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January 7, 2009

Responsibility

Dear Responsibles:

Ed Cowan, below, argues against the anonymous correspondent with a law enforcement connection whom I quoted in the introduction to the last issue of themail. That person wrote that the murder rate went up 10 percent in the last two years, since Adrian Fenty became mayor and Cathy Lanier became police chief. Ed correctly points out that a direct connection between Fenty and Lanier and the increase in homicides has not been shown. But from that he implies a conclusion that I’m not sure is warranted, that Fenty and Lanier cannot and should not be held responsible for the rise in homicides.

When and for what should citizens hold elected officials and their top appointed managers responsible? The question reminds me of something I wrote in themail five years ago (September 7, 2003): “There’s a story that I often tell, and some day I’m going to hunt down the source in which I read it, because it’s a true story that’s too good to be true, and without the name of the anthropologist who reported it it’s too hard to believe. This anthropologist told the story of an African tribe that chose its chiefs by an almost democratic process, at least in medieval terms. The chief’s position was not an hereditary post; instead a new chief was chosen by a council of the elders. They chose the best and wisest member of the tribe, who did not have to be an elder. And the chief was treated almost like a god. His feet never touched the ground again, at least outside of his residence. He was carried everywhere by bearers. He had the best food the tribe had, and it was fed to him; he didn’t have to feed himself. He had his choice of the women of the tribe, as many as he wanted. He was the ultimate judge of the law, and his decisions were final. He lived a life of luxury and almost unlimited power. Until the rains didn’t come, and the crops failed. When that happened, it was proof that the chief had displeased the gods. The tribe took him out into the forest and killed him, and the council of elders met to select a new chief.”

We’ve moved a little distance from that today; rulers who displease the gods aren’t killed, they’re simply not reelected. But every day we hold our elected officials responsible for events over which they may not have complete control. Did the crime rate, the unemployment rate, or the school dropout rate go up? The elected officials and their appointed managers get the blame. Could there have been outside events, events beyond anyone’s control, that influenced any of these things? Of course, and supporters of the elected officials and their managers will undoubtedly point out these events. Is it fair, then, to hold the mayor, the police chief, the city’s economic officials, or the school Chancellor responsible if things go bad?

Yes, it is totally fair, because they themselves claim responsibility for them. To get elected or appointed, they say they know what to do to reduce the crime rate, to improve the economy, to retain students in the public schools. They get their jobs by saying that they know how to control these events, and that they will control them if we give them the power. Here’s the simple rule: if things were to go right (the murder rate, the unemployment rate, the school dropout rate went down by 10 percent) would the mayor issue a press release and hold a press conference to claim credit for things going right? You know he would. Then, when any of these things goes wrong, he’s responsible and deserves the blame.

I can’t help noting that government officials in many nations now claim that they can control whether the temperature of the planet goes up or down, that government policies have more influence than the sun on whether the Earth warms or cools. If they claim to have that much power, then perhaps we are being too lenient in just letting failed government officials retire from office. Perhaps we should return to taking them out into the forest.

Completely unrelated and too good to pass up, although I probably quote from the Volokh Conspiracy blog too often, is an entry that Eugene Volokh posted on Monday (http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_01_04-2009_01_10.shtml#1230619311). It reads, in full, “On June 18, 1912, Congress passed a law entitled, An Act to provide for the support and maintenance of bastards in the District of Columbia.” Volokh headlined the posting, “That Explains Everything.” Three-and-a-half years from now, we should celebrate the centennial of this act; we’ve benefited from it ever since.

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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Shutting Down DC
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com

Following the terrorist attacks on 9/11 in 2001, the US Secret Service insisted that “in order to prevent future terrorist attacks,” safety perimeters had to be installed around many of the District’s federal buildings (the White House, the Capitol, the State Department, and so on). This resulted in the sudden erection of barricades around many government facilities and the closure of many District streets. During the debates over these closures, however, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and Mayor Anthony Williams tried to represent the interests of District residents by challenging, mostly unsuccessfully, the efforts of the Secret Service to impose these street closings.

