If you’re down on the National Mall this weekend and see, oh, 12,000 flags stuck in the ground, don’t be alarmed. The Federal Government hasn’t started an experimental flag farm, nor is the display an effort of the area’s squirrels to show their patriotism. The flags have been planted to represent the 12,000 members of the United States military who have been discharged under the practice of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” The policy, which governs…

Harry Jaffe: In writing something of a goodbye column to RFK Stadium, Jaffe recounts the many struggles the District overcame to attract a baseball team. And though plenty of people played important roles, he feels that one deserves extra attention — former Mayor Anthony Williams. “The hero of the piece has to be Williams, an unpopular mayor who — despite his wandering attention span — kept swinging away at an unpopular crusade to use public…

Good morning, D.C. If you live in Wards 1 or 2, don’t forget to turn out to vote today in the special election for District I member of the State Board of Education. There’s only one name on the ballot, that of veteran education reporter Mary Lord, but as we mentioned before, there’s also a write-in candidate, first-year teacher in DCPS Jason Crawford. Check out each candidate’s web site and decide for yourself. If…

In national news with local relevance, the Supreme Court ruled today that the federal government has the power to prosecute medical users of marijuana, even in states who have passed laws allowing the use of the drug under certain circumstances. Eleven states currently allow the use of marijuana if prescribed by a doctor — among those Montana, Oregon, Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii and five others — a state of affairs that the 9th U.S. Circuit…

Official Washington can be filled with moments of official awkwardness. And this past week was filled with multiple instances of slips of the tongue, or at least Ciceronian rhetoric that could have been crafted and executed in a slightly better fashion. Starting with another pitched confirmation battle, President Bush’s nominee for ambassador to the United Nations, the sartorially impaired diplomatic guru John Bolton (left), faced some intense scrutiny from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The…