This week in progressive state blogs is designed specifically to focus attention on the writing and analysis of people focused on their home turf. Let me know via comments or Kosmail if you have a favorite state- or city-based blog you think I should be watching.
Inclusion of a diary does not necessarily indicate my agreement or endorsement of its contents.
At Rum, Romanism and Rebellion of Arizona, Tom writes—Coming Soon To A High School Near You:
Arizona Civics Test
Instructions: Please choose the answer that best completes the sentence and fill the corresponding bubble on the answer sheet with a number two pencil.
1. The first Spanish-speaking residents of what is now Arizona…
a.) …arrived by the middle of the 18th century and their descendants are still here.
b.) …overwhelmed the state after the 1986 amnesty.
c.) …were running drugs and taking jobs from good Americans.
d.) …keep speaking Spanish to each other within earshot of me. PLEASE MAKE THEM STOP!
[...]
5. The only thing that the state legislature is required by the constitution to do every session is to…
a.) …pass a balanced state budget.
b.) …cut taxes.
c.) …secure the border.
d.) …bring God back into our schools.
Below the orange gerrymander you'll find more excerpts from progressive state blogs.
At Washington Liberals, John Burbank writes—Follow the money and fix the state budget:
Now that the Legislature is back at work, they have to find the revenues for K-12 education, for higher education, for foster kids, for the mentally ill, for the state patrol, for home care workers and early childhood teachers and caregivers. They also need to confront a fundamental reality of current state financing: we just don’t have the money to pay for high quality education and good and appropriate public goods and services. So our legislators could punt, ignoring the State Supreme Court’s ruling in the McCleary case that they have already violated the paramount duty of government—the education of children. They could ignore the people’s vote for Initiative 1351 to reduce K-12 class sizes and just kick the almost empty bucket down the road for another year.
Or the Legislature could fully fund both McCleary and Initiative 1351 first, and then figure out how to fund other public services and expenditures. Not all state expenditures make sense, especially what are classified as tax expenditures. These are big and little holes drilled into the budget to benefit one special (and usually well-heeled constituency) or another. Take dealers in precious metal, like gold. A former state senator was very interested in the precious metals retail industry and he arranged a tax exemption through the Legislature that has now been on the books for three decades. It funnels about $23 million a year from public services, like higher education, to precious metal dealers. Microsoft has benefitted from a special tax giveaway for research and development. In 2011 alone, Microsoft received a $145 million tax waiver.
Microsoft also gets away with not paying taxes on any of the profits it makes from investments in the stock market. When you count up all the mega-corporations that take advantage of this one tax break, the bill to our state runs to $175 million a year. Oil companies get a special $30 million a year tax break in our state. The only other state to give this tax break to Big Oil is Alabama.
If we simply stopped using public money to fund private interests, we could make a dent in the getting education funding up to the level we need to truly prepare all our kids for life in today’s rapidly changing world.
At
FortBoise.org of Idaho,
Tom van Alten writes—
Visit Idaho: famous nukes:
With Idaho's considerable history in nuclear research, power, and waste, a feature on the "the first city in the world to be lit by atomic power" as a tourist destination isn't too surprising, but having it written by a fellow from the Sacramento Bee seemed odd. Sam McManis works the "outsider" schtick to the hilt, from the "some stretches so devoid of humanity that you'll conjure post-apocalyptic visions" to the paucity of paved roads. Did he mention "almost devoid of humanity" already? Yes. "[A]s well as much vegetation and habitat. So, if you were to make a few Homer Simpson-type blunders with this new technology, you wouldn’t be irradiating too much."
Ha ha. And when the Experimental Breeder Reactor (EBR-1) melted down, it was "hardly more than a grilled cheese sandwich or two inside the building." (It wasn't until 1961 that one of the many nuclear reactors built in SE Idaho had its "incident" and killed three operators.)
