Respect for Voters
Dear Respected Voters:
There has been movement on the same-sex marriage issue, so the topic
is again briefly open for discussion in themail. Our text for today
comes from the words of the prophets of the city council in their
hearing of October 26 on the ironically misnamed “Religious Liberty
and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009.” Please turn your
browers to http://octt.dc.gov/services/on_demand_video/channel13/october2009/10_26_09_JUDICI.asx.
The councilmembers lectured attendees on how gay marriage was an
obvious matter of plain equality; and how much wiser, finer, and better
this generation was than all prior human generations because it came to
the realization that same-sex marriage was a simple matter of equality.
They told opponents of same-sex marriage that their opposition was the
result only of their fears, prejudices, biases, and hatreds, and then
they said that they were simply asking for respect for their point of
view, respect that they would not reciprocate. Their special message to
religious opponents was that morality was not a matter of eternal truth,
but was ever changing, subject to revelations given to political
leaders, and they had plenty of support from religious leaders proud
that they could keep up to date by abandoning the old fashioned and
outdated basic beliefs of their churches.
In the early hours of the hearing, councilmembers attempted to
disguise and soften their scorn for supporters of traditional,
heterosexual marriage simply by not asking them any questions, while
they showered supporters of same-sex marriage with praise. But at an
hour and forty-two minutes into the hearing, Councilmember Catania
revealed a snide and condescending attitude toward District voters. He
argued that citizens cannot be trusted to vote on fundamentally
important issues, accusing them prospectively of being bigots because
they may disagree with his position. At the 3:04 point, he returned to
the issue and talked about the “less generous nature of humankind,”
and told a supporter of the definition of marriage initiative that
people will vote against human rights 80 percent of the time because of
their hate and fear. In several press reports that shared the
councilmembers’ snarky, derisive attitude toward the electorate, this
exchange has been praised highly as a decisive put-down. When
councilmembers speak of the right to vote, they mean only their right to
vote as the rightful overlords of the peasantry. The unenlightened
peasantry, who do not share their wisdom, who are motivated by nothing
but the basest of motives, should have no right to vote on the most
important issues, and they also should have no right to appeal the
councilmembers’ decision to higher authorities.
All other cities in the United States have a state government that is
superior to them, and to which they must answer. All the states are
inferior to the federal government, and must answer to it. But the
rhetoric of home rule over the past several decades has led the
councilmembers to believe that the city of Washington should be entirely
independent of the federal government, unanswerable to any higher power.
Councilmember Evans, in his opening remarks, openly warned anyone who
would defy the will of the city council that they would face wrath and
retribution if they appealed the passage of this bill to Congress,
regardless of Congress’ Constitutional power (Article 1, Section 8),
“To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever over such
District. . . .“ At the nine minute mark, Evans sternly threatened the
hearing’s attendees, “I tell everyone to be wary of that course of
action. I do not look at that in a positive light, to say the least. . .
. So to circumvent the government of the District of Columbia because
you think you may get a better deal on the Hill, I will not look kindly
upon, in any way, shape, or form. So I just want to put that
admonishment out there. Do with it as you may; do with it as you may.”
Evans, you may remember, has announced that he will run to be the
chairman of the council if Chairman Gray runs to be mayor, and even now
he and his staff are preparing his campaign in his council office. The
chairmanship would give him even more power to wreak his vengeance on
any unruly subjects who would not meekly bow to his will.
When the overlords finally turned to the testimony of representatives
of the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and Catholic Charities, nearly
six hours into the hearing at the 5:40 mark, the hypocrisy of calling
this bill a “Religious Freedom” bill became evident. In fact, this
bill contains only the most narrow, restrictive, and reluctant exemption
for religious institutions — their clergy won’t have to perform
same-sex marriages, but the churches will have to recognize them in
every other way, and the religious exemption protects only institutions,
not individuals. At the 6:10 mark, Councilmember Catania said to the
representatives of the Archdiocese who objected to the burdens that this
bill will put on their practice of their religious beliefs and their
charitable activities, “I’ll just see you in court.” As he
browbeat them, he told them that their religious beliefs are offensive
to him and that this bill is going to force them to violate those
beliefs by providing adoption services to same-sex couples. Catania
said, “I’m willing to give religion the benefit of the doubt,”
which would have been generous of him if he meant it. Councilmember
Wells followed up by telling them that, if government gives funds to
Catholic Charities to support its programs, Catholic Charities will have
to renounce its religious beliefs and follow government’s dictates. It
appears that the government of the District of Columbia will provide
funds only to churches that support same-sex marriage, and defund the
rest. Perhaps it will withhold funding from religious schools if they
teach support for traditional marriage. Perhaps the government will
require churches to perform marriage counseling services for same-sex
couples, even if they will not perform the marriages itself. Perhaps it
will in the future remove tax exemptions from churches that do not
support the government-approved definition of marriage.
