No Taxation Without Starvation: Getting D.C. representation in Congress turns out to be physically hard work. The last remaining protester from the Occupy D.C. movement who's on a hunger strike to demand voting rights, Adrian Parsons, has lost 25 pounds in three weeks. He's consuming only vitamins and water, enhanced with electrolytes. Parsons' doctors have told him his kidneys are stressed, but he's otherwise doing fine. Which is good—since chances are Congress won't be meeting his demands any time soon. -2

Killing Is Out, School Is In: There are still a few days left in 2011, so maybe we shouldn't talk about the stats yet. But if current trends hold up through Sunday, the District will end 2011 with the lowest homicide total since 1963. Through today, the city had seen 108 murders this year (all chronicled at Homicide Watch). The murder rate is low, too, at about 5.6 per 100,000 residents. Overall, though, total crime was up 3 percent this year. +1

Occupied: Speaking of crime, the Fraternal Order of Police says more crime has occurred around the city since the Occupy D.C. camp set up in McPherson Square. That's because, the union argues, cops are being pulled there to keep an eye on protesters instead of doing their usual jobs. Seems like the number of variables involved in crime rate fluctuations is large enough that blaming any one factor in and of itself is a bit of a stretch. And besides, doesn't the FOP usually prefer to just blame Cathy Lanier? -1

Lawyers, Guns, and Money: Turns out overturning the District's gun control laws won't be quite as lucrative as it first appeared. A court ruled today that the city will have to pay lawyers for Dick Anthony Heller $1.3 million for more than 1,500 hours of work on the landmark Supreme Court case, District of Columbia v. Heller, that resulted in D.C. gun rules being thrown out. The lawyers, though, had initially asked for $3.1 million. Maybe they should just stick the District government up? -1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 50 Today's score: -3 Today's Needle rating: 47

We've already shown you some pictures from Tuesday's Flags in the Flesh rally in Dupont Circle, where D.C. residents met to show off their D.C. flag tattoos and speak out for voting rights. We also chatted with a few of the organizers and attendees, including former D.C. Council candidate and community activist Bryan Weaver and D.C. Shadow Rep. Mike Panetta. Here's what they had to say.

Video by Matt Bevilacqua

Tag, You're It: Park View D.C. looks at the prolific work of neighborhood tagger "nero"—with pictures!—intending to highlight why his graffiti is a blight on the neighborhood. But some commenters feel that publicly shaming the tagger isn't the best way to get him or her (or them?) to stop. Writes one commenter, "With all due respect for your blog, which I look at daily, you are only giving these guys the attention they want, need, and never had by posting this with pictures of their 'art' work. How about you challenge the city to pick up where Fenty and his team left off? They had a rapid response to this plague. How about the power of your blog pointing out the weaknesses in the DC graffiti clean up system (shame is powerful,) and give directions to those effected. Sorry but I hate this crap these lonely criminals spread around town, like a dog marking its territory." Then again, another says, "I disagree...I laughed at the thought of these thugs finding and reading this cerebral, cheery blog."

Yes, No, Maybe So: In light of the recent demonstration of civil disobedience for civil rights by D.C.'s councilmembers and mayor, The Hill is Home is polling readers on whether or not they want statehood for the District. At the time of this posting, 143 have voted yes, 62 no, and 12 have voted "other." However, many commenters took to the space to air why they wouldn't support statehood. One says, "I would vastly prefer the tax treatment afforded those who live in Puerto Rico, the USVI, Guam, etc to statehood. This is particularly true given the cast of clowns who make up DC’s political class (apologies to Tommy Wells), who would likely make an even bigger mockery of DC than they already have – I mean, Vince Gray as a governor? Fully Loaded as a, well, anything?!" Another is equally skeptical, asking "Explain for me the Constitutional basis you think DC can be a state. Is there ANY way that wouldn’t involve getting 75% of the states to agree to it? Does anyone seriously believe that 38 of 50 states will agree to DC Statehood?"

