The driver behind me, in a light-gold newish Cadillac, laid on his horn and waved his hands at me from inside the car. I gave a shrug to say “what do you want me to do?” There was no room to pass the stopped traffic on the right, and I wasn’t going to dart out against traffic in the eastbound lane of Florida just to save a few seconds. The driver got out of his car, and we had the following conversation:

Driver: “Get your cracker-ass off the road, I’m trying to get my kids to school!”

Me: “Give me a *ucking break, there’s a red light, where do you want me to go?”

Driver: “On the *ucking sidewalk, you’re lucky my kids are here, or I’d beat your ass.”

The driver was ready to continue this conversation, but at this point, the light had turned green and I was on my way. This exchange left a particularly sour taste in my mouth. Yes, I realize I did not respond in a way to diffuse the situation—that’s just what came out at the moment. I’ve been mulling this over though, trying to figure out what it’s about. Did the 4 feet of space of Florida Ave that me and my bike take up seriously delay this guy from dropping his kids off at school?

Was it really necessary to resort to a nasty racial slur (and in front of his kids)?

Writes a friend of mine in a conversation on Google Reader*:

I'm wondering what the world would be like if every time a black person had an experience with racism they told someone about it who then published it on the Internet.

*Dear Google: Reader is useful! Don't kill it!

Photo by Mike Hicks

A Dupont Circle resident writes in to Prince of Petworth with a dilemma about a restauranteur whose establishment is behind his house; the chef keeps trespassing on his property and stealing his parking space.

What’s the recourse for something like this? It doesn’t seem serious enough to get the police involved, but I’m tired of having to go into his restaurant to yell at him in front of his customers to move his car.

The recourse, obviously, is to write a passive-aggressive, anonymous complaint about the guy to a popular neighborhood blog.

This has been a grass plot between the bridge to Dupont Circle and the on ramp to Rock Creek Parkway for as long as I can remember. Do you think a building could be going up here?

The short answer: No. No building is going up on the National Park Service land between the Omni Shoreham Hotel and the William Howard Taft Bridge.

There is, however, a big storm sewer separation project underway in the neighborhoods bordering Rock Creek. Says D.C. Water:

The Rock Creek Sewer Separation project is one of the first projects included in the DC Water and Sewer Authority's (DC Water) Long Term Control Plan (LTCP). The LTCP is required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to lessen pollution from combined sewer overflows (CSOs). DC Water is required to separate the single combined sewers into separate sanitary and storm sewers for the drainage basins serving four specific overflow locations.

As Washington City Paper detailed in a 2005 cover story, the District has had an ugly history with its combined sewage system:

“Combined” means that a single pipe carries both storm water (including anything washing off the street, such as rain, leaking auto fuel, lost Frisbees, and dog excrement) and liquid sewage (including all waste produced by households, restaurants, hotels, and other businesses) to wherever they are going.

During periods of intense rain, the current system can't handle all the liquid volume and it ends up being flushed into local waterways like Rock Creek. After the project is complete, the separated sewage systems should flush all the bad stuff to the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant.

So, Prince of Petworth readers, now you know. And knowing is, of course, half the battle.

Yesterday, Fenty declared that the streets were 90 percent cleared. If they weren't, he tapped the Peaceoholics to jump in and give an assist on removing snow from bus stops, pesky side streets, etc. Fenty swears that your commute will have gone or will go smoothly today. He tells WaPo:

"After hundreds of plow crews spent the weekend scraping, scooping and hauling away snow, Fenty said Monday that the city has made significant progress in freeing snow-clogged streets

'We are down to pavement on virtually every residential street,' Fenty said."

Yesterday, Prince of Petworth walked through virtually all of Northwest. You can check out his findings via his Twitter account. Around the time Fenty was telling the press that 90 percent of the roads were clear including all the major routes, PoP reported:

"Just walked to gtown from petworth all roads a mess don't drive if u don't have too!"

