Washington Beltway UFO!

The Military got folks all in a dither last night, moving one of their secret “drone” planes down the highway. Apparently the aircraft’s unusual shape snarled traffic for hours (which isn’t much of a trick on the Capital Beltway which seems to stay in permanent gridlock.

Moving pictures of ET no less…

UFO On The Beltway? Aircraft On A Truck Sparks Curiosity

Don’t worry, the strange object seen just outside the nation’s capital Wednesday night wasn’t a UFO. It was a drone.

A strangely-shaped saucer-like aircraft was seen in D.C.’s Maryland suburbs around 11 p.m., causing traffic backups and speculation about government coverups. Photos, like like this one widely circulated on Twitter, show the mysterious object being driven along the Capitol Beltway near College Park on the back of a truck.

Officials identified the flying machine to WTOP:

Maryland State Police at the McHenry Barrack have confirmed the aircraft seen on the Beltway was a military airplane being moved from West Virginia to Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Southern Maryland.The plane is 82 feet long, 32 feet wide and 14 feet high. The X-46B is the same type of military vehicle that crashed earlier this week near Salisbury, Md.

The vehicle that had crashed was also a drone. The Patuxent River Naval Air Station is home to a large drone program.

This time the drone was spotted on the highway. Matt Funk, lead test engineer, told NBC4/WRC-TV that “in the coming months” the drone will be seen “flying over the base and surrounding area along the Chesapeake Bay.”

Funk identified the aircraft as a one of Northrop Grumman’s X-47B drones, a type of aircraft often mistaken for a UFO, not an X-46B as was reported by WTOP. And the drone that crashed earlier in the week was Northrop Grumman’s RQ-4A BAMS-D, according to media reports.

When asked about the discrepancy in the type of aircraft, a representative from the Maryland State Police told HuffPost that there’s “nothing in the paperwork that mentions what type of aircraft it was.”

Yup! Besides Aliens imported from the other states in Congress (some of them are too stupid to be human!)– We got our very own Area 51 right here on the Chesapeake Bay!

Another Kwame – Another Fraud

Kwame Brown – Orange Jumpsuit Politician of the Week Award

Small Government is corrupt government. One of the reasons conservatives so love that small government is the opportunity it provides for corruption.

Washington, DC’s city government has a long history and culture of corruption.  Many of the black contractors in the region won’t even consider making sales calls on the DC Government because of internal corruption.

From former Mayor Marion Berry to the current Kwame, this corruption has reached into the highest levels of the DC Government, forming a virtual boat anchor around the necks of the citizenry and the city’s ability to provide services.

The amazing part is that the stakes in the corruption, unlike other big cities – are so small. I’m not real sure this is the type of case Federal prosecutors ought to be chasing, though – as there seems to me to be a lot bigger fish to fry than some moron lying about his income on a loan application. Going after Kwame on this is a bit…

Overboard.

Speaking of boat anchors – Borrowing $50k for a 38′ boat? Obviously he was maxxed out on his Mercedes payment (Kwame had a reputation for driving expensive cars). If he had to borrow $50k for that size boat – he couldn’t afford it anyway. Boats in that size come with 300-600 gallon gas tanks – meaning a fill up for half a tank, which is where most prudent boaters fill – is $750 – $1,500. That doesn’t count $2-3000 a year in slip fees, $1,500 in winterization costs, and normal repairs and maintenance…

It had to be a used boat, because the last time I went to the Annapolis Boar Show, you couldn’t buy the steering wheel on a quality boat in that class for $50k. And I have known guys who spent that much on the electronics package and fishing gear on their boats.

And with the mortgage industry fraud and theft by bank of depositor funds though overdraft and other manipulated fees…

I’m not sure Kwame’s crime rises above theft of stolen money from a thief who stole the money in the first place.

Not to excuse Kwame – But…

I Don’t understand why these prosecutors aren’t putting the real thieves in jail.

D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown resigns after he is charged with bank fraud

D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown resigned from his seat Wednesday night, hours after he was charged with bank fraud, plunging the city government into a leadership crisis.

