Internet Catches Texas Senate Fudging Time-Stamps On Abortion Bill
from the isn't-that-a-crime? dept
What with all that's going on in the world, you may have missed the news that the state of Texas was attempting to introduce a controversial bill that would close down a ton of abortion clinics. The bill had first failed to pass the state senate, but Governor Rick Perry demanded a special 30 day session which would bring the bill back up for debate. There was a deadline for the bill, which would have had to be voted on and passed on June 25th to become law, leading to a fairly impressive filibuster effort by Senator Wendy Davis. The entire thing was internet-y already, with scores of people tuning in live on YouTube to watch Davis go on, while Texas Republicans attempted to find procedural methods for ending her filibuster. It was all the more impressive due to various filibuster rules in Texas law, such as when Republicans complained that she had had someone assist in putting on a back brace, since by rule she wasn't allowed any assistance in standing straight up without leaning during her filibuster. #StandWithWendy trended on Twitter, a portion of the internet poured through Texas legislative rules for discussion points, and even President Obama was reportedly glued to YouTube.
In the end, Davis' efforts paid off, with her pushing her filibuster just long enough to delay a hurried vote from being taken before midnight. Liberals rejoiced, conservatives lamented. And then, dear friends, things got really strange.
In a desperate effort to pass a controversial bill that would shutter hundreds of abortion clinics in Texas, a slew of Twitter sleuths, including Circa's Anthony De Rosa and former Reuters social media editor Matthew Keys, discovered that the state legislature altered official state documents to show that the vote was passed before the midnight deadline.De Rosa and Keys managed to get screen grabs from the Texas Senate's page that detailed the proceedings of that particular bill. In the immediate aftermath, it listed the date of the vote being recorded as 6/26, which was past the deadline. Shortly after, and as of this writing, the page has been altered to show the vote being taken on 6/25, which would have been within the deadline. As Gawker notes, this is an extremely serious matter.
In actuality, the Texas state senate did not pass the bill, SB 5, in time—thanks to defeaning cheers from the gallery from supporters of State Senator Wendy Davis, who spent more than 10 hours filibustering a vote.
So what happened? Did someone tamper with official state documents? It would seem so, and that's a crime.And no, according to experts like tech policy analyst Kathy Gill, this is almost certainly not an innocent accident.
In order to change something like this, someone has to change the database. And things like votes and official times, they’re often (usually?) automatically generated also.Now, you may not like abortion and you may not care for filibusters, but no matter what your ideology you had damned well better be against the bullshitting of the constituents. The internet certainly is, having already sprung an official White House petition to defend the filibuster and preserve proper voting procedure. But the real beauty of this story is that it's thanks to the internet that this was found out so quickly and spread in such a viral fashion.
In other words, changes like this are deliberate.
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Filed Under: abortion, filibuster, internet, texas, texas senate, timestamps, wendy davis
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Re:
$ ntpq -p
remote refid st t when poll reach delay offset jitter
==============================================================================
oGPS_NMEA(0) .GPS. 0 l 30 64 377 0.000 0.026 0.001
Twenty-six microseconds! WTF!
I'll say they don't always match the correct time. Stupid computers.
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Kerberos only requires +/- like five minutes. Typically a Windows system will be using the "Windows Time" service to keep computers synchronized. The Windows Time service was designed primarily to make Kerberos happy. Therefore, Windows Time doesn't synchronize to better than a few seconds.
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snipped to essentials
$ cat /etc/krb5.conf
[libdefaults]
������ clockskew = 15
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You stated, �Kerberos only requires +/- like five minutes.�
Do you understand that your statement was inaccurate?
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If you find this to be true on your servers, you desperately need to replace your IT guy. Failing in even the trivial task of keeping a server's time correct indicates massive incompetence.
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Correct timekeeping in the age of NTP is trivial.
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Personally, I'll be really happy when the affordable equipment starts getting close to planck time accuracy. Then everyone can just throw up their hands and say, �Physics!�
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Any IT person worth anything will keep all systems under his control in time.
Every system I manage has the same time. I have two tier three NTP servers that tap several tier two servers and serve time to keep all systems I administer in time. I am alerted anytime they are more than 1 second apart. The only time that happens is when they are rebooted or shut down. Even then they are typically back in time in less than 5 minutes.
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But just because I feel like arguing something... if it's true that the vote was not called until 12:03 and that this was "thanks to defeaning cheers from the gallery from supporters of State Senator Wendy Davis", I would also say that THIS is not appropriate. The gallery, perhaps purposely, disrupted the proceedings to the extent that a vote could not be taken? There's almost certainly a law against that, and minor charges would also be appropriate against the offenders. (Minor charges only. Nowhere near the charges appropriate for falsifying the date on the bill, of course.)
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- Maybe they should have thought about the peanut gallery as a potential problem before they acted on it.
- Maybe they should have had a better prepared lt. gov. who actually understood the procedures better to avoid as much wasted time on finding that information.
