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Levey Live: Speaking Freely
Bob Levey
Washington Post Columnist
Friday, June 06, 2003; 1:00 p.m ET
"Levey Live: Speaking Freely," hosted by Washington Post columnist Bob Levey, appears every Friday.
It is a live, open-agenda discussion offering washingtonpost.com users around the world the opportunity to ask questions and discuss topics of their choice with Bob.
Fearless Bob takes your questions about virtually everything, from sports and politics (there's a difference?) to world events, Metro area traffic and
issues raised in Bob's columns.
The transcript follows.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control
over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
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Bob Levey: Hello, Great Unwashed (and those who bathe regularly). Welcome to another round of "Levey Live: Speaking Freely," where we tackle any subject under the sun (and some that seem to belong to other galaxies).
Front and center, as always, are recent Levey columns. However, I'm sure you clicksters will have a lot to say about the fiasco at The New York Times (which shows every sign of continuing to fiasco). Comments about politics and Iraq are welcome. And if anyone thinks Mr. Sosa is innocent, you are a) the only person in the world who believes that and b) welcome to weigh in.
Let's rip....
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Washington, D.C. (The Perfect Ride):
Hey Bob,
I wanted to share a positive moment for our wonderful subway system.
The train arrived, it was on time, I was able to sit and read my paper (of course The Post and of course Bob Levey column).
The people were polite to one another ie., excuse, good morning, the sun beamed across my face from the cleaned clear windows, the conductor spoke with an soft toned voice ... and said to me have a wonderful day and weekend. The escalator move gracefully and smooth like.
A good day.
Bob Levey: And not such a rare day.
Truly, our subway is superb, from just about every perspective, including (most of the time) a human relations perspective.
Thanks for this post
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Alexandria, Va.:
Hi Bob --
I know you like to hear about egregious apostrophe use. I saw this one last night on the back of a truck for a shoe store -- they sell "Men's -- Ladie's -- Children's" shoes.
Have a good weekend!
Bob Levey: Horrifyin'g.
You knew I was going to do that
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Silver Spring, Md.:
Bob, you claim to hate cliches. Indeed, you've written columns on the topic. How then do you reconcile your alleged hatred of cliches with yesterday's headline, "Dwayne at Camp: Spreading His Wings"? Spreading his wings? Come on, Bob! Kids don't have wings! You should know better than that. And, since we know you write your own headlines, you can't blame a copy editor. So what have you got to say for yourself?
Bob Levey: Guilty as charged.
I did indeed write that one.
I suppose I could say that a cliche wouldn't be a cliche unless a lot of people knew what it means, but that would be pretty lame, wouldn't it?
No defense offered and none possible.
Thanks for calling me on this.
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Arlington, Va.:
Sosa is suspended eight games but is appealing, thoughts?
Bob Levey: He's Pinocchio.
His nose is growing.
It has cork in it.
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Potomac, Md.:
Bob:
We're sorry, but many folks have many questions about two recent columns. First, it is literally, legally NOT slander to give a person a poor performance review when called by an employer! The basis for this is -- the law. According to no less than six lawyers -- two of whom work in labor law -- and two human resource managers --both with experience with the question at hand -- it is not slanderous by a legal definition to give fact-based comments that may not be extremely positive when asked about someone. If this were so, then every single person on the planet applying for every single job with the reference of every single former employer at every single company on Earth would all be singing everyone's praises, and everything, everywhere, would be 100 percent perfect! Of course, that isn't the case, can't be the case, and realistically, it shouldn't be the case. Briefly: legally, slander is not saying something negative about someone in the circumstance in question, according to several lawyers and human resource managers who work in the field. It just isn't.
