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Just heard the high school Valedictorian speech of Paxton Smith of Lake Highlands, Texas. She didn't give the approved speech. She gave a powerful speech on the Texas heartbeat anti-abortion law. Hope she runs for state Senate in Texas ... and beyond! Here's the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpJkErsb7UE

A woman should have sovereignty over her own body. Period. Or let's have an equivalent law for men which would be a penectomy for rape. Then maybe this nonsense over control of a women's body would stop.

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I am so proud of so many young women today. Their willingness to speak out and to be proud, direct, truthful, and serious tells me we have been doing our job correctly. I am proud for any of them to stand on my shoulders and tell legislators to back off and to get out of the way. Their brilliance and light crushes ignorance.

I have been thrilled to hear what our young adults are saying in the graduation speeches from every level of education. Inspiring.

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Here's the inspiring theme song for these women -- Standing on the Shoulders by singer/songwriter Joyce "Earthmama" Rouse. The song was written for the 75th Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjjKXuceRYQ

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Thank you. The images of all of those amazing women brought tears to my throat & eyes.

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Great!

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Yes, but I found the inclusion of Indira Gandhi discordant.

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In the context of which we speak, your comment is discordant.

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Where have you been all my life Christine?

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What a great line! Thank you, Roland.

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I'm almost afraid to ask why. But, why?

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Indeed.

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What I really love is that she recognized the unique moment & platform that she had and she used it, knowing she had the full attention of everyone there.

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Yes, she recognized her opportunity. SO glad she took it. Smart girl!

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Wow! Very powerful! Thank you for sharing.

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Ballsy and brilliant! 👩‍🎓

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Just learned that the procedure for removing the balls is called an orchiectomy. And, let me remind you that women have never needed balls to be ballsy.

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But only your first suggestion really does the job to stop recidivist rapists. The second just might give them a lifetime licence without downstream liability.....viagra permitting.

We might consider that so abusing a woman is equivalent in psychiatric terms to the "sociability" of the schizophrenic sociopath or even the psycopath and drugs with similar "damping" effects on congnitive ability be administered forcibly to restrain their uncontrollable impulses.

We might also consider similar treatment for those who "only" beat their wives and womenfolk....perhaps in lieu of rape. The men that kill their spouses, girlfriends etc and/or just treat them as property to be disposed of and ordered as they see fit should also fit into this program too as they are unlikely either to be recoverable psychologically nor be subject to "sincere remorse (as opposed to crocodile tears).

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Yes, that's exactly why I proposed the first solution. The second does nothing to deter the act of rape. Thank you for your thoughts on this.

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"only" beat their wives or perhaps "only" verbally abuse them!

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Irony serves to emphasize.

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There should be more emphasis on that issue.

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That needs to be tending (long but worth it) #womendontneedballstobeballsy

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😂Sally

Or trend with....

#womendonotneed

apenistosonotbeadick

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As a young engineer I was once out in the lab working near a technician. The technician was mumbling loud enough for me to hear something to the effect he wasn't going to let a woman outshine him or even do this work. So, I said loud enough for him to hear, "Why not? Is my penis too short?" Never had any trouble with him again. I think my boss heard about but never said anything to me about it. Guess they figured I had handled the problem just fine.

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I, on the other hand, looked around my class in college and kept lamenting the shortage of women engineering students. They were a ridiculously small minority. Absurd.

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Better yet, let's use the phrase, Ovary up!

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IKR!

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That’s for damn sure Cathy!

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Point taken. Still, Paxton did and does US proud! May Texas swivel!

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Huh, I thought removing of the balls was called a Republectomy.

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No, that's a spine-ectomy

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...and she is from TEXAS! Land of the evangelical church on every damn street corner (not taken by a gas station)! Bravo!

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Or a gun shop.

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Yes what a powerful brave speech this young woman gave. What courage she has!! I can not have imagined hearing or giving that speech at my graduation. It underlines for me just how repressed women are in this culture. White male supremacy is the root of these laws.

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No doubt about it

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Profile in COURAGE!!! Wow!! Thank you for this Cathy! Made my day, my week, my decade! Hope in our Youth!

