Dear Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.):

We’re young. We’re newer at these voting and civic involvement things, so forgive us if this is a silly question: Why on Earth are you taking days off your work in Congress to investigate the National Football League and to chat with its commissioner, Roger Goodell?

We can’t find jobs because the economy sucks, somewhere in the Middle East our brothers and sisters and cousins and friends are re-enacting “Jarhead” and the Earth may or may not be getting closer to the planet depicted in “Waterworld.” Yet, on Thursday, you found time to meet with Commish Goodell to discuss how the New England Patriots’ allegedly illegal taping hurt your Eagles’ Super Bowl XXXIX chances – err … how their taping violated federal trade secret laws.

Maybe you missed the memo when Goodell and the NFL handled this last fall – they doled out the heaviest penalties in NFL history and have obviously made it clear they’d like to keep this matter in-house. Perhaps that seems fishy to you. Maybe you also missed the memo that the teams that would have been affected by this taping have written it off as a dead issue. Since you are the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, perhaps you’re important enough to know more.

But violating federal law? That’s a pretty steep claim. Are you going to go after every team that employs lip readers to steal plays as they’re called at the sidleines? That would be fair, and we’re young, so we like fair.

However since, the governing organization of the business has already made its move months ago, we think you should move on to more important corporate issues that you’ve seemed to miss. Like the Sallie Mae student loan scandal. Or that whole sub-prime mortgage disaster that’s another turn in the tumble of our economy.

OK, we’re from Iowa, so we’re not exactly your constituency. Chalk our exuberance up to youth, if you will. But, after all, you do have a cushy six-figure job with great benefits, derived from our tax dollars. And any further investigation or investigators will also be by our charity – so much for federal road improvements this time around.

We’re not jaded yet. Sure, we act like it – but that’s only because everyone who’s dealt with politics since we’ve been alive seems to be, and we need somewhere to start. So when people suggest that you’re doing this to pander to your die-hard football-loving constituency, we don’t believe it. And, unlike some have suggested, we don’t believe this witch hunt is tied to campaign donations from cable company Comcast, who’s busy fighting with the NFL over broadcast revenue dollars.

No. We just think you’re on the bandwagon of mixing the federal government and professional sports. Since Congress and George Mitchell are oh-so-close to nailing Roger Clemens and saving the youth of America from steroid abuse, you can take on the task of saving the youth of America from . signal stealing. It’s an honest mistake.

We just wish you’d get back to your job. Thanks.