Here are two newsworthy items that almost slipped by unnoticed by the American public. The first was the Congress getting wind of the fact that the President decided (without their involvement) to offer the United Arab Emirate of Dubai a contract to run the U.S. ports of New York, Baltimore, New Jersey, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Miami. Dubai’s ruling Sheik bought Peninsula& Oriental Steam Navigation Co. from the British who were previously managing those ports. The President didn’t think there was a lot of difference between England and Dubai; he said the Emirates have been “good partners” and that there was no security risk. The Emirates have funded some of the world’s largest terrorist organizations and were implicated in the 9/11 World Trade Center attack.

Dubai is a short flight from Iraq where we are currently engaged in a war on terror. To justify our escalating costs of involvement, this Administration has sensitized our security consciousness to the point of color-coded paranoia. In the President’s urgency to democratize Muslim countries and thus restore our sense of security, we have lost 2,000 American soldiers, are mega-billions in debt, and Iraq is now on the brink of civil war.

Then, responding to lawmakers who disapproved of the UAE running US ports, the President said, “People don’t need to worry about security.” Does he think the American people are stupid?

At the same time, this story appeared which also might never have seen the light of day, had a Circuit Court in Maryland not reversed a lower court decision. Raymond McNealy, a 44-year-old man, mooned his neighbor, Nanette Vonfeldt, a board member of the homeowners association with whom he had some issues. She happened to be accompanied by her eight-year-old daughter.

McNealy was put on trial for indecent exposure and found guilty. His moon could have cost him three years in prison and $1000. Circuit Judge John Debelius III, said in the acquittal that the act is “disgusting” and ”demeaning,” but McNealy was showing his disapproval and intended to offend only in the sense of being critical. The judge said that buttocks are never private parts and do not fit the crime of indecent exposure; he declared it was a legitimate form of communication.

Here’s a thought about lightening up in this age of fear and insecurity . . . let’s stop prosecuting mooners, and start mooning Presidents.