BlingBling

From my vantage point it looks like your councilman Harry Thomas is going to have an uphill battle. The strip club owners seem to have Kwame R. Brown, Jim Graham, Richard J. Rosendall, and the rest of the Council in their pockets. I am willing to my new Lexus that Bill Crews is in their pocket as well. Welcome to DC politics

You might want to investigate Bill Crews. He attracted national attention for being openly gay, having come out of the closet at a march on Washington in 1993. Formerly a Republican, he claimed "I was a Republican from before the fascists took over. I believe in limited government, but I'm on one side of the Democratic party. I'm pro-choice; I've always been." His father, a United Methodist minister, was killed in a car accident in 1973. Bill Crews was also an active United Methodist after coming out until relocating with his partner to Washington, D.C., in 1998. Crews had run for the Iowa Senate in 1992 but lost a close race by just 56 votes. After moving to D.C., Crews served two terms as an elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (SMD 6C07) in the District of Columbia neighborhood of Capitol Hill. On October 3, 2005 he began serving as the Zoning Administrator for the District of Columbia. Bill Crews number is 202-442-9554 4576

So do all Wards have CM zoning?

What you need to find out is if all the Wards in the District qualify for the CM 1 zoning for unclothed dancing.

This may help you. Title 25. Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Subchapter VI. Moratorium on Establishments Which Permit unclothed Dancing. § 25-374. Transfer of location of establishments which permit unclothed dancing. DC ST § 25-374 § 25-374. Transfer of location of establishments which permit unclothed dancing. DC ST § 25-374 District of Columbia Official Code 2001 Edition Currentness Division V. Local Business Affairs Title 25. Alcoholic Beverage Regulation (Refs & Annos) Chapter 3. Requirements to Qualify for License. Subchapter VI. Moratorium on Establishments Which Permit unclothed Dancing. § 25-374. Transfer of location of establishments which permit unclothed dancing. A license under § 25-371( B ) may only be transferred to a location in the Central Business District or, if the licensee is currently located in a CM or M-zoned district, transferred within the same CM or M-zoned district, as identified in the zoning regulations of the District of Columbia and shown in the official atlases of the Zoning Commission of the District of Columbia; provided, that no license shall be transferred to any premises which is located: (1) Six hundred feet or less from another licensee operating under § 25- 371( B ); and (2) Six hundred feet from a building with a certificate of occupancy for residential use or a lot or building with a permit from the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs for residential construction at the premises.

Luke, Do not let this foolish person get you down. This cause is bigger than you, me, her, or anyone. It involves a freedom we should already have. So, suck it up and "Move On" (my favorite organization). I see Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) today introduced a bill in the Senate that would give DC citizens their first-ever voting member of Congress. A similar bill, the DC Voting Rights Act, passed the House of Representatives on April 19. This nonpartisan, vote-neutral legislation pairs one seat for heavily Democratic DC with a fourth seat for Republican-leaning Utah. Unlike the House version, the Senate bill does not have an at-large seat for Utah. Instead, Utah will adopt a four-seat map such as the one approved in December. Also, the newly created DC and Utah positions would be elected during the 2008 election. These changes were necessary to secure bipartisan cosponsorship of the bill. Ilir Zherka, Executive Director of DC Vote, the organization leading the coalition advocating for the DC Voting Rights Act, offers this response: Let's get this party started

You cannot be happy with the current system in place. It is completely corrupt. What would you do to make it better?