Today, the Secret Service released its plans for street closings in DC on inauguration day, January 20, and they’re wildly disproportionate to any past inaugural closing plans (http://www.wtop.com/?nid=29&sid=1565855). They’re not just meant to clear the area around the Capitol ceremony and the Pennsylvania Avenue parade, as they always have been in the past. Instead, they’re designed to paralyze the city as a whole and to overburden Metro so much that it will be unusable on that day. Not only will three and a half square miles of downtown DC be closed to car traffic, but, in addition, all bridges and major roads linking the District to northern Virginia will be closed to vehicular traffic. These plans will inconvenience DC residents and workers, and they’ll make it difficult for all the visitors to DC to get to the inaugural events they came to see.

As these plans have been made by the Secret Service and the Obama Presidential Inauguration Committee over the past few weeks, it has become increasingly clear that neither group cares in the least about accommodating DC residents, commuters, and visitors. It has also become clear that neither Mayor Fenty nor any DC government representative has played an independent role as a spokesman for our interests, and that nobody representing the city has tried to introduce common sense into the overblown, grandiose “security” schemes that will shut down our city unnecessarily.

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Silence Doesn’t Make the Response More Palatable
Ashaki Goodall, ashakigoodall@aol.com

Happy New Year in the world of DC education reform! Where are noisemakers and party hats: DC has a lot to celebrate, doesn’t it? After all, the city just brought in the New Year with the dubious distinction of being the lowest ranked “state” for its delivery of educational services to its constituents. Our overall grade was a D+ with a total score of (gulp!) 68.3. (See http://www.edweek.com and view the Quality Counts 2009 report.) Looking at areas of policy and achievement in seven categories (English Language Learners; Chance for Success; Transitions and Alignment; School Finance; K-12 Achievement; Standards, Assessments and Accountability; and The Teaching Profession) the report paints a dismal picture of what has and is occurring in our city-state’s educational system. And to be clear, this is not an issue for the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), under the Chancellor, to address. It is an issue for the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), the continually neglected and under-scrutinized government agency established under the DC Education Reform Act of 2007, headed by Ms. Deborah Gist.

This report tells us that this state education agency has a long way to go in providing the oversight, guidance, technical assistance, and sanctions mandated to it by, if nothing else, its acceptance of US Department of Education dollars authorized under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. But what is unbelievable to me is the silence. Where is the outcry from the public, the city council, parents, and advocacy groups? Where is the media coverage by the Washington Post and other communication outlets? Where is the attempt — although surely feeble — to explain this ranking? Boy, the celebration seems to have moved over to where “9th ward” of the District of Columbia resides: Maryland number one in the country. Mayor Fenty, Deputy Mayor Reinoso, Ms. Gist, our newly all-elected school board, the city council — it’s time to wake up from your dazed state and hold the OSSE accountable for tangible, measurable results. The quality of all of our schools, the rate of educational achievement of all our students, and the expertise of all of the instructional force is dependent upon the expectations and actions of the top educational leadership of our city-state.

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Chief Lanier: Finis?
Bryce A. Suderow, streetstories@juno.com

My police sources inform me that Chief Lanier will be fired after the inauguration and a new chief will be selected by Fenty. You heard it here first.

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The Devil’s Paintbox
Victoria McKernan, victoriamck@mindspring.com

Just wanted to let you know my new novel The Devil’s Paintbox will be released on January 13. It is a Young Adult historical novel, particularly good for boys, but Old Adults will like it too! You can pre-order now and get a discount on Amazon.com.

What else? Buy from your local bookstore — it’s good for them to notice it. Buy two from your local bookstore. Ask your library to get a copy. Give your local library a copy. Write a brief reader’s review (or bribe/coerce/force your kid to write it) on Amazon.com.

See the starred review in the December 8, 2008, issue of Publisher’s Weekly, http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6619812.html?

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Historic Districts
Bob Levine, rilevine@cpcug.org

Finally a viewpoint that I can agree with [Matt Forman, themail, January 4]. The middle class shouldn’t be allowed to alter their homes at all in an affordable manner if it sacrifices the least little bit of historic accuracy. And people with disabilities should get out of our city and go to a home rather than muck up our neighborhoods. How dare someone want to build a ramp to the front door or install vinyl windows. Tacky, tacky, tacky, and it shouldn’t be allowed anywhere in our sacred city. Thank you, Mr. Forman, for reminding us that these people are really very rich because their houses have some property value. They shouldn’t be treated like poor ordinary working folk just because they own homes and may have some needs and desires for those homes. It is much better for us to get to drive about the city seeing pristine, unpreserved, falling-down homes that no one can afford to live in or would want to live in with the restrictions imposed by the preservation police.

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Historic District Designation
Jack McKay, jack.mckay@verizon.net

Matt Forman argues [themail, January 4] that the Mount Pleasant couple with the vinyl windows must be wealthy, and therefore should be compelled to pay whatever it costs for windows “consistent with the architecture.” Historic preservationists generally assume that anyone who can afford to live in a historic district must be wealthy enough to pay the steep costs of historic preservation regulation. Or, as one Historic Preservation Office decree stated, as they forced a homeowner to pay over $50,000 for roof repairs, “if Applicants do not wish to abide by these standards . . . they can sell the realty ‘as is.’” That is, if you can’t afford the historic preservation costs, sell your home, move away, begone.

In fact, these vinyl windows currently under challenge meet with the approval of the residents of Mount Pleasant. The preservationist aristocracy disapproves, to be sure, but the just-plain-homeowners are fine with them. As one of this couple’s neighbors wrote, “I found it hard to pick out which house was at fault, [because] they had matched the style and character pretty well.” Another wrote, “take pictures of the front of their house and . . . see if these ‘experts’ can tell the difference. Taking our good looking windows is crazy.” When I introduced a resolution at our ANC advising historic permitting of the windows, my fellow commissioners made me remove a suggestion of compromise. “Those windows are just fine,” they said, unanimously, “don’t offer to change anything.”

This is why preservationists don’t want us ordinary folks making historic preservation decisions, or allowed to vote on historic district designation. They want to impose their own high standards, with a tacit assumption that anyone who lives in a historic district must be wealthy enough to pay the costs. Or if they’re not, they’ll be forced to leave, and then only people wealthy enough to afford historic preservation standards will live there.

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Crime and Fenty: Connection Unshown
Edward Cowan, edcowan1114@yahoo.com

Your anonymous correspondent with a law-enforcement connection (themail, January 4) seems to fall into the fallacy of post hoc reasoning — after this, because of this — when he or she juxtaposes the arrival of Mayor Fenty and Chief Lanier with a reported ten percent increase in “lethal violence” in 2008. “Murders are up ten percent under Fenty,” your correspondent wrote.

The implication is that somehow Fenty and Lanier are responsible for the increase. For there to be a causal connection, rather than simple coincidence, the writer doesn’t explain the nexus: what Fenty and Lanier have done or failed to do that may have caused, or contributed to, the increase. Your correspondent offers no such explanation.

As is well known, crime statistics vary from year to year in part because reality changes, in part because reporting by citizens varies, and also because record-keeping by the police may be erratic. I am no advocate for Mayor Fenty and Chief Lanier, but to blame them persuasively for the rise in “lethal violence,” more is needed.

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Post Reported Murder Increase
Kimberly Johnson, kmj87@aol.com

[Re: themail, January 4] The Post actually did run a story on the increase in homicide, albeit under the headline of increased youth murders, http://tinyurl.com/7pphnf.

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Non-Smart Cards
T. Lassoc, cei76@aol.com

Amen to William Haskett’s comments in themail [“Metro’s Smart Cards for Seniors,” January 4]. Our sentiments exactly. And what about tourists and others who ride Metro only occasionally? What a rip-off, and a considerable inconvenience to boot. The entire set of new rules and procedures for the SmartCard , transfers, etc., needs to be rethought and redone, or perhaps undone. DC is supposed to be a city of highly credentialed persons — presumably competent, intelligent, and smart. Obviously none works at the policy levels at Metro; or maybe precisely because they are so-o-o smart, they came up with this new Smart Card stuff and the ridiculous related rules. The issue of access (or no sensible access at the moment) regarding purchase of the Smart Card is huge! And the new rules, supposedly now in effect, are just another testimony to incompetence and confusion, without regard for the people — local citizens and others — who use the Metro system. Just another example of the operation of The Peter Principle in and among those agencies (and individuals) responsible for serving the public interest.

