It's the picture that keeps popping into my head. It was on the front page of the QCT on Tuesday, the day after Vice President Dick Cheney's visit to Davenport. It's an ugly thing, depicting two Davenport police officers towering over two ladies of considerable years. The ladies are dutifully following orders to remove the flimsy little sticks from the American flags they were waving as they trudged with other political marchers along River Drive. Collecting the little sticks was necessary for the security of the vice president, the officers said.