Please Read What You Approve

A common theme today is elected officials voting things in without reading them. Or even voting on things that aren't complete, like the Patriot Act--which had a clause that determines that further innovations to the act are to be pre-approved even though they aren't even written at the time of the review!!! Many questionable legislative items have passed through merely because way too many politicians are way too busy (or uncaring) to read what they are voting on.

A particular example I present here involves U.S. Politics and a Democrat in particular, but make no mistake..I don't suppose we can imagine that Republicans are much better on this. The two sides like to blame each other, but when it comes down to it, they basically have a similar mindset on these sort of things.

This particular quote comes from John Perry Barlow, recounting a conversation with John Kerry:

-- quote --

I had a conversation with [John] Kerry. It was pretty disheartening. I asked how he felt about civil liberties.

He said: 'I'm for 'em!'

That's great, but how do you feel about Section 215 of the Patriot Act?

He said 'What's that?'

I said, it basically says any privately generated database is available for public scrutiny with an administrative subpoena.

He says, 'It says that?'

I say, 'You voted for it!'

He says, 'Well, it was a long bill....'"

-- unquote --