Bob Levey (Barbara Tyroler)

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Levey Live: Speaking Freely
Washington Post Columnist
Friday, Oct. 18, 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: Hello, one and all, and thanks for joining "Levey Live: Speaking Freely." We're open for business for the next 60 minutes for whatever you'd care to lob my way--ideas, rants, peeves, questions, comments on recent columns, comments on recent news stories (yes, the sniper is fair game), whatever your hearts desire. Let's get right to cases....

Arlington, Va.: Bob, how many emails do you receive every day? I'll venture it's a lot. Do you answer all of them, even those that dispute your opinionated stances?

Bob Levey: An average of 400 a day. I answer all of them, except the ones in Korean, which I haven't yet figured out.

Bowie, MD: Hi Bob:

This question has been bugging me since I moved to this area almost four years ago, and I figure if anyone can get me the answer, it's you.

When you're driving on Route 50, inside the Beltway near Landover, around the exit for MD 410, there is this aroma in the air that smells (to me, anyway) like toast. Not bread baking, but bread toasting.

What the heck is this? Does anyone know what is producing this aroma? (Makes me hungry every time I drive past.)

Thanks!

Bob Levey: I believe it's the Giant Food bakery, which gives the waiting world glorious cookies, great breads, etc. But I could be wrong, since a little birdie in the back of my brain is telling me that this entire smell-producing operation moved to Howard County. Anyone out there know for sure?

Black Rock, Md.: Bob,

here is a new one for you.

while driving to logan airport from a boston suburb a few weeks ago, the man in the pick up truck in front of me was curling what appeared to be a 50lb dumbell while driving.

no dumbell puns, please.

Bob Levey: At least he didn't drop it on his knee, react the way any human would and smash his vehicle into another.

Silver Spring, Md.: Today's article in the "Style" section," "Dread Reckning" looked an awful like many other stories that have run in the past year, particularly since the sniper shootings began. Couldn't have taken long to write as it didn't seem to have much new in it. Even out of town papers (e.g., today's "Los Angeles Times") are carrying stories about the area essentially being parayzed with fear. Yet, most people I know are going about their daily routines exactly as they always have. After 9/11, The Post carried a story about people living in fear, storing emergency provisions in their homes in case a quick getaway were needed. Those of us who, through choice and/or necessity, keep doing the same old same old don't seem to make very interesting stories.

Bob Levey: I'll pass your comments on to the flag-rank editors in Style. I see what you mean, although there are two althoughs:
1) Style is different. It tries to connect in an emotional, edgy way. You can't read a Style story the same way you read a story on A-1.
2) There may well be a story very soon about those who do the same-old-same-old in the face of mortal danger and paralyzing anxiety. Coming soon to a front lawn near you....

Somewhere, USA: I got a message on my answering machine from a telemarketer the other day. Two messages, in fact, and both so long they used almost the entire tape. Is that even legal?

Bob Levey: Yes. But it's also stupid. Who in the world would say yes to a telemarketer who drives a potential customer out of his mind?

Washington, D.C.: Bob --

I know you hate the whole media bias question, and I don't want to put you in the position of ombudsman, but I was wondering your take on a recent story about anti-war protesters.

Now I'm pretty conservative, but I think The Post plays things very straight and fair and doesn't try and twist everything into bad news for Bush like other papers I could mention. But what do you think of a story the Post ran recently that was all about anti-war protesters that seemed to include more opinion than fact, very little basis from her story, and lots of "some say" assertions from "veteran peace organizers."

Seems kinda sloppy, don't you think? Especially since the reporter has apparently written at least once for hard-left Mother Jones.

What do you think? Seems like this should have been caught by the editors.

Bob Levey: I'd have to know much more about the reporter, the context and the circumstances. But in general, I'd say that "sloppy" isn't a synonym for "biased." The one thing you can always count on in this business is that you will be in a hurry, and therefore under pressure. Haste makes for many more mistakes than any other force of nature in this business. Again, I don't know particulars, but I suspect that what you single out was caused by someone typing like hell and thinking a little less swiftly or carefully.

