Saturday, June 29, 2013

Friday, June 28, 2013

Meet Senator Wendy Davis

Ohio Anti-Abortion Bill Includes Restriction On Rape Counseling

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Ohio Lawmakers Slide Stealth Draconian Abortion Laws Into Budget

Ohio Lawmakers Slide Stealth Draconian Abortion Laws Into Budget
"Texas. Ohio. North Carolina. Mississippi. Virginia. They're all on the women-hating train, barreling down the tracks at breakneck speed, racing to see who gets to the Supreme Court first."

Ohio Democrat Calls On Women Across The Nation To Join Her In Standing Up Against Republican War On Women

www.addictinginfo.org/2013/06/28/democratic-warrior-woman-fights-back-gop-anti-abortion-law-in-ohio/
"Now women are giving the GOP notice that they are sick and tired of being attacked year after year over an issue that was settled in 1973 with the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling. 2012 was merely a warning shot from women. Apparently women need to sink the GOP ship in state after state in 2014 in order to slam the message through their thick skulls that the war on women and choice is totally outrageous and unacceptable. Republicans never intended to stop their war on women. Women are now saying enough is enough. It ends here."

Read more: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/06/28/democratic-warrior-woman-fights-back-gop-anti-abortion-law-in-ohio/#ixzz2XXtvb6cc

What’s Next For Wendy Davis?

What’s Next For Wendy Davis?: After Sen. Wendy Davis (D-TX) successfully blocked an omnibus anti-abortion bill on Tuesday by filibustering it for 13 hours — without eating, drinking, straying off topic from the proposed measure, sitting, going to the restroom, or even leaning against a table — she became an overnight sensation. The hashtag #standwithwendy was trending worldwide on Tuesday [...]/p

California Advances Bill To Protect Domestic Violence Victims From Employment Discrimination

California Advances Bill To Protect Domestic Violence Victims From Employment Discrimination: This week, a California State Assembly committee voted to approve a bill that would bar employment discrimination against victims of domestic violence as well as those who experience stalking or sexual assault. The judiciary committee passed it with a vote of 6-1 and it now heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Governor Jerry Brown (D) [...]/p

Small Words, Small Guys | Common Dreams

Small Words, Small Guys | Common Dreams
"Ha. Rick 'Foot-in-the-Mouth' Perry was stupid, arrogant and contemptible enough to sound off at a right-to-life cabal on heroic filibuster Wendy Davis not learning from her own life experience as a teen mom, after which he got what was coming to him. Davis called his statement "without dignity..."

Texas State Senator Wendy Davis Stands Up For Women

Ohio Voters Don’t Support The Radical Abortion Restrictions Attached To The State Budget

Ohio Voters Don’t Support The Radical Abortion Restrictions Attached To The State Budget: On Thursday afternoon, the Ohio legislature approved a budget bill that includes several serious attacks on women’s reproductive freedom. The proposed budget would defund Planned Parenthood, strip funding from rape crisis centers that give their clients information about abortion, force some abortion clinics to close, and require doctors to give women information about the fetal [...]/p

Wendy Davis for Governor, update

www.dailykos.com/story/2013/06/28/1219664/-Wendy-Davis-for-Governor-update
"She's ready for the fight. Heck, I get the sense that she's eager for it. Wouldn't she be great in the Texas governor's mansion, and later on, the U.S. Senate or even higher? Sign the petition and leave her an encouraging message."

Texas Troopers Forcibly Arrest 72-Year-Old Woman During Wendy Davis Filibuster

Texas Troopers Forcibly Arrest 72-Year-Old Woman During Wendy Davis Filibuster
"A 72-year-old woman who appeared to be doing nothing more than observing Texas Senate proceedings following state Sen. Wendy Davis' (D) filibuster of an abortion bill was forcibly arrested and charged with assaulting an officer early Wednesday morning."

Inequality is worse than you think

www.inequality.is/
"A new project from the Economic Policy Institute will show you income inequality—what it means for working people, how it was created and how, together, we can fix it."

Wendy Davis v. Rick Perry

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Deception, Misinformation Distinguish Anti-Abortion Bills In Ohio, N.C.

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Thursday, June 27, 2013

Wendy Davis on filibuster: "A test of endurance, but well worth it"

More anti-abortion wisdom from Texas: Only 'accurate' intercourse causes pregnancy

www.dailykos.com/story/2013/06/27/1219209/-More-anti-abortion-wisdom-from-Texas-Only-accurate-intercourse-causes-nbsp-pregnancy
"This level of legislative dumb ain't natural. You have to be accurately stupid to say things this accurately dumb, you can't just stumble into it."

Planned Parenthood : 'We'll Be Ready' for TX Special Session

Planned Parenthood : 'We'll Be Ready' for TX Special Session
"State Senator Wendy Davis filibustered the bill for nearly 11 hours before Republican senators interrupted her."

