Much to the chagrin of credit card companies that have been lobbying Congress for years trying to get bankruptcy laws tightened, last week the latest reform bill failed to pass the House of Representatives.

Hypocrites who are running the national debt up by leaps and bounds shouldn't have the right to be dealing with bankruptcy laws anyway. It wasn't too long ago that Newt Gingrich was standing before microphones telling us that he didn't care if not increasing the debt limit caused the U.S. Treasury to go into default. Like a spoiled child, he was going to get his way on a date to set a date to balance the budget and he had a mandate in his pocket called a "contract with America," the very people he would put in default.

This isn't the first time such a bill has failed to pass Congress. But it is the first time we've heard the new reason for killing it.

The Washington Post tells us that republicans refused to vote for the bill because it would hurt people protesting abortions.

Can you believe that? It turns out that many protesters are arrested for demonstrating too close to abortion clinics, hassling women going in, and sometimes doing physical damage to the grounds, doctors, and employees.

Because the fines can be substantial, those arrested often declare bankruptcy in order to avoid payment. Reportedly, that's the reason many representatives refused to pass the new bankruptcy bill.

Personally, I think we should take the names of those who used this reason to cast a "no" vote and the next time they get sick, have a heart attack or an accident, make sure they receive treatment from midwives with back alley equipment.

And then there's the impending invasion of Iraq. If Bush can keep this weapon of mass distraction going until corporate malfeasance fades into the background he and the rest of the government might be off the hook again. And I'm not talking about simple insider trading that Bush, Vice President Cheney, and Terry McAuliffe have committed and managed to suppress.

With a Fourth Estate that cannot walk and chew gum at the same time, the fact that almost half of the national debt is fraudulent or that the government rips-off hundreds of billions in taxpayer retirement money, health care and other entitlement money each year can be buried forever with one weapon of mass distraction after another.