Religious Bigotry
Dear Correspondents:
I’m still hearing from people whose messages to themail didn’t
get through, and I’m still unable to locate any trash or spam folder
where they’re diverted, so I’m suggesting that you request a return
receipt for any message that you send to themail@dcwatch.com,
and that you resend any messages for which you don’t receive a return
receipt. Return receipts are a pain, and I normally ignore requests for
them, but I’ll send them for any message sent to themail. That should
let you know whether your message got through before it’s published in
themail.
As expected, the same-sex marriage bill passed the city council on
first vote yesterday by a vote of eleven to two. That provided another
occasion for expressions of bigotry and hatred aimed at religions,
especially the Roman Catholic religion, that maintain and wish to live
by their traditional doctrine that marriage is between a man and a
woman. When, on November 16, Jonetta Rose Barras wrote about this issue
that, “the church should keep the faith” (http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Testing-faith-8537616-70147567.html),
commenters to her article wrote things like, “The Catholic Church
steals money from the poor by taking their hard earned money by way of a
‘stupid tax’ dropped weekly into a collection plate, so that they
can build their solid gold houses in Rome while preaching about
morality,” and “If they need money they can tell their Pope to quit
buying velvet Prada slippers.” Comments on yesterday’s Washington
Post article about the vote included, “And Mr. Jackson? Take your
crucifix and your religion and go back to Maryland.” And the comments
on stories about the vote in the comments sections of DCist and CityDesk
were too vicious and vulgar to link to here.
That viciousness and vulgarity is encouraged by the city council, and
by its ambition to drive the Catholic Church and other traditional
churches out of public life in this city. Tim Craig’s and Hamil Harris’
article in the Post on November 25 (“Church’s Influence on
Politics Shifting: DC’s Same-Sex Marriage Debate Pushes Some Clergy
Further to the Sidelines,” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/24/AR2009112403963.html),
reveals that many councilmembers are not only indifferent, but actively
hostile, toward religions whose core morality differ from theirs. A good
example of how such hostility and contempt will play out over the next
several years is a letter that was sent on Monday by Councilmember Tommy
Wells and Board of Education President Lisa Raymond. Councilmember Wells
has argued, particularly in the case of this bill, that DC citizens
should never lobby Congress, and should always bow to the will of the
city council and the mayor without exercising their legal right of
appeal to Congress. But Councilmember Wells reserves to himself the
right to lobby Congress. He and Raymond wrote to Senator Richard Durbin
to oppose the reauthorization of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program.
Their chief complaint is that they do not want the federal government to
give private school scholarships to the small number of DC students who
get to escape DC public schools with them, but their complaint is
tainted with a distinctly anti-Catholic bias: “In addition, as the
Archdiocese of Washington, which operates Catholic schools in the
District, made clear at recent hearings on legislation to enact marriage
equality for same sex couples, they will not and currently do not
recognize same sex couples or provide employee benefits for same sex
spouses. It is their clearly espoused doctrine and practice to treat gay
and lesbian employees differently from heterosexual employees. It is
unclear if and how the doctrine is communicated to students. We oppose
using public funds to support discriminatory practices in our city” (http://www.tommywells.org/content/view/796/2/).
Do not believe the reassurance of Councilmember Thomas, at Tuesday’s
legislative session, that religion is not under attack. Councilmember
Wells’ letter to Senator Durbin is just the opening salvo of the
attack. For the present, the council will tolerate churches’ preaching
their traditional beliefs, as long as they do not live by them; in the
future, teaching about traditional morality may be held to be a hate
crime under the Human Rights Act. Councilmembers are not about to write
a meaningful and effective exemption for religions into the same-sex
marriage bill, and they will never admit the legitimacy of individual
consciences. They disdain people whose consciences lead them to believe
in traditional morality.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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Peoples’ Counsel Update
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com
At the council’s legislative session on Tuesday, an emergency bill,
B18-531, the “Peoples’ Counsel Holdover Extension Emergency
Amendment Act of 2009,” was adopted to extend the term of Betty Noel,
as the Peoples’ Counsel. As a result, Noel, whose three-year term
ended in June, and whose one hundred eighty day holdover term ends on
December 10, will serve in a holdover capacity after the expiration of
her term “for not more than 270 days, or until a successor takes
office, whichever is earlier. In short, with regard to the Peoples’
Counsel, the council added ninety days to the regular one hundred eighty
days a District official can serve in a holdover capacity. As a result,
Novel will serve as the Peoples’ Counsel at least through March.
The emergency bill was introduced by Councilmember Muriel Bowser,
chair of the Council Committee on Public Services and Community Affairs.
