The Daily Render

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My letter to Councilmember Graham
|| 11/30/2004 || 1:45 pm || 1 Comment Rendered || ||

In response to Zoe’s letter, I drafted one of my own:

Councilmember Graham,

I would like to inform you of my positions these two current matters:
Public funds for the DC Baseball & SW Homeless shelter

As a former Saint Louis, Missouri resident I have recent experience dealing with public financing of sports. Recently Saint Louis residents voted to make sure they were allowed to vote by referendum on the use public funds for sports teams. Right now in Saint Louis, the completely operational and artistically significant Busch Stadium is being replaced by another massive giveaway to the sports industry. Much in the same way that RFK is being passed up for the home of the Nationals.

In the 1990s, to help finance the Rams and the new domed stadium, Saint Louis residents purchased personal seat licenses to help finances. Giving those that care about sports the chance to have limited in ownership, these seat licenses were in essence a direct tax on the people who wanted the sports team. I feel this option is a decent & balanced way for the city to raise funds. The current proposal, from what I’ve read, is a raw deal for the city. If the city is going to flip most of bill it should have more power over its operation to allow poorer DC residents access to the facility. There is no reason that the new stadium can be a mixed use quasi-government facility. However these personal seat licenses favor the wealthy & privileged and I strongly feel that there needs to be price guarantees on all future sports events to allow poorer people access to events which are technically being funded by the government.

I think that the current stadium, RFK, already suits DC’s needs better- why reinvent the wheel? The stadium might not hold as many people, but this can be changed. The Nationals can play in Baltimore on days that the Oriels are playing away games while RFK is expanded & refurbished. Lastly, from a geographical aesthetic standpoint, I like how RFK lies in line with the other DC monuments, and I feel that the new stadium in SE will blemish the water front and reduce the grandeur of the Mall. Also the flight path of planes taking off & landing at DCA might cause sound problems. I can only imagine the National Anthem being muffled by planes.

I have been following the news about the Randall Homeless shelter in SW. I strongly feel that this facility should remain open and properly funded by both the city government and potentially the Corcoran. I think the concept of using city funds to transport impoverished people to another part of the city is reprehensible. Why mask problems by relocation instead of dealing with the issue proactively? As a former child of the welfare system, I believe we need to do our best on behalf of people that are less fortunate and I believe the reopening of the Randall Homeless shelter is very important and a significant step in making Washington, DC the beacon of decency & democracy worldwide.

Thank you very much for your time,
Nikolas Schiller

Election Night Fun
|| 11/3/2004 || 7:17 am || Comments Off on Election Night Fun || ||

I had a good time :-) The best way to spend election night ever. I popped my Blackcat cherry and was welcomed by Robin vjing and mixing drum& bass at the same time. It was one of my favorite nights in a long time.

Adam didn’t win, but he ended up getting more votes than Bush- which I think is pretty cool.

+ MORE

Congress Passes District’s Budget
|| 10/7/2004 || 10:46 pm || Comments Off on Congress Passes District’s Budget || ||

From the Washington Post:

â€œNorton said the change gives a bill to permanently free the District’s local budget from the requirement of a congressional vote a “very good chance of passage” next year.â€

Putting this quote in perspective.

The Bill in reference, H.R. 2472, has not moved in Congress since September 9th, 2003 when it was sent to the Subcommittee on the Legislative and Budget Process. Introduced only 3 months prior on June 6th with the bipartisan support of Tom Davis and Eleanor Holmes Norton, the “Budget Autonomy Act of 2003” basically says:

District of Columbia Budget Autonomy Act of 2003 – Amends the District of Columbia Home Rule Act to provide that the District of Columbia budget passed by the Council of the District of Columbia shall be enacted without referral to the President or approval by the Congress, unless it is the budget for a fiscal year which is a control year. Prohibits the Mayor of the District during a control year from transmitting the budget, or amendments or supplements thereto, to the President until the completion of the budget procedures contained in this Act and the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Act of 1995.