- Maybe they should have called for an extention of the voting to avoid a single filibuster being what stood between Ahab and his whale.
- Maybe they should have ignored what happened in the peanut gallery and proceded instead of waiting for absolute peace.
It is clear that the falsification of the date is a very serious way of subduing democracy. An unruly lot of people watching the process is either a problem they should have foreseen given the subject and the rules of the place (they are appearently very lax...) or something they should be able to ignore or avoid due to specifics of existing laws.
If the senate do not know the laws, how the hell can they make them or even have an opinion on them?
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If I don't get my work done on time I am out of a job, not given an extra month to continue to work on it and still not get it done.
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We (the internet and those in Austin) saw the Texas GOP do some really bad things, ignore there own rules, use every trick in the book to end the filibuster. Since this happened with live coverage it was really doubtful this was going to pass.
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Everything's bigger in Texas, even the stupidity and hubris.
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Re: Re: Texas
They think that in order to win when you loose you just have to fudge the paperwork like the good old days.
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Filibuster
The filibuster is unique in American politics in that it brings out hypocrisy in people like nothing else.
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Re: Filibuster
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Re: Filibuster
Here's the problem...this isn't political. It's never a good thing when one side stands up for things they believe in and do everything within their power to stop something they believe isn't right only for the side that lost to be all butthurt and HACK a government computer to change the time stamp on a document.
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Wally's point is that it's far better to stand up for your beliefs and block something legally than it is to illegally change the time stamps on the to the previous day to make it look like a bill passed. Politically abortion may or may not agree with some people...but this article has nothing to do with that. It's how the loss was handled by one side who was for it.
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Politics in a nut-shell:
When A does X, X is considered 'good' by A, and 'bad' by B.
When B does X, X is considered 'bad' by A, and 'good' by B.
Conclusion: X doesn't matter on it's own, the only determination as to good/bad is who is bringing it up at a given time. Also, politicians are hypocrites.
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Re: Politics in a nut-shell:
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Re: Filibuster
If you actually get up and talk and do your filibustering with words like Davis or Senator Rand Paul did, then you're doing it correctly. If you just use the threat of filibuster and don't do anything about it, then it's being used incorrectly and you need to be shot for doing that.
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Re: Re: Filibuster
In my opinion, filibusters should not be allowed at all. Members should be able to reasonably debate the bill at hand, but not to speak for hours for the purpose of obstruction.
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Re: Re: Re: Filibuster
Filibusters are needed, but filibuster reform is also needed. Filibusters SHOULD be about standing up and TALKING your way to obstruction, not just 'threatening' to do so.
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He however did have help from two democrats that would take over the fillibuster giving him a break from time to time.
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Re: Filibuster
The GOP prefer the dark anonymous corners. It's why they claim to not have voted no on anything they filibustered. It was never technically voted on, only whether to stop debate and vote.
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Re: Filibuster
The so-called "fillibuster" in the Federal Congress is merely a procedural matter. Republicans elminiated the actual performance feature of it.
In the Texas Legislature, you actually have to perform the fillibuster and keep talking to hold on to the floor.
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Re: Re: Filibuster
> > article gave me a chuckle. All the folks calling
> > Davis a 'hero' for her 'courageous' filibuster
> > are the same sort of folks who scream bloody
> > murder and call Republicans 'obstructionists'
> > and 'anti-democratic' whenever they use the
> > filibuster to block something."
> The so-called "fillibuster" in the Federal Congress
> is merely a procedural matter. Republicans elminiated
> the actual performance feature of it. In the Texas
> Legislature, you actually have to perform the
> fillibuster and keep talking to hold on to the floor.
Yes, and if next year the Txas Republicans do the same thing Davis did and filibuster some bill that the Left considers a sacred cow, the same people who mooned with admiration when Davis filibustered will be gnashing their teeth in fury about how the Republicans have tarnished democracy itself with their obstructionist behavior.
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Re: Filibuster
That alone makes Ms. Davis 'heroic' in my opinion. And I applaud Senator Paul's and Senator Sanders' filibusters from a while back for the same reasons.
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Re: Re: Filibuster
> Senate and those in the Texas Senate are
> different
Why does everyone here assume I was talking about the federal Congress when I made my comment? The article is about the Texas legislature and that's what I was referring to. Nowhere did I indicate that I'd suddenly switched the topic to filibusters in the federal Congress.
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Re: Re: Re: Filibuster
You must have been talking about the federal congress because you used the present tense and Republicans in Texas haven't filibustered a bill during this election cycle.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Filibuster
> congress because you used the present tense and
> Republicans in Texas haven't filibustered a
> bill during this election cycle.
Why do you assume I was only referring to this election cycle?
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Re: Filibuster
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> you're personally aware of when these exact
> people said those exact things
What does the phrase "the same sort of folks" mean to you? Because it apparently means something different to you than it does to the rest of us in the English-speaking world.