My Car Over You: The Tenleytown email list is in hot debate over whether or not the redevelopment of the old Babe's Billiards will include ample parking. The parcel, located near the Tenleytown Metro station and owned by Douglas Development, is slated for apartments with ground floor retail. But the structure isn't what's bothering residents. Rather, one list member writes, "I'd love to see a good use of the Babe's space. My only non-negotiable concern is that it should have ample parking, so that it's inhabitants/customers do not take neighborhood street parking. I noticed too late that there is virtually no parking at our new library. Which means that when someone gets too old to walk there, they will have to drive to the Bethesda Libraries. No welcome mat at the new library for people who are not hearty. It's not smart to pretend that cars can be wished into irrelevance in the name of 'smart growth." But one staunch defender of that most dreaded "smart growth" writes, "Ample parking, since this is one block from the Tenley metro station and will be served by two Circulator routes? More parking only encourages more driving."

Cleveland Park, ISO: With access to what's arguably the city's most active email list, Cleveland Park residents aren't shy about asking for nannies or babysitters fluent in languages other than English. Typically, French or German are preferred, but the most recent In Search Of is a bit unusual: "We are looking for a Dutch speaking baby sitter, 2 or 3 hours a day, during the month of July, to take care of our daughter, 5 years old. The best would even be 'Flemish Speaking', so to speak."

As City Paper's Loose Lips reported in the Feb. 13 issue that year:

Fauntroy painted a rosy picture of the prospects for for action in both the House and the Senate during this session. He claimed the political climate has been changed by the election of a Democratic majority in the Senate last fall, many of whom owe their elections to overwhelming support from the black community (offsetting their losses among white voters) and by a weakened President [Ronald] Reagan in the White House. "The Lord only gives you a flunkin’ Reagan once in a lifetime," Fauntroy said with obvious delight.

The congressman said the lion’s share of credit for the Democrats’ return to power in the Senate belonged to the black vote in Southern states. He predicted his statehood bill would clear the Senate early in 1988, as Democrats and Republicans “begin to get uptight” about next year’s presidential race and search for ways to increase their appeal among black voters.

As we all know, that bill did pass, and Fauntroy’s beloved New Columbia was added to the Union on...

...oh, wait. Never mind.

For the complete Today in D.C. History series, click here.

Figuring out what to rename the street, though, may turn out to be a little harder.

At a meeting in the Wilson Building Thursday night, Councilmember Michael A. Brown quickly moved past the ringing rhetoric about the symbolism of the stunt and got down to business.

"As you can imagine, our e-mail has been flooded with both inappropriate and appropriate suggestions,” he said.

Some of those “appropriate suggestions” presented at the Wilson Building last night include:

• Give D.C. Statehood Avenue
• Statehood for D.C. Avenue
• D.C. for Statehood Avenue
• D.C. Demands Statehood Avenue
• D.C. Statehood Now Avenue
• D.C. Demands Full Democracy Avenue
• Give D.C. Full Democracy Avenue

“These are just examples,” Brown added. “No one is wedded to any of these.”

Unfortunately, Brown didn't disclose any of the inappropriate suggestions.

The council is also considering a new message to accompany the “Welcome to Washington” signs along the D.C.-Maryland line. Suggestions included:

• Welcome to Washington: Unrepresented in Congress for over 200 years
• Welcome to Washington: Denied full democracy for over 200 years and counting
• Welcome to Washington: Where over 600,000 residents are denied full democracy each day
• Welcome to Washington: Where over 600,000 residents are tasked with all the responsibilities of a state but afforded few of the rights
• Welcome to Washington: Enjoy your stay and join our fight for Statehood
• Welcome to Washington: Ask your Representative to give DC a vote
• Welcome to Washington: Tell Congress DC residents deserve Statehood

For their part, members of DC Statehood—Yes We Can! said at the session they oppose any signage that doesn’t include the word “statehood.”

“We don’t need to say anything about voting rights,” said Elinor Hart. “Statehood includes voting rights.”

Ann Loikow, another group member, said she agreed calls for just “voting rights” have no place on these signs.

“We need to remove the references for voting rights... and talk about statehood,” she said. “We need a clear united voice saying we are for statehood.”

The group suggested renaming Pennsylvania Avenue “D.C. 51st Way.” They also called for South Capitol Street to be renamed “D.C. Statehood Now Boulevard,” and for the Washington gateway sign to carry the phrase “Welcome to the Land of the 51st State!”

