Each Saturday, this feature links and excerpts commentary and reporting from a dozen progressive state blogs in the past seven days around the nation. The idea is not only to spotlight specific issues but to give readers who may not know their state has a progressive blog or two a place to become regularly informed about doings in their back yard. Just as states with progressive lawmakers and activists have themselves initiated innovative programs over a wide range of issues, state-based progressive blogs have helped provide us with a point of view and inside information we don't get from the traditional media. Those blogs deserve a larger audience. Let me know via comments or Kosmail if you have a favorite you think I should know about. Standard disclaimer: Inclusion of a diary does not necessarily indicate my agreement or endorsement of its contents. |
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The Mudflats of Alaska,
Jeane Devon writes—
SCOTUS Sticks it to Alaskans:
So, where does Alaska fall on this? Let’s check in with the man who is charged with overseeing the Division of Elections – Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell. Other than polishing the state seal, and various ceremonial photo op duties, overseeing the Division of Elections is pretty much his only responsibility. So, one would assume he takes that quite seriously.
Regarding the legislation that protects the voting rights of Alaska Natives, and other racial minorities, he’s totally against it. And you know why, right? Too much federal overreach. [...]
The Parnell-Treadwell Administration actually filed an amicus brief in support of Shelby County Alabama which was the one to challenge the Voting Rights Act in the first place. And, they separately sued to invalidate Section 5 and protections for Alaska Natives. The amicus brief and lawsuit against the Voting Rights Act went counter to one filed by The Alaska Federation of Natives documenting persistent discrimination against Alaska Natives, including educational discrimination.
The Native American Rights Fund and other groups have provided voluminous documentation about discrimination against Alaska Natives, and Alaska’s entire Congressional delegation supported continued inclusion of Alaska when Congress reauthorized the Voting Rights Act in 2006. But that was then, and this is now.
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Texas Kaos,
Libby Shaw writes—
The Night Texas Turned Blue:
The evening of June 25, 2013 was an amazing night in Texas. For a lone woman stood for thirteen hours straight to filibuster one of the most restrictive anti-women, anti-choice laws that would have made abortion next to impossible in Texas. Governor Rick Perry had called a special session of the Legislature in order to pass SB5. The bill had to be passed by the Texas Senate by midnight of June 25, 2013.
Along with the support of over 600 men and women who watched from the Senate gallery, while thousands waited outside, Senator Wendy Davis (D, Ft. Worth) stood her ground. She could not sit down, lean on anything or take a break to eat, drink or go to the restroom. But she stood strong and firm wearing her pink and green sneakers. The Senator read a countless number of stories about women and their desperately heartbreaking struggles to overcome victimization, rape and incest. These are women that did not have the opportunity speak about their plights and how SB5 would have impacted them during the Citizen's Filibuster last week.
And she gives a look at how Taiwanese animators saw the filibuster:
At Burnt Orange Report, Ben Sherman writes—Rick Perry Attacks and Insults Wendy Davis:
Speaking to the National Right to Life Conference in Dallas today, Rick Perry went after Wendy Davis for coming to her own conclusion that women have the right to choose. Telling attendees that "she hasn't learned from her own example," Perry put down the most popular woman in Texas while feigning praise for her.
That's right: Rick Perry thinks Wendy Davis failed to rationally develop her own views. Instead, he wants her to take his view because...he clearly knows best about the lessons of her experience. The patronization is dripping from Perry's comments in this latest insult to women. The core of the right to choose is that women should have control over their own lives, not have to abide by the misogynistic worldview of men like Rick Perry.
That's not all. Below the fold, you'll find a lot more commentary and news from progressive state blogs. Read on!
At Blue Oklahoma, DocHoc writes—Food Stamp Cuts Would Increase Hunger:
Lost in most of the corporate media coverage over the demise of the Republican farm bill last week is one of the country's painful contradictions.
We are one of the richest countries in the world yet far too many here still go hungry. It should be a national disgrace, but it isn't.
We should be reminded of this by Oklahoma's U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas's failed attempt to cut the nation's food stamp program, now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), as part of his 2013 farm bill, which didn't pass the House. Lucas, a Republican, chairs the House Agricultural Committee, and pushed for the bill's passage.
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Blog for Arizona,
Pamela Powers Hannley writes—
How Progressives Stopped the Farm Bill:
When Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) rallied its membership and asked them to take to the streets, their computers, and their telephones to oppose food stamp cuts in the farm bill, stopping the multi-year, behemoth looked bleak.
Both versions of the bill had cuts to food stamps and school lunches; the House of Representatives version, which was defeated on Thursday, had $20 billion in cuts to food stamps + increased subsidies to agribusiness, and the Senate version has $4 billion in cuts. This is immoral– feeding the military industrial complex but not the children.
PDA mobilized nationally to stop this—hundreds of letter drops at Congressional offices around the country and in Washington DC, thousands of phone calls and e-mails to Congressional representatives. And it worked—for now.
