Last December's congressional approval of the 1,603-page, $1.1 trillion omnibus bill (known as "Cromnibus," because it was also a Continuing Resolution) also shows you cannot make congressmen read. Unfortunately, as usual, politicians refused to let their ignorance restrain their power over Americans' lives and tax dollars.

After spending much of the fall reapplying for their current jobs, members of Congress returned to Washington in a lame-duck session and heaved all of their laggardly tasks into a 15-plus-pound pile of paperwork that no individual member had time to comprehend before approving. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) pooh-poohed any concerns about the process: "Understand, all these provisions in the bill have been worked out in a bicameral, bipartisan fashion or else they wouldn't be in the bill." And never before in American history have there been any problems from the deals that Republican and Democratic pooh-bahs carved behind closed doors.

The bill unleashed a blizzard of new dictates regarding marijuana in Washington, D.C.; bread in school cafeterias; sleepy truckers; portrait painting in federal offices; reckless speculation by federally insured banks; campaign contributions from rich folks; lecherous congressional aides; aid to Egypt and Israel; and dozens of other subjects.