The Political Silly Season

If you have any doubt that we're deep into the political silly season that will culminate in the fall 2006 Congressional elections, all you need to do is look at what Congress has deemed worthy of spending their time on lately.

There was the Defense of Marriage Amendment that failed in the Senate. This amendment would set into the US Constitution the idea that marriage is only and always between one man and one woman.

There were also several laws intended to enshrine the idea that English is the only official language in the US.

Then we had the "debate" over whether to set a deadline for withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. This one was particularly pathetic in that the Democrats couldn't agree on a strategy or on tactics for implementing that strategy.

And now we've had an amendment that was defeated by one vote in the Senate to make burning the American flag a crime against the Constitution, again by amending the Constitution.

Meanwhile, deficits continue to rise. This Congress has taken pork barrel spending to new heights (or depths). It's hurricane season again, and we haven't cleaned up from last year's messes along the Gulf Coast. (At least, I suppose, the damage can't be as bad that way. If it's already destroyed and not rebuilt, it can't be destroyed again.) The war in Iraq and the wider war on terror drag on, as they inevitably must. North Korea still has nukes. Iran is hell bent, perhaps quite literally, on acquiring nukes of its own. Oil prices continue to rise, as do global temperatures.

Yet Congress has nothing to say on these important issues. They're busy worrying about what goes on in the bedroom or during protests or how people talk to each other.

I suppose it could be worse. They could actually be trying to do something.