DC CITY DESK. . .

LAST CALL

2009-03-02T09:38:00.002-05:00

Sam Smith

One of the things you learn early as a writer is that the hardest parts of a story are the beginning and the end. The beginning of my story as a Washington journalist was over 50 years ago; the middle has encompassed all or part of one quarter of America's presidencies, and the end will come sometime this year.

I will continue to edit the national edition of the Progressive Review, which has more readers than ever but my wife Kathy and I are moving to Maine where we have deep ties, for me going back more than six decades.

I am leaving my birthplace, a town I have loved but also a place in which I have felt increasingly an exile as local values, culture and community faded - not because they lacked merit but because they did not produce enough power or profit for someone.

It has become a city where the police chief erects apartheid style roadblocks, where the deputy mayor hides a community library in a high rise like it was just another Starbucks, and where the government is spends over $600 million on a baseball stadium but can't keep its recreation centers open all weekend.

It is a city of magnificent views and dismal viewpoints, wonderful communities and dubious egos, natural spaces and artificial words. It is a city that too often can't tell the difference between intelligence and wisdom and, as Russell Baker once noted, the difference between being serious and being somber.

It is also a city in which all politics becomes office politics, and where imagination and free thought are restricted to thirty minutes on weekdays and violators will be towed.

Still, Washington has always been an unsortable amalgam of decadence and decency, undeserved profit and unrequited purpose, subterranean conspiracies and high ideals. Walt Whitman found himself "amid all this huge mess of traitors, loafers, hospitals, axe-grinders, & incompetencies & officials that goes by the name of Washington." Even earlier, Captain Frederick Marry noted, "Here are assembled from every state in the union, what ought to be the collected talent, intelligence, and high principles of a free and enlightened nation. Of talent and intelligence there is a very fair supply, but principle is not so much in demand; and in everything, and everywhere, by the demand the supply is regulated."

One of the things that affects the city's crosscurrents of felicity and felony is what is happening elsewhere in the nation. As a weak colony filled with professional migrants, DC is a beta edition of both the good and the bad. Just as Washington was once deep into the civil rights and peace movements, today it accurately reflects national values sown in the Reagan-Clinton-Bush era that have caused the disintegration of the republic's economy, its global status and its constitution.

You can feel it wandering around downtown, where every last centimeter of the zoning envelope is filled with the dull high rises of a second robber baron era. You see it in the endless piling on of new civil and criminal offenses in place of decent and effective policies. You find it in the official subservience and subsidy to those who already have more than their fair share. You observe it in a school system that values rigid tests and rules but not thoughtful questions and creative ideas.

You see it in the failure to lift a hand to help those unable to play DC's harsh games. And you see it in the increasing division between free and locked down Washington, the former being those parts where you can still cross a threshold without having to prove you are not a terrorist.

Which is not to say you can not find many good things hidden beneath the hubris, behind the ubiquitous fear in the world's most guarded place and under the false renaissance of a city that has spent billions on convention centers, stadiums, arenas, but which can't even provide as many jobs for local residents as it did 20 years ago.

You just have to look harder.

You'll find it still in the neighborhoods like the one I shall miss most: Capitol Hill.

You'll find it in the little oases of commercial sense and service like Frager's hardware store, Distad's auto repair shop and all the other small businesses that get mainly bills and regulations from the city government while the favors go to the big guys.

You'll find it over lunch at places like Jimmy T's, Ben's Chili Bowl and La Tomate.

You'll find it in the files of the Washingtoniana collection at the DC Library, on a trail sign or in an exhibit at the Historical Society of Washington.

You'll find it at the FDR Memorial late on a spring evening or in a quiet spot in some hidden corner high in Rock Creek Park.

You'll find it in a black community that has bravely maintained its values in the face of repression, indifference and socio-economic cleansing. I first did as a young man going to the Howard Theater and as a 20-something member of SNCC, and later in so many ways and places as I was welcomed by, and learned from, those who used the power of decency and friendliness as bridges across cultures and to overcome pain.

You'll find it among the activists of the DC Statehood Green Party who for nearly four decades have risen to the challenge presented by its first leader, Julius Hobson: "What do you want: a Disneyland for the rich or a state for free people?" Youll fine it in their refusal to be silent in a city so colonial, corrupt and contented.

You'll find it among the teachers resisting the dismantling and corporatization of public education.

You'll find it in the artists and musicians who take us away from bitterness and contentions and into better places, those still holding on in a city determined not to even leave them with a pad cheap enough to rent.

You'll find it among those who seek to preserve not only open space and fine buildings, but great communities and wonderful institutions.

You'll find it among those trying to help fill monstrous gaps in government services by working at a food bank or shelter, counseling former prisoners, providing free legal service, or teaching children what the school system can't or won't.

You'll find it in a small band of journalists who haven't deserted the real city in favor of grander stories and sources.

You'll find it among the neighborhood commissions who still sometimes get those downtown to pay attention to things they would rather ignore.

And you'll find it in the shared memory of those who give the city life instead of draining it, add to the local saga rather than diminishing it, and are there for us when so many others aren't.

One place you won't find it much longer, though, is at my place. Sometime this year I'll be off to write the rest of my story someplace else. Thanks for all the good times, the encouragement, the inspiration, the example and the dreams.

Just remember, despite what others would have you believe, a vote in the House leaves you no better off than Algeria when it also was a colony; Washington never was a sleepy southern town and it never was a swamp; there is a J Street (albeit hidden in Northeast and spelled Jay), and most of the people who do serious wrong in this fair city come from somewhere else. We try to teach them different but they never seem to get it.

Thanks for the fun and, as Adam Clayton Powell Jr used to say, "Keep the faith, baby."

PS: Some random anecdotes from the past 50 years can be found here.

SENATE APPROVES TOY VOTE FOR CAPITAL COLONY

2009-02-28T00:33:00.000-05:00

Sam Smith

With magnificent irony, the US Senate has pacified the local capital establishment by approving a token vote for DC in the House - carefully balanced by a new and certain GOP vote in Utah. In doing so, however, the Senate included a clear statement that the capital is still a colony by also approving a major change in gun laws to be forced upon the city.

For over a century local and national politicians have used the prospect of a vote in the House to lessen the pressure for, in the early days, home rule and, later on, for statehood. In 1888, conservative newspaperman Theodore Noyes of the Washington Star launched a campaign for congressional representation while strongly opposing real democracy. Noyes wrote, "National representation for the capital community is not in the slightest degree inconsistent with control of the capital by the nation through Congress."

Noyes' view has been confirmed by the Democratic Senate, which made clear with its gun law amendment that a vote in the House doesn't alter the city's true colonial status at all. Instead, the city will continue to be run by what a political scientist in 1899 called a "representative aristocracy."

The energy and constituency for true democracy and self government have withered in the capital as a younger generation - trained in so many ways to accept symbolism as reality - has come into power. Personal status has submerged common goals and personal rights have become less important in a society that has been diligently voiding these rights over the past three decades. In DC, as elsewhere in this country, fewer and fewer even understand what freedom and democracy are about.

DC FRIDAY

2009-02-27T14:09:00.000-05:00

Gary Imhoff, DC Watch - [Jim Graham's anti-loitering bill] criminalizes even a couple's taking a stroll in their neighborhood, as long as their neighborhood is designated as a hot-spot and a police officer accuses them of having a criminal purpose for being on the street. Of course, supporters of the bill would say that we can rely on the good intentions and good judgment of police officers to use the law only against bad people. But the point of having written guarantees of our rights is that we shouldn't have to rely on hope that police officers will have good intentions and display good judgment.

Washington Business Journal - The Washington Post Co. income dropped 77 percent during the fourth quarter, largely as a result of a hefty impairment charge related to an underperforming business.. . . As with many papers struggling with falling print ad sales across the U.S., the Post's print advertising revenue declined 17 percent in 2008 to $410.4 million. Daily circulation declined 2.6 percent last year to 633,100. The paper's major money generator in 2008 was its Kaplan education unit, which accounted for 52 percent of revenue during the year, and was up 15 percent.

