Michigan to Test Welfare Recipients for Drug Use

Michigan Governor Snyder. Ain't he a peach?
Image from source, Think Progress

There are reasons why Republicans have a reputation for being both tight-asses and just flat mean. Here's one, in fairly bold letters. There is no particular evidence that welfare recipients are larger than average drug users as a population (in fact some studies show the opposite). So, what is the point of this kind of legislation, exactly? Shaming? And hey, where are all of the conservative "values" people when the children of those found to be using drugs are denied food and medicine? What about the children?

And of course, I'd like to know if any government assistance should require drug testing of recipients? Corporate welfare, perhaps? Why not?

[Excerpt]

Michigan Governor Signs Bill Requiring Drug Testing Of Welfare Recipients
 
Welfare recipients in some Michigan counties will soon be tested if they’re suspected of using drugs, under a set of bills signed into law by Gov. Rick Snyder this week. The Senate and House bills, which were signed into law Friday, will create a yearlong pilot program in three counties that will screen welfare recipients and applicants to determine whether or not they’re suspected of using drugs. If they are, the applicants or recipients must submit to a drug test. If the test comes back positive, they will be referred to a treatment program, and if they choose not to enter the program, they will lose their welfare benefits. Applicants and recipients will also lose their eligibility for welfare benefits for six months. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

The Gay Thing: Louisiana Votes to Retain Sodomy Law

There are pockets of mean and pockets of stupid in this country. And they tend to make news, and they often converge. For what other reason than a blend of stupidity and meanness would a state keep a law on the books that was ruled unconstitutional more than a decade ago? But Louisiana did it, retaining a law against sodomy. Which means, the conservative government of the Bayou State wants government big enough to peek into your bedroom, and let you know that only state approved sex acts are allowed.

[Excerpt]

Louisiana House votes 27-66 to keep unconstitutional anti-sodomy law on the books

The Louisiana House of Representatives rejected legislation, on Tuesday, that would remove the state's symbolic ban on certain kinds of sodomy. The bill failed by a wide margin on a vote of 27-67, with 11 members not voting. . .

Read more at: The Times-Picayune

2 Hours After SCOTUS Decision, Texas Moves to Suppress Minority Voters

Texas shows how fast it can execute a dick move.
Image from source, Think Progress.

Emboldened by the Supreme Court decision to remove part of the Voter Rights Act of 1965, the State of Texas is moving forward with distracting maps that would previously have violated the act. The maps were already blocked last year for being discriminatory to minority voters, so I'd imagine they remain discriminatory. They're just legal now.

So, it took two hours for Texas to prove SCOTUS wrong. The law was still necessary, obviously. And my theory that Republicans are just trying to out-mean each other stands.

[Excerpt]

Two Hours After The Supreme Court Gutted The Voting Rights Act, Texas AG Suppresses Minority Voters

Just two hours after the Supreme Court reasoned that discrimination is not rampant enough in Southern states to warrant restrictions under the Voting Rights Act, Texas is already advancing a voter ID law and a redistricting map blocked last year for discriminating against black and Latino residents. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott issued a statement declaring that both measures may go into effect immediately, now that there is no law stopping them from discriminating against minorities. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Wisconsin Flies Trans-Vaginal

Wisconsin Governor Scott Wanker Walker.
Image from source, ThinkProgress.org.

I'm still trying to figure out a) why Republicans go all "my way, or the highway," mean as hell, not afraid to appear douchey, you can just suck it when they get power, and b) why voters seem to forget that they act this way when they get power, and continue to vote them in.

And, I'm still trying to figure out what is accomplished by squashing access to birth control, restricting family planning access, pushing "abstinence only" education, something known to be a failure. . .and then also want to squash all access to abortion. It makes no kind of sense. And the dirty little secret is, Republicans have abortions too. I know this sort of legislation makes the shrinking base of the Republican Party have conservagasms, but what does it do to the rest of the populace? How do moderate Republican women, independent women, and unaffiliated women take this sort of draconian, anti-woman legislation? And why do the Republicans have to be such overt asses while they're passing this crap?

