According to some pundits the Mark Foley case will mark the end of GOP dominance in Congress with the Dems taking control of one or both houses of Congress in the upcoming elections. Others see it merely narrowing the GOP majority. Whichever becomes the case, the next Congress will accomplish even less than the outgoing one. That isn't all bad because it would mean less interference from government in our lives.

In my opinion revelation of the Foley matter was politically motivated. That is not to say it shouldn't have come to light, but the timing, like that of Bob Woodward's latest book, sure suggests it is part of the desperate strategy aimed at bringing down GOP control of Congress. The followup effort to force the resignations of Speaker Hastert and Majority Leader Boehner is a continuation of that strategy. I find it laughable that Congressional Leadership was not asked to resign over similar past matters involving Wilbur Mills or Gerry Studds or Barney Frank.

I think it's time to note that homosexuality and related sexual lifestyles do not discriminate as to political party affiliation. The same holds for adultery, infidelity and other weaknesses of the mind and flesh. I don't know what kind of orientation training Congressional pages are put through, but surely it should include some cautions about their association with members of Congress. Likewise, there should be similar cautions directed at the members and their association with pages. Lastly, effective oversight must be applied, else there will be more problems like those of the past.

The upcoming election carries with it many important questions and issues. I used to have faith in Congress to do the right thing regardless of which party was in control, but that faith has been undermined over the years by the actions of a few in both parties. Political campaigns have become no more than mud throwing contests with very little if any attention given to problems and solutions. Campaign managers delight in delving into their opponent's closets in hopes of finding the inevitable skeletons.

One way to counter over zealous campaign managers would be for candidates to reveal everything in their pasts that could possibly be used against them at the very outset of their political run. That would leave very little for opponents to throw mud about. It might prevent some otherwise good people from going into politics, but at least voters would know who they are dealing with.

The reported atomic test by North Korea shouldn't have surprised anyone. The surprise, if any, is that we haven't put a stop to their work long before now. Had we allowed MacArthur to do what he wanted to do along the Yalu River separating Korea from China back during the Korean War, the Far East would be a different place today. There would be a unified Korea and China would have acted a lot differently toward the rest of the world during the reign of Mao and those who followed him until recently.

China will ultimately become the biggest economy in the world, a position they could have reached much earlier had we stopped them in Korea in 1951. And a unified Korea would be one of China's major trading partners, not a drain on them as is the case in the North. Instead, now we have to rely on China to put a stop to North Korea's efforts to join the nuclear club, which they can do quite easily by cutting off their food supply. Any delay on China's part to do that will drive North Korea closer to the bomb and the ability to supply rogue nations and terrorist groups like al-Qaeda with weapons that could devastate the world.