The Presidential Records Act (PRA) -- 44 U.S.C. section 2203 -- reads, "Through the implementation of records management controls and other necessary actions, the President shall take all such steps as may be necessary to assure" that the activities of the White House "are adequately documented." Passed in 1978 by Congress to counteract Richard Nixon's attempts to seal and destroy some of his papers, the PRA was intended to make Executive Branch leaders accountable by ensuring eventual public access to White House decision-making. In recent weeks, through the congressional investigation into the firing of eight U.S. attorneys, more evidence has come to light suggesting that senior White House officials have been using political e-mail accounts provided by the Republican National Committee (RNC), apparently in an effort to evade the PRA. This week, the RNC informed House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) that it had destroyed all e-mail records from White House officials in 2001, 2002, and 2003. "In 2004, the RNC exempted White House officials from its policy of purging all e-mail," but the RNC claims the system still allowed individual users, like Karl Rove, to personally delete such records. "The White House has not done a good enough job overseeing staff using political e-mail accounts to assure compliance with the Presidential Records Act," White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said. As a result, Stanzel noted that "we may not have preserved all e-mails that deal with White House business." The White House now says that roughly 50 White House officials, including 22 current aides, used e-mail accounts controlled by the RNC to send messages, including some related to the prosecutor firings. In a letter addressed to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales yesterday, Waxman revealed disturbing information he obtained from private briefings from the White House and RNC regarding the extensive volume of e-mails that may have been destroyed. Waxman said that RNC counsel Rob Kelner told him that the earliest e-mail records the RNC retains are from 2004, and the Committee only has e-mail records for 35 of the 50 White House officials that had political accounts. Moreover, Waxman said that White House officials retained the ability to delete e-mails from RNC accounts even after a policy was instituted in 2004 to retain the records. One government watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, reported yesterday from confidential sources that the Executive Office of the President had lost over five million e-mails generated between March 2003 and October 2005.

Long read, but informative. I overlooked this one on the wire. You might think this press conversation on April 10 with Dana Perino quite funny. Of course she did not answer. Now the question is asked about Iran.

A private contractor working overseas is only accountable when war has been declared. Therefore, the situation may arise where the contractor is not accountable, because the conflict is not an officially declared war. But, that still does not make it right. Haliburton stock market has been reduced from $47 to $44. Haliburton is listed as (HAL.NYS). Maybe if people stop buying their stock they will take responsibility for their actions.

E-mails released by the Bush administration last month revealed that White House aides may have been "conducting sensitive official presidential business via non-governmental accounts to get around a law requiring preservation -- and eventual disclosure -- of presidential records." In response, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) wrote to the Republican National Committee and the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign early last week and directed them to preserve all e-mails by and for White House officials because they "may be relevant to multiple congressional investigations." He has asked that the records be delivered no later than April 18. The RNC-owned-and-operated e-mail system has been "used by dozens of officials for more than six years," including senior presidential advisor Karl Rove for "95% of his e-mail communications." Indeed, while the non-governmental e-mail system is heavily used, White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said yesterday that "the White House has not done a good enough job overseeing staff using political e-mail accounts" and that as a result, "some official e-mails have potentially been lost." He added that the White House is doing "everything practical" to recover the lost messages. Waxman, who initiated the request for the administration's records, issued a brief statement: "This is a remarkable admission that raises serious legal and security issues. The White House has an obligation to disclose all the information it has." The administration, however, "told Mr. Waxman's committee on Wednesday that it would not be able to comply fully." Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) responded saying, "This sounds like the administration's version of the dog ate my homework. ... I am deeply disturbed that just when this administration is finally subjected to meaningful oversight it cannot produce the necessary information."

American Chick, You are like a horse wear blinders. You only follow the path that your RNC master guides you. "The president is as isolated, I believe, on the Iraq issue as Richard Nixon was when he was hunkered down in the White House," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said yesterday. This analogy is far more apt. Bush's credibilty with the American people has evaporated. Iraq critics in Congress are broadly united on setting a timeline for withdrawal, while conservatives face immense pressure to distance themselves from the president's disastrous war policy. And they are already beginning to crack. The Politico reported this week that a "diverse collection of House Republicans has formed an ad hoc group to negotiate with the White House on a compromise Iraq spending bill." Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD) said he and others in the group "will encourage the White House to compromise on negotiations with Syria and Iran and on setting a date for withdrawal from Iraq." This is the key for Bush: compromise. For the sake of our national security, it is time for him to accept the multiple invitations of Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to sit down and compromise on a bill that fully funds our troops and finally brings them home. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/26/...ket-Attacks.php

I am crying with laughter. And you missed the joke.

BigBlue, I bet you are some overweight meathead that does not know how to spell p - o - t - a - t - o. I bet you want Rudy "Draft Dodger" Giuliani.

Good for you Nelson. Now, if we can just get Americans off their fat butts and be a little more proactive in their decision making. I think the higher ups of both parties goal is dumbify everyone, so they can exploit everything they see. I asked a friend of mind if she knew who Joseph Wilson was. "Don't tell me, he was our President right?"

