Sunday Funnies

82% of Democrats believe "Russia-backed" content on social media affected 2016 election outcome; Clinton campaign and DNC helped pay for Steele dossier

Joe Straus quits Texas House

The so-called sane Republicans -- as Charles Pierce said yesterday about Jeff Flake and Bob Corker -- are going to have to come up with a better response than just running away.  Harvey Kronberg crams as much into his executive summary of the past ten months as one can into two paragraphs.

Speaker Joe Straus today stunned even his closest colleagues with his announcement that he would not seek re-election to his seat in the House. This after polling in the field showed that even his weakest San Antonio precincts were solidly behind him. In addition, there was no possible math that did not have him re-elected to lead the House.

While his low opinion of the hysteria-based rhetoric of other statewide officials and the off the rails priorities of the special session (many but for his efforts) would have further made the recovery of the Gulf Coast even more protracted than it would otherwise be were barely camouflaged, one of the great stings had to be Governor Greg Abbott reassuring CEOs that Straus would kill the bathroom bill at the same time he was rallying pastors to sermonize on its behalf from the pulpit.

It sounds as if -- in a run-on sentence of massive proportions -- HK thinks the governor is going to have be the grown-up and stop pandering to the MAGA base of the TXGOP.  Harvey has lots more Austin connections than me, so I'm sure he has a basis for believing that.  But as AF One landed in Dallas this afternoon, the governor spun his wheels on the tarmac to get in the picture with Trump.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott greets Trump after he exits Air Force One at Love Field. Trump in town for fundraiser https://t.co/FqMFV1eKtG pic.twitter.com/rJMfed9ErS

— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) October 25, 2017

It's truly remarkable watching a crippled man play both sides of the Texas Republican Party's freak right wing against the middle, or the left, or whatever the soon-to-be former-Straus Caucus calls themselves ('moderate' just doesn't work for me).  One of these days his manipulation of the ignorant is going to blow up in his face.  That day is still a ways off.

As to the news: conservative watchers mostly screamed with glee, while Democrats either cried their eyes out or shat their drawers in unmitigated terror.  Let the parlor games begin.

-- Do I think Straus has plans to shoot his $10 million dollar wad on something besides, to quote former TDP chair Boyd Richie from 2006, "a few select Texas House races"?  All snark aside, I certainly hope so.  Surely Joe isn't slinking away into retirement just to be another million-dollar lobbyist, right?  Right?

Update: Tilove at the Statesman echoes Straus: "I don't think so."

-- Where does his top lieutenant, Byron Cook, who bailed out right behind the Speaker this morning, fit in to any of this?  The same cryptic 'look for other ways to serve Texas' line was in his resignation letter.

Chris Hooks got paid a little early this week.

John Zerwas, a moderate who once flirted with supporting Medicaid expansion, today announced his bid to (replace Straus as Speaker), and Chris Turner, the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, quickly signaled a willingness to deliver the caucus’ votes to the best possible contender. That would mean, hypothetically, that Zerwas will need some 15-25 Republican votes to clinch it in the way Straus once did. That seems very doable — particularly if Democrats are able to make real gains in the next general election, in what should be a favorable climate — but no one can say.

"No one can say."   Pfffft.  He'd know better than that (he means, of course, that early speculation about what might occur is as reliable as the Texas Tribune's polling) if he didn't have me muted on Twitter, the putz.

One thing we can say is that the legacy and self-described "very conservative Democrat" who is 'exploring' a run for governor got his news completely Bigfooted by the Speaker's sudden withdrawal today.  Too bad.  Maybe there's a spot for him somewhere on Joe Straus' independent ticket.

The P-Did slate for this year's election

My sample ballot, obtained at HarrisVotes.com, contains seven state constitutional amendments, five municipal propositions, and one race with three candidates vying for the seat of the disgraced and convicted Chris Oliver on Houston Community College's Board of Trustees.  Here's the Chronicle with the overview of that contest.

David Jaroszewski said he was "sickened" when he saw that a Houston Community College trustee pleaded guilty to accepting bribes connected to system contracts earlier this year.

"This isn't right," the longtime community college instructor remembers thinking. He soon would put his name on the ballot to replace Chris Oliver, the District IX trustee who is awaiting sentencing.

