'Texas Republicans behaving badly' is again trending on my timeline, but as referenced previously, that is a) annoying and tiresome; and b) seemingly not moving the needle away from them electorally. So without posting more of their BS, I'll hold a few of the most egregious for another day. This Wrangle is for the other things that bother me, and a few things at the end that soothe.
From Feb. 13-18, 2021, Houston and the entire state of Texas reeled from cold temperatures that led to catastrophic, deadly conditions for residents. Take a look back through photos at the storm, one year later. https://t.co/MT0vG8jzVC #KPRC #HTX #hounews #Texas pic.twitter.com/IDEnaH1aMo
— KPRC 2 Houston (@KPRC2) February 15, 2022
On the anniversary of what became the worst blackout in Texas history, some say many of those who died have yet to be officially recognized. | via @KUT https://t.co/4u6UGtOSz5
— Houston Public Media (@HoustonPubMedia) February 15, 2022
When the lights went out in Texas a year ago today, an Austin family tried to protect their mother from an excruciating death. The rich & powerful were trying to protect the greed. Guess who won? Please watch and share this trailer of #protectingthegreed #txlege #energy pic.twitter.com/f0ZqalkIHl
— Jay Root (@byjayroot) February 15, 2022
The freeze from last year has been an over-reported item this week. Beto isn't getting any traction from it, either. Maybe time to move on.
Let me use one more as my segue.
Shifting to cleaner fuels is a key way to fight climate change — which brings severe weather that taxes the state's power grid. But Texas leaders still aren't decarbonizing. #TexasGrid #TexasPower #ClimateChange #TexasFreeze #GregAbbott #carbonfootprinthttps://t.co/uc9Ze9131Y
— San Antonio Current (@SAcurrent) February 15, 2022
Gusty winds across the state Tuesday and Wednesday will generate enough wind power to run every Texas home and then some, according to @ClimateCentral. pic.twitter.com/LeM7AKg00e
— KXAN Weather (@KXAN_Weather) February 14, 2022
A couple of young capitalists found a way to make money on flaring, which is good, but isn't really going to solve the crisis.
These 23-year-old Texans made $4 million last year mining bitcoin off flare gas from oil drilling. https://t.co/TjrDXg6z5C
— CNBC (@CNBC) February 16, 2022
Between now and 2060, scientists predict almost 25 inches of sea level rise in Galveston — a dramatic scenario for a coastal city already vulnerable to hurricane storm surges and tidal flooding. https://t.co/EaNcXv3zrl
— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) February 16, 2022
There's just no point in building the Ike Dike now. It's too late in the game. Seriously. Don't bother. This kind of too-expensive, unfeasible mitigation would be a boondoggle akin to the F-35. (Speaking of Lockheed Martin ...)
tl:dr; when the weather gets bad, polluters get to pollute A LOT more, and Texans living downwind bear the brunt. That needs to change. @POTUS #txlege https://t.co/OlSzSP9nmN
— Texas Sierra Club (@TexasSierraClub) February 14, 2022
That's a good segue to the social justice tweets. There's also some criminal justice and labor news following.
“I’m tired of hearing about, ‘Hold on and wait.' The ‘hold on and wait’ is over. Somebody has to show results.” https://t.co/NCg1SyKPF4
— One Breath (@OneBreathHOU) February 15, 2022
Houston, if you’re not outraged by Texas' distribution of flood control $$ you’re not paying attention.
— Mike Morris (@mmorris011) February 16, 2022
Of $4.3B Congress allocated for projects after Harvey, the city is to get ⚠$9M⚠
(@dylmcguinness has the latest https://t.co/7ESynp9me6)
It's even worse than it looks:🧵1/6
UT Arlington issues statement acknowledging university was built on American Indian-owned land https://t.co/AXPz44loZo
— Dallas Morning News (@dallasnews) February 17, 2022
Just entirely too many instances of the cops behaving poorly as well.
NOW: Austin to pay a combined $10 million to settle lawsuits with Justin Howell and Anthony Evans.
— Ryan Autullo (@AutulloAAS) February 17, 2022
Both men suffered head injuries from bean bag munitions fired by Austin police officers in 2020 George Floyd protests.
Howell gets $8M - a record high in Austin.
Evans gets $2M. https://t.co/7VK6QNdjpC
BREAKING: 19 Austin police officers have now been indicted on criminal charges stemming from the 2020 protests in Austin, according to union president Ken Casaday, who has been briefed on the charges by attorneys representing officers. https://t.co/HPtKxGAeJ4
— Tony Plohetski (@tplohetski) February 17, 2022
"Section 39.02(a)(2) of the Texas Penal Code prohibits a public officer from using government resources, of which the officer has custody or possession, to create a photograph, video, or other communication for political advertising." https://t.co/pOi885rruy #txlege https://t.co/TWF5uqPott
— Scott Braddock (@scottbraddock) February 15, 2022
Update: TX appeals court will not overturn Kinney County Judge Tully Shahan's decision to axe 3 judges assigned to help with @GovAbbott's mass migrant arrests. The judges were letting men out on no-cost bonds after months in prison.
