Breaking News and Wednesday Reads: Senator Davis Filibuster Works in Texas! Love song to Wendy Davis…Baby you were born to run!
Posted: June 26, 2013 Filed under: #Occupy and We are the 99 percent!, abortion rights, fetus fetishists, legislation, morning reads, Planned Parenthood, PLUB Pro-Life-Until-Birth, Psychopaths in charge, religious extremists, Reproductive Health, Reproductive Rights, Republican politics, Rick Perry, the GOP, U.S. Politics, Vagina, War on Women, Women's Healthcare, Women's Rights | Tags: Angelina Jolie, Filibuster, New York, NOLA, Sen. Wendy Davis D-Fort Worth, Texas, UN, Wendy Davis 78 Comments
Texas State Sen. Wendy Davis (D) of Fort Worth, waits for a ruling on a rules violation during her filibusters of an abortion bill, Tuesday, June 25, in Austin, Texas. Senator Davis was given a second warning for breaking filibuster rules by receiving help with a back brace from Sen. Rodney Ellis (D) of Houston.
Eric Gay/AP
Well… Hells Bells Girl!
Yes, Wendy.
You did it!
You got the nation’s world’s attention last night, and yeah I am sending a love song out to you darling… baby you are born to run…and by that I mean “run” as in something more than a State Senator.
I can’t help it, I have a huge crush on Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis, who stood up (both politically and literally over 11+ hours) for the women of her state last night, and really if you think about it…by extension…Wendy stood up for the women of the other 49 states as well.
(It looks like I am not the only one who is thrilled with Wendy, Mona has a Facebook page set up to show support, check it out.)
Sisterhood of the Pink Sneaks: in support of Wendy Davis
https://www.facebook.com/PinkSneaks
Ms. Davis filibustered a PLUB War on Women Anti-Choice bill in the Texas Senate, whose post midnight passage is now being questioned…was it legal or not?
****It was not!!!!! See update below.*****
As midnight approached, the session dissolved in chaos. Republicans say they passed the measure, but Democrats say the vote took place after midnight, making it invalid.
The House passed the bill on Monday morning. Two of its main clauses would ban abortions after 20 weeks and mandate that they be done at a surgery clinic.
First a little background on Wendy Davis…
Portrait of a filibusterer: Who is Wendy Davis? – CSMonitor.com
Once dismissed by Gov. Rick Perry as a “show horse,” Sen. Wendy Davis has earned a reputation for being willing to spar with the state dominant political party and its leaders.
“She’s a total fighter,” said Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund and daughter of the late former Texas governor Ann Richards. “And the thing about Senator Davis, she says he’s going to do something, she gets it done.”
Davis was raised by a single mother, in fact she was a young single mother herself...
She’s no stranger to being a single mother and poverty. Davis took care of her younger three siblings when she was only 14 to help her mother out, and then she had her own child at 19.
Davis is a Harvard Law School graduate and the first person in her family to get a college degree. Before starting her own practice she clerked, litigated and dabbled in the title insurance business for a few years.
Before she was elected in the state Senate in 2008, which made her the 12th Democrat in the upper chamber, she served on the Fort Worth City Council for nine years, where she focused on neighborhood economic development.
Abortion rights isn’t the only issue Davis is passionate about. She also has interests in cancer prevention, payday lending, protecting victims of sexual assault and government transparency.
Davis is no stranger to the filibuster and has successfully used it in 2011 to stop a state budget that underfunded schools by nearly $5 billion. Most of the money was replaced a couple of years later.
I guess Davis is not the pantsuit kind of news making gal…because as the last sentence of this article states:
She’s apparently a “fashion icon” in the state Capitol, according to the New York Times, and even wore pink sneakers for Tuesday’s filibuster.
