Marc Fisher

• Potomac Confidential archive • Post: Potomac Confidential column • Post: About Marc Fisher • E-mail Marc • Talk: Potomac Confidential message boards • Live Online Transcripts • Subscribe to washingtonpost.com e-mail newsletters • mywashingtonpost. com -- customized news, traffic, weather and more

Potomac Confidential
With Marc Fisher
Post Metro Columnist
Thursday, Oct. 11, 2001; Noon EDT

Potomac Confidential fills the midday lull with discussion of the latest news and a rigorous slicing and dicing of the issues that define who we are and where we live. In his weekly show, Washington Post Metro columnist Marc Fisher veers wildly from serious probing to silly prattle, and is open to topics local, national, personal and more.

Fisher writes his Post Metro column three times a week. He'll talk about that plus anything else that's current and topical.

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.

Marc Fisher: Another lovely day, another stressful night. So many people report having unusual nightmares in this troubled time. Sleep disturbed by the fighter jets, by the constant drumbeat of war news, by the parade of emails warning of future terrorism. How are you dealing with all this?
Today's column looks at the conflict from the perspective of an Iraqi defector who ran his country's nuclear bomb design program. On Tuesday, I wrote about the career of the Post's Herblock, who fought for the same ideals that we are now all called upon to defend. And Saturday's column looked into the many bogus--and some true--tales that are cluttering email baskets as we search for some comfort.
And what's on your minds?

College Park, Md.: Hello Marc,

When the Capital Police proposed restricting traffic on Constitution and Independence avenues, I was glad that Tony Williams objected. But did his opposite numbers in the Virginia and Maryland suburbs weigh in on the issue? Blocking those two roads would hurt car-driving suburbanites more than Metro and bus-riding Washingtonians.

Marc Fisher: Good question. I've not heard of any input from the dueling governors, and the mayor does seem to be virtually alone on this. The moves imposed today, banning trucks and buses from the streets closest to the Capital, seem reasonable enough, but the impact on neighboring streets will have to be closely watched. Because any additional security provided by these restrictions could be completely undermined if the resulting traffic makes it impossible for rescue and police vehicles to get to the Capital in an emergency.

Beltsville, Md.: Marc, what's the "deal" with Reagan National?

I just had a friend tell me her experience of flying out of and into BWI this past weekend, and it doesn't sound like "nightmare" begins to cover the delays (and her flight left at 6 in the morning!).

I'm scheduled for a late morning flight out of DCA in two weeks. I'm very nervous about how much of my life I need to devote to waiting for security. Is it even worth flying at this point?

I want to do my part to help the economy -- particularly the airlines. But I also want to keep my sanity.

Marc Fisher: From what I've heard from friends who've been flying frequently, National has been ok--lines are indeed longer than they were in the past, but that's to be expected. It sounds like the longest lines are at BWI--hours-long waits at check-in, at the security barrier, and again at the gate. It's not clear why airports are so varied in the security restrictions, but I think most travelers are willing to put up with quite a bit at this point. If anything, the new restrictions still fall well short of what's routine in Europe and other countries.

Rockville, Md.: Marc --

This is typed in on Oct 8. My sister-in-law ordered tickets to get to New York City, using Union Station. She tells me of no METAL detector or anything at Union Station that smacks of security; after getting the ticket it was all pre Sept. 11. I am concerned trains are vulnerable too. Can you comment, look into this? Thank you.

Marc Fisher: It's certainly true that security on trains and buses is pretty much non-existent, but the threat to those modes of transport is also far less than to an airplane. Even in countries that take security a lot more seriously than we do, trains and buses go pretty much unchecked. The stakes are just that much lower.

Nonprofitsville, D.C.: I just wanted to say I thought your column on Herblock was right on target. He got a lot of flack from people who have not agreed with him over the years, but these people miss the point. Cartoons, more than any other medium, have much of their value in their ability to be provocative. Or to put it more bluntly, if he hadn't been getting people riled up, he wouldn't have been doing his job.

I personally think he was wrong at least as often as he was right, but he certainly got you thinking, sometimes about things that would have otherwise gotten short shrift.

