Down to DC.

So yesterday I had to go down to Washington DC on some business. I haven't been down there in a while, but it's obvious that some things haven't changed.

That crazy ex-con DC Council member Marion Barry is proposing yet another tax on the people who work in and already support the city. Now he wants toll booths on the bridges and major roads leading into DC. Yeah ok, as if traffic isn't already impossible at rush hour--let's just stop every car on the highways to shake the drivers down for a few bucks each. Can you imagine the traffic jams? Of course this wouldn't affect Barry as he's without a driver's license following a DUI arrest and a more recent arrest for driving an unregistered, uninsured car with a suspended license. But he's what the people of Ward 8 decided that they wanted to hold up as a representative.

And of course Barry isn't the only one driving improperly in the District. I saw this fake temp tag on a car parked on 5th St. NW, right in front of the General Accounting Office building.
Also note the "thin blue line" decal that suggests that the owner is law enforcement.





As you can see, this tag is slathered with white-out, the date's clearly been altered, and the holographic strip that the DMV puts across the date area is competely gone. This car's been bombing around on this fake tag for a while, probably because the driver can't get hard tags due to tickets owed of a license suspension.



Wouldn't you know it? The car belongs to one of the GAO's "Special Police", which is a DC term for a security guard licensed to carry a gun on the job site. The title's a misnomer, because these people aren't police and have no police powers. But they love to pretend to be real police, hence that "thin blue line" sticker in the first picture. I used to love to issue tickets to these posers after pulling them over for speeding or fake temp tags (not uncommon among these folks) only to have them flash a Special Police ID and say "I'm one of y'all..."

No, you're not.

It's be nice to think that someone somewhere in GOA will bring this to the attention of the appropriate authority there, but I won't hold my breath.

And right after taking these pictures, I was nearly mowed down trying to cross the street at 5th and H streets NW. A DC Parking Enforcement car #37 blew through the stop sign as it went west on H despite the fact that I was in the crosswalk and near half way across. The driver, a black male with dread-locked hair and no seat belt on, didn't even pretend to try to stop. If I'd been holding anything but my camera his car'd have a new dent today. It'd also be nice to think that someone in DC Parking Enforcement might care, but again, I won't hold my breath.



I also saw the Honor Guard for the DC Department of Corrections practicing down at the Law Enforcement Memorial and I watched them march and present their colors for a few minutes. They looked pretty good.





And as usual, I took a few minutes at the memorial to reflect on the men and women of law enforcement who gave their lives in the performance of their duties. Police Week is coming fast, and the candle light vigil in honor of the newly-added names will be Sunday, May 13th.