"If a Tree Falls in the Woods," in fact, was the title of one study that examined TV coverage of the 2000 campaign debates.

"Until the 2000 campaign, when Fox decided not to cover the (presidential) debates live in favor of baseball and NBC failed to cover a debate in favor of entertainment programming, these debates had always been telecast live by all major networks in prime-time hours - between 8 and 11 p.m. local time," the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate recalled.

Nevertheless, the committee argued that presidential debates, which date back to 1820 (the Lincoln-Douglass debates are considered a significant historic landmark, as are the Kennedy-Nixon debates of 1960) are the best single way for citizens to cut through the "demagogic advertising that has become the principle staple of campaigns and to make judgments, freed from the filters of journalistic commentary."

For those who will be tuning in to the Weather Channel, you can get a fair and balanced recap of the debate in the newspaper you're now reading.

SUPREME ALLEGIANCE

He died fighting with the U.S. military in Iraq, yet Sgt. Riayan Tejeda, of Washington Heights, N.Y., wasn't an American citizen.

So Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) has offered the Riayan Tejeda Memorial Act of 2003, a bill to extend automatic citizenship to immigrant soldiers who served (or continue to serve) the United States during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"(It is) in honor of soldiers like Sgt. Riayan Tejeda ... who laid down their lives so that all of the people of the United States, regardless of immigration status, could continue to enjoy the freedoms that our Constitution lays out," Rangel explains.

The bill goes beyond current congressional efforts by granting citizenship to all service members that request naturalization and have served in a combat zone designated as part of the Iraqi operation. It also ensures that not only spouses and unmarried children, but also parents of soldiers killed as a result of service in the U.S. military, can apply for citizenship or legalization of status.

As Rangel sees it, "For men and women who decide to don the uniform of the armed forces, their actions on the battlefield should be enough to prove their allegiance and dedication to this land and our families."

MAGNIFICENT MOSQUITOES

While the mosquito-borne West Nile virus is certainly no laughing matter, we had to chuckle at Democratic Rep. Chris Johns when he introduced the Mosquito Abatement for Safety and Health (MASH) Act, observing that in his swampy state of Louisiana, "mosquitoes are jokingly considered our state bird, given their size and numbers."

DROUGHT, ANYONE?

"Here in Washington, it's been raining all month, so people aren't talking about drought," complains Rep. Alcee L. Hastings (D-Fla.). "However, just because we aren't talking about it, doesn't mean that we shouldn't be doing something about it."

Apart from recent forest fires engulfing Montana's Glacier National Park, the media have virtually ignored the severe drought out West, which has seen little rain and snow for several years running.

That's one reason Sen. Max Baucus and Rep. Dennis Rehberg, both of Montana, have joined Hastings (the latter's state is currently blessed with an abundance of rain) in introducing companion National Drought Preparedness Acts.

Congress five years ago passed legislation creating the National Drought Policy Commission to examine current U.S. policy on drought. Hastings summarized the commission's 50-page findings by saying: "The U.S. does not have a policy on drought.

"I wish I had just made a joke," he says. "The fact that we don't have a drought policy, however, is a joke - and not a good one at that. Drought is not just an agriculture issue, nor is it only a water-management issue. When droughts occur, forest fires erupt, small businesses close, crop yields decrease, and in many instances, people die."

The bill would provide for better preparation and planning, improved delivery of federal drought programs, and improved weather forecasting and monitoring abilities.

OOPS!

"We are convinced that the leadership of the United States will be able to gain the support of the Untied (sic) Nations and our allies in NATO for a genuine international effort to rebuild and stabilize Iraq." - Letter to President Bush from Sens. Joseph R. Biden (D-Dela.) and Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.).