Seasonal Solutions
Dear Seasoned Observers:
The US Park Service is taking a lesson from Marion Barry. When snow
buried the roads and paralyzed DC in 1987, while the mayor was attending
the Super Bowl in southern California, and then again in 1996 when Barry
was back in office for a fourth mayoral term, the joke was that Barry’s
snow removal plan was spring; that he would simply wait for the arrival
of warmer weather. (By the way, I’ve hunted for a direct quote from
Barry saying that “spring” was his snow removal plan, and I haven’t
found it. If anyone has a source that attributes the line directly to
him, I’d love to publish it in themail to preserve it for posterity.)
In any case, the US Park Service has adopted Barry’s plan in order
to deal with the Occupy DC protesters on Freedom Plaza (and the Stop the
Machine protesters in McPherson Square). The Park Service’s plan for
protester removal is winter. The Park Service has given the protesters a
long-term extension of their permit to demonstrate, thus avoiding, at
least for now, the necessity of arresting many of them and giving them
the publicity they crave. Occupy DC hasn’t attracted masses of
supporters and hangers-on the way the Occupy Wall Street protest in New
York has, even with the enthusiastic support of our city’s liberal
Democratic politicians and press. Occupy DC has tried to erect a big
tent with an inclusive, inchoate rallying call that tries to encompass
liberals, unionists, progressives, socialists, communists, anarchists,
Obama supporters, Obama opponents, nostalgic hippies from the sixties,
and anyone even vaguely on the left. It’s still a minuscule movement,
and there are fewer people on Freedom Plaza this week than there were
last week. It will be finished off by cold weather, the winter winds
that whip down Pennsylvania Avenue and blow across Freedom Plaza, and
snow storms. They will eventually clear protesters from the city, and
the Park Service will have clean hands in the process.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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DC Residents Should Occupy Washington, DC
Thomas Riehle, riehles@erols.com
How is it possible that DC statehood activists have not made
demonstrations over our lack of a democratic voice the centerpiece of
Occupy DC and Stop the Machine? C’mon people, we have home field
advantage over the other groups under these umbrellas. Even when it
comes to demonstrators invading the Senate Office Building and setting
up shop on Freedom Plaza and McPherson Square to represent the concerns
of the 99 percent, the concerns of 0 percent of DC residents angry over
lack of rights and representation are raised. The irony: when Stop the
Machine got a permit for Freedom Plaza, they did not really need to
contact any city agency about it, because the permitting authority is
the US National Park Service.
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[Re: Love the Gridlock, themail, October 10] An independent judiciary
is part of it. Another part must be how we vote for legislators, which
creates a multiple party system and a minority party. Without a strong
minority, separation of executive and legislative branches does little
to improve government. DC and Mexico under the PRI are prime examples of
this. I submit that if DC wants to be free of Congress and governed
well, it must beef up minority representation at the Ward level,
electing three seats per ward (in smaller wards) with at least one being
of a different party.
The other thing that keeps us free is the fact that two parties tend
to favor highly competent elected officials, often lawyers, who have the
education/indoctrination in the Bill of Rights to a great enough extent
that they personally believe in them. If you survey most citizens or put
most rights up to a vote, they do not fare so well. In a single-party
state, familial and machine politics sometimes put people on the Council
who are not necessarily well qualified for office.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Community Meetings on DC Government-Run
Internet Gambling, October 13-November 17
Marie Drissel, marie.drissel@verizon.net
The District law to allow the massive expansion of online gambling,
potentially in 160,000 DC homes and at undetermined hotspots/secured
sites, was approved without a public hearing, with no legislative
history, and without any testimony under oath by any government witness
or expert. This law gives complete power to independent Chief Financial
Officer Natwar Gandhi and DC Lottery Executive Director Buddy Roogow to
make all decisions concerning what games will be offered, the hours of
operation (currently until 4:00 a.m.), and where the hot spots will be;
it does not require the promulgation of rules and regulations. Although
these meetings will not become part of the public record they will be
your first time to ask questions. Please visit http://www.stopedgambling.com
for more information.
Here is the list of meetings: Ward 5, Lamond Riggs Library, October
13, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.; Ward 4, Petworth Library, October 17, 6:30 to
8:30 p.m.; Ward 7, IDEA Public Charter School, October 18, 6:30 to 8:30
p.m.; Ward 6, Northwest One Library, October 20, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.; Ward
1, Marie Reed Learning Center, November 1, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.; Ward 3,
Palisades Library, November 10, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.; Ward 2, Jelleff
Recreation Center, November 15, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.; Ward 8, Anacostia
Library, November 17, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
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Drumming for Justice, October 15
Afrika Abney, afrikamaabney@yahoo.com
Come to Drumming for Justice on Saturday, October 15, 3:30 p.m., on
the DC Historical Society Grounds, 801 K Street, NW. We welcome drummers
and dancers of all races and ethnic groups and the community to come out
for this important event. For more information about the ceremony,
please contact Doc Powell, founder of the Malcolm X Drummers and
Dancers, at 459-8157, or Chuck Hicks at 421-8608.
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The 44th Annual Dupont Circle House Tour takes place this Sunday,
October 16, from noon to 5:00 p.m. This year, fourteen private homes and
will be open to the public, including townhouses, penthouses, a
two-story condo, the International Student House, and the Whittemore
House — an American Arts and Crafts style mansion. Many of the sites
will feature musical performances, and the Keegan Theater will offer a
backstage tour of their upcoming production of The Crucible.
Tickets: $30 in advance; $35 day of event; includes afternoon tea at
the Woman’s National Democratic Club from 2-5 p.m. For more
information or to purchase on-line, go to http://www.dupont-circle.org.
The House Tour is the major fundraising activity of the Dupont Circle
Citizens Association. Proceeds from the all-volunteer event go to
charitable contributions that benefit the community. Volunteer positions
as house monitors are still available for the 2:30-5:00 p.m. shift.
Contact president@dupont-circle.org.
Volunteers receive a free ticket and admission to the after-party at
Annie’s.
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DC College Fair, October 18
Kenneth Howard, kenneth.howard@dc.gov
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) and the
College Admission Counselors (NACAC) are partnering to host the National
College Fair on Tuesday, October 18, at the Walter Washington Convention
Center (Metro Green Line, Mt. Vernon Square station, 7th and Mt. Vernon
Place, NW). The hours are 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m..
The fair is one of several activities held in the District for College
Awareness. The 2010 fair was the largest college fair ever held in the
Washington, DC, metropolitan area. Over 8,500 students from DC public
schools, DC public charter schools, as well as from Virginia and
Maryland. Representatives from over two hundred fifty universities and
colleges throughout the United States, England and Canada were also in
attendance. At least three hundred colleges and universities and over
twelve thousand parents and students are expected at this year’s fair.
Students and parents can meet one-on-one with college representatives
and visit the counseling center to talk with a counselor about choosing
majors or to get information on financial aid, grants, and scholarships.
Students and parents are encouraged to visit https://www.gotomyncf.com/Reg.asp?EID=146
to pre-register online with the colleges they intend to visit. By
pre-registering, student information only has to be entered once online,
which eliminates the need to fill out numerous information cards during
the fair. For more information please visit the 2011 National College
Fair web site at http://www.nacacnet.org/EventsTraining/CollegeFairs/ncf/Fall/Pages/2011FWas.aspx
or contact the OSSE at 727-2824.
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