'Women on the Right UNITE': GOP launches new campaign to pretend it cares about women

www.dailykos.com/story/2013/06/26/1219147/--Women-on-the-Right-UNITE-GOP-launches-new-campaign-to-pretend-it-cares-about-women
"Meanwhile, we saw the real face of the Republican Party's dealings with women in Texas Tuesday, when Texas Republicans did everything they could to shut up state Sen. Wendy Davis as she filibustered a bill that would have drastically limited women's access to abortion. Do they really think they're going to be able to convince us women matter in their party while they're pulling stuff like that?"

Does Gov. Rick Perry Hate Women?

Ohio Republicans Attach Outrageous Anti-Abortion Measures To Budget Bill

www.addictinginfo.org/2013/06/27/ohio-republicans-attach-outrageous-anti-abortion-measures-to-budget-bill/
"Texas Republicans aren’t the only ones trying to ban abortion this month. In an outrageous attempt to strip women of their constitutional right to make their own reproductive health decisions, Ohio Republicans are using the state budget legislation to force through a bevy of anti-abortion measures that have grave consequences if passed into law."

Read more: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/06/27/ohio-republicans-attach-outrageous-anti-abortion-measures-to-budget-bill/#ixzz2XSlbcFvL

Epic - Disabled Veteran Politician RIPS Fake-Disabled Contractor (VIDEO)

Marriage Equality Advocates Turn Attention To State Laws

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Rick Perry’s Cheap Shot at Wendy Davis - Truthdig

Rick Perry’s Cheap Shot at Wendy Davis - Truthdig
"Davis, meantime, took the high road in responding to the governor’s remarks. “Rick Perry’s statement is without dignity and tarnishes the high office he holds,” she said."

DOMA's Demise A Major Win For Marriage Equality

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Iconic Lesbian Couple Talk DOMA Ruling And About Finally Getting Married

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SCOTUS Delivers Landmark Victories On Same-Sex Marriage

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Time To Move Away from the Reagan Revolution

Time To Move Away from the Reagan Revolution
"From devastating the economy, to gutting social welfare programs, and helping to send thousands of Americans to the streets, the Reagan Revolution was a complete disaster for this nation, no matter what Conservatives will try to tell you."

Missouri Senator Blasts Rape Culture, Warns Against ‘Placing Blame In All The Wrong Places’

Missouri Senator Blasts Rape Culture, Warns Against ‘Placing Blame In All The Wrong Places’: Responding to a Wall Street Journal column that dismissed action to prevent sexual assault in the military as a “war on men,” Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) argued that this “deeply out of touch” understanding contributes to a problematic rape culture that places blame on the victims. In his column, conservative James Taranto likened the campaign [...]/p

Same Old Party

92-Year-Old Rosanell Eaton And Others Explain Why They’ll Go To Jail Protesting Conservative Policies In North Carolina

92-Year-Old Rosanell Eaton And Others Explain Why They’ll Go To Jail Protesting Conservative Policies In North Carolina: RALEIGH, North Carolina — Over 3,000 people turned out this week for the growing Moral Monday movement in North Carolina, where faith leaders are organizing weekly protests against the state’s sharply-conservative policies that would hurt the poor, women, minorities, and the environment. Among the crowd were 120 people who were willing to face arrest in [...]/p

Texas Shaping Up To Be Huge Battleground in 2014

Texas Shaping Up To Be Huge Battleground in 2014
"Wendy Davis' Democratic victory on Tuesday in Texas was a shot across the bow to the Texas Republican Party. In short, it sent a message that Democrats are organized, energized and working to turn Texas blue after too many years of Republican dominance. Sen. Wendy Davis was just what the doctor ordered to light up Texas women on both sides of the aisle and set their resolve to oust the old white men who want to put Big Government in their lady parts."

Texas GOP abortion bill fails against impassioned opposition

The Top 12 Crucial Moments From Texas Senator Wendy Davis’ Filibuster (VIDEOS)

www.addictinginfo.org/2013/06/27/top-12-moments-from-tx-senator-wendy-davis-filibuster-video/
"Wendy Davis’ filibuster inspired women’s health and reproductive choice activists across the nation, particularly the enormous crowds gathered in and around the state senate chamber in Austin, TX."

Read more: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/06/27/top-12-moments-from-tx-senator-wendy-davis-filibuster-video/#ixzz2XR4UmPdi

Texas blue future seen in popular backlash against GOP abortion bill

Ten Reasons No One Should Lionize Justice Kennedy

Ten Reasons No One Should Lionize Justice Kennedy: Wednesday morning, Justice Anthony Kennedy joined his four more liberal colleagues to strike down the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act — thus continuing his solid, if not entirely unbroken, pro-gay record on the Supreme Court. Gay rights, however, is one of just a few areas where Kennedy does not behave like a loyal conservative. Here [...]/p

Rick Perry Attacks Wendy Davis: ‘She Was A Teenage Mother Herself’

Rick Perry Attacks Wendy Davis: ‘She Was A Teenage Mother Herself’: Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) directly attacked state Sen. Wendy Davis (D) during a speech at the National Right To Life conference on Thursday, arguing that the state senator who filibustered for 13 hours to defeat an omnibus anti-abortion bill should have learned from her own life experiences as a single mother to value “every [...]/p

