Potomac Confidential fills the midday lull with discussion of the latest news and a rigorous slicing and dicing of the issues that define who we are and where we live.
This week's columns:
Marc Fisher
(The Washington Post)
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3 R's for Today: Rigid, Regressive And Unresponsive (Post, May 6)\
Memorial That Doesn't Measure Up (Post, May 4)
Zero Tolerance -- For Mistakes or Second Chances (Post, April 29)
In his weekly show, Washington Post Metro columnist Marc Fisher veers wildly from serious probing to silly prattle, and is open to topics local, national, personal and more.
A transcript follows.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
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Marc Fisher: Welcome aboard, folks. Potomac Confidential comes to you today from Lexington, Va., and the stunningly beautiful campus of Washington and Lee, where I've been visiting with students and speaking to classes.
It's a very busy day--Virginia finally gets a budget, Maryland is moving to try the back door route to slots with a statewide vote on the issue, and the Iraq torture story gets even uglier--so we'll get right to it.
But first, the Yay and Nay of the Day:
Yay: To a couple of people who actually see a way to improve the World War II Memorial. Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey called earlier this week to suggest that since the field of gold stars at the memorial in no way gives a sense of the sacrifice and loss that our nation suffered in that war, we should add the number of war dead to each of the 50-plus pylons representing each state and territory. It would be a simple way to demonstrate how each of our states suffered. And Judy Scott Feldman, who led the battle to prevent this memorial from scarring the Mall, suggests that we add two elements that were in the original plan for the memorial: 1) a plaque at the Rainbow Pool saying "If you seek why we fought, just look around you," and 2) a central sculpture that could speak artistically about the loss and purpose of the war.
Nay: To the Bush administration, for its continuing efforts to blame the Iraqi torture on a handful of wayward soldiers, when it is becoming clear that this was a more widespread and planned series of abuses.
Today's column looks back at the Alexandria school board's decision to keep Superintendent Rebecca Perry in office despite her drunken driving arrest, and at other failures of school leadership--and one success. Tuesday's offering was my look at the new World War II Memorial.
Your turn starts now....
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Farragut West, Washington, D.C.:
Thanks for the great column this morning. Unfortunately, I think most children, and certainly most adults, have given up the idea that people in power normally take responsibility for errors and misdeeds. We have a former president who lied in a court deposition. We have a current president who couldn't even say, "I'm sorry," for the Saddam Hussein-like treatment of Iraqi prisoners by the U.S. military. And now we have a superintendent who thinks nothing of getting behind the wheel after drinking enough to blow a .12 on a breathalyzer. If I was a kid, here's the message I receive. As long as you think you can get away with it, go for it. Just don't bring an aspirin to school or you're likely to be expelled.
Marc Fisher: Yes,unfortunately, the adults involved in these decisions seem not particularly to care what message kids take away from these policy decisions--it's all about making their own personnel choices easier or about maintaining power.
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Olney, Md.:
Hey, Marc. Good article today. Now I'm not sure how I feel about the mayor taking over the D.C. public schools. If there were one person who was taking the heat for Wilma Durham's fraud and the school board's fiscal irresponsibility, we might get a better response, but Williams has shown again and again that he is not above his own brand of cronyism. Personally, I think he has a good heart and mind, but has no concept of how others perceive things, and so he fails to avoid the appearance of impropriety if HE knows there is nothing wrong.
So, could there be a new wave of support for the mayor's plan? Or would that require too much political savvy on the mayor's part (something he obviously lacks) to take advantage of the new affronts to District residents?
Marc Fisher: I wish I could share your optimism that having the mayor in charge of the schools would produce that level of responsibility that you and I both seek. The mayor's track record is mixed--he's made some parts of the bureaucracy much more efficient and responsive, while other pieces of the city remain mired in desperate incompetence. This is the guy who has claimed for years to be the Education Mayor, yet the schools have, if anything, gotten worse. Why would giving him the school system fix that?
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Washington, D.C.:
Marc,
With your various pieces on the WWII memorial, you have become messianic and elitist. You called the inscriptions banal. Among them is Eisenhower's exhortation, delivered to an army of common men on the eve of the largest invasion in history. To these few, these happy few soldiers, it was more than good enough. No doubt the memorial fails to please the critics who wanted something kitschy, revisionist and cluttered. Why endorse Judy Scott Feldman who has no shortage of vague ideas? Why does she ?- a suburbanite ?- know what's best for us? World War II was won by the common man, not the elites. This memorial should speak to them.
