THE former senators gathered around a large-screen laptop at the sky lounge reserved for notable legislators and statesmen from the past.

On the screen, the wife of a sitting senator — an action star in his previous life named after a legendary English outlaw — was apologizing for posting a photo of herself receiving an intravenous infusion of vitamin C in her husband's office at the Senate. The wife, an actress herself, had drawn flak for using the Senate as a backdrop to promote a dubious and possibly dangerous practice.