The Obama Apolog-O-Rama - Limerick by Leisure Lad

THE OBAMA APOLOG-ORAMA
Beat cop shed some tears
Advancing Skip Gates’s career
Seemed scant consolation
Viewed by the nation
Hanging w’ the Veep  and his non-alky beer
 

SCANDAL: DPR's DC Citywide Cheer and Pom-Pon Extravaganza is FIXED

The Washington, DC Department of Parks and Recreation held a citywide Cheerleading and Pom-Pon competition that had all the potential to be a great event. It fell flat when they changed the rules of the competition to ensure the two-time citywide champions, Shining Stars, were eliminated from the competition.

Hosted at the Stoddert Recreation Center, hundreds of Washington, DC residents from all over the city cheered their local girls as they shouted, tumbled and did lifts. Smiles were the order of the day. More than that, every team cheered for every other team each time. "We are proud of you!" rang out between team cheer routines.

And then it hit: the two-time city-wide pom-pon champions, Shining Stars, were told that the rules to the competition had changed and the routine they had rehearsed for six weeks put them in the other division, cheerleading, two days before the event. It was too late to change their routine and they were unprepared for the new category.

"We didn't stand a chance in the division they put us in," said the pom-pon captain for Stoddert's Shining Stars Selena Shea. "K'Yanna Blackwell should get fired." K'Yanna Blackwell was responsible for organizing the event.

The Shining Stars were in tears and the pom-pon championship went to another team. On top of that, after denying the Shining Stars their opportunity to compete fairly based on a rule change, there was no copy of the new rules available at the event for anyone to review.

"Stoddert is Fenty's rec center and she disrespected it. She was not supporting the team. Probably she did change the rules to stop Stoddert." observed Ms. Shea.

Ms. Blackwell told Rosendale to say their chant five or more times and didn't ask anyone else to say theirs. Shining Stars got a third place trophy after the event was finished as consolation. Pom-pon captain Selena Shea said. "I feel horrible about competing again, but I am going to compete anyway even though there was a rule change and it might have been because of my team."



This issue is not to take away from the great work and energy of the girls at the competition. Before the unfair ruling, the event was fun and it was great to see the girls doing their routines. The Tigers were another team to watch. Here's a photo of them lining up before competing.



Try Varsity.com for all things cheeleader.

Rosedale Recreation Center had its own cheering section, and after seeing them do lifts and tumbles it was easy to see why. They clearly have been working on their routine for a long time and did a tremendous amount of work on it. The whole event could have been fantastic for everyone. No one is helped by reducing the level of competition.

But the Stoddert Recreation Center's Shining Stars were treated unfairly and then no rules were shown at the event to demonstrate that the truth was, in fact, being told.

Louis Farrakhan Limerick by Leisure Lad

Louis Farrakhan’s curious vision
Stated with such derision
Honkeys  spawned in a tube
By Dr. Yakub
Gives Western Civ such precision
 
 

Bill Cosby Limerick by Leisure Lad

William Cosby was a comedic fellow
Till he mislaid his charming mellow
“I’m  critic and savior
Of proper inner city behavior”
Shoulda stuck to Fat Albert and Jello

The Obama Apolog-O-Rama - Limerick by Leisure Lad

THE OBAMA APOLOG-ORAMA
Beat cop shed some tears
Advancing Skip Gates’s career
Seemed scant consolation
Viewed by the nation
Hanging w’ the Veep  and his non-alky beer
 

Tea Party Limerick from Leisure Lad

The Tea Party geezers familiar refrain
"Why insure the slackers who play?"
But if we made it fair
And cut their Medicare
There'd be quite different protests today.

SCANDAL: DPR's DC Citywide Cheer and Pom-Pon Extravaganza is FIXED

The Washington, DC Department of Parks and Recreation held a citywide Cheerleading and Pom-Pon competition that had all the potential to be a great event. It fell flat when they changed the rules of the competition to ensure the two-time citywide champions, Shining Stars, were eliminated from the competition.

Hosted at the Stoddert Recreation Center, hundreds of Washington, DC residents from all over the city cheered their local girls as they shouted, tumbled and did lifts. Smiles were the order of the day. More than that, every team cheered for every other team each time. "We are proud of you!" rang out between team cheer routines.

And then it hit: the two-time city-wide pom-pon champions, Shining Stars, were told that the rules to the competition had changed and the routine they had rehearsed for six weeks put them in the other division, cheerleading, two days before the event. It was too late to change their routine and they were unprepared for the new category.