Marc Fisher: Messianic! Wow--somehow I manage to walk to the office without folks falling to their knees, but I remain ever hopeful.
But you and I agree: The memorial should speak to the common man. It should tell the story of the war as a battle fought by and won by the common American. I find that message nowhere in this memorial. Rather, I see a bombastic and generic salute to a faceless and numberless mass of people who died in service of...what? There is no reference to the cause or purpose of the war, no tribute to the sacrifices made at the home front, no symbolic gesture toward the remarkable mix of Americans who came together in that historic battle.
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Washington, D.C.:
Marc --
I commute to work by bike, and I cross the Mall every morning. My opinion on the WWII memorial: 1. It's not that great, but it's not nearly as terrible as some would make it out to be. 2. It's not the worst thing happening on the Mall these days, by far. I'm much more offended by the fact that the Mall has been essentially closed to the public with virtually no public discussion.
Marc Fisher: Agreed: The Jersey barriers and the temporary walls and the various security measures are a blight upon the Mall and the city. The restrictions on movement into buildings along the Mall are inconsistent and troubling. And no one has been willing to take this issue on in any concerted fashion.
As for the WWII, I keep hearing that same defense: Hey, it's not terrible. I'd like to think that we'd have a somewhat higher expectation for such a crucial memorial to such a momentous period of our history.
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Arlington, Va.:
Marc, it's been at least 24 hours since I read an article about Bob Edwards' departure! I'm going into withdrawal! Why isn't the Post covering this event more heavily?
More seriously, it's interesting to see how the Post has given so much more coverage to Edwards' departure than it did to its own buyout plan. Certainly, the circumstances were different, but Levey, Dirda, etc., easily touched as many people as Bob Edwards. So to speak.
Marc Fisher: Well, that's very nice of you to say, but my sense is that many of us as news consumers form more emotional bonds with the folks who deliver the news with their voices or faces than we do with those who type words. It's a more elementally human connection, I suppose, so we tend to cover the broadcast news folks the way we do show biz celebrities.
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Annapolis, Md.:
Mark, I saw this bumper sticker on the way to work today and don't really know which candidate it's supposed to support:
President George W. Bush, Boy were we lucky
At first I thought it was for Dubya, but it seems to be sarcastic. If it really is Dubya, it's poorly worded at best (which may fit well I guess). If it's for Kerry, then it seems a little nasty and I'm not sure what to think. What do you think?
Marc Fisher: I haven't seen it, but my reading would be more straightforward: It strikes me as a reference to how Gore might have handled 9/11 and terrorism, that is to say, by dawdling and wringing his hands and being afraid to act boldly--that's what I assume the Repos would be saying in that sticker. Anyone read it a different way?
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Arlington, Va.:
Marc, thanks for taking my question. Oil prices are nearing $40/barrel, compared to less than $25 a year ago. Gasoline prices will soon be past $2.00/gallon everywhere (I already saw one D.C. gas station at $2.07 for the lowest octane gasoline). How long before the SUV crowd begins screaming for tax relief on gasoline and perhaps SUVs as well? Every year it's the same thing. Gas prices spike in the summer, politicians assume oil companies are gouging consumers, consumers scream about high gasoline prices and demand relief from the government (meaning us taxpayers who don't drive SUVs), then turn around and buy an even bigger SUV. Ain't America great?
Marc Fisher: Well, the price of gas adjusted for inflation has actually gone down over the past 10-20 years, and quite dramatically so. So I don't think we're going to see nearly the hysterical reaction to rising prices that we've seen in the past. And the prices aren't jumping high enough to prompt terribly much of a move toward more fuel efficient vehicles, though there is increasing demand for hybrids such as the Toyota Prius. How about some $3 or $4 gas? That would bring about some changes in consumer behavior.
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East End, Washington, D.C.:
A public-radio talk show last week had a homeland security chief and the D.C. Delegate to the House on, talking about security issues.
I noted that a single caller asked, "How can you have a homeland security program when kids can bring guns into Ballou High School?" And the question Was Not Answered.
Perhaps, with the shooting of young Chelsea this week, someone (perhaps our Marc Fisher) can actually address this: How can we be spending so much money on bureaucracy and technology when there are enough guns and gang members in this city which, if trained properly, can take over a government building without much resistance from (still) untrained security guards?