After reading the actual bill a few times, I feel as if I need the other legislation it references to really grasp the context of the legislation. I want to better understand what a “control year” is and how it affects the budget.

However, at the end of the bill, I prefer Section 7, lines 19 through 21– I really like:

The amendments made by this Act shall apply to budgets of the District of Columbia for fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2004.

Simply because on October 1st, 2004, myself and a group of DC residents lobbied 25 congressional offices for this exact bill and a week later Congress passes DC’s budget. In all honesty I don’t think its because of our efforts, but I’d like to think that Congress didn’t want what happened last year to repeat.

Regardless, I look forward to helping Eleanor Holmes Norton next year lobby for this same bill.

Oh yeah, I turn 24 this weekend. More on that later.

###Update###

Even though we were not able to meet with Hastert on B.A.D. Day, Adam was able to get a few words in at a book signing:

In the October 28th printing of the Washington Post, this photograph is mentioned in the article “Few Fireworks Evident In Council, Citywide Races”

It’s Official….
|| 10/5/2004 || 10:32 am || Comments Off on It’s Official…. || ||

So its official. Before it was unofficial, but now its official. I have officially become a second-class citizen of the United States of America. By registering to vote in Washington, DC I became a de facto resident of the last colony in the continental United States. I gave up the ability to vote in the swing state of Missouri to be able to vote for my friend Adam Eidinger. (Why work hours and hours on a campaign when I am not going to be able to vote for the person I feel is the most qualified for the job?)

On Friday I realized that I was lobbying for DC and not for Missouri, and I had a subtle epiphany that my convictions were here in DC, and not in my home state of Missouri. I thought to myself, “why pretend any longer to be a Missourian when I’ve graduated to become a Washingtonian.” Although my second-class citizenship status sucks, I realized that instead of losing my two senators and representative (all staunch republicans anyways), I gained 535 congress men & women including my old ones. Pretty good deal if you think about it in a skewed perspective of living in tyranny.

Until congress removes it’s DC oversight, I get the pleasure of being a nonvoting constituent of every state of the union. Granted my delegate might not be able to vote in congress, but at least I feel empowered enough to do something about it. Friday, B.A.D. Day, sealed the deal for me, and I’m happy about being a DC resident and I’m comfortable becoming a second-class citizen. However, I will be even more happy when DC gets the equality it deserves, and I plan on working toward that. Its good to have a goal, albeit one that is going to take some legwork.

In the Daily Render News…
The last 3 renderings have been a new variation in the old template. I’m calling it the “Cube series of the Lenz Project.” Instead of using an embedded 2D satellite image I am now using a satellite image as a texture over a 3D cube that has been rotated. The spherical glass lenz remains the same, but the torus has now been reduced in size and the texture has been randomized which allows for more of the “satellite cube” to be seen better. I also made the renderings using only one satellite image for the entire rendering. This means the background, torus, and the cube are all variations of the same satellite image. The backgrounds are a pyramid on its side facing the viewer. I did this to create a sense of depth (not quite achieved!). Nonetheless, I am happy with how these are turning out. I think the next step is to manually construct a cube using 6 pyramids (check this animation to see what I mean), and have each pyramid be one satellite image. Yet since the viewer can only see 3 sides of the cube at once it should be easy to put together, and will look pretty awesome. Oh the fun of passively making satellite art. I really can’t wait to get some of these printed out as posters!