Paul Strauss, the District's shadow senator, said any change must be easily understandable for visitors who don't already know the city's plight. He recalled often meeting tourists who believe D.C. license plates reading “Taxation Without Representation” are merely a patriotic reference to America’s independence.

“Street sign names can seem trivial,” he said. “But this is an important opportunity to get our message across.”

“Never underestimate the power of a good gateway sign,” Strauss added, noting Brooklyn’s welcome sign got prominent placement on the opening credits of the 1970s sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter.

Strauss also called for the District to rename other streets, as part of a continual campaign.

“Let’s think about renaming street names more strategically,” he said. For example, if a "certain Utah congressman” continues speaking out against D.C. voting rights, part of Utah Avenue should be renamed.

That type of move—cartography as vengeance—isn’t unprecedented. The Soviet Union’s embassy used to be located on a stretch of 16th Street called Andre Sakharov Place.

However, for Shadow Representative Mike Panetta, just renaming a street section isn’t enough.

“What’s missing here is the hook,” he said. “We need to find a way here to maintain sustained interest.”

Panetta suggested renaming most of Pennsylvania Avenue the “Avenue of Statehood” or “51st State Way.” It would be lined with plaques commemorating each state added to the union, along with its year of entrance.

The plaques would start with Delaware, the first state, and end with one reading “New Columbia—Yet to Be Admitted.” A flagpole next to the plaque would fly an American flag with 51 stars.

“I have long been a proponent of using the city’s names and street signs as a tool,” Panetta said. “This is not the time to be timid, but to say... clearly what we want.”

Brown said the council will keep the public record open on this issue for the next two weeks. All residents can submit their own ideas for both renaming Pennsylvania Avenue and adding a slogan to the “Welcome to Washington” sign.

Just don't count on getting immediate results, no matter what slogans win.

Suffragette City: Members of the League of Women Voters join forces with the Association of the Oldest Inhabitants of D.C. to demand voting rights for the District on the 90th anniversary of the certification of the 19th Amendment, which granted the right to vote to women—as long as they don't live in D.C., of course, in which case they wouldn't get the right to vote for president until 1961 and the right to elect a voting member of Congress until... well, sometime after Aug. 26, 2010. The protest involved Victorian costumes, parasols and, most likely, some bemused tourists. Too bad they cleared out before the Glenn Beck rally on Saturday, or things could have gotten lively! +3

9:30 Club Diversifies: Once upon a time, rock and roll bands would dream of getting a record deal, so they could lay down an album and hit the road promoting it in clubs all around the country. Those days are over. The 9:30 Club is launching its own label, since now, bands make most of their money touring and the population of law-abiding citizens willing to actually pay for records is dwindling. (For that matter, the "records" are mostly downloaded, anyway.) If all goes well, someday down the line hipsters still yet to be born will lord it over their less-cool friends that they bought 9:30 Club records back before they moved into a fancy new office. Doesn't quite have the same ring as reminiscing about pillars in the middle of the floor, though, does it? +3

Metrobus Panopticon: The next time a Metrobus driver leaves his post to punch out McGruff the Crime Dog, it'll all be caught on video. Metro will install cameras on 1,500 buses to keep an eye on drivers, recording audio and video, provided by a San Diego-based firm with a name that sounds like it was designed by committee: DriveCam. The idea is for the transit agency to have a better sense of what goes wrong in accidents. Lest you protest that this is an invasive expansion of surveillance, don't worry—Metro already records the passenger area on many buses. TV news stations around the area rejoice, cheered at the prospect of having better B-roll when, inevitably, a bus runs over a pedestrian sometime soon. -2

D.C. Justice for the Rocket: Okay, Stephen Strasburg is on the DL, probably done for the year. But another famous pitcher will soon be spending a lot of time in the District—and his prognosis may not be as good. A federal judge has scheduled Roger Clemens' arraignment on perjury and obstruction of Congress charges for Monday afternoon in the federal courthouse on Constitution Avenue NW. Trial should start by next spring. No word on whether, like at the ballpark, Ben's Chili Bowl will be available for spectators. +2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 36 Today's score: +6 Today's Needle rating: 42

In CASE YOU MISSED IT—"LaVar's Crazy Gender Studies," "Fifth Amendment Doesn't Apply To Feces-Flinging Inmate," "Lanier Denies Covering Up Fenty Abuse," "Shooting In Congress Heights," "Vincent Gray's Education Plan Takes Aim At Fenty Ribbon Cuttings"

Good morning. I'm wondering: Is Michelle Rhee dc.gov's Albert Haynesworth? Rhee had been heralded as the savior of DCPS and brought here with unprecedented power and control over the school system. Now, she's saying that if the city gets a new head coach (who may want to tweak the playbook), she may not stick around. Is this the kind of leader we want on our team?