DC Examiner D.C.'s chief financial officer warned city leaders that budget deficits could reach $1 billion in three years because of the worldwide recession. Natwar Gandhi said credit, stock and real estate woes are contributing to a "deep, long and lasting recession" on a national and local level. He retracted previous statements that Washington was immune to the economic downfall. . . He said revenues from taxes and other sources will fall about $400 million short of earlier projections in fiscal year 2009, $800 million short in 2010, $967 million short in 2011 and $1.1 billion short in 2012. Real estate tax collections are down and will continue to decline through 2012, Gandhi warned. Property owners have filed 4,300 appeals of their 2009 assessments; this accounts for about a $100 million decline.

Dorothy Brizill, DC Watch - [At the] District's Board of Elections and Ethics, the term of Dr. Lenora Cole expired in July of last year. District law states that Dr. Cole would continue to serve on the Board until her replacement was confirmed by the council and sworn in by the mayor. On February 5, Mayor Fenty nominated his jogging pal, Omar Nour, to replace Cole. To date, Councilmember Mary Cheh, whose Government Operations Committee oversees BOEE, has not yet scheduled a confirmation hearing for Nour or publicly asked the mayor to withdraw his nomination. Against this backdrop, Dr. Cole today submitted her letter of resignation, effectively immediately. . . As a result of Dr. Cole's resignation, the BOEE is now down to two members. Should the mayor decide to dig in his heels in support of his unqualified nominee, council consideration of Nour could be long and protracted.

WTOP - The clanging of streetcars hasn't been heard in the District in nearly two generations, but WTOP has learned the city's department of transportation is ready to get streetcars rolling once again. "You will see an announcement in the next few weeks," D.C. Department of Transportation Director Gabe Klein tells WTOP. . . Streetcars last ran in the city in 1962, with several lines heading into and out of Maryland and a few running through Virginia as well.

Gary Imhoff, DC Watch - Peter Tucker opposes the use of Gardasil, a vaccine against cervical cancer that he believes is dangerous, experimental, and untested for use in young girls. Councilmember David Catania is a champion of Gardasil, and sponsored legislation that requires sixth grade girls to be vaccinated with it. Tucker wants to testify about Gardasil at an oversight hearing for the Department of Health that Catania will hold. Tucker signed up as a witness at Catania's hearing and was placed on the witness list. He was then told that he would not be allowed to testify under any circumstances, and that he would not be given any reason for being barred. Here is the relevant rule of the city council, Rule No. 504(b): "If a committee, in the publication of notice of a public hearing, sets a deadline before which a member of the public must contact the committee to be permitted to be a witness at the public hearing, then at the time that the public hearing is held, each member of the public who complied with the committee's requirements shall be given an opportunity to testify." Catania is not just insulting Tucker, and by extension all citizens, by commanding that someone who disagrees with his policy preferences not be allowed to testify before his committee; he is also flouting a rule of the city council.

DC Examiner - A northwest Washington home regarded as the epicenter of the city's gay rights movement has been designated a D.C. Historic Landmark. The home belongs to 83-year-old Franklin E. Kameny, considered the "father of gay activism" by the Historic Preservation Review Board. . . In 1961, Kameny argued to the U.S. Supreme Court that a federal policy calling homosexuals a security risk was "no less odious than discrimination based upon religious or racial grounds." It was the first civil rights claim in a U.S. court based on sexual orientation.

STUDENTS WHO SLIP FROM KIPP

2009-02-24T14:11:00.001-05:00

Elizabeth Davis - Since August, I have received eight students in my classroom from KIPP Academy. . . My first instinct upon receiving these students, was that they were unruly, low achievers. . . kicked out of KIPP because their behavior was intolerable, unbearable. I was careful not to allow my preconceived notions about "charter school reject" cloud or inform my judgment about their academic abilities or expected behavior. I was right in doing so. As it turns out, each of these students were good students. Some were great students. But I would have missed the opportunity to discover their talents, their academic abilities and multiple learning styles if I had not cultivated a learning environment that welcomed diverse learning styles and modalities.

Judging from conversations with these students (as well as my own students) I've realized that a teaching/learning environment that only values one way of behaving, learning and socializing could very easily morph into one of social engineering. Is social engineering healthy for creative, imaginative, self-directed learners? I would say no. Judging from my 30 years of teaching experience, I've observed that the world class artists, scientists, engineers, mathematicians, writers, think-tankers, etc, are cultivated in classrooms that afford them the space to think critically, imagine, question social injustice, talk back to their teachers and interrogate the world, not classrooms that require them to sit in a corner for challenging their masters or walk in a single file on the right side of the hallway to confirm their obedience; or chant positive affirmations that will guarantee them success. This process is archaic It's been done already. with slaves, native Americans, just to name a few.

The irony is that individuals who create, fund, promote these types of schools, mostly for children who have been left in the margins of society, would never enroll their own children in them. I wonder why? I wonder how many have done so?

MAJOR BRITISH STUDY FINDS TEST BASED TEACHING IMPOVERISHES STUDENTS

2009-02-20T23:31:00.001-05:00

Guardian, UK - Children's lives are being impoverished by the government's insistence that schools focus on literacy and numeracy at the expense of creative teaching, the biggest review of the primary school curriculum in 40 years finds today. . .

The Cambridge University review of the primary curriculum found. . . children are leaving school lacking knowledge about the arts and humanities having spent too many years "tied to a desk" learning times tables.

"Our argument is that their education, and to some degree their lives, are impoverished if they have received an education that is so fundamentally deficient," he said.

The report says schools should be freed of SATs . . . to allow them to make more decisions about what and how they teach. . .

Independent of the government and funded through charitable donations, the review is based on three years of academic research, 29 research papers and dozens of public meetings around the country. It marks 40 years since the last wholesale review of primary education and presents a blueprint for a curriculum that would give teachers control of 30% of their time to teach what they want. . .

The review finds:

- Children are losing out on a broad, balanced and rich curriculum with art, music, drama, history and geography the biggest casualties.

- The curriculum, and crucially English and maths, have been "politicized".

- The focus on literacy and numeracy in the run-up to national tests has "squeezed out" other areas of learning.

- The Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, which sets the curriculum, have been excessively prescriptive, "micro-managing" schools.

The review accuses the government of attempting to control what happens in every classroom in England, leading to an excessive focus on literacy and numeracy in an "overt politicization" of children's lives. Despite this too many children still leave primary school having failed to master the 3Rs. . .

Christine Blower, acting general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said the proposals "have depth, credibility and, above all, respond to the realities of the primary classroom".

DC WEDNESDAY

2009-02-18T22:14:00.000-05:00

Jim Graham, who has never met a legal restriction he didn't like, has renewed his demand for an anti-loitering law that would turn parts of DC into no Constitution zones. Reports Channel 4: "In a move that is sure to cause yet another constitutional battle in the District, D.C. Council member Jim Graham is proposing anti-loitering legislation that would allow police to disperse two or more people gathered in areas known for illegal activity.The police chief would use statistics about arrests for drug, gang, theft and violent crimes to create "hot spot loitering zones." Violators could face a $300 fine. In the past, civil rights activists have questioned whether similar legislation would infringe on residents' right to assemble. The new bill would give the mayor authority to create rules to protect "persons who are engaged in assembly protected by the Constitution."

ABC News - A single father is suing the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority for $200 million, claiming lead-contaminated tap water poisoned his twin sons as infants, causing them ongoing health problems. The water utility between 2001 and 2004 hid elevated levels of lead from customers and federal authorities, plaintiff John Parkhurst of Capitol Hill claims in the lawsuit, which seeks class-action status. WASA failed to take steps to remedy the situation, omitted language from public education campaigns that would have warned people about the problem and continued to encourage residents to drink the water, according to the lawsuit filed in D.C. Superior Court. The complaint comes on the heels of a study that determined hundreds of D.C. children might be at risk of irreversible IQ loss, developmental delays and behavioral problems linked to the lead levels.

USA Service - Heavy use has damaged the Mall's turf, sidewalks, and furnishings, creating chronic maintenance problems for the National Park Service, its official caretaker. A $200 million renovation of the National Mall was removed from President Obama's stimulus package. Interested groups are invited to coordinate efforts for fortifying the open spaces of the mall. Plans include a day or week of service this summer.

