Governor Greg Abbott finds a way to work around the recent Supreme Court decision to continue restricting access to legal abortion in Texas.

Courtesy of Think Progress:  

Texas anti-abortion lawmakers aren’t letting the Supreme Court stop them from standing between a woman and her reproductive health. Four days after the court’s June decision to block HB2, the Texas law that would have shuttered many of the state’s few remaining abortion facilities, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) quietly set a new anti-abortion strategy into play. 

His tactic: Requiring abortion clinic staff to bury or cremate the remains of every abortion procedure that takes place in their facility. 

Unlike past state anti-abortion laws, Abbott sidestepped the state legislature by simply proposing a new “rule” for the state health services agency. The public has just one month to comment on this rule before it could potentially go into effect — effectively cutting out months of debate and rewrites commonly found in legislature proceedings. This is a red flag to abortion advocates.

This guy might as well just walk around with a t-shirt that says "I Hate Women."

I bet there are a whole lot of ladies in Texas who wish they had worked harder to get Wendy Davis elected in 2014, instead of getting stuck with this asshole.

So Texas Governor Greg Abbott would like to essentially rewrite the US Constitution. No seriously!

BREAKING: Texas Gov. @GregAbbott_TX is about to announce he’s calling for a Convention of States to pass 9 amendments to the US Constitution

— Brian M. Rosenthal (@brianmrosenthal) January 8, 2016

Here are the nine amendments to the U.S. Constitution that Texas Gov. @GregAbbott_TX is calling for #txlege pic.twitter.com/xbziSVL6Zs

— Brian M. Rosenthal (@brianmrosenthal) January 8, 2016

Courtesy of Slate:

  The first four, the seventh, and the eighth are fairly unremarkable and in line with a lot of conservative rhetoric about federal overreach. The sixth is a little odd, but vague. The fifth and ninth, though, are very specific and completely bonkers. (The ninth calls to mind nullification, one of the Southern concepts that helped bring about the Civil War.) Keep in mind that, given the way population is distributed, a "two-thirds majority" of states wouldn't actually have to include anywhere close to a majority of the country's population. (The combined population of the 34 smallest U.S. states, for instance, is slightly more than 100 million out of a total population of 318 million.) At this very moment, in fact, there are 32 Republican governors and 31 Republican-controlled state legislatures despite the fact that a Republican presidential candidate has only gotten more than 50 percent of the vote once since 1988. (George W. Bush got 50.7 percent in 2004.) 

Abbott's proposal, in other words, could quite easily give a party that was in the minority nationally the ability to veto duly passed congressional legislation and to overturn Supreme Court decisions like Roe v. Wade or Brown v. Board of Education, destroying the balance of powers and, really, defeating the purpose of having a Congress or a Supreme Court in the first place.

Good job Texas.

Perhaps when it comes time to elect your next governor you might shoot for somebody sane.

Just saying.

Texas has now defunded Planned Parenthood over those doctored videos. Well of course they did.

"Government should stay out of our business. Except vaginas. Government should all up in that."

Courtesy of Time: 

Texas is eliminating taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood in the state, based on concerns over the organization’s fetal tissue donations, the governor announced on Monday. 

Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s office issued a statement, saying Texas is ending Medicaid’s participation with Planned Parenthood, which means the women’s reproductive health nonprofit will no longer receive Medicaid funding in the state. The decision came in a letter sent Monday by the Office of Inspector General at Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Abbott’s statement said. 

“Following the release of gruesome videos filmed at Planned Parenthood facilities, including Gulf Coast in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott announced his LIFE Initiative to provide greater protections for children in the womb and prevent the sale of baby body parts,” Abbott’s statement reads. 

The cancellation “calls for funding to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers out of taxpayer money to be eliminated completely, both at the State and local levels,” according to the announcement. 

Abbott said that canceling Medicaid participation for Planned Parenthood in Texas moves the state closer to “providing greater access to safe healthcare for women while protecting our most vulnerable – the unborn.”

