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Levey Live: Speaking Freely
Washington Post Columnist
Friday, Jan. 4, 2002; 1 p.m. EST
"Levey Live: Speaking Freely," hosted by Washington Post columnist Bob Levey, appears every Friday.
It is a live, open-agenda discussion offering washingtonpost.com users around the world the opportunity to ask questions and discuss topics of their choice with Bob.
Fearless Bob takes your questions about virtually everything, from sports and politics (there's a difference?) to world events, Metro area traffic and issues raised in Bob's columns.
The transcript follows.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control
over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
Bob Levey: Good afternoon, one and all, and welcome aboard the Good Ship Levey. The ground rules are the same as usual: any topic is fair game. Let us spend the next 60 minutes dancing through the vineyards of ideas, notions and quirks (you know, some people actually DO write like that!). Without further adieu (as Redbook magazine once mis-stated)......
Laurel, Md.:
Bob,
Did you see Marc Fisher's chat yesterday?
There was a long thread about the following practice at Metro stations: Couple arrives at Kiss-and-Ride with him driving. He gets out and onto Metro. She gets out of passenger seat and into driver's seat and drives off. Why can't she just drive TO the station?
Sounds like a neologism contest, doesn't it?
Bob Levey: It goes directly into the file, with a note attached: Credit Fisher!
Cadillac Jack:
I asked the same question to Marc Fisher yesterday, I'd like to hear your views.
While walking home last (wednesday) night after a pint of ale in Adams Morgan, I happened to notice the large clothing donation recepticle on the street corner.
This wasn't odd except for the fact that one man's legs were poking out the narrow entrance while the rest of his body was inside, his portly companion "stood guard."
The two men had cleaned out the drop of bin for used clothing for donations. All clothes were on the sidewalk and they were going through the piles. This seemed a bit odd, just another random sighting of city life I guess. They walked off with a bunch of clothing.
Do you know anything about these parking lot and street corner donation bins? And why someone can break into one?
Marc seemed to think they are intentionally left undone so someone can clothe themself on a cold night.
I've also heard urban myths that the companies who collect then sell the clothes and not donate.
Bob Levey: I don't believe these bins are ever locked, for the simple reason that the bin-installers WANT needy people to help themselves.
If you truly believe that the bin-installers resell what's inside the bins, you must not have looked inside lately. I believe the word is, "Scuzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzy."
Forestville, Md.:
Couldn't get an answer out of Weingarten, so I will try to ask you:
WHAT BOZO DECIDED TO CANCEL TANK MCNAMARA? DOES ANYONE EVER THINK TO FIND OUT IF YOUR READERS LIKE THE STRIP? IS THIS THE SAME IDIOT WHO PUT DILBERT IN THE BUSINESS SECTION?
Thank you (and I cleaned that up considerably out of respect for my elders).
Bob Levey: The all-time no-win exercise is running rhe comis pages of The Washington Post. About two years ago, on my Tuesday "Leveyt Live' show (the one with a guest), I featured Shirley Carswell. She's an assistant managing editor of The Post. Then and now, she runs the comics pages. That means she and she alone decides what stays and what goes.
Perhaps the grand folk at washingtonpost.com can put up a link to that discussion?
In any case, I can tell you that Shirley does not do polls before yanking a comics-page feature. There's often more to the decision than meets the eye--for example, in the case of several yanked strips, advance word that the writer/artist isn't planning to continue it much longer. However, Shirley will be the first to acknowledge that her "calls" are not universally popular. How can they be? One man's Annie is another's Cathy.
Arlington, Va.:
I’d like to address the honorific issue from today’s column. As a history Ph.D., I’d like to add some long duration perspective to the discussion. There can be no honorific without “honor,” and historically a title was appropriate only for those of sufficiently high station in the hierarchy of the time. Were a man to address you simply by your name he would be asserting his social superiority over you. Conversely, plebeians might be flogged for addressing their "betters" improperly. “Mister” occupied the lowest rung of the title ladder (with “His Royal Highness” at the peak). It connoted that the person was a freeman, but not noble.