Guess the New York Times has to fucking put that “fashion icon” jab in don’t they? Oh well, I guess it doesn’t really matter, I loved her shoes whether they were pink or purple or rainbow colored. The point was they were comfortable! They had to be…
Wendy Davis is someone to keep an eye on, and like Ralph said early yesterday morning…when she first started the filibuster, it would be wonderful to see her run as Texas Governor or go for a US Congressional seat. The one thing that is certain, she is freaking awesome, and I hope her work yesterday was the spark that was needed to get the pro-choice/women’s rights groups worked up and organized…someone needed to light a fire under their ass, I think Wendy Davis did just that.
I have some links here that give some updates to the controversy surrounding the vote.
***At 4:11am EST as I was shutting my laptop down I saw this in the comments:
cygnus
June 26, 2013 at 1:58 am
Wendy texted that the bill is dead!!cygnus
June 26, 2013 at 2:00 amlegislature changed timetstamps on their website! aresholes!
cygnus
June 26, 2013 at 2:17 am
the lt governor has agreed that sb5 is dead!!!!! w00t!!!
Reply
Not sure what is going on, Jezebel says it is dead: Texas Abortion Bill Is Dead. This Calls for a Celebratory Gif Party.
And this: Texas abortion bill falls after challenge – KMPH FOX 26 | Central San Joaquin Valley News Source
So…looking good??????????????? Yes???? I think so!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Roofingbird made this comment:
roofingbird
June 26, 2013 at 3:14 am)
2:02 Session just ended with the acknowledgment that the bill was unsigned at 12 and therefore failed. The Chair noted “It’s been fun and we’ll see you soon”.June 26, 2013 at 3:17 am
Sorry, approximately 3:02 Texas time.
Damn, don’t we have awesome readers who keep us up to date and damn well informed!
What the hell would we do with out you all!
Thank you Ralph, New Deal Dem, Cygnus and Roofingbird…BB, Janicen, Boogieman, Mr. Mike…hope I didn’t miss anyone else…. for the live blogging the drama in Texas last night/this morning. 😉
Okay, back the the post…..
Texas Lawmaker’s 11-Hour Filibuster Ended On A Technicality | WYPR
By midnight Texas time, it was all over but the parliamentary inquiries. After a nearly 11-hour filibuster attempt by state Sen. Wendy Davis to block sweeping restrictions on abortion, the Republican-dominated Texas Senate successfully shut down the filibuster on points of order.
“This is probably the worst night that I’ve experienced since I’ve been in the Senate, maybe since I’ve been in public life,” said state Sen. Kirk Watson, a Democrat from Austin.
Davis stood and spoke continuously for nearly 11 hours in an attempt to block passage of SB 5, a bill that would ban all abortions after 20 weeks and could effectively close all but five abortion clinics in the state. Supporters, in a largely pro-life state of 26 million, say the new, stringent standards raise the level of care for Texas women. (As of this writing, it’s unclear whether the Senate successfully passed the controversial abortion legislation, as the vote happened after midnight, when the special legislative session was required to end.)
The dramatic restrictions in the bill had already drawn national attention for their reach. But her riveting, one-woman attempt to stop it put Wendy Davis’ name on the national map. A single mother at 19 who raised her children while putting herself through Harvard Law School, Davis has represented a Fort Worth swing district in the Texas Senate since 2008. To catch a glimpse of her, the line outside the Texas Senate gallery wound down three floors of the Texas Capitol for hours. President Barack Obama tweeted a link to the livestream, saying, “Something special is happening in Austin tonight.” Fueled by a popular Twitter hashtag, #standwithwendy, more than 100,000 people were still watching a parliamentary debate over Roberts Rules of Order on the livestream at midnight.
Davis’ chair was removed before she began speaking at 11:18 a.m. CT Tuesday. Donning pink tennis shoes, she started by saying, “I’m rising on the floor today to humbly give voice to thousands of Texans who have been ignored. These voices have been silenced by a governor who made blind partisanship and personal political ambition the official business of our great state.”