DC SATURDAY

2009-02-14T13:05:00.001-05:00

Washington Post - About 1,000 people filled an auditorium at the University of the District of Columbia to vent their anger at a proposal that would nearly double tuition at the city's only public college. UDC students, who come from all over the world as well as D.C. neighborhoods, told trustees repeatedly that UDC is the place where people go when they need an education and can't afford any other school. UDC student leader William Kellibrew IV received a thunderous standing ovation at the meeting of a trustees committee when he demanded that President Allen Sessoms resign, and students later began signing a petition. The committee met to discuss Sessoms's recommendation to raise tuition for D.C. residents from about $3,800 to $7,000 a year for four-year students. At a student rally before the meeting, Kellibrew said: "If you're going to double the tuition, how about doubling our facilities? If you're going to double our tuition, how about upgrading books in our library?"

Channel 4 - The District coughed up $48 million on logistics and security while hosting the inauguration festivities, according to the Washington Business Journal. It has received a check for $15 million from the Feds to cover some of the costs, but still faces a $33 million shortfall. The hope is the federal government will pick up the tab for the rest.

Channel 4 - High-volume local energy utilities, including Pepco and Baltimore Gas and Electric Co, have admitted to receiving an unusually high number of customer complaints about rates this winter. Lawmakers have heard the same thing, and they're looking into it.. . . The problem in large part stems from the deregulation of the Maryland electricity markets in 1999. This lovely piece of legislation made utility companies buy power from generation companies in the open market. These suppliers aren't bound by caps and often sell at prices well above the cost of production. The utilities then pass these costs to you, the proud homeowner. Imagine.
And this winter, customers find themselves paying for power purchased in 2007 and 2008, before the energy bubble burst, as utilities pay off those debts. Do not bother calling your utility company to complain about this. They will just tell you to turn your thermostat down from a boiling 62 degrees.

Artomatic will be offering over five weeks of art, music, theatre, workshops and more this year in Washington, DC's Capitol Riverfront neighborhood from May 29 - July 5. Artomatic will be held at 55 M Street, S.E. - atop the Navy Yard Metro - celebrating it's tenth anniversary in a newly built 275,000 square foot LEED Silver Class A building. Registration for Artomatic 2009 will begin in March, and is open to all artists - including painters, photographers, sculptors, graphic designers, musicians, poets, actors and dancers. Artomatic is an unjuried event, so all artists are welcome. Artomatic 2008 attracted a record-breaking 52,500 visitors and 1,540 participating artists.

Washington Business Journal - Dozens of developers have taken a look at the District’s 11 vacant schools and see them as good opportunities, but the bad economy is stopping some from bidding on the properties. Neil Albert, the city’s deputy mayor for economic development, began soliciting bids for the closed schools in December. Bids were originally due Feb. 27, but Albert has extended the deadline to March 27. . . Ellen McCarthy, director of planning and land use for law firm Arent Fox LLP and a former D.C. planning director, said developers tell her they are interested in bidding, “but many are choosing to sit this one out due to the current market uncertainties.”

STUDENTS BEAT MILITARY: WEAPONS TRAINING IN SAN DIEGO SCHOOLS ENDS

2009-02-14T12:49:00.002-05:00

Education Not Arms - San Diego Unified, located in the middle of one of the largest military complexes in the world, took the uncharacteristic step of banning rifle training conducted under the military's high school JROTC program. Eleven schools with rifle ranges were affected in the nation's eighth largest urban district. . .

It wasn't until four hours into the board meeting, at 9:00 PM, that the agenda item came up for discussion. The vote was preceded by testimony from about 15 pro- and con- speakers in front of a crowd that was largely in favor of terminating the weapons training program. One school board member said that in all of his many years on the board, this was the most impressive student effort he had ever seen. Even two board members who opposed the resolution expressed their admiration for the students' involvement. When the decision was made, the resolution, which immediately banned all marksmanship training in the district, passed by a vote of 3-2. The crowd then spilled out of the auditorium to hold a loud and joyous celebration.

One of their main concerns was the way schools were tracking students into military training (via JROTC) while denying them adequate class alternatives, especially ones needed to qualify for college. Students from African American and Latino families were being disproportionately affected.

To address the problem, the coalition adopted three initial goals--convince the school district to:

-stop placing students into military science (JROTC) classes without their informed consent.

-stop telling parents and students that the class will help them qualify for college, when it won't.

-ban weapons training and JROTC gun ranges in San Diego schools.

All three goals have now been achieved, the first two by a superintendent' s directive, the third by school board action. Throughout the over one-year long campaign, high school students have played a central role in educating and mobilizing their peers, with support from a variety of community and college groups.

DC WEDNESDAY

2009-02-11T20:58:00.001-05:00

Leah Fabel, Examiner - District Mayor Adrian Fenty and schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee touted improvements in graduation and truancy rates Monday - from abysmal to slightly less so. High school students with more than 15 absences by December, an average of one absence per week, declined by 30 percent from 2007 to about 2,290 students in 2008. At all grade levels, that number fell by 16 percent to 3,430 students. Overall, however, more than 7 percent of the District's 46,000 students were chronically truant through December, compared with more than 8 percent in 2007.

There are 21 officially listed rights and privilege of a member of the House of Representatives. Eleanor Holmes Norton has 20 of them, all except voting on the House floor.

In 2008, about 200 more students graduated than in 2007, bumping the graduation rate from 68 percent to 70 percent by last August. Of the District's 17 high schools, 14 increased their graduation rate, but often to still-failing levels. Graduates from Bell Multicultural High School in Columbia Heights jumped by 14 percent, but that still left more than half of its potential graduates without a diploma. At Northeast's Spingarn High, the graduation rate increased by 6 percent to about 57 percent overall.

Loose Lips, City Paper - WASA's Jerry Johnson at water-safety hearing held yesterday by Jim Graham and Mary Cheh, according to Nikita Stewart's WaPo account: "The general manager of the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority told council members yesterday that he would allow a child to drink the city's tap water despite a recent independent study. . . But when asked if he would give that advice to the general public. . . Johnson said, 'I don't know.'"

"Johnson appeared flustered and irritated at the questioning, particularly Graham's inquiries about allowing a child to get a drink of water from the faucet. 'You asked me what I would do, Mr. Graham,' Johnson said. 'That's a trick question. . . . You don't deal with the general public the way you would deal with yourself.'"

Campbell Kilefer, Baltimore Sun - Would Maryland accept D.C.'s problems of many failing public schools and pockets of poverty as the trade-off for adding more than a half-million citizens and a booming D.C. urban economy, as well as the pride and prestige in having the national capital inside Maryland? I think so..

Washington Post - In the District, as startled office workers gathered and stared outside Alex Cooper Auctioneers at Wisconsin Avenue and Jenifer Street NW, about 50 demonstrators forced a pair of workers to retreat into an office, lock the door and call for help on mobile phones. . . The protesters chanted: 'Save our homes! Save our homes!' and 'Bail out Main Street, not just Wall Street!'"

DCist - The Examiner's Michael Neibauer reports that the Adams Morgan Taxi Stand pilot program has been torpedoed after less than three months. What's especially interesting is that the program was apparently discontinued by DDOT all the way back in December, though as far as we know, the agency never announced that change.

Hill Rag - Friendship House, a Hill landmark was abandoned in late November or early December. Since 1936, the site has been the headquarters of a social service organization that for decades supported people with food, job counseling, services for the elderly and summer programs for children. Friendship House and its grounds are listed on the National Registry of Historic Buildings, according to Dick Wolf of the Capitol Hill Restoration Society. Nancy Metzger, chair of CHRS's Historic Preservation Committee is concerned that neglect and damage might be its permanent undoing; "It's a nightmare" Metzger laments. "The roof is torn back and water is getting in the structure, as well as mold." There is a growing fear that this historic property could be irretrievably damaged or even destroyed. The property has been appraised at $5.5 million. Attempts to reach members of the current Board of Directors and those listed on its web site have proved unsuccessful.