"We didn't stand a chance in the division they put us in," said the pom-pon captain for Stoddert's Shining Stars Selena Shea. "K'Yanna Blackwell should get fired." K'Yanna Blackwell was responsible for organizing the event.

The Shining Stars were in tears and the pom-pon championship went to another team. On top of that, after denying the Shining Stars their opportunity to compete fairly based on a rule change, there was no copy of the new rules available at the event for anyone to review.

"Stoddert is Fenty's rec center and she disrespected it. She was not supporting the team. Probably she did change the rules to stop Stoddert." observed Ms. Shea.

Ms. Blackwell told Rosendale to say their chant five or more times and didn't ask anyone else to say theirs. Shining Stars got a third place trophy after the event was finished as consolation. Pom-pon captain Selena Shea said. "I feel horrible about competing again, but I am going to compete anyway even though there was a rule change and it might have been because of my team."



This issue is not to take away from the great work and energy of the girls at the competition. Before the unfair ruling, the event was fun and it was great to see the girls doing their routines. The Tigers were another team to watch. Here's a photo of them lining up before competing.



Try Varsity.com for all things cheeleader.

Rosedale Recreation Center had its own cheering section, and after seeing them do lifts and tumbles it was easy to see why. They clearly have been working on their routine for a long time and did a tremendous amount of work on it. The whole event could have been fantastic for everyone. No one is helped by reducing the level of competition.

But the Stoddert Recreation Center's Shining Stars were treated unfairly and then no rules were shown at the event to demonstrate that the truth was, in fact, being told.

The Hip Hop iHop in Columbia Heights

The new iHop opened in Columbia Heights and it's success can be seen in the hungry-for-pancakes customers waiting on the sidewalk for a chance to eat. Designer jeans, flash and bling, and a restaurant filled to capacity with shoppers and local fashionistas.

It better be open 24 hours. I love the DC is slowly becoming a 24 hour town. Isn't it great that there is now someplace open at 3 a.m. besides the Steak -n- Eggs Kitchen on Wisconsin? You can buy groceries in Georgetown all night long or hang out at the Attached Starbucks until dawn.

With all the hip and pricey restaurants being opened in Columbia Heights, any place offering decent food at a decent price is going to make a killing. One by one, the reasonably-priced places to eat have gone from the DC restaurant scene. Let this hip hop iHop begin a reversal of that trend.

Hooray for the Washington, DC DMV!

I completely updated my driver's registration online - even though it expired several weeks ago! And I changed my registration address. I've been living here since January 30, 2010, and have not updated my registration address simply because I didn't feel like taking a trip to the DMV. Well, it seems they didn't want me there, either. That's fine. My feelings aren't hurt. In fact, you couldn't renew your registration in person at the DMV if you tried. It has to be done by mail or online.

Other services provided by our DMV:

Renew Driver's License
Renew ID Card
Renew Vehicle Registration and Residential Parking
Schedule Road Test
Pay Tickets
Locate Towed Vehicle
DMV Online Address Change

You don't even have to leave your home to fight a ticket anymore. See Adjudication Services
Ticket Payments
Ticket Installment Plan Payment
Schedule Minor Moving and Photo Enforcement Hearings
Fleet Payments
Email Ticket Alert Service

Human Trafficking Arrests Around the Globe

FBI-led raids rescue 69 child prostitutes
By Jerry Seper
The Washington Times
November 8, 2010

Sixty-nine children in 40 cities were freed from forced prostitution this weekend in a multi-state sweep dubbed Operation Cross Country V. The sweep resulted in 885 arrests. The effort targeted truck stops, casinos, street tracks and Internet websites, based on intelligence gathered by the FBI and its local and state law enforcement partners, along with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

To read the rest of the story, click here.
UN Launches Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking
UNOCD Press Release
November 4, 2010

Last Thursday, the United Nations launched a new fund to provide humanitarian, legal and financial aid to victims of human trafficking. The Governments of Qatar, Luxembourg, Egypt and Thailand were among the first nations to make pledges to the newly-established fund, which will be managed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The fund has also attracted non-government donors, such as Orascom Telecom Executive Chairman Naguib Sawiris. Celebrity activists Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher spoke at the launch event.


Speed up Trafficking Cases, says Philippines Supreme Court
Dateline Philippines
November 9, 2010

The Philippines Supreme Court has issued an order to regional trial court judges to speed up the hearing and resolution of human trafficking cases. The order, SC Circular No. 151-2010, specifies a faster hearing schedule and new reporting requirements. The move came amidst concerns that insufficient convictions could caused the Philippines to be moved to Tier 3 of US State Department's Trafficking ratings, which would cost the country $250m in lost US aid.