Second, concerning the hospital ad: Two recent patients at the Washington Hospital Center, and their respective families, could not have had worse experiences with that place, in terms of the staff, the noise, the chaos, the parking, the drive there, and the overall experience. First of all, several staff members were quite rude and couldn't answer questions, some papers were misplaced, doctors did not perform updates on time, and there indeed was outside noise from nearby traffic, sirens and cars. Especially sirens. And the parking garage has this horrible, distinctive smell of garbage. The drive to WHC is, depending on how you get there, through some questionable neighborhoods -- especially certain run-down parts of Georgia Avenue. One elderly patient couldn't wait to get the hell out of the hospital, the area and the city. Comparatively, the suburban hospital is located in a more quiet, peaceful area and the drive there is much less stressful. From a couple of reports, the staff couldn't be nicer or more professional and helpful. There was nothing wrong with noting "quiet" in the ad, because it is more quiet out there, according to several recent patients.
Bob Levey: Thanks for these comments. I doubt your reading of slander law. A slander can be any inflammatory description that unfairly demans a person. Surely that includes a false assessment of a job performance. As for "quiet" Takoma Park, I'm glad you find it so. But I stand by what I said: once you're inside the doors, you'll never know or care how quiet it is outside.
As for driving through questionable neighborhoods, all I can say is that you seem to have survived it. It's just as dangerous in a "nice" suburban neighborhood, because people drive insanely there, too.
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Arlington, Va.:
Didn't your intern, Samantha, write "Dwayne at Camp: Spreading His Wings"? In that case, maybe she wrote the Headline, too? I liked her report -- Don't rain on her parade!!
Bob Levey: She wrote the piece, I wrote the head.
I fall on the sword.
My cliche and mine alone.
Samantha would NEVER write anything that limp!
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Alexandria, Va.:
Re: Sosa ... Too bad the NY Times is under new management -- Sosa could have been hired as another fiction reporter ...
Bob Levey: You're cute
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Laurel, Md.:
Bob, you're spelling it wrong. Her name is Kim Clijsters, not clicksters. She is playing in the French open I think.
Bob Levey: You're cute, too.
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State College, Pa.:
Bob,
Are you spending July 4th in Rhode Island?
Bob Levey: You'd better believe it.
State College is referring to the fact that my son's soccer team captured its fifth consecutive state soccer title last Sunday. They'll play in the Eastern Regionals of the US Youth Soccer Association over 7/4 weekend.
The only persons happier than Yours Truly are the proprietors of the Italian restaurants along Atwells Avenue in Providence.
This is usually Sietsema's world, but here I go.
Restaurant Tout Alert:
You want serious Italian food in America, go to Providence.
Atwells Avenue is GREATTTTTTTTT.
There must be 30 places along five blocks. I've been to 8 or so. Every one of them is terrific.
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St. Louis, Mo.:
Just wanted to let you know that I watched "Kissing Jessica Stein" last night and agree with you that it is truly a phenomenal film. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone!! As a displaced Washingtonian, reading your column online every morning reminds me of what I'm missing, both good and bad. Thanks!!
Bob Levey: You are a sweetness. So are the people who amde this remarkable film. Thanks!
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Alexandria, Va.
Bob,
I'm going to do Race for the Cure tomorrow. I'm taking Metro but want to park my car (I live at Glebe and 395) ... where can I park (Pentagon parking, Pentagon City Mall, etc.) to take Metro? If you don't know, can you throw it out to the clicksters? Thanks -- You are always a great help!
Bob Levey: Pentagon City Mall would work. On a weekend, you might hit a street space near Crystal City, too.
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Alexandria, Va.:
In your request for clever T-shirt slogans, you said you didn't want any that were sexist, yet you cited as one of your favorites "So many men, so little time" which seems to me to fit a textbook definition of sexism (i.e. the implication that all women are man-crazy). Inconsistency, here?
Bob Levey: None whatsoever. There's no attempt to demean or diminish either sex in that T-shirt saying. IT'S A JOKE! It isn't a summary pronouncement on either sex.
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Fourth Floor:
As a fellow Post employee, does the sign by the lunchroom elevators that says "these elevator's are out of service on Saturday and Sunday" burn you up as much as it does me?