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People don't realize that we are talking GOVERNMENTAL oversight to determine the medical options and choices for all females in America. To create laws that criminally punish women, doctors, partners, etc. for natural actions and medical options that a woman must choose for herself. The goal is to create and legalize the rights of a zygote over the health and wellbeing o a woman. This speech was awesome!

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I think the goal has nothing to do with the rights of the unborn and everything to do with keeping women hobbled.

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Whatever this young woman decides to do with her life - it will make a difference! Without doubt. Her parents, her teachers, anyone who loves her, should be so very proud that she had the courage and heart to make that speech.

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Agree! And may HER courage inspire others who needed just one more nudge to also begin speaking out.

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True - sometimes thats all it takes. At the very least, everyone there who heard her and listened has possibly learned something, right?

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With her speech going viral (I just posted it on my FB page & ABC has reported on it), she will be influencing far far more people - hopefully not just women - than those were present.

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Yeah. Viral. As in Majority of voters. I hope Ms. Smith goes to law school. I hope she argues this issue in front of the Supreme Court. I'd like to see Ms. Paxton Smith give this as opening remarks to Amy Barret. I'd like to see Ms. Paxton Smith crush Barret in a debate with her arguments. I'd like to Ms. Paxton Smith remembered as more important to our history than Barret.

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Men have always had control over womens bodies. It angers the hell out of me.

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Cathy thank you for sharing Paxton Smith’s courageous and impassioned valedictory speech. Yes we need absolute control over our own bodies—certainly not a trip backwards in time.

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Best speech I have heard on the issue. It’s wrong for Texas to “terrorize” women and girls this way. It is their decision to make for their own future. She gave a genuine speech with sound arguments, delivered with passion. This is what the issue demands, this is leadership.

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Chastity belts for boys/men!

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You know, at first glance this may sound like a radical statement, and perhaps it is. Actually it is a brilliant statement. The more I think about it, the more I realize just how brilliant, how rich and multifaceted, how many different levels it addresses. Initial message is suppression and regulation of men the way women have been regulated and suppressed, but it goes deeper. For a man not to recognize that he must keep his sex addiction in check, well, that is the height of ignorance.

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hey? Wait a second. ALL TEXAS Boys/men! I hear ya though.

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Thank you for the link. What a heartfelt speech....I got chills listening to it! I was glad to hear the applause. I'm sure there were many in the audience who were surprised, but I wondered how many were unhappy or angry about her speech.

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From what I see and hear, a lot of Texans are pretty fed up and ready to speak out. Who cares that some might be offended? What matters is that she felt safe speaking out, and received the support she deserved. A number of Texan friends feel that Texas is at a turning point. Maybe not a fast one, but sometimes these things simply reach a point at which they swivel. There all along, and then enough things happen, enough people speak up, enough people decide the fear isn't worth it, enough retrogrades stick their feet in their mouth, and the turn happens. It's been there all along, but because headline grabbers like Cruz et al are what gets covered, people though they were alone. Not any more.

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It’s amazing how quiet the unfaithful minority is when in the presence of a moral majority, with a moral leader.

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I would love to see that happen, Cathy! How about a vasectomy prior to marriage -- after all, it can be reversed, correct?

All these "upright citizens" who believe that they have the right to control women's bodies are also those who scream about the fact that the government has no right to tell them to wear masks, nor to social distance. Am I missing something or are they? White supremacy and colonial domination invariably spew volumes about the injustices and violence against women.

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Rowshan, While a vasectomy keeps a man from impregnating a woman, it does not keep him from raping with impunity. One needs to remove his weapon if he is going to use it without the woman's permission. That would mean a penectomy. When my papillon dogs see a scorpion, their instinct tells them to bite the base of the tail to disarm the scorpion. Most of the scorpions I see have very limp tails. So if there is something that would permanently keep things permanently limp that might be preferable to a full penectomy. May depend on the brutality of the crime.

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I totally agree with you, Cathy. That said, a great many pregnancies develop from consensual sex, so a vasectomy may be a way to put a stop to those.😏

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That's up to the couple to take whatever measures they deem necessary in their situation --- not the government.

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Paxton Smith’s words and courage make me more hopeful than I’ve been in awhile.

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Thanks for sharing the video. Young people give me hope that all is not lost, yet.

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