Getting some “ink” for DC Statehood

I recently got a DC flag tattoo at Tattoo Paradise in Adams Morgan, and it was documented in a great video by Brandon Bloch.

I was joined at the tattoo studio by former ANC commissioner and candiate for DC Council, Bryan Weaver who got a cool Mayan “13″ that was done in the style of the DC flag.

I had been thinking about doing something like this for a while, especially since getting arrested a few months ago in an act of civil disobedience on Capitol Hill. It’s a great way to mark that event, and will serve as a permanent reminder of the work that will need to be done to achieve statehood for DC.

The timing also worked out well for a “DC Flag Day in the Flesh” rally at Dupont Circle that was organized by the awesome Allyson Behnke. It was a great event where everyone with DC flag tattoos gathered in one place and we got some good media coverage for the issue. Thanks to her and Adam Eidinger for getting everyone together.

It’s been a crazy year so far…I’ve been arrested and have gotten a tattoo!  I’m turing 40 soon, I guess this is my version of a mid-life crisis! Check out the videos and links below:

DC Flag Tattoo Day – June 14 from Brandon Bloch on Vimeo.

Showing off some inked skin for D.C.

DC Residents Celebrate Flag Tattoos in Fight For DC Statehood: MyFoxDC.com

Congresswoman Elanor Norton Salutes the “DC41″

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) entered the names of the 41 people who got arrested standing up for the self-governing rights of the American citizens who reside in the nation’s capital by sitting down in a peaceful act of civil disobedience on Constitution Avenue last week. I was honored be a part of this action, and thank Congresswoman Norton for entering all of our names into the Congressional Record. I’ve pasted it below for everyone to see.

RECOGNIZING THE DC 41

______

HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON
of the District of Columbia
in the house of representatives

Friday, April 15, 2011

Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of Representatives to join me in recognizing the 41 District of Columbia elected officials and residents who stood up for the self-governing rights of the American citizens who reside in the nation’s capital by sitting down in a peaceful act of civil disobedience on Constitution Avenue in front of the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Monday, April 15, 2011. The rally, organized by DC Vote, protested the final 2011 continuing resolution (CR) which contains two anti-home-rule riders. The CR prohibits the District from spending its local taxpayer-raised funds on abortions for low-income women, even though many state and local jurisdictions have done so for decades. Without consultation with any District of Columbia elected official, the CR also mandates a D.C.-only private school voucher program, while the House Republican majority refuses to bring a bill to the floor that would allow districts that desire this alternative to select it on a home-rule basis. The District of Columbia is almost alone in the nation in establishing a robust alternative to our local public schools, our public charter schools, which educate almost 40 percent of the city’s children and have long waiting lists. The House voted to approve these riders while denying voting representation in this body to District of Columbia residents.

The D.C. elected officials who engaged in civil disobedience were D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, Council Chair Kwame Brown, At-Large Council members Sekou Biddle and Michael Brown, Council members Yvette Alexander, Muriel Bowser, and Thomas Wells, and House Shadow Representative Michael Panetta. The District residents were Ann Aldrich, Lafayette Barnes, Peter Bishop, Robert Brannum, Jason Cross, Billie Day, Jack Evans, Marc Ferrara, Corryn Freeman, Mary Gosselink, Lawrence Hams, Karen Hixson, Anise Jenkins, Eugene Kinlow, John Klenert, Rachel Madelham, Adam Maier, George Marion, Jr., Nicholas McCoy, Martin Moulton, Brian Pate, Joseph Perta, Jeffrey Richardson, Deangelo Scott, Deborah Shore, Carly Skidmore, Daniel Solomon, Bruce Spiva, Jay Tamboli, Maceo Thomas, Ryan Velasco, Patricia Vrandenburg, and Ilir Zherka.

The city has long advocated its rights through the usual channels and official responses. However, from the day the 112th Congress convened, the House Republican majority has repeatedly introduced bills to violate the rights of our citizens, beginning with the approval of new
rules that summarily stripped the District of the only vote on the House floor it has achieved, the House Committee of the Whole vote, approved by the federal courts.

The DC 41, as they are called, recognized that the House Republican majority intends to return with more anti-home-rule riders. An additional anti-home-rule rider was included in the original Republican spending bill, H.R. 1, but failed this time to become a part of the final agreement. The message of the DC 41 was that DC elected officials and residents will not walk away from the infringement of their rights to govern themselves and to spend their taxpayer-raised local funds as
they choose.

I ask the House to join me in saluting the DC 41, who acted in the long American tradition of incurring arrests during peaceful civil disobedience to protect and to further their right to full equality with the residents of the 50 states.

DC Got Screwed Over by President Obama and Senator Reid

As I feared, late last night President Obama and Congressional Democrats acquiesced to the GOP and allowed the harmful riders on DC’s appropriation bill in order to stop a government shutdown and save family planning funding in the national budget. In doing so they basically threw 600,000 Americans under the bus.

These harmful riders prevent DC from spending its own LOCAL tax dollars on abortions services for low income women, needle exchange programs aimed at reducing the spread of HIV, and also force a school voucher program upon the city which is part of an ideology to gut public schools and use government dollars to fund private ones.

These riders were attached to DC’s budget by GOP House leadership, but Obama and Reid gave in and let them stay on the budget, which means they’ll be next to impossible to get off for the 2012 and 2013 budgets. So they really screwed us here in DC. It’s hard to believe President Obama is now part of the problem…but the facts speak for themselves.

