Shamrockfest 2018 Memories

Despite the mostly mild winter in the DMV, St. Patrick's Day 2018 had weather which mimicked the Emerald Isle as it was chilly, overcast with a touch of rain.  Still hearty partiers shook their fists at the sky and danced a jig at Shamrockfest, which was held on the grounds of RFK stadium.

Shamrockfest featured three stages.  The Electric Isle featured DJs spinning tunes under a big tent. DJ Clinton Matthews kicked things off at what became quite the popular venue. 

Watching DJ Clinton Matthews while wearing the green at Shamrockfest

The Shamrock Gold and Shamrock Green stages rotated with bands playing high energy rock with a touch of the Irish.  One had to marvel at the guitar playing prowess demonstrated by Reel Big Fish.  

Reel Big Fish performing at Shamrockfest

And it was craic to rock to Carbon Leaf.

Carbon Leaf playing at Shamrockfest 

Of course there was plenty of festival food and libations to enjoy, with plenty of Guinness and Jamison. 

Shamrockfest is said to be one of the largest outdoor St. Patrick Day festivals around.  People really try to dress to impress to show their Irish.   Some chose to sport some udderly crazy costumes (sic) to have a good time. 

Having an udderly good time at Shamrockfest 2018

Shamrockfest is produced by Red Frog Events.  In mid June, they will hold Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware, which is a four day music extravaganza which will feature scores of bands, headlined by Eminem, the Arctic Monkeys and The Killers. 

Hope to see you at the Woodlands.

The Taste of DC -- A Recipe for Fun

~ by Gail Broeckel

The Taste of DC is a wonderful annual festival for foodies.  Whether you enjoy upscale restaurants, the convenience of a food truck or grabbing a sample from a vendor, Taste of DC is “one stop shopping” for all of these experiences.   It is wonderful living in a city that is so rich in history, culture and adventures.  I look forward to Taste of DC each year.  I learn about a new restaurant or dish.  I sample beverages, desserts or creations that chefs hand out after demonstrating a recipe.  I enjoy finding out about new vendors in the area. 

Taste of DC CEO, Steuart “Stu” Martens said, “Having all of these restaurants all in one place makes “Taste of DC” unique.  We have three music stages and the ABW Culinary Stage.   We’ve taken a parking lot and transformed it into a venue.”  There were 65 restaurants, dozens of vendors and several food trucks at RFK Stadium this year. 

The location was a departure from Pennsylvania Avenue and it worked.  There was a glitch with the software loading credits to wristbands.  Some of the guests had an inconvenient wait and shared their disappointment on social media.  I guess I am a “the glass is half full” type of person. And there were plenty of vendors to fill it!  The team worked hard to fix the issue and it is worth returning next year!

Here are reasons to attend Taste of DC:

The food, the food, the food!

Chicken grilling at Teak Wood's booth.

The grills were sizzling and restaurants from all over the city where serving incredible dishes.  Chef Zeb Markham said that he wants Maggiano’s to be known for “more than a pasta house.”  But, let’s face it. The pasta is popular.  The ravioli was incredible.  McCormick’s & Schmicks were serving seafood items. Teak Wood had chicken sizzling on the grill.  I enjoyed their Lo mein.  If you weren’t sure about a food item, you could purchase a smaller “bite” to taste.  I was sure about District Doughnut amazing rounds of sweetness. Colorful food trucks lined the stadium grounds.  It was hard to decide which to pick.  The Oyster Truck had one of the longest lines. Uncle Dave’s Kettle Korn was available by the tub, bag or taste.  Food is a special thing.  The aroma can trigger memories.  Taste of DC Ceo, Stu says that his last meal on earth would be his mom’s Tamali pie. 

There were lots of bites and food items for sale and a ton of samples. Zico Coconut Water ?poured four samples.  The chocolate was my favorite.  NakedJuice had several tastes of their fruit and vegetable flavored items.  Coca Cola had sips included diet, zero and low calorie cokes.  They didn’t mind repeat visits! Giant food handed out healthy snacks and nutritionists were available to share tips.

The variety was convenient.  It didn’t matter if you were vegetarian or vegan or had special restrictions.  There was something for all foodies.  The large variety of food choices included: lamb, seafood, grilled items,  fries, salads, sandwiches, sweets and so much more.   As if the food choices weren’t enough, the beverages were varied too.  There were wine samples, frozen daiquiris, craft beers, brewed sodas and teas.