Here's the first graph of Gray's education plan released yesterday: "Vince Gray will make our children’s education the number one priority of his administration. He will be an involved Mayor who takes all stakeholders seriously, who stands by his Schools Chancellor, and who works tirelessly for well-managed, smart reform." Does this sound like a guy who wants to dramatically alter the chancellor's job description? His plan calls for expanding reform to include pre-pre-school, wants that reform to be sustainable (if Rhee leaves what does that say about her reform agenda?), and wants everyone to get along and be transparent (Rhee may have a problem with that last agenda item). Edgy stuff.

Here's what Gray had to say on the chancellor position:

"Vince is committed to having a strong Chancellor who is fully empowered to implement community-driven reform. He will collaborate with the Chancellor to ensure that we keep and build on effective people and programs already in the system.

A Vince Gray administration will put an immediate end to management by ribbon cutting and sound bites, and give the Chancellor the support she needs to fulfill her promise to the students of the District of Columbia. As Mayor, Vince will give the DCPS Chancellor the tools and controls to manage his or her budget. He will continue to support the Chancellor in making hard choices with regard to staffing, hiring, and firing decisions to get bad teachers out of the classroom and keep good teachers in the classroom. He will work closely with the Chancellor and ensure all the resources of District government are brought to bear in supporting kids."

Gray's problem seems to be with Fenty's leadership. But Rhee, this week at least, more than hinted that she's out if residents kick out Jim Zorn, I mean Adrian Fenty. WaPo's Valerie Strauss thinks Rhee has made a mistake by trying to bigfoot her way into the election: "Never mind that she really doesn’t know how Gray will approach their relationship. What political candidates say during a campaign is not always what they do if they win and take office. Considerations change. What is more important, and of more concern, is that Rhee surely knows the importance of consistency in school leadership. She knows she was the seventh person to head the school system in a decade when she arrived in 2007, and that the constant turnover at the top was disastrous for the city’s schools. Rhee states frequently that her concern is only for D.C. schoolchildren. If that is so, it seems odd that she would be so quick to suggest that she might abandon them without giving a new mayor a chance to do what she considers the right thing. Her comments are hardly a great lesson for young people, who need more than ever to learn how to listen to other views and compromise. Would it not be a far better message for Rhee to tell D.C. schoolchildren that she is here to stay and fight to improve their schools?" More coverage on the Gray education plan via The Examiner, WaPo.

AFTER THE JUMP—Fenty vs. rumors day 2, Vince Gray compared to tofu, shake-up at Office of Risk Management, details revealed on Councilmember Phil Mendelson's DYRS bill, and much, much more!

VALENTINE'S DAY: The Examiner's Alan Suderman reports that the head of the troubled Office of Risk Management has resigned: "Mayor Adrian Fenty's administration has placed Kelly Valentine, the director of the District's embattled Office of Risk Management, on administrative leave. The Washington Examiner first reported last month that whistleblowers told the FBI that Valentine gave lucrative contracts to her friends. Contracts ranging from health insurance coverage and private investigations were handed off to companies with ties to Valentine, according to whistleblowers. Last month, Fenty and his attorney general, Peter Nickles, held a news conference where they announced that the District might have to pay $6 million to cover the life insurance premiums the city collected from hundreds of disabled employees over seven years but didn't pass along to the insurance companies. Nickles asked the city's inspector general to conduct an investigation into Risk Management. Besides the FBI and the inspector general, city Auditor Deborah Nichols and the finance office's integrity team have also begun probes. Valentine hasn't responded to repeated requests seeking comment. In addition to the multiple investigations, Risk Management has been besieged by multiple outside contractors demanding payments on outstanding debts."

