# Excellent and useful new rule for Congress

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excellent-and-useful-new-rule-for-congress/770426>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [November 2, 2016, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excellent-and-useful-new-rule-for-congress/770426 "2016-11-02T09:16:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excellent-and-useful-new-rule-for-congress/770426/1 "2016-11-02T09:16:58Z")

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Laws, laws and yet more laws. Up on Capitol Hill the Congressmen spend all their time thinking up and passing new laws, most of them totally unnecessary. Enough is enough.

Let me suggest the adoption of an ancient rule of the Locrians of 7th century BCE Italy. Zaleucus, their famed lawgiver, established that any Locrian who wished to put forward a new law should stand forth before the assembly of the people with a rope around his neck. If the law was rejected the innovator was instantly strangled.

This would have the additional benefit of eliminating many of the morons in Congress. It’s win-win!

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**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excellent-and-useful-new-rule-for-congress/770426/2 "2016-11-02T09:20:45Z")

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It will consider your suggested new law when you stand before me with a rope around your neck.

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**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excellent-and-useful-new-rule-for-congress/770426/3 "2016-11-02T09:31:55Z")

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I agree, the US Legislature has been far too active lately, I think it’s the fact that Republicans like Obama so much.

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**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excellent-and-useful-new-rule-for-congress/770426/4 "2016-11-02T12:53:01Z")

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> [@aldiboronti](#):
>
> This would have the additional benefit of eliminating many of the morons in Congress. It’s win-win!

HEY! Morons deserve representation too!

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**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2016, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/excellent-and-useful-new-rule-for-congress/770426/5 "2016-11-02T13:47:07Z")

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> [@UDS](#):
>
> It will consider your suggested new law when you stand before me with a rope around your neck.

Hoist with my own petard. 🙂