The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance hates seeing Christmas decorations for sale in stores already as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff gives his advice for how to re-approach the Houston equal rights ordinance.

Libby Shaw at Texas Kaos and contributing to Daily Kos wishes to thank Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, former Harris Co. Republican Party Chair Jared Woodfill, eminent homophobe Dr. Steven Hotze, Republican smear artist Jeff Norwood and the Houston area's prominent minister, the Rev. Dr. Ed Young, for bringing out the absolute worst of Houston. How the good ol' boy Republicans, bigots, and preachers sold hate in Houston.

Stace at Dos Centavos has his take on last Tuesday posted.

SocraticGadfly takes a look at recently-revealed Chinese cheating on carbon emissions claims ahead of Paris climate talks.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme is sick of Republicans making life miserable for everyone but their rich friends. Destroying sanctuary cities and the war on public education just to name two idiocies.

Egberto Willies caught Dr. Dean Baker's lecture at Lone Star College on economic inequality, and how it was aided by governmental policy.  Video of his speech at the link.

TXSharon at Bluedaze has the bottom line on PBS Newshour's methane segment.

The Travis County judge who was threatened by Rick Perry was shot in her driveway late Friday evening. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs believes the former governor should be considered a suspect in the attempted assassination.

Neil at All People Have Value said that everyday kindness and right behavior can be a revolutionary course of action. APHV is part of NeilAquinio.com.

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

TrailBlazers had the softball interview of Dubya with his father's biographer, and while Cheney and Rumsfled didn't come up, author Jon Meacham suggested that GWB understated his dad's influence on his own presidency... and Dim Son did not disagree.

Lone Star Ma supports Sustainable Development Goals.

The San Antonio Current highlights Rep. Diego Bernal's ability to deal with bullies.

jobsanger graphs a poll that shows 93% of Americans support closing background check loopholes for potential gun owners.

David Ortez recaps the Houston elections, and Moni at Transgriot takes note of the transgender community's efforts to start pushing back against the rejection of HERO.

Blues for Food, the annual drive to target hunger in H-Town, happened yesterday and Chris Gray at the HP had the advance.

Carson Lucarelli explains how he lives carless in Houston, and Pedestrian Pete (aka former city councilman Peter Brown -- joins FPH to report on a more walkable Bayou City.

Randy Harvey remembers his sportswriting colleague, transgender pioneer Christine Daniels.

Maybe it was just Halloween, but Fascist Dyke Motors feels empowered to be a Grim Reaper.

Judge that Rick Perry threatened found shot in her driveway

Not hyperbole. (Some links below via Reverb Press.)

A manhunt is underway after a Travis County judge was shot outside her home. Austin police say someone opened fire on District Judge Julie Kocurek in the driveway of her Tarrytown home around 10:30 p.m. Friday.

Kocurek had just pulled up to her home in West Austin with some other people when the shooting happened, according to police.

She was taken to University Medical Center Brackenridge where she is currently in stable condition. Sources tell KXAN she was admitted into ICU for observation. Sources also say that the judge received injuries to the upper body–left shoulder and face area–but that it was not a direct hit.

Police are searching for the shooter and interviewing witnesses.

By the way...

Kocurek, a former prosecutor, was appointed to the 390th District court in Travis County, which includes Austin, by then-Gov. George W. Bush in 1999. Later, she became the only Republican elected to a state district judgeship in the left-leaning county, but switched parties and became a Democrat in 2006.

[...]

She is perhaps best known for her statements after former Gov. Rick Perry was indicted on felony coercion and abuse-of-power charges by an Austin grand jury in August 2014.

Perry held a news conference where he vowed: "This farce of a prosecution will be revealed for what it is" adding that "those responsible will be held to account." Kocurek responded that that could be interpreted as a threat against members of the grand jury, and that they would be protected from Perry or anyone else since "no one is above the law."

Yes, that is a threat that the former governor let slip from his loose lips, and it's possible some right-wing freak with too many guns and ammo took his protest against justice literally.

Kocurek was in serious condition on admission to the hospital but has stabilized; her wounds are not considered life-threatening at this time.  Judges and prosecutors in Texas have often been targeted for reprisals from deranged people who believed they needed to settle an old score with a gun.  I'd like to think that's not the case here, but the fact is that when an assassination attempt is conducted -- and Rick Perry and Texas Republicans and threatening language are mentioned in the same breath -- you just can't rule anything out.  Because Rick Perry likes to kill people.  He especially likes to kill innocent people, sometimes letting them die slowly. 

Let's be fair: as massively stupid as he is, the former governor probably isn't so stupid that he pulled the trigger of the gun that fired the bullets that hit Judge Kocurek.  But he may have, unwittingly or otherwise, encouraged someone to do so.  And until we know differently -- once the gunman is apprehended and questioned -- he should remain a suspect.

That's. Not. Exaggeration.