[Excerpt]

Scott Walker Endorses Mandating Transvaginal Ultrasounds And Shutting Down Abortion Clinics

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) has thrown his support behind an anti-abortion measure that’s currently moving through the state legislature, saying he will sign the bill into law if it makes it to his desk. SB 206 would require women to undergo an ultrasound before getting an abortion — which would mandate an invasive transvaginal probe for some of the women who seek early abortions in their first trimester — and force one of the state’s last abortion clinics to close its doors. . .

Read more at: ThinkProgress

And check out this guy:

New Mexico Governor Vetos Military Bill, Passes One Minus "The Gay"

She's just a joy. Image from Salon.

Have you heard? Social issues as a wedge issue are passé. Yep, the Republicans have decided they're not going to be the "stupid party" any more, and dial it way back on all that stuff. Except they're not. At least at the state level, they've got the far-right social stuff cranked up to eleven baby! Have you paid attention to the news the last few weeks (let alone the past two years)? You've got North Carolina wanting to institute their own state religion. There was Virginia trying to reinstate sodomy laws. In Kansas, they're shoving through blatantly unconstitutional anti-abortion laws, including "personhood" for fertilized eggs. And assorted and sundry similar bills all over the country.

Somehow, the GOP has the beltway press looking at the shiny "we've changed" national image, while the dirty work--often the flat-out mean-spirited work--is happening in the states. The most recent one is out of New Mexico, and it just defies even my low expectations for Republican legislation.

Governor Susana Martinez vetoed a bill that would help all military families with employment. Then, she passed an identical bill, except that it doesn't include spouses of gay servicepeople. Ain't that nice? In 2013. So, next time you hear someone say that gay people get all the rights and benefits that straight people do, remember this story. Next time you hear that the GOP has changed its stripes, think of this story. And chalk up one more stupid example of outright meanness from the Grand Old Party.

One more thing. My Republican mother--who is very distressed by my liberalness--assures me that Republicans aren't really anti-gay, by and large. It's a tiny but loud minority, and they're dying off she says. I'm not seeing it.

[Excerpt]

New Mexico governor vetoes bill to help families of gay soldiers

Republican governor and gay marriage opponent Susana Martinez has vetoed a Senate bill to help the families of gay service members obtain professional licenses in New Mexico. After issuing the pocket veto, Martinez signed an identical version of the measure that would only streamline the process for straight spouses. . .

Read more at: Salon

Why Aren't Conservatives Funny?

Yuck. Image from source, The Big Slice

I've visited this topic several times, and I still don't have a perfect answer to the question, why isn't conservative "humor" funny? FOX "News" tried a humor-themed program years ago called the 1/2-hour News Hour, and it was famously dreadful. FOX's RedEye lasted longer, but even their best attempts at humor were usually equally offensive, and often times hateful. Dennis Miller jumped from moderate/liberal to conservative, and promptly became as subtle as an anvil, and deathly unfunny. And not coincidentally, his best gig these days is the same FOX "News." If you seek out conservative humor on far-right sites like FreeRepublic.com, you'd better have a tough constitution, and absolutely no ability to be offended. To say they have a mean-spirited streak would be to undersell it, and point out the very, very obvious.

The best answer from the article excerpted below is that conservative humor lacks empathy. Even scathing, balls-out humor needs to have self-deprecation, and empathy to be tolerable. Yes, there are "shock" comics throughout comedy history like Andrew Dice Clay, Don Rickles and Lisa Lampenelli. But everyone knew Rickles' act was schtick, and that Lisa really digs black guys and gay people. Clay was a different story, though clearly a character like Pee-Wee Herman or Elvira. But Clay burned out, didn't he? He had no empathy, no self deprecation. His humor was abrasive, and guilty funny, but it became old and tired quickly. Conservative humor doesn't even garner guilty funny, and it sounds old at the very beginning. But I'll boil it down beyond all of that: conservatives are mean. Mean without empathy is not funny.

[Excerpt]

Why Conservatives Aren’t Funny

Something conservatives lack when it comes to politics is humor.  Everyone takes their politics seriously, but conservatives, whether of the home-spun or Paul Ryan variety, pride themselves in being serious and straightforward.  It is this iron(y) deficiency that makes for a stolid political class and an almost completely humorless pack of pundits. . .

Read more at:  The Big Slice

Jan Brewer Wants Supreme Court to End Gay Employees' Benefits

Just mean. Image from source, The Advocate.