Now that we live in a democratic society that does not recognize rigid social distinctions, I suppose one could argue that there is no longer any need for honorifics to sort out one’s place in society. But one could counter that democracy properly understood means that all people deserve the dignity of a simple title. Sorry Mr. Terry, but I kind of like the idea of a simple title.
Bob Levey: Well said, yet some holders of honorifics abuse them.
My sainted mother earned a PhD degree, and often referred to herself as a doctor. But she did it especially when it suited her.
For example, one time in Rochester, N.Y., when I was a little boy, she had to make a flight back to New York City. The engines were already revving up when she got to the gate.
"Hold that plane, I'm a doctor-r-r-r-r-r-r!!!!," Mama shouted. Damned if they didn't hold it.
She always giggled over this story, but I always pointed out that she was abusing her privilege. She'd reply that I had lived in Washington too long!
Exile in Alexandria, Va.:
This is a question not so much for you, Mr. Levey, as for your producer and the policy-wonk types at washingtonPost.com. Why are the weekly listings of discussions changed so early on Fridays? It seems (using my totally unscientific observations, so I admit I might be wrong) that on Fridays, the week's past discussions is pulled around 5 p.m. and replaced with the list of upcoming discussions for the next week. (Although last week, with the holidays, the upcoming discussions list was the only one available as early at 2 in the afternoon.) I can't usually get to check out the discussion transcripts until much later in the evening, and having to go to the archives site of every single discussion I follow -- and I read most of them -- is very inconvenient and awkward. I there any way to change the list later in the evening on Fridays, or even on Saturdays?
I apologiae if this is less than clear, but I'm not feeling well today. Thanks for your time. washingtonpost.com:
Technical considerations force us to publish early sometimes. Can't be helped. But you can always find the week's discussions on the weekly schedule. And we're trying to make sure the archives are as up to date as possible. We'll be experimenting with some ways to make this less confusing. Meanwhile, all feedback and suggestions are appreciated: webnews@washingtonpost.com. Thanks. -- Lisa Todorovich, Executive Producer, Live Online
Bob Levey: I'm guessing, but I suspect the crew at washingtonpost.com wants to call it a week, and they can't until that last chore is done. So they tend to do it early.
washingtonpost.com:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/zforum/levey/bob0515.htm = the levey live with shirley carswell. -- Megan.
Clarendon vs. Adams Morgan:
Bob,
In Lloyd Grove's online chat today, Lloyd makes clear that he prefers Adams Morgan to Clarendon. He doesn't care so much that A-M is riddled with crime and garbage, or that people are now lined up in the streets to clamor into Clarendon nightspots. He would rather comfort himself with the notion that Adams Morgan will always be "trendy" and Clarendon will never be. (How can something "always" be "trendy," anyway?)
You had Jay Fisette on your chat recently, and he agreed that some DCers have a truly irrational notion that Arlington is "Way over there", when in fact it is close, more Metro accessbile, more fun, cleaner, safer, less expensive, and has lower taxes than equivalent parts of D.C.
Do you have any insights on why D.C. people have lost their grip on reality in this regard?
Bob Levey: It's isn't just a D.C. thing. The urban hip have always believed that they and they alone could determine what's in and what isn't.
In the case of Clarendon, as Jay Fisette noted, many people's heads are still frozen in 1955. They think that Clarendon (and the rest of Arlington) is full of white military families who live in little brick houses and have short haircuts. In fact, Arlington is one of the most diverse communities in the Washington area--more diverse in many ways than Adams-Morgan. All it takes is a Farecard and the willingness to go take a look. But to ever-so-many city dwellers, there's no buzz to the burbs, and never will be.
12th Floor Metro Center:
Hi Bob,
A good friend of mine (and fellow poster)was "furloughed" from his company 4 weeks ago -- he is a contractor and the client ran out of funds. He has been told that the needed funds will be there in two weeks, meaning that he will have missed 6 weeks of work when all is said and done.
Is "friend" entitled to unemployment for these 6 weeks? He's worried about filing for claims because the company might look down on this -- especially if they're not doing so hot money-wise. My feeling is he is entitled to that money -- six weeks ain't no picnic to not be bringing in a paycheck.
