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PING - MAYBE on Nightline tomorrow night - even if not at least there is an interest - want to make sure if it does happen no FReeper misses it - stay tuned

Thanks for sharing! I always knew that the D.C. FReepers were a great looking crowd! Keep up the good work;-)

Guys, it does appear that tonight's Nightline episode may touch on us. (Too much a newbie to know whoelse to ping, please ping away.) Here's the email I got from ABCNEWS on the subject of tonight's Nightline:

TONIGHT'S SUBJECT: We are living in sober times, where words matter even more than before September 11. Whether it's news reports compromising troop movements (as in "loose lips sink ships") or simply being politically incorrect in this pre-war period, tonight we'll address the questions of what to say and how to say it. As this email goes out, we've just obtained newly released New York City police and fire department tapes from September 11. You'll hear those tonight. But our main focus will be political dissent at a time of crisis. ---- Is dissent in wartime unpatriotic? It's a perennial question with no easy answers. While there's been no official war declaration, President Bush has described the terrorist attacks as an act of war. One writer who's been critical of Osama bin Laden still worries that a prevailing "pseudo-unity" will, as the CHICAGO TRIBUNE noted, "choke off the spirit of dissenting individualism crucial to defeating" what he calls "Islamic fascism." Put another way, does fear trump constitutional rights? It's a question some citizens are asking after losing their jobs for what they've written or said in the wake of the September 11 horror. The OREGON DAILY COURIER columnist, the University of New Mexico professor and the host of the ABC program POLITICALLY INCORRECT (which follows NIGHTLINE in many cities) all know what it's like to be stung after their words ruffled feathers. The first two were fired. POLITICALLY INCORRECT'S Bill Maher has had some advertisers abandon his broadcast. Some would say the marketplace of ideas is working. But others argue free speech is taking a hit during this difficult time for the country. Tonight, in another special one-hour NIGHTLINE, Ted Koppel will speak with people who have different perspectives on White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer's misunderstood admonition that in times like these, people "need to watch what they say, watch what they do. . ." Among them writer Susan Sontag, who asked in THE NEW YORKER, "Where is the acknowledgement that this (the Sept. 11 terrorist attack) was not a 'cowardly' attack on 'civilization' or 'liberty' or 'humanity' or 'the free world' but an attack on the world's self-proclaimed superpower, undertaken as a consequence of specific American alliances and actions? Strong words. Not popular, especially in these times. But does she have the right to speak her mind? Or the TEXAS CITY SUN editor who was fired for writing a column critical of the President following the terrorist attack? Or Republican political operative Ed Gillespie who says "the events of 9/11 cause all of us to reevaluate. And I think we see a reevaluation of moral relativism." Lots of food for thought. We hope you'll partake. Wednesday, October 3, 2001 Richard Harris Senior Producer NIGHTLINE OFFICES Washington, D.C.

bump!