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[Frumple]

Though I rather imagine that, so long as privacy screens of some sort were set up, it wouldn't be illegal. Probably be tried under public indecency of some sort, but I'm not sure what the law's position on public speaking while on the loo is, so long as appropriate measures were taken.

Alternately, catheter(s) of some sort. There are a lot of old people in that group...

[PanH]

I don't know if filibusters are terrible or awesome...

They're neutral tools that can be used for good or evil.

Kinda like the historical filibusters.

[Moghjubar]

More on the filibuster: Apparently, they edited (aka tampered aka Federal Offense) with the times to make it look like it passed before midnight, and only backtracked when photographic evidence was presented that shows timestamps after midnight.

http://www.businessinsider.com/texas-abortion-bill-timestampgate-2013-6

[Frumple]

Interesting to see if anything comes of that... seems rare that folks are actually slapped for doing stuff of that nature, hrm.

Also that website is kinda' goddamn horribly designed. Any other sources?

[misko27]

Can't they just pass it next week or something?

No, end of the session for a while. BUt he called a special session for July 1, so.


We knew we were going lose this war. We are focused on the battle.

Interesting to see if anything comes of that... seems rare that folks are actually slapped for doing stuff of that nature, hrm.

Also that website is kinda' goddamn horribly designed. Any other sources?

Confirms what I've heard.

[Nadaka]

I still say the attempt to subvert the system of democracy like that should carry the death penalty, or at minimum a billion dollar fine and a hundred years in prison.

[Max White]

Whoa... Death penalty? That seems a little dire, especially when you know it would be used to try and remove political rivals at times. You can take a man later found innocent out of jail and give him back his billion dollars, but you can't bring him back from the dead.
It should defiantly mean an end of their political career forever anywhere though.

[Nadaka]

Authority figures should be terrified of crossing the the line. It should be something completely unthinkable. Such a fundamental subversion of the construction of our political system poses a grave threat to everyone.

But you are right, I can't seriously propose the death penalty for this crime under my ethical framework.

[FearfulJesuit]

The biggest problem with the death penalty is that, since it's only used for murder (basically), it's easy to screw up and get the wrong man. It's much harder to do that with white-collar crime by people in authority, which generally leaves a paper trail.

[Criptfeind]

I really can't tell, are you talking about the lying about the time stamp? Or the filibuster? Because both sound like "the attempt to subvert the system of democracy"

Edit: To Nadaka if it was not clear.

[palsch]

Regarding the filibuster;

The rules for the Texas Senate state you must stand unaided, so no leaning or sitting. You can't eat or drink. You can't leave the chamber. You can't speak about anything other than the topic of the bill in question. You can't have any assistance from any other senators. You have three strikes before the filibuster is ended.

Senator Davis was struck out. The first 'strike' was when she brought up Planned Parenthood, which was judged (by the Republican majority in the Senate) to be off topic. The second 'strike' was when another senator helped her with her back brace (a neat trick if you are planning on standing up for thirteen hours straight). The third was when she was tying the law into the sonogram law proposed before.

After the third strike there were just under two hours of using parliamentary rules, challenges and questions to run down the clock. Basically the other Democrats stepped in to keep the vote from taking place. Senator Leticia Van de Putte (who had been at her father's funeral earlier in the day, and used that as a reason to ask for a review of the previous points of order), got in the best line. After some of her questions had been ignored and the final vote ending the filibuster was held she was recognised by the Speaker.

This was her question. At which point that cheering continued for the last fifteen minutes before the deadline, which is what blocked the vote from happening before midnight. There were attempts to take the vote but they failed. In the end, just after the deadline, they called the vote as completed and pretended it had been managed before the deadline.

When they did this there were ~180,000 people watching the Youtube livestream I was on. The official record was published with correct timestamps that were then changed (despite people having screenshots). Yeah, it was a pretty dumb attempt at fraud.

Maddow's report on this captures some of the feeling from the live stream and commentaries.


As for why it matters;

The law would not only ban abortion after 20 weeks, it would shut down 37 of the 42 clinics that currently serve Texas. That's leaving five clinics covering the entire state. It would close every single clinic in West Texas. This would not just block abortions after 20 weeks, it would block all access to abortion for many women in Texas. Having to travel across or out of state is hard for a lot of women. Having to do so before the 20 week deadline, alongside other restrictions in this and other bills, is harder still.

Then there are the non-abortion services that will be denied with these clinics shut down. Many are also the primary healthcare providers in their area. This will flat out deny many people local healthcare.

Tying this back into the Voting Rights Act decision, I posted in the other thread how the Supreme Court decision paves the way for Texas to pass voting laws previously blocked by the VRA. One of those (albeit with other legal issues) is a new election map passed in 2011. This map deliberately gerrymanders Senator Davis' district out of existence. Basically without the VRA she wouldn't have her seat because the Republicans would have managed to split her majority-minority district into irrelevance.

[Nadaka]

I am talking about the forged timestamp, the filibuster is playing within the rules.

[EnigmaticHat]

The rules for the Texas Senate state you must stand unaided, so no leaning or sitting. You can't eat or drink. You can't leave the chamber. You can't speak about anything other than the topic of the bill in question. You can't have any assistance from any other senators. You have three strikes before the filibuster is ended.

Its interesting you should mention this, because lot of people watching probably assumed the rules for filibustering in Texas were the same as the (much, much more lax) rules in congress that conservatives have been using so much lately.

[SalmonGod]

Once again the question of whether police have a duty to protect citizens is being brought up in court, after two NYPD officers stood by and watched a man get nearly stabbed to death by a serial killer.

[Aptus]

Once again the question of whether police have a duty to protect citizens is being brought up in court, after two NYPD officers stood by and watched a man get nearly stabbed to death by a serial killer.

Isn't "Protect and Serve" on their bloody badges? Or have I just watched too many movies? :p