bidding, here's an example of the real reason behind their planned helplessness.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=adqwxt08ML2Q&refer=us">Pelosi Champions Silicon Valley on Patents, Visas, R&D FundsBy Laura Litvan
April 27 (Bloomberg) -- Silicon Valley companies are poised to score their biggest gains in Washington since the glory days of the Internet bubble, courtesy of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Democrats in the House and Senate are pushing legislation - - including an overhaul of patent law, an increase in visas for highly skilled workers and more federal funds for research and development -- that has long been on companies' wish lists.
This "Innovation Agenda" was developed over the past two years by Pelosi, 67, and other California Democrats in discussions with executives from Silicon Valley companies such as Cisco Systems Inc. and Google Inc. With the Democrats in control of Congress since January,
the industry now stands to reap its greatest legislative haul since the late 1990s, when companies such as Microsoft Corp. obtained a liability shield for the "Y2K bug" and enhanced protections for patents and Web addresses.
Last week, Democrats and Republicans in both chambers introduced legislation that would bring the biggest changes to patent law in half a century by
making it easier for targets of infringement suits to challenge patents and limiting damages they must pay if they lose... (IOW, they can steal other people's work and don't have to pay if they get caught)
An increase in the number of so-called H-1B visas for highly skilled immigrants, a goal long sought by Microsoft and other companies, may be harder to get through Congress. Bipartisan legislation in the House would raise the number of the three-year visas to 115,000, from the current limit of 65,000, with the possibility of an increase to 180,000
(and here's the payoff)
The pro-business tilt has already yielded benefits for the Democrats, who
increased their share of campaign donations from technology companies in the 2006 election cycle. Computer hardware, software and Internet-based companies and their employees donated $1.6 million to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for the last elections, almost double the $833,000 raised in 2004, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington research group.
Parenthetical comments and emphasis are mine
So the next time you hear how it is beyond our capability to accomplish, or that there is no reason to pursue some course of action because it is doomed to failure, remember the real reason they do, or don't do, anything. It's all about the money honey.