NEW WORRIES ABOUT GARDASIL SAFETY

2009-02-10T21:13:00.001-05:00

CBS - There are new concerns about Gardasil, the vaccine that prevents a virus that caused cervical cancer. It's approved for girls as young as nine. And five million have received it since it was approved two years ago. The FDA and its maker insist it's safe. But CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson has exclusive information on some very serious side effects. . .

The National Vaccine Information Center, a private vaccine-safety group, compared Gardasil adverse events to another vaccine, one also given to young people, but for meningitis. Gardasil had three times the number of Emergency Room visits - more than 5,000. Reports of side effects were up to 30 times higher with Gardasil. . .

Merck, the FDA and CDC question the value of the new analysis, say they continue to review the data, Gardasil remains safe and effective, and its benefits outweigh the risks. . .

Meantime, Merck has asked the FDA to approve it for boys, who can pass on the cancer causing virus to girls, meaning the number of people getting Gardasil may double.

OBAMA'S EUDUCATION CHIEF PRESIDED OVER A SYSTEM WITH OVER 500 STUDENT BEATINGS BY STAFF

2009-02-10T21:08:00.001-05:00

CBS 2, Chicago - Hundreds of students have allegedly been beaten by teachers, coaches and staff at Chicago Public Schools. . . An exclusive CBS 2 investigation discovered . . . at least 818 Chicago Public School students since 2003 to allege being battered by a teacher or an aide, coach, security guard, or even a principal. In most of those cases - 568 of them - Chicago Public School investigators determined the children were telling the truth.

The 2 Investigators found reports of students beaten with broomsticks, whipped with belts, yard sticks, struck with staplers, choked, stomped on and pushed down stairs. One substitute teacher even fractured a student's neck. But even more alarming, in the vast majority of cases, teachers found guilty were only given a slap on the wrist.

CBS 2 informed former Chicago Public School CEO Arne Duncan of our investigative findings shortly before he was promoted to U.S. Secretary of Education. "If someone hits a student, they are going to be fired. It's very, very simple," Duncan said.

Before heading to Washington, he vowed to take action. "Any founded allegation where an adult is hitting a child, hitting a student - they're going to be gone," Duncan said.

But that's not what happened under Duncan's watch. Of the 568 verified cases, only 24 led to termination. . .

And another student was given "100 licks with a belt." The abuse was substantiated, but the records show the teacher was not terminated.

YOU CAN TELL THEM BY THEIR FRIENDS

2009-02-06T15:39:00.000-05:00

Washington Post - [NYC Mayor] Bloomberg hosted a recent fundraiser for Fenty's 2010 re-election campaign, sources tell us, and it appears to have paid off big-time in the mayor's campaign war-chest. Fenty's first filing with the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance includes a number of big name Manhattanites, including Jonathan Tisch, chairman of the Lowes Hotel group, billionaire Ronald Perelman, former [GOP] Senator Alfonse D'Amato and Pittsburgh Steelers investor Stanley Druckenmiller.

Michelle Rhee has been invited to join Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and Sarah Palin in speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

WHERE RHEE IS COMING FROM

2009-02-06T15:37:00.001-05:00

Sue Hemberger, Concerned4DCPS - Failing educational systems exist because schools don't have the resources (however defined) to motivate and help students to learn, but they simultaneously provide the occasion/excuse for the privatization (or commercialization) of public education.

Honestly, I don't think most of the people pushing for privatization of public education give a damn about education. They see a vast industry that hasn't traditionally functioned as a source of profits and think, wow, I want a cut of that. They'll tell whatever story is necessary to justify turning education into a profit-making proposition and, in doing so, they are supported by ideologues who shill for markets whatever the context (but seem to have no qualms about tapping into the state's ability to extract revenue to fund such markets).

The so-called educational "reformers" don't want public school systems to succeed; they want them to be replaced and the best way to ensure that outcome is to ensure that they are broken beyond repair. Enter Michelle Rhee.

REMEMBERING PETEY GREENE

2009-02-06T15:24:00.003-05:00

Excellent recent TV documentary, "Adjust Your Color: The Truth of Petey Greene." Find it wherever you can and then read "Laugh if You Like, Ain't a Damn Thing Funny: The Life Story of Ralph 'Petey' Greene as Told to Lurma Rackley." Both are musts for anyone interested in the cultural history of the capital.

Lurma Rackley, Washington Post - Legendary broadcaster Petey Greene sits on the set of his television talk show, "Petey Greene's Washington," burying his face in a huge chunk of watermelon. "I just can't understand why black people started eating watermelon in the closet," he announces, eyes stretched wide with wonder. "I've seen y'all cut it up in little slices . . . but all you got to do is pick it up like this here. ."

So begins "Adjust Your Color: The Truth of Petey Greene," which tells the story of the D.C. radio and TV personality who overcame poverty, drug addiction and multiple arrests to take his hometown by storm in the late 1960s (and continuously for 16 years). . .

"Adjust Your Color" features clips that highlight the range viewers saw when tuning in to Greene's TV talk show. There's Greene with shock jock Howard Stern in black face, but still not out-shocking his host; Greene interviewing Midge Costanza, then a special assistant to President Carter; and Greene as a proud parent talking with his then-young children about their future dreams.

Interspersed among those scenes are interviews with D.C. notables -- including Ben's Chili Bowl owner Virginia Ali, sportscaster James Brown, city council member Marion Barry and actor Robert Hooks -- talking about Greene and how he touched their lives. . .

A natural comedian who could rhyme off the top of his head, Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene started broadcasting in 1967, two years after getting out of Lorton Reformatory, where he served time for armed robbery. At Lorton, he built on his already locally well-known talent as a stand-up comic by spinning tunes and talking jive as a DJ over the prison's public address system.

Upon release, he took a job as a community organizer at the United Planning Organization, an anti-poverty agency, and worked there until he died.

Once a week, the District native got his chance to elevate civic issues, first on R&B radio station WOL. His shows combined biting humor, homespun advice he learned from his beloved grandmother, information for poor people to find social services, and unusual political commentary. They also showcased how well Greene knew the District's streets, its people and the problems they shared.

Greene launched his Sunday talk show "Petey Greene's Washington" on WDCA-TV in 1972. . . And when cable network BET launched in 1980, Greene's show was selected for the initial lineup. "Petey Greene's Washington" aired nationwide for four years. . .

When Greene died of cancer in 1984, thousands of people lined up in freezing weather outside Union Wesley AME Zion Church on Michigan Avenue NE to pay their respects.

LURMA RACKLEY, WASHINGTON POST, 2007 - Washingtonians of a certain era knew Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene in his various life phases: as a raggedy kid who could "play the dozens" better than anyone in 1930s black Georgetown; as an often inebriated yet phenomenally funny young comedian at "picnics" in Wilmer's Park; as a rapping, rhyming emcee at Lorton Reformatory, where he served time for robbery; and finally as a legendary broadcaster who charted new territory in straight talk and community activism until his death in 1984 at age 53. . .

In late 1981, Petey asked me to help him tell his life story. . . I spent most of my time cracking up with laughter. He told me that he honed his rapping, rhyming and "joning" skills as a preschool kid dead set on taking the focus off his disadvantages. His father was in jail more often than he was at home, and his mother had her own brushes with the law. His beloved pipe-smoking grandmother Maggie Floyd, known as A'nt Pig, instilled in him a fortitude and an optimism that carried him through the worst of times in his personal life. From the age of 3, Petey heard A'nt Pig say: "Boy, I know your mouth is gone get you killed or get you rich one day. 'Cause you the talkingest damn boy I ever seen.". . .

Toward the end of his life, Petey began to step into his A'nt Pig's full vision for him. He stunned his friends in 1979 when he finally gave up binge drinking. In 1981, he was baptized by the United House of Prayer's Bishop Walter "Sweet Daddy" McCullough. . .

