Game theory... and practice

Green is the most important color there is.

Today, Colbert King has an excellent column, "How the Game Gets Played in D.C.," about former City Councilmember John Ray's post-Council career as a lobbyist-lawyer. The stakes in DC aren't quite at the same level as Jack Abramoff and Native American gambling casinos, but it's still ugly. Casinos in DC, big PUD proposals with virtually no community amenities, etc.

And speaking of ugly, yesterday's Post and NY Times had stories about people stating that they were paid to write articles and do other "community outreach" around the Richard Scrushy Health South financial shenanigans trial. (See "Scrushy Said to Pay for Positive Articles.") There was a not guilty verdict, which must have heartened Kenneth Lay.

I hope you don't think that similar kinds of activities don't happen here. (See Dream City, etc.)

Image from Comic Covers.

The American Century Comic Book hasn't caught on with comic book afficionados, but that's probably because to appreciate it, you need to read Molotch's "The City as a Growth Machine" first, and have a more dystopic view about how business and politics works. I still regret that the TV show "EZ Streets" never caught on. It was great "film noir" about declining center cities.

Do you really think that Doug Jemal is doing anything any different from any of the other players? (See this column by Post business columnist Steven Pearlstein, "Jemal Appears Guilty -- of Choosing Friends Badly.") When your friends skate along just like everybody else, why should you take off and put away your set of skates?

Photographer: Susan Biddle/The Washington Post. DC Council members Marion Barry, Kwame Brown, Vince Orange, former council member Frank Smith with Jon Ledecky and co - bidders for Washington Nationals, the Hidary's. They gathered on baseball diamond outside Barry Farm Recreational Center in SE Washington. (July 7th, 2005).

Or that Jonathan Ledecky is merely motivated to "do the right thing" for Washington?

Index Keywords: civic-engagement