Look how those assholes paved the way for alaska drilling

Post by **tnf** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 5:49 pm

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/12/19/ ... index.html

This kind of shit has gone on for years...but damn its underhanded.

" House lawmakers opened the way for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as one of their last acts of an all-night session Monday bringing their legislative year to a close."

"The ANWR provision was attached to a major defense bill, forcing many opponents of oil and gas exploration in the barren northern Alaska range to vote for it"

"Democrats and moderate Republicans have for years blocked drilling in ANWR, and its inclusion in the defense bill exposed that bill to a possible filibuster in the Senate that can only be broken with a 60-vote majority.

Democrats complained that they were being forced to accept ANWR drilling with their vote on military spending and hurricane relief."

Post by **R00k** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 5:52 pm

I despise that kind of legislating and I think it's one of the foremost reasons that we have some of the backwards laws that we do have.

Every law should have to be voted on, on its own merits. This is more like extortion, or blackmail.

Post by **Nightshade** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 5:53 pm

One of the reasons I like John McCain is that he wants to get rid of riders adding unrelated shit like this sneaky crap to legislation. It's a fucking sorry joke.

Post by **jester!** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 5:54 pm

Do the rest of the worlds law systems function like this or is this a US thing?

Post by **Freakaloin** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 6:06 pm

its even worse in other countries...

Post by **Grudge** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 6:15 pm

Freakaloin wrote:its even worse in other countries...

source?

Post by **Freakaloin** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 6:40 pm

go to another country and see for urself...

Post by **seremtan** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 6:41 pm

he lives in another country, dumbass

Post by **Freakaloin** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 6:47 pm

i said another country moron...

Post by **r3t** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 7:08 pm

How does something like that work? Is it possible to have an important law on, for example, education which has to be passed because it's very important for the well being of millions, and then attach another law which would normally never be voted through but will be now because the bigger law is too important to be stopped? Isn't that just very, very stupid? Call me ignorant, but tricks like that are just impossible in The Netherlands.

Post by **Fender** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 7:17 pm

r3t wrote:How does something like that work? Is it possible to have an important law on, for example, education which has to be passed because it's very important for the well being of millions, and then attach another law which would normally never be voted through but will be now because the bigger law is too important to be stopped? Isn't that just very, very stupid?

Yes.
Yes. Riders make baby Jesus cry.

Post by **R00k** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 7:18 pm

That's exactly how it happens, yes.

Post by **werldhed** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 12:06 am

I thought it was changed recently so unrelated riders couldn't be used. Or is that just for my state?

Post by **R00k** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 12:16 am

It definitely hasn't been changed in the federal government.

Riders to the highway appropriations bill included massive tax handouts to oil and energy companies.

It's a good thing they were able to cut healthcare, schools and farm subsidies when they passed this latest budget, or our country would be headed for trouble!

Post by **werldhed** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 12:27 am

Okay, it must've just been some state legislation. I just remember hearing about a recent bill that was shot down because it had a rider.

Post by **bitWISE** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 1:46 am

I don't really have a stance on the drilling (meaning I don't really care but I understand why it's a bad idea) but riders should be done away with. The easiest way to solve a problem is to create a process where X representatives can propose a vote to remove section Y.

Post by **Ryoki** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 8:57 am

Fender wrote:
r3t wrote:How does something like that work? Is it possible to have an important law on, for example, education which has to be passed because it's very important for the well being of millions, and then attach another law which would normally never be voted through but will be now because the bigger law is too important to be stopped? Isn't that just very, very stupid?
Yes.
Yes. Riders make baby Jesus cry.

Wow, amazing.