Al Bullock, 69, of Sterling, never had very high regard for his elected
                  representatives in Congress. "They talk down to constituents," he says.
                  Sometimes they don't listen very well either, the retired Department of
                  Energy computer specialist discovered recently.

                  Bullock e-mailed Sen. Chuck Robb (D-Va.) to protest "the heavy-handed
                  treatment by the INS" of Elian Gonzalez and to urge that the Cuban boy
                  rescued from an inner tube not be returned to live in a communist country.

                  "Thank you for contacting me in support of reuniting Elian Gonzalez with
                  his father in Cuba," Robb responded, saying politics and relations with
                  Cuba shouldn't determine the outcome. "I understand and share your
                  concern for this little boy who has suffered so much."

                  Bullock fired back: "I cannot believe your reply. I did not support any
                  position to return anyone anywhere." Robb again replied, "Thank you for
                  contacting me in support of reuniting . . ."

                  Robb press secretary Mo Elleithee blamed a computer glitch. "We get an
                  incredibly large volume of e-mail," he said. "We have an automated
                  response system and then we follow up personally. There apparently was
                  some problem with our coding, but our computer people have corrected
                  that."