April 9, 2008
Morning Roundup: Nope to Pope Joke
Good morning, Washington. Remember yesterday's papal Metro commercial? The one with the bobblehead pontiff riding the subway? Well, cherish that memory, because YouTube won't be refreshing it. The Archdiocese of Washington, seemingly tired of the relentlessly positive PR the Catholic Church has enjoyed over the last few years, has decided to make a stink over the video. Metro has responded by pulling the ad and apologizing for the bobbleheadification.
Lawsuit Filed in Jacks Case: Norman Penn Jr., the father of one of the four girls allegedly killed by their mother, Banita Jacks, has filed suit against the D.C. government. Shakeups in the city's child welfare services occurred after the murders came to light; this lawsuit alleges that the city was negligent, and that Mr. Penn is due compensation for his daughter's death. NBC4 reports that Mr. Penn acknowledged his paternity in a 2002 child support case (the ruling of which he did not subsequently comply with).
National Harbor Liquor Licenses Hit Snag: The Post reports that the massive new convention complex in Prince George's County has had a setback in the Maryland legislature. A proposed bill would have granted the facility as many as forty liquor licenses for the various restaurants setting up shop on its grounds. Sen. C. Anthony Muse, who represents P.G. County, attempted to use the bill as leverage to wrest additional minority hiring commitments from National Harbor's developer — perhaps in response to a recent report showing disappointingly low minority employment numbers at the complex. But the gambit failed and the bill was withdrawn amidst a flurry of angry political maneuvering. Instead, restaurants at National Harbor will apply for liquor licenses individually.
Briefly Noted: Traffic problems near Wilson Bridge on Beltway... Motive in bank robbery remains mysterious... New crab restrictions may arrive today... Chemical spill at Goddard Space Center... MPD using bait cars to catch thieves... Fenty move to eliminate school spending hearings opposed...
This Day In DCist: One year ago the Post promoted peeps and Mayor Fenty decided to challenge the Appellate Court's gun ruling.
Image by Flickr user roblisameehan, used under a Creative Commons License
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I can only assume the Vatican would have no problem with an accurately clad pontiff bobblehead that was authorized and endorsed by the Holy See.
This seems like the perfect opportunity for Catholic outreach. Imagine an entire collection of papal bobbleheads, going back to Saint Peter. Here's Pope Peter with his upside down crucifix action set! Here's Pope Stephen with his detachable bobble! And no set is complete without Fashion Dream Pope Joan and her crossdressing penthouse and hot pink palaquin! Collect 'em all!
wait wait wait....so this mr. penn guy didn't pay his child support, has an outstanding warrant for that, and is suing the district for compensation now!? dude has BALLS.
Hopefully, it Mr. Penn wins his suit, the city will be just as prompt with their payment as he was with his court ordered child support.
1. Impregnate woman then abandon her.
2. Withhold child payments and wait until her mental health deteriorates to the point where she kills the kids.
3. Sue the District for wrongful death.
4. PROFIT!
I hope that when Penn goes to collect his check they slap bracelets on him and take that ass to the clink.
So a cross-dressing, child-molesting former nazi doesn't like a video with his supposed likeness and we take it down. Can't wait to see the bill we DC residents pick up to keep this freak safe.
Mr. Penn is suing the city for negligence for not heeding the warnings from Child Services, but he was the one who left the child in Banita Jacks's care. Anyone else see the negligence in that?
If he is so concerned about the child, why didn't he do something about it, you know when she was alive and everything?
P.S. - Sommer must be well rested from vacation. 8:30 or so? Well done!
Things like making a Holy Stink over the Metro commercial is why there will be a lot of new restaurants and clubs opening up in former Catholic churches in a couple of years.
I hope the judge throws Penn out on his stupid butt!
Where did he pull the number $25 million from?? Those must have been some pretty amazing gifts and "financial benefits" he planned on receiving from the daughter he abandoned and failed to support.
My father DID stick around and care for me, but I'm sorry to tell him that I doubt he'll be receiving anywhere close to $25 million dollars worth of gifts...
nice that police are planting bait cars with electronics to tempt people to steal. And, dare I ask, what is the MPD doing to stop bike thefts? Let's think about it: bike thefts disproportionately hurt the poorer ones among us who either don't own a car or choose not to drive it everywhere; bike thefts are usually done by much more professional criminals--that is to say, premeditated--and, hey, if someone leaves a $400 cell phone in a car in a metropolitan area, do they really value it? Someone tethering a $100 bike to a fence, only to return to see the lock clipped and the MPD shrug at them deserves our attention much more.
I hope the liquor licensing issues are sorted out before Ashton Kutcher's Ketchup restaurant opens. God knows Tara Reid will drink them dry.
