The whole point of free speech is not to make ideas exempt from criticism but to expose them to it.

Friday, February 12, 2010

War College strangely silent on this one. Well, maybe not so strange...

On Feb. 2, Pat Powers posted this at the War College blog:

HB 1204: Smoke the ditchweed, lose your welfare check.

State Representative Lance Russell has proposed a measure that deserves an airing on the floor of the State House, and for every legislator to be counted up and down as to where they stand.

FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to authorize reasonable suspicion testing and prohibit the use of controlled substances by welfare recipients.

I have no problem with the post. Powers has this thing, y'know. However, when the bill came up in committee (see my post below: "Russell gets ass handed to him..."), little Lancy didn't even show up.

THAT is newsworthy. As Nick Nemec posted in the comments on my post below, "I've spent more time in legislative committee hearings than the average dog and I've NEVER heard of a hearing where the prime sponsors didn't bother to show up. This is extremely disrespectful and a waste of committee time, legislator time, and the time and money of the citizens who came to testify."

But since Powers and Lancy are buddies, I guess, the fact that Russell thumbs his nose at the system, the committee, and the public is not worth covering, even though Powers thought the submission of the bill was worth covering. But Powers has this thing, y'know.

1 comment:

Wayne Gilbert said...

Certainly Mr. Powers' assertion that the ". . . measure [is one]that deserves an airing on the floor of the State House, and for every legislator to be counted up and down as to where they stand" is worthy of some follow-up.

Apparently the measure according to its own sponsor didn't "deserve an airing" in committee, let alone the House floor.