we thought -- i thought, anyway -- that the challenge was so unmeritorious, we would be successful at a first stage. and to my horror, we had to go to the second stage. and although we won, it was a very uncomfortable procedure. and one of the judges said we were wrong, that this lady ought to have more of a recourse against a member speaking in the house. where that will play, i do not know, but it is an open flank. we may be attacked from that direction again. >> chapter six of the book, "the power of the purse." i'll just read the first sentence -- how is that? >> i think, because there's a four-step process in the congress -- the budget process, the authorization process, the appropriation process and the revenue-raising process -- each of which in its own right takes an inordinate amount of time, some never get accomplished. this year there's no budget resolution. this year, so far, there's no appropriation for most of the government. but the complexity of time and issue in each of those stages -- very obviously now, the budget process with its reconciliation component, and then