I know what you’re thinking. I’ve got a whole extra hour to kill this weekend, with nothing to do.

Never fear. We’re giving you another chance to exercise your poetic license and distill a recent news story into haiku. You know the rules — three lines, with 5 syllables, then 7, then 5 more. Read them aloud to make sure you aren’t disqualified.

And please, no wagering.

Here are some examples to prime your poetic pump:

St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke made world news in the 2004 election when he said he would withhold Holy Communion from John Kerry because the presidential candidate’s politics were not in line with the Catholic Church’s views on abortion.

Now, along with a host of Democrats, there’s a Republican Catholic in the race (Rudy Giuliani) who doesn’t line up with the Church on abortion. And Burke’s raised the issue again. “That is a cause of concern for me and for all bishops to find ourselves in this situation,” Burke told the Post-Dispatch. (Here’s a link to the story.)

In fact, Burke intends to…

Another historic Supreme Court case in the student speech category ended Monday. The Court ruled against the now former high school student who held a 14-foot-long “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” banner as the 2002 Olympic torch cruised through Juneau, Ala., on its way to the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

The student, Joseph Frederick, said the banner’s message had absolutely no literal meaning behind it — except to proclaim his right to say anything at all.

His principal, Deborah Morse, thought the phrase was a pro-drug message that had no place at a school-sanctioned event, even though this school-sanctioned event was…

The 10 announced candidates for the Republican presidential nomination debated tonight in Simi Valley, Calif. — the second major event of the 2008 presidential election season.We’ll keep it short, here, folks.

Did you watch the debate? If you did, who do you think won? Who do you think would be the most formidable opponent to the Democrats (and Democrats can answer this question, too)?

Or, are you just plumb amazed that this event is even happening, a full 19 months before the November 2008 election?

And yes…is this sounds familiar, it’s very much like the TOTD last week at this time!

…

The eight announced candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination debated tonight in Orangeburg, S.C. — the first major event of the 2008 presidential election season.

We’ll keep it short, here, folks.

Did you watch the debate? If you did, who do you think won? Who do you think would be the most formidable opponent to the Republicans (and Republicans can answer this question, too)?

Or, are you just plumb amazed that this event is even happening, a full 19 months before the November 2008 election?