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, Nov. 17, at Noon ET to take on the Supreme Court ruling on Montgomery County's special education rules, the debate over the Indian names for sports teams and strategies for Thanksgiving travel.

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.

Before going any further, please take a moment to check out today's poll, featuring questions on the Redskins' name (you knew that was coming) and the latest installment of Fear Watch, taking the measure of our collective anxiety.

And while we're in interactive mode, for those heading out of town, please come ahead with your strategies on avoiding the worst of Thanksgiving traffic.

The bulk of your early comments and questions focus on the Indian sports teams controversy, which is the subject of today's column. The Tuesday edition looked at youth gangs in this area and how they differ from the gangs of LA and other places that have been dealing with this problem for a much longer time. And the Sunday offering in Arts was about a new public radio series that is a remake of Edward R. Murrow's 1950s "This I Believe" series. Coming up next in that series, Penn Jillette on why not believing in God makes him a better person.

On to the fray, but first, the Yay and Nay of the Day:

Yay to the U.S. Supremes for restoring a bit of sanity to the world of special education, that money-sucking monster that has undermined efforts to improve public schools in the District and around the country. The case came out of Montgomery County, which actually does a better job than most places of minimizing its special ed costs. The ruling may do more good in the District, which desperately needs new ways to fight back against parent demands for public subsidies of off-the-charts private school placements, than in MoCo.

Nay to the Maryland Republican party for its cynical use of the purported Oreo incident, in which Lt. Gov. Michael Steele was supposedly pelted with cookies by students seeking to portray him as an Uncle Tom. It's not clear whether the incident happened anything like the way Gov. Bobby Haircut's operatives are now belatedly telling the story, and the attempt to portray Senate candidate Steele as a victim is unbecoming of the GOP, which ordinarily eschews that more Democratic embrace of victimhood.

Your turn starts right now.....

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Bethesda, Md.: Marc,

Thank you for having the guts to speak out against all this PC nonsense regarding sports team mascots. Your column today restores my faith that there are some writers within the Post with some good old common sense.

washingtonpost.com: Block That Mascot? Bite Your Tongue (Post, Nov. 17)

Marc Fisher: Thanks--you'd think that with all the real racism and cynicism in the world, folks would find ways to attack that rather than to search for signs of discrimination where it doesn't exist.

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College Park, Md.: Great column today, but you seem to forget, it only takes one person complaining to ruin it for everyone. It seems like Family Guy from two weeks ago was right:

FCC Guy: Gentlemen, we got 20 calls about the David Hyde-pierce incident. And as you know, one call equals a billion people, which means 20 billion people were offended by this.

Marc Fisher: Or, in the case of the parents in MoCo who complained about the middle school banned books reading assignment I wrote about a couple of weeks ago, it took all of three complaints to reverse the considered judgment of three teachers and the principal.

Sadly, loudness works.

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Alexandria, Va.: I have an interesting picture of the Red Mesa Redskins High School in Red Mesa, Ariz., which is on the Navajo Reservation U.S. 160 between Shiprock, N.M., and Mexican Water, Ariz. I shot this picture in September of this year and will send you a copy if you can give me an e-mail address. I sent it the story without the picture several years ago to Jack Kent Cooke and he used it to get someone to write the story. Last week I sent it to Milloy but he has ignored the picture.

Walt Gray

Retired Fire Captain

Alexandria, Va.

Marc Fisher: Sure, send it along--marcfisher@washpost.com

In fact, the team names used at high schools on Indian reservations are frequently the same as the ones on the NCAA's hit list--Braves, Warriors, Redskins, etc.

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Kensington, Md.: (Enjoy your column much. Best at least since R. Cohen left Metro, and not self-absorbed like his. Amazingly varied topics. Where do you get the time?) When I saw the topic today, I expected the usual p.c. Post rant. Was very pleased with your arguments, especially the new tack with names of states and cities, like ... Indianapolis! Can you imagine how quickly I'd be laughed away if I objected to the "Fighting Irish"? Only difference between Irish and the Indians is that when the English wreaked havoc on us Irish, the English had not yet become American. The problem here, as with affirmative action gone amok, is (misplaced) collective white guilt. Not to mention that if I were, for example, a Sioux, I would be damn proud of my depiction on the North Dakota hockey rink. Down with the tyranny of the mini-minority.

