An Ohio Legislator Clearly Has Too Much Time on His Hands

(Permanent Musical Accompaniment to This Post)

Being our semi-regular weekly survey of what's goin' down in the several states where, as we know, the real work of governmentin' gets done, and where to live outside the law, you must be honest.

We begin in Ohio, with a legislative act of transcendent Stupid. A couple of weeks ago, Michigan came to Ohio State and beat the home team in a game of American football. In the postgame celebration—Michigan had been a decided underdog coming into the contest—a Michigan player tried literally to plant a flag in the OSU logo at midfield. The defeated Buckeyes took exception and a fair-sized hooley broke out. Eventually, hostilities ceased. But the combatants had reckoned without an ambitious state legislator with clearly too much time on his hands. From TheColumbus Dispatch:

State Rep. Josh Williams, R-Sylvania Twp., introduced the O.H.I.O. Sportsmanship Act Tuesday. "I am proud to introduce the O.H.I.O Sportsmanship Act to make flag planting at midfield a felony in the state of Ohio. Behavior that incites violent brawls and puts our law enforcement officers in danger has no place on the football field," Williams posted on X. House Bill 700 would "prohibit planting a flagpole and flag in the center of the Ohio Stadium football field on the day of a college football game and to name this act the O.H.I.O. Sportsmanship Act."

Frankly, I thought the players themselves had settled the issue of the flag rather thoroughly on the field. (Some OSU player tore it from the flagpole and, presumably, destroyed it.) It certainly wasn't an offense worthy of being a felony. But this is an empty gesture since the Ohio legislature is about to bail for Christmas, ending the session. But I suspect we may be seeing Rep. Williams' name on an Ohio congressional primary ballot one day soon.

We move along to Utah, where the state police apparently have adopted the Clyde Crashcup Protocol as regards certain traffic offenses. From FOX13 in Salt Lake City.

Since the start of 2018, Utah law enforcement has intentionally steered into 12 vehicles driving the wrong way on a Utah freeway but not fleeing from police, according to a FOX 13 News review of public records. In all the cases, the trooper, officer or deputy used the front of his patrol car to try to stop the errant driver, usually by striking the on-coming car on a front corner. One Utah driver has died, and peace officers have been injured. The tactics, which have been shared with police across Utah, have not been vetted elsewhere nor by any national association or accrediting agency.

WT absolute F?

“When you first sent this to me, I was like… they… seriously… like… right?” John Gross, who studies police practices and use of force as a clinical professor of law at the University of Wisconsin. “And then, my God, some officers have done this twice?” .... In at least four of the videos, the wrong-way drivers appear to be slowing, but the peace officer steers into the car anyway.

Wheee!! Bumper cars!!

We move along to Nevada, where the phrase "Close enough for government work" doesn't mean what it means in a lot of places. From the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

North Las Vegas has paid its former city manager, who quit in May, nearly $1 million this year, including a hefty severance package and consulting fees. Ryann Juden, the city’s chief executive since 2018, was paid almost $675,000 in severance and $85,500 in consulting fees. Separately, he also cashed out roughly $97,000 in unused vacation and sick leave...Coupled with his city manager’s salary and other pay, such as a retention bonus, North Las Vegas has given Juden just shy of $1 million this year, according to documents obtained Thursday through a public records request. The total of $994,400 is more than double the $453,900 he earned in 2023 from the city, where his base annual salary was about $300,000.

The beneficiary of this most golden of handshakes would like you to know that he's just another city employee.

Juden said it is not uncommon for a former government manager to get a government contract, and can be an efficient way to do business. “I’m humbled that they still find value in me,” he said.

Unless this gentleman is made out of gold and precious stones, he's overvalued.

Off we go to North Carolina, where the Republicans in the state legislature completed their effort to minimize the results of the November election, which they lost because the state's Republicans nominated for governor a Trump endorsed lunatic. So the legislature stepped in to make it harder for the Democrat elected governor, and the Democrat elected attorney general from, you know. And, to the surprise of almost nobody, the vote was carried with a healthy dollop of Republican cowardice. From CNN:

The bill passed with 72 members voting for the override and 46 against. Three House Republicans who opposed the measure last month over its limited disaster relief funding in response to Hurricane Helene, which caused massive flooding in their western North Carolina districts earlier this year, voted with their party. The vote comes after Republicans lost their supermajority in last month’s elections, making this their last chance to limit the power of newly elected Democratic leaders before the next legislative session in January.

And we conclude, as is our custom, in the great state of Oklahoma, whence Blog Official Medicine Show Attraction Friedman of the Plains brings us a tale of a triumphant First Amendment, and a judge with a fine sense of symbolic irony. From nondoc:

After more than an hour of private discussions behind U.S. District Judge Bernard Jones’ courtroom, attorneys for State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters and KFOR struck an agreement this morning to settle a lawsuit alleging that Walters violated First Amendment protections by singling out and prohibiting Channel 4 journalists from accessing public meetings and press conferences. As part of the settlement, the Oklahoma State Department of Education must pay $17.91 in damages to KFOR — a numerical reference to 1791, the year the Bill of Rights and its First Amendment were ratified in America.

I'm not sure how much of a deterrent a $17.91 fine is, much less that people will get the reference unless the judge walks around and explains it personally to everyone in Oklahoma, but you take your little victories where you get them these days, and anything that slaps down a pecksniff nuisance like Walters is worth a couple of cheers at least.

This is your democracy, America. Cherish it.