You Can't Make This Stuff Up

Florida congressman won't back down on Texas is "crazy" comment; cites dildo ban as proof

In the "you can't make this stuff up" department, a Florida congressman who called Texas a "crazy state" during a recent congressional hearing on the Affordable Care Act is now citing an old Texas law restricting dildos to prove his case, the Huffington Post reports.

Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) told CNN, that, "One of their cities has a law that says that women can only have six dildos, and the certain size of things. And if that ain't crazy I don't know what is."

Texas did have a law restricting the sale of sex toys, but it was struck down by a federal appeals court in 2008. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who was the state's attorney general at the time, went to court in an attempt to uphold the dildo ban, according to Lone Star Q. Abbott argued that the state had “morality based” reasons for the law, including “discouraging prurient interests in autonomous sex and the pursuit of sexual gratification unrelated to procreation.”

U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, a Republican who represents an area that includes most of Denton County north of Dallas, was furious and demanded an apology from Hastings. It's not surprising that The Daily Show's Jon Stewart weighed in, concluding, "We're run by children." (A portion of Stewart's rant is shown here, the full segment is on The Daily Show website at the 4:35 mark).

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”