November 2, 2010 | 8:54 PM | By Anna
We are here at Busboys and Poets on 14th street, where Free Speech TV is hosting a panel discussion/dinner during a live broadcast of election night coverage. Interesting tidbits from the panel, below:
Midterm elections = an older and whiter turnout?
“Race is always a huge factor in the United States.”
The racial divisions that existed before Obama was President, existed after…and in some ways, are worse.”
If 2008 was the year of Obama, is 2010 about voters “demanding a recount”?
Discussion of how Obama built a movement around himself in ’08, but not in ’10, when some may have hoped to ride his coattails.
Is America a Center-Right nation?
– they are taking a break. a panel has been lowered…over the panel. –
Panel now discussing whether Obama was progressive enough. “He could be FDR or he could be Bill Clinton…he chose ‘Bill Clinton’”.
Continue reading →
November 2, 2010 | 5:59 PM | By Anna
Need plans for tomorrow night? How about some Kojo?
WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi will be hosting a “Kojo in Your Community” event tomorrow, at The Arc in Southeast D.C. Come hang out with the man whom the Washington Post calls “Maybe the best interviewer in town”. The Arc will be open at 5:30 and the event goes until 8pm. I’ve been told that plenty of parking is available.
Address: 1901 Mississippi Avenue Southeast
Metro: Green Line- Southern Avenue Station.
November 2, 2010 | 4:52 PM | By Anna
Hillicon Valley
This is neat. According to Hillicon Valley, a popular location-based social network is getting in the spirit of Election Day:
FourSquare, an application that allows people to broadcast their whereabouts to their friends, doles out an “I voted” badge to users who “check in” with the site when they arrive at their voting place.
But, wait! There’s more!
…swing by elections.foursquare.com to watch America vote in real-time throughout the day, with all the check-in data from polling stations across the country. Navigate the map to see where foursquare voter turnout is happening, and all the details about how and where our country performs its civic duty. [4sq]
That’s a screenshot of how many D.C.-users have checked in (plus what gender they are). Some may ask why badges or “checking in” to polling places matters for Election Day; considering how Foursquare tends to alter its users behavior, I think it’s significant. Foursquare power-users are motivated to play the game constantly– and now they’ve been given a special incentive to get out the vote.
November 2, 2010 | 1:15 PM | By Anna
Elizabeth Thomsen
Precinct 36: Latin American Youth Center, 1419 Columbia Road, NW
Just wandered down to my local polling place and heard that out of 5,333 registered voters, a total of 505 have participated in the democratic process.
There were no lines, and it was fairly quiet, which makes sense because it’s after lunch. This morning it was busy and they’re expecting traffic to pick up again at 4pm, when the apres-work crowd arrives.
If you don’t know where your polling place is, DC’s BOEE has a very useful site which asks for your address and then tells you where to go. You have until 8pm tonight, to vote.
November 2, 2010 | 10:21 AM | By Anna
Good morning, DCentric readers. Due to technical difficulties, your breakfast links are a bit late. We apologize for that.
ANCs aren’t perfect. Here’s how to make them better. “ANC issues are apparently too small to attract the notice of the city’s paper of record (the most the Post could muster this time around was a generic piece that said nothing of use about ANCs except that those running wanted to “improve their communities”). But neighborhood representative bodies can be perfectly paired with the burgeoning crop of blogs that have been covering them in a fair amount of depth. Some of the healthier and better-run ANCs are in places where blogs…communicate to the broader public what happened at each meeting.” (Washington City Paper)
DC9 liquor license hearing: Board continues suspension of club’s license for 30 days “…not previously released audio recording of an ambulance crew radioing ahead to Howard University Hospital. A male EMT can be heard on the tape saying that he was bringing a 45-year-old male in apparent cardiac arrest to the hospital after what he described as a “bar fight.” He also tells the hospital that the victim only became unconscious after police arrived on the scene, contradicting an affidavit filed in court…” (tbd.com)
November 1, 2010 | 5:56 PM | By Anna
dbking
Dolley Madison, National Portrait Gallery
While I wait for my interview, I’m devouring the following, from the wonderful “Streets of Washington” history blog:
Dolley Madison may be best known today for her heroism during the War of 1812, specifically her valiant efforts (as she reported in a letter to Anna Cutts) to save the Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington from falling into British hands on August 24, 1814, when the British army captured Washington and burned public buildings, including the White House and the Capitol. She also packed important government papers into trunks for safekeeping. More than 30 years later, in May 1848, Dolley similarly saved her husband’s important papers, which she kept in an upstairs trunk, from immanent destruction. She was then spending her last years in her house on Lafayette Square, and the house caught fire, perhaps from arson. Dolley refused to be rescued from the top floor unless the trunk of papers was safely removed with her.
