In Texas, the Democrats Stopped a Draconian Anti-Abortion Bill from being put into law

In Texas, they wanted to pass a draconian anti-abortion bill.

A lone State Senator, Wendy Davis, stood on the Texas State Senate floor, with no breaks – for 11 hours, filibustering the bill.

She succeeded.









The Dems ran out the clock in Texas on that draconian anti-abortion law.

Of course, the GOP tried to lie and cheat and say that it passed…because, that’s WHO THEY ARE.

BUT, TWITTER, WAS A GAME CHANGER ONCE AGAIN

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TIMESTAMPGATE: After A Crazy Night, This Photograph Helped Kill A Controversial Texas Abortion Bill

JOE WEISENTHAL

It was a crazy night in Texas politics that ended just before 4 AM Central Time, with a controversial abortion bill (that would have shut down the majority of Texas clinics) getting killed at the last minute.

Carolyn Jones at The Texas Observer has a great writeup of what went down, but it was basically this.

- snip –

That’s when pro-choice activists in the chamber started shouting, and created enough chaos so that the state Senate couldn’t vote by midnight, which was the end of the legislative session.. The final vote to pass the bill happened just after midnight at 12:03.

However, Republicans claimed that the vote got in before midnight.

According to Jones, Republicans had to admit that that they were a few minutes late on the bill, when Texas State Senator Juan Chuy Hinojosa tweeted this photo showing that the initial readout of the vote indicated it happened on June 26, but that a subsequent readout had been changed, showing June 25.

The initial time stamp on the Capitol website and on Senate documents placed the vote at 12:02 or 12:03 on June 26. But then someone mysteriously changed the time stamp to make it appear SB 5 passed before the deadline (see the post below for photographic evidence). The time stamp evidence, circulated on Twitter, eventually forced GOP leaders to admit defeat, at least for tonight.

Lots of Charts

I've updated my Charts page. It's good stuff, if, you know, you're into that sort of thing. My favorite one is the first one showing how much Texas leads the nation in executions.

Chart: Number Executed In Texas

Digging through the archives I found this chart I made two years ago for my classes. I could update it through 2010, but it would just show a longer line for Texas.

State Legislator Betty Brown Embarrasses Texas

By now, you're probably familiar with the ridiculous comments of Texas State Rep. Betty Brown on how Asians should change their names so that they are more easily pronounced. Crystal Smith has some choice words on the matter. And, here is the video.

Gov. Perry, This is America. Love it or leave it.

Go back where you came from, and that's NOT Texas.

Do you know how long I've waited to say this to his ilk?

LOL

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

This Takes ' Driving While Black' to a Whole Other Level

From The Chicago Tribune's Howard Witt:

Highway robbery? Texas police seize black motorists' cash, cars
Suit says cops force motorists, largely black, to forfeit cash and cars—or be charged with trumped-up crimes
By Howard Witt Tribune correspondent
March 10, 2009

TENAHA, Texas— You can drive into this dusty fleck of a town near the Texas-Louisiana border if you're African-American, but you might not be able to drive out of it—at least not with your car, your cash, your jewelry or other valuables.

That's because the police here allegedly have found a way to strip motorists, many of them black, of their property without ever charging them with a crime. Instead they offer out-of-towners a grim choice: voluntarily sign over your belongings to the town, or face felony charges of money laundering or other serious crimes.

More than 140 people reluctantly accepted that deal from June 2006 to June 2008, according to court records. Among them were a black grandmother from Akron, who surrendered $4,000 in cash after Tenaha police pulled her over, and an interracial couple from Houston, who gave up more than $6,000 after police threatened to seize their children and put them into foster care, the court documents show. Neither the grandmother nor the couple were charged with any crime.

Officials in Tenaha, situated along a heavily traveled highway connecting Houston with popular gambling destinations in Louisiana, say they are engaged in a battle against drug trafficking and call the search-and-seizure practice a legitimate use of the state's asset-forfeiture law. That law permits local police agencies to keep drug money and other property used in the commission of a crime and add the proceeds to their budgets.

