Jezebel: Texas

Terrible Judge Says Woman Fired Over Pumping Breast Milk Wasn't Discriminated Against

Cassie Murdoch — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:15:00 EST

In a curious decision, a judge in Texas has ruled that a woman who was fired after she asked for a place in the office to pump her breast milk was not discriminated against. Donnicia Venters was working at a debt collection agency called Houston Funding in 2008 when she gave birth to a daughter. As she was about to come back from maternity leave, she asked the company's vice president for a private place in the office to pump her breast milk, and she was suddenly told her position had been filled. She then got a back-dated termination notice a week later, which cited "job abandonment" as the cause. More »

Abortion-Seekers in Texas Must Look at Sonogram, as if They Didn't Already Know What Was in There

Erin Gloria Ryan — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:10:00 EST

A judge has ruled that it's perfectly legal for the state of Texas to require women seeking abortions to first look at a sonogram, listen to the fetal heartbeat, and listen to a doctor's speil about possible dire consequences that could befall them for choosing to terminate their pregnancies. Don't Mess with Fetus! More »

The Best Thing to Drink While Watching The Princess Bride

Cassie Murdoch — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:05:00 EST

The Princess Bride" alt="Click here to read The Best Thing to Drink While Watching The Princess Bride" src="http://cache.jezebel.com/assets/images/39/2012/02/small_f3ce3a024f72d0a82d5a1c017034deba.jpg"/>

The only way to improve upon an evening spent watching The Princess Bride for the thousandth time is to add wine. And now there's the perfect wine for the occasion, Princess Bride wine! "The Bottle of the Wits" is the genius creation of the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas, and you can choose from the "Inconceivable Cab" or the "As Your Wish White." No doubt a glass or two of either will be enough to ensure you dream sweet dreams of Westley. More »

Man Films His Wife Giving Birth in the Car While He Drives

Cassie Murdoch — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:45:00 EST

When most people picture the birth of their child, it does not include speeding down a highway frantically trying to film with a cell phone camera while their wife pushes the baby out in the front seat. And yet that is exactly how things went for one Texas couple. More »

Hey, Let's Not Play the Choking Game

Cassie Murdoch — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:30:00 EST

College kids do a lot of dumb shit—as anyone who has ever been one can tell you—but a new study suggests co-eds these days are doing something particularly stupid: playing the Choking Game. More »

Pastor Conducts a Bizarre 'Sexperiment' on the Roof of His Church

Cassie Murdoch — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:30:00 EST

This past weekend, a pastor in Texas brought a bed up to the rooftop of his megachurch and sat in it with his wife for 24 hours. The pastor, Ed Young, decided to do the stunt to promote a new book he has called Sexperiment: 7 Days to Lasting Intimacy With Your Spouse. Young swore it wasn't a gimmick and said he was simply doing it to spread a message: "Bring God back into the bed." I guess it's easier for Him to find the bed if you're up on the roof? More »

The Only Pep Talk You Will Ever Need

Cassie Murdoch — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 14:50:00 EST

Drug Store Refuses To Sell Plan B To A Man Because Men Can't Get Pregnant, Silly

Erin Gloria Ryan — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:30:00 EST

Drug store chain CVS has issued an apology to a man who says he was denied access to Plan B and a pregnancy test because he lacks a uterus. By this logic, women shouldn't be allowed to buy men's razors, condoms, or Gold Bond powder, unless they can produce evidence that the Gold Bond powder is not to be used on balls. More »

Texas Politician Regrets Urging Against 'Jewing Down'

Erin Gloria Ryan — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:20:00 EDT

Texas Republian State Representative Larry Taylor has apologized for using the phrase "Jew them down" during a legislative hearing. More »

Woman Welcomes Trick-Or-Treaters, Just 'No Blacks'

Margaret Hartmann — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 22:31:00 EDT

This Halloween a woman in El Paso, Texas posted a sign on her lawn that said, "No blacks welcomed to trick-or-treat," and shockingly, she isn't Ann Coulter (in that case the sign would have read "Only our blacks welcomed to trick-or-treat.") Marta Martinez says she put up the sign because black people, including her neighbors, are conspiring to take her semi-abandoned property. She's also been seen yelling racial slurs while brandishing a rifle in her yard, and posted another no-trespassing sign that references a law that allows homeowners to use deadly force to defend themselves. More »

Middle School Students Are Sex-Crazed Maniacs

Douglas Barry — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 17:20:00 EDT

