You know that the US political system has "jumped the shark" when...

...neither side in the health care reform "debate" is reacting appropriately to the death threats and other acts being perpetrated by nut jobs.

Too many on the right are simply saying "Well, this is wrong, of course, but people are angry," and too many on the left just want to use the pictures and other coverage of the actions to raise money for their campaigns.

Both sides should stand up together (dare I say bipartisanly?) and shout from the Senate and House floors:

"STOP NOW. Whether you agree or disagree with recent legislation, the way to make your voice heard is through the ballot box, and may the people with the better ideas win in November and beyond. And, as governmental officials sworn to support the constitution, we'll actively support the prosecution of anyone or any group -- of either party, from any constituency -- who acts violently or calls for violence."

Has Representative Massa never heard of the Roman Baths!?!

"Let me tell you a story about Rahm Emanuel," Massa started. "I was a congressman in my first eight weeks, and I was in the congressional gym, and I went down and I worked out and I went into the showers...I'm sitting there showering, naked as a jaybird and here comes Rahm Emanuel not even with a towel wrapped around his tush, poking his finger in my chest, yelling at me because I wasn't going to vote for the president's budget. Do you know how awkward it is to have a political argument with a naked man?"

Cue the Randy Newman-penned "Naked Man"!

But, Senator, it's RESEARCH!

From today's Inside Higher Ed

• Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican who is leading several probes of higher education and research agencies, has a new target: National Science Foundation officials who view pornography while on the government clock. Grassley is demanding documents from the NSF that relate to its own findings about porn use on the job. Politico reported that the foundation had found that a number of employees were engaged in these activities and that one “senior official” was found to have spent 20 percent of his working hours over a two-year interval “viewing sexually explicit images and engaging in sexually explicit online ‘chats’ with various women.”