1,000 Coffins
|| 10/3/2004 || 6:16 pm || Comments Off on 1,000 Coffins || ||

Today there was a procession / march / rally /non-violent direct action at Arlington National Cemetary & the Elipse. I did sound with Adam at the Ellipse portion of the event. It was amazing. The procession began at Arlington National Cemetary and over a 100 more coffins made their way to the Ellipse. In the end there were over a thousand coffins sprawled over the Ellipse drapped in black fabric (which represented dead Iraqi civilians) and American flags (fallen soldiers). The speakers really touched my heart. They included Lila Lipscomb (of Fahrenheit 9/11 fame), Michael Berg (father of decapitated Nick Berg), Mike Hoffman (founded Iraq War Vets Against the War), Arun Ghandi (grandson of Mohatma Ghandi), and numerous parents of dead soldiers. Listening to some of the mothers talk about what happened to their children and how their lives have changed touched me. I found myself crying along with the speakers and audience. It was so moving. I really hope that C-Span rebroadcasts the footage this week.

a Great B.A.D. Day
|| 10/2/2004 || 6:06 pm || Comments Off on a Great B.A.D. Day || ||

B.A.D. Day was a success. 25 congressional office visits. One overarching goal: Budget Autonomy for the District.

The whole experience was great. I learned my way around the Canon, Longworth, and Rayburn office buildings quickly. Yet, I found them to be rather dull on in the inside. There needed some art! I’d like to see paintings & murals from around the various congressional districts in the hallways of these massive buildings. Maybe I can introduce a Capitol Hill beautification bill :-)

Some of the offices had USGS maps of their districts, and man some districts are very gerrymandered! I couldn’t believe it that there were districts shaped as horseshoes! I believe the districts should be done strictly by Census data, not by wealth or political affiliation.

The actual office visits were a mixed bag. They broke down party lines for the most part, with the Democrats basically saying that they’d do whatever Norton wanted and Republicans either being completely indifferent or in the case of Dan Burton’s office, being somewhat open to the notion of Statehood.

In the office of Elijah E. Cummings, I obtained the actual text of the bill, H.R. 2472. And found that it has been pretty much buried in the Republican controlled Rules Committee.

We went to Hastert’s office later in the day. The site where seven of my friends were arrested last year for redressing their grievances to congress. There was a cop posted nearby and the door was locked. I did snap a picture of the staff member refusing to let us in. We ended up signing the guestbook. The next step is to get people in his district aware of the plight of DC residents and/or confront him before enters his office.

After all the visits, it seemed that Norton had not been promoting the bill as much as she should have. I plan on making some more visits in the next congressional session advocating this bill. Its not statehood, but its a start.

All in all, Friday was one of the most memorable days in my five years here in DC. I even got tons of souvenirs- little congressional business cards! The best one was from Shadow Senator Paul Strauss office, above the bald eagle there is a star with 51 inside. I ended up running out of the business cards I had brought with me on Friday! Something I’ll definitely bring more of next time.

B.A.D. Day Schedule
|| 10/1/2004 || 4:53 am || Comments Off on B.A.D. Day Schedule || ||

After the rally at the Capitol South Metro, we are going to go to meet with the legislative assistants & congresmembers in these congressional offices:

10:30am
Edward L. Schrock (R-VA) â€“ LA Kate Michael â€“ meeting at #322 Canon
Phone: 202.225.4215 / Fax: 202.225.4218 / kate.Michael@mail.house.gov

Jim Cooper (D-TN) â€“ LA Brian Newkirk – meeting at #1536 Longworth
Phone: 202.225.4311 / Fax:202.226.1035 / bryan.newkirk@house.mail.gov

Linda T. Sanchez (D-CA) – LA Clint Carte meeting at #1007 Longworth
Phone: 202.225.6676 / Fax: 226-1012 / clint.carte@mail.house.gov

Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) â€“ LA Jolanda Williams at #1632 Longworth
Phone: 202.225.4741 Fax:202.225.3178 / jolanda.williams@mail.house.gov

John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-TN) â€“ LA Aaron Tallent at #2267 Rayburn
Phone: 202.225.5435 / Fax:202.225.6440 / aaron.tallent@mail.house.gov

11:00am
Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) – LA Rodney Vacigalupo at #509 Canon
Phone: 202.225.2811 / Fax: 202.225.3004 / rodney.vacigalupo@mail.house.gov