Lately, I've been using the term "meanness" a lot when referring to Republicans and their policies and pronouncements. Need I give a better example than Governor Jan Brewer? For what reason would a governor actively pursue taking benefits away from employees and their families? What drives such behavior, besides meanness?


[Excerpt]


Jan Brewer Asks Supreme Court To Strip Benefits of Same-Sex Partners

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a ruling which provides  domestic-partner benefits to same-sex partners of state employees. . .

Read more at: The Advocate

Why All the Love for Chris Christie?

I'll be honest, the number one reason this post is here on my page is for the hilarious/scary picture of New Jersey Behemoth Governor Chris Christie. He is emblematic to me of the inherent and seemingly increasing meanness of today's Republican Party.  He is also a shining example of a right-wing hero that is viewed with amusement and/or horror by the left. When I think of the caliber of right-wing hero--Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Joe the Plumber, Scott Walker, the late Andrew Breitbart, James O'Keefe, Joe Walsh, Rick Scott, and on, and on--I am confused, amused and horrified among many other emotions. And then, the actual leaders: Mitch McConnell, John Boehner. . .really?


Christie is a little different. He's an outsized (sorry) personality, with hints of self-deprecation, a sense of humor, and an air of intelligence. But there's that mean streak. I think the authoritarian lurch the right has taken over the last several years has created the belief that meanness is a virtue. Rudeness is now refreshing. Being an asshole is revered. It's a strange world.

[Excerpt]


Chris Christie Blows Up At Jersey Shore Heckler


Chris Christie's temper strikes again.  While on vacation with his family in Seaside Heights, N.J. on Thursday, the Republican governor lashed out at a passerby who, according to TMZ, made a derisive comment about his education policies. . .

Read more (with video) at: Huffington Post

Supreme Court Cuts Down Arizona Immigration Law

Keeping up with the Cardassians.

The Supreme Court has had everyone on pins and needles for the last several days, promising to release opinions, tantalizing us with a few, and saving the rest for later. Most of the big stuff is out, except for the ruling on the health care mandate. That, it would seem, they are saving until the very last minute. So, more on that later.

Meanwhile, Governor Bone-finger Jan Brewer was kind of smacked down by the Supremes, with her crowning achievement largely gutted. She played it off like a win, but it wasn't. Three fourths of it was declared unconstitutional, and the fourth part is still under review. I'm glad the law is mostly done away with, because it just seemed like one of the top ten ways Republicans can be mean (in an endless list), and it just isn't necessary. And, while I can hardly tolerate Jan Brewer's fake-gloating, it's better than real gloating, and I'm sure she's not so happy-clappy on the inside.

[Excerpt]


High court strikes down key parts of Arizona immigration law

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

. . .The justices struck down three other parts of the law:

• One making it a crime for an illegal immigrant to work or to seek work in Arizona;
• One which authorized state and local officers to arrest people without a warrant if the officers have probable cause to believe a person is an illegal immigrant;
• And one that made it a state requirement for immigrants to register with the federal government. . .

 Read more at: MSNBC

WTF is Wrong With Iowa Republicans?

In my last post about the birthers, I gave you a link to where all birther conspiracy theories are thoroughly debunked. While there myself, I found a post about the Iowa Republican Party's potential platform planks (Iowa is partial to birtherism, of all things). So, I'm taking Dr. Conspiracy's paraphrasings of the planks--which are more concise--and making my own comments.  I'll have a link at the end to the actual list, so you can check if you think the paraphrasings are wrong. As you read, note the inherent meanness toward anything but the hardline Christian/Conservative mindset.


I feel I have the right to criticize Iowa, since I'm (gay!) married to an Iowan. And it is legal there!  Keep in mind, this is a partial list! Reducing font size for length, so put your readers on. Mmmkay?

Here we go. . .

4b: No ternerders!

