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.

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.