“Dear PoP,
They just walked past our building at 14th and H St. NW [around 12pm]. They are heading down H Street towards Chinatown. Signs read – “POWERSHIFT. CORPORATIONS OUT OF DEMOCRACY.” “1%.” They have some paper mache people with signs that read “Exxon” and “Chevron” and “Coal is over.”
Photo by PoPville flickr user thisisbossi, Andrew Bossi
Bossi writes:
In response to the Congressional budget debacle which proved that DC is but a colony — prone to being singled out unlike any other city in the country — a number of activists, elected officials, and general citizens came out in force upon the grounds of Capitol Hill.
The crowd first formed on the sidewalk, but after some opening remarks by elected officials and activists: they quickly spilled into the street. The Capitol Police had been on hand & I’d thought it amusing that a couple were taking photos & videos… it wasn’t until I saw the wristbands come out when I realised these weren’t officers enjoying the moment; they were recording evidence.
With many minutes of warning, large portions of the group shifted over the sidewalk; whilst a core of dedicated supporters — including our Mayor, a number of councilmembers, and members of DC Vote — remained behind to block the roadway. The officers began to surround the group & repeated their warnings to get back on the sidewalk or face arrest.
Now in all fairness to the Capitol Police: they were doing their job. They were quite courteous about it & the protest was similarly jubilant right back. One woman was first to be bound, soon followed by several other activists. Then came Muriel Bowser: first councilmember to be arrested.
In general, I tend to dislike political grandstanding… but this was different. If our council was being arrested by our own police, I’d think it a cheesy photo op… but now our locally-elected officials were being arrested by the very forces we were out to protest: the Feds. This wasn’t a mere photo op arrest; this was actually a legitimate arrest… the kind of thing that goes on your record; the kind of thing you spent a night in jail for.
Now granted, I don’t expect anyone will be in jail longer than tomorrow; I’d be surprised if any were still locked up by midnight tonight. But it was Councilmember Bowser’s arrest which really hit a moment… you could see the look on her face was of some worried concern: someone who had never been arrested before & didn’t show up here today expecting to be arrested. As she was placed into the police van: her look of concern changed to a bit more worry. I mean this as no knock against Councilmember Bowser’s committment; rather I felt it really help to humanise the entire event. It made me respect her all the more.
Yvette Alexander stood right beside us for quite some time, complicated in that she didn’t have her ID on her. While it was entertaining to see our top officials being frisked, it was also quite entertaining that our easily-recognisable councilmember needed her ID… prompting a standerby to call one of her staffers with the best introduction I’ve ever heard over a phone: “Hi, your councilmember has been arrested.” Also, kudos to Councilmember Alexander for going to jail in high heels!
There is a lot I can complain about with the council in general; and certainly with individual councilmembers & even the mayor. Heck, that’s what politicians are for: you’re not supposed to always like them. But this was an opportunity to set aside some of those issues (frankly, I’d say DC was glad to have a unifying moment after the past couple weeks) and cheer on our own brothers & sisters as they stood up in support of our rights.
It was certainly a proud moment to be a DC resident and a fine boost to our collective esteem after several weeks of turmoil within our local & federal levels of government. It’s aggravating that my support for small & local government is inhibited by those in Congress whom advocate small & local government. If I wanted to live in a colony, I’d have moved to Williamsburg.
What do you think the Mayor and Council Members should do next?
Photo by PoPville flickr user Brandon Kopp
The Post reports:
The spending deal agreed to Friday night to avert a government shutdown includes a provision banning the District from spending its own funds to provide abortions to low-income women as well as funding to continue a controversial school voucher program.
Leading Democrats said repeatedly in the hours leading up to the deal that they would not accept a larger prohibition on federal funding for Planned Parenthood, and they appear to have been successful in that goal. But District activists have feared for weeks that Democrats might concede on the D.C. ban in order to pave the way for excluding the Planned Parenthood ban.
@mayorvincegray tweets:
“Anti-DC-autonomy riders on budget bill on abortion rights, vouchers shameful violation of our right to govern ourselves.”
Thanks to all who sent emails about this. From a Facebook page titled, If Boehner shuts down the government I am taking my trash to his house, they write:
Speaker John Boehner is ready to shut down the government, including DC city services like trash collection.
Well, if he won’t allow us to use OUR TAX DOLLARS to pick it up, maybe we should just BRING IT TO HIM.
Update, 8:37am, 4/7/11: Thanks everyone for your excitement and enthusiasm for this civil action. We’ve seen this really take off in less than 12 hours. If the shutdown does occur, and we move forward with this event, we’ll provide details on location(s) and we’ll make sure it’s done in a sanitary and respectful way. Please don’t list any personal addresses for members of Congress on this page.
Do you think this is a good idea?
“Dear PoP,
Just a heads up on the Graffiti Removal Program under Fenty. When someone tagged buildings in the past, you just needed to call 311 and Fenty would have it removed within a day. This was great because when graffiti is not removed immediately, a “tag war” often occurs where a competing vandal then tags the building, and so on. As always, the Fenty administration was extremely responsive whenever we called. We have called three times in the last 2 weeks about the graffiti in our alley (and yes, a tag war has erupted by now) and were finally told today that “The Mayor’s Office no longer removes graffiti.” I’ll leave the editorializing about Gray to the commenters….”
In early Feb. I asked if DC’s graffiti problem had reached epidemic proportions? Unfortunately, I don’t think the question can be debated anymore. Unfortunately I hear some of these jackasses who are doing the tagging don’t even live in DC. Anyway, have others noted a more difficult process to have graffiti removed?
Photo by PoPville flickr user Vileinist
Sorry for the short notice but if folks still haven’t made plans tonight – from an email:
The Georgia Avenue Community Development Task Force (GACDTF)will host a Candidate’s Forum today – March 14, 2011 from 7-9pm at the Bruce Monroe @ Park View Elementary School auditorium at 3560 Warder St. NW.
The Georgia Avenue Community Development Task Force’s mission is to advocate the voice of the community in order to enhance the quality of life along the Georgia Avenue corridor. Currently, several major projects are underway on Georgia Avenue and community input towards the revitalization plan will help to ensure that the community’s needs are met.
Georgia Avenue’s long-term revitalization efforts include improving upon community needs, economic stability, and environmental stewardship. The Task Force is also working in collaboration with the Columbia Heights Shaw Family Support Collaborative, ANC 1A, ANC 1B, the Pleasant Plains Civic Association, the Park View/United Neighborhood Coalition, the Emergence Community Arts Collective, the Howard University GADGET Center, and other organizations to make lower Georgia Avenue a better place to live, shop and work.
We have commitments from the following candidates:
Sekou Biddle
Tom Brown
Dorothy Douglas
Josh Lopez
Patrick Mara
Alan Page
Bryan WeaverFor more information call Sylvia Robinson at (202) 462-2285 or [email protected].
“Dear PoP,
I finally visited Star and Shamrock on H Street NE last weekend, and absolutely LOVED it. Friendly staff, relaxed atmosphere, great beer selection, and there’s Russian dressing right on the menu! However, I was kind of turned off by their beer coasters.
Similar to the Black Squirrel, I am not a fan of mixing political views with bars I visit. This just seemed odd to me and kind of put a bad taste in my mouth. I know you’re also a huge fan of this place and wanted to see if you knew about this.”
I wonder if this sorta thing is just inevitable in DC? I wonder if these coasters were dropped off and the managers/bartenders didn’t even see the political message. Personally, in this particular instance I’d much rather the bar stick to pouring a perfect Guinness and frying a perfect latke…
Saw this on some plywood in front of a building being renovated on K St, NW. With out choosing sides – I’m wondering folks in other cities have political street art like this?
Photo by PoPville flickr user pablo.raw
From many emails and Facebook:
All routes will be released on Friday at noon!
***Wear ORANGE on Feb. 26th & make your profile photos orange, too!***
Reproductive rights are under attack. Anyone who is interested in protecting access to abortion services and reproductive rights may attend. This is a grassroots effort at having our voices heard and standing up against injustice in a peaceful manner.
STAND WITH PLANNED PARENTHOOD, STAND WITH WOMEN, STAND FOR CHOICE.
You can read their full full press release here.
Photo by PoPville flickr user fromcaliw/love
The Hill is reporting:
Florida Rep. Allen West (R) said he’s unsure whether the District of Columbia should be a state, but suggested its residents be excluded from paying federal taxes.
“If you live in the District, perhaps an exclusionary zone should be set up where District residents do not pay federal taxes,” he added.
I think we may have discussed this once before – but I’ll ask again – would you trade representation in Congress if you didn’t have to pay federal taxes?