C A P I C O S T I A

by Mel Dyer You think Liz Cheney and Mitch McConnell are catching hell from the GOP? Ha! If I said that Donald Trump' s greatest trick is presenting himself, as a fake Jack Kemp - his pretense to populism...pretending to espouse the things that distinguished Kemp, as a Republican ..and as a MAN - would the average American even know who 'Jack Kemp' was? Republicans have never shat on one of their own, the way they totally ghosted Secretary Jack Kemp, the so-called 'Bleeding Heart Conservative', who championed labor and small business, more often than was acceptable by his bloodless, soul-killing party bosses. Conservatives should be working to empower and encourage the maximum participation of their fellow Americans, in free enterprise...in capitalism. To hell, with that rugged individualism garbage! People need this encouragement from their leaders - that's the job - and Sec. Jack Kemp knew the importance of that... Saw the patriotism in it. See him, now. Here...

by Mel Dyer For Gen-Xers, like myself, there is more to backing Vice President Joe Biden for President, than Obama Era nostalgia. College-age supporters of Bernie Sanders don't understand why so many of us are putting our bets on the Gentleman from Delaware. We remember the good, ole days, ..when watching the Old Joe Biden work his magic, in the Senate and on the campaign trail... Looked something like this.

"Alone, before a pack of wild, hungry dogs...", take their measure, stand your ground ..and, if you are House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, rip up a State of the Union speech.  

by Mel Dyer A few months ago, a cute vlogger couple went apartment shopping, near Washington. What does this have to do with life, between the Hill and Anacostia? Not a bloody thing. Stories about cute, optimistic couples happen, somewhere else...everywhere, but, here. Nobody wants to come here. Nothing worth sharing with the world happening, over here... Most of the time. Get used to that. Then, look at this video. [You can always send me some current news and prove me wrong, Capicostia.]

by Mel Dyer There is a good reason, why I do not feel DC's Wards Seven and Eight are not ready for statehood. Our River East wards do not presently have sufficient industry and commercial investment to generate enough revenue to adequately support police, EMS, sanitation, public schools and other services, ..on a municipal level.  We are not as ready to be towns or municipalities, as some of the other parts of town, ..like Capitol Hill and Georgetown. Presently, our Capicostia (ANC-7B) neighborhoods are poised to become the prospective 51st State's poorest, most abject districts. How will that go for us, when the folks, downtown, decide we should start shouldering more of our own economic burdens? So, when I read about these so-called 'opportunity zones', I am somewhat hopeful...encouraged. Some would argue any development is good development, for Seven and Eight. The question for us  River Easters, however, is...oppor...

The best way I can describe the house, at 3706 Bangor Street SE  (20020), in Hillcrest, is to say that [Sigh.] ..it's like a plaid shirt, on a CALVIN KLEIN model. Seriously...this must be seen to be believed. You're welcome. https://www.trulia.com/p/dc/washington/3706-bangor-st-se-washington-dc-20020--2090399395

I could write something heavy about how this city's local bars and cocktail lounges celebrate Cinco De Mayo and what I call the 'Ricky Martin-izing' of this holiday for cheap, quick mass consumption ..in the grand Corporate American tradition. I could write something about how it rubs me the wrong way, as a fifth-generation Mexican American, that this seemingly unattainable victory of simple farmers, peasants (oppressed by wealthy land-owners) and Zapotec peoples over the French Army of 1862 isn't commemorated more respectfully, ..but, I won't . There's a truly exceptional article on CARLOS IN DC that says it all more eloquently than I ever could, this early in the morning. I missed the whole thing, anyway. Yesterday was a hot and busy day--got home late and way too exhausted to get my Cinco on. Put some hot sauce on a fish sandwich, last night, if that--but, that really doesn't count. Creo que no . Consider this...we live in a magnificent city full o...