Potomac Confidential

Marc Fisher (The Washington Post)

Potomac Confidential fills the midday lull with discussion of the latest news and a rigorous slicing and dicing of the issues that define who we are and where we live.

This Week's Columns:

Cropp's Tactics Saved Little Beyond Face (Post, Dec. 23)

It's Too Bad There's Room at Little Blue House (Post, Dec. 21)

Baseball Was Once a Uniter, Not a Divider (Post, Dec. 19)

In his weekly show, Washington Post Metro columnist Marc Fisher veers wildly from serious probing to silly prattle, and is open to topics local, national, personal and more.

A 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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Marc Fisher: Welcome aboard, folks. We're the diehards here today, those who haven't sneaked out early, those who didn't finish that one last project before the long weekend, those who are just counting the minutes til the boss leaves the premises.
Glad you're here--lots of questions and comments already in the pipeline. This week's columns included a look back at the history of race and baseball in Washington, today's last (I hope) look at Linda Cropp's role in the baseball soap opera, and Tuesday's offering on the plight of the Little Blue House, a home for neglected children in the District.
On to your comments, but first, the Yay and Nay of the Day:
Yay to the crowd at the Nats store at RFK Stadium, where the lines are long, happy and cheeringly diverse. My friend Suzanne reported to me last night that she met grandparents, college kids, Marines, lawyers, old Senators fans, people new to baseball, and every ethnic and racial group imaginable in the queue to buy Nationals stuff.
Nay to Maryland's Gang of Three, who seem poised to fail on medical malpractice just as they've squabbled and stalemated over slots for the past couple of years. The real tragedy of the polarization of national politics in recent years has been the trickle-down impact on state politics, because the decisions that truly effect our daily lives are made in state capitals and they show ever-increasing signs of an inability to break out of the ideological and partisan polarization that exists only among elected officeholders, and barely at all in the larger public.
The Pick Story of the Day is Nancy Trejos' piece in Metro about Prince George's County schools superintendent Andre Hornsby, who is at it again, this time in a case in which the school system is spending $110,000 on a consultant who is the husband of a woman Hornsby worked with in two of his previous jobs. This is one faucet that keeps on leaking.
Your turn starts right now....

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Arlington, Va.: Marc, I'm always a fan of your column, especially when your opinion confirms my own. For a couple of days now, I've been scratching my head in confusion and saying to myself, "the new baseball deal is hardly any different from the old." Now, thanks to you, I can stop scratching (that spot was starting to bleed, after all).

I don't understand what you mean about banks and developers scrambling to get a piece of the deal, though. What is it that the banks and developers are trying to get? Is the city going to be selling some of the land around the stadium area?

Marc Fisher: Thanks--the city is not planning to sell any land around the stadium, but Cropp's insistence on private money means that we will see some sort of arrangement in which public land is either leased to or otherwise given over to private entities, so that they can get the return they need to make it worthwhile to invest in the stadium. There are lots of ideas floating around--retail on the ground level of the ballpark, private business taking control of public parking meters, office or housing on land near the stadium. Probably some combination will happen.

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Mt. Pleasant, Washington, D.C.: Marc,

Among myoral hopefuls, Adrian Fenty was the most outspoken stadium opponent. Enter Linda Cropp and her 11th hour gambit. She didn't do anything substantive to save the city a thin dime, but she did steal Fenty's thunder. He hooted and hollered, but could never really do anything to alter the baseball deal.

Linda trumped Fenty, and in doing so demonstrated the ineffectual nature of his tenure as Council member thus far.

Given these kinds of tactics exercised by Cropp, what can we expect to see from 2005 council politics and mayoral positioning?

Marc Fisher: Ok, you're right that Cropp stole the limelight, but I think Fenty and Catania, by holding firm to the high road, impressed far more voters. Their opposition to the stadium deal was principled and consistent, while Cropp flailed and changed positions almost weekly. That said, I'd agree with you that Cropp is in a better position to run for mayor than either Fenty or Catania. Fenty is a far more attractive candidate in terms of constituent service, media congeniality and overall political sensibility. But right now, at least, Cropp has the spotlight fixed on her.

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Derwood, Md.: Shouldn't the song be "Take me Out to the Taxpayer-Subsized Ball Game?

