Two Republican Congressmen, Pete Sessions of Texas and Mike Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, missed the House swearing-in ceremony today because they were at a party. But they decided to cast some votes anyway, even though that's against the Constitution.

The two guys were hanging out, high-fiving constituents at the Capitol Visitor's Center, when they saw on the TV that—oh no!—they were supposed to be getting sworn in on the House floor right then! So, they just took the oath by television. But the magic dust they sprinkle on Representatives to transform them into Democracy Fairies (made from the ground-up remains of John Adams' single, brilliant horn) doesn't work through C-Span. This means, technically, Sessions and Fitzpatrick violated the Constitution by voting on some bills later on that evening and now have to get sworn in again, for real this time.

No big deal! We'll all be laughing about this little goof-up down the line when much more terrible things happen during this new Congress.

[Image via AP]