"We try to enforce the law here," said George Bowers, mayor of the town of 1,046 residents, where boarded-up businesses outnumber open ones and City Hall sports a broken window. "We're not doing this to raise money. That's all I'm going to say at this point."

But civil rights lawyers call Tenaha's practice something else: highway robbery. The attorneys have filed a federal class-action lawsuit to stop what they contend is an unconstitutional perversion of the law's intent, aimed primarily at blacks who have done nothing wrong.

Tenaha officials "have developed an illegal 'stop and seize' practice of targeting, stopping, detaining, searching and often seizing property from apparently non-white citizens and those traveling with non-white citizens," asserts the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas.

The property seizures are not just happening in Tenaha. In southern parts of Texas near the Mexican border, for example, Hispanics allege that they are being singled out.

According to a prominent state legislator, police agencies across Texas are wielding the asset-forfeiture law more aggressively to supplement their shrinking operating budgets.

"If used properly, it's a good law-enforcement tool to see that crime doesn't pay," said state Sen. John Whitmire, chairman of the Senate's Criminal Justice Committee. "But in this instance, where people are being pulled over and their property is taken with no charges filed and no convictions, I think that's theft."

David Guillory, an attorney in Nacogdoches who filed the federal lawsuit, said he combed through Shelby County court records from 2006 to 2008 and discovered nearly 200 cases in which Tenaha police seized cash and property from motorists. In about 50 of the cases, suspects were charged with drug possession.

But in 147 others, Guillory said the court records showed, police seized cash, jewelry, cell phones and sometimes even automobiles from motorists but never found any contraband or charged them with any crime. Of those, Guillory said he managed to contact 40 of the motorists directly—and discovered all but one of them were black.

"The whole thing is disproportionately targeted toward minorities, particularly African-Americans," Guillory said. "None of these people have been charged with a crime, none were engaged in anything that looked criminal. The sole factor is that they had something that looked valuable."

Rest of Article at link above.

Will the Obama Justice Department investigate this?

Texas' Exonerated

In the November issue of Texas Monthly, the magazine interviews many of the 37 men who spent 525 years in prison who later turned out to be innocent of the crimes with which they were accused.

The stories are heartbreaking, frustrating, and stupefying. It is the tale of a penal system where success is measured in convictions, not sound investigating procedures. Naturally, law enforcement will counter that they get far more convictions right than they get wrong, but one is too many.

Analysis
I don't have any solutions for "fixing" the system other than we should select our district attorneys on ABA-rendered merit rather than electing them. Same with judges. Electing judges is a disgrace when we're supposed to have an independent judiciary.

Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzales Have Been Indicted!

Vice President Dick Cheney and former AG Alberto Gonzales have been indicted by a Texas Grand Jury.

Read more here

Child Rape Now Legal In State of Texas?

Texas Supreme Court Decides that Children Must Be Returned to FLDS

The Texas Supreme Court decided last week that children rescued from a Texas Ranch (where child rape was common) must now be returned, due to the fact that Texas Child welfare authorities did not have enough evidence to remove the children. Despite the fact that the FLDS rape victims were completely cut off from the outside World and were mentally conditioned to avoid non-sect members and to not seek help. In other words, this may have been one of the few opportunities to conduct a rescue. There won't be many other chances to do so. The children are being sent back into a situation where they will once again be cut off from the outside world, and that includes being cut-off from help. With the few reports trickling out of the FLDS sect over the past year or so we are probably seeing just the tip of a very big iceberg. Due to the secrecy of the group, there was likely a lot more abuse taking place inside the compound that authorities have not yet learned about or that they cannot confirm. But the Texas "High" Court (High indeed) saw fit to send the children back to the rape camp.Wonderful! This is another indication for me that America has lost its collective mind.