Somewhere, USA: Hey, formerly rotund Ro-bare,
Why are there not better lwas to deal with illegal spammers? I mean, it's irritating enough to get 10,000 offers for herbs, cheap flights, etc, but what really burns me are the porn ads...WITH pictures. Bad enough when they're in my inbox, but worst when they're in my 11-year-old brother's! Even supposeduly "private" email addresses eventually get corrupted somehow.

Bob Levey: Every once in a while, I sit back and wonder what Thomas Jefferson, the champion of liberty, would think about real-thing porn hitting the mailboxes and eyeballs of 11-year-olds. No way he had that in mind.

Crystal City, VA: Bob, you're probably the best Postie to answer this. What ever happend to Al Kamen with the In The Loop column?

Bob Levey: He has been seriously ill, but he is recovering. We expect him back before snow flies.

Silver Spring, Md.: You've had Rep. Morella on your chat. I've seen her commercials. Her commercials emphasize her "independence," and don't even mention her party affiliation. though her party certainly wants her to win. I have never heard why she first chose that party with which to affiliate. Do you know why she's a Republican?

Bob Levey: No, I don't. But there's no question that she ducks the tag whenever someone tries to hang it on her. Always has.

Washington, D.C.: As a first-time homebuyer in the very near future (hopefully!) -- it seems that eventually those of us at the bottom of the income scale ($40-$50K) will be priced out of the home buying market altogether. Unless we are willing to move to West Virginia or something. I don't have Bank of Mom and Dad to get $200,000 from, like you said you did when you bought your first house. What are we to do?

Bob Levey: Whoaaaaaa, Nellie!
I didn't say that I got $200 G from the Mom and Dad National Bank when I bought my first house.
I said that's what today's 20-somethings are doing.
I got absolutely nothing from my Mom and Dad (except a love for books, and a nice art collection that's worth pennies, not millions).
As to what you can do.....
Lower your sights, and think condo.
Or consider a transitional neighborhood (many parts of town are sensationally expensive because of their reputations, or the perceived excellence of a certain public school system).
Buy a foreclosure. Mega-bargains there.

12th Floor Metro Center: Happy Friday Greetings, Bob. Pat Conroy has a new book coming out in a couple weeks. Any chance of getting him on your Tuesday chat to publicize his book? That would be a great chat.

Bob Levey: We are working on that this very day. Looks like a possible Conroy booking (bad pun!) for late November, or some such. By the way, I'm 50 pages into the book. If you've ever played organized basketball, get a pack of Kleenex ready. This one will make you mourn your lost youth more than a former girl friend will.

Washington, D.C.: Bob- I remember hearing about a DC government program that enabled DC-high school kids to pay in-state tuition at any state school. Is there any similar program for graduate schools?

Bob Levey: I believe it's only for undergraduates.
Dear gang at washingtonpost.com:
If you can dig out the link to the chat I did about this program about two years ago, Washington might learn some more. Thanks

Washington, D.C.: Hi Bob,
Good non-sniper news! This morning while getting off my Green Line train at Gallery Place, I noticed a big round yelow and black sign over the escalators there which reads "stand to the right."
Hooray for Metro! Despite their previously announced policy of not encouraging passengers to walk on the left, they are finally acknowledging this widespread practice. Thank you, Metroids, hope to see mroe signs like that one in other stations!

Bob Levey: You see, Metroids? When you take Levey's advice and erect signs that people can actually see and actually read, you get swats on the back like this one.
Thanks, Washington!

Md.: Your article yesterday (and others in the past) reminded me of a column that ran in the Honolulu newspaper. It was filled with Mahalos (thanks to good samaritians) and Auwes (shame on yous). The offered great detail on misdeeds. It was a lot of fun.

Bob Levey: Much obliged. I have no idea whether I do more beefs than cheers, but I suspect the balance is just about even. As it should be.

re: Al Kamen: So sorry to hear he's been ill. His column is missed.

Bob Levey: I'll tell him. By the way, his sense of humor is reportedly in perfect shape.

