Sunday, May 22, 2016

Oklahoma legislature runs amok

Oklahoma is the reddest state, as measured by the percent of its state elected officials who are Republicans.   But even for them, this week was extreme.

On Thursday, the legislature passed a bill -- without debate and by vote of 33 to 12 -- making it a felony for anyone to perform an abortion.  The only exception would be to save the life of the mother.  Any doctor who performed an abortion could be sent to prison for three years and lose privileges to practice medicine.   The bill is unconstitutional on its face, but that is exactly what its author hoped to do:   start a court challenge to Roe v. Wade.   And, in fact, on Friday, Gov. Mary Fallin, vetoed the bill, even though she herself is a staunch anti-abortion advocate, saying that it was too vague and was unconstitutional.

On Friday, the legislature passed a resolution to have its representative in Congress introduce impeachment proceedings against President Obama and Attorney General Loretta Lynch over the federal guidelines sent out to public schools concerning bathroom use by trans students.

These people and their conservative ilk have run amok.**  And it seems to be catching.   Sen. Tom Cotton, from neighboring Arkansas, said in a speech on Friday, that our country doesn't put enough people in prison, even though we have the highest prison population in the world.

Already, the world is looking at the U.S. as stupid for nominating Donald Trump for the presidency.   Now this.

Ralph

** "running amok" = wildly out of control or causing a frenzy

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