1. No school activities on Sundays or Wednesday nights [when Baptists hold Prayer Meeting].
   Ludicrous. Why do Baptists get special treatment? All religions or none.
2. No mandatory school attendance.
   Sorry, this one is bananas. Even if it's the dreaded home schoolers, kids have to go to school.
3. No voting by non-tax-paying out-of-state college students.
   Why? This is suspiciously like "must be a property owner to vote." It's just wrong.
4. Mandatory ultrasound prior to abortion, which should be outlawed anyway.
   Again, why? It is medically unnecessary, and intended to inflict shame. Since when is "shame" the intent of a law?
5. No stem sell research.
   Why?
6. Abolition of the Department of Agriculture.
   Sure. Because agriculture should be utterly free of regulation. Again, why?
7. Abolish all farm subsidies.
   In Iowa? I can't imagine this is a universal opinion there.
8. Oppose UN Agenda 21 (a popular conspiracy theory related to the New World Order) on sustainable development. It is described as “diabolical.”
   Boogity boogity!
9. No regulation of dust by the EPA.
   As a resident of the Mojave Desert, I find this one particularly ridiculous. If you can control the dust, you should control the dust. Be reasonable about it, not black or white.
   
10. Ban foreign corporations from owing Iowa farm land.
    Why don't we ban foreign corporations from donating to candidates? Hmm? Would be a little more important.
11. No money for bike trails until the federal deficit is eliminated.
    Errr. . .hunh?
12. No government money to ACORN, AARP, ACLU and Planned Parenthood and anyone else who lobbies against the platform.
    ACORN is gone. The rest. . .have to agree with you? Compromise really is dead.
13. No federal money for public broadcasting
    Death to Big Bird! Spoilsports.
14. Support a landlord’s right to refuse to lease on “moral grounds.”
    Yes, because we should be free to be bigots! And if we find black people or Hispanic people or Jewish people to be "immoral," who are you to tell us no?
15. No “hate crime” laws.
    Again, they want to be free to hate.
16. No Sharia, or other foreign laws.
    Yep. Nothing from that there Jerusalem area. . .Nazareth either.
17. No smoking bans.
    Cough! Cough! Idiots.
18. No First Amendment protection for pornography.
    Well, now you've gone too far. Even right wingers like porn. Idiots.
19. Eliminate the Federal Department of Education.
    Duuuuhhhhhh. . .
20. No regulation of private schools or home schooling by the Iowa Department of Education.
    Damn straight! People ought to be able to teach any ol' thing they want to their chillen! Idiots.
21. No teaching of “multiculturalism” in public school.
    Oh, that would be dreadful.
22. Education “purely returned to a free market system.”
    Yeah, I have no idea what that means.
23. No reporting requirements for home schooling families.
    Sure! Let 'em just say whatever and boom! You graduate! WTF? Idiots.
24. Balanced presentation of evolution and creationism in public schools. “Darwinian evolution is only a theory and not a scientific fact.”
    Creationism is not science. Any party--anybody who thinks this is a good idea is crushingly stupid.
25. Tax-funded libraries must include “intelligent design” and creationism books.
    Ditto #24.
26. Parents may opt-out their children from health screenings and surveys.
    I. . .um. . WTF?
27. No school clubs based on sexual orientation.
    Okay! No straight clubs, whatsoever!
28. Repeal “No Child Left Behind.”
    Hmmm. . .a Bush Era policy? Weird.
29. Oppose anti-bullying laws. Students should stand up for themselves.
    Fuck 'em!
30. Repeal the 17th Amendment (direct election of US Senators)
    Yes, because voting is bad. Have I said they're idiots?
31. Abolition of the US Department of Energy
    Abolition of the US Government! Why not?
32. No regulation of greenhouse gasses or carbon dioxide.
    I'll stop the world, and melt with you!
33. Claims of human-based globing warming are “fraudulent.”
    Based on what, geniuses? Your track record as evidenced by this list, is thin.
34. More deer hunting licenses.
    Fuck yeah!
35. Parents have a right to know what their children read at the library.
    Oh, and on the internets! Them Googles and Tumblrs are all writed by fagitz!
36. The US should drop out of the United Nations.
    Yes. We should be quitters like Sarah Palin.
37. End foreign aid.
    All of it! And put a fence around the whole country!
38. Oppose any revision of the original intent of the US Constitution (except for a few Constitutional amendments called for in the platform)
    Back to 3/5 of a person for some people then. Idiots.
39. “We support Congressional action, including an Amendment to the United States Constitution if needed, to repeal the 1943 (sic) Wicker (sic) vs. Filburn ruling by a divided US Supreme Court cowed by Democrat FDR’s “court-packing attack” which set in motion ever-increasing misuse of the Commerce Clause in Article 1, Section 8.”
    Yeah, that's going to be a tough sell. Imagine trying to explain that to America, and getting them to pass it.
40. Public display of the Ten Commandments.
    Wrong. 100% wrong. Especially if you're bitching about "Sharia Law."
41. Return money to the gold and/or silver standard.
    Impossible for lots of reasons, but as I said. . .idiots.
42. Impeach judges who rule in favor of same-sex marriage.
    Awfully specific, wouldn't you say?
43. Eliminate the Department of Homeland security
    America! Fuck no!
44. Eliminate the Department of Housing and Urban Development
    America! Fuck no!
45. Eliminate the Department of Labor
    America! Fuck no!
46. Eliminate the Department of Commerce.
    America! Fuck no!
47. Eliminate the Department of the Interior
    America! Fuck no!
48. Eliminate the TSA, FDA, ATF, EPA, the National Endowment for the Arts, Fannie Mad and Freddie Mac.
    America! Fuck no!
49. The US Census should only count citizens.
    Yes. It should have no statistical relevance whatsoever. Just count us, dammit!
50. Juries instructed that they may consider questions of law as well as fact.
    This one sounds fine, but I'm quite sure I don't trust these people after 50 of these. They're up to something on this one.
51. No federal regulation of guns manufactured in Iowa for use in the state.
    None! Get yourself a nuclear warhead if you want it! And you can be crazy, or a felon. . .but not a fag.
52. People with concealed carry permits may take their guns to school.
    Capital idea. Nothing bad could come from this idea.
53. Repeal the “allopathic medicine” monopoly.
    So, what? They want witch doctors? Apothecaries?
54. “Philosophic exemption” for childhood vaccination requirements.
    Oh, why? Can't you leave your kids out of your crazy hallucinations?
55. End the “Patriot Act.”
    First thing I've agreed with entirely. But again, suspicious.
56. Oppose any military draft.
    This one I seriously don't get. Don't they freakin' "support the troops" and love war?
57. Drug testing for all persons on public assistance.
    Just to be mean. No other reason.
58. Opt-out of the Social Security system until it is privatized.
    Fucking nuts.
59. Anchor babies are not citizens.
    And babies are not anchors. Sickos.
60. The Supreme Court not have jurisdiction over cases related to marriage.
    Why the hell not? Does Loving vs. Virginia bother you that much? On what Constitutional grounds could this possibly be based on?
61. No “no-fault divorce.”
    Oh wow, good luck with that, goobers. On this one you are at least putting your money where your teeth should be.
62. No minimum wage.
    Yay, slave labor!
63. No public employee unions.
    Yay, slave labor!
64. Repeal of various financial reforms: Davis-Bacon, Sarbanes-Oxley, Dodd-Frank.
    Yep. Because lax regulations worked so well in 2008.
65. Abolish the IRS and repeal the 16th Amendment (Income Tax Amendment).
    Who needs fire departments, police departments, roads, the military. . .
66. Abolish the Alternative Minimum Tax
    Why?
67. Eliminate estate, gift and inheritance taxes, and let heirs avoid capital gains when they sell appreciated inherited property.
    Yes, no tax! Every man for himself!
68. No unmanned cameras allowed to enforce traffic regulations.
    Wow, the last one is kinda random. I'm out of outrage, so whatever.