But here is where the problem is:
The quirky filibuster rules in Texas made Davis’ attempt both fascinating and perilous. In Texas, lawmakers aren’t allowed to lean on a desk or chair during a filibuster and everything discussed while speaking continuously must be germane — you can’t talk about topics unrelated to the bill. Anything deemed not germane is subject to a point of order, and Davis went up against a three-strikes-you’re-out-rule on those points. In the seventh hour of her filibuster, Davis donned a back brace, but state Sen. Tommy Williams, a Republican, called a point of order on it. She had to lose the brace and take a strike. And the third strike was for speaking about a sonogram bill, which sounds related but the chair sustained the point of order on germaneness, and it ended her filibuster attempt.
So…..Did Texas abortion bill pass? Confusion marks end of session – CNN.com
The Texas legislature’s special session ended in chaos and confusion early Wednesday, with uncertainty lingering over whether lawmakers had voted on a bill that would have greatly restricted abortions in the state.
Well after a midnight deadline, it wasn’t clear if the legislation had been voted on and whether it had passed. Senators could be seen talking on the Senate floor.
Updated:
Texas senators are trying to get to the bottom of whether Republicans successfully pushed through a vote on Senate Bill 5, the omnibus abortion restriction bill, ahead of their midnight deadline.
Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, says the bill passed at 12:02 a.m.; if that’s true, the vote may not withstand legal scrutiny.
“It’s pretty conclusive that it didn’t pass,” said Whitmire.
But the Senate still has not officially adjourned sine die. When Senators resume floor proceedings, Whitmire said Democrats will call a point of order on the motion to vote on a bill after the midnight deadline.
Wendy Davis: The State Senator Who Almost Killed the Texas Abortion Bill – The Daily Beast
Texas senator filibusters against abortion bill – Politics – The Boston Globe
Okay, the rest of today’s links will be in link dump format (Hey, it is 3:50am and I am beat. Well now it is 5 am and even more done out.):
People in the Middle Ages did keep pets – dogs, cats, birds, monkeys and many other kinds of animals. Although they often had particular duties – i.e. hunting or catching rats – there are many accounts that showed affection and love between these pets and their owners.
Scattered in various texts and remains from the Middle Ages, one can find that people gave names to their pets.
Y’all should love that…my favorite has to be the Renaissance philosopher’s dog sired by Megastomo “big mouth.”
Here is a scary story for you: Caught on tape: Antiabortion center resorts to scary, dangerous lies – Salon.com
If you missed Fredster’s post yesterday: REMEMBERING A NEW ORLEANS TRAGEDY | The Widdershins
And Texas isn’t the only state fucking with women’s rights: Women Lose in New York State – NYTimes.com
For those with Migraines: Getting to grips with migraine: Researchers identify some of the biological roots of migraine from large-scale genome study
This next link is good to see: Shakesville: Angelina Jolie at the UN with a Giant Teaspoon
Super-guppy is the name: Stalking the world’s biggest planes – CNN.com
NASA’s Super Guppy hauls giant cargo ranging from smaller airplanes to components destined for the International Space Station. Click through the gallery for more images of big planes.
And finally: Supermoon 2013 PHOTOS: Pictures Of Year’s Biggest Full Moon From Skywatchers All Over (SLIDESHOW)
It’s a slideshow, so go check out those pictures!
Hey, I am too tired, so if there are spelling errors or grammar issues fuck it…its 5 am. See ya later, much later… and please leave a comment or two or three.
peej
Carissa
ecocatwoman
grayslady
mablue2
NW Luna
peggysue22
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
Okay, so I posted this earlier than usual…but we should celebrate, this is a big fucking deal!
This is a big fucking deal indeed!!!!
Dear Sen. Davis….YOU ARE MY SHERO
Big deal every fucking where.
It *is* a big deal, JJ!! Just amazing, as is your link-a-thon (I’ll have some reading to do in my up-too-late blur).
I just wanted to add:
Don’t forget LETICIA!! Ms. Van de Putte said the *most* amazing things, (I”ll drum up some video if I can) and it was thanks to her potenet commentary that the gallery went wild and the vote was not able to happen before midnight!
