Beltway Blues

Vi bor inom höravstånd från Washingtons stora ringled, the Capital Beltway. Sedan 1970-talet har journalister och andra politiska kommentatorer använt begreppet "inside the Beltway". På Wikipedia står bl.a. följande:

"Inside the Beltway" is a phrase used to characterize parts of the real or imagined American political system. It refers to the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495), a beltway that encircles Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It is meant to invoke matters that are important primarily within the offices of the Federal government, its contractors, lobbyists, and the media which cover them. The term is also employed in a literal, geographic sense in the Washington, D.C., area to describe the city and those portions of Virginia and Maryland that are close to the nation's capital. This includes all of Arlington County, Virginia; the city of Falls Church, Virginia; most of the city of Alexandria, Virginia; portions of Montgomery County, Maryland; portions of Prince George's County, Maryland; and portions of Fairfax County, Virginia. "Westminster Bubble" or "Westminster village" is a term for a similar concept in the United Kingdom, and "inside the Queensway" is used in Canada.

Det är lite roligt att man beskriver stora företag som är beroende av statliga kontrakt som "Beltway Bandits". Fullt med skurkar i vårt county, således... Nåväl, vi bor i alla fall just på insidan, inne i bubblan. Men det var egentligen inte det jag skulle skriva. Jag skulle ju jämföra trafikflödet här och i Guatemala. Men det får jag göra någon annan gång. Nu ska det ätas efterrätt.