Indictment: Somali gangs trafficked girls for sex
Amy Forliti
Associated Press
November 8, 2010

A newly unsealed federal indictment charges twenty-nine people with ties to three Somali gangs in Minneapolis with allegedly forcing girls younger than 14 into prostitution in Ohio, Minnesota and Tennessee. The indictment asserts that the sex trafficking ring had been operating for 10 years.


Police Bust Trafficking Ring Supplying Germany, Italy, Switzerland
Sofia News Agency
November 6, 2010

The Bulgarian police have arrested two men and one woman who allegedly trafficked women to Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. They lured unemployed and poor persons with promises for better life, and transported them to Germany, Italy, and Switzerland, where they were enslaved for prostitution.

Fight Sex Slave Trafficking Here in DC

We REALLY need your help this month!

There are 3 great organizations competing for funds in various categories for the Pepsi Refresh Contest, including FAIRFund, She Shall Go Free and Survivors Connect.

We all have the opportunity to receive a $50K grant this month, but we cannot do it alone. As part of the Pepsi Refresh Contest, were asking that EVERYDAY for the month of November you vote twice for each of them, once online and once by SMS/Text. It is super easy, there is no cost and it will take 30 seconds or... less! You get 10 votes a day so please consider giving all groups your vote, and do it daily!

Additionally, we need support in spreading the word to encourage voting. For Survivors Connect in particular, our work is
going to establish 3 SMS-based helpline systems to support victims of human trafficking in California, in collaboration with leading service-providing organizations. Since our non profit is still in start-up phase, this amount of money is crucial to getting us started.

The top 10 organizations in each category receiving the highest number of votes on November 30th will win the $50K prize. Please take a quick second to invite your friends, mass-text and help us win :-)

Here's how to do it!!

TO VOTE:
ONLINE: Go to http://www.refresheverything.com/survivorsconnect
BY TEXT: Text 103695 to Pepsi (73774)

Here's the APP on Facebook: http://apps.facebook.com/pepsirefresh/idea/view/id/0eaab236-6832-102d-a65f-0019b9b9e205?ref=mf

Here's the short URL (good for Twitter): http://pep.si/ae59jN

Here are the Links to FAIR Fund and She Shall Go Free: http://www.refresheverything.com/fairfund http://www.refresheverything.com/ssgf

Sober Nerds - Free Book at Lulu.com

Sober nerds is about a collection of odd and interesting people that one tends to find in recovery. The author made the book free for download.

The book jacket:

"Irv is an unrepentant thief AND a recovering drunkard... Gus the Ghost must haunt the New Orbit Club for all eternity…Nora, having gotten off the sauce, but still lonely, finds recovering alcoholic men are so STRANGE…Teenage Troy is gay as a goose, but sober as a judge, what a combination. Andy knows that until he is taken seriously as a screenwriter, no one (including the manager of the restaurant where he waits tables) will let him use his fake English accent. THEY'RE SOBER NERDS!"

Check it out: Sober Nerds.

ATTACK on Rally for Sanity by Drinkingwithbob

YouTube's Drinkingwithbob is a powerful voice for anger and outrage, and he turns all his talents on denouncing the Rally for Sanity. He's always fun to listen to and often is funny as well. I will admit to being a fan, although I rarely agree with his political opinions.

VOTE Tuesday for DC Attorney General !!

Washington, DC does not have an elected Attorney General. Right now, the Attorney General is appointed by the Mayor. The problem with that is conflict of interest. If the Attorney General owes his political job to the Mayor, how likely is the AG to prosecute corruption in the District government? Not very.

On Tuesday, the citizens of the District of Columbia will vote on whether or not they want to elect their Attorney General. Please, go out and vote on this important issue.

There is an important balance between branches of government. And the kind of cockiness that leads a mayor to appoint his frat buddies to important positions depends on a reasonable confidence that there will never be a criminal investigation.

I know people in the non-profit world who have worked with Washington, DC's incoming mayor when he ran a non-profit here. They told me he was one of the sleaziest people they have ever met. Time will tell if that is true.

All I know is that the city would be a whole lot better off if the person deciding to prosecute corrupt officials was not beholden to any of them.

End Times in Glover Park

Has anyone else noticed the invasion of garter snakes in Glover Park? They are all over the place, making the grass move and flopping on the sidewalk.

This section of the city has much more grass than Columbia Heights, for instance. It may be just that I am unused to the level of nature that comes with that. On the other hand, I haven't seen a rat since I moved here in January.