Marc Fisher: More like "Take Me Out to the Billionaires' Ballpark Subsidized by Big Business and Lowly Fans." Hum it a few times and I'll make my crooning debut.

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Rockville, Md.: Marc: Excellent column this morning. From the beginning, I always thought Cropp had something up her sleeve. Now she will have to be content with "Mayor for Life" in the new year. How do you think she will handle it? Do you think he will try to overturn the "done deal?"

Marc Fisher: The Mayor for Life will want a piece of the ballpark business for the people he represents. That's how he works and who he is, and there's nothing inherently wrong with that--that's the grand tradition in politics. Will Barry try to undo the deal? Maybe as a negotiating tool, but mainly he will want jobs and money, and if the mayor and Cropp handle that correctly, everything will be cool.

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Bethesda, Md. (Formerly Ward 4 D.C.): Marc:

In several columns/chats, etc., you mentioned how the mayor lost control of the baseball situation as soon as he let it become an issue of suburbs vs. city; white vs. black, and poor vs. rich; however, in the final vote, I note that, with one exception on either side, all the votes in favor were from African-American council members, representing the poorer wards in the District, while the opponents were white and represented the wealthier areas. How does this fit in to your equation?

Marc Fisher: Right--I have not seen at any point in this process a division of the politicians by race. Rather, I see a division very much based on the politicians' perception of their own viability in city elections. Those who hold or intend to run for citywide office tended to line up against the stadium deal because they think the anger and confusion in the public about the baseball stadium has linked up with the anger and confusion about the impact of gentrification and the changing demographics in inner-city neighborhoods. So we have Fenty, Catania, Cropp, Graham, Patterson, Mendelson and Schwartz in opposition, and every one of them is looking at a citywide race, whether for an at-large council seat or for mayor. That's true of one or two on the pro side as well, but only one or two.

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College Park, Md.:
I would like to initiate a discussion/brainstorming session on a 7th inning stretch song for the Nats. Most of the MLB parks I've been to play the soulless "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the seventh inning stretch. I give some credit to St. Louis, which has a live organist play the song.

Credit also Milwaukee, which plays "Roll out the Barrel" at the 7th inning stretch. The Orioles have a great tradition (which ownership tried to stop, but was met with widespread fan protest) of playing John Denver's "Thank God I'm a Country Boy". They try to squeeze in both "Take me out to the Ball Game" and the John Denver song, which I am not happy with, but willing to accept over "Take Me Out ..." only.

Any ideas for a D.C. seventh inning stretch song?

Marc Fisher: Anything but that Cotton Eyed Joe/Country Boy thing from Baltimore. Anything. Please.
I vote for a Chuck Brown tune, played by the Grandfather of Go-Go himself. I guess his Money, Money, Money would be too honest and crass, but it's a crowd pleaser.

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Arlington, Va.: I normally disagree with Charles Krauthammer on just about everything, but I found myself nodding in approval for his column the other day on the ridiculous lengths officialdom has gone to ban the word "Christmas" from "holiday" celebrations. His point, for those who missed it, is that committed believers of non-Christian faiths are not threatened by recognition of Christmas; rather, it is those who have very weak attachments to any kind of identity.

My favorite personal anecdote comes from a couple of years ago: the secretary for the director of our agency filled the candy bowl in the reception area with a Christmas edition bag of M&Ms that were all green and red. She was told she had to keep those out of sight because they were too clearly a Christmas symbol.

Marc Fisher: No! Really? Man, oh man.
Krauthammer is right--school systems have become comically two-faced about this. It's somehow ok to mention, celebrate and teach about any religion's holiday except Christmas. At my kids' school, every obscure faith on the planet gets equal time, which is just silly. I want schools to teach religion, get into the meat of competing cosmologies, dig around in the histories of the faiths that have shaped our world. But all this rote celebration of holidays for the sake of inclusion is a total waste of everyone's time. Let kids and parents do what they want to share their celebration with other children, and let the teachers teach rather than negotiate the ragged shoals of party organizing.

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Silver Spring, Md.: This week's article about the woman charged with animal abuse in the Arlington area, resulting n the death of at least one dog and another resorting to eating the dead dog's corpse was tragic. I know that some might ask why worry so much about animals when there's so much suffering by people? However, there's no proof that a lack of concern for animals results in more caring for people (one could ask the same thing about people spending money on Redskins tickets or any other "luxury," if watching the current Redskins team can be called a luxury or entertainment). In fact, a good number of people who abuse spouses, children, etc., first start out abusing animals. Stopping them (or, better yet, preventing the abuse) earlier can directly help people. I hope that this particular dog owner is prosecuted. To say that she asked someone else to take care of the dogs and then this person say he didn't feed them because he was scared of them is not an excuse to cause suffering.

