DCUM Weblog

Mayor Sunshine and Chairman Fully Loaded, you've just been elected to replace two of the most competent local elected officials in recent memory (and one of you was even one of them). What are you going to do now?

Chairman Fully Loaded: We're going to Disney World!

Mayor Sunshine: No, no, Fully Loaded. It might snow while we are there. You'd have to be a Republican from New Jersey to do something that stupid.

CFL: Okay, then, we're buying Navigators. One for you and two for me.

MS: That's more like it. Also, we need to concentrate on jobs. Specifically, jobs for the children of my supporters.

CFL: Black Navigators, with black interiors.

MS: We also need to cut the budget. We will do that by paying my appointees a lot more than the former mayor paid those he appointed to the same positions. We'll save a bunch that way.

While this may be stepping a bit further outside the parenting field than I normally do, it is an issue that affects all DC families. Moreover, what good is a megaphone if you don't use it? To cut to the chase, DC Council Chairman Kwame Brown must resign.

As reported by the Washington Post's Mike Debonis, as Chairman-elect, Brown requested that the City provide him a "Fully Loaded" 2011 Lincoln Navigator L with a black exterior and black interior. A Navigator was procured at a leased cost of $1,769 per month. However, Brown rejected the truck due to its gray interior and lack of a rear entertainment system.

A second Navigator L was then obtained, this one including the rear entertainment system, at a monthly lease cost of $1,963. This one also lacked the required black interior, but did include other options such as a GPS, power moonroof, and 20-inch polished aluminum wheels. The city remained on the hook for the original Navigator, so Brown's leases are now costing taxpayers $3,732 a month. Meanwhile, Brown's purview as Council Chair includes cutting DC's budget to account for a $400 million shortfall.

On February 8th, Jay Mathews -- Washington Post educational columnist and author of the Post's "Class Struggle" blog -- posted a blog article titled "Michelle Rhee's early test scores challenged." Mathews described how local education blogger G.F. Brandenburg had written an article casting doubt on claims by Michelle Rhee to have dramatically raised test scores of her students at Baltimore's Harlem Park Elementary School. Mathews wrote, "He has found the missing test score data from former D.C. schools chancellor's early years as a classroom teacher, something I did not think was possible." Not only did I know that it was possible, I had unearthed the same data and written about it 3 1/2 years ago.

Today's Washington Post describes how children have been racking up unexpected charges on their parents' iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches. "Over the winter break from school, 8-year-old Madison worked to dress up her simple mushroom home on the iPhone game Smurfs' Village. In doing so, she also amassed a $1,400 bill from Apple." This is not the first time I've seen stories such as this, so I thought I'd provide some suggestions about how to avoid finding yourself with an unwanted bill.

Many apps in Apple's Appstore are offered for free or at low cost. The programs can then be enhanced by "In-App Purchases." Any purchase through an iOS device -- whether through the Appstore, iTunes, or In-App -- requires entering a password. However, most owners don't realize that after entering a password, it is cached for 15 minutes. Therefore, if you enter your password to buy little Johnny a new application and immediately hand him your iOS device, he has a 15 minute window to wreck havoc on your credit card. Here are some tips for avoiding surprise charges:

This week the Washington City Paper's cover story, titled "Mommy-Fight Club" in the paper version and "The Mommy-Fight Site" online, focused on the frequently contentious atmosphere of the DCUM discussion forums. Kathryn Masterson, who authored the story, is in her final weeks of pregnancy and has been visiting DCUM as both a journalist and an expectant mother. She highlighted some of the not-uncommon flamewars of the forums and addressed issues that lie behind the strong feelings of many posters. Masterson concluded the article by saying that DCUM is making her crazy and she would have to stay away after finishing her article.

Generally I enjoyed the story and appreciated the attention it gained for DCUM. There was one factual error: While I helped set up DCUM in the beginning, I was not a founder and the idea for it was not mine. Otherwise, I found the article to be an accurate and honest portrayal of one woman's experience in our crazy little world. Of course, I would have preferred that her conclusion had been different, and I hope that she will eventually come to see DCUM in a better light.

If there is one thing I hate it is end of the year top 10 lists. I can't explain why, but I hate them with a passion. With that in mind, I don't blame anyone who refuses to read this post. I don't even want to read it and I'm the one writing it. Call it a lack of imagination, but I decided to identify the 10 most popular topics posted in the DCUM forums in 2010. The list will be familiar to DCUM regulars, though there may be a few surprises. This list probably says something profound about DCUM, but I'm not sure what that might be. On the other hand, what it says about us might not be particularly flattering.

First, this is a list of the topics started in 2010 with the most views:

10. "African-American Name for White Child?" — 10,780 views. While race is generally a hot button topic that can generate a lot of discussion, name-related topics were one of the surprises of 2010.

Today my sons -- aged 6 and 10 -- listened to an album. By "album" I mean one of those 12-inch vinyl platters that goes on a phonograph and by "listen" I mean that they were in the vicinity when I blasted AC/DC's "High Voltage". After playing "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" a couple of times at unhealthy volumes, I shut off the stereo and moved the turntable to a pile of electronics destined for the recycling center.

I attended high school from 1978 to 1982. I say that because it was sometime within those years that I bought this stereo system. While I don't remember exactly when it was, I precisely remember the store. I remember the salesman taking me from system to system giving detailed descriptions of the strengths of each. In every case, I would ask a single question, "Is it loud?". That was important because of two facts: 1) I had a drumset in my bedroom; and 2) I got home from school most days a few hours before my parents or brothers arrived. With no one around to tell me to keep things down, I could play the drums as loud as I wished and I needed a stereo that I wouldn't drown out. While the salesman repeatedly reacted to my question with a pained expression, he eventually succumbed to reality and pointed to a system saying, "this one is loud."

When President Obama proposed last week that the pay of federal employees be frozen for two years, the DC Urban Moms and Dads discussion forums were inundated with posts on the topic. A common theme among posters who supported the proposal was that government employees were lazy recipients of overly-generous benefits packages who were impossible to fire. "Welcome to the real world" was the frequent refrain.

I was immediately reminded of the debates surrounding former DC Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee and DCPS teachers. Rhee was praised for her willingness to challenge the Washington Teachers Union. Teachers were criticized as lazy whiners who were more interested in protecting their cushy jobs than teaching children. Rhee received nearly universal praise for firing them in great numbers.

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