"Be silent, or say something better than silence. "

People, the world does not need to know all your business. Really. I swear. I know that this is hard to believe, particularly given all the water cooler discussions on Jon and Kate, but it's true. (And really there needs to be a Nonproliferation Agreement for reality shows. I'm just sayin')

Why is Mark Sanford still talking? He left the country for five days, not bothering to let anyone know where he was. Perhaps he felt he had no pressing gubernatorial responsibilities after the lawsuits that students and school administrators filed over his refusal to accept stimulus funds had been settled (the state Supreme Court ruled that it was the legislature's decision and the state's lawmakers had already passed a budget that made use of that money...see CNN story for more detail). In any case, oopsie. He held a news conference, admitted his affair with an Argentine woman, and said he would pay back the state funds he had misused to finance a 2008 trip to Argentina. End of story, right? Apparently not, since then the South Carolina governor has opted to do interview after interview, seemingly unable to contain himself. For whatever reason he felt the need to share that his mistress is his "soulmate" (uh, sweetie, #4 on the list of ways not to reconcile with your wife: insist your mistress is your soulmate) and that he has "crossed the line" with other women as well, but not the "ultimate line." Help. The South Carolina GOP is attempting to shush him now--actively working for his resignation (see story on POLITICO).

Whew, anybody else feel the institution of marriage needs defending here? Because suddenly I'm feeling all anti-marriage...I mean even if did find the perfect woman and it was legal for us to get married--I wants no parts of this mess. In order to defend marriage, I think the South Carolina legislature needs to pass a constitutional amendment annulling the Sanfords' marriage and prohiting him from remarrying. Ever. And the US Congress can enact a law that ensures that no future marriages of Sanford, no matter where performed, will be recognized by the federal government. I'm just sayin'.

There's an interesting op-ed piece on the New York Times website about social conservatives and hypocrisy.

And one more question: do South Carolinians feel embarrassed and ashamed because of this? Are people cracking jokes about their state? Or are they allowed to feel outraged without the not-all-subtle hints that they were somehow responsible for and deserving of the shenanigans from their public officials? I'm wondering because Detroit sure caught it over Kwame Kilpatrick.