Marc Fisher: I have never quite understood how people can devote time and energy to worrying about animal abuse when there are so many human beings suffering. Obviously animal abuse is a bad thing, but isn't there a need for some sort of moral triage? If this dog thing bothers you, and you have the time and energy to fight to make things right, more power to you, but I wish I saw the same degree of involvement on behalf of kids whose parents are absent.

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15th St, NW, Washington, D.C.: Not sure if you can help (I missed Dr. Gridlock earlier this week!), but do you or anyone else know if HOV restrictions are lifted today, given the light traffic? Trying to plan my commute home tonight!

Thanks!

Marc Fisher: HOV restrictions are in force today, as are parking regulations and all that stuff. Tomorrow, not.

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Silver Spring, Md.: In your Sunday article on radio, you mentioned the popularity of talk radio in this area. First, did you include Don and Mike/Ron and Fez/Howard Stern type talk in that category? Second, why in this in very blue DC and Maryland, do very right talkers do so well?

Marc Fisher: Absolutely--I include Don and Mike and the whole JFK gang and all the FM talkers, including public radio folks. This is a very strong market for talk radio. As for the ideological divide, there's far less there than meets the eye. AM talk tends to be conservative because it is aimed at middle aged white guys. FM talk tends to be left libertarian because it is aimed at younger males of various backgrounds. Stern and Don and Mike far outdraw the right wing talkers in this market, as you'd expect in such a blue chunk of the country.

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Alexandria, Va.: Did you see in today's paper that the Pr. William school superintendent caused a serious traffic accident? He's got no explanation (except maybe the -brain tumor- that he's known about for two years), and he's not worried because the school system's insurance will cover him.

Of course, this story ran on the same page as another teen driving death. What with Alexandria's schools chief picked up on DWI and subsequently given a raise, and Pr. William's super nonchalantly careening around the road while the schools pick up the tab, the kids aren't picking up very good examples are they?

I see where the Pr. William super is retiring anyway, and that the county is looking for his replacement. Here's hoping a driving test is part of the application process.

Marc Fisher: If his accident was caused by his illness, that's a sad thing and he should come off the roads. If not, well, maybe he should still look into not driving. I'm far more bothered by the Alexandria superintendent, a case in which a woman chose to drive after getting loaded, and then was permitted to slip away with barely any punishment, but rather a contract extension and a raise. Talk about setting an awful example.

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Arlington, Va.: Now Marc ... there is absolutely nothing wrong with "Thank God I'm a Country Boy." You city slickers are so --- high brow. The Nats could play, "The Boys of Summer" or some otherwise baseball-related song that has nothing to do with "Take me Out to the Ball Game." No matter the song (no jive or rap -- PLEASE) it needs a rocking tempo to stretch to during the 7th inning stretch.

Marc Fisher: I'd enforce an absolute ban on country music in the ballpark. No country should be permitted within the city limits. I think we could get a 13-0 vote on this in the D.C. Council. I am hoping that Linda Cropp will take the lead on this.

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Bethesda, Md.: I vote for any 7th inning song that ends with, "Go Nats!" because, well, ask Weingarten.

Marc Fisher: Yes, there is that.
It's all about the correct em-PHA-sis on the right syl-LA-ble.

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Baltimore, Md.: Up here in Balto, and I'd much rather travel to the District to see the Nats than give my money to that creep Angelos. Anyway, Cropp showed her true colors and confirmed my suspicions when she insisted on moving the press conference. This was all about politically emasculating the mayor, and positioning herself as the last standing champion of the taxpayers. Pretty well done, actually; we must give the devil her due. She is the big winner in this, not the taxpayers, who, as you pointed out, she really did little to protect in the end. Anyway, I'll see ya' at the ballpark with my MD dollars in hand.

Marc Fisher: Your Maryland dollars welcome here.
But I may be wrong about how much this has done for Cropp's mayoral chances--the Post's poll that ran on Monday showed the city very much divided on her role in all this.