Jaroszewski, 64, is one of eight candidates running for three HCC trustee positions this fall. Candidates must convince voters they are best suited to help lead a system that has seen fluctuating enrollment, lawsuits originating from a board member and Oliver's bribery conviction in the last two years.

Early voting for the Nov. 7 election begins (today).

"The public wants a community college that doesn't waste money. The public wants a community college that educates people. … As a trustee, you look at these and (you) can't say it's not my problem. It is my problem," said Jaroszewski, a self-described conservative who teaches paralegal studies at Lee College in Baytown.

Jaroszewski is running against Eugene "Gene" Pack, a retired auto broker, and Pretta VanDible Stallworth, a business consultant, for the District IX seat that covers southwest Houston.

Oliver, who pleaded guilty to taking $12,000 in Visa gift cards and cash, promising to use his position to help a contractor secure new HCC work, is not running for re-election. His sentencing is in November.

Stallworth, 59, and Pack, 65, did not respond to requests for comment.

Bold emphasis and embedded linkage in the excerpt above and below is mine.  Despite her appallingly low online profile -- no website, one Tweet in September, no Facebook except as mentioned by others -- Stallworth's past experience as trustee and her endorsements (listed following and from my state senator and city council member) are enough to earn my vote.

On his website, Pack has pledged to enhance financial aid policies to keep students enrolled after Hurricane Harvey if he is elected.

He also proposed several accountability measures for the board, including shortening trustee term lengths to four years from six and pushing for ethics reform in board contracts and procurement.

Stallworth, a former HCC trustee from 1989 through 1993, was endorsed by the Harris County Young Democrats and the Houston GLBT Political Caucus PAC.

She said in the League of Women Voters of Houston election guide that she would advocate for increased ethics training for board members. Administrators should review employer needs regularly to assess what HCC should teach, she said.

The LWV guide (Adobe Reader files in English and Spanish) is comprehensive, even including an explanation of general obligation bonds for the tireless, most well-informed voter.  More on the other HCC races at the Chron link, and more on amendments ('propositions', numbered on your ballot), municipal proposals ('propositions', identified alphabetically), and races here.  There is no HISD board race on my ballot, so check the guide above or take the HGLBT Caucus' recommendations (I occasionally pick a bone with them, but not this time).

I'm going to follow Daniel Williams' recommendations and vote against Prop 2, Prop 4, and Prop 6, and for 1, 3, 5, and 7.  That's easy enough: yes on the odd-numbered ones, no on the evens.

Finally, with respect to the city's bond issues -- A ($1.01 billion to remediate HPD and city employee pensions), B ($159 million for new and existing police stations and firehouses and equipment) C ($104 million for parks, recreational facilities, bayous, and hike/bike trails), D ($109 million for facilities devoted to public health and wellness and sanitation and the like), and E ($123 million for libraries) -- I will not vote to spite this mayor, who has demonstrated a disturbing animosity toward the city's firefighters on several occasions, including preventing, indirectly or otherwise, their own pay raise proposition from appearing on this ballot.

That would be stooping to his level.  Vote 'for' the city's five bond proposals, despite the fact that they enrich the wealthiest bond lawyers in town, provide a convenient excuse to house more free military hardware for the cops (who have too much as it is), and build urban sanctuaries for inner city dwellers of the most comfortable, Caucasian persuasion while doing nothing for the least among us.

As an atheist, I would like to see more Christ-like conduct out of our city leaders -- not just the hypocrisy-riddled Republicans -- so if a cleaner, safer Houston with a few more places for children to play and read is the ever-so-slightly improved result of all this debt ... that's not a bad thing.

Update: The conservative opponents of the city bonds make their case at Texas Monitor, and unfortunately for Mayor Turner, et.al., it's persuasive.

The Weekly Wrangle

Some of the Texas Progressive Alliance are big baseball fans and some aren't, but all of us tip our caps to the Houston Astros, who delivered a thrilling victory over the New York Yankees in the American League championship's seventh game.  The Astros will face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, beginning tomorrow night.

Off the Kuff noted the plethora of Democratic Congressional candidates, and jobsanger cited Progress Texas for some charts that show Democrats gaining voters in Texas.

John Coby at Bay Area Houston weighed in on the money race in CD-7, and suggested a couple of candidates *cough*Cargas*cough* drop out.

Daniel Williams has a thorough explainer for the seven state constitutional amendments on your ballot in this fall's election.