Bob Levey: Fifth Floor:
Yes.
True Confession:
I x-ed out the apostrophe a few years ago. Just took a pen to it.
It crept back, three days later, during the dead of night.
SOMEONE WANTED IT THERE!
Abandon ship!
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Wondering:
I don't know a lot about baseball, so maybe you can weigh in on my thoughts here. From what I've read in the news, Sosa has explained that the corked bat was one he only used for practice, and it was a mistake that it was lumped in with the other bats he uses during games. If that really was the case, then don't you think that he and others on the tema who deal with the equipment would have clearly marked this bat to avoid just what happened? And I would think that having a bat like that, "just for practice," wouldn't be worth the risk of the scandal Sosa's going through right now. Right?
Bob Levey: Sosa's defense is completely lame. Batting practice bats are routinely stored in a place other than the game-day bat rack. Everyone in baseball knows this.
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So many men ... :
I just assume any girl wearing a T-shirt that says "So many men, so little time" is easy. As it is, I'm usually right.
Bob Levey: Wow!
You mean you walk up to women clad in this shirt and ask them to, you know.....?
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Chevy Chase, Md.:
Dear Bob,
I have been so busy at work that I haven't had time to join your chats. Still busy so just wanted to say "Hi" and have a great weekend you silver haired, golden penned warrior you.
From one who bathes regularly
Bob Levey: Thank you, from another who does so, too.
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Slander:
Hi, I'm a lawyer, and slander is oral defamation, which is "an intentional false communication ... that injures another's reputation or good name." Black's Law Dictionary. Truth is a defense.
Bob Levey: As I said (on both points). Thanks
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Crystal City, Va.:
Bob,
I know what an intern is, but what exactly is a "stringer" in the news business? Is it a paid position? Does The Post use them? Do they byline get credit for their work in The Post?
Bob Levey: The term "stringer" originated about a century ago, when special, occasional correspondents wrote for newspapers and got paid by the column inch. Papers used strings to measure their contributions. Thus the term.
Stringers still do what they did then--stand in for full-time staffers when the story is too hard to get to or the site is too remote. The work is indeed paid. The Post does indeed use stringers, all over the world, for all sorts of stories. Our giveaway: If the line under the byline says "Special to The Washington Post," instead of "Washington Post Staff Writer," it's a stringer's work.
They do indeed get byline credit, as long as the story is wholly or mostly theirs. Otherwise, their contributions are noted in what we wags call a "by-the-way line"--an italic note or box at the bottom of a story.
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Downtown Office Building:
I think you should call your guidelines for courteous Metro riding "Robert's Rules of Order"
Or, "Robare's rules of Order"... a catchy double entendre if I've ever heard one!
Bob Levey: Gosh, you guys are CLEVER today.
Must be the sun
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Re: Slander:
The big problem isn't the likelihood that the ex-employee would win, but that the ex-employer is tied up with a lawsuit, and may be compelled to settle.
Fortunately, you can't sue the federal government for this (unless the motivation is discrimination).
Bob Levey: True all around. Thanks again
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For "Wondering;"
The corked bat was marked with a "C" on the end. So even if it was accidentally placed in the dugout bin with his other bats, he should have seen it. And as a long-time pro, he would have felt the difference in the weight anyway.
Bob Levey: Let's just say that Mr. Sosa's defense would be as light as a corked bat, should it come to a hearing
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Driving to Children's:
whoa, did that comment about the drive to Children's smack of racism or what, Bob? Just because Georgia Avenue doesn't have a starbuck's on every corner or lily-white homogeny, doesn't make it a questionable drive.
I guess I just hope people get out and about more and starting to appreciate that different isn't necessarily bad.
Bob Levey: I'm afraid that some people will always view the District of Columbia as hell on earth, regardless of anything you or I say or do.
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Kingstowne, Va.:
Any riposte to Gene Weingarten's broadside against you this Tuesday past? We cybergeeks do love a Post columnist spat.
