Brains and Eggs: State of the Union toons

Houston, Texas, and US blog roll

The Week

Maria Butina offered job by Russian government, as her ex-boyfriend pleads guilty to fraud - Since being deported from the United States, Maria Butina has received several job offers in Russia, including one with the human rights commission.s Bu...
The Guardian (U.S. news)

Impeachment witness: I've never heard anything like Trump-Sondland Ukraine call - In newly released transcript, state department official details exchange in which Trump raised Ukraine investigations David Holmes, a state department of...
Raw Story

Trump doctor denies the president underwent any ‘neurologic evaluations’ at Walter Reed Hospital - The physician to the president claimed that President Donald Trump did not undergo “neurologic” evaluations during a surprise visit to Walter Reed Hospital...
The Mind Unleashed

Royal Family Biographer Defends Prince Andrew: ‘Soliciting Sex From Minors is Not Pedophilia’ - [image: Royal Family Prince Andrew]None of this looks good for the Royal Family.
Mediaite

‘Why Would They Lie About This?!’ Hannity Goes Off After Third Impeachment Witness Testifies He Spoke With State Dept - Fox News host *Sean Hannity* went off once again after the release of new sworn, impeachment testimony implicated him in a conversation with Secretary of S...
Political Wire

Swalwell Denies Ripping a Fart on National TV - In an interview on MSNBC, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) “appeared to… well, rip an absolutely enormous fart,” BuzzFeed News reports. Said Swalwell: “It was not...
memeorandum

Caught on tape: Trump's Ukraine envoy Gordon Sondland touting 'quid pro quo' (MSNBC) - MSNBC: *Caught on tape: Trump's Ukraine envoy Gordon Sondland touting ‘quid pro quo’* — In an exclusive original report, MSNBC Chief Legal Corresponden...
Vox

Why Vice’s new CEO thinks Vice’s former, ousted CEO doesn’t get enough credit - [image: Code Media 2019, Vice Media CEO Nancy Dubuc] Vice Media CEO Nancy Dubuc | Tori Stolper for Vox Media “No one knows the brand better than he does.”...
Courthouse News

Muncie, Indiana, Mayor Arrested in Corruption Probe - (CN) – FBI agents arrested the mayor of Muncie, Indiana, on Monday on a charge of theft of government funds The post Muncie, Indiana, Mayor Arrested in C...
Crooks and Liars

George Conway And Nikki Haley Get Into It On Twitter - Probably not the smartest move ever by Haley, going after one of the most acidic Twitter users out there on the right, but Haley has been playing an ador...
Daily Kos

Suburban voters in Virginia defeated the NRA this fall. Next stop: Texas - Voters in Virginia this year told pollsters again and again that their top issue was gun safety. They voted on it, and the NRA—headquartered in Virginia—...
Dissident Voice

Saving Julian Assange is Saving Ourselves - The United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner issued a statement based on special-rapporteur-on-torture Nils Melzer’s fact-finding missio...
Slate

The GOP’s “Real Deal” Defense Is Fake - The aid suspension was an inadvertent test not of the Ukrainian president’s sincerity, but of Trump’s.
Texas Observer

Texas Congressional Candidate Shannon Hutcheson Defended Corporations Against the Vulnerable. EMILY’s List Endorsed Her Anyway - After working at the prestigious corporate law firm Baker Botts for more than a decade, Shannon Hutcheson decided to hang out a shingle of her own. Along...
The latest from MSNBC.com:

The limits of the presidential pardon - Chris Hayes talks to Harvard Law Professor Cass Sunstein about the limits of the presidential pardon and why attempted bribery is in itself a crime.
OffGuardian

Impeachment: Another Democratic Fiasco - Renée Parsons As the 2016 sabotage of the Sanders campaign contributed to the failure of the flawed HRC campaign against Trump whose election led to a camp...
Hullabaloo

No one is safe in Trump World - *No one is safe in Trump World* by digby You knew this was coming, right? Trump has fumed for weeks that Pompeo is responsible for hiring State Depar...
OpEd News

Shopping for a violin - One time, years ago, when I was stoned I found myself listening to the most beautiful woman's voice I had ever heard, on the radio. It was almost inhumanly...
ProPublica

New Jersey Political Boss Defends Tax Breaks, Denounces “King George” Critics - by Jeff Pillets and Nancy Solomon, WNYC This article was produced in partnership with WNYC, which is a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network....
Brad Blog

Taking Listeners' Temperature on Impeachment After Week 1: 'BradCast' 11/18/2019 - On today's BradCast, we open up the phone lines to listeners to get their takes on where they are on impeachment following Week 1 of public hearings in the...
Talking Points Memo

READ: Senior State Department Official Points To Pompeo In Yovanovitch Ouster - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke with Rudy Giuliani when deciding not to issue a statement in support of Ambassador...
Latino Rebels

Food, Gasoline Shortages Reported in Bolivian Cities - LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Residents in several Bolivian cities are reporting food and gasoline shortages because of protests by supporters of President Evo Mo...
Rivard Report

Analysis Finds San Antonio Lacks Urgent Care Options for Behavioral Health - A gap in mental health services in San Antonio can result in potentially unnecessary trips to local emergency rooms, an analysis has found. The post Anal...
Political Dig

GOP Operative Who Dated Russian Spy Maria Butina Just Pled Guilty To Money Laundering: Report - Paul Erickson, a Republican operative who was involved with Russian agent Maria Butina, pled guilty to multiple federal crimes, according to a new report. ...
The Progressive Wing

11/18 Evening Open Thread (And Likely 11/19 Morning Roundup) - I oppose the intervention of Bolivia's security forces in the democratic process and their repression of Indigenous protesters. When the military interve...
Down With Tyranny!

