Bad Advice
Dear Advisors:
Yesterday, Mike DeBonis wrote: “The first of Vincent Gray’s
pre-general-election town hall meetings is tonight, in Ward 5. But the
audience Gray needs to work harder to win over is the 80 percent of
white voters who preferred incumbent Adrian Fenty in the primary,” http://voices.washingtonpost.com/debonis/2010/10/demorning_debonis_oct_5_2010.html.
DeBonis referred to an article on Monday by Tim Craig that said, “Minutes
after DC Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray won the September 14
Democratic primary, residents in large swaths of Northwest Washington
sent dire messages on community E-mail groups and Facebook. The missives
predicted plummeting property values, rising crime and a swift return to
a government that couldn’t collect trash, fix streets, or provide
students with textbooks. ‘Are you . . . kidding me DC?’ one local
businessman posted on Facebook the day after the election. ‘Back to
the Marion Barry days we go.’
“Gray won as much as 80 percent of the vote in predominantly black
areas east of the Anacostia River. But in the city’s wealthier
neighborhoods, which are mostly white, Gray couldn’t muster 20
percent. His worst showing, 13 percent, was in a precinct near Duke
Ellington School for the Arts in Georgetown. ‘They really hate him,’
one local political strategist, who asked not to be identified in order
to speak freely, said about voters in upper Northwest. ‘They think he
represents a turning back of the clock,’” http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-opinions/2010/10/the_end_of_school_reform_in_th.html
Terrance Lynch, one of Fenty’s strongest supporters, tried hard to
undermine Gray’s chance of reapproachment with these voters in his
October 1 op-ed article: “Please wake up and smell the coffee. Urgent
public education reform is done for in the District. The American
Federation of Teachers didn’t pour money into a local race for
nothing, not to mention the numerous foot soldiers who traveled here
from far outside the city to do groundwork for the Gray campaign. Their
target was clearly Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, via her patron,
Mayor Adrian Fenty. Despite his voiced commitment to school reform, DC
Council Chairman and presumptive mayor Vincent Gray has over the past
three years quite vigorously and loudly second-guessed Rhee’s almost
every move, be it on budget, school closings, teacher evaluations or
other matters, to the point of badgering her on issues as basic as
personnel decisions at the level of middle school principal and high
school teacher positions. Throughout the campaign, Gray wouldn’t say
whether he would keep Rhee on should he win. DC voters well understood
that this meant he has no intention of doing so,” http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-opinions/2010/10/the_end_of_school_reform_in_th.html
So what advice are the pundits giving to Vincent Gray? The worst
possible advice: that now he has won the Democratic primary, he must
abandon the voters who supported him and appeal instead to the small
hard core of Fenty supporters who not only voted against him in the
primary but who still oppose him, hate him irrationally, are behind a
bitter and futile write-in campaign for Fenty in the general election,
and promote the racist argument that simply by being a black man in his
sixties he is complicit in a corrupt political history and should be
thrust into the trash-heap of history. Gray should give these voters
their political demands? Nonsense. By and large, the primary was a
normal political race between two candidates with basically similar
political philosophies. Only a small portion of white Fenty supporters
were motivated by the ignorance, prejudice, and bigotry that now
dominate the comments sections of newspaper web sites and that pundits
are now attributing to the majority of whites. Most just supported their
guy instead of the other guy.
The pundits tell Gray, “This small group of white voters rejects
you absolutely. Therefore, you must cater to their demands.” No; in
politics, you keep your base happy, expand your support to those who are
open to supporting you, and isolate your implacable opponents. Gray
should stick with the political truths that are so useful they have
become cliches: “dance with the one what brung you,” “to the
victors belong the spoils,” “elections have consequences.” There’s
plenty of time later to woo the bitter, disaffected Fenty voters who
will shun any approach by Gray now. For now, Gray needs to show his
voters that their support for him, their campaigning and voting for him,
do indeed have consequences — that they will not get more of the same
contempt and disdain from him that they have received from the city
government in the past.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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Pest Control in the District
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com
At Tuesday’s legislative meeting, the city council held a first
reading of and unanimously voted for Bill 18-498, the Wildlife
Protection Act. The bill was introduced by Mary Cheh a year ago, and
would “require the District Department of the Environment to license
individuals performing wildlife control activities” in the District.