Ohio Assembly To Vote This Morning On Anti-Abortion Restrictions

Ohio Assembly To Vote This Morning On Anti-Abortion Restrictions
"Once again, male legislators and the Catholic Church are deciding what's best for the little ladies"

One Heroic Woman Tackles Teen Pregnancy and Poverty—Others Need to Wake Up | Alternet

One Heroic Woman Tackles Teen Pregnancy and Poverty—Others Need to Wake Up | Alternet
"During her 17 years as a judge, Haltom witnessed firsthand the hardship and pain and poverty sometimes faced by young women who get pregnant before they are ready—or better said, by both the young mothers and their little ones."

Texas Republican Says Senator Wendy Davis Is A Terrorist For Filibustering Anti-Abortion Bill (IMAGE)

www.addictinginfo.org/2013/06/27/texas-republican-says-senator-wendy-davis-is-a-terrorist-for-filibustering-anti-abortion-bill-image/
"She’s not a terrorist, she’s a hero and she should be respected not only as a woman, but a fantastic and brave politician who did her job by protecting her fellow citizens. That’s more than any Republican has done over the last decade."

Read more: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/06/27/texas-republican-says-senator-wendy-davis-is-a-terrorist-for-filibustering-anti-abortion-bill-image/#ixzz2XP8iuqD0

Wendy Davis Says She Has Aspirations To Run For State-Wide Office

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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Texas’ Abortion Restrictions Failed, But Other States Are Successfully Advancing Them

Texas’ Abortion Restrictions Failed, But Other States Are Successfully Advancing Them: After a battle that stretched throughout Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, state Sen. Wendy Davis (D) successfully blocked a stringent anti-abortion bill from winning approval in the Texas legislature. Davis noted that defeating SB 5 — which would have criminalized abortion after 20 weeks and forced 90 percent of the abortion clinics in the [...]/p

Thank Wendy Davis for Her Heroic Filibuster Defending Women from Another GOP Attack

www.politicususa.com/2013/06/26/wendy-davis-heroic-filibuster-defending-women-gop-attack.html
"It’s a sad commentary on the Republican Party that they couldn’t even stand to listen as Senator Davis spoke about women’s health — an issue she knows a heck of a lot more about than they do — without trying to shut her down."

Ohio Lawmakers Amend Their State Budget’s Abortion Restrictions To Be Even Worse Than Before

Ohio Lawmakers Amend Their State Budget’s Abortion Restrictions To Be Even Worse Than Before: Ohio lawmakers are currently trying to pass a state budget, but many of the debates over the legislation have nothing to do with the state’s financial policies whatsoever. Abortion opponents have hijacked the budget negotiations to launch several attacks on women’s health, tacking on provisions that would defund Planned Parenthood, shut down abortion clinics, and [...]/p

Less Than 24 Hours After Abortion Bill Filibuster, Texas Governor Calls Another Special Session

Less Than 24 Hours After Abortion Bill Filibuster, Texas Governor Calls Another Special Session: Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) will call a second special legislative session that will begin on July 1, according to ABC News reporter Arlette Saenz. The news comes less than 24 hours after Texas’ first special session concluded with a 13-hour filibuster that effectively blocked an omnibus abortion bill from passing. Perry convened the first [...]/p

Wendy Davis Showed Texas' GOP Boys How to Respect Women | Alternet

Wendy Davis Showed Texas' GOP Boys How to Respect Women | Alternet
"Sometime around midnight last night, a female state senator in Texasstood up under the capitol dome and  asked a version of the single most important question that can be asked in a democracy: "At what point does a female senator need to raise her voice to be heard over the male colleagues in the room"?"

Georgia Woman Told Vaginal Exam Necessary to Prove Gender for Driver's License | Alternet

Georgia Woman Told Vaginal Exam Necessary to Prove Gender for Driver's License | Alternet
"This is how nonchalantly we probe women's bodies nowadays."

The Lies You’ll Probably Hear If You Visit A Right-Wing ‘Crisis Pregnancy Center’

The Lies You’ll Probably Hear If You Visit A Right-Wing ‘Crisis Pregnancy Center’: Taking the morning after pill is equivalent to having an abortion. Emergency contraception typically causes dangerous hemorrhaging, can damage the cervix, and often lands women in the hospital. It’s not a good idea to buy emergency contraception over the counter. Choosing abortion is emotionally damaging to women. Those are just a few of the falsehoods [...]/p

Time for Congress to Regulate the Supreme Court Clan!