But aside from all naturalistic musing, isn't it true that snakes all over the place is a signal of end times?

Facebook Page Tells Tea Party Freaks About Real Taxation Without Representation!

All right, all right. Maybe I'm a little moody tonight. Still, how can those tea party people shout about taxation without representation and not be in favor of DC statehood? Talk about taxation without representation!

Hey, let's post the DC Taxation Without Representation Facebook page on Tea Party Facebook pages. I mean, they won't be obviously that hypocritical, will they?

But of course, no one in the tea party is interested in a real "taxation without representation" issue. Especially if it involves a lot of black people. Great article in Rolling Stone about Tea Partiers. They are deeply offended if you imply they are racist. Every one of them interviewed for the article said "some of my friends are black." Well, that settles it.

The abiding suspicion among my bluish friends is that the Tea Party is really upset that their cultural revolution has failed. The clock did not turn back to a daydreamy time of security that never really existed in the first place. If the Tea Party was painting a true picture, it would include the nuclear war drills for schoolchildren known as "duck and cover." Hiding under your desk and putting your arms over your head wouldn't really do anything to protect you though.

Washington, DC suffers from it's lack of Congressional representation. If the Tea Party types are for real, let them fight for us. If they are not really racist or reverse elitists, let them fight for us.

I'm holding my breath.

Big Vote For DC on November 2!

November 2nd is a very important voting day for DC residents. There is an initiative on the ballot for DC residents to elect their own District Attorney. Right now the Attorney General for DC is appointed by the Mayor.

I'm just waiting for the day when DC can act like any other city and demand that it's firemen and police officers live here as well as work here. Every other major city in the country does it. And with good reason. Those tax dollars stay in the city and don't spill out to the suburbs. Bleh. Don't those people know they'd be nothing without the District?

And would the Mayor be so keen on giving his friends lucrative city contracts if he didn't appoint the Attorney General?

Those jerk face suburban Congressmen have trashed the city long enough. Let's cut their power supply. Yeah!

Geothermal Energy in DC Affordable Housing

Geothermal heating for a housing project originally built for veterans after WWII, Wheeler Terrace has been retrofitted to use green energy.

You never think of DC for geothermal heating and cooling. It's always Iceland or someplace like that. And you certainly don't think of affordable housing, either.

But here it is in DC, "Located in the Washington Highlands community, Wheeler Terrace is the first affordable housing complex in the District expected to meet both the Enterprise Green Communities Criteria for affordable housing and the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold standard." from The Washington Informer.

The innovation is expected to bring a 25% reduction in energy consumption for Wheeler Terrace. Pretty good!

DC Cab Drivers as Political Force

Vincent C. Gray, winner of DC's Democratic primary, had significant help from DC cab drivers. It seems that many prospective cab drivers drove voters to the polls for Tuesday's primary.

Cab drivers have long been kicked around in DC. For years there was a zone system that favored anyone traveling from a Congressional office to a Federal building. As in, it only cost three dollars. Talking to those cab drivers was great. The powerful riders spoke as if the cab drivers weren't there at all, much less that they could understand what was being said. Think: what elitism! What information! What fun!

So no surprise that Congressional pressure resulted in DC cab drivers getting stiffed on fair rates for years. After all, they were the help.

So now cabdrivers have found their teeth. Good for them. And let future candidates take heed.

DC's Fashion Night Out

DC and fashion are rarely used in the same sentence together.  Our somber government culture pushes itself on to DC fashion choices - especially color.  The one color guaranteed to drive Washington women wild is navy blue.  At one point, even I had to ask "Do I really need ANOTHER navy blue blazer?" 

While not as star-studded as New York City's Fashion Night Out, in Georgetown there were lots of fashionistas stomping around in their high heels and hot outfits with the boyfriend in tow, who was wearing something nice for a change. You could tell by the fidgeting.

Even the second-hand shop was open and I got a fox stole. The rest of the evening was spent trying to imagine how I would wear it during the upcoming cooler months. I might even have to knit something to help show off the new purchase. What a fun idea to have all the clothing stores open and parties everywhere. Thank you, Anna Wintour. 

The sidewalks in Georgetown were clogged with people waiting in line to get in to some store or other. But the sidewalk itself seemed to be a party venue. People were having fun in place. The coffee house at Wisconsin and P streets had a jazz trio playing cool blues, a great backdrop to small, extravagant purchases. The best events are always the ones that fire the imagination, anyway. DC's Fashion Night Out certainly did that. Can't wait for next year!