What’s Good For The Minions Is Good For The Congress ... Or Is It?

If writing this blog were a job, it would be hard work but, since it is not, it is not.

Now that you have given up trying to understand the above opening sentence, we can move along with some Serious Foolishness.

The Smartfella finds it interesting that our 9% Approval Rating Congress is presently all involved with banning Insider Trading for Members of Congress.

There you go again thinking I am being silly. You are asking yourself, why would Congress have to spend time declaring something that is illegal for the rest of us to also be illegal for them?

I just checked out a web site (http://www.sec.gov/answers/insider.htm) at the Securities and Exchange Commission to find out which categories of people have had Insider Trading actions taken against them by the SEC...

• Corporate officers, directors, and employees who traded the corporation's securities after learning of significant, confidential corporate developments.
• Friends, business associates, family members, and other "tippees" of such officers, directors, and employees, who traded the securities after receiving such information.
• Employees of law, banking, brokerage and printing firms who were given such information to provide services to the corporation whose securities they traded.
• Government employees who learned of such information because of their employment by the government.
• Other persons who misappropriated, and took advantage of, confidential information from their employers.

Now it is time to see how observant you are, my dear reader. Did you take note that the fourth bullet above says “Government employees”? I thought Members of Congress were government employees.

I think I may have just violated one on the cardinal rules of blogging which directs us to not be too cynical.

We all know that many of our laws do not apply to Members of Congress. Just yesterday on CSPAN I saw three opponents of three bills that were directed at curtailing congressional powers make the following points...

• Mr. Speaker, I ask you, what’s next? Are we going to be asked to stop taking bribes?
• I rise in opposition to the proposed amendment which would prohibit Members of Congress from speeding through School Zones. We are more important than most people and we are always hurrying to important meetings with other important people like ourselves.
• I gave up a lot when I consented to become a servant of the people. One of the most enjoyable things I gave up back home was Skeet Shooting. I could not believe my eyes when I saw the provision hidden way down in this legislation which would prohibit me from Skeet Shooting on the lawn beside the Washington Monument just because some people have been getting shot. A lot of these bleeders are actually tourist. My heavens they don’t even live in Washington D.C.!

Sometimes I think I get carried away with my Foolishness Examples. I am glad this is not one of those times.

Would I kid u?