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Washington, D.C.: Marc, in your column you referred to DC politics as "divided, messed up and self-absorbed." The question may be overly broad, but what do you see as the source of the problem with DC government? Is it the lack of Home Rule? Why can't a city that excels in so many ways progress beyond what seems to be an adolescent level of self-governance?

Marc Fisher: There are a number of reasons:
1) Barry stuffed the government with thousands of workers doing make-work jobs, and many of those workers are still around.
2) The city has so few elected positions that there is very little in the way of a weeding-out process to find the best leadership.
3) The combination of having the feds in town and having Congress peering over the shoulders of city officials means that there isn't nearly the popular attention to local issues and politics that exists in other big cities.
4) The thing feeds on itself; we expect to read awful things about the D.C. government and schools, and so when they happen, they get bigger play than they might in other jurisdictions.
5) The city suffered a major talent drain over the course of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, as both black and white middle-class families fled town.

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Springfield, Va.: How about "Lawyers, Guns, and Money" for the Gnats' 7th-inning stretch song? I figure we might as well go all-out for "honest and crass"...

Marc Fisher: Sounds right--I don't know the tune, but sing me the chorus and I'll give it a try.
Or how about Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry?"

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Derwood, Md.: If AM is for old men and FM is for younger men, what are women supposed to listen to?

Marc Fisher: Women tend not to listen to talk radio; this has been a big problem for the business since talk radio came along. Advice shows--"Dr." Laura and the like--have been most effective at drawing women. Public radio does well with women too.

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Music at Cropp Field: I'd vote for a ban on ALL music at the new stadium. One of the most obnoxious trends in major sports over the last 20 years has been the need to try to create artificial enthusiasm by pumping in mind-thumping music at every spare moment. This used to be one of the virtues of D.C. United games -- which I'm sure you wouldn't realize -- but in the last couple years even they make sure you have a headache by the end of halftime (I guess they are trying to pretend that they are a major sport.)

Marc Fisher: It's all in how the music is produced. I love going to stadiums where each player chooses his theme song and we hear a few bars of it as he walks up to the plate. The painful and annoying practice of blasting music throughout the tween-inning breaks is where I draw the line. Some teams have backed off on that--the Yankees used to be awful about it and have gotten much better; the O's are also somewhat better than they were a few years ago.

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Georgetown, Washington, D.C.: Do you know what happened to the Georgetown Christmas tree that's normally across from the Four Seasons at 28th and Penn?

It was up for a few days, then disappeared.

There were some windstorms at the time, so that might be it, but how come no one bothered to put it back up?

Marc Fisher: News to me. Anyone?

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Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays: My favorite part of all of the "No mention of Christmas" talk sweeping the federal government is the extreme irony in that "Christmas" is a federal holiday.

Marc Fisher: Yes, how is that? The Smithsonian museums, for example, close on Christmas and if memory serves, on no other day of the year. I've always wondered why the government permits that. I would think that New Year's Day or the Fourth of July would be better choices if they're picking one day of the year to close.

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Silver Spring, Md. -- native Washingtonian: Marc,
I'm with you Marc, no Country Boy anything. It's not a matter of being city slickers! It just doesn't fit. I suggest a 70's or 80's R&B tune. Maybe Marvin Gaye or a Blackbyrds tune.
Can you dig it?

Marc Fisher: Theme from Shaft?
Have you noticed a return to that blast furnace big band soul style in movie music lately? In the very bad Ocean's Twelve, the best part is the score, and the best part of the score is a very Shaft-like theme that assaults the senses at the climax of the flick.

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7th inning: Anything but Allan Sherman since we are in D.C. ...

We should have a song that reflects the Sens old home ... Anyone know any songs from bands out of Quebec or another province?

No Bryan Adams, Alanis, Avril, etc, ...

Neil Young is from Toronto, thats my pick.

Marc Fisher: You ever listen to Canadian radio? They have quotas of Canadian music that the government there requires stations to play. Just awful, unlistenable stuff. Appalling. I'd thought that the worst pop music on the planet came from Scandinavia and Israel, but Canada is right up there.

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Baltimore, Md.: Re "Lawyers' Guns and Money." It's by the late, great, Warren Zevon. Among it's lines are:

"Now I'm hiding in Honduras,
I'm a desperate man
Send lawyers, guns and money
The ---- has hit the fan."