The DCCC Isn't Interested But The California Democratic Party Just Endorsed Berniecrat Liam O'Mara To Take On GOP Crook Ken Calvert - CA-42 is one of the last remaining red districts in California. The district voted against Obama both times he ran and last year gave Trump a 53.4-41.4% ...
The Root

Afro-Brit Kingsley Ben-Adair to Portray Barack Obama in James Comey Miniseries - Looks like a Kingsley is set to play our once and forever KANG, Barack Hussein Obama, in an upcoming miniseries based on James Comey’s tell-all memoir. ...
INSIDER - politics news

'Meth. We're on it.' South Dakota's new anti-drug campaign went viral to a mixed response - [image: South Dakota Meth Prevention] - South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem launched a $449,000 anti-meth ad campaign on Monday with the tagline: "M...
The Texas Signal

Hate crimes in Texas doubled in 2018 - We live in an outrage culture fueled by President Trump and the anonymous nature of social media, which essentially allows anyone to say anything they wa...
21st Century Wire

Pompeo: Israeli Settlements ‘Are Not Illegal’ Under International Law - *21WIRE* | The move gives Israel new new license to steal any remaining Palestinian land, which is sure to inflame tensions and ultimately undermine peace ...
Axios

Trump's settlements announcement underscores partisan divide on Israel - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement today on Israeli settlements was a major shift in U.S. policy and gives the settlements project diplomatic ...
Eschaton

The Lies - As I said before, I'm fine with giving My Big Wet President some privacy. He doesn't actually have to tell us he had an emergency hemorrhoid procedure, or ...
Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters

Chick-Fil-A's pledge to stop funding anti-LGBTQ groups leaves Mike Huckabee with egg on his face - Mike HuckabeeUnless you've been totally unconnected in the LGBTQ community, you have heard about Chick-Fil-A's change of heart with regards to funding ant...
Portside

Hong Kong’s White-Collar Workers Join the Ranks of Protesters - Hong Kong’s White-Collar Workers Join the Ranks of Protesters Stephanie Mon, 11/18/2019 - 19:10
Rallblog

Billionaires and Corporations Love anti-SLAPP Laws. Why Does John Oliver? - John Oliver recently dedicated his HBO show to why we need a federal anti-SLAPP law. Like most of his stuff, the episode was witty and engaging...
Mother Jones

BREAKING: Local Cat Rescued From Attic - For those of you worried about the fate of poor Lily, who trapped herself in my mother’s attic while the house was getting a new roof, I have good news. Th...
Reform Austin

TWIA rate hike might be on the table at agency’s meeting - TWIA rate hike has homeowners worried. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Agency (TWIA), the insurer of last resort for wind and hail in Gulf Coast counties, ...
The Stars Hollow Gazette

For The Record: Day 2 - Once again boring and reliable CSPAN because they have the transcript thing happening. The only witness Friday was former Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovi...
Truthdig

Ending Endless War From the Right - A new generation of veterans may signal a profound change in America's post-9/11 forever wars.
The Greanville Post

Understanding the Deep State’s Propaganda - ERIC ZUESSE—The Deep State doesn’t concern domestic issues, because virtually all of its members control international corporations, and the Deep State is ...
The Verge

Valve announces Half-Life: Alyx, its first flagship VR game - Two years and nine months after announcing it would build three (3) full-length VR games — a number that Valve Software has historically never been able...
VICE

Valve Is Officially Making Another Half-Life Game - 'Half-Life: Alyx' will be a virtual reality game, and it'll be revealed soon.
emptywheel

The Gaping Hole in the Impeachment Investigation Where Bruce Swartz Should Be - There's a gaping hole in the impeachment story where DOJ DAAG Bruce Swartz should be. The post The Gaping Hole in the Impeachment Investigation Where B...
FiveThirtyEight.com

Politics Podcast: About Buttigieg … And That Iowa Poll - The latest Des Moines Register poll was released this weekend, and it shows South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg leading Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former...
epic.org

Appeals Court Questions Government on Reliability of Google Scanning Algorithm - This week a federal appellate judge pressed the government about the reliability of a Google scanning algorithm that provided the basis for the warrantless...
Better Texas Blog

Transitions on our Renowned Research Team - For nearly 15 years, Dr. Frances Deviney has been one of CPPP’s most talented data mavens and leaders. As our long-time research director and as our Chie...
NPR's Health Shots

How 1 Study Changed The Field Of Psychiatry Forever - NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Susannah Cahalan about her new book, *The Great Pretender,* which tells the story of a landmark study that transformed the fi...
Election Law Blog

“Civil Rights Groups Sue Mississippi Secretary of State to Stop Proof of Citizenship Requirement for Naturalized Citizens” - Release: Today, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, together with the Mississippi Center for Justice, the Law Office of Robert McDuff, and l...
Shadowproof

Sweden Pushes On With Assange ‘Investigation,’ Won’t Address UN Torture Rapporteur’s Concerns - Sweden refuses to answer questions raised by United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer about the government's investigation into Julian As...
slacktivist

A white nationalist in the White House is not just a partisan problem - Stephen Miller needs to be fired yesterday. This is now a partisan issue, but it is not only a partisan issue.
Ballot Access News

Ninth Circuit Hears Case Over Timing of U.S. Senate Election for John McCain’s Seat - On November 13, the Ninth Circuit heard oral argument in Tedards v Ducey, 19-16308, the case over when Arizona must hold an election to fill John McCain’s ...
San Antonio Current

Trump's Use of Eminent Domain to Grab Texans' Land for Border Wall Isn't the First Time He's to Tried Seize Property - With the clock ticking down on President Donald Trump's plan to build a "big, beautiful" border wall before the 2020 election, the administration appears ...
Daily Dot

Netflix thriller ‘Earthquake Bird’ can’t solve its own mystery - [image: Netflix Earthquake Bird review] A thrilling plot can't invigorate the sparkless relationship that leads to the disappearance of a rival flame. The...
First Draft

I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide - The results of the Gret Stet Goober race confirmed that President* Pennywise is a rotten surrogate whose efforts are often stillborn. I suspect he’s alre...
Right Wing Watch

Right Wing Round-Up: Pardoning War Criminals - Amy Russo @ HuffPost: Barr Rips ‘War Of Resistance Against’ Trump In Partisan Rant. Cristina Cabrera @ Talking Points Memo: Trump Made A Mysterious Unsched...
Houston Public Media