Of course neither those last two statements are accurate as health clinics for women in Texas are rapidly disappearing and without access to safe legal abortion services women will resort to the same back alley butchers that performed them BEFORE Roe vs Wade.

By the way let's remember that Planned Parenthood has already said that they will no longer charge for the shipping of fetal tissue, and not only that Texas Planned Parenthood NEVER participated in fetal tissue donations.

So this defunding does NOTHING to address the concerns brought up by those bullshit videos, but instead puts the health of Texas women at serious risk and gives Governor Greg Abbott another victory against women's rights.

Hey, I tried to get y'all to vote for Wendy Davis. But did you listen? Hell no!

Update: Well guess who felt the need to chime in on this story?

None other than Nancy French wearing her Bristol Palin skin suit:  

There is no reason that an organization that has proven itself so untrustworthy and that has based its business around the murder of innocent babies should be receiving tax-payer dollars. Yet, Planned Parenthood has rallied its friends in the media, in Hollywood and in the White House to try to deflect our attention from the truth. 

It is so refreshing to see state’s standing up for life and refusing to be bullied by Planned Parenthood and all of their allies! I hope that my state follows suit soon!

Well I assume that when French says "my state" she is referring to Tennessee where she and her husband actually live, because now that Alaska dumped Sean Parnell there is no way we are doing anything this fucking stupid.

I assume at some point today Palin will link to this Brancy post and the trifecta of ignorance will be complete.

Texas is passing a bill to ban cities from banning fracking. So they're banning banning?

Courtesy of The New York Times:  

Lawmakers moved Monday to prohibit Texas cities from banning hydraulic fracturing and other potentially environmentally harmful oil and natural gas drilling activities within their boundaries, a major victory for industry groups and top conservatives. The state scrambled to limit local energy exploration prohibitions after Denton, a university town near Dallas, passed an ordinance in November against fracking, trying to keep encroaching drilling outside their community. The measure by Representative Drew Darby, a San Angelo Republican, allows communities to regulate things above ground such as noise, traffic and lighting associated with oil and gas activities, but forbids most limits on activity below the surface. The bill passed the Senate on Monday and was sent to Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, who is expected to sign it.

Boy leave it to Texas to ban their citizen's right to protect themselves against suffering through a dramatically increased number of earthquakes and having their groundwater poisoned by oil companies.

Personally I just wish that Texas would stop doing stupid things so that we could talk about other states for a change.

Well now you've done it Texas! You've become so crazy that even Rick Perry cannot support your lunacy anymore!

Courtesy of The Dallas Morning News:

Former Gov. Rick Perry suggested Tuesday that successor Greg Abbott went too far last week in raising questions about U.S. military exercises in Texas. 

“It’s OK to question your government. I do it on a regular basis. But the military is something else,” said Perry, an Air Force veteran, as he prepared to speak to the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth. “Our military is quite trustworthy. The civilian leadership, you can always question that, but not the men and women in uniform.”

Wow! And here I thought that making it so that Wal-Mart had to explain that they were not digging tunnels under their stores to help Obama invade Texas, was the most embarrassing thing that could happen to Texas and its new governor.

But having Rick Perry, a man who seemed to never hear a conspiracy theory that he didn't agree with, come out and call you batshit crazy, well that has GOT to be a wake up call.

Of course now that Perry has insulted his base, I wonder how he expects to have a legitimate chance at the Republican presidential nomination?

After all just because you are not as crazy as the craziest people in your state, certainly does not mean you are not still too crazy for the primary voters.

Paranoia pimping politician Ted Cruz, questions Pentagon about military exercises in response to internet driven fears of martial law.

Courtesy of the Daily Beast:  

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz said Saturday that he'd been hearing concerns about Jade Helm 15, a domestic military training exercise that has become a fount of conspiracy theories, and that he wanted questions about it to be answered. 