Mike Turner (R-OH) â€“ LA Mike Wiehe at #1740 Longworth
Phone: 202.225.6465 / Fax: 202.225.6754 / mike.wiehe@mail.house.gov

Nathan Deal (R-GA) â€“ LA Ansley Davis at #2437 Longworth
Phone: 202.225.5211 / Fax: 202.225.8272 / ansley.davis@mail.house.gov

Tom Lantos (D-CA) â€“ LA Jason Rosenstock at #2413 Rayburn
Phone: 202.225.3531 / No Fax Listed / jason.rosenstock@mail.house.gov

Dan Burton (R-IN) â€“ LA Bryan Falls at #B371C Rayburn
Phone: 202.225.2276 / Fax: 202.225.0016 / brian.falls@mail.house.gov

11:30am
Ron Lewis (R-KY) â€“LA Josh Nacey at #2418 Rayburn
Phone:202-225-3501 / Fax: 202-226-2019 / josh.nacey@mail.house.gov

John L. Mica (R-FL) â€“ LA Brian Waldip at #2445 Rayburn
Phone: 202-225-4035 / Fax: 202-226-0821 / brian.waldip@mail.house.gov

Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) â€“LA Anna Cielinski at #2331 Rayburn
Phone: 202-225-7944 / Fax: 202-225-4709 / anna.cielinski@mail.house.gov

Danny Davis (D-IL) â€“ LA Spoke with LA Caleb Gilchrist #1222 Longworth
Phone: 202.225.5006 / Fax: 202.225.5641 / caleb.gilchrist@mail.house.gov

12:00pm
Betty McCollum (D-MN) â€“ LA Chad Lord #1029 Longworth
Phone: 202.225.6631 / Fax: 202.225.1968 / chad.lord@mail.house.gov

John Carter (R-TX) â€“ LA Sivey Paup at #408 Canon
Phone: 202.225.3864 / Fax: 202.225.5886 / sivey.paup@mail.house.gov

1pm
Todd R. Platts (R-PA) â€“ LA Nate Sloan at #1032 Longworth
Phone: 202.225.5836 / Fax: 202.226.1000 / nate.sloan@mail.house.gov

Thomas M. Davis, III (R-VA) â€“ LA Chris Lopez at #2348 Rayburn
Phone: 202.225.1492 / Fax: 202.225.3071 / chris.lopez@mail.house.gov

1:30pm
Christopher Van Hollen, Jr. (D-MD) â€“ LA Ken Cummings at #1419 Longworth
Phone: 202.225.5341 / Fax: 202.225.0375 / ken.cummings@mail.house.gov

Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) at 2136 Rayburn
Phone: 202.225.8050 / Fax: 202.225.3002

2pm
Diane Watson (D-CA) – LA GregoryAdams Phone: 202-225-7084 Canon 125

2:30pm
Christopher Shays (R-CT) Ask for Legislative Assistant #1126 Longworth
Phone: 202.225.5541 / Fax: 202.225.9629

Henry A. Waxman (D-CA) â€œRanking memberâ€ â€“ LA Becky Claster at #2204 Rayburn
Phone: 202.225.3976 / Fax: 202.225.4099 / becky.claster@mail.house.gov

3:15pm Dennis Hastert (R-IL) â€“ Anthony Reed No Appointment 235 Cannon

3:30pm
Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) No Appointment 1730 Longworth

4:30pm Wrap – UP

If you are interested in coming to an appointment, or have any questions about the lobbying, please call Adam (202-744-2671) or Zoe (202-253-2990).

Today will be all about Democracy In Action!

B.A.D. Day is tomorrow
|| 9/30/2004 || 10:36 pm || Comments Off on B.A.D. Day is tomorrow || ||

Press release from Zoe:

DC Democracy Activists to Return to Capitol Hill on Anniversary of Arrests in Speaker Hastertâ€™s Office

WASHINGTON, DCâ€”On October 1, the beginning of the fiscal year, the Budget Autonomy for the District Coalition, including the seven activists who were arrested last year in House Speaker J. Dennis Hastertâ€™s (R-Ill.) office, will hold an 8:30 am rally for DC Budget Autonomy and Statehood at the Capitol South Metro Stop. At 11 am, they will visit dozens of Senators and Representatives to advocate for full democracy for DC.

