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, inside information and often an edgy voice that we just don't get from the traditional media. 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 Eclectablog of Michigan, Eclectablog writes—Man who shot an un-armed man over road rage to use Michigan’s “Stand Your Ground” defense:
On September 2nd, Derek Flemming, a 43-year old married father of two young children was driving with his wife in Livingston County to pick up their kids when a pick-up truck nearly t-boned them as they drove down Grand River Avenue. Instead, the truck swerved and cut them off. The truck driver then slammed on his brakes and was clearly messing with Flemming. When they arrived at a stoplight, Flemming got out of his car and approached the truck which was being driven by Martin Edward Zale.
Zale then rolled down his window, pulled out a pistol, and shot Flemming, who was unarmed, in the face, murdering him in front of his wife.
We now learn that Zale will be hiding behind Michigan’s “stand your ground” law. Our law has been found to be almost identical to the Florida law that allowed George Zimmerman, the murderer of Trayvon Martin, to evade a murder conviction.
At
Delaware Liberal,
Progressive Populist writes—
I’m Tired Of People Like Panetta:
Apparently he’s got another tell all book about to come out. Timely, Leon, given that we’ve got a hugely important election next month with your “fellow” Democrats in the cross hairs of the party of hate.
I say “fellow” Democrats because Leon has always been a guy of the safe establishment who never had a reformist idea overtake his pandering to the current order of things.
I can speak with some limited contact; Leon was a fellow Santa Claran (think Jesuits, think northern California) in the 50′s a couple of years behind me undergraduate. I didn’t like him then because he had the reputation of an ass kissing pet of some of the key clerics running that show at the time.
Always in their pocket, always held up as a model of the way people should be. I knew he’d ascend to the northern Calif. political establishment and sure enough, after Congress, onto Presidential staffs and leading our intelligence and defense establishments.
Now, in a most untimely way, like Hillary. who at least had a early youthful flirtation with radical thought, he’s finding fault with President Obama. For a while our President was not easily falling for the neo-con, neo-liberal impulse to kick the shit out of our perceived enemies, asking questions later.
Below the orange gerrymander, you can read more excerpts from progressive state blogs
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At Blogging While Blue of Georgia, Gary S. Cox writes—AG continues to fiddle while Rome burns!
The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to decline hearing the petitions of 5 states where the appellate courts struck down their constitutional bans against same sex marriage in effect legalizes same-sex marriage in 30 states. Even a lay person can read the proverbial hand writing on the wall and know, as Ginsburg predicted, the High Court will only enter the fray if there are conflicting appellate court rulings. It is readily apparent how the Supreme Court is leaning on the issue. Remember, it takes 4 Justices to say “Yes” to have a case heard before the court. The votes to reverse the appellate court decisions to strike down state constitutional marriage bans are most likely not there. The same 5-4 split in the “Defense Against Marriage Act” ruling is the most probable outcome predicted by seasoned court watchers, if the court does take up the issue of same-sex marriage.
Now comes the state of Georgia, in a recent article in The Atlanta-Journal Constitution the Attorney General’s office announced the state of Georgia will proceed with its court fight to save the state constitution’s ban on same-sex marriage, the AG’s spokesperson noted. Marriages will begin taking place in the 30 states impacted by the High Court’s decision not to hear any same-sex marriage cases. It is unlikely the High Court will knowingly allow such marriages to take place, then annul those marriages at some future date. Even our Southern neighbors—Virginia, West Virginia, South and North Carolina now have same sex marriage as a direct result of the Supreme Court’s decision. In North Carolina, Governor Pat McCrory grudgingly noted the “acceptance of the inevitability” of same-sex marriage becoming legal in his state. The fight to ban same-sex marriage is over. Yet Georgia’s AG continues to waste taxpayer money in a battle he is predictably to lose. Even Utah’s Governor Gary Herbert, who adamantly opposed same-sex marriage, stated in response to the High Court decision,” “... ultimately we are a nation of laws, and we here in Utah will uphold the law.” The state AG’s office should drop it’s case, as did the AG of North Carolina, and accept the consensus of the American people.
At
Raging Chicken Press of Pennsylvana,
Sean Kitchen writes—
#StudentsForTeachers: Philly Students Strike in Support of Teachers:
Early this morning, students in the Philadelphia School District began walking out their school buildings as part of a student strike in support of their teachers. On Monday – one day after World Teachers Day—the Philadelphia School Reform Commission took the unprecedented move of calling a surprise meeting for the sole purpose of cancelling the teachers’ contract in order to imposed their political agenda of raiding the teachers’ Health and Welfare fund and forcing teachers to pay into their health care coverage. Following the SRC’s 17-minute meeting with no public discussion before the vote, teachers were first shocked then enraged by their actions.
It seems that the SRC’s actions did more than enrage teachers. On Monday, students began calling for a student strike on October 8—today—in support of their teachers. This is how students described the purpose of today’s action:
In light of the recent PFT contract drop, teachers around the district are talking about going on strike. This is exactly what Corbett wants them to do. If and when teachers go on strike the administration can point and say, “Look at the teachers look at what they’re doing to the students.” We students cannot allow this to happen.
