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kittydesadeIt's that time again! As always, Wisconsin matters are here as usual or here on DW, please reblog and repost this anywhere you like, previous entries are here on LJ or here on DW. Let me know if you're reposting, too, I do have the Pingback Gort enabled but as we on LJ have seen lately, notifications aren't always reliable, and on DW Gort does not exist at all.
Ohio
* Senate Bill 5
* The Cincinnati Enquirer and a couple other news stations have an AP report summarizing the last few days of the bill and announcing the hearings to start Tuesday afternoon, continuing Wednesday and Thursday. Vouchers will be issued to members of the public who want to attend.
* WHIO TV is airing a special report tonight at 7pm on the financial crisis in Ohio, for all those who are in the area and might want to see it.
* The Columbus Dispatch describes Kasich readying his State of the State speech. They also reported on a protest over Senate Bill 5.
* Local news also reports on a different rally in Cleveland, with Al Sharpton.
Indiana
* This IndyStar article describes one of the bills the Democrats object to, which would put a state-determined cap on tuition costs. This other article describes more potential fallout from the voucher bill.
* A local news channel reports on fines still to be levied, with the added tidbit that apparently some State Senators have been back in their home districts for a bit.
* The Post-Tribune has an article describing a historical author's point of view. The author asserts that mismanagement, not unions, are to blame for the current economic crisis and that to handicap unions is to set even non-union workers back decades in terms of legal and social progress.
Iowa
* The Quad-City Times reports that a big crowd is expected for the public hearing tonight on the bill restricting collective bargaining rights.
* The same paper also reports that Gov. Terry Brandstad issued an executive order decreeing that state agencies must issue a job-impact statement whenever they write new regulations.
New Jersey
Nothing new on New Jersey at the moment. Still watching there, though, so I leave this here as a place-holder.
Tennessee
* People's World covers a rally by Tennessee teachers and also gives bill numbers for the bills in question being protested. Those bills are: HB 159/SB 136, HB 130/SB 113, HB 367/SB 0624, SB 102/HB 565, HB 160/SB 139, HB 598/SB 630.
* The Tennessean goes into some discussion of the Democrats and Republicans' arguments over job creation plans.
Now featuring: Michigan Fuckery! (thanks tolireavue)
* Voice of Detroit: House Bill 4214 in Michigan. "It permits the installation of a local dictator, subject to no laws except that they answer to the state treasurer, for a municipal government in a state of "financial emergency" (as determined by the state government). This person is then empowered to sell off any public assets belonging to the city, unilaterally change any contract the city has made, fire any appointed official, overrule any elected official, and disincorporate the city."
* Here is an article from the Voice of Detroit.
* And here is some testimony
Not so much today, but since a lot of these bills are in hearings and discussions now, that's to be expected. At some point this week I'll go over all the states again and make sure nothing else is going on that I/you should be aware of.
One of the hardest things about doing these link roundups is that these aren't my states. These aren't always your states. Sometimes this isn't even your country. ... Possibly a lot of the time, I've lost track of the percentage of USians to non-USians on my flist. And sometimes it's hard to think what you can do, and sometimes it's hard to care.
But I've brought this up before, and this is exactly why it's true: the importance of staying informed. You can do this. You can read these articles, do your own searching, read the bill text and ask for help interpreting them. You can look at your local news channels, talk to your local congresscritters when they're in the area, see what their positions are on the issues currently being addressed. Most state governments these days have websites that will help you see what the issues being addressed are. Be informed. Do some research; it takes an hour of your time on a weekend or a day off, and it doesn't change so fast that you need to do it so frequently. And then, when you're informed, have an opinion and make that opinion known. Write to your newspaper. Write to your congresscritter, both local and overall state. Vote. I cannot stress that part enough, fucking vote. If you can. And make sure you vote informed. Make sure you pay attention not to the TV commercials, which are usually good for search term collecting but little else, but to the person's voting history and where they say they stand on certain issues versus what legislation they've enacted or pushed for before, what they've done. Their history. It takes only a few hours in an election year, local elections or state. It's not that hard, especially these days, with the internet and all its bounty. It's like doing your taxes, you might not want to do it, but once you've done it then you know, and contrary to what the news would have you believe politicians don't flip flop all over the place that quickly or that often. Some do. But not all.
And once you've gotten informed, even if you don't vote, talk to people. And even more important than talking, listen. Ask questions. Listen to the answers. Make your opinion heard, and respect the opinions of other people as well. Some of them will disagree, and that's fine. Part of, an increasingly big part of why Scott Walker is getting so much flak these days is because he flat out refuses to compromise with people who disagree with him. Don't be that guy. Sen. Fitzgerald wrote a very rude letter to Sen. Miller telling him, essentially, to shut up and get back in line and get railroaded. Don't be that guy. Listen. Learn. Get informed, discuss, talk, and make your voice heard. Make your voice heard respectfully. Supposedly, last I checked, the United States of America was a democracy. And a functional democracy can't exist without two things: people willing to make their voices heard and register their opinion, and people willing to listen to the opinions of others so things can get done.
I'm not saying you have to agree with me. Hell, it should be pretty easy to see where I stand from my colorful commentary and what articles I've chosen to link to. But I am saying that I want you to at least read the bills, read some US history, know where this is coming from and think about what it's leading to, and then talk and debate and listen to other people's theories, because for sure they have them. Respect, and knowledge, and informed opinions, and making full use of this amazing creation called a democracy. Because it's a beautiful thing, it really is. I do believe that.
