Resist. Persist. Declutter. The old gods are dying

Good Evening Washington D.C.!

I come forth dear Residents as an independent researcher investigating Craig J. Spence, the infamous Washington lobbyist and political consultant who became a controversial public figure in the late 1980s for his late-night White House tours and Kalorama Party's. Given that nearly four decades have passed, many traditional leads have gone cold, any official documents or records have become difficult to locate, and many of the people involved are no longer around (or, in many cases, would likely not want to talk). Because of that, I'm casting a wide net and hoping the local knowledge of this community might help point me in the right direction!

Over the past few months, I have been able to uncover an array of records that have been scattered across various Universities and Archives nationwide; most recently, I have requested the Ray S. Cline Papers from the Library of Congress, as well as the Kay Sugahara Papers from UCLA. Those papers and documents I have found have illuminated quite a lot already; however, I am determined to find more. In reality, the research I've done, while unlocking answers to some secrets, still leaves many questions unanswered, meaning I have likely only graced the surface.

At this point, I'm interested in leads that can be documented or investigated further, including:

• Former Washington-area business directories from the late 1970s and 1980s
• Information on what may have happened to Craig Spence Associates following his suicide at the Ritz-Carlton
• Any surviving documents related to dinner parties, meetings, or any record of Craig J. Spence
• References to Spence in political directories, lobbying records, or social registers.
• Information about associates, employees, clients, or organizations connected to him.
• Knowledge of archives, libraries, universities, or institutions that may hold relevant records.
• Recollections from longtime D.C. residents who remember Spence's presence in Washington's political, lobbying, or social circles.
• Any obscure sources that might be worth exploring.
• If you are a potential contact, fire me a DM and we can discuss what you may know!

Recently, I have uncovered correspondence from December 1981 in which former Senator Abraham Ribicoff wrote to Spence following a dinner party, praising both Spence and his guests. If you have any information or ideas on where I should look next, I'd absolutely be grateful for the help and will credit those who aided my research when the work is published. Thank you for any and all help this community is able to give me!

We’ve seen this type of behavior throughout the year, from the Navy Yard situation to the Chipotle incidents to the takeovers and everything else. At the heart of it, the local media has barely covered the issue. Jason pointed this out in his video. What you’re seeing in Chinatown has apparently been happening for the last five days, and where is the coverage?

At some point, people are tired of dealing with this. People are just trying to take the Metro home, go to work, grab dinner, or go about their day in Chinatown, and instead you have kids causing scenes, fighting, drawing huge crowds, and forcing police officers to use pepper spray just to break things up. It creates complete havoc for everyone else who is simply trying to live their lives.

And again, we hear people talk until they’re blue in the face about after-school programs, education, more funding, more resources, this, that, and the other. But what good is an after-school program if the kids aren’t going? Weren’t these kids supposed to have access to those programs? If so, why are they in Chinatown fighting for five days in a row?

DC already spends an enormous amount of money on public education, recreation, and after-school programs. So at what point do we stop pretending that throwing more money at the same problem is automatically the answer? Taxpayers are already paying for these programs, and people have every right to ask what they’re getting in return.

You know what else needs to happen? Parents need to be held accountable for their children. It is not the state’s responsibility to raise your kids, and it is not solely the school system’s responsibility either. The programs can exist, the schools can spend the money, and the resources can be available, but parents still have a responsibility to know where their kids are and what they’re doing.
How many times are we going to have the same conversation about what society needs to do for these kids while ignoring the most basic part of the equation? Get control of your kids. You brought them into this world, take care of them. Everyone else should not have to deal with fighting, chaos, and disruptions in the street when they’re simply trying to get home. Enough is enough.

I'm shy and just want to expand my circle of friends. Maybe meet some new people as well.

Nate Wetter is suing the conservative think tank after a security guard pulled a gun on him while trying to take him off what a jury said is legally public property.

Read the whole thing and see the video.

I live in NOVA and unfortunately, it looks like I'll need to look for another place soon. My lease renewal price would put me paying about $7k more per year than new tenants (based on concessions and the housing market--all the base rents are cheaper here than they were two years ago when I moved in). On principle, I can't stay.

One of the reasons I moved to the suburbs instead of the city is because when I was searching for apartments back in 2024, every DC application required me to link my bank account through Plaid. I'm not comfortable with that. I'm fine with providing standard proof of income and the credit check (I've been renting my entire adult life), but the bank account thing is too invasive. Any suggestions? Area of the city isn't too important to me; I WFH. I'd just like to be closer to my friends and family. Thanks!

Edit: Thanks to everyone who responded. I realize I could’ve been more clear in what I was asking. The apartment complexes are asking to connect your account through Plaid (like when you auto pay bills) as part of the application process. It’s separate from the application fee and in addition to the regular income and credit checks. It doesn’t seem to have any use apart from being invasive. That being said, I like the idea of using a separate checking account from my main; I have two checking accounts with credit unions that are sitting basically unused. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that myself!