So child rape is now legal in the State of Texas. I love the State of Texas... and spent a few years growing up there. Beautiful State. But some of the people there are just downright crazy. It is a State that definitely has its own culture and tradition - A World unto itself. I understand that it is a very Conservative & "Live & Let Live" Libertarian State. In fact, that "Live & Let Live" culture was probably one of the reasons why the State was chosen as a site for FLDS activities, and ultimately the reason why the cult was left alone for so long, allowing for the open abuse of so many children. But this was no time for Libertarianism on the Texas Supreme Court.

Imagine a scene at a rape trial where the victim is ordered to go home with the rapist and to do what they say…. This is essentially the helpless situation that the children are placed in. Such a scene would be unthinkable in a rape case. But somehow it is acceptable in the FLDS cases. The Texas Courts have become enablers for the FLDS abuse. It reminds me of how the government was a silent enabler for the Catholic Priest abuse, typically choosing not to arrest child molesters and seek charges for their crimes. The Courts would often defer to the Catholic Church, allowing the Church to Police itself. That didn't work out so well.

Now, I understand that this whole thing was botched... The child welfare authorities screwed up, although they were in a horrible position. But the Prosecution royally screwed up in this case. The Prosecutors should have been guiding the process from the start so that this outcome could have been avoided. One huge mistake is that they apparently didn't submit all of the necessary evidence to the court- evidence that was actually available to them.

This is where the Courts must use a little common sense, particularly in a case where the victims are children who cannot defend themselves. I'm all for adhering to the Constitution, rules of evidence, and probable cause requirements. But just because the State didn't have all of its T's crossed shouldn't lead to a public safety risk. If photos of grown men kissing young children is not enough evidence for these Texas Judges, then I don't know what kind of evidence would be enough for them. Not to mention the underage children who were popping out babies even while in custody. Disturbing!

Message to Pedophiles from the Texas Supreme Court- You can come to the State of Texas and operate freely, without any scrutiny from the State Courts. All you have to do is set up your own religious community and cut your victims off from the outside World.

A Roundup of the Weeks Events - Dissecting the Democratic Primary

NPR's On Point Radio program breaks down the Democratic Primary, and takes a look at other events from the past week.

Jack Beatty: "Race (ethnicity) becoming a Factor in Democratic Primary"

.... Beatty goes on to mention the issue of negative images of Black Americans in media and in the Popular Culture....and how that may impact perceptions among the White electorate. He is 110% right. The panel also tells the truth about the race strategy that Clinton has engaged in... to mark Obama as "The Black Candidate" who should be feared by voters.

I just want to grab these pro-Rap people by their necks when they start talking their apologist nonsense about the negative images, the embrace & worship of the street thug Rap culture in so-called "Black America", and the rampant crime that has consumed Black communities.

Those who say that this stuff isn't damaging... that the image of Black Americans in the U.S. and around the World is just fine... must have two sets of blinders on.

Listen Here

Post March 4th Discussion on Charlie Rose

Melissa Harris Lacewell (who I don't always agree with) spoke the truth when she talked about the way that March 4th is being framed & spun by the media.

Post March 4th - Mad as Hell....and what went wrong for Obama.

I'm finally able to blog again after this weeks horror Show (starring the Clintons).

I knew that Obama was headed for trouble during the Ohio debate (and a little before that with the release of the photo of Obama in traditional African clothing during an official Congressional visit). It was clear that with the photo... The Clinton camp wanted to scare White voters in Texas and Ohio, where xenophobia and racism are already issues. The Clinton campaign seized on this built-in advantage. But the debate itself was a turning point. After the photo, they went after Obama again (with the help of Tim Russert & the executives who decide the questions) by asking him about Louis Farrakhan. This should have never been an issue & was not an issue before the Corporate media made it appear as such. The question actually caught me a little by surprise. But it had a purpose. It may have helped to emphasize Obama's race, and likely stoked fears among Whites in Ohio and Texas... particularly for those people who already had doubts about a black candidate and who may have been looking for a reason to discount Obama. Clinton only needed the fear mongering to work for a portion of the electorate... just enough to secure wins in the primary vote. After the debate...she went to the fearmongering again (with the help of her friends in the media) when the Muslim question came up during the 60 minutes interview. Then there was the red phone/3 A.M. ad.

