If it was 20 years ago and my friend Sandra was here we could have a sleepover and talk about boys and who would look best in a tux too. As an adult I am now eating pizza and painting my nails for political reasons. Oh, and I’m meeting with a team of Taco Scientists. You never know where your life will take you.
Living under the rule of an evil Republican super majority in Texas can be very disheartening. These totally corrupt officials continually make life for everyone in our state increasingly more difficult. Our privileged blue state compatriots in the rest of the country write off what happens in our state and laugh about how we are just backwards jerks that don’t deserve healthcare or factory safety regulations or education because we are stupid enough to keep voting these fuckers in. Well, you know what non-Texans? It isn’t that easy to fight against their racket when all the decks are stacked against you. These people keep getting elected because they have gerrymandered the state into such a mess of cockeyed districts that the white evangelical voters have more voting power than they should in a state with so many people that live in cities, women, Mexican-Americans, and African Americans. The people in charge of this state work so hard to disenfranchise poor people that it can some times seem impossible to fight them, they have all the money and the power and they use it to make sure people that don’t agree with them can’t vote, aren’t educated, don’t have good jobs, and have to spend every minute of their lives struggling to get by. In some cases they are too exhausted to even realize that things could be another way. The media talks about our low voter turnout but, from my perspective, the apathy comes from continually witnessing such a corrupt system. It’s very demoralizing.
That’s why Wendy Davis’ filibuster was so inspiring to me and so many of my allies. Here was a woman literally standing up against these men that have made life so hard for so many and just want to make it worse for their own twisted reasons. As the filibuster went on and she schooled all these pathetic senators on why women’s healthcare is so important more and more people started watching the livesteam and heading down to the capital. When she got stopped for a third illogical reason we had to start drinking. Then the democrats stalling tactics attempting to run out the clock had me frantically checking twitter and the clock thinking they couldn’t possibly keep this up. After being repeatedly ignored Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, said “At what point must a female senator raise her hand or her voice to be recognized over the male colleagues in the room?” I immediately started cheering along with thousands of others all over the state and also with the people cheering in the capital who screamed so loud and so long that they STOPPED THE BILL from being about to pass. After so many years of reading about Barbara Jordan, Ann Richards, and Molly Ivins to see there was still hope for women in Texas made me feel an incredible sense of elation. I know Dick Perry has called another special session and evil will probably prevail this next time but for that one day we got a glimpse of where the future could be. The internet went nuts.
To celebrate and gear up for the next week I’m dying to get a ridiculous manicure that even supports planned parenthood. When I wrote Nails Y’all to see if her products were vegan too she wrote back:
Thank you for your interest + support! I am overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of such amazing, passionate, and inspiring ladies who want to show their support for women’s healthcare in Texas. Unfortunately, all appointments for the Hands Off fundraising manis are booked. But don’t despair! Here are a few ways that you can still get in on the action:Get a set of your very own DIY Wendy Davis nail decals! You can totally take control of your own nails with these babies. Each kit contains 12 nail decals, Q-tips, and easy-to-follow instructions. Each kit is $25, and $10 goes directly to Planned Parenthood! To purchase a kit, contact me via email to pick it up in person, or head over to Etsy. In addition, I’ll have kits available Sunday, 6/30 at East Side Show Room (1100 E. 6th) from 7pm to midnight. Spread the word!Nails Y’all + Planned Parenthood are working to make it easy for you make tax-free donations to support women’s health in Texas. If you’d like more information about donating to the cause, shoot me an email.For future manis, book an appointment with me at Paloma. (Wendy’s are in my rotation, now!) And we use locally made, vegan products! More of my nail designs can be seen via Tumblr and Instagram (@nailsyall).I’m sorry that I was unable to accommodate your request, but I am so thankful that so many ladies reached out to fight the good fight through nail art.Thanks,Meghann
I’m so excited to do mine!
This Saturday is also Vegan Pizza Day, I’ve been working on a recipe for Chicago style pizza that might be ready for next year but for 2013 I’m heading to Capital City Bakery for Pizza Rolls for lunch and probably picking up my favorite VIA 313 for dinner! There are lots of ways to celebrate, check out the Lonestar Plate for a guide to vegan friendly pizza in Austin.