“Because of the great respect that I have for the institution that is the Council of the District of Columbia, I have chosen the only honorable course in submitting my resignation at this time,” Brown wrote in a letter to the council secretary. “I simply will not hold this body, and its important work hostage to the resolution of my personal indiscretions.”

Earlier in the day, prosecutors filed a three-page charging document in the District’s federal court accusing Brown (D) of falsifying records in applications to obtain a home loan and to buy a $50,000 powerboat. Brown inflated his income by “tens of thousands of dollars” in the two-year scheme that started in August 2005, federal prosecutors wrote.

Brown, dogged for months by an investigation into his personal finances and his 2008 campaign for a council seat, is scheduled to attend a plea hearing Friday before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon. Bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, but under federal sentencing guidelines, Brown will face far less potential punishment.

The disclosure of the charges set off a frenzy of activity at the District’s John A. Wilson Building, including a hastily scheduled closed-door council meeting in Brown’s office.

Brown, 41, submitted his resignation quietly, in a letter delivered privately. He refused to address a platoon of reporters as he left his council offices about 4 p.m.

A politician who speaks of himself in the third person, has compared himself to President John F. Kennedy and has a love affair with expensive cars, Brown flashed a large grin as he shoved his way through the scrum and tried to ignore reporters’ shouted questions.

“I will have a comment tomorrow,” said Brown, who as recently as last week said that he was not “worried one bit” about an intensifying federal probe into his finances and a previous city campaign.

The charges against Brown came in a “criminal information,” a document that can be filed only with the defendant’s consent and which signals that a plea deal has been reached. Officials familiar with the case said that prosecutors and Brown’s attorney have been discussing the plea deal for weeks.

“Thank you,” he told reporters as he tried to get to his car. “No comment as of now. I appreciate you for waiting in this hallway all this time. I don’t have a comment.”

On Wednesday night, well after Brown had left the Wilson Building, city workers removed his nameplate from his office door, leaving only the word “Chairman” near Room 504…

Brown is the second council member this year to be charged with a federal crime. Last month, former council member Harry Thomas Jr. (D) was sentenced to 38 months in prison after pleading guilty to stealing more than $350,000 from city taxpayers.

Chuck Brown – Godfather of Go Go

Used to be, you could tell what city you were in by the music on the radio. CATV and the homogenization of channels after major radio companies consolidated the small local stations – pretty much killed that.

Chuck Brown was a DC institution. I heard Chuck Brown play the first time back in the 70′s, and have heard him play probably 15 or 20 times since. For years he played the “Cabaret” circuit – yet another institution peculiar to DC.

The he started playing a new type of music – Go Go.

Two things you needed to go to a Go Go Club…

Your dancing shoes – and a willingness to boogie all night.

RIP Chuck!

And -

DC Poster’s “Scalia is a Rapist” Mystery

Well…The political season in DC is off to a rather crazy start. Last week we had the moron taking shots at the White House with an AK…

This week it’s another moron taking verbal shots at Scalia, claiming he is a rapist – first picked up by Gawker.

Now, this blogger doesn’t belive Justice Antonin Scalia is a good guy – there is plenty of evidence of bribe taking from conservative causes. But a Herman Cain rapist?

Noooooo… Everybody knows Antonin is a choirboy…

Who Is Putting Up Posters in Washington Calling Antonin Scalia a Rapist?

A crazy person, certainly. A tipster sent us shots of these leaflets, which have been going up “all around D.C. streets in recent days.” In addition to misspelling his first name, the flyers accuse Scalia of date rape, soliciting prostitutes, and pistol-whipping women in hotel rooms. For more information, they recommend that you contact Scalia. He’ll probably just deny it.

Exploding Toilet!

This one goes under …Naaaaaaaw!

Can’t happen, right? Sounds like a job for Mythbusters (But I think they already did that a few years ago)

Exploding D.C. Toilet Sends General Services Administration Woman To Hospital

A female employee at a federal building in Washington, D.C., went to the hospital early this week after suffering serious injuries from sitting on an exploding toilet.

The Huffington Post confirmed the plumbing malfunction, which took place at the General Services Administration (GSA) building on 7th and D Streets SW and even drew the attention of D.C. Fire Spokesman Pete Piringer.