And later:

"Wisconsin ave is particularly bad for cars"

And yet, deep in the WaPo piece, the reporters note that some on the D.C. Council wondered if Fenty should have reached out to the Feds. Councilmember Jim Graham recounted his conversation with the mayor. It's an eye-opener (emphasis added):

"Graham said when he asked Fenty about requesting resources from President Obama, the mayor replied, 'What would they have provided us?'

'I said, 'They could have provided soldiers from Fort Meyer,' 'Graham recalled. 'If it had been a riot, they would have.'"

Fenty wouldn't dare think of asking the feds for help. But he'll call on the Peaceoholics. Amazing. So how do you rate Fenty's snow-removal performance today?

Yesterday John Catoe, the suddenly retiring general manager of Metro, sat down with 11 local bloggers, including folks from Greater Greater Washington, We Love DC, and Prince of Petworth. Some of these people have already written up their meetings.

"I'm a little dumbfounded," says We Love DC's Tom Bridge of Catoe's resignation. "We had no indication at all that he would even consider it."

"I'm sort of speechless right now" says Prince of Petworth's Dan Silverman. Catoe, he says, sat down with the bloggers at around 5:15 last night and talked with them until about 6:30. Silverman says they talked "about everything under the sun." There wasn't, he says, "the slightest indication of an announcement of a retirement."

At one point, Silverman says, Catoe told the group about a new program to move Metro supervisors to "at will" status, meaning they can be fired more easily if they screw up.

"There was a point where he kinda jokingly said 'some people might ask why am I not at will,'" Silverman says.

"On a scale of zero to very very strange, I would say we’re at the top of that scale," says Bridge.

Dave Stroup, who has called for Catoe's resignation on why.i.hate.dc, says he was initially surprised at Catoe's candor yesterday. "I thought maybe they decided they should put a human face on himthat drone," he says. [15:59: Stroup says I misheard him.]

"I will say he did seem genuinely bothered—like it was getting to him," Stroup says. "That he was taking it personally that the system was not running. References to the June 22 crash, you could tell it got to him and it was hard for him to deal with that."

Stroup's been pounding on Catoe for a while, putting a ticker on why.i.hate.dc dating from last June's Red Line crash with John Catoe's picture below it. He didn't talk about this with Catoe yesterday, even as the two shared an elevator on their way out of the building. "I’ve definitely learned tact can wait," Stroup says.

Matt Johnson of Greater Greater Washington says he's pleased that Catoe's resignation didn't come up yesterday. "I'm sort of glad," he writes in an e-mail. "It would have dominated the conversation otherwise."

You mean you're pleased you could talk about fares and at-will employment policies instead? I replied.

"I think so, yes," Johnson writes. "While Mr. Catoe's vision for Metro is no longer as relevant, we were able to discuss how the situation of the present will affect any possible future Metro can have."

He adds: "I am concerned about how a replacement will deal with the budget crisis. It certainly a situation no one wants to come into as a GM."

Today, however, we return to links to teachers bitching about Michelle Rhee, those random crime stats in that made-up neighborhood, and some important, breaking burrito news in a slowly gentrifying renaissance zone. Well, no burrito news today, but you know what we mean.

Harry Potter and the Urban School Nightmare writes about Rhee and blame:

"I think I just solved Michelle Rhee's PR problems.

OK, not me so much as two researchers from California whose study argues that blaming other people is contagious. This article gives details about the study, which found that when people were exposed to articles by people who blamed failure on others rather than accepting responsibility, the subjects were more likely to blame others for their own personal (and totally unrelated) failures. I'm not sure I'm doing the study justice, so read the article."

14th and You has the lowdown on a crime meeting in Shaw with Phil Mendelson that yielded more fingerpointing than results.

Left for LeDroit writes about fractals. Fractals!

