Thursday, September 16, 2021

The Calm After (Nicholas) and Before (87-3) the Storm Wrangle From Far Left Texas


Past storms first.


“10-20 inches of rainfall came offshore”.  “A track even 40 or 50 miles inland would have set up those heaviest rains directly across the Houston metro area”.  *shudder*

An Ike Dike isn't going to stop the wind, which causes the power outages.  Louisiana is still suffering from those two weeks after Ida.

Imagine it’s 90 degrees outside, your wall-to-wall carpet is fully soaked in flood water and it’s starting to mold. Your power is out so you have no air conditioning, not even a fan, and your phone has been dead for days. Everything in your fridge is rotten, but the grocery store doesn’t have power so they’re cash only, but you don’t have any cash. You don’t have a car, so your options are to keep your family inside the house, breathing in spores, or stay outside in flooded streets and unlivable heat.

This is the basic state of existence for millions of people in Louisiana after Hurricane Ida tore through the Gulf Coast. Sadly, the misery and desperation was not contained. 1,300 miles away, 44 people died from the very same storm as it pummeled New York and New Jersey.

Of the 14 deaths attributable to Ida, nine are estimated to have been caused by electricity outage-related heat exhaustion.  Yeah, we got lucky here in Texas, if you want to call it that.


Though this report seems hyperbolic after reading Centerpoint Energy's account on power restoration from last night.


We can all remember things being worse.


We'd just rather not relive them for a barely-Cat 1 storm.

Let me catch up on the latest regarding the court battles getting under way on the womens' rights law and the voting rights law.


Democrats are encouraged by the most recent development in Washington; the Freedom to Vote Act revises the For The People Act just enough to get President Manchin on board.


And that's my segue to the redistricting battle gearing up for the start of next week's special session of the Texas Lege.


This piece from Slate provides a good summary of the strategy of the TXGOP regarding voting rights, womens' rights, and redistricting.


Here's a bit of the latest in election news.


Until the Donks get a gubernatorial candidate that suits the establishment, this is the most important race on the ballot.  And with the latest entry in the GOP primary, the Repubes are publicly acknowledging it; getting rid of Ken Paxton themselves makes all of the reasons for replacing him go away for the Blues.  And they have the usual headwinds, plus a few new ones.  For one example:


Dems still see hopeful signs that they can turn back the red tide.


A local update: Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has had a bumpy ride of late.  She was forced to cave on that contract to Felicity Pereyra, the Democratic consultant I used to know well who almost hit the big time before the commissioners made a stink about it.  The Chron's op-ed board piled on.  (Another story I don't recall reading on Off the Kuff.  Maybe I just missed it.)  Now this.


Hidalgo has a Green challenger named Joe McElligott, who's run for various offices a few times before.  Flies mostly under the radar.


I don't really want to register a protest vote against Hidalgo next year, but I'm still bothered by her -- and her team's -- ignoring my repeated questions about the county's new voting machines back in March.  So I'd like to see more and better out of both Hidalgo and McElligott before choosing between them.  Moving on to criminal and social justice headlines ...


They were met by armed counter-protesters, a new wrinkle of the state's relaxed gun laws.


It seems like good news that Miami has sniffed out Art Acevedo early.


And to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month, LareDOS reports that Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) has a full offering of engaging lectures, presentations, and activities.
The month-long celebration will launch with a traditional El Grito, Thursday, Sept. 16, from 7-9 p.m. in the Student Center Green at an event organized by the student organization Campus Activities Board.

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