OK, semi-political:

Draft of a proposed e-mail to Arlen Specter (or is that Spectre?), Henry Waxman, my very own John Tierney, and several other as yet unnamed Congressfolk.

When last I looked, we still had wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and much of New Orleans and the Gulf coast is still in ruins. You can buy a partially ruined, foreclosed-on house in Stockton, CA for ten cents on the dollar, and the economy is heading for the tank for the second time this decade.

All of this makes me feel glad and warm that you are protecting the nation's interests by investigating Roger Clemens, who probably broke actual laws in the commission of baseball, and Bill Belichick, who may have broken NFL rules which are not (as far as I know) acts of Congress.

Not since they pulled the plug on Terry Schaivo have I been so reassured that Congress was so vigilantly protecting the general welfare. I'd be even more reassured if you gave all of this a rest and did an actual day's work.