PS -- he's also the one who turned you on to Eva Cassidy. Glad you're enjoying her!
Bob Levey: He's entitled. Although office political considerations are dicey, as you say.
By the way, he should take a new job as a music turner-onner. I can't TELL you how great Eva Cassidy is!
My wife just shipped me a piece about her that ran in The Washington Post magazine in 1998. Dunno how I missed it the first time past. It traces her life and career. She is truly a daughter of D.C. If you haven't heard her, Web buddies, the old line applies: Run, don't walk.
Alexandria, Va.:
Okay as a you have often stated your beliefs in smart development, I want to ask you a question:
I'm looking to purchase a home in NE or Prince George's County -- both inside the Beltway. Houses are similar and commutes have negligible differences. Which would you choose?
Bob Levey: I'd need to know much more. Do you have kids? If so, are you planning to send them to the local public schools? How much do you have to spend? Are you planning to live in this house for three years? Twenty years? Are you able to put down only ten percent of the purchase price, or can you lay out more?
Baithersburg, Md.:
Bob,
You really missed the boat this morning on the coffee issue. If you go to any 7-11 with either a small, medium, or large cup in your hand, that's what you'll be charged, no matter how MUCH is in the cup!
Also, maroons that pay with pennies should be dealt with appropriately.
Bob Levey: I agree about deluging the coffee can with pennies. But your 7-Eleven analogy doesn't work.
I'm not urging anyone to pay for a full cup and take less. I'm saying that a guy who wants to drink only 3/4 of a cup should have the right to take only that much and pay for only that much.
Springfield, Va.:
Bob,
Your take please on the anti-Catholic ads going up in Metro. I read in the Post that they deemed running the ads part of the freedom of speech, but I seem to recall the same Metro refusing anti-abortion ads a while back. Seems to me they've got a selective view of free speech rights. Until the ads come down, I'll stay off Metro.
Bob Levey: Metro has taken a very strange stance on this.
The agency has turned aside all manner of "controversial" ads in the past, as well as any ad that smacks of partisanship in the slightest. For example, Metro does not allow Democratic candidates for any office to advertise, for fear that it might look as if Metro was backing Democrats. Ditto with Republicans. That's politically "sanitary" beyond all sense, if you ask me.
I can see why Metro would ban pictures of partial-birth abortions, and anything remotely sexual. But why run an ad that takes a swing at Catholic leaders as a group? And why claim (as Metro has) that it has no responsibility (and no ability) to monitor whether the copy is accurate? Everyone and his uncle knows that bishops don't have the power to ORDER a darn thing. Besides, if The Post and every other media outlet takes great pains to assure that its ads are accurate, how can Metro do less?
Arlington, Va.:
So what's with Verizon treating Georgetown so well? We lost phone service in South Arlington a few weeks ago. Our phone (and many of the neighbors) were out for up to four days. Yet we weren't provided with a temporary phone bank to make free local calls. We didn't even make the news!
Bob Levey: Uh, oh!
Anti-suburban bias!
I'll let Lloyd Grove know right away.......
Speaking of honorifics:
Check out the enrollment form for Amtrak's Guest Reward program at https://www.amtrakguestrewards.com/Enroll/EnrollForm.cfm. It includes most military ranks, plus some great honorifics like Prince, Princess, Rabbi, Reverend, Rev. Father, Pastor.
Bob Levey: Do they have His Column-ness? Hey, every man has his price.....
DC 20036:
I'm so with you on Eva Cassidy. Every time I hear her version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," I get goosebumps, and then I bawl. The woman was amazing. It's so sad she's gone.
Bob Levey: As the magazine piece I just read makes clear, she could never decide whether she was a folkie or a rocker or a bluesie--and that's good! Why every singer has to be just one thing so some dimwit marketer can pigeonhole her... it's beyond me.