Free speech is as much, if not more so, about the right to be wrong as it is about the right to be right, but I'll take that a step further. I think even patently wrong voices are as important to democracy as any others. They give us pause to consider whether or not we are really as right as we think we are.

Marc Fisher: Thanks. I agree entirely. I've been getting lots of mail from readers who loved Herblock, but also from those who thought he was too liberal, too doctrinaire. Sure, he was an unabashed liberal, but he was also an equal opportunity offender--recall his class cartoon of Clinton on a tightrope balancing his real job against his passion for babes, or the devastating image on the day after Marion Barry's arrest: a little black boy sitting on the edge of his bed in a rundown apartment, watching Barry on TV sucking on a crackpipe. The look on the child's face is deeply sad. The cartoon was my most lasting image of that episode.

Colorado Springs, Colo.: Hi Marc:

Very inspiring eulogy for Herblock. My only questions are who can possibly emulate him -- or at least have as broad a reach?

Take care.

Marc Fisher: I don't know our editorial page's plans, but I do hope they can move quickly to find another strong voice. Interestingly, many of the best young cartoonists in the country these days are conservatives. Henry Payne comes to mind. Some of the greats of the craft are older gents, who tend to be more liberal--the amazing Don Wright in Palm Beach is my favorite, and of course there's the one and only Oliphant, who I doubt would want to start a new gig at this point in his illustrious career.

Arlington, Va.: After reading some good suggestions from this board I decided to have lunch at National Airport last Sunday. I think I may have been the only one who went, the place was a virtually empty. Perhaps part of the problem is the expensive parking rates. Has anyone suggested to the airport that they allow free parking for a two hour period in order to attract more shoppers? Don't know how much it would help, but it would certainly seem like a start.

Marc Fisher: Glad to hear that you made the trip. Cutting the short term parking rates is a terrific idea, even if they were only to do it til the end of this year, as a boost to retailers in the airport. Let's see if we can get the Airport Authority to respond to your good idea.

Woodley Park, Washington, D.C.: Hello Marc,

My worry-of-the-week is the dismal status of the retail and restaurant sector in downtown D.C. A year ago, things were looking up, but the pattern lately isn't good:

- the Discovery Channel Store closed
- the Macy's deal to occupy the old Woodies building fell through leaving it vacant going on six years now
- Warner Bros. Store closed
- Planet Hollywood closed recently
- the Suntrust bank branch at 12th and F is closing
- the retail space in new office buildings seems to never get filled
- new theaters promised for 11th and E haven't materialized

I hope the District will take steps to address this creeeping disaster, i.e., tax breaks, etc. Bad stuff, Marc!

Marc Fisher: That's a grim list, and the incredible progress that downtown DC, and especially the East End, have made in the past decade does seem to be slowing--big time. But the march of progress in the 14th street corridor continues, with this week's announcement that the Studio Theater has bought up a bunch of property at 14th and P.
So let's hope that the slowdown in the economy is the primary factor here (and certainly the terror-related drop in all things touristic hasn't helped).

Plano, Tex.: Has Dick Cheney been seen by the press in a situation that would support the claims he is in good health lately? He appears to have disappeared.

Marc Fisher: Cheney spent the first three days after our assault on Afghanistan began in the proverbial "undisclosed location," which is near Washington and deep in the ground. You could argue that this is a prudent precaution, or that it sends an overly fearful message. Obviously, the authorities still believe an attack on the White House is a real possibility.
But Cheney has appeared at various meetings and does not look to be in ill health at the moment.

Laurel:

I can hardly believe anyone took seriously the advice to go to National Airport to patronize businesses there.

Eating or shopping at the airport is what people do who have no choice of venues. Airports are the most over-priced shops and restaurants anywhere except possibly hotels. For years they've ripped off captive audiences. Traveling to an airport to spend money is like breaking INTO prison.

Marc Fisher: You're absolutely right--about most airports. But National, like Pittsburgh and a few others around the country, have developed mall-like retail shops with the marketing pitch that their prices won't be higher than at ordinary shopping malls. I haven't compared prices to see how true that is, but that's the pitch.