The bill also sets “restrictions on the capture, handling, and
transport of wildlife.” The bill defines “wildlife” as “any
free-roaming wild animal” including, for example, raccoons, squirrels,
opossums, pigeons, and snakes. Rats, mice, and domestic animals are
excluded. The version of the bill that Ms. Cheh introduced last year
contained many controversial provisions that have been removed — no
doubt in order to be reinstated later in the enforcing regulations. The
revised version that the council voted for unanimously was given to the
other councilmembers while they were on the dias at their legislative
meeting just prior to their voting on it; none of the councilmembers had
read it before they approved of it.
While the stated purpose of the legislation is to promote a
reasonable principle — the humane treatment of animals, including
wildlife — it fails to acknowledge that many of the animals it seeks
to protect are, in fact, household pests that most people simply want
removed from their homes and/or property. The bill states that wildlife
that people want removed from their property shall be captured and “released
immediately at the site of capture,” which does no good, or “relocated
to a suitable location.” However, no ward of the city wants to be a
dumping ground for wild animals from other wards, and federal law
forbids relocating wild animals on federal land or in neighboring
jurisdictions. The bill also provides that wildlife shall be “transferred
to a wildlife rehabilitator, if the animal is sick, injured, or
abandoned.” (How can a wild animal be abandoned? Abandoned by whom?)
There is, however, no licensed wildlife rehabilitation facility in the
District. In the past, DC Animal Control has transported animals to the
Second Chance Wildlife Center in Gaithersburg, MD. However, the Center
has on occasion been so overwhelmed with wildlife from Montgomery County
that it has closed its doors to wildlife from DC. Within the District, a
newly formed group based in Georgetown, City Wildlife, Inc., is
currently “seeking a facility and operating funds” to open a
wildlife rehabilitation center. According to the testimony of the
organization’s president, Anne M. Lewis, the Wildlife Protection Act
will provide an “incentive” for the District government to
contribute financially to their efforts. One controversial section of
the bill that remains in the current version mandates that “a wildlife
control operator shall make every reasonable effort to preserve family
units” when capturing varmints. At a city council press conference on
Monday, councilmembers burst into laughter when they heard this
provision, which they were unaware of. Councilmembers couldn’t imagine
how anyone could identify the nuclear family of any particular squirrel,
snake, or raccoon that had invaded someone’s home. But even though
they knew the provision didn’t have any reasonable interpretation,
they voted for it, anyway, to let DC residents and professional pest
exterminators deal with its ramifications later.
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Fall is the time for scams done by children who ask for money for
some fictitious cause or other. Here are two recent E-mails from the
Hilleast listserv, which has recently posted a dozen E-mails on the
subject. I post them to alert subscribers to themail.
Anne Holbrook wrote, “Last fall I posted two incidents: two little
girls came to my door asking for money for a cause. When I asked what it
was for and what the organization did they called to their ‘father’
to come and tell me. When I asked for his name, he said a name. The
five-year-old turned around and said that it was not his name and told
me his real name. On the Metro, teen boys and girls had a paper with
info about a fund to buy basketball equipment and uniforms for the Boys
and Girls Club in SE on 17th Street. When I stated that the building had
been closed for years now, they and the adult went through the emergency
connecting doors and left at the next station. If it is not a known
organization that I can call and talk with someone about — I do not
give anything. Fall seems to be the time for this phony scams with kids.”
