Bob Levey (Barbara Tyroler)

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Levey Live: Speaking Freely
Washington Post Columnist
Friday, Oct. 11, 2002; 1 p.m. EDT

"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.

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, everybody, and thanks for joining "Levey Live: Speaking Freely" today. Obviously, the newest shooting is the story of the day. We'll keep a close eye on it throughout today's show. Comments on this horrible episode--and the others of the past 10 days--are welcome. So is anything having to do with my recent columns. Let's get straight to the in-basket.....

Washington, D.C.: Bob, I'm totally serious here. With hysteria prevelant a year ago, everyone was scrambling to obtain Cypro and gas masks.

Do you think that if kevlar bullet proof vests were more readily available, everyone in our area would be purchasing them like a snow shovel before a snow storm?
Be safe Bob.

Bob Levey: No, I don't, because no Kevlar vest can protect your head, and this shooter is obviously so accurate (and so good at aiming for the head) that no vest can stop him.
However, I would certainly understand any move that any person makes to protect himself and his family at a tinme like this. This one is eerie in a way that even Sept. 11 was not.

Washington, D.C.: Dear Sir,

I need to beg your indulgence lest I don't phrase this properly; This is my first comment in this forum. I was bothered by one of your columns this week, one in which you wrote of people being ignored by salespersons. You sympathized with them, and lamented that salespeople ought not behave as described. I think, though, that something was missing: neither Cathy nor Paul actually approached a salesperson to ask for assistance. Cathy's passive aggressive approach was irritating; dangling a gold card is no way to ask for help. And just because Paul reached a register ahead of the other customers doesn't mean the others hadn't interacted with the clerks before he even entered the shop. He could have asked another clerk or a manager for an explanation, but preferred to have a story he could relate to you.

Should I add that I've been a customer often but I've never worked in retail. I just needed to say that. Thank you.

Bob Levey: Surely a shopper should be assertive in this day and age--more assertive than either Cathy or Paul were. But I'm reluctant to blame the victim(s). They were clearly mistreated.

Takoma Park, Md.: Bob, it hurts me to say this because I think you are such a local treasure -- but you just seem painfully disengaged when a sniper is stalking our neighborhoods and you're worried about writing columns a week in advance on the burning topic of lazy salespeople. How disheartening. I used to love Bob Levey's Potomac Journal.

Bob Levey: Thanks for your comments, and thanks for the kind spirit that underlies them. Don't worry. I have plenty to say about the sniper, and I'll say it at the appropriate time. But why do I have to write columns on the same subject that every other columnist is tackling? Can't we walk and chew gum at the same time in a 200-page newspaper?
I'm seldom in agreement with potshots taken at my busienss. But last summer, when many people criticized the media for being All Condit All The Time, I had to agree. It wasn't the only story on the planet. And it wasn't the subject of ANY Levey columns, for the same reason that I gave above.

Washington, D.C.: Bob, Would you please tell Tysons shoe shopper "Cathy" that jeans are not, and never have been, "business casual."

As "Politeness Man" said in National Lampoon years ago, jeans are correct for the office, of course. As long as your desk is on top of a horse.

Bob Levey: We've had quite a debate on this point since I wrote that column. Many women believe that NICE jeans can indeed be "business casual." Many men think they're sloppy and (as one guy put it) "weekend-y." Another column coming on this very soon.

College Park, Md.: Good afternoon, Bob

Did you happen to read Mark Fisher's column yesterday? While he had some points that I tended to agree with, his overall message was that the press, at least the Washington Post is always right, and that Chief Moose is a loose canon. Personally, I think the police are under a lot of pressure right now to catch this nutcase that's running around, and the press shouldn't be taking pot shots at the police. Tons of time to do that, after the guy is caught. Save the critique for after the killer is behind bars. Thanks for letting me vent.

Bob Levey: I did read Marc's column, and I don't think he went far enough.
What the chief apparently never considered is that, by publicizing the tarot card, law enforcement might get CLOSER to solving this crime, not farther away.

Let's say I know a gun nut. And I also know he's into tarot cards. I call the cops. Suddenly they have a live suspect (or at least more of one than they had five minutes earlier).
The chief seems to have been commenting on the basis of pure ego--it's my investigation, and the rest of you can go home. That isn't going to get the job done. The cops are only as good as the information they develop. We in the media world are the key transmission belt for that information.

