I'm Running a Campaign!

Looking for some updated blog posts? Visit my campaign website at www.markusforward8.blogspot.com and get the latest updates

from my campaign.

Osama bin Laden, 9/11 Mastermind and Al Qaeda Leader, Dead

At 11:00pm EST on May 1, 2011, President Barack H. Obama stood in front of the press, the nation and the world in the East Room of the White House and announced that after a covert military operation instituted in Pakistan, approved by himself, Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda and orchestrator of the September 11 attacks, was killed.

President Obama authorized an attack on a compound occupied by Bin Laden and family earlier on the first of May. After a gun fight ensued, Bin Laden was shot through the head and his body was taken into the custody of the United States.

DNA and forensics testing confirmed that the dead man was indeed 6 foot 4 inch Osama bin Laden.

News spread very quickly, even before the it was released on television news stations. People from the White House to Ground Zero poured into the streets to celebrate an American victory in the War against Terrorism.

The killing of Osama bin Laden is both the long-awaited victory of the Bush Administration and the legacy of the Obama Administration. It is closure for all those who lost lives or experienced the horror of the September 11 attacks and is the beginning of the end of the reign of Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

In the words of President Obama: "Justice has been done".

My College Decision

Dear Friends,

As many of you know, the past few weeks have been filled with thought about the institution where I will spend the next four years of my life and further my education. I had the great honor and privilege to get accepted to some great institutions, which made my decision even harder. In the end Howard University, Kent State University, The College of William and Mary, the University of Delaware, Elon University, The George Washington University and Georgetown University offered me admission to the class of 2015.

I was also very honored to be offered the full cost of attendance from The George Washington University through the Stephen Joel Trachtenberg Scholarship and also from Georgetown University through the GU Scholarship Program and the DC Scholars Program. Naturally, I narrowed my choice to these two institutions.

When choosing an institution to attend, there were many factors I had to assess to insure that the next four years of my life would be the most enjoyable and the most fulfilling that I could possibly have. Not only did I have to make sure my choice could serve as a platform for my educational greatness, but also as a home. I have spent the past few weeks visiting campus, talking to students, consulting my family, walking through academic buildings, visiting dorms and imagining myself as a student at both of these institutions.

There was something to be desired from both these schools. There was the family-oriented atmosphere that I experienced at GW; the anticipation of having professors like Michael Eric Dyson at Georgetown; the two campuses at GW that provided students with both an inner-city connection and a secluded escape; or the opportunity to join a campus at Georgetown of great minds that have turned out successful alumni, including numerous senators, congressmen, philanthropists and Presidents (our 42nd President, William J. Clinton).

These, along with many others, were factors that brought me to my final decision.

I have decided that in the Fall of 2011, I will be apart of the 2015 Class at The George Washington University here in Washington, D.C.

The family atmosphere, "best of both worlds" campus selection, quality programs in Political Science and Public Policy and the opportunity to join a cohort of enthusiastic, open-minded, involved classmates all influenced my decision to become a Colonial in the fall.

By no means was this an easy decision. With both institutions giving me the opportunity to attend free of charge and the opportunity to be immersed in an experience much larger than myself, my decision was a source of much stress and deep reflection.

I feel that I have found a home at The George Washington University and am ready to contribute to the student life, get a great education and offer my special talents to a institution that prides itself on innovation and striving to change the world. I would like to thank Georgetown for their offer and also for giving the opportunity to be apart of a unique, prestigious and one-in-a-million community that is nearly unmatched anywhere else in the country.

However, my decision to be a Colonial was one that I think is right for where I want to go and where I think The George Washington University can take me.

Best,

Markus Batchelor

YouthPAC Takes It's First Major Step

Yesterday, YouthPAC, the organization a group of ambitious friends and I started just a few months ago, took first steps in becoming a legitimate organization in the city and in getting young people involved in the political process.

In conjunction with DC Students Speak and the DC Federation of College Democrats, YouthPAC hosted a candidates forum for those running for At-Large City Council Member in the upcoming Special Election on April 26th.

The forum, that discussed youth issues, gave a chance for native Washingtonians and college students studying in the city to have a direct voice to the candidates who may become our city's next At-Large Councilperson.

Sekou Biddle, Tom Brown, Joshua Lopez, Dorothy Douglas, Alan Page, Bryan Weaver and Patrick Mara discussed issues including noise ordinances, the DC opportunity scholarship, public education, civic engagement in the younger population and youth involvement in redistricting.

YouthPAC also held an endorsement vote for the At-Large Council Race and the State Board of Education Race in Wards 4 and 8. YouthPAC was honored to endorse Bryan Weaver and pledged to work hard to make him our next Councilman on April 26th. Read YouthPAC's Statement of Endorsement here.

