It's a slow day at my desk - all my taskmasters are out plying their trade elsewhere - so I've been going through the various news sites, hoping something would catch my eye. Seems things are slow in the news world, too (Dick didn't shoot anyone today). Well! What do you know?!

A man running for state representative acknowledged that he once worked as a prostitute but said he's turned his life around and doesn't regret his past.

Tom Malin, who has also sold Mary Kay cosmetics and now markets electricity, conceded that his illicit past could cost him the nomination in the March 7 Democratic primary.

"I've made mistakes in my life, and I've stood before my creator and I've accepted responsibility for my behavior," Malin said in Friday's Dallas Morning News.

On his campaign Web page, Malin said he is "committed to giving our families a voice in Austin, with a focus on education, the economy, and restoring a 'spirit of ethics' to our State House."

He said he would stay in the race.

Except for the whole he's-a-Democrat thing, the similarities are striking. After all, I too sell Mary Kay. Oh, yeah, and I've been an escort.

Perhaps I may run for office after all. Good for you, Tom. I still hope you lose, but I'm proud of you nonetheless. It takes guts to do what you're doing. I just pray (Can one pray for a Democrat?) that the mudslinging will be kept to a minimum. He's obviously been through enough, and Texas can be a bit unforgiving.