You can watch chefs prepare dishes as they share their secrets.

Colada's Chef Mario Monte, Chef Matt Finarelli, Rebellion's Chef Travis Weiss

Chef Matt Finarelli must have sampled some of the energy drinks.  He cooked several dishes on the ABW Cooking Stage (including risotto and crabcakes), MC’d Southwest Airlines Snackoff competition AND had time to judge the ABW Chili cook off!  Some of Chef Finarelli’s tips for success included: squeezing the water out of the meat before making crab cakes, using fresh black pepper for any dish and squeeze your own lemons.  Southwest Airlines sponsored it’s annual “Snackdown” cooking competition.   Coloda Chef Mario Monte served Peanut  Rum Cake and Rebellion’s Chef Travis Weiss served Potbelly Pork with peanut butter and jelly.  Chef Mario won the “savory vs: sweet “ competition.  The chili cookoff was sponsored by ABW Appliances.  Each chef cooked on equipment that could be purchased in one of ABW’s showrooms.  This year’s winner was Anna Maria Angelakis from Angeli Gourmet.   Her spicy Greek chili was delicious.

There are music samples too!

DC Band Cue The Deer

Musicians shared a variety of tunes on three separate  stages.  One moment you could hear opera, jazz, rock, a choir or salsa. LBF (Latin, Blues and Funk) was a highlight for me.  It was also nice seeing the return of Batala DC.  This colorful women’s group play drums with joy.  Taste After Dark continued the musical feast with additional acts.  It was nice having so many local bands showcasing their talents.

My recipe for a successful Taste of DC:

• Charge your phone. 
• Wear sun block.
• Bring baby wipes or hand gel. 
• Bring a cinch sack or rolled up grocery bag for samples and swag.

Read the web site before you come to familiarize yourself with the sponsors or cooking demo you might want to see. 

Wear comfortable shoes - you will do a lot of walking.

Pace yourself.

Enjoy!

Federation Law and Klingon Justice

One of highlights of the Museum of Science Fiction's Escape Velocity 2017 Convention was the symposia on the Law and Star Trek. A panel of distinguished lawyers, including a law professor, a partner in a private practice along with a couple of attorneys working in the court system lent their collective wisdom on how legal concepts were applied on The Original Series (1966-1969), The Next Generation (1987-1991), Voyager (1995-2001) as well as several major motion pictures. The discussion consciously avoided the many violations of Star Fleet's Prime Directive, which sought to prevent the imposition of values and technologies by superior space races (i.e. civilization which had achieved warp speed).

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry originally envisioned Star Fleet justice to be meted out as would an  18th Century colonial captain. Under Admiralty Law, the highest in command in an area was the person who wheeled great discretion because of scant communications with Star Fleet Command.  But as Star Trek progressed, it seemed to favor Common Law tendencies to individual rights, guarding due process and being conscientious about justice rather than the blind application of law.

As the session was ending, these words were tested by Klingon Justice. 

[This piece originally was published in DCBarroco.com]

Bill Nye-- Not the Constitution Guy

One of the supposed highlight of the DC March for Science, which was the largest of the Earth Day gatherings around the world, was childrens' infotainment 1990s science host Bill Nye "The Science Guy".

During his remarks in the rain, Nye reiterated his assertion that the Constitution of the United States protects science.

Nye has been claiming since 2015 that the Framers of the Constitution invocation of protecting the "progress of science and the useful arts"  in Article I Section 8 of the Constitution meant the politicians should educate the public about art and have a role in promoting science and a plethora of progressive pursuits like environmentalism and big infrastructure,

Bill Nye at DC March for Science, April 22 2017

Alas, Bill Nye is not the Constitution Guy.  Article I Section 8 is known among lawyers as the Copyright Clause. It protects inventors and intellectual property creators with keeping the benefits of the fruits of their labors.  Namely, others can not steal and profit from their ideas under the law.

Nye's facile interpretation of Article I Section 8 makes one wonder about his other musings.

It is safe to say he is neither Bill Nye the NASCAR Guy nor Bill Nye the Constitution Guy. Considering his public policy pontifications, he may be better described as Bill Nye, the Red Herring Guy. 

