A headline that I enjoyed

Between my two classes I have a three hour break. Naturally I spend this time either doing homework or reading news headlines. Today the headline that caught my attention was "Drug Lords using Gift Cards to Smuggle Money." http://amfix.blogs.cnn.com/2009/06/10/drug-lords-using-gift-cards-to-smuggle-money/

In a nutshell what is going on is drug lords from Mexico are using gift cards such as those obtained from most banks to transport money. These cards are useful because apparently they use chips to store a large amount of money. What makes them so convenient for someone trying to hide the movement of such a large amount of money is that they are not considered monetary instruments, which means they can legally be brought across the border. At this point I would like to applaud our government for overlooking such a glaring loophole. Good work boys.

This next snippet is what I find most problematic. Evidently this scam is nothing new; it has just been ignored for a couple of years.

"Chetry: So you want Congress to take up this issue. You made some recommendations about this situation. What do you hope to achieve and are they listening to your concerns about this?

Goddard: Well, they finally are. This is not a new concern. FinCEN, the Treasury Department report over three years ago, said here’s a loophole that is causing large amounts of money to go across the border undetected. And my goal and our goal in law enforcement is to cut off the flow of cash to the organized criminal cartels that are bringing drugs and people in to the United States. This is one way we can do it."

So we have known about this loophole for three years. I can understand why it has taken so long for the government to address this. Congress has been extremely busy lately. I would like to cite House Bill 1243. If passed by 2/3 vote golfer Arnold Palmer would be rewarded the Congressional Gold Medal, which is the highest award that Congress can bestow on anybody.

While I admit that finding one issue to pick on Congress for probably isn't fair, I have researched some of the other issues that Congress has had to vote on this year, in an effort to see what the holdup is. Other issues that Congress has voted on recently include a resolution that would have allowed for the placement of a statue of Ronald Reagan in Washington D.C. Why don't we just erect a statue of Satan right on the White House Lawn? It would serve the same purpose, and be much more concise and to the point. Reagan is one of the worst presidents ever, for a multitude of reasons, and if you would like to debate that with me let me know, we'll talk about it. Another good one is House Resolution 298. Holy shit! A resolution! This must be something important. This resolution congratulates the sign industry for its contributions to the success of small business. To provide one more example of what our wonderful Congress does, I will turn to my favorite vote of all, House Resolution 18. Resolution 18 honors the life, achievements, and contributions of Paul Newman.

Really? Congress can debate whether or not to honor Paul Newman but they do not have time to address important issues such as how to handle drug lords smuggling money into the country, or gay marriage. There are people out there, who have significant others that they love and cherish as much as I do my fiancée. The difference between them and myself is that there are not outdated laws prohibiting me from marrying her.

With that point, I conclude this rant. Way to fail Congress.