Alexandria, Va.: Has the Levey family changed its routine because of the shooter? Have Allie's soccer practices been cancelled?

Bob Levey: No
Yes

Gaithersburg, Md.: How twisted am I? My first reaction -- after "oh, no!" -- to the news that there was another shooting in Spotsylvania was relief. I had a window for going to the grocery store and post office in safety, figuring it would take the sniper a few hours to get to Gaithersburg.

Bob Levey: I'm sure you're not alone. Be careful out there.

Manassas, Md.: Hi Bob,

I tried all day to call into the tip line yesterday with no luck (either all circuits were busy or there was a busy signal). I understand they're swamped, but couldn't they set up an e-mail address or online application? I would think this would be easier for them anyway, since they could search for key words, etc. I noticed they managed to get an online contribution site for the reward money.

I still haven't gotten in but I left a message on the generic FBI terrorism site.

Bob Levey: I'm told that an e-mail in box is being set up. Details as I get them.

Rockville, Md.: Since this sniper/terrorist has been terrorizing the area for the past week, what do you think should happen to him/her when he/she is caught? Do you think justice dictates that the person be placed in jail for the rest of his/her natural life? Or should the person be executed, remembering that both Maryland and Virginia have the death penalty?

Interesting that Richard Reid, the "shoe bomber" being tried in Boston, can only get life because Massachusetts does not have the death penalty. It's going to cost the state a fortune to keep him alive when he potentially could have murdered many people.

Bob Levey: It's way too soon to say, because we don't know any of the circumstances. We don't even know if we're dealing with just one eprson.

Bethesda, Md.: As a wordsmith, what's your take on the obligatory use of the word "cowardly" to describe the sniper? What, so he would somehow be brave if chose opposite tactics -- stood three feet from a victim and announced on a megaphone, "I'm about to shoot you!" How did assessments of bravery and cowardice become part of the boilerplate language used in such situations?

Bob Levey: As I recall, the word "cowardly" has regularly escaped the lips of various politicians and police officials. It isn't used in routine hard-news accounts in the newspaper, or on TV. Reason: It's a "judgment word." We try to stay away from those. Second reason: It's unnecessary. Obviously this guy is a coward. Why say so? Does it make you or anyone else less frightened?

Washington, D.C.: Did you know there's a new book out in stores by a Bob Levy? I was so confused at B&N last Saturday.

Bob Levey: The guy can't spell!
What was it about?

Washington, D.C.: Dear Bob,

You've previously discussed your annoyance at people who stand near the Metro subway doors, making it difficult for passengers to exit and enter.

Metro could alleviate the problwm by installing more vertical metal poles in each subway car. Right now, most of these poles are near the doors. It's MUCH easier for a standing person to hold on to the pole rather than either the metal bars on the seatbacks (putting one's arm at an odd angle) or the horizontal bars near the ceiling (a comfortable reach only for tall people).

Metro should install more poles that extend from the seatbacks to the ceiling. A pole from every other seat would get more people inside the train, away from the doors.

The Metro people often read your discussions -- I hope they take this suggestion seriously.

Bob Levey: Far better: Remove the clear plastic panels that flank so many of the doors. They're great to lean against. But when you lean, you also block the doors.
I wouldn't be in favor of poles in front of doors because they'd cause huge clutter and delay.

Washington, D.C.: Mr. Levey, I trust you will have the rectitude to address this online. I doubt I was the only reader who found your column on allegedly indolent retail sales associates to be tinged with racism. Of course that was not your intent; you are usually the first to blow the whistle on such topics (e.g., your excellent column on the Chinese take-out menu). But I think you overlooked the fact that many retail sales positions are now taken up by new immigrants. The problem might not so much be lack of effort on their part but a struggle with a language barrier. Perhaps if you'd gone to some of these stores firsthand you'd have written a different column. For what it's worth, I think you're a stellar columnist, but you seem to relying more and more lately on people sending you e-mails, rather than going out and getting the story yourself.

Bob Levey: You're grasping at straws. I have no idea whether the clerks I described are immigrants, and it wouldn't matter to the story if they were.
As for whether I sit back and write the column based on e-mails, sure, I use e-mails as a starting point. But I still go out and see for myself, and interview for myself, all the time.

Baltimore, Md.: Did/does part of you wonder whether the sniper was a terrorist?

Bob Levey: A big part of me. But I'm leaning against this because he hasn't made any political or religious statement.

Washington, D.C.: Re: sniper shootings.

