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Monthly Archives: April 2016
This was our first visit to Washington DC area as a family. We stayed at the beautiful Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor. I was really impressed with the National Harbor layout. It was a family friendly resort community along the Potomac River, just south of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.
The National Harbor resort community was designed like a small town, with block after block of retail shops, dining, residential and hotels. The waterfront area was stunning with a sandy beach, marina, pier, carousel, ferris wheel, swan paddle boats and restaurants overlooking the Potomac. The sidewalks and streets were filled with pedestrian traffic and reminded me of a bustling little town.
While there were numerous places to eat great good, we especially liked Rosa Mexicano, Mexican restaurant where we dined al fresco, discussed our sightseeing plans and people watched. The fresh guacamole and enchiladas were excelente!
My children especially liked the Capital Wheel, a 180 foot high ferris wheel that gave the best views of National Harbor and the surrounding Washington DC area. At nighttime, the Capital Wheel lights up and becomes a wonderful illumination backdrop to the resort community’s nightlife.
We also visited The National Zoo to see the Pandas, of course! 
It was a sunny Spring day and the kids had a great time viewing the animals. The zoo is part of the Smithsonian Institution and therefore does not charge admission. The grounds were beautiful and all food selections were good and reasonably priced.
This was a wonderful destination to visit with lots to see and do. If you have not yet discovered National Harbor or had the opportunity to visit the National Zoo, you should add these to your family travel “must do” list. We are already making plans to come back next Spring. Buen viaje!
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The sky is blue and the sun is shining down on Detroit, Michigan. At long last, the day Detroit baseball fans have been waiting for after a long, cold winter. Opening Day is first and foremost, an “unofficial” holiday in the State of Michigan. I’m not certain of the numbers, but practically no one is working on this day… and if they are, they are likely following along on their smart phone or streaming the game on their desktops.
Springtime in Michigan not only brings blooming flowers and trees, it brings a renewed and fresh perspective of our beloved Tigers’ chances at the pennant. It’s a day of celebration as the City of Detroit and the entire State of Michigan join together to celebrate “our” team. It is that spirit of unification that I love most about baseball. Baseball unifies all people; which is why today in the City is the very best day in the City.
We are headed to the CoPa (shorthand for Comerica Park) and it is certain to be rocking. Enjoy the day and watch for Miguel’s first homer of the season… he will most certainly not disappoint! Happy Opening Day Detroit! [click the Title for comments]
Evenwel vs. Abbott — On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously (8-0) rejected an effort to challenge the well-established principle of ‘one person, one vote’ in drawing election districts based upon total population. This decision upholds or affirms the ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit; which also rejected the challenge. Read the Decision in its entirety, here.
The Low Down on Sue Evenwel & Edward Pfenninger: The Appellants, both Texas residents, were recruited by Edward Blum, the director of the Project on Fair Representation to challenge the ‘one-person, one-vote’ principle. Blum has earned the reputation of a crusader against civil rights and affirmative action laws. He refers to Evenwel and Pfenninger as his “clients”, although Blum himself, is not an attorney. Evenwel is a Texas GOP and tea party activist and Pfenninger, a self-proclaimed youtuber and defender of the KJB-perfect Bible in English. Ripe for the picking, pretty much sums up these two “clients”.
Background: In a political attempt to reduce the voting power of the nation’s urban Latino and African American population, the Appellants brought a challenge based on a claim that the Texas Senate redistricting boundaries of 2013 (which were based solely on the most recent census population figures from 2010) were unconstitutional and violated the ‘one person, one vote’ principle of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause because the districts were not divided in a way that used voter population (i.e., only those registered to vote), rather than total population (i.e., all persons). The Appellants argued that using total population diluted their voting power because they each resided in a district that had a large number of people who were nonvoters, unregistered voters, teens, children, felons and noncitizens. The Appellants argued that only people like them, i.e., registered voters, should be taken into account when drawing districts.
Writing for the majority, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg stated, “This Court’s past decisions reinforce the conclusion that States and localities may comply with the one-person, one-vote principle by designing districts with equal total populations.” The Justice went on to argue that requiring districts to be divided only by counting those eligible to vote would upset an approach that all states and numerous jurisdictions have historically followed. She went on to add that,
“Nonvoters have an important stake in many policy debates and in receiving constituent services. By ensuring that each representative is subject to requests and suggestions from the same number of constituents, total-population apportionment promotes equitable and effective representation.”
This was a clear victory for voting rights proponents. While the state of Texas wanted the option to choose either total population or voter population, the Court only decided that Texas’ current use of total population passed muster and it declined to rule on whether other methods of drawing boundaries could be used. [click the Title for comments]