â€œWe are continuing DC’s long history of demanding that Congress stops controlling DCâ€™s budget and adding undemocratic riders to the DC Appropriations Bill. We are going to demand change,â€ Anise Jenkins, a founding member of the Budget Autonomy for the District Coalition (BAD Day) and the president of the Stand Up! for Democracy in DC Coalition, stated.

WHO: BAD Day: DC Statehood Green Party and Stand Up! for Democracy in DC Coalition
Speakers and performers include:
U.S. â€œShadowâ€ Senator Florence Pendleton (D-DC)
U.S. â€œShadowâ€ Representative Ray Browne (D-DC)
Head-Roc and Eurok, DC hip hop artists
Bill Mosley, Stand Up! for Democracy in DC Coalition
Adam Eidinger, Co-Chair of the DC Statehood Green Party
WHAT: Rally for Budget Autonomy and DC Statehood
WHERE: Capitol South Metro Stop (First St. between C & D Sts. SE)
WHEN: 8:30-10:00 am

History of DCâ€™s Lack of Budget Autonomy: Because of a Constitutional anachronism, Congress continues to execute colonial oversight over the Districtâ€™s budget until it is reviewed and passed as part of the federal appropriations process â€“ even though more than 75 percent of the Districtâ€™s budget is raised from local tax funds, about the same as most states. Because Congress does not finish the federal governmentâ€™s work on time, much less the Districtâ€™s, enactment of our budget is usually delayed well into the fiscal year. These unacceptable delays prevent the District from spending new funds on such urgent needs as health care, schools, and public safety.

Moreover, as our budget moves through the appropriations process, members can attach â€œridersâ€ â€“ restrictions that negate the wishes of DCâ€™s voters. Current riders include a ban on needle exchange programs to prevent HIV/AIDS and a prohibition on implementing the initiative to allow marijuana to be used for medical purposes. Finally, Congress forbids the District from using its own money to lobby for congressional voting rights and/or Statehood.
###
For updated information, please call the Stand Up! For Democracy in DC Coalition Events Hotline at 202-232-2500 x1.

For the last month I’ve been calling Capitol Hill scheduling the appointments with the various congrssmembers on the House Committe on Government Reform. Its been a truly interesting experience. I can’t wait for tomorrow! This will be my first time lobbying and I am excited! We’ve got over 20 meetings tomorrow with staffers and I hope there is a big turnout. We’ll see :-)

B.A.D. Day Call to Action!
|| 9/24/2004 || 4:06 pm || Comments Off on B.A.D. Day Call to Action! || ||

From my housemate Zoe Mitchell:

B.A.D. Day Call to Action

October 1st will be a B.A.D. Day in DC
B.A.D.= Budget Autonomy for the District

Weâ€™ve had enough. October 1, 2004, the beginning of the fiscal year, will be a B.A.D. Day for those in support of full Democracy for the District of Columbia. On the day DC residents are formally disenfranchised and democracy is disabled, we will fight back. Using diverse tactics, such as lobbying, petitioning, and protesting, District residents and friends of democracy will push for an end to DCâ€™s underclass status. We will demand budget autonomy as a first stepâ€”and begin a concerted new fight for freedom, statehood, and voting rights.

Help make B.A.D. Day a major city happening that grows each year, until we get our democratic rights! Come out to a rally at the Capitol South Metro Stop on the Blue and Orange Lines on October 1 at 8:30 am. Listen to live musicians, speakers and activists demand democracy for DC. Then at 10:30 am, come lobby Members of Congress that control DC for change.

