First Order of Business for the New Congress November 9, 2006
Posted by danjeffers in Washington DC.add a comment
Some say it should be the war, but that’s going to be a long complicated mess. It’s like Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld were standing over a computer and Rumsfeld poured a diet coke into the workings. The computer is broken, and firing Rummy won’t fix it. There’s going to be a lot of work. Same with many of the elements of society that have slowly deteriorated under the current incompetent administration. None of them will be an easy fix.
What can be fixed, though, is the name of National Airport. National is DC’s airport. DC is a stongly democratic place with very little power to run its own affairs. Somehow, Congress thought that the best way to honor someone who was
A) Unpopular in DC
B) An advocate of local control
Was to override any semblance of local control and name DCs airport after the man. I doubt he would have appreciated it, and I know we don’t. So Congress, first order of business, change the name back to what it really is: National Airport.
DC Metro Handles 100 Degree Heat July 17, 2006
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By shutting down escalators and elevators and letting people inure themselves to the heat and humidity. As a global survival strategy, this makes a certain amount of sense. If the world is getting hotter, it’s never too early to start conditioning ourselves to a hot, nasty, environment without the use of metro escalators. And, the unfit will soon start dropping like flies.
Malvo vs. Muhammed May 25, 2006
Posted by danjeffers in Death Penalty, Washington DC.add a comment
I'm conflicted. I still think the DA's office, especially Horan, made a poor choice in deciding to prosecute John Muhammed since he has already been convicted with the death penalty and will certainly never be free again. It seems political, perhaps even a little personal, as the decision to prosecute Muhammed in Virginia was made at the federal level, cutting Horan out of the loop.
Still, it's very compelling to read about Malvo's testimony. The boy, though he did monstrous things, was obviously also a victim of Muhammed's megalamaniacal vision. Perhaps Malvo is the only person who could confront the psychopathic Muhammed and say "You did this, you are a monster," and have it mean anything to Muhammed. Without Malvo's gripping testimony, Horan's office adds absolutely nothing. Ironically, during Malvo's trial, Horan's office tried to paint Malvo as an independently responsible person who should have also received the death penalty.
Malvo’s Testimony May 22, 2006
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I have to admit, I'm fascinated too. Malvo will, supposedly, reveal a lot of the backstory during his testimony in the trial of John Muhammad. It is a benefit for a trial that otherwise seems pointless and political. As one attorney in the Post Article puts it:
"If it goes right," Richard A. Finci, a lawyer who is not involved in the case, said of Malvo's testimony, "it's what Montgomery County really wanted out of this case. The whole story will come out."
Instead of Blocking One exit, Block Two May 9, 2006
Posted by danjeffers in Things not to do while walking in DC, Washington DC.add a comment
The metro system in DC has these lovely fare-gates. If someone is having a problem processing their card, and you are a sympathetic bystander, please DON'T stand in the next faregate over, thus blocking off two gates instead of just one.
Washington Post Tramps Cherished Myth December 7, 2005
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Washingtonians love to see ourselves as pathetic in the face of oncoming snow. Or, more precisely, every individual Washingtonian likes to think of all the others as pathetic. The hallmark of this belief is the idea that, when snow is in the forecast, everyone rushes out to buy toilet paper. This belief helps us be who we are. Tragically, the Washington Post, which failed to notice the paper-thin tissue of lies that led is into war, has managed to debunk the toilet paper myth.
Pardon Our Gradual Decay December 6, 2005
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Metro keeps putting up signs that say:
“Pardon us while we upgrade!”
But there is no upgrading, the service is getting worse, the facilities breaking more often, and crowding just gets worse. Shouldn’t the signs say:
“Pardon us while we try and slow the ongoing deterioration?”
The Stop and Spread November 16, 2005
Posted by danjeffers in Things not to do while walking in DC.add a comment
Many times, a group of people walking down a busy sidewalk will come to a place where they want to stop. Either they’ve reached their destination and can’t immediately enter, or they want to renegotiate. Unfortunately, these people suddenly find they are standing too close. The walking formation may have been tight, but they didn’t realize it until stopped. So, the outside wings spread away, and everyone moves a step or two away from each other. The busy sidewalk suddenly has a clog, the artery is jammed, and pressure rises until flow is restored.
Buses could, perhaps, stop at the right place November 12, 2005
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When buses are full, and they need to drop someone at a stop, the driver usually overshoots by a good half a block, hoping to let that one passenger off before anyone else can run up and board. That’s fine.
But some drivers, when they are running behind and trying desperately to make up time, do the same thing. They seem to be expressing the fact that they’d really rather keep going by overshooting the stop, forcing everyone to walk half a block to where the bus actually stopped. Those of us who get annoyed, tend to walk slowly. So this whole impatience ends up making everything go more slowly.
You Keep Using that Word October 11, 2006
Posted by danjeffers in Pithy Comments to get quoted in Express, Washington DC.add a comment
Maybe it doesn’t mean what you think it does….