Karl Rudder

To Whom It May Concern, Your criticism of the DC City Council is the only consistent element in your entire compositon. The reader is deprived of coming to know what social, economic or political elements that you can find yourself sincerely and effectively addressing. Which means that all that talk of yours adds up to the same sum of one big O as has DC Council action in addressing one, two or maybe even just three issues. Karl Rudder

Thanks BlingBling. I am sure you know that it isn't just some innocent coincidence that for more than 70 years all appointed or elected DC government officials have completely failed to responsibly research and "report" on the facts of this issue. (I hear that Congress does believe in spanking !) I will be testifying before DC City Council member Jim Graham in early April due to the fact that they are trying to quietly schedule one hearing in respect to the DC Taxicab Commission and then we won't hear about another one for at least 6 months. "Oh the games people play now, every night and everyday now. Never saying what they mean never meaning what they say!"

To Whom It May Concern, Why would you support Ms. Mohammed? Are you in agreement that running for office is only a popularity contest or are you ready to clearly express why you have support for any political candidate beyond, " Well, uh, duh, I think that she really will serve DC residence better." Your insistence in being unsupported is expressed by your failure to refer to exactly what you have been impressed by in respect to a candidates political agenda and not merely your personal preferance. If you say you have "reliable resources" exercise your freedom to speak and do just that. Hot air allows balloons to float and also allows cheap, unsupported opinions to be expressed and just move on into the atmosphere without anyone ever really hearing and being moved by their significance.

My address to the unique DC Taxicab Zone System has always been based on the little known facts. Fact 1 - Meters were the original means that were used to compute taxicab fares in the District of Columbia. Fact 2 - The "zone system" was denied by the DC Public Utilities Commission for 20 reasons when they issued PUC order no. 956 on 11/6/31. Fact 3 - The decision by the DC Public Utilities Commission was completely upheld by Judge Adkins (1932 PUR vol C page 1) and Judge Adkins decision was upheld by the DC Appeals Court. (1932 75F2d 1005) Fact 4 - The District of Columbia is the only major city in this country that does not use a meter to equitably compute taxicab fares as well as serve as a reliable means to record the income and compute the taxes due from taxi companies and drivers. Fact 5 - Reason no. 9 on PUC order no. 956 stated: "That proper accounting records cannot be secured under the zone fare system." Fact 6 - The Public Service Commission issues an annual report on the tax revenue that they collect from the industries that they regulate and yet the DC Taxicab Commission, since it was created in 1987, has yet to issue a similar report on the tax revenue that they collect from DC Taxicab Companies and drivers. Fact 7 - DC has a very popular subway and bus service and the least a taxicab driver should be compensated for is the cost for providing the personal service incurred for transporting a party from a point of origin to a point of destination. Fact 8 - It is insulting to the residents of DC as well as to the tourists to DC to have their taxicab fare to be inequitably computed only due to the zone boundaries that they may have crossed through the course of their taxicab ride. Example 1- A passenger must pay a two zone fare to travel from the Fort Totten subway statio to travel across South Dakota Ave NE Example 2 - A passenger must pay a two zone fare from GWU to Wisconsin Ave yet another passenger can travel from GWU to Capital Hill for only a charge of one zone. Example 3 - Alabama Ave SE has residents paying a two zone fare for traveling across that one street while other rides can travel ten times the distance for only a one zone fare. (other examples are available) Fact 9 - The issue cannot be responsibly addressed as long as politicians and the news media refuse to responsibly research and expose the corrupt social, economic and political facts of this issue. Fact 10 - An alleged "preference" of a poorly informed public or "representatives" of DC Taxicab Companies and drivers should not dismiss the merit of the still standing government and Court decisions that denied the DC Taxicab Zone System 70 years ago.

My experience as a DC taxicab driver allowed me to know that the unique DC Taxicab Zone system resulted in it being most profitable for a cab driver to remain concentrated in serving the downtown and NW area of the city. I am talking about the supply and demand elements of this issue. A taxicab driver anywhere will only be able to make some money by being able to stay busy. They can best stay busy in DC by remaining in the downtown area of the city where there is a majority of the demand for taxicab service. As a result, requests for many rides into the far SE and NE area of the city will not be preferred due to the economics of the matter. The UnSolved Mystery to this issue is just why have The Equal Rights Center and many other organizations spent millions of dollars on "studies" of this issue that only insist that , "The discriminative taxicab service in DC has been racist against servicing Afro-American residents." For more information click on the text link below. Karl Rudder's History Lesson on the DC Taxicab Zone System