According to exit polls and other data.... most of the late undecided voters (those who already had doubts) broke for Clinton 2-1... so the race baiting, & fearmongering worked.

After all of that, Clinton only managed partial success (of course her corporate media allies are not framing it that way). Obama really did everything that he needed to do, according to the list of things that I mentioned a few weeks ago. He won Vermont, and blunted her success in Texas....and he actually did pretty well there. As I type, they are still trying to figure out what is what in Texas....but it looks like Hillary only managed to gain a small handful of delegates from the entire night, when she really needed to get blowouts in all 4 States and gain 25, 30 or 40 delegates. She failed!

From the Obama Camp- Campaign Manager David Plouffe:

Our projections show the most likely outcome of yesterday’s elections will be that Hillary Clinton gained 187 delegates, and we gained 183.

That’s a net gain of 4 delegates out of more than 370 delegates available from all the states that voted.

For comparison, that’s less than half our net gain of 9 delegates from the District of Columbia alone. It’s also less than our net gain of 8 from Nebraska, or 12 from Washington State. And it’s considerably less than our net gain of 33 delegates from Georgia.

The task for the Clinton campaign yesterday was clear. In order to have a plausible path to the nomination, they needed to score huge delegate victories and cut into our lead.

They failed.

It’s clear, though, that Senator Clinton wants to continue an increasingly desperate, increasingly negative — and increasingly expensive — campaign to tear us down.

That’s her decision. But it’s not stopping John McCain, who clinched the Republican nomination last night, from going on the offensive. He’s already made news attacking Barack, and that will only become more frequent in the coming days.
Right now, it’s essential for every single supporter of Barack Obama to step up and help fight this two-front battle. In the face of attacks from Hillary Clinton and John McCain, we need to be ready to take them on.

The chatter among pundits may have gotten better for the Clinton campaign after last night, but by failing to cut into our lead, the math — and their chances of winning —got considerably worse.

Today, we still have a lead of more than 150 delegates, and there are only 611 pledged delegates left to win in the upcoming contests.
By a week from today, we will have competed in Wyoming and Mississippi. Two more states and 45 more delegates will be off the table.

But if Senator Clinton wants to continue this, let’s show that we’re ready.

Why isn't the media reporting the reality of the situation with the delegates? Why no reporting about the actual delegate count in the Texas contest?

The media is clearly trying to help Clinton. The corporate media has become an official part of her spin machine.

Even today... I have yet to see one major network report that Obama may have actually won more delegates out of Texas...or at least matched her delegates there. I have yet to see a major network mention that Clinton only managed to gain a small handful of delegates out of the entire night when she needed the kind of numbers that I listed above.

How in the Hell is that a huge victory? It's all about perception.
And they are spinning the Hell out of her wins.

I have yet to hear the big media mention the fact that just 4 or 5 weeks ago... Clinton was leading in Texas and Ohio by very large margins...as much as 20 points... None have given Obama any positive coverage for the way he was able to close the gap to be competitive in States that he was never supposed to win.

Instead...they turned it around and made it a huge failure for Obama...despite the fact that these were States that Clinton was supposed to win all along.

I'm rattled....but not by Obama's perceived losses...but by the way the White corporate media is framing events....and by how they are assisting Clinton by essentially using her talking points and by not scrutinizing her the way that they scrutinize Obama.

I'm also rattled (but not surprised) by the racism amongst the electorate... I expected that all along. That's why I never thought Obama had a snowballs chance in Hell- The U.S. is a racist nation... that will likely never give a Black candidate any real chance. But what really bothers me is how the uneducated voting public in some of these States is falling for the Clinton bull.

