Told You So
Dear Veterans:
The reporter of the week is WTOP’s Mark Segraves, who followed
Mayor Adrian Fenty over a period of months on his bicycle rides with his
bike team, http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=1807568.
That story dominated the local news cycle in every outlet in every
medium for two days, and nearly every aspect of it was explored: the
mayor’s misuse of police resources to provide escorts for his club’s
rides, the club’s flouting of rules of the road and of traffic laws
forbidding bicycle riding on some roads, the mayor’s misuse of SUV’s
given to the city for homeland security emergencies to transport his
bicycles up and down the east coast, the police chief’s covering for
the mayor and providing excuses for the misuse of police personnel as
personal valets. What wasn’t covered, or hasn’t been covered so far,
is the biggest problem with the mayor’s sports obsession, his
neglecting his job to spend hours every day exercising. If a president
golfs one day a week on the weekends, the press writes that the
president is goofing off and isn’t serious about his job. Yet the
mayor’s bicycle club rides were almost all during the middle of the
work day during the work week, and the mayor spends hours during nearly
every work day with his sports buddies. As I wrote on April 22, “How
much time does Mayor Fenty spend on the job? I don’t mean how much
time he spends out of town. I mean when he is in town, how many days a
week does he spend away from the Wilson Building and off the official
schedule? How many hours during the business day, when he does show up
at the Wilson Building, does he spend jogging, bicycle riding, playing
basketball, practicing for marathons and triathlons, and playing other
sports, as opposed to working? Do we need to install a time clock? As a
candidate, Fenty worked 24/7; as a mayor, he’s part time. When will
the press bust him for it?” Maybe, to answer myself, maybe now.
Martin Austermuhle, at DCist (http://dcist.com/2009/11/same-sex_marriage_already_basically.php),
read the committee report on the same-sex marriage bill from the DC
Council’s Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary (http://www.dcwatch.com/council18/18-482.pdf),
and he was surprised to learn that the report makes the extreme claim
that same-sex marriages are already legal under DC law and have been for
some time, and that the bill is redundant. Here’s the quote Martin
pulls: “In recognizing same-sex marriage in the District, Bill 18-482
does not redefine any concept in the law (indeed, the Committee
maintains same-sex marriage is already permitted under District law), as
nowhere in our Code is the institution of marriage reserved to
opposite-sex couples. Rather, Bill 18-482 removes the custom, or
practice, that marriage is only between a man and a woman. This simple
legislative act puts in the law what is already in the law: that the
right of marriage applies fully to all in the District.”
But that’s not surprising to regular readers of themail. I
predicted it in the June 10 issue: “One provision of [the Human
Rights] Act, codified as DC Code Sec. 2-1402.73, says, ‘Except as
otherwise provided for by District law or when otherwise lawfully and
reasonably permitted, it shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice
for a District government agency or office to limit or refuse to provide
any facility, service, program, or benefit to any individual on the
basis of an individual’s actual or perceived: race, color, religion,
national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual
orientation, gender identity or expression, familial status, family
responsibilities, disability, matriculation, political affiliation,
source of income, or place of residence or business.’ Pair that with
the practice that jurisdictions in the United States recognize marriages
performed in other jurisdictions, and proponents argue that it was
therefore the intent and purpose of the Human Rights Act of 1977 to
require the District to recognize same-sex marriages, should they ever
be performed anywhere in the United States. The ‘Jury and Marriage
Amendment Act of 2009’ did nothing substantive, since it merely stated
explicitly what was already implicit in the Human Rights Act. The Human
Rights Act already guaranteed that DC would recognize same-sex
marriages; and the Human Rights Act cannot be modified or amended by
initiative or referendum. Does that mean that same-sex marriages can now
be performed in the District, without further legislation? Perhaps.