For Supporters Of Abortion Access, Troubling Trends In Texas - Three years after winning a big legal battle, abortion providers still find themselves losing the ground war when it comes to keeping clinics open across t...
Texas Monthly

The West Memphis Three’s Jason Baldwin Fights for the “Hopelessly Innocent” After 18 Years in Prison - On this week’s National Podcast of Texas, the cofounder of Austin nonprofit Proclaim Justice on inequality in the justice system and the Rodney Reed saga...
Angry Bear

Italy to make climate change study compulsory in schools - Reuters: Italy will become the first nation to require all schoolchildren to study climate change and sustainable development. Education Minister Lorenzo F...
Independent Political Report

Green Party Black Caucus Statement in Support of Hardel Sherrell Family - On September 2, 2018, *Hardel Sherell*, a father of three, died in the Beltrami County, MN, jail due to neglect & abuse. The National Black Caucus of the...
BEYONDbones

Jingle Tree: The HMNS at Sugar Land Tradition Returns - The time is here once again for holiday enthusiasts to feast their eyes upon the holiday tradition that is Jingle Tree. For six years, HMNS at Sugar Land h...
Anti-Media

Pompeo Issues Historic US Policy Reversal: Israeli West Bank Settlements “Not Illegal” - The Trump administration is reversing the official US stance on the illegality of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Ring of Fire

Trump Proves To Be TOXIC For Republicans In Tight Races - Donald Trump suffered another major blow this past weekend as another Trump-backed Republican lost a tight election to a Democrat in a red state. Republi...
Morning Consult

Murkowski, 5 Other Senators Join Push for End of Nuclear Financing Ban - The post Murkowski, 5 Other Senators Join Push for End of Nuclear Financing Ban appeared first on Morning Consult.
Common Dreams

Trump 'Pandering to His Extremist Base' on Israeli Settlements, Says Bernie Sanders - Eoin Higgins, staff writer Sanders was one of a number of critics who saw the Monday announcement that the White House won't treat the settlements as illega...
Alas, a Blog

NF Reads Interview - Thanks to NF Reads for hosting me for an interview! I wrote up a bunch of thoughts on things like titling stories, taking criticism and how emotions influ...
Rewire

What You Might Have Missed in the Federal Court Decision Blocking Trump’s ‘Conscience’ Rule - The language of Judge Paul Engelmayer's ruling signals an important precedent for future cases utilizing Title VII to protect religious liberty. The post...
LareDOS

Considering the irrefutable, murderous, xenophobic profile of the early Texas Rangers in South Texas, were they a good fit for a history lesson at North Central Park? - To whom may we attribute the idea?
The Grayzone

Whistleblower: OPCW suppressed Syria chemical evidence after US pressure - A second whistleblower from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has come forward to accuse top OPCW officials… The post Whistleblowe...
Salon.com

Few are impressed with Twitter's so-called political ad ban - The social media giant's much-touted policy change gives license to for-profit companies spreading misinformation
The Intercept

If You Care About Medicare for All or a Green New Deal, Here’s the Senate Primary That Matters - Coons, a devotee of bipartisanship, is being challenged by Jess Scarane, who was inspired by progressive Kerri Harris’s 2018 Senate campaign. The post If...
SCOTUSblog

Symposium: Justices take up battle over New York City gun ban – and the scope of the Second Amendment? - [image: Symposium: Justices take up battle over New York City gun ban – and the scope of the Second Amendment?]It has been nearly 10 years since the Supr...
Speak Freely (ACLU)

Students Told They Would Be Better Off ‘If They Had Jesus in Their Life’ - The ACLU and the ACLU of Tennessee filed a lawsuit against the Smith County School System for violating the separation of church and state on Monday. Acc...
Krebs on Security

Why Were the Russians So Set Against This Hacker Being Extradited? - The Russian government has for the past four years been fighting to keep 29-year-old alleged cybercriminal Alexei Burkov from being extradited by Israel to...
In These Times

With Net Neutrality Axed, Local Governments Are Racing To Save the Open Internet - Internet service providers like Comcast and Verizon are free to slow down, block or prioritize internet traffic as they wish, without interference by the...
naked capitalism

2:00PM Water Cooler Special: Warren’s #MedicareForAll Transition Plan Is Set Up to Fail - Warren's transition plan, like her pay-for plan, introduces unmotivated dependencies that make #MedicareForAll unlikely to pass, charitably from poor polit...
Innocence Project

Innocence Project responds to Shelby County Judge denying DNA testing in Sedley Alley Case - Act: Add your name to stand with the search for truth A Shelby County (Tennessee) judge today denied the request filed by attorneys for April Alley, daugh...
Dissent Magazine

The World Upside Down in Bolivia - Right-wing forces will find it difficult to defeat the indigenous and peasant groups that mobilized during the presidency of Evo Morales.
Wolf Street

I’m Just the Little Guy Between the Boots of Giants, but WOLF STREET has a Fairly Big Readership Now (for a little guy) and I Thank All of You for It - Why WOLF STREET Will Stay Free and Won't Use “Ad-Blocker Blockers” But Needs Your Support.
Lawfare

The Bad Arguments That Trump Didn’t Commit Bribery - President Trump Departs for Louisiana (Source: Flickr/Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour) Last month, we and another colleague at Protect Democracy...
Counterpunch

ROTPUNKT Full Film | Alex Megos - The post ROTPUNKT Full Film | Alex Megos appeared first on CounterPunch.org.
Bad Attitudes

The Best and the Brightest - [image: Screen%20Shot%202019-10-07%20at%206.17.32%20PM%20copy.jpg] [image: Webding3.jpg]
Louis Proyect

Mayakovsky and Stalin - Vladimir Mayakovsky in 1910 Playwright Murray Mednick as “Old Nana” in Coyote V: Listening to Old Nana at Padua Playwrights Workshop (circa 1980) (Photo by...
Progress in Political Economy (PPE)

The Morals of the Market - In 1992, the Chicago School economist Milton Friedman was asked about the original purpose of the neoliberal Mont Pèlerin Society, founded in 1947. There ...
Project Censored