On Cassidy's last album, you not only get "Rainbow" (better version than Sarah Vaughan ever thought about), but you get jump, swing, blues, just about everything. An amazing talent!
wiredog:
Bob,
I spent last week in Utah, where we got two inches of snow. No one seemed to notice. What a contrast to the reaction here:
Oh my God! Snow! Maybe more than an inch! Run for the hills, the dam is busted! No! Run for the store and buy up all the bread and milk! Wait! Women and Children First! Every man for himself!
Why runs on bread and milk? Why not toilet paper? (Try doing without bread for a week, then try doing without TP. See which one -you- miss most.)
Bob Levey: Hey, toilet paper is DEFINITELY part of the classic D.C. emergency run. So is kitty litter. Which is a total howl. Our one cat takes about a month to go through a sack of kitty litter. No snowstorm has ever immobilized things here anywhere near that long. Even in Buffalo, 81.5 inches didn't stop things dead for more than two days.
Reston, Va.:
Paying for coffee:
Many stores do inventory/billing on coffee by counting the number of cups used. So if you charge 3/4 of full price for 3/4 of a full cup you show up, on the books, as being short 1/4 of a cups worth of money. And it's usually the poor schmuck getting minimum wage at the cash register who has to pay the difference.
Bob Levey: So I have to be hostage to their bookkeeping system?
Centreville, Va.:
I'm sure I'm not the only one, but I'm sick and tired of the phrase "now more than ever." I've been seeing it everywhere since Sept. 11. Why, oh why?
Bob Levey: You must have been listening a lot to WTOP radio. It's their newest slogan.
Arlington, Va.:
Bob,
What do you think of Metro's grand expansion plan? And why is it so vague (or is it just hard to get good information on it?)?. The Post has a tiny little map, but it's difficult to see where the new stations would go.
Unhooking the Blue and Orange lines seems like a "must," but the Orange line bypass looks weird. And does the new Blue line go to the right places? And should this have higher priority than the "Purple Line" tracking the beltway?
Help us understand, Bob, help us! (In fact, maybe you could host a few chats on it.)
Bob Levey: There's no firm plan yet. It's still in the floating-ideas stage. And it's going to be in the hunting-up-money stage for ages.
In an ideal, swimming-in-bucks world, I'd like to see all of it built. But as I said last week, service to and along the Dulles corridor is a major must--the biggest major mist. The Purple Line is a terrific idea, and it will ultimately be the only way to take serious pressure off the Beltway. But the cost! 65 miles to circumvent the city! That's about 60 percent as many miles as exist today. Do you have any idea how many dollars you're talking about? Billions.
Newspaper Question:
Bob, what do you think of the policy most media outlets have of not naming victims (mostly women) alleging rape? If they aren’t going to name the victim than they should not name the alleged perpetrator until he has been convicted and gone to jail. Of course that wouldn’t give the Post much of a story with two unnamed people supposedly privy to a crime, but it would prevent innocent men from being smeared by a woman who gets to hide behind anonymity. Also, not naming rape victims is one of the factors that helps stigmatize this crime and its victims.
Bob Levey: The idea behind withholding the names of rape victims is to prevent the victim from being victimizef twice--once at the hands of the rapise, once at the hands of publicity. I have to say I buy this. It isn't that there's more stigma to a sexual crime. It's that rape is so vicious, such a fundamental personal violation. The law agrees. Rape is right under first-degree murder in the average sentence length.
I can see your point about withholding the name of the accused. But we live in an open society, and a rapist is accused in open court. The minute we start withholding one kind of name, we will be under pressure to withhold others--maybe all others. That's a truly rotten idea, I think, on grounds that an informed citizen is the best citizen. He has the right to know what's going on. If the accused rapist isn't convicted, Joe Citizen has the right to know that, too. And he will.
Washington, D.C.:
Afternoon Bob -
I wanted to share a discturbing and (sad) incident I witnessed at the Fair Lakes Movie theater on New Year's Day.