Marc Fisher: Thanks, but I don't think it is the tyranny of the mini-minority, at least not if the minority you're talking about is the Indians. Every major survey--and the reality in Indian communities--indicates considerable comfort on the part of Indians with team names that focus attention on their identity and their legacy. It's a tiny minority of Indian activists who have latched onto this, aided by that extreme guilt among lefties.

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Herndon, Va.: Just an observation you may find humorous.

The boys' and girls' team names at the Metlakata, Alaska high school (on an island Indian reservation in SE Alaska) are the "Chiefs" and the "Mischiefs."

Marc Fisher: Ha! Great one. Those Indians have what the anti-Redskins activists are missing--the humor gene.

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Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.: Just curious ... are there any team names or mascots that you would find offensive or is just about anything okay?

Marc Fisher: Great question. I still don't especially like Savages, even if the local tribal chief and leadership love the name. And what really offends me are those singular names--the Jazz, the United, that sort of thing. Smacks of hooliganism and all things soccer.

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Washington, D.C.: Marc -- Thanks for today's insightful column. I remember reading a column once (in Boulder, Colo.) that discussed the insult of depicting Irish people as drunks on St. Patrick's Day. Never mind that the Irish are among several groups of peoples on this planet that are genetically pre-disposed to alcoholism. How do I know? I'm Irish, of course.

Also -- How about the Smithsonian researcher who debunked the assertions of the main plantiff's representative in the Redskins suit? He deserves a yay for that. Watching academia dryly and roundly debunk those that twist fact and information to their own outlook is such a pleasure.

Marc Fisher: I wrote a column a couple of years ago looking into the origins of the Redskins name, and the record is fairly clear that the name never referred to Indians' skin color, but to the battle paints that warriors used.

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Indian Names: Marc, I'm with you, but I'll go a step further. Most high schools should be required to have Indian names -- the name of the tribe or nation that lived there. And studying that culture should be part of the curriculum. I think that's a great way to make amends for the shoddy treatment that Native Americans received, as well as a way to forge local identities in an increasingly bland America.

Marc Fisher: Well, ok, I get the motivation, but required? Isn't that a trifle heavyhanded? The whole beauty of team names is their stunning variety across the country. Somewhere, there's a fabulous site that lists all the team names in the U.S. I can't find it at the moment, but here's one that focuses on colleges:

http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/9735/

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Oakton, Va: Best place to buy my pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving?

Top Maryland, top Virginia, and top D.C. places, please.

Marc Fisher: Great question. The ones that jump to mind are Hill High Pies on Rt. 7 near Purcellville in Loudoun County and Wagshal's in Spring Valley in the District. But you know far more than I do. Nominations?

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20009: Wow, Marc, you managed to nail three of my biggest baseless anxieties. (OK, the one about the Nats isn't all that baseless.) Way to throw me into a panic ... at least I like my family.

Marc Fisher: Who knows what evil lurks in the minds of men? You do--check out today's poll, which we'll discuss later in the hour.

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Herndon, Va.: Submitting way early because of work.

I'm no fan of "W", but I am very troubled by the Post and Woodward withholding information from an ongoing criminal investigation to protect a source. Would the Post and Woodward have kept quiet all the way through a trial that could send Libby to jail? Right now the Post knows the details, the prosecutor knows the details, but the public does no know the details -- tell me again how this helps the public's right to know.

Marc Fisher: Whoa--there are certainly problems and disappointments in the Woodward story, but withholding from a criminal investigation is not one of them. Woodward complied with Fitzgerald's request and answered his questions. The source in question--and I, like you, don't know who that is--told the prosecutor about his conversation with Woodward, so there's no secret on that end. You can bet that we will eventually know who that source was, and that the Post will be more than eager to publish the name.