Respect, to this council, goes one way; it wants to be shown respect,
but it doesn’t extend it to the voters. If it really felt respect for
the citizens of the District of Columbia, it would allow them the right
to vote on the definition of marriage, rather than telling them they are
too hateful, bigoted, and stupid to be trusted with the vote.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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Police Documents Released in Response to PCJF
Lawsuit
Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, mvh@justiceonline.org
The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund has just obtained a massive
disclosure of previously withheld documents governing police operations.
The PCJF forced the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, DC (MPD)
to disclose nearly all of its General Orders and Special Orders and
related directives that dictate how officers are to exercise their
authority. Most of this information has been withheld by the police from
the public. Those orders, released in response to a PCJF lawsuit, are
being posted and made publicly available on the PCJF’s web site at http://www.justiceonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=DCMPDIndexOfDirectives
or by visiting DCMPD.org.
The PCJF filed a lawsuit on February 5 to force the DC Metropolitan
Police Department’s operations out of the shadows through disclosure
of its orders and policies. The DC MPD was in violation of its legal
obligations, as mandated by the DC Council in 2001, to make this
information public and had further refused to make such information
public upon written request under the DC Freedom of Information Act. The
PCJF’s lawsuit followed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request
for these documents. The public can now review what the MPD internal
policy dictates regarding police-resident contacts, stops and frisks,
restrictions on MPD high speed vehicular pursuits, use of closed circuit
television cameras, handling of property, obligations to release persons
through the citation release program, electronic recording of
interrogations, use of canines, traffic safety compliance checkpoints,
and a range of other issues that span the full scope of police
authority. Advocacy organizations now have access to orders pertaining
to processing of deaf or hearing impaired citizens, juveniles,
transgendered persons and other groups requiring special care.
The MPD has long refused efforts from civil rights and civil
liberties and community based organizations for this disclosure, but the
Partnership for Civil Justice Fund went to court to get the documents.
The MPD is still withholding a smaller number of orders claiming they
are “law enforcement sensitive” and the MPD has yet to release, as
demanded, copies of its staff manuals. These matters remain pending
before the Court. The PCJF has also sued to force the MPD to publish
these materials on the Internet, and to maintain them as current, so
that citizens and the public can access these materials on demand
without even having to file a request. Internet publication is required
by the DC Freedom of Information statute, but the MPD has refused to
comply with the law. In response to the PCJF lawsuit, the MPD posted
some “selected” Orders on its web site. However the materials
obtained by the PCJF and now being made available on the PCJF web site
are a vastly larger trove of records and resources.
Last month, DC Superior Court Judge Judith N. Macaluso ruled in favor
of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund that it could proceed with its
suit to compel the MPD to comply with those Internet publication
directives. “Public disclosure of the operational policies and
practices, orders and staff instructions of the police department is
essential for policing in a democratic society and to establish
accountability,” stated Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, cofounder and
attorney with the PCJF. “Disclosure is essential to ensure that the
police department does not operate above the law and does not constitute
the law, but performs those functions and exercises only that authority
which the citizenry has deemed appropriate,” she continued.
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Plans for a Boxing Ring in Potomac Gardens
Aquarius Vann, vannaquarius12@yahoo.com
Why would residents vote for a boxing ring at 700 12th Street, SE?
This is Potomac Gardens, District of Columbia Public Housing, in Ward 6.
I live in 700 12th Street. With no disrespect to boxing, we do not need
a boxing ring in our recreation center. Our community has just received
a face lift. After community discussions with Tommy Wells led to a
series of meetings with residents, our community has just begun a
healing process. Now a boxing ring? At present, there are only
approximately four kids, between the ages of nine to twelve, who use the
punching bag? A boxing ring? If you feel the same way I feel, please
call Karen Moone, Deputy Director of Operations, at 535-1500, to express
your views. If you live in my single member district, please help me
prevent a boxing ring in my building by voicing your views to her
office.
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When Life Imitates Art
Phil Shapiro, pshapiro@his.com
Life: http://bit.ly/43aEGl. Art: http://bit.ly/2wDn7b.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Department of Parks and Recreation Events,
October 30
John Stokes, john.astokes@dc.gov
October 31, 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., Stead Recreation Center, 1625 P
Street, NW. Sports Day for all ages. In partnership with University
Club, participants will engage and learn how to play various sports such
as football, basketball, rugby, soccer, and karate. Participants will be
able to have their face painted and listen to music. Refreshment will be
serving. Participants are encouraged to wear costumes. Prize will be
given to best costume. For more information, call Vincent Hill at 673-
4465.
