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15 Dec 2009 21:40

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Politics: Let’s take a moment to ponder the D.C. gay marriage bill

  • I’m going to use the full power of the black church to kill this bill. I feel pity for those who voted for this because they have defied the will of God. We have warned them.
  • Rev. Anthony Evans of Mount Zion Baptist Church • On the bill in favor of gay marriage that passed today in the District. The bill passed the council today 11-2 (but needs a signature from Mayor Adrian Fenty that it’s bound to get). For those who don’t live in D.C., we’d like to point out a couple of things: D.C. has one of the largest (and strongest) gay communities in the country, and Congress has the right to block the law’s passage. A couple of loudmouths could bully Congress and convince them to take away a huge victory for the District’s gay community. To us, this says one thing: The District’s rights shouldn’t be controlled by Congress like this. It’s unfair, and it wouldn’t be an issue in Virgina or Maryland despite the fact that they’re less than 10 miles away. This disparity needs to be fixed so folks like Evans can’t take advantage of it. source

15 Jul 2009 21:14

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U.S.: Never a dull moment in D.C.: Guy shot, killed near Capitol

  • Whew. Just another average day in the District. A block away from the Capitol, a dude gets stopped for a routine traffic stop. He flees in his getaway car of choice – a white Mercedes – and hits a cop in the process, injuring him. He then drives into a police cruiser, gets out, and is cornered by police, who tell him to put down his weapon. He doesn’t do it, and is shot and killed. Like we said. Just another average day in the District.source

23 Jun 2009 08:59

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U.S.: The tally from the D.C. Metro crash has risen, but not hugely

  • 7 people died in the accident, which tore out an entire Metro car in dramatic fashion, sez mayor Adrian Fenty source

13 Jun 2009 12:34

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U.S.: Son of Holocaust Memorial shooter: He ruined our lives

  • For a long time, I believed this was our family’s cross to bear. Now, it is not only my families’ lives that are in shambles, but those who were directly affected by his actions, especially the family of Mr. Johns, who bravely sacrificed his life to stop my father.
  • Erik von Brunn • Son of Holocaust Museum shooter James von Brunn, who says his family’s lives were ruined by his father’s strong racism. Erik apologized to the family of slain guard Stephen Johns for his father’s actions. • source

30 May 2009 10:37

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Culture, Politics: We’re pretty “laodicean” about the National Spelling Bee

  • At some point, spelling became this national pasttime. Why? OK, we get it – education is important and athletics ultimately aren’t. And for some, seeing the National Spelling Bee become this big, all-caps EVENT is kind of a big deal. But we don’t agree. We have zero interest in seeing Kavya Shivashankar win the event spelling huge words like “laodicean.” We have even less interest in looking for drama to be found out of kids spelling big words. It seems like spelling shouldn’t play on the same type of field as football. We got 2nd place in our third-grade spelling bee. Maybe we’re bitter because of that. source

27 Apr 2009 22:05

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Politics: Quote of the night, from D.C. journalist Jaclyn Schiff

  • Modern journalists need to help people navigate information overload, sift through the garbage, and identify great information.
  • Jaclyn Schiff • Discussing the swine flu outbreak in general, Twitter’s role in the disseminating information the outbreak, and journalists’ role in informing the public of the outbreak. Ms. Schiff, you’re awesome. We both live in D.C. Wanna go grab a cup of coffee sometime so we can nod our heads in agreement on this particular key fact? I’ll treat. • source

21 Feb 2009 11:51

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Offbeat: George Mason’s homecoming queen: A real queen

A drag queen, that is. Good for her! source
 

20 Jan 2009 12:45

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U.S.: A somber, serious inauguration speech from Obama

  • Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America – they will be met.
  • Barack Obama • who delivered a sobering inauguration speech that largely focused on values over specific policy initiatives • source