DCist: Morning Roundup: Not Taking Chances On The Lottery

rugbykate

Wed, 14 May 2008 14:22:39 -0500

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?!?!

Bethesdaist

Wed, 14 May 2008 13:15:33 -0500

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.

voteprime

Wed, 14 May 2008 12:46:16 -0500

And, sadly mellbell, even getting run over isn't a guarantee you'll get their attention.

monkeyrotica

Wed, 14 May 2008 12:44:58 -0500

"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.

mellbell

Wed, 14 May 2008 12:36:30 -0500

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.

monkeyrotica

Wed, 14 May 2008 12:06:34 -0500

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.

connie dobbs

Wed, 14 May 2008 11:56:48 -0500

If you want to commit suicide, trying to walk across Route 7 isn't the answer. That road wasn't built for pedestrians. 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?

voteprime

Wed, 14 May 2008 11:46:04 -0500

You may ask us, "Barry & Levon, where did you get $240?" From earmarks, baby. Aww yeah.

jen209

Wed, 14 May 2008 11:43:50 -0500

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?

monkeyrotica

Wed, 14 May 2008 11:36:51 -0500

jen - Slamming your arm on the car hood and yelling "HEY! I'M WALKIN HERE!" works for me and Ratso Rizzo.

TripleE

Wed, 14 May 2008 11:29:26 -0500

I'd like to see some earmarks for a fleet of sewage trebuchets. And $240 worth of pudding. Aww yeah. ~EEE~

jen209

Wed, 14 May 2008 11:29:09 -0500

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?

Reid

Wed, 14 May 2008 11:24:44 -0500

"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.

Mike Licht

Wed, 14 May 2008 10:52:55 -0500

14thandYou: 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.

DL in DC

Wed, 14 May 2008 10:47:45 -0500

Monkey, You had me until and the people in line behind are yelling and giving me the finger. They could care less what other people think or are doing. I'd suggest something more like and my other iStinkberry is ringing with someone more important calling.

monkeyrotica

Wed, 14 May 2008 10:06:57 -0500

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.

Bethesdaist

Wed, 14 May 2008 10:01:17 -0500

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.

drew in adams morgan

Wed, 14 May 2008 10:00:06 -0500

"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.

14thandYou

Wed, 14 May 2008 09:59:52 -0500

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).

jen209

Wed, 14 May 2008 09:50:16 -0500

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.

connie dobbs

Wed, 14 May 2008 09:44:07 -0500

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.

TimmyTucker

Wed, 14 May 2008 09:34:30 -0500

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....

OldPosterKnownAsCranky

Wed, 14 May 2008 09:26:52 -0500

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?

monkeyrotica

Wed, 14 May 2008 09:13:52 -0500

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.

boondoggle

Wed, 14 May 2008 09:10:17 -0500

W/r/t Hillary supporters chanting 'its not over' on the radio this morning: West Virginia a state not known for high math scores.

Mike Licht

Wed, 14 May 2008 08:53:00 -0500

Mike DeBonis updated the list of FY 2009 DC Budget Pork. Total earmarks: $72.7 million.