There is the difficulty of the DC Court of Appeals decision in Dean
& Gill v. District of Columbia, 653A.2d 307 (1995) that found
that the DC Marriage Act incorporated the traditional understanding of
marriage as being between one man and one woman, and ‘there cannot be
discrimination against a same-sex marriage if, by independent statutory
definition, . . . there can be no such thing.’ But proponents of
same-sex marriage can argue that the marriage law of DC has since been
revised to ‘gender neutral’ language and that the traditional
understanding of marriage has been undermined, if not completely
abandoned, since 1995. Therefore, they believe that if a same-sex couple
had a marriage ceremony in DC and sued the city for recognition of their
marriage, the courts would overturn the ruling in Dean.
Certainly, the District government would not put up a strong opposition,
or even oppose it at all, and the city council, with the assistance of
the Board of Elections and Ethics, will make sure that District citizens
will be prevented from having any public vote on what they want the
marriage laws of the District to be.” By the same logic, since the
Human Rights Act forbids discrimination because of age, doesn’t that
prohibit the DC government from setting a minimum age for marriage, or
at least from setting any age above the lowest age set by any state?
Finally, I wrote (themail, October 28) about the council committee’s
first hearing on the same-sex marriage bill that, “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.” In the name of tolerance toward
homosexuality, councilmembers have declared their intolerance toward
religious beliefs that differ from theirs, and have created a climate of
religious intolerance that expresses itself in a torrent of vile,
vicious, and vulgar abuse of the Catholic Church specifically and of
religion generally. On November 10, Catholic Charities told the council
committee that it would not abandon its faith (http://www.adw.org/news/news.asp?ID=702&Year=2009),
and the response is typified by the comments to this City Desk story, http://tinyurl.com/yg553qs.
Anybody could have seen it coming.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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My bill last month was ten times the previous month’s. I’ve heard
of two other people having like problems: one’s bill was fifty-one
times the last month’s, the other’s bill was thirty times the last
month’s. When I talk to Pepco customer service representatives and
their supervisors, they didn’t give a darn, and would not try to
figure out how a bill could go up exponentially. Most of their blather
was, well, things are plugged in all the time even if you’re not
there.
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Incrementalism and the Responsibilities and
Purview of DC’s Attorney General
Richard Layman, rlaymandc@yahoo.com
I don’t have the same take as Gary about Delegate Norton’s bill
on devolving “local” criminal matters to an Attorney General’s
office within DC. I think Del. Norton was extremely crafty in
positioning the bill as keeping typically federal crimes within the
federal prosecution structure, and devolving the other matters to the
local jurisdiction, by terming it as a way to keep the Federal
prosecutors focused in a post-9/11 world, thereby reducing potential
opposition within Congress by using a kind of “noun, verb and 9/11”
strategy.
This is a big step forward. Creating a true local prosecution office,
linking those responsibilities with the current AG structure within the
city government, would create a complete AG function at the local (DC)
level. Hopefully, that would provide too much “real work” for an AG,
which means that the AG would have less time to participate in
machinations and stratagems, unlike currently, because of the workload
and responsibilities.
At the same time, Councilmember Mendelson’s proposal to have the AG
position popularly elected, as is done in most states at the state level
and in many local jurisdictions across the country at the county or city
level, is complementary to Delegate Norton’s proposal. This is done to
balance the sometimes conflicting responsibilities to the people versus
the representation of the government or the mayor specifically. However,
I do disagree with Councilmember Mendelson’s recommendation for the AG
position to be elected at the same time as the mayor, I would prefer
that the election for this office be held in the off-mayor election
year, in order to boost interest in an election cycle that typically
sees lower voter participation.
In any case, Delegate Norton’s bill to strengthen the
responsibilities for the city’s Attorney General is a big step
forward, especially because she has positioned the bill in a manner
which ensures the likelihood of its passing. It is then up to DC
residents, the city council, and ideally, the executive branch to
leverage this change in a manner that strengthens democracy within the
District of Columbia.
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Norton’s DC District Attorney Bill
Carl Mintz, carl.mintz2@verizon.net
Below is a link to the article in the Legal Times that talks
about the bill but makes no mention of the problems that were brought to
your attention. I’d like to urge you to post a comment with your
findings, http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2009/11/norton-introduces-bill-to-elect-dc-prosecutor-.html.
