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Having learned their lesson...
Jun. 24th, 2009 10:55 amI don't know whether it's the aftereffect of having grown up in the "now" environment of television or just the natural cunning that comes with being a successful politician, but it increasingly appears that no piece of significant legislation can be allowed to sit dormant for any length of time, or be discussed, or analyzed, or any time-wasting stuff like that... it's got to be passed NOW, before it's too late.
(Before what's too late? It! It! Don't you understand? IT!)
Exhibit "A" is the ongoing "bailout" that had to be passed without any legislator actually reading the whole thing (I mean, the only part that had to have the wording checked was the all-important pork), continuing a proud tradition that goes back to at least the Patriot Act. What is particularly funny about the "bailout" is that a sizeable chunk of the cash to be spent won't be spent for some time yet, which didn't reduce the zeal with which passage of the package was pursued, however.
And what I find completely hilarious is that in this headlong pursuit of speed, whose purpose really ought to be obvious even to the most dim-witted among us, even the current Administration's completely worthless nod to "transparency" - that of publishing passed legislation for public perusal for some period of time after Congress has passed it, but before actually signing the thing into law - isn't being observed.
No surprise there.
It turns out that the sponsors of the "cap and trade" bill that's apparently going to be voted on in Congress this Friday still haven't worked out all the details of the bill, which currently weighs in at 1200+ pages. Does anyone really think there's enough time between now and Friday to make sure all of the special interests have been mollified?
Still, I think this represents a historic opportunity for Congress, a chance to break some principally new ground. Perhaps it's time for the scrofulous cretins to enable passage of laws without actually having to write them out first. It'd simplify things all around, and cut out all of that ozone-destroying debate, don't you agree?
In the best of times, cap and trade would be encumber the economy. Implementing such a system now, with the economy performing poorer than what the government "guessed" (using Biden's word) is like kinking the IV line of a patient receiving a blood transfusion. And to dismiss the law's impact by saying that it would be paid for by utilities and industries that produce emissions seems to ignore the obvious fact that all such costs will actually be paid for by the customers of such utilities and industries, i.e., by us.
There are interesting times ahead, folks.
Cheers...
(Before what's too late? It! It! Don't you understand? IT!)
Exhibit "A" is the ongoing "bailout" that had to be passed without any legislator actually reading the whole thing (I mean, the only part that had to have the wording checked was the all-important pork), continuing a proud tradition that goes back to at least the Patriot Act. What is particularly funny about the "bailout" is that a sizeable chunk of the cash to be spent won't be spent for some time yet, which didn't reduce the zeal with which passage of the package was pursued, however.
And what I find completely hilarious is that in this headlong pursuit of speed, whose purpose really ought to be obvious even to the most dim-witted among us, even the current Administration's completely worthless nod to "transparency" - that of publishing passed legislation for public perusal for some period of time after Congress has passed it, but before actually signing the thing into law - isn't being observed.
No surprise there.
It turns out that the sponsors of the "cap and trade" bill that's apparently going to be voted on in Congress this Friday still haven't worked out all the details of the bill, which currently weighs in at 1200+ pages. Does anyone really think there's enough time between now and Friday to make sure all of the special interests have been mollified?
Still, I think this represents a historic opportunity for Congress, a chance to break some principally new ground. Perhaps it's time for the scrofulous cretins to enable passage of laws without actually having to write them out first. It'd simplify things all around, and cut out all of that ozone-destroying debate, don't you agree?
In the best of times, cap and trade would be encumber the economy. Implementing such a system now, with the economy performing poorer than what the government "guessed" (using Biden's word) is like kinking the IV line of a patient receiving a blood transfusion. And to dismiss the law's impact by saying that it would be paid for by utilities and industries that produce emissions seems to ignore the obvious fact that all such costs will actually be paid for by the customers of such utilities and industries, i.e., by us.
There are interesting times ahead, folks.
Cheers...