Bob Levey: As Gene said, with his usual pithiness, somebody is trying to start something.
Gene is a cool fella. We's buds. No feud. Never been no feud. Never gonna be no feud.
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Washington, D.C.:
Bob,
I was curious if you have had any follow-ups from your faithful readers regarding the arrogant HR administrator. What was the general feeling toward that column in particular?
Thanks!
Bob Levey: Lots of follow-ups. Reaction was about 50-50. I refer to some of it in today's column
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Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.:
Seems that Raines' "leadership" style at the NYT came back to bite him. For a look at another boss whose domineering, hostile management style got him fired just read today's Post story about the Naval Academy. Maybe bosses everywhere should lighten up and treat their staff a little nicer.
Bob Levey: Amen, and not just because it's much more fun to work for a boss who's a human being. Because such bosses get better reuslts
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Cube, Northwest, Washington, D.C.:
Bob -- Recently moved out the the burbs and commute in via Route 7. There's a large pink and turquoise Middle Eastern looking building on the right hand side of Route 7 (right before Georgetown Pike) as you're driving towards Herndon out of the city. Any idea what it is? I've tried to slow down to see but don't want to cause an accident.
Bob Levey: No clue.
Great unwashed?
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Cleveland Park, Washington, D.C.:
Bob, I want to commend you for your tireless advocacy of DC as a wonderful place to work, live, shop, dine and recreate. I'm curious, however: if we both agree that our fair city is a wonderful place, and the old stereotypes about it being a crime-addled drug market are dated and borderline racist, why, sir, do you live in the suburbs?
Bob Levey: I believe we live in a metropolitan area whose center and anchor is Washignton, D.C. I don't see why I have to sleep every night inside D.C. to care deeply about it and to devote my entire professional career to a better day inside it.
I lived in the District of Columbia for 15 years and would happily do so again. But if I never do, that won't make me some sort of hypocrite, as you seem to be implying.
It makes me a person who chooses to live in a place where he can enjoy full congressional representation. That's why we chose what we chose. Simple as that.
Of course, I still blow the whistle for D.C. voting rights as loud as anyone. That's just the point. You don't have to be whipped by an injustice to see that it's an injustice.
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Dupont, Washington, D.C.:
I read both your and Gene's chats, and I think the same guy keeps writing in to both of you, over and over, asking about your fued. Probably the same guy who's been trying to start fights between Lloyd and Carolyn. Dude, chill huh?
(CLEARLY, my office needs to take away my Internet.)
Bob Levey: That dude doesn't need to chill. He needs to get a life. Or stop reminding me of the kid in the back row way back when who threw spitballs just to hear them go splat.
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Greenbelt, Md.:
You know that phrase, "God never gives you more than you can handle"? Well, I think he did today. Bob, thanks for these chats. They help get through the day.
Bob Levey: You are REALLY great. Thank you so much! I love them, too. It brings me closer to all sorts of readers--which is the whole idea, in my line of endeavor.
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Alexandria, Va.:
Submitting early because, well, about to head out for a bike ride. Which brings me to my comments. I ride my bike often and have started riding into work. Not only do I get there in about the same time as Metro or driving, I don't have to go to the gym afterwards. Here is my complaint. It is shockingly often that I get yelled at in my town which is old to get up on the sidewalk, or someone rides my back wheel or honks their horn at me. First, it is ILLEGAL to ride on the sidewalk. Second, you are not going to like what happens if I have to brake suddenly (such as when avoiding people who run stop signs), and thrid -- honking the horn only serves to scare people who are not use to riding their bikes. I know there are those who do not obey the traffic laws on the bikes, but honestly, Bob, you would be surprised at how many near death experiences I have had. So, this is just a plea. I look at for you guys -- can you guys just PLEASE pay attention to us?
