Think about it. Congress reads about 20% of all legislation that becomes law. So it's possible that some federal unread laws could contradict other federal unread laws.

I'm curious how many people actually check what's written in those laws. I assume they have at least one person go trough all of it and make sure there's no "Give John Doe $1,000,000" clause in it. How many people would have to conspire to change the content of a law without anyone knowing?

Kind of a "if a tree falls in the forest..." question.

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War is Peace.
Freedom is Slavery.
Ignorance is Strength.

It's a post 9/11 world.

I say out of principle we should ignore laws congress didn't bother to read.

If they couldn't find the time to read them, we don't have the time to follow them. If it's good enough for congress it's good enough for us.

How do we test to see which laws congress read or didn't?
And I'd wager there are some congressmen who read everything and others who read none of it.

But let's not kid ourselves. It would have very little bearing if they did read it because the soundbites are what matters.
No one will vote against the "For the Children" plan even if it involves dumping toxic waste on children.
And the bill that does something that sounds bad even if it is for a greater good will destroy the politician's career regardless of the specifics of the bill.

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"Man lives in the sunlit world of that which he believes to be reality. But unseen by most is an underworld, a place that is just as real... but not as brightly lit... A DARK SIDE!"
-opening from Tales From the Darkside