Updated Forecast: In Excess of 8" of Snow, Plus Wind
And Now, 10-20 Inches
Federal Govt. Closed Tuesday
Snowmaggedon 1.0 in Time Lapse
The card's in the mail. Our phone was broken. It just slipped our mind. Whatever the excuse, we failed to properly wish Abraham Lincoln a happy 200th birthday yesterday. Events took place around the city to celebrate the country's 16th president, from a ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial where the Gettysburg Address was read to a gathering of the country's political leaders in the Capitol Rotunda where Lincoln's body lay in state after his assassination. Lincoln is fondly remembered in the District for having freed the city's 3,100 slaves some eight months before the famous Emancipation Proclamation.
Louie Gohmert Strikes Again: Ever since he declared himself and the rest of his colleagues our rightful representatives on the Hill, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) has been looking out for our best interests. So it should come as no surprise that Gohmert has introduced two pieces of legislation aimed squarely at the District, one to exempt residents from federal taxes until they gain voting representation and the other to cede most of the city back to Maryland to resolve that whole two-century-old disenfranchisement thing. The proposals are alternatives to legislation that would grant the District a voting seat in the House, a move many Republicans deride as unconstitutional. The Examiner as all the details; check out our own run-down on tax exemption and retrocession to Maryland.
More Trouble at WASA: The Post carries yet another disturbing story about the agency charged with providing the District with clean water. This time, it seems that the WASA published a 2007 research paper claiming that lead in the city's water had not harmed residents between 2001-2004, even though the paper's conclusions were seen as scientifically dubious enough that even the author agreed to delete them. The details about how the paper came to light are a little confusing, but the piece is worth a read.
DCist Editor Throws Hat in Ring for Cabinet Position: Seriously President Obama, I'll be your Commerce Secretary.
Briefly Noted: Bureau closings and job cuts hit Baltimore Sun ... Group sues to stop HOT lanes ... D.C. looking to get money back for inauguration expenses ... Man found near U.S. Capitol with gun ordered released from jail.
This Day in DCist: On this day in 2008, we reflected on then Senator Barack Obama's sweep of the District's 142 precincts in the Democratic primary. In 2007, a snowpocalypse shut down the federal government early. (Any chance of that today? Nope.)
Picture snapped by e.teel
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ah, louie louie, what a guy!
did he talk to the maryland delegation about retrocession at all? yeah, didn't think so.
does this guy think anything out, or does he just feel like there's nothing worth doing back home in yee-haw, texas?
work for your constituents, baldy! we'll work on our own stuff up here, kthxbai!
hey can we be part of Hawaii instead of Maryland? um, because Maryland sucks.
Norton pushed a tax exemption for DC residents bill a couple years back. It died in committee. I see the same thing happening here.
Also, how are the DC bike rentals holding up? Because the system they have in Paris is effing falling apart.
Its a scam by JC Decaux for money. With the economy in the shitter the advertising that is their bread and butter isn't as high on priority lists for companies.
When the Federal Government didn't use the vast majority of Arlington for our Nations Capitol, the land was given back to Virginia. Rep. Louie Gohmert's plan is logical, and it will give the residents of D.C. their rights.
randy: if you were logically going to push a bill like this, wouldn't you logically ask the affected parties their opinion about this. do the people of DC want it? do the people of maryland want it?
the answer to both of these questions is almost certainly "no".
if louie, louie would do some outreach, maybe i'd be willing to cut him some slack on this, but the guy is grandstanding for god-only-knows-what reason.
Do you ask someone who's being sued how they would like to serve their sentence, or how much their fine should be? But I get your point. Even condemned prisoners get to choose their last meal. Steak, pizza, and fried chicken top the list, although there are still holdouts for that old chestnut, scotch eggs.
In lieu of a federal tax exemption, they should just issue every resident a dozen scotch eggs, and the problem takes care of itself. Maybe then I'd finally be able to get a reservation at Minibar.
i don't think Mr. Gohmert, or any of those opposing DC statehood and/or statehood voting rights for the district, really care what district or Maryland residents think. it's more of a, 'would you rather be governed by Congress, or by Maryland? because we sure as hell aren't going to give statehood authority to the douches that run DC gov't and we think it's unconstitutional to just go ahead and give you voting rights.'
they aren't really convinced by your 'DC already acting as a state when it comes to interstate commerce' argument.
i tend to agree with them.
