I have to profess a deep and abiding affection for the British press.  They typically wear their partisanship on their sleeve while still providing a manner of relevance in reporting that rivals the subterranean liberal agenda that stalks many American newsrooms.  But, more importantly, although British colonialism is a thing of the past the lines of communication are still hard-wired offering readers first looks at some of the most interesting and oddest news items.

Latest on the weird politics wire is a piece from Friday’s London Times that runs under the headline “Australian councillor, Hajnal Ban, has legs broken to become taller.”  From the article:

An Australian politician has gone to extraordinary lengths to be taken seriously by her peers: she has had her legs broken and stretched to become 3in (8cm) taller.

…

After nine months of excruciating pain, the councillor became a “normal” 5ft 4in.

Ms Ban was taunted at school and feared that her height would damage her credibility as she entered the legal profession and later went into local politics.

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She had the surgery when she was a 23-year-old barrister but Australian media only latched on to her medical history this week. Ms Ban told The Times that she did not want to be remembered as “the girl who got her legs lengthened”.

I guess when political aspirations are one’s sole ambition it’s possible to rationalize just about anything on the road to achieving one’s goal.  In fact, maybe if this story circulates through Madame Pelosi’s office, she might inspired to take a couple of months off for “medical leave”.  No stranger to plastic surgery and suffering from plummeting approval numbers, Pelosi is in a position to consider all solutions, no matter how hair-brained they may appear.  Heck, even if she winds up being ousted in 2010 adding a little height will give her a leg up when they hold monthly beauty contests at the home for old Congresswomen.

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