A woman in the row in font of me was asked by another woman if the 5 seats next to her were free. She replied that they were. The requester stood at the aisle for a few minutes waiting for her family, and then ask the seat-saver if she could watch the seats while she went to get her family. She left. At this point a man and his four children walked down the aisle and came to that row being saved and asked if the seats were free. The women replied, "No I'm sorry they are saved for someone." The man angerily replied that, "you can't save seats." The womewn tried to explain that the other women had just went to get her family, but the man continued to haragune her. Finaly, this man looks her in the eye and remarkes "I thought all the terrorists were overseas!" and stormed away with his children behind him.
Bob, it was all I could do to not get up and grab this jerk by the collar and yell at him, "THEY ARE MOVIE SEATS!! You just accused a women of being a terrorist over movie seats!"
Has the horror of Sept 11 so quickly paseed that it can be used as an insult over something so trivial as a movie seat?
Bob Levey: Take it from me. People are idiots sometimes. They're especially good at rhetorical overkill sometimes. Just be glad he didn't start spewing racial hatred, or bullets.
Chicago, Ill.:
What are these anti-Catholic ads on Metro?
Bob Levey: They show a procession of Catholic bishops. The text says that bishops have ordered their followers not to use condoms, and that AIDS and HIV rates have therefore spiked. There's nothing inflammatory about the picture or the language, by the way. And it's important to note that the ad was paid for by a group of Catholics!
Washington, D.C.:
Ohhh -- real estate advice! Here's one, my fiance and I are looking to purchase something in D.C. We live in Dupont Circle right now and love the area. Here's the paramaters: $300,000 max budget, no children (won't have any for another three or four years minimum), metro good (less need to use the car the better), safety good.
The Dupont/Adams Morgan/Kalorama areas are the obvious choices, but how about some good "secret nooks of the city" idea from someone who knows the area far better than us?
Bob Levey: Sure. Capitol Hill is a natural for you. But be sure you look carefully at the immediate neighborhood. Parts of the Hill are like a well-preserved 17th century village--and parts are like a war zone. Be very sure you don't get engulfed by trouble that's only two blocks away.
Brookland (near Catholic U. and Trinity College) is a very promising and up-and-coming neighborhood. Lots of large-ish houses with front porches. Metro nearby.
Takoma is a cute neighborhood. Houses are on the small side (some were built from mail-order kits in the 1920s!). But you can't beat this neighborhood for diversity and the feeling of where-the-60s-went-to-die. Also excellent Metro access.
Shepherd Park (Alaska Avenue just west of 16th Street) is another solid neighborhood often overlooked. Not sure you can get anything for $300 K, though.
Lorton, Va.:
Hypothetical question. You're sitting there when suddenly into your lap is dropped the name and age of the person who struck and killed Buddy the dog. You learn that she is under 18, but since this is being treated as an accident, not a crime, there is no barring the release of her name.
What would you do in that circumstance?
(This is, of course, tied to the fact that the poor girl's name was released on television. I'm sad that Buddy was killed, but I really feel sorry for the poor girl now that everyone knows she did it).
Bob Levey: Publish it and broadcast it. Not close. As I said a minute ago, we live in an open society, and that means we have to print and read bad news and uncomfortable news just as readily as we print and read the latest vapid stupidities of Jennifer Lopez.
Another Newspaper Question::
Bob: It's always puzzled me why newspapers print the age of the person mentioned in a news story. For instance, "Joe Blow, 46, said he noticed the flames coming from a window. Firefighter Fred Schmuck, 32, was the first on the scene. Residents of the house, Frick Smith, 23, and Frack Jones, 29, were uninjured." What's the relevance of printing ages?
Bob Levey: The age of a person can often be one of the most significant pieces of information about that person. If I tell you that I'm 56 years old (which I happen to be), you immediately "slot" me as having had a certain clump of experiences. If I don't reveal my age, you might think I'm far younger or far older (bonus points if you choose far younger!). That only misleads and confuses you.
Obituary writers will tell you that they never work harder than they do to get the age of the deceased. Good that they do. For instance, in today's Washington Post obits, a 41-year-old woman died. I learned a great deal about her because of that 4 and that 1. She had a heck of a life in such a short time. I would have been badly misled if that figure hadn't appeared. I might have thought she was 75, and therefore not as remarkable.
New in town:
Bob, what's the difference between the Kalorama and Cleveland Park nieghborhoods? One in the same? Thanks.
