The Voice of DC Cab Drivers, April 10, 2011

Posted on April 14, 2011 by admin

From L-R: Pete Harman, Pete Tucker, Carolyn Robinson

LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF DC CAB DRIVERS

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“It’s just amazing to me that a lot of people that are not involved [with the taxicab industry] can sit and decide on rules and regulations that pertain to the drivers, and the drivers never have a seat at the table,” said Carolyn Robinson, a fourth generation Washingtonian who has driven a taxicab for 36 years and is affiliated with DC Professional Taxicab Drivers Association & Small Business Association of DC Taxicab Drivers.

Robinson was a guest on “The Voice of DC Cab Drivers,” which airs Sunday evenings from 7-8:00 p.m. on WUST 1120 AM. The show is sponsored by the Dominion of Cab Drivers.

Last month, the “Professional Taxicab Standards and Medallion Establishment Act of 2011” was introduced by Councilmembers Harry Thomas (Ward 5), Michael Brown (At large) and Marion Barry (Ward 8), and was co-sponsored by Yvette Alexander (Ward 7). Continue reading →

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“The 41 for 51”: 41 Arrested In Push to Make D.C. the 51st State

Posted on April 13, 2011 by admin

Photo courtesy of The Washington Post

LISTEN TO MAYOR VINCE GRAY

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It clearly isn’t going to come from simply being nice or being complacent or being apathetic. – Mayor Vincent Gray

The District of Columbia lacks statehood, but it does not lack leadership. Monday, Mayor Vincent Gray and six sitting members of the D.C. Council were among the 41 arrested outside the Hart Senate Office Building in an act of civil disobedience.

While Congress debates the budget, District residents must wait and see how they will be impacted. Without a vote in the Senate or a full vote in the House of Representatives, District residents are at the mercy of the very Congress which refuses to grant them the rights provided to all Americans. Continue reading →

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April 26 Special Election: At-Large D.C. Council Candidates Alan Page and Dorothy Douglas In Their Own Words

Posted on April 12, 2011 by admin

LISTEN TO ALAN PAGE

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LISTEN TO DOROTHY DOUGLAS

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In fourteen days, the April 26 will take place for special election for the D.C. Council (as well as for the State Board of Education for Wards 4 and 8).

(In-person absentee) Voting has already begun.

From the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics: “Any voter can cast a ballot by mail or at the Board’s office at One Judiciary Square. In-person absentee voting will be available seven days a week beginning on Monday, April 11 from 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. except on the following dates: Sunday, April 17, 12:30 – 5:30 p.m.; Sunday, April 24, CLOSED; Monday, April 25, 8:30 a.m. – 4:45 p.m.”

TheFightBack is putting the same ten questions to each of the candidates for at-large councilmember.

Continue reading →

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Voices from The National Conference for Media Reform in Boston: Jonathan Simon’s Open Letter Calls On Journalists to Cover the Republicans’ Ongoing Rigging of Elections

Posted on April 11, 2011 by admin

LISTEN TO JONATHAN SIMON

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In an open letter, Jonathan Simon, executive director of the Election Defense Alliance, asked that “every journalist and Media Reformer here in Boston” stop turning a blind eye towards “A Big Lie [that] is consuming America.”

“American elections can be rigged and are being rigged,” wrote Simon.

The 2011 National Conference on Media Reform kicked off Saturday morning in Boston with a live broadcast of Democracy Now! Appearing on the program, John Nichols, Washington correspondent for The Nation magazine and associate editor of the Capital Times in Madison, discussed Wisconsin’s recently completed – but far from over – judicial election in which the Republican incumbent appeared to have lost until thousands of votes mysteriously appeared two days after the election:

“We have this huge election for State Supreme Court between a candidate closely tied to Governor Scott Walker – his name is David Prosser, he’s the… incumbent justice of the Supreme Court – being challenged by a woman named JoAnne Kloppenburg. She wasn’t thought to have a chance. But because of this uprising in Wisconsin, she swept up politically, very much a grassroots campaign, and tied David Prosser.” Continue reading →

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April 26 Special Election: At-Large D.C. Council Candidates Vincent Orange and Joshua Lopez In Their Own Words

Posted on April 8, 2011 by admin

LISTEN TO JOSHUA LOPEZ

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LISTEN TO VINCENT ORANGE

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April 26, just eighteen days from now, is the special election for the D.C. Council (as well as for the State Board of Education for Wards 4 and 8). The Council seat was vacated when Kwame Brown, formerly an at-large councilmember, was sworn in as chairman of the Council.