All five former US presidents -- and Lady Gaga -- gathered in College Station for a benefit for hurricane relief efforts in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands, according to the Texas Tribune.

SocraticGadfly took note of the latest stupidity of Eddie Bernice Johnson, plus her history, and thinks she should stop running for Congress and needs a Green challenger if nothing else.

"The Eleven", a documentary about the hunt for the murderer of young women in Galveston County in the 70's, was previewed by PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.

Neil at All People Have Value reviewed important public art in Houston. APHV is part of NeilAquino.com.

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More Texas news and blog posts!

In Austin last Friday, Gus Bova of the Texas Observer reported that US Attorney General Jeff Sessions blasted undocumented immigrant "pedophiles",  "drug dealers", and "sanctuary cities", while protestors outside chanted, held signs that said 'Sanctuary for All' and laid a trampled Klansman's robe in front of Sessions' motorcade, which he drove over as he departed.

Better Texas Blog has concerns about our retirement savings shortfall, and calls for support of Prop 7, on the ballot in the ongoing elections.

Somervell County Salon posts a few logical fallacy resources.

A fight over Texas barbecue is smoldering in Austin, and PoliTex sees Ag Commissioner Sid Miller right in the middle of it.

Free Press Houston reported that a Pasadena metal band member was one of three Texans charged with attempted murder after a shot was fired at anti-Nazi protestors in Gainesville, Florida, where white nationalist Richard Spencer was speaking.

Pages of Victory declares that he is not a Russian bot after disclosing that much of his blog traffic comes from ... you guessed it.

And Leif Reigstad at The Daily Post noticed that Ted Cruz got doused with Dr. Pepper in a Senate hearing, and his response was something the Zodiac Killer would do.

Sunday "What We Signed Up For" Funnies

'The Eleven'

Recommended viewing.

Throughout the 1970s, the cities in and around Galveston County, Texas were haunted by the brutal murders of eleven teenage girls. Journalist Lise Olsen and retired police detective Fred Paige are revisiting these cases after discovering a confession letter from inmate Edward Harold Bell, who is currently serving a 70-year sentence for an unrelated murder. In his chilling confession, Bell describes some of the girls’ deaths in gruesome detail and refers to many of the victims by name. Yet in the investigators’ exclusive face-to-face interviews with Bell, he denies the written confession, proving that linking him to the 45-year-old murders will be a formidable challenge. With a parole hearing for Bell looming this fall, Olsen and Paige must try to piece together evidence that demonstrates a definitive link between the convicted killer and girls he calls ‘the eleven who went to heaven’ before he has the possibility to walk free.

Olsen has a more in-depth preview of the series at Texas Monthly. And you can watch last night's opening two-parter here.

The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance reminds you that there's an election coming up in a few weeks (and early voting begins next week).

Off the Kuff says that if giving a tax break to homeowners affected by natural disasters is a priority, the state should cover the cost of that tax break to counties and school districts.

SocraticGadfly looks at a couple of recent pieces by a business columnist at the Chronic, and wonders how many of them apply there and if that will ever be asked?

How about Texas Democrats ask Sylvester Turner to run for governor, PDiddie at Brains and Eggs helpfully suggested.

jobsanger posts eleven steps to a healthier (and fairer) US economy.

Grits for Breakfast knows that criticism of police unions is warranted, but disagrees with the proposed solutions.

Murray Polner at The Rag Blog shares a concise summary of his views on the Vietnam war, motivated by Ken Burns' documentary.

In the Texas Observer's Strangest State roundup, you can read about a cow in Kerrville that looks like KISS rocker Gene Simmons.

The Texas Energy Department's collation of news includes a reminder that Rick Perry is always good for a joke, especially when he's the butt of it.

Neil at All People Have Value attended the weekly Tuesday protest outside the Houston office of Senator John Cornyn.  Senator Cornyn is doing a bad job.  APHV is part of NeilAquino.com.

And the Lewisville Texan Journal shares the Mom of No's story about teaching the Son of Never Stops Eating how to speak up at a city council meeting.

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More Texas news and blog posts!

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram's PoliTex blog reports that over 6,000 inmates in the Texas Criminal Justice System pooled their commissary funds totaling nearly $54,000 and donated it to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.

The Rivard Report shares Ross Ramsey (of the Texas Tribune)'s analysis of bathrooms, business interests, and ballots.

