Rosetta Stone Hires Fenty

Via DCist.

I wonder how long before he brings in Michelle Rhee to fire the Rosetta instructors?

It's Civil Marriage, Dammit

As happy as I am about marriage equality moving forward in DC, and as thankful I am to the religious leaders here who stood up for marriage equality, this is the wrong move.

It's hard enough already to separate civil marriage from religion and church from state in dealing with matters homosexual. Fenty is as clumsy as he is courageous.

Congress Suddenly Interested in Respecting DC's Voters?

HT: Joe My God.

DC Mayor Adrian Fenty and Council Chair Vincent Gray were called on the carpet by Congress for not allowing the majority of District residents to vote on the civil rights of a minority. Let's listen in:

At a hearing on proposed changes to the city's Home Rule Act, two Republicans on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee grilled Fenty and Gray about why the District will not allow a public vote.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (Utah), the ranking member of the subcommittee that has oversight over District laws, noted that voters in 31 states have rejected same-sex marriage. "I'm disappointed the people are not getting an opportunity to vote on this issue," Chaffetz said.

Yes, you see, Congress -- Republicans in particular -- really care about respecting the wishes of DC's voters. That's why they've blocked attempts to actually giving DC voting representation in Congress. And why they feel they can waltz in and undo actual initiatives approved by District voters.

Case-in-point: Medical Marijuana. In 1998, 69 percent of DC's voters approved a ballot initiative authorizing medical marijuana. 69 percent.

And then, since Congress respects the will of the peeple so much, former Rep. Bob Barr, a Republican from Georgia, stepped in, said no, and through an amendment killed the implementation of medical marijuana which had won approval from DC's Congressional subjects voters.

To the meddlesome members of Congress: if others can vote on my equal rights, I want the same opportunity. Fair is fair.

And it's great that you want to respect the will of the people of the District of Columbia. Do that all the time, not just when it fits your narrow social homophobic agenda.

Snow Days

What is it with coworkers who use snow as an excuse for not coming to work? I don't know how much snow-induced absenteeism hurts the economy but it can't be good.

DC got about 5 inches last night and this morning. Yes, snow was thick and flying as fast as acrimony at a CPAC convention but if you drove slowly and kept your wits about you you could make it. I did.

And, two words: Public Transportation. If the buses and metro are running you can get to work. If you live walking distance from the office, two other words: Snow Boots. Yes, the snow and ice can make it tough but hey, we're descended from people who got on rickety, leaky boats and sailed across an unknown sea to an unknown land. And I don't think they were serving appletinis or lattes on the way over.

Okay, if you are a parent and you suddenly have day care issues I get that. But speaking of school closings...

DC schools opened two hours late. Normally, they would have closed like all the other schools in the area. But President Obama made fun of us DC types when schools closed for "a little ice." Not wanting another presidential ribbing (come on, if Obama hadn't said that, DC schools would have been as closed as a dittohead's mind) the Mayor kept em open...and you should hear the whining of the parents who called into a local radio station. "Oh, the mayor forced our kids out on the slippery streets...they had to walk on snow! And maybe ice!"

Okay, these are the same kids who, if they were off, would be out hurtling down hills on sleds or, once enough melting happened, would be making death-defying leaps down concrete steps on their skate boards. Acrobatics on concrete, okay, walking on snow, too dangerous.

We really do need to toughen up a bit, people.

DC City Paper Panties in a Wad

The poor folks over at DC's City Paper just can't understand why Mayor Fenty gives scoops to the WaPo. Uh, maybe because the Post is a newspaper. And the City Paper is...what?

I mean, an eight-page or so feature story on cat-calls?

City Paper: If you want an example of an excellent weekly rag that covers the community, politics, arts, culture and the DC social scene, check out Metro Weekly.

And stop whining.

Bring DC Marriage Debate into the Open

There's too much backroom dealing going on with gay marriage in DC. Two opposing factions, the DC Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA) on one side and a group of "activists" (who are they?) on the other side led by Lane Hudson have been influencing or seeking to influence the time line for pushing for marriage equality here, according to today's Blade.

Meanwhile the Mayor (who supports gay marriage) has asked for a dialogue, although it's not clear exactly who he wants to dialogue with.

Enough with the backroom deals. No one elected GLAA or Lane Hudson and a decision about whether it's wise to pursue SSM in DC needs to be made out in the open.

Personally, as I've argued in this space previously, we should move forward. I don't buy GLAA's overly cautious approach to pursing equal civil rights. Martin Luther King didn't say, well, there's too much racism for it to be safe for us to protest, so let's just stay home and mind our manners.

Besides the worse thing that could happen -- Congress intervening and overturning same sex marriage if the council passes it -- keeps us at the status quo. GLAA argues it would set us back a dozen years, but the criteria they've set forth as making it acceptable to pursue SSM likely won't be achieved for another decade anyway. So if we lose we're in the same place as if we do nothing. That seems low risk to me.

So -- bring this out in the open. Let the Council propose it and let it be openly debated. Let the gay activists come forward and make their cases for and against. Let our elected officials decide if this is a wise time to go forward, and not let a few whispering back room 'fraidy-cats take it off the table without open debate.