Texas Lawmaker Calls Wendy Davis A Terrorist For Blocking Anti-Abortion Bill

Texas Lawmaker Calls Wendy Davis A Terrorist For Blocking Anti-Abortion Bill: Late last night, a Republican lawmaker compared Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis (D) and the crowd of her supporters to terrorists. Davis gained national attention and admirers overnight for launching an epic 13-hour filibuster that successfully blocked a restrictive abortion bill from becoming law. Once Republicans failed to pass SB 5, an omnibus bill to [...]/p

Cecile Richards Announces The Death Of SB5 To Hundreds In Texas Capitol Rotunda. The Fight for Women's Rights. credit Andrea Grimes

Gallery Filibuster for Sen. Wendy Davis. The Fight for Women's Rights in Texas

TX Senate Erupts Into Chaos As GOP Tries to Cheat Their Way To Abortion Ban

TX Senate Erupts Into Chaos As GOP Tries to Cheat Their Way To Abortion Ban
"Because of Republicans' behavior in front of Texas and the rest of America, it's quite likely Texas really will turn blue, and sooner rather than later. Stay tuned, this is just the beginning."

Republican Senator Calls For Abolishing The Minimum Wage

Republican Senator Calls For Abolishing The Minimum Wage: On the 75th anniversary of the landmark bill that established a minimum wage, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) called for abolishing it completely, the Huffington Post reports. At a Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee meeting to mark 75 years since the signing of the Federal Labor Standards Act, which set a minimum wage and mandated [...]/p

The Court, The Corporate Coup, And The Call To Struggle

The Court, The Corporate Coup, And The Call To Struggle
"Our democracy was under siege even before the Supreme Court's ruling on the Voting Rights Act. This decision caps the Court's clean sweep on behalf of the United States Chamber of Commerce and is part of a concerted effort to seize democracy on behalf of moneyed interests."

Thanks To The Supreme Court, Wendy Davis Will Probably Lose Her Senate Seat

Thanks To The Supreme Court, Wendy Davis Will Probably Lose Her Senate Seat: On the very same day that Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis (D) drew national attention for stopping a bill that would have closed every abortion clinic in the state and outlawed abortion after 20 weeks, the Supreme Court gutted the law that kept her in office in the first place. In fact, just an hour [...]/p

Texas senator stands for millions in thwarting anti-abortion bill

PERRspectives: John Roberts Completes 30 Year Mission to Kill Voting Rights Act

PERRspectives: John Roberts Completes 30 Year Mission to Kill Voting Rights Act
"To put it another way, the conservative majority on the Roberts' Court called a foul ball fair. Apparently, that's what Reagan staffer turned Chief Umpire John Roberts meant to do all along."

Killing The Voting Rights Act

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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Texas Lawmaker Attempts To Block Stringent Abortion Restrictions With 13-Hour Filibuster

Texas Lawmaker Attempts To Block Stringent Abortion Restrictions With 13-Hour Filibuster: Texas’ special session ends at midnight on Tuesday. And if state Sen. Wendy Davis (D) can continue speaking until that point about the dangerous effects of SB 5, an omnibus abortion bill that Texas Republicans are currently attempting to push through the extra lawmaking session, she’ll effectively block it from being able to pass. Since [...]/p

Sen. Murray Blasts Republicans For ‘Governing By Crisis’

Sen. Murray Blasts Republicans For ‘Governing By Crisis’: In an interview with ThinkProgress on Tuesday, Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA) blasted the pattern of manufactured legislative crises that’s prevailed in Congress since 2011. Murray, who was at Center for American Progress to give a speech on early childhood education, argued that Republican obstructionism has prevented the government from effectively planning for [...]/p

Two Hours After The Supreme Court Gutted The Voting Rights Act, Texas AG Suppresses Minority Voters

Two Hours After The Supreme Court Gutted The Voting Rights Act, Texas AG Suppresses Minority Voters: Just two hours after the Supreme Court reasoned that discrimination is not rampant enough in Southern states to warrant restrictions under the Voting Rights Act, Texas is already advancing a voter ID law and a redistricting map blocked last year for discriminating against black and Latino residents. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott issued a statement [...]/p

Ku Klux Kourt Kills King's Dream Law, Replaces Voting Rights Act With Katherine Harris Acts

Ku Klux Kourt Kills King's Dream Law, Replaces Voting Rights Act With Katherine Harris Acts
"The Jim Crow majority on the Supreme Court just took away the vote of millions of Hispanic and African-American voters by wiping away Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965."

What the Supreme Court Doesn’t Understand About the Voting Rights Act | The Nation

What the Supreme Court Doesn’t Understand About the Voting Rights Act | The Nation
"Today’s 5-4 decision by the Roberts Court gutting the VRA was the result of three factors, as I wrote in February: “a whiter, more Southern, more conservative GOP that has responded to demographic change by trying to suppress an increasingly diverse electorate; a twenty-five-year effort to gut the VRA by conservative intellectuals, who in recent years have received millions of dollars from top right-wing funders, including Charles Koch; and a reactionary Supreme Court that does not support remedies to racial discrimination"."

