Sunday, August 15, 2021

Sunday "Crazy Enough" Funnies

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Friday, August 13, 2021

A very gloomy Friday Wrangle from Far Left Texas




Perhaps these performative actions still have some value to "excite the base", or stimulate a bit of fundraising.  Beyond that ...

Two arrests, or two more defections today -- or at some point soon -- and the statehouse will have a quorum, and then will get on with the business the Senate has already conducted.  Another 'E' for effort from Gene Wu, et. al.


If you're Team Blue and reading this, I don't mean to be derogatory.  It's just that with the US Congress currently on vacation, a voting rights bill on the schedule in September isn't going to be of much help to the Tex Donks' hard-fought cause.


And next month's third special session is when redistricting becomes the bulldozer that buries the Democrats six feet under for another decade.


I think it's more like 8 months; I seem to recall both Obama and Eric Holder saying that redistricting would be a top priority after they left office, though I can't find that reference now.  Maybe it was a topic of discussion at the birthday party last weekend.  (That would sure harsh your 60th-year mellow, wouldn't it?)

Anyway, fight on.  Or keep blaming Jill Stein or something.


The good news is it doesn't seem as futile as trying to get Joe Manchin and the rest of the Blue Dogs in Congress to save the planet.


And Joe Biden?  Well, don't blame me; I didn't vote for him.


If you're getting mad again, please consider that I'm just the messenger.  Blaming Republicans is too easy (though some fun), but I long ago concluded that the problems we suffer come out of a delusion that one party is trying to help.  And that, far too often, is not the case.


TTP, above, is a far-right freak, for anybody brave enough to click through.  Here, I'll save you some trouble: he thinks Democrats voting in the GOP primary are the reason Republicans like Greg Abbott keep getting elected.

If Abbott wins the coming GOP primary, it’s a win-win for the Left. The GOP base is less likely to turn out for traitors like Abbott who do nothing but screw them, so a Democrat is more likely to win (especially with legalized ballot stuffing via mail-in). However, if he does survive the 2022 midterms, Abbott will go back to business as usual: placating the Left, leaving the border open, allowing child genital mutilation, and generally carrying on with screw jobs.

AHAHAHAHAHA

We are all so fucked.


Soothers, please.

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Sunday, August 08, 2021

Sunday "Leave the Rest to Me" Funnies

 

'Facebook bans academics who researched ad transparency and misinformation ... on Facebook'

 Please support the work of editorial cartoonists here.

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Friday, August 06, 2021

Friday End/Beginning Wrangle


Easing back into the saddle.


This post will have more than the usual focus on human mortality.


Well, mortality human and otherwise.


So much to overcome, and with needless hurdles thrown in the path.


Winding down with a few more notable passings, and perhaps another post on the other goings-on ... if I can get to it.

The Austin Chronicle talked to Billy Gibbons about the death of Dusty Hill and the future of ZZ Top.  Glasstire eulogized Tejano artist Ruben Cubillos, who designed Selena's iconic logo.  And union leaders across the country reflected on the life of AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka.

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Sunday, August 01, 2021

Sunday 'No Vaccine for Stupid' Funnies



Google's in-house political cartoonist quits over company's unfunny apparent lack of ethics

(Former Google unofficial corporate satirist Manu) Cornet was even able to feel the asphyxiating grasp of the Google oligarchy firsthand. When he published a selection of Goomix comics as a book in 2018, the then-Google employee claims a murder of corporate lawyers descended on his office and tried to coerce him into dropping some of the more critical comics of the Glorious Techpublic.
Having seen his satirical art barely affect the decline of the Alphabet utopia into a data dystopia, Cornet finally threw his floppy hat with bells into the ring. In 2021, he tendered his resignation from Google, citing: “I have to draw the line in the sand somewhere.” But since a fool is nothing without a foolish king, Cornet now draws his lines over at Twitter.

Please support the work of editorial cartoonists here.
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Wednesday, July 28, 2021

The Environmental Round-Up, Part 2


As I mentioned a few weeks ago in Part One, this post will have more Texas-related news.  First, a few aggregations.

Desi Doyen compiles an exhaustive list twice a week in her Green News Report for the Brad Blog, which is really the collation you want to read in order to keep up with this topic.  Here's her latest.


Corporate media is waking up to the issue at last, but they still have to tread carefully around their Big Oil and Gas sponsors.  No such smidge of conscience from our elected leaders, however.


Honestly however, the criminals are literally everywhere you look.


  This woman is NOT one of them.


"Energy Transfer Partners".  Haven't we heard of them?  Why, yes we have; just a moment ago.


The corruption is so vast and varicose that its tentacles rival the capillary nature of the Texas power grid.  Speaking of:


The deeper you dig, the worse the stench gets.


