Thanksgiving Coincidence

Each morning, our iGoogle homepage presents us with assorted pieces of trivia -- headlines, how-tos, and a picture of some "sacred destination" for us to consider. Today, along with a lovely Norman church near Oxford, we saw two bits of data, culled from different feeds but presented right next to each other on the page:

• At hearing, Rangel follows predecessor's path
• How to know if your turkey has been recalled

For those lucky readers for whom the first point means nothing, let us explain. Charlie Rangel is a member of the House of Representatives, which naturally means that he is a scoundrel. Furthermore, he is a long-serving member from southern New York State, which means that he is a particular kind of scoundrel: a product of the Democratic machine, loud of mouth and ethically challenged by definition.

Living as we do in a country with notoriously inept government, we at the Egg are occasionally regaled by Romanian friends with their tales of venality, corruption, bureaucratic overkill and outright incompetence among officials both elected and appointed. Although outraged, they are often a little ashamed to admit such things to a foreigner. Trying to build a sense of comradeship, our customary response is to nod sadly and describe the New York State legislature, which is essentially indistinguishable from Bucharest.

Anyway, Rangel is one more turkey whom we will be happy to see recalled.