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Navy Yard, SE: Marc, Do you ever fax questions ahead of time to the subject of an interview, or is this some special technique reserved for the Woodward school of journalism?

Marc Fisher: I've never done it, but I have had some sources who wanted to know in advance what the questions would be about, and I'm always happy to say what the subjects will be. This work is not about surprises, gotchas and secrets; it's about getting people's stories right and capturing the spirit and the facts of an event or a situation.

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Dunn Loring, Va.: Given the fallout regarding Woodward's refusal to disclose any information about his confidential sources, is there any chance that the Post will require Matthew Mosk to finally come clean about his relationship with MD4Bush? (In no way is this question meant to suggest there is any other similarity between Mosk and Woodward)

Marc Fisher: Matt Mosk has indeed come clean--he's been clean and clear from the very start of the Ehrlich-Steffens story. Mosk has put everything he knows in the paper. The fact is that he does not know who initially passed along the tip about the posts on Free Republic that smeared Mayor O'Malley. As you know, it's possible to deliver anonymous tips--it happens quite often, and we are as frustrated as readers are by not knowing where the information came from. But the bottom line is that our reporter checked out the validity of the information and passed it along to readers.

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Arlington, Va.: "Who knows what evil lurks in the minds of men? You do -- check out today's poll"

Does this mean it's a Shadow Poll?

Marc Fisher: A shadow poll and, as an extra bonus, a not quite working poll. Rocci the Producer tells me the thing is on the fritz again, but teams of techs are attacking the problem even as we speak.

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washingtonpost.com: We realize there is a problem with Today's Poll. We are working on fixing it.

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Gaithersburg, Md.: What ever happened to Marion Barry and the Wonka machine? Was he able to turn poop into electricity?

Marc Fisher: You'll be shocked to learn that the gasifier that got Barry all hopped up last week was never turned on. This is a man who came thisclose to becoming a professional chemist, and there he was on the street vouching for some lunatic contraption that supposedly turned crap into energy. The only spark that came out of that episode was the tiff between Barry and Rev. Willie Wilson.

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Crofton, Md.: I heard ESPN's baseball analyst, Tim Kurkjian, tell Tony Kornheiser on the radio this morning that he, Kurkjian, had learned that MLB would consider owning the Nationals for 2006. Although Kurkjian thought this was doubtful, he told Tony it was a possibility. Thought you'd like to know.

Marc Fisher: Well at this point, it hardly matters: By not choosing an owner in time for the start of the free agent acquisition season, MLB has already saddled the Nationals with a mediocre team for '06. Obviously, we need an owner ASAP. But MLB prefers to play games with the DC Council over a stadium lease. We're hearing now that baseball has chosen an owner and is just waiting for the lease deal to be made to announce it. But who knows when the lease will be finalized?

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Washington, D.C.: Actually the nickname for DC United is the Screaming Eagles.

Your hatred of all things soccer is tiresome and rather silly but you're entitled to your opinion.

Marc Fisher: Silly is good. Tiresome, well--just like soccer!

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Liverpool FC fan, Va.: "Smacks of hooliganism and all things soccer" is a fairly offensive, broad brush of the most popular and greatest sport in the world, don't you think? I've been a fan for 30 years without becoming a hooligan. I thought you were a fan of local teams, and you're insulting the sport of the most recently successful -- DC United.

Marc Fisher: Um, no. The most recently successful would be the Wizards, who made the playoffs last spring for the first time since Michael Jackson was G-rated.

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Foggy Bottom, Washington, D.C.: Marc,

You and your readers are in-the-know types, so I thought I'd ask in this forum: why was the vast old convention site paved and landscaped late last week? Has a decision been made about what to put there? It's now like a big school playground. I had been away for several weeks and was surprised to return to see the flurry of activity. Thanks!

