The "Fun" House

Committees are formed in Congress to provide thoughtful review of possible legislation. These committees study specific topics like education, health care, immigration, energy and commerce...

And as we know, committee membership is highly partisan. The chairman is usually from the ruling party with a ranking member selected from the other party. The ruling party usually gets the majority of voting seats. Needless to say, it has little to do with the most qualified.

But it is expected that the committee reads and understands the bill before they vote on it, because it then goes to the floor and often becomes law.

So, you have a 900 page Cap-and-Trade bill before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The GOP wants to slow things down a bit so they ask that it be read.

To be cute the Democrats hire a speed reader, designate him a clerk, then ask him to read the bill. Well, the committee doesn't want to hear him read the whole thing in gibberish so they vote to pass it on without a reading.

Below is a U Tube of the proceedings. Note how many empty seats are in the committee room, typical for the day-to-day business of Congress. (No wonder Pelosi wasn't sure if she was briefed about torture; she sent an aide to listen for her.) Note how much fun it is for our fine Congressmen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_SB7g_Yb-0

So, these are the people running our country. Cap-and-Trade is a most serious proposal with dire consequences for taxation and energy use. I'm so glad they can laugh about it.