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Can you feel the excitement in the air? I recently attended the Democratic National Convention in Chicago as a Louisiana delegate, and it was epic. More below. 

I'm still plugging away at paying my debt to myself, and I'm about halfway there. I would appreciate your help - the smaller donations have added up. I am grateful to everyone who has helped.

Happy belated Labor Day, thank a union member for your safe work environment. (This week, thank the Communication Workers of America, who are striking nationwide.)

- Mandie

CWA member Matt, me, Rep Matt, and CWA union member. CWA are striking outside of AT&T in Metairie, requesting fair bargaining.

DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION: LET'S DO THIS

The convention was exactly how it looked on tv: fun, "joyful" (let's move on from that word), energetic, excited, committed, everything. There were breakfasts, lunches, roundtables, panels, and events all day, then on to the buses around 3/4 to head to the United Center. Gavel in 5ish, back to the hotel around midnight. I am still tired. So worth it though.

Being a part of history.

We are going to win!

So many speeches. So many good quotes (please check out this link). Some speeches I will always remember, but let's be honest: Michelle Obama stole the show. (video) (Her husband did ok too.)

The joke heard around the world.

I am tearing up watching these clips. This video is short but worth it. She is the best.

Another poignant, tearful moment: Tim Walz's son, Gus, standing up and crying and saying "That's my dad!" The Walzs had Gus (who has a nonverbal learning disorder, anxiety, and ADHD) and his sister, Hope, through IUI (cousin to IVF) - they are and will be committed to reproductive choice. Everything you learn about the Walzs is beautiful - and relatable. (And while we're talking about tears, we clapped so long and heard for Elizabeth Warren that she started crying. Secretary of the Treasury Warren!)

And of course, President Biden. Thank you forever for your service to our country. (I drove in his motorcade when he was in New Orleans a few weeks ago. Fun times.)

Finally: the lady of the hour, who everyone spoke of so respectfully, with admiration, and with a smile on their face! She knocked it out of the park, telling us where she came from (the child of immigrants, who has always worked "for the people") and where she, and we, are going.

Watch our next President accept her nomination.

So. Much. Cheering!

BACK TO LOUISIANA......

This is so ridiculous, and long, but you should read it. On Monday of the convention, Kaitlyn Joshua from Louisiana (a dedicated Capitol advocate and friend) spoke about her terrifying experience a couple of years ago with a dangerous miscarriage. Two emergency rooms refused to admit her, because they were afraid of running afoul of our state's new, strict abortion laws. (She is far from the only person who experienced this.) Doctors across the state have spoken publicly about how Louisiana's "life of the mother" exception is so vague they can't use it, because they are afraid of being arrested. With good reason: our former AG and current governor, and his then assistant, current AG Liz Murrill, told doctors five days after Roe was overturned in 2022 that they risked arrest (up to 15 years in prison) and the loss of their license if they broke the law (the law that is impossible to understand).

The night of Kaitlyn's speech, Murrill basically called her a liar. She said "there is nothing in our bipartisan law that prohibits emergency care for someone having a miscarriage or any emergency situation during pregnancy." Well there's really nothing that says they CAN, because the language is so vague and murky (on purpose) that doctors and hospitals are terrified of helping to end a tough pregnancy, and then later being second-guessed and arrested by politicians and law enforcement. All of this shows that Republicans, and Louisiana's awful Right to Life, are terrified of the consequences of their abortion bans being known. They won't even allow the legislature to pass exceptions, such as for rape and incest, and a clear exception for the life of the mother, that are supported by almost everyone, because their lock on power would slowly start to erode. (54% of Louisiana voters support abortion up until 15 weeks.)

Imagine publicly disputing a woman's almost fatal health care story that she was brave enough to tell the world.

I was asked to write an op-ed about this for MSNBC. And if you're interested, here's an article describing some of the background on how abortion became a hot-button issue, created in part by the religious right after desegregation. Abortion was not a focus of any religion besides Catholicism prior to it - and women - becoming a political weapon. (As just one example, in 1968 the American Baptist Convention agreed that abortion in the first trimester was ok.)

While we're here, we can't forget that the trigger ban which made all abortion illegal when Roe was overturned was signed by former Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards, who signed every abortion bill that dropped on his desk. He and his wife ran hard on a campaign of “life,” judging and punishing women who choose to terminate a pregnancy. He signed the 2022 trigger ban, even though it would have become law without his signature, and it did not include a rape and incest exception that he claimed he supported - which he allegedly worked on after the fact. He noted in an interview that prior to Roe being overturned, the abortion debate in the Louisiana legislature was “largely an academic exercise,” meaning the harm, potentially fatal, that it would inflict upon women was only theoretical and something officials could never be held accountable for.

To me, his eventual legacy.

My op-ed for MSNBC.

Also, remember how earlier this year, a state senator* along with Louisiana Right to Life abused the legislative process in order to make mifepristone extremely hard to access? Mifepristone is a medicine commonly used to treat, for example, miscarriages and post partum bleeding. Everywhere you look, state politicians are making it more likely pregnant women and new mothers might die because they won't be treated with basic, life-saving surgeries and medicines. This new law is about to go into effect and doctors are freaking out - how will they care for a patient who suddenly facts a life or death situation? This state views women as dispensable. 

(*Not to mention his sneaky attempt to remove the ban on casinos donating to politicians.)

Our friends at Lift Louisiana recently released Criminalized Care: How Louisiana’s Abortion Bans Endanger Patients and Clinicians, detailing the danger pregnant women face in Louisiana. If you want to donate to a Louisiana reproductive rights organization, check them out.

Thanks to Lift Louisiana for all of their work.

ODDS AND ENDS

NOPD will finally be able to clear its DNA kit backlog - with a little help from Louisiana State Police and money I was able to secure this year. This includes many murder and rape kits.

Remember the valiant effort to expand vote by mail in 2020? Something that is widely supported, in part because it encourages voter participation? Turns out that contrary to the propaganda they spread, Republicans like it too, as they always have. (Trump likes it, but only for him.)

Louisiana doesn't have much going on in the November elections besides congressional races, all with new maps post-redistricting. State Sen. Cleo Fields is running for CD6, while incumbent Congressman Troy Carter in CD2 faces challenger Devin Davis.

If you are interested in traveling to a swing state to poll watch or canvas, please provide your info here, and I'll send you more info as we get closer to November. Sign up with the Louisiana Democratic Party for volunteer opportunities closer to home.

Louisiana parents are opting out of vaccines with the highest rate in a decade. That's scary.

I agree with this. Women as punchlines, just stop.

JD Vance jokes are hilarious.

Glad to see you've read until the end. :)

Mandie

Visiting the butterfly garden at the Insectarium.

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