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.

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, friend and foe. (Hey, in our polarized red-blue America, this could become our regular daily greeting.)
This week's columns, working backwards, look at the other, non-abuse photos taken by the soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq; at the surprising silence on the part of Washington gay activists seeking approval of gay marriage elsewhere but not at home; and at the musings of a talking cicada.
On to your many comments and questions, but first, let's call the Yays and Nays of the Day:
Yay: To the first politician who calls on the president to hold a medals ceremony for Specialist Joseph Darby and Major General Antonio Taguba, the heros to date in the Iraqi prison abuse scandal. It took three decades before the soldier who blew the whistle on the My Lai massacre was awarded a medal. If the Bush folks really want to send the message that this was beyond the pale, why not recognize the good guys right now?
Nay: To the District school board and the ultra secret Collaborative, the corporate folks who are trying to ram their own choice of school superintendent down the throats of an unsuspecting public. Now the city and the corporate types are conspiring to pay the next supt $600,000 a year, even as the school board announces it will fire 557 employees, including almost 300 teachers. Why would any school system, let alone one as troubled as Washington's, want a superintendent who is so amazingly greedy as to believe he should be paid $600,000? And a glance at the four finalists for the job shows that there's no one remotely impressive enough to be worth a quarter of that money.
Your turn starts now...

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Fairfax, Va.: Your article today was right on. Vile Photos Miss The Rot Beyond A Few Bad Apples (Post, May 13) I do not wish to condone what these soldiers did. I simply wish to see justice done. If commanders and officers were not directly involved, then they are guilty of gross negligence and direlection of duty. I fear that the nature of chain of command will allow these commanders to play CYA. I also fear that any MI and CIA "spooks" will use the standby of "national security interests" to prevent these soldier's lawyers from combing though what really happened in that prison.

Marc Fisher: Alas, there is truth to what you say, but on the other hand, if the grunts who are being scapegoated here push ahead with their legal challenges, they may be able to unearth some of the details about who gave the orders and who was really in charge in the prison. Also, it's pretty clear that the military brass want to cauterize this problem swiftly, so it's in their interests to root out the real players.

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Alexandria, Va.: The prison abuse photos have at least this benefit -- they lay to rest the "got to support the troops" line that comes up any time one questions the Iraq war. First we got the WMD justification, and that proved false. Then we got the Al Qaeda justification, and that proved false (although probably not anymore!). Finally we got the moral justification- "S.H. is a bad guy, and we're the good guys for toppling him." Pfc. England and Co. have pretty much toasted that one. And who will suffer? Well, all the American soldiers over there will be at even greater risk, as will the general population in the war zone, and lastly, perhaps all of us here in the target rich environment known as Washington. Oh well, as GWB is so fond of saying, "Bring it on!" Yeah, right.

Marc Fisher: Well, that may be going a bit too far. Yes, this is a terribly bad moment and yes, the pictures and reports have caused great damage to our cause in Iraq. But it would be wrong to paint the entire military with the brush of abuse, and the fact remains that Iraq is better off without Saddam than it was with him. The central problem remains the one that I and many others highlighted before the war was launched--the failure to prepare for a rough aftermath.

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Laurel, Md.: Marc, are the American people a lot less horrified by the Abu Ghraib story than the press is?

Marc Fisher: I doubt it. The only reason this story is getting all this play is that it is resonating with folks around the country. There's a pretty good feedback loop that determines media interest in a story, and when the media get fascinated with a story that news consumers don't care about--the Jayson Blair and Jack Kelley phony journalism cases come to mind--then those stories drop from sight fairly quickly.

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Washington, D.C.: Hi Marc:
It looks like your article regarding Wilma Durham, principal of Walker-Jones Elementary School bogus Ph.D. allowed the federal government to begin to talk about their own employee's falsification of employment documents. I fully understand that these folks get hired when human resources does not conduct thorough background checks, but help me understand how they are allowed to remain after their lies and deceit have been exposed? It is my belief that anyone that falsified their employment documents to gain employment needs to be terminated immediately and prosecuted. Am I the only person in America that thinks this way?

Marc Fisher: Thanks for giving me the credit, but I don't know that there was a causal link there. The sad truth is that the District schools have made no move to rid parents and children of the leadership of a principal with a phony degree. Don't believe that you're the last person with the integrity to argue that frauds need to be rooted out of the system--I've heard widespread agreement on that from parents, teachers and others. Only the school system seems oblivious to doing the right thing.

