What a disturbing confluence. Just read in the New York Post about Congress investigating Martha Stewart (Uh... follow that link. It's not what you might think) about possible insider trading in her sale of ImClone stock. Now, I think Martha's great. I fully support her mission; namely, making all of those people who plant a chain link fence in their front yard know that that's not okay. I'd hate to learn that she's taking unfair advantage. (Although I've never quite understood the just why the rules that apply to every other aspect of life--drawing on expertise of trusted friends when delving into an area you don't know much about--are suspended in the realm of the stock market.) But here's the kicker. It turns out that the member of the House who is leading up the investigation is Jim Greenwood (R-Pa). As it happens, I worked on his campaign in his first bid for public office in 1980, a run for the State Senate in Pennsylvania. He always struck me as such a good guy. As a matter of fact, the basis of my support was largely his honest and unpopular take on the cause celebre of the day, the building of a pumping station on the Delaware River that would (among other things) provide water to the cooling towers of the Limerick Nuclear Power Plant. Abby Hoffman died a few miles from where I was born working to stop this great crime. Jim Greenwood's position was that the impact would be minimal. He was right. But, politicians of every stripe were making much hay about the issue to get votes. Very cynical. Very callow. So it's kind of depressing that he's going after Martha. I am hard pressed to believe that it has nothing to do with the high profile of this particular alleged insider trader. In other words, a grab for headlines. Not a particularly bright move. For one thing, Martha is beloved. And for another, it reads as being a publicity whore.

Oh. And also in today's issue of the NY Post is a photo of Mike Piazza with his shirt off that now graces the bulletin board over my desk. He may be heterosexual, but he's still a sizzlin' piece of manflesh. It's not on their website. Y'gotta buy the paper.