South Dakota has passed a bill completely outlawing abortions, with no exceptions for victims of rape or incest. The bill, of course, will be thrown out as soon as it becomes law for being unconsititutional. But they know that. So what we have here is a white male passing a bill good for nothing but political posturing while fully aware that it is unconstitutional. Absolutely disgusting. Via Drastic Verge.
Zell Miller's getting a statue.
In the end, Senate Majority Leader Bill Stephens (R-Canton), a former aide to Miller when he was lieutenant governor and governor, suggested that senators vote on a commission for a statue for the Democrat only.
"I didn't know much about Turner until today," said Stephens, sponsor of the original resolution. "I think he should be honored, but not this way. Not today. Zell Miller has a unique place in history. Turner's history is unique, but Miller's is more unique. That is what we want to honor."
Zell Miller's major accomplishments seem to be the HOPE Scholarship, which was "far reaching", according to the LA Times, and a pre-kindergarten program. Good stuff, but not the stuff of statues and memorials.
Henry McNeal Turner was a civil rights activist, the first black Chaplain in the U.S. Army, as well as a host of other academic and religious accomplishments.
The only thing "unique" about Miller is that he's managed to belong to both major American political parties at the same time.
Sigh. Georgia.
Please forgive us for passive-aggressive partisanship, handlebar mustaches, and forgetting our bowlers and hash pipes in our boudoir.
Fabio Nunez has been voted in as the new California Speaker of the House. What's interesting about this is that he's a freshman legislator, who got taken under the wing of the leadership and pushed into the top position. California has such strict term limits that there is little to no continuity among the leadership, by the time they get the hang of it, they're termed out. The election of the young Nunez is an attempt to combat that and boost someone who can speak for Democrats for awhile to come.
Dan Weintraub is giving Arnold one of the more peculiar compliments I've heard when he says:
"I think local government should take care of it themselves,” Schwarzenegger said. “I own buildings [in Santa Monica]. There's always this big battle between people that want to make this place safe and the people that don't want to go and take the expense because it's very expensive to do the retrofitting.
"But I think that when you look at this main street here, the buildings that had been retrofitted … those buildings stood," Schwarzenegger said. "They are safe. So I think it's a lesson to all the others, that they should retrofit their buildings."
How is this being anything but an "age old" politician?
