Sen. Wendy Davis "was equipped with a catheter" during her filibuster (!!!)

[WilliamPitt]

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis (D) "was equipped with a catheter, but nixed an offer of a continuous IV drip" to help her make it through an 11+ hour filibuster earlier this week.

http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/06/27/4966435/wendy-davis-from-fort-worth-neighborhood.html

Hard. Core.

[Le Taz Hot]

1. I was thinking adult diapers.

I don't know a whole lotta people who could avoid a potty break for 13 hours.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. Not me, that's for sure.

That is hard core.

[NYC_SKP]

2. That's what I call determination and public service!

I'm lurve her.

[Katashi_itto]

44. Thats awesome!

[Harmony Blue]

3. Republican heads exploding

[dembotoz]

6. after this the republicans will demand a trans vaginal ultrasound to get one of those too

[zazen]

27. hah! n/t

[Eleanors38]

9. Exploding the container over the balcony would have been good.

[Enthusiast]

68. The Republicans will make some legal claim based on the catheter.......nt

[CurtEastPoint]

5. Hillary and Wendy...has a nice ring to it...

[Freddie]

7. Thinking the same thing!

Been catheterized twice for c-sections and it's a painful procedure even with local anethesia. What an amazing woman!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

13. I've been cathed many times for major surgeries and long recoveries.

Didn't hurt.

YMMV I guess.

[Liberal_in_LA]

47. it was painful

[Just Saying]

52. I had them for my c-sections as well

They weren't pleasant and certainly not something I'd sign up for if I didn't have to.

What a woman!

And to quote Jim Carrey from "Liar, Liar"

"There's nooooooo such thing as a weaker sex!"

[niyad]

8. the pukes in charge must be really afraid of her

Burns, who watched the entire episode, disclosed that Davis was equipped with a catheter, but nixed an offer of a continuous IV drip.

No food or water is permitted during filibusters, and the rules were made even tighter on Tuesday, he claimed, saying she was deprived of the customary hard candy and ice chips. At one point, there were moves to confiscate a stack of letters from women as a “fire hazard,” but the effort was dropped, said Burns, whose partner is Davis’ longtime political consultant, J.D. Angle.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/06/27/4966435/wendy-davis-from-fort-worth-neighborhood.html#storylink=cpy

[BlancheSplanchnik]

14. women are not human beings to repuke scum.

We're just objects upon which to project their power and sex fantasies.

[niyad]

18. just before I came back to this thread, I was reading another one, by a domestic violence

survivor. it occurred to me to wonder just how many of these puke men are abusers at home.

then I came here, and read your comment.

the post I was reading:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023118978

[BlancheSplanchnik]

24. that article

Reinforces another thread here. (and the thread is in GD, too!--not safely protected in Feminism from the MRA )
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3125858

Anyway...I have to back and read the rest of the post you linked here.

I'm wondering if in all the focus on teaching and controlling girls to grow up under the shadow of Men, no one has ever focused much on the idea that socialization needs to teach boys and men to bear the pain of rejection/not getting your every desire.

(and a painful lesson it is....)

[niyad]

37. thank you for the link, bookmarked for later reading.

[Half-Century Man]

31. I question the sex fantasies part.

There is a lot of sexually based anger. I do wonder if some of it might be redirected self-loathing stemming from suppressed sexual orientation or self perceived physical lacking. Some of these people are true believers in mass media old school sexual stereotypes.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

34. yeah...I meant "sexualized", in terms of self-perception, ego, sense of self, power

And masculine identity.

Not "sex fantasies" specifically.

Yeah, anger and suppression and self-loathing... all involved in the whole mess. And no cultural norms that deal with it. Time to start establishing some new cultural norms!

[ismnotwasm]

10. Smart woman.

Smart and savvy.

[PearliePoo2]

11. After going to the star-telegram link and reading the comments...

it's hard to believe she ever got elected.
There's a few commenters that are trying their best, (with you know, like facts and stuff) but they are basically drowning in an ignorant cesspool.

[DinahMoeHum]

12. That whole state is a cesspool, if you ask me. . .

. . .maybe Austin would be an exception, but then again, it's the state capital and all the action is out there.

[Paladin]

45. You Texas haters really need to update your material.

The whole "Texas sucks except maybe for Austin" thing got old a long time ago. God forbid you should particularize your criticism to Rick Perry & Co.; no, it's so much easier just to shit-can the whole state---including the 3.3 million of us who voted for Obama, last year. Thanks for absolutely nothing.