Who was president ten years ago?


Had enough yet?


It's not all bad news.  Some people are actually trying to do something.


But some suggestions have failed, and others are too little, too late.


And we still have the deniers of facts, logic, science, and truth to overcome.


I'll add a few more as a thread when this post gets Tweeted shortly.  If I missed anything, mention it here in the comments or post it there.
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Tuesday, July 27, 2021

Scenes from the Medicare for All Marches



Corporate media and Congressional Democrats did their best to completely ignore this event. All that did was demonstrate how choked they are by Big Pharma (try to imagine watching CNN or browsing your social media feed of choice without seeing an ad for Keytruda, or Ozempic, or any other flavor-of-the-month wonder drug).

The two biggest letdowns besides Bernie Sanders were AOC and Nina Turner, who counter-programmed with a stumping for Turner's OH-11 bid.


By contrast, Austin's march was refreshingly bipartisan (Green and Dem), and held in coordination with the 50+ other events across the nation.


The two co-sponsors were Delilah Barrios, Green for governor, and David L. Anderson for TX-22 (primarying Lloyd Doggett).


At least two people who could not get to Austin held their own rallies; one in San Marcos ...


... one in The City Under Seven Flags.


For reasons perhaps mentioned above but to which only they can address, a consortium of Texas orgs chose not to join this march -- indeed, specified their disaffiliation -- but will hold rallies this Thursday evening across the state. TOP, Our Revolution, and others are spreading the word, and a variety of issue-oriented activists as well as DSA and newly-elected municipal officials are speaking.


Besides Oliver and Anderson making another appearance, the roster includes Vanessa Fuentes (Austin CM), Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (San Antonio CM), Jessica Mason (running in a potentially crowded TX-30 Democratic primary to replace the allegedly retiring Eddie Bernice Johnson), and Teri Castillo (also a freshly-minted SA CM). Follow Sofia Sepulveda for updates.
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Monday, July 26, 2021

The Waiting Game Wrangle from Far Left Texas

A very solid analysis by Reese Oxner of where Greg Abbott, the Lege -- those under the Pink Dome and those in DC -- and all of us watching are today.


The Texas Supreme Court has been asked to rule whether Gov. Greg Abbott’s unprecedented line-item veto of Article X in the state budget -- which pays for the Legislature and its staff -- is constitutional.

Abbott issued the veto after the regular legislative session ended, pulling one of the few political levers at his disposal to try to force Democratic lawmakers to show up for a special session if they want their staffs to keep getting paid when the next fiscal year starts Sept. 1.

It didn’t work. Enough House Democrats left the state to deprive the chamber of the quorum needed to conduct business.

Now the state’s all-Republican highest civil court -- with four of eight members appointed by Abbott and one seat vacant -- has been asked by the House Democrats who broke quorum to overturn the veto.

Legally, the case hinges on whether the Texas Constitution allows a governor to cut off funding for an equal branch of government. Politically, it’s unclear whether the court would be doing Abbott a bigger favor by upholding his veto power, or by extricating him from a stalemate that’s not going his way.

All the way back here -- before the special session began -- I suggested, referencing Quorum Report's plugged-in coverage, that this was likely the endgame.  For those who can't be troubled to keep up.

(Seriously.  If you're writing 'like I said, what else is there to say' on a regular basis, why are you even bothering?  One post a week versus three posts a day and still two weeks behind.  SMDH)

“This is well beyond the Schoolhouse Rock version of how government works,” (U of H political science professor Brandon) Rottinghaus said, referencing a children’s animated series that simplified political concepts into cartoons. “This is a political story as much as it is an institutional separation-of-powers story. So it’s going to really push the boundaries of what’s allowable in Texas, especially in its governor.”

[...]

It’s unclear when the Texas Supreme Court could rule on the issue -- or if it will at all. It could rule any day now, delay a decision or decide the court does not have jurisdiction over the case at all. The justices could also rule to disallow part of the veto — for example, legislators are allowed a per diem payment under the Constitution -- or find that the issue is not yet ripe and punt it down the road to decide at another time. Attorneys for House Democrats asked for the court to expedite its decision “well before” the new budget comes into effect.

“If I had to really put money on it, I would say that the court would back the governor’s veto, in part because they might view this as being a temporary political skirmish that can be resolved,” Rottinghaus said.

Anything short of striking down Abbott's veto is a wipeout for the Q-Breakers.  That's actually less of a long shot than expecting Joe Biden to suddenly support killing the filibuster, though.

Talk about being left to twist in the wind ...


As for Beto: he's already said he will wait for the final outcome of the voter suppression bill before he decides to run for something (Donks pray every day it's governor).  I've already said -- and this requires no crystal ball -- that the bill will eventually pass, Beto won't run, and Texas Democrats will be drowned in a red tide in 2022 unless they can break through in the AG race with Joe Jaworski (or, I suppose, Lee Merritt).

