(Indianapolis, IN) - What do you call 11 people with Spanish-sounding names and an average age of 62?  No, it's not the Cubs pitching rotation, it's the controversial "terrorists" granted clemency by President Clinton this past week.

In a move that can only be described as typical, Republican leaders fumed about the President's latest use of his constitutional authority. Republicans in both houses of Congress - after jettisoning plans to pass meaningful HMO reform, enact campaign finance reform, and deal with the federal debt in a responsible manner in favor of investigating a fire in a small town in Texas six years ago - have jettisoned the purpose for which they originially jettisoned doing their jobs in order to pursue a
different "escandalo."  Whew...

If you followed that progression, you're probably better off than most members of Congress (and, let's face it, if you're not breathing through your mouth right now, you're already better off than Bob Barr).  Whatever you think of the President's decision, you've got to admit that this investigation-crazy Republican party is getting pretty old.  I mean, look at what we're talking about investigating here: was there some sort of collusion between the President of the United States and the Puerto Rican pseudo-terrorists to grant clemency in exchange for votes for the First Lady?  Well, I believe I speak for everyone (excluding employees and their families of CNN and Dan Burton...and, knowing Dan, that family exclusion could be enormous) when I say "you're nuts."

First of all - you want to make a sizable chunk of New Yorkers happy? Free Jonathan Pollard.  Jews are approximately 12% of the population of New York (according to the Census Bureau website) and they vote and contribute to campaigns.  Dan Burton would argue that such a move would have been too obvious - I would respond that, with "Bloodhound Dan" here to sniff out every impropriety but his own, surely the President can't expect to get away with anything soooooo obvious.

Second - can we do anything in this country anymore without some dark political agenda being attached to it by the media and the opposing party?  I think it started with the way Democrats treated Ford's pardon of Nixon and has snowballed to the present sad state.

Third - does anybody else think Bob Barr looks like a grown-up, slightly more somber Pugsley Adams?

Oh well...at least, when my party was in charge, we spent taxpayers money frivolously on poorly managed programs to help the poor.  Now they spend it on listening to themselves talk - and we're all forced to listen, too.

I'll take the former anyday.