Sunday news: red edition

It's Sunday again!  There's a nice fall breeze in the air, and you know what that means:  a surge of evil left wingers are plotting the disastrous overthrow of life, liberty, and capitalism.  At least that's how the story goes.  Join us as we explore the downfall of humanity, subtly disguised as being nice to poor people.

• In Britain, the out-of-power Labour Party has a new leader, Red Ed Miliband, aka Miliband the Not-As-Cute.  He says that if in government, his party wouldn't dramatically slash the national budget deficit in one fell swoop, as the ORLY coalition is doing now, and thus would attempt to avoid wide-scale economic upheaval.  Clearly Ed is a commie, and should be vilified by the Daily Mail immediately.  Oh, wait.
• Yesterday in Washington, a rally endorsed by over 400 organizations called for more jobs, real justice, and genuine improvements in education.  Your humble blogger was in the midst of the fray, and can confirm that no marginalized groups were demonized even once during the festivities.  Obscenely wealthy corporate overlords didn't fair so well though.  Clearly these people are commies, and should be vilified by Glenn Beck immediately.  Oh, wait.
• Also here in Washington, our recent primary election has led to the likely downfall of our very own Tyrant Education Queen, Michelle Rhee.  This reality has made affluent, largely white, "concerned citizens" who in many cases don't actually have kids in DC schools piss their pants with fear.  This reality may also diminish the chance that the largely poor parents of children in DC schools will be talked to as though they were the peers of their children.  Clearly these parents are commies, and should be vilified by the Washington Post editorial board immediately.  Oh, wait.
• This Supreme Court opens its new term this week, and it's full of girls.  They'll probably want to rule on things.  They may even want their faces in a museum.  Clearly these lady justices are commies, and the ever-oppressed man should vilify them immediately.  Oh, wait.

So there you have it.  Go out and be a-feared, or something.  Oh, wait...

Decision time for the DC primary: my picks and armchair analysis

For those few lucky DC residents just returning from a summer's long hibernation at Rehoboth Beach, you may not have noticed that we're engaged in a heated election battle for truth, justice, and stuff.  I've been following along closely, going to candidates forums, listening to radio debates, following tweets, reading interviews, dissecting candidate questionnaires, tracking endorsements, soaking up blog posts, and, of course, perusing candidates' websites.

There have been times when I've truly enjoyed this campaign season.  There were some real high points, good quotes, and fine attempts at outreach.  The conversation has, of course, been dominated by the mayoral campaign, which certainly isn't lacking in heat or energy.  However, it's also been trying.  After awhile it's just the same old crap recycled over and over and over and over and over and over again.  I'd really rather hear genuine debates between adults than the persistent "neener, neener, neener" we've been getting since August sometime. 

But let's get to why you're really here:  the choices!  (As though anyone in the universe gives a live-long day about my political opinions!)  And if, at any point you get bored in reading this, just get up and go vote already. 

Keep on jumpin' (that means read more...)

Sunday news: let's embrace our trashy side edition

Are you looking for something more?  Are you looking for something less?  Are you looking for anything at all?   Join me in today's somewhat-weekly exploration of things that make the world tick.

• Six reasons to have casual sex.  No additional comment is really necessary.
• U.S. to WikiLeaks dude:  We gon' find you.  Even if we have to make stuff up.
• It's a well known fact that visitors to U.S. National Parks have an average IQ of -12.  With a cell phone, this goes down to -57.
• More in the e-readers are cooler than books saga. 
• Tired of motorcades?  Blame Theodore Roosevelt. 
• So Obama is the next Reagan?  Yee haw.  Let me just start packing my bags now.
• Coverage of Australia's PM has a sexist bent.  Are we supposed to be surprised?
• Speaking of Australia and it's super weird electoral system, they're in electoral limbo for an indefinite period.
• Continuing on the sexist line, were you aware that women are fully capable of managing tough things like nuclear weapons policy?  O.  M.  G. 
• DC Mayor Adrian Fenty has determined that being a dick to the entire human race may not be the best strategy, so he's gonna do better next time 'round.  I don't buy it.

Well now, that's that.  Don't you feel enlightened?  Ladies, don't go nuke anything.