Marc Fisher: At the risk of sounding callous, it's a simple matter of Us and Them. Terrorists threaten all of us, so their actions produce a general panic and demand for security measures, whether those measures really protect us or not.
A shooting or a string of shootings in poor neighborhoods only affects the people who live there, and many of the rest of us have developed ways of telling ourselves that we are therefore safe and even immune to that sort of violence. So we naturally care less about it; we may pretend to be terribly upset when a Chelsea dies, and we genuinely feel sorry for her and her family, but we easily put that incident aside as something that happens Over There and not Where We Live. That is a false security, but one that enables us to keep on doing nothing to address the problems.
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Arlington, Va.:
Marc, the random killing of an eight-year old in Deanwood gives me the creeps, but is there any real way that we can prevent this type of thing? People can "rent" gums outside of any legal system and the police can't get a handle of who the gangs are.
Marc Fisher: Sure, there are plenty of things we can do. But they are expensive, intrusive and difficult. We could dramatically boost the expectations we have of students in inner city schools, holding them to the same standards we use elsewhere. We could be much more rigorous about enforcing gun laws. We could empower police to enforce rules of behavior in public places. We could create jobs for returning convicts. We could require developers to build affordable housing units. We choose not to do these things because the dangers that stem from failing to do them are largely restricted to places that most of us don't visit.
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Washington, D.C.:
Am I the only one totally against baseball in D.C? MLB seems to be held hostage by Angelos and the Orioles and enamored of every exotic locale that expresses a passing interest. Worse yet in, my opinion, is that the mayor seems to spend an inordinate amount of time on an issue that won't have any impact on the city's most stubborn problems.
Marc Fisher: If the mayor's expenditure of time and energy produces a team for Washington, then it will all have been worthwhile--but only if the stadium is built downtown. The only way I can see to justify public investment on a baseball team is to expand the tax base by creating a new neighborhood of retail and other businesses. Putting a team at the RFK site would not do that. But it does sound as if there is real movement on the part of MLB. Will that mean a team for us? I wouldn't dream of making any hopeful prediction there.
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Tenleytown, Washington, D.C.:
Marc: You missed a major Yay of the Day -- Major League Baseball has announced that it is going to liven up its games by putting ads on the bases. Who could ask for anything more?
Marc Fisher: Why oh why do the lords of baseball insist on making it harder and harder to love the game? Why does the greed of the zillionaires who own sports teams know no bounds? Why are fans ever willing to absorb whatever preposterous overcommercialization is sent our way?
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Washington, D.C.:
I say your Nay of the day should have gone to Jim Graham for essentially being coerced into not running for Harold Brazil's seat. Now it's going to be business as usual in the city council ... snore ...
Marc Fisher: Yes! I actually had that as the Nay of the Day and pulled it back because I thought not enough folks would know what I was talking about, but you're right. It's a hugely disappointing decision on Graham's part, both because it shows how easily he could be dissuaded from doing the right thing, and because it deprives the city of the chance to get Brazil off the council, and because it shows just how politically immature the city still is, with this decision being driven by a root fear of any campaign pitting a black against a white.
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Washington, D.C.:
The District is going through yet another
spasm of grief over the loss of a child to
criminals shooting up the streets with
impunity.
When will the good citizens of this town
wake up to the reality that only by arming
themselves -- repealing so-called gun
control laws--they will be able to take
back control of their neighborhoods?
Marc Fisher: Best I can tell, this city is already armed to the hilt, and I can't quite see where that has diminished the rule of the thugs in some neighborhoods.
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Washington, D.C.:
Marc -
I'm curious to hear your thoughts on Disney's decision to block the release of Michael Moore's controversial documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11". Do you liken this to censorship, or feel that Disney is fully within its rights as a business to do so?
Marc Fisher: Anytime a studio saves us from more schlock, I have to applaud. This is merely a publicity stunt by a guy who is expert at staging such stunts. Studios spend years developing projects like this--there is no sudden decision. If Moore makes a movie, he has plenty of resources to get it shown without Disney's help. And Disney has no obligation to distribute anything it doesn't want to--and surely its decision is economic, not political.
