I’ve seen those old smokestacks near the Capitol on my walks around the Hill before, but I had no idea what they were; this WaPo article resolves my puzzlement: “Reliance on Coal Sullies ‘Green the Capitol’ Effort.” It’s the Capitol Power Plant, which, despite the “power” in its name, does not actually supply electricity, but rather provides heated and chilled water to the Capitol Complex via [guess what] a series of tubes.

Apparently the Plant burns coal to do its dirty work, releasing clouds of carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon “We Call it Life” dioxide into the District’s air for our better health. Not just that, but the underground network of pipes which carry their fluids to the Capitol’s climate-control capillaries are lined with asbestos. This also explains that serious walled-off digging area AOC has going in the parking lot between E Street and Mass Ave NE near Union Station, the one with the big sign warning of a respiratory health hazard from asbestos.

Senators Byrd (D-WV) and McConnell (R-KY) appear to have a bipartisan effort going to keep the plant burning coal so it can pump more dirt into our air. Perhaps their constituents currently residing in DC might care to send them a note?

(Gracias to Grundlepuck for the squirrel/smokestack photo. Also note that the Capitol Power Plant entry on Wikipedia could use some extra meat on its stubby bones.)

Over the years, I’ve often found myself enlightening various tourists and relatives about D.C.’s voting rights issue and the varied arguments over the “last colony” status of the District. It never surprises me that most people from outside the Greater Washington Metropolitan Area have no idea about D.C. residents’ disenfranchisement, and that they usually assume we carry on like lucky residents of Puerto Rico or Guam, not having to pay federal income taxes as a result of our “special status.” When I inform them otherwise, they’re usually surprised and think it unfair. So imagine my surprise reading this gem today on the Washington Post’s discussion about yesterday’s House bill result:

College Park, Md.: The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration. So says the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

If D.C. gets full voting rights like the other states, then won’t they have to start paying federal income taxes?

Mary Beth Sheridan: D.C. residents already pay full federal income taxes.

This isn’t a tourist or an out-of-towner. This is a Maryland resident in a close-in college town on the Red Line. Shocking? Ignorant? Just amazingly uninformed? An area newbie? I have no idea, but I practically spat out my afternoon mocha upon reading it.

UPDATE: The irony of my saying College Park is on the Red Line. Oh, the horrible irony. Green Line, Green. My own line too. It’s humble pie tonight!

When I walked into the RendezVous Cafe on Wilson Boulevard, I didn’t realize how tiny it was. There are, maybe, six tables in the whole place, it’s an intimate location with no table inside that seats more than a pair. We had three, but we managed to grab the two corner tables without too much of an awkward situations. The menu is primarily Panini sandwiches and Crêpes, which was perfect for a light dinner out on a weeknight. I had the pastrami panini, Tiff and Lisa had the chicken pesto paninis. The sandwiches were divine, hot and cheesy, savory and tangy, and made for a perfect lunch or dinner.

Of course, we couldn’t leave without trying the crêpes, which were soft and sweet and, in our case, filled with nutella and bananas and drizzled with a bit of chocolate. While the wait was a bit long, and the seating somewhat awkward, it’s a great place to grab some dessert, or even some light dinner. I suspect that once the weather clears up (hey, tonight is supposed to be just about perfect…) their outside tables will be exactly what Virginia Square folks need: a great place for a cup of coffee and a crêpe.

RendezVous Cafe
3540 Wilson Blvd
Arlington VA
Metro: Virginia Square

The Edwin Albert Mroz Chapter of the Order of DeMolay is having a car wash fundraiser on Saturday, April 21st from 8am-12pm. The car wash will be at the Kemper-Macon Ware Masonic Lodge at 411 Little Falls St. in Falls Church.

All donations will be accepted.

I am not sure of the weather forecast for that day but am sure the young people out there will be using lots of elbow grease to get the job done. I know one of the advisors and have every confidence that he will ensure a good job from his kids he leads!

Here is some information on what DeMolay is, for those of you who are curious:

DeMolay is an organization dedicated to preparing young men to lead successful, happy, and productive lives. Basing its approach on timeless principles and practical, hands-on experience, DeMolay opens doors for young men aged 12 to 21 by developing the civic awareness, personal responsibility and leadership skills so vitally needed in society today. DeMolay combines this serious mission with a fun approach that builds important bonds of friendship among members in more than 1,000 chapters worldwide.

