As the San Antonio Express-News reports, every single anti-abortion bill proposed in Texas this year was successfully blocked before it reached the House or Senate floor. Of course, that wasn’t for lack of trying — altogether, anti-choice lawmakers introduced at least 24 different measures to restrict Texas women’s reproductive rights. Some of those bills even had the backing of key leaders in the state, like Gov. Rick Perry (R) and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (R). But Democratic members of the state legislature pushed back, and won.
“Democrats stuck together very well this session and made strong arguments and strong advocacy on behalf of a woman’s right to choose,” state Sen. Kirk Watson (D), the head of Texas’ Democratic caucus, told the Express-News. “Just this week, I’ve had pressure from leadership pushing to bring up bills in an almost threatening way, and we have stood up to that. …Now we’re at the end of the session, and they’re dead.”
The failed anti-abortion legislation included a “fetal pain” measure that would have criminalized abortion services after the 20th week of pregnancy, as well as several bills intended to force abortion clinics in the state to close their doors.
Democrats in the state explained that anti-abortion lawmakers experienced significant backlash during the 2012 elections, in the height of the so-called “War on Women.” Republicans took a “big hit” in that election, and the balance of the legislature tipped. After Texas voters continued to express disapproval over the new legislation that compromised women’s health, GOP lawmakers began to relent. They even agreed to work to reverse some of the family planning cuts.
Not every state had similar success defeating anti-choice initiatives, however. In the first quarter of 2013, state lawmakers proposed an astounding 694 provisions about reproduction — and some of them, including the most stringent abortion bans this country has seen since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion over 40 years ago, became law this year.


In his writing here about the dearth of openly gay players on the active rosters of professional sports teams, Travis Waldron’s discussed a range of issues that have factored into the perception that athletics are a largely heterosexual pursuit. There’s the theory that the locker room is an unfriendly environment that’s been partially dispelled by straight allies like Chris Kluwe and Brendon Ayanbadejo. The persistent use of homophobic insults by fans suggests that the problem might be more in the stands than in players-only areas. And there’s the question of how being publicly out of the closet might affect a player’s negotiating power or sponsorship deals.






On MSNBC’s Morning Joe Thursday morning, panelist John Heilemann got into a heated argument with GOP Chairman Reince Priebus over President Obama’s role in the targeting of conservative groups applying for 501(c)4 status. Priebus offered a series of comments trying to tie Obama to the scandal — which Republicans have 



