You had to know this was coming: a couple of D.C.-based political organizers have put together an online petition, Save the Parties, in support of the D.C. Council's legislation that would allow District bars and restaurants to stay open 24-hours and serve alcohol until 5 a.m.
Petition: "Mayor Fenty: The people voted overwhelmingly for change, and we want to celebrate that change big-time! Stand strong -- don't back down on 5 a.m. bar closings during Inauguration week."There's also a Facebook group, natch. Anyone seen an online petition for the negative position?



Don't people have to work the next day? This is why the US is in a recession. Lazy Americans.
Did I miss something? If the DC Council already passed the bill, what the hell is the petition for?
Congress wants to yank the late-hours bill, Fenty's waffling, and so are the Council. This petition is to keep the bill as-is.
How dare they.. Does this smack anyone else as old King George telling us what to do from across the pond? Did any DC resident vote for these clowns? NO.
@carn: True, yet no DC resident voted for the hours extension either...
or against*
@Rukasu: ah, but our elected officials *did*, and we are therefore in a position to hold them accountable. Not so with Sens. Feinstein and Bennett.
But DC residents voted for the Council members, whose judgment is trusted (theoretically, by the voters) in these matters.
Let the District do as it wishes, businesses deserve to profit from the influx of visitors.
The main drag in Adams Morgan is going to turn into a vomit river.
See, that's the beauty of the plan. The innaugural celebrants will wash the vomit away with the pee they've been holding in all day. It's all good. By which I mean stinky.
The mother of all parties has begun! The streets will run red with the regurgitated jumbo slices of the unbelievers!
Can DCist promise to do a January 21st round-up of all of the political drunk-dials occurring between the hours of 2:00 - 5:00 AM? That would be pretty much the best DCist post ever.
this reminds me of a campaign at michigan state when i was an undergrad. they had just banned the use of kegs on the tailgating fields, and there were people with signs, shirts, etc., that all said "ban the ban on kegs"
was it successful? in a word, abso-freakinglutely-not.
how about a petition for more portable potties? or working escalators on the metro? or something more important? or just drink aquanet in an alley like all the other hobos at 4am.
So these puke smelling Ginko berries were placed here to cover up the smell coming from this huge vomitorium we call DC,eh? How excellent. Extra hours to party and puke, but we won't mind because we'll keep telling ourselves that it's the Ginko..not us. Petition on.
I oppose this. Forcing drunk patrons home at exactly the same time increases exponentially the chances of a "last-call" hookup.
DC is going to look like Harare on Jan. 21...Tom Daschle's first order of business will be to overcome the cholera outbreak that will rage through the DC Metro area.
I do not understand what the big deal is.
Right now you have places that stay open until 3:00, with last call at 2:30, so now they are going to extend that for all places until 5:00, with a last call at 4:30 I assume. What two more hours ?
Plus all the bars that have a private agreements with surrounding communities will still have to honor that agreement.
I want to see a really good walk of shame photo at the Photo of the Day on the 21st.
Could DC really completely unravel because of 12 extra hours of alcohol consumption over three days? I'm more concerned about potties on the Mall.
I predict the Capitol Reflecting Pool will be clogged with turds, and the WWII Memorial fountains we become a makeshift bidet. Maybe!
tootrueblue: yes some of us have to work the next day, but like most peoples of the world we have trained ourselves to report to work after a good 30 minute black out, which scientists have found is more rejuvenating then a 9 hour restless sleep of the lame.
So retarded.. I'm guessing the number of bars (and bartenders) wanting to staff up for 24 hours is going to be pretty low anyways.
Doesn't matter to me. I'm planning to get out of town at least until the 21st. There's no way in hell I'm getting on the Metro with millions of tourists that week.