Where to Fight Next: The States

The Best Way to Stop Trump Is at the Local Level (Joy-Ann Reid) from the Daily Beast

"Of course we think first about Congress. But Democratic governors, mayors, and state legislatures are the ones now with the real power to stop Trumpism."

TODAY'S BIG NUGGET: Louisiana’s nasty Bobby Jindal hangover

GOP failure is giving new life to Democrats in the unlikeliest of places from Salon
"The party's disastrous bids for president could change the complexion of the whole country. Just look at Louisiana. ...  Increasingly, the GOP’s base is confined to the south and to pockets of rural America. But even in a conservative state like Louisiana, Republicans are being challenged by Democratic candidates. While it’s unlikely that Louisiana becomes a blue state anytime soon, there are some compelling indicators that the political winds are shifting."

County Commissioners Beg to Be Saved from Gay Marraige

Tenn. county to consider resolution begging God to spare them ‘His coming wrath’ over same-sex marriage from Raw Story
" On Monday, the Blount County Board of Commissioners will consider a resolution asking God to spare their region from “His coming wrath” because the “lawless judiciary” of the U.S. is forcing them recognize same-sex marriages. ... Presumably God will hold off His wrath until the resolution can be considered as it is listed as seventh on the docket — right after the board takes up compensation levels for Blount County School Board Members."

Surprise, surprise! Healthier people in States that Embraced Obamacare!

Uninsured Rate Down Way More In States That Embraced Obamacare from the Huffington Post
"Obamacare is really good at getting health insurance to people -- if their states' leaders let it."

Kansas Takes another Step into the Dumper

Kansas Underfunded Education And Cut Tenure. Now It Can't Find Enough Teachers To Fill Classrooms from the Huffington Post
“In the next three years I think we’ll have maybe the worst teacher shortage in the country -- I think most of that is self-inflicted. ... Amid what some see as attempts to de-professionalize teaching -- in February a bill passed the state Senate that would make it easier to jail teachers for teaching materials deemed offensive, while another new program lifts teacher licensure requirements in certain districts -- some superintendents say teacher morale is at an all-time low. ”
More blowback from Gov. Sam Brownback's attempt to turn Kansas into a conservative fiscal wonderland.  Cut taxes and wait for the economy to take off and make up the difference through simple growth.  Oops!! Gee, it didn't work.  We're $400 million in the hole! Cut, cut, cut.  Endstory: the state is a financial mess, the economy is still in the duldrums, and NOW the schools are going into the dumper.  Good job, Sam!!  Next up -- Scott Walker's Wisconsin!

On Marriage Equality, Which States Are Not Complying?

Alabama, Texas, and North Dakota slowest to comply with marriage equality ruling (Kerry Eleveld) from Daily Kos
"Which states are moving the slowest on Friday's Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage? Alabama (no surprise there). But North Dakota edging out Texas for second—we barely knew you, ND. From Ballotpedia's handy dandy scorecard:"

Innovative Ways to Control Guns!

Gun killings fell by 40 percent after Connecticut passed this law from the Washington Post
"... in the summer of 1994, lawmakers hustled through a gun control bill in a special session. They hoped to curb shootings by requiring people to get a purchasing license before buying a handgun. The state would issue these permits to people who passed a background check and a gun safety training course."

U Wisconsin -- Who's Next?

Goodbye, Madison (Josh Marshall) from Talking Points Memo
"As he readies to run for president and grabs whatever low hanging fruit on the conservative agenda tree he can find, Scott Walker is now planning to strip tenure from professors in the University of Wisconsin higher education system."
NO ONE should be surprised by this -- and it would be a mistake to think this was simply the product of a right wing nutcase like Scott Walker. Elected officials and university presidents and administrators alike are beginning to realize that they don't need tenure to attract a very good quality faculty -- and that the savings can be enormous!  A majority of professors teaching college-level humanities courses are already temporary faculty.  

PUBLIC EDUCATION NUGGET!!

Here Are The States That Spend The Most On Public School Students from the Huffington Post
"The graphics below outline some of the data's highlights. The first map shows which states spent the most per pupil in 2012. The District of Columbia and New York took the top spots, spending over $19,000 per student. Utah and Idaho spent the least per student, around $6,500."

Ukraine, Joining NATO?

Ukraine takes historic step toward NATO from Agence France Presse
"Ukraine took a historic step toward NATO on Tuesday in a parliamentary vote that stoked Russia's anger ahead of talks on ending the ex-Soviet state's separatist war."