METRO: WMATA and Virginia make peace. WaPo's Lisa Rein and Anita Kumar report: "Metro's board of directors signed off Thursday on an agreement with Virginia to provide $300 million to match federal funding for safety improvements, ending a month-long battle over the state's push to be represented on the board.The deal will allow the transit agency to sign an $886 million contract Friday for 428 new rail cars, a high-priority purchase that was in danger of falling through. The federal government has agreed to give Metro $1.5 billion for capital needs over 10 years as long as Virginia, Maryland and the District match the money. 'These cars are extremely important to the safety of our customers,' interim General Manager Richard Sarles said after the board drew up a contract with Virginia officials. Of the 428 cars, 128 will help Metro provide service on the Silver Line extension to Dulles International Airport, and 300 will replace Metro's oldest rail cars. The administration of Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) had threatened to withhold Virginia's share of the money unless the state gets two members on the Metro board. Four seats are held by elected officials from Fairfax and Arlington counties and Alexandria, and McDonnell wants to appoint two of them. Transportation Secretary Sean T. Connaughton said Virginia wants more accountability from Metro in the aftermath of last year's fatal Red Line crash. Including its contribution to the matching funds, the state will contribute more to Metro than the Northern Virginia local governments, Connaughton said. But the state decided last week to pay without an agreement on the seats."

VOTE-BUYING: The District will be doing same-day voter registration this year. This could be a mess. Yesterday, the D.C. Council held a roundtable talk on preventing fraud. The Examiner's Emily Babay reports: "Starting with the Sept. 14 primary, people can register to vote at the polls on election day, which has spurred questions about the potential for bought or fraudulent votes. "Votes from same-day registrants will be cast as provisional ballots and subject to review, said Board of Elections and Ethics chief Rokey Suleman. He was among a group of officials from the agency speaking Thursday at a D.C. Council Government Operations and the Environment Committee public roundtable. Suleman said people must vote in the precinct in which they live, so poll workers should recognize voters who try to register outside their precinct. The BOEE plans to have five lawyers staffing a hot line to respond to fraud allegations. But that might not be enough, said Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh, who urged the BOEE officials to increase that number. 'Five seems a little thin to me,' Cheh said. Same-day registration is expected to cause some 'administrative difficulties' on election day, Suleman acknowledged."

VINCE GRAY=TOFU: WaPo's Mike DeBonis makes the case that Gray is tofu: "It's [Fenty's] chief rival, D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D), who is racking up endorsements from unions, business groups, ward organizations and others. He can't get the yard signs out fast enough. He's started raising money at an impressive clip. And pretty much all he's had to do is show up." But that Fenty is acting like King Fenty, oblivious of how badly he's campaigned: "He's now in full bloom of explaining to disaffected voters why they hate him so much and why they should vote for him again in spite of it. The Fenty entreaty goes something like this: 'People see a willingness to make tough decisions that we haven't seen in a long time in D.C.,' he said Wednesday night, talking to a group of gay and lesbian supporters about school reform. 'You could probably do this the safe and secure way, but it would probably take two or three decades. . . . We need it to happen fast.' When you step into the voting booth, he said, 'remember our commitment to taking on the tough issues.' Politics, unfortunately, is more complicated than ascribing mass disaffection to 'tough decisions.'" This is the must read piece of the week.

LANIER REFUTES FENTY RUMORS; WTOP's Mark Segraves asked MPD Chief Cathy Lanier about those pesky rumors concerning the mayor, domestic violence, and her role in covering it all up: "Lanier said she had been hearing the rumors for years. 'Actually, those rumors surfaced – I believe – as soon as he began running for mayor, and they've been around ever since,' Lanier said. 'Periodically, they will pop back up, but I can tell you without any question, nobody in the Metropolitan Police Department would cover that up. Certainly, I wouldn't cover that up as a district commander.'"

METRO MESS: City Fix DC blog has a great accounting of a Metro taskforce meeting in which residents vented their frustrations.

MANHOLE: Explosion in Southwest (NC8).

SHOOTING: Woman shot in Northeast (WUSA9).

