The title is one of James Traficant's favorite descriptions of Washington D.C., a sly suggestion that its gradiose displays of democracy in action are just rehearsed productions choreographed by elite policymakers.

Today, a federal judge sentenced U.S. Representative Traficant to eight years in prison on his conviction for bribery and other crimes.

Also today, the United States Senate issued a "severe admonition" to U.S. Senator Torricelli, because he accepted "gifts" from David Chang, a Chinese lobbyist.

These days, accusing one member of Congress of the crime of bribery is like accusing one whore in a brothel of the crime of prostitution. Charge everyone or charge no one.

I do not vouch for the integrity or honesty of James Traficant; I know not the man. For today's purposes, I assume he is guilty.

But selective enforcement of the laws is a defense even if the defendant did commit the crime. The issue is not whether Traficant accepted bribes. Rather, the issue is why Traficant was prosecuted for accepting bribes when virtually every Congressman routinely accepts bribes.

The answer is that Congressman Traficant has no partisans "behind the curtain". A elected Democrat who often voted Republican, Traficant was on the "wrong" side of every issue - a Democratic populist on NAFTA, fast track" and MFN for Red China - a Republican populist on partial birth abortion. These positions made Traficant popular in his blue collar Youngstown, Ohio district. But in Washington D.C., he occupied a political no man's land - a fugitive from the Democrats whom the Republicans refused to harbor.

Unlike Traficant, Torricelli does have friends "behind the curtain." Mary Jo White, Clinton's favorite U.S. Attorney, declined to prosecute him. But Chang, his accuser, is already in prison. Torricelli would not even have been investigated but for his stupidity. Instead of simply admitting that he received valuable gifts from Chang, and then sanctimoniously denying "there was no quid pro quo", Toricelli denied under oath having received gifts in the first place.

When evidence proved he was lying, an investigation was required to maintain the appearance of the system's propriety. The punishment meted out by the Senate Ethics Committee was fittingly Clintonesque. Clintonesque, because it was condemnation without consequences. Fitting, because it was Toricelli who was among the leaders of Clinton's Senate defense team in the 1998 impeachment proceedings.

eXile will not routinely discuss the journalistic agenda. The events of the day command too much of our attention compared to the events of the decade or the events of a century. They distact us from the urgent mission of developing our own agenda, a counterrevolutionary agenda that will preserve Christians and Christianity, an agenda that will facilitate our enemies' self-destruction.