As I wrote earlier in themail, Bowser held a confirmation hearing for
Mayor Fenty’s OPC nominee, Vicky Beasley, with less than forty-eight
hours notice to the general public. Bowser’s rush to secure counsel
approval, however, when Beasley was resoundingly criticized by citizens
and by civic organizations because of her lack of knowledge and
experience regarding administrative law. Following the hearing, Bowser
had to cancel the markup and committee vote on Beasley’s nomination
when she wasn’t able to get the support of a majority of her fellow
committee members. Bowser has now left the hearing open until January
23, in the hope that Beasley can supplement the hearing record with
letters of support.
As Tuesday’s legislative session, Councilmember Mary Cheh
introduced a bill that will formalize and detail minimal qualifications
for persons appointed to be the Peoples’ Counsel. If the bill is
adopted, Beasley will be considered unqualified to serve in the job.
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Intentionally Perverse Traffic Light Timing
Jack McKay, jack.mckay@verizon.net
Some time ago I complained to the District Department of
Transportation (DDOT) that a certain pair of traffic lights in Mount
Pleasant were especially badly timed. The second light goes red less
than ten seconds after the first, one block away, goes green. Anybody
stopped for the first traffic signal, and then proceeding at legal
speed, will be stopped by the second signal as well, there to wait for a
tedious 65 seconds. Guess what, impatient drivers either run the first
red light to make the second-light green, race along the block at high
speed to beat the second-light red, or cut through the alley parallel to
the road to skip right by those badly timed signals.
Silly me, I assumed that DDOT would reset the light timing to promote
traffic flow at the proper speed of traffic on this minor arterial. That
was, I thought, elementary traffic engineering. But no, they “improved”
the light timing by making the second signal go red the instant the
first light goes green, thus making it absolutely certain that anyone
stopped for the first signal light would be stopped by the second
traffic signal as well. While that may eliminate any temptation to race
along the block to make that second signal, it only encourages drivers
to run the first red light to make that second-light green, or to bypass
these signals by using the parallel alley as if it was roadway. Every
morning drivers familiar with these traffic lights evade them by cutting
through alleys, turning them into busy thoroughfares. This is hazardous
not only to traffic, because these alley exits are characterized by poor
traffic visibility, but also to pedestrians, innocently walking along
sidewalks crossing those alley exits, and to residents attempting to get
their cars out of alley garages.
Until now, I thought that this abuse of our alleys and side streets
by rush-hour traffic was caused by the unavoidable delays of traffic
signals on our arterials. Now I see that this is conscious DDOT policy:
adjust signal light timings on purpose so that drivers are forced to
stop and wait at each and every one. That stopping traffic as often as
possible, instead of promoting steady traffic flow at legal speeds on
arterial and collector streets, has the unfortunate consequence of
diverting traffic onto side streets and into alleys, seems be news to
DDOT.
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The role of Michelle Rhee in covering up sexual misconduct by her
fiancee, Sacramento California mayor and former NBA player Kevin
Johnson, has just been revealed in a congressional report. As reported
in The Washington Examiner, The Washington Times, and many other
media, Ms. Rhee handled “damage control” as a member of the Board of
Directors of St. Hope Academy, the school that Kevin Johnson founded.
The congressional report says that Johnson made inappropriate sexual
advances toward three young women involved in the St. Hope program. One
AmeriCorps volunteer working there allegedly was offered $1000 per month
to keep quiet. Michelle Rhee was informed of the sexual misconduct by a
staff member.
Ms. Rhee has politicized DC Public Schools. All the while, she claims
that she is acting in the best interests of children. In 2007, Ms Rhee
told the character-based abstinence education program that I founded,
ULTRA Teen Choice, to stop its programs in DC Public Schools. It was
falsely alleged by her special assistant Richard Nyankori that all
outside health programs were being stopped. Nyankori and Deputy Chief
for Youth Engagement Chad Ferguson, in a private meeting, told me that
since I did not express explicit personal support for same sex
relationships, and since I testified against now-adopted health
standards that effectively promote same-sex relationships as normal,
that our program would not be welcome in DC Public Schools. Later, Ms.
Rhee became personally involved in our case, and even falsely claimed (http://www.ultrateenchoice.org/downloads/MRhee_June_08.PDF)
that I had held a meeting at a school without permission and changed a
school’s entry log. (Doesn’t she have anything else to do)? Find our
the details at http://www.ultrateenchoice.org/default.asp?contentID=629.
