First, term limits could allow legislators to vote their conscience on issues rather than voting their re-election changes. But that assumes that all legislators are virtuous. Term limits would also allow legislators to vote for bad legislation because they have nothing to lose.

Second, if Congress currently incentivizes using the office as a stepping-stone to the private sector, imagine the attraction with limited accountability by the electorate.

Third, I would assume that Congressional term limits would require a Constitutional amendment. That's kind of ball game right there.

For these reasons only I find term limits a nonstarter. There are valid reasons both for and against with no evidence that term limits would work better in our current model.

The real issue, imo, is money. You have to raise money to get elected and most of this money comes from special interests. If you buck these interests once in office, the re-election money dries up. If you play ball, you can get enough money to almost ensure re-election.

So, if you play ball, especially in the Senate, you get a likely solid twelve years (at least) in a good job with excellent pay and benefits as well as a virtually guaranteed spot in the private sector should voter mood or a guy with more money cut your career short.

All that said, public financing of elections, abolishing PAC and special interest donations, and ending (or limiting) the book deals, lecture tours, and private sector cush jobs once out of office would be a better fix in my opinion.

The downside to this is that we may lose some very qualified people who may do good things in office but also want to secure a certain lifestyle while doing so. The upside would be that we get people who care more about public service than big bucks and corporate interest.

This would make government accountable only to the people who would then have the power to term limit their asses at the ballot box.

Did you ever think that an immediate response to a story creates a demand for the issue to be addressed by the legislature?

It's a new world these days. Things are floated, we the people react in real-time. This isn't a bad thing.

I became a road-trip fan during my pre-teen years. I would ride along with my grandfather, a long-distance truck driver, during summer vacation. It was great, but stops were short and infrequent.

A few years back, my wife and I had reason to visit NYC, something I had always wanted to do. So we took off from NC on Friday morning and spent that afternoon and night in DC.

The next morning we drove up to NYC. Stayed a stone's throw away from Times Square, saw a few sights, and even took an impromptu meeting with the founder of this very site.

The total trip costed about $800, gas, meals, hotels, the works. While I definitely recommend spending more time than that in a NYC visit (not so much DC, no offense), it is amazing what you can see in just a two-day road trip.

For less than the cost of a week at the beach, I touched the Washington Monument and walked the streets of Times Square. I met Josh Marshall, several members of the Howard Stern Show, and had a drink with a former NBA star Jalen Rose.

Long live the road trip!

Guess you didn't figure on India taking the IT jobs, did ya Bob? Didn't figure on the maquiladoras, did ya Bob?

Pardon me if I don't trust your prescience this time around.

Living with a cat was certainly an adjustment. You learn quickly that they do not understand (nor care for) the word "no," yet when they tell you know it generally comes in the form of a scratch or bite (which thanfully became less viscous after a while).

One thing you quickly learn about cats, as this post suggests, is that they can take you or leave you. You are there for food, water, shelter, and affection, the latter on their terms.

But that is why I love cats. They seem to have such odd personalities, not unlike myself. Early on my cat decided he would not use the litter box anymore. Only the outdoors were meant to pee in for him.

So we installed a cat door for his convenience. This door he uses when he feels like it but tends to make me his personal doorman.

He is also a very picky eater. Not two cans of the same make in a row. Turkey no more than once a week. Chicken less often. No beef. Lots of fish.

Every now and again we get a dead bird, mouse, snake, lizard, or mole on the porch. This disgusts us but makes him quite proud. Throwing it out in the woods sends him into a pouting mode for hours.

The tiny furball that came here four years ago is long gone, replaced by a 15 pound, lithe hunter who can easily jump from the floor to the top of the refrigerator.

Thanks for the post, OT. It reminds me of just how much I love my cat and how much it tolerates me!