[DinahMoeHum]

57. Unfortunately, the "3.3 million" who voted Obama are not the majority.

Let's see if this whole Wendy Davis thing can FINALLY get Texans off their asses and get rid of fuckheads like Goodhair Perry and Sen. John Cornholyn.

[Paladin]

58. Yeah, OK.

Now why don't you go hone that Texas expertise of yours with another viewing of "Dazed and Confused"? I'm too busy supporting "this whole Wendy Davis thing" to waste any more time with you.

[DinahMoeHum]

59. Whatever.

.

[niyad]

21. the comments section has been closed. tried to get through the first few--glad I haven't had

anything to eat yet. what a pile of woman-hating, ignorant bs.

[PearliePoo2]

29. Yeah, no kidding.

It's a wonder these people know enough to dress themselves! (maybe they don't...just pajamas and skivvies all day)
Disgusting and depressing...I should not have even gone there.

[Not Sure]

39. FW Startlegram comments are always gems

The people who write those comments - on any topic, really - are generally vile, unreasonable, bigoted, hateful scum. In other words, they represent the uninformed moronic masses of Tarrant County very well.

[Botany]

15. How long can Wendy Davis speak?

It depends. thanx remember to tip your wait person and I'll be
here all week.

[niyad]

19. groaaaaaaaaan

[Botany]

22. do you think great comedy is e.z.?

[niyad]

36. no, I know that it isn't. ya done good!

[Half-Century Man]

16. Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

In the Texas senate the winner of the Solid Steel Balls award is......Senator Wendy Davis.

[TalkingDog]

17. ahem.... Ovaries of Steel

n/t

[Half-Century Man]

23. I got ahead of myself in my enthusiasm. Warukatta.

I have made that very point before, now I stand here embarrassed.

I vote we change the awards name to "Twin Points Solid Steel of Fortitude, Courage, and Determination". And shorthand it to ovaries or balls on a case by case basis.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

26. or how about just use Ovaries as the default?

You know...Culture Jam a little! That's what I do! Always gets people a little woken up, too.

[Half-Century Man]

32. Ya need the Solid Steel part.

Clank when you walk sorta thing.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

35. heh! n/t

[TalkingDog]

67. No worries. No harm no foul. (no text)

[EC]

20. either that or diapers

otherwise she could have done some real damage.

[Rebellious Republican]

40. Depends!

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

[lastlib]

25. She is one strong lady, any way you look at it.

She has my undying admiration--and GRATITUDE!! . .

(I really think I'm in love! )

[Zorra]

28. A Democrat with real serious spine. Our next Democratic US Senator from Texas?

[Half-Century Man]

33. Hummmmm, replace goober with an actual person.....

...that might be crazy enough to work.

[earthbone]

30. Genius !

I,d like to see Dewhurst try that.

[niyad]

38. just wondering how the pukes are going to try to make something hateful or ugly out of that fact

[SunSeeker]

42. Yup. It's not the barbaric no toilet break requirement that's creepy.

It's her human function-necessitated accommodation of it that deserves scorn.

Kinda like it's not rape that's the problem, it is the fact that women get abortions after being raped.

[usaf-vet]

41. Cool using her "woman's part" to beat back the repukes...

...who are constantly attacking the reproductive women's parts for their own hate driven agenda.

Well played Ms. Davis. Get yourself on a national ticket and you will have this male yankee's vote.

[obama2terms]

