Among the issues most commonly discussed are individuality, the rights of the individual, the limits of legitimate government, morality, history, economics, government policy, science, business, education, health care, energy, and man-made global warming evaluations. My posts are aimed at intelligent and rational individuals, whose comments are very welcome.

"No matter how vast your knowledge or how modest, it is your own mind that has to acquire it." Ayn Rand

"Observe that the 'haves' are those who have freedom, and that it is freedom that the 'have-nots' have not." Ayn Rand

"The virtue involved in helping those one loves is not 'selflessness' or 'sacrifice', but integrity." Ayn Rand

For "a human being, the question 'to be or not to be,' is the question 'to think or not to think.'" Ayn Rand

05 October 2009

A House Resolution to Allow Bills to be Read before Votes

The trillion dollar stimulus bill allowed the House of Representatives members only 12 hours to read the bill between its being set and the vote for passage.  It was passed despite the members not having read its 1071 pages.  The carbon cap and trade bill was about 1500 pages long and was passed in the House only 16.5 hours after it was put to bed as a document in the early morning hours.  In 2006, Nancy Pelosi promised bills would be published at least 24 hours prior to voting on them.  I suppose she meant this will happen someday, long after she has left this Earth.

182 House members have signed onto House Resolution 554, which will require that a bill be published for 72 hours prior to a vote.  Both congressmen and the People will have 72 hours to read the bills.  Nancy Pelosi has not signed on to the bill.  This discharge petition was first pushed by Rep. Greg Walden (R, OR) and was sponsored by Rep. Brian Baird (D, WA).  It was introduced the same day the Senate Finance Committee voted against publishing the ObamaCare bill 72 hours before the Senate is scheduled to vote on it.  There is a lot of evidence that our Representatives and Senators cannot read, because surely they would understand that they cannot pretend to know whether the General Welfare of the People is served or not without reading the bills.  Therefore, it must be that they view the attempts to publish the bills as a means to pressure them to read them.  This is embarrassing for someone who cannot read!

OK.... maybe they can read and they are such villains that they want to be able to shove bills though our venerable Congress without having to stir up the People, some of whom can read the wrongheaded bills for which these power-hungry congressmen vote.  The stimulus bill only spent $819 billion.  Why would we want to know anything about that?  The carbon cap and trade bill is only going to require our using 83% less industrial and  commercial energy by 2050!  We would not want to read about that!!!

The majority of our enlightened congressmen, who god-like know all about each of us and our welfare, have not signed this petition.  It would be great if it passes.  It probably will not, despite the fact it is simple common sense.  There are 435 members of the House of Representatives, so 182 members are still well less than half.  The majority of the House members who have not signed onto this bill just might be really close relatives to Ardi, who could not read either.

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