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Fixed your shoddy misquote. Kinda obvious that you'd prefer to misleadingly edit a post, instead of honestly and affirmatively address it, but no reason to let it slide:

Which home culture is that ScentCone? Your only specific example is DC, a jurisdiction under the explicit control of Congress, which is made up of individuals across the nation, so why are they failing to act to ensure DC schools are performing well? Were so many Congressional members subjected to this culture you castigate? Did you mean to say American culture is the problem?

No, congress does not run the DC school board or the DC school system. Which you know, though you're implying they do so you can cravenly dodge the substance of the matter. Nice attempt to avoid the reality of the situation.

Nope, Congress does have authority over DC, including the school board, as the Constitution explicitly states:

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States.

You know this, and can't argue it, but want to cravenly deflect the issue and avoid the reality of the situation. Congress could fix any problems in DC schools, if they wanted. They have the legal authority to do so. Your precious GOP has a majority in both houses, and the presidency. Why aren't they fixing it?

I cite DC because YOU, along with me, get to pay for a large portion of that very high per-student expense and its historically awful per-student results.

Nope, you didn't cite that as your reason, and it's not true, since DC actually pays more in federal taxes than 22 states, and a higher per capita rate, and receives less federal funding for its schools than many states.

Oh sure, you could argue that all DC taxes are federal taxes, but that's due to it being a federal entity empowered by the US Constitution. No escaping that one.

Shall we examine the exact same problem in Baltimore, or Detroit, or Chicago?All cities run for decades, of course, by liberal Democrats.

You may forget, but as I asked, what local culture does DC have, and how does it compare to the failing schools in Alabama, California, Texas, Florida, Indiana, Wisconsin, New York and elsewhere? They have failing schools, and no, they aren't universally run by liberal Democrats. For example, try this information. And in fact, in many states, like Tennessee, the schools are ultimately under state supervision, not a city government, so focusing on the city itself can be misleading.

In fact, as you've claimed in your posts, Republicans are in charge all over the place. So why haven't they fixed anything yet? Why can't they managed to be the shining city on the hill that's inspiring to us all? Did Ronald Reagan rest on his laurels and ignore the report? Was George W. Bush unable to handle the problem with his "compassionate conservativism" as he claimed?? Have the Republicans elected across the country been unable to come up with solutions?

Ah, but all you can do is blame the dreaded "liberal Democrats" the scourge you assert is what ails us, and you don't even have to use a thinly veiled dog-whistle for that, do you? You're allowed, ev

Every jurisdiction has stuff like that on occasion.

Yes, that's why I had quite a diversity of examples for the written confessions earlier, which is why they're very much unpersuasive.

Perhaps you forgot about that? That's probably the issue then, you forget why the police aren't winning the hearts and minds of America.

And they have themselves to blame.

Come back to me if they win *this* lawsuit.

You're the one who wants me to believe something.

But...it may take years before a matter is resolved.

So you'll pardon me, but nope, you're not offering sufficient argument.

Then again, that's why I said earlier, that James O'Keefe is the worst thing for the Conservatives, even IF he by chance, captured an actual homicide on tape, people would believe it to be faked.

Nah. He's a "reporter" specifically he's a reporter who had a hate-on for gamergate. Seems to be a running thing for these anti-gamergate people, everything that they accuse their ideological opponents of whether it be doxing, harassment, and so on. They're actually guilty of themselves. Whether it's Devin Faraci, Zoe Quinn or Randi Harper, same shitty people engaging in shit behavior.

Some more stuff on this very special individual.

White knights can often appear a bit creepy. That said though: #NotAllWhiteKnights

Nah. He's a "reporter" specifically he's a reporter who had a hate-on for gamergate. Seems to be a running thing for these anti-gamergate people, everything that they accuse their ideological opponents of whether it be doxing, harassment, and so on. They're actually guilty of themselves. Whether it's Devin Faraci, Zoe Quinn or Randi Harper, same shitty people engaging in shit behavior.

Some more stuff on this very special individual.

One would assume that even if an owner of such RFID device frequented these crowded places, instead of, say, commuting by car, he wouldn't be willing to pull the thing out in such environments.

One would be wrong.

DC Metro SmarTrip cards are an RFID device, as are many Federal Employee ID's. Many folks I see on the Metro keep both of them in a plastic sleeve or case on a lanyard hanging around their necks.

It would be very interesting to see what sort of data one could collect while riding the DC Metro.

Another is for all government interaction to be done in some electronic fashion with the screen displaying whatever language the user selects, probably up to and including Klingon.

If Klingon culture comes to voting, can I challenge the winner to a fight to the death if I don't approve of his policies? I'll wager that neither BHO or WMR have experience handling a Bat'leth.

Don't be so sure.

Hey, now, some folks live in DC; as opposed to the politicians who camp here for the nicer parts of the year, muck up local politics (so easy when the folks you're issuing policy for have no congressional vote, http://dcist.com/2012/05/on_constituent_day_rep_trent_franks.php ), and give the whole place a bad name. If you're going to brand us as the district of corruption, at least take a jab at our mayoral snafus.

oops, here is the link : http://dcist.com/2012/07/yes_you_can_photograph_the_popo.php

It's unlikely burglars carry scanners on their rounds. Maybe before and after, but during might get kind of cumbersome and noisy.