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DC Voting Rights
T. Lassoc, cei76@aol.com

Samuel Jordan [”DC Voting Rights: Where’s the Beef?” themail, January 4] is so right — constitutionally, legally, morally, and logically. That’s probably why The Post missed the point.

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Touch Typing
Gabe Goldberg, gabe at gabegold dot com

Dan Gamber said [themail, January 4], “Those who cannot touch type are crippled.” Hardly “crippled” — and using a word like that can intimidate folks from starting to use computers or anything with a keyboard. My father was a successful lifelong journalist and author, not touch typing. I’ve been a computer professional and, for the last eighteen years, freelance writer, without touch typing. I attended a New York City magnet tech/science high school. If typing class was offered I either didn’t hear about it or was more interested in meatier subjects. I don’t think the lack of touch typing skills hurt my father’s career or mine, since we’re pretty fast even without using all our fingers. Would I like to touch type? Sure. But it’s not a big deal lacking that skill.

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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

DC Community Heritage Grantee Showcase, January 8
Lisa Alfred, lalfred@wdchumanities.org

The Heritage Grantee Showcase will show the work of the 2008 DC Community Heritage Grantees. Thursday, January 8, 6:30 p.m. until 9 p.m., Reeves Center Community Room (U Street Cardoza Metro), 14th and U Streets, NW

Come to learn about what kind of work your neighboring communities are doing to tell their own stories and what funds are available to assist your community group in preserving your history and traditions. RSVP at http://www.wdchumanities.org or call 387-8391.

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Professional Networking for the Nonprofit Community, January 9
Joe Libertelli, jfl@udc.edu

Please join us for the monthly public interest “Eco/Justice” Cafe, on the first Friday of each month (January 9, February 6, March 6, etc.), at 6:00-10:00 p.m., at the UDC David A. Clarke School of Law Firebird Inn, Building 38, B-Level; 4200 Connecticut Avenue. This is a great professional networking opportunity for the public interest community, featuring food, music, poetry, beer, an open mic session,

tabling organizations, and more. Music by Mike Bowers (http://www.mdbmusic.com/music.html) and (maybe) by Maureen (http://www.myspace.com/maureenmusic) and Jeff DeWeese.. Massages by Lisa Bregman.

There’s still room for free tabling; contact Joe Libertelli at jfl@udc.edu. Our venue is wheelchair accessible. Suggested donation $15, $10 students, and $5 kids; food and drink included. All ages event; child activities provided — and powered by kids! To volunteer on January 9, E-mail Joe.

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DC Public Library Martin Luther King, Jr., Events, January 9-12
George Williams, george.williams2@dc.gov

Friday, January 9, 10:30 a.m., Washington Highlands Neighborhood Library, 115 Atlantic Street, SW. Dr. King Story Time. Enjoy stories, films and reading activities about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ages 1-5. Contact: 645-5881.

Saturday, January 10, 11 a.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW, Great Hall. Kickoff Event: Kings Read. As a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the brothers of the Omicron Lambda Alpha (District of Columbia Graduate Chapter) will read selections from books on the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Also, the program will feature teens in the fraternity’s mentoring program. Contact: 727-1291.

Monday, January 12, 10:30 a.m., Washington Highlands Neighborhood Library, 115 Atlantic Street, SW. Dr. King Story Time. Enjoy stories, films and reading activities about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ages 1-5. Contact: 645-5881.

