Crusaders
Dear Crusaders:
Today, DCist.com’s front page reports on yesterday’s special
election. In the headline, it says, "Amid Low Turnout, Bonds Narrowly
Wins At-Large Seat," and in the very first sentence it says, "Interim
Councilmember Anita Bonds (D-At Large) handily won the April 23 Special
Election, beating five competitors in a low-turnout affair." So was it a
narrow win, or did she win handily? I suspect that the headline was
spin, meant to make Elissa Silverman’s second-place finish look better
than it was. In any case, it’s hard to make Republican candidate Patrick
Mara’s third-place finish look like anything other than a decisive loss,
both for him personally and, more importantly, for his party.
#####
The latest must-read articles on the school test cheating scandal:
The Washington Examiner’s editorial, "DC Council Continues
Test-Erasure Cover-Up,"
http://tinyurl.com/aopj55n,
and two articles by The Washington Post’s Emma Brown, "DC Test
Security Discussions Focus on Current and Future School Exam Policy,"
http://tinyurl.com/bz7clqg, and "Catania Does
Not Plan to Call for Full-Scale Re-Investigation of 2008 Cheating
Allegations,
http://tinyurl.com/aj6b53p. I
hope that voters will keep Catania’s cover-up of this scandal in mind in
case he decides to run as DC’s first elected Attorney General and tries
to portray himself as an anti-corruption crusader.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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The Real War on Cars
Randy Bovbjerg,
RBovbjer@urban.org
[Re: "The Real War on Cars," themail, April 21] You go, Gary. It’s
not just the columnist who’s non-objective if the editors put the screed
on the cover, is it? What are the pressure points at City Paper?
Are do you think they are just single-mindedly devoted to a youthful
demographic that buys from advertisers of the hip lifestyle, a sales
target that hasn’t had to get a baby to day car(e) yet?
###############
Where were these johnny-come-lately’s in years past? Many would
rather have driven ten miles out of the way then drive through the black
neighborhoods. Now that they are here, they want to change everything to
their liking, but that will not happen. Harriet Tregoning is out of her
element by remotely suggesting that the zoning provisions for parking in
new developments should be reduced. She ought to go ride a bike in the
rain or in the snow and bring a week’s worth of food home on the handle
bars of that same bike. Her plans for this city are from the dark ages
on cars. Does she think she is more important then Detroit? If Detroit
could persuade every city in the country to do away with streetcars and
buy buses, what do you think they will do to a neophyte whose plans are
all wet and anti-car? Terry Bellamy and William Howland, who support
Harriet’s crazy plans, are in the same church. When they are gone, with
the change of administrations this city will have to clean up their
mess. Where did the mayor find these people to be directors of agencies
that affect the peace and harmony of the lives of people? If brains were
dynamite, I don’t think they have enough, collectively, to blow their
noses.
###############
Have you ever purchased a new car and had to wait forever for the
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) xto send the paper work to your
dealer so you can remove the paper tags and place your tags on the new
car? This is one aspect of the DC government that moves as slowly as
molasses in January. The workers must hob-knob and do nothing to delay
in doing their job. In the days when the city was under the control of
the three commissioners, things moved with alacrity; today the workers
move like snails. So much for the unions and how they have screwed
things up, because these same workers would have had to produce or look
for another job. But don’t worry, a change is coming and the slackers
will be either retired or fired. And perhaps the city will be better
controlled then by a city council that is less then honest.
###############
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