The Week in Quotes (July 24 – 30)

Here are some of the week’s most notable quotes culled from news reports from across Texas, and beyond.

State Board of Education member Erika Beltran, tearfully imploring her fellow board members to reject the Mexican American Heritage textbook that has been overwhelmingly derided by scholars and advocacy groups.

I’m asking to pull on your heartstrings and putting yourself in the shoes of a Mexican-American student whose parents, like myself, whose parents have been hardworking. In just the excerpts that I’ve seen, I can’t imagine being a child and seeing that language in front of me. And so, as we prepare for this conversation, I just urge you to think about the kids in our public school system that we already, we all know, are mostly Hispanic students.

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Missouri State Senator Paul Wieland, commenting on the bigger implications of a federal court ruling that Wieland’s state-provided insurance is violating his religious rights by not allowing an opt-out of contraceptive coverage.

I think this sets a precedent, so that if anybody else has religious convictions and they find these drugs offensive … they can use this as a court case to base their claims on.

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Cecile Richards, TFN founder and Planned Parenthood president, in a speech Tuesday night at the DNC.

Donald Trump has called women ‘fat pigs’ and ‘dogs.’ He wants to punish women for having abortions. And he says pregnancy is ‘an inconvenience’ for a woman’s employer. Well, Mr. Trump, come this November, women are going to be a lot more than an inconvenience. Women are going to be the reason you’re not elected to be president.

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Houston Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, in a speech at the DNC on Wednesday night, in which she also referenced Texas politician Barbara Jordan for the trailblazing path she set.

The universe is sometimes dark, but there are bright, bright, bright stars that light our way. They will guide us to a safer, more prosperous and more equitable America.

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Congressman Joaquin Castro, in a speech on Thursday evening at the DNC. Castro and Cruz have been sparring in the media this week over Castro possibly challenging Cruz for his Senate seat.

I don’t even know if the Republican states would take Ted Cruz. Let me know if somebody wants to take Ted because we can make that trade immediately.

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