But hey, this is a "travel" feature, not news. Consider it an antidote to the current dust-up in the apparently unresolvable contest between federal nuclar waste management and states rights that has our current and two former governors at odds about the 1995 Settlement Agreement that's not yet settled.
If you want to dig deeper than McManis, you could stop by the Snake River Alliance which has been trying to keep track of the Idaho National Laboratory and what all it might be irradiating, since 1979. That was ten years before the Superfund site designation resulting from what all was sent for burial here, and the way it was buried.
At
Blue Oregon,
Evan Manvel writes—
On Fairer Revenue, the Willamette Week Fuels Hyperbole and Cynicism:
Oregon’s most influential journalist Nigel Jaquiss seems to have a one-sided bed, getting out on the wrong side of it every day and then going downstairs to have some cynicism on his cornflakes. He’s a delight to read when you agree with him, but hard to stomach when you don’t.
This week Jaquiss wrote a hyperbolic article about various proposals to improve Oregon’s revenue stability and fairness, published in the Willamette Week.
Oregon has a more volatile revenue system than most states, and has a tax code chock-full of loopholes that disproportionately benefit the rich and powerful.
But Jaquiss (and whoever writes the headlines) sets up his article about reforming this mess as “Opening the tax floodgates” and “Hold onto your wallets, Oregon Democrats... want to raise your taxes.” Seriously? Why not just run the Republicans’ press release (mentioning a "tax tsunami") and go grab a beer?
Jaquiss’ story starts off by removing, as so many journalists do these days, the actual actors. He writes, “Oregon gave its Democrats more muscle.” Not “Oregon’s voters” or “Oregonians,” just the state. C'mon, writers. Actions need actors (no more "people were killed" - tell us who killed them).
At
ColoradoPols.com,
Colorado Pols writes—
Nobody Does Nothing Quite Like Senate Republicans:
Republicans hold a one-seat majority in the State Senate, and they are off to a fast start in promoting their policy agenda. We dare say: nobody does nothing quite like Senate Republicans.
While destroying limiting government is a pretty common refrain to hear from right-wing Republicans such as Senate President Bill Cadman, Assistant Majority Leader Kevin Lundberg, and Majority Caucus Chair/culinary expert Vicki Marble, we'd venture a guess that even they've been a little surprised at just how easy it can be to make government do nothing. Hell, they're making nothing happen without even doing anything!
Consider what Senate Republicans didn't accomplish today: they allowed two important bipartisan commissions to expire on their own by not voting to renew them. Republicans didn't have to create any new legislation or come up with any ideas of their own — all they had to do was not let the commissions expire.
Equal Pay for Equal Work: Senate Republicans ended the Pay Equity Commission by doing nothing to allow it to continue. [...]
Promoting Fair and Modern Elections: Say goodbye to the Colorado Voter Access and Modernized Elections Commission (COVAME), which will cease operations on July 1, 2015.
At
The Left Hook of California,
The Left Hook writes—
Ro’s Running Again:
Ro Khanna is running for Congress…again. It’s nothing new. He’s been running for Congress since he graduated law school 13 years ago. It’s what he does.
Right after law school Khanna spent two years campaigning to unseat Congressman Tom Lantos in the 2004 election. After five years at a San Francisco law firm and a brief stint at the U.S. Department of Commerce, he spent another year and a half campaigning to unseat Congressman Pete Stark. When Stark lost to Eric Swalwell in 2012, he spent two more years campaigning to unseat Congressman Mike Honda. All the while Khanna was raising millions of dollars and forcing his opponents to raise similar amounts.
Now he’s gearing up to do it again. During the recent Assembly District Election Meetings (ADEM) to elect delegates to the state Democratic party, Khanna orchestrated a massive effort to get his handpicked slate elected, one that will presumably endorse him for a 2016 Congressional run. And he’s been talking with everyone he can to curry favor for another run. Khanna is no longer “Of Counsel” at the peninsula law firm of Wilson, Sonsini. It was never much more than a façade, but now he is not even trying to create the appearance of having a real job.
