Category Archives: WTF?!

News, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Delonte West Pulled Over With Three Guns on Beltway

Photo courtesy of
‘A shotgun story’
courtesy of ‘tombothetominator’

Okay, I get that people need to transport guns all over the place, and I definitely support their second amendment right to do so, but there’s appropriate ways to do it, and then there’s stupid ways to do it. This is a blog post, so you can guess which way Delonte West of the Cleveland Cavaliers chose to do it.

That’s right. He was carrying a handgun in his waistband, another on his ankle, and he had a shotgun in his guitar case. And he was on his motorcycle on the beltway when he was pulled over for erratic driving. He will face charges for carrying a handgun while driving come November. Apparently the police decided his shotgun in a guitar case doesn’t face a charge. Seriously, why don’t these people hire someone to transport their weapons for them safely? This is such a no-brainer. Why the hell would you need to carry three guns on your motorcycle? Isn’t a sedan more appropriate? Then you can put them in cases so they don’t go off inside your pants, Plaxico Burress-style.

News, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Samurai Sword Killing Takes a Turn

Fox 5 is reporting a slight change in the Baltimore Samurai story, which includes the phrase “modern-day ninja vigilante”. They’re suggesting that the victim in this case was not killed in the garage, rather the victim was crouched in a corner in front of the house. The suspect lunged when he asked his roommates to call the police, and that’s when the fatal blow was delivered. Apparently, the group of roommates went searching for the robber when the police came up empty in their initial search of the house after the robbery.

News, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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DC Schools Facing Layoffs Amid $40M Shortfall

Photo courtesy of
‘100 L Street, NW’
courtesy of ‘rockcreek’

$40M is what the DC Schools are going to have to cut from their 2009-2010 budget, which will likely include staff cuts. Where the cuts will come is yet to be determined, and it’s likely to include some cuts at each of the District’s 127 schools. The Teachers’ Union is decrying the cuts, suggesting that Chancellor Rhee should have known these were coming before hiring 900 new teachers this summer. That part makes sense. Until you know you have to cut, why not fully staff and hope that the Mayor would give you the support the school system deserves?

Where would you put the $40M in cuts?

News, The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Tea Bag Metro?

Photo courtesy of
‘they’ve had enough’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

Tax hating, tea-party protesters are angry at Metro. You’d think it would be for being a publicly funded transit system that wastes tax-payer dollars as it ferries the excessively large federal workforce in and out of the city.  It turns out, however, that the tea baggers are upset because WMATA’s service wasn’t up to snuff during their Saturday protest. Texas Representative Kevin Brady is calling for an investigation into whether or not Metro adequately prepared for the number of protesters that were in the city on 9/12. The irony, of course, is that these people were in DC to protest government spending on services, in general. 

See the WSJ article on the subject, here.

News, The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Metro to Rewrite Metrobus Handbook

Photo courtesy of
‘Hazardous Materials by Threaded Thoughts’
courtesy of ‘ThreadedThoughts’

Metro announced this evening that they’re going to rewrite their safety guide to include prohibitions against texting and use of cellphones. The last update to the guide was in 1989. That’s right, 20 years since Metro last updated their bus safety manual. Anti-lock brakes may not have even been on buses yet when the manual was last updated…

News, Sports Fix, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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The Redskins may End up in the Supreme Court

Photo courtesy of
‘00205691’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’

The harried Redskins may have something new to contend with, on top of sucking at football.  Several American Indian activists are attempting to take their long running dispute over the Redskins’ logo to the Supreme Court.  The activists claim that Washington’s trademark is racially offensive and should be changed.  This case has been batted around the lower courts for some time, and rulings have gone back and forth through the appeals process.  Whether or not the case will actually be heard has yet to be seen.  The Supreme Court hears very few cases, despite that thousands are submitted each year.  For the time being, it seems that the Redskins are safe.

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Inside the White House

Photo courtesy of
‘The White House – The Dream Home of Many Children’
courtesy of ‘adcristal’

About a year ago, after listening to not just a little bit of Marketplace, I did something I’ve never done before or since. I went to the bank machine, and I got out the daily max. I put the money in the strongbox that keeps our passports and birth certificates. I even suggested a couple others do it, out of an abundance of caution. Things were looking grim, as banks weren’t lending to each other, and if they stopped talking all together, the consequences would’ve been pretty dire.

