Which is harder to fully grasp - the cynical politics of the Bushies or a 100-gallon tank full of bathtub toys?

For those Dems that were worried that their newfound power wouldn't be used to stick enough fingers in the eyes of Bushies, you got a doublepoke today. The House Oversight Committee approved a subpoena for Condi "I'm sort of still here" Rice to chat about, oh ya know, lying our way into the War in Iraq. And the House Judiciary Committee granted immunity to Monica "I'm supposedly long gone" Goodling and also chose to subpoena her to testify about her role in the firing of the 8 U.S. Attorneys. This comes on the heels of the announced investigation into Karl "I don't work for you" Rove and his political operation within the White House that might be in violation of the Hatch Act. Not to mention the undeniably compelling testimony yesterday by Kevin Tillman and Jessica Lynch about the Pentagon's cynical manipulation of real suffering by our military. You can't swing a lame duck without skidding though a new mess left by those unlovable loyal Bushies. This is what a gathering storm looks like. Like it or not.

Two quickie Beantown reviews - the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) is a newish, coolish building with a relatively small amount of gallery space. I imagine the theatre is pretty impressive for the sorts of dance/film/kitten juggling events I see on the upcoming calendar. Go for the architecture and bring a sandwich to enjoy out back looking toward the harbor. But if you're going for a punch in the gut mix of contemporary art, expect to be somewhat disappointed. My rating - an overly critical C-plus. If you've got kids, the even newer Boston Children's Museum is a neccessary stop along the same area of waterfront. When we went this morning, Maya was melting down like Chernobyl before we even got inside. She nonetheless quickly got fired up by all the hands-on diversity. Then she got herself soaked to the gills by the "Boats Afloat" room. So I'd suggest all other parents plan better than we did and bring along a change of clothes for probably the whole famn damily. No matter - we'll be back. My rating - an incomplete but strong B-plus, since we didn't get to see everything.

Hope your own style is matched by equal parts substance today. Rock on.