Wendy's Last Stand

The leadership may not want to listen to TX women, but they will have to listen to me. I intend to filibuster this bill. #SB5 #txlege
— Wendy Davis (@WendyDavisTexas) June 25, 2013

Actually it's her most recent stand (you should recall that she did this at the close of the last biennial, that time regarding the budget cuts). So the senator from south Tarrant County will represent once again at the end.

Two years after drawing national attention with a filibuster, state Sen. Wendy Davis is poised for an encore today as she plans to lead another talk-a-thon that could bring down a contentious abortion regulation bill as the special legislative session grinds to a close.

The Fort Worth Democrat signaled her intentions after the package of abortion restrictions cleared a final House vote and headed toward the Senate. Republican leaders are scrambling to pass Senate Bill 5 before Tuesday's midnight adjournment but acknowledge that a Democratic filibuster could kill the bill.

Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, the Senate’s Democratic leader, said Davis, a mother of two and an outspoken advocate on women’s issues, will be the lead participant because of the bill’s importance to women.

“There’s an assault on women in this state and this legislation is a prime example of that,” said Watson. “It’s important that a woman who’s the mother of two daughters will be the one standing. We will all be there providing assistance and help.”

Davis is the last best hope once more for foiling Republican plans to damage the lives of Texans. That would be natural born Texans, of course.

If you are poor, of color, or female in this state -- God forbid you are all three -- the advice from some quarters is to get out while you're still alive.

Once again women are placed in a lower priority than a biological organism, and every other member of her family.  The pecking order in Texas is Father, unformed fetus, children who have been born, and finally the mother.

No man should make a decision regarding abortion.  They have no knowledge and no relationship to the issue.  Too many backward thinking men assume that abortion is an easy choice for a woman.  Quite to the contrary, and that is why abortion clinics are necessary.  Unlike a regular hospital, they offer psychological counseling before the procedure is performed.  In the State’s scenario, women will receive a lesser quality of health care.

If I was a woman, I’d be leaving Texas, and live somewhere where everyone was treated equally under the law.

Some of us would naturally prefer to stay and fight to the finish. Thank goodness for Wendy -- and everyone who was at the Capitol for most of Sunday afternoon, all of the night, and into Monday morning in support of what now becomes one woman's job.

No better woman for it, IMHO.

BOR has the action items for those who can be in Austin this morning. Twitter has the hashtags #txlege and #SB5 for you to follow the action (I recommend "people you follow" and not "all", as there are a few venomous Xtians and anti-choice spammers full of vitriol cluttering up the "all" feed). Hashtags can also be used to collect conversations on Facebook now. Or you can just watch the live video from the Senate floor at the TexTrib.

I understand that Davis will be reading some of the personal accounts Texas women have sent her regarding the difficult choices they have made in their lives. I hope she reads a few pages from The Handmaid's Tale. You know, for historical context.

The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance is once again ready to wish the Legislature a happy summer as far away from Austin as possible as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff says to look at Farmers Branch for an example of how to turn out the kind of low-propensity voters that Democratic candidates need to win races.

Ted Cruz outed himself as a sociopath on immigration reform, and PDiddie at Brains and Eggs documented his atrocities.

WCNews at Eye on Williamson had this to say about Rick Perry and the GOP playing politics with the Public Integrity Unit: It's not shocking or unfair, it's what they do.

At TexasKaos, Libby Shaw explains the governor's approach to healthcare in Rick Perry's Texas: No Obamacare, no Perrycare. Give it a read.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants you to know Republicans prefer business profits to safe food. I wonder where they eat.

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And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

Open The Taps thanks everyone for getting the craft beer bills passed while promising to be back for more in 2015.

Keep Houston Houston doesn't think closing streets at railroad crossings is a good idea.

The Lunch Tray pleads for common sense in labeling GMO foods.

Concerned Citizens has some advice for San Antonio's new city council members.

Juanita Jean cannot believe she has to talk about fetal masturbation.

Texas Leftist reminds us why we celebrate Juneteenth.

Texas Watch celebrates their victories from the 83rd Lege.

Texpatriate goes George Carlin on the anti-woman caucus in the Legislature.

Flavia Isabel asks a favor of Amazon.

And finally, former Texan Elise Hu puts her time in Austin to a strangely appropriate use.

Texas House passes abortion restrictions in wee hours

3:30 a.m. -ish.

