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.

"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.