S02.E23: Washington, D.C. Statehood

[Athena]

Washington DC experiences taxation without representation. It's also missing from rhyming state songs. John Oliver and a group of singing children fix one of these problems.

[Lantern7]

I totally knew that flag wasn't "correct." I'm used to seeing a set numbers of rows, and the one John kept showing off looked different. Sorry . . . I like feeling smart, and I usually fall for John's feints.

[biakbiak]

I totally knew that flag wasn't "correct." I'm used to seeing a set numbers of rows, and the one John kept showing off looked different. Sorry . . . I like feeling smart, and I usually fall for John's feints.

Me too. Though I had just changed contacts so I briefly thought I didn't put them in right and my vision was fuzzy.

[LADreamr]

That's my favorite new song this year. The kids were awesome!

[The Luvly Junkie]

That's my favorite new song this year. The kids were awesome!

        Given it's a kids-oriented song, those kids had to be at least 12-13 years old to get away with saying "weed" and "asshole" in the song without their parents cowering in despair, shaking their heads and holding up the censor card. Because America. :)

 

        Also, I claim Eleanor Holmes-Norton as my spirit animal for standing up against Congress.

[Wax Lion]

I'm glad to see John has taken up the task of reminding us that Elanor Holmes-Norton is awesome, since Stephen hasn't been able to take up the task for the past several months.

[ganesh]

Kids swearing + silly songs = gold for me.

[attica]

First of all, whenever profanity is sung, it's Just. The. Best. Having kids do it is another level of great.

 

I didn't notice the flag -- didn't even notice they used one as a bug -- but I did notice that the Transportation Secretary info was wrong. Our SecTrans is Anthony Foxx. Who is (if you don't feel like clicking) an African American man,

[Victor the Crab]

Those kids are adorable, swear singing like that. If only Ollie would have invited Elanor Holmes-Norton onto the show, it would have been the cherry on the sundae.

[Primetimer]

You can't say it's not elegant.

Read the story

[Jamoche]

What did it for me on the flag was that the last line was shorter than the second to last one.

[vibeology]

Given it's a kids-oriented song, those kids had to be at least 12-13 years old to get away with saying "weed" and "asshole" in the song without their parents cowering in despair, shaking their heads and holding up the censor card. Because America. :)

 

I think you're underestimating how eager a stage parent would be to get their kid on TV. None of them looked like 6 year old but those weren't teen either. Probably all 9-12 with resumes, voice and acting coaches.

 

This episode was great. I'm not an American so it's always confused me that the capital has gotten such a bad deal. I assume (since the government is the biggest employer in Ottawa where I live) that there are many people living in DC working for the government who don't have the same rights as those they serve. Its crazy. I do love Eleanor Holmes Norton thanks to discovering her on The Colbert Report and I really do hope she succeeds as getting DC its rights.

[Latverian Diplomat]

My favored solution to the DC problem is to just return it to Maryland. I'm not really in favor of adding another very small state, even if its senators would most like align quite well with my own politics.

 

Also, I think if the "District" no longer exists, then the Constitutional provisions about it could be considered null and void without an amendment, so unless the SC are idiots about it (I know, I know) it seems like the least hassle, frankly.

 

That said, any of the other proposals would be better than what we have now. 

Edited August 3, 2015 by Latverian Diplomat

[Latverian Diplomat]

I totally knew that flag wasn't "correct." I'm used to seeing a set numbers of rows, and the one John kept showing off looked different. Sorry . . . I like feeling smart, and I usually fall for John's feints.

I caught it too, because the rows were too long...though I had to pause the video to figure out what the problem was.

 

The Sec of Transportation one got me though. I rememberd Ray LaHood, becuause he was a Republican in Obama's cabinet, but I couldn't remember if he was still there (he isn't) so I figured she was his replacement (actually Anthony Foxx).

[VCRTracking]

 

My favored solution to the DC problem is to just return it to Maryland. I'm not really in favor of adding another very small state, even if its senators would most like align quite well with my own politics.

Yeah, the only reason(as I remember from school) it wasn't part of a state was so it wasn't aligned with either North and South, so it had to be between Maryland and Virginia. I think the Civil War took care of that, so it should be a "northern city".

[iMonrey]

 

I totally knew that flag wasn't "correct."

 

I caught it too, so this was one time John hasn't managed to fool me. But then I think we're all getting wise to this trick he keeps pulling, so every time there's a map or a flag or a photo there's a 50/50 chance it's going to be wrong just so he can taunt us with the fact that we "didn't even notice."

 

The names for the British Lords were hysterical.

[AimingforYoko]

 

The names for the British Lords were hysterical.

The whole bit on Lord Sewel was hysterical. I've never seen such a polite person on a cocaine binge before.

[Latverian Diplomat]

Yeah, the only reason(as I remember from school) it wasn't part of a state was so it wasn't aligned with either North and South, so it had to be between Maryland and Virginia. I think the Civil War took care of that, so it should be a "northern city".