With a sweeping 97-33, the House voted to tentatively pass the Senate’s catch-all abortion bill largely along party lines after 13.5 hours of debates, parliamentary inquiries and stalling. Instant cheers and jeers exploded on the floor and in the gallery where people have been waiting for a vote since 2 p.m.

While applause rang out among conservatives, the shouts of “Shame” were much louder and many in the gallery were escorted out. In her speech, Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, said the war on women was alive and called SB 5 the second missile fired by Gov. Rick Perry this year.

Just watching the live-feed and the Twitter stream was remarkable. Reproductive rights supporters wearing burnt orange shirts flooded the Capitol's gallery shortly after lunchtime Sunday afternoon. When they applauded or cheered, they were warned by DPS troopers to maintain decorum, then escorted out. When they used ASL for applause ("jazz hands") they were warned from the dais that they would be removed and arrested.

It now requires a final vote from the House before going over to the Senate, which will more than likely accept the 20-week ban provision and put it up for a vote. Senate Democrats have said they are ready to use whatever tools they can under the law to prevent the bill’s passage. 

And that means filibuster. Go Wendy Davis.

The House sponsor of the bill, Rep. Jodie Laubenberg, R-Parker, who had been missing from the front microphone since around 11:50 p.m., came up around 3:20 a.m. to close on her bill. By not debating and instead asking the chair to make motions to table amendments, Republicans saved about 10 minutes per amendment.

Laubenberg was a case study of ignorance. At one point Sunday evening, under questioning from various Democratic representatives, she compared a rape kit to an abortion -- specifically a D&C -- saying it "basically cleans (the rape victim) out".

Update IV: Laubenberg's full quote in context, from the Statesman.

The bill's sponsor stopped answering questions about her bill after the first two hours after she got into trouble denying Democratic amendments. When Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, called for an exemption for women who were victims of rape and incest, Rep. Jody Laubenberg, R-Parker, explained why she felt it was unnecessary.

"In the emergency room they have what's called rape kits where a woman can get cleaned out," she said, comparing the procedure to an abortion. "The woman had five months to make that decision, at this point we are looking at a baby that is very far along in its development."

Her apparent confusion about "rape kits" — a phrase generally used to describe the equipment used by medical personnel during forensic examinations to gather physical evidence following allegations of rape or sexual assault — sparked widespread ridicule on social media sites. Laubenberg, who has difficulty debating bills, then simply rejected all proposed changes to her bill without speaking until the end of the debate.

Appalling.

The debate was heated and emotional. Houston Democratic Rep. Senfronia Thompson, vigorously shaking a coat hanger to warn of the potential for botched home abortions, argued to add an exception for rape or incest.

Here's some more pictures. Rep. Jessica Farrar was eloquent in a point of personal privilege dissent, and Rep. Gene Wu relentless in establishing the hypocrisy of Republican politicians playing doctors on teevee. None of it mattered, though, because no amount of facts or science can permeate the bedrock of the Republican hive mind.

The War on Women experienced its Alamo last night. But that only means there's a San Jacinto in the near future.

Update: Via Claire Z. Cardona of the DMN, the three Democrats who voted in favor of SB5 are Ryan Guillen, Abel Herrero, and Joe Pickett. (Reps. Mando Martinez and Sergio Munoz were previously and mistakenly included in that number.) Update II: Not a mistake.

Updated: FIVE #Prolife Dems who voted for #SB5: Guillen, Herrero, Martinez, Munoz, & Pickett. #txlege (via @DrewSpringer)
— John Seago (@Johnseago) June 24, 2013

One Republican voted against: Sarah Davis.

Update III: More accounts of yesterday's drama from the HouChron.

Update V (Update IV is in the middle of this post): Greg has some excellent inside analysis of those members who crossed over -- and back -- on these bills.

Ed Snowden has left the building

Via Greg Mitchell:

The Guardian actually has a live blog on the Flight of Snowden.   One of the latest updates:  Naming his WikiLeaks companion and claim they are book(ed) on flight to Cuba on Monday.

Also,  you can follow his alleged airliner on its path here, as it nears Moscow.  News report on Julian Assange claiming he brokered the move. 

All this after Hong Kong indicated that the US extradition paperwork "did not comply" and thus they allowed him to board the flight to Moscow earlier today. The latest at the live-blog, as I post this, is that Snowden intends to continue on to Venezuela from Cuba.

I won't update this Bronco chase here unless something more significant occurs. Twitter -- not the teevee -- is the best source for these kinds of developments.