Congressman Justifies Getting Rid Of Sex Ed Because ‘Mankind Has Existed For A Long Time’ Without It

Congressman Justifies Getting Rid Of Sex Ed Because ‘Mankind Has Existed For A Long Time’ Without It: According to Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), kids do not need sexual education because mankind has been fine for a long time without it. Right Wing Watch reports that Gohmert took offense at forcing “this sexuality stuff” onto kids. “Let the kids be innocent,” Gohmert said on a Christian radio show. “Let them dream. Let them [...]/p

Iowa Governor Must Personally Decide Whether Each Poor Woman On Medicaid Deserves Abortion Coverage

Iowa Governor Must Personally Decide Whether Each Poor Woman On Medicaid Deserves Abortion Coverage: Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) has approved a measure to expand his state’s Medicaid program under Obamacare, which will extend health coverage to tens of thousands of his poor residents. But there’s a catch buried in the Medicaid expansion legislation that the governor signed last week. Now, when low-income women on Medicaid seek insurance coverage [...]/p

Conservatives Celebrate Gutting Of Voting Rights Act

Conservatives Celebrate Gutting Of Voting Rights Act: After the Supreme Court struck down a critical provision of the Voting Rights Act this morning, several prominent conservative groups and writers tap-danced on the historic civil rights legislation’s grave. Writing at National Review, a magazine that defended segregation and has more recently published pieces by white nationalists and “race realists,” John Fund suggested that [...]/p

Get Angry: The Arrogant Activist Supreme Court Majority Demolished Your Right To Vote

www.politicususa.com/2013/06/25/angry-arrogant-activist-supreme-court-majority-demolished-vote.html
"Their reasoning was deeply flawed, and their motives were laughably transparent. This was the conservative justices’ attempt to put a Republican back in the White House. Through this decision, they opened the door to all sorts of voter suppression laws that will largely target two key pieces of the new Democratic coalition that has grown up during the Obama years, Hispanics and African Americans."

Three Ways The Supreme Court Gutted Voting Rights Today

Three Ways The Supreme Court Gutted Voting Rights Today: The Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling striking down key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, for the moment at least, eliminated the requirement that jurisdictions with a history of discrimination pre-clear election and voting law changes to ensure they do not disenfranchise minority voters. While the remaining provisions will still ban outright racial discrimination, those states [...]/p

Outrage As Texas Abortion Bill Threatens Care, Wellbeing Of Millions Of Women

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Monday, June 24, 2013

Texas Legislator Claims Rape Kits Are A Form Of Abortion

Texas Legislator Claims Rape Kits Are A Form Of Abortion: In the midst of all the chaos on Sunday night as the Texas legislature pushed through a series of stringent restrictions on abortion and women’s health, it was easy to miss what might have been the most inaccurate and dangerous claim of the evening: One state representative tried to argue on the State House floor [...]/p

Angelina Jolie Calls On U.N. To Fight Sexual Violence In Conflict

Angelina Jolie Calls On U.N. To Fight Sexual Violence In Conflict: Famed actress Angelina Jolie took up her lesser-known role of a United Nations representative on Monday, promoting strong action against rape and sexual violence in war zones. The fifteen-member United Nations Security Council met on Monday to hold an open debate on the use of sexual violence as a tool of warfare. Jolie was named [...]/p

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi Warns The War On Women Isn’t Over

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi Warns The War On Women Isn’t Over: SAN JOSE, CA — Despite massive protests, abortion opponents pushed through yet more radical restrictions on women’s reproductive rights last week. House Republicans passed a national ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy — a largely symbolic move destined for failure in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Early Monday morning, even as the capitol flooded with [...]/p

POLL: Majority Of Texans Don’t Support The Abortion Restrictions Moving Through The Legislature

POLL: Majority Of Texans Don’t Support The Abortion Restrictions Moving Through The Legislature: Most Texas residents don’t support Senate Bill 5, the omnibus anti-abortion bill currently advancing in the legislature, according to a new bipartisan poll. In fact, 80 percent of Texans don’t want their lawmakers to be considering abortion-related bills during the special session that Gov. Rick Perry (R) convened at the beginning of the month. SB [...]/p

An Open Letter to Anyone Ready to Write Off Texas: Don’t, Because it’s "Your" Future at Stake | Common Dreams

An Open Letter to Anyone Ready to Write Off Texas: Don’t, Because it’s "Your" Future at Stake | Common Dreams
"It’s no accident or coincidence that so-called flyover states have passed highly restrictive abortion bills in advance of Congress’ vote. That’s part of the plan. Anti-choice politicians and activists have been working for years to reduce access to abortion in red states where they know they’ll find little opposition from friendly legislators looking to ramp up the war on women.

Texas is not a throw-away state full of throw-away people who can be shrugged off with a contemptuous, “Well, what do you expect?” Texas is not an outlier. Texas is a test case for right-wingers with their eyes on the coasts and, as Congress showed this week, Washington, D.C."

'A Slow-Motion Train Wreck': The Real Consequences of the Sequester | The Nation

'A Slow-Motion Train Wreck': The Real Consequences of the Sequester | The Nation
"The Republican-led House voted to eliminate $1.5 trillion in discretionary spending through 2022 during the much-publicized sequester, causing widespread pain and havoc through American communities, the effects of which we’re starting to see. In some cases, these cuts are literally stripping the clothes from children’s backs and taking food and shelter from the needy."

