Potomac Confidential

Slicing and Dicing of the Issues People Are Talking About

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

Fisher was online Thursday, Oct. 6, at Noon ET to discuss the latest on Marion Barry's tax troubles, the departure of Mayor Anthony Williams from the political scene and the hullabaloo at American University over its president's hefty compensation package.

Today's Poll

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

Archives: Discussion Transcripts

A transcript follows.

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Marc Fisher: Welcome aboard, folks.

Please take a moment to vote in today's poll--if our tech folks can get the bugs out of it in time--which asks about Marion Barry's tax problems, the reign of Anthony Bowtie Williams, and the violence at high school football games in Montgomery County.

The trustees of American University meet Monday to decide the fate of president Benjamin Ladner. Watch for many more tuition dollars to flow his way. Ain't it sweet to be rich?

This business of having baseball playoffs go til 1:15 in the morning does not make for happy campers the following morning, let me tell you. But it is sweet to see those BoSox going down the tubes. Looks like the Nationals aren't going to get an owner til November or beyond. Bet on beyond. The legal battle over televising Nats games continues to wend its way through the courts with no end in sight and no particular effort by anyone to get the games on TV. Peter Angelos is happy enough to eat the fees he has to pay the Nationals because by suppressing the TV coverage of the Nats, he believes he is protecting the Orioles from competition.

On to your many questions and comments, after the Yay and Nay of the Day:

Yay to Mayor for Life Marion Barry, who has assured himself permanent election to the city offices of his choice now that we learn that he hasn't bothered to pay his taxes since 1998. This town loves a tax scofflaw; we've had one as our nonvoting delegate in the House of Representatives ever since it came out that she and her then-husband didn't file tax returns. Barry carries his arrogance beautifully, and I meant that sincerely--it's always been fun to hear him talk about his expertise on municipal finance or his propensity to show up late to events; the explanation is always smothered in quips about how he knows things others don't. In this case, I guess he just thought taxes are not something that applies to Marion Shepilov Barry Jr.

Nay to the Washington area TV stations that are either declining to carry Sunday's Virginia gubernatorial debate or are showing it at the voter-friendly hour of midnight on Sunday night. Elsewhere in the state, TV stations are carrying the debate live at 7 p.m., but the D.C. stations can't be bothered with public service. There was once a time when license challenges, or at least the threat of one, would produce some semblance of attention to public service, but not anymore.

Your turn starts right now....

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Alexandria, Va.: How can not filing a federal tax return for eight years be a misdemeanor? Can we at lesat assume that Mayor Barry will be required to cough up the unpaid taxes, along with interest and penalty payments?

Marc Fisher: It sure doesn't sound like there's any particular desire on the part of the prosecutors to make things uncomfortable for Barry. No jail, no serious charges. Presumably some sort of fine, but even that is not yet clear. Do you think you'd get off this easy if you just didn't bother to file returns for five or seven years?

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Who "set him up" this time?! (D.C.): So Marion Barry is making a sequel appearance in federal criminal court? One would think after E.H. ("Representation without Taxation") Norton, that local pols would be more attentive to filing tax returns. No jail time may be a compassionate decision given Barry's age, but it also avoids his using it as a platform to bounce back again to higher office. The ex-Mayor-for-Life has hinted at a possible run for Council chairman (Cropp and Barry -- there's a ticket!). Any chance he'll just resign his seat after the plea, and give the city a chance to move on from the embarrassing Barry era once and for all?

Marc Fisher: Ah, but why would you think that politicians would be more attentive to their taxes after watching what happened to the delegate? In fact, she has been reelected virtually without opposition in every election since she got caught as a tax avoider. Chances that Barry will resign because of this: Zero.

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Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.: It's just beyond me what all the fuss is about over the window of the Victoria's Secret store. If people are so offended by seeing mannequins wearing underwear, they should either stay away from the store or go back to the Middle Ages where they belong.

