Monday, November 25, 2019

The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance is already downshifting in preparation for the abbreviated holiday week, with a shorter-than usual collection of somewhat less than hard-hitting blog posts and Tweets and news from around and about the Great State from last week.


Several reporters are looking ahead to the primaries in the spring, publishing news of filings for offices on that ballot.  HPM detailed election security measures being undertaken for 2020 by Harris, Fort Bend, and Brazoria counties.  TXElects linked to a study published by the League of Women Voters that revealed many Texas counties' websites were both improperly secured and not in compliance with state law.

The League graded sites based on a number of criteria including website security, mobile friendliness, ease of use, thoroughness of information, help for special categories of voters and availability of information in Spanish. ... The League determined 74 counties -- 29% of the total -- had “inadequate” election information posted online. Among those, 19 county websites “do not appear to be official,” and Crockett Co. had no web presence whatsoever.

Just ahead of the start of early voting for the runoff elections, PDiddie at Brains and Eggs released his recommendations for the Houston city council alphabet districts.  (Mayor and at-large runoff endorsements are linked there.)

Criminal justice developments included ...



Better Texas Blog tells the untold stories of the state budget.

RG Ratcliffe at Texas Monthly explains how Texas might turn blue in 2020.  Ross Ramsey of the TexTrib via Progrexas analyzes the reasons for Lone Star Republicans launching trial balloons associated with gun safety legislation.


In impeachment news, Therese Odell at Foolish Watcher was all over the Fiona Hill hearing.


SocraticGadfly, noting November 22 and the anniversary of the death of the president in Dallas in 1963 last Friday, has a twofer; first writing about the irony of Jackie's JFK Camelot legend actually reflecting Kennedy reality beneath the legend, then looking in part at Jack's assassination, noting -- with examples -- how to distinguish conspiracies from conspiracy theories.


The Texas Signal points out Greg Abbott's loss of appetite for Chick-fil-A now that they have pledged to stop giving money to anti-LGBTQ groups.

Texans icons on the way out, gone but not forgotten, and perhaps on the comeback:


Mike McGuff shares the trailer for the documentary about the legendary former Houston rock and roll radio station KLOL.



Closing out this Wrangle ...

Chip and Joanna Gaines of HGTV's Fixer Upper have force-multiplied their brand in Waco, turning the sleepy Baptist community into a retail shopping destination.


 And the TPA wishes Emily Ramshaw and Amanda Zamora all the best in their new media venture.
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