I am tired of hearing people whining about how shocked, shocked, they are that someone’s going around shooting people in the D.C. area. What they’re really shocked about is that such senseless crime has moved from the poor, mostly black, D.C. neighborhoods, into neighborhoods where white people dare to tread. Furthermore, The Post pays little or no attention to senseless killings in poor black neighborhoods –- yes, folks, innocent kids and other bystanders get killed there too, it’s not all drug-pushers -- yet how much newsprint has been devoted to the sniper who strikes in areas where whites and affluent people reside? The hypocrisy sickens me.

Bob Levey: The reason this is such a compelling news story is not because it's happening in "white neighborhoods." It's because the shootings have been random. Any of us could have been the victims.
By the way, you're demonstrably wrong about The Post ignoring senseless killings in "black neighbohoods." Remember the grandma who was caught in the drug-gang crossfire a couple of years ago? Remember the kid shot at the swimming pool a few years before that? We were all over those stories, and we should have been.
Also, you are way off base in asserting that the sniper has operated only in "white neighborhoods." Wheaton is very mixed. So is the area around Leisure World. So is Manassas. So is Fredericksburg.
And nearly half the victims have NOT been white.
Please, please stop seeing everything in such poisonous, cheap terms. Especially when you don't have a leg to stand on.

Silver Spring, Md.: I read that a possible bid by BET for the Montreal Expos contains the provisio that the District of Columbia finance the ball park to be used. Some feel that such an investment would pay off in the long run. Others, including one "Post" columnist, feels that the funding of ball parks seldom if ever pays off financially for a city. Your view?

Bob Levey: If the public is going to pay for a new stadium, I'd insist on an ironclad guarantee that the owner of the Expos-Senators-Whoevers NEVER move the team. We were left holding the bag for RFK when the last team left in 1971. Never again.

Medford, Ma.: Hello Bob, a transplanted college student and loyal reader and chatter here. While this may seem somewhat inane during this time of an impending war and psychotic serial killers, I wanted to comment on the No Food and Drink policy on Metro. You have long said that it keeps metro clean and sanitary, and you'd like to keep it that way. After traveling on Boston's T subway, where Dunkin Donuts and other vendors are common in the stations, I've noticed that there isn't that much of a difference. The stations are still clean and without litter all over the floors. The trains themselves may have some empty bags of food here and there, but overall passangers are courteous and dispose of their food properly. Don't you think that there is a window for change, and for giving Washingtonians a chance to enjoy food before declaring that they will be slobs? Just a thought.

Bob Levey: Sorry, but I think that if you open the door even a crack, you'd soon see a mess.
In Boston, it's too late to insist retoractively on no-food no-drink. Hubsters are used to being able to eat and drink while they ride. But here, we still have a chance to keep trains clean (and maintenance costs down).

Bethesda, Md.: Have to vent about metro. As a rider for many years, the past couple of weeks have been the worst I've ever seen it as far as escalator outages/repairs. I'm I alone in noticing this?

Bob Levey: Any week is awful, escalator-wise. I'd be reluctant to assign a superlative to this one.

Montgomery County, Md.: No outdoor recess, sports or field trips. Well, okay. But what is the purpose in discontinuing indoor after-school programs? My kids have a MUCH greater risk of getting hit by a car than shot by a lunatic. This is becoming irritating and stupid. I'll sign a waiver!

Bob Levey: Agreed, this one is puzzling. Any school officials aboard this chat who can shed any light?

The Other Washington: I wonder if all theswar preparations aren't putting people over the bend. I'm seeing a lot of nervous energy, people quick to quarrel, erratic driving, kids acting up and having crying jags. Are you seeing that out where you are?

Bob Levey: It doesn't look much worse than usual, and I've been all over the area this week, at all times of day and night. But if this guy slips through the fingers of the cops today, and kills some more, all bets are off.

Shopping at Tysons: I've been there twice in the past month, both times I was looking at evening gowns but was dressed in and old t-shirt and flannel shorts (I had been helping a friend move, both times). I have to say that Neiman Marcus was so pleasant to me, the salesclerk helpful without being pushy, she couldn't have been nicer if I were dressed in jewels. The other stores weren't as helpful, but neither were they rude. However, the second time I went back to purchase a dress at Lord & Taylor's and the salesclerk there would barely talk to me. I think it is definately related to the clerks, not the stores.