It is ironic that Ms Rhee refers to the “safety and security of
children” in the letter. It is also ironic that she worked so
diligently to block a character-based program that helps children to
abstain from sexual relationships, while she covered for her fiancee who
made inappropriate sexual advances on those under his supervision. The
Washington, DC, city council should open an investigation into Ms. Rhee’s
misconduct at the St. Hope Academy, as well as her misconduct in the
termination of the ULTRA Teen Choice program. The council should also
look into other ways in which Ms. Rhee has politicized the school system
by bringing in programs that support her views in issues such as same
sex relationships, while blocking or ousting programs that promote
traditional values. At the same time, Ms. Rhee should tender her
resignation effective immediately.
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Tommy Wells and Lisa Raymond Should Refocus
Their “Responsibilities”
Paul D. Craney, pcraney@dcgop.com
The DC Republican Committee made the following statement in response
to Councilmember Tommy Wells’ (Ward 6-Dem) and School Board President
Lisa Raymond’s (Ward 6-Dem) letter to Senator Richard Durbin (IL-Dem)
encouraging the Senator not to reauthorize the DC Opportunity
Scholarship. Wells’ and Raymond’s letter stated that some students
who received the federally-funded vouchers attended “seriously
deficient” private schools.
The DC Republican Committee sent the following letter to School Board
President Raymond encouraging her to set an example of academic
excellence by fixing the DC State Board of Education’s web site of
spelling errors before pushing for the elimination of the DC Opportunity
Scholarship. Currently, the SBOE’s web site has spelling errors, most
noticeable under the section “Board Responsibilities,” the web site
reads “DC SBOE Responsibilites.”
“Ms. Raymond and Mr. Wells should refocus their ‘responsibilites’
on correcting the embarrassing spelling errors on DCSBOE’s web site
before sending a message to Congress that would eliminate free federal
money designed to help educate some of the District’s low income,
minority children. How embarrassing is it to have an elected body, whose
sole focus is to promote education, that can’t even operate a simple
web site without spelling errors,” stated DC Republican Committee
Chairman Robert J. Kabel.
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Celebrating Same-Sex Marriage in the District
Martin Andres Austermuhle, martin.austermuhle@gmail.com
The DC council’s December 1 vote on legislation legalizing same-sex
marriage is something to be celebrated. In an open and methodical way,
the council debated and endorsed legislation that erases discrimination
from what is essentially a state-recognized legal contract. While
opponents have worried that the council is redefining marriage to the
detriment of society, it’s worth remembering that we’ve long changed
how we view marriage to fit with changing social conditions. Allowing
more people to enter into loving relationships is never something to be
feared.
While some opponents continue to demand that the issue be put to a
public vote, it likely won’t be — and that’s a good thing. While
we live in a democracy, we also recognize that not everything is left to
the people to be voted on. Human rights and civil liberties should not
be left to the whim of the majority. The recent vote in Switzerland
banning the construction of minarets highlights this point. As for the
spat between the Archdiocese of Washington and the council over Catholic
Charities and their services to the city’s neediest residents, I hope
to see the Archdiocese respond to what was a moderate and
middle-of-the-road proposal from council members Phil Mendelson and
David Catania. The Church is not being forced to perform or even offer
space to same-sex marriages, but it would be too much to ask for it to
be allowed to discriminate against the same-sex couples it employs —
especially if it’s getting substantial amounts of public money for
certain social services. Georgetown University provides a local example
of how the Church can balance its religious beliefs and District laws
regarding nondiscrimination.
Finally, I’d like to ask that opponents of this legislation not
live up to their threat to go to Congress to demand its intervention.
While there is very little chance that Congress will be able to stop
this legislation from moving forward, it’s important that we not waver
on one key principle — local decisions should be made by locally
elected representatives who are accountable to their constituents. Rep.
Jason Chaffetz (R-Ut.) has said that he’s like to stop the
legislation, but he’s not our representative; we didn’t vote for
him, and we sure can’t vote him out. He doesn’t answer to District
residents, so he shouldn’t have the chance to impose his opinions on
decisions made by representatives that do. As Rev. Patrick J. Walker,
who leads New Macedonia Baptist Church and opposes gay marriage, said in
a recent Wall Street Journal article: “The citizens of the
District of Columbia do not need the Hill to meddle in our affairs. I’d
rather see this in court than on the Hill.” There’s a good chance
that sometime next spring the District’s same-sex couples will be able
to wed legally. I’m happy for them, and I’m happy with the DC
council for taking this step.
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Why was there very little about the fact the Fenty did not go to
Pollin’s funeral? I’m so offended.