Honoring Jan Karski, the Messenger from Hell

Today in a ceremony in Manhattan, academics posthumously honored longtime Georgetown University professor Jan Karski, a man who tried to prevent the Holocaust by sharing the truth. Alas, politicians among the Allies were tardy to act of the news from Karski as the Messenger from Hell.

During the Second World War,I Karski was a Second Lieutenant in the Krakow Valvary Brigade who was captured after the battle of Tomaszow  (1939) by the Russians. But due to Karski's birthplace, the Russians handed him over to the Germans, thus he avoided being a victim of the Katyn massacre of 1940. 

Karski escaped his German POW train in 1939 and escaped to Warsaw where he joined the Polish Resistance movement. Larslo  organized courier missions to the Polish Government in exile headquartered in Paris andhe himself made several secret trips to France and Britain. Karski was eventually captured by the Gestapo and tortured in Slovakia but was later smuggled out and rejoined the Polish Resistance. 

In 1942, Karski was selected by Polish Prime Minister in exile  Władysław Sikorski to go on a secret mission to gather first hand information about the Nazi atrocities in occupied Poland.  Karski was smuggled into the Warsaw Ghetto. Karski also sought to infiltrate the Belzec death camp as an Estonian guard.  Although Karski only managed to see a transit station, the horror that he witnessed first hand was appalling.  

After briefing the Polish Government in exile upon his return to London in 1942, Karski met with other exiled Polish politicians and British Foreign Minister Anthony Eden about his first hand testimony about the Holocaust.  In June of 1943, Karski traveled to the United States to personally brief President Franklin Roosevelt, as well as other American civic and government leaders, including Secretary of State Cordell Hull and Associate Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, without much effect. Karski published his recollections Courier from Poland: The Story of a Secret State (1944) which sold more than 400,000 copies. 

Eventually Jan Karski settled at Georgetown University, eventually earning a Ph.D in 1952 and taught there for over forty years. Georgetown remembers Jan Karski as many things — a beloved professor, writer, and colleague, to name a few — but to the world, he was known as one of the first to warn Western powers of the horrors of the Holocaust.

Jan Karski at Yad Vashem (circa 1982)

Although Karski was a Roman Catholic, he felt a profound connection with the people whose lives he attempted to save from the Holocaust.  In 1981, Karski said: “All murdered Jews became my family. I am a Christian Jew.” In 1982 Karski was recognized by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations.  

In 1991, he received the Wallenberg Medal from the University of Michigan for his outstanding humanitarian efforts.  In 2012, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Jan Karski the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his heroic witness to the ugly truth of the Holocaust.  Mr. Obama proclaimed: "Jan Karski -- a young Polish Catholic -- who witnessed Jews being put on cattle cars, who saw the killings, and who told the truth, all the way to President Roosevelt himself."   

"Whoever does not condemn, consents" mural in Warsaw

Karski's faithful witness has been remembered from murals in Warsaw to a series of five bronzes of Karski sitting on a bench playing chess created by Krakow sculptor Karol Badyna which are located in Georgetown, Manhattan, Lodz, Warsaw, Keilce and Tel Aviv University in Israel. 

Teddy Roosevelt on Mistakes

Mining Nuggets from the Nabobs of Nerd Prom

The White House Correspondents' Dinner has been an annual event since 1921 when the press corp rubs elbows with the Administration in a social, cocktail fueled supper.  Some serious journalists, like New York Times columnist Frank Rich have refused to go to the dinner as  it "illustrates how easily a propaganda-driven White House can enlist the Washington news media in its shows."

In recent years, the White House Correspondents' Dinner has drawn increased public attention and glamour as  the guest list has grown to be "more Hollywood". The event has evolved from a humble one night affair into a  week long celebration by celebutards, power players and the press.  The WHCD attendees certainly ate well, unlike many DC Dinners of rubber chicken.

Patrick Gavin, a reporter formerly of Politico and the Washington Examiner, produced the film "Nerd Prom" (2015) which documented the pomp and circumstance of the 2014 White House Correspondence Dinner.  The title derives from the face that most of the reporters would not have been the cool kids  in secondary school, so the White House Correspondents' Dinner is a replacement prom.  

As a political animal residing in the District of Calamity (sic), I appreciate opportunities to make light of my favorite contact sport--politics.  But knowing that the press corps is overwhelmingly liberal and  the timidity of inquiries during Presidential press briefings of late, it is unreasonable to expect that the jokes would be evenly divided.  But by mining the nuggets from the nabobs of the Nerd Prom from  Celebrity in Chief President Barack Obama and keynote comedienne Cecily Strong one can discern some interesting insights.