Jim Myers wrote, “This — and other variants on the idea of
sending kids our with a paper purporting to show the money you give will
go to sports uniforms or equipment, etc. — used to be called ‘baby-dolling,’
even by the perpetrators, on the theory that the kids were cute and
their needs touched the hearts of the naive victims. And so it was. Some
kids I was aware of had to go out baby dolling almost every day or they
were in trouble. A few were very good at it and traveled all over the
city. A lot of the money went for drug use by adults, although some kids
learned to keep some of the proceeds for themselves. A variant on the
baby-dolling theme has showed up in recent years involving the former
Eastern Branch of the Boys and Girls Club, particularly in other parts
of the city — like Connecticut Avenue — where people don’t know
the club is long closed. But, as you can see, other scams can be very
much like baby dolling with Xeroxed papers purporting to show the money
goes to a good cause. Often, in the candy deals, there are adults nearby
supervising the operation. It’s gotten so you can’t trust much of
anything involving heart wrenching tales of woe or kids raising funds
for allegedly good causes, and it’s both sad and disgusting, except it’s
unlikely your money would have saved the world, anyway. So instead do
something that takes more personal involvement and you can see and enjoy
the results of your efforts and largess.”
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DC’s Selections for Next Year’s Metro
Board
Christopher Jerry, cjerrydc@gmail.com
In the last edition of themail [October 4], you had some suggestions
for a future Vincent Gray administration and Kwame Brown-led council
that I thought were very sound in terms of not spending money the city
doesn’t have, repealing laws that don’t make sense, and getting rid
of programs and contractors that are inefficient and unnecessary. I’d
like to propose a suggestion of my own.
To Messers. Gray and Brown, as members of what they have been heard
to call themselves representatives of Ward 15 (Ward 7 + 8 is 15), how
about for the very first time appointing as DC’s primary (voting)
member of the Metro Board someone from east of the river? Between Metro
service and the Circulator, the previous primary board members from the
council, Jim Graham, David Catania, and Jack Evans, have all worked very
hard to cut deals on the board and on the council to make sure their
part of the city has had its transportation issues addressed. It’s no
coincidence that in their part of town, Metrobus and Circulator service
has expanded while all that east of the river has gotten are promises,
even to the point that service that crosses a river crosses the Potomac
to Rosslyn, VA, instead of the Anacostia to east of the river commercial
locations. I’d suggest the council’s primary Metro Board seat be
held by an at-large member who represented the entire city, as Catania
allegedly did at one time, but if it’s going to be held by a Ward
representative, you’d think it should be someone from the most public
transit dependent part of the city, which is Wards 7 and 8. And no, the
alternate seats that councilmember Barry and Michael Brown have held are
not good enough. Not only are the positions they held not part of the
six primary votes on the Metro Board, both Barry and Brown have not
taken the position seriously, as evidenced by their being absent at a
large number of meetings.
If Council-Chair-to-be Mr. Brown is going to leave Mr. Graham in
charge of the Public Works committee, it stands to reason Graham will
expect to keep his Metro Board seat. But there is no reason that
prospective Mayor Gray shouldn’t find an east of the river resident to
be his primary pick for the Metro Board. While in recent years the Mayor’s
primary pick has been the DDOT Director, it hasn’t always been that
way. It would be great if a regular citizen, who preferably would also
be a regular rider of the system, were chosen to fill that seat.
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Tony Danza on Education
Star Lawrence, jkellaw@aol.com
I have not seen the Waiting for Superman film, so cannot comment on
it. But I did catch the first episode of A&E’s “TEACH: Tony
Danza.” The sitcom star, now looking tiny and wizened, decides to try
teaching, a lifelong ambition. The mayor of Philadelphia, apparently,
agrees to let him teach English and be an assistant coach. The principal
is no-nonsense: you screw up, you’re out. The school looks big,
sprawling, not a snakepit, but no tony academy, either. Before Danza
starts, he takes some certification courses, and one line stuck with me.