Washington,D.C.: Hi Bob,
There is a store in my neighborhood that has handkerchiefs with the American flag on them on display on the counter for a dollar a piece. One employee in this store refuses to sell them. This is appalling. Can anything be done about this?

Bob Levey: Why does the employee refuse?

Malden, Mass.: Bob -

Just had to write -- the Boston T is FAR messier than what Medford wrote in last week. And most of it is debris from food items and there are mice in many of the stations. DC is right not to allow food on public transportation. Especially when the Metro's trains are carpeted and the T's are not. It's depressing and gross -- aren't morning commutes bad enough without sitting in someone's Dunkin' Donuts spillage, anyway?

Bob Levey: Metroids, you're having a BOSS day, aren't you? Thanks for getting behind the local no-food-no-drink policy, Medford. We need to keep stiffening the backbones of the King Metroids, who don't ever enforce this law to the extent that they should.

Alexandria, Va.: Hey Bob, did you see Frank Rich's 3500-word attack on Washington in the New York Times? Here's a small chunk of it:

"Such is Washington's appeal to tourists that it did not make the list of the Top 10 North American cities in this year's Travel and Leisure magazine readers' poll. (New York came in first.) The capital's restaurants can't compete with those of Vegas, let alone New York, Chicago and the Seattle-to-Los Angeles culinary axis of the West. Its taxicabs have a suspect fee structure as gerrymandered as the map of Congressional voting districts. While New York has contributed to the American language such joyous words as "whoopee" and "hot dog," Washington has coined "inside the Beltway" and "Department of Homeland Security." America's songwriters and poets have repeatedly celebrated Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island too -- not to mention San Francisco, Chicago and St. Louis -- but where is that romantic lyric about the capital? "Hail to the Redskins" will have to do."

What is your take?

Bob Levey: It went downhill from there.
A very strange piece, I thought--stone-cold guilty of the charge that many, many people level at all media: That we know where we're tryin to go in our journalism before we get there. Seems to me that Frank just decided to do a rip job without the slightest inteerst in whether the facts justified it. They don't.

Gaithersburg: Montgomery County has a tradition of electing liberal/moderate Republicans. I grew up being represented by Gilber Gude (and Charles Matthias in the Senate).

I still believe part of the problem with politicas today is lack of breadth within the parties, because that way every issue is both a partisan one and an ideological one. More got done when Lowell Weiker, Jacob Javits, Sam Ervin and Howell Heflin were in the Senate than does today.

Bob Levey: I'd say today's parties are broad, indeed, what with Morella and Tom DeLay under the same Republican tent, and several pillar-to-post Democratic pairs I could name under THEIR tent

Provo, Utah: No real question, jsut wnated to say how much I love this chat. It makes me feel like I'm back home for a while!

Bob Levey: You are the sweetest! Thanks
Any snow in Provo yet?
In Washington, D.C. this morning, I ACTUALLY HAD TO FIND THE ICE SCRAPER AND DO A NUMBER ON MY WINDOW! This on Oct. 18. Must be global cooling, huh?

Potomac, Md.: Bob --

Is it any wonder that so many people don't bother to hang out downtown as much as in the past? If you can "only" park at a meter for two hours -- two whole hours, my gosh! What in the world does that get you? Not much. Outside the city, you can go to a nice, sprawling mall, a shopping center, a store, a restaurant, a book store, a gym, a golf course, a recreation center, a friend's house, a government office, a movie theater, or about 500 other types of places and be at peace, knowing that your free -- free -- parking space is good for more than two lousy, measly, horribly underhanded two hours. And this is just one of about 100 reasons why people don't care much for doing much of their business or recreation downtown any more. Two hours on a parking meter for much recreational activities means absolutely nothing. Thank you for your time.

Bob Levey: No one would ever argue (least of all me) that the D.C. Code is business-friendly.

