Florida wins contest to become nation's laughingstock

A commenter on another website has observed, "Looks like somebody opened yet another huge can of stupid in Tallahassee." No truer words have ever been spoken.

With the Republican National Committee leading a nationwide coordinated blitzkrieg to pass welfare drug testing bills, I knew this bill would become law in one of the dozens of states where it was introduced. It was a surefire bet. The GOP was THAT determined, and they seem to have made this bill their primary reason for being.

Well, now we've got a winner in the race to see which state can become the first to enact such a law after the idea was ruled unconstitutional.

Readers of this blog, meet Florida.

Corporate criminal and right-wing Gov. Rick Scott (pictured here) has now signed Florida's drug testing bill into law. I had a hunch Florida would be the first (if not only), considering Scott's threats to sign such a bill, and the fact that the Sunshine State is known for passing nutty legislation. After all, Florida was probably the first state (in the mid-'90s) to pass a law allowing adults to be involuntarily placed in drug rehab. Florida legislators also threatened to appoint a slate of Republican electors if the popular vote in the 2000 election didn't go their way.

This also comes after Scott ordered all state workers to take a drug test - which had also been ruled unconstitutional for most jobs. (No wonder he has under a 35% approval rating.)

Holy moly! It's like Florida never even ratified the Constitution!

Let me be clear. When the Constitution says something is unconstitutional, that means it's fucking unconstitutional. I don't get what's so hard to understand about that. I've said it for years. When the Constitution speaks, that's it. The argument's over.

The people are naturally endowed with the rights listed in the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights did not create these rights. It merely lists them. Florida is fighting against not just the Constitution, but also nature, God, the Googly-Eyed Poo Snake, or whatever you believe in.

Will Florida's new law be challenged in court? Almost certainly. Similar laws were ruled unconstitutional before - and the new law cannot be allowed to stand either. If the law stands, you can bet your bizcream that other states will be encouraged to follow Florida's "lead."

Few other right-wing ideas so thoroughly embody both social and economic engineering as forced drug testing of welfare recipients. And it has the intent and effect of barring most of the poor from living in entire states unless they submit. It's a form of fascism. There's no more suitable word for it.

Because I know you're going to ask, I don't qualify for welfare, despite my long-lasting, cool-blasting economic struggles. But the message of the law is clear. If the poor come under attack like this in Kentucky, and if the courts do not intervene, I will not be afraid to die in my fight to prevent the poor from being driven out of the state. From a constitutional standpoint, there is nothing lower than the courts allowing a law like this to stand, and I will fight for the Constitution.