Bob Levey: I agree that it's probably the clerks. That's one reason, by the way, that I didn't name the stores in my column. Wouldn't have been fair to sugegst that ignoring people in jeans is corporate policy.
But if we're right, and it's individual salespeople, I still can't explain it. What do they have to lose by offering to help a relatively underdressed person? Don't they work on commission? Therefore, isn't every sale potential bucks in their pockets?

Metro Media Relations Office: We will soon be ordering new "series 6000" railcars for our Metro system. Placing the metal poles further into the car's interior, and eliminating the clear "wind screens" near the doors, will definitely be strongly considered. Thanks!

Bob Levey: Lurking again.
Don't you love those Metroids!
Thanks, gang.
Big kisses waiting if you really DO yank out the wind screens

Mt. Airy, Md.: Bob,

Do you think I am strange? I pray desperately for this nutcase to be caught, and I grieve for the victims and their families, but as to having any sense of fear for my own safety - none. I've had not one moment of apprehension over being "the next victim" since the whole craziness began. I'm far more worried about being killed by a soccer mom on the phone in a minivan in the pouring rain than I am about a sniper in a white van.

I am honestly not worried about this nut shooting me AT ALL. I feel my (personal) hances are so miniscule as to be not worth my worry.

Are you hearing this from many people?

Bob Levey: Yes, because all of us alive in 2002 realize that this is a big, dangerous world, and that guns are fired at people every single day. It isn't as if this guy is the first person to aim guns at strangers, and/or at kids

Reston, Va.: I'm not worried (on a personal basis) about the sniper. Nor are any of my friends in Md, DC, or Va. After all, what's the chance that he's going to be taking a shot in a particular place at the time I happen to be there? Very slim. I'm much more worried about fools behind the wheel.

On another topic, I've discovered that I can't afford, on 60k/year, to buy a house within an hour's commute of the office in Dulles. $60,000 a year and I can't afford the payments on a house around here! The only way I can get out of paying rent is to live out near Winchester (and commute an hour each way). Sooner or later (sooner, I hope) houses are going to be priced to the point where no one can afford them. Then the market will collapse and all the people who look on real estate as a short term investment will learn otherwise. And I'll get a house.

Bob Levey: The D.C. market will never collapse because of the greatest financial institution of all:
The Mom and Dad National Bank.
How can Mr. and Ms. Twnety Something afford a house in Northwest Washington, or McLean or Bethesda? By borrowing 200 grand from someone's parents. Happens every day.
I agree that there will be some pressue on prices, especially ten years from now, when boomer-owners begin to retire and discover relatively few buyers. But rush hour traffic makes in-close homes a sure thing. People will go to great lengths to avoid the kind of commute you're talking about. This is why, incidentally, I am especially bullish about real estate in D.C. You can even sell your car(s)!

The 'Burbs: Since the Metroids seem to lurk and this is one of the only ways to get an answer.

When might SmarTrip be coming to a Metrobus near me? I kept hearing Fall of this year, but here we are in October and nary a word. Some of us hate to have to scramble for change every morning on our way out the door.

Bob Levey: Lurksters?

Washington, D.C.: Hey Bob,

There's an office building on the 1700 block of G Street NW that posts a security guard at the exit of its underground garage to hault pedestrian traffic everytime someone exits the garage. Shouldn't cars driving across a public sidewalk have to yield to pedestrians, not the other way around? And more importantly, since when does a private security guard have jurisdiction on a public sidewalk? I'd be happy to speak to the bulding manager and tell 'em Bob sent me.

Bob Levey: I'm not sure which building this is, buit could it be HQ for what the New York Daily News likes to call "bigs?"
You know, ambassadors visiting the World Bank?
Presidential appointees?
Hey, maybe this is Cheney's "undisclosed secure location!"
I'm not defending this, washington, but you'd better get your head around this thought: Washington is a city of status. If someone can afford to hire a private security guard to shoo pedestrians out of the way, he's going to do it here. And the cops will wink.

Washington, D.C.: Good response Bob to the submitter who made the ill advised remarks about race. Geez, does everything have to be about race in this town? It's tiresome.

By the way, for what it's worth, they have just announced that today's victim is a black male.

Bob Levey: See?
Thanks

Washington, D.C.: In light of this sniper attacks, I think we should be talking about banning bullets. Keep the guns, but limit the bullets purchased!

