And another thing …

Four major national health organizations, including the American Medical Association, have released a study directly linking violence in entertainment to increasing violence among children. Based upon more than 30 years of research, the study finds the effects of violent television, music, video games and movies to be measurable and long lasting, and accuses the entertainment industry of intentionally marketing adult-oriented material to kids. The National Association of Broadcasters refused to respond, saying it was “not going to comment on something we haven’t seen.” Is the NAB referring to the study, or to its programs?

In his new book, “In Search of Deep Throat,” Nixon law partner and confidant Leonard Garment concludes that the Watergate tattletale was John Sears, who worked briefly for domestic affairs adviser John Erlichman in 1968, four years before the infamous break-in. Mr. Sears denies the allegation utterly and categorically, saying the author and his publisher repeatedly rejected his offers to submit to a lie detector test. Coming soon to a bookstore near you – “Still Searching.”

Provided it can be taught to distinguish between an incoming warhead and an errant balloon, North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad wants the proposed missile defense system built in his state instead of Alaska, saying it would be cheaper to pay the 1,500 residents of the Aleutian Islands to move than it would be to protect them. And all this time we thought the “rogue state” to worry about was North Korea.

The first installment of Stephen King’s serial novel “The Plant” was posted on his Web site Monday in what the author describes as a test of the honor system. Readers can download it first and pay the $1 fee only if their consciences bother them enough. Future installments will be produced only if the ratio of paying customers to downloaders is sufficiently high, and close tabs are being kept. Sort of like an honor system without the trust.

In what must come as a great relief to proud Mainers, the granite needed to complete the $32 million restoration of the State House will not have to come from Georgia after all – it will come from Vermont. Although there is a quarry in nearby Hallowell with precisely the same type of granite used in the original capitol, the owner wanted $33,000 for it, compared with less than $2,500 for the out-of-state stuff. Furthermore, the specialist hired by the Legislature to oversee the work says the Hallowell granite was excavated years ago and may have deteriorated due to exposure to the weather. Billion-year-old stone that deteriorates after a few decades of rain and snow – sounds like the perfect material for Maine’s most important public building.