Cecily Strong  was the keynote speaker. While Strong is a Saturday Night Live cast member, she was not a marquis name.  Strong self-deprecatingly quipped that she was the vaguely ethnic woman featured in college recruitment brochures. Strong reveled that she was the first female host of the White House Press big bash in years.  Strong also noted: “I’m also the first straight woman to host this in 20 years, so, we finally made it, straight people.".  Thus the routine was going to be packed with progressive identity politics with an emphasis on female power and gay glory.

It was clear from the material that Strong was not a Washington insider.  She wanted to play up sex scandals in the Capital City, so she segued “It is great to be here at the Washington Hilton… is something a prostitute might say to a congressman.” Then Strong pivoted to the point by musing: “The Washington Hilton you guys. If these walls could talk. They’d probably say ‘clean me.’”  Kind of funny, but when a District of Calamity denizen associates hotels with scandals,  toe sucking at the Hay Adams (by then Clinton adviser Dick Morris) and the Mayflower (where Democrat NY Gov. Eliot Spitzer rented room 941 with his Empire Club call girl) or maybe DC Mayor Marion Berry's drug bust at the Vista.  The Capital Hilton is remembered as the Hotel where President Reagan was shot in 1981. But why let reality get in the way with a funny quip.

Strong played up the progressive press pieties by jabbing that Memories Pizza from Elkhorn Indiana would not be catering because of a rumor that Barney Frank would be attending thus they could not taste that world class Indiana Pizza.  A triple play in a homage to the homosexual lobby, a fly-over country jab and massaging the egos of Nerd Prom.  Of course, the family pizza joint does not cater (but got caught up in a media made mess over RFRA and same sex weddings in INDIANA), Rep. Frank left Congress over two years ago and these media nabobs would never be caught eating pizza in public.  Strong worked in hits on Hobby Lobby being anti-women with opposing contraception (for employees of a faith based corporation), even though that was a Supreme Court decision nearly a year old. 

Some of Strong's ziggers were sharp, but her delivery was weak.  Her stand-up did not pack a strong punch (sic).  It might have hurt that she kept looking down to read her one liners, which accented her exaggerated fake eyelashes.  It seems that she could not get use of TOTUS (Teleprompter of the United States).

Strong seemed more successful when using props and slight physical comedy.  For example, Strong scourged Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL 18th) with a slide show mocking his travels and surfing while implying infidelity. That was less than courageous comedy as Schock announced his resignation six weeks ago over funding improprieties (not sexual harassment) and left town a month ago.    When Strong chose to savage Mr. Obama about being weak on ISIS, she could not utter his name but did an eye roll towards the President. 

Where Strong seemed equal opportunity in her irreverence was towards the media.  Strong zinged CNN over its Ebola obsession, MSNBC for being long winded and showing prison documentaries and lamenting over FoxNews losing viewers ("May they rest in peace") and being like a party scene from Weekend at Bernie's (1989) full of hot women and old guys. Strong did not spare NPR  or the Huffington Post's alliance with AOL.

 Initially, Strong said that she could not say anything about Brian Williams since  she worked for NBC.  But during the Shock and Aw surfing slideshow, Strong said sotto voce "Brian Wiliams, come on--you weren't there.".  The camera panned to a black female reporter who had a priceless look of disgust on her face. 

 It was telling how the room gravitates towards the camera, as Strong joked that print media was serving the tables and there was appreciative laughter.  It was funny when Strong spoke to CSPAN viewers in their native tongue "Meow".

Strong slammed law enforcement by claiming that the Secret Service it was the only law enforcement agency that would get in trouble if a black man was shot was edgy while fueling the police brutality narrative.  Strong's quip that Mr. Obama's hair had gotten so white that it could talk back to the police also reflected the racial divide and the false hands up don't shoot narrative.  

These "jokes" were delivered as there was civil unrest occurring in Baltimore, forty miles to the north. When the Mayor of Baltimore holds Orioles fans in their seats because there are rioters outside of Camden Yards, this ceased to be funny even for black satire. It  just shows how the Amtrak corridor elites are out of touch as well as pushing a progressive narrative.  