Maybe the best hope for the Blues is another statewide power outage. This week?

I think I can get around to more blogging as long as I don't lose electricity.  For now, let's chill.

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Sunday, July 25, 2021

Sunday Gold Medal Funnies

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Monday, July 19, 2021

"Life Comes at Ya Fast" Wrangle from Far Left Texas


Just when I thought I would blog about Miller Lite, or Gene Wu's eating habits, or Donna Howard's, err ... laundry, the Texas House Democrats in Washington had to go and shift the narrative.


Someone -- a Republican, if you can believe it -- predicted this development, but because the TXGOP have no empathy, it's not influencing their snark much.


(Psst: He's a 'communicator' and a 'former DCer'.  So maybe the best they have.)


As time marches on, so do the Republican efforts to make a silk purse out of the remaining 18 days in the (first non-redistricting-related, thank you Guvnah) sow's ear special session of the summer.  The Senate passed the voter suppression bill, the bill curtailing women's reproductive rights, and the the critical race theory bill.  Oddly no action on SB10, the bill that would restore funding legislative salaries (that Abbott vetoed).  I suppose somebody thinks that would be a bad look during the quorum break.  On another bummer: with several remaining crappy pieces of legislation queued up, I can't wait to hear John Whitmire say "lipstick on this pig" for the 40th time.  Here's your exit strategy: all of these will suffocate until the House Dems return, and if/when they don't, then we wait for special session #2 ... unless something unforeseen happens.  Which, after the way last week unfolded, should be expected.

Kuff also had plenty to say about Quorum Break 2, the sequel.  No mention of the COVID outbreak among the caucus, however.

Never one to let someone else have all the attention, Joe Manchin stole the show back.


With Democraps like Manchin and Krysten's Enema, who needs Mitch McConnell?

Got much more obviously, but I'll stop here.  A separate post on the foibles of Governor Fish Lips, and yes, all of the previously promised.  Here's my calm-me-downs:

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Sunday, July 18, 2021

Sunday "If you can't beat 'em ..." Funnies

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Tuesday, July 13, 2021

"Can You Get a Decent Taco in DC?" Tuesday Wrangle


Apparently, although that review is dated.  This Yelp list has been updated this month.  And here's breakfast tacos.  At any rate, some Texans recently arrived from out of town are going to find out.  I'll wait for Rep. Armando Walle's judgment.


Non-scientific polling -- just the kind the GOP likes -- shows Twitter sentiment against the Donks on the Run, but I would imagine they care as much about that as they do critiques of their beer choices.

I do think one Republican got it correct.

...state Rep. Dustin Burrows, a Lubbock Republican who chairs the powerful House Calendars Committee ... said in a statement to The Texas Tribune that “unfortunately, the siren call of social media fame and fundraising” had lured Democrats to D.C.

Corporate media appearances all day and night.  Public speaking events before various Democratic, aligned, and sympathetic groups.  Fundraisers galore.  That's already a big win by any partisan establishment scorekeeper.  Why it's even possible that a gubernatorial candidate will emerge from this group (not that the Texas Signal has been pimping that as hard as they can, mind you).

So will this go like 2003, when Texas House Dems fled to Ardmore, OK and waited out the special session called by Rick Perry to redistrict Texas according to Tom DeLay's liking?  Followed by another special session where the Texas Senate Dems runaway-scraped to Albuquerque, NM, only to be betrayed by Judas Whitmire?  I suppose time, and some exit strategy that meets with the budding future Houston mayor's approval, will tell.


Despite the Senate adjourning due to lack of quorum, the Shun and Shame Transgender Children Committee gaveled in and conducted business.


It went about as hideously as you could have predicted.


The cash bail bill ... less ignorant but no less successful.


Your summary, for those short on reading time:


It wasn't all bad for the good guys.


Rinaldi is, to put it mildly, a maniac.  And he does not like Greg Abbott.  So while this may be another Allen West 2.0 situation for the Lone Star Pachys -- sound and fury signifying nothing -- an unsettled, divided, squabbling RPT can't hurt anybody who wants things to get better around here.

Some corroborating evidence showed up in Big D this past weekend.


On a downer, perhaps they'll fall back in line after the primaries next year, like they always have in the past.  A common enemy is a great unifier.

Just don't expect great things from AllRight x3.


I think there's an opening at the top of the Serve America Party ticket, Matthew, if you can convince Bill King to step aside.  Maybe suggest he run for Lite Guv.

Hoo boy, I've had enough of this for one post.  A couple of calm-me-downs, and then fleeing the Lege as fast as possible to other items in the next posts.

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