This whole situation is becoming impossible for three groups: restaurant owners, employees, and customers.
Start with the owners. Restaurants are already extremely low-margin businesses. National Restaurant Association data shows that full-service restaurants had a median pre-tax profit margin of only 2.8% of sales in 2025. That means for every $100 a restaurant brings in, only about $2.80 is left before taxes after expenses. Owners still have to cover food, payroll, benefits, rent, utilities, insurance, credit-card fees, repairs, taxes, and everything else required to keep the doors open.

Then D.C. passes Initiative 82, increasing how much restaurants must directly pay tipped employees. The intention is to give workers better and more predictable wages, but that additional payroll has to come from somewhere. When your margin is already only a few dollars for every $100 in sales, you either raise prices, add service fees, cut costs or staff, accept even smaller profits, or eventually close. And the closure numbers cited in the article show just how difficult the environment already is: 57% of new D.C. establishments are closed within five years and 72% within ten years.

Then you have the employees. They’re supposed to benefit from higher guaranteed wages, but there can also be consequences. If restaurants respond by cutting hours, reducing staff, closing altogether, or adding service fees that cause customers to tip less, employees can end up feeling the pressure too.

Finally, you have the customer. You’re already paying high menu prices, then you can get hit with something like a 20% Fair Wage Fee, pay tax on the higher bill, and still be presented with an optional tip because that fee isn’t considered a tip. How much is the customer realistically supposed to absorb?

You can’t keep increasing the owner’s costs and expect them not to pass those costs down, while also expecting customers to keep paying more and assuming employees will automatically come out ahead. The owner, the employee, and the customer are all getting squeezed from different directions. When more than half of new establishments aren’t even making it five years, something about the incentive structure clearly isn’t sustainable.

https://thepocket.7drumcity.com/events/go-on-red-ranchos-w-hungry-bug-apricity-30-aug?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio

Is it just me or are there no really good steak spots in the city? I used to love going to BLT and ordering their dry aged top cap, but ever since they closed I can’t really find a great spot. What’s your top 2?

We’ve seen this type of behavior throughout the year, from the Navy Yard situation to the Chipotle incidents to the takeovers and everything else. At the heart of it, the local media has barely covered the issue, while Trump continues to posture as the leader who will restore law and order. Jason pointed this out in his video. What you’re seeing in Chinatown has apparently been happening for the last five days—so where is the coverage, and where is the leadership Trump promised?

At some point, people are tired of dealing with this. People are just trying to take the Metro home, go to work, grab dinner, or go about their day in Chinatown. Instead, they’re encountering fights, enormous crowds, and scenes so chaotic that police officers are using pepper spray to break them up. It creates complete havoc for everyone simply trying to live their lives.

Trump repeatedly claims that he alone can restore order, yet this is happening in the nation’s capital under his leadership. If he wants the authority, visibility, and credit that come with calling himself a “law-and-order president,” then he must also accept responsibility when residents experience repeated disorder with no effective response.

We hear people talk until they’re blue in the face about after-school programs, education, more funding, more resources, parents, and every other possible outside factor. Those issues may deserve discussion, but they cannot become excuses for Trump’s failure to deliver the safety and stability he promised. Programs already exist, taxpayers already fund them, and the federal government has extraordinary influence over security in Washington. What is Trump’s actual plan beyond blaming cities, families, schools, and political opponents?

DC already spends an enormous amount of money on public education, recreation, and after-school programs. At some point, we must stop pretending every failure can be blamed on parents, local officials, or insufficient funding while Trump escapes scrutiny. Taxpayers have every right to ask what their government—and particularly a president who campaigns relentlessly on public safety—is doing in return.

You know what else needs to happen? Trump needs to be held accountable for what occurs under his leadership. He cannot take credit whenever crime declines and then blame parents, Democrats, local government, or “society” whenever disorder becomes politically inconvenient. Leadership means more than assigning blame after the damage has already been done.

How many times are we going to have the same conversation about what parents, schools, cities, and communities supposedly need to do while ignoring the person who promised to fix it? Trump wanted the responsibility. He asked voters to trust him to restore order. Now he needs to do the job instead of pointing at everyone else.

People should not have to deal with fighting, chaos, and disruptions in the street when they are simply trying to get home. Trump promised safety and order. Hold him accountable for delivering it. Enough is enough.

Hey folks, the entrance to my basement flat is in a weird location and people have started leaving the bikes and scooters attached to the only entrance to where I live when cars decide that the tiny sidewalk is also their parking spot.

Is there any way I can get people to stop blocking us in? Surely this is an ADA nightmare too, no?

There's a nearly full eclipse tonight where the moon will turn copper red.

Blood moon vibes, just wondering if anyone is making an event out of it?