"My office has reached out to the Pentagon to inquire about this exercise," Cruz, a Texas senator, told Bloomberg at the South Carolina Republican Party's annual convention. "We are assured it is a military training exercise. I have no reason to doubt those assurances, but I understand the reason for concern and uncertainty, because when the federal government has not demonstrated itself to be trustworthy in this administration, the natural consequence is that many citizens don't trust what it is saying." 

The paranoia about Jade Helm, which started on websites like Alex Jones's InfoWars, had started with familiar fulmination about a mass seizure of firearms or a cover-up for American "death squads." This week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott channeled the concerns of voters in the Southwest, asking the Texas state guard to monitor the exercise for any violations of freedom. "It is important that Texans know their safety, constitutional rights, private property rights and civil liberties will not be infringed," said the governor.

We mocked Governor Abbott last week for his response to the conspiracy theory crowd, but who among us is really surprised that Cruz so readily boarded this bandwagon?

After all without unsubstantiated fear and paranoia Cruz would never have been elected in the first place.

Once again Texas is pulling ahead in the "we're the most batshit crazy state in the country" sweepstakes.

Awash in paranoid conspiracy theories Texas Governor orders state guard to monitor federal military during maneuvers over fear they are a ruse for Obama to impose martial law. Nope, not a joke.

Courtesy of Dallas News:  

Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday ordered the Texas State Guard to monitor federal military exercises in the state, responding to citizen fears, stoked by online conspiracy theories, that the maneuvers are a ruse to impose martial law. 

Operation Jade Helm 15 is a large-scale training operation scheduled for elite military forces, such as the Navy SEALS and Green Berets. The operation will involve about 1,200 personnel operating in Southwestern states including Texas from July 15 to Sept. 15. 

Fears about the exercise have roiled for weeks online. Several websites, videos and Twitter users have argued that it is really a federal takeover of hostile states, including the confiscation of guns. To address those concerns, Abbott instructed Maj. Gen. Gerald “Jake” Betty, commander of the Texas State Guard, to keep a watch over the exercises and help keep local law enforcement agencies and their citizens informed. “During the training operation, it is important that Texans know their safety, constitutional right, private property rights and civil liberties will not be infringed,” Abbott told Betty in a letter Tuesday.

This decision has understandably shocked some of the more rational Texans.

The Texas Democratic Party questioned the judgment of Abbott, a Republican, for giving countenance to questions about the military’s integrity and credence to “the most extreme right” aspects of his party. 

“If the governor truly respects the men and women of our armed forces, both national and Texan, he shouldn’t make public policy and operational decisions on the basis of tea party Internet chatter or the rants of conspiracy theorists,” said party spokesman Manny Garcia.

So to be clear Abbott is asking the State Guard to keep tabs on a force that will number among the thousands and include members from numerous branches of the military.

Which begs the question, what would the State Guard do IF the feds were actually planning to take over?

Currently the Texas State Guard consists of six Civil Affairs Regiments, two Air Wings, a Medical Brigade and a Maritime Regiment.

I mean I don't care if every member of the Guard believes themselves to be personification of Rambo himself, the American military routinely overthrows governments and captures dictators without raising a sweat.

If they really wanted to take over Texas, which of course they have no intention of doing, they would simply take over Texas.

By the way this operation, Jade Helm, is not just in Texas. It is also taking place in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado.

At least so far none of the other governors have allowed themselves to be frightened into making fools of themselves. 

With the media heat officially turned to "Who gives a shit?" Sarah Palin is now back to pimping Teabagger candidates full time.

From the Urban Cowpie's Facebook page:

I love to tease our Texan relatives and friends that they're living down in our "Little Sister State of Texas!" I do love your state, and you are blessed to have Greg Abbott there as such a strong leader. He's fighting to defend freedom! Like Alaska, Texas is all about personal and economic liberty. But did you know President Obama is determined to undermine that with a “blue takeover” he envisions? Well, thankfully Greg Abbott will assure that won’t happen. Support a true patriot and proven leader as your next governor, and send a message to Team Obama at the same time: Texas—and the nation—will NOT go the way of any liberal state! Please find a polling location in your county before early voting ends tomorrow.

