by California was in the news today in 2 cases that meet the criteria of this entry’s title.
First, the big, bad state angle: Cali has filed suit against automakers because cars emit greenhouse gases. Get out! You’ve got to admit that Arnie’s got them dead to rights there…
Second, the bigger, badder federal angle: apparently the case against video blogger Josh Wolf, who refuses to turn over videotape of a protest rally turned streetfight, was taken over by the feds because:
“Wolf’s footage shows a San Francisco police car being set on fire at the protest–(the feds) say they have jurisdiction over the case because the car was paid for in part by federal dollars”
Call me crazy, but somehow I don’t think that’s what the Interstate Commerce Clause was intended for. Then again, it wasn’t intended for any one of dozens of federal abuses over the years.
One sometimes wonders why we bother with state governments at all. Couldn’t we save some pork barrel dollars by cutting them out of the picture, much like Corporate America sliced out its mid-to-upper management and highly-paid technical staff? Hhhmmm… Maybe we could outsource state government to India.
