Ghost of a flea

Michael Tennenhouse, 18, said he was home in Springfield on winter break, taking in impeachment hearings at the Capitol, when he came across a nativity scene, a menorah and an atheist group's display in the rotunda. The exhibits have stirred up controversies, all of which struck Tennenhouse as silly.

"This is grown adults arguing about something nobody could really prove," he said. "Religious displays should not be in public buildings."

So Tennenhouse filled out an application to put up the Festivus pole ("the lady burst out laughing"), which was approved the same day.