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.

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.