Wednesday Reads: The Vote can be mightier than the Sword or Pen if We Use It
Posted: May 25, 2016 | Author: dakinikat | Filed under: 2016 elections | Tags: abortion rights, Hillary Clinton, Mary Lou Bruner, Texas School Boards |
Good Morning!
I’ve got some good and bad news from Texas! Texas is is kinda like that you know? These are the kinds of things that happen when you 
and like-minded people get up and vote crazy out or in. Let me start with the good news. One of the worst of the Texas Christianists ran for a State Education Post and lost big time. It’s hard to even imagine her teaching small children at one time.
The East Texas woman who claimed President Obama was a drug-addicted gay prostitute in his youth was defeated in a Republican primary runoff election Tuesday, losing her bid to become one of the top education officials in Texas.
The woman, Mary Lou Bruner, 69, a former kindergarten teacher, had used her Facebook page to post her extreme views on politics and education. Ms. Bruner called the Boy Scouts “a homosexual organization” and declared that because of her conservative views, Mr. Obama “has had me investigated.” She encouraged parents to home-school their children because that was “the only way you can be in control of what they are taught,” and claimed that school shootings across the country had begun “after the schools started teaching evolution.”
Her postings drew national attention as she campaigned for a seat on the State Board of Education, the 15-member body that sets curriculum standards, adopts textbooks and establishes graduation requirements in Texas public schools. In March, Ms. Bruner earned the most votes in the Republican primary, winning 48 percent, but failed to get enough votes to avoid a runoff.
On Tuesday, Ms. Bruner was defeated by a wide margin by Keven M. Ellis, 45, a chiropractor who is the president of the school board in Lufkin. Because Republicans dominate the district, the winner of the Republican race is expected to beat the Democrat — Amanda M. Rudolph, a professor at Stephen F. Austin State University — in the general election.
“The voters did their homework,” Mr. Ellis said in a statement as he declared victory.
Ms. Bruner never backed away from her remarks on Facebook. “I’m just saying what I believe and what the people of my district agree with,” she said when she declined an interview with The New York Times in March.
One of her biggest critics, the nonprofit Texas Freedom Network, which collected and publicized her Facebook statements, said on Tuesday, “Texas escaped an education train wreck tonight.”
Bruner lost by 18%. I’m sure Texas has not heard the end of her but at least the amount of damage she can inflict on Texas children has been minimized.
Only several months ago, Mary Lou Bruner, 69, of Mineola, Texas, had been the front-runner for the powerful seat on the Texas State Board of Education, the second-largest school system in the nation.
But as conspiracy theories in Bruner’s old Facebook posts surfaced, her lead shrunk. Voters ultimately chose fellow Republican Keven Ellis, a local school board president, for the GOP nomination. Bruner lost by about 18 percent in the primary runoff.
Bruner’s Facebook posts, which have since been deleted, ranged from the biblical to bizarre. The posts went back several years and were published by left-leaning government watchdog group Texas Freedom Network.
In one, she wrote that a flood from Noah’s Ark destroyed dinosaurs — not a meteor invented by atheists.
In another, she claimed Democrats killed John F. Kennedy. And in one of multiple anti-Islam comments, she said House Speaker Paul Ryan’s beard made him look like “a terrorist.”
She also took swings at Obama, claiming he spent years as a prostitute in his twenties, which she claimed enabled him to pay for drugs and explained why he now has a “soft spot for homosexuals.”
Her defeat was celebrated by the group that had outed her Facebook posts.
So here’s what happens when crazy gets elected. “Up against strict laws, Texas women learn do-it-yourself abortions.” (h/t to Adrastos) I have no doubt that Lousiana women will be learning these tricks from their Texas sisters. We have a newly elected Democratic Governor that’s signing everything he can into law to trap and limit women’s right to health care and abortion. This is one who promised that enacting laws in support of his personal religions convictions/fetishes wouldn’t be a priority for him.
Susanna was young, single, broke and pregnant in southern Texas where, thanks to the state’s strict laws, her chances of getting a surgical abortion at a clinic were slim to none.
So she did what an estimated 100,000 women or more in Texas have done – had a self-induced abortion.
With the help of a friend, some online instructions and quick dash across the Mexican border for some pills, she addressed the issue of unwanted pregnancy in a state where women are finding abortion services too expensive and too far away.
Restrictive laws took hold in Texas in 2013, forcing so many clinic closings that fewer than 20 remain to serve 5.4 million women of reproductive age.
Supporters of the laws say they protect women’s health. The regulations require clinics to upgrade to hospital standards and doctors performing abortions to have formal agreements to admit patients to local hospitals.
But experts say that if the U.S. Supreme Court upholds Texas’ restrictive abortion laws, the numbers of self-induced abortions will escalate.
So far, the number of Texas women who have taken that option could be as high as 100,000 to 240,000, depending on how it is calculated, experts say.
“We certainly hypothesize that if there is a bad ruling from the Supreme Court that leads to more clinic closures, yes, this will only become more common,” said Dr. Daniel Grossman of Ibis Reproductive Health in California and researcher with the Texas Policy Evaluation Project at the University of Texas at Austin.
