A visitor to WashingtonWatch.com writes in about the tenor of discussion on H.R. 3491, the Thomas G. Schubert Agent Orange Fairness Act:

With all due respect WashingtonWatch.com why is it that people are allowed to leave vicious & mean spirited comments about recipients of a bill. Why do you allow these people to continually leave these comments without blocking them. I agree everyone is entitled to vote & state their position but insults are not necessary. Esp. when the recipients are widows of veterans who have already suffered enough. I would appreciate it if you could actually respond to my concern. I also don\’t understand how people can be allowed to make these comments without even having to identify themselves. It is just wrong.

It’s a genuine problem, but not one we can solve. Here’s my response:

Thanks for your note. I’m sorry about the harsh tone some people adopt on the site, but many bills in Congress are about controversial issues.

There are thousands and thousands of bills in every Congress, and intense discussions ongoing about many of them all the time. It would be prohibitively time-consuming to try moderating all the conversations – especially when so much of our time is consumed with our earmarks project. Instead, we treat discussions on the site as discussions among adults.

It is the responsibility of the participants to manage their own conversations. There are a few highly successful “trolls” on the site – people who gratify themselves by offending others. I recommend ignoring them. Join together with the other normal, well-adjusted participants to shun any troll. Set a policy among yourselves of never responding to trolls and never speaking about trolls. Eventually – after even more aggressive attempts to draw attention – they will go away.

WashingtonWatch.com is a free speech zone. We don’t require people to identify themselves before speaking. In order to encourage good behavior, we post the names of logged in users in light blue. It shows that the speaker is a stable identity, who will take credit or responsibility for the things they say. Others can be ignored if they are not willing to be identified even by a handle they’ve created on our site.

Thanks again. Sorry that we can’t moderate all the discussions all the time. I hope you can join together with others to improve the situation. I will make a note of this issue on this bill to help encourage thoughtful debaters to organize joint action (i.e. silence) against rude behavior and trolls.

We’ve discussed rude comments here on the blog before. More posts about comments and our comment system can be found here. It’s up to you, users, to manage your discussions on bills.

Today is the official anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I, and a day that we remember and honor all veterans.

According to the Wikipedia history of Veterans Day, President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed an Armistice Day for November 12, 1919. The United States Congress passed a concurrent resolution seven years later requesting the president to issue another proclamation to observe November 11 with appropriate ceremonies. A later act made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday “to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as ‘Armistice Day’.”

In 1953, an Emporia, Kansas, shoe store owner named Al King had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans, not just those who served in World War I. He began a campaign to turn Armistice Day into “All” Veterans Day. The Emporia Chamber of Commerce took up the cause after determining that 90% of Emporia merchants as well as the Board of Education supported closing their doors on November 11, 1953, to honor veterans. With the help of then-U.S. Rep. Ed Rees, also from Emporia, a bill for the holiday was pushed through Congress. President Dwight Eisenhower signed it into law on May 26, 1954.

It’s a nice illustration of how people who care about the right issue can affect their nation’s public policy. There are many bills in Congress right now affecting veterans. Take a look at all the veterans issues here. Click on a subject link to see all the bills in that area.

And spend a moment today thinking of the sacrifices our veterans have made for our nation and freedom.

Here’s the WashingtonWatch.com email newsletter for the week. Subscribe here.

email newsletter | tell a friend | wiki | about | home | log in On the WashingtonWatch.com Blog Just two weeks after the passage of the bailout bill, and one day after a Treasury Department official declared, “we are committed to transparency and oversight in all aspects of the program,” the Treasury Department began covering up the amount it would pay to New York Mellon Bank for acting as a financial agent in the bailout. Read about it on the WashingtonWatch.com blog. Featured Items Congress has adjourned until January, but leaders may call the membership back to take care of unfinished business later this year. While the lawmaking takes a break, a couple of bills relating to veterans are worth taking a look at. In late September, the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act became law. It increases veterans’ disability compensation and their survivors’ dependency and indemnity compensation by the same cost-of-living adjustment payable to Social Security recipients. This new veterans benefits law costs just under $375 per U.S. family. Another veterans bill, subject of a new cost estimate last week, is H.R. 1222, the Keep Our Promise to America’s Military Retirees Act. The bill would would allow military retirees, their dependents, and survivors to enroll in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program, giving up their eligibility to use their military health insurance (TRICARE). Total cost to the average U.S. family would be a bit over $70. It’s unclear if H.R. 1222 will pass, but it’s interesting to watch how veterans’ benefits are on the march. P.L. 110-324 The Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2008 Costs $373.90 per family H.R. 1222 The Keep Our Promise to America’s Military Retirees Act Costs $72.47 per family What People Think The Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2008 52% For, 48% Against Vote on this Bill The Keep Our Promise to America’s Military Retirees Act 84% For, 16% Against Vote on this Bill Displayed below are new, updated, and passed items with their cost or savings per family. New Items H.R. 6707 The Taking Responsible Action for Community Safety Act Costs $0.32 per family H.R. 1222 The Keep Our Promise to America’s Military Retirees Act Costs $72.47 per family H.R. 6853 The Nationwide Mortgage Fraud Task Force Act of 2008 Costs $0.00 per family S. 1756 The Republic of the Marshall Islands Supplemental Nuclear Compensation Act of 2007 Costs $0.45 per family S. 2052 The Equal Justice for United States Military Personnel Act of 2007 Costs $0.16 per family S. 3189 The Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Improvement Act of 2008 Costs $0.33 per family S. 1080 The Crow Tribe Land Restoration Act Costs $0.29 per family Updated Items P.L. 110-324 The Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2008 Costs $373.90 per family Passed Items P.L. 110-437 The Capitol Visitor Center Act of 2008 Costs $1.49 per family P.L. 110-438 The National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act of 2008 Costs $0.00 per family email newsletter | tell a friend | wiki | about | home | privacy | contact | log in WashingtonWatch.com P.O. Box 77576 Washington, D.C. 20013

In a May, 1788 letter to Colonel Edward Carrington, Thomas Jefferson wrote a famous line: “The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.”

Watching the bills introduced in Congress can help illustrate the mechanics of that process 220 years later – in the government Jefferson helped found.

H.R. 674 is a bill to repeal a provision in current law that would terminate the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans as of December 31, 2009. Passage of the bill would cost the average family a mere three cents.

Is there anything wrong with looking out for minority veterans? None at all. It’s important, in fact, that they get a fair shake. But this same logic applies to just about every group and every bill that comes before Congress. Everyone should get a little something. And – heck – it’s only three cents.

But as we approach 10,000 bills introduced in the current Congress, we need to ask how many times we should pay three cents for every good cause that comes along.

Here’s something every lobbyist and congressman in Washington, D.C. knows: If you can’t get a program built and funded outright, start with a pilot program. Let a constituency grow around it, and work to extend it and expand it.

H.R. 674 is a nice, clean example of that happening. Somebody wanted a Commission on Minority Veterans. They got it put into law as a temporary measure. Now they’re working to make it permanent. It’s just three cents . . . .

The full quote from Jefferson is: “The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground. As yet our spirits are free.”

Did minority veterans fight for a country where each group looks to the government for special treatment or a little cut of the loot from taxpayer? Or the country where the people’s spirits are still free? It remains to be seen . . . .