Bob Levey: Kalorama centers around Connecticut Avenue and Kalorama Road NW, just up the hill from the Washington Hilton Hotel. Cleveland Park is about 1.5 miles farther north. It centers around Connecticut Avenue and Porter Street NW. Also, houses in Kalorama tend to be much bigger and much more expensive than those in CP.
Re: Buddy:
I am an animal lover, but I do not consider it national news that an ex-president's dog was struck by a car, nor do I think it matters who did it.
Bob Levey: I see your point, but this is one of those "grabber" stories that people will read and watch, even if it isn't nearly as "important" as the latest twists and turns in Tora Bora
Formerly from Buffalo, N.Y.:
Comparing D.C.'s snow removal efforts to those of Buffalo's is like comparing an NFL team to a junior varsity high school team.
Buffalo only shut down for a couple of days under record-breaking snowfalls because they are well practiced at snow removal. My parents are still up there and live in a suburb just outside the city. Their street (a cul-de-sac) was plowed five times in one day by the local town plow. They have FLEETS of snow removal trucks and TONS of sand/salt. They've also had lots and lots of practice.
By contrast, Washington sees snow only rarely if at all and has much less equipment. Without the practice and equipment, we can't expect D.C. to be as well-versed in snow removal as Buffalo. So it should be understandable that people get a little freaky -- not right, but understandable.
P.S.: To the prior poster, you can live a few days without milk, bread OR toilet paper. If you run out of the latter, Kleenex works just as well -- it's the same stuff in different format for cryin' out loud!
Bob Levey: Excellent point about Buffalo's surfeit of equipment compared with ours. By the way, how about a round of applause for the snow removal crews up there? What an incredible job to get that city up and running against in two days!
Arlington, Va.:
Bob, perhaps you can explain this strange incident to me. I was on the orange line yesterday morning when 2 transit policeman came on. One was carrying a hand sized black gizmo with lights on top and was passing it past people's bags. At Rosslyn, he asked one young man with a backpack to exit with him, presumably to check his bag. I can tell you, the whole thing was disconcerting. Passengers were trying to act cool but clearly everyone was wondering what they were looking for. I can only assume that it's an anti-terrorist security measure, but do you happen to what they're up to? Thanks.
Bob Levey: You got it. Antiterrorism.
Female in Maryland:
I didn't understand it yesterday during Mr. Fisher's chat, and I still don't. I am a female. I simply don't like driving. My boyfriend loves driving. Therefore, he drives most of the time. If I were to use Metro to commute (not an option working and living in Howard County), I suspect that we would have the same arrangement, simply to minimize the time I have to drive. Nothing to do with "the little lady" who can't drive.
Bob Levey: I haven't read Fisher's chat, but I can tell you why, in our household, Papa Bear drives 99.9 percent of the time. It's because he's a lousy passenger 199.9 percent of the time. He HATES just sitting there. And this despite the fact that Mama Bear Levey is an excellent driver. One of those little accomodations that married folk learn to concoct.
Alexandria, Va.:
What is so stupid about Jennifer Lopez? I think she is cute. Just goes to show that a fit woman looks her very best in her early 30's, not 20's.
Bob Levey: Any woman whose navel is better known than anything else about her hardly deserves a serious word.
RE: Capitol Hill:
I couldn't agree more. We just bought a house there about 6 months ago. We're 5 blocks from Union Station and plenty of parking on the street. Bob's right, you really do have to go block by block in assessing the neighborhood. Our block is great, but the one one over is terrible. Doesn't seem to spill over much, and all blocks seem to be getting better and better in our area.
Bob Levey: One other nice factor about the Hill: The houses are slightly more likely to be owner-occupied (as long as you don't count those townhouses close to the Supreme Court where 73 Hill staffers share three bedrooms). Please don't take this the wrong way, Ye Who Rent, but if you own a place, you're committed to keeping it up, and committed to the neighborhood.
Buddy:
Well, wait a minute -- if she's under 18, then isn't she a minor and wouldn't her identity be kept secret anyway?