I think racism & fear are beginning to trump the "Change" theme. And this is why the Clinton's have been using the issue of race. Yes...people want change...but Clinton is reminding them that Barack is "The Black Guy" and that "Real Change" is not worth that kind of risky "roll of the dice". And what kind of "change" with the d*mb inexperienced n***er bring you anyway?

And once you plant seeds of doubt about a Black candidate in White voters... it takes on a life of its own. The doubt about Black people is already in the White brain....It is built-in; it simply needs to be triggered or turned on. And Clinton understands this and is trying to exploit it for all it's worth.

Barack will be damaged from here on out.... the question will be... to what degree will he be damaged.

It appeared that he lost some White voters in Ohio and Texas... So the racial nonsense is really starting to take a toll.

It will probably hurt him in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Oregon, and other places... even in Mississippi and North Carolina. But he should win enough of the remaining States to stay ahead in delegates. Wyoming will be interesting. Mississippi will be interesting as well... I want to see what percentage of the White vote he gets in both States.

I sat down and wrote a battle plan for Obama (If only I were a strategist for him). Clinton is so vulnerable in so many ways.... Unfortunately... Obama has no political attack dogs who know how to really fight & who could ruin her candidacy. They are too soft.

I could ruin her candidacy in about two weeks if I had the right pulpit.

Chris Matthews Viciously Attacks Obama Supporter

This is outrageous!!!

Chris Matthews allows Clinton supporter Stephanie Tubbs Jones (CBC member) to talk uninterrupted....

Then attacks Kirk Watson, Texas State Senator and Obama Supporter. Matthews was beyond rude....and really showed his colors tonight. He never even allowed Mr. Watson to say what he wanted to say. He led off with Mr. Watson by attacking him.

Matthews implied that Obama had no record at all to stand on and that he was this completely inept and inexperienced candidate who appeared out of thin air. At the same time, he sent the message (via Congressman Jones) that Clinton had this huge list of accomplishments in healthcare, childcare, helping working people, etc... WHICH IS A COMPLETE LIE Mr. Matthews!!!

This was clearly part of the effort to swiftboat Obama.

Matthews is permanently on the Mirror On America radar.

Am I the only one tired of Chris Matthews and his bull....?

Prairie View A&M Students March for Voting Rights

Hat tip: Roland S. Martin (WVON-AM, 1690)

From The Houston Chronicle:

Thousands march in Prairie View for voting rights
By HELEN ERIKSEN
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

PRAIRIE VIEW — More than 1,000 Prairie View A&M students turned out today to march in support of their voting rights.

The marchers said Prairie View student voting rights have been suppressed for decades in Waller County.

The protesters carried "Register to Vote" signs and wore black shirts with the slogan, "It is 2008 and we will vote".

"I was angry after registering to vote in the 2006 election only to be turned away at the voting booth," said sophomore Dee Dee Williams.

The march began at 9 a.m. as the protesters left the campus on the seven-mile journey to the Waller County Courthouse in Hempstead.

Students, local leaders, civil rights activists and elected officials took part in the march. Police estimated the total crowd at about 2,000 people..

"These are wonderful kids. They are making a statement, until they spoke up there was only one early voting place in the entire county. They spoke up but everyone is benefiting from what they are doing,'' said Prairie View Mayor Frank Johnson.

Last week, under pressure from the federal government, Waller County officials added three temporary polling places for early voting, ditching plans to open only one voting site in advance of the March 4 primary.

The Justice Department questioned the county's January decision to cut early-voting sites from a half dozen throughout the county to just one in Hempstead. The county's about-face came on the same day that critics announced a mass march to the polls next week.

Early voting begins today.

Waller County has faced numerous lawsuits involving voting rights in the past 30 years and remains under investigation by the Texas Attorney General's Office based on complaints by local black leaders. Those allegations, concerning the November 2006 general election, related to voting machine failures, inadequate staffing and long delays for voting results.

Good for them. I heard one of the young women organizing this on the radio this morning, and it was obvious that they had been targeted many times, but they were standing up TOGETHER this time as a community.

There's something about that picture that makes me mad and smile at the same time.