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Boston, Mass.: Machette attacks? What are we, in Africa? The thing that really struck me about the whole situation is what a 16-year-old is doing on the side of a high way at 1 in the morning on a Monday. Do young people not have parents anymore?

Marc Fisher: Unfortunately, many do not. And many parents completely check out by the time their kids are teenagers. Any teacher can cite story after story of kids who seem to govern themselves without the slightest parental input. Somehow, we expect police and schools to take up the slack, when neither is remotely equipped to do the job that only parents can do.

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Arlington, Va.: Hi Marc,
Interesting column today. As someone who has access to the entire roll/memory chip/whatever of pictures taken, can you say if these are one person's shots or is it a collection of pictures taken by various folks in the unit? I had heard that the photos originally published were released by the parents of one of the soldiers facing court martial, but I assume there must be tons of photos from throughout that unit and others.

With that in mind, how realistic is it for Congress or the Pentagon to refuse to release the additional pics that are "out there" already?

Marc Fisher: Thanks--it appears that the photos I saw came from more than one source, but I really don't know and the reporter who obtained the pictures has agreed with his source(s) to keep that information confidential.
It does seem clear from the pictures that they were made by someone with or traveling with that unit.
And judging from the various reports by media all over the country, it's clear that there are multiple sources of photos. Should that govern whether the government releases the pictures it has? I don't think so--the government should make its decision by weighing the freedom of information/First Amendment imperative against the need to protect national security. If the pictures would jeopardize the success of our mission in Iraq, then an argument could be made for withholding them from public release, especially since they have already been shown to Congress.
But all things being equal, I like what Bush said about a democracy handling its messes in an open and public manner--so I'd say release the images to the public unless there's a compelling reason not to.

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Washington, D.C.: I almost had a heart attack this morning after reading that article about the D.C. schools superintendent salary. Next Head Of Schools May Get $600,000 (Post, May 13) They're floating this salary recommendation after they've reduced the list of candidates down to four? Seems backwards to me. At this point it doesn't seem to be about attracting candidates (because they've already got four) as much as it is about overpaying. Why not offer a higher base salary than previous superintendents had along with tough but realistic and achievable incentives?

Marc Fisher: You hit it exactly right. Let's say the secret committee knew of some candidates who would only be willing to come here if they got big money. That would be an instant disqualification in my book--anyone who's doing that job to get rich should go work for, say, United Airlines--but it would at least begin to justify paying an obscene sum.
But to raise this after four candidates--none of whom would be hard to get--have already been identified is just silly.

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Pittsburgh and D.C.: Marc, I've worked with Rudy Crew before and he is an outstanding guy, but his tenure in New York was a bit rough, which is to be expected, and his health is a little dicey. So where is the public process now that we are down to four candidates, and where is the front page in-depth analysis on both an educational and public policy basis? The city and the paper of record need to step it up.

Marc Fisher: Crew is not a very impressive figure--and the D.C. schools once again didn't do their homework. Crew blew up in New York in good part because he and Mayor Giuliani did not see eye to eye on school vouchers. Crew's opposition to vouchers was so strong that it seems preposterous to consider bringing him to a city where vouchers have just been imposed by Congress. But this is likely all moot: The Miami Herald reported this morning that Crew is about to sign on the dotted line to run the Miami-Dade schools.

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Alexandria, Va.: Forget about D.C. As a gay man living in Northern Virginia, should I be content that I live in the liberal "progressive" part of the state or should I move to D.C. or Maryland where at least I can have a legal contract with my partner to own property or exercise a living will?

Marc Fisher: Gay rights advocates in Virginia often speak with considerable frustration about their legal status in the Old Dominion. But there are also considerable limitations on gay legal rights in Maryland and the District. It's the old stay and work for better conditions or leave to make a statement conundrum.

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Washington, D.C.: Do you think they should release the remaining photos/video to the general public? Have you seen the full magnitude of the depravity?

Marc Fisher: I have not seen the images that were displayed to Congress folk yesterday, but they are reported to be graphic shots of sex acts between soldiers, as well as more bad stuff with prisoners. I'm not sure there is a point beyond lacivious, voyeuristic sensationalism to releasing graphic images of sex among soldiers who were breaking all sorts of rules. But if there are images of abuse of prisoners, it behooves us to get all of that out in the open so that we can demonstrate to the world that we are committed to rooting this stuff out.

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Arlington, Va.: Beyond the sheer brutality, am I the only one who has noted the blatant racism evident in the prisoner abuse imbroglio?

Marc Fisher: Racism? I haven't seen anything that indicates that the Americans who ran the prison were all one race; in fact, the pictures show a variety of races.

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Gaithersburg, Md.: Mr. Fisher,
The low level soldiers being charged for abusing Iraqi prisoners are scapegoats. As inexcusable as their behavior was, they did not do it in a vacuum. Higher level personnel gave at least tacit approval, and must face consequences also. I have not heard of anyone in the officer ranks being charged.

Marc Fisher: Right, and that's the next challenge. If we're really going to show that we're serious about holding people to account, charging a few grunts won't do it.

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Fairfax, Va. : Marc -- Great column today. I predict that many careers will be ruined before this is done, including careers of those with more than one star on the shoulders. We should establish a military commission to be in charge of all persons being held by the U.S. in the war zone, as was done after World War II. There has to be some sort of law and due process, even if the result is to keep the individual locked up. But we can't just hold them without some sort of review. This isn't Rome of the Caesars. Not yet.

Marc Fisher: Good idea. There are a lot of good lessons to be learned from the postwar experience after WWII. One of them is to look back at how open those camps were, to foreign observers, to the press, etc.

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Anonymous: We have seen the enemy and he is us. Well, not quite. "We" may not be nearly as bad as al Qaeda terrorists but, unlike the authors of some of today's Letters to the Editor on the editorial page, I don't think that counts for much. We should remember a peaceful and democratic future for Iraq, and a lessening of the threat from terrorists, are the main justifications used now, ipso facto, for the war (WMDs not being found). Fair or not, abuse by Americans in Iraq will lessen the chances of a peaceful and democratic future there and may help lead (not by itself, but help lead) to a country so chaotic and/or so anti-West that international Islamic terrorists could find a better home there than they ever did under the rule of the tyrannical but largely secular Saddam Hussein. Beheading kittens -- ha, ha. There are youths in this area who'd find that funny (and many of them grow up to abuse adults).

Marc Fisher: Yes, this is a very damaging chapter, but if it's handled right--and it's not at all clear that it will be--it can be put aside as the U.S. and other countries push to establish a working democracy in Iraq. Sadly, that work seems to be progressing hardly at all.

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Washington, D.C.: Great column on Tuesday that showed directly how D.C.'s lack or representation (and equality as Americans) affects how we can and can not govern ourselves.

Far too often our lack of voting rights is expressed in ways that are high and flooty and don't look at the everyday impact of not having rights.

Marc Fisher: Thanks--I heard from quite a few readers who took that column more as a commentary on gay marriage than on home rule, but I meant it much as you interpreted it--as an object lesson in what it means to be denied the basic right to govern ourselves.

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Re: Washington, D.C.: Maybe the candidate asking for $600K knows that superintendents don't last long in D.C., and wants to make it worth his or her while.

Marc Fisher: Oh, that's just what we need--someone so cynical that he expects to be here only for a short while and wants to fill up his bank before ditching Washington's kids. Lovely.

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Derwood, Md.: $600,000 Salary: This makes sense since D.C. will require their new superintendent to live inside the District and, well, it is just enough money to buy a 1-bedroom condo ...

Marc Fisher: Yikes. The real estate market is indeed wild here, but still, the superintendent's current salary of $175,000 or so is more than enough to pay for some very sweet accommodations.

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Baltimore, Md.: Your Sunday radio column: I want to tell you why I, a long time contributor, quit giving to WAMU several years ago. My favorite program was the Jerry Gray Show, three hours of cowboy and western swing music that ran for years on Saturday from 3 to 6. During the fall pledge drive, amid lots of messages that "You have to give to keep this program on the air," I pledged a contribution as usual. Within a week or two, the show was unceremoniously yanked, something that must have long been planned. From that moment, I swore the station would never get another penny from me. They haven't. (And I am an A.U. grad in the bargain!) I just don't like supporting people who lie to get my money.

Marc Fisher: Good for you. The only way public radio (or TV) will learn to live up to its purpose is if listeners speak with their checkbooks. Unfortunately, since news listeners tend to be more generous than music listeners, the writing is on the wall for jazz, classical, bluegrass and other forms of music that cannot find a place in commercial radio.