But you gotta hear Warren do it to appreciate it.

Marc Fisher: I will check it out.
And here's an update on the Georgetown tree from our man Rocci at postdotcom--the tree did fall victim to those winds, but as Rocci says, no real loss--looked totally fake.

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Cropp Poll: I get the impression that this city would be very deeply divided on whether or not the sky is blue.

Marc Fisher: Blue? You kidding me? It's azure, buddy. Sheesh--blue. Go back to--hey, notice this poster didn't say where he's from. Telling, huh?

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Takoma Park, Md.:
Go ahead and have all the Christmas you want, Mr. Krauthammer.

If you can somehow erase a couple of millenia of my relatives being slaughtered in the name of the guy whose birthday you say you're celebrating, maybe I won't mind being wished a Merry Christmas.

Marc Fisher: Not that there are any strong feelings on this question, but....

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Silver Spring, Md.: I'm Jewish, and I detest having all those Hanukah things in schools. Permitting them is one way of saying that Judaism (and the other religions whose holidays are covered) aren't real religions. Real religions are off limits, "toy" ones are not. It's insulting.

And how dare Krauthammer or anyone else diagnose the depth of anybody else's faith?

Marc Fisher: I'm with you. I have never been able to stomach the glutinous comments of school principals and parents who want desperately to show their ecumenical stripes by pumping up a virtually meaningless Jewish holiday into a Christmas equivalent. Just leave it alone and have your celebration.

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Don't close the Smithsonian on July 4: It's the biggest single visitation day of the year for the American History Museum, mainly because people visit the Folklife Festival on the Mall and thousands of people come in early for the fireworks festival and want to use the restrooms and escape the heat! No kidding, Marc.

Marc Fisher: I sit corrected. And the museums indeed have excellent air conditioning and reasonable bathrooms. Best on the Mall: The underground rest rooms at the International Center/African Art museum complex.

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Happy Festivus: Happy Festivus Marc. Time to put out the Festivus pole and begin the feats of strength.

Marc Fisher: Festivus?

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Baltimore, Md.: "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is the favorite for the 7th inning stretch because it is easy to sing. Since 9/11, most parks also play "God Bless America." One of the best baseball songs is John Fogerty's "Centerfield"

But, since so many baseball fans in this area for the last 30 years have followed the Orioles, the one thing to watch is see is whether the Nationals fans will instinctively yell, "O" during the Star Spangled Banner.

Marc Fisher: You have hit on a question that will determine the future of western civilization. This "O" nonsense has infected virtually every sporting event played within 100 miles of here. I've even heard it at cultural events and concerts. It must be stopped cold at Nats games. I suggest ejection from the ballpark and public humiliation.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Government offices and facilities are not allowed to close in observance of a religious holiday, but they are allowed to close because of the consequences of the holiday -- no patrons, and no work force.

A homeless person successfully sued D.C. for closing the library "for Easter."

Marc Fisher: Wow--really? I have to look that up. Homeless person beats city. Maybe he could hire himself out to Major League Baseball and others that can't figure their way through the DC bureaucracy.

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Baltimore, Md.: Re suffering animals versus suffering people: I admit to being one of those who worries more about critters than other folks. Why? I think it is because animals are purely innocent. They do nothing out of malice or spite unless people teach them to do it. If they hunt, it's for food, not trophies. If they bite, it's because they were kicked. When I saw the Post piece about mountain lions coming back to the midwest, all I thought was, "Good. Enjoy the slower joggers."

Marc Fisher: OK, I'm with you on the mountain lions. I'll take wild beasts over joggers any day. But children don't qualify as innocents in your book? Tough customer.

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New York, N.Y.: Compassion of any kind is good. Why shoot holes in it? Your issue, your beef, your priorities are not other people's priorities and you'd probably get annoyed if someone said "why are you giving money to THAT charity instead of THIS one?" Both animals and humans are God's creatures and it's just silly and missing the point to say "you shouldn't care about animals because people are more important." It's not a zero sum game -- amazingly, I somehow find it in me to care about both! The reverse is true as well -- people who abuse animals frequently go on to abuse people. Compassion is compassion is compassion -- it's a petty, arbitrary thing to say "your compassion should stop HERE on the dotted line."

Humans are not worth more than animals. How can you evaluate worth? We are all God's creatures.