Thanks to all the candidates who participants who participated, all the young people who attended and all the organizations that worked so hard to put it together!

Extras: See what everyone at the event was tweeting about at yesterday's event: Click here.

Hard to Believe

What's Hard to Believe- March 27, 2011

The District Government- Just two months after the new administration arrived in the Wilson Building, both in the Mayor's Office and in the Council, public trust has plummeted and the Mayor's approval rating is barely hitting 40%. The "One City" motto that thrust Gray into the City's highest office is slowly beginning to fall and seems only like a nice motto of an era long gone. For a mayor and an administration that was elected in the spirit of optimism, that emotion is in short measure and is on the brink of disappearing very soon. It will be interesting to see what the Mayor has to say to restore the public trust tomorrow at his State of the District Address. It will be a hard task to pull off, and restoring his approval to the height that it was 2 months ago is highly unlikely and will probably happen never again. If it does, that will be hard to believe.

George Washington University- It is very hard to believe that the George Washington University has throw a total of 200,000 dollars my way to attend in the fall by way of the Stephen J. Trachtenberg Scholarship! Yeah...pretty hard to believe. Thanks, Colonials! Check out the day's photos here.

Geraldine Ferraro- It is hard to believe that the first woman ever nominated for the office of Vice President of the United States, Geraldine Ferraro, is dead at the age of 75. As the running mate to the 1984 Democratic Nominee for President, Walter Mondale, she was a trailblazer for equal opportunity and a testament to America's evolution as a nation representative to everyone's interests. Mondale/Ferraro lost to Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H.W. Bush, who were running for reelection in 1984. Listen to Ferraro's speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention as she accepts the party's nomination for Vice President.

Amazing Day: Awarded the Stephen J. Trachtenberg Scholarship for the George Washington University

Today was an amazing day for me. At lunch today, Moo Ho Bae and I were awarded the Stephen Joel Trachtenberg Scholarship, equaling a full ride to the George Washington University. The surprise ceremony was definitely a highlight for me, not only in the day, but in a lifetime and to get the opportunity to go the one of the nation's top universities fee of charge is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Am I settled on GW yet? That decision will come within the next week or so.

Read the article attached here.

GO COLONIALS!

Social Media Addiction: There's a Cure

I think all of us can admit that using social media can be quite addicting sometimes. When something good happens, when something bad happens, when you hear your favorite song, see a good movie, read a good news article, got a new job, lose an old job, get a significant other or lose that significant other, we run to Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc. to share our news. And because something like this (or something less significant) happens to us everyday, we spend a significant amount of our lives changing statuses and tweeting and messaging. Furthermore, because this happens to our friends hundreds of times a day, we spend an even larger time checking their statuses and tweets and messages.

Before we know it, we have spent hours on Facebook and Twitter, not doing homework, laundry, grocery shopping, calling family members, reading, cooking, exercising or anything that we should have. For most of us, it is not necessarily our intent to waste our entire lives on these social networking sites. Most of the time, it starts as a very innocent break in between assignments or a way to relax after a long day or an honest attempt to get in touch with a friend and before we know it, it's half past 1am and you are writing a blog post for Advanced Computer Applications that you probably should have done hours ago.

The article we were assigned to read for our computer apps class gave some very helpful tips on how to kick the habit of obsessive use of social networking. I thought all of them were very helpful. They definitely take practice and a lot of commitment, but they are definitely manageable. To put the main idea of the article plainly: prioritize your time and do other things with your life.

I can personally say that whether for business or entertainment, I spend an excruciating amount of time on social networking sites. This enables procrastination, doesn't help me get a lot of work done and is distracting at times. The article mentioned above has very helpful suggestions on how to kick the habit of habitual social networking, but I was also interested in the forced restraints that were suggested at the bottom of this article we read in class the other day, such as programs you can install on your computer that blocks whatever sites you want for a pre-determined amount of time, which you cannot take back once its activated. I will definitely try the more voluntary regiments first and then move to more drastic measures if these don't work.

I suggest that everyone in my same predicament try these methods (voluntarily or involuntarily) so that we can all free ourselves from this "obsession and addiction" to social media, because it wastes too much time.

A Week Without Facebook = A Week Without Air

Earlier this week in Advanced Computer Applications class, we were challenged to log off of Facebook and to not log back on for 7 days. For everyone who uses Facebook, we know that is 7 days without status updates, pokes, inbox messages, quizzes, chats and everything that we spend hours doing every day.