Mickey Huff and Nolan Higdon – A Look at the Five Decades of Corrosive Political and Media Changes - On this week’s show, we hear a talk given by Mickey Huff and Nolan Higdon. They spoke about their new book, “United States of Distraction,” a look at the...
Crooked Timber

A cage went in search of a bird - Publishing here my afterword for “2030, A New Vision for Europe”, the manifesto for European Data Protection Supervisor, Giovanni Buttarelli, who died this...
WhoWhatWhy

Has Israel Forged an ‘Alliance’ With Archenemy Hamas? - Reading Time: 2 minutes The recent fighting in Gaza served Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s domestic political goals. But did it also roll bac...
Daily Howler

It's been obvious for a long time! - *MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2019No, we aren't making this up:* Earlier today, we discussed the so-called "dullard journalism" currently being popularized by th...
Democracy Chronicles

Common Cause boosts Legal Expertise on Voting Rights - Sylvia Albert, expert in public interest law and public policy, joins Common Cause as its National Director of Voting & Elections ahead of 2020 polls.
Dandelion Salad

Greg Palast: It’s About Overturning Democracy In Bolivia–It’s A Coup d’Etat - with Greg Palast Writer, Dandelion Salad Greg Palast’s website November 18, 2019 goingundergroundRT on Nov 16, 2019 We speak to the author of ‘The Best Dem...
Socialist Alternative

Indiana Teachers Fight Back - As the Indiana legislature returns to session this week, thousands of Indiana teachers and school staff will rally in an effort to reverse the decades-long...
ExChristian.Net

A painful lesson in life - *By James W ~ * I grew up in a strict Catholic family of seven children. Fear was always present – fear of God - fear of my very abusive parents – fear of ...
The Contributor

Louisiana Reelects Democratic Governor Despite Trump Begging For 'a Big Win, Please' - News Image: With the hold, voters have now given Democrats nine more governorships in the Trump era. Category: Politicians origin Blog: The American Ind...
MintPress News

Another Failed US-Backed Coup Attempt in Venezuela Goes Unnoticed - Despite heavy backing from US officials, the coup attempt fell completely flat as Venezuela’s armed forces failed to defect to Juan Guaidó’s side and few...
Eater Houston

People Are Weirdly Captivated By University of Houston’s Food Delivery Robots - [image: The Starship autonomous delivery robot on the University of Houston campus] The Starship autonomous delivery robot | Photo: University of Houston ...
Texas Standard

Texas Appeals Court Halts Rodney Reed’s Execution Indefinitely - Reed was convicted of the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites, but new testimony indicates that Stites’ fiancé, a former police officer, might be responsible for ...
Church and State

Catholic Bishop: Secularism and Contraception Turned Priests into Paedophiles - Bishop Thomas Paprocki joined other church leaders in blaming secular culture and birth control for church sexual abuse.
Sludge

Grassroots Money Beats Amazon in Seattle - The American Prospect is a nonprofit, independent magazinecovering public policy and politics. Sludge is re-publishing this article. On the same night prog...
Washington Babylon

Of Russian Meddlers and U.S. Political Consultants - [image: Of Russian Meddlers and U.S. Political Consultants] “Russia allegedly meddled in Bolivia’s controversial election,” *Quartz* reported over the week...
Socratic Gadfly

Howie Hawkins half wrong about Russiagate? Yes, and many Greens are well more than that - I blogged a couple of months back about how Green Party presidential nomination candidate (and now, Socialist Party USA nominee) Howie Hawkins was about ha...
EgbertoWillies.com

If another president did (even one of) these things - [image: President Crook Trump] If this set of facts were to be in front of me and the president was Clinton as opposed to Donald Trump, would I be viewing ...
Progressive.org

Indiana Teachers to Rally for Better Pay, Better Schools - The notoriously conservative, right-to-work state has proven to be fertile ground for market-based education reform policies—and teacher discontent.
Houstonia

Kanye West Brings Sunday Service to Lakewood - The rapper's performance and conversation with Joel Osteen drew thousands to the megachurch.
Caitlin Johnstone

25 Times Trump Has Been Dangerously Hawkish On Russia - CNN has published a fascinatingly manipulative and falsehood-laden article titled “25 times Trump was soft on Russia“, in which a lot of strained effort is...
Popular Resistance

The Just Transition, Economic Democracy, And The Green New Deal - Earlier this year, US Representative Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez introduced a Congressional resolution for a Green New Deal (GND), an idea since supported by a...
Bonddad

A yellow flag from temporary hiring - - *by New Deal democrat* In the conclusion of my latest Weekly Indicators post, I wrote that, except for temporary staffing, I didn’t see any signs of we...
Bracing Views

No Money, No Speech, No Say - W.J. Astore When in January 2010 the Supreme Court ruled that money is speech and corporations are citizens, our democracy (or, if you prefer, our represen...
ROAR Magazine

David Harvey’s Anti-Capitalist Chronicles: Ep.27 - Prof. Harvey is joined by CUNY Graduate Center Professor Cindi Katz to discuss social reproduction and its relation and significance to capitalism’s success.
Campaign for America's Future

Progressive Breakfast - MORNING MESSAGE Mehrdad Azemun How We Can Breathe Life Back Into Democracy Many people hate the word “politics.” They equate it with corruption, greed and ...
Born To Run The Numbers

BTRTN 2020 Vision: Changing of the Guard? Pete Ascendant as Warren Flattens in a Wide Open Race - Tom with our BTRTN monthly feature on the 2020 Elections, with all the latest numbers and commentary. THE LEAD These are the main headlines for the past mo...
The Conversation

Chile's political crisis is another brutal legacy of long-dead dictator Pinochet - To quell weeks of protest over extreme inequality, Chile's president has agreed to rewrite the country's constitution, passed in 1980 under the deadly mili...
Democracy Now!

