I can't believe Tom DeLay is gone...

And it's only taken, like, two years!

I thought it would never happen. I figured that DeLay was so powerful he'd find some way to weasel out of the charges being lobbed at him (way to mix the metaphors, eh?) and run for president. But, lo and behold, he actually figured out, for himself, that running for re-election might be a bad thing.

In a way, it's too bad for the Democrats. With DeLay running, they stood a chance of swaying enough voters to get a predominantly Republican (oh, wait -- all the Texas districts are predominantly Republican, thanks to Tom DeLay and his federal help to the Texas Republicans...but wasn't that against federal law? Guess not, nothing ever came of it...) district to elect a Democrat. Now the Republican party will find a new candidate.

All this is good for 22nd district -- they, like all Americans, deserve to choose between two ethical candidates, and not be represented by someone who abuses his power.

Which brings me to another point. I never will understand why the Republicans didn't go running, screaming, away from DeLay. This is a party that embraces conservative values. One of those values, I have always thought, was a strict adherence to the law. Tom DeLay, as majority leader, was censured twice for unethical behavior. When he campaigned for my current representative, I spoke out about it.

Still, I thought that, even with the apparent atmosphere of corruption in his office, as evidenced by recent revelations by former staff members, that he would find some way of letting it wash around him without touching him.

The United States Congress, indeed the whole government, should act with dignity and in accordance with the law. Certainly that is no less than is expected of the average citizen. I am glad the Tom DeLay has chosen not to run again for office. Whatever the outcome of the indictments facing him, the Congress is better off without him.

I try not to speak harshly about people, only their points of view. But nothing makes me madder than a Christian who spouts "Christian ethics" and turns out to be breaking the very rules he is elected to uphold.

March Madness

It's March, and time once again for the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. And it's not March Madness without my two cents.

I don't have a winner picked this year, since my perennial favorite, Purdue, isn't in it. But it's good to see that, once again, we are reminded of just why single-elimination tournaments are so much fun to watch: anything can happen.

Already there have been "upsets;" that is, teams have been losing that weren't predicted to lose. Since those predictions are generally subjective, there is a certain satisfaction in seeing them proved wrong.

Basketball really is a game that can be won by a team that is not loaded with talent, but heart. And by a small school that doesn't have deep pockets for extracurricular sports.

Why Al Franken shouldn't run for senator in Minesota

Maybe I have a wish to be back in Minnesota lately, I don't know; but lately I seem to be spending a lot of time writing about Minnesota people.

Al Franken, Saturday Night Live alum, comedian, author, host of the Al Franken Show on Air America Radio, is considering running for senator from the state of Minnesota. He has been considering the move since his friend, the great Senator Paul Wellstone, was tragically killed in a plane accident days before the general election in which he was running for re-election.

Al Franken is a good Minnesota boy who, as part of Franken and Davis comedy team, moved to LA and eventually to New York, where he lived until recently when he moved back to Minnesota. In the meantime, he gained status as a member of the Jewish Ivy League east coast liberal elite. Even though Minnesota progressive liberal trumps it any day.

I love Al Franken, and all he does. And I think he would be an effective senator. However, I think that running for Senate would be a mistake. Why? Because it would limit his voice and influence. Right now, I truly believe that he has more influence as an intelligent, articulate radio talk show host than he would be in the US Senate.

Of course I wholeheartedly agree that Norm Coleman, who handily defeated Walter Mondale after a ten day campaign to replace the dead Wellstone, need to be replaced, and preferrably by a Democrat.

But Al Franken isn't the one who should do it. (And, if he does run, I think he'll win.) We need Al too much to bury him in the politics on the Hill.

Daunte Culpepper

The Minnesota Vikings traded Daunte Culpepper to the Miami Dolphins today for a 2nd round draft choice.

It is another indication about what a big waste of time Culpepper was for the Vikings. No doubt he will be happier at Miami, and possibly even will excel.

Ironically, he will be replaced, at least for the time being, by the backup quarterback, Brad Johnson. Brad Johnson is the guy who should have been starting quarterback instead of Culpepper in the first place, and saved the Vikings last year by winning seven out of nine games.

The Vikings are a mess, no question. I sure was glad I had the Seahawks to fall back on, especially once that stupid drunken orgy boat thing on Minnetonka happened. But, as I remain a Twins fan, so too I remain a Vikings fan, holding out for that Lombardi Trophy from a Super Bowl win.

We'll see. For now, I'm just glad it's baseball season.