May 14, 2008
Morning Roundup: Not Taking Chances On The Lottery
Good morning, Washington. Yes, Hillary Clinton won West Virginia by a mile, and no, nobody seems to think it will make any difference to the nomination race's ultimate outcome. Perhaps somewhat more interestingly, in what some are calling an indication of what might occur in November, the Democrats picked up a congressional seat in a Mississippi special election, snagging a win in what is considered thoroughly Republican territory.
Mayor's Budget Approved: The Post details all of the amendments made by the city council to Mayor Fenty's budget, which won the council's approval yesterday. Among the highlights: the expected hike in cigarette taxes, less money for surveillance cameras, a tax break for small businesses, and a significant increase in the tax on property transfers.
Council Says No To Lottery Change: Yesterday we mentioned that the city was considering giving its lottery business to a partnership headed by Warrem C. Williams Sr. Well, as expected, Vincent Gray had enough votes to stop the deal, according to NBC4. Questions surrounding Williams' ownership of Club U, the nightclub that was eventually shuttered due to repeated violent incidents, seem to have trumped his ties to Mayor Fenty and worries about the existing vendor's performance.
The Jefferson Memorial Is Sinking!: Part of it is, anyway. The Post reports that a National Park Service study has found that the sea wall abutting the Tidal Basin has sunk almost a foot. The memorial is perfectly safe and will remain open, but necessary repairs are expected to cost over $10 million.
Briefly Noted: NAACP calls for probe into 2007 taser death... Frederick Douglass Bridge to shut down for seven hours beginning Friday at 10 p.m.... Zoning proposal raises immigration-related debate in Arlington... Foundation crack in S.E. apartment displaces residents... D.C. ranked fifth for road rage... Pr. William County building new magnet school...
This Day In DCist: One year ago the District stepped up its anti-graffiti efforts and we highlighted one intrepid blogger's attempt to catalog and rate the city's bathrooms.
Image posted to DCist Photos by Flickr user picture prefect
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Mike DeBonis updated the list of FY 2009 DC Budget Pork. Total earmarks: $72.7 million.
W/r/t Hillary supporters chanting 'its not over' on the radio this morning: West Virginia a state not known for high math scores.
See, this is what happens when you let Libertarians dance on your memorial. Those "No Dancing" signs were there for a reason, people. They've clearly angered the morlocks and now they're venting their wrath on Jefferson, Poltergeist-style.
If we want to remove this bad juju, OUR ONLY HOPE is a Santeria goat sacrifice and a rain dance, complete with chicken bone rattles, skunk oil incense, and full frontal nudity.
That, or Obi Wan Kenobi.
Re: earmarks -- You've gotta love the political courage of Carol Schwartz. She blabs on about how bad earmarks are and how she doesn't support them, but then votes for the bill that contains all the earmarks.
And has there been a complete investigative report as to why Ford's Theater is getting $10M from DC taxpayers? So far we know Jack Evans was pushing it and Harry Reid's wife is involved with the Ford's Theater. But that's about it. What's the money going to? Why are DC taxpayers paying for a federal entity? What benefits do DC taxpayers get from this?
If we all just band together and scream, speed, and tailgate, we can pass Baltimore on the road rage list!! GOD DAMN IT, it makes me mad enough to ram somebody with my car while flipping them off when I hear that we're only FREAKING FIFTH on the road rage list!!! GRRRRRR....
Does road rage count when I'm a pedestrian in a crosswalk (the kind with reflective-yellow-green posted signs and broad white stripes painted across the road) flipping off the car that's speeding by two feet in front of me?
Don't speed around a stopped bus, people!! There are passengers getting off that might be in the crosswalk you're trying to rocket through. Road rage. Urk.
Yeah Connie, I think we should call that sidewalk rage. I get bad cases of that too - like when I almost got run over this morning by a very old man driving a very large SUV who failed to notice me rightfully walking across the street in a crosswalk.
For me, it's more of a silent rage - I've perfected the evil glare, which I will inflict on drivers unrelentingly as I walk around their cars that are taking up the crosswalk.
The term "earmark" has gotten a bad rap, but earmarks aren't always a bad thing. The Dulles rail extension is an earmark, for instance, and couldn't have been funded any other way ("private" funding notwithstanding).
"For me, it's more of a silent rage - I've perfected the evil glare, which I will inflict on drivers unrelentingly as I walk around their cars that are taking up the crosswalk."
For me it's hand-gestures (not necessarily obscene) and shaking my head at the driver. Though sometimes I just want to kick their bumper.
I'm surprised that the road rage study didn't mention taxi cab drivers' horrible and varied driving skills as a key finding of causing road rage.