Marc Fisher: This is both good and bad news. The bad news is that it means the city is settling in for several years of that site sitting fallow, as the pols continue to wrangle over what to put there--a new library, music museum, just a bunch of offices, a hotel? The good news is that while part of the property will be another big surface parking lot (ugh), another piece will be used for a big farmers and crafts and arts outdoor market, akin to what's at Eastern Market on weekends.

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Herndon, Va.: Hey Marc: Any plans to see Harry Potter this weekend?

Marc Fisher: Probably not this weekend, but probably sometime next week. My son, who refuses to see the movies til he's read the books, is racing to finish that book.

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All things soccer: It's just "United," not "the United." You've been listening to George Michael too much.

United generally refers to a team created by a merger of other teams in the same city In DC's case, United refers to the team that represents D.C., Md., and Va. Most professional soccer teams don't include the mascot in their names. Frankly, I don't see the need to identify a team with an animal.

Marc Fisher: You prefer naming a team after a concept? If United, why not Determined, or Bloated, or Thoughtful?

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Rockville: What do you make of Anne Hull's series this week on the demise of the Pentecostal church and liquor store in the quickly gentrifying neighborhood? I loved the part about the cafe owner's Vespa getting stolen and having a gun drawn on him in his new "vibrant" North Capitol neighborhood.

I suppose she-she restaurants and noisy neighborhood associations are the price we pay for basic safety. Is there no other way?

Marc Fisher: Sure, there are other ways--mixed income housing works nicely. But the chi-chi eateries are a much cheaper way to open the door to the arrival of actual taxpayers who then provide the resources a city needs to care for those who cannot care for themselves.

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Speaking of Michael Jackson: He was caught putting on makeup in a women's bathroom in Dubai, UAE. But that's no more odd than a gasifier.

Marc Fisher: He'd better watch out. They have much more limited tolerance for this sort of thing in places like that. Though a good public flogging could get his music back on the radio.

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Washington, D.C.: As you've probably heard lots of times, one reason so many people favor the Times and D.C. Examiner over the Post and Express is that their local news coverage is so much more substantial. Still, I come back again and again to the Post for reporters like Petula and others, including you on occasion. It would be nice if there were a real local chat, I mean down to the neighborhoods, ANCs, business and citizen association level. Just once in a while. Has the Post considered that ever?

Marc Fisher: Substantial? Wow. I'd put this Metro staff of more than 100 reporters up against those flimsy operations on any story. But yes, you'll find our first step in that direction right here on the big web site--a blog devoted to Fairfax County news. And there's more coming, including some ventures that will involve community groups at the neighborhood level.

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Washington, D.C. : Marc,

As an American Indian, I see the problem as this: most of the Indian-themed names were adopted to emphasize the aggressiveness of the team. Moreover, such names were adopted during a time where every image (movies, TV, etc.) of AI was that of a savage. So in fact, they are using a stereotype to toughen the image of their organization. One could argue that many people today have a better understanding of what was AI culture, but sadly this is not the case -- very few people with whom I have discussed this understand that many of the indigenous people in fact lived in societies, and many were peaceful.

Unless the name is used to change the image of AI, I feel it is a disservice as it is only perpetuating a negative -- and somewhat inaccurate -- stereotype.

Marc Fisher: Certainly many of the team names emphasize aggression and power, and that's part of the appeal to Indians as well as to the rest of us. I hear from lots of Indians every time I write on this topic, and most say that what their kids need is exactly that sort of identification, the sense that while some Indians may live on reservations and be dependent on the federal government, there is nonetheless a proud history that is both peaceful and capable of standing up for itself. And of course not all the team names have that aggressive connotation--Indians, for example, or Braves.

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Ithaca, N.Y.: United is just another word for "Mets." Take that how you will.

Marc Fisher: Step right up and beat the Mets....

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Del Ray, Va.: Hmmm. You come out in favor of keeping the team name and conduct a poll to affirm your decision, a poll that will almost certainly do so. Particularly since when I tried to vote for the slur response, the poll rejected me for attempting to vote more than once!