Starting out, I thought it would be pretty easy. A week without Facebook would fly by and I would be back on Sunday evening without even missing it. Then, the next day, I got a letter telling me I got accepted to Elon University. Well, there was no way I could go seven days without telling my 1,100 friends on Facebook, right? So, I did. Disappointed in myself, I logged off again...until the next day, when I had to check on Facebook on the time and date of an event I had to go to. I logged off again, pledging to still do seven days without Facebook. But every day since that day, I have always found a legitimate reason to log onto Facebook, if just for 5 minutes.

It is a source of entertainment, networking and organization and it is especially difficult to lose a tool like this for one week. I will try again at some point, but it always seems that the need to communicate and network is always there. We ALL will kick the addiction at some point, but we have to take it ONE day at a time (not seven).

Hard to Believe

I am starting a new series here on The Batch' Blog called Hard to Believe, a blog series that will mention certain things I think are quite unbelievable in politics, on the internet, in the community, on television, etc. On March 13, 2011, this is what I believe is Hard to Believe.

Law and Order SVU: It's a Sunday, so I spent a considerable amount of time on the couch watching television (a break from the "keep going" mantra of Monday through Saturday). For the past 4 or 5 hours, I have been watching a Law and Order SVU marathon on the USA Network. I must admit, that episode after episode, I just have a hard time believing some of the plots of the episodes. From a 7 year old drug smuggler who accidentally shot one of his friends in daycare while trying to escape the grasp of his drug pimp to a former cop turned neighborhood watch captain who goes around the neighborhood murdering sex offenders, the plots just seem ridiculous. Now, don't get me wrong, I am very fond of Law and Order SVU, I just do not think I would go to work as a detective for the New York Police Department and be confronted with these outrageous cases. It's one thing to write plots that captivate your audience, but at least make them remotely believable.

ANC8C: I know I have already blogged about the decorum of monthly meetings of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 8C, but I think it's very hard to believe how bad it is until you actually go and witness, just as I did on March 2. The monotony of the meeting was comforting early on, as attendees complained about the irresponsibility of Pepco in the wake of the snow storms and planning for the return of the Martin Luther King Parade this April. Then comes the talk about the finances of the ANC and all "heck" breaks loose. Between one commissioner asking another to "sit down and shut up" and another angrily banging her fist and yelling "sit yo' $!? down", we can say the meeting heated up a little. So, you say to me "that is very hard to believe that elected government officials would act in such a way, especially in a public meeting". Well, you just have to go yourself.

Second Semester, Senior Year: If someone comes to you in the last half of their senior year and says "Well, it's all down-hill from here. I'm living on easy street", you should tell them it is very hard to believe. The last semester of Senior year is one of the most stressful, busy, time-consuming semesters of anyone's entire educational career. By the 3rd week of the 3rd quarter, College Acceptance letters are still weeks away, extra-curriculars are gearing up, projects are getting heavy, you have to apply for scholarships, AP exams are right around the corner, Final exams right after, Senior dues are....due, letters on report cards mean more than ever before and every day moves by a little slower. Second semester, senior year: UNbelievable.

That's what's hard to believe.

Brownish-Gray: The Color of Dysfunction in Washington?

Two shades of Brown mixed with Gray: that seems to be the color of dysfunction in Washington, D.C. politics in the first 2 months of a new administration. I have to say, it is not a very attractive color and a lot of people are not too fond of having to see it painted all over the Wilson Building now-a-days: from the dais of the Council to the 6th Floor, closed-off, "office with a view" of our 7th Mayor, Vincent C. Gray.

The new administration wasted no time mixing up the dysfunction and it is very shocking, especially in an administration that preached more transparency, honesty, accountability, responsibility and everything that doesn't rhyme with "Fenty".

Now, "cronyism" and "quid quo pro's" are words circulating around the Wilson Building and around the city, even 2 months since "the root of all evil" packed up his cubicle in the bullpen. How did we get this nasty shade of dysfunction in Washington? Just mix two shades of Brown and Gray.

Brown: So, the first shade of Brown we will discuss is Sulaimon. Unless you have been under a rock for the past few weeks, we all know Sulaimon Brown as the former Mayoral Candidate who advocated more Gray during his campaign in 2010 than he did for himself. In fact, one of the most memorable quotes of this terrible candidacy for Mayor is "you can vote for Brown or you can vote for Gray; Just don't vote for Fenty". So why is this important months afterward? Well, it just so happens that this former Fenty-basher got a job in the administration, that paid close to $100,000 a year.

However, he was fired from this job about a week later, when the Washington City Paper published an article revealing criminal charges on Sulaimon Brown, including stalking a 13-year old girl. That is when the allegations of corruption broke wide open and this shade of brown began to smear the new government.

