The Franking privilege.- Go Figure . . . .

The ingenuity of politicians never ceases to amaze us. Members of Congress are sharply restricted in using the franking privilege to send out mass mailings immediately before elections. But House committees are not — and so last October, House Resources Chairman Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) sent out a four-color mailer to 175,000 residents of four states, two of them hotly contested in the presidential race, touting his and President Bush’s efforts to keep national parks open to snowmobiles.

(4-5-06, Roll Call.)