Laundry. Corruption. Hookers. Egads.

I have a week's worth of stuff to get done in one day - we're leaving on vacation tomorrow, so I'm at the point of no return. And most of last week, I did nothing. Not a thing. Other than lie on the couch, something I do not have time for.

But it's done. And now it is get busy time.

Which begs the obvious question: What am I doing here on the computer? But I do have legitimate business here, so I'm truly not just flaking off.

Well, not completely, anyway. The clothes are in the washer, I've been to the post office, and I've recruited the kids to help, which they can when under pressure. It will all get done ... in due time. I have til tomorrow morning - I'm good.

*****

Poor Alison - she had her friends had a sudden inspiration. Wouldn't it be great, they thought, to invent a car that had both automatic transmission AND could convert to standard? Wouldn't that be fun?

Her dad broke it to her: Check out the car in our driveway - it is such a car.

Drat. I'm guessing she'll have another moment such as this - she's young. But props to her for such a great idea, anyway!

*****

Enough with the Eliot Spitzer jokes. They've become old.

Plus - and I'm really going out on a limb here, but it has to be said - what he did? Not that big a deal.

I know, I know - he cavorted with a prostitute - or call girl, and I suspect there a is a difference (to the the tune of $4000). But honestly, I don't know that hiring a hooker should be considered an impeachable offense.

It really is just about sex. Lots and lots of men - and women - have done stupid things for sex. Just check down the ranks of our nation's leaders - I don't have to tell you the names. It doesn't necessarily show great judgment or restraint, but when you're dealing with powerful people, they didn't get there - and they don't get things done - by exercising caution with their every move.

And frankly, hiring a hooker is very different than having an affair (there's no hope of a relationship, which, to me, is a bigger betrayal). It is also very different than using illegal means to subvert the political process, or using subterfuge to mislead the United Nations, and the American people, into an unjust war.

Should government officials be above this? Maybe. But time and time again, they've shown that they are not. I'm willing to get incensed about illegal activity that damages the country, its people, or the political process. But I cannot get indignant over a few sessions with a call girl.

I've read a lot this week about whether prostitution is a victimless crime, and I have not made up my mind. Some argue that it gives women some power over their lives; others argue that the women who choose this field were victims of abuse. I do know this: Making it illegal has not made it go away. And won't. Much like the war on drugs, it seems a little pointless to keep going after people for acts that are, frankly, natural.

And I can't believe that Laura Schlesinger is blaming the wife, saying that these men are searching for something they aren't getting at home. It's just not true - this is about power, plain and simple.

Spitzer went after a lot of legitimate corruption during his time as attorney general. He took on cases involving securities fraud, Internet fraud; he sued the chairman of the NYSE for not fully disclosing his deferred compensation, and he exposed much of the current mortgage crisis. He did a lot of good, and he is going down in flames for what? Illicit sex? With a hooker?

Bill Clinton used a subordinate, which amounts to sexual harassment; Jim McGreevy gave a job to his paramour, a job for which the man was unqualified. This is not the same thing as hiring a hooker. While Spitzer is guilty of bad judgment, I don't honestly think he should have had to resign. Foolishness is not corruption.

*****

The laundry calls ...