by Laura Bassett
A federal court in Texas ruled to stop a new law on Monday that excluded Planned Parenthood from the Texas Women’s Health Program, which serves about 130,000 low-income women in the state. U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel ruled that the law was unconstitutional because it bars…
Not enough painkiller for those of us in Texas.
Perry has a column?
In his column, Perry said Planned Parenthood clinics represented fewer than 2 percent of the enrolled providers. It’s like saying Ford and GM are only two of countless auto manufacturers.
Hey, remember when one of these guys was an actual Republican presidential candidate and not just some random dude standing behind other governors and lieutenant governors posing for a photo op to try and convince the American public that “finely textured lean beef”, also known as “pink slime,” wasn’t some totally gross processed food product?
Actually two. The first black suit on the left looks like Sam Brownback, who was candidate for about five minutes the last time around.
Take a look-see under the front cover of this month’s Texas Observer.
Yeah, but did they actually eat it?
To quell the ammonia-treated beef uproar, 3 Republican governors declared pink slime to be safe and nutritious after touring a plant where it’s produced.
“I am very proud to offer my support to this situation, to add my voice to those calling for cooler and calmer heads on this issue,” Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback said at a news conference. “I really hope people in America take a second look at this, because this is a quality beef product.”
Does that make you feel any better about eating it?
Confession: We really miss posting photos of Rick Perry.
When a mother gets sick, the whole family hurts. This attack on women’s health affects all of us.
Over the last two years, through budget cuts and political maneuvering, Rick Perry has denied hundreds of thousands of women access to basic healthcare services.
First he signed a budget that slashed $73 million dollars in funding for family planning and women’s health — money that provides cancer screenings, well-woman care, annual check-ups, and helps prevent unwanted pregnancies. Next, Perry’s Texas chose to exclude Planned Parenthood from the state’s Medicare Women’s Health Program, thus ending our state’s participation in the program, which provided $9-to-$1 matching Federal funds for basic women’s healthcare. Bowing to public pressure, Perry pledged to fund the program with state money, at the expense of Texas senior citizens and children.
Our Governor has no problem using Texas women and children as collateral damage in his efforts to score political points and remain relevant to the national Republican base.
Texas Democrats are fighting back. The Lone Star Project has put together the following video that reminds us of the real human costs of these budget cuts: the mothers, daughters, wives, and sisters of Texas that will be denied regular check-ups, denied cancer screenings, denied healthcare when they need it most. Take a look.
Don’t ever say women don’t have a sense of humor. Some women asked Dr. Rick what type of tampons they should use, one asks about menopausal effects, another requests a referral to a doctor and another asks if her husband should be put to death for leaving his ‘seed’ on the sheets.
You can find most of the comments via images together here courtesy of Marie Mulling.
We. Need. To. Get. Rid. Of. Him. Now.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s imagined war with the federal government unfortunately has real casualties—poor women (as usual). In this instance, the Texas government has decide to write Planned Parenthood out of the state’s Women’s Health Program, a Medicaid-waiver program providing basic health and family planning services to low-income and uninsured women who would not otherwise be eligible for Medicaid unless pregnant.
The Department of Health and Human Services warned the state that this rule would not meet requirements for funding, because it violates the Social Security Act. They informed the state that some $40 million in funding would be pulled if Planned Parenthood, which provides 44 percent of the program’s services, was blacklisted. putting $40 million in federal funding at risk.
The rule, signed by Commissioner Tom Suehs on Thursday, takes effect March 14. Unless some last-minute agreement is brokered, the program, which receives $9 in federal funds for every $1 in state funds, will be either phased out or cut off by the end of March. At least 130,000 poor Texas women will lose access to cancer screenings, well-woman exams and contraception.
“No one’s politics should interfere with a woman’s access to health care,” said Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast President and CEO Peter J. Durkin. “It is shameful that Governor Perry and Commissioner Suehs continue to politicize lifesaving breast cancer screenings and birth control access for low-income women.”
Report: Perry rarely in governor’s office since return from campaign
AP — In the first 16 days since suspending his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, Perry had been to his office just three times and stayed no longer than three hours each time, The Dallas Morning News reports.
Ousted A&M System executive lands another state job, this time at DPS
A twist of irony?
The former Texas A&M System executive and close friend of Gov. Rick Perry who made headlines last fall for brandishing a pocket knife as he was being fired has landed a new state job as an assistant director of the Texas Department of Public Safety. MORE
Gotta reblog for the hair reference.
Rick Perry also once said: “I don’t think there will ever be a time when we’ll have to worry about how much we use this stuff.”
No kidding.
So far, the governor doesn’t seem inclined to reimburse the state. As Peggy Fikac reported on Friday (“Perry’s security costs surpass $1.1 million,” Page B1, Jan. 27), Perry has defended the practice of the state paying his security bill because he promotes Texas wherever he goes. But his campaign excursions haven’t done much for Texas’ image.