The Paul Revere of Redskins football critics? Yep, that’s D.C. Council member and former Mayor Marion Barry.
After a Twitter tirade blasting the Washington Redskins during Super Bowl Sunday, Barry defended his actions today by saying he’s the “Paul Revere” of Redskins fans. You know, Paul Revere, the colonial era hero who earned a place in history books when he yelled, “The British are coming! The British are coming!”
Barry, in a comparatively succinct outburst of less than 140 characters, wrote, “You know, the Redskins suck. I’m tired of watching everyone else in the Superbowl. Aint been right since they left DC.”
He also tweeted “DAN SNYDER SUCKS” and said it’s time for the Redskins to “come home” and move their stadium back to the District.
Barry talked to the Post Monday and did not apologize for what some have called harsh tweets.
“It’s not the British that are coming,” Barry told the Post. “It’s the other teams that are coming. The (Dallas) Cowboys are coming. The (Philadelphia) Eagles are coming. Other teams are coming.”
He said that while he may have been emotional while he wrote the tweets, the team has been a disappointment since it left the District.
The Redskins played in the District from 1937 through 1996. The team currently plays at FedEx Field in Landover, Md.
* About 90 D.C. employees were placed on leave Monday after officials determined they fraudulently received unemployment checks.
Washington Post’s Mike DeBonis had the scoop today, reporting that an additional 60 former employees who no longer work with the city also cashed in on unemployment checks for wh they weren’t eligible for.
The total fraud amounts to $800,000 since 2009.
According to the Post, this fraud is not complicated and typically occurs when workers legitimately apply for unemployment checks and then fail to cancel them once they obtain work.
At least some of the cases may go to federal prosecutors for criminal prosecution.
In a related blog post, DeBonis gives credit to the city for cracking down on double-dipping with the city, but asks:
“Why weren’t the city’s human resources department and unemployment office talking to each other sooner to prevent this sort of thing from happening?”
* A bill that would require welfare recipients to pass a drug test before receiving their benefits was tabled in the Virginia House until 2013.
The controversial bill was carried over to next year’s General Assembly to allow more time to study the potential costs, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
The Virginia Senate voted to repeal the one-gun-a month law Monday in a 21-19 vote. The bill is expected to easily pass through the House.
The legislation would overturn a law that bans Virginians from purchasing more than one handgun a month.
* A Virginia Senate committee passed legislation that would allow police officers to pull over motorists for texting while driving, making it a primary offense. Currently, a ticket can only be given for texting while driving to motorists who have been pulled over for a separate offense.
* The Baltimore Sun reports that State Sen. Ulysses S. Currie talked behind close doors Monday with the Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics in Annapolis.
The panel is investigating ethics violations that Currie admitted to during his federal trial last year on extortion and bribery charges. He was acquitted of these charges.