Marc Fisher: Well, it's a bit more than mannequins in underwear--it's a deliberate attempt to be provocative and garner publicity by recasting an already sleazy store as a haven for harlotry, and of course it's working beautifully. Of course some folks will be outraged and others will shrug it off. The bottom line will be the bottom line--if the raunch brings in more customers, they'll keep it.

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A.U. prez: I think the time is ripe to bring Bill Bennett onboard.

Marc Fisher: Lovely idea. And with online poker all the rage on campus, he'd be right at home!

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GreatFalls, Mt.: 47,000 condos? Isn't much of the D.C. area already completely gridlocked? Sure glad we took early retirement and moved when we did!

Marc Fisher: Goodness, no. This city has unusually light traffic thanks to Metro and the large number of people who walk, bike or bus to work. The city once had a population 40 percent larger than it has today and can easily absorb another 100,000 residents.

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Kilmarnock, Va.: Marc --

Did you press Kaine on whether he had given up his baseball allegiances for the Nats?

Marc Fisher: I did talk to him about that. Kaine grew up a Royals fan--he's from Kansas City--and remains loyal to his team, but the arrival of the Nationals provided him an easy opportunity to expand his allegiance to the National League, and he and his family have become strong and knowledgeable Nats fans. They've been to a bunch of games and he knows the players well.

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Brandermill, Va.: After spending time with Kaine and Kilgore, do you have any more insight into why they are running TV ads that they are running, or do you think that is a whole process that's separate from their persona and their vision of the governor's office?

Marc Fisher: Sadly, the gap between candidates' real beliefs and the intellectually bankrupt, cynical messages they use in their TV ads only grows larger. Kaine is a much more interesting and flexible mind than anything you'd glean from the TV spots, but the core belief in the TV political advertising world is that voters cannot be trusted with a candidate's true beliefs or nature. Blame for that has to go ultimately to the candidates themselves, and the ones who alter their personalities to be consistent with their simplistic ads tend to do best, sadly.

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Mclean, Va.: Just out of curiosity, did Kilgore mention widening 66 INSIDE the Beltway? His Chamber of Commerce debate performance seemed like it came straight out of Saturday Night Live skit.

Marc Fisher: Kilgore favors widening 66 inside the Beltway; Kaine favors it only in the westbound lanes (I think I have that direction right; his argument is that the right of way has room only in one direction.) It's all a silly academic discussion because the neighborhood opposition in Arlington would likely defeat or tie up any effort at widening for the rest of our lives, and anyway, it wouldn't do much good to widen that piece of road when you're still going to have the 3-to-2 lane bottleneck inbound at the TR Bridge (except during AM rush when the lanes are shifted.)

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Rockville, Md.: Personality wise, then, is there any reason to think Kaine isn't the clear-cut winner?

Marc Fisher: Depends. Kaine is the more intriguing and open personality, but Kilgore has the advantage of being more consistent in his presentation. Simplicity sells, the experts will tell you. They're both likeable guys and neither has much in the charisma department. And hey, have you seen Mark Warner's TV spots endorsing Kaine? It's all about Mark, isn't it? The theme of the ad, hit over and over, is that Kaine showed courage in supporting Warner's efforts; there's something vaguely grudging about the gov's presentation.

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Marc Fisher: Our man Rocci informs me that the poll is on the page now, so if you'd be kind enough to take a moment and go back up to the top and cast your vote, we'll get to those topics later in the hour. Thanks.

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City once had a population 40 percent larger than it has today and can easily absorb another 100,000 residents. : Yes but that was at a time when not everyone, maybe not even a majority, had a car. Not everyone has a car now, I know. But a lot more people do than used to.

Marc Fisher: True, but thanks to Metro, we have the second highest dependence on public transit in the nation, so if those 100,000 new folks are clustered around Metro stations, the impact on streets would be minimal. That's certainly the case in upper Northwest, where the new development around the Friendship Heights and Tenleytown stations have left the streets as lightly trafficked as ever.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Yeah, maybe there were 40 percent more residents but a large proportion of them were children, elderly, and other non-drivers. Plus people just drove less Back Then.

Today's residents are proportionally more likely to be driving at least some of the time.

Marc Fisher: Depends on where they are--the proportion of people who depend on transit in Arlington, Silver Spring and Bethesda is strong and increasing. That's why it matters so much where you put the condos.

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Washington, D.C.: Have you asked the other D.C. councilmembers whether they have paid federal and/or D.C. taxes?

Marc Fisher: I haven't but it's a very good question. (Though what are they going to say, "By George, I hadn't thought of doing that!")

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Clifton, Va.: Sorry your wrong about widening I66 inside the Beltway. It is now a National Security concern as a primary evacuation route. National Security trumps all in the court and the poor NIMBY Arlingtonians will lose time and time again. They can take it to the Supremes and they will still lose. Rt66 will be widened. Their DOD appropriations bills have provided the funding.

Marc Fisher: That's definitely the best strategy for the pro-widening forces to use, and the Eisenhower administration used it brilliantly to get the Interstates built. If that's how new roads will get build in this region, then it will have a big impact on WHERE they get built, and maybe the additional Potomac River crossing will get put where it belongs--downtown or Georgetown--rather than in Montgomery, where it would only increase development and further snarl traffic.

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Virginia: Not paying taxes is not against the law, but you can be denied or lose your security clearance. Trust me.

Marc Fisher: I bet there's a good story there. Wanna tell us more?

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Washington, D.C.: In your column about Tim Kaine today, you have to explain_ what "pigs in a blanket" are? Who doesn't know that? And if they don't know, what real danger is there in letting them think he's actually eating a live pig and it's wrapped in a cotton blanket?

Marc Fisher: I only explained it because the first four folks I had read the column had no concept of what they were, or assumed that it was a sausage sandwich. Which may reflect wider ignorance or may only tell us that the Post newsroom is not a place of big breakfasters (there's some ad on TV, airing during the baseball playoffs, for a fast food sandwich that involves "meat on top of meat on top of meat," and my kids break into hysterical laughter every time the announcer hits those words.)

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Anonymous: Is it possible that Mayor Barry is not in that much trouble because virutally all of his income was subject to withholding? He doesn't strike me as someone who has made a lot of money in politics.

Marc Fisher: You're absolutely right that whatever his shortcomings, Barry did not fleece the government for personal gain during his four terms as mayor. In fact, he left government service with hardly any savings and one major reason he got back in was to have a decent income. That said, you're supposed to file tax returns--period.

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Washington: We know who set Marion up: He can say Cora Masters Barry was in charge of the taxes, just like poor Mr. Norton! And Barry doesn't even have to wait for the divorce.

Marc Fisher: Right--in fact, I thought he would have said exactly that by now, but instead he's being uncharacteristically quiet about this. On the other hand, he has been smart enough not to bash Cora Masters since their breakup--he knows that she is politically savvy and entirely able to savage him were she to choose that path.

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Washington, D.C.: Marc, get out from under your rock. V.S. is NOT sleazy. Right now, I am wearing a V.S. bra, which, by the way, are the best-made bras around. And the Tysons display was silly.

Marc Fisher: Ok, so does the display make you more or less likely to give them your money? Isn't that the only issue they will care about?

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West Coast: Shouldn't Bill Bennett take it on the Comedy circuit at this point? If he did a stand-up routine with a coat hanger thru his head, like Steve Martin's arrow, and did card tricks and made rude social comments and observations, wouldn't he become a big star, especially in Vegas?

Marc Fisher: Somehow, I don't think of Bill Bennett and laff riot in the same universe. No, I think he'll stay in the world that loves what he's doing--talk radio. He's even got people picketing outside his studios now, and there's nothing a talk show host loves more than that.

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Kingstowne, Va.: Re: Sunday's Virginia gubernatorial debate.

Debates are pointless except in showing how all candidates are expert at avoiding direct answers to simple yes/no questions. This debate will add nothing consequential to voter knowledge. So, I wouldn't blame any station for not showing it at all.