If someone over in Metro's PR department is smart, they'll still come out way on top of this incident.
"When you're religious or somewhat religious, you're like you don’t want to play with our religion that much"
well i'm convinced that they should have pulled the ad...down with the first amendment!
Oooh, just what this area needs, another Sequoia. I've been waiting for another over-priced, poorly-serviced, incredibly crowded waterfront restaurant that serves food with no taste.
And Norman Penn is a dirtbag. What a joke.
Why is no one concerned about the space chemicals that have been unleashed? There may very well be super villains on the lose as we speak.
Man, I really hope the Pope rides his pimped out pennyfarthing when he comes to town, all covered in jewels and s**t. Even got a horn what beeps "Ave Marie" and "La Cucaracha." If some creep jacks the pontiff's ride, you can bet the DC cops will be all over that joint like brown on dookie. But I bet Benny don't give a fat rat's fart about tailpipe emissions and carbon footprints. All he care about is not gettin mud on his dress.
If Jeebus was around today, you can bet he'd ride a unicycle and smoke hemp and be talkin bout LOVE with a capital "F." Now that's the kinda blackeyed pea-eatin, strychnine drinkin religion that I can get behind. So long as they pay taxes and don't marry off 14-year-olds to geriatrics.
@ funfriends:
I one time accidentally left my car unlocked for 2 days in Dupont Circle, and nothing happened to it. No one "broke" in, no one stole it. And it was a BMW. Why MPD thinks their strategy will work is beyond me.
Anyone who knows the basics of running an auto insurance scam knows that when you're trying to get your car stolen, you're supposed to leave it in front of Yums with the engine running. Duh.
Norman Penn is a contender for the Douche of the Year Award. What total chutzpah that guy has. Questions I'd love to see him answer: Why did you fail to pay child support to that child that you supposedly so dearly loved? When was the last time you saw your child? How often would you talk with your child? Do you know your child's birthdate? Do you see your child as anything more than an easy paycheck?
And, to be fair to the Archdiocese, they did not ask Metro to take down the ad; they just said it was inaccurate and could be seen as offensive to some. As a Catholic, I thought the ad was cute and totally not offensive. It was totally cheesy but cute, same was as the peeps ad for opening day.
And the PG County liquor license debacle makes me wonder who was giving donations to state senator Muse in order for his shenanigans. Muse makes Jim Graham look like a piker when it comes to booze blackmail.
Did anyone else watch the video of the WJLA story about the Metro ad? You can see the original DCist post for like a split-second halfway through.
Hey people talking trash about Catholics ...
What do you think would have happened if it were a bobblehead of Muhammad??
I'm Catholic and I don't think it's a big deal ... but I wouldn't think it's a big deal if the bobblehead were a gay person, black person, muslim, etc.
Hopefully the DC MPD puts up their Bait Car videos on the internet as well. Vancouver does it and some of them are hilarious, it's just too bad that they blur their faces.
http://www.baitcar.com/video
"Someone tethering a $100 bike to a fence, only to return to see the lock clipped and the MPD shrug at them deserves our attention much more."
I'm not sure I agree with your suggestion that bike robberies disproportionately affect poorer people. Plenty of bikes (even the $100 variety)are stolen from some well-off people. Besides, at least from my reading of the police blotters, car break-ins are a lot more prevelant than bike thefts. Granted, maybe it's just that car break-ins are more reported for insurance reasons (although maybe not, because car insurance normally doesn't cover things like laptops and the cost of glass is normally about the same as the deductible [although x2, maybe it's covered by renter's insurance]).
I would suspect it's more about effectiveness. A bike may just end up sitting there longer than a car with a laptop in it. That's not to say we should be less sympathetic to the bike-theft victim, but sympathy alone (particularly when it's based upon a questionable assumption of the relative wealth of the victims) should not direct police work. We must consider bang-for-the-buck too.
What do you think would have happened if it were a bobblehead of Muhammad??
Please to tell me where I can obtain such a fetish? It would go wonderfully with my Jesus and Buddha bobbleheads, as well as my Pope Innocent III action figure.
My dashboard may be cluttered, but it's not playing any favorites in the salvation business.
So, they are child molester enablers AND they have no sense of humor.
Tell me again why they get to be tax-free and I don't?
"but I wouldn't think it's a big deal if the bobblehead were a gay person, black person, muslim, etc."
Um, aren't there tons of sports figure bobbleheads that are, gasp, black?
As for gay bobbleheads, the joke is even funnier just because its a , you know, bobblehead.
Yeah, I too fail to see why the DC taxpayer gets to foot the sure to be massive security bill for the Pope. If area Catholics really want to see him, how about they personally pony up the cash for his ginormous entourage? I don't see what's in it for the city.