At Congress Heights on the Rise, The Advoc8te talks tough with fellow Ward 8 activists by offering this message: Stop with the crabby, selfish, counterproductive attitudes and actions!

"Don’t get me wrong. I love Ward 8. I really, really do love Ward 8, but sometimes navigating through the dysfunction, childishness and jealousy (that’s right I said it) of community politics is like watching children fighting over a toy. They would rather break it than share it.

What is this crap of ‘old residents vs. new residents’ or ‘middle class vs. working class’ or ‘East of the River vs. River East’? It’s nothing but a diversion; a diversion to keep us busy fighting each other instead of working together to solve real problems like homelessness, illiteracy and unemployment. If you live in Ward 8  then you are my neighbor – it's that simple. It is time to smarten up people. Stop letting third-parties play our community for fools. Let’s stop playing to the stereotype. Let’s stop being crabs!"

The 42 has details on this weekend's Holiday Booty Market, featuring local indie designers. (Note: This event is not affiliated with the Booty Wall at Howard University.)

Someone with noisy, asshole neighbors writes in to Prince of Petworth seeking advice.

We don't know what The New Teacher on the Block is up to, since she has made her blog private. Email her at newteacherontheblock (at) gmail.com to see if she'll give you an invite.

And, if you like, follow me on Twitter.

Cappuccino photo by Jazzbobrown, Creative Commons Attribution License

It’s an early Saturday afternoon inside the cozy basement café at Politics & Prose bookstore on Connecticut Avenue NW. I’ve been here awhile – a good long while.

I arrive with my laptop and a yellow legal pad before 10 a.m. and install myself at one of the little tables along the wall that leads to the stacks. After ordering a cappuccino, I fire up my computer and get right to work. When the battery wanes, I fish around behind a pedestal holding a lamp and find an electrical outlet to plug into. There is even an extension cord handy – what convenience!

All the while, I nurse the same cappuccino. Eventually, what was lacey white foam has congealed into a dingy crust around the porcelain cup.

Every now and then, I catch the gaze of one of the baristas – a woman with long brown hair and tattoos, who keeps up an incessant banter with the other barista, while the patrons come and go with their coffee drinks, bagels, soup of the day.

There she goes again. She’s giving me the eye, the sign that the coffee shop staff has made you – that you are bagged, spotted, scoped, identified as a Wi-Fi loafer, one of those Internet-surfing freeloaders who arrives early, orders little, and stays all day.

Sometimes referred to as “digital nomads,” the café vagabonds have inspired countless features and were even toasted in the Washington Post as harbingers of a future business culture, in which we will all one day be untethered from bland cubicles and dreary office parks.

No sooner has digital nomad culture been feted as trendsetting, however, than it has become apparent that not everyone is so happy with the Wi-Fi wanderers who move between establishments such as the Big Bear in Bloomingdale, Tryst in Adams Morgan and Mid-City Caffé in Columbia Heights.

One could assume that coffee shops lose money on these one-cuppa customers who spread out across tabletops from breakfast through teatime. There are signs that this has been the case. Some popular establishments like Tryst have turned off the Wi-Fi on weekends, while others contract with Internet providers that allow them to dole out the online access an hour or two at a time and only to paying customers.

And the issue has sparked heated debate among customers as well. Just check out the eruption on Prince of Petworth earlier this month when one local nomad expressed “shock” upon hearing that Sticky Fingers Bakery had banished Internet service on Saturdays.

While people voice strong views online, where they remain comfortably anonymous, the same issues are rarely aired in real time and face-to-face.

Take my experience at Politics & Prose’s café. Despite my suspicions about the eye, I’m left to my online reverie as the morning coffee and pastry crowd comes and goes – many without even sitting down – followed by some gatherings of mommies with baby strollers in tow, the dads with young kids who are stopping in after Saturday morning sports practice, and a few other laptop luggers like myself. They eventually are joined by late-rising American University students, here to rehash the night before and plot the one ahead. The students are holding fast to their table too but sans computers.