12-Year-Old Girl Kicked Off Football Team Because Boys Had ‘Impure Thoughts’ About Her

12-Year-Old Girl Kicked Off Football Team Because Boys Had ‘Impure Thoughts’ About Her: A private school outside Atlanta recently informed 12-year-old Madison Baxter that she would not be welcome at tryouts for the 7th-grade football team, even though she started on the sixth-grade team and has been playing football since second grade. The reason she won’t be allowed on the field? Because her male teammates are beginning to [...]/p

Bill Cunningham Should Be Fired From Fox News

Bill Cunningham Should Be Fired From Fox News
"Do you see a pattern here? What Cunningham said was reprehensible, but it's pretty standard Fox News stock-in-trade. By having the women in the morning slot denounce that behavior, they get to pretend as though they give a damn about women -- while they simultaneously troll and manhandle them verbally."

Republican Strategy For 2016: Change Nothing, Piss Everyone Off

www.addictinginfo.org/2013/06/23/shannons-failing-gop-piece/
"Republicans will once again lose the popular vote in the 2016 election, just as they have the last five of six presidential elections unless they put their listening caps on and and pay attention to what they are being taught. It does not matter how they convey their message if their message is: We hate poor people, we hate minorities, we hate women. Hate is no way to win an election and there isn’t a nice enough way in the world to sugarcoat it."

Read more: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/06/23/shannons-failing-gop-piece/#ixzz2X9WKuDxS

Despite Massive Protests, Texas GOP Rushes Through Abortion Restrictions In The Middle Of The Night

Despite Massive Protests, Texas GOP Rushes Through Abortion Restrictions In The Middle Of The Night: More than 600 women’s health advocates crowded into Texas’ state capitol building on Sunday night, hoping to prevent a vote on a package of abortion restrictions before the state’s special session ends early this week. Ultimately, however, their efforts were unsuccessful. In the early hours of Monday morning, Republicans used their majority to cut off [...]/p

The Scariest Pending Supreme Court Case That You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

The Scariest Pending Supreme Court Case That You’ve Probably Never Heard Of: When the Supreme Court starts handing down decisions just one hour from now, most Court watchers will be awaiting four high profile cases — the two race cases that will decide the fate of affirmative action and the Voting Rights Act, and the two marriage equality cases. A fifth case, however, could prove just as [...]/p

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Under GOP Plan, States Would Be Free To Take Money Away From Poorest Schools

Under GOP Plan, States Would Be Free To Take Money Away From Poorest Schools: Republicans are reintroducing a bill to allow states to redistribute federal education dollars currently targeted at the country’s poorest school districts. The A-PLUS Act, originally crafted by the arch-conservative Heritage Foundation, was first introduced in 2007, and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) have revived it for 2013. The measure represents the [...]/p

Minimum Wage Workers Should Get a Raise | Economic Policy Institute

Minimum Wage Workers Should Get a Raise | Economic Policy Institute
"Finally, it’s worth noting that if the minimum wage had kept up with productivity growth over the last 45 years, it would now be around $19 per hour. That sounds outrageously high; it’s higher than the median wage, which is currently around $16.30 per hour. But we should be clear about why a $19 minimum wage sounds outrageous – in particular, why it is higher than the median wage—it is because the median wage is so low."

Surviving in a Nuclear Armed World: An Unexamined Assumption | Common Dreams

Surviving in a Nuclear Armed World: An Unexamined Assumption | Common Dreams
"As long as nuclear weapons exist we face a real and imminent danger of catastrophe either by design or accident. It is a matter of shear luck that we survive. Luck is not a viable security policy. We owe it to our children and future generations to abolish all nuclear weapons. The time to act is now."

Saturday, June 22, 2013

PERRspectives: GOP Abortion Bills Mandate Medical Malpractice

PERRspectives: GOP Abortion Bills Mandate Medical Malpractice
"What is really being rendered meaningless, of course, is the very doctor-patient relationship Republicans pretend they want to protect. To prevent abortion procedures from being performed in the United States, GOP leaders insist that American physicians must engage in medical malpractice."

Texans Push Back Against Republican Effort To Destroy Women’s Health Across The State

www.addictinginfo.org/2013/06/22/hundreds-of-texas-citizens-travel-to-capitol-to-rally-against-draconian-anti-abortion-bill/
"In their effort to ban abortion throughout the state of Texas, Republican lawmakers are attempting to force through sweeping anti-abortion legislation during a special session designed to give them more power to do so."

