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Being our semi-regular weekly survey of what’s goin’ down in the several states where, as we know, the real work of governmentin’ gets done, and where Louie The King says, “Let me think for a minute, son.”

This will be a brief tour since I’m bringing the Shebeen World Tour to Austin this weekend for the annual Texas Tribune Festival and am about to board a plane with god alone knows what sort of WiFi facility.

So, anyway, we start in Wisconsin, where Scott Walker, the goggle-eyed homunculus hired by Koch Industries to manage that particular Midwest subsidiary, is still crowing about handing the keys to the state’s economy over to a Taiwanese corporation most notable for the fact that they had to put up anti-suicide nets on their headquarters building to keep the grunts in the factory from hurling themselves off the roof and killing themselves. Walker now has decided that Foxconn need not bother itself with those pesky state courts, either. From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

The law signed by Walker on Monday changes how environmental challenges and other potential legal cases over the factory would be handled, including automatically suspending any lower court orders until a higher court has weighed in. The eight-page analysis highlights this provision among the areas of concern, saying the decision on whether to suspend rulings could be seen as a core power of the court system. "A court could hold that the provision is unconstitutional if it finds that this provision violates the judiciary's independence in the fulfillment of its constitutional responsibilities," the memo reads.

The legislation would exempt the Foxconn project from a state environmental impact statement and from some state rules to protect wetlands and waterways. That has raised the possibility that environmental groups may sue over the law and project in the near future. To head off delays from that potential litigation, GOP lawmakers and Walker added special requirements on the courts system for handling any Foxconn lawsuits. First, the legislation would expedite appeals of Foxconn-related lawsuits, creating a path that would likely get any case more quickly to the state Supreme Court, where conservatives have a solid majority. Second, the measure requires higher courts to take appeals of a trial court order in a Foxconn case even if the order is not final. In general, appellate courts have to take appeals of the final judgments and orders made by trial courts but get to decide whether to take appeals of preliminary orders. Finally, the trial court rulings in that litigation would be automatically stayed until the higher court decided what to do.

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I can’t imagine why Foxconn possibly would benefit from having the state’s environmental laws waived. It is here where we remind you that the Wisconsin State Supreme Court is pretty much bought and paid for by the same people who keep financing Walker’s career, and has been ever since those people turned Wisconsin into an unregulated ATM for dark money.

It is here where we also remind you that the whole premise of that dog’s breakfast that is the Cassidy-Graham health-care bill is that states know better how to take care of their citizens. Ron (Shreds of Freedom) Johnson, the box of rocks who represents Wisconsin in the Senate, was telling my man Chuck Todd that very thing yesterday, hollering inanities about “faceless bureaucrats.” There is simply no bigger weasel in any legislature. He and Walker deserve each other.

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Let’s skip on over to Pennsylvania, where a state legislator has gotten ambitious and is making a headlong rush to the front of the young wingnut class. From Philadelphia Magazine:

In subsequent tweets, Bernstine defended his statement against those who claim he’s advocating for the same tactics used by ISIS and the man who struck and killed 32-year-old Heather Heyer while she was protesting against neo-Nazis and white supremacists during the rally in Charlottesville, Va. last month.

His weaselspeak, while not as fluent as Ron Johnson’s, is improving, too. From a Bernstine email, via PennLive:



Some of these headlines include “Republican lawmaker vows to run over protesters who block highways” and “GOP lawmaker threatens to run over protesters with his car.” Taking my comments to that extreme is just absurd. My intent was simply to let people know that I, along with what I believe are many others, have grown tired of those who are committing crimes and acts of violence in the name of peaceful protest. Just last evening, we saw “protesters” who moved from blocking streets to destroying buildings and using projectile weapons against law enforcement. I am confident that none of us find this acceptable. As we all have come across times where our words were completely changed to fit a false narrative, I wanted you to be aware of what transpired if you were contacted by one of your constituents. If you have any additional questions, don’t hesitate to contact me directly.”

Never give up. Never surrender. Never stop copping stuff from the late George Corley Wallace.

If any demonstrator ever lays down in front of my car, it'll be the last car he'll ever lay down in front of.

And we conclude, as is our wont, in the Great State Of Oklahoma, where Blog Official Copper Dowser Friedman Of The Plains brings us yet another tragedy that has befallen our brave men in blue. From The Daily Beast:

He was pronounced dead at the scene. The 35-year-old was on his front porch holding a two-foot-long pipe when police arrived in the area to investigate a hit-and-run accident. Police ordered Sanchez to drop the pipe, but he could not hear them. He walked toward the officer and waved the pipe in his right hand, officials said. Neighbors nearby saw the situation unfolding and ran toward officers, screaming. “Don’t kill him! He’s deaf,” a 12-year-old girl yelled. “Don’t do it!” Six other neighbors joined in before another officer arrived and shot him.

He should have complied. Being deaf is no excuse for not obeying orders that you can’t hear. Also, he could’ve laid waste to six young, well-trained police officers with that pipe of his. Did I cover everything?

Except, what in the hell is it with Oklahoma cops and deaf people? Yeesh.

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Charles P. Pierce Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976.

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