Brown made allegations that during his 2010 Campaign, he was paid handsomely by Gray Campaign to stay in the race and continue to bash then-incumbent Mayor Adrian Fenty. In return, he said he was also promised a job for him and his brother in the new administration. Now Mayor Gray, of course, denies these claims. So do numerous other upper-level Mayoral staff (who were, at the time, upper-level Gray for Mayor campaign staff).

However, the evidence is close to air-tight and it will be pretty hard for Mayor Gray to deny a quid pro quo (even though he already has). Brown has also alleged later that Gray fixed the September 2010 Primary election, but thats for another day....

Brown: The next shade of Brown is of course Kwame. I think we all know very well the fascination that our Chairman of the Council has with Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV's). We all know the infamous "Kwamemobile (a fully loaded Cadillac Escalade)" that the triumphant Councilmember has touted both in his 2008 and 2010 campaigns. And just because the Kwamemobile couldn't make it to the Wilson Building, that doesn't mean he shouldn't ride is style, right?

That is why weeks after the Chairman-Elect was elected in November, he ordered city officials to get him an all black (inside and out), fully-loaded Lincoln Naviagtor with a DVD player, power moon roof and polished aluminum wheels. Also, he wanted it ready and parked outside the Wilson on the day of his inauguration- January 2nd.

When the first one arrived, it just so happened to have a gray interior, not the black interior per Brown's request. Brown requested he have the one with the black interior sent to him. And it was: it was driven from Coldwater, Michigan to Washington at a cost of $1,500. However, there's another issue. The car with the gray interior cannot be returned until October, so the city taxpayers are footing the bill for both leases on both SUV's- both at $1,900 a month. And all while (get ready for this) the city is in a $400 Million budget shortfall.

The Chairman says that if he had known his request would be so pricey, he never would have ordered it. I'm sure he is even sorrier now, since Councilman Tommy Wells called for an investigation into the purchase, while a report says that the purchase may be illegal. The Chairman has returned the vehicle to the DC Department of Public Works while the Attorney General negotiates a cancellation of the lease.

So what is Kwame Brown riding around in now, you ask? The Batch' Blog spotted the Chairman right after Councilman Barry's State of the Ward Address being whisked away in an army green mail truck, similar to what he was pushing during his first campaign for Council in 2004.

Gray: Of course, we could not forget the last shade that makes this color most undesirable for the people of Washington: Gray. Mayor Vince Gray, at least according to the Washington Post, has had a bad start as Mayor of the Nation's Capital City. Though the jury (and possibly a federal judge) is still out on his relations with Sulaimon Brown, it is no secret that a lot of Gray's friends are getting the city's top jobs and it is very obvious they are getting paid a lot more than they are supposed to. In fact, many of the children of Gray's upper-level campaign staff have landed jobs in the new administration.

Many people are asking "What's Wrong with Vince Gray?". Mary Cheh, one of Vince Gray's most avid supporters, and his former Council colleague from Ward 3 calls the large amount of scandal coming out of the Mayor's office now-a-days "kind of depressing".

Let's also not exclude the Mayor from this whole SUV scandal either. Along with the two (now, unused) SUV's ordered by the Chairman's office, the Metropolitan Police Department order a "fully loaded" Lincoln Naviagtor for the Mayor and a Lincoln Town Car for his security team, at a cost of $1,941 and $1,785 a month respectively. The only difference is that there is no sign those will be going back any time soon.

This new District government has a long way to go in securing the public trust and getting city politics back on track.

"Keep Your Enemies Closer": Congress Becoming its Neighbor's Biggest Enemy

Since the Republican Majority took over in the House of Representatives this January, the United States Congress has created a closer relationship with its neighbors to the north (and south, east and west): The residents of the District of Columbia.

However, its not as great as it sounds. From education, Congresswoman Norton's vote in the Committee of the Whole, needle exchange and even "reproductive health services" (a.k.a abortions), Congress is taking the helm in D.C., to the dismay of residents and the city government.

The Batch' Blog's Top 3 DC-Congressional Mishaps in 2011 (thus far).

