It is often said that Congressional staff, not elected members of Congress that create legislation and simply tell Representatives and Senators how to vote.
The amount of reading that a Congressman would need to do to understand everything he or she voted for or against would take longer than 24 hours everyday. So, many times Congressman are voting for something they have not read, do not understand, and, more often than not, do not care about.
Well, sometimes this comes back to bite the members hard. Case in point, here is a sentence from the Omnibus budget bill passed over the weekend.
"Hereinafter, notwithstanding any other provision of law governing the disclosure of income tax returns or return information, upon written request of the Chairman of the House or Senate Committee on Appropriations, the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service shall allow agents designated by such Chairman access to Internal Revenue Service facilities and any tax returns or return information contained therein."
In essence it allows a Congressman or Senator to look at YOUR tax returns.
When asked by reporters, 75% did not know about the provision. So much for the right of privacy of IRS records.
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Here are some interesting items.
+The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been looking closely at the claims of America OnLine (AOL) during its sale to Time-Warner. The SEC has noted irregularities in AOL's accounting practices and that revenue was overstated.
After years of investigations, Time Warner and the SEC are close to an agreement which will cost the media giant $750 Million. As part of the agreement, AOL nor Time Warner will admit to wrongdoing.
Let's see SEC investigation, payment of millions, but not responsible. Sorry Time Warner, if you pay the fine, you did the crime.
+Indiana Pacer forward Ron Artest released a statement yesterday concerning his suspension. If you read it, it sounds like Artest is not taking responsibility for his actions. What would you expect from a pampered athlete.
ESPN.com - NBA - Artest: Ban too long; not first time things flung
In a related story, former UCLA standout Bill Walton says that the suspensions are too lenient and the incident hurt the home of the NBA>
ESPN.com - NBA - Walton: Punishment too lenient
More later.
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