Throw Out the Rules
Dear Rulers:
Gene Weingarten is the Washington Post’s resident humorist,
and he quite frequently is humorous. Except when he writes about
politics, because then his approach is simple minded: liberal Democrats
are right about everything, and conservative Republican are poopy-heads.
That makes him as unfunny as Janeanne Garafolo, whose humor never
amounts to anything more than partisan name calling. A good humorist isn’t
partisan, but portrays all politicians on every side of a political
controversy as stupid, and makes fun of partisanship itself.
A representative example of Weingarten’s political humor is in his
column this week, “Gene Versus the GOP on DC Voting Rights,” http://tinyurl.com/3g4r2ds.
In it, Weingarten has what reads like an imaginary political debate with
Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz of Utah: “Today, to prove it is
possible to transcend partisan differences and actually get something
done between political adversaries, I intend to engage — in an open,
respectful and constructive way — one of the most evil monsters on the
planet.” To be fair, however, Weingarten gives Chaffetz, his opponent,
all the funny lines in their exchange, and presents his own position on
DC Voting Rights as unconvincing and self-defeating, but he also
portrays Chaffetz as being stumped by some of the silliest things he
says. Here’s the heart of the debate:
[Weingarten]: Many conservatives say that they might be in favor of
DC residents having a vote but that it would take a constitutional
amendment.
Jason [Chaffetz]: Yes, I believe the Constitution is crystal clear on
that point.
Me: Aren’t there times when an injustice is so great you have to
throw out the rules? Let’s say a man crawls up to a fancy
restaurant, dying of starvation. As the maitre d’, would you turn
him away because the rules require a jacket and tie?
Jason: Can the restaurant be Five Guys? I like Five Guys.
Weingarten’s argument isn’t just wrong, it’s off-putting to
anyone, liberal or conservative, who’s dedicated to the American
constitutional system. The constitution protects us from people who take
an attitude like Weingarten’s, who think that because they know better
than anyone else they should just be able to change the rules to their
liking or throw out the rules entirely. Because it’s so clear to them
that the constitution is wrong, they think the constitution should be
discarded, and that they shouldn’t have to go through the hard work of
amending it by convincing enough other people to agree with them. Maybe
Weingarten is just clowning, and not seriously trying to convince people
of the case he is pretending to make for DC voting rights. But he’s
more likely to convince people that the people in DC don’t deserve
voting rights, because they think everything should be rigged just to
favor them.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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This coming week in the District will be filled with many events and
activities surrounding the dedication on Sunday, August 28, of the
Martin Luther King, Jr., National Memorial in West Potomac Park near the
Lincoln Memorial. To mark the event, the District government and the DC
Black History Committee have organized a “DC Residents’ Day at the
Memorial” on Tuesday, August 23, 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. No tickets
will be required, and non-DC residents may also attend. Although the
Memorial will be open and accessible from a variety of entry points,
those who want to go on the National Park Service tour of the monument
on August 23 are asked to form a queue line at 23rd Street and
Independence Avenue, SW. The DC government web site at http://dc.gov/DC/Mayor/Initiatives/MLK+Memorial+Dedication+Week
has a schedule of special District events, including performances and
exhibits at MLK Library and the DC Full Democracy Freedom Rally and
March on August 27, as well as useful information for anyone who intends
to visit the Memorial.
WMATA’s web site, at http://www.wmata.com/getting_around/metro_events/mlk.cfm?,
complements the District’s web site by providing detailed information
on Metro’s operations on Sunday, August 28, and a map with walking
directions to the Memorial from the nearest Metro stations, which are
all a considerable distance away. (The Smithsonian station is
approximately .8 mile, the Arlington Cemetery station is 1.2 miles, the
Foggy Bottom station 1.4 miles, and the Farragut North and Farragut West
stations 1.5 miles from the Memorial. The WMATA web site also opens with
a video that is a wonderful introduction to the monument and a useful
tool in planning a visit to it.
The Memorial will officially open to the general public on Monday,
August 22, at 11:00 a.m. It will remain open and accessible to the
public until Saturday evening, August 27, when it will be closed to
prepare for the dedication ceremony on Sunday.
