Mystery Legislators
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/11/national/11HOME.html
Remember that pork fat that got inserted into the Homeland Security bill last year? The three things added were immunity from lawsuits for pharmaceutical companies whose products may have caused autism, exclusive gov't research contracts to Texas A&M, and allowing the Homeland Security dept. to do business with offshore companies (that don't pay taxes). The chutzpah was pretty astounding -- enough so to activate the consciences of some of our congress! That's when you know it's really bad. (I can't give them all the credit, though. Apparently their consciences were kicked around a little bit by outraged families of autistic children.) From the NYT today, information that I find astonishing and frightening (I'm getting used to those emotions now when it comes to reading the news of what our gov't is doing):
The vaccine provision caused the most consternation on Capitol Hill, because of the complaints from families who wanted to sue vaccine makers and because no official in the White House, the Senate or the House would acknowledge inserting the provision in what appeared to be the unrelated creation of the Homeland Security Department. Even today, Dr. Frist, the biggest proponent of the provision, said he was not responsible, as did the House leaders, through their spokesmen.
I don't know about anybody else, but I find this degree of non-accountability in the federal government terrifying. Things are just flat out fucked up. How in the hell can this happen?
4:58:56 AM 
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