Marc Fisher: To the contrary, the last Virginia debate, a couple of weeks back in Tysons Corner, was very revealing about the ability of the candidates to handle questions and to speak beyond their rehearsed talking points. Sadly, almost everyone missed that debate because it aired only on NewsChannel8.

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Victoria's not so secret anymore: HeHe -- you said "bottom line." What, is this: Weingarten's chat now?

Marc Fisher: These lines, however, are not visible, so Gene's not interested.

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You surprise me: A sleazy store? Wow, I never pegged you for a Puritan. It's a lingerie store -- with incredibly overpriced underwear, sleepwear, perfume, etc. -- but hardly sleazy. Perhaps you feel women should still be wearing those black full-skirted swimsuits, too.

Marc Fisher: I don't care what they sell, and I don't especially mind them selling it with whatever degree of raunch they can dream up. But I can still think it sleazy and I'm all for folks debating its appropriateness and slapping the company around if that's what they want to do.

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Pigs in Blankets: For me, a Jewish native of New Jersey, "pigs in blankets" are the little hot dogs served up at bar mitzvahs and wedding receptions. Never heard of the variety you mention in the column (and love going out for breakfast and lived in Georgia for five years).

Marc Fisher: Ha! See, we all have our own pigs in blankets, even the kosher among us. I share this confusion--cocktail franks in pastry shell are often called pigs in blankets a couple of hundred miles north of where they are sausages wrapped in pancakes.

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Downtown Reston, Va.: Marc: In today's column you conclude that Kaine is a liberal -- oh wait, "sounds like a liberal." But by what evidence? That he continues to attend a church even though its racial makeup has changed? Or is it because he reads books and doesn't watch much television, likes jazz, gives thoughtful answers to questions, likes Harry Truman, drives American cars and was a religious missionary in Central America?

Seems to me that these are all values that any conservative could not only embrace, but admire.

Marc Fisher: No, he sounds like a liberal because he embraces the idea that government exists to serve the public and to care for those in need and because deep down beneath his TV commercials, he accepts the notion that we as a society should pay for those services and not pretend that the money will magically appear from nowhere. I happen to think that there are lots of conservatives who buy into those beliefs; I think this because I know them and have heard them make the same comments. But the gospel in American politics is that to say such things is liberal and therefore unacceptable. So we have the spectacle of Kaine pretending that he's as anti-tax as Kilgore is, when in fact both of them know that Virginia needs more resources to pay for transportation, higher education and other services.

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Logan Circle, Washington, D.C.: Can we give a nay of the week to the genius who decided to allow a fireworks show in October without adequate notice? I was having dinner outside in Logan Circle and I seriously thought we were under attack. I almost bolted my table without paying. Only in D.C. ...

Marc Fisher: We should do a poll on this, because I am mystified by the parade of stories every year in which people get all up in arms over fireworks and argue that they should somehow have gotten a call from the mayor advising them to brace themselves because there might be a loud sound. Please. The more fireworks the better and they don't owe notice to a single soul.

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Glover Park, Washington, D.C.: I'm a supporter of Mayor Williams but can't understand some of the criticism of his time in office. From my perspective, downtown and even some outlying areas are booming, and my condo's value and property taxes have more than tripled. My question is, what has D.C. been doing with this increased revenue? I don't want to make light of the fact that the deficit has been eliminated (yea!) abd the government has a tidy surplus. I think that's terrific. But couldn't some of this additional revenue be channeled to the school system and affordable housing?

I'm wondering if it's even possible to establish and maintain a high functioning innercity school system, anywhere, but that's another question.

Marc Fisher: Indeed the city's surpluses have been very healthy, driven in good part by the soaring property values. Where has the money gone? Into all sorts of new programs, some of them silly (the city is busy reducing the number of lanes at many traffic circles, which can only paralyze traffic), and some of them admirable (the mayor gets all kinds of grief for closing D.C. General, but it was the right thing to do, and his replacement for it--neighborhood clinics that are free to the poor--is really working.)