Predicting the Fallout from King v. Burwell

Predicting the Fallout from King v. Burwell — Exchanges and the ACA (Nicholas Bagley et al.,) from the New England Journal of Medicine 
"ACA supporters thus have good reason to worry. For at least several years, and perhaps for much longer, the outcome in King could determine whether millions of people continue to have access to affordable, comprehensive health insurance."

State House Disaster Continues for Kansas

Kansas revenues will fall $1 billion short of 2015 and 2016 expenses, fiscal experts say from the Kansas City Star
"The new figure raises the prospect of deep cuts in the state budget following controversial income tax cuts that Brownback vigorously defended during his re-election campaign against Democrat Paul Davis. Critics worry that schools, roads and social services will be among the areas cut in coming months."

The GOP in Long-term Decline - The Evidence

The Republicans: over-reaching and underscoring (Gary Younge) from the Guardian [of the UK]
"When Kansas starts rejecting the Republican agenda, you know it’s a party in long-term decline. ... Since Republicans are likely to take over the Senate, giving them both houses of Congress, they are equally likely to claim victory. But if there are broader lessons from this cycle then these celebrations will be short-lived. Economically, politically and demographically, the long-term prospects for Republicans are far from rosy for two reasons."

“People don’t eat in the long run, they eat every day.” – Harry Hopkins

Am I the only one who is tired of reading yet another article about the “long term” problems of the Republican Party? I guess were supposed to be optimistic even as the Democrat’s apologize for yet one more nearly total loss, because at least were not doomed as the Republicans are, “In The Long Run”. Apparently the Democrats winning strategy is to hope the Republican Party falls apart eventually. How inspiring.

Posted by – hopeandespair

Religious and Conservative Bias Rife in TX Textbooks

These Biased Ideas Are Presented As Fact In Texas Curriculum Standards from the Huffington Post
"In September, nonprofit organization the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund commissioned a group of history scholars to evaluate proposed social studies textbooks from publishing giants such as Pearson Education and McGraw-Hill Education. The scholars found that several of the textbooks were rife with religious and conservative biases that they said distort history."

TODAY'S BIG NUGGET: The Democrats' Demographic Offensive

Why Georgia May Be Bluer Than It Appears (Nate Cohn) from the New York Times
"For all the hype about “Purple Texas,” the real front in the Democratic demographic offensive is Georgia. No other plausibly competitive state has seen a more favorable shift for Democrats in the racial composition of eligible voters over the last decade. The pace of demographic change is so fast that Michelle Nunn, a Democrat, is locked in a tight race against the Republican David Perdue for an open Senate seat — even with an off-year electorate that is favorable for the G.O.P. The pace of demographic change might even be fast enough to outpace the polls."

Conservative States Dig In Against the Supreme Court

Conservative States Dig In Against SCOTUS Gay Marriage Action from Talking Points Memo
"Officials in some conservative states, where Supreme Court action could clear the way for same-sex weddings, say they won't issue marriage licenses to gay couples until their hands are forced. Gay rights advocates are preparing and filing new federal lawsuits to do just that."

New Court Ordered Protections for Same-Sex Marriages

Missouri Must Recognize Same-Sex Marriages Granted Elsewhere, State Court Rules from Buzzfeed
"“Missouri has finally recognized our couples’ marriages as being no different from any other marriage,” Tony Rothert, legal director of the ACLU of Missouri, said in a statement.""

College Board History Ed Wars Continue

Colo. Ed Board Member: Give U.S. Credit For Voluntarily Ending Slavery from Talking Points Memo
"A member of Colorado's state Board of Education argued that the fact that the United States voluntarily ended slavery proved "American execptionalism" and this perspective should be taught to students in a recent Facebook post about the AP U.S. History curriculum."
This is such a breath-takingly stupid statement, one can only shake one's head.  Maybe it will come as news to her that the south did not give up slavery "voluntarily." What do you DO with something like this!?  This person has no business being on an state education board.

The Wonders of Red-State "Model Governance" in Kansas

In Brownbackistan, Everything is Awesome! And Don’t Let Any Liberal Tell You Different (Thomas Frank) from Salon
"He wanted to build a “red-state model” in Kansas, he used to say, a community of righteousness that could “show the way back to being America again.” What he has constructed instead is a microcosm of everything that is wrong and disastrous with conservative governance."

New Questions About Christie's Governing

Christie's Pension Overseer Invested New Jersey Money In Fund He Is Linked To Privately from the International Business Times
"“It definitely gets an official into an ethically grey area when, in his fiduciary capacity working for the government, he recommends investments where he has a direct financial interest,” said Marshall Auerback, a former hedge fund manager..."