My question for the final DC mayoral debate

The Washington Post, WAMU and NBC 4 are hosting the final debate for the DC mayor's race at high noon on Wednesday, September 1.  Because I'm a nerd, I managed to get a ticket to the event before they were all gone.  Even better is that members of the public can submit questions in advance by email.

As you know, I do some grassroots organizing work with members of DC's trans community.  As an activist, I've always been into fighting for rights and justice, and I'm usually drawn to struggles that don't always get the attention they should.  I've written several times before that the fights over gay marriage or Don't Ask Don't Tell have never animated me, for a variety of reasons.  There are much more basic rights that are denied every day to LGBT people who are poor, rural, trans, youth, people of color, to name a few.  Those categories don't necessarily apply to me, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't join the fight against such discrimination, and I frankly believe that you should too.

I know I've got a snowball's chance of getting this answered in what's sure to be a madhouse event with a packed agenda, but nonetheless, my question: 

Mayor Fenty:  In 2008, your administration tried to exempt District custodial agencies from complying with the gender identity and expression provisions of the Human Rights Act.  Your administration failed to report hate crimes against transgender people and failed to include the same population in your recent LGBT health report.  Your Office of Human Rights persistently refuses to enforce laws allowing transgender people to safely access public accommodations.  Overly aggressive enforcement of prostitution free zones has led to rampant and blatant profiling of transgender people as sex workers.  And in 2009, a year in which a transgender woman was brutally murdered in broad daylight, your LGBT affairs director refused to attend the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance because he had hockey tickets.  Is there a particular reason your administration is targeting an already extremely disenfranchised part of the population for additional abuse?  For both Mayor Fenty and Chairman Gray, how do you intend to rectify these problems, including addressing persistent unemployment in the transgender community and the growth of hate violence against transgender people of color?

I'm sure you'll be hearing from me again on September 1 to see whether or not it gets answered.  

You should submit a question too!   Blog it, tweet it, facebook it.  Too often people have said that the race between Fenty and Gray is about style, not substance.  But in this, and in other areas, there are real substantive problems that need to be addressed. Let's make sure those problems see the light of day before this race is over. 

Your guide to registering to vote in DC. Deadline is Monday!

Do you live in the District of Columbia?  If you don't live in DC, or otherwise can't vote in DC (you're a foreign national, you're registered elsewhere, you ignore everything I ever write) then feel free to ignore this.  But otherwise, please pay attention to the following:

September 14 is primary election day in DC.  If you're not yet familiar with District politics, you should know that many races, including the mayor's race, are usually decided in the primary (especially the Democratic primary).  Yet, to vote in that primary, you need to register!

The deadline for pre-registration for the primary election is Monday, August 16.  You can still register after that date, including on-site on election day, but will only be allowed to vote on a provisional ballot that may or may not be actually counted.  Thus it's still important to register to vote by Monday.  You should also note that Monday is the last day to change your party affiliation  (the options are Democratic, Republican, Statehood Green, or independent). 

Who should register (or change their registration)?  Anyone who is a new resident of DC or anyone who has moved within DC since the last election. 

How do you register?  Visit www.dcboee.org and click Register to Vote in DC or Update your Registration Info in the Voter box.   You'll be walked through some question and at the end will be presented with a nicely filled out form for you to print and mail (postmarked by Monday) or deliver in person to the DC BOEE, 441 4th St NW, WDC 20001.  You'll need to include proof of residency at the address you put down on the registration form.  This can be a pay stub, government check stub, utility bill, lease or copy of a DC driver's license/ID card.

What if I don't know if I'm registered?  That's easy!  At the DC BOEE website, click Check Your Registration Status in the Voter box.  Just enter your name, address, and date of birth and you can find out. 

Thanks for your attention to this really important stuff.  Happy voting!

ETA:  I've received a few questions from folks asking for additional clarifying details.  Here you go:

I checked my registration status, and it says INACTIVE.  What do I do?  Your name was removed from the voter roll for one reason or another.  You need to register again.