Alexandria, Va.: I know it's probably a breach of etiquette if you don't swoon over people after they die, but your column praising Herblock was a bit much. Granted, he was talented. No argument. But to gloss over his extreme liberal bias is a disservice to your readers. Sure, Herblock was a man of his convictions, blah blah blah. But so is Rush Limbaugh. Their convictions are different, though I doubt you'll ever have a nice thing to say about Limbaugh. Why must you resort to euphemisms about Herblock's politics? If liberalism is such a great thing, why not celebrate what a great liberal Herblock was?

Marc Fisher: What kind of euphemisms? I said a few minutes ago that he was unabashedly liberal. That's not straightforward enough?
And for the record, I am a big Limbaugh fan--he's an enormous radio talent, and I hope his deafness doesn't take him off the air or diminish his program. I don't care what his politics are; he runs a great show.

What A Double Standard: Mark Warner is a millionaire with no experience in elective office. Yet he is a Democrat, so no one in the media seems to care. But if a millionaire Republican with no elective office experience were running for governor, there would be howls from your ilk about how his wealth made him out of touch with the average Virginian, and how he has no qualifications. Why the double standard? It's not because the media are biased in favor of unexperienced millionaire liberal Democrats, is it?

Marc Fisher: No, it's not. Warner's wealth has been the subject of numerous stories in this paper, including both daily stories on the campaign and Mark Earley's charges that Warner is out of touch because of his wealth, and longer, weekend stories about the roots of Warner's riches and how he got them. And there are more such stories in the works. Warner's business career is the only experience we have to measure him by, and examining it closely is essential.

Washington, D.C.: I was puzzled by your terming the pilot's message to passengers in Saturday's column a call to "vigilantism." His speech sounded more like he was talking about self defense to me.

Marc Fisher: It can be both. The people responsible for safety aboard a commercial aircraft are the crew, who have been trained to respond to such problems. But obviously, we now have a scenario that they have not been trained for. So we're in a period of freelancing, and while some pilots are comfortable with passengers rising up in their own defense, others are scared to death by the prospect of passengers deciding on their own that someone poses a threat. Don't you think it's just a matter of time before we get an uprising against someone who was actually not trying to hijack a plane? I know that if there were no alternative, I'd want my fellow passengers to sit on some lunatic trying to take over the plane. But I also know I'd be almost as scared of how that would turn out as I would be of the hijacking.

Bowie: Marc, you say you're a fan of Limbaugh.

I'm not, but even as a liberal I am a fan of Pat Buchanan as a talk show host/personality, though not of most of his positions.

But, yourself being a journalist, are you concerned about his blatant factual errors, like "The N.Y. Times has never done a story on Whitewater", when they put it on Page 1 the day it broke?

Marc Fisher: Limbaugh has about as much regard for accuracy and truth as does Buchanan or Bill Maher or any of these entertainers who traffic in current affairs. If you consider them journalists, you're in for disappointment and even outrage. But if you take them as ideologue-entertainers, you might have a good time listening to them foam at the mouth.

Metro Center: To Laurel, who complained about retailers at airports:

Yes, they typically are more expensive, and sell necessities for the most part, but the new terminal at National Airport houses a nice mix of retail and restaurants. There's a National Geographic store, a decent brewpub, and some other upscale establishments. It's not just Cinnabon and the "All Tom Clancy Bookstore". Plus, the Cesare Pelli-designed terminal is beautiful and has magnificent views of the Potomac, and downtown. It's not like BWI, my friend!

Marc Fisher: Nicely said. So again, let's get on over to National for lunch.

Cleveland Park, D.C.: Regarding parking at National Airport -- my suggestion is for people to take Metro to the airport this weekend, when the Metro ride will be free. I'm taking my significant other on a "date" to Cinnabon to show my suport for the small businesses and employees in the terminal. Kudos to "Arlington" for venturing there ...

And, let's not forget hurting downtown D.C. restaurants! Several conventions have been called off at the Marriot and Omni Shoreham hotels, so restaurants in Woodley Park are hurting.

Marc Fisher: You could do far better than Cinnabon. There's a Legal Sea Foods there, I believe. And several other sit-down restaurants. Though they may be issuing only plastic knives.

