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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’ goes on, and where in the dime stores and bus stations, people talk of situations.

We begin in the newly insane state of North Carolina, where Art Pope’s elected hoplites are trying to do as much damage as they can before the dung-rake sweeps them out of office. Their latest shenanigans include an attempt to re-segregate the state’s schools, if you will pardon this expression, by any means necessary. From the Charlotte News and Observer:

A newly formed joint legislative study committee is charged with reporting back by May 1 on whether to recommend passing legislation to let previously merged school districts be divided. The committee, whose first meeting is Feb. 21, would also look at the best ways to break up school districts, including whether to require a referendum by voters. The bill creating the committee passed in June largely along partisan lines with most Republicans backing the legislation and most Democrats opposed. Supporters said the state should look at what’s the most effective size for school districts while opponents said it could lead to resegregation of schools.

The folks opposed to the plan are looking down the road and seeing a new economic alibi for retrograde public education. From the Raleigh N&O:

On Facebook, Raleigh resident John Law said he too feared breaking up Wake schools would lead to resegregation. “We had two systems when I was in elementary school here,” he wrote. “They did away with it because the two systems were segregated. If they did away with them to stop the segregation, why do you think they would want to bring it back?” “If the city of Raleigh is all in one district, and it should be, I do not see how it would not start to resegregate the school system,” Law said later in a Facebook message.

That is a very hard truth to face. Which is why so many people choose not to face it, but it certainly ought to be as important in the calculus behind this proposal as administrative logistics.

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We move along now to Missouri, where the investigation into Governor Eric Greitens is leading into some very interesting areas, and this was a case that started with accusations of sex and blackmail. From the Kansas City Star:

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner has dispatched investigators to the Missouri Capitol to ask lawmakers about Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens’ use of dark money and other topics as part of her probe into the Republican. The investigators have reached out to multiple lawmakers, including Rep. Nate Walker, a Kirksville Republican and an early Greitens supporter. The interviews with lawmakers are a possible sign that the criminal inquiry into the governor may have broadened beyond allegations of sexual blackmail that first surfaced last month. “They’re asking about a lot of things, ... dark money and different things like that,” Walker said in a phone call Wednesday evening.

Do tell. Greitens has taken heat ever since his election on the issue of the dark money that pulled him across the finish line. A lot of the heat is coming from other Republicans. The Star is on that story, too:

The Missouri Senate voted 19-12 this week in support of a requirement that nonprofits engaging in political activity disclose their donors. The vote was largely ceremonial because the requirement was attached to a resolution urging states to convene a constitutional convention. But with an ethics reform debate on the horizon, the vote demonstrates that Greitens’ use of anonymous money to bankroll his political activity will assuredly continue garnering attention. “Gov. Greitens ran on draining the swamp,” said state Sen. Rob Schaaf, a St. Joseph Republican. “Yet he’s accepting dark money. And he needs to know that we’re going to be talking about it every day until the end of session. I hope he’s listening.”

So, apparently, the original tawdry story is becoming a way into the way that campaigns are funded in Missouri and, presumably, elsewhere. This is one worth watching.

Much of Greitens’ campaign was focused on cleaning up politics in Jefferson City. That includes a ban on all lobbyist gifts and tougher restrictions on when lawmakers can become lobbyists after leaving office. In an interview with St. Louis Public Radio last summer, he slammed candidates who “set up these secretive super PACs where they don’t take any responsibility for what they’re doing.”“I’ve been very proud to tell people, ‘I’m stepping forward and you can see every single one of our donors, because we are proud of our donors and we are proud of the campaign we are running,’ ” he said at the time. Greitens’ spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on the governor’s apparent change of heart.

But by the time voters went to the polls in the GOP primary last August, Greitens had already benefited from $4 million in dark money spending on his behalf from a federal political action committee called LG PAC. He then accepted a $1.9 million check from another federal PAC called SEALS for Truth. In both instances, the money was routed through nonprofits, meaning it will probably never be known who actually made the donation.

“Probably.” Less probable, I think, than it was a while ago.

From there, we move on up to Idaho, where the various clever people have found a way to repeal the Affordable Care Act with a little sleight of hand. They’re allowing companies to peddle health-insurance plans that are against federal law. From the Idaho Statesman:

Officials are referring to the plans as “state-based.” Under additional guidance issued Jan. 24, insurers can:

▪ carve out benefits, like maternity coverage. However, any insurer offering state-based plans must have at least one with maternity, which includes prenatal care.

▪ restore co-pays for preventive care, such as colonoscopies.

▪ limit annual claims to $1 million, at which point those high-cost patients would be moved onto ACA-compliant plans sold through Idaho’s health insurance exchange.

▪ deny coverage for pre-existing conditions, to a limited degree.

In maybe the biggest change, a person can end up paying higher premiums because of a history or high risk of expensive medical conditions. In order to get the state-based plans, people can be required to fill out a questionnaire that asks about past health care claims, disorders and treatments, ranging from the near-universal – allergies, depression/anxiety, arthritis – to the less common – a stem-cell transplant or spina bifida.

All of this is directly in contradiction with the provisions and the spirit of the ACA, to say nothing of its legislative intent. But, hey, the trash policies are cheap.

“These Idaho guidelines for health insurers are crazypants illegal. It’s not even close,” tweeted University of Michigan law professor Nicholas Bagley. “Does Idaho think the Supremacy Clause doesn’t apply to it?”

Why, yes. In fact, it does. It’s Idaho, The Armed Compound State.

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And we conclude, as is our custom, in the great state of Oklahoma, where Blog Official Trail Herder Friedman of the Plains informs us that it might be best if the kids walked to school for a while. From the Ada News:

Nearly 1 in 7 of Oklahoma’s county bridges can’t support the weight of a fully loaded school bus, said Randy Robinson, executive director of the Oklahoma Cooperative Circuit Engineering Districts Board. The board helps tackle transportation issues on the county roadway system. Bridges can’t support the weight of oil and gas trucks or agricultural equipment that need the structures to get their products to market, he said.

Despite spending billions on bridge repairs in the past few years, Oklahoma ranks third worst in the total number of structurally deficient bridges and ninth worst in the number of deficient bridges as the percentage of inventory, according to the annual analysis by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. More than 3,100 bridges are posted for load, which restricts the size and weight of vehicles using the bridges, the group said. And transportation advocates said the problem isn’t likely going to improve anytime soon. In the past three years, the Legislature has redirected $230 million from the state’s County Improvement Roads and Bridges fund to help finance other government priorities, Robinson said. Some of those funds were allocated to pay for county bridge rehabilitation.

Yes, friends. It’s still Infrastructure Week!

This is your democracy, America. Cherish it.

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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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