Correction: The entire premise of my inference appears to be wrong.
The Badger Herald reports that a couple Wisconsin Republicans are introducing a bill to ban prank calls. The hilarious thing is that they insist this has nothing to do with the recent prank phone call to Scott Walker:
Although representatives deny any connection to the recent prank call on the governor, two legislators began circulating a bill Monday that would ban making trick calls masking the caller’s true identity.
Sen. Mary Lazich, R-Waukesha, and Rep. Mark Honadel, R-Milwaukee, authored a bill that would prohibit tricking the call’s recipient into believing the caller is someone they are not for malicious purposes.
“While use of spoofing is said to have some legitimate uses, it can also be used to frighten, harass and potentially defraud,” Lazich and Honadel said in an e-mail to legislators.
The bill language forbids a caller from intentionally providing a false phone number and convincing the person receiving the call that it comes from someone other than the actual caller.
(hat tip: TPM.)
One of the interesting aspects of the Cheddar Revolution is that, for the fist time since 2008, it has allowed the left to operate as an insurgency. It's always easier and more fun to rally against something than to defend the positive agenda of a party in power. I think conservatives have an easier time enthusiastically rallying behind a leader than liberals did, but by 2006, even they tired of defending George W. Bush.
It's harder to capture the public imagination when you're utilizing the power of office, as Walker is. It's especially hard when you're relying on a bunch of obviously specious claims and resorting to hilariously clumsy stunts like this. The sponsors of the bill merely propose to levy a fine upon prank callers, which is considerably gentler than the various reprisals threatened by Moe Szyslak:
Listen, you little yellow-bellied rat jackass, if I ever find out who you are, I'll kill you!
Listen, you lousy bum, if I ever get a hold of you, I swear I'll cut your belly open!
Listen to me you lousy bum. When I get a hold of you, you're dead. I swear I'm gonna slice your heart in half!
When I get ahold of you, I'm gonna gut you like a fish and drink your blood!
When I get my hands on you, I'm gonna pull out your eyeballs with a corkscrew!
You rotten little punk! If I ever get a hold of you, I'll sink my teeth into your cheek and rip your face off!
Listen, to me, you little puke. One of these days, I'm going to catch you, and I'm going to carve my name on your back with an ice pick!
Moe: Listen, you. When I get a hold of you, I'm going to use your head for a bucket and paint my house with your brains!
You little S.O.B.! Why, when I find out who you are, I'm going to shove a sausage down your throat and stick starving dogs up your butt!
Listen to me, you! When I catch you, I'm gonna pull out your eyes, and shove 'em down your pants, so you can watch me kick the crap outta you, okay? Then I'm gonna use your tongue to paint my boat!
[via telegraph] I'm gonna drive a golden spike where your Union meets your Central Pacific, stop!
I will rip out your intestines and use them to make a lanyard!
Swedish Bartender: Wait a minute, if I ever get a hold of you, I will thank you for showing me the futility of human endeavour!