Last fall, the newly ascendant congressional Democrats promised a thorough reform of earmarks or, failing that, a one-year moratorium on them. That was then and this is now, and now is an election year.

LAS VEGAS - Warren Buffett, of course, and then Bill Gates, but can you name the third-richest American? He is Sheldon Adelson, 74, whose net worth is, according to Forbes, $26 billion. He made his first fortune by founding and then selling a computer exposition here.

Certain events imprint the mind with images time cannot erase. People of one generation recall where they were when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. People of another remember where they were when John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

Almost as when Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans, another key Bush appointee has come up short in the midst of a crisis.

WASHINGTON - The Treasury department's elaborate plan to restructure the regulation of the nation's financial markets has the same chance of becoming reality as any other major Bush administration initiative during the next nine months - none.

Gleaming white against the black night sky just beyond the outfield fence, the Capitol dome looms as a reminder that Washington's new ballpark is not just spectacular, but also a national monument of sorts.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was right about one thing when he introduced his sweeping 218-page overhaul of our financial regulatory system: The midst of a financial crisis is no time to do it.

Pope Benedict XVI last week baptized a man into the Catholic Church. The man, Magdi Allam, had converted from another faith. There is nothing unusual about that. People convert from non-faith to faith, or from one religion to another, or within faiths to different denominations all the time. However, this conversion was different.

Many of Florida's public schools are being demonized so much so that they are perceived as harming students more than helping them.

This latest medical study puts one in mind of the old Henny Youngman joke:

For your planning purposes, scientists have determined that Earth will end in 7.59 billion years.

RANT: If you want to see and hear the racist hate and sedition of Barack Obama's pastor of 20 years, Jeremiah Wright, go to YouTube.com and type in United Church of Christ. By the way, the videos were obtained from the church's gift shop.

WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton says she's not giving up. Should she?

Western powers today fear that China's stunning rise signals a real challenge to the notion that economic growth triggers democracy. While I understand such fears, let me tell you why they're unfounded: China's economy increasingly mirrors our own.

Republican nominee-apparent John McCain is at increasing pains to show that his presidency would not be a third term of George W. Bush's presidency. And, in a major speech on foreign policy, he emphasized that his administration would substantially differ in tone and outlook. He would not be the go-it-alone cowboy as Bush has been caricatured by foreign leaders.

If America's farmers faced economic ruin, one might argue seriously for the $286 billion in agricultural subsidies currently before Congress. But as today's farmers enjoy sky-high incomes, this bill's advocates soon may explode into laughter while pleading for the perennially doomed "family farm."

Dear John McCain, Every relationship requires effort. I want to do my part. But there needs to be common ground to start with, and you're making it harder and harder for me to find where it is.