WHAT TO DO? Democratic reader Fred Lapides emails:

I have seen you (and of course others) sturggle mightily and willingly and idealistically against the rampant pork madness in our congress. And I have seen you now, same day, badmouth Pelosi and Murtha and then, later Trent Lott…all for the same issue.

What is to be done?

What we have is legislators who get and gain and keep power by handouts; and what we also see is that this is the way of the congressional world. Libertarians and/or any other party will not change things, it seems, and the American public know only to change elected officials or parties when they get upset, though when pork comes to voter districts, those voters are hardly going to rebuke the elected officials who got the pork.

Though I have in the past been opposed to term limits–after all, reward good guys and punish bad–limits might be the only way to slow down the pork parade, though, clearly, if I am in for a short term and know I can not get relected no matter what, I might as well grab what I can for those who put me in and a bit for myself. But at least there is the turnover of porkers, a refertilzation that has worked on farmland,and the compost and manure that is spewed by our elected officials perhaps might briefly nurish the soil but then need to be plowed under and a new crop planted.

I’m beginning to view term limits more favorably, too.