DYRS REFORM: Here is a summary of Councilmember Phil Mendelson's DYRS reform bill in full. We'll probably crash Washington City Paper's site with this! Here it is:

"Bill 18-344 concerns the confidentiality of information about juveniles who are in the juvenile justice system. Major changes to the current law include:

1. Amends the DYRS establishment act to permit the MPD to access without court order certain records – such as surveillance tapes – in the possession of DYRS when needed for investigating a crime allegedly involving a youth in the custody of DYRS. This amendment addresses a conflict between Titles 2 & 16 of the D.C. Code – the latter permitting “law enforcement officers [access] when necessary for the discharge of their current official duties.” This conflict came into focus June 20th when MPD responded to a melee at New Beginnings but had to get a court order before being able to view video tapes of the melee.

2. Rewrites D.C. Code §§ 16-2331, 16-2332, and 16-2333 (regarding confidentiality) to improve clarity.

3. Provides that the following information shall be public information: A child’s name, the fact that he/she was arrested, the arrest charges, the charges filed in court, whether the child was found guilty (“involved”) and, if so, the charges for which he/she was found guilty, and the child’s initial disposition (i.e., probation or DYRS commitment).

Such information shall be public information only if the child has been found guilty of a crime of violence or certain dangerous crimes, or found guilty twice of certain other felonies, including UUV, stolen auto, or felony assault; or the individual has been found guilty of any felony or a misdemeanor assault within three years of the conclusion of his juvenile sentence.

The public availability of this information will enable the public to demand accountability of government agencies responsible for prosecuting or rehabilitating juveniles, and will pierce the veil of confidentiality behind which some chronic, violent juvenile offenders seem to thrive.

4. Requires the MPD to publish statistics twice yearly detailing by PSA the number of juveniles arrested, as well as the charge(s) and dates of arrest.

5. Authorizes an official of MPD, Court Social Services, or DYRS to disclose certain information – but not records – about a juvenile delinquent to a school official or mental health professional when, in the professional judgment of the official, disclosure of the information will assist in the protection, welfare, treatment, or rehabilitation of the juvenile.

6. Establishes an Abscondence Review Committee (5 members plus 2 ex officio) to examine what steps could have prevented juvenile abscondence where a homicide, assault with intent to kill, or assault with a deadly weapon (firearm) was committed by or to the juvenile.

7. Preserves the status quo in the current law regarding confidentiality by making explicit that, notwithstanding the public availability of certain information, a juvenile shall not be required to disclose, and shall have the right to refuse disclosure of, his or her juvenile delinquency information in an application for employment, education, or housing."

KOJO: Maryland gubernatorial candidate Bob Ehrlich and D.C. congressional hopeful Doug Sloan.

MAYOR'S SCHEDULE: No public events.

D.C. COUNCIL'S SCHEDULE: No public events.

It was Childers' 11th-hour gun amendment that ultimately cost the District its best opportunity in years to finally obtain a vote in Congress.

Soft-spoken former D.C. Shadow Representative John Capozzi (as seen in the above video) politely encouraged Childers' staff to have him run for D.C. Council if he's so interested in local policy. "That seat is actually open right now," Capozzi noted.

Tau reports that the demonstration represents a return to more direct action on the part of the District's leading voting-rights advocacy organization, which has relied more heavily on consensus building in recent years, as a viable voting-rights bill had become a priority for the Democratic leadership. Or so it seemed.

Zherka tells Tau, "Given that we're stuck, and Democrats are either partially or mostly to blame at this point, it seems clear that we need to engage in more aggressive tactics to call attention to Democrats who are stymieing."

"Since the idea of trading a single House vote for D.C. for an extra House vote for Utah took root five years ago in the mind of then Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), the fire and fury that was once channeled into mass arrests and fiery street protests has been transformed into lobbying calls in the halls of congressional office buildings," LL wrote. "But playing nice, it turns out, isn't much of a play at all. The logical conclusion of the compromise approach played out over the past year: If you choose to play the game, sometimes you get outplayed."

LL also took a shot at D.C. Vote—the voting rights advocacy group that boasts the highest profile, fattest coffers, and most institutional support, by a long shot. After years of effort and millions of dollars invested in the group, LL wrote, "there is the real possibility of emerging with nothing to show for it."

D.C. Vote Executive Director Ilir Zherka responded to LL's piece in a statement today. "You got it wrong," he wrote. "We successfully shifted the debate to a focus on rights—to representation and democracy—for DC residents."