Bob Levey: It makes at least some sense. But it would be hard to enforce, wouldn't it? What are you gonna do, enforce a 14-day waiting period on people whow ant to buy a box of shotgun shells? If you control guns (and this horrible ten days is going to make that a more attractive proposition than ever), you don't have to worry about controlling bullets

Baltimore, Md.: You were a bit misinformed in your column on 10/10 regarding why Bowie is pronounced BOO-ee rather than BOW-ee. It is a Scottish surname that has traditionally been pronounced the way it is in "Bowie knife." In fact, BOW-ee (as in David) is the upstart pronunciation, even though it looks more logical based on how it's spelled.

So, the way the city in Prince George's County pronounces its name is NOT a New World bastardization. It is, in fact, the pronunciation with waaaaaaaay more years of history to support it.

Bob Levey: Thanks, Baltimore. Many correspondents (some of them named Bowie!) have made the same point. More coming in the column very soon.

Washington, D.C.: I have recently seen some amazingly stupid things done by people in "official" capacities.

For instance, one officer was speeding north, with lights and siren on, in Capitol Hill. As it approached a red light, it slowed down to make sure that the east-west traffic, who had the green, stopped for him. Everyone stopped, except a police car and a police motorcycle. They continued through the intersection at their own pace.

Also, when heading south on 395 some woman was in a black town car, with a security car both in front and in back. They were travelling at approximately 50 MPH in the LEFT LANE! I realize they're thinking of safety, but wouldn't they be as safe in the right lane?

There have been others recently as well, but how are we supposed to expect every day citizens to act appropriately when even the policemen seem to disregard basic safety and courtesy?!

Bob Levey: These cops may have been responding to an emergency. However, if they weren't, and they were flouting the rules just because they wear a uniform, it's horrible. Thanks for a good point.

Washington, D.C.: Why are you all accusing the Metro folks of being creepy "lurkers"? I consider that to be proactive public outreach - participating in a prominent discussion of local issues and concerns. Thanks metro, of only other local agencies and goverments were so concerned about what concerns me.

Bob Levey: Just trying to be glib, cute and light on my feet.
Obviously, I'm not always any of the above!

Arlington, Va.: I also want to comment on the sales clerk issue. Having been both a customer and a sales clerk (at the late, lamented Woodies), there are no true "victims" in retail. Woodies' philosophy (at least in 1987) was that you treat a customer with as much respect as possible, and if they got ugly, you didn't take matters into your own hands. As a customer, I've run into some surly clerks and found that asking for the manager is the best way to get some kind of satisfaction. Margaret Webb Pressler has done her best to cover this in her Sunday Business column -- most of it can be attributed to a lack of training. Why take a minimum wage retail job when you can make more money doing office work? Why bother training someone how to sell when they may leave in a few months?

Bob Levey: Agreed that a manager can usually make a bad situation better. Not agreed that every manager cares to do so. I've seen plenty of managers camped on phones in the middle of sales areas, deeply caught up in personal calls, while customers awaited.

N.Y.: I live in NYC which has metal railings -- but not plastic windows -- at its seats near the doors. Sure, people don't lean but it doesn't keep people from walking just into the doorway then stopping there and standing, blocking traffic all the same. So, removing the plastic isn't really a solution.

Bob Levey: No question you're right (this from a NYC boy who grew up in the five boroughs and still remembers all the subway lines cold). It's about how lazy and inconsiderate people are--and they will be both, often, regardless of the hardware that is or isn't supplied in subway cars.

Alexandria, Va.: Dear Bob,

I just wanted to thank you for your report on the bogus 911 return calls. I received one of these calls this past summer, and really didn't realize the implications until this morning's column. I am not elderly (well, I don't have an AARP card, yet). But when I got the call, I inadvertantly gave the right answer. I told the caller, that I didn't think that anyone could have called 911 becasue the dogs weren't barking. I guess I should report this incident, if it's not too late. Would should I call in SE Fairfax County. I do have a few elderly neighbors who live alone and don't have large dogs.

Bob Levey: The county police. Thanks for the kind words. One thing I always try to do in the column is to spotlight new and kinky ways that con men are plying their trade. I hope to prevent others from being taken in.

Washington, D.C.: Hey Bob,

About the G Street building -- seems to be a regular building with regular folks exiting. Not one-time VIP visits.

Bob Levey: You sure it isn't a World Bank or IMF annex?
Even if it isn't, it may house people Who Think They're More Important Than You Or Me.

