posted
You know what's reall the most disturbing part of this whole thing? The fact that no more than three US senators got together and "passed" a bill, and no-one's doing anything about it.
Registered: Mar 1999
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-------------------- "This is why you people think I'm so unknowable. You don't listen!" - God, "God, the Devil and Bob"
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Prediction: by the next Congressional election, at least one elected representative at the state level or higher will have switched, or attempted to switch, from the phrase "judicial activism" to the phrase "judicial terrorism."
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Elucidate what? Three Republican senators got together and "passed" that Schiavo-related bill just before Easter by a 3-0 vote. Even though it ultimately had no effect, there should still be a huge outcry. What does it mean for the country when any three members of a house of Congress can just get together and pass all the wacky legislation they like? There's a reason that the Constitution requires one-half of a house to be present before it can do anything.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Hmmm, really? I'm a complete blank slate on this, but from a Canadian perspective, shouldn't a piece of legislation have to pass through both houses and get signed by the head of state, in this case the President? Meh, provide a link for reading
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Well, it's mentioned in the Wikipedia article about the legislation. It was also mentioned in several newspaper articles just after it happened.
Yes, even from a US perspective, a piece of legislation should have to pass through both houses and be signed by the president. But, in this case, it pased through one house, passed through 3% of the other house, and then the president signed it. Yet, no-one's calling them on it. I mean, if three senators can pass a bill, what's to stop three representatives from doing the same thing? Three senators, three representatives, and George Bush. Seven people could start passing all the legislation they want to.
And what's to stop them at three apiece? How about one? George Bush, Dennis Hastert, and Bill Frist get together in a room and start churning out whatever laws they please. And I'm not really exaggerating much here. There's hardly a big difference between one congressperson, and three.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Just shows how meek the Democrats have become- they dont want to further alienate the Christian voting populace so the Republicans can do whatever the fuck they want with any sensitive subjects: my favorite (currently) subject is the proposed removal to all references to contraception in public school's health classes and only (Christian approved) abstenance programs taught. No Dem is going near it either.
In my own state, the prople voted on and approved a bill legalizing slot machine gambling. Jeb Bush was opposed to the bill (as was I, frankly) and has changed the bill after the vote so that only certain kinds of video machines are allowed. Now that's illeagal as fuck, but no one's gonna oppose the President's brother.
The TV news is not even reporting on it: so much for the "liberal media".
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
I dont know- but no one's doing anything about it either. Even the ACLU is quiet on this front. Who should we complain to? The Congress? The President?
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
One was apparently my senator. I e-mailed him, for all the good that'll do.
-------------------- "This is why you people think I'm so unknowable. You don't listen!" - God, "God, the Devil and Bob"
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
I seriously doubt that any elected official reads their recieved mail: electronic or otherwise.
An aide probably skimms them if there's a deluge in a given week.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
Really? You know of an (state or higher) elected official that reads his/her own mail...themself: not some lackey reading it and bringing something to his/her attention that might be a cute human intrest story.
Call me skeptical, but I dont think so.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
As hip as it is to be cynical, the basic skill of politicians is listening to what people want and then creatively explaining why they won't do it, unless they will. So they read letters, e- or otherwise, and take visitors, and all sorts of things. I'm not saying that when you write a letter to Senator Jetson it gets hand delivered to his desk by Mr. McFeely, or that every elected official everywhere pays equally close attention, but ultimately they have to keep track of what the folks back home are saying, because votes are just as important a political commodity as insider influence.
If you're really concerned, maybe you should take a day, drive up to Tallahassee and pay your representatives a visit? You could ask them in person.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Mmmmmm....No. Death by Strangualtion is still a crime here after all.
As to "doing what the people want", see my post on Jeb Bush re-writing a bill after it was voted into law.
Yeah...he cares a lot.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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