"The Texas Legislature is not coming for your gun.
— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) March 24, 2021
But keep an eye on your right to vote." — @rossramsey #TXlege https://t.co/AzsgIjIyq4
After sixteen people were killed in a hot air balloon in Lockhart, Texas, Ted Cruz authored and passed federal legislation improving safety rules.
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) March 23, 2021
I guess that's not because laws don't work, but because there's no hot air balloon lobby funding his Senate seat. #txlege https://t.co/X4N8k24YnE
Cornyn’s platform: “As your senator, I will fight tirelessly for the cruel and unusual punishment of ALL immigrants...” https://t.co/ETu3KEL9Xy
— Jessica Mason for Congress (@JessicaMasonTX) March 22, 2021
Me: "Since the pandemic... border apprehensions have gone up month after month. Joe Biden did not inherit falling numbers."
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) March 22, 2021
GOP Rep. Dan Crenshaw: "I don't know where you're getting figures from."
Me: "Those are CBP numbers."
Watch our exchange on @MSNBC:pic.twitter.com/4hw18tOQBK
This morning when I cleaned out the cat box, I found two Dan Crenshaws and a Ted Cruz. Sadly I stepped on a John Cornyn with my bare feet.
— RaulDukesLives (@RaulLives) March 22, 2021
Their junior partners in dastardliness, Austin branch, strove to keep up.
NEW: Video shows Texas lawmaker @KyleBiedermann near steps of U.S. Capitol as rioters clashed with officers
— Kolten Parker (@KoltenParker) March 22, 2021
Before this footage was unearthed, Biedermann was confirmed in DC but his exact whereabouts during siege were unknown.https://t.co/6LVwy8S3hq with @dilloncollier #txlege pic.twitter.com/IbXv3fpYr1
Rep. @GatesforTexas filed a bill that protects residential building owners from having to bring their vacant buildings up to code. He also happens to own several residential buildings & has received countless citations for building code violations. #txlege https://t.co/lfZPZEKFff
— RA News (@RANewsTX) March 19, 2021
Texas’s chief energy regulator, who defended fossil fuels after historic #TexasBlackout, also profits from oil and gas. Turns out dozens of #txlege officials do. w/@Post_AG https://t.co/hHlFT0YLkg
— Neena Satija (@neenareports) March 19, 2021
It's been a very busy week at the Lege; their spring break was canceled by Winter Storm Uri and so lawmakers had no choice but to dig in on their heavy workload. These stories suggest that we might all be better off if they had not.
We reported on rumblings of #txlege budgetwriters worried about the hooks on the $12B #txed funds from the America Rescue Plan & considering not accepting them as a result earlier this week: https://t.co/EVujVgoHUT https://t.co/DNaRKUUdhP
— RA News (@RANewsTX) March 24, 2021
RA also reports that the push to make Texas a "2nd Amendment Sanctuary" continues unabated in the wake of the Boulder, CO and Atlanta spa killings.
Texas House Bill 19 proposes to change liability laws concerning trucking companies, those who are involved in 18-wheeler accidents, and the lawsuits that result.
"The bill intrudes on what should be a matter for Texas jurors, who we think are smart enough to decide what's what in cases like these — without any 'guidance' from the Legislature." #txlege https://t.co/bk4hdbeW4o
— Texas Watch (@TexasWatch) March 22, 2021
Reasonable conservatives should not allow insurance companies to take away accountability measures or a jury’s constitutional role. Self regulation matters. #txlege @BriscoeCain @Burrows4TX https://t.co/P0SJNPIwro
— ComeTakeIt1836 (@CIt1836) March 22, 2021
WATCH: Texas has the most large truck wrecks in the country. Members of law enforcement are at risk everyday. This video shows the dangers they face. Protect them by holding dangerous trucking companies accountable. #txlege https://t.co/gkujx3o6Q6
— Texas Trial Lawyers (@TTLA_) March 24, 2021
I would imagine that The Texas Hammer and The Texas Bulldog -- among their cohorts at TTLA -- are going to work hard to defeat this legislation.
With the #TexasGeorgeFloydAct up at the #txlege tomorrow, it's a good time to recall that both the bill overall and each of its component parts enjoys widespread, bipartisan support: https://t.co/PgnkeAdJwF pic.twitter.com/n0z8xWVWCM
— Grits for Breakfast (@Grits4Breakfast) March 24, 2021
There are new police chiefs in Austin (interim) and Houston (permanent). Let's expect there NOT to be the same old problems.
