The circus is back in town

The Democrat controlled Congress is back in Washington after a leisurely holiday and raring to raid the taxpayers' wallets. Nancy Pelosi was looking especially fit and her Botox therapist undoubtedly is richer. So what's on the menu for the Democrats this year?

The processed cheese has been replaced with brie. The Jell-O has made way for raspberry kiwi tarts and mini-lemon blueberry trifles. Meatloaf has moved over for mahi mahi and buns have been shunted aside in favor of baguettes.

A revolution is afoot at the deli counters, grills and salad bars of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Newly ascendant Democrats may have hit roadblocks on Iraq and fiscal issues, but they have revamped congressional menus, replacing fatty, pre-made foods with healthier, gourmet alternatives. The once dreary congressional cafeterias now abound with haute cuisine.

The menu transformation is part of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s “Greening the Capitol” plan to make the House campus more environmentally friendly and socially progressive.

Nice - while the taxpayers eat macaroni and cheese, the Democrats are going for mahi mahi. I'm glad ole Nan has her meat hooks on the pulse of the country. Even the German Communists had enough smarts to be embarrassed when one of their leaders got caught eating lobster.

Check out some more of the menu:

There is pan-roasted Chesapeake rockfish with sweet potato fennel hash and yellow pepper relish. Pears with Stilton cheese and watercress. Cumin-scented leg of lamb with almond couscous. There are vegetables with funny names, like bok choy, arugula and jicama. There are baked goods with Italian names, like biscotti, focaccia and frittati.

There are foods in funny colors, like yellow tomatoes and purple Peruvian potatoes. There are things that are free of other things, like “cage-free shell eggs,” “rBGH-free milk” and “free-range chicken.” And things that we don’t know what they mean, like turkey escabeche (salad), red pepper coulis (sauce) and seared barramundi (fish).

A vending machine sells coffee from famed chef Wolfgang Puck, offering brews such as “Vive la Crème Caramel” and “Tropic of Chocolate.”

One can't help but think of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio who feeds bologna sandwiches to the inmates in his jail and puts them on chain gangs to get some work done. Perhaps we ought to try that for Congress too? Nancy Pelosi could always work on the kitchen crew stirring big steaming pots of macaroni.