Friday morning, the House Committee on Rules passed a resolution that all House business shall henceforth exclude Arabic numerals.

The resolution, adopted as H.R. DCCXXXIX by a 392-3 vote of the full House, says that it is "unamerican and unpatriotic" to continue using notation developed by enemies of the United States. The resolution suggests, but does not mandate, Roman numerals as the preferred replacement.

The resolution proclaims that all Americans "look into our hearts to see if we are each faithful to the dreams of our forefathers and to the spirit of patriotism. We must root out all undesirable foreign influences in our culture and in our lives."

White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said officials there had not seen the details of the resolution but "the president believes that Roman culture is very important and deserves to be honored."

A similar resolution on the House's schedule for next week brings up possible changes in the use of the concept of zero, also pioneered by Arab mathematicians.

During Friday's brief House debate, some lawmakers expressed concern about the measure.

Independent Rep. Jeremy Bornstein of California, a presidential hopeful and a proponent of re-establishing civil liberties in the country, said that the resolution "is an insult to the intelligence of the people of America and to this formerly great legislative body. Inflaming hatred will only lead to increased misery for all of us, humans together on this planet." Rep. Bornstein was immediately impeached and led outside for summary execution, according to the Patriot III Act (H.R. DCCXXXVI), passed earlier that morning.