RE: The "privitization of government." I'm wholeheartedly in favor of it. First we could dissolve both houses of Congress and establish a Privy Council which would meet each morning, around 7:00 AM, in any available privy. More would get done in any one of those sessions than happens in a month of congressional hearings. All those execrable riders and earmarks would simply disappear into the void. I say, make sure the windows are small, limit the "paperwork" and keep the ventilation poor. That'll keep things to a tight schedule. They can't do too much damage when they are not in session. I wouldn't worry about the current state of affairs, however. Like the doctor told the man who swallowed his watch, "This, too, shall pass."