Bob Levey: I have had several while biking, too. Short of providing every driver with a bumper sticker that says, "Yes, As a Matter of Fact, I DO Think I Own the Whole Damn Road," we bikers have to be careful out there. The drivers see us as pests. And their vehicles weigh more than ours do.
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Hillary's Book:
While never an ardent fan of the former First Lady/now senator, I say KUDOS to her for coming out with her side. Everyone else has made money off this sordid tale thus far except her, and, even though some people (including DJs here in Boston -- where Bill Clinton is speaking today) are putting her down for it, I applaud her decision. She was a victim here, not a victimizer -- even Monica had a choice in whether or not the affair happened, Hillary could only decide what to do in the aftermath.
Bob Levey: Hillary's view of this mess is the other shoe. Everyone has been waiting for it to drop. So, heck, yes, her book is welcome, even though it doesn't dig as deeply into her own head and her own marriage as I would have hoped.
And it's a matter of more than bucks. This woman is so reviled by so many people--even people who don't know the first thing about her. Maybe they will buy the book and have the decency to LEARN, for a change.
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Master of All Things Metro:
Just curious but it seems that the metro trains (at least on the blue line) are running slower than they used to. I know a minute or two is not that big of a deal but I have a bus to catch at the other end. An extra minute or two combined with an impatient bus driver equals a 40 minute wait for the next bus. Leaving the office any earlier is really not an option.
Bob Levey: They haven't been slowed down by some overarching policy directive. Sometimes, at rush hour, things bunch up, and there are delays. That's all there is to it.
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Silver Spring, Md.:
I commute down and back Georgia Avenue every day from Florida Avenue to the Montgomery County Line -- it's a great drive, with more life than you'll see on Rockville Pike.
Bob Levey: You mean you have something against endless Gap stores and even-more-endless parking lots?
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Somewhere, USA:
Good morning, Mr. Levey. Perhaps this is a better question for your ombudsman, but perhaps you can answer it.
Recently, The Post published a story about three teen girls who were training the FBI how to pose as teen girls on the net in order to capture pedophiles. I applaud both the agents and the girls.
However, I am a bit concerned about seeming contradictions from The Post on this story, itself. First, The Post said that they would not publish the girls' last names in order to protect their safety. So far, so good. However, The Post printed their pictures.
Doesn't this pose a danger as well? What if a pedophile sees them in public? Do you have any answers?
I also have a special request for your moderator; which I normally wouldn't make. If the photos are still with that story, please don't link to it. I don't want to see those girls more endangered than they already are. You never know who might be reading. Thank you.
Bob Levey: I wondered about this, too. Our decision seemed to suggest that you can "out" a person only via type. Not so.
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Guilty Until Proven Innocent:
It seems to me that in recent years/months, that the need for Newspapers to sell them and TV News to get an audience that they sensationalize most stories and don't always print (or tell) the whole story.
Just last night a friend quizzed me. Did Scott Peterson do it? Is Martha Stewart guilty? Did OJ do it? I answered No/I don't know in most cases saying I hadn't seen the actual evidence and didn't think we were getting unbiased facts in the first two cases. I'd like to see all the facts not just the soundbites. I know WRT to OJ that I'm one of like 2 people who think he didn't do it, but I'm also one of the two people who didn't watch the trial.
I think back to people condemned by the press like Richard Jewell who had his life ruined by lies and sensationalism and he truly was innocent just like he claimed. He should have been heralded as a hero and instead his life was ruined. Now that they've supposedly caught the real Olympic Bomber, what amends is anyone making to Richard Jewell and how can you give a person back a reputation that was visciously ripped from them?
My friend says Scott Peterson wouldn't have 'run' if he wasn't guilty. I'd say that if the lynching mob is after you, you'd better run because they aren't there to listen to reason. They're just going to do what they came to do which is see you swing from the nearest tree limb.
Bob Levey: You'll never see "all the facts" because then we'd read like a legal brief and not a newspaper. The whole value of The Post each day is that the news is digested and sifted for you. If you are as busy as most people, that is a tremendous plus.