And, by the way, this Greg Abbot campaign sign is the best I've seen yet! 

 Oh yeah, that's just adorable.

Well unlike Rob Maness at least Abbott has a better than even chance of winning his race. In fact right now he is leading Wendy Davis by over 15 points.

You're just breaking my heart Texas, you really are.

You know you can tell a lot about a candidate by the friends he keeps. Besides Palin Abbott has been cozying up to a certain poopy pants pedophile (Warning link takes you to WND): 

I already got my invitation to Greg Abbott’s victory party for the evening of Nov. 4 as we celebrate his landslide victory over Wendy Davis as the new and well-deserved governor of the Great Republic of Texas. 

This Texas race is a microcosm of elections across the country. Thank God there are still way more Texans that stand in defiance of the lying, scamming, America-hating, Texas-hating scammers and scoundrels that infest and steer the Wendy Davis campaign of deception. 

Oh yeah, he's a gem. 

But come on, if an endorsement from Sarah Palin AND Ted Nugent is not enough to sink your campaign, what does that say about your state?

I am beginning to wonder if Texas is a lost cause for liberals, despite the demographic shifts. 

And Jon Stewart of the Daily Show shares my concerns.

Sarah Palin decides it is safe enough to come out and launch a Facebook attack against Wendy Davis.

Courtesy of Matriarch of the Palin Punching Bags Facebook page:  

Any wonder why so many Americans are turned off by politics when contemptible ads like this are endorsed by pretty desperate candidates? Greg Abbott will make a great Governor in the great state of Texas, and I am proud to support him. Wendy Davis better strap on those pink running shoes again – the road ahead looks really long for her after this latest stunt.

Palin then links to a Breitbart article attacking Davis for that anti-Abbott ad I shared with you this morning. (I of course will not provide the link to that Breitbart piece because I actually like you people.)

You know when I saw that Davis ad I was not convinced that it was a good idea to use Abbott's disability to demonstrate his hypocrisy, but now that I see how wee wee'd up it has made the anti-Wendy Davis I now recognize the brilliance of the ad.

However to be honest I really don't care what Palin thinks about anything at this point. All I want to hear is her pathetic attempt to explain to the American people how she could raise such a disappointing pack of drunken losers, who start fights they can't finish, and continue to make Alaska the laughingstock of the world.

Does this new Wendy Davis commercial go too far?

Courtesy of TPM:  

A new ad by Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis's (D) gubernatorial campaign hits Attorney General Greg Abbott, her Republican opponent, for not doing enough to help disabled victims even though after Abbott himself was paralyzed he sued the homeowner and a tree company connected to the oak tree that caused his paralysis. 

"A tree fell on Greg Abbott. He sued and got millions. Since then he spent his career working against other victims," the voiceover in the ad said. "Abbott argued a woman whose leg was amputated was not disabled because she had an artificial limb. He ruled against a rape victim who sued a corporation for failing to do a background check on a sexual predator. He sided with a hospital that failed to stop a dangerous surgeon who paralyzed patients." 

"Greg Abbott. He's not for you," the voiceover in the ad said. 

I have to admit that I am kind of at a loss on this one.

I certainly see how it could offend some people, but I also see the point that the Davis campaign is trying to make. 

So this post is really to ask for your take.

Greg Abbott backs out of only state wide televised debate with Wendy Davis. Pansy ass! Update!

Courtesy of WFAA: 

Republican candidate Greg Abbott has reversed his decision to appear in the only gubernatorial debate to be broadcast statewide on television. 

Abbott and his Democratic opponent, Wendy Davis, had both agreed to participate in a roundtable debate in Dallas on Sept. 30. 

But on Friday morning, Abbott's team reversed an earlier decision and said it will not participate alleging concern over the format. 

"Due to our inability to agree on specific details of the format, Attorney General Greg Abbott will regretfully not be participating in the WFAA debate," said Robert Black, senior campaign adviser on Friday morning.