The instructor says something like — there are three places people end
up where they don’t want to be — prison, mental hospital, and
school. So, thus armed, Tony goes into the classroom, immediately
babbles and gets coated in flop sweat. I will leave it to you — but if
I ever thought I could be a teacher, no way now!
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The Problem with Ms. Rhee
Richard Urban, independent candidate for DC Council
At-Large, rurban@rufordc.com
I believed Ms.. Rhee should have resigned in December 2007 when I
organized a rally in front of Stuart-Hobson Middle School (http://www.youtube.com/richardurban)
protesting the deceitful way that she terminated the operation of the
ULTRA Teen Choice abstinence education program in DC Public Schools.
Based on a litmus test of my personal view on same-sex marriage (see http://tinyurl.com/2g86cw5),
the program was cut. It did not matter that six parents and five
students in the program met with Richard Nyankori, then Ms. Rhee’s
special assistant and now head of special education, and expressed how
the program was beneficial and how they wanted it to continue. What did
matter is that Ms. Rhee did not want a program in DC Public schools run
by a person who had testified against health standards that teach that
same sex relationships are normal, beginning in sixth grade (http://tinyurl.com/2brnygy,
Page 9 Standard 6.1.6 and Page 10 Standard 8.1.5). Since then she has
wrongfully terminated a lot of people and things, including mass layoffs
of 100, 266, and 241 employees and dozens of principals, closed many
schools, kicked out dozens of nonprofit programs or made it difficult or
nearly impossible for them to work in schools, antagonized parents,
antagonized Special Ed parents (for example, http://snailgoop.com/?p=431),
been under court order for Special Ed (http://tinyurl.com/2bm7vzv),
and the list goes on.
If the character is rotten at the core, the fruit will not be good.
Rhee does not have the qualifications of integrity or even practical
experience to lead DC public schools Yes, make tough decisions, but lack
of integrity and deceit must not be part of the process. Yet from the
very beginning it has been. Rhee was brought on without any vetting by
anyone, and that pattern has been followed ever since. It is not
surprising that things have not gone well since then. I agree with Gary,
everyone needs accountability, and having a Chancellor that answers to
no one except the mayor has not worked well. Now is the time to rectify
this by the Council’s reinstating an elected school board. In the next
administration, we must not allow another (or the same) School
Chancellor to run amok. Ms. Rhee has not championed children, as she
repeatedly claims, but rather her own hidden agendas.
###############
Several years ago the Indiana Legislature created a study committee
to identify Indiana’s statutes that were obsolete or that served no
purpose Those statutes were then repealed. DC should do the same.
But more than that, the test as to each DC statute should be: 1) what
purpose does it serve, 2) is it reasonable, and 3) does it impose an
undue burden on the citizenry. Any statute that fails that test should
be repealed.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
What is Your Vision for Ward 5, October 7
Kathy Henderson, khenderson209@aol.com
I want to thank the Ward 5 residents that attended the October 1
session. We had a very thoughtful discussion about the future of Ward 5.
If you did not get a chance to attend, consider attending the next
session on October 7, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The location is the
Harry Thomas Recreation Center at 1743 Lincoln Road, NE (Near North
Capitol Street and Lincoln Road, NE). Your agenda will be my agenda.
Please share your vision for Ward 5 with me. Where would you like to
see Ward 5 headed in the next year to five years? What is your priority
for development? What are your thoughts on schools in Ward 5? Do you
feel safe in Ward 5? These are just some of the topics we can discuss.
My goal is to listen to what you have to say.
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Department of Parks and Recreation Events,
October 9-15
John Stokes, john.astokes@dc.gov
October 9, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., Langdon Recreation Center, 2901 20th
Street, NE. Backyard Habitat Garden Workshop, Gardening for Birds and
Butterflies. Free. DDOE and DPR are helping property owners create
habitat for wildlife on their own land by hosting free educational,
hands-on workshops. These workshops will teach District residents about
landscaping for wildlife while also creating aesthetically pleasing
gardens. The workshops will include presentations on conservation
landscaping and gardening for wildlife, plant selection, general
landscape design principles and how to do a site assessment. If you are
interested participating you can register online at http://www.ddoe.dc.gov/fisheries,
click on “Backyard Habitat Education,” then on register for a
workshop in 2010.