After Texas Court Blocks Execution, Rodney Reed Has a Chance to Prove His Innocence in 1996 Murder - In a stunning decision handed down Friday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halted the execution of Rodney Reed, an African-American death row prisoner ...
Houston Press

A Dry-Eyed Reviewer Looks at the Alley's A Christmas Carol - I am no Scrooge. One of the most pleasant men you could ever meet, I love cats, children, the perfect chilled martini, and the joy of Christmas. I weep dur...
Debunking Christianity

Dr. Josh Rasmussen Offers To Trade Books With Me - I have initiated these types of requests. I also receive these types of requests. Some I accept. Others I don't. It depends mainly on whether I want the of...
Space City Weather

Anticipating a mild week, we look ahead to Thanksgiving - Good morning. We’ll have one more night in the 50s tonight before warmer weather returns—Houston has not had a nighttime temperature in the 60s since Novem...
Novara Media

This Is Labour’s Chance, the British Public Is Ready for Economic Transformation - Is the public ready for once-in-a-generation change in how we run the economy? Recent polling, commissioned by the IPPR and undertaken by YouGov, would ind...
Claytoonz

A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood - Mr. Rogers did testify before the United States Senate. In 1969, President Richard Nixon was being tricky and tried to cut funding to the Public Broadcasti...
Duffel Blog

Trump pardons Nidal Hassan - [image: nidal hasan] WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has pardoned Ft. Hood shooter Nidal Hassan, his lawyers report. “Pathetic lawyers and courts are ...
Grist

To survive climate change, we’ll need a better story - Per Grankvist is “chief storyteller” for Sweden’s Viable Cities program. His job: communicate the realities of day-to-day living in a carbon-neutral world.
Duck of Minerva

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Policy Engagement* (*But Were Too Afraid to Ask) - Earlier this year, our team at the Sié Center at the University of Denver announced our program on the three R’s of Academic-Policy Engagement (or R3, if y...
Dispatches from the Underclass

Protest double standards - Who decides which protests are worthy/unworthy? And why? It’s all about location! Protest against a government the US hates and you'll get the hero tr...
Countercurrents

Hidden Hardships – Pregnancy and Child Birth in Rural India - The hardships endured by rural women during pregnancy and childbirth tend to go unnoticed. Their husbands and in-laws rarely go out of their way to suppo...
Strategic Culture Foundation

The Hugely Important OPCW Scandal Keeps Unfolding. Here’s Why No One’s Talking About It - Which is of course the real reason the political/media class is ignoring the OPCW scandal. Military violence is the glue that holds the US-centralized empi...
Off the Kuff

Interview with Abbie Kamin - […]
Progressives Chat

Aaron Maté Interviews Jimmy Dore - We are used to interview–discussions in which *Jimmy Dore* welcomes as his guest *Aaron Maté*. Now, we get the opposite. Published to YouTube just yest...
PBD - Progressive Blog Digest

BANQUO'S GHOST - What Bolton knows https://www.axios.com/john-bolton-trump-ukraine-aid-meeting-cbf90e0f-cd24-4865-904b-2ad4b871aab2.html Former White House national securi...
Dallas Observer

The Worst Decisions in Dallas Sports History - Myles Garrett did something dumb last week. With his Cleveland Browns moments from finishing a 21-7 win at home over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday ni...
Dorf on Law

Why Are We Really -- I Mean Really -- Stuck With Job-Tethered Benefits? - *by Neil H. Buchanan* In two recent two columns -- here (regarding health insurance) and here (regarding retirement savings) -- I have provided excruciatin...
Two Party Opera

Yes We Can, As Amended -
The NM Political Report

NM leaves med. cannabis security specifics up to producers - [image: NM leaves med. cannabis security specifics up to producers] On a Sunday afternoon over Labor Day weekend, a masked man, armed with a gun, burst thr...
Progrexas

Analysis: Beware of Texas politicians bearing home-brewed arithmetic - Arithmetic doesn’t care about Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s politics. Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune Editor’s note: If you’d like an email notice whenev...
jobsanger

Patriotism Vs. Nationalism -
Ian Welsh

Hope Is Bullshit - I am unintersted in “hope.” Or as we called it in the Obama bullshit years, Hopium. Hope is not a plan. Hope is bullshit. Luck is real, but you don’t count...
Liberation News

Emory University professors fired in NIH’s anti-Chinese crackdown - [image: The Whitehead Biomedical Research Building on Emory’s campus where the Lis used to operate a lab for Huntington’s disease research, Sept. 12, 2019....
Informed Comment

Iran: Economic Blockade and Crowd Protests were also How the US made the 1953 Coup - Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The crowd protests that grew to affect 100 cities over the weekend in Iran were sparked by the government increasing the pri...
DeSmogBlog

Introducing Climategate @ 10 - Read time: 2 mins On November 19, 2009, an unknown hacker published a cache of emails from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit. It was ...
TXElects (Texas Election Source)

Runoff Elections Ordered and Other Election News for November 17 - *Runoff Elections:* Gov. Greg Abbott (R) ordered January 28 special runoff elections for HD28, HD100 and HD148. The five-day early voting period begins Jan...
Antiwar.com

America’s Arms Sales Addiction - Originally posted at TomDispatch. Honestly, if a single corporate entity controlled three-quarters of the global market in a product, you’d call it a mon...
World Socialist Web Site

Wall Street Journal investigation confirms Google operates censorship blacklist - A report published Friday confirms many of the central allegations made by the *World Socialist Web Site* in 2017 regarding Google’s censorship of the inte...
Sayfie Review Texas

Morning News: House speaker saga drags on for Texas GOP, as critics seize on drug charges against a Dennis Bonnen ally - Morning News: House speaker saga drags on for Texas GOP, as critics seize on drug charges against a Dennis Bonnen ally
The Conscious Resistance Network

Then They Came For Bolivia… - Derrick Broze breaks down the lies being told around the recent events in Bolivia. Sources: 5 Fast Facts About the Military Coup in Bolivia and What You ...
Field Negro

Caption Sunday. - [image: Image result for Castor Jordan impeachment images] I need a caption for this pic. Example:* "We got nothing."* **Image from pressform.info*
Eclectablog

