U.S. Sen. Harry Reid will be up on his feet again this week, after suffering a so-called “mini-stroke” last Tuesday. (It’s not true, by the way, that the incident happened after he got a glimpse of Las Vegas gas prices.) Reid will attend a “faith-based services symposium,” part of his latest push to convince everybody that Democrats don’t hate God.

We wish Reid well. He’s got a stressful job, keeping together a party that’s so diverse and intransigent that its symbol is a donkey and members famously joke about their lack of party organization. Plus, he’s got his conservative constituents back home to think about. They’re not likely to make the same mistake twice, and nominate a candidate who can’t beat “none of these candidates” in the primary. So, he’s got to be on his toes.

What we don’t understand is this: Reid eats well, gets exercise, and doesn’t smoke or drink. We at Various Things & Stuff, on the other hand, eat very, very poorly, don’t get exercise, smoke cigars all the time and drink a lot. Yet Reid has health problems and we just go chugging along. (And by “chugging,” we mean beer. That’s how we drink it.)

Perhaps we should draw up our personal diet and health plan for the senator and e-mail it to him? Senator, if you get an e-mail titled “Better Living With Bacon,” don’t delete it. It’s from us! And feel better soon!

Well, it looks like revolution is breaking out all over. The state of Connecticut has sued the federal government, maintaining that President Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act is an unfunded mandate. Connecticut will spend $41.6 million beyond the $5.8 million that the federal government is paying to cover the testing of students that’s a key part of the act. Either give us the money, or do away with the rules, the state says. (That follows on the heels of Utah — surely no bastion of liberalism — criticizing the act as well.)

Then tiny Sparks, Nevada’s City Council joins municipal governments around the nation passing resolutions against the USA Patriot Act, especially the provisions that allow federal agents to peek into your book buying, library browsing and movie renting. (You remember that provision: It was the one that former Attorney General John Ashcroft claimed hadn’t been used, but insisted should be kept on the books, just in case. Osama bin Laden better watch what he rents at Blockbuster, that’s for sure.)

Down here in Las Vegas, local governments have had a long history of protests, from passing resolutions against Yucca Mountain to suing the federal government over everything from state’s rights to inadequate radiation standards. We at Various Things & Stuff wish the locals would get a little more vocal on things like the Patriot Act (our mayor was a former criminal defense lawyer, for God’s sake) and promise to never steal property the way they did in New London, Conn. (Actually, Goodman has promised not to do that, hasn’t he? Well, Clark County, then.)

What does it all mean? Federalism has largely been forgotten, thanks to the deification of the presidency and intense media focus on Washington, D.C., at the same time attention to state capitals is waning. But it’s good to see that there are still some folks who remember that states have a voice, too. It’s an important part of checks and balances, and comes in especially handy when the feds start ignoring the U.S. Constitution, as they’ve done with the Patriot Act and the New London ruling.