Sunday Funnies

Aggregation for dissemination

-- Let's take Kris Banks' Facebook posting from last Tuesday to catch ourselves up on the Houston mayoral contest, and specifically Ben Hall's nogoodverybad week.

So, let's go over the past 24 hours at the Ben Hall for Houston Mayor 2013 campaign:

1. Shortly before midnight (Monday 6/17), the campaign posts two bizarre Facebook posts, one alluding to some unspecified endorsement that was coming as soon as they arranged the logistics, and another accusing the Mayor of telling Ben Hall she would not debate him, and expressing outrage.

2. For some reason, the campaign posts a comment on the debate post refuting some unspecified IRS problems and claiming Ben Hall was the victim of IRS malfeasance. If the comment was in response to another comment, then the comment being responded to is (no) longer there. However, a subsequent comment in which I ask who he is talking to generates more likes than the original comment.

3. At noon (Tuesday 6/18), the Mayor's campaign posts that his comments about the debate are false, she IS willing to debate, but only if all candidates are involved, indicating Ben Hall only wanted to debate her.

4. The following picture, which was posted in April, suddenly gets a very interesting comment.

Kris has kept it going with this most recent post last night.

Day 3 of the Ben Hall for Houston Mayor 2013 campaign keeping up this phony endorsement, in which the alleged endorser refutes it in the comments. Even giving them the benefit of the doubt, this is on the brink of going from "dumb mistake" to "willful dishonesty."

In other municipal election updates, Noah Horwitz -- via the Caucus FB page and a comment there by Green mayoral challenger Don Cook -- notes that Parker will gain a second opponent from her left, Michael Fitzsimmons of the Socialist Workers Party.

-- Republican on Republican assault in the Lege, as time grows short in the special and tempers fray.

A House Republican screamed at a fellow member of his own party as they emerged Thursday afternoon from a longer-than-expected GOP caucus meeting.

The argument appeared to be about proposed changes to House districts. The chamber is debating redistricting bills Thursday.

“You’re a liar,” state Rep. Pat Fallon of Frisco yelled at his colleague, state Rep. Bennett Ratliff of Coppell.

Other House Republicans tried to hush Fallon, but his fury wouldn’t ebb.

“Touch your buddy Gene because you’re in the same party as him,” a red-faced Fallon loudly continued, as Ratliff walked away and placed a hand on state Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, as he passed by.

Asked a few moments later what the dust-up was all about, Fallon said simply, “Forgot.”

The hollering could have stemmed from a quiet dispute brewing during the redistricting debate. ...

Juanita Jean suggests the campaign slogan: "Touch Me, I'm Gene Wu's Buddy".

-- Yesterday's hearing on Texas' abortion restriction legislation just concluded a few hours ago. It also got contentous.

After more than 10 hours of testimony, and one loud protest that led to a brief recess so order could be restored, the House State Affairs Committee closed its hearing on two abortion bills at 3:40 a.m. Friday without taking a vote on either measure.

Around midnight, as the hearing that began around 4:45 p.m. continued without a break, Chairman Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, announced that the committee would receive only one more hour of testimony on House Bill 60, a sweeping abortion regulation measure, saying the comments had become repetitive and unhelpful to the committee’s decision.

The news was greeted with increasingly angry shouts from several hundred people in the audience, most of them opponents of the bills. Several shouted that that they had been waiting to speak since 1 p.m., the original start time of the hearing that was delayed about four hours by extended House debate on three redistricting bills.

After an audience member commandeered the microphone to address the committee, only to be led away by officers, the crowd loudly chanted, “Let her speak.” Cook recessed the committee, returning about 20 minutes later after several Democratic representatives helped restore calm.

“I don’t appreciate you telling me that I am repetitive,” Leslie Simms later told the panel. “I am 22 years old. I will be here every time you come for me, and if you think that’s repetitive, I’m sorry that I’m doing my civic duty.”

More here and here. Hearing will continue today. The extremist Lege elements in the Senate backed off the fetal pain crap, but intend to take the number of women's clinics in Texas from 47 to 5.

So I would anticipate more Texas women vigorously exercising their civic duty.

Update:

After a raucous night, the House State Affairs Committee met in a small room and approved without discussion three contentious abortion bills.

The House will meet at 2 pm Sunday to debate the bills that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, increase standards for abortion clinics, make doctors who perform abortions gain admitting privileges at an area hospital and mandate protocols — opposed by the American College of OB/GYNs –for pills used to induce abortions.

The three bills were passed along partisan lines.