Bob Levey: Only in the case of a felony--and hitting a dog isn't a felony.
Red Line:
Something I have always wondered...
If I enter a Metro station, but realize I forgot something in the car/at home, and exit the same station, do I get charged at all?
Bob Levey: Yup. It'll set you back $1.10. I'm sad to have to admit that I have done this SEVERAL times!
Re: Exile in Alexandria, Va.:
If you want to read an old transcript for a regular discusion, go to the next one available and simply change the date in the URL. I have done this for years now to read Bob's Friday session over the weekend.
Bob Levey: You mean it's that darned easy!
I didn't even know that!
Thanks
Virginia:
One more point about the coffee club:
Do the workers bring their own mugs or does the office provide disposable cups? Because disposable cups are a significant cost in running a coffee club. So the guy who wants to drink and pay for only 1/2 cup of coffee really should be sharing his costs and his cup with another like-minded person to make everything equitable.
If the workers bring their own mugs from home, surely some mugs are larger than others. Do the large mug people pay more?
Bob Levey: Yes, disposable cups. So your point is well-taken. But not that well-taken. Even if a 3/4-of-a-cup guy is "wasting" one cup, he isn';t costing the canteen more than a fraction of a cent. Styrofoam ain't gold, ya know.
And yes, mugs pay more.
Washington, D.C.:
To the earlier poster, who claims that Lopez is proof that a fit woman looks best in her early 30s -0- a fit (or any) woman looks her very best at the stage of her life when she's the happiest.
My mother is in her 50s, and I think she's gorgeous. So does dad.
Bob Levey: Amen and thanks
Security on Metro?:
Are you required to let them search your bag if they ask you to? I realize in an airport you would be, but on Metro, if I have stuff in there that is none of their business (as much as I DO agree with their point), can they arrest/detain me for not wanting them rooting through my stuff?
Bob Levey: You can decline, but if they think they have grounds to suspect you, they can arrest you--and then they can look at your stuff anyway.
Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C.:
I have to agree with Wiredog about the snow situation in D.C. But I love it! I'm from Vermont where shutting down a whole city because of a foot and a half of snow is unheard of. I can't tell you how many mornings I used to have to dig my car out of a snow drift and drive to work on roads that were truly treacherous.
But now that I live in D.C., every time snow is in the forecast I feel like I'm a kid again -- praying for a snow day. I hope D.C. never gets used to the snow -- I can use all the extra days off I can get!
Bob Levey: If only the forecasts were 100 percent accurate. Wasn't yesterday weird? Ten inches in parts of the area but none elsewhere?
Herndon, Va.:
The nit to pick today:
It irratates me to no end to hear reporters and politicos calling what happened September 11, "9-1-1." Call it Sept. 11, call it 9-11, but please don't call it 9-1-1.
Please tell me to let it go or tell me that those who use this phrasing are stupid. Anything to keep me from brooding about this.
Help me Bob!
Bob Levey: I can hold out a pinch of hope.
I read a story on Jan. 1 about the phrases that had to die along with 2001. "9-1-1" was atop the list. So maybe the publicity is hastening what you wish for. We can hope, anyway
Re: Another Newspaper Question:
You sound younger than 56 on the radio. However, disclosing age can also lead to age discrimination. I am 55, have had 36 years of work experience, am trustworthy, dependable, and childless. If I applied for the same job as a ditsy airhead of 23, the ditsy airhead would get it hands down, even though she may get knocked up and have to go on maternity leave within a matter of months.
Bob Levey: If you're right--and I'm not sure you would be in every case--the 23-year-old would get hired simply because she'd take the job for less money.
Fairfax:
If I knew a cop, I'd ask him/her, but since I don't...
It's late at night. I'm stopped at a red light. There are no cars in sight coming from either direction. Is it legal to turn in this instance? This happens to me fairly often - and as a single female who often drives alone, I'd rather not sit for too long, especially if it's an unfamiliar or relatively unsafe area. I'm a safe driver and would never turn if there were a car coming, but sometimes it's just ridiculous to sit there for several minutes when there is NO other traffic on the road.