My crusty coffee cup forgotten at the corner of my screen, I’m open season for the Upper Northwest matrons who just popped in. They’ve come for lunch but, by now, all the tables are taken. So one of the women sidles up to mine and asks: “Are you going to be staying long?”

Her companion looks slightly mortified by her friend’s nerve. My inquisitor rolls her eyes, as if to acknowledge the breaking of a social code. But her look says she is more displeased by my audacity at hogging a scarce patch of coffee shop real estate more than her own cheek at trying to nudge my computer and me toward the door.

This is the first real challenge I’ve had in several weeks of Internet loafing.  My first reaction: shame. I am taken aback by the woman’s righteous indignation. After all, it cannot be denied that I am hogging table space from customers who are willing to plunk down lots more money than the two bucks and change I spent on a cappuccino several hours ago.

I mumble faintly: “Yes, yes, I’m planning to stay.”

The barista looks over and gives me the eye again. Or is she?  At some point it becomes hard to distinguish whether you’re getting the eye or simply projecting – “They’re thinking I’m a Wi-Fi loafer! Right now, they are thinking, ‘what a deadbeat!’”

Then, I snap out of it, remembering I’m not just some Wi-Fi loafer, I am a Wi-Fi loafer on assignment. Confessions of a Wi-Fi Loafer—that's the title of this series.

I have not resorted to such guerrilla reporting tactics lightly. I tried the standard interviewing techniques. But café owners are understandably reluctant to publicly dis their customers – even the Wi-Fi moocher variety. And, who in their right mind – especially in this status-oriented city – is going to allow a reporter to identify them on the record as an Internet café idler, an exploiter of bandwidth and table space?

Ever the dedicated public service journalist, and with few other avenues open to me, I have taken it upon myself to become the ultimate Wi-Fi loafer. I’m your faithful correspondent on the frontlines of cafes in every corner of the city wherever Internet connections and electrical outlets beckon and coffee is sold. Please feel free to share your own Internet loafing experiences or your feelings – either for or against the loafers you have encountered.  You can post them here or email me at thegreendistrict@gmail.com.

Happy NaBloPoMo! Or for the less tech-savvy: National Blog Posting Month. Apparently, there are bloggers who have vowed to post every day for the month of November! Don’t worry, slacker-bloggers with other responsibilities—City Desk has plenty of posts to go around. That’s what interns are for.

The New York Times is asking readers to look back at the year since President Barack Obama’s election and sum up their mood. As of Tuesday night, Democrats are “hopeful,” “proud,” and “thankful.” Republicans are “suspicious,” “depressed,” and… “unsurprising.” Please assign grammar lessons to those unsurprising Republicans. Also, Republicans can add some new words today after last night's election returns. Bob McDonnell!

At 12:01 a.m., the National Park Service debuted its new online lottery for the National Christmas Tree ceremony tickets. There are some 10,000 tickets available, and the lottery closes Friday. On the plus side: No more fending off tourists and huddling in the cold for hours to see a tree lit. On the downside: Did anyone actually think this through? Thousands upon thousands logging into one government-run Web page? I’d start bundling up the kiddies.  

The Washington Business Journal reported yesterday that D.C. is home to some of the nation’s lowest and highest unemployment rates. In September, unemployment in Ward 8 was at 28.3 percent, while Ward 3 was at 3.2 percent.

But more important, there is apparently a good reason the elevators are always broken in my dorm: All the tuition money went to former George Washington University president Stephen Trachtenberg. The average university head takes home around $359,000 a year. Trachtenberg received $3.7 million a year for his 19 years—$2 million more than any other university president. Unsurprisingly, on Tuesday 66 percent of NBC Washington readers were “furious.” And 6 percent marked their reaction as “thrilled.”

Were these the same 6 percent “furious” Obama is holding babies?