I will appear before the DC City Council Public Works Committe in early April 2007 to challenge the expensive costs and the professional objectives of the DC Taxicab Commission. Since it was created in 1987 the DC Taxicab Commission(DCTC) has cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars to operate. My questions will be: 1) Does the DCTC have available copy of any report on how much tax revenue that they've ever collected from DC Taxicab Companies and drivers while "regulating" the DC Taxicab Industry? 2) What has the DC Taxicab Commission done with those hundreds of millions of dollars that have been appropriated by Congress for the DCTC since Congress created the DCTC in 1987? It is insulting to DC residents, taxicab drivers, and tourists that the DC Taxicab Commission haven't ever challenged the Congressional corruption that has caused the District of Columbia to be the only major city in this world that does not equitably compute local taxicab fares as well as reliably record and tax the income of the DC Taxicab industry. The current unique zone system allows the exploitation of labor of the rental drivers. That fact was significant enough to deny the use of the zone system when it was first proposed in 1931. (Guess who was driving DC taxicabs in a very overtly racist society in this country in 1931- sorry only 1 guess) The zone system was denied due to it being found to exploit the labor of "white" taxicab drivers in 1931 and yet it remains in operation in 2007 when the majority of those renting a DC taxicab are our African brothers and sisters. Is it an innocent coincidence that there's hasn't been one local or national politician or any "reporter" from the media to ever have responsibly researched and "reported" or "addressed" the facts of this issue? If you would like to read more about this issue please click on the link below. Karl Rudder's History Lesson on DC Taxicabs Thanks for your time.

To Whom It May Concern, The findings of your research go totally unsupported. It appears that your only goal is to mislead the reader's impression of Ms. Valencia Mohammed. Your choice to point a gun at your reader brings wonder to how well are you supported in believing in Peace and Unity. Karl Rudder

Luke, I thank you for your insight into why DC City Council member Kwame Brown is active in making sure that DC retirement funds are not being invested in the Sudanese government. As a very concerned resident of Washington DC I must admit that I would much rather be more familiar with how all DC City Council members are addressing the needs of their constituents of NE, SE, NW and SW Washington DC. Mr. Brown is an At-Large member of the DC City Council and DC residents need to know how their Ward representatives are working with At-Large members about local needs and concerns. I would like to ask DC City Council members to please provide in their upcoming monthly newsletters just one paragraph that will bring us up to date on just how productive that DC City Council member's involvement has proven to be in building the academic tutorial services for the children of the community/communities that they were elected to serve. My years of background in Teaching GED with the DC Public Schools, Job Corp at Junior Village and the Cedar Knoll Youth Correctional facility has me being very sensitive to the fact that today many of our children in this country are having extreme difficulty in making it out of junior high school. I would like to see DC City Council member Brown prove to be a model for all of his colleagues and provide just one paragraph on how successful he has been in providing active tutorial workshops for students and parents and doing his best at much better coordinating many programs that are aimed at improving the quality of public education that DC provides its residents. I have been knocking on Vincent Gray's door in hopes of getting his attention on addressing the needs of the DC Public Schools and by email Mr. Gray informed me on 6/19/07 at 6:22pm, "We are working on Education Reform as you know and it is consuming a huge portion of our time." I refer to such a manner of exchange as getting a political quickie. I would like to think that DC residents deserve alot more than just a political quickie from the new Chair of the DC City Council on this or any issue.

Wiley, I suggest you direct your question to DC City Council member Kwame Brown. As a native Washingtonian I am far more interested with local concerns. At-Large DC City Council member Brown wasted my time to give me such a shallow referral to an element of his politricks. Please share with me any enlightenment that DC City Council member Brown or any of his staff ever provide you on this issue. I seriously doubt that the Sudan gov't is near tears after hearing of only one DC City Council members using their name as he plays his newsletter politricks.