He continues:

As a result, we have garnered more bi-partisan support than any other effort in a generation. We have built the largest and most enduring national coalition ever around this issue. That coalition has engaged tens of thousands of people in the fight. We have educated over a 100 million people world-wide through the news coverage of our activities. We have secured bi-partisan majority votes in Congress for the first time in 30 years. With others, we have also secured the complete elimination of riders on reproductive rights, needle-exchange and medical marijuana.

Most importantly, we have institutionalized the movement for the first time in the history of the District.

Advocacy campaigns are marathons, not sprints. No legislation is ever "dead" while the movement promoting it is still strong. Despite this set back, we remain strong. Our campaign of steps toward statehood is the only viable strategy. Don't count us out. Within the remaining months of this year, we will fight against attacks to our gun laws, improve Home Rule and work to create an opportunity for passage of the DC Voting Rights Act.

D.C. Vote employs many committed, hardworking activists, and Zherka touts some undeniable achievements—particularly the death of social-policy riders. But how much of that credit goes to D.C. Vote for those achievements—as opposed to Eleanor Holmes Norton or simply to the existence of a solid Democratic congressional majority—is not an easy call.

So the question remains: What's our return on investment—with the Davis-Norton compromise generally, and with D.C. Vote in particular?

For D.C. Vote, the question would be quite so sharp if it hadn't been anointed as the institution that's "institutionalizing the movement."

Not only has D.C. Vote functioned as the movement's de facto strategy hub, but the District government, in particular, has sent hundreds of thousands of local dollars to the organization in recent years (including very recently), in addition to its impressive private fundraising.

D.C. Vote is, among other things, a lobbying firm, and given the movement's Hill-focused strategy (i.e., passing the D.C. House Voting Rights Act) that's a hugely important part of its business. After all, if a large corporation hires Patton Boggs or Quinn Gillespie to get results and pays big money for it, sooner or later it wants results.

At what point do taxpayers and private funders deserve to see some results?

On this occasion, we remember the day in 1862 when President Lincoln freed the enslaved people of Washington, DC – nine months before he issued the Emancipation Proclamation.   I am proud that an original copy of that document now hangs in the Oval Office, and we remain forever grateful as a nation for the struggles and sacrifices of those Americans who made that emancipation possible.
 
Americans from all walks of life are gathering in Washington today to remind members of Congress that although DC residents pay federal taxes and serve honorably in our armed services, they do not have a vote in Congress or full autonomy over local issues.  And so I urge Congress to finally pass legislation that provides DC residents with voting representation and to take steps to improve the Home Rule Charter.

The catch: Marimow reports the measure will include some sort of amendment constraining the District's gun-control laws—an idea massively unpopular among the city political establishment.

The bill would grant a voting member of Congress to the District for the first time, and heavily Republican Utah would get an additional member until the post-census apportionment is complete.

Writes Marimow: "Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the city's non-voting House member, said she is still negotiating to try to weaken the gun amendment, but that she is unwilling to sacrifice the opportunity to win a long-sought voting seat for the District by insisting on a stand-alone bill. 'This is the best chance we've had to get a House vote for D.C. in my lifetime,' Norton said. 'Nobody would leave it on the table because it's not at all clear when there will be another chance.'"

Question is, will local politicos, notably Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray, line up behind Norton to support a gun-ridered bill? Fenty once expressed support for accepting gun language, but his attorney general, Peter Nickles, has argued vigorously in federal court that the District's status as national capital demands strong gun control laws.

The announcement comes two days ahead of Emancipation Day,

The re-do is complete, and surprise: The Office of the Secretary announced today that D.C. Vote again won funding—but not the whole $150,000. The International Federation of Black Prides was awarded $10,000, with D.C. Vote getting the remainder.

At least three other applicants ended up with bupkes, and the unsurprising decision to give high-profile D.C. Vote the majority of funding is leading to some grumbling in a tight-knit advocacy community.

"They covered themselves with a fig leaf," said one activist, referring to the morsel that the city offered the IFBP.

Shadow Sen. Michael D. Brown sought funding for his effort to integrate D.C. voting rights into schools' social-studies lesson plans. "Of course we're disappointed, because I thought we had a good project," he says. Of the city funding, he says, "I would like to see it get spread around a little more."

