Tammy’s Tale: A sometimes sobbing Tammy Faye...

Tammy’s Tale: A sometimes sobbing Tammy Faye Bakker told a Lakeland, Fla., church congregation of her life without Jim and how she’s hired an appeals lawyer to get her husband out of prison. “Our lawyer felt we have a 77% chance, praise the Lord,” Mrs. Bakker said to thunderous applause at the Carpenter’s Home Church. Bakker is in a Rochester, Minn., federal prison serving a 45-year sentence for defrauding investors of the PTL Ministry, which he founded. Bakker defended her husband, saying he is incapable of defrauding anybody. “Jim walks in his own steps,” she said. “He doesn’t walk in the judge’s steps. He doesn’t walk in the government’s steps. Who are we to say his steps were not supposed to walk through prison?”

Italian Stallion: A magistrate in Milan, Italy, has ordered the husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco to stand trial on charges of avoiding military service. Stefano Casiraghi, 29, got a military reprieve in 1983 when he showed a medical certificate stating he had a genital tumor which could cause impotence. In 1986, new medical tests showed no traces of the tumor. By that time he had fathered two children.

D.C. Ditty: The satirical singing group the Capitol Steps seemed on top of things back in July when it composed the parody “We Need a Little Isthmus” to the tune of “We Need a Little Christmas.” In the song, a George Bush type sings that he is bored with puppies and horseshoes. His Army troops respond, “George, you need a little isthmus/Right this very minute/Give Manuel the Business/If you now begin it/We could all be home by Christmas/We might even win it.” And “Bush” says, “Kick Manuel right in the fanny/Send a force that’s led by Danny.”