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Alexandria, Va.: Marc --

What do the latest polls say about the Virginia govs race?

Marc Fisher: Dead even. At least the last four polls around the state, including independent polls by newspapers and internal polls for candidates, show Kaine and Kilgore either tied or extremely close to it.

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Richmond, Va.: Your column today seems insulting to conservatives. In essence, you say Tim Kaine seems more liberal than Jerry Kilgore because Kaine reads more and watches little television. There are no facts in the column that would identify Kaine as either a liberal or a conservative. By the way, I know quite a few well read conservatives.

Marc Fisher: It's probably my fault for cramming too much into a column, but you're conflating two separate conclusions in the columns this week: I found Kaine to be more intellectually curious and flexible than Kilgore, based on his willingness to jump into ideas and talk them through, and on his reading and his interests. I also separately concluded that Kaine is more liberal than his campaign lets on, and that came from our discussions about the role of government, taxes, and his experiences as mayor of Richmond.

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Dupont/Logan, Washington, D.C.: Are women's undergarments inherently sleazy? News Flash. Many women wear bras. Many women buy bras at Victoria's Secret. In fact, as my twins need a heck of a lot of support and the only place to buy a decently priced, comfortable, supportive bra is Victoria's Secret, I have been known to darken those sleazy doors myself. (In fact I am wearing a V.S. second skin satin bra right this minute.)

Provacative models would probably make me less likely to buy, but I need the bras (I've tried everything else).

Marc Fisher: Ok, so the new look at the store doesn't bring the company any more money from you. And the fact that you don't like the new look isn't keeping you away either, so in the end, you're a vote of confidence for the company as they search for new customers. Obviously, they focus grouped the heck out of this before they did it and my guess is that they talked to a bunch of customers like you and concluded that you would not be offended enough to walk away. Thus, the scene at Tysons.

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Arlington, Va.: Quick question, do the people who live around Tysons get a say about Victoria's Secret (which I think they do) but Arlingtonians don't get a say about I-66 widening? Just wondering what types of issues residents get a vote on. Thanks.

Marc Fisher: Gosh, I come at it exactly the opposite way. The folks who live near Tysons are irrelevant to what a big faceless national corporation does. They probably tested this thing thousands of miles from here and they don't really care what the folks at the mall in Tysons say except that the company loves the publicity and the notoriety.

Whereas the folks in Arlington ought not have any say at all about the widening of 66--the essential problem with NIMBYism is that it overemphasizes the voices of those who are most directly affected by a project and lets them trample on the rights and needs of the broader public. Politicians often make the mistake of listening to NIMBYs when their instinct should be to dismiss NIMBYs simply because they are too close to the situation to have the broader good in mind.

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Arlington, Va.: The deal with the Victoria's Secret display is that the premise behind it is that all women want to be strippers and/or bisexual! There is a mannequin on a stripper's runway, and two in a bed clearly "making out". Trust me, it is BEYOND just lacy underwear. I don't understand how this is supposed to make me want to buy my bras there.

Marc Fisher: It's probably not meant for you. It's meant for some sliver of the population who now do not go to the Secret and probably do not frequent malls.

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Virginia: People in these chats constantly complain that the so called "MSM" ignores stories that are on A-1 of the Post or the NYT. The Barry situation makes me think of a story that the "MSM" does ignore: Since June 22, 1998, there are no consequences for not filing your tax returns or paying your taxes regardless of whether you're poor, middle class or Bill Gates. The fact is, that you COULD go years without filing your tax return with little more than an occasional letter from the IRS that won't result in anything but possibly another letter being issued two years later. Track down some retired IRS employees ('cause current ones would be fired if they really spoke their minds) and ask them about RRA 98 and how honest Americans have been screwed over for the last 7+ years.