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Re: Filibuster
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Whitehouse petition to veto bill
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Re: Whitehouse petition to veto bill
> as our governor.
Now that we have the Lightbringer to guide us, we have no need for minor officials like governors.
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Gotta have some new blood on the dancefloor!
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You cannot have a free people if a branch of goverment can just break whatever rules it wants (or has none in the first pace)
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As for abortion itself... well, my mom faced near-fatal illness when she was having my siblings, but she chose to carry them through to the end anyway. As a result, she now has three children she loves and that have raised her as much as she's raised them. I do wish most people would pause a moment to think about how things might be if they had never been born and that they could muster up the bravery my mom did.
But... the issue is also very nuanced and personal, like marriage and other such things, so it's not like you can force any single view of it upon a whole nation, especially if it's "for their own good". Perhaps it should always be one of those things where people should have the freedom to make their own decisions. Hopefully they'll learn from their decisions as well, whatever they are, and become better people for it.
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And what do all those abortion clinics say about us as a society? Are there really that many life-or-death pregnancies that we need to have entire clinics devoted to undoing them as opposed to abortion being a supplementary service offered by standard hospitals? Am I missing something here?
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That despite society being absolutely horrified at any mention of sex/sexuality, leading to 'abstinence only' being widespread as the 'standard' sex-ed, it's doing a horrible job?
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Studies also show that outlawing abortion is like outlawing drugs. It doesn't work at reducing the number of abortions, it just makes abortions less safe, and throws countless people in jail who are otherwise law abiding citizens.
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Re: "As much as I hate abortion..."
(answer that question honestly, and you've answered the abortion 'question'...)
art guerrilla
aka ann archy
eof
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Re: Re: "As much as I hate abortion..."
You do own your own body, but the baby also has a right to life that is worthy of protection that conflicts with your rights to choose and you have a resposablity to protect it.
If you do not wish to take care of the child after birth there's always adoption
Further, with the exception of rape you already have a choice on whether to have a baby without even needing to factor abortions into the mix.
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Re: Re: Re: "As much as I hate abortion..."
You have your answer
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Re: Re: Re: Re: "As much as I hate abortion..."
No, you don't own a child. You have some rights as to how to raise that child but that's not the same thing.
You do not have the right to "break" a child like a plate
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Re: Re: Re: "As much as I hate abortion..."
And there is the crux of the biscuit. We cannot, as a society, agree at what point a fertilized egg becomes a baby. As a society, we will probably never agree what point that is, because such a single point does not exist.
I think that the compromise test that the Supreme Court used (viability outside the womb) is a very imperfect one in many ways -- but I am hard pressed to come up with a better one.
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Re: Re: Re: "As much as I hate abortion..."
Because that's the flip side of the "the fetus has a right to life" argument - *even granted that* (for the sake of argument), does any human being have the right to live through unwilling sacrifice of another's health?
The reason for the 'viability' limit is because at that point the fetus can gain what is needed without demanding further risk or sacrifice from the woman in question.
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Th "my-body-my-choice" crowd is deafeningly silent on that one.
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Slightly off topic
So, what was the emergency? Was it just this stupid anti-abortion bill? Was it an emergency because they couldn't get it passed during their normal session? That doesn't sound like much of an emergency.
What is to keep them from just doing away with the "normal" legislative session, and just do everything in 30 day "emergency" sessions?
And lastly, how much do these "emergency" sessions cost? If I were a Texan, I'd be asking why we needed to pay for this travesty.
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Re: Slightly off topic
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Update
Furthermore, according to Pacifica radio, the governor has already called a second emergency session to begin July 1st to reintroduce the issue.
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The Whitehouse Petition
The petition you are trying to access has been removed from the site under our Moderation Policy because it is in violation of our Terms of Participation.
Anyone any more info on this?
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Re: The Whitehouse Petition
"You agree not to create petitions that fall outside this limited purpose�for example, petitions that advertise or call for the endorsement or purchase of commercial goods or services, petitions that expressly urge the support or opposition of candidates for elected office, petitions that do not address the current or potential actions or policies of the federal government, or petitions that address a topic not included in We the People at the time the petition was created."
Since it is a matter of state law not federal law it does not "address the current or potential actions or policies of the federal government."
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Filibuster Beside the Point
Placing a deadline at, say, 7 PM rather than midnight would help curb this behavior, as would allowing calling/making votes electronically so protester noise is not an issue.
That being said, the person who actually altered that date and the person who ordered him/her to do it needs to lose their job. I don't care which party they're in. Obviously it's likely an R in this case, but I'm sure a D or two has done this in other states or at the federal level at some point.
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Re: Filibuster Beside the Point
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Official Clock
Based on the videos it would seem that the big clock in the chamber is the likely official time and that indicated it was past midnight.
As far as recorded dates and times on bill passages fudging has been a relatively common place thing for as long as the USA has been around. It has become much harder to do without notice since legislative proceedings have become televised.
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Republicans are Fascists
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