Karl, I am trying to understand your train of thought here, so I am listing the points I see in your dialogue: 1. Tenac should do more than just email announcements to populate periodic meetings 2. Tenac's rhetorical objectives are proven by making referral to the Benning Rd. library which has been closed for several years. 3. You would like to participate in Tenac's meetings. 4. You would like to help build children's study skills, which are deteriorating. Jeanne Williams first response was: 1. She normally sends out messages about tenants rights issues. 2. Jeanne did a favor and sent out a message from Linda Leaks of Empower DC Jeanne Williams did not address your willingness to participate in Tenac's meetings to help build our District childrens study skills. You then responded back to Jeanne Williams. 1. You stated an initial email that is not posted here on the boards, so I cannot refer to that. 2. I do not understand what you are trying to state in the sentence below 3. You are a DC resident. 4. You make a new point asking who is responsible to addressing the needs Ward 5 tenants. 5. This was the first email that you have received from TENAC. I have trouble completely understanding your statement. 6. You make a new point on building the academic tutorial services for the District. This ties in with your first email that you would like to help build childrens study skills. 7. I did not understand your point about the email received via was to only announce an upcoming Tenac meeting and that you do not have the slightest idea why Jeanne Williams was referring to about Ms. Linda Leaks. This is where I think this is a breakdown in communication between you and Jeanne Williams. Jeanne Williams thought your email primarily concerned the library. Your intention was to convey your academic tutoring services for DC children. Reviewing TENAC's mission statement I do not see that their focus is academic services in the District. Have you tried contacting DC Public Schools? Also, you might want to consider posting the initial email that TENAC sent out to you. Not knowing that part of your correspondance makes it difficult to decipher your dialogue.

I don't know who you are or where you came from. But, finally we get a voice of reason for our community. Its funny that the color of my skin does not bother drivers when I am on the Hill. But, when I ask drivers to take a cab to Ft Stanton I get, "I am sorry, but I don't go that way." When a Afro-American turns down another of Afro-American's hard earned money you know something is wrong with the system.

Hearing Examines Exposure of Covert CIA Agent Valerie Plame Wilson's Identity The Oversight Committee held a hearing on whether White House officials followed appropriate procedures for safeguarding the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson. At the hearing, the Committee received testimony from Ms. Wilson and other experts regarding the disclosure and internal White House security procedures for protecting her identity from disclosure and responding to the leak after it occurred. In addition, the Committee sent a letter to Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald commending him for his investigation and requesting a meeting to discuss testimony by Mr. Fitzgerald before the Committee. Here is a Letter from Henry Waxman to Special Prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald

In February, a national poll conducted by the firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner for Democracy Corps, found that 79% of “likely voters” said they support increasing protections for whistleblowers. According to the poll, there is overwhelming public support for Congress to “institute a strong whistleblower law to protect government employees from retribution if they report waste or corruption.” However, in a Statement of Administration Policy issued Tuesday the White House said it opposes the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2007 (H.R. 985) and called the current weak protections “sufficient to promote and protect genuine disclosures of matters of public concern.” Below is the White House’s statement

I wish the media would focus on Richard Armitage. Lewis Libby needs a cell mate. I want to understand Armitage's passing sensitive information to Karl Rove. I want to understand why Richard Armitage is not being convicted of a crime. While it emerged Libby did indeed speak to several journalists about Plame, it was Richard Armitage - then the Deputy Secretary of State - who was Novak's primary source. Robert Novak, the columnist whose July 14, 2003 article outed Valerie Plame Wilson as a CIA operative, has a new pro-Scooter Libby column. Among his disclosures:

Gore was at the Lloyd Noble Center Thursday afternoon and stated that he was not interested in running for President. My question for Nelson is why are you setting up 'Al Gore for President' web sites if the man is not interested?

Dick Cheney has accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of proposing a U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq that would "validate" al-Qaeda's strategy. But captured al-Qaeda documents and other evidence indicate that if anyone is playing into al-Qaeda's hands, it is Cheney and George W. Bush. The chief motive behind the 9/11 attacks was to draw the United States into a clumsy overreaction that would alienate the Muslim world and rally a new generation of jihadists to al-Qaeda's banner. Today, that banner might well read, "Mission Accomplished."