OldPosterKnownAsCranky: the Ford's Theatre money is for the creation of an Education Center across the street from the theater (a capital campaign.) Ford representatives have said that once the center is built, they will serve a whole passel of DC schoolkids (so that's the tenuous District connection.) But - the money is for building the facility, and Ford's largely serves non-local tourists. It stinks on ice.
And how do I know all this? I was Abraham Lincoln's high school sweetheart.
What kind of f***ing IDIOT still uses their legs to walk around? Tysons Corner is proof positive that you need nothing less than an Escalade to drive 250 feet to buy your goddamned lunch. If you want to commit suicide, trying to walk across Route 7 isn't the answer. That road wasn't built for pedestrians. It was built for people with no spare time and even less brains. Goddamit, I didn't pay $80 to fill my tank just to deal with little pukes who can't walk across 8 lanes in less than 4 seconds! And I sure as hell didn't pay $60k for my ride just to have to think about anything besides my tiny little penis.
Now, if you'll excuse me, my Grande Double Chocolate Mocha Frappucino is ready and the people in line behind are yelling and giving me the finger.
Monkey,
You had me until
They could care less what other people think or are doing. I'd suggest something more like14thandYou: Earmarks are inherently unfair. They are based on who you know, so organizations that need funding the least get the most money. These might be fine, capable organizations and worthy projects, but funding them through earmarks poisons democracy.
Mayor Fenty's pal Mike Bloomberg and the NY City Council have sworn off arts and culture earmarks and instituted competitive peer-reviewed grant programs. Now arts lobbyists will stop begging at City Hall, and NYC council members can concentrate on subjects they know something about. We need that here.
"Now arts lobbyists will stop begging at City Hall, and NYC council members can concentrate on subjects they know something about."
I generally agree that earmarks lead to inequitable distributions of public funds, but that money gets spent regardless. And in NYC's case, it's just another group of people making the decisions. They are normally unelected adminstrators of some sort. This can be a good thing if they bring an expertise and wise judgement to the matter, but they are just people too. They may not be targets of traditional graft, but they can still be suckered. Look at Tom Wolfe's battle against the Landmarks Commission (if there's one thing NYC will never be short of, it's commissions and councils). His central argument, fwiw, was that the commissioners were subject to lavish attention and flattery, and that affected their judgement just as much as a large campaign contribution would.
This is a debate that has been fought over since at least the late 19th century. The whole "professionalization" of government was an attempt to wipe out graft, but the 60's and 70's demonstrated what happens when the professionalized government becomes too large and unresponsive to the citizens.
Sometimes when the front half of a car is completely blocking a cross walk, I am tempted to jump and slide across the hood - or knock on their door and ask to pass through their backseat. Other than risking being run over by the parallel traffic, what other options do I have?
I'd like to see some earmarks for a fleet of sewage trebuchets.
And $240 worth of pudding.
Aww yeah.
~EEE~
jen - Slamming your arm on the car hood and yelling "HEY! I'M WALKIN HERE!" works for me and Ratso Rizzo.
I think that would require a new pair of boots and a cowboy hat in order for me to pull that off. Can I borrow yours, Monkey?
You may ask us, "Barry & Levon, where did you get $240?" From earmarks, baby. Aww yeah.
As someone with a 9th-floor view of Route 7 in Tysons Corner, it sure is some good lunchtime entertainment to watch peeps in suits try to cross those 8 lanes of traffic without walking the 1/2-mile to the next crosswalk. I just wanna get to Panera!?!
Can you say Frogger?
Now that's the kind of pudding that only $72.7 million will buy.
Like it says on the box, "Earmark....then pork."
And that's what I do every night, baby.
It isn't quite like a scene out of "Midnight Cowboy," but if a car cuts me off in a crosswalk and the opportunity is there I will bang on their window, because it seems to literally be the only way to get their attention short of, you know, getting run over.
"Aw, jeeze, dere! My seat's all wet! Here I am goin ta Florida an' my leg hurts, my butt hurts, my chest hurts, my face hurts, an' like dat ain't enough, I gotta pee all over myself."
Great way to get people out of your way when you're on the Metro.
And, sadly mellbell, even getting run over isn't a guarantee you'll get their attention.
I have been known to whack car bumpers with my handbag after a near-miss in a crosswalk. Between that and my patented cold stare at them, they're terrified.
Did the DCist grocery beat writer go on vacation?! The Jenkins Row/Capitol Hill Harris Teeter opened yesterday, and there was no coverage, intense 60 comment discussion, and subsequent argument about what grocery store sucks worse - Safeway on 14th or Safeway on Benning! What is this blog coming to?!?!