Yeah I imagine the specific details that the Abbott campaign was opposed to was the detail where he had to actually stand on stage with Davis and debate her. (Update: I have been reminded that Abbott is paralyzed and wheelchair bound, so obviously "standing on stage" is not an option. Sorry for my insensitivity.)

By the way I really had to censor myself writing he headline because as a man of a certain age my usual go to word would have been "pussy." But as I realized in this situation is was the person with the vagina that was showing her cojones and the guy with the dick that was embarrassing his gender.

Which reminded me of a quote often attributed to Betty White, though she has since stated that she never said it, which states the following:
  
“Why do some people say, ‘Grow some balls?’ Balls are weak and sensitive. If you really wanna get tough, grow a vagina. Those things take a pounding.” 

Which I think is a very good, though admittedly crude, point. 

And in this case it is certainly Wendy Davis who is demonstrating her courage and toughness and Abbott who seems to be shaking in his cowboy boots.

After all it's kind of hard to hit the campaign trail acting all macho if you are too afraid to face off against a little girl? Right Texas?

Texas town is forced to pay Ted Nugent $16,000 to NOT show up and play at their 4th of July celebration.

Well at least I got paid right? I mean that's the important thing.

Courtesy of HuffPo:  

Rocker Ted Nugent just made big bucks to not show up somewhere. 

The town of Longview, Texas paid Nugent $16,000 to not appear at the town's Fourth of July Festival. According to KLTV, a city spokesman said Nugent was "not the right feel for this kind of community event." 

The city had reached a verbal agreement with Nugent, scheduling the rocker as the headliner who would play inside the Maude Cobb Convention and Activity Center during the town's Independence Day celebration. To break that agreement, the town paid Nugent half of his guaranteed performance fee of $32,000 from Maude Cobb's annual budget. 

The move comes amid criticism of comments Nugent made about President Barack Obama in January 2014, calling him a "subhuman mongrel." Nugent, who campaigned with Texas Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott amid the controversy, apologized for those comments in February.

Wow! Now THAT is a level of  "You are not welcome here" that is usually reserved for ex-dictators and mass murderers.

And this is in TEXAS!

One has to wonder how long it will take before Sarah Palin is getting paid to "stay the fuck away from here?"

Head of Texas Republican PAC in support of Greg Abbott, says they don't need the Lilly Ledbetter Act to get equal pay in this country, because "women are extremely busy." Wait, what?

Courtesy of HuffPo:  

The head of RedState Women, a new Republican PAC in Texas aimed at rallying women voters for GOP gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott, got a little tripped up on Sunday trying to explain the GOP's alternatives to the equal pay laws they oppose. 

Cari Christman, executive director of the PAC, told WFAA that Republicans oppose the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act because "women want real-world solutions to this problem, not more rhetoric." The law, signed by President Barack Obama in 2009, allows women to file a claim against pay discrimination when she discovers it, not a limited amount of time after the unequal pay began. 

When asked what her proposed solution to the gender pay gap might look like, she began repeating the point that women are "busy." 

"If you look at it, women are extremely busy," she said. "We lead busy lives, whether working professionally, whether working from home, and times are extremely busy. It's a busy cycle for women, and we've got a lot to juggle. So when we look at this issue we think, what's practical? And we want more access to jobs. We want to be able to get a higher education degree at the same time we're working or raising a family."

Well that..uh...that makes..uh.....what just happened?

And since when does Sarah Palin wear a blonde wig?

I think Greg Abbott's new campaign slogan should be, "Vote Greg Abbott, the perfect candidate for those who just don't know WHAT the hell is going on."

P.S. Just in case you don't realize that the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is a whole lot more than simply "rhetoric."

Wendy Davis and Greg Abbott win their party's nomination and will face off to become the next Texas Governor.

Courtesy of TPM:  

State Sen. Wendy Davis (D) and Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) won their respective nominations in the Texas gubernatorial race on Tuesday. 

The primaries were called for Davis and Abbott about an hour after polls closed. 

Davis is the first female Democratic nominee to be nominated for governor of Texas since Ann Richards. 

"And now it's time, it's time for each of us to work as hard as we can and to fight for the very future of this great state, thank you so much for your help," Davis said in her victory speech. "I'm looking forward to working with you on this journey. God bless you all, and God bless Texas."

There is really nothing surprising about this outcome however I decided to write this post because the other day I watched a commentator on MSNBC, Chris Cillizza, say that he did not see a victory for Wendy Davis moving forward.

His claim is that the slight inconsistencies in her personal story, that the Right Wing blew WAY out of proportion would undermine her campaign and that the best hope for Texas to go blue was in the future.

This infuriated me to no end.

Look I don't expect every pundit on MSNBC to be a cheerleader for Davis, or ANY Democratic candidate for that matter, but to unfairly handicap the race as un-winnable against an opponent who thought it was a good campaign decision to have Ted Nugent show up on stage with him is ridiculous.

Especially after others have pointed out that the biography snafu will unlikely have a much of an effect on the election outcome.

But look ultimately it is up to the fine folks of Texas to get motivated and prove people like Chris Cillizza and Fox News wrong.

I swear if I were there on election day I would be offering rides to the polls for those who could not get there on their own. But I'm not, so it is up to those who are to make this the biggest midterm turnout for Democrats in American history.

And not just in Texas, we need to get our people motivated and mobilized ALL over the country.

We do that and we will greatly improve our chances of making some serious and very necessary improvements in our government, and set the stage for a much better future.

And just to help build a fire under folks, remember who is shaking her fake water filled pom poms for the other side: 

It was a great night for conservatives in Texas last night – despite what the D.C. media would have you believe. Voters wisely selected many Tea Party candidates across the board. Congratulations to Greg Abbott, we’ll work hard to make sure he is the next Governor of Alaska’s little sister state. We were proud to support Katrina Pierson as well – a bold conservative woman who has overcome bigger challenges in life than election results. Katrina has a bright future ahead, and we know she will continue her fight for conservative values – after all, you don't need a title to make a difference. We need more bold women like Katrina in the GOP. 2014 is just underway, and together we’ll continue to give a leg up to grassroots conservatives, despite the odds, who embrace inspiration, ingenuity, and integrity. We’re just getting started! 

That's right the Queen of Mean is already starting her victory lap, so let's do everything we can to trip her up, shall we?

Wendy Davis uses Ted Nugent in new ad to shame Republican Greg Abbott.

Courtesy of Politicususa:

The ad features rape survivor Nicole Anderson speaking out, “I am speaking out because it really bothered me for Greg Abbott to partner with Ted Nugent knowing his history of being a predator. I was at home. I heard about it on the news. It made me feel like the it minimized the fact that Ted Nugent is a predator. I think that it sends the wrong message that he partnered up with this man that is very vocal about liking underage girls. There’s something wrong with that. It’s not okay.” 

This ad is important on a couple of different levels. First, it is telling the truth about Ted Nugent. These types of ads should make Republican candidates think twice before they decide to cozy up to, and appear with, a self admitted sexual predator. 

Secondly, the use of Nugent as a campaign booster by Abbott is an escalation of the Republican war on women, and the men who support the rights of all women. Abbott’s embrace of Nugent is sending the message to all voters that if Greg Abbott is elected governor, open season will continue on the rights of women.

You know I said when Nugent first appeared on stage with Abbott that this would do wonders for the Davis campaign, and clearly they agree with me.

Not only that but I can only imagine how much money Davis has raised off of Ted Nugent's interjection into the Abbott campaign.

Ted Nugent is a sick POS and it the Republicans are ignorant enough to bring him along on the campaign trail, then Democrats are going to be smart enough to use that against them.

Seriously, at this point, if any other Republican or Libertarian links themselves to Ted Nugent we really have to question their mental health. My guess is nobody will go there, but considering how stubborn and self delusional these idiots are anything is possible.