Ohio
* Senate Bill 5
* The Cincinnati Enquirer and a couple other news stations have an AP report summarizing the last few days of the bill and announcing the hearings to start Tuesday afternoon, continuing Wednesday and Thursday. Vouchers will be issued to members of the public who want to attend.
* WHIO TV is airing a special report tonight at 7pm on the financial crisis in Ohio, for all those who are in the area and might want to see it.
* The Columbus Dispatch describes Kasich readying his State of the State speech. They also reported on a protest over Senate Bill 5.
* Local news also reports on a different rally in Cleveland, with Al Sharpton.
Indiana
* This IndyStar article describes one of the bills the Democrats object to, which would put a state-determined cap on tuition costs. This other article describes more potential fallout from the voucher bill.
* A local news channel reports on fines still to be levied, with the added tidbit that apparently some State Senators have been back in their home districts for a bit.
* The Post-Tribune has an article describing a historical author's point of view. The author asserts that mismanagement, not unions, are to blame for the current economic crisis and that to handicap unions is to set even non-union workers back decades in terms of legal and social progress.
Iowa
* The Quad-City Times reports that a big crowd is expected for the public hearing tonight on the bill restricting collective bargaining rights.
* The same paper also reports that Gov. Terry Brandstad issued an executive order decreeing that state agencies must issue a job-impact statement whenever they write new regulations.
New Jersey
Nothing new on New Jersey at the moment. Still watching there, though, so I leave this here as a place-holder.
Tennessee
* People's World covers a rally by Tennessee teachers and also gives bill numbers for the bills in question being protested. Those bills are: HB 159/SB 136, HB 130/SB 113, HB 367/SB 0624, SB 102/HB 565, HB 160/SB 139, HB 598/SB 630.
* The Tennessean goes into some discussion of the Democrats and Republicans' arguments over job creation plans.
Now featuring: Michigan Fuckery! (thanks to
lireavue)* Voice of Detroit: House Bill 4214 in Michigan. "It permits the installation of a local dictator, subject to no laws except that they answer to the state treasurer, for a municipal government in a state of "financial emergency" (as determined by the state government). This person is then empowered to sell off any public assets belonging to the city, unilaterally change any contract the city has made, fire any appointed official, overrule any elected official, and disincorporate the city."
* Here is an article from the Voice of Detroit.
* And here is some testimony
Not so much today, but since a lot of these bills are in hearings and discussions now, that's to be expected. At some point this week I'll go over all the states again and make sure nothing else is going on that I/you should be aware of.
One of the hardest things about doing these link roundups is that these aren't my states. These aren't always your states. Sometimes this isn't even your country. ... Possibly a lot of the time, I've lost track of the percentage of USians to non-USians on my flist. And sometimes it's hard to think what you can do, and sometimes it's hard to care.
But I've brought this up before, and this is exactly why it's true: the importance of staying informed. You can do this. You can read these articles, do your own searching, read the bill text and ask for help interpreting them. You can look at your local news channels, talk to your local congresscritters when they're in the area, see what their positions are on the issues currently being addressed. Most state governments these days have websites that will help you see what the issues being addressed are. Be informed. Do some research; it takes an hour of your time on a weekend or a day off, and it doesn't change so fast that you need to do it so frequently. And then, when you're informed, have an opinion and make that opinion known. Write to your newspaper. Write to your congresscritter, both local and overall state. Vote. I cannot stress that part enough, fucking vote. If you can. And make sure you vote informed. Make sure you pay attention not to the TV commercials, which are usually good for search term collecting but little else, but to the person's voting history and where they say they stand on certain issues versus what legislation they've enacted or pushed for before, what they've done. Their history. It takes only a few hours in an election year, local elections or state. It's not that hard, especially these days, with the internet and all its bounty. It's like doing your taxes, you might not want to do it, but once you've done it then you know, and contrary to what the news would have you believe politicians don't flip flop all over the place that quickly or that often. Some do. But not all.
And once you've gotten informed, even if you don't vote, talk to people. And even more important than talking, listen. Ask questions. Listen to the answers. Make your opinion heard, and respect the opinions of other people as well. Some of them will disagree, and that's fine. Part of, an increasingly big part of why Scott Walker is getting so much flak these days is because he flat out refuses to compromise with people who disagree with him. Don't be that guy. Sen. Fitzgerald wrote a very rude letter to Sen. Miller telling him, essentially, to shut up and get back in line and get railroaded. Don't be that guy. Listen. Learn. Get informed, discuss, talk, and make your voice heard. Make your voice heard respectfully. Supposedly, last I checked, the United States of America was a democracy. And a functional democracy can't exist without two things: people willing to make their voices heard and register their opinion, and people willing to listen to the opinions of others so things can get done.
I'm not saying you have to agree with me. Hell, it should be pretty easy to see where I stand from my colorful commentary and what articles I've chosen to link to. But I am saying that I want you to at least read the bills, read some US history, know where this is coming from and think about what it's leading to, and then talk and debate and listen to other people's theories, because for sure they have them. Respect, and knowledge, and informed opinions, and making full use of this amazing creation called a democracy. Because it's a beautiful thing, it really is. I do believe that.