Vice President Joe Biden was the butt of several stinging observations.  Strong noted that her Amtrak experience was augmented by a Biden massage seat, alluding to his creepy tendency to manhandle women standing next to him.  Later, Strong quipped that our national treasure Joe Biden could be found in a ball pit at Chucky Cheese.  So much for the boomlet of Biden for President in 2016.

Strong was unabashed in her support for Hillary Clinton's White House run.  It seems that it was important to put a "real woman" in the White House, not a right woman like Carly Fiorina. No surprise from a celebrity waxing politically.  Strong did joke about foreign entities getting more favorable treatment by contributing to the Clinton fund. But Strong tried to be serious by chiding the press not to comment on Hillary's appearance, which garnered modest applause.  But the press has already been told how to cover Hillary and they know that going against these demands will cause them to loose access, get minders following them or be locked in a holding cell during events.

[L] Keegan Michael Keys at "Luther" the Anger Translator & [R] Barack Obama as  the 44th President 

of the United States at the 2015 White House Correspondents' Dinner 

As for President Obama, he always does well at these political-press love fests.  His writing was better than Mr. Obama's misplaced jocularity at the recent reception of Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots at the White House. 

Some feel the President Obama demeaned the office by the puckish slideshow which included a picture of the President swimming in a White House fountain. However, Mr. Obama already demeaned the prestige of the Presidency by granting an extended interview with an internet phenom whose claim to fame was bathing in a tub of Fruit Loops and milk. So when Mr. Obama opined that his new policy methodology rhymed with "Buck it", it fit right in with the vulgar values of a Daily Show and Reddit audience. 

That being said, Mr. Obama displays an odd sense of humor in public.  One wonders why he continually goes back to birther jokes-- is this a political dog whistle, a psychological perseveration or a healthy sense of humor?  And his comment that he needed as much money as the rumored $1 Billion that the Koch Brothers will contribute to the Presidential campaign in this election as he has a middle name of "Hussein" seems strange and in your face to the American electorate.  Mr. Obama's writers had a clever quip based on Bernie Sanders that: "We could put a pot smoking, socialist back in the White House-- an Obama third term.".  Is that reductio ad absurdum humor or epater le bourgeosie?

Part of President Obama's shtick was assisted through an anger translator played by Keegan Michael Key.  This skit culminated by Mr. Obama feigning losing his cool over racial issues and his "anger translator" holding him back.  This segment had been preceded by allusions to Blackish.  This obsession with race contradicts Mr. Obama's first forays  onto the public scene as a post-racial President.  More alarmingly, playing up internalized anger over racial strife seems to fan the flames of Fergusion which are now burning in Baltimore.  

The Lame Duck President could afford to take some jabs at the Presidential field.  Obama unleashed a few stingers at Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) which shows who liberal elites seem to fear.  While Mr. Obama mocked much of the Republican field, I do not recall any snide snips against Governor Scott Walker (R-WI).  Surprisingly, President Obama gave a towel snap to his former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D-AR NY).  Mr. Obama joked about a friend living in a van in Iowa, which alluded to Hillary in the "Scooby" Mystery Machine during her brief Iowa listening tour. This reveals the reality that there is not much love lost between the Clinton and the Obama "dynasties". 

All in all, the writing for the 2015 White House Correspondent's dinner was better than most Saturday Night Live political skits.  Unfortunately, Strong's delivery lacked a punch.  Mr. Obama showed his snarky side, which was smooth but not flattering.  Even his attempts at self depricating humor about being self absorbed were not endearing. But at least First Lady Michelle Obama let the crowd enjoy roast before these self important nabobs at the Nerd Prom are condemned to consume cake.  

No wonder some serious journalists refuse to make spectacles of themselves in self congratulatory ceremonies.  The only thing missing from the White House Correspondents' Dinner from entertainment awards shows is an array of lucite trophies beng awarded. It has been said that "Politics is Hollywood for ugly." But Patrick Gavin is right that the White House Correspondents' Dinner is not Hollywood for the ugly, it's a Nerd Prom.  The only trouble with this analogy is that Nerds are capable of making useful contributions (despite their social awkwardness), whereas today's crop of White House Correspondents seem like either stenographers for their Dear Leader or "jo-whore-nalists" for a progressive cause.

Winston Churchill on Truth

Jay Leno on Epiphany in the District of Calamity

Was Hillary Clinton's Smart Power Speech Being Too Clever By Half?