I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you polled every person in D.C. and Maryland. Please excuse me for sending out a comment. You are correct, and we should all bow to your vast knowledge.
That was uncalled for. What's with people misreading IMGoph lately?
politburo: no, he's right. i'm a giant douchebag. comes with the territory of always being right. what can i say, i have to lord over all these ignoramuses every day, and it just gets tiring keeping up the façade of interest.
or not.
Along the same lines as IMGoph's point, in the previous retrocession, Virginians petitioned the Congress, and the state legislature acted before the Congress did. I'm pretty sure Maryland has not done the same in this case..
Also, the reasons for retro-cession were a tad different back then (read:slaves). Virginia wanted Alexandria to funnel in slaves and the residents identified more with Virginia.
I don't think anyone in D.C. today would say they identify with either surrounding state and I really can't see any reason either state would be better served in taking over the district.
You seem to be suggesting that today's DC residents are not slaves. Their fondness for $5 cupcakes, trendy eateries, and $9,000 leather furniture stores would indicate otherwise.
I seriously doubt any DCist editor would pass the vetting process to be Commerce Secretary. Their history of tax avoision is rivalled only by that of a certain cannibal necrophile council member who shall remain nameless.
My taxes are fully in order. It's the illegal immigrant housekeepers, wide stance and refusal to settle for anything less than Secretary of Defense that might sink me.
That and they don't usually stumble in to work until well past 10 AM!
Be fair. It takes them until 10 to tie up the illegal immigrant housekeeper in the basement. Try doing that with a hangover. They're just lucky they beat the rap on all those mattress tag/manhole cover trafficking charges. Otherwise, they'd be up the Ganges without an air freshener.
Note to the group opposed to the HOT Lanes on the Beltway: You're a little late to the party, have you noticed that the trees are already cleared from all those interchanges? Not to mention the demolition of the bridges over the Beltway? I'm not judging your cause but they're not going to put things back this late in the game.
we'll let it slide this time, but don't forget about Frederick Douglass (the Sage/Lion of Anacostia)'s birthday Tomorrow!
big celebration and great talks, etc at his house tomorrow. check the blog for details.
Obviously retrocession is dumb, but what's the hate on the other bill? An exemption from federal income tax until full voting rights are obtained sounds just fine to me
Tax exempt status waters down the urgency of the "statehood now" argument. Advocates for statehood like to use the "taxation without representation" cry, but in their hear of hearts, they WANT to be taxed. It's practially a fetish with them. Check out any of the DC Fiscal Policy Instutute (Ed Lazere's) point papers: DC residents and corporations hardly pay any taxes as it is, according to him. The whole point of statehood is to create an even bigger bureaucracy, funded by a confiscatory tax rate.
No fed tax - it'd be great if they were serious about it. But it seems to be a cheap ploy.
But if it were to somehow magically pass I'd shut my mouth and enjoy being tax free. Except, of course, that fairly hefty DC tax bill.
In for the Federal Tax exemption!
I read that the Capitol Hill rifle guy was found at the Supreme Court building. He claimed he "had a delivery for the Pope."
The editor and I are competing for the Commerce Secretary position. I have a Facebook group to prove my growing support. http://bit.ly/12WAIn
No federal taxes could also mean that Gohmert and others could tell DC residents to go to hell . . . you don't pay federal taxes, so we'll (Congress) run your city as we damn well please.
Well, they basically have that right anyway. Remember the 90s?
Very true. But I think if the republicans were able to retake the majority in Congress, they would feel empowered to exert even greater control/dominance over DC under a no federal income taxes scenario.
If you think about the flip side of it. We don't pay any federal taxes, the federal government says screw you on federal funding to fix things. Why should we fund DC if the residents aren't going to pay, let DC pay for everything themselves. I know that would never happen, but they could deny DC money based on that.
Randy, I am just going to skip the vague attempts at civil dialog, and just say it- you are a miserable villian. We of DC (who roll deeper than Wyoming - shiit), have a distinct identity unique from Maryland. And screw the "carved in stone" readers of the U.S. Const that only allows "the several" states to have reps. I say take the vote away from Texas (it should have never been included in the "several", or at least it has lost that right, time after time, for fucks sake) and give IT TO US! Live free of die. Arg.