According to the blogger at 14^th and You, someone broke into her car—apparently to steal an ice-scraper and some mid-Atlantic maps. It’s a tough time to be a NaBloPoMo’er.

Prince of Petworth has a post bemoaning a certain dog walker. Apparently, “at 14 dogs at a time, this isn’t attention or exercise for your dog. Just a factory.” Besides doing some intense division concerning poops per minute, commenters also said the following:

“Kudos, dogwalkerman.”

“With the success of “Nanny Cams”, now comes “Dog Walker Cam.”

“I recognize a couple of these dogs…the owners pay $20 a day. Oh are they going to be pissed.”

“Prince of Petworth, you should become a dog walker on the side to supplement your meager blogging funds!”

And that’s the roundup. I'm locking my car and stealing some puppies.

Image: Web shot of New York Times page

Now, as the Prince of Petworth has relayed in two recent blog posts, the local ANC 1A will be considering a new proposal on Wednesday night.  The Mission is trying a more moderate tack for the space, which it owns: retail combined with affordable housing.

Seems like a pretty un-contentious proposal. But if PoP’s comments section is any indication, the meeting will be, well, interesting. Some neighborhood residents are rather frank about who they don’t want moving in next door. One commenter writes:

“Can someone explain to me why poor people need to get subsidized ‘affordable’ housing in expensive neighborhoods? There’s a ton of affordable housing in DC as is – it’s called NE and across the river.”

“'Affordable Housing' = artificially concentrated poverty, more crime,” another says. “Build your projects in Georgetown, don’t dump on our neighborhood just because we’re not as rich.”

Another commenter suggested that the proposed development is actually a devious bait-and-switch by the Christian charity, still scheming to slip a homeless shelter into Parkview:

“What they are trying to do is very transparent. They want to get the special exception and build the building and then change the use to a shelter for men. Georgia Avenue will be doomed if this happens.”

ANC 1A chair Cliff Valenti, who fought the shelter plans last year, is supporting the current proposal. At the meeting tomorrow, he plans to assure the concerned blog commenters that their worries about incoming “projects” and “poor people” are unfounded.

“There’s a lot of confusion with people as to what ‘affordable housing’ means,” he told the Washington City Paper over the phone. “Where people get confused is when federal vouchers come in. This proposal says nothing about those vouchers. This is truly housing for people who have jobs, who are working.”

Valenti said he also expects reassurance from the Mission that they won’t transform the building into a homeless shelter after the proposal is approved.

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE

*The Washington Times condemns Rep. Jim Moran for "champion[ing] the idea of bringing terrorists like 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and other al Qaeda detainees to historic Alexandria." Back in March, our own Amanda Hess noted the furor over a sex shop that threatened to undermine the dignity—nay, the decency—of Old Town Alexandria. First a naughty boutique, then political detainees—what's next? According to the Times: "the nuclear waste that Nevada won't take."

*D.C. Police report that 82-year-old James Booker went missing from his home in the 1700 block of Irving Street NE:

James L. Booker is described as a light to medium complexioned black male, 6’ 3” tall, weighing approximately 160 pounds, and is nearly bald with some gray hair. He has a mustache and may be wearing eyeglasses. He was last seen wearing a blue and gray jacket, black pants, and a black baseball cap with the word, “Veteran" on it. He is in need of medication and may appear to be disoriented. Anyone with information regarding Mr. Booker’s whereabouts is asked to call police at 202-727-9099.

*Tonight's City Paper pick: Point Juncture, WA at the Black Cat.

*New Columbia Heights commemorates Limerick Day by writing his own:

There once was a man from the Heights
Who liked to get in fights.
He went to Wonder-bar
Drank beer for many hour
then wished he'd only had Sprite.

Endearing—but Edward Lear he ain't.

*Prince of Petworth was "stunned by the beauty of this place."

*Mr. T in DC misses his jet-setting wife. And so does their dog!

*THE BLOGOSPHERE REACTS: Arlen Specter (R-PA D-PA), facing a strong 2010 primary push from Republican congressman Pat Toomey, switches parties, giving the Dems a quasi-60-seat presence in the Senate. This has the 'sphere all riled up. For some spirited commentary, visit Robert Stacey McCain's  blog ("Specter reminds me of the high-school slut trying to sleep her way to popularity") or Gateway Pundit, where RNC Chair Michael Steele is quoted as saying "Republicans look forward to beating Sen. Specter in 2010, assuming the Democrats don't do it first." President Obama, meanwhile, pledges his "full support" to Specter.  Which could include campaigning for him in a Democratic primary.

*Obama's "no-news press conference doesn't impress" the Washington Times. Snap!

*Best quote from last night's Daily Show was Jon Stewart on the American conscience (and I paraphrase):

Don't get me wrong; I wanted to clone Bin Laden so we could kill him once a year at the Super Bowl halftime show....  But I want my country to be better than me.

*HOMICIDE IN 4300 BLOCK OF WHEELER RD. SE: Decedent identified as Richard B. Robinson.  D.C. Police:

At approximately 12:08 am, on Tuesday, April 28, 2009, members assigned to the Department’s Seventh District responded to the 4300 block of Wheeler Road, SE for the report of the sounds of gunshots.  Upon arrival on the scene, officers located an adult male suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.  He was subsequently transported by DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.

*The Post reports that D.C. rescue teams are still trawling the Potomac south of the Chain Bridge for 37-year-old Hau T. Nguyen, who dove into the river on Sunday to save 11-year-old Jorge Castro.

*The Prince of Petworth has some random shoe sightings.

Photograph above courtesy of M.V. Jantzen

*INDOGURATION UPDATE: Yesterday afternoon, following the President's latest round of cautious optimism, Ted Kennedy presented the Obama famiy with Bo, a six-month-old Portugese water dog .  The Post has video, a bombastic lede, and some Us Weekly-worthy niceties:

About 10 minutes later the First Family emerged again, racing up the hill, with the president doing a nifty maneuver to switch the leash from one hand to another to avoid getting tangled and tripping.

"Pshew! Close call," the episode concludes.

*D.C. Police have found James Duncan, whom they first reported missing last week.  (In unrelated news, they also found a gun).

*SWDCBlog offers some stunning renderings of the Mead Center, Arena Stage's new, er, stage, which is still under construction.  (On its own site, Arena offers a webcam of the construction.)

*WISH LISZT: This evening, the Washington Performing Arts Society hosts a presentation on Franz Liszt's devilishly difficult "Transcendental Études" as part of the "What Makes It Great?" series.  (These études, Mike Paarlberg observes, "showed off Listz’s chops as an unmatched performer and the hardest working touring musician in Europe—something of the Black Flag of his day.")  Will Erik Wemple, noted classical music enthusiast, attend?  Only one way to find out!

*Creative DC is back, while Arjewtino is no more.

*The Prince of Petworth still loves you, Cleveland Park!

*Big presser from the President last night.  The New York Times says, basically, farewell orator, hello professor; the Post has video and the transcript; Wonkette live-blogged; I just watched.

*10 months after the brutal murder of Jasmine McCray in the 4800 Block of G Street SE, D.C. Police announced yesterday that they have made an arrest in the case:

20-year-old Robert Lee Walker of Northwest Washington, DC was arrested in the 1200 block of Taylor Street, NW by members of the Joint Fugitive Task Force pursuant to an arrest warrant charging him with First Degree Murder While Armed in the shooting death of Jasmine McCray.

*Fenty proposes dropping Emancipation Day as a public holiday in the District; Harry Thomas, Jr. is not amused.  Via the Examiner:

“I think it is just disrespectful of what I think is one of the most important holidays we can honor,” Ward 5 Councilman Harry Thomas Jr. said Tuesday. “I will fight to ensure that it stays in the budget."

*NOT JUST ANOTHER AVERAGE DAY IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM: The National Zoo announces the birth of two clouded leopard cubs at their Conservation & Research Center in Front Royal.  Very nice spread from the Post, including a too-purty-for-words slideshow. Bonus points for the killer lede:

In the end, Hannibal did not administer the fatal bite to his mate's neck. And Jao Chu did not immediately kill their offspring, as is often the case.

*PRINCE ASSAULTED BY PROLES: PoP got stoned last night on the corner of 14th and Harvard.  That wouldn't be news, if it weren't quite literally true.  The assailants? "4 12 year old boys."  Here were his first thoughts:

Well, I’m not a super tough guy but I’m pretty sure I can beat the shit out of a 12 year old kid. So I’m thinking to myself, do I just go over there and punch one of the kids? No, I can’t do that. You can’t punch a 12 year old kid. I’m also thinking, ‘well I don’t want to break my ipod if they all jump on me’.

In true princely fashion, he turned the other cheek, most likely toggling his iPod to a fitting selection—say, the opening track of Blonde on Blonde.

*Over on Black Plastic Bag, Sarah Godfrey reports that Rare Essence is making its triumphant return to U Street.

Photo of the cubs courtesy of the National Zoo's photostream

The American Enterprise Institute's financial woes, Campus Progress' smear campaign, and creationists at the Smithsonian below the jump.

• The Washington Indepenent's Dave Weigel has a bang-up story out today about the belt-tightening at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). The think tank most famous for providing George W. Bush with intellectual justification in the lead-up to the Iraq War has lost funding from General Motors and the Carnegie Foundation, let go of several scholars, and killed the print version of its political magazine, The American.
• Ross Douthat of The Atlantic will be taking Bill Kristol's spot at the New York Times. As one twitterer said, it's hard to find someone in the political sphere who doesn't think this is a good idea. Douthat bleeds red wine and wafers, sure, but he's brilliant, curious, and upstanding. Which is more than anyone could say for his predecessor or the trouble-makers at Campus Progress, who have dug up Douthat's college journalism clips and excerpted the most offensive bits in hopes of...Well, I haven't figured out what they hope to achieve besides showing Douthat's stellar journalistic development over the last eight years.
• If this lede doesn't prime you for a laugh, I don't know what will: "Every winter, David DeWitt takes his biology class to the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, but for a purpose far different from that of other professors. DeWitt brings his Advanced Creation Studies class (CRST 390, Origins) up from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., hoping to strengthen his students' belief in a biblical view of natural history, even in the lion's den of evolution. Whole thing here, courtesy of WaPo's Steve Hendrix.
• Also, Wayne Garcia of Tampa's Creative Loafing has a great update from yesterday's CL bankruptcy case, in which someone–can't say who–tells a fib or two about the state of company morale.

Alright, folks. I'll catch you later.

*D.C. Police are still on the lookout for Corey Harrison, the slippery fellow who went AWOL on his child support and then, once in custody, escaped from the United Medical Center in the 1300 block of Southern Ave. SE:

He escaped from a men’s room by climbing through the ceiling of the restroom and then making his way to another room. When he escaped, he was wearing a white T-shirt, boxer shorts and a handcuff on one wrist.

*Prince of Petworth teams with IntangibleArts to wield a video camera in imitation of PBS. (See above.) Nice shades, yer highness!

*The D.C. Council, perhaps as a nod to our demonstrated lack of gumption in the face of actual weather, wants you to clean ice & snow off your car but won't fine you if you don't. (Via D.C. Wire)

*Still got your button from the Capital Fringe Festival? Julianne announces your February perks.

*Juliet Lapidos answers all of your dirty little Michael Phelps/ganja-related questions.

*ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY: George Washington was elected (1789) and reelected (1792) as our first Prez. And you can be damn sure that those pamphleteers liveblogged the shit out of his first 100 days.