Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Guns Up, Voting Down Aggregation


Not so much a Red Raider Wrangle as a Wild West one.


You might find yourself envious of all the Democratic and Republican attorneys having an orgasm thinking about the billable hours they'll accrue when all of this legislation goes to court.


So let's not spend much more of our beautiful mind, or day -- the sun is trying to come out from behind the clouds after two weeks of dreary -- thinking about the wickedness pouring out of the Pink Dome like slime from a sewer.  After all, they still have voting to suppress, trans kids to stop from playing sports ...


... and all of this.


Then there will be redistricting in a special session later in the year.  A fresh hell for many dead bills to be resurrected.  In other words, there will be plenty to get irate about later.

Besides, there has been some good news.


Talerico wins my award for best lawmaker, going away.  He found several ways to make a positive impact during the most hideous legislative session ever.


Patrick's got it bottled up, though, so if this is your jam, it's time to act.


From my cheap seat, nobody has done a better job of Johnny-on-the-Spot advocacy than NORML this session.  Every Texan's Dick Lavine has been relentless on Chapter 313 and Texas Watch's Ware Wendell similarly on the trucking tort reform bill (which passed, unfortunately), but the weed folks have really moved the needle.

Corporate media has been shafted by Lege leadership, and transparency has been ... translucent when it hasn't been opaque.


That is to say, when they have not embarrassed themselves.


And some Republican state leaders learned the hard way that telling the truth is hazardous to their political health.


Dr. Hotez elaborates from his perspective.


So our beloved Texas has a poor prognosis for democracy, facts, and justice, unless the courts can come to our collective rescue.  Yes, I know.  Not the kind of blue anybody wants to turn.

Hard-right politics rules the day, week, month, year, biennium, and perhaps decade.


Are moderate Republicans -- and Democrats who vote in the GOP primary -- the only ones left to rescue the state from this fate?


It's a serious question.


I still I have a lot to post on these and other topics I have promised, but I'll pause here. One soother.

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Monday, May 24, 2021

"There is Too Much Evil" Round-up


Under the guise of Christian family values and an emphasis on freedom and liberty, the fascists running Texas demand that you show them your child's genitalia; the government must be assured that all children's clothes and hair match what Jeebus gave them below the belt at birth.

And their obnoxious, overbearing, intrusive god forbid anyone who would question -- much less dare to alter -- his decision-making in the womb, under penalty of state law.

To mark Pan-Visibility Day today, and Trans-Youth Advocacy Day belatedly, it's appropriate to focus on the more cruel business the Lege has been up to over the past week.


Thank goodness there's a Texas governor candidate (and a political party) doing more than Tweeting pictures of themselves wearing a pink and blue flag lapel pin and congratulating each other on how hard they fought as they lost.


Yvonna Marquez at the Texas Observer also looked at the stress that the onslaught of anti-trans bills is causing our state's trans kids.  Adam Briggle, writing at Issues.Org, examined the use of science and his love for his son amid the debate over appropriate trans children's health care.  Mandy Giles is grateful for the community she has found while advocating for trans rights at the Lege.  OutSmart spoke to five Houston-area families who have traveled to Austin to advocate for themselves and their children.  And Socratic Gadfly's take on these bills is a mix of supportive and challenging thought for both critical race theory and gender-critical radical feminism.

Updates as they happen in the Tweet feed to right, or follow it yourself under the #txlege hashtag, or check in here later in the week for the aftermath.

Taking these legislative developments in bite-size pieces, with lots of water and some Maalox to keep them down.  More ahead.
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Rise of the Fourth Reich Wrangle



Godwin is dead. George Orwell is alive, well, and walking the halls of the Lone Star State Capitol.


"The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of history." "Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past". "In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."

Thanks to Michael Tolbert for those, and thanks also to Joe Moody, Vikki Goodwin, and Chris Turner in the statehouse last night and in the wee hours today, and Borris Miles and Royce West in the Senate early on Saturday morning, for their eloquence.


Stirring words are all that Lege Dems have, however, and the Republican representatives and senators answer only to the voters in their primary.


There's a reason why they're doing these things in the middle of the night, bending their own rules like a pretzel, and banning media from covering them.


This is NOT what democracy looks like.

I have a shitpile left on all of these topics, plus everything I promised in Friday's Atrocities Documentation Collation, on the way.

Last Night with John Oliver got in on the Texas beatdown.


Much more coming (sooner than later).
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Saturday, May 22, 2021

"The Truth is Out There" Funnies

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Friday, May 21, 2021

Atrocities Documentation Collation (a week-ending round-up from far left Texas, part 1)


This one will have to appear in segments.  We can thank our lucky stars that the House, in a fit of pique, adjourned for the weekend because the Senate is sitting on legislation approved by the lower chamber by near-unanimous consent.  (That's not to say they are all good bills.)


Nobody is more upset with the week's developments than the women of Texas; mothers and those that would be.  By their own choice and not.


"Somewhat indifferent" might be a little soft.


More on the Guvnah's really great week (for him, nobody else) in the next segment.


A lot of damage done by Speaker Forehead, but don't exhale yet; Dan Patrick's gang is still in town.


In a legislative session that has been by far the most extreme and conservative ever, the two Republican-controlled branches and the respective factions within the TXGOP are still slinging mud -- and Mucus -- like they're all infected with COVID.

They're certainly consumed with a raging case of hate, as the masks and gloves have come off and the knives and bricks and bats come out.  At this point Lege Democrats are like the poor children in Gaza and Yemen: collateral damage.


As you might guess, I have a lot more than three things to say about this ... later.  But also a stand-alone environmental post, Ted Cruz and Louie Gohmert behaving badly, and some criminal and social justice items, all of which I'll try to get done today get to over the weekend.

Here's a few calm-me-downs.


And it's small solace, but stormy weather sometimes produces a beautiful thing, in that 'darkest before the dawn' kinda way.

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Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Tongue Out Tuesday Roundup from Far Left Texas


Not thrilled to read about this dude again.


Delilah for Texas issued a challenge to the erstwhile, unaffiliated, indecisive gubernatorial maybe-candidate.


Be a lot cooler if he did.

And while I have spent much time and effort denigrating Texas Democrats, and will likely be compelled by their own ignominous conduct to continue to do so *coughBetocough*, the fact of the matter is that Joe Jaworski is the best -- indeed the only -- choice to replace Ken Paxtoon (not a typo) as attorney general of our Great State.


I believe that Lee Merritt is an outstanding candidate, and is someone I could support in the general election (absent a Green nominee).  But I've known Joe Jaws a long time; I know who he is, and he's the best man for the job.

George Pee Bush, on the other hand, is a running joke.  I care not whether he can dethrone the top criminal in the state.  It's as important that we dispense with these legacies as it is the celebrities who think they're entitled to political careers.

All dovetailing nicely with this segment of Republicans Doing That Dumbass Shit They Do.


Perhaps I'll make the segue to the Lege follies by devoting some space to Greg Abbott's latest cave to profits over people.


This wasn't costing the state a dime.  Abbott swallowed the lie that "nobody wants to work".  So like other conservatives -- including Joe Biden -- they will try to force Americans to take starvation-wage jobs with no benefits, no paid time off, and no hope for advancement.


The appropriate market solution would be, as anyone who's passed Econ 101 would know, to raise wages to attract employees.  But in Texas, companies are on the government dole, so they actually run themselves more like what they think communism must be like.


I think Team Elephant would be horrified to learn that they were as Red as China ... if they were smart enough to figure it out.

Let's see; the Lege, was it?


Yes, as Scott Braddock noted, that's five Caucasian state senators -- four Republicans and one very conservative Democrat -- meeting behind closed doors to resolve issues on a bill codifying discrimination against Texans of color and their voting rights.

On that topic, some justice in another arena -- the appeals court -- might be forthcoming.  Don't hold your breath, but be marginally encouraged.


And with respect to other social justice developments:


And that's my segue to COVID.


Do I need to blog again why, even though I've had both my shots, I will keep wearing my mask?


Let Governor Wheels take his victory lap.  What goes around comes around.


We're all glad about this good news, but as Harvey Keitel said in Pulp Fiction ...

I have lots of green posts that I'll save for another day, perhaps its own post this week.  Here's a little something I've been enjoying lately.


Lesser prairie chickens, the slightly smaller cousin to the greater prairie chicken, can only be found in five states: Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas. Following the original petition to list in 1995, lesser prairie chickens were listed in 2014 as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. A lawsuit challenging the listing ended in a judge vacating the decision in 2015. Another petition for listing was received in 2016, with a finding anticipated in mid-May 2021.


And my artiste soother.

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Monday, May 17, 2021

Turn for Home Wrangle from Far Left Texas

Employing a horse racing analogy in the headline because, ya know, t'is the season.  And as a reminder to beleaguered Donkeys ... long-shot upsets are possible.


I can't help but love a Speaker pro tem that quotes Tool.  For those of you who need a refresher on last week, here's Bob Garrett at the DMN.


There's also an eventful and ominous week ahead.


Rick Casey at the San Antonio Report calls the anti-trans bills in the Lege the real child abuse.  And Houstonia Magazine clarifies what the new booze-to-go law will mean.


In criminal and social justice news, Houston turned out on Saturday afternoon at Discovery Green to stand up for Palestinians in Gaza.


By some accounts, the newspaper of record was nowhere in sight.


Dallas and Austin held marches as well.


Back to the Lege again for more.


And some environmental updates (and action items).


With a sports report ...


More on COVID, the dropping of masks, some politics news (Matthew McConaghey, George Pee Bush), Republicans behaving badly (the usual suspects: Ted Cruz, Louie Gohmert, and Dan Crenshaw, back from his eye surgery on the Sunday Talking Heads) and a few other things coming later.  Closing with these.

Sanford Nowlin at the San Antonio Current informs us of a saga involving Cruz, Joe Biden, and Chick-Fil-a dipping sauce.

The Houston Art Car Parade was stationary this year due to lingering cornavirus protocols, but that didn't mean everybody missed out.

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Sunday, May 16, 2021

Sunday Explosive Funnies




India the tiger located, turned over to HPD

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Saturday, May 15, 2021

RIP to Bills Good and Bad Wrangle *updated


That would be "rest in peace" to the good and "rest in pieces" to the bad.


More good, bad, and ugly:


And then there are the zombie bills.


(I planned on a longer post but Blogger ate this one's updates twice, so this is all until I have some assurance that I won't be rebuilding it a third time.)

New Mexico Republicans are convening in Amarillo this weekend to dodge the Enchanted State's stricter COVID protocols.  And the CDC has beaten Greg Abbott and everybody else to the punch -- I'll call it Kool-Aid -- on ending the mask mandate.

I think this is remarkably foolish.  I'll go on wearing my mask despite having gotten my two Moderna shots, probably for the rest of my life when I'm out in public.  If for no other reason ... because Texas is full of idiots and assholes.


Here's my post on the Texas Green Party's state meeting in June.  And here's the soothers to close.

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Friday, May 14, 2021

Texas Greens come together next month


In cyberspace.



Registration is now open for the GPTX Annual State Meeting, to be held online, June 26th & 27th. Individuals wishing to attend as Delegates must register by June 1.

Meeting business will include election of officers as well as Bylaw & Platform amendments. Individuals wishing to affect the direction of Green Party efforts in Texas should be sure not to miss this important meeting!

GPTX is seeking candidates for the 2022 general election, and will host a prospective candidate information event on August 28th. Candidate filing will take place November - December 2021, so prospective candidates are encouraged to begin preparing their campaigns now for 2022.

Texas appears poised to enact SB 2093, which will entrench charging convention-nominating party candidates a primary filing fee upon application to run, before they are certain of winning the GPTX nomination, and of course still omitted from the state-run primary. Most voters do not understand that the reason they don't see Greens during the primary in Texas is because minor parties are not permitted to participate in it. They are instead relegated to a do-it-yourself convention process which must conform to antiquated rules, and now to be paying a fee to reimburse the state for a process in which they can't participate. No matter that this new fee provision was under injunction during the last week of the 2019 filing period, and is still in question as a subject of pending litigation; Texas is set to double-down on the requirement in the 2022 election cycle, so Green candidates should plan for it.

The Green Party presently has ballot access in Texas through 2026. That means we need candidates who subscribe to our platform to step up and carry our message to the public, win office, and implement change.

GPTX can offer little beyond a path to the general election ballot line.

We need Greens across Texas to build their own local groups & help us fill out all of the things we'd like to see the party doing.

While political rhetoric has shifted considerably in the last decade, we still have not seen substantial policy changing the course of US empire. Maintaining and building Green Party political pressure remains an imperative for putting people, peace, and planet over profit. While the duopoly parties maintain a stranglehold on ballot access and the electoral process, Greens will not give up the struggle to call out and break this unconstitutional capture of our supposed democracy.


I've been promoting Delilah for Texas in these pixels for quite some time now.


I just can't with Texas Democrats any more, y'all.  Here's some of the most recent reasons why.


Poor Jana Sanchez.  I feel like she knew this well in advance of being shut out of the runoff for TX-6 but kept it quiet, hoping she could still eke her way in.  She could not, thus becoming the latest self-fulfilling prophecy of 'loser' by the king- and queenmakers at the DCCC.

Shell has some bad advice for those of you living in the district, which I wouldn't take if I lived up there.


I love Michelle and her blog, but this is just ... no.  Not no but HELL no.  "Not Trump's candidate" is not a good enough reason to vote for Jake Ellzey.  And regarding reasons: there's obviously a very good one why Sanchez didn't make the runoff beyond the DCCC ignoring her.  And there isn't a single good one for voting for the allegedly less-evil Republican.  No measurable amount of harm reduction. Pick another battle.

And I've blogged plenty about the flea-bitten Blue Dogs in the Lege.


Don't get me wrong; I'm glad the Bexar County Donks did what they did, but that's not going to change a thing.  Democrats in and around the Alamo City are riven with internal strife like nowhere else in the state, and the Bexar County Greens have the strongest Lone Star chapter as a result.

Unfortunately, we all know that's not saying a whole hell of a lot, but it is what it is: the GPTX needs new blood itself, and is ripe for changes in leadership.  And the plain truth is spoken above in the excerpt; unless somebody like me hits the Powerball and can suddenly fund GPTX candidates, infrastructure, etc. then your mission, should you choose to accept it ...



... is going to be more of an "All By Myself" ride than an "All for One and One for All" quest.

Or you can keep voting blue for another 25 years, see if something changes.

The work stands ready for the able-handed. You in?

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RIP to Bills Good and Bad Wrangle


That would be "rest in peace" to the good and "rest in pieces" to the bad.


More good, bad, and ugly:


And then there are the zombie bills.


I'll go longer on the Lege, New Mexico Republicans convening in Amarillo to avoid the Enchanted State's stricter COVID protocols, the Texas Green Party's state meeting in June, and all the rest in an update later today tomorrow. Here's a few tide-me-overs.

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