Oakton, Va.: Bob, while, of couse, it is too late to undo the action now,the money has already been spent.....I wonder if it would have made a lot more sense for Metro to have taken the huge chunk of cash that they spent for the new defective rail cars (which we're STILL waiting for on the non-Green Lines), and instead spent it on desperately needed Transit Police officers and security people instead. True, the new cars were needed...I won't deny that....but the number of scofflaws in the system that eat, drink, smoke, peddle, panhandle, solicit, curse, holler, engage in rowdy conduct, or in general make asses of themselves is even MORE overwhelming....especially eaters and drinkers. I estimate (and I am NOT exaggerating) 5-10% of all riders on the Red line eat and drink and 2-5% on the Orange Line do. The bottom line is: Why have laws that Metro either cannot or will not enforce? And they may have just missed a golden opportunity to START enforcing them by not getting more police.

Bob Levey: I generally agree (as I've already said earlier in the hour). Metro is deadly afraid to enforce eating and drinking laws because they think it'll cost them riders. In fact, allowing scofflaws to sip and munch costs more riders. Metro is also very, very antsy about bad publicity, and it got a barrelful about two years ago when a transit cop put handcuffs on a young girl who was eating in the subway. OK, that was probably excessive. But enforcing the law is never excessive!

Washington, D.C.: Hi Bob,
Do you find the numbering system for the Metrobus system to be confusing? I can imagine tourists and new residents getting flustered by the patternless system where some bus lines have letters and numbers, and some just have numbers which skip all over the place. L2, 98, H4, 52 and so on. I'd like to suggest to the lurking Metroids that they renumber the bus routes in a more rational way, say starting at 1 and going up, or all N-S routes have letters only and all E-W routes have numbers only, or something worthy of our L'Enfant planned street grid and crystal clear Metrorail color coding.

Bob Levey: This is a great post, and an idea I've been thinking of championing in the column for ages.
A little history:
Those numbered routes are the oldies-but-goodies. The letter routes are newer. Metro (and its predecessors) have never felt good about changing the numebred routes because they fear they'll confuse veteran riders. I say: Bite the bullet, renumber the entire system.

Reston, Va.:
I know you're avoiding bagels because of the calories (good for you!), but in response to the questioner from a few weeks ago, Bagel Buddies in Fair Lakes is run by displaced New Yorkers and has great bagels and knishes. (I love their egg-everything bagels, but they're only available on the weekends.) In South Lakes, in Reston, is KSB--pretty good, compared to the chains.

My credentials: grew up in the "Jewish ghetto" of Baltimore (Randallstown/Pikesville/Owings Mills).

Bob Levey: The preceding message has been underwritten by the Heart Surgeons of America, who say: Bagels today, Bypasses tomorrow!

Silver Spring, Md: Why no Levey columns on the sniper?

Bob Levey: I'll be on this at the right moment, which I don't "feel" quite yet. You wouldn't want to read another column about fear, and I wouldn't want to write it. Let's wait for the old earth to take a couple of whirls, and let's wait for the authorities to catch this monster (please!). Then I'll find my "take."

Md.: I really hate negative campaign ads. Why can't they just talk about the issues? I can research voting records myself. Between Morella vs. Van Hollen and Ehrlich vs. Townsend, I am inundated whenever I turn on the TV. But this one really got me.... Van Hollen is running a negative ad skewering Morella for running negative ads. Okay, I guess the Van Hollen campaign manager missed the irony in that one....

Bob Levey: I offer this thought, by way of lifting the cloud off this issue.
Let 'em attack, attack, attack.
I've never voted for or against ANYONE because of a TV ad, and I'm not about to start. All the millions that all these politicians claim are so essential ARE ALL WASTED because they'e all spent on TV time!

Charlotte, N.C.: Fabulous story yesterday about the effort to save the young man who was shot at school. It is the ultimate positive advertising for Children's Hospital! Hope it will have a salutory effect on your Christmas fundraiser for Children's.

That said, what saved the child was his quick-thinking aunt getting him to medical help without waiting for an ambulance. I've spent my career in the fire service, and I can confidently say that how a person accesses prehospital care is often a determining factor in the outcome. She saved precious minutes of the golden hour, which gave the doctors in Bowie and at Children's the edge they needed to do their best. Thank God for them all! I look forward to hearing that he is recovering well.