Susanna, a musician in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley who chose to use an alias to protect her identity, described her self-induced abortion two years ago at age 23 as “almost primal.”
“It was like we were back in the days of the Wild West, like we have to figure this out by ourselves and just grit our teeth and get through it,” she said.
Research shows U.S. women opt to self-induce due to the closing of their local clinic, the expense of a clinical procedure or the costs of traveling to a distant facility.
Most commonly they take misoprostol, available in Mexico without a prescription, at home.
Educating themselves on the procedure, women like Susanna’s friend Selena, also not her real name, have stepped in to teach other women to do what clinics can no longer provide.
This kind of insanity is why my daughter chose to open her practice in a blue state. She once dealt with a woman who had sepsis from a botched abortion while a 4th year med student. You may recall this story since I’ve told it before. She was in a Michigan hospital doing a rotation. The resident in charge walked away from the patient and refused to treat her. This left my daughter and the nurse. My daughter said that she wanted to be some place where she could focus on women’s health without worrying that the state wold be looking over her shoulder every times she treated a patient.
Meanwhile, Louisiana women have a 72 hour waiting period now thanks to a patriarchal asshole of a governor who actually is a Democrat. He was pushing for an equal pay law at the same time so you have to give the devil credit where it’s due, but this is just unacceptable. Even worse, it has a name that just makes women sound like we all make giddy decisions impulsively.
When it comes to Infuriatingly Deceitful Labels Anti-Choice Lawmakers Use To Disguise Their Stonewalling Access To Healthcare As Being Beneficial To Women™, we know the usual go-tos: There’s the obvious “pro-life” label, which, as we all know by now, actually stands for “pro-force women to give birth whether they like it or not” while the movement’s supporters gleefully vote against funding for living children born into dire poverty. And now, in Louisiana, there’s mandated 72-hour waiting periods for abortion patients, gently dubbed the “Women’s Enhanced Reflection Act.” How fucking quaint.
Last Friday, Governor John Bel Edwards signed into law a bill that will triple the current 24-hour period women seeking legal abortions have to wait. The law, mirrored by states like North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Utah, is slated to be enacted on August 1.
In the state of Louisiana, there are only four clinics that perform abortions at this time, and according to 2009 analysis by Guttmacher Institute of 12 different published studies on required waiting periods and counseling sessions, enacting waiting periods already effectively drives women seeking abortions to travel out of state:
“Following enforcement of the [mandatory counseling and waiting period law], abortion rates fell, the number of women going out of state for an abortion rose and the proportion of second-trimester abortions increased.”
We have to unite. Like-minded people, we have to unite and vote. Our rights to our lives and bodies are in danger. There are some 
very angry white men out there that do not want what they feel they are entitled to–including the right to determine other folks’ religions, bodies, choice of lovers, and right to jobs and safety–to be shared with the rest of us. You can tell exactly what this is because it appears that a huge number of Bernie Bros are prepared to switch to Donald Trump. It’s about not letting the law treat every one equally. There are many white men and Christians that are not like this. There are some women, gay men, and racial and religious minorities that will sell us out. But, those of us who are the vast majority must ensure we vote in people who want to see rights extended to all.
For all their divergent beliefs, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have each tapped into raw anger and resentment that is in some ways more emotive than ideological. The dangers for Hillary Clinton are clear. By most reasonable standards, she is as unimpeachably liberal as Humphrey was in 1968, yet she is equally distrusted by the anti-establishment left. She will need to guard against defections to an anti-establishment conservative who has proved every bit as deft as Wallace.
And, like Carter in 1980, Clinton will enter the fall campaign with sky-high disapproval ratings, in no small part because her primary opponent spent a year casting her as an enemy of the common man. True, Trump is also wildly unpopular. But people tend to forget that Reagan was hardly more trusted when he unseated Carter than Trump is today—and that year, voters chose the candidate who represented a break with the status quo.
And, like Carter in 1980, Clinton will enter the fall campaign with sky-high disapproval ratings, in no small part because her primary opponent spent a year casting her as an enemy of the common man. True, Trump is also wildly unpopular. But people tend to forget that Reagan was hardly more trusted when he unseated Carter than Trump is today—and that year, voters chose the candidate who represented a break with the status quo.
Despite the fact that Hillary Clinton is supported by a huge, diverse population we still get this media meme that she represents the 
establishment candidate. She holds a record for being the most admired woman for 20 years in a row.
We have to fight these narratives. It’s important. But it’s equally important to ensure that we all vote. We need to find out who represents us up and down the ticket in the fall. Now, I voted for this governor because he definitely was not evil like David Vitter. But when he started going off sanctimoniously on a private choice concerning his daughter in an ad, I chose not to work for him. I am unlikely to be around to see him leave office. Some times, local races in backwards states are like that. But, we have a clear choice come November for President.
I am tired of watching rights that have been hard fought for and won be taken away by crazy yahoos. We have this Texas example to show us what is possible. People who cared voted. That’s all we can and must do.