In January, the D.C. Democratic State Committee selected Sekou Biddle to temporarily fill the seat until the special election.

TheFightBack has the same ten questions for each of the Council candidates, beginning with Vincent Orange and Joshua Lopez. Continue reading →

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“The Voice of DC Cab Drivers” Returns to the Air

Posted on April 7, 2011 by admin

LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF DC CAB DRIVERS

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“The Voice of DC Cab Drivers” can be heard Sundays from 7:00 – 8:00 PM on WUST 1120 AM (or at wust1120.com or by phone at 712-432-6620).

I’m honored to be hosting the program, which is sponsored by the Dominion of Cab Drivers. The shows will be archived at TheFightBack.org.

“The Voice of DC Cab Drivers” returns to the air at a critical moment.

D.C.’s taxicab industry is unique in that it has many independent owner/operators, small companies and associations.
Continue reading →

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Homeland (In)Security: Ward 8 Residents Question Benefit of DHS’s $3.4 Billion Headquarters

Posted on April 6, 2011 by admin

LISTEN TO VOICES FROM DC JOBS OR ELSE

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If you don’t have economic democracy, you can’t have political democracy. – Donald Temple, civil rights attorney

Unemployment in D.C.’s Ward 8 is at least 18 percent. In the midst of the job insecurity east of the Anacostia River the federal government is undertaking its largest project in the U.S.

Construction has begun on the Department of Homeland Security’s $3.4 billion headquarters on the 176-acre West Campus of the former St. Elizabeth’s hospital. Continue reading →

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Johnny Barnes Calls for Statehood (Not Voting Rights) for the District of Columbia

Posted on April 5, 2011 by admin

LISTEN TO JOHNNY BARNES

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The District of Columbia is not a state.

Let’s try that again: The District of Columbia is not yet a state.

“It’s going to happen in my lifetime. I believe that,” said Johnny Barnes, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of the National Capital Area.

Here’s some background courtesy of the ACLU-NCA: “Since 1801, Congress has denied the people of Washington DC representation in the House of Representatives and the Senate. All other Americans vote to elect members of Congress – DC residents are forbidden to do so.

“This means Washingtonians have no say in creating the policies that govern the United States – no say on health care, no say on national security, and no say on the economy.

“There are 193 countries in the world. The United States is the only one that denies basic political rights to the residents of its capital while granting them to all other citizens.”

Today, the District of Columbia’s representation in Congress consists of a Delegate to the House of Representatives (Eleanor Holmes Norton) who lacks full voting rights. Continue reading →

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Busboys and Poets Owner Andy Shallal Says Four Walmarts In D.C. Would Be Devastating

Posted on April 4, 2011 by admin

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“To bring one Walmart [to D.C.] would be a big assault. To bring four Walmarts would be devastating,” said Andy Shallal, owner of the Busboys and Poets restaurants and chairman of Think Local First D.C.

A 2010 report by Hunter College and New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio reached a similar conclusion regarding Walmart’s potential impact on the Big Apple: “the entry of even a single Wal-Mart store in New York City could have a snowball effect and result in a negative long-term cumulative impact on the city’s economy and continued decline of the middle class.” Continue reading →

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Xenophobia and Taxicab Medallions

Posted on April 1, 2011 by admin

Photo courtesy of WTOP

LISTEN TO THE RALLY AT THE WILSON BUILDING

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John Ray, a lobbyist and former D.C. councilmember, does not represent the interests of D.C. taxicab drivers. And he’s clear on that. Sort of.

Standing in front of the John A. Wilson Building on Wednesday, Ray told taxicab drivers, “I’m not a member of the city Council. Mr. Barry, Mr. Brown, all the members of the city Council, they are the people who are elected to represent your interests and everybody else. I’m not trying to represent the interests of everybody.” Continue reading →

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