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Modern legislation should be written with a fountain pen.
This is a short post. It is an homage to the way things used to be written.
This country's founding documents were short, concise and profound. And I think we should consider having all modern legislation crafted with fountain pen, or the dip pen. You tend to think more carefully when your words are written with a sense of permanence. With a real sense of purpose.
Seems to me that the word processor has led to confusion, endless revision and infinite legal disclaimers. The health care legislation is what, over 1500 pages? Health reform should be a lot easier to digest than tort reform.
Legislators shouldn't write or act or attempt to govern like attorneys, piling stipulations on top of stipulations. Adding exemptions and qualifiers and signing statements and waivers and see 300 page rider riders and restrictions and other utter nonsense.
Things should be simpler to understand. Maybe we have to take a lesson from the founding fathers. Things should be written with the same sense of importance and landmark significance as they were when the Declaration of Independence was crafted. Or the Bill of Rights.
When, exactly, did we embrace such complexity, anyway? Think about the last 30,000 years. Seems that somewhere between cave paintings and congressional legislation, man lost the ability to communicate.
Well, we need to get that back if humanity is to survive.
The President will sign legislation with a fountain pen.
Imagine if what he was signing was written that way.
This country's founding documents were short, concise and profound. And I think we should consider having all modern legislation crafted with fountain pen, or the dip pen. You tend to think more carefully when your words are written with a sense of permanence. With a real sense of purpose.
Seems to me that the word processor has led to confusion, endless revision and infinite legal disclaimers. The health care legislation is what, over 1500 pages? Health reform should be a lot easier to digest than tort reform.
Legislators shouldn't write or act or attempt to govern like attorneys, piling stipulations on top of stipulations. Adding exemptions and qualifiers and signing statements and waivers and see 300 page rider riders and restrictions and other utter nonsense.
Things should be simpler to understand. Maybe we have to take a lesson from the founding fathers. Things should be written with the same sense of importance and landmark significance as they were when the Declaration of Independence was crafted. Or the Bill of Rights.
When, exactly, did we embrace such complexity, anyway? Think about the last 30,000 years. Seems that somewhere between cave paintings and congressional legislation, man lost the ability to communicate.
Well, we need to get that back if humanity is to survive.
The President will sign legislation with a fountain pen.
Imagine if what he was signing was written that way.
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Hi Gary, just been thinkin where you were.
You have a point here.
Twenty years ago or so the biggest law firm in the city filed a 500 page memorandum with a motion in a civil matter.
The Federal Judge was so pissed off he fined the firm 50 grand. hahaahahah
I could rant about this is fifty pages or so. But why?
Good point. Good post.
July 24, 2009 5:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
G,
I Hear Ye! and support Ye!
(Tried to write this with quill but wouldn't
post in comments, so please accept as if
in pen ink!)
Thanks. Excellent point and Rec'd.
July 24, 2009 6:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Legislators shouldn't write or act or attempt to govern like attorneys. With stipulations on top of stipulations. Exemptions and qualifiers and signing statements and waivers and "see 300 page rider" and restrictions and other utter nonsense."
Agreed.
July 24, 2009 8:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
I have been in the computer field for over 30 years and the one main thing I can attribute to the glorious technology is that it has made the generation of BS faster and more efficient.
C
July 24, 2009 10:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
I used to think that. And now with over forty years in the industry I've completely changed my mind. If I get to fifty there is no telling what I might think.
July 25, 2009 3:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Legislators shouldn't write or act or attempt to govern like attorneys.
Unfortunately, most legislators are attorneys. We should avoid electing attorneys in order to change things.
I look forward to the day when an artificial intelligence system can process the United States Code and identify all logical inconsistencies. Same for identifying all loopholes in the Internal Revenue Service regulations.
July 25, 2009 9:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
Back in 1965, Tom Lehrer summed it up for me:
"I feel that if a person can't communicate the very least he can do is to shut up."
July 25, 2009 5:03 PM | Reply | Permalink