Washington, D.C.: Mr. Fisher, I have a new public service campaign for you: bicyclists and scooter-riders. Always a nuisance, they have reached a new level of aggressive, arrogant lawlessness. There appears to be a theology at work that you -- and, I might add -- the police ought to re-educate. These two-wheel Tasmanian devils act as though automobiles are a moral affront to them, and a virus on "their" roads. Just the other week, I watched one weave upstream against four (!) lanes of traffic on 15th Street, causing motorists to slam on their brakes and honk their horns. This cyclist swerved in front of me and made brief eye contact. I silently shook my head; he responded with a loud rendition of the ancient Anglo-Saxon procreative curse. Please, please, take our cause! How I would love to see one of these guys pulled over by a cop!

Marc Fisher: Sadly, the cops do not seem to care about these fools on wheels. Bicyclists and scooter drivers who ignore traffic lights and generally act as if they are little kids out for a neighborhood ride deserve whatever happens to them. I wish harm on no one, but I have to say that when I see one of those daredevils lying on the side of the road with a crushed bike, I check to see if they're ok and then silently applaud their comeuppance.

Clifton, Va.: I quess Mark Warner wimped out and didn't take on Earley and his two imans, Jerry and Pat. These two fools are just as bad as the Muslim clerics supporting bin Laden. Although I will gladly sacrifice my life to defend their right to open their respective mouths an utter all kinds of stupidity. Interesting Warner didn't mention this in the debate.

Marc Fisher: Actually, Falwell and Robertson's comments blaming gays, liberals and the ACLU for the terrorist attacks did come up in last night's debate, which of course none of our local broadcast channels deigned to show. Earley was asked about his friends Falwell and Robertson, the latter of whom is a major contributor to the Earley campaign. Earley called the comments inappropriate, but went no further and did not respond to a question about whether he should be judged by the friends he keeps. Warner resoundingly denounced the evangelists' comments.
Meanwhile, only NewsChannel 8, which isnt on my cable system, carried the debate, and they did so on tape delay. The failure of all of our supposedly public-minded broadcast TV channels to carry any of the Virginia governor debates is nothing short of shameful. Remember that the next time you hear the TV folks crowing about their interest in community. (Channel 4 finally put a tape of the debate on at 10 this morning, when no one is watching. The others have done squat.)

Gaithersburg: The difference I see between Rush Limbaugh and Herblock is that one is a demagogue and the other is not. I leave it to each of us to decide which is which.

I'm with you on his deafness, though -- what a horrible thing to happen to a guy whose business is talking. I liked the comment somebody made, I forget who: "I hope his hearing is restored, he keeps doing his radio show, and nobody tunes in."

Marc Fisher: Fair enough.

Unabashed Liberal: I am willing to celebrate Herblock's unabashed liberalism. I thought he was right much of the time, and if you look at his long history, he opposed segregation and pushed for campaign finance reform long before either became popular. If that is unabashed liberalism I am all for it!

Marc Fisher: Herb was way ahead of his time in recognizing the pernicious role that money plays in politics. Half a century ahead.

Somewhere out there ...: To add to your column on circulating e-mails related to the disaster ...

My best friend forwarded the following message from his coworker:

"I think you all know that I don't send out hoaxes and don't do the reactionary thing and send out anything that crosses my path. This one, however, is a friend of a friend and I've given it enough credibility in my mind that I'm writing it up and sending it out to all of you. My friend's friend was dating a guy from Afghanistan up until a month ago. She had a date with him around 9/6 and was stood up. She was understandably upset and went to his home to find it completely emptied. On 9/10, she received a letter from her boyfriend explaining that he wished he could tell her why he had left and that he was sorry it had to be like that. The part worth mentioning is that he BEGGED her not to get on any commercial airlines on 9/11 and to not to go any malls on Halloween. As soon as everything happened on the 11th, she called the FBI and has since turned over the letter. This is not an e-mail that I've received and decided to pass on. This came from a phone conversation with a long-time friend of mine last night. I may be wrong, and I hope I am. However, with one of his warnings being correct and devastating, I'm not willing to take the chance on the second and wanted to make sure that people I cared about had the same information that I did."

What do you think? Should I stay away from malls on Halloween?