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Washington, D.C.:
Since you were so critical of the WWII Memorial not telling the story of WWII and why the war was fought , I want to ask you how you think that the Korean and Vietnam Memorials tell why those wars were fought (and I am not of the opinion that either war was fought for NO reason).
I also think that a 14-year-old who cannot tell you why WWII was fought tells you more about his schooling than the Memorial
Marc Fisher: The Vietnam Wall tells many stories--the list of names demonstrates the nation's ability to transcend the varied backgrounds of our citizens, the black gash in the Mall powerfully sends the message of conflict about the war and of dissent on the home front, the reflective stone requires visitors to consider their own attitudes toward war, sacrifice and unpopular political decisions. A memorial need not and probably should not spell out a history in the way that a museum would, but a successful memorial speaks of the sacrifices it honors in a way that connects to the content of the conflict.
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Washington, D.C.:
I believe your idea is valid that a memorial should tell a story, but it is not the only valid idea. Some memorials commemorate, but do not NARRATE, the totality of the event. Witness the USS Arizona memorial. Please open your mind to alternatives.
Marc Fisher: Yes, commemoration is essential and primary, but as I said above, telling a story is crucial too, because a memorial is not built to satisfy those who fought, but to communicate to the generations that follow.
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Baseball Advertising:
Within a few years the baseball ads will spread to uniforms, and players will look like NASCAR whores -- I mean drivers -- no, I mean whores.
Marc Fisher: The quotes in the papers today from Selig and other baseball chieftains are mealy mouthed at best on that question. On one hand, they say, uniforms are sacrosanct; on the other hand, patches on the arms seemed just fine when the players wore them in Japan at the start of this season. What nonsense--as Oscar Wilde said, we have already established that you're whores, we are now only haggling about price.
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Washington, D.C.:
Marc -
I was unaware that local school boards are now agencies of the criminal justice system and, judging from the statement in your column today that Rebecca Perry is "free to carry on as before," that they have exclusive jurisdiction over school system employees. Rebecca Perry was arrested, correct? Presumably she'll go to court, either plead guilty or plead not guilty, go to trial, and then be found guilty, and then be sentenced. Why is this being played as if she's getting away with something?
Marc Fisher: Because she is. The courts handle the punishment on society's behalf, but it's her employer--the school board--that is responsible for making certain that its workers are appropriate role models for students and that students see that adults too are held to account for their actions.
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Bethesda, Md.:
They may be making bad decisions, but at least 'someone' is in charge of the schools in Alexandria ...
Marc Fisher: There is that. Good point.
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Talk about elitist!:
Now you can't have a valid opinion unless you happen to be an urban resident? That's so typical of the D.C. urban attitude -- "I live in town, so only I know what's hip, intelligent, worthy," etc. ... Yecchhh! This guy just doesn't get it. I'd like to hear from someone who was actually there, not some pseudo intellectual, yuppified, boomer/gen x city snob.
Marc Fisher: Right--I should have picked up on that line in the post early in today's show. You handled him nicely.
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Baltimore, Md.:
So now suburbanites are the elites? Bwahahahah! Good thing we have one of those non-elite Yale and Havard educated folks as our president.
Marc Fisher: Yes, but you'd think that having the contrast between Bush and Kerry might break down some of the stereotypes about products of fancy schools. But no....
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Riverdale, Md.:
I am interested to know when your column on Mike Busch's flip-flopping and obstructionism will run?
Marc Fisher: Very good idea--My question is why, after Busch won so decisively in the slots battle, would he now cave in and go for a statewide referendum on slots? Isn't that simply handing victory to the governor and his casino cronies?
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Pandas:
Just a comment -- this annual news story of "are the pandas getting it on?" and "are they pregnant?" makes the media sound like a bunch of mothers-in-law. Why do we do this every year? Either they'll get pregnant or not. Sheesh.
Marc Fisher: We all like to watch. I was amazed to see a couple of the local TV stations showing video of the panda mounting his mate, but I guess given the current broadcasting standards, I shouldn't have been surprised. Did it ever cross the zookeepers' minds that maybe the beast doesn't care to be watched as he fulfills his procreative function?
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Bethesda, Md.:
Marc, While I do not doubt many people feel divinely inspired by your presence, I believe "messianic" was meant in Webster's sense of "idealistic and aggressively crusading."
Marc Fisher: Yup. I'll take it whichever way I can get it.