1. Congresswoman Norton's Vote in the Committee of the Whole: Just days in the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives, it was decided that the vote Norton was given in the Committee of the Whole (a term that refers to the times when the House serves as a committee to decide on certain legislation) would be stripped away. This vote also gave Norton the authority to vote on taxing and spending bills (as long as it was not a deciding vote). Despite efforts by DC Vote, Norton and newly inaugurated Mayor, Vincent Gray, a party line vote of 225-188 sealed the deal. Just days into a change of power both in the House and in D.C. Government, the relationship was beginning to sour.
2. Restriction of Abortion Funding for Low-Income Families: Now, whether you agree with abortions or not is not important in this case. Because, when the Republican majority in the House of Representatives takes measures to restrict what the District Government can do with its OWN money, that is the issue. Just like citizens took action to get Norton's Committee of the Whole vote re-instated (unsuccessfully), citizens took to the streets to stop this blatant attempt at legislating the lives of District residents. Not just any street, however: Speaker of the House John Boehner's Street. More specifically, his FRONT DOOR! Though the display was a step up from other demonstrations and got major media attention, Congress still is seizing control of DC-earned money. Crazy.
3. School Choice: No, Speaker Boehner and the Republicans are not trying to take away school choice, but give DC students more of a choice. Can you believe that!? He is trying to re-instate the DC Opportunity Scholarship, a program that gave DC low-income students vouchers to go to private schools. The Democratic Congress cut it out a few years ago. Though I support the Opportunity Scholarship and the success it has provided for DC students and though Parents support its return, who the heck is John Boehner to go over D.C. Government's head and take this into his own hands. Congress even told the District Government that funding for public schools will be cut if there are not provisions to return the scholarship program.

Congress is becoming a dictatorial force in the District of Columbia and it's time to end it.

ANC 8C: Under-serving the Community

My friend over at Congress Heights on the Rise has already taken up this topic for years now, so I am obscenely late to the party, but I think its worth mentioning one more time:

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 8C is under-serving the community

I am a lifelong resident of SMD 8C-04 and recently got into investigating what was going on in my ANC, because in the 18 years I have been a resident and the over 45 years that my family have been residents, the quiet, African American middle class neighborhood that Congress Heights used to be has been on a steady decline.

Even though the neighborhood is reaping the benefits of new development and a new birth in retail and affordable housing in recent years, not much credit can go to the ANC. I am a big "bulletpoints and outline" kind of guy, so I want to outline some of the issues I have recognized with ANC8C.

Finances: It is no secret and a public disgrace that the DC Auditor's office did a review of the reports filed by the ANC and found that the commission was not properly or efficiently spending the yearly allotments and pledged to withhold over $20,000 from the ANC until it cleaned up its act.

In fact, the only expense that the ANC has made in nearly a decade has been to a dilapidated and shady ANC office above a barbershop on Martin Luther King Avenue, at a cost of $900 a month. For $900, it is definitely a very large and potentially useful space. However, a recent tour of the office has showed that paint is peeling, the bathrooms don't function, windows don't open and not even the phones work inside. The ANC does not even hold its monthly meetings there- it has been moved to a free space down the street for at least the past two years. To be so underused and run-down, it is not worth the $900 it is rented for.

Think about that: if that is the only expense, that means that ANC, in almost a decade, has not allotted money for grants to the community that are supposed to be used for community improvement! Not even supplies for the ANC have been purchased! But, at least we have that psychedelic shack we call an office, right?

The ANC also does not hire employees to deal with community issues, that would be helpful to residents and give some people a steady job, even though money can be set aside for that!

At a recent ANC meeting, one of the commissioners commented that money has not been spent because the ANC has never been able to reach a quorum in order to vote on expenditures. It just so happens that there was a clear quorum at the meeting she was speaking at and if there was no quorum to spend money, who authorized the monthly payments of rent at "Boo Radley's house"!

Link: ANC 8C's FY 2009 Report

Financially, ANC8C is under-serving the community.

Meetings: It is really appalling and unacceptable that ANC8C, over the past few years, have canceled and postponed meetings without proper public notice, leaving people outside waiting for canceled meetings to begin or rescheduled meetings lacking proper attendance by the public.

I am not sure what the reasons for these numerous reschedulings and cancellations are, but if it is necessary, the ANC needs to a do a much better job of notifying the public (but of course, the ANC has not set aside money to print fliers or set aside the time to make phone calls or emails).

Another issue, which was also mentioned in the Auditor's report (linked above), is that there is a major problem with chronic absenteeism by commissioners at ANC 8C monthly meetings, which is detrimental to the commission conducting proper business. If a quorum is not reached, business cannot be conducted. Commissioners need to be at meetings. That is what they were elected to do!

And let's not mention the terrible decorum that some commissioners have in meetings. There is rarely a meeting (if ever), where deliberation does not turn into a session of petty bickering or yelling matches. If commissioners cannot be civil, they should given their walking papers in November 2012.

When it comes to meetings, ANC 8C is under-serving the community.

Community Engagement: Though this pretty much covered in our previous sections, the community engagement of many of the commissioners in ANC 8C is terrible. As a personal example, I have emailed my new ANC commissioner in 8C04, Lloyd Logan, at least twice in the past month and have not gotten a response yet.

But as a unit, there is much to be desired from our ANC in 8C. The ANC office is locked, not used, has no phone and is broken down. Many commissioners do not have office hours and have not created any apparent means to keep in touch with constituency.