Pardon Roger Stone? – with special guest Marcy Wheeler - Marcy Wheeler on Twitter: @EmptyWheel Marcy Wheeler's website: EmptyWheel.net Marcy Wheeler at EmptyWheel.net: Time to start calling Bill Barr "Prosecutor ...
Houston Strategies

World Series Houspitality, HTX #1 for entrepreneurship higher ed, cities Americans are leaving, Austin's fantasy, and more - A few items this week: Pretty amazing to have both the #1 undergrad (UH) and grad (Rice MBA) entrepreneurship programs in the same city! (Chronicle story) ...
TomDispatch

Tomgram: William Hartung, Trumping the Arms Market - It’s no secret that Donald Trump is one of the most aggressive arms salesmen in history...
Stinque

Number One with a Dagger - Congratulations to Junior’s book “Triggered” for being #1 on the New York Times bestseller list!† Wait, what’s that dagger doing there? If you’ve followed ...
Moon of Alabama

The MoA Week In Review - Open Thread 2019-68 - Last week's posts at Moon of Alabama: November 11 - Hong Kong - "Marginal Violence" Fails To Win More Protest Support Related: Hong Kong protesters hurl PE...
Notes from the Cuban Exile Quarter

Failing to liberate Cuba in the 1990s, led to a resurgance of Communism in the Americas - *"The salvation of this human world lies nowhere else than in the human heart, in the human power to reflect, in human meekness and human responsibility."-...
Reveal

Development arrested - We go to Mississippi to learn about a set of laws that automatically send kids into the adult legal system for certain crimes.
Moron Majority

Trump Pardons Charles Manson - Just days after pardoning three service members convicted, or accused, of war crimes, Donald Trump has issued a posthumous pardon to the convicted cult lea...
Mahablog

No Warren Did Not Abandon Medicare for All - This post is a follow up to one I wrote a couple of weeks ago, on Liz Warren’s Health Care Hurdles. Warren has been pressured from Left and Right more than...
Grits for Breakfast

A 10,000 year sentence? Austin PD racism in 'Plain View', the case for reducing drug penalties and eliminating cash bail, and other stories - Grits has been busier than a one-legged man at an ass kicking contest. So while I play catch up, here are several items which merits readers' attention, so...
Land Destroyer

Why Thailand is Buying Russian Helicopters - *November 17, 2019 *(Joseph Thomas - NEO) - Beginning in 2011, the Kingdom of Thailand began replacing aging US helicopters not with newer US-built models,...
Rude Pundit

Impeachment Hearings: Yovanovitch Kicks Trump's Ass - Apparently, President Donald Trump, who is just large sack of yams mashed with sadness, decided that he would try to distract from the impeachment hearings...
Political Orphans

Heroes - Difficult times also produce heroes. It’s important to recognize them when they emerge.
The Militant

Back strikers fighting Asarco union busting! - SAHUARITA, Ariz. — Some 1,700 copper workers on strike at Asarco’s five complexes in Arizona and Amarillo, Texas, since Oct. 13 are fighting naked union bu...
The Reality-Based Community

Lessons Learned In Hebrew School - At the outset, let me make it clear that I was not the best student in Hebrew school. In fact, it was well established that my best friend in that school a...
See You In 2020

How Fascists Took Power In Bolivia-And How They Can Be Defeated - The impulse of many First World leftists in the wake of this last week’s coup in Bolivia has been to criticize Evo Morales and his movement. They’ve claim...
Political Garbage Chute

Report: Yovanovich’s Are Way Bigger Than Trump’s - WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Institute For Reporting Stuff and Things has issued a new report that estimates Ambassador Marie Yovanovich has “way, way...
Polygraph (global fact-check)

Russian Official: Extradition of Russian Hacker to U.S. Illegal -- False - Following the extradition of an alleged Russian cyber-criminal to the United States, Russia’s ambassador to Israel called the move “absolutely unlawful.” H...
CPI's Danger in the Air

Q&A: Your medical images might be online for anyone to see, reports Jack Gillum - We’re continuing our Q&A series with reporters who have written powerful stories. This week, we’re talking to ProPublica reporter Jack Gillum, who expose...
Greg Palast

When I got the evidence behind Roger Stone’s witness tampering conviction - I remember the morning when the key witness in the Roger Stone trial, Randy Credico, sent me the violent and threatening note he just received from Roger...
Freethought Now

Holiday trees, school vouchers, license plates & stealth campaigns - The Freedom From Religion Foundation has been creating quite a few waves this week, and we don’t mind it at all.
Carl Beijer

Warren's plan would destroy the fight for single payer - A recurring argument for Bernie Sanders in this primary is that he understands our obstacles are primarily political, not technocratic, and that he would...
Pages of Victory

Elites and Impeachment and Progressives - Youtube -
Lowering the Bar

Prisoner Who’s Not Dead Anymore Says He’s Served His Life Sentence - It says "life." Singular. Related Stories - UPDATE: Shrout's on the Run - “Natural Causes” Determination Called Into Question by Stab Wound...
Liberal America

The Trump Campaign Holds Lots Of Contests No One Seems To Win - Have you ever seen any of the following Facebook advertisements? How about these? What about these? It would appear Donald Trump hosts a lot of contests ...
The Ghion Journal

How Money from Big Oil and Pipeline Developers Spills into the Democratic Party - Let’s get right down to business: the Democratic Party has a pipeline problem. After deciding to stop taking Big Oil money in 2018, then promptly reversi...
Our Finite World

Do the World’s Energy Policies Make Sense? - The world today has a myriad of energy policies. One of them seems to be to encourage renewables, especially wind and solar. Another seems to be to encoura...
Non-violent grassroots reform and democracy

Corporate assault on the first Amendment! - There are few if any high profile cases about censorship covered by the mass media anymore; however there were at least a dozen or so relatively high pr...
Trivial Knot

In the weeds with analogies - Sometimes I make an argument from analogy, and I deeply regret it. I say, “X is Y for the same reason A is B,” and commenters counter, “But X and A are dif...
Reading the Pictures

Chatting the Pictures: Impeachment Special - This week, we discuss four great impeachment photos. They cover Trump and Zelensky, the Democrats and the media spectacle, the witnesses, and the evidenc...
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub

