Equal pay advocate Wendy Davis won't pay summer workers

Wendy Davis, who would
rather not talk about late-
term abortions, thank you.

Texas gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis has been pushing hard to find an issue that will resonate with the state's voters, and believes she has found one on the issue of equal pay. Last year, she introduced an "equal pay" bill that would have given women the chance to sue in state court for wage discrimination, but Gov. Rick Perry vetoed it. Despite Davis' call for equal pay for women, however, many women working for her campaign this summer won't be paid at all.

The Davis campaign is currently seeking individuals to work as "Summer Fellows," but fails to mention that it is basically an unpaid internship. While such unpaid positions are common in political campaigns, it seems disingenuous for a candidate with a political war chest of over $15 million not to pay their workers, especially while Davis herself campaigns for equal pay and a raise in the minimum wage.

Just last week, Davis added to her campaign bottom line with a large Hollywood fundraiser hosted by Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams. The total amount raised was not announced, but donation levels started at $1,000 and ranged as high as $25,000 to be recognized as a "host."

The application to "volunteer" as
a Wendy Davis Summer Fellow
(click to see a larger version)

An application for their Summer Fellowship program has since been removed from their website (the link now points to a generic volunteer page), but it outlined the duties of the job, without actually mentioning the lack of pay. "This Fellowship involves long hours and a strong commitment to the goals and tasks at hand," the application stated. "We need Fellows who can delegate and prioritize multiple tasks so that the work can get completed." The application also asked what sort of time commitment a worker could offer, and if the worker had reliable transportation.

An email to the Davis campaign about the program and the question of pay received a response from Field Assistant Brynna Quillin. "Thank you for your email about the Wendy Davis Summer Fellowship," the email stated. "The Fellowship is unpaid, but high-performing Fellows may have the chance to be hired full-time as Organizers."

Sarah Silverman's YouTube video features a pro-abortion Jesus

Comedian Sarah Silverman posted a YouTube comedy sketch today in which Jesus Christ visits her, drops an F-bomb, and asks her to spread his message - that women should be allowed to have abortions.

The video, called "Sarah Silverman is visited by Jesus Christ," also features actor Michael Weatherly, who plays Anthony DiNozzo on the hit CBS series NCIS, as Jesus. The video (featured below) shows Jesus appearing in a glittering light to Silverman in her apartment, and asking her to spread his message to people, while dropping the F-word in the process. Silverman then asks "Jesus" when life begins, and Weatherly responds "Fertilized eggs aren't people. People are people."

While wearing a shirt that says "Feminist" on it (apparently that needed to be made clear), Silverman then goes in an odd direction, ranting that "under God" wasn't added to the Pledge of Allegiance until the 1950s. She also gets angry when pointing out that "In God We Trust" became the nation's motto around the same time, saying it was in direct contradiction to the separation of church and state our nation's fathers intended.

Silverman then begins to blame religious intrusion in government for new laws making access to "safe abortions" harder to get. She criticizes Rick Perry for supporting a law that would reduce the number of abortion clinics in Texas from 42 to 5. She says "a woman should not have to pack a lunch to get health care." By "health care," she means an abortion. Silverman fails to mention that the clinics would close because the doctors performing the abortions there must be qualified enough to have admitting privileges at a local hospital. Most are not.

She also rants that women in Texas are "violated" by being "forced" to endure a sonogram showing the "fetus" before getting an abortion. She counters that men, in turn, should have a probe inserted into their penis, since sperm also show signs of "life."

The video is in support of a pro-abortion group called Lady Parts Justice.

Here is the video. Caution: there is very strong language.

Why bother with Jon Stewart?

I finally watched Texas Gov.Rick Perry's appearance on the Daily Show (I DVR'd it) and it made me wonder why he and other conservatives even bother going on his show.

Perry was there to promote his book, but instead of having a regular, if not thought-provoking conversation, Stewart took every opportunity to take swipes at Perry, at conservatives, and even the state of Texas. Perry seemed unable to match wits with Stewart; it was an awkward interview, to say the least. There was tired rhetoric from Perry and snide remarks from Stewart.

I don't blame Stewart for his actions, it's what he does. He is capable of having a real conversation, but he wouldn't do that with a conservative. I blame Perry, who should have known better, for failing to go in ready to either say something of meaning or defuse Stewart's arguments. He did neither. I wonder why Perry even bothered going on The Daily Show. Was this appearance really going to sell books, or change his image? We all know it is to keep his face on the national stage. If he wants to run for President (and I hope he doesn't), he needs to be able to do better in interviews than this.

Don't get me wrong, I like Perry. I voted for him, and I think he is doing a good, but not perfect, job. It's obvious, however, that he isn't ready to deal with a liberal attack of words and wit.