Read more: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/06/22/hundreds-of-texas-citizens-travel-to-capitol-to-rally-against-draconian-anti-abortion-bill/#ixzz2Wy1HNZ1u

Care For Millions Of American Women At Stake In Texas Abortion Fight

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Anti-Choice Bills Move Forward In Texas

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Friday, June 21, 2013

Women’s Health Groups Fight Kansas’ Anti-Abortion Law That Forces Doctors To Mislead Their Patients

Women’s Health Groups Fight Kansas’ Anti-Abortion Law That Forces Doctors To Mislead Their Patients: Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit on Thursday against a new Kansas law that would require doctors in the state to tell women medically disputed information about abortion, and the Center for Reproductive Rights followed up with their own lawsuit against the measure on Friday. The package of abortion restrictions — which will also instate costly [...]/p

Insurers To Rebate Consumers $500 Million As A Result Of Obamacare

Insurers To Rebate Consumers $500 Million As A Result Of Obamacare: This summer, over 8.5 million Americans will get back $500 million in rebates from insurance companies that charged them too much thanks to an Obamacare consumer protection that limits how much insurers can profit off of premiums, according to new government data. But the size of Americans’ rebate checks varies wildly by geographic region, highlighting [...]/p

Thursday, June 20, 2013

In All But Six States, You Can Be Fired For Being A Victim Of Domestic Violence

In All But Six States, You Can Be Fired For Being A Victim Of Domestic Violence: Last week, Carie Charlesworth, a teacher in California and a victim of domestic violence, was fired from her job because her abusive husband invaded the school parking lot and put the school on lockdown. While her abuser was sent to prison, she was also punished for his crime by losing her employment. The school’s action [...]/p

From Middle Class To Peasant Class: How Republicans Made America A Top Poverty Creator

www.politicususa.com/2013/06/20/middle-class-peasant-class-republicans-america-top-poverty-creator.html
"America became an exceptional nation with the rise of the great middle class, and it is sliding into a nation of peasants as Republicans thirty year effort to destroy the middle class is reaching fruition. Nearly a quarter of America’s children are living in poverty, millions of Americans earn a pathetic minimum wage insufficient to put a roof over their heads, and the idea of ever achieving anything more is being thwarted by Republicans in all areas of government, but particularly the states. Right to work laws, banning minimum wage, eliminating healthcare, prohibiting paid sick leave, robbing food and housing assistance for seniors and the poor to provide more of the nation’s wealth for the rich and their corporations are all part of the Republicans’ three decade effort to destroy the middle class"

Prepare for the Slanderous Return of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy if Hillary Clinton Runs in 2016

Prepare for the Slanderous Return of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy if Hillary Clinton Runs in 2016
"The right had fought the Clintons tooth and nail for decades. In 2000, when Hillary went out on her own and ran for the Senate from New York State, "Hillary hunting" became a reliable right-wing mantra."

Global Report Calls Violence Against Women a Crisis of “Epidemic Proportions” | Alternet

Global Report Calls Violence Against Women a Crisis of “Epidemic Proportions” | Alternet
"According to  statistics released Thursday by the World Health Organization (WHO), more than one in three women around the world have been raped or physically abused; 80 percent of this abuse happens in the home at the hands of an intimate partner or spouse."

Is the filibuster making the Senate filibusted?

Women Senators Organize To Make The Immigration Reform Bill More Equal

Women Senators Organize To Make The Immigration Reform Bill More Equal: A group of twelve female Senators on Thursday announced that they will introduce an amendment to try to make the Senate’s immigration reform bill more fair to female immigrants. In a release, the senators say that the immigration bill, in its current form, “inadvertently disadvantages women who are trying to immigrate to the United States.” [...]/p

World Health Organization: Violence Against Women Is An ‘Epidemic’ Global Health Problem

World Health Organization: Violence Against Women Is An ‘Epidemic’ Global Health Problem: One in three women worldwide have faced intimate partner violence or sexual violence, a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) finds. After analyzing the mental, sexual, reproductive, and physical health consequences faced by victims of violence, the report characterized this issue as a global health epidemic. “This is a shockingly high figure,” Karen [...]/p

REPORT: DC’s Paid Sick Leave Law Had No Negative Effect On Businesses

REPORT: DC’s Paid Sick Leave Law Had No Negative Effect On Businesses: A new audit of Washington, DC’s paid sick leave law finds that it didn’t discourage business owners from basing their businesses in the city, nor did it encourage them to move to another location, as detractors had warned could happen. The Office of the District of Columbia Auditor interviewed business owners from when the law [...]/p

Health Care Plans Under Obamacare Will Cost Even Less Than Expected

Health Care Plans Under Obamacare Will Cost Even Less Than Expected: A new analysis of health care premiums proposed under the Affordable Care Act concludes that health plans will cost even less than originally expected. That’s likely because the insurance marketplaces will encourage more competition between insurers. Avalere Health looked at insurers’ proposed rates for Obamacare’s statewide insurance marketplaces in nine different states, and found that [...]/p

Doctors Warn That Ohio’s New Anti-Abortion Bill Will Have ‘Disastrous Effects’ On Their Patients

Doctors Warn That Ohio’s New Anti-Abortion Bill Will Have ‘Disastrous Effects’ On Their Patients: Testifying against a sweeping new anti-abortion measure recently introduced by Ohio Republicans, three women’s health experts warned that the legislation represents a dangerous overreach into their medical practice. The doctors explained that HB 200 would force them to lie to their patients, and could potentially put women’s lives at risk. “I’m very worried about the [...]/p

Republicans Continue Quest To Cut $2 Billion A Year From Food Stamp Program

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What Poverty Looks Like In America

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Wednesday, June 19, 2013

A Reminder: Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock Aren't Outliers in Today's GOP

A Reminder: Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock Aren't Outliers in Today's GOP
"this rhetoric accurately reflects Republican Party platform positions. As long as the party vows to criminalize all abortions, they're going to have people explaining why--which is what got Akin in trouble."