Probably bad news for Rick Perry and his state's abstinence-only approach to sex-ed: according to a study by the University of Texas' Health Sciences Center at Houston, about one in ten Texas sixth graders have had sex. If that seems like a lot of precocious preteens to you, imagine how frighteningly large the proportion seems to the stalwart sex-educators of Texas, some of whom, according to HuffPo, employ such cutting-edge teaching tools as biblical short answer questions. Forget for a moment how much you hate short answer tests because they make your hands cramp, and consider instead that using the Bible to teach kids about sex is sort of the same as using a textbook that's a couple thousand years out of date, except that isn't so much a textbook as a collection of occasionally apocryphal parables. Oh, and it's loaded with all kinds of inconsistently taboo sex like incest. More »

How Anti Choice Groups Are Trying to Eliminate Abortion Without Making it Illegal

Erin Gloria Ryan — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 11:30:00 EDT

Last week's Congressional passage of the Let Women Die ("Protect Life") Act capped off a year characterized by a dismayingly high number of abortion restricting bills, and there's no end to the fuckery in sight. Since Roe v. Wade has withstood decades of legal challenges, the next wave of abortion restricting laws won't try to take on Roe v. Wade directly; rather, they'll attempt to gradually ebb away at a woman's right to bodily autonomy by eliminating funding, legally redefining "life," and harassing and intimidating doctors interested in providing abortion services. This is going to be the best fall ever. More »

Hate-Blogging, Window Breaking, Incessant Calls Fail To Win Back Ex-Boyfriend

Erin Gloria Ryan — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:55:00 EDT

A woman in Houston is being charged with felony stalking after calling her ex boyfriend over 1,000 times in three months, breaking his kitchen window with a five-foot sword, and documenting her heartbreak on a rambling blog dedicated how she couldn't understand why that goddamn bastard didn't love her anymore. More »

Texas Schools Slowly, Begrudgingly Admit Abstinence-Only Education Isn't Working

Margaret Hartmann — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 13:20:00 EDT

After years of sexual education that willfully denies the possibility that kids are going to have sex no matter what, some schools in Texas are starting to teach curriculums that information on contraception. This is partly because it isn't as cheap to yell, "Don't do it!" to teens as one might think, and there's less federal money available for abstinence-only programs. But the bigger reason behind the shift is that people are finally facing the fact that abstinence-only programs simply don't work. More »

Texas Wildfires Kill Four, Destroy More Than 1000 Homes

Margaret Hartmann — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 21:22:00 EDT

Texas has been experiencing one of the worst wildfire outbreaks in the state's history, and now at least four people are dead and more than 1,000 people have lost their homes. Due to a long drought, more than 180 fires have broken out in the last week. Over the weekend winds from Tropical Storm Lee caused one of the biggest fires to spread, burning more than 45 square miles in Bastrop County, near Austin. More »

Planned Parenthood Employee Quits Because Clients Are Having Sex

Anna North — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 19:05:00 EDT

In 2009, Abby Johnson left Planned Parenthood to become an anti-choice activist, apparently after watching an ultrasound of an abortion. This year, another Planned Parenthood employee left — this one because she didn't like giving out birth control. More »

Judge: Texas Can't Force Doctors To Show Sonogram Results

Irin Carmon — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 10:30:41 EDT

One of Rick Perry's legislative victories as governor of Texas was a law that fined doctors unless they offered to show sonograms to women seeking abortions, described fetal development in detail, and offered up audio of a heartbeat. Now a judge says that's unconstitutional. More »

Judge Rules that Taxing Texas Strip Clubs Doesn't Violate Free Speech Rights

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 18:25:14 EDT

Last month, we reported on the court battle over a law in Texas that requires strip clubs to pay a so-called "pole tax" of $5 per patron. Club owners claimed that since nude dancing is a form of expression, the tax violated their right to free speech and were refusing to pay up. This week, the Texas Supreme Court ruled against the club owners. More »

Your Handy Guide To Rick Perry

Irin Carmon — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 15:00:27 EDT

This morning in Iowa, new presidential candidate Rick Perry said you should want a president "that's in love with America." He struck a similarly amorous note when asked about Romney, blowing an air kiss and saying, "Send him my love." Should you be sending love back Perry's way? In a word, no. More »

Yet Another GOP Presidential Hopeful Is Anti-Gay Marriage, Pro-Creationism

Lane Moore — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 16:35:00 EDT

Not that you'll be terribly surprised to hear this, but Republican Texas Governor and potential GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry fully supports putting a federal limit on gay marriage — and things creationism is pretty cool, too. More »

Strip Clubs Say Taxes Violate Freedom Of Expression

Anna North — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 12:14:00 EDT

Strip clubs in Texas are supposed to pay a special tax to help fund sexual assault prevention programs. But some allege the tax violates clubs' First Amendment rights — and lots of clubs simply aren't paying. More »

