Embattled Boston Globe journalist Mike Barnicle is finally forced to resign, as yet another example of his fictionalization of his column is exposed, the second hit for the Globe in as many months.

It's been a rough year for probity.

Readers of this magazine who enjoyed the "I, Claudius" series on PBS probably have more perspective on what we are enduring than most people. History is full of tawdriness, scandal, and rejuvenation.

That's not a cynical statement; it is just the truth.

For those of you who missed "I, Claudius," one of the pivotal notions is that Caesar's wife is the guardian of Roman honor. She must be above reproach. Thus, in classic irony, it happens during the reign of the Emperor Claudius that while he is away at war with barbarians, his young wife has a contest with Rome's most celebrated "courtesan"(whore) to see who can have sexual relations with the most men in a single day.

I spoke to a friend last night about this whole trumped-up notion of Caesar's wife and how separated it was from the reality of human existence and the hubris of the powerful, guaranteed to lead to outrages of morality like that perpetrated by Claudius' Empress, Messalina.

Or the type of scandals we see today.... Or those I referenced weeks ago in looking at the ascendancy of Victoria Woodhull at the turn of this decaying century.

Despite the hand-wringing we are witnessing all around us, painted in broad strokes on the nightly news, people are no worse --- and possibly far better, from the point of view of an oppressed minority --- than they were centuries ago.

That journalists, who take it upon themselves to examine the minutiae of public lives, are now themselves being examined is a Good Thing in the book of G21. We have never hidden our disdain for the high and mighty Mouthpiece Media. Fire, or force the resignation of, seven more Mike Barnicles for all we care! Good riddance.

There is a larger picture.

That picture includes the bombing in Northern Ireland this weekend, which is forced off the radar screens by scandals. That larger picture also includes the inevitable billions of dollars of bail-out that the Russians will need when the President arrives there in a few weeks. That picture includes the $1 Billion tossed down the public toilet when that Air Force missile exploded last week. That larger picture includes situations in Kosovo, in Uganda, in the Sudan, and with threatened American embassies around the globe. It also includes the latest uncertain in Iraq and the enigma that is the new China.

Yes, in the interest of responsiveness, G21 even did a Monicagate poll last week. But that is behind us.

We are back on track now and want to focus on more important international and domestic stories. From your responses, we believe that you, our Loyal Readers, want to do the same.

So consider this essay a guantlet thrown out to other publications and our writers. Let's Get Real.

Yours Unruly would leave the task of tittilation to the Mouthpiece, Tabloid media out there. Our concerns remain much more serious.

Yes, there is a constitutional situation which we cab and shall address. What it has to do with is not an intern, or some sexual scandal. What it has to do with is the ability of our national apparatus to absorb its greatest challenge since Richard Nixon lied. That's a story the G21 is up to, and one we can cover with our usual thoroughness. But that's a story that is down the road and based on the fluctuating winds of public opinion, the continuing outrage of a vindictive and overwrought Special Prosecutor, and the fickle reaction of a shameless Congress.

We'll deal with that when the time comes.