Between college, law school and campaigning, Khanna has spent very few years of his adult life doing anything that could be described as contributing to society. No other South Bay candidate in memory has had the chutzpah to campaign so long with so little accomplishment to campaign on. Khanna’s ambition is blind, blind to the fact that he is not qualified for Congress and blind to the fact that his efforts to get there divert vital resources from Democrats who need them.
At
CenLamar of Louisiana,
Lamar White Jr. writes—
Steve Scalise, David Duke, And Why The Past Is Never Dead:
Before I broke the story about Congressman Steve Scalise’s attendance at a white nationalist conference hosted by David Duke’s hate group, I knew there was one enormous risk: I would likely be handing David Duke a microphone.
24 years ago, David Duke captured 55% of white voters in his bid for Louisiana Governor. A year before that, in a bid for the United States Senate, Duke received 60% of white voters. Yet today, he is considered one of the most reviled and toxic “political leaders” (I use that term loosely) in contemporary American history.
It may be reassuring to think of David Duke as a relic of a different time, and for many, particularly for the majorities of white Louisianians who supported him in his bids for both the Senate and the Governor’s Mansion, it may be convenient to recast David Duke as a master manipulator or to conflate him with the segregationists of the 1960s. However, as the coverage of my story about Steve Scalise demonstrated, David Duke may have been finally and thoroughly discredited, but this isn’t exactly ancient history.
William Faulkner once wrote, “In the south, the past is never dead. It’s not even past.”
At
West Virginia Blue,
wvblueguy writes—
Senate and House of Delegates Introduce Bills to Repeal WV Cap and Trade Bill:
As expected both the House of Delegates and Senate are taking swift action to repeal the Alternative Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard that has been referred to as WV's Cap and Trade Bill.This has been reported by Hoppy Kerchival in the Metro News Daily.
The House Energy committee voted unanimously Thursday to roll back the Alternative Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard, a law opponents derisively call a state version of cap-and-trade, while the Senate Energy committee prepared to follow suit with a similar bill.
The law is designed to lower emissions from West Virginia power plants by requiring them to use increasing amounts of alternative fuels: 10 percent by next year, 15 percent by 2020 and 25 percent by 2025.
The new Republican majority announced earlier that repealing “cap-and-trade” would be their first order of business, but they found support when all Democrats on the two committees joined in the move.
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Senator Manchin is not happy about this political move at all.
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Blue Virginia,
pontoon writes—
Living in Dominion's Sacrifice Zones:
At the end of a country lane in Nelson County, Virgiinia, you will find one of Dominion's sacrifice zones. Approaching the home, built in 1904, there are acre upon acre of fertile rolling pasture; in the background, you see only steep mountain slopes. The views are commonplace in this area, but are breathtaking still. The 400-acre property is owned by John Ed Purvis and his wife, Ruth. John Ed has lived in Nelson his entire life on this farm with the exception of the four years he spent in the Air Force. His wife Ruth grew up in Nelson too...in the Tyro and Roseland areas of Nelson County. He and Ruth married in 1954 and will celebrate their 61st anniversary in February. They have four children, and they both worked outside the home, while farming the land, and raising their family.
John Ed is the seventh generation of his family to own and farm this land. He has traced his ancestry back to 1739 when 3 Purvis brothers arrived in America from England. One of those brothers, George Purvis, settled in Nelson County in 1768, the beginning of the line which begat John Ed Purvis. The Purvis' have had a good life here. John Ed and Ruth are good neighbors and friends. John Ed has been known to show up on one of his big tractors at a neighbor's home after a big snowfall, plow the drive, and leave quietly acknowledging his neighbor's thank you with a smile and a slight wave of his hand. He served on the Nelson County School Board for 18 years. Ruth spent 20 years as a secretary in various positions including a stint in a Veterans Affairs office while John Ed was serving our country, and later in the Nelson County Circuit Court Clerk's office.