I had a bunch of folks tell me that I was crazy or stupid for doing it. Today, I can point at this long, yet utterly riveting account from inside the White House during the same period of time. Apparently it was a pretty near miss. But, if you’ve ever want to see a bit more about the sausage and where it’s made, this is a pretty good place to start.

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Real Housewives of DC Starts Taping This Weekend

Photo courtesy of
‘Georgetown Afternoon’
courtesy of ‘needlessspaces’

Fab Empire has the scoop on the first two DC Housewives that will be part of Bravo’s Real Housewives of DC: They’re Mary Amons (of McLean?!) of Labels for Love, and Lynda Erkletian, who owns a modeling agency in the District. Filming starts this Friday. That means both Real World and Real Housewives are here at the same time. Perhaps we can start up a rumble between their camera crews?

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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With SEU’s Accreditation Gone, Should They Lose Their Metro Stop Name?

Waterfront.png

As DCist points out this morning, SEU has lost their accreditation, and has cancelled their Fall Term and will not be accepting new students. With a graduation rate at around 14% (and that’s within six years!), it’s not exactly surprising that their accreditation was pulled. My question though is, should the Metro rename Waterfront-SEU to just Waterfront if SEU is closed? I’d say yes, but that can’t be a cheap operation.

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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All Hands on Deck Violates Union Contract

Photo courtesy of
‘big tent event’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’

An arbitrator has ruled that the police’s All Hands on Deck Policy is a violation of DC Law and the Police Union Contract, and ordered that the MPD stop using the strategy until they can work out the issues at hand. The arbitrator’s ruling, if it stands, would drastically affect the ability of the MPD to call up officers for extra duty without properly bargaining with the FOP Union. The MPD will also have to pay back overtime due the officers who worked extra shifts during AHOD.

Chief Lanier will likely appeal the ruling, but is already saying that AHOD will continue.

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Ovechkin in 2014

Photo courtesy of
‘Alexander Ovechkin’
courtesy of ‘Keith Allison’

The 2010 Olympics in Vancouver aren’t even here and already we may have a battle coming for the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia. But it’s shaping up to be not country vs. country, but Ovechkin vs. NHL.

Ovie told ESPN.com during an interview today that he will risk suspension and play for his country regardless of whether the NHL is formally involved or not.

“Nobody can say to me you can’t play for your country in the Olympic Games,” Ovechkin said.

The NHL has no commitment to take part in the Olympic games after next year’s celebration, which has some players questioning what to do. “I’ll go play in the Olympic Games for my country. If somebody says to me you can’t play, see ya.”

Even if it meant suspension by the Caps? Continue reading →

Talkin' Transit, The Daily Feed, The District, WTF?!
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More Police at Union Station Today

Photo courtesy of
‘Flags at Union Station in Washington, DC’
courtesy of ‘dc-hulls’

If you’re headed past Union Station today, or through it for travel purposes, don’t get too freaked out by the extra police presence. Though, frankly, in this town? There’d have to be a whole awful lot of additional police for me to notice. So, it’s possible it won’t even hit a noticeable threshold of additional policing, but be aware, there is that possibility. It’s all part of a counter-terrorism exercise headed up by Amtrak police.

Sports Fix, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Dinosaurs, Not WNBA Basketball

Photo courtesy of
‘The animatronics for walking with dinosaurs at the o2 is seriously impressive. 50ft fully mobile dinos’
courtesy of ‘Mr Gus’

Via the Washington Times comes this interesting, sad, and yet just a little bit hilarious note. If the Mystics make the playoffs? They can’t play their first round games at home in the Verizon Center. Why? Walking with Dinosaurs is coming to the Verizon Center that week, instead. I suppose it’s a sad note about the viability of the WNBA that they can’t even play their playoff games at their own facility, but at least they’ll be heading to the Comcast Center at University of Maryland where Marissa Coleman and Crystal Langhorne made names for themselves playing for the Terps.

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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It’s a Twestival!

twestival.png

Okay, so the name kinda makes me want to puke, but the cause is pretty freaking awesome. Drinks on Thursday night at Midtown LOFT and proceeds go to Miriam’s Kitchen. Tickets are $20 today and $30 at the door Thursday, which would be almost 3 weeks of meals for a guest in their shelter, which is pretty awesome. Register now and save the extra $10 to hang out with the folks, or drop them a donation in case you can’t make it.

