THIS MESSAGE REPRESENTS MY OWN VIEWS. Of course Newt shouldn't have voiced the wish that the Phoenix flag show be closed down. In fact, the Speaker of the House has no business commenting on such an issue, especially since public funds are not involved. If he wanted to say anything at all, it would have been more appropriate for him to voice support for the First Amendment, which he has sworn to uphold. But as we all know, Newt has a big mouth. And at least he has good things to say about museums, as well as the stupid stuff. He's a museum enthusiast. He loves zoos. He donates animals to Zoo Atlanta, proving that he's not just paying lip-service. He has been quietly supportive of some government funding programs that benefit museums. He strongly supports charitable deductions. In fact he was a cosponsor of the bill restoring deductibility for gifts of appreciated property (as was Jesse Helms). In sum, his record is mixed on funding issues but pretty good on tax. Maybe my standards are low, but some of them are a lot worse ... Andy Finch (on my own time) [log in to unmask]