Author: Moe_Lane

#rsrh This David Wu thing has gone on long enough.

If the man was blacking out and wandering around unattended on Election Day because of his reaction to “a common mental health drug” – do I even want to know what that’s an euphemism for? – and if this is part of a pattern of behavior that led to the end of his marriage and the mass resignation of his staff*… then maybe this guy shouldn’t be a Congressman.

Moe Lane

PS: Even in Oregon, “crazy” should not beat “Republican.”  Just to make that clear.

*Who, by the way, don’t get any credit for that, given that they all deliberately went and got somebody who they all think is crazy re-elected.  We’re just all fortunate that David Wu’s apparently fragile mental state is more conducive towards “dressing like a tiger” than it is something more, ah, problematical…

Right-to-work coming to Maine?

That’s the plan, at least.  The current situation in Maine is as follows: people don’t have to belong to a union to work, but non-union employees (both private and public sector) may still have to pay the unions a ‘service fee.’ This supposedly represents the recouping of the cost of unions ‘representing’ non-union members in labor disputes – whether or not the non-union members wanted to be part of the labor dispute in the first place – and it’s a common feature in contract negotiations in Maine.  There’s legislation going through the state legislature right now to close that loophole; new Maine governor Paul LePage (R) is enthusiastically supporting it.

Whether this will work or not will largely be up to the Maine grassroots.  Maine is currently majority-Republican in both houses of the state legislature, but it’s, well, Maine: I found LePage to be pretty tough-minded, but there’s a limit to how much he can do without legislative backup.  And, needless to say, the unions have already begun the usual reactionary Koch conspiracy theorizing.  Everybody involved is expecting a fight; and the impression is that Governor LePage, at least, is looking forward to it.  Interesting times ahead…

Moe Lane (crosspost)

Wisconsin GOP Senate fights dirty.

Which they should.

They’ve taken over the approving of time sheets and photocopier requests for staffers of AWOL Wisconsin legislators.  The ballot can be found here; the photocopier restrictions are particularly rigorous, given that the staffers in question will have to go get permission every time they want to make a copy.  Speaking as somebody who has worked in an office that generated a lot of paperwork, that restriction is downright vicious.

But is it petty?  No.  Petty is Democratic state senators literally hiding from their job responsibilities – and risking the jobs of their constituents – because union bosses demand it of them*.  This is merely a sign that said Senators’ colleagues are getting tired of pretending that their hiding is acceptable behavior.  Or particularly mature.

Via @kevinbinversie.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

*In 2010, the currently-hiding Wisconsin state senators received roughly one-fifth of their total campaign contributions from union sources.  Explains a lot, doesn’t it?

#rsrh Libyan insurgents turn the taps back on.

The report is that they’re shipping crude again: which is almost certainly at least partially propaganda, but what the hell.  I was merely willing to let Qaddafi keep his life in exchange for him ending his nuke program; I’m perfectly happy to alter the deal now.

By the way: when this is over, I’d like to have the status of the Lockerbie bomber… clarified.  I’m willing to pay a little extra for that.

Via Ace of Spades HQ.

Moe Lane