Marc Fisher: You'll be disappointed to learn that the glitch on the poll is an equal opportunity foul-up, and it's preventing votes on all sides of the issue.

But before it got mucked up, the results were running about even, pro and con.

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Clifton, Va.: Lets kidnap Marc and put him in a locked room with Premier league soccer vidoes playing continuously and 25 teacup dogs of various breeds. It will drive him crazy and turn him into a right wing conservative with a fetish for Bill O'Reilly and Ann Coulter.

Marc Fisher: Add rats and you'll have me quivering in the corner in no time. I'll even issue effusive endorsements of Marion Barry, Bobby Haircut and the entire Richmond legislature.

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Alexandria, Va.: What did your buddy Weingarten have to say about your article? I believe he feels exactly opposite on the Redskins issue.

Marc Fisher: Haven't heard from Gino yet on this. He will inevitably chalk this up to my missing dog gene and conclude that I am heartless and hardened. Though it's the pro-Redskins name side that has the franchise on emotion and softness in this controversy.

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Re: Herndon: Except Woodward would have kept his information from the prosecutor, maybe even while Libby was on trial, unless his source released him. Why does the promise to a source trump a defendant's -- even if he did work for Cheney -- right to a fair trial?

Marc Fisher: Good question. It doesn't. The whole debate here is over whether prosecutors should rely on news reporters to do their jobs, and 49 states have concluded that the occasional stories where the press reveals to the public essential information about government misdeeds justify a grant of privilege to reporters to protect whistleblowers. Good prosecutors understand that they are supposed to do their jobs without jeopardizing the relationship between the press and its sources. Here's a case where the only way the prosecutor can find his grail is to go after reporters, and in most cases, he was willing to make a deal with news organizations to limit the scope of his questioning. That's how the Post and the other news organizations other than the NY Times managed to avoid a Judy Miller showdown. In the Woodward case, his testimony was made relatively simple because the source went to the prosecutor first to reveal the conversation.

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Maryland: I'm a deaf graduate of Rockville H.S. The special education program is great. The problem with D.C. is that too many kids are labeled LD or ADHD by so-called professionals with no experiences in SP.ED.

Marc Fisher: Spot on--the real culprit here is over- and mis-labeling, which any honest look at the vast increase in special ed caseloads would reveal.

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Avoiding traffic: I leave the D.C. area via 270 to 15N all the way to Canandaigua, N.Y. If I leave before noon on Wed, my drive to Frederick, Md., takes about 17 minutes (from Gaithersburg). If I leave after noon, it takes upwards of 90 minutes!

Marc Fisher: Yes, the key on both Wednesday and Thursday is the early departure if you're heading north or south. Wednesday from noon to midnight is the second worst time to travel. Sunday from 2 p.m. to midnight is the worst.

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Arlington, Va.: Re: Schools and Indian names

I attended a school named Iroquois from K-12. The football teams (and all the other sports teams) nickname is the Chiefs. Is this offensive? Doesn't seem so to me but maybe the NCAA would think so.

Marc Fisher: The NCAA would stuff your school. But amazingly, Carthage College won a reprieve from the NCAA by changing its team name from the Redmen to the Red Men. I am not making this up.

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Connecticut and L: Marc:

I am not a big fan of yours but I must admit you were on the money in your column today. The one point that I feel is often overlooked is that mascots are chosen for their ADMIRABLE characteristics. The whole American Indian thing pays homage to their reputed skills in battle, their bravery and their fearlessness. Unfortunately, the Redskins are probably one of the worst remaining names in that using the "Redskins" might be analogous to calling the "Fightin' Irish" of Notre Dame the "Fightin' Micks."The group being recognized is the same but choice of monikers is less than ideal.

Marc Fisher: The Skins management did what it could to change the trappings that surround the name, removing the battle symbols many years ago. And yes, even though the history of the name shows that it was never about skin pigmentation, most casual fans likely assume that it is. So the Skins name is not the most easily defended of the Indian names, but the various Indian high schools that use the Redskins name defend it as a proud piece of their history, and surely by now the conscious connection between the name and the experience of Indian history is very thin.

