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Something in the Water
Author: BobR    Date: 07/01/2011 12:58:35

You know the drill - a rash of seemingly related news items appear (or a solid history) for a geographical area, and people wonder: what's in the water there? Usually, it's Georgia or South Carolina, or some other region with a well-defined stereotypical persona. This time, it's the rust belt.

The readers of this blog likely already know about David Prosser. He won his judgeship under questionable circumstances, and was recently in the news for allegedly trying to choke fellow WI Supreme Court justice Ann Walsh Bradley. But like the guy being his own lawyer during a trial for spouse abuse and then smacking his wife while she's on the witness stand, Prosser did himself no favors by grabbing a reporter's microphone when asked about the incident. If he is trying to put out an aura of cool level-headedness, he FAILed.

Heading further west, we hit Minnesota, where the legislature and the governor have failed to agree on a budget by the deadline. The result? The Minnesota government is shutting down. Yes - just like at the national level, this means all non-essential government functions are going on unpaid furlough right before the July 4th holiday weekend. This means that "state parks and campgrounds [will be] closed ahead of what is usually their busiest stretch of the year for the July 4 holiday". How many people's holiday weekends will be ruined because of this? How many of them will be more inclined to change their votes next election?

Of course - let's not forget that batshit crazy Michelle Bachmann is from Minnesota too. Here's what Conan O'Brian thinks about her...

Moving further west, we hit S. Dakota. The legislature there passed a new law requiring the longest wait time yet for having an abortion: 3 days. It was challenged in court and - surprise - a federal judge blocked the law. Apparently, the judge drinks bottled water, not whatever comes out of the taps at the state capitol.

In another case of sanity trumping legislative excess, we go full circle to Ohio, where a labor law banning unions from government positions is going to be put to a referendum vote by the voters. State law required 231,147 valid signatures - they ended up with 1.3 million:
Teachers, firefighters, union leaders and elected officials from all over the state were among the thousands who marched through downtown Columbus to ceremoniously deliver the names of nearly 1.3 million people who signed petitions to put the state's new collective bargaining law up for a vote on the Nov. 8 ballot.

The petitions filled 1,502 boxes that were hauled to the Secretary of State's office in a 48-foot-long tractor trailer plastered with the message "Veto SB 5."

About 6,200 marchers followed the truck in a boisterous afternoon parade along East Broad Street, a downtown thoroughfare.

This is how taking back your government works. Wisconsin has done this as well for the labor laws; perhaps they should consider a judge recall. Minnesota and S. Dakota - take notice... you may well be next.
 

51 comments (Latest Comment: 07/02/2011 01:26:15 by TriSec)
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