I’ll post some more concrete actions we can take in the next few days, but I urge everyone to come to a rally being organized by DC Vote on Monday, April 11 at 5:00 in front of the Hart Senate Office Building at 2nd and Constitution, NE.

This only re-enforces the fact that STATEHOOD is the only way this stuff goes away…forever.

Mike Panetta’s Testimony on Renaming Portion of Pennsylvania Ave to Promote DC Statehood

I testified before Councilmember Michael A. Brown’s committee today on a proposal to re-name part of Pennsylvania Avenue and the District’s gateway signage to promote DC Statehood. My remarks before the committee are listed below. If you have any suggestions on names for the street, please submit  them in the comments and I’ll make sure they are added to the official record.

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TESTIMONY OF U.S. REPRESENTATIVE MIKE PANETTA
RENAMING PORTION OF PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE TO
PROMOTE FULL DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS THROUGH DC STATEHOOD
JANUARY 13, 2011

Thank for the opportunity to testify today on this important issue. I applaud Councilmembers Michael Brown and Harry Thomas, as well as Chairman Kwame Brown for their leadership within the Council on statehood-related issues, and I know I speak for the entire elected Statehood Delegation when I say that we are supportive of any and all attempts to raise volume on the national dialogue regarding the District’s lack of basic democratic representation in Congress and autonomy on local affairs.

Of course, I am supportive of the proposal to re-name a portion of Pennsylvania Avenue and to use the District’s gateway signs to inform and educate visitors about our unique status our beloved republic. It’s a great opportunity to promote our collective goal of statehood to thousands of people every year.

I do have some experience with this type of approach and I have long been a proponent of using the District’s buildings and infrastructure as messaging platforms. As you may recall in 2005, when the Washington Nationals were looking to secure naming rights for the RFK Stadium, I started a campaign to name the venue “Taxation Without Representation Field at RFK”. At the time we called our efforts a “grassroots campaign to name the grass.” Not only did the campaign secure thousands of dollars in pledges – only to be collected if the proposal was adopted – it amplified the message of DC’s lack of voting representation and reached entirely different audience than otherwise would not have been exposed to the issue.

Using a similar approach, in early 2006 I started a tongue-in-cheek “Olympic” committee for the District of Columbia and proceed to organize a curling team as the Winter Olympics were getting underway in Turin, Italy. I figured if other American territories with non-voting delegates in Congress could field Olympic team, then the District of Columbia should certainly have that right as well. This effort resulted in explosive media coverage on television and print publications around the world – it was even covered in TIME magazine. Granted it was seen as a good laugh, however every single story on the “Olympic” team featured the District’s lack of voting representation in Congress.

Additionally, the re-naming of District streets as a form of protest has been used in the past for other issues. For example during the Cold War, the block of 16th Street NW between L and M streets, in front of the then Soviet embassy was renamed “Andrei Sakharov Place” as a form of protest against his 1980 arrest and detention. I’m sure it pained the Kremlin to have to use that address.

The current plan to rename portions of Pennsylvania Avenue follow the same creative path of naming public spaces as a way to reach new audiences. However, given my experience in these matters, I feel a critical piece is missing. What is lacking from this proposal is the “hook” to make this worthy of sustained interest and not just a one-day local story. The question we have ask ourselves is whether or not this will move the needle on the making the District of Columbia the 51st state of the union. I think it will, but only if its done a certain way.

My suggestion is to brand the aforementioned blocks of Pennsylvania Avenue with a purely statehood-based message – perhaps labeling it as the “Avenue of Statehood”, akin to the Avenue of the Americas in New York or “51st State Way” as real-world visualization of our path towards statehood – leading us down the street towards the U.S. Capitol.

I also suggest, as part of this statehood centric plan to commission a plaque that commemorates the dates of admission of the current 50 states to the union – starting with Delaware and ending with Hawaii. The last line listed on this plaque, and one of the hooks, would be “New Columbia” with a date of admission yet to be determined. As an additional hook an American flag with 51 stars could be installed near the plaque along with signs with additional information about the campaign for DC statehood.

I urge the Council to reject any naming that does not promote statehood. Names that feature “voting rights” or “democracy” will not be clear in their intent – nor will they inspire any reaction or movement towards the ultimate goal. This is not the time to be timid, but to clearly articulate what we want.

I’d like to end my time by reminding the Council that while the adoption of this resolution is definitely a worthy cause – and has my support – it’s largely symbolic. If we are serious about achieving our goal of statehood, then we’ll need to be just a serious about finding the resources to get there. I’m well aware of the budget gaps we are facing a government, and the painful cuts to essential social services that are on the table. Yet, we need to find a way to make the necessary investment in the political future of the District. Only with a sustained investment and focused awareness campaign will be achieve our goal. I urge you to increase the funding dedicated to lobbying for statehood in next year’s District budget and to work with your own funding sources to raise additional resources for this fight.

Thank for the opportunity to present my thoughts on this issue.

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Lobbying to Preserve the Vote in the Committee of the Whole

I was on Capitol Hill today lobbying to keep our vote in the Committee of the Whole. You can take action at http://www.dcvote.org/ or call John Boehner at his local office in Westchester, OH at 513-779-5400 and ask that the DC Delegate vote in the Committee of the Whole be retained.