Bob Levey: The aunt is my early candidate for Saint of 2002. The docs at Children's aren't far behind. Thanks for the kind words about the Jones piece on A-1 yesterday. I was so wrapped up in it that I missed my bus!
No brainer of the year: Which kid will be the first one featured in Bob Levey's Washington when we kick-start our 2002-3 campaign in about five weeks?

Vienna, Va.: Bob...I'd like to ask a follow-up question to the one the caller last week brought up about why Metrorail couldn't get rid of the dual-fare system and have ONE fare (set somewhere between the current rush and non-rush fare) that would be good around-the-clock. You mentioned that this would be a fare cut and a drop in revenue for Metro and that they would not consider it. My follow-up question is: How would it be considered a fare cut overall? True, Metro would be collecting a little less during rush hours but MORE during non-rush hours....it would probably balance out. And it would help spread the ridership out a lot more, too....so that riders wouldn't be packed in like sardines as much during the current rush hour. Dick White has been asked this question more than once on this E-Mail forum right here and has either sidestepped the issue or given evasive answers....I think this is outrageous, and I hope you mention this to him.

Bob Levey: I think you've lanced your own argument. Traffic won't redistribute itself, regardless of fares, because people want to ride when they want to ride.

washingtonpost.com: Here's the chat Bob referred to earlier.

Alexandria, Va.: Bob, I chickened out on the Metro the other night. A small woman was surreptitiously sipping water from a plastic bottle and I couldn’t get up the guts to confront her and scold her, as you so boldly recommend. I thought about it, practiced lecturing her about the posted rules, and even glowered at her. But I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. After my hour-long ride from Bethesda to Vienna, I then pondered: How does Fearless Bob do it? Can you offer this Metro rider any pearls of wisdom on how to comport oneself as proper scold the next time I find myself in such a situation? What do you do to get up the courage to confront water-sipping small women? Thanks.

Bob Levey: I clear my throat. I glare. If that doesn't work. I lay it out with a little sugar topping:
"Excuse me, but did you know that eating/drinking insie a train/on a platform is against the law?"
I phrase it that way because a lot of them do NOT know. About half thank me and knock it off. About half continue doing what they were doing. Whereupon I shift directly from first to fourth and say:
"If you don't stop eating/drinking int en seconds, I'm going to get a cop, and you're going to get a ticket."
Only once has this two-step approach failed to work, in more than 20 years of riding the rails.

Washington, D.C.: Bob, I'm posting early because of a lunch commitment. Here's my question for the Metroid lurkers. Why is the heat on in the Metro system? It started about two weeks ago, before the temperature even dropped.

I mean, people get on Metro wearing coats, stand pressed like sardines, and get pelted with dry hot air from the ventilation system. Metro should reflect the outside temperature so people won't have to strip down to stay comfortable. It's crowded enough without everyone removing their heavy coats. Last winter I saw people fainting from riding crowded, hot trains in winter clothing. How about turning the heat down? It'd save you money too. What do you think, Bob?

Bob Levey: I'm surprised by this, because Metro trains are supposed to be "smart" (i.e., the heating and cooling system knows what to do based on the temperature above ground). I suppose the driver can jack the heat manually (not sure). But even if he can, he will probably turn the jets down if you ask him to. Remember that you can go face to face with the driver at any stop where the doors open on the left. He is required to lean his head out to see if the doors are safe to close. That's your moment! And yes, he will usually let you back on the same train.

Washington,D.C.: Hmph. Why should our First Amendment rights be based on what Jefferson would've approved of? Jefferson wouldn't have approved of me (a woman) having a college education, either.

Bob Levey: You've badly gnarled what I was trying to say. Nothing is more precious than the First Amendment, to either of us. I was just musing about whether Old Tom would think that four-color porn is a distortion of the freedoms he had in mind. I wsn't trying to suggest that those freedoms be suspended.