The Mayor Responds

The Mayor's office responded to my question about releasing the Spagnoletti memo (written by a former DC city attorney on whether DC can legally recognize same sex unions performed elsewhere. The memo is rumored to say that DC can. The previous mayor kept it private. The current mayor during his campaign vowed to immediately release it, then appeared to back off that promise after the election. I asked the Mayor's gay outreach liaison to clarify. Here's his response:

Scott,

Thanks for your question about whether or not the Mayor plans on releasing the Spagnoletti memo. The administration is currently reviewing the memo and still plans on releasing it. I just don’t know when.

Christopher J. Dyer
Interim Director, Office of LGBT Affairs

Translation: The memo says DC can legally recognize SS couples married where it's legal and we don't have a clue yet on how to handle it.

Kudos, though, for Dyer reaffirming the Mayor's promise. That's further than his spokesperson went in responding to the Washington Blade.

The last Administration kowtowed to the DC Gay and Lesbian Activist Alliance's (GLAA) advice to roll over and not provoke the Republican-controlled Congress over same sex marriage in DC. Now that the Congress is in the hands of the Dems, and the current DC Mayor and a majority of the DC City Council seems to be for equal marriage rights, let's hope the Fenty Admin won't take a similar posture.

At the very least, let's hope the Fenty Administration is listening to a broader array of voices within the DC community as it grapples with the issue of marriage rights. The GLAA doesn't speak for all of us.

Mayor Fenty's Unfulfilled Promise to DC Gays

During his Mayoral campaign, Adrian Fenty promised to release a memo prepared for the city that was said to state that DC could legally recognize gay marriages performed in other jurisdictions where they are legal. Fenty was elected and so far he has not fulfilled this promise. I fear he is an example of yet another Democrat who will take gay dollars and votes but won't take a stand for gays.

This morning I sent a note to the Mayor's gay liasion, Christopher Dyer. Here's the note:

Hi -- In a Washington Blade article dated November, 25, 2005 Lou Chibbarro writes, "Brown and Fenty said they would release the Spagnoletti memo immediately after becoming mayor."

The Spagnoletti memo, as I'm sure you know, is the opinion of former DC Attorney General Robert Spagnoletti on whether District law would permit the city to recognize gay marriages performed in Massachusetts and other jurisdictions.

I hadn't heard that the memo has been released, and Mr. Fenty has been Mayor now for five months. When is he going to release the memo, or has he gone back on his word to the gay community? Or did the Blade get it wrong?

Thanks for clarifying this issue for me.

How Many "First Priorities" Does the Mayor Have?

From DC Mayor Fenty's testimony to the DC City Council, 2/27/07:

I have proposed, as my first initiative and first priority as Mayor, a radical, yet deliberate proposal to deliver on a promise we make to our children as a society. Education is that promise; quality public education is a civil right, and I firmly believe we have a moral obligation to deliver. (Emphasis added)

And from a WashBlade story a few weeks back:

Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty said last week that fighting HIV and AIDS in the nation’s capital will be the “number one priority” of his administration. (Emphasis added)

Okay, so which is it -- AIDS or Education? That both should be high priorities is clear, but can you have two "first" priorities?

I'm not nit-picking -- the Achilles heel of the Fenty administration is that it is prone to gadflyism. The Mayor flits from one event and group to another, and, seemingly, tells it what it wants to hear.

The great leaders pick a few big ideas and pursue them relentlessly. The smaller leaders pursue a thousand leads. DC needs a great leader. I hope Fenty will rise to the occasion. But statements like these raise doubts.

Fenty up Front

That's DC Mayorlicious Fenty in the lead. Although our marathon-loving mayor likes to run in Rock Creek, his favortie race is in Maryland (viaMetroSports).

Another Promise Broken to the Gay Community

With these words, Traci Hughes, spokesperson for DC's attorney general, breaks a man's promise:

"Mayor Fenty does not intend to release the opinion at this time."

That, accroding to WashBlade.

"The opinion" is a memo written by former DC Attorney General Robert Spagnoletti which alledgedly opines that DC can legally recognize the same sex marriage of couples married legally in Massachusetts.

When the memo was written, DC gay activists asked then mayor Tony Williams to keep its contents secret.

Candidate Adrian Fenty promised gays he would release the memo if elected. Not quite two months in office, he breaks that promise.

The state attorney general of Rhode Island just released a memo saying his state will recognize Massacusetts same sex marriages. Dick Cheney's Wyoming will recognize MA SSMs or Canadian SSMs, thanks to the courage of a few straight Republican lawmakers.

I restate Chris Crain's and make my own arguments for moving forward with civil SSM rights in DC here.

But this move by the mayor leaves me repeating my mantra: Democrats will take our money, take our votes, but they won't take a risk on our behalf.

I had hoped for something different from Adrian Fenty. But I see he's just another pandering Democrat.

Motorin' Mayor Puttin the Brakes On?