43. Nice! She's pretty bad ass

I wish republicans would quit acting like people who are pro-choice love abortion. Nobody likes abortion, some women have to get one because their life depends on it, some women may get one because they can't afford a child ( I would choose adoption in this case, but to each its own) some women may not want to raise a child that was conceived through rape, etc. there's many reasons. And that's what repukes don't get, there is a multitude of reasons why women get abortions, it's not a cookie cutter, everyone is the same kind of issue. It's a very hard decision to make, and for some women there is a lot of anxiety after the procedure. It's not fun for anyone, and demonizing women for the choices they make is just plain WRONG. I have a friend who was very anti-choice, raised catholic, went to catholic school, the whole ordeal. Well she got pregnant and at first we just thought she had high blood pressure, but after a doctor's visit it was discovered she has severe pre-eclampsia, which, if left untreated, becomes life threatening to the mom and the fetus. It develops any where from 20 weeks gestation to I think about 32 weeks. There is no known cure, and the only treatment is abortion or early delivery. The doctors said the safest way ( in other words, the one that was less likely to kill her) was going through with the abortion. She didn't want to get the abortion ( but if she didn't she would be dead too) she was very depressed after getting the news, and was also upset when she was told for her health's sake, to never get pregnant again. She cried and screamed and wanted to die, it was awful, but she decided it was best to go through with the abortion, and she did. Today, almost 2 years later, she is doing much better, and is considering adoption. My point is, people like Rick Perry don't know any of these women, he doesn't know their life, he doesn't know their story, he doesn't know their family, he doesn't know their friends, he doesn't know anything about these women, yet he wants to dictate their reproductive rights? And the other clown crew doesn't even know what a rape kit is, and they want to dictate women's reproductive rights too? The whole thing is a joke!

[PearliePoo2]

50. Very moving and well-written post..

Thank you.

[Ilsa]

54. Pre-eclampsia doesn't necessarily repeat in subsequent

Pregnancies. She should see another doctor.

I developed severe pre-clampsia near the end of my pregnancy. Had to deliver by C-section. Two years later I had a normal pregnancy.

She should get a second opinion before concluding she should Never get pregnant again.

[obama2terms]

61. That's good to know

She hasn't discussed the whole thing ( at least with me) since it happened. She's talked about adopting for some time. The next time she brings up adoption in front of me I'm going to mention she try a new doctor. Thanks for the advice!

[Ilsa]

65. I'm happy for her that she wants to adopt.

I just think she should fully understand her options if she wants to become a parent.

And who knows? The first experience may have been so traumatic that she doesn't want to risk it again. She may be using "my doctor told me..." as an excuse for that or another health problem that she wants to keep private. You may want to tread lightly on this, maybe explore again whether she really wants a pregnancy.

Procreation is such a private and tricky business. It's no wonder that women, especially, are so offended by "old white men" (the type) legislators trying to regulate their reproduction.

[niyad]

62. they want to control women, they don't want them having any sort of autonomy whatever.

as I keep pointing out, each and every anti-choice argument has, at its heart, a profound hatred for women, because each argument, whether based on religious or whatever beliefs, says that some thing, or some one, whether the zygote, the church, the state, or the male, is more important than the woman.

[progressoid]

46. The Stadium Gal maybe???

http://stadiumpal.com/gal/what-works.html

[marions ghost]

48. Crazy I just don't get it

why can't she have an escort to just go to the effing bathroom & come back quickly? You can get infections from catheters.

But beyond the physical thing, it's just idiotic.

[mwooldri]

55. I guess the rules are that she must be present at all times.

Leaving her stand would end her filibustering. Yes, catheters can be a cause of an infection but if handled correctly in a clean/sterile environment it is generally OK. I agree that there should be a bathroom break of sorts but apparently the rules don't allow for that since 11+ hours of filibustering by one person is not usual. I suppose it would have been easier if two people could filibuster and somehow arrange for a switchover at some point.

[marions ghost]

56. Of course

--like something sane? This is just draconian. Who made these ridiculous laws I wonder. Weird.

Thx for reply

[niyad]

60. not only are the original rules for filibustering insane, look at the rules they added just for her.

[mwooldri]

49. This filibuster was brought to you in part by _insert catheter supply company name_.

Liquid diet (with caffeine), foley catheter with leg bag. Easily done. Could go on longer but at some point sleep will be needed.

[In_The_Wind]

51. Thank you, Senator Wendy Davis

[treestar]

53. Is is possible to get one without a prescription?

Interesting.

[Ilsa]

66. It is considered an invasive medical procedure.

You can easily introduce a bacterial infection into the bladder and urinary tract if you don't know what you're doing. She probably talked her doctor or a nurse friend into helping her with it.

[Cha]

63. From your link..

For the moment, Davis’ supporters are reveling in the broad attention her stand has grabbed. “It was not that it was the right moment,” said Deborah Peoples, Tarrant County’s Democratic Party chairwoman. “It was actually the right thing to do.”

“For too long, people have said Texas is a red state. And for so long we believed it. But Tuesday night showed it’s not,” Peoples added. “What Sen. Davis did was to provide a light in the darkness for many people who needed someone in Texas to speak out for them.”

Mahalo, Will

[WilliamPitt]

64. (((hug)))