Forget the GOP, House Republicans Are Rebranding Wombs

www.politicususa.com/2013/06/19/forget-gop-house-republicans-rebranding-wombs.html
"House Republicans want government small enough to fit in your womb. And we need to make sure women remember that in 2014."

New Jersey Lawmakers: If We Can Afford A Special Election, We Can Find The Money For Family Planning

New Jersey Lawmakers: If We Can Afford A Special Election, We Can Find The Money For Family Planning: After Gov. Chris Christie (R) slashed $7.5 million from women’s health programs in 2010 — mainly to prevent the money from going to Planned Parenthood — several health clinics in the state were forced to close. Now, New Jersey lawmakers are pushing to restore state funding for those family planning clinics, pointing out that many [...]/p

Now That Plan B Is Available To All Women, Conservatives Want To Restrict It On The State Level

Now That Plan B Is Available To All Women, Conservatives Want To Restrict It On The State Level: Earlier this month, the Obama Administration dropped its fight to restrict over-the-counter emergency contraception for young women. Now, Plan B will be available without a prescription for women of all ages — but that move hasn’t exactly made social conservatives happy. Anti-choice groups are already trying to figure out how they can lobby for state [...]/p

House Passes Most Restrictive Abortion Bill In 10 Years

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GOP brings anti-science perspectives to war on women

Anti-Abortion Group In Ohio Is Fundraising By Selling Assault Rifles

Anti-Abortion Group In Ohio Is Fundraising By Selling Assault Rifles: Personhood Ohio, a far-right group attempting to outlaw all abortions by defining life as beginning at conception, is still attempting to get a “personhood” amendment on the state ballot after falling short last year. And the leader of the group, Patrick Johnston, is trying out a few creative fundraising efforts to raise money for Personhood [...]/p

Republicans Want To Cut $20 Billion From Food Stamps

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Big Lie: America Doesn't Have #1 Richest Middle-Class in the World...We're Ranked 27th! | Alternet

Big Lie: America Doesn't Have #1 Richest Middle-Class in the World...We're Ranked 27th! | Alternet
"America is the richest country on Earth. We have the most millionaires, the most billionaires and our wealthiest citizens have garnered more of the planet's riches than any other group in the world. We even have hedge fund managers who make in one hour as much as the average family makes in 21 years!  
This opulence is supposed to trickle down to the rest of us, improving the lives of everyday Americans. At least that's what free-market cheerleaders repeatedly promise us. Unfortunately, it's a lie, one of the biggest ever perpetrated on the American people."

Sen. Warren on Corporate Capture of the Federal Courts

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Wall Street Journal Columnist Calls Allegations Of Sexual Assault ‘A He-Said/She-Said Dispute’

Wall Street Journal Columnist Calls Allegations Of Sexual Assault ‘A He-Said/She-Said Dispute’: pConservative commentator James Taranto, in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal on Monday night, detailed a set of allegations of sexual assault in the military before concluding that they amounted to a “he-said/she-said dispute” that only revealed “a political campaign against sexual assault in the military that shows signs of becoming an effort to [...]/p

Boehner Tries to Justify the War on Women as House Uses Female Lawmaker in PR Stunt

www.politicususa.com/2013/06/18/boehner-justify-war-women-house-female-lawmaker-pr-stunt.html
"The fact that the measure was initially approved by a committee made up of 23 Republican men and not one woman wasn’t helping the GOP escape their “war on women” branding."

GOP’s war on women has a new face: Marsha Blackburn

GOP’s war on women has a new face: Marsha Blackburn
"Blackburn would seem to be an odd choice to help Republicans improve their popularity with women. On “Meet the Press” just two weeks ago she made headlines by insisting women “don’t want” equal pay laws (she of course voted against the Lilly Ledbetter fair pay act.) Now she’s insisting that the House GOP’s anti-abortion bill is meant to help women, too."

The Health Care Cost Slowdown Could Be Here To Stay, Saving Companies And The Government Billions

The Health Care Cost Slowdown Could Be Here To Stay, Saving Companies And The Government Billions: U.S. health costs have been slowing down — and will continue to do so thanks to changes in the health care industry spurred by Obamacare, according to a new analysis by consulting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). PwC’s report finds that a combination of factors — including Americans’ increasing use of inexpensive retail clinics for basic medical [...]/p