Yesterday I approved publication of four comments to my initial post about S 1071, the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act. All four comments come from the psunominous DAVE, who claims to be The Whistleblower about the bill. I am not sure which provisions in the bill DAVE is blowing about, but the comments meet the loose rules that I have for moderating comments; nothing abusive and no naked spam. I have not followed up on any of DAVE’s comments, and my posting of them to the blog does not indicate support for the content or belief in the claims.
Having said all of that…. One of the problems with sausage bills like S 1071 is that with over 3,000 pages of bill that was crafted behind closed doors, and with little time for detailed review, and effectively no public debate, all sorts of interesting tidbits have a tendency to get added to the bill (see for example this article at TheHill.com) to encourage support from key members of Congress. And I am sure that there are more disclosures to come.
The problem is compounded by the fact that Congress is nearly evenly divided and has become so hyperpolitical that it consumes the available time counting political coup (House) and approving fringe political appointees (Senate), that serious law making is for the most part no longer being accomplished. So, when legislative sausage is made, all sorts of odd stuff gets thrown into the grinder.
Perhaps it is time to look at Robert Heinlein’s suggestion for a bicameral legislature made in his book “Moon is a Harsh Mistress”. One of his revolutionaries proposed a legislature where one house passed bills by a supermajority and the other repealed legislation by a simple majority. Obviously that government would be in constant turmoil, but that was the point; that turmoil would limit the capacity for oppression.
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