[I’d like to give Attorney General Peter Nickles due credit. Today
on NewsTalk, http://cfc.news8.net/news8/shows/newstalk/videoplayer.cfm?video=ntnickles111109.wmv,
Nickles said that he believed DC should have an elected District
Attorney whose duties include all the duties of both the Attorney
General’s office and the US Attorney for the District of Columbia’s
office. — Gary Imhoff]
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Thank you for your energy in publishing themail. While I find some of
the submissions disagreeable, ill informed and sometimes even
delusional, there are others that I find myself nodding my head to.
Nearly all of the submissions, though, make me sit back for a moment,
engage and think about an issue in a new way.
We have too few outlets from media to mediating institutions to
watchdog organizations that have the capacity to lend transparency to
government processes and allow public voice. themail provides one kind
of forum in a city that has few places for discussion or dialog.
I may still believe there are too many cranks and glass half empty
perspectives but, considering the times and the type of local government
we have, I remain open minded.
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In my posting in the last issue of themail, I noted that
Councilmember Graham voted against the plastic bag tax. That is not
true. He actually ended up voting for it —- he was among the few
council members not to sponsor the legislation at first.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Department of Parks and Recreation Events,
November 12-14
John Stokes, john.astokes@dc.gov
November 12, 12:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m., Riggs LaSalle Recreation Center,
501 Riggs Road, NE. Potluck Jazz Luncheon for ages 55 and up. Seniors
will enjoy lunch and fellowship for the Thanksgiving season. For
registered participants only. For more information, call 576-5224.
November 12, 12:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m., Riggs LaSalle Recreation Center,
501 Riggs Road, NE. Potluck Jazz for ages twenty-one and up. Let us
share in this time of thanks, giving to our neighbors in need. For more
information, call Shirleta Settles at 576-5224.
November 12-14; November 16-19, 3:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m., Palisades
Community Center, 5200 Sherrier Place, NW. November canned food drive
for all ages. Ward 3 community canned food donation of nonperishable
food to families in need. For more information, call Justin Rouse at
282-2186.
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National Building Museum Events, November 12,
16
Sara Kabakoff, skabakoff@nbm.org
November 12, 6:30-8:00 p.m., Success and Failure in Design. Dr. Henry
Petroski, Ph.D., P.E., professor of civil engineering and history at
Duke University discusses the history of modern suspension bridges and
shows how successes have evolved into failures. This program is
presented in collaboration with the Fifth Congress on Forensic
Engineering. $12 members, free for students, $20 nonmembers; prepaid
registration required. Walk-in registration based on availability.
November 16, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Symposium: WPA 2.0: Working Public
Architecture. This day-long symposium brings together the finalists from
the WPA 2.0 competition, the jurors, and planning and policy experts to
view the proposals and discuss their implication for infrastructure’s
reinvention. Work from both the professional and student finalists will
be on display throughout the event. Free, registration required, walk-in
registration based on availability. Both events 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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Energy Efficiency Expo at the Convention
Center, November 14
Robin Graham, robin.graham@dc.gov
Green your future on Saturday, November 14, between 10:00 a.m. and
3:00 p.m. Come to the free Energy Efficiency Expo at the Washington
Convention Center, Rooms 146A, B, and C. Get information on energy
grants, green loans, green insulation, solar providers, free energy
audits, and much more. This event is brought to you in partnership by
the DC Department of Energy and the Office of the People’s Council.
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Passport to the World New Year’s Eve Gala,
December 31
Michael Karlan, dc@prosinthecity.com
On December 31, join Professionals in the City at its Passport to the
World New Year’s Eve Gala at the Washington Hilton in Dupont Circle.
This gala includes an open bar, nine themed party areas each
representing a different city, live entertainment, and more. The first
one hundred tickets are just $99. For more information or to purchase
tickets, visit http://www.newyearseveindc.com,
E-mail dc@prosinthecity.com,
or call 686-5990.
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