Have You Met Thomas??

Part of the responsibility of a good citizen is to be informed and educated about their government. This is a task in which we have failed miserably.....so miserably, in fact, that Jay Leno, Sean Hannity and other popular entertainers and commentators have made sport of going out and interviewing the "man in the street" about current events and important government figures to highlight and laugh at the fact that the common man is ignorant of the activities of our government and the world at large. Our youth are taught a watered down version of revisionist history. Newspapers are dying daily because the media has changed from reporting news to making up the news and shaping it to suit their own agenda. People get their news from MTV and all sorts of quasi-journalists. Political correctness has diluted just about every topic that could be taught, discussed or reported. We have a populace that is ripe for the taking. So how does one learn about what is going on in the government? Well, for one thing you could become friends with Thomas.

While Thomas can, at times, be like reading the phone book, Thomas can also be quite enlightening. So who or what is Thomas?? Thomas is a subsidiary of the Library of Congress, established in 1995 by the 104th Congress to make federal legislative information easily available to the public. Over the past 14 years, Thomas has been expanded to provide information on bills, resolutions, Congressional activity, treaties, government resources and there is even an area for teachers.

Maybe it's just me, but I like to visit Thomas from time to time to see what our legislators are up to. We, obviously, hear about the bills that are associated with dollar signs followed by 9-12 zeroes, but much more telling are the smaller actions that may never bubble to the top, but say volumes about the true feelings of some our legislators. Remember we elected them...but...did we REALLY know what we were getting???

So that you don't have to do it, I went to Thomas and scrolled through some of the bills that have been introduced since January 2009 and are working their way through committees, etc. This is just a bit of what I found.

H.J.RES.4 Representative Betty McCollum MN-4 introduced 1/6/09 without co-sponsors.
Constitutional Amendment - Health Protection Amendment of 2009 - Declares that health care, including care to prevent and treat illness, is the right of all U.S. citizens and necessary to ensure the strength of the nation.
this should pave the way for nationalized healthcare

H.J.RES.5 Representative Jose Sorrano NY-16 introduced 1/6/09 without co-sponsors.
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, thereby removing the limitation on the number of terms an individual
may serve as President.
this should pave the way for Obama to become imperial president for life

H.J.RES.9 Representative Gene Green TX-29 introduced 1/7/09 without co-sponsors.
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to abolish the electoral college and to provide for the direct popular election of the President and Vice President of the United States.
this could effectively allow the voters of New York and California with some help from Florida to elect the president and nullify the voters in the rest of the entire country.

H.J.RES.26 Representative Dennis J. Kucinich OH-10 introduced 3/2/09 with 29 co-sponsors.
Proclaiming Casimir Pulaski to be an honorary citizen of the United States posthumously.
while Casimir Pulaski may have been a very important foreign figure in the American Revolution, he has been dead since 1779! Given the current economic climate and the larger problems facing us....isn't this a waste of legislative time and effort. Pulaski already has a major state holiday in Illinois and commemorative days in Wisconsin and Indiana.

H.J.RES.29 Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. IL-2 introduced 3/3/09 without co-sponsors.
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States regarding the right of all citizens of the United States to a public education of equal high quality.
Common sense says that vouchers would put a huge dent in that problem.... but then there are also the horses that you can lead to water but can't make them drink. I don't think this mandates a CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.

H.J.RES.30 Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. IL-2 introduced 3/3/09 without co-sponsors.
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States regarding the right of citizens of the United States to health care of equal high quality.
he must not speak to Betty McCollum MN-4 who already introduced the same thing 2 months earlier--Get with the program Jesse.

H.J.RES.31 Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. IL-2 introduced 3/3/09 without co-sponsors.
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to equality of rights and reproductive rights.
Article --
Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Section 2. Reproductive rights for women under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State.
hmmmm, I think Jesse wants to take away states rights!!

H.J.RES.32 Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. IL-2 introduced 3/3/09 without co-sponsors.
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States respecting the right to decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing.
so now I will get my house from the government too....let's see, healthcare, education, house...Obama is my shepherd, I shall not want....

H.J.RES.33 Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. IL-2 introduced 3/3/09 without co-sponsors.
Proposing an amendment the Constitution of the United States respecting the right to a clean, safe, and sustainable environment.
by now you should see a pattern evolving......

H.J.RES.34 Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. IL-2 introduced 3/3/09 without co-sponsors.
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to taxing the people of the United States progressively.
Article--Section 1. The Congress of the United States shall tax all persons progressively in proportion to the income which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the United States.
Read this one VERY carefully......

H.J.RES.35 Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. IL-2 introduced 3/3/09 without co-sponsors.
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States respecting the right to full employment and balanced growth.
Article--
Section 1. Every person has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work, and to protection against unemployment.
Section 2. Every person, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
Section 3. Every person who works has the right to just and favorable remuneration ensuring for themselves and their family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
Section 4. Every person who works has the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of their interests.
Translated entitlements galore!!! And then when they have that nice, just, favorable job and protection against unemployment, the government can tax their income progressively per H.J.RES.34!

H.J.RES.36 Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. IL-2 introduced 3/3/09 without co-sponsors.
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to abolish the Electoral College and provide for the direct election of the President and Vice President by the popular vote of all citizens of the United States regardless of place of residence.
Oops--I guess he missed the fact that someone else (Gene Green TX-29) scooped him on this one too! Gosh, Jesse Jackson Jr sure had a busy day at work on 3/3/09!

So this is just a teeny bit of what you can find on Thomas. Are any of your US representatives involved in wasting legislative time? Are any of your US representatives writing inane bills? As their boss you should want to know. This is the way to keep tabs on your legislators and make sure that they are doing the job YOU would want them to do. It is also a way to peek into their cubicle and see how they waste their day..just like your boss does! If you want to be engaged and up to date on the workings of the legislature, Thomas can be your best friend.