1 WE ARE NOW MORALLY OBLIGATED TO MESS WITH TEXAS Democratic State Senator Wendy Davis attempted a 13-hour filibuster in the Texas State Senate last night, in an effort to prevent the passing of a hideous anti-woman/trans/etc. bill that would have closed down most of the state’s abortion clinics and forced women into the sort of unsafe, disgusting conditions prevalent sixty years ago – the ones that, y’know, lead to the Kermit Gosnells of the world (EDIT: not Kenneth, obviously, as Barb points out below)? – and that, uh, an overwhelming, indisputable majority of Texans opposed. The bill lost, which is good, unless you’re Gov. Rick Perry, who said of the bill, “In Texas, we value all life.”
In other Texas news, Gov. Rick Perry probably spent much of the day not bothering to consider commuting the sentence for the state’s 500th Death Row execution, a black woman who was accused of murdering a white man and faced an all-white jury. Oh and also, meanwhile, that whole Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act in the States? The one the Supreme Court gutted earlier this week, bits about ensuring that racist states who are, a lot of them, still fucking trying to deny blacks, Hispanics, and other migrants the vote, in 2013 have at least some legal hurdles to being horrible racist shitheads? If it didn’t exist, Wendy Davis wouldn’t be in the Texas State Senate, according to Wendy Davis. Shoot every Republican straight into the sun.
2 GOOD ON THE GAYS A pair of Supreme Court Decisions managed to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8 at the same time, which rules, because the type of secret homophobe who says “What they do is their business but do they have to do so much of it in public?” is going to get incredibly owned by all the gay people getting married and kissing and shit on TV and in newspapers today.
3 MAN WHO PISSED IN MURRAY’S CEREAL I feel like I keep waking up on Wednesdays and telling people to read Murray Mandryk columns. Dude is on fire lately. Today: the Sask Party’s foot-dragging on any review or amendment to the province’s Freedom of Information and Privacy laws combined with its hurry to push through essential services legislation suggest that “this government’s view of due diligence is being dictated by its political agenda and its need to marginalize even valid criticism.” Oof.
4 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RATES IN SASKATCHEWAN DOUBLE THE NATIONAL AVERAGE In your face, Manitoba.
5 MEANWHILE IN AUSTRALIA Toilets flush backward and the female PM who ousted her ineffectual predecessor is, uh, re-ousted in favour of said predecessor. Remember when she, like, utterly ethered the scumbag Tony Abbott? Good times.
6 MAN JUST NAME A POLITICAL PARTY “THE BUSINESS PARTY” AND GET IT OVER WITH Cool new stats on education, from the 2011 National Household Survey. I think my favourite tidbit though is that “The United States, Philippines and United Kingdom are the biggest hubs for Canadian students going abroad to get post-secondary degrees and certificates.” The Philippines! I’m guessing it’s nursing and resource industry-related programs or something? It’s a bit of a curveball but good for you, the Philippines.