Louisiana Governor Landry calls for a special session to cut business taxes

We come along to Wisconsinwhere we see the benefits of fighting gerrymandered state election maps.

Liberal justices who took control of the Supreme Court in 2023 threw out the maps, clearing the way for Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to establish new boundaries. Democrats made no secret of their thoughts on the new borders on the campaign trail in the summer of 2024 would translate into control of the State Assembly and help them flip enough Senate seats to give them a shot at a majority in that chamber in 2026. The plan largely worked. Democrats failed to take control of the Assembly, but Wednesday’s unofficial results showed they flipped 10 Republican seats, narrowing the Republican Party’s lead to 52 from 64-35 in the previous session -44, while four races were still undecided. Eight of the seats Democrats flipped remained open thanks to retirements and the new maps. They also defeated two Republican incumbents: Tom Michalski, who represented Milwaukee’s western suburbs, and Loren Oldenberg, who represented part of far western Wisconsin south of La Crosse. “Changing a legislative body is not easy, but we have fundamentally changed the status quo in the Legislature and paved the way for more progress in the future,” Democratic Minority Leader Greta Neubauer said in a statement on Nov. 6 . the work continues.”

Hey, beam of light, right?

On to California, where one of America’s deadliest prisons has become more deadly. By The New York Times:

Ms. Upton was the first of 19 inmates in Riverside County jails to die in 2022. That total, the highest the department had reported in at least three decades, ranked the prison system, east of Los Angeles, among the most deadly in the country. that year. The deaths, attributed to homicide, overdose, natural causes or suicide, reflected troubling patterns: neglect by prison staff, access to illegal drugs and cell assignments that put inmates at increased risk of violence or did not allow for close supervision.

The county sheriff’s department sometimes failed to adequately monitor inmates and intervene when they attempted suicide. Guards did not always enforce rules prohibiting inmates with mental illnesses from blocking cell windows and cameras, hampering required security supervision. The department has often isolated inmates with serious mental illness, which can exacerbate suicidal intentions. And the investigation found that the department omitted relevant facts about the deaths in communications with the families of the dead and with the public.

And, as is usually the case in situations like this, there’s a right-wing, tough-talking sheriff in charge here, and he’s a real prize. Mr. Bianco, a veteran of the department, was first elected sheriff in 2018. cast himself as a right-wing rabble-rouser at odds with the state’s left-wing legislature and governor. He has also criticized Attorney General Rob Bonta’s investigation into prison deaths as a “political stunt.” California is one of only three states that allow elected law enforcement officials to oversee coroner’s offices. Until recently, in Riverside County, this meant the sheriff’s department typically investigated jail deaths while also overseeing the pathologists who performed the autopsies. (This year, the department began outsourcing those autopsies.) The final report on cause of death is signed by the sheriff, who also serves as coroner.

This is clearly a terrible idea, offering untold possibilities for mischief and worse.

Mario Solis, who had a history of mental illness, was jailed after a scuffle with a convenience store security guard over a stolen bag of skittles, court records show. In September 2022, his mother, Sara Solis, was told he had died alone in a cell – but nothing else. About six months later, she received the department’s summary report. It included findings from an autopsy conducted days after Mr. Solis, 31, died in the mental health unit of the Murrieta jail. In his mouth and throat were two pencils, a toothbrush, a plastic cap and bars of soap, the report said. Lacerations were also noted on his arms… Sheriff Bianco attributed Mr. Solis’ death to asphyxiation and blood loss after his jugular vein was punctured. He declared the death an accident.

Oh. OK. And we end, as is our custom, in the great state of Oklahoma, from where Blog Official Scrub Brush Topiarist Friedman Of The Plains brings us another narrow one ray of light. By non-doc:

State Rep. Monroe Nichols will become Tulsa’s first black mayor, 103 years after a mob of white Tulsans destroyed Tulsa’s Greenwood District, nicknamed “Black Wall Street.” Nichols defeated longtime Democratic County Commissioner Karen Keith with 76,300 votes (55.62 percent) to her 60,873 votes (44.38 percent). He campaigned to end homelessness in Tulsa by 2030, increase development and end hostile lawsuits with tribal governments. A former University of Tulsa football player from Texas, Nichols (D-Tulsa) began his political career working for Tulsa’s last Democratic mayor, Kathy Taylor. After an unsuccessful run for the House of Representatives in 2008, he was elected to represent House District 72 in 2016. His term in the House ends later this month and he will be sworn in as GT Bynum’s successor on Monday, December 2. , as the 41st mayor of Tulsa.

The elections in Tulsa were the reason for this the most moving testimony to the best instincts of the country.

“I don’t know how long I have left. But if this is my last ballot, I’m grateful it’s for Kamala Harris. I have five children and more than twenty grandchildren. VP Harris has the better chance to build the nation I want them to inherit. My grandchildren deserve a world where caring for their parents is not a financial struggle, medicine is affordable and women are free. And all our children deserve a president who will inspire them to learn from history, not a tyrant who will try to erase it.

“The gang that killed my neighbors in Greenwood was so angry, and this country is at risk of that same anger taking over its soul again. But voters can say no to a politician who pushes white people to turn against their darker neighbors. Voters can say no to giving rogue police officers complete immunity to terrorize us. We can say no to the candidates who deprive students of the freedom to learn about our country’s past. As voters, we must protect our children from politicians who believe that retaliation and violence are virtues. Because I lived through that nightmare. And believe me, we can’t afford to go back.”

THAT is your democracy, America. Cherish it.