Washington, D.C.: To Reston, looking for an affordable house: Try Springfield, or Burke. Worked for us!

Bob Levey: Or Franconia.
Or parts of Alexandria.
Or Huntington.
Or my candidate for Comeback Kid of 2002, the Route One corridor near Hybla Valley. Used to be trailers and people sleeping in cars. Now it's new homes, new subdivisions. And the price tags are a whole lot lower than they are in Centreville and Chantilly

Forest Glen, Md.: With the proliferation of cameras -- security, red light, traffic -- in this modern world, are we saying that NONE of these 10 shootings have been recorded?

Bob Levey: I'm speculating here, but one of the reasons these killings have been so grisly is that this guy is obviously trained at avoiding detection.
Isn't it absolutely amazing that he has killed all these people--most of them in busy commercial areas, right near busy roads--and no one has gotten a good look at him, or at his vehicle(s)?
I wouldn't put much faith in cameras. They aren't everywhere. And obviously this guy has thought through the best ways to avoid being "snapped."

Arlington, Va.: Anytime a security guard tries to wave me away from walking in front of a parking garage, I just ignore him. He has no authority over me.

Bob Levey: Always the best approach. Thanks

Re: Dulles area housing prices: I know their problems. My fiancee and I were recently looking at houses in the Sterling area, then further out in Loudon, and realizing how bad housing prices are here.

Do what we did. Head out to Jefferson County, W.Va. The whole county is around an hour's drive from the Sterling area, and the house prices are much much less. For less than the price of a townhouse in Sterling, we're having a 3,300 square foot house built on almost an acre of land.

Bob Levey: I can't deny that you will get more land and more house for the money. But are you really willing to punt away two hours a day of your lives? I guess you are. But that strikes me as a very bad bargain. I'd rather live in a crummy one bedroom apartment close to town than give away time I could be spending more profitably and more enjoyably.

Va.: Not to be annoying, but how do we know this person is on 95 heading north?

Bob Levey: We don't.
But if he was caught by traffic during his getaway (a live possibility), he's likely to be identified whether he headed north, south, east or west. Cops are blocking all four directions on all major roads

Somewhere, USA: No question, rant or opinion to submit. Just want to tell Bob Levey he has a kind face. Somehow comforting.

Bob Levey: The face that only a mother could love!
Thanks so much!

Harrisburg, Pa.: Why does baseball have a three-game winner in its first round? After playing 162 games to find which teams are the best, good teams can easily be swept away in a best of five game series. Indeed, this year, we saw the Yankees, Diamondbacks, and Braves lose in the first round. While this is good news for their opponents, I don't know if this is best for baseball. A best of seven game series gives better teams a greater chance to emerge and prove themselves. Shouldn't baseball go to a best of seven game series in the first round?

Bob Levey: They'd be playing until Thanksgiving!
Of course, if you told me that the 162-game season would immediately and permanently drop to 130, I wouldn't shed a tear

Metro Media Relations: We will actually be doing a test of new fareboxes that accept the SmarTrip card on 80 buses in Arlington County next month. After we take what we learn during that test period and incoprorate it into the final design, we will be placing the new fareboxes on Metrobuses serving Virginia, DC, and Maryland starting in early 2003.

Bob Levey: Thanks again, y'all

Beltsville, Md.: Not to be too insensitive, but why don't the families of the sniper's victims deserve compensation from the government? Surely families have lost major breadwinners in another form of terrorism.

Bob Levey: I'm going to risk being even more insensitive.
I don't believe they deserve compensation.
Two reasons:
We can't indemnify every citizen against bad luck, in whatever form.
Many of the victims were indemnified already, via life insurance.

Bethsda, Md.: In defiance of the sniper, I went running on the Capital Crescent trail earlier this week. Very eery! The trail was soooo empty I have to admit I could'nt help but feel like a lone target.

Bob Levey: I look at this odd ten days the way you obviously do. I'm not going to let this guy turn me into a stay-at-home. If I want to run on the CCC, I'll do it.

Customers dressed shabby: bob,

one of my best customers (I work at a Tysons retailer) dresses in nasty old loafers, paint stained jeans or shorts, and a half unbottoned shirt with some stains on it. He rolls up in his beat up old Jeep.

He is also a multi multi millionaire and always drops a few hundred bucks when he stops by.

Its the ones who smell that we have to worry about.

Bob Levey: To all clerks:
Heed these wise words.
Thanks, Tysons.

