The hypocrisy and venality of Congress is unbounded.

http://tinyurl.com/2ehs6cy
Congress Refuses to Outlaw Insider Trading For Lawmakers by Peter Gorenstein
Even a cynic can find Washington's hypocrisy shocking at times. The Wall Street Journal reports today a House bill that would force lawmakers to make greater disclosures on financial transactions and disallow them from trading on nonpublic information is going nowhere fast.
That's right. Members of Congress are currently allowed to profit on insider trading!...****What's more, despite the (absurd) contention that short-selling precipitated the financial meltdown, members of Congress sold the housing market short using derivative-like instruments! ****