Riders of the Storm

If the US Congress genuinely was serious about cleaning up their act -- which they obviously aren't -- one of the things they could get rid of is the rider. As explained by Wikipedia,

In legislative procedure, a rider is an additional provision added to a bill or other measure under the consideration by a legislature, having little connection with the subject matter of the bill. Riders are usually created as a tactic to pass a controversial provision that would not pass as its own bill. Occasionally, a controversial provision is attached to a bill not to be passed itself but to prevent the bill from being passed (in which case it is called a wrecking amendment or poison pill).

I have discussed my loathing of riders in year's past, but a reminder of how insidious riders are was highlighted on last night's Countdown with Keith Olbermann. With the mainstream media singularly focused on the debt ceiling debate, hardly anyone has noticed this proposed piece of rancid legislation.