Mr. Kwame Brown, At Large DC City Council Via email I received your "newsletter" and your shallow referral to your scheduling upcoming "community meetings" in respect to the DC City Council Committee on Economic Development. Your newsletter went only as far as telling me of your "upcoming" meeting(s) to be held during the Spring. May I ask if you and your staff have coordinated the specific dates, times and locations of such "upcoming meetings"? As you are the Chair of the Economic Development "committee" may I also ask if any of the members of the DC Economic Development Committee have already promised to participate with such meetings ? The need for me to ask just these simple questions of who, when and where will the DC City Council be actively holding and participating with such meetings leaves an unfortunate question as to just how sincere you are in announcing such meetings. Sincerity = Measurable Results is the formula that I have for years very successfully shared with many students to motivate them to do more than just promise me to do their homework. Your using only a monthly newsletter to announce upcoming meetings of the Economic Development Committee during Spring fails to express a sincere intent and I am sure will fail to stimulate measurable results. Your newsletter very quietly whispers of your introducing legislation to the DC City Council to divorce any DC funds to be invested in any corporate exchanges with the "gov't" in Sudan continues your very self centered approach of emphasizing the "ME" of the DC City Council while totally failing to refer to and build the strength of the"WE" of the DC City Council. In the politricks of being a politician it appears you have very well mastered your ability to only speak of what you are trying to do rather than boasting of the cooperative effort that you've been able to stimulate and employ with your fellow members of the DC City Council for the benefit of DC residents. You are a member of the Public Works Committee and an address to the corrupt regulation of the DC Taxicab Industry is not even hinted at with your most recent "newsletter". Need you receive permission from the Chair of the Public Works Committee before you express your view on an issue that you will be voting on as you are a member of that Public Works Committee? You may remember my giving you copy of the initial and still standing government and Court decisions that had denied, "any version of the zone system to replace meters in DC taxicabs". I provided that data to you before you were elected and you assured me that you would better share the Truth of this issue just as soon as you were elected. Last year went by with your crying to me that, "I'm sorry Mr. Rudder but I am not a member of the Public Works Committee." What's your excuse this year in refusing to address the corrupt "regulation of the DC Taxicab Industry? Your brief and shallow reported effort to "urge" the NAACP to finalize their plans in moving their central office into DC impresses me as another opportunity for you to hop, skip and jump over the complexities of another issue. I remain fascinated that your newsletter fails to refer to your confidently expressing the concerns of any other DC City Council member who have joined you in addressing another very vital issue. Your newsletter ends with sudden announcements of an upcoming meeting of your Economic Development Committee on March 15, 2007. I will do my best to attend that upcoming hearing. My objective will be to able to witness just how many members of the Economic Development Committee will be in attendance and will be active participants with those able to testify. How many members of the Economic Development Committee of the DC City Council will you anticipate being there Mr. Chair? Time will prove the accuracy of my impression of there not going to be not even one other member of the "committee" that you have been appointed to "Chair" in attendance to the upcoming 3/15/07 hearing. Jim Graham was the only member to the most recent hearing of the Public Works Committee hearing and Harry Thomas Jr. was the only member of the most recent meeting of the Libraries, Parks and Recreation Committee. My goal is to find out why are DC City Council members named to be members of a "committee" and yet the only hearings they seem able to reliably be able to attend are only for the "Committee" to which they have been assigned to be the "Chair". Please respond to any aspect of this letter to you. I will do my best to share this letter with many other DC residents in hopes of being able to prevent you from boasting and bragging about your very shallow address to the social, economic and political oppression of the residents of Washington DC. I know you may have read what I just wrote but what I doubt is whether you understood what I meant. A sincere response from you or one of your staff will dismiss that doubt on my part

The vast resources of the Washington DC Community have yet to be productively coordinated and better employed for the benefit of improving the quality of education that is provided to DC youth and adults. The many thousands of college students in DC majoring in education, psychology, mathmatics, engineering, any science if not music deserve an opportunity to receive training in providing tutorial services well before they receive their undergraduate and graduate degrees. The DC Public Schools can prove to be a proud national model for these United States by better coordinating the vast resource of the thousands of proud graduates of Spingarn, Western, McKinley, Roosevelt, and Dunbar Senior High Schools to join force with the graduates of Duke Ellington, HD Woodson and several other Senior High Schools. The challenge for the DC community is to better coordinate the resources of the many proud graduates of the DC Public Schools and have them join force with the tens of thousands of college students, churches and many organizations in the DC community and begin to get together and serve as an army of resources that will employ ourselves to help our little brothers and sisters for the upcoming Sept. 2007 - June 2008 school year. All armed forces must receive boot camp training to learn how to function as one unit with one goal. There is merely a need to be able to be providing productive Tutorial Workshops and thus allow parents and interested adults to develop their skills and ability to work together before we all can set out to achieve quality education in our community. The objective is to provide a very practical means of expanding the learning experience for many youth far beyond merely the hours between 9am -3pm. The various obstacles to a community in being able to provide quality education for the youth and adults of today will be very impressively removed by the strength of the vast resources of that community. "What we have here is a failure to communicate !" Please contact me at your earliest convenience and allow me to cooperate with your efforts in providing tutorial services for DC youth as well as building the tutorial skills for DC parents. 202-249-8083

I appreciate your effort in addressing an issue of your concern. I would like to take opportunity to suggest that you review and perhaps slow down to your A,B,C, approach to this issue. Your future efforts will be well received by those reading your article by their being able to refer to exactly what aspect of the issue are they supporting or have a disagreement.