A couple of interesting stories from Iowa... See, not all of the midwest is bug-house slug-nutty.
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Governor Vilsack to restore felons' voting rights
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
June 17, 2005
Gov. Tom Vilsack said Friday that he soon will sign an
executive order restoring voting rights to convicted felons who have served their sentence.
‘‘This action we take is not going to be a pardon,’’ Vilsack said.
The governor said only four other states prohibit felons from voting after completing their sentences.
‘‘We’re here today to talk about justice,’’ Vilsack aid. ‘‘When you’ve paid your debt to society, you need to be reconnected to society. ...
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Civil union dissolution withstands challenge
The decision says those who wanted to overturn a judge's order to void a lesbian union had no right to interfere.
By FRANK SANTIAGO
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
June 18, 2005
...The justices ruled that those who sued over Neary's order - a group of conservative Iowa lawmakers led the effort - had no legal standing or right to interfere.
"It would be strange indeed and contrary to our notions of separation of powers if we were to recognize that legislators have standing to intervene in lawsuits just because they disagree with a court's interpretation of a statute," Chief Justice Louis Lavorato wrote. ...
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on the creepy - 'how do twisted weirdo's like this get elected' - side of thing:
Editorial
Congress Assaults the Courts, Again
Published: June 18,
2005
The House of Representatives took a little- noticed but dangerous swipe at the power of the courts this week. It passed an amendment to a budget bill that would bar money from being spent to enforce a federal court ruling regarding the Ten Commandments. The vote threatens the judiciary's long-acknowledged position as the final arbiter of the Constitution. It is important that this amendment be removed before the bill becomes law.
During consideration of an appropriations bill for the Departments of State, Justice and Commerce, Representative John Hostettler, Republican of Indiana, introduced an amendment to prohibit any funds from being used to enforce Russelburg v. Gibson County. In that case, a federal court ruled that a courthouse Ten Commandments display violated the First Amendment and had to be removed. Mr. Hostettler declared that the ruling was unconstitutional, and inconsistent with "the Christian heritage of the United States." ...