Nearly as well known as Dolley’s heroism were her personal foibles. She loved to dress well and had a famous predilection for extravagant turbans. When fleeing the White House in 1814, along with the Stuart portrait of Washington, she tellingly saved a set of red velvet drapes from the oval drawing room. Some have argued that her choice of these drapes when so much else had to be abandoned was reasonable given their high cost in those days, but the fact remains that the woman really loved red.
November 1, 2010 | 4:46 PM | By Anna
DC Love Bites
The cupcake which made me a fan of sweet potato-based desserts!
On Saturday evening, I took my costume-clad puppy for her usual nightly walk around the neighborhood. We weren’t Trick-or-Treating, but I ended up going home with something delightful and sweet anyway– a free cupcake! Anyone who reads DCentric knows that I love food trucks, and I thought I knew all of the rolling players, from the purveyors of sought-after, coveted Lobster Rolls to the trucks that cruelly aren’t allowed in the city yet.
But as we strolled down U street, I did a double-take at the big red van parked across from Ben’s. I had neither seen nor heard of Love Bites and as we walked up, the owner jumped out and asked if she could take a picture of my dressed-up pup. Flattered, I said, “Of course!” I was shocked when she handed me a free, “signature” cupcake, as a treat.
“It’s sweet potato with cream-cheese frosting”.
…and then I was surprised for the second time in five minutes. Long before I ran around and tried to sample every DC food truck’s fare, I was a cupcake-fiend whose Yelp take on Baked and Wired was once “Review of the Day”. I have a ridiculous sweet tooth, and I thought I had heard of every cupcake variation or flavor possible.
Continue reading →
November 1, 2010 | 1:59 PM | By Anna
TBD News Editor Sommer Mathis live-tweeted the ABRA (Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration) hearing for the suspension of DC9′s liquor license. There are three hours of tweets, but here are two excerpts which caught my attention (read up, from the bottom):
http://twitter.com/sommermathis
The “Mohammed” Mathis is referring to is 27-year old Ali Ahmed Mohammed, who died under confusing and mysterious circumstances after being refused entry to DC9. Mohammed allegedly threw a brick through the club’s window and five DC9 employees gave chase. What happened next is unclear; police say they arrived and found Mohammed unconscious, while others insist that DC9′s employees did not batter him to death.
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November 1, 2010 | 11:33 AM | By Anna
merfam
Random cab in D.C. I was too busy typing to photograph mine!
I opened the door and threw my laptop bag and purse down the expansive backseat of a weathered American sedan. “NPR, please”, I said. The driver looked at me in his rear view mirror, eyes crinkling.
“They are building a new building.” His voice was low and lovely. I instantly relaxed, as I often do, when I hear the lilt of an accent.
“NPR? Yes, they are.”
“I hope they tear all the walls. It’s just a warehouse, that thing was old.” He pronounces thing like “ting”. I love it.
“You’re awfully opinionated about a company you don’t even listen to,” I teased. “Isn’t this WTOP I’m hearing?” He decisively punches one button on his radio, and the car is filled with the Diane Rehm Show. “I work for WAMU,” I tell him.
“I switch from time to time. Whole thing is great. Rehm is doing well, Kojo is doing fine. You work with Kojo from time to time?”
I mention that I work on the same floor but that no, I don’t work with him. He changes the subject.
Continue reading →
November 1, 2010 | 8:01 AM | By Anna
Good morning, DCentric readers! Last night, when you were giving candy to trick-or-treaters, we were going door-to-virtual-door, searching for links!
In D.C., many angling for public office on Advisory Neighborhood Commissions “I’m tired of Ward 8 being considered the worst ward with all the problems that people think we can’t solve on our own,” said Janasha Thomas, 30, who had worked as an administrative assistant for the Fenty administration until recently. In the mayor’s office, she fielded residents’ complaints. A District native, she’s running for a seat near Skyland Mall, where she’s lived for 12 years. “You don’t have to move neighborhoods to make a change in your surroundings.” (The Washington Post)
Jon Stewart Rally: Transcripts and quotes “I think you know that the success or failure of a rally is judged by only two criteria: the intellectual coherence of the content and its correlation to the engagement – I’m just kidding. It’s color and size. I can’t even believe this has happened. It is a perfect demographic sampling of the American people. (laughter) Because as you know, if you have too many white people at a rally, then you’re cause is racist. But if you have too many people of color at a rally, well then you just must be asking for something, special rights like eating in restaurants or piggy-back rides.” — John Stewart (tbd.com)
The District’s Homophobic Bullies Part Two: It’s All About The Jeans “Shane Salter, the Executive Director of D.C.’s Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), recalls a case: “One foster parent put a kid out for creasing his jeans. He was a little too prim and proper. It was a conflict around the boy wanting a crease in his jeans—as if that was the end of the world.” Salter remembers another case, a transgender youth who ended up in the D.C. Jail. “He was put out, his father didn’t want him. His father beat him at one point. He dressed like a girl.” (Washington City Paper)
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