And Then There’s Mark

We are living in momentous, perilous times. Terrorists threatening the lives of Americans with horrific weapons. Hundreds of thousands of our troops poised to wage war against a ruthless, brutal dictator. The economy hanging in the balance. The prospects for all of America over the next century hinging on the conscientious deliberations and wise decisions made by our elected representatives, over the next few weeks and months.

And then there’s Senator Mark Dayton. Recently his efforts have been concentrated on participating in Democratic attempts to subvert the Constitution by preventing the Senate from voting on the confirmation of judicial nominees. And oh yes, calling bingo numbers at retirement homes. But this week it seems he was actually engaged in the legislative process too. According to the Star Tribune, Senator Dayton introduced the following “key” points of legislation. To emphasize, KEY points of legislation:

"Do Not Spam": If the bill passes Congress, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would be instructed to establish a registry, similar to the "Do Not Call" registry for telemarketing, where consumers could indicate that they don't want to receive unsolicited e-mail. "Spam" violators would be fined $10,000.

Consumer report: The Government Accounting Office would compile a study of technical support and recommend consumer protections.

Industry standards: The FTC would establish basic industry standards for technical support, including online, telephone and on-site support.

Key points of legislation? My God, I’d hate to see what his trifling, insignificant legislation might look like. But at least it’s nice to see Senator Dayton hasn’t been distracted by world events in his crusade to expand the Federal government’s role in the lives of Americans. If these bills become law, next time you get a call from a credit card company during dinner, you can make a federal case out of it (literally).

I can imagine Dayton’s conscientious deliberations before conceiving of this legislation. Something on the order of: “Yes, this is what the middle class wants. Since they don’t have servants to screen their calls, they don’t want to be interrupted when they’re eating! So I’ll raise taxes and create a federal bureaucracy to police telemarketing violations! I’m really getting in touch with the middle class here, I really am on their side!”