DC Gazette, 1970 - [Activist Petey] Greene "testified" [at a council hearing on marijuana] on behalf of his grandmother, whose opinions on marijuana are based on practical experience. She once told her grandson to quit: "Petey, you gotta stop smoking those reefers because they make you too hungry, and I can't buy all that extra food." Later, on comparing its effects with those of alcohol, "She said she'd rather me smoke reefers and just sit and smile at people than drink that old wine and come in throwing chairs around. "

PETEY GREENE ON HOW TO EAT A WATERMELON

ANTARCTIC ICE SHEET MELTING WOULD SWAMP DC, NYC, LA

2009-02-06T13:17:00.000-05:00

Reuters - North America's coastlines would be hit especially hard by rising sea levels if the huge West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapses and melts in a warming world as some experts fear, scientists said.

The loss of that ice sheet alone would inundate some coastal areas, swamping New York, Washington D.C., south Florida, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle, with sea levels in some places higher by 21 feet or more than today, the researchers wrote in the journal Science.

Factors including changes in the Earth's rotation from the loss of the huge ice sheet would make sea level changes highly variable around the globe, they said. The southern Indian Ocean region also would be heavily affected, they added.. . .

"The peak sea level rise occurs on the coasts of the United States -- the New York area and down the coast, the eastern seaboard of the United States," Mitrovica added. "On the West coast, it's even just a little bit bigger."

Mitrovica said this is not imminent, but rather: "It's a time scale of hundreds of years."

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates a loss of the ice sheet would raise sea levels around the world on average by about 16.5 feet.

But Mitrovica said the additional ocean volume would not be like adding water to a bath tub and watching the level rise equally, due to other complicated factors.

The researchers said the melting of the ice sheet would cause the Earth's rotation axis to shift about a third of a mile from its current position. This would move water from the southern Atlantic and Pacific oceans northward toward North America and into the southern Indian Ocean.

DC WEDNESDAY

2009-02-05T00:38:00.001-05:00

DC CLIPS

Gawker - Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama's right-hand man, lives in a basement apartment on Capitol Hill rented to him by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. Just one problem: He's not allowed to live there. That's what private investigator Joseph Culligan discovered after asking questions of D.C. officials. A zoning administrator responded to Culligan's inquiry and told him that DeLauro's house at 816 E. Capitol St. NE was listed as a single-family dwelling, and as such, could not be rented out. Emanuel, who splits his time between Chicago and D.C., will not have this low-rent problem for very long.

If we had a decent accessory apartment law in this town, what Emanuel is doing would be perfectly legal.

An exhibit of photographs of black Washington between 1911 and 1994, taken by Addison Scurlock and his sons, is on exhibit at the National Museum of American History.

WMAL - The University of the District of Columbia may be about to double its tuition. The school has proposed an increase from roughly 33-hundred dollars to seven-thousand dollars. The hike still has to be approved by the board of trustees, but it could go into effect next fall.

DCRTV - Washington will be losing its only lefty political radio talker. Redskins owner Dan Snyder's Red Zebra-owned WWRC, recently dubbed "Obama 1260," will be flipping to business news next week. The station, which features shows from Ed Schultz, Stephanie Miller, and Bill Press, frequently doesn't even show in the local radio ratings. Program Director Greg Tantum tells the DC Post that he thought the station could work because of enthusiasm over Obama, but that ratings collapsed to a level that could not be measured after the election. But the lowish ratings nearly doubled, he says, at Snyder's right-leaning station, WTNT, 570 AM, which features Michael Savage, Laura Ingraham, and Bill Bennett. Tantum said he will move Schultz to WTNT to give him another shot. . .

On Inauguration Day, Metro set a record of 1.1 million rail trips, which sounds good were it not for the fact that thirty years ago, when Metro's boosters were seeking federal money, they projected a daily ridership only slightly below last month's record.

Washington Times - Judge Brooke Hedge appeared agitated during a hearing for plaintiffs in the bid to reopen the Franklin Shelter on 13th and K Streets Northwest. The shelter, which provided emergency beds and services for up to 300 homeless men, was abruptly closed on Sept. 26. . . "I'm not a legislator, I have no authority to rule that," said Judge Hedge, reacting to the plaintiffs' request that the court reopen the shelter. The closing of Franklin Shelter has caused outrage among homeless advocates, who say that those who were moved out are now suffering on the street or in run-down conditions at other shelters across the District. . . Judge Hedge said that since the opening and the closing of the Franklin Shelter were the responsibility of the D.C. Council, and since the earlier restraining order had failed, it was unlikely the court was going to intervene."I just don't think you have a substantial chance of success," she said.

READER COMMENTS

SOMETHING ROTTEN IN APPLESEED

Back in the day, a ten-mile square was about an hour's ride at full gallop from the boundary to the Capitol. Today, an hour's ride by common ground transportation (automobile) is more like 45-50 miles (neglecting rush hour). So we should update the Constitution by resizing the District, to protect Congress from potential tank attacks originating in Maryland or Virginia, by expanding the boundaries of the District to roughly a fifty-mile radius from the Capitol. - The Sanguine Pen

I once proposed in a radio interview with Rep. Tom Davis that northern Virginia be made part of the federal district, given that it had far more sensitive military and intelligence headquarters than DC. He didn't like the idea. - Sam

STUPID CITY COUNCIL TRICKS

2009-02-04T16:56:00.003-05:00

Jim Newell, NBC 4 - Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander wants to ban the sale of cheap, small cigars, usually filled with flavored tobacco, that you always see at 7-Elevens and gas stations. They are called "blunts." And according to Alexander, the tobacco within this is all taken out and filled with "cannabis." The youths smoke these monster sticks to get high, which makes them go crazy, grab their automatic weapons, and kill all humans and animals within a 500-yard radius. . .

According to the Washington Post, "Alexander said 'it's no secret' that the honey, apple and cherry-flavored cigars are bought and then stuffed with marijuana, often by young people." Indeed, this is not a secret. Another non-secret is that sometimes apples themselves are converted into marijauna-smoking devices. As of the writing of this article, apples remain legal.

Washington Times - The District cracked down on motorists who fail to clean their vehicles after winter storms, which can result in chunks of ice hurtling onto other vehicles. The City Council unanimously approved the ordinance, which makes the District the only

U.S.

city with such a law, but it did not include a $50 fine with the citation. . .

The decision to exclude the fine was the result of several council members saying the bill was too vague and was crafted without consulting the Metropolitan Police Department or the city's Department of Motor Vehicles.

The council's 13 members unanimously approved the bill after council member Michael Brown, at-large independent, made the amendment to omit the fine. "We have cars coming off the roads that are like igloos," he said. . .

Pennsylvania has a similar law, which fines motorists as much as $1,000, but only if flying ice from a vehicle hits another vehicle or person and causes harm.

DC SATURDAY

2009-01-31T11:51:00.000-05:00

NY Times - The formulas by which the stimulus money for public schools would be allocated to states and local districts are complex, but take into consideration numbers of school-age children in poor families. The level received per student would vary considerably by state, according to an analysis by the New America Foundation, a research group that monitors education spending. New York would be among the biggest beneficiaries, at $760 per student, while New Jersey and Connecticut would fall near the bottom, with $427 and $409 per student, respectively. The District of Columbia would get the most per student, $1,289, according to the foundation's analysis.

Your editor will join statehood senators Michael D. Brown and Paul Strauss, councilmembers Harry Thomas and Michael A. Brown, Ann Loikow of the DC Statehood Yes We Can Coalition, Anise Jenkins of Stand Up for Democracy, and WTOP's Mark Plotkin for a discussion of DC statehood next Thursday, Feb 5, 7-9 pm at UDC School of Law, 4200 Connecticut Avenue NW, Building 39, Room 201. There will be food and refreshments as well as musical entertainment. More info.

Aaron Lloyd, Politico - If a voting representative will not solve the puzzle of the District's unequal status, why are we fighting for it? If we "win" this battle, and our newly empowered representative votes against Congress controlling our local tax dollars, will we in the District feel better that the bill passed by one less vote? Or will her vote instead be providing legitimacy to a system that is fundamentally discriminatory? . . . I could be an active, enthusiastic part of the movement to get a voting representative for the District, if only I thought it satisfied the rule of first doing no harm. But I fear that this drive to empower Delegate Norton distracts us from the real issues of the District's unequal status. And as long as the District is not a state, or incorporated into another state, no vote of Norton's will free us from inequality.