October 31, 8:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m., Ridge Road Recreation, 800 Ridge
Road, SE. Homecoming/Halloween Party for all ages. Come out and enjoy a
fun filled day with several football games followed by a jammin’
Halloween Party with a DJ, food, and lots of fun. For more information,
call Sonny Hicks at 645-3959.
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National Building Museum Events, November 3, 5
Sara Kabakoff, skabakoff@nbm.org
The Alternative Housing Pilot Program: Bayou La Batre Project,
November 3, 12:30-2:00 p.m. Bayou La Batre, Alabama, won a $15.6 million
FEMA grant to build one hundred furnished housing units for victims of
Hurricane Katrina. Janey Galbraith, the city’s grants consultant,
discusses the project’s progress and its overall impact on area
recovery efforts. Vince LaCoste, Polysurveying, and Ken Kvalheim, The
Mitchell Company, discuss the design and construction of this new
neighborhood.
Please join us on Thursday, November 5, at 6:30 p.m., when the
National Building Museum presents its Eleventh Vincent Scully Prize to
architect and professor Christopher Alexander. Alexander is being
recognized for his seminal books such as A Pattern Language and The
Nature of Order: An Essay on the Art of Building and the Nature of the
Universe as well as his efforts toward inspiring students to be more
thoughtful design practitioners.
As part of receiving the Scully Prize, Alexander will present an
original lecture on the need for a new production system for buildings,
communities, and neighborhoods. He will draw from two large-scale
examples — a completed project in Japan begun in 1981 and an ongoing
project in Milwaukie, Oregon. The presentation will be followed by a
panel with Alexander; Boston Globe architecture critic Robert
Campbell; and Michael Mehaffy, research associate, the Center for
Environmental Structure. At the National Building Museum, 401 F Street,
NW, Judiciary Square Metro station. Register for events at http://www.nbm.org.
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Sick in the System at the Avalon Theater,
November 4
John Umana, jumanabeth@aol.com
Brian Umana’s documentary film short, “Sick In the System: New
York Health Care Stories,” will be shown at the Avalon Theater on
Wednesday, November 4, at 8:00 p.m. Directed and narrated by Brian Umana.
If you’re interested in the struggles to get health care insurance
and health care reform, this is a documentary to see.
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Red to Blue,
November 5
Beth Meyer, kensington.books@verizon.net
Sanford Gottlieb, author of Red to Blue: Congressman Chris Van
Hollen and Grassroots Politics, will give an author talk at
Kensington Row Bookshop, 3786 Howard Avenue, on Thursday, November 5,
7:30 p.m.
Chris Van Hollen, flanked by a grassroots army, won upset victories
in the 2002 primary and general elections, even though one of his
opponents had a consultant named David Axelrod. Van Hollen’s win in
the suburbs helped lift the Democrats out of the doldrums, the first
step in a struggle that led to Barack Obama’s triumph in 2008. Red
to Blue chronicles Van Hollen’s campaign from the inside, follows
him as he becomes a rising star in his party, and visits the activists
who changed history from Montgomery County, Maryland, to Carroll County,
Iowa. “The book is valuable enough as a tale of Van Hollen,” says
Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute, “but its
insights into the larger issues of American politics make it a real
keeper.” The book’s foreword is written by Mike McCurry, former
White House press secretary
Sanford Gottlieb worked in the peace movement from 1960 to 1993. He
was executive director of SANE. The author of Defense Addiction,
in 2002 he served as a Kensington precinct coordinator in Van Hollen’s
campaign. Free event; for further information, call 301-949-9416.
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CLASSIFIEDS — SPEAKER
Available for Book Talk on the
Darwin/Evolution Debate
John Umana, jumanabeth@aol.com
I am a local author on the debate among Darwinists and intelligent
design theorists, which has been shown to be an area of great public
interest. My book is Creation: Towards a Theory of All Things. I
am available to speak at colleges, schools, libraries, or at other
locations. I have given book talks and signings at the Martin Luther
King, Jr., Memorial Library, other DC library branches, Borders Books,
Kensington Row Bookstore, and George Mason University. I take a fresh
look at the evolution debate, Darwinism and Intelligent Design. I also
discuss the evidence for life on Mars or other worlds. Unlike most other
authors, I bring to the debate over biological evolution NASA’s most
recent discoveries as to the birth of the universe, 13.7 billion years
ago. I am an adherent of biological evolution (i.e., common
ancestry) and an intelligent design theorist. As for my background, I am
an attorney in Washington, DC, with a background in physiology,
philosophy, and science.
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