November 2019 days to fly the flag - Running late. November flies by! Eight events spread over seven different days come with urgings to fly the U.S. flag in November: Six states celebrate sta...
Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball

Medicare for All a Vote Loser in 2018 U.S. House Elections - KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE — “Medicare for All” has been a major issue in the Democratic primary race. But it also came up a lot in the 2018 cycle. — A r...
Texas Freedom Network

It’s Time for African American Studies in Texas Public Schools - The Texas Freedom Network has been at the State Board of Education to call for the adoption of an African American Studies course for Texas public school...
Ecosophia

Dancers at the End of Time, Part Three: A Mortal Splendor - Some of my critics like to insist that I never admit that I’m wrong. Those readers who have been following me for any length of time know that this isn’t...
Echidne of the Snakes

The FBI Hate Crime Report For 2018. My Criticisms. - The FBI published its hate crime report for 2018. I read several media takes on its contents, then read the contents themselves, then turned irritated an...
True Tales: a Reporter's Blog

My Visit to the LeBaron Clan Outpost - In 1998, while I was living in Mexico, I had an encounter with the LeBaron clan, which has been in the news lately due to the massacre of family members ...
Save Buffalo Bayou

Dinosaurs of the Turtle World Right Here in Bayou City - Learn About Alligator Snapping Turtles in Our Houston Bayous at the Houston Sierra Club Monthly Meeting. Open to the Public Nov. 12, 2019 The Houston Sierr...
Splinter

Don't Dream, It's Over - There is no real origin story for Splinter. Read more...
Downwinders at Risk

“SharedAirDFW” is DFW’s New Regional Air Quality Monitoring Network - Monitors are being assembled. Software is being written. Community meetings are happening. Downwinders is helping build the region’s first 21st-Cen...
Somervell County Salon

Last Show Tonight on SLAPP Suits -
Robert Reich

Why Billionaires Don’t Really Like Capitalism - Billionaires are wailing that Elizabeth Warren’s and Bernie Sanders’s wealth tax proposals are...
Texas Moratorium Network

Rodrick Reed, Brother of Rodney Reed Nov 9, 2019 -
Avedon's Sideshow

One golden glance of what should be - "Democratic Socialists Had a Pretty Good Election Night: *Several of the victories were in purple states.* [...] Some were historic victories. In Philade...
The Rise and Fall of Harry Hamid* (RIP)

I am still here to tell the tales of Harry - *I am still here.* *I am still here to tell you about Harry.* *Though I am still here, I am not sure how to adjust to life without Harry.Death is ...
Seeing the Forest

Wut? - For no particular reason, a bagpipe version of Eight Miles High by Rufus Harley. Inspired by John Coltrane and the Scottish pipers of JFK’s funeral march,R...
Web of Debt

Is the Run on the Dollar Due to Panic or Greed? - What’s going on in the repo market? Rates on repurchase agreements (“repo”) should be around 2%, in line with the fed funds rate. But they shot up to over ...
Earthworks

Hidden History in the Wayne National Forest - This blog was co-written with Raphael Breit, Earthworks’ Community Empowerment Project Coordinator. Right now, a range of groups are vying to determine t...
Media Lens

Unfree Media – State Stenography And Shameful Silence - A recent viral clip of Jeremy Corbyn featured vital truths about the corporate media that ought to be at the forefront of public consciousness in the app...
Environment Texas

Victory for public transportation! Houston voters approve $3.5 billion bond - Catherine Fraser Clean Air Associate Contact person by email - Read more about Catherine Fraser Wednesday, November 6, 2019 - Clean Air
Dos Centavos

2019 Elections: How Done Are We? - One thing is for sure, we will have plenty of run-off races in December. That’s what we get when our elections look like that T-rex race we’ve been watchin...
Consent Factory, Inc.

The Ministry of Wiki-Truth - OK, here’s a silly one for you. Have you ever wondered how all those Wikipedia articles get produced … you know, the ones you pull up on your phone to look...
The Concourse

A Bear Friday For The Road - I won’t lie, I felt daunted by this blog. I was never a very funny blogger. I never wrote Bear Friday before. I am not Tom Ley! But, it turns out, the se...
GreenSource DFW

Tiny house village opens in Lake Dallas - *The tiny home community in Lake Dallas is the first of its kind built within city limits in North Texas. Photo courtesy of Terry Lantrip.* Oct. 30, 2019...
News Taco

Pineros – Immigrant forestry workers fight wildfires - As millions are impacted by wildfires burning in California, forestry crews are on the front lines. Largely immigrant crews known as pineros face unsafe ...
Smart Dissent

Federal Deficit Hit $984,000,000,000 Last Year, a 50% Increase Since Trump Took Office - Date: 11/05/2019 Republicans are liars and unfortunately they're good at it. That and millions of people are stupid enough to buy their BS. During the 2...
PERRspectives

Barr turns to familiar faces for bogus probe of Russia investigation - This is the legal landscape now before the man who must be identified as the attorney general of the United States: The unanimous consensus of the American...
Washington's Blog

Has California Lost The Mandate of Heaven? - In Chinese history, natural disasters were viewed as portents that the The Mandate of Heaven (tianming or “Heaven’s will”) had been withdrawn from the ru...
Equality Texas

Statement Regarding ‘Younger v Georgulas’ Child Custody Case - This case is a private matter handled in a court of law where it belongs. We have already seen the state’s politicization of transgender children during th...
The Disorder Of Things

Moving Out of the Backstage: How Can We Decolonize Research? - This blogpost is written by sixteen researchers based in (or in between) various settings, in particular the DR Congo, Sierra Leone, India, Sweden, Rwanda ...
nonsite.org

N+1 and the PMC: A Debate about Moving On - What has led so many of us relatively independently of one another to start thinking about the PMC as a class formation in the first place? My sense is tha...
Frontloading HQ

About that South Carolina Republican Party Defense of Canceling Its 2020 Presidential Primary - On Friday, October 18, the challenge to the cancelation of the 2020 presidential primary by the South Carolina Republican Party *had its day in court*. Wh...
New Progressive Alliance