After the incident, an internal memo distributed to the building, which warned workers against using the facilities, was leaked to local media:

“DO NOT flush toilets or use any domestic water. Due to a mechanical failure, there is high air pressure in the domestic water system that resulted in damage to toilets. The engineering staff is working to correct the issue. There has been damage to flushed toilets that has resulted in injuries. We will announce when the issue is resolved.”Some may think an exploding toilet could only be the work of a practical joker. However, this is not the case here.

Water flowing through a city’s pipe systems is sent at a higher pressure because it often travels long distances. This water needs to be slowed down once it reaches its destination, so a malfunction in the pressure-reducing valve can lead to some messy results.

“The closer you are to the source pump, the higher the pressure will be,” Larry Rothman, Roto-Rooter director of plumbing, told The Huffington Post.

Rothman added that exploding toilets might be “a little dramatic,” but did say there are instances where “people will get really wet and the faucet will fall off.” Short of an actual toilet bomber or “methane gas in a sewer line,” Rothman says it’s hard to picture a toilet actually exploding.

Chuck White, Vice President of Technical and Code Services for the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association, said that while he’s never seen an exploding toilet himself, it is something you read about in the plumbing textbooks.

Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On!

 

I live to the West of Washington DC, near the mountains. So we got a pretty good jolt a few hours ago, as a 5.9 earthquake struck…

At first I thought it was caused by thousands of conservatives heads literally hitting the wall after figuring out Obama’s Libya strategy was a resounding success.

 

CNN Discovers DC’s GO Go Music

30 years later and folks are still “discovering” Go-Go, a music style developed in Washington DC. Sorry about the ad in the beginning. Danced away many a night to this at one or more of DC’s “Cabarets”.

1st collector for CNN Discovers DC’s GO Go Music
Follow my videos on vodpod

Tax Extension, Thanks to “The Last Colony”

Automobile Tags in the District of Columbia have carried the words “Taxation Without Representation” for years. Sometimes referring to the City as “The Last Colony”, because the Capital City has no voting rights in Congress, City Politicians and activists have campaigned hard through the years for DC to receive Statehood status. The addition of one voting Congressman and two Senators has been resisted heavily by Republicans. The reason for that is similar to the Missouri Compromise, where  the slave states demanded that a slave state be added to the Union for every free state. DC is heavily Democrat. Obviously, Republicans don’t want another “free state” with Senators who might shift the dynamics of power in Congress, in a situation erily similar to the position of their ideological forbears.

In any event – those of us living in the (shrinking) majority of the country which does get the sometimes questionable “benefit” of a voting Congressman and Senator,  get a 3 day  ”emancipation” of sorts because of a DC Holiday. The Holiday ironically is “Emancipation Day“…

Nine months before President Lincoln issued his famous Emancipation Proclamation, he signed into law the D.C. Compensated Emancipation Act of 1862, which ended slavery in the nation’s capital.More than 3,100 slaves were freed immediately, and “loyal Unionist” masters were compensated up to $300 per freed slave (roughly $6,000 in today’s currency).

Federal tax filing deadline pushed back 3 days, to April 18, because DC holiday falls on 15th

The filing deadline is delayed because the District of Columbia will observe Emancipation Day on Friday, April 15. By law, local holidays in the nation’s capital impact tax deadlines the same way federal holidays would, the Internal Revenue Service said.

Taxpayers will have until midnight Monday, April 18, to file their 2010 returns. Taxpayers requesting an extension will have until Oct. 17 to file their returns.

Emancipation Day marks the occasion when President Abraham Lincoln signed into law a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia. Lincoln signed the bill on April 16, 1862, more than eight months before he signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which eventually led to all slaves being freed.

The IRS expects to process more than 140 million individual tax returns this year. Most taxpayers can fill out their returns and file them as soon as they receive all their tax documents from employers, banks and other financial institutions. Some taxpayers, however, will have to wait to file until mid- to late February to file their returns because of late changes to the 2010 tax law passed by Congress in December.

The IRS said it needs more time to re-program its processing systems to take into account the new law. The agency plans to announce a more definitive filing date before then.

Those who must wait to file include people who itemize their deductions, taxpayers who claim a deduction for college tuition and fees, and school teachers who claim a deduction for out-of-pocket classroom expenses.