Oh, yeah, that's right. Some religious people are used to having the rest of us pay for their free shit, so this is just one more example. Sometimes I forget that basic premise of subsidized religion.
"...if someone leaves a $400 cell phone in a car in a metropolitan area, do they really value it? Someone tethering a $100 bike to a fence..."
Putting aside your breathless tone, someone tethering a $100 bike to a fence in an urban environment may as well hang a sign on it saying "Free! Take me!"
"Oh, yeah, that's right. Some religious people are used to having the rest of us pay for their free shit, so this is just one more example. Sometimes I forget that basic premise of subsidized religion."
Anytime anyone important comes to DC, big security measures are needed. It's not a religious thing. Just like when there's a big protest over gay rights, I expect there to be extra security, but I don't complain about them getting 'free shit'.
As for what's 'in it' for the city, do you have any idea how many people will travel to DC just to get a glimpse of the Pope??
I'd be happy if they all just stood to the right on the escalator.
Yes, and nearly every single one of those good Catholic folks either already live here (most in the burbs) or will stay in VA hotels, with very little actual $$ for the city. It's a safe bet that the security and logistics tab will FAR outweigh any economic benefit.
As for gay rights marches and any accompanying counter protests, theoretically the Feds pick up any marches that happen on the Mall and such, which is where huge marches happen.
And DC has the option of asking the Feds for $$ to cover security for other political events even if they aren't on federal property. Of course, the Feds can say no.
As for the local gay rights parade, that's for actual DC residents, not some visiting gay deity figure, and it results in actual $$ for the city, in the form of more gays willing to live in DC. And I believe the city tries to recoup $$ for security in the form of permit fees and whatnot. And the annual gay rights festival, when they close down part of Penn Ave NW.... they pay some huge fee to the city to hold that event.
The only gay thing I know of that the city springs for is the High Heel Race. And I'd argue that's actually not really gay anymore. And even that, the organizers have to pay the city for at least a portion of the costs.
You could also argue that the city helping out with gay parades helps bring gays and big gay money into the city on a permanent, ongoing basis, as it shows the city as a welcoming environment for gay people. So it's a net win for the city from an economic standpoint.
Having the Pope here once isn't go to convince Catholics to move here.
Plus, we already subsidize Catholics and other religions, by allowing their giant real estate holdings to be totally tax free. And, of course, handing over all our street parking to them on Sundays.
I don't see us doing that for gay people. Or anyone else, for that matter.
Plus, on a more theoretical level, I'd argue that this event with this Pope DC makes for a more difficult life for the gay residents of the city, since this Pope is quite adamant about his hatred of gay people and his desire that all good Catholics fight to make sure gays are treated like crap.
Hillman rant alert!
Be on the lookout for his notorious uncut 12-inch . . . . . . . . . .comment
The only big gay deity with big gay money that I can come up with is Tom Cruise, and I wouldn't exactly call him "big." More like "hobbity."
I have to admit that did turn into a rant.
But what uncut 12 inch comment are you referring to?
As for Tom Cruise, I'm hoping you lads can claim him on your team. We certainly don't want him. But, then, we don't want Rosie either.
I'd say Elton John is a pretty big gay deity, but only for mos of a certain age.
We really don't have a Big Gay Overlord.
The only big gay deity with big gay money that I can come up with is Tom Cruise, and I wouldn't exactly call him "big." More like "hobbity."
What about Liberace?
But what uncut 12 inch comment are you referring to?
This one.
I thought the ad was good. It makes people curious.
Nope. Liberace is ancient history. And not PC, since while he was a flaming nancy boy he was actually quite circumspect about actually being a practicing homosexual. Even as he was dying from AIDS his publicists were blaming his weight loss on, oddly, a 'watermelon diet'.
C'mon people, the City is solely responsible for making sure the Templars don't mount an attack on the Pope-a. It only makes sense they foot the security bill. Though, its also only fair that they foot the security bill to protect the gays from the Pope-a's crazy followers as well.
Pffft. Screw Liberace. I'll take Casey Donovan to win, Wink.
And I seriously doubt the Templars would make an attempt on the Pope. They're too busy looking for the Maltese Falcon and trying to kill Indiana Jones.
I have to turn in my gay card. I had no idea who Casey Donovan was.
Whoa. Hold the phone, Mabel. Elton John is gay? WTF? Next you'll tell me Roy Cohn, Jedgar Hoover, and Harvey Fierstein are gay. Give it up, Smithers.
And unlike switch hitters like John Holmes and Peter North who were just in it for the money, Mr. Donovan clearly loved his work. As a tender lad just discovering scrambled broadcast porn, I can still recall his riveting performance in The Opening of Misty Beethoven. Now THAT was acting.