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

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.

=-=-=-=-=

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.

##

REMARKS OF “SHADOW” U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
MIKE PANETTA
JANUARY 2, 2011
WASHINGTON, DC

Some of you may know this is my 3rd time being sworn-in as the U.S. Representative for the District of Columbia – but it’s the first time I know I’ll be serving the full two years. You see, the first two times I was sworn in, I thought it would be the last time we needed to swear in anyone for this position – as we were on the cusp of a real vote in the House of Representatives.

When I was first sworn in – back in 2007, we had just seen the Democrats take over the House and Senate – and the District of Columbia Voting Rights was poised for swift passage in Congress. It did pass the House that year, but as you may remember, we failed by 3 votes in the Senate.

Fast forward, two years later, in 2009 — not only did we still have Democrats in control of both Houses of Congress – but we were about to inaugurate President Obama. And on top of that, we picked up additional votes in the Senate. The District of Columbia Voting Rights Act seemed like a slam dunk – and indeed it did pass the Senate, but not without a poison pill “gun amendment” that would have eliminated the ability of our local council to pass any laws pertaining to firearms or ammunition as a condition for the vote in the House. That was a deal that we were just not willing to make.

So here we are, 4 years later and things are little different now on Capitol Hill.

We have new leadership in the House that is in all likelihood not going to be very supporting of expanded home-rule for the District.

Thing are somewhat better in the Senate, but we have a smaller number of known supporters and we will likely face attempts to limit our self-determination from Senators in both parties…

And, the District of Columbia Voting Rights Act, the legislation that we spend so much time and energy working to pass over the past 5 years has imploded. That particular bill was founded on a mutually beneficial arrangement with the State of Utah. The state had just missed getting an extra Congressional district in the 2000 Census…and was actively lobbying for additional representation.

It was a partnership that made sense at the time and the legislation was crafted for a very specific Congressional and political environment.

That time has passed. After the 2010 Census, Utah is getting additional representation in Congress– we are still not getting any – but Utah’s population has grown enough to get the seat that was in play during the DCVRA.

We all need to understand that the circumstances that birthed the District of Columbia Voting Rights Act no longer exist.

The stars are not aligned for reviving this legislation in the next Congress. The next state in line to get a seat is North Carolina – which has not of the political properties that Utah did. Key members of the state’s current Congressional district actively opposed passage of the first DC voting rights act. It would be a waste of time and effort to try to craft another piece of legislation along these lines.

I’m not going to sugar coat things, the next few years will not be easy ones on Capitol Hill for the District. We’ll all need to be vigilant and work to protect the gains we’ve made for budgetary and legislative autonomy over the past several years, and in just a few days I’ll be up on the Hill with DC Vote to protect our Delegate’s symbolic vote in the Committee of the Whole.

So yes, we’ll have our short-term battles to keep the progress we’ve made…and I’ll continue to be on the front lines of those struggles.

However, now….now is the time to re-commit ourselves to the only lasting, and permanent solution to our second-class citizen status.

All of us need to focus our passion, energy, and creativity into making the District of Columbia the 51st state.

Now is the time to look at the American flag and ask ourselves, Congress, and President Obama: Where’s My Star?

Only by removing the yoke of Congressional control and becoming the state of New Columbia will we be free and equal partners in the country we call America.

Only through statehood will change shed our colonial status in a way that can not be overturned by change in Congressional leadership or court ruling.

It’s not the easiest way but it’s the best way…in fact I feel it’s the only way to move forward.

If we are going to fight, let’s fight for what we want, for what we deserve: Full Statehood

This is not going to be a quick fix. It’s going to take time. It won’t happen this Congress, but let’s start moving things forward. Let’s introduce legislation, find co-sponsors, rally our supporters. Let’s be active in elections across the country to identify our supporters and do whatever we can to ensure they become members of Congress.

It’s not going to be a free ride. It will take more resources than we’ve ever committed to this issue. The modest sum allocated in the current budget is a start…but it’s going to take much more.

And most importantly it’s not going to just be given to us – we’re going to need to fight for it. We’ll need the kind of leadership at all levels that can and will energize and mobilize a truly national movement – bigger and better than anything that’s been done to date.

This is not the time to “fight the last war” — the strategies and tactics of the past will not achieve victory in the present. We need bold action, creative thinking, and the financial resources to engage at the level needed to get a new star on the American flag.

I’m very excited to have Vincent Gray as our mayor, Kwame Brown as our Council Chair, and the continued service of our Delegate on Capitol Hill…Eleanor Holmes Norton. I know the leadership of the District is 100% committed to this fight, but only with greater community involvement – from all wards in this city – can we can bring about a permanent change to our status.

Delegate Norton, could I ask you to join me at the podium?…it’s after Christmas, but I have a little gift for you.

Ladies and Gentleman, what I have here is an American Flag. However this is no ordinary flag, for this is one of the few American flags that truly represents everyone in this country.

