Hello? Legislators? It&8217;s the Mississippi taxpayers here. Remember us? We&8217;re the folks who pay for you to gallivant about the capital city.

You remember us; you borrow our collective wallet from time to time..

We&8217;re puzzled this morning. Our state suffered one of the most devastating natural disasters ever to strike our country &8212; Hurricane Katrina.

Our education system is still largely inadequate and underfunded.

Our budget situation is still shaky, at best, still reeling from the effects of the Katrina.

Our people on the coast are still trying to clean up debris and figure out how to rebuild their lives again. So in light of all of those circumstances, we&8217;re puzzled by something: Why in the world are we worried about plaid fabric?

Now, perhaps, at some point in the future, when all of our state&8217;s problems are solved, it might be appropriate to consider selecting the official state tartan &8212; maybe. But this isn&8217;t the time.

The Mississippi House has &8212; or at least should have &8212; something better with which to occupy its time. Yet, the House bothered to select a special fabric that can be worn as Scottish kilts, skirts and other garb and set April 6 as Tartan Day.

We&8217;ve all heard the old rumor that Scottish men allegedly wear nothing beneath their colorful kilts.

We&8217;re not sure about that, but we know a few legislators who are a bit bare between the ears.