| Some
Quotable Quotes |
| Some quotes worth remembering. |
| After the Herndon Planning Commission voted 5 to 1 not to
replace the dilapidated and abandoned Citgo gas station on
Elden Street with the proposed Herndon Commerce Center this
week, Planning Commissioner Robert Burk expressed concerns
about the building's mass and scale by saying: |
| "There's nothing about this building that reminds me
of downtown Herndon." |
| So I guess what Mr. Burk is saying is he wants to build
a new dilapidated and abandoned Citgo gas station. Now that
WILL remind us of downtown Herndon. Or maybe he was referring
to the empty building kitty corner from the Citgo station.
Now there's another great looking downtown Herndon building. |
| Unless the Town Council reverses the Planning Commission's
recommendation of denial, this week's decision could put an
end to any hope of developing the Citgo site in the near future.
After all, what developer wants to put up with the abuse levied
by the Herndon Planning Commission? |
| |
| Real
White House
Quotes |
| The 21st Secretary of Defense, Donald H. Rumsfeld, said
recently that the search for Osama bin Laden is not over (since
we have not found him, that obviously must be true). |
| Mr. Rumsfeld said that bin Laden is either dead or alive,
in a cave in Afghanistan or some other place, or he's escaped
to Pakistan or to some other country. |
| Now that's covering your bases. |
| By the way, Mr. Rumsfeld also served as the 13th U.S. Secretary
of Defense, the youngest in the country's history, from 1975
to 1977. |
| And President Bush, speaking before a Republican-laced crowd
in California last weekend, called Mid-Eastern women who cover
themselves in robes and cloth, "women of cover."
It's the first time that word had popped up on the radar screen,
and hopefully it will be the last. |
| Mr. Bush also referred to citizens of Pakistan as "Pakis,"
a term that had his aides scrambling for excuses. Mr. Bush
used the term in remarks to reporters this week when discussing
the possibility of nuclear rivals India and Pakistan going
to war. |
| In Britain, the term "Paki" is considered an ethnic
slur. |
| It reminded me of Ross Perot's misguided comment when he
referred to members of an all-black caucus as "you people."
|
| In another Bushism, Mr. Bush said he would be surprised
if the Arab American Secret Service agent who was removed
from a flight on Christmas Day was "hostile," as
American Airlines officials claim. |
| Mr. Bush said he looked forward to the results of an investigation
into the incident. "If he was mistreated because of his
ethnicity, I'm going to be plenty hot. That means angry,"
he said. |
| Thank you for the English lesson, Mr. Bush. |
| |
| Park
Where You Dare |
| A story in this week's Observer relates the problems people
are having in getting their cars towed when parking in a Reston
Town Center parking lot. One young woman was shocked to see
a "No Parking" sign at an entrance to the lot where
she had parked her car. It cost her $90 to bail out her car. |
| Tom D'Alesandro, vice president and eastern region manager
for Terrabrook, which owns the lot, says he has done everything
possible to make it known that the lot is closed to the public. |
| D'Alesandro said there are nine signs around the parking
lot warning drivers they will be towed if they park there,
a number greater than that required by law. |
| "There are signs in two languages that
say 'No Parking,'" he said. "You have got to know
you're taking a chance. |
| It reminds me of a letter to the editor I received once
from a person who complained that his car was towed while
he was eating in a downtown Herndon restaurant. He said he
was embarrassed in front of his friends and would never eat
in Herndon again. |
| It wasn't the restaurant's fault that the guy had his car
towed, but an adjoining business whose owner got tired of
people parking in his lot. I checked out the lot and there
were (and are today) at least a half dozen signs that said
something like Don't Park Here or Your Car Will be Towed. |
| Here's a good trick: If a lot says "No Parking",
don't park there. |
| And that's Our Town this week. |