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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The Redskins, Tickets and Brokers

Photo courtesy of
‘Phat Wad, Break me off some’
courtesy of ‘Refracted Momentsâ�¢’

The Redskins find themselves in an interesting situation. They have a reported 160,000+ wait list for season tickets, and a number of people defaulting on multi-year season ticket contracts. It appears that unlike other area professional sports teams, the Redskins are suing those who break those commitments for the full amount of of the contract, and then selling the tickets to brokers.

The Snyder-lead Redskins aren’t suing everyone who breaks the contracts, just many of them. Why they’re not, instead, just breaking the contract and going to the first name on that 160,000 person waiting list? That I can’t tell you. But I can delve into some of the politics of being a ticket broker. Let’s talk about that for a second. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Swirling Flags, Fans’ Devotion Not Enough for D.C. United

Photo courtesy of
‘Screaming Eagles and La Barra Brava’
courtesy of ‘BehindTheBadge.com’

The Screaming Eagles and Barra Brava did their best last night, but it wasn’t enough to put D.C. United in possession of another trophy. They lost the US Open Cup to the Seattle Sounders 2-1. The turning point for the game came in the 67th minute as Seattle Sounders FC forward Fredy Montero put one by keeper Josh Wicks. But the goal wasn’t the end of United, what happened next was: keeper Wicks stomped on the torso of Montero, and drew a red card. Wicks had been playing out of his mind, and one flash of temper was enough to sink United. They’d bring a score back in the 87th minute, but keeper Kocic wasn’t up to the task.

Wicks likely deserves some time to think about what he’s done from the bench, which would likely cost the club their nascent playoff spot, but I can see no alternative for a player who deserves to learn a painful lesson about sportsmanship.

The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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MetroFAIL. Again. (Rinse, Repeat)

Photo courtesy of
‘WMATA’
courtesy of ‘sofafort’

And the Metro angst continues.

Kudos to James Hohmann over at WaPo for his breakdown of yesterday’s absurd circus between WMATA and its board members. What’s utterly appalling is Metro’s insistence that their August 5 press release was enough notice.

While the notice does mention “major track maintenance rehabilitation program during the three-day Labor Day holiday weekend,” it does not list September 4 – 7 as dates that particular stations will be closed. Only the weekday evenings particular stations would be shut in the evening. Nowhere in the release does it state anything about three stations being closed for three days. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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You Don’t Say…

Photo courtesy of
‘*bounce*’
courtesy of ‘nevermindtheend’

Just as Karl and I were saying in the comments thread on the Labor Day closings, Metro needs to seriously fix their communications department. WaPo just broke the story that several Metro board members weren’t even notified or consulted about the closings and they’re (rightly) ticked off.

Metro board Chairman Jim Graham said the board plans to discuss the closures and WMATA’s communications “procedures” on a conference call tomorrow morning.

In addition, WMATA announced – today! – that General Manager John Catoe, Jr will take questions during an online chat on Friday. Riders can also vent make their views known tonight at 6:30 during a regularly scheduled Riders’ Advisory Council Meeting at Metro HQ.

The quote of the day that proves our point deliciously is by Fairfax County Supervisor Jeff McKay, a Metro board member: “We get an F in communications but an A in strategy for [setting the date for] the least-disruptive work,” he said. “I can defend the decision; I can’t defend the way we explained it to people. . . . That’s just a complete breakdown in strategic communication.”

DUH.

Talkin' Transit, The Features, WMATA, WTF?!
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Talkin’ Transit: Labor Pains

Photo courtesy of
‘joy.’
courtesy of ‘nevermindtheend’

ZOMG METRO CLOZING 3 STATIONS DURING TEH HOLIDAY!!!1!one11!

I’m sure that’s the most common reaction by Blue and Yellow line riders who read Metro’s press release yesterday; it certainly seemed to be the tone set by commenters and blogs around the area.

Now, normally I’m one of the first detractors of Metro’s policies of late and yes, that was close to my initial reaction as well. It put a crimp into my own weekend plans, including a beloved relative flying in/out of DCA. But then I stopped to think about it.

It’s actually a good thing.

No, really! Continue reading →