October 10, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Cole Field House, Maryland
University College. Halloween Championship for ages six through
eighteen. The cheerleaders from Fort Lincoln will compete in a cheer
competition at Maryland University College. For more info, please visit http://www.spiritunlimited.com.
For more information, call K’Yanna Blackwell at 258-7501.
October 10, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., North County High School, 10 First
Avenue E, Glenn Burnie, Maryland. Radical Rec. for ages six through
eighteen. This event is a competitive cheer competition that the DC
Scorpions from Fort Lincoln will participate in. For more details,
please visit http://www.gocoastal.com
For more information, call K’Yanna Blackwell at 258-7501.
October 13, 15, 5:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m., Hearst Recreation Center, 3600
Tilden Street, NW. Maryland Backyard Habitat Garden Workshop: Creating
Wildlife Communities in Small Spaces. Free. DDOE and DPR are helping
property owners create habitat for wildlife on their own land by hosting
free educational, hands-on workshops. These workshops will teach
District residents about landscaping for wildlife while also creating
aesthetically pleasing gardens. The workshops will include presentations
on conservation landscaping and gardening for wildlife, plant selection,
general landscape design principles and how to do a site assessment. If
you are interested participating you can register online at http://www.ddoe.dc.gov/fisheries,
click on “Backyard Habitat Education,” then register for a workshop
in 2010.
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National Building Museum Events, October 13
Johanna Weber, jweber@nbm.org
October 13, 3:00-5:00 p.m., Construction Watch Tour: United States
Institute of Peace Redux. The United States Institute of Peace (USIP)
— an independent, nonpartisan, national institution — provides tools
that prevent and end violent international conflicts and promote
stability. USIP’s new headquarters, designed by Moshe Safdie and
Associates (MSA), incorporates a dramatic series of wing-like elements.
Representatives from USIP, MSA, and Clark Construction Group lead a tour
of the 150,000-square-foot, LEED-NC building. $25, for members only.
Prepaid registration required.
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CLASSIFIEDS — CLASSES
New Classes with Continuing Education at CCDC
Neil Richardson, Continuing Education, Community College
of the District of Columbia, drichardson@udc.edu
Continuing Education at the Community College of the District of
Columbia is offering “instructor led” courses for the first time
beginning in November. Classes are in our new buildings at 801 N.
Capitol Street, NW, and at our Backus facility at 5171 South Dakota
Avenue, NE. Continuing Education launched 1200 high quality and
affordable online classes in February. Continuing Education provides
professionals the training and education people need to get the best
jobs. We have online classes ranging from accounting courses to Six
Sigma Certification to media and graphic design classes.
We are excited about providing diverse programming this fall
including Weather Forecasting (for armchair forecasters), Feng Shui, and
Train the Trainers classes. We are also launching new classes and
workshops in January that will include civic engagement training, team
building, and organizational development. In January, a special
Energizer series will help you begin the New Year with short two-hour
workshops in Group Dynamics, Self Awareness: From Insanity to Integrity,
Achieving and Maintaining Life Balance, Building Health Relationships,
and Letting Go: Facing the Pain.
CCDC has a community conference room that can seat approximately one
hundred thirty people (and can be subdivided into three smaller rooms).
The space can be used for community events, corporate retreats and
education forums. Continuing Education will be hosting a speaker series
at our conference room in which District residents can learn about
important events and engage in dialog about important public issues. We
have also launched http://www.EdCafe.org,
which aims to become a virtual community commons where people can come
together to find out about opportunities for growth. Continuing
Education at CCDC is here to serve people from across the city. Let us
know what you think. For more information, go to http://www.ccdc.usdc.edu/cc/continuing_education
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