Marc Fisher: Good point, but still, even though the punishments have been eased, my sense from talking to accountants is that the IRS will still sic its auditors on folks who go long periods without filing, so there is still some enforcement, no?

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Anonymous: Are there only two candidates for governor in Virginia?

Marc Fisher: Russ, is that you?

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Silver Spring, Md.: I grew up in Georgia and to me, a pig in a blanket is a small weeny in pastry or biscuit dough.

Also, I don't think the government is really interested in putting non-filers in jail, as long as they don't owe tons of money. No-jail plea bargains are probably the norm.

Marc Fisher: I think we need a pigs in blanket cultural geography map akin to the sweetened/unsweetened iced tea line.

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Arlington, Va.: Ditto on your comments on fireworks. The idea that "after 9/11" we should grab our ankles everytime we hear a big boom has just gone too far.

Marc Fisher: Right, but here's the other side....

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Fireworks Show: I think the thing about the fireworks show that took a lot of people off guard is that it wasn't a conventional show. I've heard fireworks going off and been able to tell that they were fireworks. On Saturday, however, all that I heard was one long, extended five-second or so explosion, followed by silence. Then about five minutes later, the same thing again.

When we found out that it was a fireworks show, at first we didn't believe it, because it seemed like it would be a pretty terrible show if the sounds were any indicator of the pace of the entire thing.

People were fleeing my building, no exaggeration. When I opened the door, there were at least a half dozen people running to the elevator and stairs, and this is just one floor of one building.

Marc Fisher: Fleeing the building? Wow. I think we're all a bit jittery these days.

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The Bottom Line: No one would even know there was a Victoria's Secret in Tysons if it weren't for the uproar over the display.

Marc Fisher: Exactly!

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Vickie's: Is it actually the undergarments on the mannequins or the poses of the mannequins that are disturbing to some? I mean, we all KNOW what Victoria's Secret sells. I was under the impression it was the actual poses and displays that had people up-in-arms.

Frankly, for all the sex and violence teens and kids see on TV nowadays, what difference will a few whore-ish mannequins make?

Marc Fisher: But isn't it sad that you have to resort to the It's Everywhere So We Can't Do Anything About It argument? Shouldn't each breach of public respectability be treated on its own? If you oppose the trip down into raunch, why not stand against each new step down?

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Marc Fisher: The poll went up late so we have fewer responses than usual, but here's a look at how it's going so far (you can still vote of course; the link is at the top of the page):

Most of you share a common cynicism about Marion Barry and have correctly come to see him more as an entertainment than as a genuine source of outrage or pride.

Almost none of you buy the street version of Tony Williams, the idea that he was just out for the rich; he remains, like Bill Clinton, vastly more popular on his way out than he ever was during his years of controversy.

And I'm proud to say that many of you take a very sophisticated and non-alarmist view of the violence at football games in Moco.

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Gainesville,, Va.: Congrats to Senator Allen and Warner for getting an amendment in the current DOD appropriations bill which will allow DOD civilian and military members involved in antiterrorism and counterintel duties in D.C. area to use the HOV lanes with only one person in car. Amendment contains funding to allow Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia to produce special vehicle tags for this group. D.C. residents who fall into this group are out of luck.

Marc Fisher: Oh no, now we're going to have security clearances for HOV lanes?! How wildly Washington geeky can you get!

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Fireworks: Yes, I do think I should have gotten warning. I live five blocks from the Kennedy Center and my whole house was shaking. The "show" was not in the normal pattern of fireworks. The prelude section did sound like fireworks, and I was fine with that. The deafening booms followed by brief periods of silence sent me, my husband, and my dogs fleeing to the bathroom with the emergency radio. Whether it was actually a fireworks show or GWU students doing something stupid didn't matter -- I thought my house was going to fall down around me.

Marc Fisher: But if the prelude did sound like fireworks, and you could look outside and see that that's what it was, why did it matter to you that the show then escalated into something much louder?

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McLean, Va.: Sorry if this was already answered, but are you going to be doing any articles on Russ Potts? I find him a very appealing candidate with a pragmatic approach to solving the problems of the Commonwealth. Whaddya think?

