A Modest Proposal

DC has more schools than it needs while VA needs more schools to house all of it's students.
I suggest the DC should lease out its extra school capacity to VA (and possibly MD if needed) to put some more money in the city's coffers.

If You Have Nothing to Hide

The government of the USSR and the current US government and their "need" to intrude on private lives "for our own good" bear strong resemblances.

Though I think the fundamental difference between the two is that the people of the USSR knew that what they read in Pravda was bullshit, while here the hoi polloi actually think what they are fed by talk radio and Fox News is true.

Accountability

Am I the only one who is disturbed by the following line? From this CNN article

"a rare court decision holding a contracting company accountable for its actions in the war."

Shouldn't every contracting company be accountable for their actions?

Cool H-Street Map

via Frozen Tropics

Atlas District

For Cliff

Since I know he's a big Einstein fan and a regular DC Dan reader.
Einstein: His Life and Universe

I'm Man Enough

I'm man enough to admit to occasionally indulging in ABBA

Welcome to the Goddamn Social

I just got great news from Amazon.com today!

The New Flash Zunes Are Now in Stock at Amazon.com

Order yours today!

Trent Lott

The rumor says that Trent Lott will leave his office early, hopefully one of the following reasons will be why
1) He is the person behind the mysterious fires in the restrooms
2) He is on the DC Madame's phone list
3) He was caught tapping his foot in a men's room
4) He is the father of an illegitimate child with an illegal alien (a la Strom Thurmond)

Why is Sync So Hard

When my Sony Ericsson k790 died I picked up a BlackBerry Pearl, the phone itself is pretty great, the UI could use some eye candy but the fact the RIM has been making this interface for several years really shows. The only problem is sync on the Mac is a fucking joke. You have to use some half-assed program called PocketMac and it takes a long time and isn't a native iSync plug-in. What is further more a pain in the ass is that you can't sync over Bluetooth. WTF this should be damn simple by now.
Second generation iPhone, Sony Ericsson or one of the cool Nokias I have my eye on you :-)

Grinds My Gears

This is a grinds my gears post to get some things off of my chest to let me vent a bit about annoyances.

1) The bike lane on East Capitol is a lane for bikes, not the Capitol Police hangout lane, not the FedEx/UPS stopping area, not the I'm going to try to slip around traffic on the right lane, not the I'm only stopping at the store for a minute a lane and certainly not the I'm jogging the wrong way down the street with or without my goddamn baby stroller lane. It is a lane for people on bikes.

2) Going one floor on the elevator is never acceptable unless you are carrying something heavy this goes double when the stairs are right next door to the elevator.

3) When you are on the Metro and you decide to stand in the doorway the least you can do is know which side of the train the majority of the stops are on. An axiom to this is if you are the dumb ass who doesn't get out of the way when people are trying to squeeze through the limited space left because of your lack of consideration, you don't have the right to complain about how people are being rude and that they didn't say excuse me. To he fucker on the train who pulled this shit at the McPherson stop on Friday, you are lucky you I wasn't slightly more annoyed that day otherwise one of us would probably have ended up in jail and from the looks of it I could probably afford a much better legal defense.

That is all.

Let the Fucking Begin

(though it's been going on for years, in fact YOU are a product of fucking)
Anyway more on the stupidity of abstinence only sex education.
How is Abstinence-Only Sex Education Like South Africa’s Driving Exam?

I've also noted that the religious right always seems in favor of ignorance over education. In fact if memory serves me correctly curiosity was discouraged by the Holy See for a long time. Encouraging ignorance over education isn't only in the realm of sexual education the religious right also encourages it for thing like evolution. Just a couple of weeks ago I got an email from the American Family Ass. they were concerned that people may see the movie "The Golden Compass" which is based on a series of books that is not fond of organized religion. Their concern is that you'll see the movie and question your faith. Were I a father I would encourage my kids to read everything and think for themselves, they want to read the Golden Compass good! They want to read the Bible good! The more people are exposed the broader their horizons and hopefully their ability to think critically and make good decisions.
Take a look next time you hear from a religious leader they are almost always encouraging ignorance over education, find me a counter example and I assure that the only education they encourage is somehow related to indoctrination into their beliefs.

(see alsothisand this

and I'll end it with a song

The Dead Kennedys
"Religious Vomit"

[Chorus]
All religions make me wanna throw up
All religions make me sick
All religions make me wanna throw up
All religions suck
They all claim that they have the truth
That'll set you free
Just give 'em all your money and they'll set you free
Free for a fee

They all claim that they have 'the Answer'
When they don't even know the Question
They're just a bunch of liars
They just want your money
They just want your consciousness

[Chorus]
All religions suck
All religions make me wanna throw up
All religions suck
All religions make me wanna BLEAH

They really make me sick
They really make me sick
They really make me sick
They really make me sick
They really make me sick
They really make me ILL

In-N-Out

One of my goals on this trip to LA was to get an In-N-Out burger, I've heard nothing but good things about their food, the way they treat their employees and their commitment to quality. I was even a good nerd and read their Wikipedia entry which led me to decide to put my money where my mouth is and NOT eat there.
You see the Snyder family prints Bible references on their packaging. Which might be okay were the passages perhaps moral issues which would be useful, but After reading them, they all focus on a need to believe to believe in a fairy tale guy (Jesus)
So alas In-N-Out burger, just like Chick-fil-A and Domino's Pizza, I refuse to spend my money with any group that promotes your silliness, so until you come to your senses I won't be dining on your Jesus food.

This Seems Like a Good Idea

For the record DC Dan, has never done and does not condone the use of cocaine.
In D.C., Price of Cocaine Soars as Supply Declines

There are a few quotes from the story that bother me:
"D.C. police investigators said that they had no statistical evidence to back the DEA's claim but that dealers appear to be fighting over a dwindling product. They said that could be contributing to a recent rise in other crimes, such as homicides and robberies. When supplies are scarce, some dealers turn to other crimes to make money, said D.C. police Inspector Brian Bray, head of the narcotics branch."

Okay so when coke dealers are dealing coke, the only people getting hurt are the people using cocaine, they damage themselves and move money through the economy without paying taxes. When the supply of cocaine is scarce, people who may or may not be involved in the cocaine may be killed or robbed. Now the way I see it I'd rather have people coked out, than than get mugged. I'm not sure that the government should be proud of the fact that a GOOD sign is that the coke market has been affected is an increase in violent crime. Perhaps legalization and taxation is a better approach, I know some tobacco farmers in Virginia and the Carolinas who probably need some new crops to replace tobacco. We learned this lesson rather quickly with the 18th Amendment why can't we learn it with other contraband.

Sigh.

Tired of the Tapping?

Brownhills Miner
Originally uploaded by Balakov

DC Dan has a plan to help out with the problem of gay-not-gay Republicans getting in trouble for soliciting sex in public men's rooms. I would like to buy out the Tortilla Coast ( conveniently located a block away from the RNC) and change it in a new gay bar.

You may say "DC Dan there are already plenty of gay bars in DC, that isn't going to change a thing"
Here is the difference there are two features that will make all of the difference in the world

The first is that I'll that is filled with bathroom stalls, you'll be served in your stall and of course "wide stances" are more than welcome.

The second is that I'll and this it what is killer about it, it will have an underground tunnel from the RNC that leads right to the main lobby so that the politicians don't have to worry about being outed.

While discussing this my friend Nate, he came up with another great idea, which will happen on Thursday nights (known as Nate Night)
"I have long wanted to open a place called The Mineshaft, with no lights except for those helmet flashlights miners and spelunkers wear, which the bartenders, waiters and bouncers would have"