D. Shawn Stevens

Trial lawyer fighting insurance companies & those at fault on behalf of the seriously injured & families of those killed. Advocate for participatory democracy.

[D. Shawn Stevens @dshawnstevens]

Great advice Ann Richards gave when I worked in the #txlege. Good to remember as we #standwithTXwomen & turn #TXBlue

[Norman Ornstein @NormOrnstein]

NYT today, six columnists on who should lead the Democratic ticket. Waiting for six columnists on why Trump will destroy American democracy, why he should resign from the ticket and who should lead it.

[David Frum @davidfrum]

It's the second half of the president's third year. His approval numbers have hit dangerous lows; his disapproval number is over 50%. Biden? No. Obama 2011. https://t.co/mbwTfCZwug

[CALL TO ACTIVISM @CalltoActivism]

A British writer penned the best description of Donald Trump I’ve ever read:

“Why do some British people not like Donald Trump?”

A few things spring to mind. Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem. For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace – all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed. So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.

Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing – not once, ever. I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility – for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman. But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is – his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.

Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers. And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults – he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.

There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface. Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront. Well, we don’t. We see it as having no inner world, no soul. And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist. Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that. He’s not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat. He’s more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.

And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully. That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead. There are unspoken rules to this stuff – the Queensberry rules of basic decency – and he breaks them all. He punches downwards – which a gentleman should, would, could never do – and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless – and he kicks them when they are down.

So the fact that a significant minority – perhaps a third – of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think ‘Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:

• Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.

• You don’t need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.

This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss. After all, it’s impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum. God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid. He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart. In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws – he would make a Trump.

And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish: ‘My God… what… have… I… created?' If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set.”

-Nate White

[D. Shawn Stevens @dshawnstevens]

Rep. Travis Clardy made a disingenuous and deceitful argument that they are comparable to jurors that must weigh evidence. The trial will be in the Senate, not the Texas House.
@travisfortexas #txlege

[Chris Tackett (aka See It Name It Fight It) @cjtackett]

No more thoughts and prayers.
It’s time to do something.
It’s time to legislate properly.
It’s time to protect children.

@jarvisjohnsontx said it, on the floor of #txlege on Friday. It’s heartbreaking his words carry such weight days later.

GOP isn’t on board? Vote them out.

[Forrest Wilder @Forrest4Trees]

Uvalde families asked the TX Legislature to raise the age to purchase semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21. The bill wasn't given a hearing until April 19 and they were kept waiting for 12+ hours to testify. The bill is pending in committee; Mon. is the last day it can be advanced.

[Mendi Tackett @mentack]

On Friday, every single TX House Republican who voted, voted in favor of HB 3137, which restricts municipalities from any gun regulation and protects guns over ppl. 2 Rs were chair and 1 was absent not voting.

When they tell you they’re praying about it, tell them to act on it.

[Chris Turner @ChrisGTurner]

I won’t say I’m shocked, because what we’re seeing in Allen today has become all too routine.

I won’t say to pray, because many others already have that covered.

I will say, again, state and federal lawmakers have got to stand up to the NRA and do something.

Re-upping this:

[Scott Braddock @scottbraddock]

The Rep for Allen, Texas, spent much of this week railing against children "led like lambs to the slaughter" talking about gender care. The congressman for Allen says those who think prayers aren't enough just don't believe in an almighty God. Maybe worry about guns for a minute

[BLUE TEXAS 🇺🇸🇪🇺🇬🇧🇨🇦🇲🇽🇺🇦 @JackSuggs711]

@AngelaPaxtonTX This 'toon was first published in 2017...

[Matt Angle @LSPmatt]

TX Leg. is in session. If they wanted @DadePhelan & @DanPatrick could suspend procedural rules to pass & then @GregAbbott_TX could sign age limit, universal background check, & red flag measures. Could be done in a matter of days. They won't. Action requires their replacement.

[D. Shawn Stevens @dshawnstevens]

Talk is cheap. Faith without works is dead. Act on your prayers & stop kowtowing to that tiny fraction of voters who most in the GOP when I was a College Republican called gun nuts, who are 1-issue voters now empowered by millions of $ from the gun industry. #allenoutletmall

[Texas Democratic Party @texasdemocrats]

This is Jeff Leach, co-author of the 2021 Texas Permitless Carry bill -- the #txlege State Rep. who represents #Allen, where 8 people were just killed in a mass shooting.

With all due respect, @leachfortexas, you're a state legislator -- & TX needs you to do more than pray.

[GL @gldivittorio]

This is Tennesse House Speaker Cameron Sexton- @CSexton25. In 2019 he declined to expel a rep who was accused of, and later admitted to, sexually abusing 3 underage girls

Tonight he voted to expel 3 democratic reps for protesting against kids getting shot in their own classrooms

[D. Shawn Stevens @dshawnstevens]

I was astonished to read how companies like @generalmills (e.g. Cheerios) & @Fritolay (e.g. Cheetos) & even @WholeFoods & @benandjerrys are benefiting from labor from underage immigrant children. Very distressing accounts of their lives.

[The New York Times @nytimes]

Twelve-year-old roofers in Florida and Tennessee. Underage slaughterhouse workers in Delaware, Mississippi and North Carolina. Children sawing planks of wood on overnight shifts in South Dakota.

In the U.S., migrant child labor extends to every state. https://t.co/jpCzZc5xk5

[D. Shawn Stevens @dshawnstevens]

via @NYTOpinion https://t.co/wq818pIJzn

[D. Shawn Stevens @dshawnstevens]

via @NYTimes https://t.co/S90KfdgXfZ

[The Associated Press @AP]

Donald Trump pledged to fix U.S. infrastructure as president. He vowed to take on China and bulk up American manufacturing. He said he would reduce the budget deficit. Yet after two years as president, it’s Joe Biden who is acting on those promises. https://t.co/m1n084li9e

[Rochelle Garza @RochelleMGarza]

The latest poll shows us behind Texas AG Ken Paxton by only 3 points. THIS RACE IS WINNABLE — but only with your help.

Share this post. Follow our page. And donate if you can. Together we can win this.

[D. Shawn Stevens @dshawnstevens]

When President Biden is polling lower than Donald Trump did in July 2020 when thousands of Americans were dying of COVID under an incompetent and corrupt administration, something’s wrong with what’s being emphasized in the mainstream media . . . https://t.co/8RVO1v7ngz

[Lori Trahan @RepLoriTrahan]

Price for a barrel of oil today: $117.59
Price for a barrel of oil in 2014: $120.45

So why are gas prices 2 dollars higher per gallon today than they were in 2014?

Because Big Oil corporations are hiking prices to rake in record-setting profits.