"Patent 'deform' movement smells fishy?"

There is a "Crosstalk" piece by Stephen Wren appearing in the June 11, 2007 issue of ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING TIMES (titled: Patent 'deform' movement smells fishy) which is of interest to the patent reform discussions of 2007. One has the text:

If there is a problem with the patent system, it is not that
patents are issued too hastily but that many are issued too slowly, so that by the
time a patent is granted, the patented technology is of no value to the
investor. Witness the current backlog and pendency. In my case , I have
applications with a pendency of 15 years. In one instance, it took three years just to get a first office action.

One also has:

Sadly, some legislators and other parties have been duped by
slick firms and their well-greased lawyers, lobbyists (some disguised as trade or
public-interest groups) and stealth PR firms. Don't be surprised to
find the Washington lobbyist scandal spreading into the patent deform
proceedings.