When it comes to community engagement, ANC 8C is under-serving the community.

In A Nutshell: ANC 8C is failing the community and it is time for a change. More soon...

Old Congress Heights School: Rich (Personal) Past and Bright Future

Tonight, my mother and I stopped by the monthly meeting of the Congress Heights Civic Association for a very special reason.

The association met today with a representative from the DC African American Heritage Trail, who is now in the process of selected about 13 new landmarks across the District of Columbia to add to the trail and make it complete. It so happens to be that one of the landmarks that will be added to the trail sometime this summer is the Old Congress Heights School, a landmark in the neighborhood since it opened in 1897. For a long time, it served an all White community, but after the desegregation of the school in the mid 1950's, the large African American community began to grow.

After many years of disrepair, the school closed in 1970 and was left virtually abandoned on Martin Luther King Avenue, with its massive African American student body moving across the street to the New Congress Heights School, now known as Martin Luther King Elementary School (my Alma Mater).

This month, the building reopened after renovation and is now home to Imagine Southeast Public Charter School. For the first time in 41 years, the Old Congress Heights School is hosting Elementary School classes within its walls.

As the school and its new occupants look toward a bright future, the members of the Congress Heights Community Association looked back at its interesting past, shedding light on the rich history it provided for African Americans- even to my family. My mother brought with her to the meeting a class photo from the Old Congress Heights School from May 1969 (with my aunt smiling brightly on the front lawn of the school). Both my mother and my eldest aunt attended the old Congress Heights School just years before it closed its doors. A Washington Post article that was also brought to the meeting, dated September 1970, shows my youngest aunt marching across the street from the old school into the new school on the first day of the 1970-1971 School year.

History flowed at the meeting tonight with the room filled with 50-60 year residents of Congress Heights not only talking about the history of the iconic school building, but reminiscing about the rich past of the neighborhood itself. For the first time in four decades, you can view the iconic clock tower aglow while driving through Congress Heights at night, a sign that the landmark is coming back to life for yet another generation to enjoy.

The heritage trail plaque is set to be dedicated at the building in August, but no official date has been set yet.

Uniontown Bar and Grill: New Addition to the "New River East"

Uniontown Bar and Grill has been open a few weeks and is the buzz around Ward 8. I got a chance to stop by Uniontown this past weekend with a few friends and thought that I should post a quick review about what I thought about my first visit to this new addition to the "New River East".

Menu: The menu and selectivity is very limited at Uniontown, but I was very satisfied with what I got. My "Louisianna Wings and Crinkle-cut fries" were not mind-blowing, but definitely was a good eat and I will definitely go back for it again. Apparently, according to my companions at dinner, the rest of the menu is "to die for", so I might abandon my new-found "usual" and try something else.

Service: Great. Our waiter checked in with us periodically, no mistakes on orders and helped us "first time Uniontowners" make good choices. Also, it was nice to see the owner venture over to our table to say hello. Also the food came in a good amount of time (maybe 10 minutes).

Price: The phrase "bang for your buck" can definitely be used to describe Uniontown. My 10-piece wings (about 10; I can't remember), crinkle cut fries and root beer came out only to about $9.00. I got enough food for the right price.

Ambiance: Uniontown is definitely a very relaxed place to be. Seating is pretty comfortable and two flat screen TV's are a plus (and definitely served their purpose on Super Bowl Sunday I imagine). It is becoming a gathering place for community professionals and its very central and picturesque location across the street from the Big Chair makes it a "must-go" location (at least, right now). The only thing I didn't enjoy was that the front doors don't have hydrolics on them to automatically close, so when people walked out and forgot to close the door, I got a pretty terrible draft.

Uniontown Bar and Grill not only sybolizes fairly good food, pricing and ambiance, but symbolizes a turning point in Ward 8 and Anacostia. A new day is dawning East of the River, and I felt the massive positive change at Uniontown this weekend.

7 Ways the Internet is Ruining Your Life

A few days back, in my previous blog, I praised the internet for how it is revolutionizing the way we communicate and changing the world at a faster pace that ever before. Despite the title of this blog, this premise still does rung true.

However, the internet is not all peaches and creme (or "all facebooks and twitters".) Though the world might be better connected and more productive, the individual is becoming more disconnected and lazy as a consequence of this new digital age we are immersed in.

I ready this very humorous article the other day called "7 Ways the Internet Is Ruining Your Life" on a slightly inappropriate college humor website. But, it did bring up some very good points. The 7 ways that the internet is ruining ours lives are:

1. It's making you stupid
2. It's warping your sense of reality
3. It's ruining your social skills
4. It's making you fat
5. It's turning you into a douchebag
6. It's stealing your privacy
7. It's making you boring

All of these I see as (at least partly) true. Here are my personal responses to each.