DCist - Funds for a $200 million renovation of the National Mall was removed from President Obama's stimulus package during a House Rules Committee session. The move is a blow to D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton and to groups like the National Coalition to Save Our Mall, who have been pushing hard for Mall repairs for the last several years. Mall advocates had been hoping the national spotlight on the Mall during Obama's inauguration ceremonies would shore up support for funding restoration work. Visitors to the Mall have long been disappointed to find dead grass, mud and cracked sidewalks around the splendor of the monuments and museums.

Mark Plotkin's reaction to Obama dissin' DC over its handling of icy weather: 'What does he know about Chicago? He grew up in Hawaii.'

NY Times - The Pew Research Center found that while more than 8 in 10 Americans rate where they live now as excellent, nearly half say they would rather live in a different type of community. City dwellers feel the most mismatched. A majority would rather live in a suburb, small town or rural area. The survey found that Denver, San Diego and Seattle top a list of 30 metropolitan areas that people preferred. Detroit, Cleveland and Cincinnati ranked lowest. New York was in the middle, between Washington and Dallas. All of the top 10 preferred areas are in the West or the South, but geography isn't necessarily the first priority for various groups. Young adults prefer New York and Los Angeles. Phoenix is the favorite of Republicans and San Francisco of Democrats.

Michael Neibauer, DC Examiner - About a thousand members of D.C.'s Irish community may be exempted from the city's smoking ban so they can continue the annual rite of toasting St. Patrick with a tumbler in one hand and a cigar in the other. Ward 2 D.C. Councilman Jack Evans has introduced legislation sparing the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, a social organization that comprises much of Washington's elite Irishmen, from the ban for their 81st annual St. Patrick's Day dinner at the Capital Hilton on March 17. The city's smoke-free law provides an economic hardship waiver for struggling bars and restaurants, Evans said, but it leaves no wiggle room for a single event, like the St. Patrick's Day gala or Fight Night at the Washington Hilton. . . Evans is a member of the Friendly Sons organization, though he claims not to partake in the cigar end of the toasting tradition

Washington Post - D.C. Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) has again failed to file his tax returns. The former District mayor has not submitted federal or city tax forms for 2007 -- the second instance in which he has not filed required returns while on probation for tax offenses, said two sources familiar with the situation. Two years ago, federal prosecutors failed to convince a federal judge that Barry should be jailed for violating the terms of his probation, which was ordered in 2006, because he did not file 2005 tax returns. The probation expires in March.

Union City - Add worker unrest to the economic problems facing the Gap. Last Sunday, the clothing retailer's Georgetown store was picketed by local students who are supporting Teamsters who have been on strike against Gap contractor Oak Harbor Freight Lines since last September. The workers struck after the company cut healthcare benefits for workers and retirees.

Bill Myers, DC Examiner - The D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles has issued an emergency order exempting federal judges and their spouses from a rule that requires drivers to surrender their home state licenses when they register their cars in the District. . . It's unclear what the rationale is behind the new order, or why it was classified as an emergency. D.C. has long had "reciprocity" laws that allow members of Congress as well as students and military personnel to keep their out-of-state licenses. This is because such people are considered "temporary residents." However, federal judges are usually lifetime appointees. And a judge's spouse ordinarily has no part in a judge's "official duties." . . . [An official] told The Examiner that the emergency order sprang from "a situation" recently. "We needed to take care of something on an emergency basis," she said. "I can't really say anything else at the moment." She denied, however, that the emergency order came to assuage an angry judge. "I don't think I've ever spoken to an angry judge," she said.

Leaders of the New Capitol Park Towers Tenants Association in SW were threatened with arrest when they met in the lobby of their building to discuss issues including rent disputes, code violations and allged tenant harassment.

Daily Show's Wyatt Cenac came to town to figure out which church Obama should go to.

Martin Austermuhle of DCist mangled the story of DC statehood, writing: " "The last time statehood was seriously considered was in the mid-1980s, when a constitutional amendment to create "New Columbia" failed when not enough states opted to ratify it. Since then, statehood has been more a rallying cry than a reality." Actually statehood was voted upon in the House in 1993 when it lost 277 to 153. Also, in the 1990s, both the New York Times and the Washington Post endorsed statehood. Austermuhle totally misstates what the constitutional amendment was about. It was not to create New Columbia but merely to continue the city's colony status but with representation in Congress.

Washington Business Journal - Despite hosting museums commemorating such things as criminals, airplanes, stamps and even beads, Washington still has no museum that documents the ongoing struggle for gay and lesbian civil rights. When [Tim] Scofield, a former collections specialist at the Smithsonian Institution, saw the National Museum of American History reopen with virtually no reference to the 40-year fight, he took action. . . Two years ago Scofield created The Velvet Foundation to build a museum that will preserve the movement's memory for future generations that grow up never thinking twice about Ellen DeGeneres' sexuality. Once the foundation has a firm grip on its collection and its mission, it will look for a home and begin fundraising in earnest.

READER COMMENTS

Vote in the House

My views are that a voting delegate in the House is fluff, feel good ineffectiveness. My stress would be on total self-government as a prelude to statehood, e.g., a law that provides independence and a date certain for statehood. - Dave

I bet the marshal was a D.C. resident and like the security guard I met at Arlington Cemetery whose face lit up when he saw the statehood posters in my trunk and then waved me through. The regular folks in this town know the score and will take statehood any time over "voting rights." - Ann

FORMER FRANKLIN SHELTER OCCUPANTS SUE FENTY

2009-01-30T14:33:00.002-05:00

Former inhabitants of Franklin Shelter have sued Mayor Adrian Fenty over the abrupt closing of the only city downtown shelter this past fall. Plaintiffs are trying to get the city to provide shelter for those in need in the downtown DC area. Since Franklin Shelter was closed, former inhabitants of Franklin Shelter have been sent to the poorest parts of the city, lacking access to much needed medical and mental health services, with few, if any job opportunities. In addition to the loss of mental health and healthcare services, and loss of access to food and day labor opportunities, some former Franklin Shelter inhabitants also lost their possessions when the shelter was abruptly closed.

Mayor Fenty has used the newly implemented Permanent Supportive Housing Program as an excuse to close the shelter, but hundreds of people seeking shelter have applied for this program with little hope of ever being admitted, and the District Council slashed $5.6 million in funding for the program shortly after the shelter was closed.

The Permanent Supportive Housing Program has only housed approximately 300 persons so far. In contrast to this small number, 13,000 single adults and 2,800 adults and children use emergency shelter in DC every year, according to a 2008 study by the Urban Institute on Public Homelessness. And 2,200 single adults were chronically homeless on a single night in January 2008. Many of the homeless suffer from mental illness and are not being treated.

According to homeless advocates Kim Johnson and Pete Tucker, who have been organizing a series of meetings with the homeless about their current living situations, "The situation in other shelters is becoming worse. The New York Avenue Shelter, for instance, is a human rights violation."

Most Supportive Housing placements have been in the poorest sections of the city, in drug and crime-ridden neighborhoods. One participant in the fledgling Supportive Housing Program, Tommy Overton, was brutally beaten in front of his apartment this past fall after being placed in a Supportive Housing apartment in Ward 8.

INAUGURATION (STILL)

2009-01-30T13:53:00.001-05:00

This gigapan shot of the Inauguration by David Bergman is the best way to waste a morning on the Internet that we've seen of late. If you were there, you may be able to zoom in on yourself or you can just enjoy closeups of people like Clarence Thomas (below), described as taking "a religious moment to silently pray during President Barack Obama's swearing in ceremony. Witnesses say Thomas was so moved he prayed for nearly 20 continuous minutes, head occasionally falling over onto Judge Scalia's shoulder."

Bergman writes, "After a cab ride, three security checkpoints, and a lot of walking, I was finally in my photo position. I was in the very back row of the platform, standing on a chair behind an AOC photographer. She was nice enough to allow me to attach the Gigapan to the railing next her. The unit takes a series of overlapping images one at a time. In this case, I set it to shoot a grid that was 20 photos wide by 11 photos down. It took about 15 minutes to complete."