DC Schools Superintendent Resigns

BTX3 is back from his travels for a few days, although it appears he will be on the move quite a bit for the next few months. Blogging will be intermittent for a while.

Michelle Rhee, nationally lauded superintendent of DC Schools is resigning today in what looks to be a giant step backward for the DC School System. To many, this represents a return to the cronyism and nepotism which has crippled the system for decades, making it one of the worst in the country.

Retiring DC Mayor Adrian Fenty and DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee

 

D.C. Schools Chancellor Rhee to resign

Michelle Rhee is turning in her two weeks notice, resigning as D.C. schools chancellor and passing the baton to her deputy.

Effective at the end of October, Rhee’s tenure as leader of D.C. Public Schools will end before presumptive mayor Vincent Gray rendered a decision to keep her during his term. Gray has appointed Deputy Chancellor Kaya Henderson, who was Rhee’s first appointment and shares her values, to temporarily take over the position.

Rhee will announce her resignation at a press conference Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. in Washington’s Mayflower hotel, with Mayor Adrian Fenty and Gray, the D.C. City Council chairman.

A source tells WTOP the resignation was a mutual agreement after Rhee spoke to Fenty and Gray.

Late Tuesday afternoon, the Gray campaign announced a press conference for Wednesday morning, but would not answer any questions about the subject of the announcement.

“(Gray’s) point has been that all of school reform cannot be rolled into one person,” says Mark Plotkin, WTOP political analyst.

“You can find other people who are just as able and qualified as Michelle Rhee.”

 

 

DC Mayor Adrian Fenty Loses Democrat Primary…Wins Republican Primary!

Democrat DC Mayor Adrian Fenty wins Republican write in vote!

Geez – if he runs there might actually be the single Republican in the entire country worth voting for –  unlike the Scumbags in sheeps clothing who fooled the electorate to get elected in Virginia as Governor and Attorney General.

Although I don’t live in DC (and thus can’t vote) – I think Fenty’s loss was a giant step backward for the city.

Fenty wins! (As a GOP write-in)

D.C. Democrats may have rejected Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s bid for a second term at the polls on Tuesday, but the city’s tiny Republican minority doesn’t want to see him go.

A whopping 822 Republicans penned in Fenty’s name on the write-in spot on the GOP ballot, according to unofficial results released Friday morning by the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics. With no declared Republican candidate competing for the mayoral nomination in the primary, that’s enough to put Fenty–a lifelong Democrat–on November’s ballot as a Republican.

But don’t hold your breath. Fenty has endorsed Democratic nominee Vincent C. Gray in the general election and has said publicly and repeatedly that he has no interest in running as a Republican or independent. He said Wednesday that he would not accept the nomination no matter how many registered Republicans wrote him in.

Were he interested in facing Gray in November, Fenty–who won 45 percent of the Democratic vote Tuesday compared to 54 percent for Gray–would have to register as a Republican and affirm the write-in candidacy by 4:45 p.m. today, the third day after the election. Again, don’t count on it.

DC Mayor Fenty Loses

DC Mayor Apparent - Vincent Gray

Not sure this was a good thing in terms of the direction of the City… But it is done. Quite frankly, as an outside observer -  I think this sets DC Schools back 10 years.

D.C. Mayor Fenty loses to Gray in Democratic primary

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty fell to challenger Vincent Gray in a grueling Democratic primary that left candidates and voters waiting until 1:30 a.m. Wednesday before definitive unofficial results were announced.

If Mr. Gray’s lead holds and Mr. Gray wins in November, it will mark the first time in the city’s history that a council chairman becomes mayor.

With 128 of 143 precincts counted, Mr. Gray had 53 percent of the votes compared to Mr. Fenty’s 46 percent.

Mr. Fenty did not concede defeat when he appeared about 1:15 a.m. at a rally at his campaign headquarters, where scores of well-wishers, including his parents, waited for returns.

Mr. Fenty campaigned hard on a record of school reform. He received an endorsement from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and sought but failed to get one from President Obama.

