Tell Congress to Let DC Vote!

Today could be a historic day in the history of our nation’s capital as the US House of Representatives prepares to vote on H.R. 1433, a bill to give the citizens of the District of Columbia the right to be fully represented in the House of Representatives.  For the over 600,000 residents of the District of Columbia, “taxation without representation” isn’t just in the history books, it’s alive and well. District citizens are denied voting representation in the United States Congress, but are still under the same obligations to pay Federal taxes as any citizen of the other 50 states. 

The House of Representatives is currently considering a bill that would give the residents of the District of Columbia voting representation in the House, something they’ve never had.  The legislation has bi-partisan support, but members of Congress need to hear from real people who support this bill. That’s where you come in. Please take a minute and help end the disenfranchisement of over a half-million of your fellow American citizens by visiting http://www.freeandequaldc.com/ and signing the petition, or by calling your Representative and/or Senator’s DC Office.  (To find out who your Representative is, and their contact information, please visit http://www.house.gov/ and enter your zip code in the upper left hand corner.)

The citizens of the District of Columbia have been denied a vote in Congress for over 200 years.  This is the best chance that DC residents have ever had of gaining the right that every other American enjoys.  Please send a message to Congress that 600,000 American citizens should have a vote on issues like the war in Iraq, healthcare, social security, education and any other issue that faces Congress.  Please tell your Representative that you support DC voting rights today.

Your support is particularly needed today, one day after President Bush  threatened to veto the DC Voting rights bill.  Bush has questioned the constitutionality of allowing 600,000 Americans to have a vote in Congress.  If I remember my Civics 101 class correctly, it is the responsibility of the Supreme Court to determine if a law is constitutional, not the President.  But the Court can not rule on a law that has not been passed.  Let’s give the Supreme Court a chance to fulfill its constitutional obligation to interpret the laws by passing this bill on Friday. 

Thank you for your help and support.

Fireworks mark the Start of DC Coffee Talk

Well, I might need to use the term “fireworks” a little loosely.  There was definitely fire, and excitement, that’s for sure.  I’m not sure if I would say “works,” per se… 

 Last night around 10 as Roja and I are sitting in the living room and deliberating on the urgency of bedtime, there was a substantial explosion from just outside of the front door to the condo.  The first “pop” was followed by a second and third and as I turned towards the (glass) door, there were sparks and fire shooting out of the electrical meter closet that services our’s and our neighbor’s condo units.  Smoke and the smell of burning plastic filled the foyer and we immediately started shutting off lights and appliances thinking that something was draining too much power from the closet. 

After a few more ”explosions” and the hiss and sizzle of an electrical fire, I called the DC Fire Department who came amazingly quickly.  They came down, took a look at the closet and proceeded to tell me that “yup, it looks like an electrical fire.  Something got burned up in there,” and that it was all up to Pepco at that point.  Pepco’s emergency team arrived within 20 minutes and started poking around in the closet to confirm that “yup, it looks like an electrical fire.  Something got burned up in there.  Looks like your breakers are on fire.”  “You mean, like, right now?”  “Yup! Hey, if you wouldn’t mind, can I take a look at your fuse panel, you know, if its not too inconvenient.”  Now, luckily I had just vacuumed and cleaned the other day and felt totally comfortable with some stranger walking into the house to prevent it from burning down.  There’s nothing more embarrassing than someone coming to service your flaming breakers and to see tumbleweeds of cat hair rolling across the living room floor like it is a barren waste land. 

The Pep(co) Boys determined that it wasn’t OUR breakers that were on fire, but our neighbors’ and that they would need to cut the power to service it.   I’m guessing that they went up to tell our neighbors that before they cut their power and that the next explosion that followed (while I was staring at the box moving some of the more flammable items out of the vicinity, mind you) was the result of an angry consumer jumping out of bed and flipping on a light switch to yell at whatever creep was at his door at 12 at night. 

Hi-jinks ensue as the Pep(co) Boys attempt to cut the power: