Monday, March 14, 2016

The Weekly Wrangle


(Satirical news item: "Trump to give rally attendees 'Freedom Bats'")

The Texas Progressive Alliance is enjoying spring training baseball and also ready to fill out a bracket as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff analyzed the Democratic and Republican presidential primary returns in Harris County.

Libby Shaw, contributing to Daily Kos, learned that residents in the Houston, Clear Lake City and Galveston areas are sitting ducks. Why? Because our area politicians and local leadership has done jack, zip, nada to address the region’s storm and flood infrastructure. Not a thing has been done since Hurricane Ike in 2008. Nothing but talk and finger pointing. Wake up Texas, Houston. It'ss not a question of if, but when.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme is appalled at John Cornyn's threat to ruin the career of any potential Supreme Court nominee. Just when you think a Republican can't sink any lower, John Cornyn does.

Hillary Clinton's braincramp about Nancy Reagan's contributions in the 1980s during the AIDS crisis won her the WTF of the Week, according to PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.

SocraticGadfly looked at that statement, and also the one about Bernie Sanders -- who allegedly "wasn't with her" on healthcare reform in 1993 -- and wonders if we're in dogwhistle season.

John Coby at Bay Area Houston celebrated the arrival of spring's Political Cicadas.

The Lewisville Texan Journal updated their story on a drug-related double shooting with the announcement of an arrest being made.

Neil at All People Have Value commended the local National Weather Service for offering a clear and intelligent explanation to the general public for a missed forecast. APHV is part of NeilAquino.com.

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And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

President Obama made an appearance at this year's South by Southwest Interactive, and the Texas Election Law Blog reported that he encouraged civic engagement in technological innovation, including electronic voter registration.

Also from SXSW, the Texas Observer attended the Open Carry Texas march down Congress Avenue, which included a topless woman and a "Cocks Not Glocks" counter-protester.

Grits for Breakfast assembles a compendium of motives for the shooting at Sen. John Whitmire's office.

Houston Matters previews the Galveston municipal elections.

Lone Star Ma focuses on the eighth of the United Nations' new Sustainable Development Goals: "Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all."

Harold Cook tries to make sense of the ever-murky Republican presidential primary, and Prairie Weather observes that the party of personal responsibility is running away from its irresponsible behavior.

Politifact Texas checked on Trump's claim that he was rushed onstage by an a member of ISIS, and ... you can probably guess the answer.

Somervell County Salon cringed at Hillary Clinton's insinuation that "melted hearts" would fix institutional racism.

Newsdesk gives a primer on Robert Morrow, the Travis County GOP's wacky new chair.

The TSTA Blog decries the rising cost of public universities in Texas and the effort to dodge responsibility for it in the Legislature.

Christopher Andrews examines the social life of small urban spaces.

Save Buffalo Bayou sees no change in the release of water behind dams, despite their leaks, in light of recent heavy rains.

And the Houston Press covers the worst road trips from Houston (with tongue-in-cheek, we think).