— Jolie McCullough (@jsmccullou) February 16, 2022
Background: https://t.co/LoJCBijlTB #txlege
@FIELHouston “Day Without Immigrants” rally today @Cesar_Espinosa pic.twitter.com/rMeKpEiTeS
— M.H (@HoustonMH1757) February 14, 2022
After Biden halted federal construction of the border wall, his administration donated 1,700 panels for Texas to use on its border wall. By @ujohnnyg https://t.co/Gju0YkqVUW
— Matthew Watkins (@MWatkinsTrib) February 15, 2022
Members of Texas’ National Guard have begun organizing under an existing public-sector union and are set to meet for the first time next week, according to the Army Times.https://t.co/kXqHrPnfNG
— KXAN News (@KXAN_News) February 17, 2022
USW pushes ExxonMobil deal to end Texas lockout: A warning to all oil workers https://t.co/FRZjSCcSl3
— Nathan Hetrick 🌹 (@big_chief82) February 18, 2022
Per @asherprice for @axios Austin: “Btw the lines: …it's still a winner with [GOP] primary voters.
— Jim Henson (@jamesrhenson) February 16, 2022
Among those who self-identify as "extremely conservative," 50% support (35% strongly), & 37% oppose (27% strongly) these efforts.” #txlege https://t.co/LL1G6iFTlZ
Texas Governor Abbott’s proposals to sue teachers and imprison them after stripping away their retirement accounts and teacher pay for mentioning the history of blacks in Texas or mention alternative lifestyles of gays isn’t going to help the Texas Teacher Shortage.
— Raymond lee veazey (@RayvzBlanca1) February 17, 2022
Midland Police arrest coaches, administrators at Midland Christian School for failure to report sexual assault | https://t.co/U2yKMXksGq https://t.co/2gVeh33FrF
— Flux Nomad (@flux_nomad) February 18, 2022
Mine today starts with this anecdote about a Texas charter school started in a furniture store that requires students to work one day a week in the store—for no pay. This is called "career and technical education." https://t.co/iYHf2AFd0x #CharterSchoolFail @Network4pubEd pic.twitter.com/lidZp8SXoN
— Jeff Bryant (@jeffbcdm) February 16, 2022
Mattress Mack has had a bad week (for him).
Had he bet on the Bengals to cover instead of win outright, he would have had the perfect scenario: Win his $4.5 million bet and not have to give customers refunds because the Bengals didn't win the game.
— Matt Young (@Chron_MattYoung) February 14, 2022
That news could have just as easily gone into 'Repubs acting badly'.
More guns = more gun deaths. Our children are paying the price, and hiring more cops isn't going to solve this.
Ashanti Grant and Arlene Alvarez. Two Houston-area 9-year-olds who were shot in cars in the last week. #txlege pic.twitter.com/QNYOzBkNnq
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) February 16, 2022
Their stories in the thread.
A man ambushed a woman at a Texas coffee shop and shot her to death. He then shot himself, but is still alive.
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) February 16, 2022
Texas doesn't require domestic abusers to relinquish their firearms or prohibit convicted dating partners or stalkers from being armed. #txlege https://t.co/uQM4vRhC85
A psychologist explains how myths and biases can prompt false allegations—and irreversible mistakes, especially in cases involving trauma victims like Melissa Lucio. https://t.co/jRgisynsMZ
— Texas Observer (@TexasObserver) February 16, 2022
Texas' medical marijuana program is one the most restrictive in the nation, but Oklahoma's generated $150 million in revenue last year, up 17% from 2020. #Texas #Oklahoma #MedicalCannabis #CannabisCommunity #cannabisindustry #cannabisreformhttps://t.co/PpVweTWSAe
— San Antonio Current (@SAcurrent) February 15, 2022
"North Carolina patients have access to all these records and can read the reports directly. Texas patients, meanwhile, are left in the dark." @KXAN_News @MattGrantKXAN @hueyjayd #patientsafety #txlegehttps://t.co/SgYU8Hej6o
— Texas Watch (@TexasWatch) February 16, 2022
This is the way the UT world worked in 1956. To avoid racial conflict, the University segregated “negro and white students” in everything from health, frats, athletics & dancing. They didn’t worry about public performances “by negroes”because they didn’t have experience #txlege pic.twitter.com/QsTVLOkLDl
— Retro Snacking (@Retrosnacking) February 16, 2022
Perhaps a lawsuit I can feel good about Ken Paxton winning.
Texas sues Facebook for collecting biometric data without user consent https://t.co/lv127SZxrg #TXLege
— Forever in debt to your priceless advice. (@PDiddie) February 15, 2022
And the other feel-goods. First: my friend Charles is writing "Leaving Texas"; here's the first part.
The writer farm team has been decimated by the decline of alt weeklies. Where do young writers learn their craft these days? Without incubators, many are hampered by the boring-ass cult of objectivity or social media-imposed ideological conformity. https://t.co/Gho6iRQoAj
— Forrest Wilder (@Forrest4Trees) February 15, 2022
Creepy or curious or maybe a little of both? This nature trail is worth the visit.
— KSAT 12 (@ksatnews) February 16, 2022
https://t.co/tuIPabNqSq
Houston’s bridge bats took a hit during the 2021 Texas freeze. Here’s where they stand a year later: https://t.co/124sv5lak1 #houwx #hounews #houston #houstontx #htx #txwx #wxtwitter
— Aaron Barker (@weatherbarker) February 15, 2022
Art Car Parade to return after a two-year COVID hiatus https://t.co/nnpeleGnpP #hounews
— Matt Schwartz (@SchwartzChron) February 14, 2022
The comical San Antonio history of ‘gobbledygook,’ coined by a Maverick https://t.co/3mTJs0LraV
— Rick Casey (@rick_casey) February 15, 2022
Ozzy Osbourne publicly urinated in Alamo Plaza 40 years ago this week https://t.co/7yYeKQPpvG
— San Antonio Express-News (@ExpressNews) February 15, 2022