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Washington, D.C.: To those who ask "Why aren't you as outraged by Iraqi or al Qaeda bad behavior as you are by the little peccadilloes of our precious troops?"
Because I am American, and American bad behavior reflects on and shames Americans, in a way that other peoples' bad behavior does not.
Bush justifies this war by calling Hussein "evil", which he is. But then we have no excuse -- none -- for sinking to his level.

Marc Fisher: Well said.

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Takoma Park, Md. : I am wondering what this will do to the role of women in the military, especially on the front lines.

Spc. Lynddie England, 21, is pregnant by Cpl. Charles Graner, 35. The guy she is posing with behind the pile of naked Iraqis. The pregnancy rate in Operation Desert Storm reached 15 percent and prenancy was the single largest cause of evacuation from Bosnia during U.S. deployments there.

What is going on here? The military is NOT mandatory. People need to be held a little more accountable in general in the modern Army. They don't HAVE to be there.

And then there is the question of why there were NOT career soldiers guarding the prisons. That ain't a gig for reservists.

Marc Fisher: Isn't it worth noting that almost all of the major figures to have captured the public imagination in this war are women--Lynndie England, Jessica Lynch, General Karpinski. I don't know what that means, other than that the military has integrated women in important ways, but it seems worthy of some examination.

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St. Mary's City, Md.: Interesting that you chose "Lord of the Flies" and "A Clockwork Orange" to explain Abu Ghraib. My first thought was of the Columbine shootings, and the popular theory that Harris and Klebold were reacting to persecution and bullying.

Without excusing the atrocities at Abu Ghraib, isn't it possible that our soldiers felt persecuted? Partly by terrorists in general, and specifically by insurgents in Iraq picking off their comrades daily? I could easily imagine the soldiers having enough of being pushed around, and turning beet-red with rage and taking out their anger on the prisoners.

Well, that's not too much different from the descent into animalism in the books you mentioned.

Marc Fisher: Yes, right, but it's always essential while engaging in these discussions to note that it's important to understand, but to understand is not to excuse. Hearing Lynndie England on TV chattering amiably about how she was just following orders was nothing short of chilling.

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Wheaton, Md.: "Just following orders." This is an excuse? Did the Nuremberg trials teach us nothing?

Marc Fisher: Apparently, that's one lesson that all too many American high school history courses don't get to. Too busy doing test prep.

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Washington, D.C.: Any idea what's going on at Lincoln Circle? They've eliminated the merge area at the point you turn right on to the Memorial Bridge from Rock Creek, which has turned the stretch from Virginia Ave. to that point into a parking lot for hours every night. And yet I see nothing being accomplished in the way of construction.

Marc Fisher: I know there's considerable construction going on to redo the roads around the Lincoln Memorial, but I'm not up to date on where they stand. Anyone?

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Washington, D.C.: What are your thoughts on the council "endorsing" the Davis plan of one House seat? Will it hinder future attempts for senators? I can't decide whether it will help or not. And whether Davis is actually going to work to get it passed or not ...

Marc Fisher: The D.C. council is given to endorsing any move that would increase home rule or congressional representation, and certainly the Tom Davis idea for granting the District one seat in the House in exchange for an extra seat for Utah will get lots of support here in Washington. And it should. This is not an issue on which there will be any long term gain from ideological purity.

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Vouchers once again: Any further news on the Archdiocese's request for an additional $2m to take voucher students? The federal govt's response to "just fundraise" was a tad naive ... that is what we in Catholic schools do all the time ... how many soup labels would total $2m ...

Marc Fisher: I haven't heard anything new, but it's hard to imagine that there will be any direct grant to the Archdiocese. That's beyond the limit even for many voucher supporters. But isn't it fascinating how little interest there is across the city in obtaining vouchers? Is it possible that the charter schools have already siphoned off those families that want to escape the public schools?

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Washington, D.C.: Marc --
Should be a slow chat today as you're up against a cicada expert.

I was glad to see your column on Tuesday, as I had recently found myself thinking, "Marc Fisher never writes about D.C. home rule issues." Well, you fixed that.

On February 24, Catania sent an e-mail to his supporters in response to Bush's support of a constitutional amendment defining marriage that said, "Moved by this attack on individual freedom and responsibility, I will introduce legislation on March 2, 2004, that pointedly expresses the concerns of my colleagues and myself with this ill-conceived proposal." So what did he introduce? A resolution. Yes, a ceremonial resolution. Ooh, Karl Rove must be quaking!

