I've been waiting for some of the D.C. DUers to gather around

[diamondsndust]

the cameras on the scene with some anti Bush posters. This would be a good opportunity for some exposure, wouldn't it?

[bertha katzenengel]

1. You can't be serious.

It's a ridiculous notion. Maybe you don't know because you've never been here during such an event.

It's gridlock around the Capitol. And I doubt the Cap Police would let anyone in who was carrying signs.

Besides all that, no, it's a LOUSY idea. No matter what's going on up there, and no matter how you or I feel about it, the Cap Police take stuff like this VERY SERIOUSLY and they would not look well on anyone who tried to use their press conferences for political purposes. (Unless, of course, it's a politician.)

This isn't funny. I live in MD and my route home takes me past the Capitol. Even if this mess is over before I leave, I am driving home by way of Virginia (check a map) to avoid the traffic.

[diamondsndust]

3. I see your point... and I am in no way trying to downplay the

seriousness of this issue at all. You are also correct, I have never been there during a time like this. The only time I've even been in D.C. was when I got lost at about 2 am after stopping for gas on the way to New Jersey many years ago. The only I saw then was hookers and crack dealers standing outside the Capitol and the White House. I could have stayed in Miami and saw that.....

[bertha katzenengel]

6. okay, i'm lightening up...

...or TRYING, as when this kind of thing happens, my muscles get tight -- and apparently so does my ass.

Sorry. :hi:

[diamondsndust]

11. no problem at all....

:hi: .... and I don't blame you... I live 8 miles from a Nuke Plant here in Tennessee... I get uptight too!

[WorseBeforeBetter]

7. Why did you get off the highway and venture into the city...

to get gas? To see the monuments? There aren't many gas stations in that part of the city, so you must have driven around quite a bit. Just curious. I lived in DC for years and never saw hookers or crack dealers outside of the Capitol or White House.

[diamondsndust]

10. I got lost trying to find my way back to the interstate..

I had never been to Jersey before either, and was following directions from my wife, who was from Jersey... but she wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer either... didn't know where she was going. This was back in '87, maybe they've cleaned up a little since then? :shrug:

[WorseBeforeBetter]

15. Like any other area, it has its problems, but it was a great place...

to live. And according to the 2006 Mercer quality of living report, it ranks 41 worldwide. First column is 2006, second is 2005. And most (if not all?) vote - no big surprise - "blue".

1 1 ZURICH Switzerland 108.2 108.0
2 2 GENEVA Switzerland 108.1 107.9
3 3 VANCOUVER Canada 107.7 107.4
4 3 VIENNA Austria 107.5 107.4
5 8 AUCKLAND New Zealand 107.3 106.5
6 5 DUSSELDORF Germany 107.2 107.0
7 6 FRANKFURT Germany 107.0 106.8
8 7 MUNICH Germany 106.8 106.7
9 9 BERN Switzerland 106.5 106.4
9 9 SYDNEY Australia 106.5 106.4
11 11 COPENHAGEN Denmark 106.2 106.2
12 14 WELLINGTON New Zealand 105.8 105.0
13 12 AMSTERDAM Netherlands 105.7 105.7
14 13 BRUSSELS Belgium 105.6 105.6
15 16 TORONTO Canada 105.4 104.9
16 16 BERLIN Germany 105.1 104.9
17 14 MELBOURNE Australia 105.0 105.0
18 18 LUXEMBOURG Luxembourg 104.8 104.8
18 21 OTTAWA Canada 104.8 104.3
20 19 STOCKHOLM Sweden 104.7 104.7
21 20 PERTH Australia 104.5 104.5
22 22 MONTREAL Canada 104.3 104.0
23 22 NURNBERG Germany 104.1 104.0
24 22 DUBLIN Ireland 103.8 104.0
25 25 CALGARY Canada 103.6 103.3
26 25 HAMBURG Germany 103.4 103.3
27 25 HONOLULU, HI United States 103.3 103.3
28 28 SAN FRANCISCO, CA United States 103.2 103.2
29 29 ADELAIDE Australia 103.1 103.1
29 29 HELSINKI Finland 103.1 103.1
31 31 BRISBANE Australia 102.8 103.0
31 32 OSLO Norway 102.8 102.8
33 33 PARIS France 102.7 102.7
34 35 SINGAPORE Singapore 102.5 102.0
35 34 TOKYO Japan 102.3 102.3
36 36 BOSTON, MA United States 101.9 101.9
37 37 LYON France 101.6 101.6
37 37 YOKOHAMA Japan 101.6 101.6
39 39 LONDON United Kingdom 101.2 101.2
40 40 KOBE Japan 101.0 101.0
41 41 WASHINGTON, DC United States 100.4 100.4
41 52 CHICAGO, IL United States 100.4 99.3
43 42 PORTLAND, OR United States 100.3 100.3
44 43 BARCELONA Spain 100.2 100.2
45 44 MADRID Spain 100.1 100.1
46 45 NEW YORK CITY, NY United States 100.0 100.0
47 46 SEATTLE, WA United States 99.9 99.9
48 47 LEXINGTON, KY United States 99.8 99.8
49 48 PITTSBURGH, PA United States 99.7 99.7
49 48 WINSTON SALEM, NC United States 99.7 99.7
51 50 OSAKA Japan 99.6 99.6
51 51 MILAN Italy 99.6 99.4

[janx]

4. It can't get any more farcical than it is already. n/t

[WorseBeforeBetter]

5. Good luck with your commute!

I lived in DC for years and miss much of the city, but not the unbelievable gridlock when these types of things happened. My all-time fave is probably the guy on the WW Bridge who, after hours and hours, finally jumped (and survived!). The commute from just Falls Church to Alexandria was b-r-u-t-a-l.

[bertha katzenengel]

8. Thanks.

Oh, man... I missed that one. But I was here for 9/11 (four hours to get home - and that was after waiting until 1:30 PM to leave) and I was here for TRACTOR MAN! I still can't laugh about THAT absurdity.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

9. Oh yeah, I forgot about the tractor dude!

The entire city SHUT DOWN b/c of some nut on a tractor.

[Shakespeare]

12. I remember that! I was living on the hill at the time.

And because traffic from the WW bridge was so screwed up, EVERYTHING was screwed up. Just trying to get down Pennsylvania and Constitution from 14th Street to my apartment on the hill took me more than an hour and a half that night. I remember drivers from the suburbs being stuck for HOURS.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

13. Yep. In many of those instances I'd just bail out of my car...

and hit the nearest bar/restaurant/movie theater, but there was NO escape that day (and I waited until about 8 p.m. or so before I left the office). Weren't people stuck in cars on/near the bridge yelling "jump"? LOL If memory serves, a bean bag thingie was fired at him and he jumped and survived. Where I live now isn't near as exciting as DC, but I'm also not sitting in gridlock! :-)

[Shakespeare]

14. Yep, you remember correctly.

And there were even letters to the Post about it for several days afterward. The poor guy didn't get much sympathy from people. And I believe you're right about the bean bag/jump, too.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

2. No, it wouldn't -- there's already enough commotion.

If it were to happen, I can hear the wingnuts now blathering on about how inappropriate it was - don't give them any ammo. Just let law enforcement do its job and let Capitol Hill get back to "normal."