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Washington, D.C.:
Marc, if your paper is going to put a picture of a leashed and groveling naked man on its front page, wouldn't common decency suggest that at least his face should be obscured? Isn't this somewhat equivalent to running pictures of a rape victim?
Marc Fisher: Interesting point. I wasn't party to the discussions about how to use the picture, but I'd bet big money that the decision was very much informed by the desire to run the picture as it was made--to present it to the public without distortion or manipulation so folks could make their own decisions about its meaning. Anytime we play with a picture, even to protect someone's privacy, we are distorting reality and that should be done only in the rarest of cases and only with heavy and clear explanation of what's been done. In this age of Photoshop, it's more important than ever that readers be able to believe that we are presenting images exactly as they come to us.
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Miami Beach, Fla.:
I love following these chats long distance. Wanna hear something really stupid going on down here: The City of Miami wants to build a new state of the art baseball stadium for the Marlins, but only wants to build about 2000 parking spaces. Where would the majority of fans park? They can "rent space" on the front lawns of the homeowners living near the stadium.
See, there are morons in government everywhere.
Marc Fisher: Depends on the location. The lesson of the MCI Center is that you can build a 16,000-seat arena without adding ANY parking, and thereby encourage use of mass transit, enlivening the neighborhood and building a living downtown.
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Mt. Pleasant, Washington, D.C.:
My problem with the WW II memorial is that it is so blindingly white. It's a melanoma magnet, with tourist and UV exposure peaking in the same months. By contrast, the FDR memorial has pools, and the other memorials have shade. I noticed that every single photo in the Post had the tourist shielding their eyes.
Maybe they could put in a few trees?
Marc Fisher: Good point--it's going to be a hellish place come July. It's a broad expanse of stone without shade or shelter.
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Washington, D.C.:
Just curious, speaking of elite colleges, where'd you go?
Marc Fisher: Yikes. Princeton, he said. So I know only too well how many folks with degrees from fancy schools actually have zero curiosity and powerfully anti-intellectual approaches to life.
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Washington, D.C.:
Those fancy school stereotypes are well deserved fact. Look at McGeorge Bundy and Vietnam and John Lindsay and bankrupt 1970's New York. They were better than us.
Marc Fisher: Right, and there are plenty of good examples of that in Halberstam's Best and the Brightest, or in any number of examinations of the brains behind the Vietnam adventure. But I don't see how you can take that stereotype of those schools and apply it equally to the Kerry and Bush cases--aren't those two very different personalities and intellectual approaches, and can they both be blamed on the same institutions?
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Boston, Mass.:
The interesting thing about Moore's film and the discussion around it is no one really doubts that Jeb Bush would work to repeal the tax breaks Disney gets. Most of the news I have seen around the issue think Disney is foolish since the movie will bring in so much money that losing the tax breaks wouldn't matter much. That is the real issue at hand, the Bushies lowering our expectations such that we EXPECT and accept the next conspiracy as just the way of things.
Marc Fisher: That's a pretty far fetched conspiracy, though. I love a good conspiracy theory, but the idea that Disney would make a movie distribution decision based on its tax status in Florida seems a real stretch.
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Hollywood, Calif.:
Marc, your lack of understanding of film distribution is glaring in your response regarding Disney and the Moore film. Disney's distribution net through Buena Vista is enormous, as opposed to an independent release. What this dispute is all about is media concentration in the hands of a few who will control what we the people see and do not see. And more and more we will see a "Republican" view of the world.
Marc Fisher: Ok, I'll make you this bet: Mr. Moore will find a way to get his movie into theaters before this fall's election, and he will make a pile of money for doing so. Lunch says he'll do this. You in?
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Washington, D.C.:
Marc --
I'm surprised there hasn't been more made of the contrast between two recent stories. In one, University of Maryland officials complain that they are powerless to stop uncivilized behavior by basketball fans at home games, citing free speech concerns. In another, three University of Maryland students face disciplinary action for asking unscripted questions of Lynne Cheney, wife of the vice-president, during a televised speech. Officials cite a university statute regulating heckling and booing. It seems that at UMD, free speech is defined not by what you say, where you say it, or how you say it, but by who you say it to.
Marc Fisher: Nicely said. Even if we restrict ourselves to the sports example, Maryland and other colleges are taking action against kids who insult or verbally attack individual players--even when those attacks are not obscene--but the schools are unwilling to act against generic obscene chants. I would make precisely the opposite choice--encouraging kids who come up with clever chants, even if they are aimed at one particular player, but taking clear and direct action to let students in general know that obscenity is not a permitted form of student behavior at public events.