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Good Grief!: I guess next people will be complaining about the Saints name. And as far as the Dolphins, I can just see all dolphins uniting and coming out of the ocean for a massive attack against us humans. Hey, it happened on the Simpsons!

Marc Fisher: PETA is on the warpath about animal names for teams. They're starting with Gamecocks, but don't be surprised when they go after the Fins. If they go after the Blue Jays, however, I'll join them. Awful name.

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Riding the Bus: Marc, just curious as to your column about riding the 92 the other week. The 92 and D6 are two of the most diverse bus routes in the city (the 96 and 70 are growing more diverse too). Curious as to why you chose to join the 92 mid-route as opposed to picking it up closer to your house and where the line actually begins ... McLean Gardens.

Marc Fisher: Good question--Certainly there must be some times of day when the ridership on the 92 is a bit more diverse than what I saw, but not much. I picked up the bus in Adams Morgan because that's where the bulk of the riders get on. The 92 runs pretty empty in upper Northwest. Its core ridership boards along U Street and Florida Avenue and then again near the Navy Yard. I wanted to ride it through as much of the city as I could, but I didn't see much point in riding it when it was empty. Also, I could walk to the U Street stop from the office. Practicality prevails.

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Adams Morgan, Washington, D.C.: Seriously, you would be okay if a school decided to call itself the Crackers? The Breeders (for those not in the know, a derogatory term gay folks use for straight folks)? The N-words?

Marc Fisher: No, obviously terms that are meant to be offensive wouldn't be appropriate for a team name. But as in the examples in today's column, there are often names that have a tie to an ethnic group that either honor those groups or pick up on some characteristic of those groups that seems right for a sports team to latch onto. So Savages is highly questionable where Braves seems just. Similarly, Jews wouldn't mind a team called the Maccabees (there are some high school teams with that name) but would mind the Kikes. And there are lots of teams at Christian schools called the Crusaders and the Conquerors and nobody seems to mind that.

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Washington, D.C.: Marc,

I wonder what the ethnic breakdown is of the folks who are for/against the use of Indian names. Judging by the tone of the comments, I'd say the majority of folks in favor are white.

Marc Fisher: I haven't seen any survey data on that, except for the findings that Indians support Indian team names. Nearly all of the activists I've seen and heard from who oppose Indian team names are white.

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Fairfax, Va.: Thank you, Marc, for your sensible attitude regarding the team mascot names. The common sense you reflected is unfortunately so notably absent from this issue. I was delighted by your observation that the energies of people so intent on 'correcting this wrong', could be put to much better use in addressing other (real) issues, your example of Indian poverty being an excellent exanoke. I could not agree with you more! I think we would all be much better off if Courtland Milloy and his fellow P.C. thinkers, would tackle some ACTUAL problems, rather than continuing to fabricate them, fomenting discontent.

Marc Fisher: Thanks--I loved Courtland's column on this from Monday, and I think we'll be hearing from him again soon.

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Worst Mascot Name: Get ready -- pretty soon all the mascot team names will be sanitized for our protection and we will all end up with names like my hometown college. The Whittier Poets.

Marc Fisher: Hey, we're the world capital of wussy team names right here in the District of Columbia--we've got the Cardozo Clerks, the Maret Frogs, the Sidwell Quakers and the Georgetown Day Mighty Hoppers. Now all we need is the Interns and the Policy Wonks and we'll have a league.

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Washington, D.C.: Last year the Nats were mediocre (81-81). In 2006 we will be a terrible team without the ability to improve the team through free agents. It is disgraceful that MLB ruined our farm system, handicapped us with a pathetic TV contract and now the lack of an owner. The consequences of these actions could hinder our ability to compete for 5 years or so. What is next? Will they (Tony Tavares) continue to instruct HOK on how to build our ballpark? Let the new Owner(s) come in and approve of the design elements that will be included/excluded. We demand independence from the clutches of MLB and Bud Selig!

