Had your fill of fireworks? Done hot-dogging it? Upset that July 4 wasn't on a weekend? Well, here's the weekend. Make the most of it.
- Theocrats sure can be dumb sometimes:
In Louisiana, Republican Governor Bobby Jindal pushed for a voucher program that would allow state funds to be used to pay for religious schools. It’s unconstitutional, it’s a way to use taxpayer money to fund someone’s faith, and it was a bad idea to begin with.
But it passed.
Now, one of the state legislators, Rep. Valarie Hodges (R-Watson), just made a shocking discovery, though: Christianity isn’t the only religion!
Rep. Valarie Hodges, R-Watson, says she had no idea that Gov. Bobby Jindal’s overhaul of the state’s educational system might mean taxpayer support of Muslim schools.
“I actually support funding for teaching the fundamentals of America’s Founding Fathers’ religion, which is Christianity, in public schools or private schools,” the District 64 Representative said Monday.
…
“Unfortunately it will not be limited to the Founders’ religion,” Hodges said. “We need to insure that it does not open the door to fund radical Islam schools. There are a thousand Muslim schools that have sprung up recently. I do not support using public funds for teaching Islam anywhere here in Louisiana.”
Can someone please bring Rep. Hodges a copy of the Constitution? Theocrats sure are dumb sometimes.
- Ted Nugent is so patriotic, he wishes that the Confederacy had won the civil war instead. That's one way to make inroads into minority communities, right? Send out Ted Nugent to publicly wish that the slaveowners had won instead. Next question is, will Mitt Romney denounce it?
- In a vote that was somewhat less heralded than the recent one in Egypt, polls closed few hours ago in Libya, marking the conclusion of the first elections there since the ouster of Moammar Qaddafi. This election will seat a 200-member Central National Congress that will then set the foundation for the upcoming steps, which include writing a constitution and electing an actual parliament.
- A revealing quote from Judge Posner, a conservative on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals:
I think these right-wingers who are blasting [Justice John] Roberts are making a very serious mistake. Because if you put [yourself] in [Roberts'] position ... what's he supposed to think? That he finds his allies to be a bunch of crackpots? Does that help the conservative movement? I mean, what would you do if you were Roberts? All the sudden you find out that the people you thought were your friends have turned against you, they despise you, they mistreat you, they leak to the press. What do you do? Do you become more conservative? Or do you say, 'What am I doing with this crowd of lunatics?' Right? Maybe you have to re-examine your position. I mean, I've become less conservative since the Republican Party started becoming goofy.
I don't know that Judge Posner really means that he has become less conservative, or if he means that compared to how the conservative movement has redefined itself, he no longer fits the mold. I suspect the latter, but the point remains the same.
- Drought conditions are now present in 56 percent of the continental United States. But let's ignore facts and science and say that the jury is still out on climate change, because the oil companies are paying us to say it.
- A major victory out of California, as high-speed rail survived a contentious vote in the State Senate by passing with no votes to spare:
It is unclear when construction on the largest infrastructure project in the country can begin; the state still needs a series of regulatory approvals to start the first 130 miles of track in the Central Valley. The plan also faces lawsuits by agriculture interests and potential opposition by major freight railroads.
But proponents rejoiced at Friday's narrow 21-16 vote, which allocates roughly $8 billion for the first segment of track and related transportation projects. Barring insurmountable obstacles, Californians eventually will be able to ride a bullet train — traveling as fast as 220 mph — between Los Angeles and San Francisco rather than fly or drive on aging highways.
"The Legislature took bold action today that gets Californians back to work and puts California out in front once again," Brown said in a statement. The governor has been promoting the project since taking office in 2011 and is expected to sign the funding bill.
This is a very big deal for the future of California, and major props to Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg for holding enough of the Democratic Caucus together to get it done.