First, here's a great quote, from a thoughtful blog post that questions the wisdom of letting Hollywood's "legal arm" dictate to the justice system: Surely Hollywood wouldn’t try to suspend due process, would they? Or create a parallel enforcement system? Or take away citizen recourse if they were unfairly silenced? They wouldn’t imagine the possibility of a longer jail term for streaming a Michael Jackson video than Jackson’s own doctor got for killing actual Michael Jackson? Would they? That was written in response to this NYT blog entry, in which the author makes a few somewhat valid points about there being two ...
Posts Tagged ‘Congress’
Modern Entertainment Industry Logic
Saturday, January 21st, 2012Modern Legislative Logic
Friday, January 20th, 2012Reuters reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he was postponing a test vote set for Tuesday "in light of recent events." I don't know what a "test vote" is, but it definitely reinforces the perception I already have that Congress wastes a lot of time. "The day will come when the senators who forced this move will look back and realize they made a knee-jerk reaction to a monumental problem," [The main Senate sponsor, Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.] said. Criminals in China, Russia and other countries "who do nothing but peddle in counterfeit products and stolen American content ...
‘Tis the Season – For Spending!
Friday, December 18th, 2009Lots of last minute surprises from the jerks in D.C.: Obama signed a $1.1 trillion spending bill The House approved a $155 billion jobs bill: I guess the stimulus package wasn't enough to create jobs, so spend yourself further into debt, it's the American way! The House raised the debt ceiling by $290 billion to finance six more weeks of spending: A $12.1 trillion debt limit, really, how quaint! And $290 billion over six weeks? C'mon Big Daddy-O, that's not an allowance, it's a pittance! Well, that's $1.1 trillion spent, with another $445 billion, in just one day. Does anyone even notice anymore? Pelosi hasn't ...
Just Say No!
Sunday, October 4th, 2009There was an interview posted a couple of days ago with Senator Tom Carper about the legislative text of the health care reform bills currently being debated in Congress. It's quite enlightening about just how dysfunctional the Congress is. "I don’t expect to actually read the legislative language because reading the legislative language is among the more confusing things I’ve ever read in my life." If legislative language is confusing for a lawmaker, then why is he a legislator?