Also this Saturday will be the return of Hippie Vegan Bull$#!*. The last one got rained out but I don’t seen that happening here for the last weekend of June, here is the scoop:
Hippie Vegan Bull$#!* – Saturday, June 29 from noon to 7pm – is a free, family-friendly & dog-friendly celebration of all things peaceful, organic, and weird in Austin.
The Empire parking lot will be home to a local vegan marketplace featuring ice cream by Sweet Ritual, vegan sausages, hot dogs & burgers from The Hot Dog King and, sweets from Capital City Bakery. The garage will host vendors selling miscellaneous hippie bull$#!* including professional tie-dye and demonstrations & training from Texas Footbag, YogaSlackers & Keep Austin Slacklining. The garage will also serve as our bicycle & skateboard valet as well as the home of our massive group finger painting mural.
The patio will host a yoga class by Wanderlust at 4pm, drum spheres (bring your hand-drums), and Frisbee. The Control Room will transform into the Crash Pad where music-lovers can participate in an improvised jam on-stage (so bring your instruments & musical friends!) Those who want to chill can enjoy the show from the air-conditioned comfort of couches, cold beverage in hand, all while surrounded by 300 degrees of trippy, psychedelic projections. Facebook Event – http://www.hippieveganbs.com
Enjoy the weekend! Remember to wear suncreen and keep your dogs out of your parked car! I will break your window.
Lazy Smurf's Guide 
This is so well written and says what I wish I was articulate and level-headed enough to say to people, which is usually just “it’s not just about abortion, dipshit!” Great post.
Holy shit those nail kits are the best thing ever!
Yes! I’m really annoyed at the condescending and dismissive comments coming from people in blue states.
Love the story. Well done. You all are now picking up momentum, this is the time to organize the troops and keep the pressure on!
That sounds like a kickass weekend. Also I have a huge girl crush on Wendy Davis. She is a superstar!
Wendy Davis is SO RAD and your amazing sounding weekend makes me wanna be in Austin even more than usual! Instead I’ll be home hiding indoors because of the 18 degree (like, 65) weather & 90% humidity. Real nice England, real nice!
Jojo I miss you!!!!!!!!!!!
I did my own little cheer when I heard about it all the way over in Canada’s Texas! Wendy Davis is one kick ass lady.
I want to do hippie vegan bullshit too! Sounds like a fun event.
I had to write in response to this blog entry. I have enjoyed your blog for a couple of years now – I appreciate your photos, info on vegan restaurants in the Austin area, your travelogues, etc. But (there’s always a but, isn’t there!), this one made me want to remove your blog from my bookmark bar and never visit it again. Granted, this is your blog – you can write whatever you want. Likewise, as a reader, I can choose not to frequent your blog any longer (which kind of saddens me).
I am sure that most of your readers agree with you. Most vegans – for what reason I will never understand – are far left liberal. I ,myself, and my family of vegetarians and vegans are conservative. Reading this blog today made me ill. I was taken aback by the hateful references to “evil” Republicans, Texans as “backwards jerks,” that we don’t care about healthcare and factory regulations and education (where on Earth do your “privileged blue state” fellows get these ridiculous ideas?). The notion that our elected officials (that is, the Republicans… never the Democrats, right?) actively work to disenfranchise the poor and minorities – where does this come from? The states are responsible for setting their own voter laws. It’s that simple. If we survive as a representative Republic (which is unlikely, sadly), that is the way it will continue to work.
The dig at “white evangelical voters” was also palpable. I am not white, but I have many wonderful white evangelical friends who love their brothers and sisters of all colors and backgrounds and go to great lengths to give back to society and help those in need. I don’t have a church that I attend these days, but I have many friends and family members who are wonderful church-going Christians who live by the golden rule. It is upsetting to see you lump a group of good people into such a category – working the system to keep women, Mexicans (me?), Blacks, the poor from voting. Really??? How does that work for the women in this group you’ve created? How does it work for the Latinos in this group? Even the Blacks… yes, conservative Black people exist. (Oh, I’m sure you’d just call them Uncle Toms, right?)
