It's not a super-optimistic time for national politics. The Democrats are tearing each other apart over their nomination, and the Republicans have sold their party to a pathological liar who was last likable in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. If you're looking for comfort, the only answer is to look a little more closely at local government. After all, state legislators can get Real Important Work Done. And that's what they do, right? Right.

Now, let's check out some headlines:

Oh, come the fuck on! All I wanted was a nice trip through some local news. What the hell is happening in Louisiana? Well, it turns out a bill was before the Senate that reasonably proposed changing the minimum age to 21 for anyone working in a strip club that serves alcohol (as opposed to the previous minimum, 18). This apparently annoyed one representative, who felt like this was government overreach and decided to make his point by proposing an amendment that required strippers to be under 160 pounds and 28 years old. This "joke" did not go over well. Here's how the scene was described by The New Orleans Advocate:

State Rep. Kenny Havard, R-St. Francisville, officially submitted a written amendment to legislation that would have mandated dancers at strip clubs be no older than 28 and no heavier than 160 pounds. When challenged by other legislators, he quickly withdrew the amendment and later called it a joke about overregulation. “Looking out over this body, I’ve never been so repulsed to be a part of it,” Rep. Julie Stokes, R-Kenner, said on the House floor after the amendment was pulled. Stokes said the amendment was just the latest exercise in commonplace misogyny that women in the Legislature frequently endure. “It has got to stop. That was utterly disrespectful and disgusting.”

I think they said it better than anyone else could. This is, on its face, such an offensive and dumb reaction to a totally reasonable bill that it almost boggles the mind that anyone could be so out of touch. ([Looks at any comments section anywhere] Oh, never mind.) Let's check in with good Old Kenny and see how he's handling his newfound fame.