Marc Fisher: I wrote a column on Potts a few weeks back and said that I find him refreshingly straightforward and trusting of the voters. That said, he's turning out to be very Bob Dole-ish as a candidate--all wrapped up in legislative lingo and minutia that has little appeal to folks who don't follow government closely. And he doesn't have the money to compete against the big boys on TV.

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Washington, D.C.: I would SO not want to be married to someone who thinks that putting bras on giant pieces of plastic is pornographic.

Marc Fisher: I haven't heard anyone argue that it's pornographic. It's just sleazy, which is several notches below pornography.

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Vickie's uproar: only in D.C.: Dear Vicoria's Secret:

Thanks for reminding us how uptight this area really is.

Marc Fisher: There is that.

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BoSox: Even sweeter to see the Yanks bite the Big Weenie.

Marc Fisher: Hardly. Series is tied, with Johnson pitching next. Yanks in four (because if it goes to a fifth, Angels win.)

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Van Ness, Washington, D.C.: Bye, bye Mayor Williams: Is the city ready for a white, Hispanic or Asian mayor, (should such qualified candidates exist in D.C.)?

Marc Fisher: No. And every single candidate for mayor is black.

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Washington, D.C.: Hello! V.S. is not for women, it's for men. I think I read some stat where like 40 percent of V.S. merchandise is bought by men for girlfriends, wives, etc. Thus the slutty window ....

Marc Fisher: Excellent point.

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Arlington, Va.: So in denouncing NIMBYism, does that mean you are withdrawing your support of the D.C. government's lawsuit to force trains carrying hazardous waste to pass through other communities rather than D.C?

Marc Fisher: Hardly--that's not a case of NIMBYism at all. In fact, there's hardly any agitation on the part of neighbors of the rail lines. It's purely a matter of numbers--toxic chemicals can and should be transported out along rural routes where an attack would be relatively meaningless, not on routes through major population centers.

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Pigs in Blanket (again): I grew up in southwestern Pa., and our pigs in blankets are also known as cabbage rolls or halupkis -- or if you want to get really interesting, Hunky Handgrenades. Anyway, they are ground pork/beef with rice wrapped in cabbage. They are common at weddings and my mom's are awesome!

Marc Fisher: Hunky Handgrenades!

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Fairfax: Sausages? In pancakes? They're HOT DOGS in dough -- usually made from Bisquick and cooked over a campfire.

Marc Fisher: See--I told you I had to define terms.

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Washington, D.C.: Pigs in a blanket: Not exactly relevant, but I was at a bris this spring, and they served pigs in a blanket. They were the hot dog kind in pastry shells.

Marc Fisher: Very short stumpy little dogs, huh?

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Gaithersburg, Md.: Looks like Bobby Haircut has some bad hair competition: Harriet Miers!

Marc Fisher: She wins. Easily.

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Burke, Va.: Marc I bet you are one of those guys who is to scared to walk into a Victorias Secret store and buy some sexy lingerie for your honey?

Marc Fisher: I don't do malls.

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College Park, Md.: You know, as compared to the New Jersey governor's race, the Kaine/Kilgore TV tiff seems very tame. I was in N.J. over the weekend and saw an ad going against Doug Forrester which basically accuses him of causing everything from cancer to a toxic cesspool. It was so slimy that it didn't even mention the name of his opponent (who the makers are obviously rooting for). It is an interesting watch though, just to see how far we in the D.C. area have to slide before rockbottom.

Marc Fisher: Yes, this campaign has been surprisingly lackluster, from all sides.

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Dunn Loring, Va.: If you widen I-66 in the West-bound lanes only, at least D.C.-ers will be able to get to the Tyson's Corner Vicky's Secret faster!

Marc Fisher: And we close with that, the winner of this week's ThreadWeaver of the Week award. Thanks all. More next week; back in the paper Sunday with more on the wacky doings at American University.

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