Rules for Treading on Thee, Not Me

This week the state GOP staged a bold protest …either in fierce protection of civil liberties and free speech, or against the rights of Muslim women to exercise those same civil liberties and free speech.  It was admittedly a bit confusing.  Of course we’re talking about the Republicans here, so their idea of a protest is either storming the Capitol to do open treason or, in this case, displaying tiny yellow flags on their desk.  Rep. Yaccarino was captured by Hearst Media with that yellow Gadsden flag (known in some corners of the internet as the “no step on snek” flag) on his desk, making its way into all their Connecticut papers.   The temper tantrum arose after Rep. Maryam Khan displayed a Pakistani flag on her desk as a quiet nod to her heritage and Republicans responded like she’d cast a witch’s spell on them.

What makes the attempts to generate ire at Khan over her constitutionally protected speech even more vile, apart from the fact that other folks in the legislature do the exact same thing to no expressed outrage, is that Khan was herself the victim of a hate crime only a couple years ago while attending Eid Al-Adha prayer services in Hartford.  That the CT GOP chose to mask over their Islamophobia by pretending it was actually about ethics in gaming journalism, er, procedural rules about flag displays in the legislative chambers and THEY were the ones being oppressed reminds me of what’s commonly called Wilhoit’s law:  “conservativism consists of exactly one proposition: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect”.

On the lighter side, Sen. Cicarella was feeling positive this week. He voted on the Senate floor for slightly neutered but still positive AI regulations and online safety measures , a law outlawing female genital mutilation, a set of consumer data safety protection measures, a bridge program extending benefits to vulnerable groups facing pressure from federal cuts, and a law prohibiting the use of the rapidly depleting resource of helium in balloons.

In the House, Rep. Yaccarino voted in favor of health insurance expansion to require treatment of PANS/PANDAS, a bill he also co-sposnored, but otherwise largely gave the thumbs down to a number of measures such as vaccine standards, homeschool regulations, and the implementation of the constitutional amendment voters passed on no excuse absentee voting (making this at least the third time he has voted against expanding voting rights access by absentee voting).  In committee, he somewhat surprisingly voted for Ned Lamont’s public option bill, although I guess the fact that it’s only a study and will likely not result in anything substantial may have had something to do with it.

On Sen. Cicarella’s committees, he was singing a different tune from the somewhat chipper one he hummed during his floor votes.  He voted against a bill restricting private equity ownership of nursing homes, a bill regulating AI decision making in employment decisions, and one that would address voter intimidation at the polls.  We are all aware that Trump has expressed intend to send armed ICE goons to “check for illegals voting”, kinda like his bro Vladimir does over in Russia.  Cicarella needing the help of ICE to get over the finish line makes you wonder if he’s sweating his chances this year.  Donate to Brandi, folks!

Don't Tread Me! Unless you want to do voter intimidation, then, whatever...