2010: Year of the Bible?

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) has introduced a bill to declare 2010 "The Year of the Bible" in the US in the hopes of "calling upon citizens of all faiths to rediscover and apply the priceless, timeless message of the Holy Scripture." In responses:

"Does that mean 2009 is not the year of the Bible?" asked Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who is Jewish. Referring to the Islamic holy book, he added, "What is 2012 the year of, the Quran?"

HA! Well done, Barney, even though I'm not happy with you most days, right on!

You know, back in my American Government class in high school, we had a discussion about the House versus the Senate. One of the purposes of the House, with its huge membership and short term lengths, was to allow the crazies a place at the table. Sure, a few nutjob ideas and bills would come out of the larger (or "lesser") house, but it would be chopped off first by the "elder statesmen" (the Senate) and, of course, the President (though we've discovered in recent years a nutjob can get in there, as well). Anyways, we'll chalk this up to one of those and hope for the best.

The bill has 15 (!!!) co-sponsors and has been referred to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.