 

IIRC, it was considered Sourthern before the war. Maryland was a (border) slave state that didn't secede. Slavery was legal in D.C., and there were slave auctions in Washingtion until that was banned as Part of the Compromise of 1850.

 

The original district was placed where it was as part of a deal to get Southern support for the Federal assumption of the debts of individual states from the Revolutionary War. Maryland and Virginia donated land for it, but eventually Virginia's contribution was returned.

The whole bit on Lord Sewel was hysterical. I've never seen such a polite person on a cocaine binge before.

 

Etiquette has a legitimate modern role in interpersonal interactions, but it's important to remember that a lot of it was also intended to act as a signifier of social class. So, many terrible people from the upper classes have wonderful manners that were trained into them very deeply.

[TudorQueen]

Thank you, John Oliver, for reminding us all that Eleanor Holmes Norton is completely awesome.

Those kids were almost, but not quite, too adorable.

The dead mullah actually being on 'a very nice farm upstate where he can play with all the other Taliban leaders' was hysterical.

But for me, the Best Line of the episode was "They 'catfish'd' ISIS"

[VCRTracking]

 

IIRC, it was considered Sourthern before the war. Maryland was a (border) slave state that didn't secede. Slavery was legal in D.C., and there were slave auctions in Washingtion until that was banned as Part of the Compromise of 1850.

 

The original district was placed where it was as part of a deal to get Southern support for the Federal assumption of the debts of individual states from the Revolutionary War. Maryland and Virginia donated land for it, but eventually Virginia's contribution was returned.

Thanks, that clears things up!

 

The Lord Sewel bit is the kind of thing that's too good to be real(by "good" I mean hilarious). The orange bra, the Asian prostitute comments and the "Lovie darling" bit, I was as gleeful as John and I didn't have to put up with any rigid class system bullshit growing up!

Edited August 3, 2015 by VCRTracking

[dusang]

This episode was great. I'm not an American so it's always confused me that the capital has gotten such a bad deal. I assume (since the government is the biggest employer in Ottawa where I live) that there are many people living in DC working for the government who don't have the same rights as those they serve. Its crazy. I do love Eleanor Holmes Norton thanks to discovering her on The Colbert Report and I really do hope she succeeds as getting DC its rights.

 

I actually wonder if the majority of government workers do live in DC -- I have no factual basis for this speculation but, just thinking of the varied stories of the high crime rate, large black population, and huge income gap in DC I wonder if the majority of middle-class gov't workers actually live across the river.  I imagine if the population of DC were more middle-to-upper class white government employees they wouldn't have been ignored for so long.

[Sharpie66]

Most workers in DC do come in from the suburbs, taking the Metro into work. I have two cousins who live in the area and they told me that the people that they know who work in the city are so tired of the commute that they hardly ever take advantage of the museums, etc., on the weekends because they don't want to come in on their days off.

 

While in library school, I explored the idea of maybe moving there if I could get a job as a librarian with one of the federal agencies. Back in 2011, I noticed that both the FBI and NSA were paying okay wages, but the CIA was paying $5K less--cheap spies!, while the Department of Labor and the HHS were paying much more. There was also a job posted at the White House, which would have been awesome, but they were on par with the CIA in terms of pay.

[FortKnox]

Personally ending those gun laws in DC would be a good thing. They have all these gun laws and they still have high crime rates.

Not to mention you have have a "good cause" for getting a license to carry a gun. Which really comes down to who you know and how much money you give to their campaign, etc.

[Kel Varnsen]

So if Washington DC were to become a state, what would they call it?

[jbrecken]

So if Washington DC were to become a state, what would they call it?

It would no longer be the District of Columbia, it would be the State of Columbia.   I'd assume the city of Washington would keep its name.  The official names of some of the states call themselves commonwealths, so I suppose it might just keep the name "District of Columbia" even if it was a state.

[RedZoneTuba]

So if Washington DC were to become a state, what would they call it?

It should become TWO states: "Left Partisania" and "Right Partisania"

[OneWhoLurks]

Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District’s non-voting delegate in Congress, is postponing a briefing at which she planned to convene to show House staffers a clip from HBO’s Last Week Tonight highlighting the District’s lack of self-determination so that she can deal with House Republicans’ latest attempt to meddle in DC’s local affairs.

 

At the event, which was scheduled originally for Wednesday afternoon, would have featured John Oliver’s 17-minute segment about the District’s standing as the only capital of a modern democracy that lacks full representation in its national legislature. Oliver’s bit ended with a children’s chorus singing a song about DC’s lack of statehood; the song was later performed by a gaggle of District kids on Capitol Hill. Norton was also counting on a legal briefing from former US Assistant Attorney General Viet Dinh about the constitutional framework for legislation advancing the District’s statehood ambitions.

