(1) If I was held in contempt of court for more than a year, I'm pretty sure Justice Stephens would toss my ass in jail. She should not be so squeamish about tossing a few legislators in jail.
(2) "Dialog" isn't working. If the legislature can magically produce a $9 billion tax break for Boeing in a matter of days, then they are capable of producing $2 billion for education. So it isn't a matter of ability, it is a matter of willingness.
(3) The threat to Shut It Down is entirely counterproductive. It punishes the wrong people. It punishes kids and teachers. There are a number of republicans who would like nothing better than to gut public education entirely, and this threat would only further their goal, not punish them. If you are going to punish someone for being in contempt, punish the perpetrators, not the public.
"Enjoin other spending" to me means non-education spending.
If I were Justice Stephens and hadn't actually said any of what's implied in the next-to-last ¶, I'd want to rescind my smiley photograph and not ever talk to you anymore.
Yeah, that sounds more like a state-government shutdown. I'm not sure how shutting down the schools would further the cause of providing for education, anyway.
Actually, if they closed schools even for a day then you bet the legislators would hear about it, from parents in all parties. Not having school means parents have to scramble to find child care or take time off work, not to mention the impact to learning and to college bound teenagers.
How about you stop paying the state legs and providing per diems until they find a solution ? Let them defend to their constituents and households why they're not in Olympia solving this asap.
The Republicans would be OK with not spending on anything else. They'd like to shut social services down anyway. Hopefully it will dawn on the Court what could happen if that comes about and figure something else out.
Whoever wrote that next-to-last paragraph is beyond stupid. If education is the state's paramount duty, then shutting down the schools would be the same, under the constitution, as not funding them. No way the court is doing that, and no way did Stephens suggest that it might. So whoever (tried to) put those words in her mouth is either stupid, or malicious. Incompetent, in either case.
Close the prisons and send them all home with a note to behave themselves and to report back when there is money to reopen. That would get the legislators attention. Probably get the public's attention also.
(2) "Dialog" isn't working. If the legislature can magically produce a $9 billion tax break for Boeing in a matter of days, then they are capable of producing $2 billion for education. So it isn't a matter of ability, it is a matter of willingness.
(3) The threat to Shut It Down is entirely counterproductive. It punishes the wrong people. It punishes kids and teachers. There are a number of republicans who would like nothing better than to gut public education entirely, and this threat would only further their goal, not punish them. If you are going to punish someone for being in contempt, punish the perpetrators, not the public.
If I were Justice Stephens and hadn't actually said any of what's implied in the next-to-last ¶, I'd want to rescind my smiley photograph and not ever talk to you anymore.
I don't know, but I look forward to watching Eric Holder find out.