Washington, D.C.: Bob,

In response to my post last week(the first one you answered), I'd like to add that your favorite radio DJ, Don Geronimo spotted 2 people filling their tanks up while wearing bulletproff jackets last weekend.

Bob Levey: If Don saw it, it must be so. Thanks

Md.: Bob,

If the sniper isn't caught by October, 31, do you think Halloween will be "canclled" or what?

No parents will let their kids out to trick or treat.

Bob Levey: Halloween is toast for sure if the guy isn't caught. Count on it.

Somewhere, USA: You know why more people go to New York than DC? "Rent" is more titillating than the monuments. Americans don't care about their own history, they just want to be fed entertainment.

Bob Levey: We have entertainment here, too. Eighty legitimate theaters. A world-class performance hall (little place beside the Potomac named for Kennedy). All sorts of sports and galleries. It's just crazy (and myopic) to claim (as Frank Rich did) that Broadway is the only place for cutting-edge theater, or that Wall Street is the only place that houses big-time business talent.

Annapolis, Md.: The smell on Route 50 around 410 is from the 8 O'Clock Coffee facility off of Pennsy Drive (past the Metro bus lot but before the Landover Metro station).

Bob Levey: Give us 40 minutes, and we supply answers!
Thanks, Annapolis

Arlington, Va.: Re: Hands free metro driving - Is there any requirement that Metro rail drivers (conductors?) remain seated at the controls while the train is underway? This morning on the Orange line I saw the driver get up from her seat, move to the other side of the compartment, and spend several minutes combing her hair while standing on the left side of the compartment, while the train was moving between stations. I know computers control a lot of what the trains do but this seemed careless to me.

Bob Levey: The trains are operated from beginning to end by computers. The driver can stand on his hand for all the system cares. However, he must open and close doors himself.
I suppose he was taking a bit of a chance, since he wasn't near the controls in case he needed to stop the train in an emergency.

Castle Shannon, Pa.: The 911 operator told the aunt to wait for an ambulance. She thought it best to drive him to a nearby outpatient facility. Bob, when I first heard this, I thought it was a mistake. Now, it looks as if her quick thinking saved this boy's life. How are we to know what to do in a situation like this? Just go with your gut instinct?

Bob Levey: I'd always go with gut instinct, especially if I can see that a child is bleeding to death and I know that every second counts. Remember that,in the Bowie case, the aunt had extensive medical training. She knew of the Bowie clinic down the road, and she knew that waiting 10 minutes for an ambulance might be fatal. I'm not sure that many of us would have done what the aunt did. More of us should consider it, especially if we KNOW we can make things better.

Md.: Bob,
Hi! I moved to montgomery county from another maryland county and I have not gotten my license changed to my new address. Is it too late to register to vote in montgomery county when I go to the mva(most likely next week)?. Thanks for answering this.

Bob Levey: Not 100 percent sure, but I believe you can re-register online in three shakes of a puppy dog's tail. In any case, you can certainly get it done before Election Day.

Annandale, Va: Bob,

I read your column this morning on the pizza delivery problem, where the writer said that PizzaBoli insisted that she had indeed ordered a pizza when she hadn't. My question: after PizzaBoli found out that she in fact had not ordered the pizza when the real customer called asking why his pizza was late, did they do the right thing and at least call back and apologize? This poor woman deserves a free pizza and an apology from that hothead. It was a pizza, not a custom-tailored suit or four dozen roses. If I lived in that area, I would never order from them again.

Bob Levey: They didn't apologize and they didn't offer he a freebie pizza. Maybe that doesn't amaze you, but it certainly amazes me.

Bethesda, Md.: Bob, what ever happened to Vic Sussman and his promise to resurrect LiHiRi elsewhere? I really miss that hour.

Bob Levey: Just had breakfast with Vic this week. He's doing well, although he isn't in a place where he can resurrect LiHiRi. Maybe some day. Just not a day on the immediate horizon

State College, Pa.: Bob,
So what do you think about the sniper -- homicidal psychopath or terrorist plot? Not that terrorists can't be homicidal psychopaths ...

Bob Levey: No guesses coming from this corner. They're worthless, and might be inflammatory.