She looked that lying, cheating chair in the eye, told him we might as well be throwing the rulebook out (as she tossed her actual rulebook over her shoulder) and then asked him
“At what point must a female Senator raise her hand or her voice to be recognized over her male colleagues in the room?””
She deserves equally high accolades. She did all this *after* attending her father’s funeral.
These two women are my total heroes today.
Yes, please if you can…I am sorry I missed Leticia Van de Putte. I just woke up myself from the all night blogfest, y’all were great last night. I sure hope I didn’t miss anyone. I think Boo Radley showed up last night too! (See, guess I did.)
Sorry, JJ, no one seems to have posted any more than this one (game changing) moment.
I wish you could see her taking that asshat to task and tossing the rule book. I’m amazed that isn’t all over the internet–it was equally as stunning!
I’ve got a little link to something for tonight’s evening news reads about the lack of coverage from the cable news channels. I missed the juicy bits, and came in just when the shit really hit the fan after the vote. But y’all were great blogging it.
This wasn’t a bad endorsement for her either.
I made an fb page in support of Wendy:
https://www.facebook.com/PinkSneaks
I put a link to it in the post…uh, I am tired and going to sleep. night everyone.
I linked your post on the Pink Sneaks page 🙂
Oh boy! I haven’t been to bed yet! However, had several naps that screwed everything up.
Great news on the filibuster and thank you JJ for the mention of my post yesterday. Greatly appreciated. 🙂
I thought you wrote a wonderful post on a very sad story Fred…;)
yes. just read it. it’s good to notice the positive shifts amidst the seemingly backwards-momentum. poignant post, Fred.
Thank y’all so much for the compliments. If Stonewall was the turning point in NYC, then the Upstairs Lounge fire was the turning point in Nola on how gay folks deserved to be treated. And now we have the decision by the Supremes! Yay!
Fredster, great post!
Texas Vote Passing Abortion Bill Rendered Moot – NYTimes.com
http://tinyurl.com/o7qgzcp Wendy Davis Filibuster: Bullshit Called on Texas Republicans (Video) 🙂
I was watching it live 20.01 it looked like of the repubs where going to pass it anyway after midnight . I’m so glad that they did not . it was an amazing moment in time.
correction 12.01 not 20.01
something tells me Sen. Wendy Davis will be an instant star in the Texas democratic party
She already was a star, now maybe she’ll get some national exposure for us.
Hooray, Hooray…………….it was struck down…………..hooray.
DOMA is DEAD!!!!!!!!
SCOTUS strikes down DOMA as unconstitutional!
Here’s the ruling
Click to access 12-307_g2bh.pdf
Sigh of relief…
This is the biggest brick in the wall to fall in my lifetime. Next Up…..The challenge to State laws that prohibit gay marriage and/or the recognition of gay marriages performed in other states. When that happens, we’re FINALLY on our way to shaking the muck of homophobia off our boots once and for all.
I can’t believe it! I was so worried after yesterday.
Yeah, this is how I expected the voting rights decision from yesterday to go…5-4 with Kennedy being the swing vote. I am so relieved that it turned out this was after the loss yesterday.
That was my take too JJ. I was a bit stunned by the decision because to me the Voting Rights Act is/was sacred ground. Too many, paid too much and too dearly, for too long, to ever turn back the hands of time. Still, I was not at all surprised by how the justices voted in the decision. We know this cast of coo-coo bird characters better than they know themselves.
Agreed!
I agree BB, the decision on the Voting Rights act was startling and shameful, but I think the players all voted exactly as we expected. Now we get to watch our fucked up Congress redraw a map? Those bastards are incapable of doing anything more complicated than setting their pay raises and their exorbitant vacation schedules.