Marc Fisher: I'm wary of passing this along, but I've gone ahead and done so with the warning that I have not yet checked out this email, which I got about 20 copies of this morning. Most of these turn out to be hoaxes, and I will check into this one and try to get something in the paper about it.
It's fair to ask the question, but I wouldn't avoid stores or take any action until authorities track down the source of the email and see if there's any validity to it.

Columbia, Md.: Mark-

You mentioned the e-mails cluttering our inboxes (both bogus and true) about the terrorist attack. Could I recommend that you (if you haven't already) and others check out www.snopes.com? They do an excellent job sorting out the urban legends from the truth. They have devoted a section just to sorting out 9/11 urban legends. I think people will find it quite informative.

BTW -- I have no connection to the site ... and, as far as I can tell, they don't appear to be commercial anyway.

Marc Fisher: You're right. They're not commercial at all, but have for several years done an excellent job of vetting rumors and urban legends and providing a reasonable guide to what's true and what's not. I have found them to be quite accurate and very honest about saying when they don't know if something's right or not. www.snopes.com, or better yet, www.snopes2.com
And I just checked, and they have refuted the email about Oct. 31. Here's an excerpt from their refutation:
Whatever the gal who wrote the e-mail believes about the truthfulness of her friend, this particular story is false. A public information officer at the FBI's National Press Office told us that they've fielded many phone calls about this message, they've checked it out, and they have received no letter of warning from a girl with an Afghan boyfriend.

This story fits neatly into the genre of a number of similar rumors about helped terrorists or compassionate Arabs who are moved to offer specific warnings about upcoming attacks, and thus should most likely be dismissed as just more of the same. ("Helped terrorists" of lore offer such heads up by way of thanks for a kindness done them. "Compassionate Arabs" of rumor offer such intelligence to favored neighbors, usually just before they themselves pack up and leave in the middle of the night. Dozens, if not hundreds, of versions of such tales abound, each told by someone who swears he heard it from someone who knows the person who had the encounter.) Such snippets of lore swing on the belief that those who have foreknowledge of destruction to come would jeopardize the outcome of those events by warning others. Terrorists may very well form friendships among the folk they've temporarily taken on the coloration of, but friendship stops at the line where it might interfere with operations. To think otherwise is to surrender to a form of naοvetι that can only be characterized as appallingly wishful thinking.

Buzzard Point, D.C.: Re: Security and Trains

A lot of people have been talking about this issue, but they forget that most train statiions are not like Union Station (i.e., they're unmanned little stops similar to a Metro station).

And where would hijackers take a train? They're kind of limited by the tracks and controllers could always cut power to the rails ...

Marc Fisher: Quite true. And train tracks are relatively easy to repair. Of course, there is some danger--a train can be blown up. But it's just not the same level of risk as a plane; therefore, the lower security.

Adams-Morgan: More on Amtrac-

The lines for New York trains last Friday were stretched around Union Station. Amtrak sells an unlimited number of tickets and literally hundreds of people didn't get on a train, others sat on the floor. I've always defended Amtrak, but they need to wake up to the new demand for trains.

Marc Fisher: Amtrak has been almost overrun with extra passengers since Sept. 11, and that's not likely to change anytime soon. Unreserved trains, especially in the DC to NYC corridor, are often a mess. I've stood the whole way many times, and it's not the most fun trip in the world. But there's always the option of spending a few extra bucks for a reserved train, and then you know you'll get a seat. They're trying to cope with their sudden success, and they've added cars to some trains, but they can't build or buy cars overnight.

Boston, Mass.: The effect this is having on me is that I see the Bush family business interests being propelled to the forefront, over all other things, in a disturbing "patriotic" call to action. Afghanistan is about oil plain and simple. Bin laden is a CIA-trained and supplied pawn.

The U.S. media is being told to censor itself and Bush is hiding info from Congress.

I'm scared of what's happening here more than abroad.

Marc Fisher: Where do people get this nonsense?
Oh, wait, there's a note here from the government. I'm not allowed to write about bin Laden's CIA training. OK, fine, I'll go home.
Boston, do you really believe a word of what you've written? I'm all for questioning our actions and motives, but let's try to stay somewhat in the realm of reality.

