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| Uh, oh ... here come the 60s again? |
VOICE writes, "
The low- to midpriced Kohl's clothing store is running a new TV ad with a pleasant musical theme: "We're all in this together." We're not quite sure what that has to do with the dresses it is selling, but there you are.
It could be just our seasonal allergies, but there seem to be signs of a new version of the '60s heading our way.
Environmentalism has big corporations posing as green. Race relations seem shaky again. Questions of class and power are always with us, but now there's a certain tilt away from the conservative mantras of the recent decades.
Look at the presidential campaigns. Each has been ensnared, some more than once, in demands that they denounce remarks by their supporters, remarks that are deemed politically incorrect.
And, of course, there is war -- "War, what is it good for?" goes the lyric -- that enters every political debate in so many ways.
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The only real difference is we're a lot older, those of us who were here in the '60s, and the Internet makes even the most local protest or comment worldwide news.
¥ Hazardous to your health. Face it: This past weekend's high-minded effort by the city government to recycle hazardous waste was a disaster. The city was overwhelmed. Work crews had expected about 2,000 vehicles, but the city counted 3,800. That doesn't include the untold number whose owners drove away in disgust.
We were all set to write this week that Mayor Adrian Fenty should do something about never letting this happen again.
Well, he has.
NBC4 reported this week that the Fenty administration has regrouped and was planning to announce a "makeup" session for this Saturday.
And it's going even further. City Administrator Dan Tangherlini told NBC4 that the city is looking at establishing a weekly drop-off site or similar effort to make recycling more of a routine event, rather than a semiannual haul-a-thon.
¥ Jeremiah Wright. The sometimes-fierce preacher from Chicago is not going away. And he's not remaining silent in the wake of controversy over his remarks and whether Barack Obama should further denounce the preacher's views.
Wright was in town Monday at the National Press Club. He repeated the accurate but ultimately damning remark that he's only a preacher doing what he does, and that Obama is merely a politician doing what politicians do.
That strikes at the fundamental premise of the Obama "movement" campaign: that he's not the run-of-the-mill politician and that he will actually bring something called "change." (Of course, keen observers know that many successful politicians win by running antipolitician campaigns.)
Any close study of African-American church history will reveal the broad themes of American racism and marginalization of African-Americans that the Rev. Wright discusses. But in the sound-bite world of presidential politics, it's not helping the Obama campaign.
¥ Hazardous to your health. Face it: This past weekend's high-minded effort by the city government to recycle hazardous waste was a disaster.
If it had been a violent crime, Mayor Adrian Fenty would have shown up on the scene and vowed his administration would do something about it.
Instead, citizens faced hours-long waits amid confusion and traffic as they tried to properly dispose of computer monitors, old paints and other nonrecyclables that you can't just toss in the trash.
Have more events. Have more drop-off spots. Have more people on hand. But please don't have any more hazardous waste drops like the one on Saturday. As several readers pointed out, the carbon footprint of this weekend's disaster on upper 16th Street should never, ever, be repeated.
¥ Howz that again? A reader of The Washington Post questions a recent story that "burglaries have surged 21 percent" in the city.
Jack McKay writes to DCWatch that the paper compared the first three months of 2008 to a period (the first quarter of 2007) in which burglary numbers were unusually low -- 24 percent lower than the average in recent years. That made this year's numbers feel like a "surge," and McKay says that's misleading.
¥ Vacationing in Guam? Civic watchdog Dorothy Brizill is heading to Guam, but not to vacation. (Does anyone vacation in Guam?)
Brizill is being sued in that Pacific territory because she gave an interview opposing gambling efforts there. Slot promoter John Baldwin brought the suit, apparently claiming some sort of malice or injury. The territory's Supreme Court is hearing an appeal of the case on Saturday.
Brizill has been a dogged investigator when it comes to slots proposals here or elsewhere. She was a leader in blocking Baldwin's efforts to bring 3,500 slots to the District. She and her supporters believe Baldwin brought suit in Guam just to harass her and make her spend money.
The local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has taken up Brizill's case, but we're sure it would welcome donations to help defray the travel and court costs.
The Notebook could not reach Baldwin for comment.
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Posted on Apr 30, 2008 22:45pm.
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