If there's an area in which U.S. Senators excel more than tossing tax dollars down rat holes it must be in blowing hot air. List grandstanding and pandering among their attributes, too. The recently passed Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act (CALM, S. 2847) displayed these Senatorial "skills" for all to see.If you watch television you've noticed the difference in volume between programming and commercials, with commercials being much louder. Condemn those blaring commercials as annoying and I'm right there with you; they're like raking your fingernails across a chalkboard. But does an annoyance warrant congressional action? Let's think about that one for a moment.Congress may claim authority to regulate a television commercial's volume through their typical mischaracterization of the Constitution. Perhaps they'll cite the Commerce Clause, which Congress routinely abuses to legitimize its unwarranted meddling. However, if we look at the Senate's action in light...(Read Full Post)