Alexandria, Va.: Hi Marc,

Can I rant? I am so sick of people moaning and groaning about the increased security at airports. I mean, only one month ago terrorists hijacked four planes and killed thousands of people -- so what is the PROBLEM with waiting a little bit of extra time for security measures? I certainly feel safer knowing that extra time is being taken -- I don't understand why others are still willing to put their need for speed above their personal safety.

Marc Fisher: Thanks--glad to hear a rational voice on that question.

Newark, N.J.: Hi Marc:

Obviously the effects of this tragedy have been severe, and almost everybody has been impacted in one way or another.

To what extent do you think that the "psychological terrorism" that has ensued as a result, is being directed by the same sources that are responsible for 9/11?

Marc Fisher: Fear is the main goal of any act of terrorism, and it, often even more than the initial explosion, is the main success of terror. Certainly this attack has wormed its way into the fears and nightmares of many Americans; that's why it's essential to charge ahead with our routines.

D.C.: Hi Marc,

I would like to propose a moratorium on saying "if we do/don't do xyz, then THE TERRORISTS WILL HAVE WON".

Come ON. The terrorists don't give a rat's behind whether we go to the movies/buy a new car/stock up on antibiotics. And, I've heard this expression SOOO many times it's become meaningless.

Let's get on with our lives because it's healthy and normal, not because we make ourselves think it's some kind of "message" to Osama bin Laden.

Marc Fisher: Actually, it is both healthy and normal AND a good way to respond to the terrorists. Because even if we're all sick of hearing that formulation, it happens to be true. If we were indeed to adopt the policies of a police state, or to place new limits on our economy in reaction to the terrorism, then we will have lost. The real challenge is to maintain what we value about this system--including the very openness that makes us an easy target--while also combatting the thugs who would destroy us.

Urban Legend Land:
The news came from a "friend of a friend"?

Among students of hoaxes, "FOAFs" are tantamount to "no basis in fact".

Marc Fisher: Right--always a good tipoff when there's no name attached.

Hell's Kitchen, N.Y.: Flew the shuttle from National to LGA last Sunday -- not too bad, but a very long line to board. They were patting down almost everybody, I was grateful to see. I made a point of thanking them and the security screeners -- I've heard they've been getting a lot of flak for somehow being to blame for what happened.

Can't sleep. Not many nightmares but I wake up every hour or so. Lots of random crying, although that's getting better. But I still love living here -- there is no other city like this in the world, it's exciting and sexy and provocative. And I love the way you write about it.

Marc Fisher: Thanks very much. I've had numerous folks tell me about nightmares--people who say they ordinarily don't have, or don't remember, their dreams. I've found myself waking during the night, something I don't normally do. All of which sounds a lot like what people who live in war zones talk about--the gnawing, numbing experience of never getting solid sleep, the wearing effect of always being in anticipation of the next attack. We're not near that kind of life yet, but we've gotten a taste of it.

Arlington: Last night's debate was aired live on at least two public TV stations, WNVT-53 and WNVC-56. I think they're both available on most local cable systems. They are linked together in what they are calling the MHz Networks showing mostly international news, music programs, foreign films, international sports ... both interesting channels.

Marc Fisher: That's great to hear, but the debate was not on the area's most watched and richest public TV station, WETA, which is located in Shirlington. After abandoning the District, WETA set up shop in Northern Virginia, but shows no sign of having any interest in serving that region. Can anyone come up with the slightest reason why a publicly-funded, viewer-supported TV station ought not air even one of the debates for governor of the state in which it sits?

The Debate: Marc, did you see the debate? This was the first I've seen, although I understand there have already been two or three.

I was appalled at Warners appearance. He couldn't have done a better job of shooting himself in the foot if that had actually been his goal. Not only is he just not comfortable in front of the camera, but he also was defensive and snide, almost petulant.

Marc Fisher: I didn't find him snide or petulent, but I do agree that he seems uncomfortable in the debates, much less confident than in his speeches, much less warm and persuasive than in his TV ads or small-group meetings. Earley is no fount of charisma, but he does come off in the debates as the more assured of the two.

Washington, D.C.: Just to chime in...no nightmares per se here, but none of the sleep I've gotten since 9-11 has been worth a damn ...