DC is buzzing this morning about our own Mayorlicious Adrian Fenty using his security detail -- sirens blaring, lights flashing to get from event to event. It a practice eschewed by most big city mayors. Both WaPo and WTOP radio have stories (WTOP even has video of the mayor's motorcade. The practice extended to a political fundraiser hizzoner attended a few weeks ago (which most take it outside the statute of limitations for spending tax money on political events, because when Mayorlicious was asked about it on WTOP he said, "oh, well, yes, that was a few weeks ago) and to the Mayor's wife, who showed up in such a motorcade at one function, according to the Post.

Hmm. There's a word I'm thinking of that may describe the early days of the Fenty administration that covers the surprise and sudden announcement of the new policie chief, inability to get the streets plowed and his cavorting event to event. The word is "reckless."

Buses Behaving Badly

In less than a week three people in DC have been struck and killed by DC metrobuses.

Why?

Because DC Metro bus drivers drive dangerously. They aggressively cut other motorists (and bicyclists) off. They run lights. They drive too fast on narrow streets. They block lanes when discharging passengers when they could easily pull all the way to the curb. They block intersections.

As someone who bikes daily on DC's city streets, I've often thought if I'm ever in an accident it will likely involve a pedestrian who steps out between two parked cars to cross in the middle of a street or a metrobus.

Oh, and from the news story about the latest accident:

Lt. John Kutniewski, who oversees the police department's major crash unit, could not say immediately whether the parking lanes on Congress Street had been completely cleared of ice and snow and said the investigation is continuing.

The streets are not clear of snow and ice and have not been for a week, making narrow streets narrower. DC Mayor Fenty's failure to get the streets cleared have made commuting much more dangerous.

NJ to Recognize Gay Marriages from Elsewhere

The skinny:

"Gay couples who are married in Massachusetts, Canada or other places where same-sex marriage is allowed will have all the rights of married people in New Jersey as of Monday, the state Attorney General's Office decided Friday."

Mayorlicious, are you listening? You promised in your campaign to release a memo from the former attorney general which is rumored to support the same policy. You've been in office over a month. Why the delay?

Mixed Reviews

for Mayorlicious. And my street has still not been plowed, two days after the storm started.

DC Slow to Dig Out

Usually within 24 hours of a snow storm the DC mayor's office announces that all major roads and some secondary have been plowed or treated. Thus far silence from the Fenty administration.

The LTR (who drove to work this morning) said that as of 7 am Connecticut Ave. had not seen a plow. If Conn. Ave is not a major road in DC, nothing is.

This is my street, which surely most qualify as a major secondary road, connecting, as it does, DC neighborhoods Adams Morgan with Columbia Heights and Howard University. It was taken at 8 am, and as of 9:30 am still has not seen a snow truck.

UPDATE: As of 4:15, this street is still unplowed.

UPDATE: 8:45 pm. Still not plowed.

The Government Closes

It's supposed to get a little icy. Thus far, my street is covered in a slick sheet of slush. The "Winter Storm" thus far has generally done what they predicted, just a lot less of it.

Note to Mayor Fenty -- this neighborhood hasn't seen a salt truck all day.

Fenty's Opponents: Defense of Status Quo

Foes of the mayor's plan to take over DC schools aren't getting much traction, according to today's Washpo:

...the response to community activists' efforts has been underwhelming, with empty seats outnumbering attendees at some forums.

Last month at Kelly Miller Middle School, for example, the D.C. group Parent Watch flew in five school activists from New York and Chicago to discuss the problems with mayoral control of schools. The group provided a free buffet and invited the community, but fewer than 20 people showed up in an auditorium designed for 10 times that number.

Perhaps it's because the only thing they're offering is the whimpering defense of the status quo and the selfish whine of the threatened entrenched. Or as DC Councilman Jack Evans says:

"A lot of people are making a lot of money on our system, and they do not want that system to change," Evans said. "If you start with a cynical point of view, what is the reason they do not want to change anything?"

Carol Schwartz's Flunking Plan for DC Schools

DC Councilwoman Carol Schwartz opposes Mayor Fenty's plan for a mayoral takeover for DC schools. She raises one argument against: the Mayor is too busy, she says.

Then she goes on to undermine her argument by saying that if the schools don't get any better the Council should go ahead and grant the takeover in three years. Presumably by 2010 Mayorlicious will have nothing to do other than run marathons and send text messages to admirers.

The DC school system -- as it stands -- had had its chance. Last fall, the DC School Board gave the superintendent -- already the highest paid DC public official -- a whopping bonus, even though the schools have not shown progress on any measurable standard. That, to me, was DC's education Katrina.

The Mayor still has to prove himself -- but the DC School system is already a known entity. And the status quo, or changes at the margins of the status quo, aren't enough for DC's kids.

Fenty Snubs Laura

Mayorlicious blows off the First Lady to sit with her during the SOTU, opting instead to attend as Speaker Pelosi's guest, because the prez doesn't back DC voting rights. Hmm, doesn't seem like a good way to try to influence a different outcome, does it, by essentially saying "F You " to a man's wife because you have difference of opinion with him? Presumably Pelosi is for DC voting rights so Fenty gains nothing for the cause by symbolically giving Laura Bush the finger.