Bob Levey: Not legal. But I've seen many people do it, and they aren't all young and female, either.
Rosslyn, Va.:
Hey Bob!
Have you ever heard of/listened to Diana Krall? She's wunnerful!!!!
Bob Levey: This will date both of us.
A woman I dated back in the early 1970s was "into" Krall. She played her morning, noon and night. So I am thoroughly Diana-ed. And I will say (without being too sharp, I hope) that 30 years later, I have warmer feelings about Krall than I do about Ms. Formerly.
Arlington, Va.:
I noticed that the Washington Times has plastered all its machines with placards that read "Still 25 cents." I would love to be able to add "And still only 25% as good."
Bob Levey: Funny!
What I'd be tempted to say would be:
Still The Choice of Only One-Eighth As Many Washingtonians
Metro Media Relations:
Our stance on the ads running on our trains is that the right of the organization to run them is protected by the First Amendment. We don't necessarily agree or disagree with the ads we run, but we do provide the vehicle for those ads as long as they comply with certain standards and regulations. We do accept political ads from any party, if the individual or political organization is willing to pay for them and as long as they are not pornographic, obscene, etc. As for the current ads being accurate, we checked with the Catholic Conference of Bishops before we approved the ads and made the judgment that we do not believe the ads are totally inaccurate. We do the best we can with these judgement calls, recognizing that case law almost always tends to favor First Amendment rights.
Bob Levey: I'm happy to post this, although I don't believe this dispute has anything to do with the First Amendment. If it did, pornographers and baby-killers would have the same rights to buy an ad. Metro is not a billboard, and it is not a newspaper. It is a public agency. It has to balance three factors: its desire to make money by selling ads, its desire not to offend anyone and its desire not to stifle voices that can be heard (and are being heard) elsewhere. A very, very close call, as this post suggests.
Re: The 55-year-old job seeker:
"Ditsy?" "Get knocked up?" Wow. I wouldn't hire you either. Not because of your age, but because you're a sexist jerk.
Bob Levey: I do have to say that I haven't heard the phrase "knocked up" since I was 15 years old.
The Hill, Washington, D.C.:
Regarding the age discrimination issue: it works the other way too. I am 20-something with the same qualities as the 55-year-old -- dependable, trustworthy, hard working, etc., etc. -- yet because I am 20-something, the pay scale does not reflect my skills or abilities. So age can handicap both the young(er) and old(er) crowd in their own special ways.
Bob Levey: Very good point. Thanks
Larry King:
Is Larry King of CNN the same Larry King that assisted Sam Rayburn?
(This doesn't date me... I just read history)
Bob Levey: No. The Rayburn Larry King is Larry L. King. He always uses the middle initial to differentiate himself from "Suspenders King."
By the way, Larry L. also calls himself "Whorehouse King," because he wrote the great hit show, "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas." I've heard Larry introduce himself as "Whorehouse King" to strangers, totally deadpan. You have never seen anything quite so funny.
Re age discrimination:
Uh, hello, ever hear of gender discrimination. The fact that someone MIGHT get pregnant and need maternity leave shouldn't and cannot play a role in deciding to hire someone. . . . Mr. 56 year old. Talk about biased . . .
Bob Levey: Amen and a half
Washington, D.C.:
Diana Krall is a jazz singer that is about 30 years old. No way could you have listened to her in the 70's, unless you were hearing he play with her Barbies!
Bob Levey: Gosh! Could it have been Diana Someone Else? Must have been. Sorry.
I STILL like her better than Former GF!
wiredog:
Is the Times still owned by the Moonies?
Bob Levey: Indeed so.
Enron:
The Enron investigation seems to be creeping toward the White House.
Is this their first scandal? The Bush's and Cheney's seem to be rather close to the Enron folks who are in trouble, and Enron helped advise on Cheney's energy policy.
Bob Levey: Daschle thinks the economy is the potential Achilles of this administration. I think Enron is.
Bob Levey: OK, kids, back to the col-yume-nizing business. Many thanks for joining us. We do it every Friday, same time. Be with us again on Jan. 11.
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