Marc Fisher: That's what lots of folks say. I wonder what the long-term impact of that will be on how people behave.

Beltsville, Md.:

Jagr got hurt last night! I know they say day-to-day but it confirms my worst fears.

Is Jordan next?

Marc Fisher: Probably. And Roger Clemens got hurt last night too. Very troubling for those of us who worship the Bombers.

Love that flag, USA: It was so heartening to see our flag draped from buildings and bridges, highways and byways.

I have a plea to anyone who displayed a flag on a bridge or roadside: Take care of it! Many of those flags, especially the homemade banners, are now tattered or clinging to the fence on just one corner. Many of the flags flying from car antennas, especially the paper and plastic ones, are unidentifiable shreds.

If you loved the flag enough to display it on September 11, love it enough to make sure that it is still a proud symbol, not a dreary, tired reminder. If you put a flag on a bridge, and it is now bedraggled, please take it down with love and respect.

Thanks for sharing your soapbox, Marc. I'll get down now.

Marc Fisher: There are some pretty raggedy looking flags out there. Looks more sad than proud.

Plano, Tex.: While children and those pretending to be children may break the rules when they ride bikes, after thousands of miles of bike riding in Texas, I can easily say that cars and pick-ups are far more likely to break most rules than serious bike riders.

Marc Fisher: Quite true. But one doesn't excuse the other.

Washington, D.C.: Marc--I disagree with you grouping Pat Buchanan along with Rush Limbaugh and Bill Maher. Buchanan has a graduate degree from Columbia University School of Journalism, and he worked at The St. Louis Globe-Democrat during the 1960s. Moreover, I listened to his local radio show in the 1980s and his national radio show in the early 1990s. To his credit Buchanan had several liberal guests and callers. There seemed to be more criticism of Buchanan's views allowed on his programs than one ever hears on Rush Limbaugh.

Marc Fisher: Also true. But that would mean that Buchanan's disregard for accuracy is purposeful.

D.C. Bicyclist: Well, their are two sides to every story, aren't there? I use a bicycle fairly frequently for transportation (don't own a car) and I make every effort to obey traffic laws, stoplights, etc., because I believe that in sharing the road with cars I owe them as much respect as they owe me. Still I run across rude and nasty drivers every day who come up behind me and lean on their horns, who cut me off or try to run me up against the curb, who scream and curse at me if my presence costs them three seconds delay in merging.

I hate to break it to these folks, but if I were driving a car, they would /still not be able to merge that very second -- a car is a lot bigger than a bicycle. And I am sorry, but I'm not going to disappear for their convenience.

It disturbs me too, to see bicyclists completely ignoring red lights, but I do not deserve to be treated rudely or to be threatened with your several ton vehicle because someone else did something unsafe. So please try to have at least a little consideration.

Marc Fisher: No need for you to disappear. As long as you make that effort to obey the laws, I'm perfectly happy to share the road with you, whether I'm walking or driving. It's the folks who think that bicycles don't have to follow the rules who are in question here.

Arlington: I watched part of last night's debate. I wish Warner had a more commanding and polished speaking demeanor. He always sounds a little nervous and dry-mouthed to me. I thought it was hilarious that Larry Sabato asked them to say one thing they admired about each other and Earley took it as a chance to say that Warner is a loser ... ran for the House and lost, ran for the Senate and lost, and now he's running for governor. I guess he was saying he's got perserverence. Warner finally seems to be fighting back more effectively on the whole tax referendum thing, but why did it take him two weeks to do it? I see that stupid Earley commercial 100 times a day.

Marc Fisher: Warner's reply on that exchange took the high road, as he praised Earley's deep faith. It was a classy and smart move, and it won Warner some points.

Deer Park, N.Y.: Can we as a nation, with lines of succession in mind, feel cofidence in our leadership when the #2 man in our country is in hiding?

Marc Fisher: I don't like the policy of putting the veep in hiding, but I don't think it means that we ought not have confidence in the government. It seems overly cautious and it sends a disturbing message, but I don't see the need to draw wider implications from it.

Well, we're way over time, folks. Thanks for tuning in and sorry if I couldn't get to your good comments and questions. We'll reconvene next week. In the meantime, get some sleep and be vigilant.

   |       |