"Plans by three Catholic hospital systems in Wisconsin to deny admitting privileges to doctors who perform abortions would 'be in active violation of federal law'..."

"Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen's Department of Justice said in a court filing last week."

Federal law "provides that hospitals accepting federal funds may not discriminate against a physician because that physician has participated in or refused to participate in abortions," the state Justice Department said in its filing in federal court....

There's a new Wisconsin law that requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital with 30 miles of their clinics.  That law is being challenged in federal court, as an undue burden on abortion rights. And now the state law — oriented toward religious (and moral) objections to abortion — is having this side effect of burdening religious hospitals.

Seven doctors who provide abortions in the state lack privileges, and at least four are applying for them at religiously affiliated hospitals, according to their employer, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.

Is Planned Parenthood targeting the religious hospitals? Its lawyers observe that many Wisconsin hospitals have religious affiliations, so this is what they law has driven them into doing.

Note that Van Hollen isn't arguing that federal law requires that the abortions be performed in religious hospitals. It doesn't. He's only saying that the hospitals can't refuse admitting privileges to doctors on the ground that they perform abortions elsewhere.

IN THE COMMENTS: MayBee asks some key questions:

What are the admitting privileges for? To admit a patient in the midst of a botched abortion?

Will a hospital that does so be forced, then, to participate in an abortion? Can they ensure the baby will be saved if the mother is brought in during an abortion that is going wrong? Or will the doctor have the "right" to complete the abortion? 

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"Wisconsin DNR removes Facebook page amid national outcry over SWAT-style takedown of fawn."

Isthmus article, updated to say that the page is back up. Check it out here. I don't think there is one word of empathy for the poor baby DNR.

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"This legislation ensures that local communities have a say in the roundabout process..."

"... and ensures that Madison bureaucrats — many of whom will never use the roundabouts they design — cannot trample on the voice of those who will actually navigate these roadway projects."

Republican legislator, quoted in a Treehugger post titled "Roundabout Rage in Wisconsin," which insinuates that conservatives oppose roundabouts because they're French.

Here's the Wikipedia article on roundabouts. Excerpt:

Numerous circular junctions existed before the advent of roundabouts, including the Bath Circus world heritage site completed in 1768, the 1907 Place de l'Étoile around the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the 1904 Columbus Circle in Manhattan, and several circles within Washington, D.C., however, the operating and entry characteristics of these circles differs considerably from modern roundabouts.... Contrary to modern roundabouts, its centre originally was intended partly as a traffic island for pedestrians....

And here's that Yes tune.

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"A Unicornucopia of Crazy."

"Princess Snowflake Sustainicorn can’t get through an hour without constant hugging and encouragement from everyone around him, lest he collapse into a puddle of unicorn tears...."

We suppose we should examine the whole psycho-drama and declare who was at fault for what and who was the victim of bullying here, but frankly, we can’t be bothered. We wouldn’t want to take a 1-minute elevator ride with either of them. They honestly should never have been allowed on the show, so crazy and off-base were their actions last night.

And the dress they made wasn't just bad, it had the kind of mullet hem that Vogue is distressed about seeing on high street in anytown. In the case of Princess Snowflake Sustainicorn and Grumpy Diana Prince, that town is Milwaukee, and I was distressed to witness the wipeout of "Team Wisconsin."

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Who will the Democrats run against Scott Walker in 2014 for Wisconsin Governor?

This is funny, from Downstate Democrat at Daily Kos:

Wisconsin Democrats appear to be set to run Mary Burke, a former executive of Trek Bicycles....

Despite the fact that Wisconsin Republicans are already trying to paint Burke as an "out-of-touch Madison activist", in reality, she's the Democratic Party's version of Mitt Romney....

I think the interest in Burke is that she has her own money. Walker has lots of money raised during the recall, and so that makes Democrats seem hopeless. They couldn't wait for the next election, had to do the recall, and now they are practically giving up on the next election. 

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