As for the "hot story du jour," I agree that we get a lot of blathering (especially on television) about whether someone is guilty or not. May I be the first to say that this is way overdone?
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Oh, Come Now!:
Bob, you don't for a second think that Hillary wrote her book, do you? Or even read it? As your own Michael Dirda once said, "All memoirs are fiction." And as your fellow Post columnist George Will said, "I do not read books their authors haven't read." Bob, as someone in the biz, I can't believe you are that naive. Are you?
Bob Levey: I didn't say she wrote every word, so no, I'm not that naive. But I'm sure she blessed every word. Wouldn't you, if you knew you were running in 2008 and didn't want to make a dopey mistake this soon?
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Washington, D.C.:
Isn't it funny how all the right-wingers who whine about our "culture of divorce" and "disposable marriages" are now attacking Hillary Clinton for TRYING to make her marriage work?
You'd think they'd be praising her for honoring her vows and trying to preserve an intact family for her daughter.
But I guess, if your last name is Clinton, you don't deserve simple justice, let alone mercy or charity, from those folks. How very un-Christian of them.
Bob Levey: Clinton bashing draws even higher ratings than WWF
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Re: Middle Eastern Looking Bldg on Rt 7:
That would be a mosque. I believe it's Dar El Hijra (sp). I pass by it en route to classes at NoVA. There are always pedestrians going to mosque there during Ramadan (and other times as well). There are also usually cop cars trying to keep said pedestrians from getting run over.
Bob Levey: Thanks much for this
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Arlington, Va.:
Yesterday evening, while riding the Orange Line, an announcement was made to the effect that the National Airport station was closed due to a "police situation."
I saw nothing on the news last night, nothing in Metro this am.
Anyone know what constitutes a "police situation?"
Bob Levey: It could be any number of things, up to and including....
1) Someone who jumped or fell into the tracks.
2) Suspicious material found in the station.
3) A suspicious person who is being busted or questioned in the station.
It doesn't mean that something fatal or serious actually happened there. Closing a station is a device that the Metro cops use to assure the safety of the public.
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Alexandria, Va., State of Disgust:
Bob,
A loaded question: Why do we even have Metro Transit Police? I was in Rosslyn station last night just after 10. There were some kids eating ice cream and drinking sodas. A uniformed Transit Police officer stood nearby, watched, and did nothing. I walked over and asked him why he wasn't at least saying something. He said something to the effect of: "There are no trash cans to have them thow it in, what would you have me do?". (Actually, I would have them take it to the exit or attendants station.) I couldn't believe he didn't at least confront them in an official capacity! I stewed over it a bit then walked back to get his badge number. He went on again about "no trash cans, what would you have me do?" only a bit surly this time. He then handed me his card, with name and badge number (James Lyle #421). He seemed quite comfortable with his slacker attitude.
As someone currently looking to buy a house in the District with the intent of using metro to commute to Vienna, I find this let-it-slide attitude disappointing. It's the edge of a steep slope that ends with the whole metro system smelling of rotting refuse and urine a la NYC.
I long for the good 'ol days when eating a banana in a station got Donna Rice in hot water and in the news (errr ... again).
Bob Levey: This cop should be fired.
Today.
Here's the answer to your question, officer:
Escort the ice-cream eater outside the system and THERE you will find a trash can.
This is awful!
Thanks for letting me know
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Wheaton, Md.:
According to ESPN, "Penguins owner Mario Lemieux threatened Thursday to move the team, saying it "has no future" in Pittsburgh if local government does not provide funding for a new arena." Those trying to get a major league baseball team for the area may have many good reasons to do so, but getting a team doesn't mean the team will stay. Teams have a right to relocate. But to what degree should public funds be used to attract, and keep, a team? The number of teams providing tangible economic benefits to a city -- sufficient to outweigh the costs over the long run -- is probably small.