 

 

http://www.washingtonian.com/blogs/capitalcomment/politics/eleanor-holmes-norton-delays-voting-rights-event-john-oliver.php

[OneWhoLurks]

You may remember those lyrics from John Oliver's Last Week Tonight segment on D.C. statehood that broadcast in early August. The HBO host brought national attention to an issue that has plagued District residents for centuries: Without full voting representation in Congress, D.C. denizens are largely powerless to advocate for their interests at the federal level. Oliver was able to tap into residents' frustration over the status quo by appealing to civil rights, and in part thanks to social media; local merriment and momentum ensued.

 

Almost three months later, a campaign spearheaded by At-Large D.C. Councilmember Vincent Orange seeking to highlight the issue of D.C. statehood on the national stage may be gaining traction. Called "Statehood or Else," it proposes to collect one million signatures on a petition that would be delivered to the president, all 535 members of Congress, and party leaders at the Democratic and Republican conventions being held next July in Philadelphia and Cleveland, respectively. The Council's Committee of the Whole held a public hearing on the measure this morning, during which a few witnesses questioned the outward presentation of the campaign and found an opportunity to call for greater funding for D.C.'s congressional delegation. Still, most speakers present testified that they supported it.

 

 

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2015/10/27/what-exactly-does-statehood-or-else-mean/

[OneWhoLurks]

The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization—an international group consisting of historically oppressed ethnic minorities—today welcomed the District of Columbia as its newest member, days after D.C. Shadow Sen. Paul Strauss led a delegation to Brussels seeking to gain D.C. acceptance into the UNPO as a tactic to advance statehood.

 

[...]

 

The UNPO's now 45 members, as the Post reported last week, include separatist groups from Ethiopia, Georgia, and Indonesia. Also among those parties: Tibetans, Tartars, and Haratins. In a statement, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton praised Strauss for his lobbying efforts, which, she says, partly consisted in showing UNPO members John Oliver's Last Week Tonight segment on D.C. statehood.

 

 

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2015/11/09/group-for-oppressed-minorities-accepts-district-into-its-fold/

[possibilities]

I think "No taxation without representation" would be a better slogan than "Statehood or else" but slogan or no slogan, it's truly amazing just how bluntly unfair we're willing to be in this country. This is not the only example, of course, but it never fails to shock me, just the same.

[OneWhoLurks]

When the District sends its $13 billion budget to Congress this year, it might as well affix a sticky note that reads "Dare you."

 

For the first time since the Founding Fathers carved out the nation's capital from swampland, the District will not ask the federal government for permission to spend its money. Instead, it will use local tax dollars as it sees fit, just as 50 states do.

 

There is one problem - Congress treats the District as a federal agency, no differentfrom the way it funds the Department of Labor or the Interior. And Congress has warned that an insurrection by the city would violate the Constitution.

 

[...]

 

Like many Republicans, Pilon believes in individual liberty and limited government. Still, he said the District's quest for statehood faces not only insurmountable legal hurdles but also a major political impediment. Statehood would give the District two seats in the Senate - something Republicans are loath to grant to the city's overwhelmingly Democratic electorate.

 

"Statehood remains a nonstarter," said former congressman Tom Davis (R-Va.), who tried to pass a measure in 2009 to give the District one voting member in the House. "D.C. has never been a two-party city," he said, "so you're not going to find Republicans willing to just give Democrats two Senate seats."

 

Residents of the District, which has a larger population than Vermont or Wyoming, lack the most basic American rights: They pay federal taxes and fight and die in foreign conflicts but have no voice in Congress over how that money is spent or whether the country goes to war. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), the District's longtime voice in Congress, can vote only in committee and not on final passage of legislation.

 

[...]

 

The risk of having to shutter like any other federal agency during a government shutdown has weighed down the District's bond ratings, increasing borrowing costs for major projects such as new schools and libraries.

 

Before the last major federal government shutdown, in 2013, city officials began working on a bold plan to financially sever the District from the federal government.

 

They struck a requirement from the city charter that the District must submit its budget to the House and Senate for appropriation, and the D.C. Council unanimously adopted a budget autonomy amendment. The council brought it to D.C. voters, who overwhelmingly ratified it in April 2012. President Obama agreed with them, urging federal lawmakers to respect the city's self-declared financial independence.

 

[...]

 

The budget autonomy amendment has been challenged in the courts, with mixed results. A U.S. District Court judge ruled that the charter amendment was invalid and could not change the city's relationship with Congress.

 

But last month, D.C. Superior Court Judge Brian F. Holeman ruled in favor of the District, saying that the city had the right to control dollars raised by local taxes and fees. Holeman's decision is key to the District's renewed push for independence.

 

How Congress will react to the city's budget insurrection is uncertain. It could take actions that would throw the District into a financial tailspin or prosecute city officials for violating laws against spending government funds without authorization. Or Congress could quietly allow some of the financial independence the District seeks.

 

 

http://www.tylerpaper.com/TP-News+National/234312/washington-dc-fighting-for-statehood-in-a-new-way-with-annual-district-of-columbia-budget