Residents of the District of Columbia have had bad days since Article I, Section 8, Paragraph 17 of the U.S. Constitution allowed Congress to have “exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever, overâ€ the area that was to become Washington, DC. DC residents have been denied fundamental rightsâ€”ones that most Americans consider essential for a democracy.

Unlike states, we donâ€™t elect or appoint our judges; instead they are appointed by the President. Unlike states, we have no representation in Congress, yet Congress can overturn our local laws. Unlike states, we are the â€˜Federal Cityâ€™â€”we pay federal taxes, we serve on federal juries we are subjected to all federal lawsâ€”yet, we have no formal say in the federal government.

On Friday, October 1, 2004, we will take a stand:

For every time federal legislation has passed without DC residents getting a chance to weigh in;

For every time the Districtâ€™s budget priorities have been delayed because Congress wonâ€™t pass the DC Appropriations Bills by the start of the fiscal year;

For every time Congress offends local democracy by passing our budget for us;

For every time our voter-approved referenda, initiatives and recalls have been overturned by overzealous Members of Congress; and

For every time we have demanded change and been ignored;

Weâ€™ve had enough. Enough is enough!

For more information or to get involved, call the B.A.D. hotline at 202-232-1724!

We’ve got over 20 different appointments made with various congressional offices so that DC residents can lobby their unelected officials for budget autonomy, equal voting rights, statehood, and essentially lobbying to end the tyrannical rule of Congress over DC. If you have a chance come down to Capitol Hill next Friday! We’ve got some rappers, some speakers, and some B.A.D. ass fun. Watch democracy in action, nay, be apart of democracy in action! If you have any questions, please drop me an E-mail!

party on down
|| 9/19/2004 || 7:11 pm || Comments Off on party on down || ||

After returning back from the Green Festival I made my way over to Adams Morgan for the block party. When I arrived I found that somehow the inverters, which are used to power the sound system, were missing. After fretting for a bit, I asked a friend of Adam’s to go ahead and ask the police if we could use their power. The main talking point was that we used the police station’s power before without a problem*. Luckly with a little elbow grease we were able to play music.

Since it was Adam’s birthday and I wanted it to be a big ass party, I had contacted some friends in advance about DJing the event, but since I couldn’t secure in Technics, I opted to not have them DJ. Instead I had the opportunity to DJ the block party. Normally I never DJ events that I am working on, but last night I made a special exception! I selected nothing but my favorite Thievery Corporation & ESL music tunes. I am happy that I started listening to them back in 1998 before I even came to DC because it gave me a good knowledge of their entire discography and it also helped being on their promo distribution list when I was the director of the electronic music department at WRGW. I dunno what it is about their sound, but I love it. I sincerely just wish that I had all my vinyl here in DC, but that wouldn’t have helped any yesterday.

The worst part of the night was when some drunken fool from Maryland snatched the microphone from Adam while he was giving a speech. After haranguing the dolt for a bit, we got the microphone back and I dropped Thievery’s “Assault on Babylon.” It was the perfect tune for that moment and the crowd liked it’s ragga overtones.

The best part of the night was the beautiful belly dancers. They definitely stole the show! There were at least a hundred people watching them dance. I took advantage of the captive audience and passed out every flyer I had. Afterwards, when I made my way to a house party to meet up with a friend (the same friend who said, “you are doing another green party thing again tonight?”), she was ecstatic about the fact that I had just missed the belly dancers performing at the house party. I slyly said to her, that she had missed the belly dancers at the block party. All I could do was laugh and think to myself “dam this is a small city.” All in all, the campaign events were fun this weekend and I hope we made some minute impact. I know I had fun at least.

*Well there was a slight problem at the last event when the police officer decided to pull the plug after the comedienne used the same cuss words our vice president used in a bit about him cussing

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Nikolas Schiller is a second-class American citizen living in America's last colony, Washington, DC. This blog is my on-line repository of what I have created or found on-line since May of 2004. If you have any questions or comments, please contact: