dc voting rights

“Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced this morning his support for DC Statehood and said it is a one of his top 3 priorities regarding voting rights and democracy reform in the Senate”

By Prince Of Petworth

From a press release:

“On the 54th anniversary of Bloody Sunday and following reports of voter suppression in the 2018 elections that disproportionally targeted communities of color, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today announced his voting rights and democracy reform priorities in the new Congress and beyond: the restoration of key provisions of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), nationwide automatic voter registration, and D.C. Statehood. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder to gut the Voting Rights Act of 1965’s critical preclearance provisions that allowed the federal government to prevent states with a history of discrimination from changing their voting rules without preapproval, states across the country have passed laws that impede voters and limit access to the ballot box for communities across the country. These policies have disproportionally impacted people of color, young people, and the poor. Leader Schumer has a record of criticizing the roll-back of critical voting rights and has regularly advocated for federal safeguards for elections, including co-sponsoring the Martin Luther King Jr. Equal Protection of Voting Rights Act of 2002, which provided states with grants to study election infrastructure and acquire technology to prevent discriminatory election practices. (more…)

New DC License Plates Could Read “End Taxation Without Representation”

By Prince Of Petworth

dc license plate
Photo by PoPville flickr user Doug Duvall

From a press release:

“At today’s DC Council legislative meeting, Councilmember Charles Allen introduced the End Taxation Without Representation Amendment Act of 2016 to update the District’s standard motor vehicle license plates.

In 2000, the District of Columbia added the phrase “Taxation Without Representation” to DC license plates as a way to raise awareness about the disenfranchisement of our residents. This phrase, while recognizable, lacks a call to action. The residents of the District of Columbia fulfill all obligations of citizenship, yet Congress continually denies us the accompanying rights and privileges. (more…)

Another Reason We Need to Become a State – Less Confusion When Drinking in Oregon Bars!

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo by PoPville flickr user Erin

“Dear PoPville,

So I was at a bar in East Portland the other day, and the bartender asks to check my ID before serving my drink. Fair enough, I think, and proceed to present my District of Columbia license. After taking a glance she hands it back, telling me “technically I’m not supposed to take these — DC’s not a state,” that the OLCC are sticklers for this sort of thing, but that she’ll go ahead and let me slide. I balked and told her “I’m pretty sure that’s not *technically* accurate.” She proceeds to lecture me on the rudeness of questioning her, a knowledgable bartender, and I think came close to asking me to leave but I bit my tongue and apologized.

I went ahead and looked up OLCC regulation on this, which appeared to support her argument.

I went ahead and sent a Tweet to the OLCC who stated that DC licenses, even Canadian and Mexican, were valid IDs for bars in Oregon. I wish they would better educate bartenders on this. Or write better regulations.”

Dear PoPville – Getting Back at MD Representative Andy Harris

By Prince Of Petworth

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Also from the forum:

“MD Representative Andy Harris is at it again… He has written legislation to block the legalization of Marijuana in DC, a law for which over 65% of the DC population voted in favor.

I say that since it seems that he is so interested in having an effect on the laws of our city, that we should all call into his office with our requests for what he can do to improve our city. Beware that he will probably try to do the exact opposite of what we want.

What is even more amusing about what he is doing is that if you try to e-mail him through his website, you have to use a zip code verification form to even be able to send him an e-mail, and DC zip codes do not work. I had to use a different form to send him a message with my thoughts.

Please join me in doing as much as we can to annoy Rep. Harris for trying to get involved in the policies of our city, of which he is NOT a resident.”

Also a few folks have tweeted me from reddit:

“My fellow Washingtonians, Rep. Andy Harris doesn’t give a damn about District residents or our rights, so let’s blacklist him! We can generate and distribute signs/stickers/posters with his face, words like “Persona non Grata” (or something similar), and ask local businesses to display them. We could also put up signs with similar messages all around the District.

Technically, what he’s doing is legal, but we all know that it isn’t right. Hoping my fellow redditors and others will share ideas to make this happen. Let’s show Harris and his staff that if they aren’t going to respect the will of the people, we will protest and disrupt in every way possible until they do.”

Which resulted in a Black List Andy Harris tumblr.

Rep. Norton Urges TSA to Take Corrective Action After DC License Rejected to Board Plane

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo by PoPville flickr user zoeicaimages

From a press release:

“Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today wrote a letter to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) following an incident in which D.C. resident Ashley Brandt was initially prevented from boarding a flight because a TSA agent wrongfully believed that a District of Columbia-issued license was an invalid form of identification. The letter requests that TSA Administrator John Pistole ensure that all TSA employees are informed now and in their training that official identification issued by D.C. must be treated the same as state-issued identification, and to remind them that D.C. residents are American citizens and deserve to be treated as such. The letter urges the same for residents of the five U.S. territories.

Norton, in her letter, wrote, “I have since called Ms. Brandt to apologize that a U.S. government employee would question the right of a resident of the nation’s capital to board an airplane… This incident involving Ms. Brandt was so bizarre and ludicrous that it has captured press attention and reflects poorly on the management of TSA.”

Norton’s statement on the incident, released yesterday, is online, here.

And don’t forget the problems with the temporary paper licenses too…

Mayor Gray Explains His Decision to Declare All District Government Operations Essential during Federal Shutdown

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo by PoPville flickr user philliefan99

From a press release:

“Today, Mayor Vincent C. Gray explained his decision to declare all District government operations as essential during a potential shutdown of the federal government.

“I have determined that everything the District government does – protecting the health, safety and welfare of our residents and visitors – is essential,” said Mayor Gray. “It is ridiculous that a city of 632,000 people – a city where we have balanced our budget for 18 consecutive years and have a rainy-day fund of well over a billion dollars – cannot spend its residents’ own local tax dollars to provide them the services they’ve paid for without Congressional approval. Congress can’t even get its own fiscal house in order; they should be taking lessons from us rather than imposing needless suffering on us. I will not allow the safety and well-being of District residents to be compromised by Congress’s dysfunction.”

A copy of the letter that Mayor Gray sent to the head of the federal Office of Management and Budget making his determination is attached.”

9-25-13 Gray Ltr to OMB re 2013 shutdown

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