It's not that Americans can't understand why members of Congress were tempted earlier this year to intervene in the ugly legal mess that preceded the long, slow death of Terri Schiavo.

It's not that Americans can't understand why members of Congress might feel queasy about the prospect of pot plants getting into the wrong hands.

But for Republicans who control Congress at a time when public opinion of Congress is sinking, last week presented an unfortunate juxtaposition:

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Peter B. Lewis, the Cleveland insurance tycoon and philanthropist, contributed $340,000 last fall to bankroll a political fund started by a group working to legalize and regulate marijuana use.

Lewis, the chairman of Progressive Corp., is the only contributor so far to the fund launched last September by the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project, said Krissy Oechslin, a spokeswoman for the group. Oechslin said Lewis also provided about half of the group's operating budget of about $1.8 million last year.

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Washington- Shawn Carson says he understands why Congress wants to crack down on people who get rich by wooing kids to concerts where drugs are rampant.

But he isn't one of those people, the Cleveland music promoter says. So, he can't understand why he should have to worry about getting hit with jail time, or a huge civil fine, if a federal agent some day came to a concert and "caught one person in a back hallway or a bathroom with a little bit of some kind of drug."

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