In fairness to Frank Rich...: ... you can't really compare DC's theater or art
scenes to New York's. NY is the center of theater
and art in the US, and a top tier world city in those
ares. Which is fine. We have New York. We don't
need two.

Bob Levey: Exactly why his piece should have been more circumspect. He held DC to New York's standards when it was never intended to be similar, or a direct competitor.

Washington, D.C.: Hi, Bob. Bagels aren't that bad for you if you don't have four of them everyday. Bagels are still a better choice than croissants in calories and fat, though!

Signed,
Working my cinnamon buns off

Bob Levey: Nice line about cinnamon!
Thanks.
By the way, be careful of bagels that are fried (this from my nutritionist). They're just as bad as a cookie. Worst baked good choice of all, according to her: muffins. Super-caloric, very unheart-healthy.

Forest Glen, Md.: As follow-up - go to www.777vote.org or call 240-777-8500

Bob Levey: Bingo, bango.
Thanks

Va.: Went to ChinaTown. Why can't Metro or MCI Center post "MCI Center this way" signs? It is the major complaints among my friends. How much does it cost to put up those signs? I am willing to pay.

Bob Levey: Such signs are all over the place. How could you have missed them?

Alexandria, Va.: About Halloween, people will go out. They will just stick in their own neighborhoods and will accompany the kids as they make their rounds.

Do you think NCSL or WAGS will start games again next week if the sniper is not caught and there are no more incidents?

Bob Levey: Paragraph one: I guarantee you that you're wrong. Five bucks rides on it. Deal?
Paragraph two: No way games will resume until the guy(s) is/are caught. At the very least, there are legal considerations.

Falls Church, Va.: Hey Bob!

You're column today inspired some internet folks to make some quarters ideas for DC.

http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=330082

Bob Levey: I'll check it out as soon as I'm "off the air." Thanks

Vienna, Va.: In response to the caller who mentioned that fewer people "hang out" in D.C due to a lack of free parking, I would like to point out that one of the main "hang-out" areas is Georgetown. Parking is not an issue when you use Metrorail, but it is outrageous that Georgetown does not have an Orange Line stop
(Foggy Bottom does not qualify, in my opinion). Yes, I know....Georgetown turned one down in the 1960's but one should have been built anyway....in spite of the opposition. Same with I-95 through the District...it currently stops at the Beltway.
Sometimes civic leaders need the courage to do things in spite of temporary public opposition fot the greater good in the long run.

Bob Levey: Metro plans to build a subway through (and to) Georgetown under its expansion scheme. But where are the bucks?
As for I-95 not running through dontown DC, I could write a book.... and damn near did, two years ago. My wife and I co-authored the cover story in The Washington Post magazine about the reasons behind No Freeway-Ville. No time to get into this at length, but suffice it to say that grass roots politics prevented 95 from slashing through downtown. It wasn't a case of a public official lacking backbone to do the right thing. It was a case of public officials listening to the prevailing will.

Silver Spring, Md.: Bob, just curious: Where did you get the figure of 20-somethings getting $200,000 from their parents? Was it a story in the paper? I'd like to read it. I'm a 20-something from working class roots and I am strugging to find affordable housing.

Bob Levey: I pulled that figure out of the sky, but it's based on what houses cost in certain areas of Northwest Washington, fairfax and Motngomery Counties. If a house costs $600,000, and you don't put down $200,000, you are talking about mortgage payments that are as great as $6,000 a month! Who can afford that? Which lender will let you try?

Laurel: The sniper is EXTREMELY unlikely to be part of organized middle-east based terrorism.

They choose their targets carefully to have some significance for their hatreds, i.e. international finance, military globalism or Jewry.

When the Murrah building was blown up lots of people thought "Arabs", but the target was way out of character.

Bob Levey: You have as much right to speculate as the next guy. But obviously this sniper (or these snipers) is/are VERY well-trained, and especially good at escaping detection. Does that sound like your basic nut? Also, the fact that shooting continues across two weeks makes me think that this is willful and deliberate, not a spasm of anger--because spasms ebb. I'm not saying that terrorism is involved (rememeber, I said I wouldn't speculate). But it wouldn't surprise me a bit.