For this flag…has 51 stars.

Let it serve as reminder of what we are fighting for. With your leadership, and with the passion and energy of everyone here today soon ALL American flags will have 51 stars.

Until then, we all need ask a simple question of President Obama and Congress. Three simple words that encapsulate over two hundred years of frustration of District citizens:

WHERE’S… MY…. STAR?

Thank you!

I invite you to join me as I re-affirm my commitment to statehood, full Congressional representation, and self-determination for the people of the District of Columbia.

Following the ceremony, I’ll be hosting a reception in my office in the John A. Wilson building. Details for both events are listed below. I hope to see you at one or both of these events!

Swearing-in of “Shadow” U.S. Representative Mike Panetta

January 2, 2011
1:00 pm (Doors open at noon)
Walter E. Washington Convention Center
801 Mount Vernon Place, NW

Post-Ceremony Reception:

January 2, 2011
3:30 p.m.
Office of U.S. Representative Mike Panetta
John A. Wilson Building, Suite C-09
1350 Pennsylvania Ave., NW

For more information please give me a call at 202-253-6534 or at mike@mikepanetta.com

First, there was a blog post a few months back by the Washington Post’s Mike DeBonis about the new plates from Maryland commemorating the War of 1812. Those plates are functional, but I don’t find them very inspirational. They don’t do much to emphasize Maryland’s role in that war or how our national anthem was penned at Fort McHenry in Baltimore during that conflict. It’s just very “meh” in my opinion, and a wasted opportunity for the state to educate and inform others about that historic event.

Then, a few weeks ago, I saw a posting on the Washington CityPaper’s blog about someone on Capitol Hill who had a license plate cover that said “DC’s Not A State….Get Over It!“. I was shocked someone who lives and pays taxes in the District had that opinion, and was so vocal about sharing it. Granted it’s everyone’s right to have an opinion and voice it, but I didn’t really care for that particular expression.

Of course, here in the District we have our own “Taxation Without Representation” plates, but they are about 10 years old at at this point, and I think they’ve lost their effectiveness. More importantly, they are out of line with what we really deserve – full statehood.

Then I saw a Delaware plate, with the motto, “The First State“, based on the fact they were the first to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

That got me thinking….why don’t we have DC Statehood Plates?? So I took sometime to mock one up, what do you think?

How hard would this be to roll out? Let’s make it happen. This is the kind of bold move we need, and it would generate a lot of attention for the cause.

If you want to help me push this forward, or have other ideas, please email me or comment below.

It also allows for the District to make changes to the way its government operates without getting Congressional approval – so we eliminate Congressional holds on changes to the school board structure, for example.

Of course, Congress would still have power to enact laws that affect the District – so guys like Tester and Childers can still go after our local gun laws or attempt to overwrite other laws passed by our own Council. Therefore, we’d still be subject to the whims of meddling Congressmen, but their opportunities would be greatly diminished with this legislation as the appropriation process has usually been the magnet for this type of interference.

I am concerned that even if this passes, it’s not permanent. A new Congress could change the law back to the way it is now – and at the same time strike down same-sex marriage, medical marijuana, and impose new restrictions on how we spend our local tax dollars. I welcome this bill as it’s a big step forward, but until we achieve full statehood, there is always the risk of moving backwards with each new Congress.

I’ve attached Delegate Norton’s remarks below. Please let me know what you think in the comments.

INTRODUCTION OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FULL SELF-GOVERNMENT ACT — (Extensions of Remarks – July 29, 2010)
[Page: E1477]
—

SPEECH OF HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON
OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
THURSDAY, JULY 29, 2010

Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the District of Columbia Full Self-Government Act. The bill would grant the District of Columbia almost complete home rule. It would mark the most significant advancement in the District’s local autonomy since Congress first created the District government’s structure and operating rules in the Home Rule Act of 1973. The bill would eliminate almost all of the requirements and limitations imposed on the District by Congress in the Home Rule Act, so that the District could structure its operations and provide services in any manner that it chooses. Aside from a statehood or voting rights bill, no bill would do more to grant the federal taxpaying citizens of the District of Columbia their equal citizenship rights.

Under the bill, the District’s government would be able to operate similarly to how most state and local governments operate. For example, the District, like every state, would be able to set its own fiscal year. Under the Home Rule Act, the District’s general government fiscal year must begin in October, while its fiscal year for schools must begin in July. In contrast, almost every state and local government’s fiscal year for all operations begins in July, enabling these jurisdictions to better plan and coordinate their operations and services.

In addition, the District would no longer have to come to Congress before it could make changes to its operations. For example, the District’s major change in school governance structure that eliminated the school board and placed responsibility for schools in the mayor was held up for weeks because it had to be enacted by Congress, which caused serious problems for the opening of schools. Recently, I had to introduce a bill to reduce the waiting period for holding special elections to fill vacancies on the D.C. City Council from 114 days to 70 days. Previously, Ward 4 and Ward 7 were left without representation because the council could not reduce the period to fill vacancies.