1. Even though the internet is an endless source of knowledge and a very accessible point of reference, the way it is being used by our generation is taking our focus away from the knowledge we need and is connecting us to pointless Youtube videos and the "this is what I am doing right at this very second" updates on Facebook and Twitter. We can be using these resources so much better, but there are so many pointless distractions at one click that our brains are suffering.
2. When we are on the internet, we are in a whole different world. On the internet, we can be brave, popular, handsome and carefree while on the outside, we are friendless, war rages and our house is about to be foreclosed on. We are separated from the pressing issues of our lives and of the world and when that happens, we become useless to our families, friends and to the world.
3. Having social skills are developed through interaction with living, breathing people. With the internet, we could interact with thousands of people each day and never actually interact with anyone. In the Facebook and Twitter age, we can be so distant from people that we lack the necessary skills to interact away from our computer screens.
4. Not moving = increased weight. Plain and simple. Get up and get your 60 minutes a day!
5. The internet gives us the opportunity to speak anonymously and to speak without consequence. If we take advantage of this luxury too much, we forget how to turn it off in the real world. We lose the capacity to censor ourselves when appropriate and we submit ourselves to the consequences that come with it. Saying whatever we want, whenever we want to people does not make you independent, fearless or confident: it makes you a jerk.
6. What happens on the internet, stays ON the internet. The internet knows no confidentiality. I have been a user on the internet for maybe 5 or 6 years now, and everything I have done on the internet is neatly organized in a simple Google search. Thankfully, I am a pretty straight-edged young guy, so whatever you find is neither heinous or life-ruining, but for those who like to take shirtless photos on Facebook, picture of you and your friends drinking and post statuses that have more four-letter words than late-night Comedy Central, you might have a problem.
7. For those who can only develop conversation about yesterday's Facebook statuses, quote Youtube videos or teach me how to illegally download the new Lil Wayne album are...boring.

So, I would have to concur: the internet has many benefits, but when used to excess, it can be dangerous to your health.

The Power of the Internet

In my advanced computer applications a few days ago, we watched a video about the vast impact new technologies and the internet has on the world and how quickly the world is changing, faster than at any time before.

The video presented some really great (and mind-blowing) facts about the exponential changes going on in the world right now. For example, (Did You Know that) the most in-demand jobs of 2010 didn't even exist in 2004, and while it took the television 13 years to broaden its user base to 50 million people, it only took Facebook 2 years to do it? The way that information and technology is growing is astounding.

Schools are now preparing students for jobs that don't even exist yet and preparing them to solve problems that aren't problems yet. Half the curriculum that a college student who majors in some sort of technologically-geared field learns will be outdated by his third year in college.

The world is moving and changing at such a fast pace now due to technology, like the internet, that the world has to prepare for obstacles and opportunities that have not even presented themselves yet.

The internet has changed the world so dramatically just within the last five or six years and has dramatically changed the way we find news, communicate, work and even wage war! The changes show no signs of stopping, and the changes will only come faster as time passes and technology grows.

Is the Real HU for Me?

For the past few weeks, I have been trying to chart my path for the future, especially as it pertains to college. It seems a bit early, since college decisions do not come until probably March or April. However, I have gotten one acceptance letter so far that has spurred my thoughts and made my decision much harder: Howard University.

Howard University is unique and appealing to me for many reasons:

1. It is the only HBCU I have applied to.
2. Its rich legacy and inspirational alumni (including Justice Thurgood Marshall, the namesake of my high school) makes my attendance and my experience that much more fulfilling.
3. The students I have met so far that will be apart of the Class of 2015 are intelligent, friendly and open-minded, and also would be very good friends and classmates.
4. Current students are very excited about the arrival of new students and about sharing the legacy and experiences of Howard University.
5. I have been offered full tuition and fees

Howard University is ready and waiting for new students like me to contribute to the rich history that the institution has.

So "What's the problem?", you ask.

I have talked to many people about some of the reservations I have about Howard University, including the outdated facilities, the sometimes frustrating and under-performing administration (with financial aid, housing, etc. Read the article.) and the freshman housing experience (a.k.a. Drew Hall- Read this article, even though this is a little outdated, I have heard some of the same sentiments recently). Though there are signs that these issues might be slowly being corrected, these also might be an unwanted burden that could take away from the whole experience.

Update (1/30/11- 4:50pm): Howard University Administration approves a plan for an academic and infrastructural renewal for Howard University- Read here.

Also, what if I am accepted to somewhere like Harvard University (which I have applied to), that would give me the credibility and notoriety in my future, but not necessarily the unique and unforgettable experiences I know I will get from the first second on Howard's campus?

