Brilliant

I can't take credit for this. My friend, Steve, wrote this and has graciously allowed me to post it.

Dear Mr. President:

Recently, I had the displeasure of watching the U.S. House of Representatives debate the constitutionality of a bill that would give me and the 553,522 other residents of the nation's capital a single vote in the House. It became, for me, an unpleasant experience when I realized that nearly all Republicans were failing to respond to a potentially persuasive point several Democrats made: that extending to the people of the District of Columbia voting representation in the House is exactly as constitutional or unconstitutional as requiring them to pay income taxes.

A quick review of the Constitution reveals an inconsistency in the interpretation of the words "the several States": In the 16th Amendment, establishing the income tax, these words evidently apply to the District of Columbia and yet are said to exclude the District of Columbia in the opening section of Article I, Section 2, on membership in the House. This inconsistency is undeniable, and yet many Republicans choose to ignore it. You, yourself, have willfully defended a misinterpretation of the Constitution in explaining why you would not sign a bill granting the city representation. Perhaps if you had chosen to become a resident of the District of Columbia in 2001, rather than retain your Texas residency, you would see things differently.

It is not at all clear that our founding fathers, who were obviously staunch defenders of democracy, ever intended for the country they were framing to disenfranchise citizens based on an arbitrary geographic boundary. I do believe that the origin of this city's disenfranchisement was rooted in racist motives during the era of slavery. Sadly, the nation's treatment of residents of the nation's capital did not progress along with the end of slavery and the ushering in of civil rights. Under the current state of affairs, the people of Baghdad have better representation in their government than do the people of my city. I suppose you believe you should be commended for that.

Since your presidential limousines appear to be the first in some time not to sport license plates issued by the District of Columbia -- and, therefore, you may not be aware of what they say -- I will remind you of their stated battle cry: "Taxation Without Representation." If I were in charge of designing a new license plate for the District of Columbia, I would add to that a new meaning for the initials "D.C.": "Disenfranchised Citizens."

While it is nonsensical to suggest that the District of Columbia should be entitled to all of the rights of statehood, it is likewise nonsensical to suggest that income taxes are justly assessed upon the people of the District of Columbia under the same language that supposedly excludes them from having any voting representation in the House. If you are so sure you would veto a bill to create a vote for the city that has surrounded you since Jan. 20, 2001, then at least you can do the next best thing and have your Internal Revenue Service stop sending me and my fellow disenfranchised citizens federal tax forms every year. Short of that, I urge you not to pardon me next year should I choose not to file my federal income tax; I would rather see what the judicial system has to say about it.

Sincerely,

Mr. Stephen P. Sauer

Well written, Stephen.

A Lazy Weekend

Things have been kind of calm around here lately. I've been kinda stretched for cash since I wasn't sure if we'd have a new roomy for the upcoming month. Plus, it was one of those months where everything hits. You know- taxes, car costs (insurance, tags, and other fun stuff), etc. Why does it seem like things come in waves sometimes?

So, anyways... I've been keeping it low and entertaining myself at home. Netflix has been helpful. I'm SOOO ready to go out and eat somewhere. I can't decide where I want to go. I just know that I'm tired of eating behind the walls of our apartment!

Good news- we have a new roommate who will be moving into Mark's room when he moves out on Sunday. (insert HUGE smile)

His name is Christian and he's 28. He's been in DC for a few years and has plans to stay a few more. It'll be nice to have another guy roomy. Mal and I will get to keep our bathroom to ourselves!

Christian joined Mallory, Drew, and I for dinner on Tuesday. We had quite a feast! We had ribeyes and shrimp on the grill (it was the third time we've used it since living here!), fresh green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, and crescent rolls. Topped of with some vino and interesting conversation. For dessert I burnt some brownies and we had ice cream. It was a great evening and he stayed for a couple of hours.

He's planning on moving in on Monday.

My wisdom tooth has been bothering me and I went on Monday to an oral surgeon. After taking some x-rays, he told me to come back in two weeks. That there was nothing he could do (at the moment my gum was swollen), but in a couple weeks he'd have a solution. Hmm. So, I've got that appointment in May. Hopefully then he'll tell me a time period for when I can get my wisdom teeth extracted.

On Wednesday, my boss took me out for "Administrative Professionals Day." It was a fun surprise because I didn't even know it was that day. I arrived to work and found some flowers on my desk. HR had provided all the administrative assistants with flowers- nice touch, eh? Then, close to lunch time, Rich asked if he could treat me to lunch. We went to eat at a german restaurant that's close to the office and has good food. He also gave me a card. It was a day of surprises and I felt special. :)

The weather is beautiful today. Mal and I have talked about going out later and enjoying it. She's mentioned wanting to play tennis. I'd kind of like to play in our front yard a bit. "Yard" is very appropriate cuz that's about how big it is.

