I know who those folks are! They're from Children International and hang around outside of the Metro stations in D.C. with the Greenpeace folks. I haven't been caught by one yet, but was planning on telling them that I give generously to Oxfam already. But this answer is so much more deliciously hilarious....

What does seriously bother me is that I'm being asked to recite, in public, a loyalty oath to my nation. What sort of country expects that of its citizens? I don't believe the pledge should be said in schools. We said it in my school, but I never particularly liked it and just sort of went along with it. But there is a set of circumstances where I believe some form of it (without the "under God" part preferably) should be said, and that's when someone becomes a federal employee. Here's the oath all federal employees say now. (Again, it would be much better if they left out the "so help me God" part.) Ideally, what this oath reminds people of is that their job is not to obey their boss (even if he/she is the President) or just get done what they are told, but to serve the people of the United States. While most of the people I work with take that responsibility very seriously, we could use even more of it.

Great news! I've dreamed of biking across the country since I was a little girl, and this is a step in the right direction. Much thanks to the Secretary and the DOT as a whole for supporting bicycling and walking as valid modes of transportation.