Required reading: The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution

In light of the Massachusetts election, we've heard more in the last few days about the parliamentary procedures of Congress than ever. We've seen lots of experts on the subject who can iron out what seem to be a whole bunch of scenarios available to those who make and pass laws.

We've seen experts, because most reporters have never even read our nation's two most important documents.

Trust me, it won't take you long. Our founding fathers were certainly not long winded, nor did they have word processors at their disposal to take things to ridiculous lengths. They also didn't pack things with legalese and write bills more than two thousand pages.

Trust me, it will be worth the read, and perhaps open your eyes about some of the stuff that happens in Washington.

If you're still interested, you might start looking into the procedures by which bills are passed. Never has that knowledge been more important. It's imperative that those in the news business become more familiar with the way our country works.