At his victory party at the Washington Court Hotel near Union Station, Mr. Gray readily urged his supporters to applaud Mr. Fenty for waging a “hard fought and spirited” campaign and he said the mayor was “gracious in offering his support moving forward.”

Mr. Fenty has said he would not challenge Mr. Gray as a Republican or independent in the November general election. That bodes well for Mr. Gray since the Democrat who wins the primary is practically assured victory in the general election in the overwhelming Democratic city.

Early returns showed several other Democrats were cruising to victory, including D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, who was leading her closest challenger, Doug Sloan, with 90 percent of the vote.

In the race for council chairman, the seat vacated by Mr. Gray, council member Kwame Brown was leading his former colleague Vincent Orange with 56 percent to 39 percent, according to the preliminary tallies. If Mr. Brown wins, the D.C. Democratic Party will appoint a successor to Mr. Brown, and a special election will be slated for the spring.

In other down-ticket races, four unopposed Republicans will be challenging Democrats in four ward races in November.

Who’s Hot? DC and Atlanta Lead in Black Owned Business Development

More fuel that the centers of black America have shifted,  are now Atlanta and Washington, DC…

Daniel Bryant, Owner of Running Tigers Wine. From Shoe Stores to Strategic Management Consulting, Black Firms Are Developing In Spite of the Economy

Hat Tip – NewsOne

The U.S. Census Bureau reported recently that Georgia has the second-highest percentage of black-owned businesses in the nation at 20.4 percent. Only the District of Columbia, at 28.2 percent of the city’s businesses, has a larger percentage of African-American ownership.

From 2002 to 2007, the number of minority-owned businesses in the nation increased by 45.6 percent to 5.8 million, more than twice the rate of all U.S. businesses, the bureau said.

More interesting news at the WSJ -

Minority companies have been hiring at a faster rate than non-minority companies — up 27% over the five years compared with 2.3% growth for white-owned companies, according to the Census numbers.

The Census Bureau reported that the number of black-owned businesses grew 61% to 1.9 million; the number of Hispanic-owned businesses grew by 44% to 2.3 million; and the number of Asian-owned businesses grew by 41% to 1.6 million. The number of white-owned businesses rose 14% to 22.6 million over the same period.

Revenues for minority-owned businesses in 2007 averaged $179,000, a number Mr. Hinson called “paltry” compared with the $490,000 average for non-minority firms. Black-owned businesses saw average revenues of $72,000 in 2007, down from $74,000 in 2002, he said.

The total revenues for all minority owned businesses rose 55.6% over the five year period to $1 trillion in 2007, a small number compared with the $30.2 trillion total for all U.S. companies, the report said.

Running Tigers Website can be found here. And Yeah – I know it’s not in DC or Atlanta… But who can pass up a good bottle of wine?

Did the Earth Move For You?

Geez – BTx3 was jolted awake by an earthquake this morning  at 5 AM. This stuff may be old hat to you Californians – but in this part of the country it’s fairly rare. Only lasted a few seconds, but it sounded like a 747 was landing on top of the house. with things vibrating and shaking. Reports this morning say that it was 3.6 magnitude, centered just northeast of where I live across the border in Maryland. No damage, except to a few nerves…

Shaken not stirred… Indeed!

A Steetcar Desired – Streetcars to Return to DC

A great idea, which never should have been ditched – there is work afoot to put a new Streetcar Line in Washington DC!

As a little tyke I rode one of these from a parking area in Georgetown over to the 7th Street shopping area with my mom to the Department Stores before they built the big Suburban Malls (which wasn’t that long ago!).

For years after they closed the line, the Trolleys still ran as an amusement at the old Trolley yard near Glen Echo.

Georgetown never fully tore up the old trolley tracks (hell – they still got bricks in the street from George Washington’s time!).The old has become new – and this is a far more energy efficient (and cleaner for the environment) system than taxis or buses!

more about “Streetcars Return to DC“, posted with vodpod

Conservative Gun Nuts Deny Vote to DC Residents

Conservatives yesterday blocked the residents of DC’s right to have a voting member in Congress with a “Poison Pill” amendment…

A bill which would allow anyone to carry a gun into a Day Care Center or to Church.

more about “Rachel Maddow: For D.C., no represent…“, posted with vodpod