Why is the D.C. Council so gutless when it comes to standing up to Congress? I don't have any illusions that it would make any difference, but at least we would feel better. Isn't the whole point of the culture wars that each side gets to take a stance that scores points with their base and villianizes the other side, all the time knowing that nothing will change?

Marc Fisher: Can there really still be more to say about cicadas? Well, shut my mouth--there is and will be for weeks to come. Like this morning, for instance--why are the critters attracted to my lamppost in front of my house? They must think it's a tree. Thirty of them clinging to the post this morning.
Anyway, you ask about home rule. And here I thought I visited that topic WAY too often. Well, you're right--99 percent of the air used up on the home rule issue is hot and sticky and guaranteed to produce nothing. In the case of gay marriage, there seems to be a consensus that pressing the issue now would create a congressional backlash that could hurt the District in many ways beyond the marriage issue.

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Arlington, Va.: I am very happy that I no longer live in Maryland where elected officials manage to bad mouth multiculturalism based upon what they read on a fast food bag. I hope that Ehrlich learns from this that he doesn't need to have an opinion on everything.

Marc Fisher: I don't see any evidence that Gov. Haircut has any regrets about his bashing of multiculturalism. From his perspective, that's a pretty safe and easy win--he appeals to his base and ticks off folks who would never dream of voting for him. And there is merit at the root of what he says--immigrants should learn English. So he goes and says it in the most boorish and oversimplified way he can muster--that's cynical but possibly effective politics for him, and ultimately meaningless for most of us, given the mushiness of the "multiculti" term to start with.

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Alexandria, Va.: You did know that some of the "graphic, explicit" photos allegedly from Abu Ghraib aren't really from there at all? The Boston Globe ran with a story about graphic sexual photos that turned out to be commercial pornorgraphy that had a military theme, but zero connection to the real world.

Marc Fisher: Yes, the Boston Globe apparently got snookered today, running highly explicit photos that purported to show Americans abusing Iraqis, but really were taken from some porn site by a couple of activists. The Globe is busy apologizing profusely, but that sounds like the kind of mistake that could be avoided fairly easily.

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Annandale, Va.: Humiliating prisoners to get information that might save American and Iraqi lives looks pretty pale next to beheading Americans in my opinion. I'm not sorry the soldier showed what was going on. They will clean it up and some people in charge will lose their careers or go to jail. But I hope those that complain the loudest understand that Americans are still getting killed over there for freedom -- and concern themselves also with those lives.

Marc Fisher: Right--and attempts to blame the release of the photos for Berg's death are really pushing it. These terrorist thugs will kill anyone they can get their hands on, and they don't need our democratic openness as an excuse.

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Washington, D.C.: Marc, I found myself nearly as upset about the cat murder as about the Iraqis abused. Does this make me a bad person?

Marc Fisher: It's all of a piece, I suppose. Morally, the abuse of the Iraqis is worse, but I think you have to look at them as part of the same process of dehumanization of our soldiers--and that's a piece of the story that I don't see the military addressing at all.

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Washington, D.C.: Hi! Just wanted to express my gratitude to you for your editorial today. I've been frankly offended by the administration's enthusiasm in assigning blame for the prisoner abuse scandals to "a few bad apples," rather than acknowledging that the dehumanizing, good vs. evil language they've so vigorously employed, as well as the low value they've given to procedural due process and legal protections, might have contributed to the climate which now yields what I personally considered to be all too predictable violations of human rights. I find it rather ironic that the administration which has paid so much lip service to "supporting the troops" now finds it convenient to lay blame for human rights violations on an ever-expanding number of our troops, rather than conceding that the atmosphere of fear, aggression, and lawlessness created by their policies might in any way be to blame. So much for supporting the troops.

Marc Fisher: Thanks--the other issue that this raises is the role of the private contractors who are taking on roles that ought to be reserved to those who are clearly in the chain of military command. The idea that CACI is advertising even now for Interrogators is frightening; that's something I don't want outsourced, thank you.

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Falls Church, Va.: How do we know Lynndie England is telling the truth? Isn't it possible she was following no such orders, and she's just saying that to cover the mistakes she obviously made?

