I drive past Key Bridge on my way to work in the mornings, and I really used to look forward to seeing that that little abandoned billboard on the VA side that for a while had really become an impromptu free speech zone. Right after 9/11 people started painting it over and adding their own commentary, both pro-war and anti-war. At first it just said, “Read Orwell“. After a while it was changed to “Read Chomsky” and then “Government is Violence”. It also sometimes had pro-war messages, like a picture of Uncle Sam dressed up like a pirate with the words, “Kick Their Ass and Take Their Gas”. For the longest time is was just a spraypainted US flag. Now it’s just white, probably thanks to an Arlington County cleanup squad. It was such a great freedom of expression kind of thing, and a great way to get your message out to thousands of people each day. I hope that more free spirits, on whatever side of the political spectrum start using it to express themselves again (no offense Arlington Country cleanup squad). If only I had a can of paint and something interesting to say…