Lastly, it is sad to me that the left has misconstrued and misrepresented so many issues and even the English language. “Women’s health/healthcare?” I am a woman. I have great healthcare. I’m not rich. I am Mexican-American. I don’t have “evil” Republican men breathing down my neck trying to control what I do in my bedroom or what I do in my doctor’s office. Have you even read the bill that Wendy Davis was filibustering? If not, you should. What is so offensive about this bill? Is it the 20-week ban? Have you read all the additional ways that this ban would not prevent abortions at this stage for a number of listed reasons. Is it not enough to know that it’s been established that at about 20 weeks, a fetus can feel pain? No, it’s more important that I think of my vagina first. That is sick thinking. That is demoralized thinking. That is “through the looking glass” completely inane thinking.
On a side note, as a vegan, it came to me that supporting abortion (I used to be pro-choice) went against my very views about animals. I cherish the lives of animals and acknowledge their right to life. I in no way want to extinguish one of those lives by my eating/personal habits. Being pro-life includes being pro-life for the unborn. It’s that simple. I still understand that abortion might be warranted in certain scenarios, but I am not painting my fingernails and writing poetry (another liberal friend of mine) honoring a woman that supports abortion. That is a mixed up, misguided philosophy in my opinion (and it’s not going to win over many non-vegans).
I apologize for writing such a long comment. I could write a lot more. I’m sure I will be flamed. That’s fine. I do thank you for reading my opposing opinion.
Just realize that when you write a post like this sure, a lot of your fellow liberals will hail you and sing your praises, but also realize that you might be turning away a few fellow vegans who don’t subscribe to the Democrat/liberal lie.
And, for what it’s worth, here’s a link to a summary of the bill:
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/831/analysis/pdf/SB00005S.pdf#navpanes=0
Please read it.
Gina,
We all have the right to whatever we choose to believe. That being said I would like to make just a few points regarding what you have written. First, you provided a link of a summary to the bill that has a whole state up in arms, did you just read the summary? Or as you suggested yourself did you actually read the bill? Second, you claim that you have many good Christian friends who live by “The Golden Rule”, I’m assuming that you mean the positive form; One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself. This is a fine belief and one that I try to live by myself. Which means that I most certainly do not force people to follow my beliefs or judge them for the choices that they make. I believe that all people have the right to decide what to do with their own bodies and up until recent times there was no way for a developing child to exist outside of the womb. So any child that was still inside the body would be considered nothing. That’s why we don’t begin counting the age of a child until its out of the womb. In fact there are some societies that believe in the unborn as a conscious being, these societies count the birth dates of their children at the time of conception. But again that’s not us. Now I have to ask you, what will we do with all of these children that come into this world unwanted? I would be totally for forced birth if everyone in this society was made to adopt at least one unwanted child. But that isn’t the case. It is very tragic to see these unwanted and unloved children making their way through our dismal foster system. Its even more tragic when they are forced to live with the person who didn’t want them in the first place, being reminded on a regular basis of how they ruined their mother’s life. This happens, its horrible, but its not near as terrible as the children who are abused physically and emotionally surrounded by all kinds of things we as adults wouldn’t want to experience. Of course not everyone would respond in this way. There are many who are just born into poverty and will (due to our lack of generosity to the poor, as a nation) have to suffer all the health issues and education problems that come with poverty in this nation. Here in Texas if we really wanted to bring down our abortion rates we could at least change our method of sex education. Abstinence only education doesn’t work. Teenagers have sex and the better they know how to protect themselves the fewer STDs and unwanted pregnancies there will be. Birth control could be more widely available. There are so many things that could be done to curb the need for abortion. However, in this morally backwards world we live in it would seem that a resolution to all these issues will be a long time coming. So for now, when you and your friends get pregnant, go ahead have your babies. But allow others to make the choice that is best for them and their own families. Without having to risk their lives if their choice happens to be having to end their pregnancy. Abortions have been happening for as long as history has been written, in all kinds of ways people have made them possible, even if it meant infanticide. It is a hard decision to make, and anyone who has to make this choice will not (typically) be making it lightly. So why can’t we all make the choices that will suit our own lives. From a Christian perspective I believe judgement is left to Him and He is the only being fit to judge me. That is why He gave us Freewill.
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I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you design this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz answer back as I’m looking to construct my own blog and would like to find out where u got this from. kudos|
It’s a free wordpress theme, The Twenty Twelve Theme