Under the grand shot, you'll find over 1200 closeups you can zoom in on. Have a nice day and we'll see you tomorrow. Main Page Bergman's Blog

Eavesdrop DC - On the Mall near 7th street and Constitution during the inauguration: Woman #1: (pushing through the crowd) Coming through, coming through. (Then stops moving). . . Woman #2: Excuse me you can't just stop here in front of me. . . Woman #1: Well, where am I supposed to go?. . . Woman #2: Where were you before? . . . Woman #1: North Carolina.

On the mall at 5:30 am, inauguration day: "I feel really stupid.. I thought this was an actual mall. Like we were going to be watching this in front of Claire's."

A homeless guy: "You all voted for change...NOW GIVE ME SOME CHANGE!"

Charles L. Edson, Letter to Washington Post - I accepted the invitation from the unnamed local official quoted in your Metro article on Inauguration Day problems to "do the math" on the Purple Tunnel of Doom. The results were astounding. Accepting that the 24 magnetometers could each process 400 people an hour (an unbelievable seven per minute), this totals 9,600 admissions an hour. The gates opened four hours before the noon swearing-in, allowing a total of 38,400 ticket holders to make it through. But 52,000 purple tickets were issued. What on earth were the planners thinking? For Inauguration Day in 2013, planning should be left to a class of third-graders who have mastered the art of multiplication.

WHAT'S THE BEST CHURCH FOR OBAMA?

2009-01-30T11:48:00.004-05:00

The Daily Show's Wyatt Cenac checks out local churches on behalf of Obama

SOMETHING ROTTEN IN APPLESEED

2009-01-29T00:38:00.002-05:00

Sam Smith

I received a letter today from Walter Smith, Executive Director of DC Appleseed inviting me to serve as a plaintiff in an expected suit after Congress approves a voting seat for the city in the House of Representatives.

Now there are a lot of reasons why I wouldn't do this just based on the facts of the situation. Among them:

- The seat is the most pathetic expansion of local power one could have chosen. Its supporters have lifted not one finger for statehood or for any meaningful modification of the city's status other than their favorite: token representation in the House.

- The seat in no way changes the city's colonial status. Algeria, for example, had seats in the French Assembly but remained fully a colony.

- The vote DC is getting is being intentionally countermanded by an additional seat in Republican Utah, which is, as Julius Hobson once put it, like sending a eunuch to an orgy.

- DC Vote, the DC government and their allies have not done anything for real self government while funneling millions of dollars into DC Vote, a group clearly created to distract local residents from their true colonial status.

- This is not a new phenomenon. For example:

1888: Conservative newspaperman Theodore Noyes of the Washington Star launches campaign for congressional representation; strongly opposes real democracy. Noyes writes, "National representation for the capital community is not in the slightest degree inconsistent with control of the capital by the nation through Congress."

1899: A political scientist describes the Board of Trade - which supports a congressional vote only -- as providing DC with the ideal form of local government through a "representative aristocracy."

1919: Board of Trade and Chamber of Commerce advocate congressional representation and oppose home rule.

1934: A special committee recommends a nonvoting delegate but no home rule.

1943: Board of Trade appears before Senate Committee to support representation in Congress but opposes local self-government.

1960s: Segregationist Rep. John McMillan favors a DC vote for president and vice president, says a struggle for home rule will cripple the national vote. McMillan thinks the national vote should "satisfy" DC residents "at least for a while."

1971: DC gets a nonvoting congressional delegate. In first delegate race, the statehood arguments of Julius Hobson are strongly opposed by Walter Fauntroy who will become the leader of a lengthy and futile drive for a constitutional amendment granting congressional representation.

1972: Walter Fauntroy and John Hechinger, later major players in the voting rights drive, sabotage George McGovern's planned announcement of support for DC statehood.

1981: The League of Women Voters, Walter Fauntroy, and the Washington Post - all strong advocates of congressional voting representation - are the leading voices again DC statehood.

1985: The voting rights amendment is defeated with less than half the required states voting for it. Meanwhile years of potential work for full democracy are dissipated and diluted.

2004: Delegate Norton convinces the Democratic Party to drop DC statehood from its platform, to be replaced by a call for voting rights. According to The Washington Times, "Pat Elwood, vice chairman of the [Democratic] state committee, said she agreed with Mrs. Norton's view that statehood 'dilutes' the message of congressional voting representation.

But what was truly astounding about the DC Appleseed letter was that I received it because I had been one of the 20 plaintiffs in the Adams v. Clinton case that a decade ago raised issues never before heard in court concerning DC's status and which included statehood as one of the suggested remedies.

The case was drawn up by the late activist lawyer George LaRoche. He went to major law firms, including Covington & Burling, and to the Corporation Council (now the attorney general) seeking assistance. Not a single establishment law firm nor the city government would help and so LaRoche filed the case himself.

Now comes the truly seedy part. Unbeknownst to us, the local legal establishment started working on a competing case deliberately to sabotage ours. As the author of the letter to me, Walter Smith, has described it: "I was the Deputy Corporation Counsel for the District of Columbia when Corporation Counsel John Ferren and I determined that a lawsuit needed to be brought on behalf of the District and its citizens contending that our lack of voting representation is unconstitutional. . . With the pro bono assistance of one of the District's leading law firms, Covington & Burling, we brought that suit before a three-judge federal court on July 4, 1998." Just weeks after we had filed.

You didn't need to be a lawyer to realize it was a lousy case and its only possible raison d'etre was to put a knife in our more serious litigation.

The special court that heard the case agreed. While it threw out both cases, the only arguments it addressed were in the DC establishment case. One got the sense that their litigation had provided the court with an easy excuse not to address the real issues we had raised. In any case, the corporation counsel and Covington & Burling had not only set statehood back, but all home rule. The one bright spot was that since the court was afraid to address our arguments, they can still be heard another day.

There was, however, one more act that revealed the tawdry motivations of those trying to kill our case. On the night before the matter came to trial I got a call from George LaRoche saying that he had learned that the word had been passed that we were going to cause a disturbance at the federal courthouse the next day and so we should be ready for a major police presence.

It was an absurd allegation. The 20 Citizens included not only this Quaker educated newspaper editor, but a leading minister, a former secretary of the city council and a woman confined to a wheelchair.

Fellow plaintiff Rev. Graylan Hagler of Plymouth Congregational Church and I entered the courthouse together. Inside, a US Marshal comes up and asks, "Can I help you gentlemen?" Graylan asks where we can get some coffee and the Marshal points down the stair, adding, "I've been to your church, Reverend. One of my men is on your vestry. Let's go bless him." The pair returns and the Marshal shakes hands with each of the plaintiffs and leads us to some of the best seats in the courtroom. From threat to honored guests in less than five minutes.

The incident illustrated that in a colony you can't always tell your friends by their title, something of which I was again reminded when I got that letter today from the executive director of DC Appleseed, one of those who once helped kill our lawsuit because it might have brought the city too much democracy.

DC TUESDAY

2009-01-27T23:32:00.001-05:00

COUNCIL TO CONSIDER ELECTED ATTORNEY GENERAL

Michael Neibauer, DC Examiner - The D.C. Council will consider legislation making the District's attorney general an elected position, which if passed could be the first step toward seizing the job of criminal prosecutions away from the

U.S.

attorney. A measure offered by at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson calls for a partisan attorney general election as soon as 2010, so that the AG's four-year term coincides with that of the mayor. If the bill wins D.C. approval, Congress would still have to back it through federal legislation because it amends the District's Home Rule Charter. . . Norton said Monday she would soon reintroduce legislation to create a D.C. district attorney who is responsible for all prosecutions and is wholly independent from the government. She offered the same bill in 2007 and 2006.

INAUGURAL WOES MOUNT

Sarah Abruzzese, Politico - Rep. Jim McDermott's brother had a ticket but never got through the gates. Sen. Lamar Alexander's chief legislative counsel was stranded - with a lot of other people - in a tunnel just off the Mall. Staffers for Sen. John Barrasso fell victim to the now-legendary purple gate.

And a constituent of Sen. Amy Klobuchar - a man who wanted to be here so badly that he sold his snowmobile to come - never got in, even though he had a ticket in his hand. . .