Waldorf, Md.: I find it amusing that Vienna referred to a post from a clickster as a "caller". What exactly are we? Chatters? Clicksters?

Bob Levey: I'm going for the latter. Has a certain click to it.

Arlington, Va.: On the Metro yesterday, a man started eating and I politely told him that he wasn't allowed to do so. He said he was homeless and hadn't eaten for two days. I figured this was a crock,but told him I'd give him a break and if he put it away, I wouldn't call a cop. I told him that a ticket was all he needed to add to his troubles. He said he didn't agree with my perspective but that he'd put it away anyway. Bob, if I hadn't eaten in two days, I sure wouldn't wait until I got on the train to do it! He wasn't eating when he got on and had been on a while, chatting with a buddy before this happened. I say it was more like two hours since he last ate. I was fortunate enough to experience a new Metro car the other day and have been hoping that there would be more police on trains to keep the new cars as new as possible. I'm tired of being a Metro vigilante.

Bob Levey: He's a bull artist and you're a hero for doing the right thing. Don't apologize for speaking up. We need more of you, not less of you

Re Frank Rich: The weirdest thing about Rich's piece is that he
wrote it all. New Yorkers don't generally waste
time comparing their town to others. They know
they live in the amazing and unique city of earth.
(And there's a grain of truth there.) When you
grow up there, it's a fact of life like 'the sky is blue.'
That Rich needs to waste breath on it marks him
forever as someone who will never be a real New
Yorker.

Bob Levey: Well said. I wondered what DC had done to make him mad, especially when his excellent book, "Ghost Light," comes close to celebrating this place as a hotbed of good teachers, thoughtful adults, snazzy girls, etc.

Seven Corners, Va.: Bob,
The last sniper incident was a mile from my home. I found it initially scary, but then, being a fatalist, carried on the next day. Hunkering down will do only so much for a person and most people will eventually mellow a bit. I remember after the Y2K "non-disaster" during the first week of January, 2000, food banks were putting out announcements requesting that anybody who had stockpiled food for the apocolypse that didn't happen donate it to their organization. I wonder how many people did.

Bob Levey: I feel about the sniper the way I did after 9/11: Damned if I'm going to let this keep me from the swift completion of my appointed rounds

Silver Spring, Md.: Why all of the hush-hush and confusion about Connie Morella's politics? Any moron can see why she thinks and talks the way she does. She is a Republican who represents one of the most liberal counties in the U.S. east of Berkeley, CA. She has no choice but to vote the way she does if she wants to be re-elected. In fact, my impression is that politically she is almost a carbon copy of Kathy Townsend.....only she conducts herself with a LOT more class.

Bob Levey: Thanks for these comments. As you say, you don't get re-elected seven times if the people don't like you, and like the way you vote. However, I have a hunch that Van Hollen's pitch ("A vote for Connie is a vote for Tom DeLay") might put him over the top this time

The Sniper Is An Amateur!: Didn't you read Stephen Hunter's piece in the paper last weekend? Anyone can make the shots he's making with one day of firearms training.

Bob Levey: Steve's piece was the single best one we've run (or anyone has run) in these two weeks of Sniper Overload. The guy knows guns. That piece was outstanding.

Takoma Park, Md.: Can I get in on the $5.00 Halloween bet? I know for a fact that my neighborhood kids will be trick or treating that night. Our streets are very narrow making the houses across the street much cloer then most neighborhoods, so it's very easy to keep an eye on things.

Bob Levey: Deal.
I pay off to Children's Hospital, not you, OK?
Just to shoe you that I mean it, my 10/30 column is tentatively budgeted as The Day They Stole Halloween. Of course, if the sniper has been caught, all bets are off.

Bob Levey: Thanks, gang, for your provocative postings. We'll be back with more LLSF next Friday, at the same time.

washingtonpost.com:

That wraps up today's show. Thanks to everyone who joined the discussion.

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