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Kudos for Judge Who Approved Teacher Firings
Paul Michael Brown, pmb@his.com
Overburdened District taxpayers got some good news when Superior
Court Judge Judith Bartnoff threw out a suit challenging Chancellor Rhee’s
latest move to right size the public school workforce. Making short work
of the Maoist iron rice bowl arguments advanced by union bosses, the
court explained the dismissals in terms familiar to anyone who’s had
live within a budget or run a small business — in these tough economic
times the school system can’t afford to add hundreds of new employees.
Even better, the judge gave the back of her hand to the union’s effort
to let the new hires feed at the government trough while using the Bleak
House morass that is arbitration to challenge the firings. Those of us
who have paid ever escalating sums to support ceaseless growth in the
education bureaucracy despite decades of declining enrollment owe Judge
Bartnoff a debt of gratitude. Hopefully the chancellor will be
encouraged to continue her drive to transform DCPS from a make-work jobs
program to a world-class outfit more focused on student welfare than
union deadwood.
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Black Eye for ANC’s
Mary Beatty, ANC6A, mbbeatty@aol.com
I write in response to ANC 6A Commissioner Joe Fengler’s E-mail “Black
Eye for Charter Schools” [themail, November 25], which was in response
to my “NIMBY in ANC 6A” [themail, November 22], regarding a recent
ANC6A vote to oppose a charter preschool. My original E-mail pointed out
that while five ANC Commissioners stated their support of charter
schools, three of these voted to oppose this preschool in a gentrified
area near Lincoln Park. Commissioner Fengler even states that my “. .
. advocacy for charter schools has created intolerance for anything less
than unbridled charter school support 100 percent of the time — no
exceptions.”
While I wouldn’t shy away from “unbridled” support of anything
I believe in, as I mentioned in my E-mail, I voted in opposition to this
school in prior years based on the zoning issues that Fengler described
in detail. What Mr. Fengler fails to mention is that these zoning issues
have now, after numerous appeals by the ANC, been determined. The city
has determined that the school can be sited in this neighborhood. So,
having lost that argument, the ANC representative in this neighborhood
now wants the full ANC to jump in and oppose the issuance of the charter
by the Charter School Board based on supposed traffic and parking
issues.
Communities all across DC are so tightly woven that its hard to
provide any new retail space without creating parking problems, to
provide new entertainment venues without creating noise problems, to
allow bike rides or races without creating traffic issues. So I have
empathy for the residents who will be inconvenienced during drop-off and
pickup times for these three and four year olds. In fact, I suggested in
the meeting that the local ANC rep. take their concerns to the Charter
School Board. I just don’t believe that the entire ANC should be
dragged into these traffic and parking concerns, and I believe that many
of the concerns can be mitigated through negotiation with the owners.
During the four year time period that ANC 6A has been fighting the
siting of this preschool, it has approved ten to twelve new bars along H
Street. These bars back-up to residences on both side of the street for
about four to five blocks. But in this case, residents concerns of
noise, parking, and trash problems are mitigated through voluntary
agreements through the ANC’s ABL Committee. Why the ANC will not take
the same approach to mitigate the much less troublesome noise and
parking issues of a preschool seems a bit bizarre. So I’m not
criticizing the residents, I’m criticizing Commissioners who have such
a double standard. I’m criticizing the motives of those Commissioners
who say they support charter schools yet don’t see the hypocrisy of
voting against one based solely upon an imagined traffic/parking problem
for a couple of hours each day. Yes, that smacks of NIMBY to me.
We all experience some type of inconvenience to share in this great,
dynamic city. An ANC that would use a presumed traffic/parking problem
as justification to oppose the benefits of a new preschool to the
children of this area creates a black-eye to all ANC’s. Well, that is,
if you use the logic of Joe Fengler who somehow believes that my
comments about the inconsistencies of ANC 6A’s position gives a “black
eye to all charter schools.” The real shame is that there are
Commissioners in ANC 6A who don’t see the inconsistency and hypocrisy
in this rationale.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
DC Republican Committee Holiday Party,
December 9
Paul D. Craney, pauldcraney@dcgop.com
Please join the DC Republican Committee for a holiday party at the
home of Teri Galvez and Michael Cleary at 1707 19th Street, NW, on
December 9 at 6:30 p.m. This event is open to all and is a great way to
invite family and friends to a DC Republican event. Light food and
drinks will be served; admission price is $15.00. The DCGOP will collect
toys for babies through young adults, books, gift cards (Target, Best
Buy, ITunes, and food stores), wrapping paper, and movie passes for
Latin American Youth Center (LAYC, http://www.layc-dc.org).
To attend this event, please contact us at telephone number 289-8005
or by E-mail at: info@dcgop.com. To
make a contribution to LAYC, please contact our office or contact LAYC
directly.
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