Marc Fisher: Start a movement! I'll be happy to help the effort.

But the good news is that there are increasingly loud signals that whenever we do get a team, it's going to be a local owner, and one that stands ready to spend.

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Falls Church, Va.: R: "... except for the findings that Indians support Indian team names."

What findings are you citing?

Marc Fisher: Two studies cited in today's column--one for Sports Illustrated and the other by the University of Pennsylvania.

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Provide the resources a city : Uh huh. Funny then how these folks inspire tax cuts and baseball stadiums, rather than programs to help "those in need". Sort of the way free trade is supposed to result in increased taxes on capital's windfall profits for the sake of displaced workers, while in reality we cut capital gains taxes.

Theory vs reality. Amusingly, upscale reporters always seem to love to report the teory. Maybe because they are the beneficiaries?

Marc Fisher: The city is spending vastly more on its New Communities project, which will provide thousands of the poorest people in town with homes of their own, than it has ever conceived of spending on baseball.

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All Things Soccer again: I don't prefer naming teams after anything but their location. This is often nebulous, e.g., New England Patriots, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and any other area with a high per capita income. I don't get the point of nicknames for professional teams. Are other teams supposed to be afraid of the mighty Detroit Lions or the cute Cardinals?

By the way, what was your choice for the baseball team's nickname, Nationals or Grays? One is a concept, the other is a color.

Marc Fisher: Senators.

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Arlington, Va.: No one has said much about Thanksgiving travel. So here's a pair of questions: (1) What time does the traffic start to clear up on the way to New York on I-95/NJ Turnpike/etc.?

(2) How much further is it to go the westerly route through Pennsylvania via I-78 or I-81?

Marc Fisher: Go at 6 am or after 11 pm.

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Washington, D.C.: So now that smoking bans are passing everywhere, is supporting derogatory team nicknames your new token stance to antagonize right-thinking people?

Marc Fisher: No--I'm still dead set against smoking bans.

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Arlington, Va.: I remember long ago, it had to be the late 1970s/early 1980s that the head of an Indian rights group was asked about the name and his response was that he had no problem with it since it was basically obsolete and, most importantly, the Redskins didn't utilize any mocking imagery a la Chief Noc-a-Homa.

University of North Dakota had gotten together a council of elders of Sioux tribes to get their blessing to use the name "Fighting Sioux," but that apparently wasn't enough for the PC police at the NCAA who insist on cleansing universities of Native American allusions.

Just wondering, are there many animals left that haven't been taken? How many "Tigers" and "Lions" can there be before it gets confusing?

Marc Fisher: Maybe it's time for rodent team names. Rats. Mice. Ferrets. Richard Gere.

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Laurel, Md.: Are any sports teams named the Morons, the Fools or the Nerds?

Of course not, because team's aren't named for people you look down on or make fun of. They're named for people who exhibit the characteristics we admire in an athlete -- bravery, strength and loyalty. We even name teams for people who exhibit those characteristics that aren't admirable -- like Vikings or Raiders.

Marc Fisher: Hey, I like the Vikings (the people, not the team.) Great hats.

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College Park, Md.: Good choice for the Nay of the day. The Repubs in Maryland have screwed up again. They had quotes, actual quotes from Maryland Democrats calling Steele an "Uncle Tom" and saying that commenting on his race is perfectly fine. But now Dems will get away with saying that everything is overblown because the Repubs are liars and no one will continue to take the true racists in the Dem party to task. Pathetic.

Marc Fisher: Thanks--

As you've perhaps seen, the poll is irreparably mucked up today, as we continue to struggle with that technology. We should go back to paper ballots, I'm telling you. So no report on the results. We'll try again next time.

Speaking of which, I'm way over the time allotment, so this is the end. Sorry I couldn't get to more of you. No show next week thanks to Thanksgiving. Happy turkey, happy turducken, happy giblets. The column is back Sunday and will continue through the holiday week. This show resumes two weeks from today.

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