Perhaps you've been keeping an eye on the rather regular incidences of credit card and other personal information going "missing" from some company or another's database...hackers, user errors, "lost" backup tapes...it's been all over the news in the last few weeks. It's like watching a leaky bucket lose water.

You've noticed it. I've noticed it. The media has noticed it. You know who hasn't, it seems? Congress. So far, we've had deafening silence over the issue. Your personal information is being bought and sold like Hummels on eBay, and our government seems...well...oh, look at that shiny thing.

MSNBC reports on a survey conducted in May by Gartner that concludes that most members of the general public are concerned about the unregulated flow of personal data, and that same majority of the public has also noticed that Congress seems to be avoiding eye contact with American consumers over the issue.

We can only hope that our Congressional representatives' personal data are the first on the list to be misued. That should get them moving quick enough.