Bob Levey: Many is the city that has funded a sports stadium with public dough, only to see an owner desert.
Painful evidence:
Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, where a team called the Senators used to cavort.
Twice!
Before greedy owners thought they could do better elsewhere.
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Secret Service:
In response to an earlier poster, we feeled compelled to deny officially that Vice President Cheney is domiciled in large pink and turquoise Middle Eastern looking building on the right hand side of Route 7.
Bob Levey: This is brought to you clicksters as a public service
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Washington, D.C.:
Bob, Have you seen the GAO report on the District's structural imbalance? It is truly an amazing analysis and the results are shocking. What are the chances of DC being subsumed into the state of Maryland? I think that's my preferred solution!
Bob Levey: Yours and many others.
This is called "retrocession." D.C. would be handed back to Maryland, whence it came (except for a core downtown containing the ceremonial and federal government buildings).
It's a fascinating solution to an abiding problem. The more I hear and read about it, the more I like it as a fixed-what's-truly-broken approach to the District of Columbia.
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Metro Media Relations Office:
We closed our Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport station for a short time yesterday while our police department investigated a suspicious green canvas bag that had been left on the platform. A Metro customer brought the suspicious bag to our attention, which we appreciated, and we erred on the side of caution by closing the station while we checked it out. Fortunately, the bag was found to be not harmful or dangerous.
Bob Levey: As I said....
Thanks, Metroids.
Now you can all go back to your sandwiches....
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Herndon, Va.:
Thank you so much for today's column. I've been angry since reading the original and now I feel better. When job interviewers ask me what I made in my last job I always feel like asking "What did you pay the last person who had this job?" That seems fair.
What I say when asked my salary history: It was not the same salary as I'm requesting now, but I'm requesting this salary of all the jobs I'm interviewing for in this round. (Let them know that my worth is valued at what I decide it is and not what a former employer did.)
Bob Levey: Very well said. The whole point of job-seeking is that you are always worth what you are worth TODAY, not what you may have been worth in someone else's eyes a year ago.
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Somewhere, USA:
Being told to "get a life" is more or less harsh that being told to "chill?"
Bob Levey: I think "get a life" is far more harsh. It calls your entire being into question. Being told to "chill" says, "If you're having a bad day, or even just a bad minute, you need to calm down." Far less megatonnage.
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Alexandria, Va.:
Yes to retrocession! Let Maryland take back DC, please!
Bob Levey: This from a Virginia voice, which might make some wonder. But thank you just the same.
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Washington, D.C.:
Say its a lazy Sunday morning ... You wake up, grab a cup of coffee and the Sunday Washington Post. What's the first section you read?
I always ask this question to people I'm interviewing ...
Bob Levey: I don't seriously read any of them at first.
I scan all the fronts, in order, to see what's hot.
I once-over the obits, to see if anyone I know is gone.
I speed-read the baseball boxes, to see if any of my hitters did anything good the night before so that maybe, just maybe, I can escape tenth place in my fantasy league.
And then I read it from cover to cover. Starting with A-One.
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Re: Hillary:
I think she didn't leave Bill because there is too much (politically) to be gained by staying with Bill. Expediency. Besides, considering that they're now living in separate houses, and travel separately, that marriage is not exactly functioning normally anyhow.
Bob Levey: What did she gain politically by staying with him? Was her run in New York more easy because he was still her husband? I don't see this at all. I think she's a truly principled person who was trying to take the marriage vows seriously, even in the face of the Monica disaster.
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Laurel, Md.:
Forgetting about Sosa for a moment, this weekend the Cubs play the Yankees for the 1st time in 65 years. How well do you think the Cubs will fare? BTW: It's June and the Cubs are still in first place.
Bob Levey: All I can say is that Yankees have been slumbering for weeks. The Cubs EXIST to awaken teams like the Yankees in their time of trial.
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Rhode Island:
Have you tried the clam cakes? Only state in the union where you can get them. They're deep fried, so they probably aren't on you list of "approved" food, but I can't be in the state without getting my fix!