Told y'all Kim Ogg has been a bitter disappointment.https://t.co/DJk0I03LhD
— SeeJayMill🏴🚩 (@kastowt77) March 22, 2021
I mean seriously, there are 244K reasons why homicides and other violent crimes might be spiking: pic.twitter.com/iF8IiGdp8g
MISDEMEANOR bail system was ruled unconstitutional in FED. COURT. They want to make a case against FELONY bail reform, IT DON'T EXIST yet. They falsely equate misdemeanor reform w/ felonies. https://t.co/XXqUG6gofp
— Ashton P. Woods (@AshtonPWoods) March 22, 2021
Kim Ogg is indeed one of the very worst Democrats in Harris County. But reformers who ran against her last year were handily defeated, because she has the HGLBT Caucus in her corner. If John Whitmire is successful in courting their favor in his presumptive bid for H-Town mayor in
There is no f'n way I will vote for Whitmire for mayor. I'm sick to death of old white centrist Democrats running anything, and I'm especially tired of watching emasculated Lege Democrats think the mayor's office would be a great retirement gig.
To that end (sort of), one Latino Democrat in the Valley reads the writing on the wall, and one Black Dem in North Texas throws in against Ken Paxton.
.@RepFilemonVela won't run for reelection, from @TexasTribAbby: https://t.co/2w87yIxWPj #TX34
— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) March 22, 2021
Lee Merritt, a Dallas attorney who has represented the families of Black people killed by police officers, announced over the weekend that he plans to challenge Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton https://t.co/w2tWr3WEfK
— CBS Austin (@cbsaustin) March 22, 2021
He joins Galveston legal eagle Joe Jaworski in that primary. Moving on to some climate headlines:
Tracking An Invisible Killer
— The Intercept (@theintercept) March 18, 2021
Growing up, a group of 8 friends in Groves, Texas, had never heard of ethylene oxide, the carcinogenic gas that poured from a chemical plant in their neighborhood. Now three of them are fighting cancer.
Full story: https://t.co/V9C8xWhDxN pic.twitter.com/VNfuZ85KDM
New on @txsharon TikTok.
— TXsharon (@TXsharon) March 21, 2021
Staring @ApacheCorp and their lying lies. Narration by me. pic.twitter.com/QI45snZtQO
Annova LNG is CANCELED!
— Bekah Hinojosa (@beksbot) March 22, 2021
Today’s victory is the result of 6 yrs of tireless efforts of the Rio Grande Valley communities in Texas who have attended hearings, protested banks, and more to protect their health, coastline & climate from Annova LNG’s proposed fracked gas project! pic.twitter.com/bboEJVMKrt
And since I have plenty more for a Friday Roundup, I'll close this Aggregation with a few stories that commemorate and celebrate.
Teresa Lozano Long, and her husband Joe, opened doors to worlds that would otherwise have been unavailable to so many. I close my eyes and can feel the warmth that would come with her smile and support. Austin has lost one of its royalty. https://t.co/RKPxv8fefw
— Mayor Adler | 😷wear a mask. (@MayorAdler) March 22, 2021
Pulling into a random roadside motel in West Texas with a pinkish mohawk and out of state plates...
— Doug Stanhope (@DougStanhope) March 22, 2021
You will never appreciate more the time that that manager says "Big fan, by the way."
Nor will they know how much I adore motels with single digit room numbers. pic.twitter.com/1cigxfkgXQ
One year ago today, a beachcomber possessed got dropped off at the north end of @PadreIslandNPS, aimed himself southward, and then kept walking for four days. Retrace that nice fellow's 65-mile trek on the beautiful new @TexasMonthly website. https://t.co/Gt671U6zIz pic.twitter.com/xWt4DQqPb6
— The Texanist (@thetexanist) March 23, 2021
The videos of orcas off the coast of Galveston are breathtaking... it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Just a few times have they been documented in the Gulf -- truly incredible.
— Galveston Island (@GalvestonIsland) March 19, 2021
*This video is courtesy of Matt Smith on Facebook. pic.twitter.com/USMg9TmySJ
