Here’s an idea.
Until this year, most lawmakers were apparently unaware when they voted [to re-authorize the Patriot Act] last March that the new provisions took away the Senate’s power to reject interim U.S. attorneys.
How about we ask our representatives to read the legislation they vote on? How would that be? Maybe we could demand 48 hours for the public to review all legislation before it is passed into law? I’m so tired of this crap. And, in this case, the law was available for review for months before it was passed and still no one read it.
hidden in each piece of legislation should be a clause that says all Senators and Congressman reject their salary, car allowance, housing allowance, until the next fiscal year.
For this to have the desired effect, you would also have to enforce a ban on the “Find” function on all computer programs that Congress persons had access to! Would be tough to accomplish, but needed to make them actually read the entire bill before any vote!!
Maybe proposed legislation should include colorful illustrations to make it more appealing.
Dear Senator,
Might I suggest that each senate democrat utilize their staff wisely. divide the bill up, if they are too busy with a lot of stuff….( of which ( really wonder) and each senatorial staff reads some and the day of voting they have a morning briefing and report what is really going on. Otherwise, read the whole damn thing in full before voting. Maybe those dc parties can wait for a while…don’t you think!!!???
Stay home and do your job and prepare for the next day at the office…they get paid enough to do at least something to prepare themselves for the actual work the next day or so….wouldn’t on think!!?? bless their little hearts …;o(
But that would get in the way of fundraising, booman, don’t you see?
In congresscritters don’t have time to felate Big Money, how will they ever win re-election?
I read somewhere that the change in the legislation was made at the last minute by an aide of Specter’s, and that even Specter didn’t know about it. But unfortunately I can’t find that story.
Unbelievable…Half of the problem is the density of the legalese and jargon of laws. The entire Consititution fits easily in a short appendix at the back of a textbook. I’ve read 19th century Russian novels shorter than the Patriot Act. The devil is always in the details and these laws are unbelievably detailed and arcane. Wouldn’t want the common folk actually reading and understanding the laws of the land.