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So we're gonna do the elections differently in 2008. I've been thinking about it. I have a plan.

We're not going to vote for candidates. We're going to vote for parties. You'll cast one vote for a party, and you'll be done. That will simplify things. Every party puts together a list of candidates, with their top candidate at the top and so on. Individuals can run too, but as you'll see in a moment, it's not a very good idea.

After everyone votes, we'll total up the votes. X% of the people on each party's list will be elected to Congress, where X% is the percentage of the total vote going to that party. So if 55% of the people vote Democratic, then 55% of Congress will be Democrats. Easy and simple. See why it's bad for an individual to run? If you vote for an individual, then you're only voting for one person and you have no say in the rest of Congress. Better to vote for a party.

This is not a parable.

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Whatever happened to Bernard Kerik? Well, it wasn't just his nanny problem. Josh Marshall has the lengthy summary of Kerik's issues.

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The Golden Globe nominees have been announced. Is The Passion of the Christ anywhere in there? Nope. Probably should have been; it's a spectacular movie with a questionable message, but I don't think I want award shows to be in the business of judging messages. That's the kind of thing that leaves Crash without an Oscar. (It did, however, win Best Alternative Adult Feature Film in the Adult Video News Awards in 1998, despite being released in 1996. I don't know how that works. For some reason the award wasn't blurbed on the DVD box.)

Where was I? Ah, yes. Biopics are hot. Most of the Best Drama nominees are biopics. All of the Best Actor (Drama) nominees are from biopics. Most of the Best Actor (Musical or Comedy) nominees are from biopics.

Natalie Portman got a nomination for Closer, but Julia Roberts did not. Clive Owen got one; Jude Law did not. Julianna Margulies, my high school's most famous graduate, got nominated for television work.

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In SI today, Peter King asks "How lucky are the Patriots to have Troy Brown (third interception vs. Cincinnati) to ride to the rescue of their secondary?"

Not lucky at all. The Pats have Troy Brown in that position because Bill Belichick has a policy of taking advantage of his best athletes whenever possible; this is why Mike Vrabel caught a touchdown pass in Super Bowl XXXVIII, and it's why you see Richard Seymour lining up as fullback from time to time. Thus, Belichick asked Troy Brown to play a little defense during the pre-season this year, way before there was any hint of trouble or injury in the secondary. People thought it was a risky idea at the time. You'd think we'd have learned not to try and outthink Belichick by now.