Marc Fisher: Sure it's possible, but it doesn't seem likely, given how relaxed the soldiers are in the abuse photos. There's no sense at all of looking over their shoulders or hiding anything from their superiors. It seems clear simply from the fact that these photos exist that the abuse was at the least condoned, if not expressly ordered.

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Springfield, Va.: Marc, the machete attack certainly made gang violence the topic of the week. Unfortunately, it would never have been a story if it was reported properly to begin with. The first inaccurate account of how the youth's hands were chopped completely off started the ball rolling. I am certainly saddened by the violent act, but the media needs to verify their story before reporting it.

Marc Fisher: Sure, it would have been a story. First stories are often dependent on police information, which does not always turn out to be totally accurate, but the gist of this story remains the same--these gangs have a habit of using machetes in their battles for retribtion against wayward members or perceived enemies, and that's been happening in our area for some time. That's the story--the exact details of a particular injury are only a detail.

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Maryland: Re: Ehrlich's comments.

I must say, as a citizen of Maryland, my biggest disappointment in reading this story is that there weren't more quotes from Donald Schaefer. Those two guys should get their own television comedy show. It would be hysterical. Parris Glendening could show up occasionally as a straight man foil for Schaefer's rants.

Marc Fisher: Sometimes I find myself wondering whatever happened to Glendening. These are fleeting moments and I have sought and found professional care to assure that they will not recur.

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Washington, D.C.: The story about the Iraqi prisoner abuse is not only one of the most disturbing news stories I can remember, it's bizarre. I can understand (in some hideous way) why pictures of Iraqi humiliation might have been taken as an interrogation technique. But why on earth were soldiers taking porno pictures of each other, and then being so careless with them that they ended up in the hands of the Pentagon? It's all very strange.

Marc Fisher: Remember, these are very young kids, most of whom have not been to college, and if you think about what kinds of nonsense and worse college kids engage in, you start to get a feel for the antics these service people are engaging in. Then add in the stresses of being in a war zone and you see how excesses can happen. None of which excuses any of this: It's the role of the commanders to supervise and to ensure that rules of behavior are enforced. That clearly didn't happen here; most likely, the opposite happened.

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Takoma Park, Md.: I just found out that Jeremy Sivits who was charged with maltreatment of detainees, conspiracy to maltreatment and dereliction of duty, was trained as a mechanic in the motor pool.

Why the heck is this guy guarding anything but engines?

Marc Fisher: Beats me--training, as Taguba said, appears to have been nonexistent.

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In response to Takoma Park: Yes, the military is volunteer, but it is not as if they are there by choice. Some of the troops' stay has been extended beyond what they were told. Some soldiers that were to get out or retire have been unable to because the Pentagon needs them and is not allowing them to leave.

Marc Fisher: Right, but while they're there, it's the obligation of the superiors to make sure there's adequate and responsible supervision.

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Derwood, Md.: Marc -

Any comments on the helicopter flights yesterday, which were testing the ability of the Department of Homeland Security to evacuate its leadership in event of an attack?

I thought it was interesting that, at the first sign of trouble, the guys who are supposed to be protecting the rest of us will be flying out in their own helicopters.

Marc Fisher: When the big one hits, we're on our own. Enjoy the traffic, folks!

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Alexandria, Va.: Interesting article the other day on the traffic survey for the Techway proposal. Buried deep in the article was the methodology, in which they snapped pictures of license plates and correlated them with their respective zip codes to get an idea of where the traffic was coming and going.

I have absolutely no problem with that, in fact I think they should do more of it elsewhere to get a definitive picture of what the traffic patterns are ... but I'm also surprised that it hasn't raised red flags with the privacy-above-all advocates who don't like the red-light cameras either.

Marc Fisher: Doesn't bother me--they're not looking into who the individual drivers are, they're just looking at which states drivers come from. Seems entirely legit.

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Princeton?: You said last week that you graduated from Princeton? Then why are you such a moron?

Marc Fisher: Um, because they produce a better, more durable brand of moron there?

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Derwood, Md.: Given our country's ugly history, the lynchings, the whippings, the use of female slaves as sexual objects, etc., it is good that those pictures from Iraq broke in time for Confederate History Month.

Marc Fisher: Ouch!

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Marc Fisher: That kicks it in the head for this week, fellow cicada munchers (oh, come on, it tastes just like chicken!)
Back again next week, same time, same channel. And in the paper on Tuesday.
Bring back spring!

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