Watch racism blossom before your eyes in this fascinating video of an amazing teacher, Jane Elliott, and her kids:
http://www.commondreams.org/further/2013/06/26
I remember her, and this from Wiki:
[…Because of the AP story, Elliott was invited to appear on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. After her telling of the exercise in a short interview segment, audience reaction to her was instant as hundreds of calls came into the show’s switchboard, most of the reaction being negative.[1] An often-quoted letter states “How dare you try this cruel experiment out on white children.”[1]
Elliott has said that the exercise and the publicity that it was getting did not make her popular with some of the local citizens. When Elliott walked into the teacher’s lounge the day after being on the Johnny Carson show, several teachers walked out. Elliott claims that even her own children were taunted or assaulted by other students….]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Elliott
On DOMA, according to Pete Williams and this sounds correct to me…
Could be a far reaching decision once everything shakes out!
That is what I found so exciting. Too bad they wimped out on Prop 8, but it’s huge progress.
Real progress. I’ll take what I can get.
Yeah, gotta celebrate what we can!
The Voting Rights Wrong Act decision was so disheartening.
It made me so upset and disturbed that my emotions were mixed with the heartbreaking sadness combined with the gut wrenching disgust.
Well put, JJ. Sometimes everything is so disgusting/heartbreaking/infuriating that I want to ignore it all — which would be even worse, really. Always helps to go hang out at SD.
SCOTUS blog saying there are hints in the DOMA decision that the Court will dismiss Prop 8 based on standing. Liveblog:
http://www.scotusblog.com/
It will be announced today.
Does that mean the previous court decision will stand and gay marriage stay legal in CA?
Yup, BB.
There are three boxes of opinions.
Bloomberg live blog on SCOTUS decisions
http://live.bloomberg.com/Event/Supreme_Courts_Blockbuster_Week_Day_Three
We have a lot to celebrate today.
indeed! 🙂
Court rules for adoptive parents in little noticed case Adoptive Parents v. Baby Girl.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/06/25/19137594-adoptive-couple-v-baby-girl
Wow. really hard.
Though tribal law is involved here, It reminds me of those arguments we were having in the 70’s and 80s in CA over whether white couples should be allowed to adopt black children, as they would not be able to provide them with an upbringing reflective of their heritage.
Prop 8: Same sex marriage is legal in CA!!!
Petitioners did not have standing. HuffPo:
We are pretty excited here! A couple of our friends have been waiting to get married by Hubby. Since this removed the use of prohibition of gay marriage from the immigration bill, it appears one of our friends will now be able to sponsor her new spouse for a green card.
Roofingbird, I sent you a friend request from my personal account, hope that’s alright. I noticed your gravatar on the Likes on Sisterhood of the Pink Sneaks 🙂
Done!
Jerry Brown just made it official:
http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/06/jerry-brown-tells-california-counties-to-issue-gay-marriage-licenses.html
I just shared that 🙂
TaDa!!!!
I’m still trying to find out if the DOMA ruling means that L/G’s residing in a State where gay marriage is illegal have access to all the advantages of marriage in Federal Law.
Does any of you legal eagles have the answer to that question?
I’ve heard yes and I’ve heard no, so I’m very confused at this point. If we do then it would be advantageous for those of us living in the Bumfuckerville States to get married in the States where it’s legal and bring our marriages home to test the limits of the States power to hold the line. I know that there are some challenges to State laws, but the repeal of DOMA basically tears the bandaid off the wounds and we have more power to fight marriage discrimination in individual states. DOMA, after all, was the product of those who feared the legalization of gay marriage in the Progressive States.
mouse — sure looks like that’s the way to go, although I’m no lawyer so probably shouldn’t opine. I think you’re right about the band-aid ripping, heh.
Come on up to WA — or CA or NY or another enlightened state and tie the knot!
http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2013/6/26/breaking_defense_of_marriage_act_ruled_unconstitutional
“This means that legally married same-sex couples are entitled to claim the same federal benefits that are available to opposite-sex married couples”
Thanks for that link Luna.. I’m probably confusing, you, me and anyone else reading my comment but I’ve heard/read 2 messages on this today. The first message (which is what I believed would happen if DOMA was repealed) is that all legally married gay couples would be eligible to receive all the benefits of marriage in Federal Law. The second message I heard/read was that gay couples would only be eligible for the benefits in Federal Law (if) their state of residence recognized their marriage. I don’t see how (2) could be the case because if it is then SCOTUS has said that State laws trump the U.S. Constitution.