Marc Fisher: Well, not ALL. I mean, there's Jerry Springer, and Tom DeLay, and Maxine Waters, and so on.
But yes, life is a good thing. And creatures are nice. But life is a series of choices, and so yes, we do have to set priorities, and while we all benefit from having animal control agents taking care of the wildlife in our midst, I still question the choice of devoting one's energy and efforts to animals in lieu of toward people. But hey, if you can do both, have at it.

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Arlington, Va.: Actually, "I'm Jewish ..." from Silver Spring echoed Krauthammer's point about how other religious symbols are permitted on the grounds that they are somehow "cultural" rather than religious. He also points out that traditionally Channukah was a minor Jewish holiday that was invested with greater meaning to make it the "Jewish Christmas."

Marc Fisher: It's still pretty minor, but I know your point, and certainly my kids would argue that it's major.
Just to turn off the flow of posts on this: I am informed that I am the only person on the planet who didn't know that Festivus is a creation of the Seinfeld Corporation and is likely a registered TM thereof and all laughter stemming from such concept shall accrue to the benefit of said comedian and his affiliates.

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Washington, D.C.: Wow Marc,
Your confusion over why people are concerned with animal abuse, when there is so much human suffering, is intriguing! Maybe we should hold a vote next November and decide on the top ten concerns of the country and dedicate all spending until we fix those problems. Next year the next ten, etc.
Now that's sarcasm!

Marc Fisher: Sarcasm? New concept here.

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The sky: Looks pretty darned gray to me.

Here's a totally subjective question for you. I'm just back in D.C. after a year's absence and the city seems somehow ... less ... open and friendly and welcoming than before, and a lot more forboding and depressing. Am I just projecting my own reaction to the election results and current political climate, or does anyone else find it this way too?

Marc Fisher: It's the water. All that lead builds up, you get kind of cranky, thick, hostile, harsh. I have taken to adding stool softener to all liquids; it's made me a much more jolly person. I have sent samples to all the D.C. Council members and I expect a quick change in the political climate.

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Arlington, Va.: Isn't is sad you can't buy a National Bohemnian beer anymore to drink at a Nationals Game. Not that this is a very bohemian town.

Marc Fisher: Isn't the remake of Natty Bo still around? But that's a Balto creation, isn't it? Wouldn't be appropriate for Nats games. We need to see some of those local microbrews at the ballpark--Old Heurich, Foggy Bottom....

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Monkey County: So closing the Montgomery County schools on the Jewish holidays because there aren't enough teachers or subs available counts as which, religious holiday or consequences thereof?

If it is consequences, they'll drop the policy in a few years when the proportion of Jewish teachers drops (because of retirements).

Marc Fisher: I guess it would be justified as consequences of the holiday. But it indeed makes sense to close schools if a majority of the students are going to be out, even if the reason is a religious holiday. I can't imagine any good objection to closing schools on Christmas. But museums or, to pick an example from the recent news, Safeway stores are another story. Why shouldn't they be open?

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Beautiful Silver Spring, Md.: Marc, it's good to see you stumping for Chuck Brown to be played at the Nats games. The new management would be going a long way towards indicating that this is D.C.'s team if they play some go-go between innings or at the stretch. Down with corporatized music selections at our various stadia!

Marc Fisher: Right--we should take advantage of being the world headquarters of XM Satellite Radio and have them program the stadium with some of their more offbeat channels.

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Crofton, Md.: Here's a topic for a future chat: What to name the new stadium?

Marc Fisher: Alas, there will be no choice in that. The naming rights will go to the highest bidder. Fannie Mae Field. Geico Gulch. Post Park (hey, that's got a ring to it, huh?)

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Mineral, Va.: "Humans are not worth more than animals." Gee, I sure hope that New York, N.Y., gets treatment for that cranio-rectal impaction problem soon ...

Marc Fisher: I've been meaning to ask you for some time: Do you have lead in the water in Mineral, Va.?

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"Winter holidays" at Arlington County Libraries: Several years ago, the Arlington County libraries posted signs that they would be closed for a "Winter Holiday" on December 25. People kept defacing the signs.
I don't recall what they're calling the time this THIS year, but they'll be closed Dec. 24, 25, AND 26 for SOMETHING.
Possibly they have managed to re-educate me so that I no longer notice what reason they cite.