So, I need your opinions! Is the Real HU for MB? Comment NOW!

Unrest Presses On as Internet Goes Out in Egypt

Just like yawning and the flu, uprising and unrest is contagious in the Middle East.

After weeks, even months, of unrest in Middle Eastern countries across the world, it is now the Arab world's most populous country's turn: Egypt.

Gaining inspiration more recently from the successful ousting of the corrupt Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali two weeks ago, the Arab world has been fired up and become fearless in taking on corrupt and dictatorial regimes.

The nearly 30-year reign of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is no exception.

After days of protests in numerous regions across the country, President Mubarak has sent troops into the streets to regain order as police struggle to keep control of the growing throngs of protesters (video). However, for the embattled government in threat of toppling like its Tunisian counterpart two weeks ago, destroying the efforts for protesters to organize at all is top priority.

About a half hour past midnight today, all (yes, ALL) internet service was severed in Egypt, cutting the protesters off from their main source of organization and communication. Just like other citizens' uprisings across the Middle East in the past 5 years or so, social networking such as Facebook and Twitter have been used to organize groups in protest and in uprising against the government.

Just like Iran and China, internet has played an integral role in protests similar to the one in Egypt, and just like Egypt, Iran and China have attempted to cut off these protests by cutting off the internet. However, despite the cutoff, the protesters are still organizing and taking to the streets in Egypt, so an end to the unrest cannot be seen as of yet.

I believe that Egypt is on the brink of reform whether President Mubarak is sent packing or not (even though I think it's inevitable at this point). The unrest is destined to continue in the country and throughout the region as long as the citizens are dissatisfied with their autonomous, corrupt governments.

However, this particular uprising does put the United States in a very awkward position. Because Egypt is the gateway to the Arab world, an ally of Israel and of the United States, it is hard to say what will happen in the next few weeks. It is very possible that if the government is overwhelmingly in threat of toppling in the next few weeks, Egypt may ask its Western allies for assistance in suppressing the uprising, which puts the U.S. at center-stage in this conflict.

So, Comment Now: What do you think of the uprising in Egypt and should the United States take any action is asked to do so?

"Oh, the Weather Outside..."

"...Is Frightful"!

Seems like this snow came out of nowhere, and looks like it will be our biggest snow of the year so far. Here in Congress Heights in Southeast, it is "showing no signs of stopping"! Here's the rundown:

Good Side: Classes are cancelled at my school tomorrow, and some well-deserved rest (and a day full of blogging) is in order.

Bad Side: In the middle of writing this blog (8:13PM), our power went out (the whole block). This, just as other family members were anticipating coming over our house because THEIR power is out! The power returned at 8:36 and at 8:38, back in the dark again! And now, hopefully permanently, power is restored. Outrageous (Thanks, Pepco)!

Of course, I cannot finish this blog without a dash of politics: This first big snow may be the first test for Mayor Gray and even though it will not even come close to the "Fenty Era" storms of December 2009 and February 2010, it will still show what the Mayor can do when it comes to cleaning up from the weather and getting the city running again.

So, give me some news: Comment on this blog and tell me what's going on in your neighborhood. Power outages, snowy streets? Let me know!

And also, send photos of your snow from your neighborhood, so we can post them here on the Batch' Blog. Send them through email to markusbatchelor@gmail.com!

In your comment, put your name and neighborhood and tell us about what you're experiencing!

Update (1/27/11- 7:49am)- Mike Debonis from the Washington Post: "Frustrated by snow response, Twitter unloads on Gray" Check it out! Metrobus systems in DC, Maryland and Virginia have already gone on an emergency schedule, DCPS has closed and the DC Government is closed, but a plow did come down my street just before I took this photo (even though I live on a main street and that doesn't mean much for the "side-streeters" around the city).

Update (1/27/11- 11:56am)- Though it might have taken you a little longer to get home last night, don't feel bad: the President had the same issue. Also, was your power out yesterday or today? Well, still don't feel bad- the city's chief executive was in the dark Wednesday night too.

Update (1/27/11- 6:42pm)- DCPS has just announced there will be a two-hour delay tomorrow.

Welcome to the Batch' Blog

Welcome to the Batch' Blog, a new blogsite by M. Batch', about opinions, politics, events, tidbits and other happenings here in Washington, D.C.

I am very excited to get the Batch' Blog started, because for a long time, I have been trying to find a medium to get my views, opinions, experiences, interests and aspirations expressed in one place to my friends, colleagues, mentors, fellow Washingtonians (and total strangers at times), so now I think I have found that medium.

Stay tuned to The Batch' Blog for more updates and I look forward to what this blog can and will become!

-M.Batch'