A writer for Beijing’s most popular newspaper will soon be fired. Or, should be. This sad, hapless fellow apparently reported a story from spoof tabloid the Onion as real news. What ‘news’ item fooled this grizzled journalistic veteran? It was this: Congress is leaving Washington unless the government builds a new Capitol building with a retractable dome.

Now, I’m not sure how things are done in Beijing. I’ve never been there, never studied the culture, nor could I tell you the best travel routes. But here in the old U.S. of A., that story is called satire. Especially when House Speaker Dennis Hastert is quoted as saying the current Capitol is “no longer suitable for a world-class legislative branch” because “the sight lines are bad, there aren’t enough concession stands or bathrooms, and the parking is miserable.”

Though it is possible that baseball players’ penchant for Viagra commercials and politicians’ tendency to strike out and commit errors have blurred the lines between sport and politics.