Texas And Wisconsin About To Defund Planned Parenthood

Irin Carmon — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 18:15:00 EDT

A judge handed Planned Parenthood a victory against the state of Indiana, restoring the right of Medicaid patients to seek care there, but that's just one battle in the wave of attacks on the health care provider. More »

Worst Listicle Of All Time: Hottest Female Sex Offenders

Irin Carmon — Thu, 12 May 2011 12:50:00 EDT

"You probably would not be too surprised to learn that the vast majority of people in the Texas Department of Public Safety's sex offender list are male. And most are not good-looking. But there are females on there, too." [Via] More »

Texas May Ban Transgender Marriages

Anna North — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 09:45:00 EDT

Texas lawmakers are trying to repeal a state law that allows transgender people to legally marry spouses of the opposite sex. Not only would this prevent trans people from marrying their partners — some worry it might invalidate existing marriages. More »

States Consider New Online Dating Laws

Anna North — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 09:42:00 EDT

It's been a big week for the regulation of online dating. First, Match.com pledged to check new members against the sex offender registry — and now several states are considering laws aimed at making online dating safer. Will they work? More »

"Fat Ho Burgers" Causes Uproar In Texas Town

Irin Carmon — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 18:55:00 EDT

A local businesswoman has upset her neighbors by opening a new burger join in town— and naming it Fat Ho Burgers. More »

Texas High School Bans Gay-Straight Alliance; ACLU Intervenes

Anna North — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 13:15:00 EST

Yet another high school has moved to eliminate all clubs just to block a Gay-Straight Alliance. This time it's Flour Bluff High School in Corpus Christi, Texas — and the ACLU is involved. More »

Concerned White Man Starts Scholarship For Guys Like Him

Anna North — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 09:30:00 EST

No doubt disturbed by the dominance of women and people of color in the highest echelons of government and business, one Colby Bohannon has established a college scholarship just for white dudes. More »

City Puts Renaming Of Solid Waste Services Department Up For A Vote, Hilarity Ensues

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 16:15:00 EST

Austin, Texas is a place full of wonderfully weird people, and when the city decided to leave the renaming of its shit disposal team up for public vote, something wonderfully weird happened. What name does Texas's weirdest city favor? More »

Female Candidate's Personal Life Special-er Than Male Candidates' Lives

Lauri Apple — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 15:05:07 EST

Dallas city council member and potential mayoral candidate Angela Hunt might not be able to run a very "aggressive" campaign, says the local Morning News, because of her "new family." As in, "baby." You know how women are about babies. More »

Guy Films Self Punching Wife's Lover and Posts It on YouTube

Lauri Apple — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 17:05:00 EST

Probably not the best thing to do even if you are a "Stage 4 cancer husband," as the law blogger Crime & Federalism describes the cuckolded guy. "Why not punch her?" C&F wonders. I have an idea why. More »

Texas Conservatives Want To Pull Out Of Medicaid

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 13:40:00 EST

Irrationally exuberant over decisive victories in the past week's election, some far-right Texas Republicans are suggesting that the state fix its budget woes by withdrawing from Medicaid. Man, the government in Texas sure does hate the government. More »

Texas Teens Go Make-Up Free To Redefine Beauty

Katy Kelleher — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 17:17:00 EDT

A group of teenagers at the Colleyville Heritage High School in Texas have decided to fight back against unreasonable beauty standards by appearing in public one without makeup for one day each week. How rebellious! More »

Instead Of Sex Ed, Kids Are Getting Something Quite Different

Lisa Russ — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 18:00:00 EDT

Seems to me that simple, clear communication works best, even with young kids. But judging from the turbulence caused by a sex ed curriculum under consideration by the School Board in Helena, MT, there are people who disagree. More »

Transgender Woman Fights To Keep Husband's Benefits

Irin Carmon — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:45:00 EDT

A Texas firefighter's family is suing to have his widow stripped of his death benefits — because the widow is a transsexual and there is no same-sex marriage in Texas. More »

Don't Mess With Texas

Anna Holmes — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 13:10:00 EDT

[Washington, D.C., June 9. Image via Getty]

There Will Be Blood

Anna Holmes — Mon, 24 May 2010 16:10:00 EDT

[Houston, May 24. Image via AP]

Sign Of The Times

Anna Holmes — Fri, 14 May 2010 10:10:00 EDT

[Houston, May 13. Image via Getty]

Nothing But Net

Anna Holmes — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:10:00 EDT

[San Antonio, April 6. Image via Getty]

Remember The Alamo

Anna Holmes — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 11:10:00 EDT

[San Antonio, April 4. Image via Getty]