DPR’s outdoor settings. As in previous years,
viewers are invited to bring their own snacks, chairs, and blankets.
This year, District residents will have a greater selection of viewing
locations. Movies will be shown from 8:45 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Community members who arrive early enough for each screening will
have the opportunity to place a vote between two movies that may be
shown that evening. The movie that receives the most votes will be
shown.
Friday, July 25, Carver/ Langston Terrace, 21st and Maryland Avenue,
NE
Friday, July 25, Kennedy Recreation Center, 1401 7th Street, NW
Saturday, July 26, Trinidad Recreation Center, 1310 Childress Street, NE
Saturday, July 26, Benning Park Recreation Center, 100 Stoddert Place,
SE
Sunday, July 27, Brentwood Recreation Center, 2311 14th Street, NE
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Prayer Vigil and Service, July 25
Qawi Robinson, qrobinso@gmail.com
Because of the recent spree of shootings in DC in the past two weeks,
an all-night prayer vigil/service for the city will be held on July 25,
starting at 7:00 p.m., and ending on July 26 at 7:00 a.m. For twelve
hours, there will be speakers, prayers, and other forms presentation to
increase the solidarity of our citizens against the recent wave of
violence. Light refreshments will be served as well. Several
councilmembers and the mayor have confirmed there attendance to this
needed event. This is a nondenominational ecumenical service; all faiths
are invited. This event will be held at Brightwood Park United Methodist
Church, 744 Jefferson Street, NW. Call 882-4686 or 669-7029 for further
details.
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What’s Funny about the DC Comedyfest?,
August 7-9
Jaline Quinto, info@dcvote.org
DC Vote is an official sponsor and full-time supporter of all things
DC and funny. That’s why we’re a sponsor of the DC Comedyfest,
August 7-9, at various venues across the District. We’re even on the
“Politics is Funny” panel on Saturday, August 9, at 3:00 p.m..
Moderated by Politico, the panel features such all-stars as: the
co-creator of the Daily Show, writers for the Colbert Report and the
Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the Web editor of the Onion, a writer
from the Washington Post, and DC Vote’s own “Senior Humorist,”
Jaline Quinto.
Join DC Vote staff and your fellow supporters for some good times and
good humor. Check out the full schedule. DC Vote will even be at some of
the venues, giving out swag like buttons and T-shirts and bringing the
funny. DC Comedyfest has been a fantastic supporter of DC voting rights.
You can show your support for them by buying a few tickets and having a
good time; http://www.dccomedyfest.com.
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CLASSIFIEDS — GRANT PROPOSALS
Quality Schools and Charter School Facility
Financing Grants
Kadidia Thiero, Kadidia.thiero@dc.gov
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education is soliciting
grant proposals from qualified applicants for the Quality Schools
Incentive Grant and the following Facilities Financing Grants: City
Build Incentive Grant; Public Facility and Shared Campus Grant; State
Charter School Facilities Incentive Grant; and Public Charter School
Special Facility Grant.
Please click this link for additional information: http://newsroom.dc.gov/show.aspx/agency/seo/section/2/release/14344
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