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The Orange Juice Blog Greg Diamond writes—
‘Johnny, We Hardly Noticed Ye’: Campbell Rouses Himself to Leave Congress:
Rep. John Campbell represents some pretty heady territory for a politician. His spaniel-head-shaped 45th Congressional District stretches from almost Costa Mesa to Anaheim Hills and east through the Canyons, Mission Viejo, and Lake Forest — a place of, among other things, a lot of money. (He lost Newport Beach in redistricting and I would not be surprised if the wealth of his district went up!) And yet, among our county’s awfully colorful set of U.S. House members, he generally seems like sort of an afterthought: a reliably conservative vote in a reliably Republican district, but in no way a bombthrower like Dana Rohrabacher, a party insider like Ed Royce, or — like Darrell Issa — both. Among Democratic members of the County caucus, Loretta Sanchez outshines him on the national stage, so do half-in-the-county freshman Alan Lowenthal, and 5% in the county Linda Sanchez.
What do they have that he doesn’t have? They’re energetic. [...]
My Republican informants tell me that the problem is that Campbell’s lazy and just not that interested in being a politician. (He’s a car dealer. That’s much more to his taste.) So he’s leaving Congress at the end of this term.
Democrats are happy to see him go because politically he’s a caveman; Republicans are happy because he’s not a leader among cavemen — in a district that could easily support someone truly and floridly nuts.
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Delaware Liberal,
Delaware Dem writes—
Let’s check in on the GOP Rebranding Effort, shall we?
This week has been a banner one for the GOP, and its only Wednesday. First, with respect to reaching out to minorities, which the GOP HAS TO DO IF IT EVER WANTS TO WIN ANOTHER ELECTION AGAIN, we have their celebration of the gutting of the Voting Rights Act, and their zeal in passing as many Voting Restriction Laws as possible so as to prevent minorities from voting. As Bill Clinton rightly says, you can never vote for someone who doesn’t want you to vote in the first place. So Strike One for the GOP.
Second, on the same minority outreach issue, we have Speaker Boehner telling his Republican colleagues in the House that he will not bring the Senate Immigration Bill to the floor, which essentially means that the GOP will kill immigration reform. [...]
Third, we have all the GOP efforts to again discuss rape in the context of their shared zeal to end reproductive freedom in this country. The latest example is that idiot Texas State Representative saying on Monday that Rape Kits clean out the victim so as to prevent pregnancy when defending SB5′s lack of a exception for rape and incest victims.
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Rural and Progressive of Georgia,
Katherine Helms Cummings writes—
Coming full circle:
President Obama’s announcement about carbon pollution controls Tuesday at Georgetown University closed the circle in some ways on the future of Plant Washington. It won’t matter whether Plant Washington belches carbon into the air as a new source or an existing source, it will have to reduce and control the amount of Greenhouse Gases (GHG, or most commonly called carbon) it emits.
And that won’t be cheap.
Plant Washington has never modeled for carbon control, so the already doubled price tag just to construct it won’t be going down.
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Eclectablog,
Eclectablog writes—
ALEC has their eye on your kids – Progress Michigan details ALEC’s role in “school reform”:
Progress Michigan released a report this week that outlines how the corporatist group American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is working hard to turn our students into nice little profit centers by handing over their education to for-profit corporations. The report also shows how this pernicious campaign is playing out in other states, as well.
Michigan is home to nearly a quarter of the charter schools in the country and roughly 80% of our charter schools are run by for-profit businesses. What is their funding model? To funnel the taxes used for public education into their bank accounts. They do this by getting all sorts of breaks our traditional public schools do not get, including hiring non-unionized teachers.
ALEC, a corporate-funded group that produces a copious amount of model legislation for their corporatist legislative members to use in their state legislatures, has their on all of that sweet, sweet education money and their plans are playing out perfectly in Michigan.
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The Pennsylvania Progressive,
Michael Wood writes—
Repeal Right On Red:
It's time to repeal the turn right on red traffic law. Because the law is never enforced things have become too dangerous out there. Yesterday I had my latest encounter with a reckless driver ignoring the law and putting me in danger. The right on red law applies only to the first vehicle at an intersection and requires the driver to come to a full stop, determine there is no oncoming traffic, and then, and only then, proceed to turn right.
No one follows this law. hey sail through red lights not only without stopping but without looking for traffic. A couple years ago I had a lady with a Flyers Wives plate sail through a red light in Delaware County directly in front of my car. Fortunately no other cars were alongside me as I had to suddenly veer into the left lane to avoid a collision. At the next traffic light she exited her car and walked back to berate me for honking my horn at her. These people are clueless.
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Blue Mass Group,
progressivemax writes—
Not Enough Votes for the Public Option in MA Senate:
Today the Massachusetts Senate debated Bill H.3452 “An Act implementing the Affordable Care Act and providing further access to affordable health care”. Progressive Champion Jamie Eldridge filed an amendment to the bill to allow for a Public Option in Massachusetts.
However behind closed doors Jamie Eldridge couldn’t get enough votes in the MA Senate to support a Public Option in Massachusetts and withdrew the amendment.
This is Massachusetts Senate, not the United States Congress! The fact that more than 50% of our State Senators didn’t have the balls to vote for a Public Option is despicable!
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Hillbilly Report,
Hillbilly writes—
DOMA Ruling. How Long Will Kentucky Remain In The Dark Ages When It Comes To Same Sex Marriage?
Well according to Nate Silverman projected support for a same-sex marriage ballot initiative, in Kentucky, won't come until 2020.
The Supreme Court DOMA ruling won't be much help for same-sex couples here in Kentucky because, in 2004, Kentucky voted to amend their constitution to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman.