(Permanent Musical Accompaniment to This Post)


Being our semi-regular weekly survey of what's goin' down in the several states where, as we know, the real work of governmentin' gets done and where the rifleman's stalking the sick and the lame.

We begin in Arkansas, where a group with the distinctly unpromising name of Arkansans For Limited Government tried to place on the November ballot a measure that truly would have limited that state government's ability to regulate a woman's right to personal autonomy. Of course, this fell dead square in the middle of the Margin Of Chicanery. From The New York Times:


Less than a week ago, organizers said they had successfully submitted more than 101,000 signatures in support of the effort, a few thousand more than the required minimum. Last Friday, the day of the deadline, they triumphantly dropped off boxes of petitions, cheering in the halls of the State Capitol. But in a letter on Wednesday, John Thurston, the secretary of state, said the group had failed to submit a sworn statement both identifying paid canvassers by name and confirming that those canvassers had been properly educated on how to collect signatures. "The first part of our review is to ensure that the sponsor has complied with all statutory requirements for submitting a petition,” Mr. Thurston wrote. “Because you failed at this first step, it is my duty to reject your submission.”

Needless to say, the people behind the initiative see a MAGA in the woodpile.

“More than 101,000 Arkansans participated in this heroic act of direct democracy and stood up to proclaim their support for access to healthcare,” said AFLG. “They deserve better than a state government that seeks to silence them. We will fight this ridiculous disqualification attempt with everything we have. We will not back down.”

There's a similar fight brewing in Montana. Leave It To The States doesn't seem to be a well-thought-out plan. Not that it matters to the delightful souls who brought us to this pass.

We move down the river to Louisiana, where a new Depositionland theme park was opened last month when the state mandated that the 10 Commandments be hung in all public school classrooms. What say we all set some taxpayer money on fire? From the AP:

A group of parents of Louisiana public school students representing various faiths filed the lawsuit last month, soon after Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed the new law. In motions filed Monday, their attorneys asked for a preliminary injunction blocking the law. They sought an expedited briefing and hearing schedule that would require the state to respond to the request for an injunction by July 19 and for a hearing on July 29. Public schools open in August.

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, who is a fanatic, has been begging for lawsuits so he can bear witness before federal courts far and wide. On every Louisianan's dime. At least the Kingfish's graft got roads built.

And we conclude, as is our custom, in the great state of Oklahoma, whence Blog Official jaybird couturier Friedman of the Plains brings us a tale of bureaucratic shenanigans in which everybody running a prison pretends they're not home when the doorbell rings. From News4 in Oklahoma City:


An assistant Oklahoma County District Attorney claimed the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) “exceeded its authority” when its inspectors showed up unannounced to inspect the Oklahoma County Detention Center (OCDC) on Tuesday morning...Now, activists are calling for a criminal investigation into the jail’s leadership and for the United States Department of Justice to take over the jail “It’s not that hard to see that the county is completely negligent, that the United States Department of Justice needs to take this jail over effective immediately,” said Christopher Johnston, a member of the People’s Council for Justice Reform.

Classic low-level Trumpism: Legal requirements becoming a nuisance? Just ignore the little bastids.

This is your democracy, America. Cherish it.