I'm registered as a member of the Statehood Green Party.  Can I vote in the Democratic primary?  No, you can only vote in the primary for the party of which you are a registered member.  If you're not registered for the party for which you would like to cast a primary ballot, you MUST change your party affiliation by August 16 to vote in your preferred primary.  You CANNOT change party affiliation after that date.

Your undecided voter's report on last night's Ward 1 candidates forum

For those of you not the least bit interested in ridiculous minutiae of DC local politics, feel free to read on.  Or, better still, if you religiously followed my live tweets last night, you can at least skip to the end.  I must say that the City Paper's account of what went down seems hugely distorted.  The event wasn't a victory for incumbent Jim Graham by any stretch.  

There were four candidates present, including Graham, along with Jeff Smith (who lives in my current neighborhood), Bryan Weaver (hailing from Adams Morgan, my former home) and Marc Morgan, the Republican running in the November general election (the first three are Democrats battling in the primary).  There were large turnouts by supporters of at least the three democratic candidates, but I walked in truly undecided.  Graham has been helpful in some of my activist projects, and I appreciate that (even if it has required my serving as a presentable sexual object on behalf of my justice league pals, including knowing when to coyly grin).  But Jeff Smith chatted me up at the bus stop one morning, and had good things to say.  And Bryan Weaver had that catchy youtube video.  (And, let's face it, will I vote for a republican?  Not so much.)  And in spite of progress, our ward has faced it's share of idiocy.  Unemployment is still in the double digits.  Affordable housing stock is quickly being replaced with new (and ugly) condos for affluent people.  It's taken well over 5 years and repeated ripping up and repaving of 14th and Irving Streets to get Columbia Heights to where it is now.  Georgia Avenue is still woefully neglected, and there's the wee debacle over the closing/demolition of my neighborhood school (latest status update here).  I'm not saying that in 12 years in office, Jim Graham should have hung the moon squarely in Ward 1, but his accomplishments are not without critique.

That's where Smith and Weaver come in.  Last night was clearly a debate for nerds, and the biggest nerds were probably the ones sitting at the table.  Weaver's biggest strength is clearly in housing issues.  Smith's expertise in education.  Both these have impacts on jobs, so they're both strong there.  Morgan seemed like a nice guy, and definitely a DC Republican (focusing on green jobs, etc.), but public-private partnerships can't possibly be the answer to every question.  Then there was Graham himself, who seemed firmly entrenched in defending the past, and spent nary a second saying what specifically he'd do in the future.  In short, it was what DCist once dubbed Grahamstanding, and the performance wasn't terribly impressive.  He basically came across as an old crank, and that was disappointing.  

So again, I'm stuck on Smith and Weaver.  I like them.  Both.  A lot.  I think either would be an excellent legislator.  But I couldn't really distinguish much between them.  They seemed to agree on the substantive issues at hand (and, admittedly, the pre-selected questions were a bit odd), even whispering back and forth at the table.  There was definitely a style difference.  Weaver seemed slightly stronger in the rhetoric department, but Smith had his handy dandy charts, graphs and photos. A friend had a follow-up conversation with Weaver at the end, and he said most of the difference, in his opinion, was in process.  Not what the problems are, or even what the solutions should be, but how to get there.  See why this was a debate for nerds?

While I've made up my mind on most of the DC races, this one still leaves me puzzled.  I clearly can't merge Smith and Weaver together to form one ultra-wonky superlegislator, so I guess that means more research and more forums.  Stay tuned!

Sunday news: here's your sign edition

Ah, Sunday, that joyous day when we celebrate all that is special to us.  When we relax in a hammock sipping lemonade.  When the air temperature is hot enough to melt the skin off a tomato.  Here's how we shall mark this splendid occasion.  

• Health insurance companies:  the root of all that is evil.  And I should know, my mother works for one.
• Oil companies:  the back-up plan for the root of all that is evil.  Are we noticing the #capitalismfail yet?
• The U.S. Senate:  where evil goes to lay its eggs.  And, ya know, starve people in the name of grandstanding.
• The United States continues to pretend that the government of Somalia exists in some meaningful way, and that poorly trained and equipped peacekeepers can help this imaginary government.  Meanwhile, people suffer.  Perhaps it's time to end the ruse, no?
• DC was struck by a minor earthquake on Friday, and will continue to write news articles about it for at least two weeks.  Panic?  What panic?
• And, finally, Hillary Clinton:  "the godmother of 21st-century statecraft."  Orly?