Come check it out, help the young folks there with their organization and get your car sudsied up. Everyone is a winner!

Okay, what the hell is this “District of Columbia-Maryland Reunion Act“? Some crazy way to give us Congressional voting representation through congressional authority by returning us back to Maryland? And why is Wade Henderson, Executive Director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights saying this to the House of Representatives:

As the committee is aware, the area west of the Potomac ceded to the Federal Government by Commonwealth of Virginia was returned to Virginia in 1846. The leadership conference agrees with the premise of H.R. 381, that defining a national capital service area that would be retained by the Federal Government as the District of Columbia, all Constitutional requirements for the District would be satisfied, leaving Congress free to return the remainder of Washington to the State of Maryland.

Is he trying to sell us back to Maryland? Did he ask my option or yours? Or better yet, did he ask Maryland? Guess not:

Unfortunately, there is no indication at this time that the State of Maryland or its citizens would accept the return of the District, not that I would propose it, as a District resident.

Don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be part of Maryland or Virginia. I want representation for DC as a District resident.

Or we can always be like Puerto Rico, no vote yet no Federal income tax, and everyone’s happy.

Tired of tripping over all that extra computer hardware laying about whilst fighting off that WoW induced fog? Are you overwhelmed with computer parts you no longer need? Do your clients/users burden you with old laptops and desktops? Then you’re in luck! April 22nd is Earth Day and the District is getting involved via holding a Capital Area eCycling Event downtown between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Point your clueless users in our direction or email them this handy flyer [pdf].

Hey Computer Geeksters, before you off-load that hardrive, make sure you deleted all that downloaded p0rn, capisce?

More information and details on eCycling, and other Earth Day events after the jump
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When latency began to spike at Murky this afternoon, I chalked it up to someone bit torrenting the latest episode of Drive, or something along those lines. When DNS stopped working, I figured it was the modem in need of a restart and since it was just after 5, I packed up for home. Imagine my surprise when I came home to find those very same symptoms at my condo in Fairlington. And at my friend Lisa’s in Virginia Square. And at my friend Ben’s in Rockville. All over the DC area, there’s a good portion of the internet that’s inaccessible, if you’re a Comcast customer.

When I broke down and called support at 8:00pm, I spend a good half hour on hold, only to find out that since my cable modem and phone are on the same box, I had to be transferred again. After more time on hold, I got to talk to someone in their tech support group. Hooboy. That was an experience. Apparently, at 8:30 or so, they’re finally noticing that there’s been a networkwide issue for close to 4 hours. Glad to see pattern matching is alive and well at Comcast.

According to my friend in Rockville who’s got contacts in the business support area, it’s a major issue that’s affecting all of DC, they’ve known about it for a couple hours and have techs working on the issue. Here’s hoping you can go a whole night without half the internet. Go out. Have a good time.

Eleanor Holmes Norton Putting Her Foot Squarely Down:

This is a woman who firmly believes in the rights of the District.

Why thank you Mister Washington Flyer Driver for causing this accident on the Key Bridge just in time for rush hour mayhem last night. I enjoyed the dulcet tones of overzealous honkers whilst I was stuck behind all the rubber-neckers before me, not caring about their commute home and instead breaking to see the damage to your behemoth vehicle.

It didn’t bother me one iota that the idiotic driver before me slammed on her brakes to gawk at the wreckage and the rather dishy cop taking the accident report. You’d better believe that I snapped this picture on the fly whilst paying attention to the traffic in front of me, why else do you think the bird shit evidence on my window is clearly visable, eh?

Gandalf the Grey

Originally uploaded by Dunechaser.

Dreier: Will the gentlewoman yield?

Holmes Norton: I will not yield, sir. The District of Columbia has spent 206 years yielding to people who would deny them the vote. I yield you no ground. Not during my time. You have had your say, and your say has been that you think the people who live in your capital are not entitled to a vote in their House. Shame on you.

Good on ya, Eleanor! Tell ‘em how it is.

The DC Voting Rights Act passed today, and you can see DCist’s blow by blow coverage of the entire debate from today. The conclusion? It passed, but it’s linked, oddly, to a budget bill. If both don’t pass, the DC remains voteless.