My State of residence, otherwise known as Bumfuckerville, has enshrined homophobia by banning gay marriage and the recognition of gay marriages performed in other states, in our State Constitution.
Oh Well, I have my Rainbow Flag flying high from my porch today and if the residents of Bumfuckerville don’t like it, they can take a flying leap.
Why does everyone forget Massachusetts?
We were first to legalize gay marriage (2003), and we recognize marriages from other states. We even recognize civil unions from other states as marriages. Mass. considers both parents of children born to one of gay couple to have parental rights–no requirement that non birth parent adopt. We were the first to sue and have a court find DOMA unconstitutional.
And…we decriminalized marijuana in 2008, and legalized medical marijuana in 2010.
I didn’t forget you all…y’all…yous guys. 😉 You had Obamacare first too.
I guess people are just happy, with all the shit that has been going on, it is nice to smile for a change. This morning I went to sleep happy about what went down in Texas, today I will go to bed happy about this news from SCOTUS regard DOMA. But tomorrow is another day, and I know that any happiness I feel will most assuredly be temporary….this has been an enjoyable 24 hours…better to savor the euphoria while it does last.
I’ve been thinking of you and MA all day, and I had a lot to say about it but I leaned forward and pulled out the plug on my non recharging computer, erasing everything I said. So let me get over yelling at the computer and I’ll try again in a bit.
BB, sorry, didn’t mean to forget MA.
Ars Technica found more on-line postings by Ed Snowden on his contempt for old people and social security and his love for Ron Paul, the gold standard, and short selling.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/06/exclusive-in-2009-ed-snowden-said-leakers-should-be-shot-then-he-became-one/2/
One more time, he’s a moron!
wow, and a douchenozzle as well 😉
douchenozzle…ha that is funny.
I do wish there would be more hoop-la about the way the acting chair (who was put in at about 10pm) was fudging (that’s the polite way to say it) the rules, evading people’s actual questions,
recognizing people out of order, and then pretending not to understand people when they called him on it. It was appalling, but perhaps this is a common form of criminal activity in the chambers and everyone is used to it? I wish I could find the video of Sen. Van de Putte tossing the rulebook aside as she takes him to task for it.
Here is a link to the timestamp shenanigans. These are crimes. There is never any accountability. That makes me mad, as I watch people lose their homes, jobs, health care, etc
while criminals hold others to spurious rules they don’t even follow themselves:
http://gawker.com/internet-catches-texas-senate-altering-timestamp-on-abo-584135789
I’m glad you pointed that out. It should be repeated far and wide. The Rethugs are whining about the “mobs” shouting in the chamber using OWS tactics when in fact it was the Rethugs cheating every step of the way attempting to undermine the rule of law. Criminals, all of them!
Absolutely!
Anyone know who the woman was that was arrested? Her story should be told and someone should be getting her out.
Tru Dat
Oh! It’s so annoying, this media focus on “shouting mobs” and “OWS tactics” when in fact it was *his* criminal disregard for the rules of order that caused it! Arggh!! I really wish this would be more focused on, but I think the people writing didn’t actually *watch* the proceedings…
this truly is a historic day. I hope that the what happened in the texas senate dose not get lost in the moment. this is a big deal for texas .I was on the edge of my seat last night counting down the minutes. sad thing is not one & the major news networks where covering it.
American Prospect: The Wendy Davis Rebellion in Texas
Great article by Abby Rapoport, who was on the ground at the Capitol for the fight.
It is out in the MSM!. The Seattle paper picked up an AP story:
Ha, look at this: Anti-Muslim Bloggers Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer Banned from Entering the UK – Little Green Footballs
And I love what Pelosi said here: Pelosi responds to Bachmann’s DOMA comments: ‘Who cares?’ | The Raw Story