Just one more day.  This thought kept me going last Thursday in the Alabama Legislature.  It was not what I was going through, but what I was going to.

What I was going to was the time after this very difficult legislative session where up became down and down became up; right became wrong and wrong became right; mountains became valleys and valleys became mountains; and so on. On Tuesday, it was just one more week.  On Thursday, it was just one more day.  As I write this Sketches, we have just one more legislative day, Thursday, June 9, 2011.

Let’s look at the next to last legislative day through my experiences.  Everything was intensified by the harsh conflict dominating the previous two legislative days.  The dominating theme for this next to last day was baseball, a legislative “game” in which each senator gets an opportunity to pass a bill.

I chose a bill which would raise the amount from $50,000 to $75,000 which public employees can earn before the Ethics Act applies to them.  Many long time teachers and their governmental employees make more than $50,000 but are not in decision making positions.  There is no reason for them to file those ethics papers. I struck out and the bill died.  Just one more day.

Meanwhile, a bill I intended to kill slipped up on me and was voted on while I was handling other matters.  Since the Senate was using the previous roll to vote quickly, it shows me voting for a bill that requires a mandatory life sentence without parole for any sexual assault of a child 6 years or younger.   I believe in tough punishments for child sexual predators, but automatic life without parole goes too far.  Just one more day.

Then we had the immigration bill conference committee report.  It lashes out at immigrants in various ways including requiring them to have papers.  It reminded me of the passes under apartheid in South Africa.  We fought hard.  It passed anyway.  Just one more day. We filibustered the conference committee report for congressional redistricting.  We were clotured (cut off of debate) and the report passed.  Just one more day. The plan was to stay in session until midnight. However,  we cut a deal and left at 8:30 p.m. since only bad things were likely to happen.  Now it was truly just one more day.