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) said at least 40 people bearing his tickets - including members of his staff - weren't allowed into the ceremony. . .

A large number of people who purchased tickets to official balls through Ticketmaster arrived at the Convention Center on Tuesday night expecting to pick them up at a will call window. But there was no Ticketmaster will call window at the Convention Center - and, given the security perimeter around the building, it's not clear that would-be partygoers could have gotten to one if there were. . .

DC CLIPS

Stand Up for Democracy - On the eve of a congressional hearing on a bill to provide the District of Columbia a single vote in the House of Representatives, the Stand Up! for Democracy in DC Coalition called on DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton to withdraw the bill and instead introduce legislation to make the District the 51st U.S. State. "The inauguration of President Obama provides a historic opportunity for change. What better time to change the District of Columbia's status from colony to full membership in

America

's family of states?"�said Stand Up! President Anise Jenkins. "I am taking President Obama at his word. He personally assured me that he 'definitely supports D.C statehood' last January 2008 at the rally at American University. The time to achieve full citizenship for District citizens is now."� Jenkins said that a single vote in the House would fall far short of the full democratic rights that statehood would bring.

DC Statehood Green Party - William Thomas (known to most as Thomas) passed away this morning. Thomas spent the last 27 years in front of the White House, in Lafayette Park, protesting the inhumane policies of the US, especially the US nuclear policies exemplified by the US dropping nuclear bombs on the civilians of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Thomas is survived by his wife, Ellen Thomas, who resides at the Peace House. Connie still maintains a presence of conscience in Lafayette Park against US nuclear policies.

Dorothy Brizill - The next time we have a major event, like an inauguration, that will attract a large crowd, the government shouldn't try to handle it itself, led by agencies like the Secret Service. It should go to a company that knows how to manage large crowds of people, how to distribute tickets efficiently, how to keep people happy and entertained in long lines and move those lines quickly, and how to provide effective security unobtrusively, without inconveniencing people. . . Next time, subcontract the inauguration to Disney."

WUSA - DC Superior Court held its first Fathering Court graduation. This new program is aimed at helping men and women re-enter the community after spending time in prison. Thirty one classmates are currently in the program. The target of the Fathering court is to find full time employment for the individuals and fortify them with needed parenting and real world skills. Organizers say there is no charge for the Fathering Court, but participants are expected to return to provide assistance and good examples to new program members.

READER COMMENTS

WHERE DID ALL THE CHARTER STUDENTS GO?

My experience looking at charter school stats in another state/city suggests that the best charter schools (most stable, those lacking a crisis or turnover in leadership, etc.) have a retention rate of only about 75% to 80% from one year to the next and that this "leakage" is generally made up in additional enrollment of new students. Additionally, there generally is a two to three year period in which charter schools grow, meaning that the school will generally add more classes, increasing the size of younger classes. The incomplete evidence that exists now suggests that some percentage of students will leave the school early. This could be because of creaming, but it could just as likely be because the school is deemed inadequate by the parent for a whole host of reasons.

I would think that new charter high schools are even problematic than new elementary schools, given the difficulties of starting a new school with new staff, a new school culture, and a new student body of varying levels of educational abilities and experiences.

The population of charter schools are much like the population of trade schools. Scamming is not unusual; but there are a number of honest players. Who knows what the handsomely printed stats mean? Maya Angelou, Shaw Campus, to take an example, reports a "Graduation Rate" of 78.26, compared to a target of 66.23%. Exquisite precision, isn't it? Who knows how many of the graduates were allowed to phone it in, how much is made up, whole cloth. And what it will take to have sufficient numbers of people care.

As for your speculation of transfers back to DCPS: Because of unique student identifiers, [the Office of the State Superintendent of Education] can track this. Again: "Who cares?" By which I mean the question sincerely, not as a disparagement of concern. WTU members have been encouraged to engage in collective system-wide surveilance. They are unwilling to do so; the accuracy and bias of OSSE statistical reports cannot be checked; and so the prevalence of the transfer back to DCPS from charter schools is unknown.

Recognize every parent's first concern. As long as the child is perceived to be much safer in the charter than in the DCPS alternative, the charter is doing plenty. Can you blame them? Nor is this unknown in DCPS. Do you doubt that schools in Ward 3 have long been sought by out-of-boundary parents as much for their safety, including before and after school, as for superior teaching? - incedulous

This is an old issue. The latest annual report on charter schools, published by the charter school board are over two months old. If schools as troubled as City Lights can remain open, would a lack of integrity in the data on student participation in other schools surprise anyone?

As long as there is a perception by parents that charter schools are safer for their children than DCPS will assign them to, and as last summer, contrary to expectations, many will enroll their children in schools perceived to be much safer.

Talk to 5th graders in DCPS schools at this time. Ask them about their own perceptions of danger or safety in middle school that awaits them next year. Then ask them which DCPS middle schools they would be attending if they stayed within DCPS and whether a charter school is in their future. - Harry Travis

If you ever want to get the charters huffy with you over the phone call and ask them what percentage of their 9th grade ultimately graduates from their school! The numbers are stunning and depressing. SEED starts out with a 7th grade of well over 100. They on average they graduate 12-17. This is the dirty secret that no one will cover in this town. Oh and most of the time, the charters refuse to accept any students past 10th grade. If you suggest looking into it by the PCSB, they say, well the student exercised his "choice" or it didn't work out or some other lame excuse.

Add to that the kids who are "counseled out" (this is KIPP's term, not mine) or the kids and parents who are convinced to leave for not following the parental or student responsibility contract that they are forced to sign or the special needs kids who are accepted and then turned out when all of a sudden the charter school can't meet their needs.

And yes, the students wind up back into the only system that has to take all comers: DCPS. With no money, a student who is well behind and has to be tested, we are never, ever going to see any improvement in DCPS.

After 12 years of charter school experimentation, with kids who have now spent their entire school careers in charters why are our scores still so bad? I wish someone, someday look into this. Save Our Schools got blasted and basically run out of town as cranks just because we were suggesting that someone take a rational, objective look at charters. We never had the resources or the access to take on the charters and their lobby. It is such a shame, and one of my great regrets. - Gina Arlotto, DCPS parent Co-founder, Save Our Schools

LONG TIME WHITE HOUSE PROTESTER DIES

2009-01-26T14:57:00.001-05:00

William ("Doubting") Thomas, born March 20, 1947, who conducted a vigil outside the White House since June 3, 1981 died after a long illness and a recent year-long government stay-away order from Lafayette Park. Here's how his web site described it:

|||| After Wandering in the Desert, William Thomas sat down on the White House sidewalk with a small cardboard sign, "WANTED: WISDOM & HONESTY," and a flier. He was quickly arrested, the first of many attempts to displace him.Thomas' message has stood north of the White House day and night since 1981, except for a three-month period in 1988 when Thomas was sent to prison by U.S. Judges Flannery and Richey, who wanted to "deter others from adopting your lifestyle." ||||

WHERE DID ALL THE CHARTER STUDENTS GO?

2009-01-23T20:50:00.002-05:00

Those questioning the efficacy of DC's charter school system might want to take a look at the official reports of the secondary charters. Most show a stunning disparity between the number of students and the number of graduates multiplied by the number of classes in the school. There are several possible reasons for this, one being that a school is growing rapidly and so there are more students in the younger classes. On the other hand, it may provide evidence of what some suspect: that charters are getting money on a per student basis and then dropping students or letting them drift away over the course of the year, students who may end up back within, and at the expense of, the traditional system.

For example, the Shaw campus of Maya Angelou had 119 students grades 9-12 in the fall of 2007, but only 16 graduates in 2008. If the students were evenly spaced you would have expected a total enrollment of only 64.

One of the Cesar Chavez campuses had 383 students in grades 9-12 in 2007 but only 63 graduates in 2008. If the students were evenly spaced you would have expected a total enrollment of only 252.

City Lights had 62 students in grades 9-12 in 2007 but only one graduate. And so on.

The other anomaly, which the Washington Post and city officials aren't letting you in on, are the number of these schools where the test scores have actually declined over the past year. The report is useful reading for public school advocates.

Update: It's just been announced that City Lights is closing.

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