Marc Fisher: Winter Holiday??? No!!
Was the posting signed by the Ministry of Truth?

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Arlington, Va.: There was a newspaper story a while back about a bunch of impoverished people living under a bridge. There was a passing reference to a dog that was with the homeless folks. The newspaper got many many letters asking what became of the dog, and not one asking what became of the people.

Marc Fisher: That would be my story, Miami Herald, 1984. Thanks for remembering. Where'd you hear me tell that one?

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Festivus: Festivus was a holiday invented on the Seinfeld show. Marc, of all people, I can't believe you didn't know about it.

Marc Fisher: You have happened upon one of my Cultural Gaps--I have not seen the show, ever. Weingarten tells me this is criminal, idiotic, stubbornness carried to the Nth degree. He is probably right, but having carried it this far, I don't see much choice but to finish out the life this way.

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Invasion Of The Columnist Snatchers?: So far, we've had references to obscure Warren Zevon songs, a mention of stool softener, and a "blue" riff on our new baseball team's nickname ... are you really Marc Fisher or have Leiby and Weingarten taken over, locking the 'real' Marc Fisher in a broom closet?

And no Festivus?! The "Feats of Strength" are still a highlight of my family's Xmas gatherings. You are missing out.

Marc Fisher: You can take Salem out of the country, but you can't take the country out of Salem.

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Washington, D.C.: Hi Mark,
I wanted to talk a little about the taxis and zone systems, since they got buried by the baseball news last week. I saw you referred to the zone system as effective (column) and fair (chat).

Like communism, this is only true "in theory". Having located a zone map online (DCpages.com) I now realize I can count on one hand the number of times I've been charged the correct fare. In the two months since I armed myself with the map, I've been refused service numerous times by cabbies confronted when trying to scam me, and was once chased with a 'tire iron' when I didn't tip another driver (I told him I knew he overcharged me $1.50, and he could consider that his tip).

The only reasonable argument I've heard against changing the zone system is possibly increased costs to those going out of the District, but those trips are even more open to manipulation, and besides, I can't get a cab to take me to Bethesda if I'm not with 2-3 other people.
Give me a meter!

Marc Fisher: Keep your meters and get a map!
Seriously, there is little that's wrong with the DC cab system that couldn't be fixed with good, readable maps in every car.

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Takoma Park, Md.:
Of course animals are worth more than people, at least on the open market.

An AKC puppy with championship blood can cost more than $1250. Humans are still free, unless you have to pay for adopting one.

Marc Fisher: Yeah, but then you have to feed and clothe them, and buy them games for the GameCube.

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Washington, D.C.: Christmas is a federal holiday because Christians are not, in fact, a poor abused persecuted minority (as they like to claim), but the (aggressively) dominant religion.
Public schools shouldn't be celebrating anyone's religious holiday. Religious displays of any sort don't belong on public land - there's plenty of room for them on private and church/synagogue/temple property. Shopkeepers do have to acknowledge that they DON'T know the religions of all their customers, and that some are offended by the automatic assumption that they're Christian. "Happy Holidays" is a good compromise, and should not be taken as an automatic offense by Christians who get their panties in a twist every time they have to cope with the idea that not everyone in the country is Just Like Them.
Get a life, people. And stop whining about religious persecution until you've lived as a Wiccan in the Bible Belt for at least a month.

Marc Fisher: Next Oprah: Wiccans in the Bible Belt.
Hey, we're over our alloted hour folks and many of you have places to go and bad meals to eat.
One more....

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7th inning stretch: Please, please -- no Don Henley at the ballpark, period. Besides, the song "Boys of Summer" is not about BASEBALL (only the book was). The song should reflect the city in some ways -- a Duke Ellington tune? How about Randy Newman's "Political Science"?

Marc Fisher: Or Randy Newman's Baltimore, if we're going to really rev up the competition.
Ok, out of here. Have a great Christmas, not Winter Holiday, if that's your thing.
No show next week, by order of the Dotcom Directorate, on the theory that you won't be here. But I will: Column will be in the paper Tuesday, Thursday and onward.
Happy New Year, too. Out.

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Chantilly, Va.: Marc: here's the perfect 7th inning stretch song for the Nats:

"Reunited" by D.C. natives Peaches and Herb (well Herb is a D.C. native anyway, he had several Peacheses).

Marc Fisher: Had to add this one. Excellent choice.

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