Monday, January 12, 11:00 a.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW, e-BIC (Enhanced Business Information Center) Training Center, A Level. Exploring Entrepreneurship. Register for this workshop that offers a chance for emerging and existing entrepreneurs to learn and explore the nuances of self-employment and entrepreneurship. Emerging entrepreneurs will learn about the key personal considerations prior to launching a business. Existing entrepreneurs will receive guidance in reevaluating their thoughts about entrepreneurship and current endeavors. e-BIC (District of Columbia, US Small Business Administration and DC Public Library) is sponsoring this program. Contact: 727-2241.

Monday, January 12, 6:00 p.m., Woodridge Neighborhood Library, 1801 Hamlin Street, NE. The Community Remembers King. Community members come together to reflect on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with poetry, singing and personal reflections. Neighborhood school choruses have been invited to participate. Also, see the movie, Martin Luther King, Jr. All ages. For more information, call 541-6194

Monday, January 12, 8:00 p.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW, Great Hall. Concert: All Souls Jubilee Singers of the All Souls Church, Unitarian, DC; musical director: Lenard Starks. The Jubilee Singers of the All Souls Church, Unitarian, DC, will provide an uplifting evening of music in the spirit and memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Civil Rights Movement. Enjoy spirituals, jazz, gospel music, and compositions by group founder, Dr. Ysaye Barnwell. Also, see performances of Dr. King’s favorite selections. All ages. For more information, call 727-1291.

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DC Public Library Events, January 10, 13
George Williams, george.williams2@dc.gov

Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. West End Neighborhood Library, 1101 24th Street, NW. Tango practice for young adults and adults. For more information, contact 724-8707.

Saturday, January 10, 11:00 a.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW, Room A-10. Author Anne T. Quartararo, professor of History at the United States Naval Academy discusses her book Deaf Identity and Social Images in 19th Century France.

Tuesday, January 13, 7:30 p.m., Palisades Neighborhood Library, 4901 V Street, NW. Palisades Library Book Club. For more information, contact 282-3139.

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Hollywood and the Holocaust, January 11
Sarah Pokempner, azepo@aol.com

Avalon In Focus, a new series consisting of single-day premieres of powerful documentaries and independent films, presents Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust for one screening on Sunday, January 11, at 10:30 a.m. at the Avalon Theater, 5612 Connecticut Avenue, NW.

The film tells the provocative and mostly unknown story of the sixty-year relationship between Hollywood and the atrocities of Nazi Germany. With scenes from over forty films, rare newsreels, and interviews with leading scholars, filmmakers, and witnesses to the events portrayed, Imaginary Witness takes the viewer on a journey from American ambivalence and denial during the heyday of Nazism, through the silence of the postwar years, and into the end of the twentieth century.

A discussion with filmmaker Danny Anker will follow the film. Anker is the son of longtime Washingtonians Charlotte and Jerry Anker. He grew up in Potomac, Maryland, and attended Winston Churchill High School. The cost of tickets is $12 ($10 for Avalon members) and can be purchased in advance at http://www.theavalon.org or at the theater located at 5612 Connecticut Avenue, NW.

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Flying in the Great Hall, January 11
Jazmine Zick, jzick@nbm.org

January 11, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., a day of flying in the Great Hall. Model Airplane Workshop (9:00-11:00 a.m.) Construct your own rubber-band-propelled model airplane with the DC Maxecuters, then try a test flight in the Great Hall. Cost per plane: $8 Member; $14 Nonmember. Ages 8 and up and Webelos Cub Scouts. Prepaid registration required. To register, visit www.nbm.org. Flying in the Great Hall (11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.) Watch as the DC Maxecuters fly their model airplanes in and across the Great Hall! Free drop-in demonstration program. All ages. At the National Building Museum, 401 F Street, NW, Judiciary Square stop, Metro Red Line.

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CLASSIFIEDS — DONATIONS

Office Furniture
Parisa Norouzi, parisa@empowerdc.org

Empower DC, a community organizing project, is seeking office furniture donations. Our wish list includes, in good condition: desks, chairs, room dividers/cubicle walls, shelving, and flat-screen computer monitors. Donations are tax deductible. Please contact Parisa@empowerdc.org or 234-9119.

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