Former First Lady, New York Senator and the Obama Administration's first Secretary of State Hillary Clinton only attracted a small crowd when she spoke at Gaston Hall in Georgetown University. 

Much of the press focused on the empty seats.  Clinton staffers blamed the meager crowd on finals. Politicos pointed to poor staff preparation for having their principal speak before an optically empty house.  But this is not the first time which Hillary has been unable to fill the seats, as demonstrated by her rally in October 2014 at the University of Maryland, College Park. 

 Liberal media pundits like Dana Millbanks opined that Mrs. Clinton is a candidate who does not have the "new car" smell.  After all, Hillary has been in the national public eye since 1992.  So her presumed second run for the Presidency is about a quarter century after her life intertwined with the District of Calamity.

Pundits from Fox News questioned Hillary's political raison d'etre.  Democrat pollster Doug Schoen (and former adviser to President Bill Clinton) wondered what was Mrs. Clinton's rationale for running for the nation's highest office.  Monica Crowley quoted her former boss ex President Richard Nixon: "The only thing worse in politics than being wrong is being dull," and Crowley concluded that Hillary is boring.

Recently, I was able to have a civil exchange with rabid liberals from beyond the District of Calamity who had definite opinions on politics but admitted that they did not follow it closely.  When one of the interlocutors opined that he supported Hillary, I asked him to name one achievement which Secretary of State accomplished during her four years at Foggy Bottom.  This simple question was a stumper.  The best excuse that I heard during the exchange was that the world did not hate us like they did under the Bush Administration.  Ambiguous perceptions of being better liked in the world with a dash of Bush Derangement Sydrome does not make for a compelling general election campaign eight years after "43" left the Oval Office.

So it seems that both Hillary's supporters and detractors should shift away from worry about smart politics and concentrate on Hillary's concept of "smart power".  Does the former Secretary of State believe that empathizing with an enemy like Al Qaeda or its break-off successor ISIS is a successful strategy?  Can America realistically define the problem and shape the solution when negotiating  with the Mullahs in Iran from stopping their military nuclear ambitions, or will the US again be played like in North Korea and arguably as we are in Iraq with the six party talks?

Is a theory of smart power just being geopolitically too clever by half when interacting with unconventional diplomatic counterparts?  It is kind of hard to use "smart" power to aim to sing Kumbaya with others who are intractably oathed to obliterate you, as is demonstrated by Hamas' modus operandi viz-a-viz Israel.

h/t: A.F. Branco

Some of How Ecumenism Has Gone Awry at Washington National Cathedral

Despite Reverend Franklin Graham's disappointment which he shared on Twitter about the Muslim led prayer service at Washington National Cathedral, this is not the first time that the sixth largest Cathedral church in the world  has ecumenically opened its doors to non-Christian worship.

*** 

Regarding the recent Muslim Prayer Service, the Dean of National Cathedral Gary Hall was unaware or did not care that the Muslim prayer service at Washington National Cathedral was held on the centennial of the last Caliph declaring a holy war on all non-believers.

***

Muslim led Friday Prayers at Washington National Cathedral Nov. 14, 2014 [photo source: AFP]

The prayer carpets for the around two hundred Muslim faithful gathered for the Jumu'ah (Muslim Prayer Service) were laid diagonally in the transept on the side of the sanctuary to face Mecca without seeing any Christian icons, as Islam forbids prayer in view of sacred symbols which are alien to their faith. 

Before the prayers started, a lone protester proclaimed: "Jesus died on that Cross for us.  Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior." before being whisked out of the supposedly Christian church.

It seems that forthrightly proclaiming the faith in the House of God which a Cathedral church represents is unwelcomed at Washington National Cathedral.  

***

Washington National Cathedral was founded on a charter from Congress but it is an Episcopal Cathedral.  While it is wonderful to reach out to people of faith to find commonalities, it seems pusillanimous to not represent the faith at the seat of the Archbishop, who should be shepherding the flock.  Moreover, treating Washington National Cathedral like an International House of Prayer seems like it is making it a big venue religious entertainment.  Then again the Very Reverend Gary Hall wished about to roller skate or throw paper airplanes down the temporarily empty nave of Washington National Cathedral

Ecumenism is illuminating and foster tolerance and perhaps peace in the proper context. This is often accomplished through interfaith prayer services, which may concentrate on the spiritual things which unite various confessions.