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DCBOEE Appoints Permanent Executive Director
Bill O’Field, wofield@gmail.com
The DC Board of Elections and Ethics announced Thursday that Paul
Stenbjorn has been appointed the new Executive Director of the agency, http://www.dcboee.org/popup.asp?url=/pdf_files/nr_808.pdf.
Stenbjorn had been serving as the Acting Executive Director since July
26 upon the departure of Rokey Suleman, who held the position. According
to the Board’s media release, Stenbjorn had served as the agency’s
Chief Technology Officer since 2005 and had worked with the Virginia
State Board of Elections and as a consultant.
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Don’t Beg — I Am Writing
Star Lawrence, jkellaw@aol.com
Not the begging, I can’t take it. I have noticed fewer letters. The
problem with me (and for me) is that I am not in DC. Oh, well. What do I
make of my old home town from out here in Arizona? Well, I am constantly
irked to read your houses are still worth something, you have jobs, and
apparently can slurp down $12 cocktails. We have “Bank Owned” signs
and half-empty strip malls. . . “For Lease, For Lease.” We are on
the stamps — eking out the money for the dog chow and toilet paper not
covered. The traveling Mexican gardeners don’t come by in their trucks
as much — but it’s OK because the city had to fire the neighborhood
commissar who fined you if your grass grew over six inches. See, silver
lining. I might add, though, that it wouldn’t hurt you people back
there to perk things up in this land of ours. We are really not that
interested in who is one-upping whom in Congress. As someone said in the
NYT, “We need to elect better crooks.”
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PG County themail?
T. Lassoc, cei76@aol.com
Although this newsletter is dedicated to all things DC, maybe once a
month or once per quarter the newsletter would host a forum for your
readers in the surrounding jurisdictions, especially PG County, which is
probably linked closer (as to issues) than any of the other
jurisdictions. In fact, some PG county folks refer to parts of PG County
as “Southeast DC extended.” Also, Northern Virginia and Montgomery
County readers might want to speak out sometimes about their
jurisdictions. Just a thought.
[What are your thoughts about doing this? — Gary Imhoff]
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Thank you for what you and Dorothy do. I don’t have words for how
frustrated I am with our elected officials in DC. A bunch of them need
to go to jail, and the rest we should vote out as soon as we can. The
E-mails from DCWatch are an encouragement that I am not alone in my
disappointment. So thank you.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Free Movie Premiere in Honor of the MLK
Memorial Dedication, August 24
Ann Loikow, aloikow@verizon.net
The ACLU of the Nation’s Capital and the DC Host Committee for the
Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Dedication are sponsoring a number of
free events for the week before the August 28 dedication of the new
Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial. The DC Host Committee is a citywide
effort by citizens and groups from across DC to welcome visitors to
Washington, DC, and educate them about our political status and the need
for statehood. The films, being shown on Wednesday, August 24, at 7:00
p.m. at the E Street Cinema, 555 11th Street NW, are MLK: The Making of
a Holiday, starring LeVar Burton and Marla Gibbs, with music by Stevie
Wonder, and The 51st Star! featuring DC’s Grammy nominee Chuck Brown,
Wayna, and Walter Fauntroy. Although many events for the dedication are
ticketed and cost a lot of money, this event is free and open to the
public. RSVP for free admission by calling 457-0800 or by sending an
E-mail to johnny.barnes@aclu-nca.org.
If you would like to volunteer to help the Host Committee greet
visitors to the District and educate them on our need for statehood,
please E-mail Beverly at beverly@aclu-nca.org. We will need people to
help put up signs this weekend, pass out brochures with information
about the events we are sponsoring, facts about DC, and why we need
statehood at hotels, Metro stops, and events for the Dedication. We need
volunteers for a number of events the week of August 22-28. There will
also be a major statehood rally at Freedom Plaza at 10:00 a.m. on
Saturday, August 27, followed by a march to 17th and Constitution
Avenue, NW, where we will join the national March for Jobs and Justice.
If you missed the 1963 March on Washington, this is your chance to join
the 2011 March for Washington, DC!
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