OK fellows...

I've remained silent on this issue because basically, i'm rather uninformed as to the bill's actual context...(i've also been 'out of the loop, so to speak, for the past 3 weeks or so)...however

i do work for a State Senator and while federal legislation can sometimes be quite different from state legislation (they like to stick in all kinds of riders and codacils in federal legislation which we can't do at the state level), but this seems to be quite similar to state legislation, with which i am intimately familiar.

i don't have the time right now to go back and get the actual bill number, but if someone could provide Mr. Santorum's legislation, replete with bill number, i will try to ascertain the actual intent and parameters and scope of this legislation.

at this moment i don't want to take any kind of a stand on the bill, but it is obviously generating some heated debate, especially in weather circles...

as a slightly off-topic aside, there is currently a bill in the house (not yet introed into the senate) which is an energy bill and which, among other things, if passed and signed into law, would extend daylight savings by TWO MONTHS. These are the kinds of things that our fine representatives are able to stick into legislation which is otherwise innocuous. The ramifications of extending daylight savings by 2 months are tremendous, yet we (save for me, as it's my job) never hear of these things...one other interesting piece of legislation which passed four or five years ago (but was subsequently amended) actually made a SIXTH Great Lake! Yep, for about 2 weeks, Lake Champlain was given "great lake" status and protection...i believe that was Senator Daniel Lahey (sp) who snuck that one through...

so lemme take a look at this bill...i can't say i'll be able to understand it any better than ya'll, but i'll give it a shot...all i need is the bill number and i'll take it from there...

this could be some really serious $h!+ and i for one would like to know the future of availability of data for which we, the people, have already paid for once...

ok...das my $.02 for now

Cheers,

LI Phil