The Bright, Shiny Object of 2010

It may not quite match last year's Barbie Bill, but the untoward attention received by this year's nominee is not so much because of what it does but how it's progressing through the Legislature.

The Senate bill would "give optometrists the ability to perform basic eye surgeries," as Public Broadcasting explains. But the measure was not referred to that chamber's Health and Human Resources Committee, solely visiting its Government Organization Committee instead.

A group of senators seeking to remedy that were rebuffed Wednesday, during a floor debate that aired allegations of double-dealing and duplicity. Besides Public Broadcasting (audio here), varying degrees of coverage can be found with The Charleston Gazette, the Charleston Daily Mail and MetroNews.