Bob Levey: Sorry, it would be cardiologically incorrect. But that won't keep me from PINING for them!
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Silver Spring, Md.:
Bob,
I have a bone to pick with you. Regarding the use of cell phones on the metro to call and let your spouse know what stop you're at.
Obviously you don't live out past Silver Spring or Grosvenor on the Red Line where Metro has decided people do not deserve the same rush hour service as everyone else.
When my husband is leaving his office, often past 7, he'll just miss the train to Glenmont. That means, at that hour, about a 10 minute wait for the Silver Spring train -- which isn't helpful, since he needs to go to Glenmont. So, 12-14 minutes later, along comes the Glenmont train.
Now, if he had called me right as he entered the station, I'd be sitting at Glenmont for 25 extra minutes.
I don't know if you have 2 and a half hours a week to spare sitting at a Metro station, but I don't.
Those 20-25 minutes make a huge difference when you have dinner in the oven or are trying to pick up the kids, or are trying to finish grocery shopping before running out the metro.
Metro is for "commuting." Getting picked up is part of that process. The other commuters who are shocked out of their reverie for 30 seconds should be able to handle a phone call that makes Metro a option for families.
If you want to encourage people to take the metro, lay off of what they need to do to make it work for them.
Bob Levey: Why can't he take the train to Silver Spring and call you from the platform, on a pay phone? He will know EXACTLY how long the rest of his commute will be because the sign will tell him. Then you can coordinate.
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Corked Bat Question:
Bob,
I am not a baseball fan. But, over the past few days I've read a lot about the physics of corked bats. The scientific consensus is that cork does not provide an advantage to a hitter. The reasons are twofold. One, cork sacrifices distance because of its lower density. Two, the ball is in contact with the bat for approx two-thousandths of a second, so the spring acribed to cork just cannot occur. The final point made by Robert Adair, a physics prof at Yale (who wrote the Physics of Baseball), is that a corked bat's advantage of greater bat speed, can be had minus the distance penalty with a LEGAL LIGHTER BAT. So, if a corked bat doesn't provide any actual advantage, then why is everyone so upset about this? Baseball should legalize corked bats and leave it at that. I suspect players who have or do use corked bats get some psychological edge, but that doesn't change the fact that using a corked bat does not provide any hitter with an unfair advantage. Thoughts?
Bob Levey: I'm no physicist, either, but I've swung many a baseball bat, and I can tell you that if the head is thick, but also light, you can reach a lot of pitches you'd otherwise miss. So there's your answer: A corked bat doesn't make a ball fly farther. But it allows a hitter to make better and more frequent contact with the ball.
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Somewhere, USA:
You know on Hillary, I think her opponents are just jealous. Her hubby made one mistake and they were able to hold their marriage together. Part of marriage is forgiving the others' errors. No one's perfect.
Meanwhile, if you look at her critics, most of them are divorced and have been thru several marriages.
Bob Levey: I think generalizations are always dangerous, including the one in your final sentence. But I do think the Clintons are the object of lots of jealousy, in lots of circles. Not just because they are still (apparently) married. Because they worked very hard and very effectively together for a long time.
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Hillary:
"I think she's a truly principled person who was trying to take the marriage vows seriously, even in the face of the Monica disaster."
Oh please. The Clintons are a powerful couple, and if split would lose some of that. It's kind of like when a regular couple gets a divorce, and often there's a big shift in friendships due to it. It would be the same with the Clintons, but in their case, they have powerful, influential friends. Hillary knows that.
Bob Levey: If I had to guess right now, I'd say she has vastly more friends than he does. Since when is she depenedent on him for a life? That was always the whole point about her: She had a career without his.
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Silver Spring, Md.:
I think the Silver Spring person ranting about the cell phone on the Metro needs a hug.
Bob Levey: We hereby offer one.
And we offer the rest of you a fond wish for a nice weekend.
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