The bill would accomplish what I have been fighting for since I entered Congress: legislative and budget autonomy for the District. The bill, like my stand-alone budget and legislative autonomy bills, would eliminate the requirement that the city’s laws layover in Congress for 30 or 60 days before they take effect, and would eliminate the requirement that the city’s local budget be affirmatively approved by Congress before it takes effect.

The bill would not only remove Congress from the District’s legislative process, it would free the District to operate and provide services as it sees fit. The bill would eliminate all of the budget, financial management, audit and borrowing requirements imposed on the city by the Home Rule Act, and would permit the city to set the powers, organization, and procedures of the Office of the Mayor and the city council. It is important to note that the bill would have no effect on existing contractual or other financial obligations incurred by the District, on any elected or appointed District official or other District employee, or on any pending legal actions or proceedings.

Even with this bill, however, there would be two important limitations on the District’s autonomy. First, Congress would retain its ultimate legislative authority over the District under the U.S. Constitution. The only way to completely eliminate congressional authority would be to amend the Constitution or to make the District a state. Second, like the Home Rule Act, the bill specifically precludes the city council from legislating over certain matters, such as height limitations on buildings.

One would think that with Democrats in charge of both houses of Congress, there would be less meddling in the local affairs of the District, but that’s not the case.

Recently Senator Tester of Montana and Congressman Travis Childers of Montana introduced legislation that would completely eliminate any locally-enacted regulation of firearms or ammunition in Washington. That’s right – anybody would be free to walk around with a semi-automatic rifle in DC. Talk about a threat to national security!

It’s a slap in the face to local governments everywhere, and was only done to gain cheap political points with the National Rifle Association. It’s clear Tester and Childers don’t give a rip about the people of DC, or the countless families who have lost loved ones to gun violence.

We’ve had enough of Congressional meddling with DC, and now we’re fighting back. My PAC, the Free and Equal DC Fund, will be running radio ads in Montana and Mississippi starting this week. We’ll be letting Tester’s and Childers’ constituents know that they don’t have full-time representatives in DC…and that maybe their Senator or Representative should be a DC City Councilmember instead.

You can see a sample of the ad below:

Please make a donation to keep them on the air at:
http://www.actblue.com/page/montanaradio

(Listen to the advertisement)

Washington, DC, June 11, 2010 – The Free Equal DC Fund launched a radio advertising campaign in Montana today urging Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) to
focus on representing his constituents instead of meddling in the local affairs of the District of Columbia government.

In recent months, Senator Tester has been actively working to re-write legislation previously passed by DC’s elected city council. His efforts would
drastically modify local laws regarding semiautomatic weapons, ammunition, and firearm registration requirements that were passed by the duly elected
leaders of the city of Washington.

“We wanted to make sure that people in Montana know that Senator Tester isn’t giving his full attention to the state. He seems to be more
interested in getting involved in ‘big city’ politics as opposed to serving his own constituents,” said Mike Panetta, “Shadow” U.S. Representative for the
District of Columbia and Treasurer of the Free and Equal DC Fund.

“I’m sure the Montana families that have lost their jobs or are facing foreclosure are thrilled that their U.S. Senator is meddling in the local affairs of
a city over 2,000 miles away instead of focusing on their needs,” said Panetta.

“If Senator Tester is so interested in writing local laws for the District of Columbia, perhaps he should consider running for mayor,” Panetta added. “There’s still
time to file for the September primary.”

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO KEPT THESE ADS ON THE AIR. PLEASE DONATE TODAY:   http://www.actblue.com/page/montanaradio/   (Donation Request is $25.51)

]]> http://www.mikepanetta.com/2010/06/free-and-equal-dc-fund-launches-montana-radio-campaign/feed/ 0 http://www.mikepanetta.com/2010/05/statement-on-elimination-of-statehood-funding-in-mayors-budget/ http://www.mikepanetta.com/2010/05/statement-on-elimination-of-statehood-funding-in-mayors-budget/#comments Fri, 14 May 2010 12:38:14 +0000 Mike Panetta http://www.mikepanetta.com/?p=228 The mayor’s proposed budget eliminates what little funding there was for statehood initiatives. You can read more in this Washington Times article. (link)

I’ve released the following statement on this, which I hope you’ll share:

“For many years Congress mandated that the District couldn’t spend our local tax dollars to lobby for statehood or expanded home rule. With those restrictions now removed, it’s painfully ironic that the Mayor’s proposed budget eliminates what modest funding there was for these efforts. If the final budget lacks any resources to fund statehood advocacy efforts, the Mayor and the Council are essentially embracing the status quo and sending a signal that we’ve given up the fight. ”

- Mike Panetta, U.S. “Shadow” Representative (D-DC)

Now, if only the people who got all worked up over proposed taxes on yoga were as passionate about this issue, we’d be the 51st state sometime next week.