John Ed and Ruth, just as their ancestors were, have been good stewards of the land, raising cattle, growing hay and harvesting timber. One day last May, John Ed and Ruth received a certified letter from Dominion Resources telling them a pipeline was coming through. Dominion needed to survey the Purvis farm because it wanted to construct its 42" natural gas pipeline on their family farm. John Ed and Ruth were surprised like other Nelsonians and were even more surprised when they learned about a law the Virginia General Assembly passed. "This law they passed in Richmond in 2004 alllowing survey without permission isn't right. It has gotten everybody riled up," he stated. He continued, "Eminent domain is for building schools and roads--things that benefit the community." The couple is keenly aware they and other landowners, nor the community will receive any benefit from Dominion's attempted land grab to build its pipeline.
At
Uppity Wisconsin,
Man MKE writes—
Sen. Darling's "recovery district" idea mimics the Republican Party's further sell-off of public education:
Five years ago, State Senator Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) penned an opinion column for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wringing her hands about the condition of public education in Wisconsin, especially the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). But she brightened at the prospect that public schools would soon come under more political control. "I am optimistic on the prospects for real education reform because it's on the minds of leaders of all political stripes. Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker has ideas for breaking up MPS into more nimble and accountable pieces."
Walker is now governor, of course, and has deeded those ideas about breaking up the public schools to Republican state legislators, Darling included. Following past GOP actions designed to weaken public schools and rob them of revenue, the GOP is now considering a number of even more problematic "reforms," including a trial balloon from suburbanite Darling herself. She would "fix" MPS by enacting a law that would punish underperforming schools in the city. Judging by other GOP initiatives already in the pipeline, "performance" would be measured according to simplistic and self-serving standards. Punishment would range all the way up to a death sentence for targeted schools, judged to be "failing."
At
Juanita Jean's of Texas,
Susan DuQuesnay Bankston writes—
God, Guns, and Golly Gee, My Clothes Fell Off and I’m in Bed With a Man Not My Husband:
“Christian mother of three” Holly Fisher spent plenty of time in front of the camera lens posing with her Bible and her gun. She also posed with a Hobby Lobby behind her while holding a Chick-Fil-A cup.
She was all the rage of the religious right for her Christian values, including this picture where she weights in the values.
Glass houses and stones. Again.
She ain’t what she appears to be. She had an affair. But not just your normal one. Oh no, she had a Tea Party affair.
The affair allegedly took place during the Restoring the Dream event, a Faith and Freedom conference, and on Election night.
She had an affair with Joel Frewa, then a video editor with the Tea Party News Network.
Well, hell, it was Faith AND Freedom. She got half of it right.
At
Green Mountain Daily of Vermont,
BP writes—
The Rev. Potter's laughter carbonate and fainting cure:
Well, turns out Rev. Robert Potter, the man at the podium who was heckled by single payer demonstrators [gasp!] at the statehouse during the inauguration ceremony, sees the much-talked-about episode as more awkward than insulting or upsetting. Protesters interrupted the event with chants during the ceremony, and some refused to leave at the close.
It was something to be dealt with in a way other than simply anger or threats,” Potter said. |
It’s nice to have the kerfuffle taken down a notch or two or three, back into a rational perspective.
The Reverend’s perspective is welcome after amazingly Senator McCormack, a single payer advocate himself, called the protestors “fascists.” And McCormack was later joined on the fainting couch by political analyst Jon Margolis.
Writing in VtDigger.com, Margolis on the one hand rejected the direct fascist reference, but on the other embraced it saying that in terms of method McCormack was not entirely wrong. And the demonstrators weren’t thugs but,
[…] there was an element of at least potential thuggery in their actions, especially later in the day when some of them occupied the otherwise empty House chamber, threatening to stay unless Speaker Shap Smith promised to hold hearings on a single payer bill. |