I'm frankly surprised that there wasn't more antigay stuff here, though it is plain. In any event, I wouldn't want to live in any state or country where even a majority of these things were made law. What a horrible, theocratic, stick-up-the-ass, Footloose town-that-can't-dance world it would be. Don't fall for it, Iowa!

Here are the links to the paraphrased list above, and the real one.

Obama Conspiracy Theories

Republican Party of Iowa Platform Committee Report

North Carolina Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment is Mean

Image from source, TPM

In my ongoing theme, Republicans are just freaking mean, comes this story. I know the source is a week old, but it really does point out what I'm saying. North Carolina has a amendment to their state constitution up for a vote that doesn't just ban same-sex marriage (something already in NC law), it undoes and prevents every other type of domestic partnership.

Why? Please tell me, besides meanness, why? Come on, you "small government" conservatives! Admit it, you just like being mean.

[Excerpt]


Beyond Gay Marriage: North Carolina Amendment Carries Massive Implications


When North Carolina holds an election on May 8, voters won’t merely be deciding the fate of same-sex marriage in the state; they will be voting on an amendment with implications that could affect gay and straight couples alike. . . 

Read more at: Talking Points Memo

Georgia Passes Drug Testing for Welfare

Eric Cantor has nothing to do with this story, but sort
of epitomizes the "meanness" I'm talking about.

I've been saying for a long time--at least as long as the life of this blog--that one of the most prominent aspects of conservative/Republican policies is meanness. There seems to be a competition between Republican legislators to see who can be the meanest. Vaginal probes. Voter restrictions. Stand your ground. Often, they have very reasonable sounding justifications for their policies. Which is understandable, since they are focus tested and word sculpted by think tanks, ALEC and Frank Luntz within an inch of their being.

But Voter ID laws didn't arise from public outcry or the specter of voter fraud. They were engineered to limit certain segments of the voting public from voting. Vaginal probes aren't necessary medically or for any other reasons. They're mandated to shame women who'd dare go through a (legal) abortion. And these "drug tests for welfare" laws have nothing to do with the actual percentage of recipients who are drug users. It's another shaming technique. It's mean. You think we'd have learned our lesson from the Tom DeLay/Karl Rove/Dick Cheney era of politics, that Republicans given power are just f***ing mean.

[Excerpt]


Georgia signs welfare drug-testing bill into law

Georgia’s Governor Nathan Deal has signed House Bill 861 into law, a controversial measure which will require drug testing of all applicants for public assistance, according to the Associated Press. The Social Responsibility and Accountability Act was passed by the state’s deliberative bodies in votes that broke down along party lines, then signed by Governor Deal on Monday night. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

Steven Weber: Fear Fracking

I haven't posted a piece by Steven Weber in quite a while. I've often said that the actor/writer writes like I think. . .If only my thoughts came out that well. Though I was slightly troubled by his revelation of a friendship with Andrew Breitbart (wow), his writing nearly always hits a bulls eye for me.

Anyway, I've been trying to figure out what the flying frack is going on with the GOP/Conservatives these days. To me, their unrelenting meanness--as evidenced by the late Andrew Breitbart and still-with-us Rush Limbaugh--is their brand now.  

Test welfare recipients for drugs! What, they don't use drugs more than other people? Who cares, test 'em anyway!

Actor/writer Steven Weber

All women who use birth control are sluts!

Gay people are evil!

On and on. But Steven's theory is fear. And fear may really be the root of it. Fear stokes other negative emotions, and can surely make a person mean. Make the people scared of the poor: They're drug users! Make them scared of "loose women." Make them scared of "teh gay." And you'll make them angry. And mean. And when you treat what they fear with meanness, you inspire a "they deserve it" reaction. I think ol' Brian from Wings is on to something here.

[Excerpt]


Fear Fracking 

I suppose it could be said that Rush Limbaugh and his brethren (and sistren) in the right-wing corporate media who regularly sculpt human behavior and current events into an unabashedly cruel and particularly paranoid narrative, only to then regurgitate it to their fact-starved audience like owls disgorging mouse-viscera into the open twitching beaks of its young, are only doing so because "It"'s there. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

DNC Ad Highlights Rowdy GOP Debate Crowds

Actually, this seems a little bit late. I have to wonder though, if in the next couple of debates, the crowds are admonished to shut the f up!

Texas Bans Last Meal Requests for Death Row Inmates

Even Jesus got a last meal.

Is it my imagination, or does it seem that politicians--Republicans in particular--are just getting meaner and meaner? Seemingly meanness just for the sake of it. Let the sick die! Execute more people! Boo a gay soldier! Everything they've been doing seems to be geared toward sticking it to somebody. The latest news is out of Texas, where prisoners about to be executed will no longer be served the last meal of their choice. Which just sounds pointless and mean to me.


Now, in the story excerpted below, you'll find lists of extravagant meals, and I would agree to putting an end to that silliness. But good grief, how hard is it to put a rule list together? Limit it to a meal, a typical meal you might get at a restaurant. Make it standard portion sizes, limit the number of courses. Easy peasy. But it is more Republican to just shut it down all together. It's like in school where one kid acts up, and the teacher punishes the whole class.


[Excerpt]


Special Last Meals: Texas Prisons End Special Last Meals For Inmates Facing Execution 

Texas inmates who are set to be executed will no longer get their choice of last meals, a change prison officials made Thursday after a prominent state senator became miffed over an expansive request from a man condemned for a notorious dragging death. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post