Grammar Nitpick: It's not "Tysons", it's "Tyson's"! With an apostrophe! The posessive form, not the plural!

Bob Levey: Not around here.
Our style is no apostrophe.
Don't ask me to justify it.
Just tellin' it like it is.

Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C.: Hiya, Bob.

It's ONE MONTH to elections, and I still don't know anything about what's up for grabs or who's running. The Post has news galore about mayoral and congressional seats, but where can I find information about city council and other local offices and candidates? I need to start researching soon!

Also, I saw a headline in the Post yesterday about congress and a DC vote therein but I didn't have the time to read the story. What's the inside poop? Could we actually have a voice?

Bob Levey: Voters guides coming soon in all jurisdictions where there are major races.
A Senate committee approved congressional representation for D.C. a couple of days ago. But the inside scoop is: don't bet on this going anywhere. It certainly won't in this Congress, which is about to end. And if the Republicans retain control of either house (or, of course, if they get control of both), the proposal has less chance than a dead fish. Reason: D.C.'s 10-to-1 Democratic registration edge. Republicans don't want to support seatholders who will almost surely belong to The Bad Guys (at least at first)

Somewhere, USA: I'm sure I'm going to get hammered for this, but -- I am not sure that WTC victims should've gotten government compensation, either. Private charitable donations, absolutely, and I made some myself. But government -- I'm less sure about.

Bob Levey: I feel exactly the same way. My heart goes out to every one of them. But do you know that more than 96 percent of the victims had life insurance? And many had substantial 401-K plans? And some had pensions that paid their survivors? Sept. 11 did not whack poor Amercians. It whacked rather well-to-do Americans

Followup on housing: Jefferson County is a very nice place. If northern Virginians keep moving there, it won't be for long. And personally -- I would not feel right knowing I was doing my part to pollute the air, destroy the countryside, and create yet more alienating, ugly sprawl. I'll move to West Virginia when I want to spend my days in West Virginia.

Bob Levey: Couldn't have said it better. Thanks

Vienna, Va.: Bob -- since you (and Dr. Griddie) seem to be The Post's main ties to Metro I got a question: Why won't Metro consider going to a one-fare system about halfway between the current rush and non-rush fares that would be good around-the-clock? Dick White has been asked this in his e-mail chats but has generally stonewalled or side-stepped the issue.

Bob Levey: I can only surmise, but I'm pretty sure it's a straight-up matter of bucks. To cut fares at all would slice revenues past the point that Metro can afford

Just running on, don't mind me: I feel sorry for kids today, especially the ones who are old enough to start being independent -- teenagers. Sept. 11 last year, now the sniper. Pretty spotty public transportation. How's a kid supposed to grow up if they can't be allowed to go outside? To start exploring their world? I know nowhere's perfectly safe but when my kid reaches early adolescence I'll be thinking of moving somewhere where I can let go of his hand time to time.

Bob Levey: I'm very, very careful about safety with our kids, and always have been. But I didn't have the slightest compunction about sending my kid to school today.

Reston, Va.: I've read several people say that you have a greater chance of being hit by some nutcase who can't control their SUV than by the sniper. Usually I would think that's true, but since there IS a sniper running around doesn't that up your chances of being shot by them? Think about the nine people who've "defied the odds" this past week. I'm not saying that people should be totally paranoid, but to say that you have NO risk of being shot is pure denial, all things considered.

Bob Levey: You have a slightly greater chance of being shot today, and you've had a slightly greater chance for the last ten. But are those greater chances enough for you to stay indoors 24 hours a day and hide in the cellar? Life is always a matter of playing the odds. Was before this guy got going. Will be after he's caught.

Maryland: Bob,

I know the police are working as hard as they can under extraordinary pressure and I appreciate their dedication. However, its odd how obsessed they are with lauding themeselves for their cooperation and inner- and inter-machinations as if a major victory is their own work.

The story's not about the police. And, if there's nothing new to say, don't have a press conference.

Bob Levey: We've had stories over the past few days on both of these issues. By the way, if the shootings continue, and no arrest is amde, I can't imagine how the FBI won't take voer this case. Hasn't the guy crossed state lines at least twice? Isn't that automatically cause for the FBI to step in?

Bob Levey: Thanks, gang, and sorry that I couldn't get to all of your postings. Se you next Friday, again at 1 p.m. Eastern time.

washingtonpost.com:

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