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Silver Spring, Md.:
You want a cultural elitist? Weingarten, the college dropout.
Marc Fisher: Exactly. But he portrays himself as a man of the people, which, of course, is quintessentially elitist.
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Re: Pandas:
Thank you! I was thinking the same thing, because both my parents and my wife's parents were VERY eager for grandchildren.
I want Tian Tian to bellow at the zoo crowd, "Can we have some privacy here, you pervs?"
Marc Fisher: I think I heard him saying exactly that, but then again, my Chinese is kind of rusty.
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Clifton, Va.:
The Army and DOD needs to bring the colonels and generals involved before a federal court martial and find them guilty. Sentence should be confinement at hard labor for a few years, reduction in rate to E-1 and no retirement benefits. Make an example of the senior officers not a bunch of enlisted reservists. Secdef may have to jump on his sword for this one!
Marc Fisher: Right--but what are the odds that big brass will fall because of this? Not good. We unfortunately have a very think tradition of resignation as a matter of honor in this country's government.
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Bumper Sticker:
I read it the same way. In fact, on September 12, 2001, a Republican I know (Hey, some of my best friends are Republican), said, "Thank God Al Gore isn't President."
My response was that 9/11 happened on Bush's watch. Nothing will EVER change that.
Marc Fisher: Sounds right to me. Here's another perspective....
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Chantilly, Va.:
It's probably a ham-handed pro-Bush sticker -- but it reminds us that not all luck is good.
Marc Fisher: Ah, turns out to be the same view. I think we have consensus here.
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Washington, D.C.:
More of a statement really. Why didn't the designers of the WWII Memorial consider engraving each of the units that fought on each state's pylon? For example, the 29th Infantry Division patch/name could be on Maryland and Virginia pylon. Many of the units that fought in war originated in specific states, even towns; some dating back to the Civil War.
Marc Fisher: Sen. Lautenberg's proposal would do something along those lines, listing at least the number of fallen from each state on its pylon. I don't know that naming the units would tell much of a story to future generations.
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Georgetown, D.C.:
On the WW2 memorial, from which direction did you enter it?
I was jogging last Thursday at lunch, noticed that it had just opened, and paused to tour it. This means I entered from the direction of the Washington Monument construction fence.
I bet you came in from Constitution Ave., because as much of an opponent I was of the thing, I had to admit that it didn't stink as much as I thought it would. And those pillars don't register when you enter from the long axis of the Mall.
I also like that the list of battles included some major fights that aren't very well known, i.e., Pelelius and the Huertgen Forest.
You are 100 percent correct on the wall of gold stars -- it has to go. It completely blocks the view of the Lincoln Memorial from the ground.
Marc Fisher: The official entrance is from 17th Street, from the Washington Monument side, and that's where you get the full, dramatic view. But it's worth walking all the way around, though the view from the backside, from Abe, is very weak. The sides provide an interesting perspective, and the new Rainbow Pool looks fab from any direction.
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Upstate N.Y.:
Marc,
I believe that the photo of the leashed Iraqi man shown on the front page (at least on the Internet) was manipulated. It was cropped, and the caption states that it was. If you want to argue for presenting it as it was made, maybe it should have been shown in its entirety. And maybe they shouldn't have airbrushed the genitalia out of the others. I agree with the previous poster that the faces should have been somehow obscured.
Marc Fisher: If it were up to me, I wouldn't airbrush anything from a picture of that historic importance--nothing whatsoever. But that's why I'm not the one making those decisions. A certain amount of taste has to enter into the choices about what you put in front of folks at the breakfast table.
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Silver Spring, Md.:
If Pennsylvania passes the slots bill, is the fight over for Maryland?
Marc Fisher: That's what the pols would love for you to believe. And probably that's what Mike Busch will say to defend his latest switcheroo on slots. But if you're really against the idea of govt-sponsored slots, then it shouldn't matter if every other state in the nation jumps on the bandwagon.
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Marc Fisher: That kicks things in the head for today, folks. Many thanks for coming along and apologies to those I couldn't get to. Try again next Thursday. Back in the paper and online on Sunday, when a talking cicada will explain to all of us just why 1987 was so much better.
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