***

SEE MORE at DC-LausDeo.US 

Bye Bye to Brutalist Bunker Church Between the Beltways

One of the world’s ugliest church structures was the Third Church of Christ, Scientist in Washington, DC, just blocks away from the White House.  This octagonal shaped building was designed by Araldo Cossetta, an associate of I.M. Pei, in a brutalist architectural style and was completed in 1971.

Academics often voiced approval of Modernist Architecture like brutalism.  Randall Ott, the dean of architectural design at Catholic University, waxed philosophically:  "Modernism was a fairly austere, fairly confrontational style, and the Third Church is an obvious example of that style."  But outside of academia, there usually are not warm feelings about austere and confrontational buildings.

La Verne Hill, a woman who worked nearby the brutalist behemoth, opined:  "It's awful. It looks like they just dumped a bunch of concrete down here and shaped it into a box." Church members had long long disliked the design of the building.  Longtime church member Darrow Kirkpatrick articulated: We think it says, 'Stay away.' Something goes on in here that they don't want to get outside, which is exactly wrong for all Christianity. We don't think the architecture conveys taking the Word to the people...  Brutalism is not our religious expression.”

Darrow Kirkpatrick 

Membership in the Third Church of Christ, Scientist dropped to 50 members.  But the congregation was stuck with an ugly architectural white elephant.  The brutalist building was not well suited for re-purposing.  It was a 60 foot tall concrete bunker that was hard to heat and harder to cool. There were structural defects in many spots.  And in order to change lightbulbs, a scaffolding needed to be erected in the sanctuary which would cost betweeen $5,000 to $8,000.  These were costs which  the congregation neither had the funds nor the inclination to pay.

Yet in 2007, the DC Historical Preservation Board unanimously voted the Third Church of Christ, Scientist as a Historical Landmark, thereby protecting it from demolition or alteration.  This had the fascinating dynamic of having the government tell a religious group where to worship and how to spend their funds.

Due to the shepherding of former Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty’s Planning Director Harriet Tregoning,  the zealotry of the Historical Planners was overturned.  Tregoning ruled that Cosetta design was an experiment which failed badly.  The city approved of razing the building in May, 2009 citing hardship of maintaining the building and the risk of the demise of the church if the Historical Landmark status continued.

 Yet it took until February, 2014 for the District to issue a permit to raze the building.  Little time was lost by Celtic Demolition to start to take down the structure.  And there was much rejoicing among ordinary District denizens.

William Newton, who writes the Blog of the Courier, put it poetically:

The more you are able to study and look at exactly why such hideous things as the Third Church of Christ Scientist came to be, the more you will realize why your gut reaction to their readily apparent ugliness is correct, because these buildings often reflect a wider, even uglier philosophy about human nature and man’s place in the universe.  Without knowing exactly why, you can cheer the demolition of this terrible building.

But it will take up to eight weeks to totally demolish the edifice, as the lower walls are six foot think walls of concrete.  The demolished scraps will be sent for recycling.

For any fans of brutalist architecture in the District of Calamity, they can still admire the F.B.I. Building, the H.U.D. Building, the Department of Energy’s Forrestal Building and the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art.

The property where the brutalist building once stood is slated to become another glass and metal shoebox office building, but it will have an economical space where the congregation can worship.

Aside from aesthetic issues, the battle over the brutalist bunker also brings to a forefront salient issues on religious liberty.  Perhaps the eventual triumph of the Third Church of Christ, Scientist over a government dictating how religious institutions must act might serve as a framework for future judicial decision regarding the H.H.S. Qualified Health Plan (Contraception Mandate) issue.

h/t: NPR
     Real Clear Religion
    Washington Post
    William Newton

Christopher Columbus on Courage

Unusual Sniping on Capitol Hill

In the few days in which the Federal government has been shut down without a Budget or a Continuing Resolution, there has been a lot of verbal sniping among lawmakers and the President.  But when there was an emergency which threatened both the White House and the Congress, law enforcement kicked into action.

Capitol Police in protective mode after shooting near the US Capitol

This evocative photo is of the Capitol Hill Police reacting to an incident with a shooter where a dozen shots were fired.  The law enforcement officer was positioned to protect one of the chambers of Congress. 

The House and the Senate were both in session.  Both legislative bodies went into lock-down, with the lawmakers being barricaded in their respective chambers and staffers told to shelter in place for forty five minutes.