If you haven’t been following the blogosphere lately (not to mention Twitter), you have missed out on all of the drama and intrigue happening on our behalf at the Minnesota Legislature in St. Paul.
Some of it could ‘almost’ be considered comical. Mostly what is going on is outrageous. However, in almost every single case, if the MN GOP gets their way their actions will cause great harm to the good citizens of Minnesota and our future as a state.
There are too many items to post separately, so I’m going to adopt the style of Norwegianity and just post the links for you to check out for yourselves.
Marriage Equality: Controversial ‘Reverend’ Bradlee Dean gives the opening prayer on Friday morning at the MN Legislature. In doing so, he predictably offends all but the most ardent social conservatives. MN House Speaker Kurt Zellers (R-Maple Grove) apologizes and then strikes the prayer from the official record (so in essence, makes the whole thing go down the memory hole). For the full story, check out the transcript of the prayer (at the bottom) and the videos at The Uptake’s web site: Obama Not Christian Infers MN House Prayer-Speaker Denounces “Prayer.”
More information about Bradlee Dean at Mother Jones: Michele Bachmann’s Head-Banging, Gay-Bashing BFF
And more (from the Minnesota Independent): Bipartisan outrage erupts over GOP’s invite to Bradlee Dean to give House Prayer
And this (from TPM): Preacher: My Prayer Questioning Obama’s Faith Wasn’t About Obama! Yeah…right.
The vote was just taken in the MN House and the results are in. This from the MN Progressive Project blog: Marriage Constitution Question on the 2012 Ballot
Budget Negotiations: While the MN GOP is keeping everyone busy pushing back on their ultra-conservative social agenda, they are also poised to harm Minnesotans on state budgetary matters as well. In a word, NO compromise. This from mnpACT!: It’s Official: Tony Sutton Says Compromise Is Not Allowed
Meanwhile, as the MN GOP ‘fiddles’ in St. Paul with their social issues, some are preparing for a possible state shut-down:
In the event of a state government shutdown… (MinnesotaBudgetBites.org)
Shutdown likely as both sides dig in (StarTribune)
AFSCME Readies for Minnesota Shutdown (LaborUnionReport.com)
Enjoy your weekend. It looks to get rocky from here!