Friday, September 18, 2020

Friday Lone Star Lefty Round-up


Keep your eyes on the Gulf again.


Governor Abbott has folded to the disaster capitalists who are the base of his financial support and opened up the state's businesses for more COVID spreading.


Including assisted living facilities.


But not the bars. Vox caught up with an Austin liquor store owner who described how his business has continually made adjustments through the six-month-long pandemic.

Teachers and students are adjusting as well.


With just a few of the most recent election headlines ...


Here are those details (Facebook Live, tonight at 7 p.m. CT).


(Remember: in last Saturday's weekender, Senator Lucio tweeted about the Pharr-B-Q. tomorrow.)


Last month the San Antonio Report posted some renderings of the restored battlefield and the relocated Cenotaph.


Ralph Bivens for the Texas Realty News Report snarks on Tesla's choice of a rural outpost for its truck factory, making the case that Houston would have been smarter.

Speaking of stupid:


A short wrap-up this Friday. Here's a few social justice posts.

Thursday, September 17, 2020

White House Update: Greens and Blues see red (w/*updates)


Donks win some (Wisconsin, *Pennsylvania), Sunflowers fight back (Texas).


Plenty blogged already about that legal case.


There's been a lot of the geek fighting Twitter is famous for, so I'll just post some of my favorites.


I suppose that's enough blinding hypocrisy for one week.

-- While the Democrats and the Greens fought it out in court, Kanye also had to do battle for ballot access. The stress is getting to him though, and he's ... well ...


I was going to put "seeing yellow" in the headline, but it looks like he's properly hydrated, as it's more straw-colored. I would like to know if he was holding his own phone for this video. His hand -- if it's his -- is remarkably steady.

-- What's Sleepy Old Joe been up to? Latinx outreach.


Keep in mind that he hired all these new people with Latin surnames after being criticized for failing with the Browns, and this is what they came up with.


I don't know. I don't know what this is, either.


I was the quartermaster for my Scout troop at summer camp in 1969. I think that's the last time I've heard the word spoken. Ladies' department managers have lived a little longer than quartermasters, but they're going the way of department stores and dinosaurs also. Maybe Joe should go down to the Bijou and watch a newsreel, catch up on current events.

*Update: Biden's drive-in town hall on Thursday evening went well for him, although Politico thinks it was a softball session. Personally I wasn't thrilled, or surprised, at his support for fracking.


"Nothing will fundamentally change", except Kamala's shoes.


-- So let's mention Trump's town hall, where he got told to shut up by the Black woman, confused herd immunity with herd mentality, and a few other lies and ignorant comments.



*Update: Cash strapped Trump campaign awaits bailout from big donors

-- Just listen to this man.


Who needs a yard sign?

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

The Taco Tuesday Wrangle *w/TX Green Party update*



TXElects:

The Texas Supreme Court vacated a Third Court of Appeals decision removing three Green Party candidates from the ballot and ordered a halt to the Harris County Clerk’s plan to mail absentee ballot applications to all registered voters.

In the Green Party suit, the Court directed the Secretary of State to “immediately take all necessary actions to ensure these candidates appear” on the ballot.

U.S. Senate nominee David Collins, RRC nominee kat gruene and CD21 nominee Tom Wakely were ruled ineligible because they did not pay newly required filing fees that historically applied only to candidates nominated in primary elections, ostensibly to pay for the costs of those elections. The Fourteenth Court of Appeals recently ruled upheld the fees. A federal challenge is awaiting a bench trial.


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As regular Brainers know, I usually post these on Monday morning, but I had a lengthy one up on Saturday evening, so there just wasn't enough to run yesterday.  Grab yourself some la comida Mexicana and get ready to read the latest -- as in 49 days away from Election Day -- updates on the Great State's ballot issues, contested races heating up, and much more.


Opening with this, about the state's mishandling of the pandemic.


More Covid is down-post. Let's get to the latest on the election season.


Kuff was on top of the vote by mail rulings, good and badSocratic Gadfly says that the wingnuttery was thick at an SD30 special election GOP candidate forum.

For a smattering of Trump v. Biden news:


Greg Abbott and The Law have had a long, strong relationship, and Texans are finally beginning to understand how bad that has been for many of them.


Dos Centavos posted about the long-awaited video release of the HPD killing of Nicolas Chavez and the firing of those involved, wondering what comes next.  Grits for Breakfast tried to make sense out of Greg Abbott's muddled messages on police funding.  Chris Hooks at Texas Monthly makes the same effort, with the same result.


Bud Kennedy at the Startlegram thinks Abbott's 'Back the Blue' pandering should be a winner in the 'burbs with the moms. ShellSeas at Living Blue in TX blogs about Abbott's long history of supporting racial injustice by using the cops as his tool. And following up on Dallas police chief Renee Hall's resignation and Mayor Eric Johnson's squabbling with city council ...


Grits seems more than a little perplexed about why Hall is out while Austin's Brian Manley is still employed.  I have still more "Cops Behaving Badly".


Because Ken Paxton is the top LEO in the state, he gets included.


*whew* That's a lot of dirty pigs for one week. Let's move on; Texas schools opened, and not all of them for remote learning.


Jef Rouner for the Houston Press experienced a range of emotions on the first day of school.

Some social justice stories:


Dee Dee Watters, writing at the HouChron, insists that we include Black trans women when we say "Black Lives Matter".

Meanwhile, as we decide whether we will vote by mail or in person, here's some reporting that suggests that waiting in line during EV or on Election Day might be best:


Grace Keyes at the San Antonio Report warns us to not take the US Postal Service for granted.

And let me close this out today with these.