Shorties

Real quick Updates for you guys:

• Mike and I had a blast a couple weekends ago at the beach. We went with three other "couple" friends and enjoyed a super cold (think: it snowed at the beach), but relaxing trip. Highlights from the trip: being with my man (ok, a "given" I know), seeing some great friends, hitting a sweet fishing spot and catching over 50 fish (no joke... we kept 18), eatin' our fresh fish, and enjoying Easter.
• We got our car mirror fixed (special thanks to our papa who helped us with his car painting connections!). There was a lot of irony in finding a silver mirror at the junk yard and having to get it painted green. Ahh... good times.
• Last weekend: Got to observe a couple of counseling sessions at the Preg Center. Got a better feel for it. Spent three hours there. Also (separate occassion and in NO way related to Preg Center), I had THE BEST steak I've had in a looooong time. Yay for Outback!!
• We're looking for a new roomy in our (soon to be) vacant room. Mark is moving at the end of the month. Tonight we had four guys come by and check out the place. Tomorrow is booked with a dinner Mal and Drew are going to, but we have at least one more appointment on Wednesday. We're hoping to have it narrowed by the end of the week.
• Drew and I spotted another Fievel last night. Ugh. Traps are back. Within three hours, the cheeze had been snagged and the rest of the trap was intact. Sneaky...
• Tomorrow night I'm logging in some more Preg center hours.
• Thursday night I'm going to NC. Big wedding this weekend. Again. Are all my friends getting married or do they all just seem to hit at once??

Pray for my papa! He's got a heart blockage and the doctors are checking it more thoroughly today (Tues). If it's small, a stint is gonna be used. If it's big, invasive surgery is going down on Wednesday.

This man has fought leukemia- pray that he can fight this too!!!

Sorry for my extended absence. I'll try to stop by again sooner next time...

It's April First and the Joke's on Us

I neglected to mention this a few weeks ago when it happened, because our "furry house guest" seemed the bigger deal at the time.

Three weeks ago, Mallory and I walked out of the house and towards the car. We were on the way to church. As we got closer to the car, we realized that it was missing something pretty important. The passenger mirror was gone. With the passenger side parked snug against the curb, and the mirror in place the night before, there was only one explanation. Someone had broken it off and stolen it during the night.

Shocked and already late for church, we just got in the car and went about our business. What would be the point of filing a report on something like a stolen mirror??

Fast forward to today- April Fool's Day.

Same scenario, plus Drew. The three of us were on our way to the car (and miraculously on time for church!). We rounded the corner and ahead saw a Pontiac like ours- same year and model, only a different color.

It was parked across the street from ours.

Still too far to really see anything, but jokingly I said, "look, there's our mirror."

We laughed as it had become a running joke every time we saw a car like ours with a passenger mirror attached.

As we neared the car and began to pass, we instinctively all glanced at "our mirror"...

Silence. We were dumbfounded. Then Mal or Drew broke the trance and voiced what we were all thinking.

"IT IS OUR MIRROR!"

Sure enough, the tinted windowed, scratched, scraped, and damaged silver car was sporting OUR mirror. And it sat across the street from ours. AND it was only a half block from our front door.

The three of us milled around the car. What to do?? I scribbled the plate information down and we hurriedly hopped in our own car. Mallory drove quickly as the police station quickly became our new destination.

Long story short, complaint made, and response handled, we found ourselves back in front of the silver car. The cop arrived shortly after we did. He rolled down his window as he pulled up and looked at me.

"Are you responding to a complaint made at the station?" I asked.

"Yeah. Now... what exactly happened??"

I explained that my missing mirror (pointed to the car behind me that Drew and Mal were in) was on THAT car (pointed to car two cars down). He gave me a "huh?" look and said, "Let me park my car and have a look."

So he did. First at our car (with our missing mirror and broken parts still dangling on the door) and then at the ghetto rigged silver car with OUR green mirror on it (see below).




An "I can't believe I'm seeing this" expression came over his face and he said, "I've never seen anything like this."

Great. Leave it to us to show Officer Thompson, a D.C. cop, something new.

He walked around the car again and then called in the plates while we waited. He shook his head.

A minute later his radio crackled and he interpreted. "They can't trace the car to anyone. The tag isn't registered." It was at that moment that we noticed the missing inspection sticker. A temporary parking tag was placed in the window.

"There's nothing I can do. We can't trace the car to anyone."

Mal, Drew, and I looked at each other. This could not be the end.

I walked to the driver's side where the temporary tag was located. March 23rd was written on it. Someone had initialed it. "Can you trace the number of the temporary tag?" Surely there had to be a record on March 23rd.

"Yeah, I can try that," he answered. So we waited again while he radioed for someone and interpreted the static. He had a name and an address. We were standing four doors away from his house- Tyronne's.

Tyronne's house had an eviction letter on the front door and no one answered as Officer Thompson knocked (surprise, surprise).

While we waited, we touched our mirror and looked closer at how it was attached (barely) to the door. Two fresh bolts held it in place. While the bottom part of the mirror was cracked (undoubtedly damaged when either ripping it off our car or drilling a hole in it to fasten it to Tyronne's), the top part was in good shape. The mirror wiggled quite a bit, but was fastened well enough to function.

"It would be easy to take off... all one needs is a Phillips head screw driver," Drew said.

The cop returned and I finished snapping some shots with my camera phone. I knew even then that you guys would have to see it.

"There's basically nothing I can do from this point. I can't take the mirror off his car and give it to you. Even if he was here, I couldn't make him take the mirror off just because you think it's your mirror," the officer said. Was that slight pity in his eye? He asked us some more information- details for a report that will eventually be filed away and followed up by only dust.

So, admitting defeat, we finally parted from the officer and Tyronne's car. And our mirror.

It's funny in a "can you believe that?" kinda way. Our mirror sits a half a block away. The owner's car is illegally being driven and an eviction notice is on his house. As we drove away, Mallory said... "I know where I recognize the name Thompson from! His name was on all the parking tickets we got!"