At
Blue in the Bluegrass,
Yellow Dog writes—
Turnout, Turnout, TURNOUT:
Yeah yeah, Alison's up by two points. You know what I don't see? I don't see my local Democratic Party knocking on my door to make sure that I am going to acquire the Level-5 Hazmat suit necessary for me to vote for that repug-lite DINO in four weeks.
Not one sniff of an effort to turn out Democratic voters. Gigantic cards every day from the Turtle, but nothing from the Big Dog's Best Girl.
This isn't a U.S. Senate campaign; it's a bad joke.
Meanwhile, the Kentucky House is on the verge of falling to the repugs. That will be a catastrophe.
And when repug Jaime Comer wins the gubernatorial election next year—or rather, when Jack Loser Conway throws away another election any Democratic candidate could win—we will be completely fucked.
At
MN Progressive Project,
Invenium Viam writes—
McFadden Reveals ‘Contract with Minnesota’:
Taking a page from former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s ‘Contract with America’ from a-w-a-a-y back in the mid-1990s, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike “Nutshot” McFadden today released his new ‘Contract with Minnesota’ initiative to wide acclaim from nobody stating that he would accomplish absolutely nothing of the least possible benefit to anyone.
First, McFadden boldly and forthrightly proposed that he would sponsor or co-sponsor legislation to amend the U.S. Constitution to require that the federal budget be balanced—a bill that would, with the certainty of tomorrow’s sunrise, die in committee. Still, it sounds like a big deal, right, amending the Constitution? Except that it requires passage by both Houses of Congress and ratification by two-thirds of the states. How, exactly, is a junior senator from Minnesota—who will have control of NO committees and will have NO chops whatsoever among the Big Dogs running the caucuses—supposed to pull THAT one off? Being Senator ain’t like being CEO, Mike: you don’t get to bark the orders and watch the little guys jump.
Next, McFadden said he would sponsor bills in support of building the proposed Keystone pipeline and other pipelines. Whoa, daddy, does this guy know how to senator! Newsflash for you, Mikey, there’s already plenty of support for the KeystoneXL pipeline and other pipelines from big-ass moneyed interests like Trans-Canada and Koch Industries. To those guys, you’d be more of an annoyance and unwanted background noise than anything like a real asset in that fight. On the other hand, there’s also plenty of opposition from Minnesotans who would rather not watch our planet burn up and see our groundwater contaminated for 1,000 years just so a bunch of soulless fat phukkers can live a little better between now and when they burn in hell a few years from now, thank you very much. So consider those Minnesota voters written out of your contract.
You could probably use those votes. Jus’ sayin’ …
At
Blue Oregon,
Kate Chisholm writes—
Sen. Betsy Close: One of the 12 dirtiest legislators in the nation.:
Consider this: There are 7,382 state legislators in America. Ninety of them are right here in Oregon.
That collection of 7382 surely contains a whole lot of terrible, horrible, no good, very bad legislators. Heck, I can think of several right here in Oregon.
But just 12—a cool dozen—made the national League of Conservation Voters list of the very worst anti-environment legislators in the country. And one of those is right here in Oregon.
Ladies and gents, I give you Senator Betsy Close (R-Albany).
Said OLCV's Doug Moore: “Betsy Close’s lifetime OLCV score of 7% made her an obvious choice for the Dirty Dozen list. She has voted against Oregon’s environment time and again, stands with corporate polluters, and denies that climate change is happening. It’s clear that Betsy Close’s anti-conservation views are too extreme for Oregon.”
The good news is that Close is being challenged by Rep. Sara Gelser. Gelser's campaign is rocking on all cylinders, with lots of local volunteers and supporters pitching in across the state. (You can pitch in here, folks. Be generous!)
The national Dirty Dozen list is nothing to sneeze at either. In 2012, seven of the 12 named were defeated for re-election, including Rep. Mike Schaufler (D) right here in Oregon.
At
Blue Cheddar of Wisconsin,
blue cheddar writes—
Nice story, bro: “in Wisconsin everyone has the same opportunity to get a qualifying photo ID”:
“…in Wisconsin everyone has the same opportunity to get a qualifying photo ID”
Try repeating that where the DMV is only open on the 3rd Wednesday of the month.
Those words are lifted out of today’s 7th Circuit Appeals Court ruling which says that the Wisconsin voter ID law (the nation’s most restrictive, incidentally) is constitutional and not in violation of the federal voting rights act.
You can read it here.
Tomorrow (Tuesday) we should find out if the U.S. Supreme Court will decide that the implementation of the law is occurring too close to the November election.S
At
The Prairie Blog of North Dakota,
Jim Fuglie writes—
Lining Up At The Federal Trough:
In the 1970s, when I was a reporter for The Dickinson Press, the coal boom was happening in western North Dakota, and there was a lot of power plant construction getting underway. Federal government largesse back then wasn’t what it has become today, but there were some federal funds flowing to North Dakota, mostly from the Rural Electrification Administration (now the Rural Utilities Service), to help build power lines and to help with other infrastructure needs.
