Texas GOP will never allow abortion vote
Also: Using the hungry to balance the budget; Who’s the unfairest of them all?
You may have wondered why Texas doesn’t solve the “problem” of abortion once and for all by allowing a statewide vote to determine if abortion rights should be enshrined — or prohibited — in the state constitution.
After all, similar efforts have taken place in roughly half of all the other states in the Union, though conspicuously not across the South. In just about every state where the vote has taken place, greater rights to abortions have been granted, even in states normally considered controlled by conservatives, such as Kansas.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for any such vote in Texas, though, for sure while Republicans hold the reins of power in the legislature.
That’s because it is painfully clear to those in the anti-abortion movement that if such a vote is allowed, they will lose by a wide margin.
That’s not an acceptable outcome for them.
Republicans will do just about anything they can to prevent such a vote from happening. This is not about what the public wants, it is just about exerting control over the rights of women. This is not anything new. The standard operating procedure for ruling governments everywhere has always been to restrict the rights of women in favor of men.
Don’t think for a moment that this is just about abortion rights. That is merely the hot-button issue that grabs the headlines. It is not hyperbole to foresee that more restrictions of rights will follow if they are successful.
Next up: Contraceptives. After that, there’s no telling how high, or low, they might go.
The decision to overturn Roe v. Wade should indicate that nothing is really safe from this U.S. Supreme Court and this state legislature when it comes to personal rights. Well, other than the ability to wear a gun on your hip. That one is in the bag.
There are no easy answers as to how to reverse the trend. A decade ago, it would have seemed ludicrous that someone like Donald Trump could ever have been the nominee of a major party, much less actually win the presidency.
The Democratic Party organizations behind the Pine Curtain — the entire state of Texas, really — are disheveled and quite often utterly ineffective. Party officials have been saying for years that they are on the cusp of “turning Texas Blue.”
There’s no evidence that’s any closer today than it was when they first dreamed of doing so.
Until that happens, or until enough Republicans are willing to stand up and go against the prevailing tide of their party, women are going to suffer. Restricted abortion rights are merely the leading edge as it is clear that the health of mothers is not a part of the Republican calculus.
We will see how voter turnout is in the fall.
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The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is what we once called food stamps but there are no actual stamps these days. The benefits come on a Lone Star Card personalized for each recipient.
The program has always been controversial because it rankles some people that the state is allowing the poor and hungry to get free food. Unlike what constant rumors insist, only certain foods are allowed to be purchased under SNAP rules. No alcohol or tobacco products can be bought using benefits and already prepared hot foods are off-limits, too.
You may think that food assistance was originally designed to help poor but, really, it first came about to help food sellers stay afloat during the Great Depression. People get food, stores get profits.
Those who get monthly help must recertify themselves to make certain they are still eligible for benefits. Nothing wrong with that. It happens in every state.
Except, Texas has to be different. Instead of requiring recertification once each year, like most states, Texas requires recertification every six months.
This makes it more difficult for those who need the help. This is exactly the point. If people forget to file the recertification paperwork the state doesn’t have to pay out the money for several months. Money saved on the backs of those who could use the food.
This is called a way of “saving” money and is praised by conservatives as a “responsible” way of governing. This is backward thinking when wealthy corporations getting tax breaks is better than making sure poor people are adequately fed.
Those who lose benefits can go to a local food bank — if there is one — for help cover the gap, which means the food bank might run short of what is needed. Just politicians playing games.
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Determining which of our state officials is the lowest form of life would be a Herculean task, no doubt, but our esteemed Attorney General Ken Paxton would surely be in the running for the title.
Paxton, a close buddy of Donald Trump, regularly appears on right-wing outlets to bolster the most insane of conspiracy theories. He’s still at it.
Appearing on a Newsmax show, Paxton said the Biden administration is bringing in thousands of people from Latin America for nefarious purposes.
"They're flying in 30,000 a month from several countries, including Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela," Paxton said during an appearance on a show hosted by Chris Salcedo.
Paxton said most of these 30,000 people are being flown into Florida because Florida is a competitive state that the Democrats would like to win in November.
Naturally, Paxton gave not a scintilla of proof that this was happening but that didn’t stop Salcedo from gobbling it up. No doubt the few who tune in to the show have now also become true believers.
It’s early yet. There is really no way of knowing the nature of lies that Paxton will be telling by November, especially if the polls begin to turn against Trump.
Which brings up another question: How in the world are so many people saying they will vote for Trump?