The DC police chief had this to say about it:

"Lanier stressed that new mobile technologies like scanner apps for phones made the move even more vital, and cited a number of cases where police suspected that criminals used scanners to stay ahead of police. A rash of carjackings in Capitol Hill in 2010 was facilitated by mobile scanners, she said, as was an alleged drug operation run out of a laundromat in the Seventh District, which covers Ward 8.

"When a potential criminal can ask how they can evade capture and there's an app for that, it's time to change our practices," she told Councilmember Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who chaired the hearing."

not abortion since its illegal for fed funds to go to abortion

Let's not let facts get in the way of that argument shall we?

The actual instructions for Tea Partiers says to avoid the Blue and Orange lines past Eastern Market. They can get to Smithsonian Station just fine. But if they're on the Red Line to begin with, then Farragut North is the better station to exit from anyway - no time wasted transferring and it avoids the cramped conditions (and innumerable clueless tourists) at Smithsonian. The only downside is they'll have to walk past a small park with a few scary, possibly ethnic homeless people. On the plus side, and quite ironically, a block later they'll pass near the White House.

P.S. The closest Metro station to the Lincoln Memorial is actually Foggy Bottom on the Blue/Orange Lines. But that means walking through seven city blocks (full of unpatriotic city folk) rather than a scenic walk down the Mall.

Here's another link (at the moment the Hampton Roads link is ./ed.) http://dcist.com/2010/05/omg_boobies_cant_be_on_a_state_seal.php

This new program starts in D.C. next week. . .

Can you say Police State? The Examiner has the scoop on a controversial new program announced today that would create so-called "Neighborhood Safety Zones" which would serve to partially seal off certain parts of the city. D.C. Police would set-up checkpoints in targeted areas, demand to see ID and refuse admittance to people who don't live there, work there or have a "legitimate reason" to be there. Wow. Just, wow.

Some of the words used to describe such a plan by those quoted in the Examiner story include "breathtaking" and "cockamamie," but that hardly begins to scratch the surface. Interim Attorney General Peter Nickles actually said that measures of this sort have "been used in other cities." Which cities are those, Mr. Nickles? Warsaw?

Today's proposal appears to be a desperate attempt by the city to tamp down recent violence that has ravaged the city, especially in Ward 5. The "Neighborhood Safety Zones" would last up to 10 days. It's a struggle to think of words to describe such a plan other than authoritarian or ghettoization.

The full description of this plan from the mayor's press release is below.

The Neighborhood Safety Zone initiative has been developed to help increase security for those who live in high-crime areas around the city and to help residents reclaim their communities. The program will authorize the Metropolitan Police Department to set up public safety checks to help safeguard community members and create safer neighborhoods in the District by increasing police presence aimed at deterring crime.

The safety zones will be established only upon request by a District Commander where there is evidence to support the existence of neighborhood violent crime, such as intelligence, violent crime data, police reports and feedback and concerns from the affected community.

Potential Neighborhood Safety Zones must be approved by the Chief of Police, and will be in effect for a maximum of 10 days. Public safety checks will be established along the main thoroughfares of the established neighborhoods. Anyone driving into a designated area may be asked to show valid identification with a home address in that neighborhood, or to provide an explanation for entering the NSZ, such as attending church, a doctor's appointment or visiting friends or relatives. Pedestrians will not be subject to the public safety checks.

"The Neighborhood Safety Zones is just another tool MPD will employ to stop crime before it happens. The Neighborhood Safety Zone initiative will help residents terrorized by violent crime to take back their neighborhoods," said Chief Lanier.

Initiatives such as the Neighborhood Safety Zones have been accepted by federal courts as a legitimate law enforcement practice in keeping with the Constitution's Fourth Amendment. The constitutionality of the NSZ initiative has been reviewed by the D.C. Office of the Attorney General.

The NSZ will be launched next week in the Trinidad area.

Now, here's an article from 2002, New York. The original link is dead, but the Internet Archive had it on file. . . Notice the difference in intensity? The new version of this program doesn't include guys mowing your lawn. What will be the next step in the process?

Clean Sweep gets praise

DC isn't considered a state. So we have limited voting rights.

It's why our license plates say "Taxation Without Representation".

"An operator who is properly secured by a seatbelt has a better chance of maintaining control of the vehicle in an emergency situation and of surviving a crash."

"I drive a race car for fun, not professionally (SpecE30 Mid-Atlantic #59). The first thing that they teach you in a car control clinic is that the primary purpose of your 3-point seatbelt or 5/6/7/8-point harness is to keep you in a position where you can control the vehicle; keeping you from vaulting through the windshield is just an added benefit. (Preventing serious injury requires airbags or an SFI 38.1-certified head and neck restraint system.)"

"Also, the safety belt helps belted drivers maintain control of the car by keeping them in the driver's seat. This increases the chance of preventing a second crash."

Obligatory Simpsons Reference #45,601

As long as paper is cheaper than video screens there will be free papers. Case in point, Washing, DC just gained a new free daily The Washington Examiner in the last month, and within the last two year the Washington Post launched its own freebie paper, The Express.

They both seem to have viable business models and in fact the Express has already decimated small group of targetted suburban papers that had cost $.35 which have now either gone out print, or or free depending on the suburban county each served. And the Post is finding that its free paper is doing better than it is. Though I think that growth will slow because of the Examiner which seems closer to a real newspaers (if one only on par to the NY Post or NY News) than the Express which consists entirely of heavily cropped wire stories. The Examiner at least has unique features and few of its own writers - plus it runs in depth wire stories, especially in SPORTS - which with the launch of the Washington Nationals should 'sell' a lot of free papers.