What is the International Federation of Black Prides? According to a Web site, the group is a "coalition of Black Pride organizers formed to promote a multinational network of LGBT/SGL (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender/Same Gender Loving) Prides and community-based organizations." No one answered their phone this afternoon to explain what they'll be doing with their cash.

Back in January, the Office of the Secretary, charged with running the competition, announced it was taking grant applications. And on Feb. 26, a press release announced that DC Vote would get the money.

No surprise there: DC Vote is the biggest name in local voting-rights advocacy and attracts more private donors than any other group of its ilk. Plus the grant's objective—"to strengthen support for District representation in Congress"—perfectly matches D.C. Vote's embrace of the incrementalist House-first approach.

Yesterday, the secretary's office took the money back, at least temporarily.

A press release noted that the grant was rescinded after discovering "some applications for the Voting Rights Grant monies, which had been submitted prior to the February 15 deadline, had not been delivered to the office due to a technical error." Thus, "[o]ut of an abundance of caution, and to ensure that the grant process is fair to all applicants," the application process was reopened until March 17.

What happened? Sources indicate that several parties had submitted their applications via a Web-based application system. But city tech folks neglected to pass them on to the secretary's office for consideration. The error was discovered after Secretary Stephanie Scott called one expected applicant, Anise Jenkins of Stand Up! for
Democracy, and wondered why she hadn't submitted an application. But she had.

Jenkins and at least three other applicants will now get a fair shot at the city money.

"We're disappointed," says Ilir Zherka, executive director of DC Vote. "We received notice that we'd received the grant, and we informed our board. We celebrated." Alas, Zherka and his board will have to wait and see now. But he's confident that DC Vote, with its high-powered board of directors and its goal of raising nearly $1 million in private funds, will triumph in Round 2.

The rebid is also good news for Shadow Sen. Michael D. Brown, who submitted an application on behalf of his new nonprofit, Teach Democracy D.C. The organization aims to help teachers integrate D.C. voting rights into social-studies lesson plans, and it has had some success of late, Brown says—this week, he helped convince a Missouri teacher to take some 60 kids to the state legislature to stump for a pro-D.C. voting rights resolution.

But he could use some extra money. Brown says he got his application in, and it was rejected. He'd asked for the full $150,000, but he's now having second thoughts for the rebid.

"Maybe I'll pare it down a little bit. Maybe asking for the whole nut isn't the right way to go," Brown says. "Now we have a little feedback, don't we?"

"[T]his takes on a partisan flavor, and, you know, right now I think our legislative agenda’s chock-full. I would like to explore how quickly we can get it done."

—President Barack Obama, Jan. 15

Right there you have Obama's position on voting rights for the District of Columbia, as articulated in a January sitdown with the Washington Post—in particular, the bill that aimed to hand the District a seat in the House of Representatives along with an extra one for Utah. But "how quickly we can get it done" was an interesting piece of verbiage. That's because “we” implies some degree of teamwork. Yet by most accounts, Obama did little to press congressional leaders to move the bill through, even after it was stalled by a poisonous gun amendment. To complement his terrible record on substance, Obama has an uneven record on the symbolic stuff. Though he’s done plenty of photo-ops around town, he refused to place a "Taxation Without Representation" license plate on his official limousine.

More from LL's Quotes of 2009

ABC News reporter Yunji de Nies got Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on the record at this afternoon's press briefing:

de Nies : On sort of a D.C. issue — and that is: What hasn't the president changed his license plate on the presidential limousine? Is he planning to change them for the "taxation without representation" plates?

GIBBS: I think rather than change the logo around the license plate, the president is committed instead to changing the status of the District of Columbia.

de Nies : But that is a symbol, though, that a lot of people look at as...

GIBBS: Right. I guess I would ask you to ask people in Washington whether they'd like to have that status changed, or that symbolism screwed onto the back of a limousine?

Thanks for that triumphal moment of political gutlessness there, Gibbsy—as though license plate vs. actual voting rights happens to be an either/or proposition. You know, ’cause your boss has done so much to "have that status changed." Sheesh—the license plate at least would have been an easy down payment.

Says WTOP's Mark Plotkin, who has long lobbied for the stamped-metal gesture, "I don't know how they could manage to insult us even more, but Gibbs managed to do it."