Why No One Reads The Bills. Following up on yesterday's post about Representative Slaughter's new report (PDF) on corruption and abuses of power by the House Republicans, today's post draws on another chart from the same report. This time, our subject is the tactic of demanding... [Matthew Yglesias]

This is what our representative democracy has come down to. Bills hammered out in conference committee, with new legislation added, and then voted on within hours. A bill containing over 1000 pages voted on within 7 hours. There is no way anyone actually read that bill (that is about 3 pages per minute!), so no one really knows what is in it. That is our government today. No wonder it is so dysfunctional.  6:42:57 PM    

The Netroots' Shallow Roots. Praising Joe Lieberman's opposition to the bankruptcy bill when Joe Lieberman is only pretending to oppose the bankruptcy bill is just about the height of absurdity, but I'll assume it's an honest mistake. Certainly the Lieberman press release was a... [Matthew Yglesias]

One of the interesting emergent properties of so many people who can examine just how the sausage that is legislation is made is that it becomes harder for legislators to obfusgate the issue by playing such parliamentarian games. Lieberman voted FOR the bill by allowing its progress to proceed, even if he did not really vote for the bill. By allowing its progress to proceed, he knew it would pass eventually, making his corporate sponsors happy but he would eventually be able to vote AGAINST the final bill, making him look good for his constituents. How does he do this?

The Senate allos for unlimited debate. To stop this, to vote for cloture, requires a supermajority of the Senate. But to pass a bill only requires a majority. So by voting FOR cloture, Lieberman and a handful of other Democratic Senators can make sure the bill continues but when it comes back to them after the House-Senate onference committee, he can vote AGAINST it, because the Republican majority will make sure it passes. How to have you cake and eat it to.

The blogs, however, have not let this subterfuge pass. The media will, as always, becuase it is just to hard. But blogs, on both the right and the left, hate this bill. And they will not forget. Other Democrats, such as Biden, have earned themselves a special place of dishonor for playing this game. Neither fish nor fowl, they try to play both sides of the fence. It will not be so easily forgotten now.  6:35:38 PM    

Study: Turkey hunting most dangerous, deer hunting most deadly. Turkey hunters have higher rates of shooting-related injuries than hunters of other species in Pennsylvania, according to a Penn State College of Medicine study. In fact the study found that Pennsylvania hunters' chances of being shot depend on both what they're hunting and the hunters' ages, with the highest injury rates reported in hunters under the age of 20. [EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health]

Well, the release gives a very good explanation for this finding. It states:

The authors suggest that the manner of turkey hunting during the study period may explain why turkey hunters have the highest injury rates. Turkey hunters commonly dress in camouflage clothing to blend into their surroundings. They attempt to lure their game within shooting distance, usually 50 yards or less, by making turkey-like sounds. In violation of hunting regulations, other turkey hunters may stalk these turkey-like sounds. The stalking hunter then shoots toward the sound, mistakenly shooting the victim. Approximately 75 percent of turkey incidents appear to have occurred in this manner.

And it gets even better. From 1992 to 1994, turkey hunters were required to wear flourescent orange on their bodies. And turkey hunting related injuries went down. But I guess the hunters did not like that so in 1995 the regulations were relaxed, no longer requiring them to wear the orange material, just have it close by. And the injuries went back up. I think they might want to wear the orange, even if voluntarily. besides, the study shows that wearing the orange material did not result in decreased success in getting a turkey. If anything, the rates went up.  6:14:49 PM    

Study: Soap and water work best in ridding hands of disease viruses. The largest, most comprehensive study ever done comparing the effectiveness of hand hygiene products shows that nothing works better in getting rid of disease-causing viruses than simply washing one's hands with good old-fashioned soap and water. [EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health]

So much for all those anti-bacterial washes. Sometimes, the old tried and true is best.  6:08:23 PM    

Growth hormone treatment improves symptoms of metabolic disorder in postmenopausal women. Researchers in Sweden have discovered that growth hormone (GH) treatment may result in the reduction of multiple metabolic disorders associated with abdominal obesity in postmenopausal women. [EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health]

I think metabolic syndrome could be a huge problem for many people who have just never heard of it. What happens if HGH really becomes a necessary treatment, considering that it also has such a huge efect on athletes, etc? Extra care will really have to be taken in its regulation.  6:06:16 PM