Our congressional delegation back then was Senators Milton Young and Quentin Burdick and Representative Mark Andrews. Whenever the REA approved a loan or a grant to a North Dakota REC, they would give the congressional delegation the privilege of announcing it. So, from time to time, The Press newsroom would get a phone call from Washington announcing the funding.
The way it worked was, (this was the day long before e-mail) the staffer in the Washington office would dictate a news release over the phone to whoever answered the phone, (usually me). So I would listen and type as the caller dictated the news release. Something like “Senator Quentin Burdick announced today the Rural Electrification Administration has approved a $270,000 grant to Slope electric Cooperative of New England for upgrading a transmission line ... etc.” When they were done reading and I was done typing, we’d do a bit of small talk (“Cold back there in North Dakota? 80 degrees here.”) and that was that. I had my story for the next morning’s paper.
But then what would happen is, not too long after that, a second Congressional office call would come, and then a third, each calling to give me the same press release, with a different name in the first paragraph. Well, that got old, so I decided to have some fun with these guys, and I adopted a policy: Whoever called first got their name in the story. The other two got left out. So when the first staffer called me, I took the dictated press release, but then when a second staff person called, I told them “Sorry, but Senator Burdick already called, so Congressman Andrews missed out.”
After that I would sit at my desk and almost giggle at the thought of these three staff persons running down the halls of the United States Capitol to get to their typewriters and hammer out a press release, and then frantically dialing the long distance operator to place a call to this smart-ass reporter back in Dickinson, to get their boss’s name in the paper the next day. But the best thing about my policy was that the press releases got much shorter, usually just two or three short paragraphs, omitting some long-winded quote from Mark Andrews about how valuable our REC’s were to the state and the country and the whole free world. Made my job a lot easier.
At
South Dakota Madville Times,
caheidelberger writes—
Duffy: Rounds Falsified Evidence to GOAC, Should Withdraw from Senate Race:
At an 11 a.m. press conference in Rapid City today, South Dakota Democratic Party attorney Patrick Duffy accused Republican Senate candidate Mike Rounds of committing a felony and called on the former governor to withdraw from the race.
On September 22, 2014, in response to questions from the Legislature's Government Operations and Audit Committee, Rounds declared, "The governor's office 'was not served'" in the Darley v. SDIBI litigation.
On October 2, 2014, this blog and other media published proof of service of the governor's office in Darley v SDIBI on July 14, 2009, contradicting Rounds's testimony. [...]
Duffy says that Mike Rounds and members of his campaign team prepared false evidence for GOAC's legally authorized inquiry. Duffy says that action disqualifies Rounds from holding public office in this state.
Committing a felony does not disqualify one from holding a seat in Congress; however, like the South Dakota Legislature, the Senate and House have the authority to refuse to seat members they deem unqualified to serve.
Duffy contends Rounds's guilt is so certain that he should do South Dakota a favor and withdraw immediately from the U.S. Senate race. Duffy says South Dakotans deserve a candidate who is qualified to hold office and who does not misrepresent facts before a legislative committee.
At
Burnt Orange Report of Texas,
Katherine Haenschen writes—
“Relax And Enjoy It”: Clayton Williams Donated $15,000 to Dan Patrick:
Failed Republican candidate for Governor and noted rape-joke enthusiast Clayton Williams donated $15,000 to Dan Patrick in the last fundraising period, according to fundraising reports due yesterday. This comes after Williams also gave $100,000 to Greg Abbott earlier in this cycle.
It’s no surprise: the two Republicans atop the statewide ticket seem to share his light-hearted attitude towards victims of rape and incest.
During the one debate between the two leading candidates for lieutenant governor, Senator Dan Patrick said “I understand some people have different opinions on rape and incest.”
Sorry, Dan — no one should have any question about whether victims of rape and incest should have the right to terminate any pregnancy that results from their abuse. Of course, Dan Patrick only thinks women have value when they’re still in the womb, so it’s no surprise that he holds this view.
What should surprise and alarm the sane people of Texas is that the Republican candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor both refuse to respect the rights of rape and incest victims.
At
Miscellany Blue of New Hampshire,
William Tucker writes—
Ayotte accuses Obama of fighting ISIS to help Democrats, fears he will abandon war after election:
Sen. Kelly Ayotte has accused the president of declaring war on ISIS to help Democrats in the midterm election and said she fears he will abandon the effort after November.
In an interview with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday, Ayotte said, “I’m very fearful as we look at the current military strategy that it is surrounding the November elections and that he won’t have the resolve to follow through with what needs to be done in a sustained effort to destroy ISIS.”
"Are you suggesting that after the November election and acting tough and talking tough, that he is going to pull back from confronting ISIS?" asked Wallace.
"I’m very concerned about that, Chris, and his resolve in this regard," she replied.
"The possibility that Ayotte might have been scaremongering to boost Republican candidates’ prospects a month from now was not raised,” Wonkette’s Doktor Zoom wrote, “because only a terrible cynic would accuse a great patriot like Kelly Ayotte of such base motives.”