6 Sadistic State Laws Conservatives Are Trying to Ram Through We’re talking about true legislative sadists looking to go medieval on America. By David Sirota Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once said that states are the “laboratories of democracy.” Oft repeated over time, the aphorism has helped impart legitimacy to the rough and tumble of state lawmaking. We’ve heard “laboratory” and we’ve imagined staid scientists in white coats rigorously testing forward-thinking theories [...]