The Madness of King Donald - Jeff and Rose Roby are Florida activists who also publish in the Saint Petersburg Independents and in The Green Party of Florida. Jeff here looks at d...
LawFlog

Bank on it: the FBI is hiding records about Seth Rich - For two years, I’ve blogged about allegations that Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich — not the Russians — was responsible for providing embar...
DBC Green

Blog, Calendar on Hiatus - Due to some recent changes in life circumstances, DBC won't be able to post to this blog very much, if at all, for the next few weeks. The Activist Calenda...
Texas Sharon's Bluedaze

Hydrocarbon odors during oil and gas drilling - Most people are shocked by the intense hydrocarbon odors during oil and gas drilling. How can a well that is not complete have emissions? Neighborhoods u...
Texas Rural Voices

A Rural Texan Explains the Mueller Report–Yes, It Is Still Important, Part 7 - Making it Easy for You in a Seven Part Series: Part 7 By Suzann Thompson Trump Tampered with Witnesses. Tampering with witnesses brings to mind intimid...
Texans For Public Justice

Who Does John Cornyn Work For? - The Texas Observer's Justin Miller takes a deep dive into Senator John Cornyn. Read Miller's article at the Texas Observer.
Screwston Antifascist Committee

Dustin Ray Hamby Exposed as Nazi Leader Chef Goyardee - The following is being posted on behalf of Central Texas ARA: Dustin Ray Hamby, aka “Chef Goyardee”, is an Austin-based Neo-Nazi and cook who now serves as...
Popehat

All The President's Lawyers: No Bill Thrill? - This week: did a grand jury no-bill DoJ? Link here.
Think Progress

Transitioning ThinkProgress - Many years ago, we embarked on a new experiment: moving ThinkProgress from an organizational blog to a progressive news site, powered by reporters and edit...
The Rag Blog

Maxine Phillips : BOOKS | Love in the twilight of capitalism - The story may be set in Finland, but the plot is universal. By Maxine Phillips | The Rag Blog | September 3, 2019 [Me, Mikko, and Annikki, A Community Love...
Consortium News

A Modest Proposal for a US Labor Day Every Month - Happy Do Nothing Day. By Edward Curtin edwardcurtin.com In a country with Mount Rushmore that celebrates ruthless and frenetic westward expansion, it migh...
Grit Post

Colorado’s 4th Largest City Offers Public WiFi 4x Faster Than Comcast for Same Price - Municipal broadband in Fort Collins, Colorado went live Friday offering gigabit internet connections for the same price as comparatively sluggish Comcast...
DoucheLeaks

8-27 Democratic Primary Poll - We’re going to try something different this week and give ranked choice voting a shot. Pick your favorite three candidates and let’s see how well they stac...
Truthout

The Amazon Is Dying and Bolsonaro Is Fanning the Flames - [image: The darkened sky in Sao Paulo, Brazil is picture on August 19, 2019. Residents reported black rain, while studies by two universities confirmed tha...
Progressive Army

Israel and South Africa: The Racial Travel Bans of Apartheid - Recently, Israel issued travel bans for Representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. This is, yet again, another example of the country trying to silence ...
t.e.j.a.s.

Official TEJAS STATEMENT – Baytown Exxonmobil Olefins Plant – POLYPROPYLENE FIRE & EXPLOSION - Due to an attack on our server provider, our statement was postponed. Thank you all for your patience.
Texas Watch

Comments On Informal TWIA Claim Rules - We filed these comments with the Texas Department of Insurance to make sure coastal policyholders are paid every cent they are owed after a storm. Learn...
The Metaphor Project

Use Smart Words to Stop #NukeDoomsday - During this Democratic primary season and even before, a great many longstanding injustices in American life have become high profile: #MeToo, police viole...
IVN

Long Live the Crackpots! - Long Live the Crackpots! Those of us who had been part of and partners with the Perot rebellion knew that the official “branding” of Ross Perot was alrea...
The Socialist

North Korea Shows How a Society Can Heal After Suffering Through Imperialist Violence - Disclaimer: The SPUSA is a multi-tendency organization, the following article may or may not reflect the views of individual party
Modern Democracy

Roberts’ Next Thicket?: The Coming One-Person, One-Vote Battle Over “How Much is Too Much” - Recently, Nick Stephanopoulos pointed out how Rucho was written as if constitutional racial vote dilution claims never existed. The same might also be said...
WAWG Blog

A Scale of Equality – Maximizing Turnout for 2020 Election - What’s required to activate and unify voters on the left? Kochkash Increases Inequality: America’s political and economic policies have moved from greate...
Disobedient Media

Is This Intelligence Group Responsible For The Q Anon Conspiracy Theory? - Here's who was involved with pushing it.
Texas Vox: Public Citizen

86th Texas Legislature Punts on Houston Chemical Fires - If you’re wondering what the Texas Legislature did to help prevent dangerous and persistent fires in the petrochemical corridor near Houston this year, t...
OffCite

Contour Functional Art Links Houston and Malawi by M. Lawrence Dillon - Chitembe handscrafted bowl. Courtesy Contour Functional Art. A shipping container packed with furniture designed by Houston-based Jamar Simien and crafted ...
News Junkie

The Surrealism of the Information War - The flow of knowledge and information is commonly considered the main vector of humanity’s progress through history. One would think that in our era, which...
The Electronic Intifada

Khalida Jarrar leaves Israeli jail with "messages of freedom" - Gaza Palestinians abducted in Egypt four years ago return home.
John Laurits

[video] John Laurits Interview w/ Revolt Against Plutocracy’s Victor Tiffany - [video] John Laurits Interview w/ Revolt Against Plutocracy’s Victor Tiffany For readers who missed the Facebook live-stream, here is a video wherein I a...
Talking Union

The Postal Strike of 1970: Relevance to Today - by Lawrence Swaim Ed. note: We are always eager to post first-person accounts from worker activists writing from their own direct experiences. This arti...

Brains and Eggs

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

State of the Union toons

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