So, here’s some pics to tickle Boston Boomer’s heart and a post to support JJ as she deals with her Brother Denny who is in the ER! We love you both!!!
What’s on your reading and blogging list today?
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Sky Dancing 
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/sanders-isnt-doing-well-with-true-independents/
What we figured
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/gop-pol-senate-vote-child-victims-act-2016-article-1.2648847
To help victims of child sexual abuse … those republicans are probably worried about the abusers among them
I can’t believe I keep linking to the National Review. http://www.nationalreview.com/article/435805/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-why-hillary-is-even-worse-doesnt-cut-it
No woman, including Hillary should ever accept the shame, the quilt that it’s her fault that her husband cheated. Coming from Mr. Big Dick, who has cheated, lied, and brought and paid women many a times speaks to the man he really is, and he needs to get off the potty and look in the mirror.
Hillary remains a loving wife and mother, and has done everything in a respectable manner to keep her family together. She is most happy, and Mr. Big Dick is the unhappiest man in the world, he’s as empty a shell as ever I have seen. He brags about his dick and money, and his women, and even goes after his daughter being sexually attractive. It’s never enough for him, and we can see it as clear as day. Yuk is Trump.
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/281238-trump-aide-emails-politico-reporter-accidentally-to
How in the hell does msnbc have a press conference from the State Department, and gets up there and says we can’t discuss the issue today because it hasn’t been released to the public yet. WTF, it was released to the Press, but tomorrow come back and we give you a cheeseburger. What the hell is going on with the republicans now?
Maybe it has something to do with the attacks on ISIS held towns in Iraq?
This man is not official spokesman, but a deputy spokesman, he says there is no prohibition in using personnel email. Then says Hillary said she wished she wouldn’t have done so, and that if rules were in place, the government wouldn’t never ever approved her private service.
I am getting pissed now.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/apnewsbreak-state-dept-audit-faults-clinton-emails-39365621
OMG, msnbc decides to put Tom Delay up to tell us how democrats need to be really really concerned about their flawed candidate. Let’s see Hillary never been indicted, but HE SURE the hell has.
Delay? What’s next Cheney the Impaler?
State Department briefing on Clinton emails Mark Toner, Deputy State Dept…….watch this all the way, and see Tom Delay:
https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc-news/watch/state-dept-briefing-on-clinton-emails-692720195871
Good piece by Mike Lupica:
LUPICA: Bernie Sanders keeps fighting as if Hillary Clinton’s big lead is a huge lie.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/lupica-bernie-refuses-lacks-votes-win-article-1.2646026
I love the women reading paintings. Thanks, Dak.
Yw. Wanted to send you a smile.
I saw five minutes of Hillary before a big crowd in California (only five because that’s what MSNBC would show), and she looked happy and fresh as a daisy.
If she isn’t sweating the email thing, I won’t either.
Mark my words, this particular inspector general will turn out to be one of Ken Starr’s or Louis Freeh’s henchmen.
Yes. I’ve been noticing that twitter is blowing up and the media is going crazy while Trump and Bernie keep slinging mud and Hillary is calmly and methodically doing her thing and talking to voters. I adore how she is remaining above the sewage.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/charlestiefer/2016/05/25/state-department-report-on-email-vindicates-clinton-rather-than-nails-her/#345cd35e2c7d
I guess CNN, MSNBC and Fox didn’t read the whole thing before “reporting” on the latest damn email news.
Seems that way.
That’s why we detest the media so much; they never let the actual facts or any research get in the way of their agenda. “We’ve got a story that can hurt Hillary? Great, get it on there, and keep running it. And put up some very negative captions, like “scathing report.” Don’t waste your time trying to figure out what any of it means. We’ve got ratings to get, profits to make, and a candidate we want to defeat. Let’s stick to that, and leave the details to the pencil pushers. We get rid of Hillary, and it won’t matter a damn what somebody says about us a year from now. Keep your eyes on the bottom line. Trump gets in there, cuts corporate taxes, and we’ll all be wealthy.”
From the article…
“To put it differently, she is having a double standard applied to her.”
Whoodathunk?
… refreshing responses to David Brooks’ insulting column yesterday.
That column made me want to dump that man in a dumpster.
There are those who have lost access to my eyeballs… David Brooks nears the top of the list.
Ladies of Louisiana…………..The next time your man suggests intimacy tell him it has been recommended by the Governor of Louisiana that you have 72 hours to reflect before you engage. This process is called the “Women’s Enhanced Reflection Act”. You want to get rid of that law all you have to do is, REFLECT!!!!
I love it.
Perfect!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjRT6dGVEAE_QJQ.jpg:large
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/05/washington-primary-bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton/484313/
Caucuses are not democratic.
Everyday more people seem to be figuring out that the system stinks but not because it is rigged for Hillary.
Last night TRMS, not friendly to Hills, pointed out how Hills lost the Washington caucus in a landslide, but won the primary convincingly. The primary turn out dwarfed the caucus turnout by a shitload. Rachel also pointed out that the only thing sort of balancing that stupidity scales is the super delegates who by supporting Hills are actually re-injecting the will of the majority of the people back into the process.