 There you have it, kids. 

Sunday news: out of character edition

There's been much to report on lately, and I'll freely confess to being largely absent.  This, in part, has been due to not really feeling the need to add to the din lately, and also due to my being in the thick of things.  I'll have a few reflections on those things later.  Meanwhile, a few snippets of interest.

• I rarely find myself in agreement with Our Lord and Savior the Kristof, but in this case, I agree that you must go see the film Budrus, about the nonviolent struggle against the boundary fence in a small Palestinian village.  I have faith that a nationwide nonviolent movement is possible in Palestine (and don't necessarily think it means lining up all the women).  And, I had the pleasure of seeing this film at the Capitol a few weeks ago, followed by a panel featuring Ayad Morrar and Reps. Keith Ellison and Brian Baird.  See the film when it's in your town.  You will be moved.
• A Kansas City barber (nice town, btw) sums up Obama's image:  "That man has a hell of a workload, and Bush left a hell of a mess. I like what he's doing. But I can't feel it." 
• Maybe it's summer fluff, but I still suspect that Sonia Sotomayor will be my favorite justice.
• In spite of all the myriad issues that people have on their minds, I'm increasingly convinced the DC mayor's race is going to come down to education.  Here's the WaPo's take on Gray's plan.  I generally support the age 4-24 approach to education that Gray backs, but share concerns over how to pay for it.
• And while we're at it, what's the role of literature in the fight for justice?  One opinion on To Kill a Mockingbird.

Finally, I want to plug two events this week at the DC Council (Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW):

• Monday, 4pm, room 500:  Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary hearing on ICE's Secure Communities Program.  The Council has already unanimously blocked MPD's planned participation through emergency legislation.  Come here advocates speak about why that rejection should become permanent.  DC would be the first jurisdiction to reject participating in the program, which requires mandatory immigration checks.  More details are here.
• Wednesday, 2pm, room 123:  Committee on Aging and Community Affairs roundtable on DC's recent LGBT health report, which notably failed to include information on transgender folks in the District.  My fellow members of the DC Trans Coalition raised a stink over this last week, and a hearing was scheduled 48 hours later.  How's that's for effective advocacy?  Details are here. 

Sunday news: pesky kids edition

Every now and again there's a month of Sundays (or two) wherein I don't read the news religiously, because other things are going on that require my attention.  Sometimes that's my bunny, sometimes my garden, sometimes some sort of community event/thingy, and sometimes it's just my bed.  In any event, here are some of the stories that benefited from my attention this morning.

• Texas politics:  still weirdly entertaining.
• Burma:  We're not tyrants anymore cuz we totally changed our clothes!
• Annoying little twits who make less money than me party at bougie places I can't afford.  Oh, and they work at the White House, so they'll be powerful annoying little twits their whole lives (and they probably went to fancy schools and are bankrolled by their daddies).  Oh, and they wear pleated pants.
• A friend tells me there's lots of space for a wind farm in central Illinois, and the white noise might help him sleep better.  But why do that when overconsuming fossil fuels is so much more fun?
• Somebody please glue me to the BBC on Thursday.

And that's that.

DC electoral idiot match 2010, round 1 of 7 million

So the WaPo has finally picked up on the fact that Phil Mendelson has a challenger for the 2010 race, one Clark Ray. Personally, I rather like Mendelson, and Ray is gonna have to give me something other than his being somebody else before I'll think about voting for him. Nonetheless, the Post's article featured this ringing endorsement:

Judy Leon, who lives in the 1500 block of 16th Street, attended Ray's announcement with her dog Beta.

"This is a dog whose life was changed by Mr. Ray," Leon said, explaining how the 4-year-old yellow Labrador was rescued from a puppy mill. "She's now able to come out of her shell [at the dog park] and play with other dogs."

That's right, kids. Vote for Clark Ray: He gave an affluent lady's dog a nice place to shit.

'Scuse me while I just go pick up a Mendelson button.