The TexTrib also was first with the news that a federal judge ruled Greg Abbott violated the First Amendment when he ordered a mock Nativity scene removed from the Capitol two years ago.

Bonddad's most recent thought for Sunday regards the rule of gerontocracy.

Chris Ladd at Political Orphans asserts that Democrats will no more recognize -- or effectively oppose -- the rise of their own Trump than Republicans did.

Elizabeth Lewis at Burkablog believes we are misdiagnosing the cause of gun violence.

Better Texas Blog dives into the latest revenue estimate from the state's comptroller, Glenn Hegar.

The TSTA Blog laments the lack of role models at the top of our government.

Therese Odell at Foolish Watcher gamely explains what the First Amendment is.

Grant Brisbee at SB Nation isn't a Texan, but he truly gets what the Astros mean to the city of Houston at this moment.

And Harry Hamid has a tale about mutatis mutandis (if you need to look up the meaning -- like I did -- here you go).

Sunday Funnies

Scattershooting Ted Cruz

-- He may not get primaried from the Breitbart right, but he might get primaried from the right-wing Jesus freaks.  Such rich, creamy irony.  Backstory repeated for those who don't follow or recall these 2016 GOP machinations.

After losing the nomination to Donald Trump, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz delivered a speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention that was markedly unenthusiastic about the party’s presidential candidate. Cruz congratulated Trump on winning the nomination, but in over twenty-five minutes of speaking about conservative values he failed to endorse Trump for president. It was a gamble for the 2020 election. By the time Cruz reached the end of his speech, however, delegates booed and shouted, “Say his name!”

Cruz eventually endorsed Trump via a Facebook post two months later, but only after Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick hinted that he would find a primary opponent for Cruz if he didn’t. After the less-than-prime-time endorsement, Patrick, who was Trump’s Texas chairman, backed off.

Now it looks as if the speech might draw Cruz a potentially substantial opponent after all. Bruce K. Jacobson Jr., vice president of media for LIFE Outreach International and an aide to televangelist James Robison and his Life Today television network, told me that the convention speech has motivated him to seriously consider challenging Cruz in next year’s primary. Cruz had signed a pledge to support the party’s nominee, Jacobson said, but then didn’t follow through at the convention. “I’m concerned about anybody who doesn’t keep their word. I’ve very concerned about that. In Texas, when we give our word, it’s our word,” Jacobson said.

Brother Jacobson can't have been a Texas Republican for very long, or else he has a mote -- probably a beam -- in both eyes with respect to Texas Republicans keeping their word.

Although Jacobson declined to comment on his friendship with former Republican presidential candidates Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum, Republican blogger Erick Erickson claims they recruited Jacobson as payback to Cruz for defeating them in the Iowa presidential caucuses. “Cruz already has one establishment hack coming after him from the left within the GOP primary,” Erickson wrote in the post. “The guy is a lawyer who claims Cruz isn’t playing well with Mitch McConnell. Now we’re going to get this guy pretending to come at Cruz from the right. The media will love both so they can attack Cruz from all sides. But if I were Cruz, I’d be looking around thinking I’ve got attacks from left and from pretend right, so I must be doing something actually right.”

Yeahno, Erick.  There's more there about Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the link between her father and Trump that may be the conduit for payback, and Cruz's two announced-so-far challengers, but Jacobson would be a real problem for Lyin' Ted.  You'll need lots more popcorn if this develops, and you should bookmark RG Ratcliffe's posts as must-reads even if it doesn't.

Today I'll wager that Poop wins his primary by something on the order of 67%-75%.

-- The money race between Cruz and Beto O'Rourke is ... not quite even if you count COH (scroll to the bottom), but who cares besides the consultants Beto claims he's not hiring and Kuff and the consultants -- aspiring and incompetent and all in-between -- who read his blog?  Money isn't going to have a damn thing to do with who wins this race a year from now.

Beto has been journalistically fellated by Chris Hooks and Vox and several others of late, and they've dutifully used the trope "Texas is a non-voting state" as if this were breaking news.  My issues with O'Rourke are that he is of the "New Democrat/Blue Dog" variety, and both his efforts and his recent votes reflect that.  Being mousy in saying 'healthcare is a human right' isn't helping, either; believing that everybody needs to buy in and for-profit hospitals have to remain part of the 'Medicare for All' equation doesn't quite meet the definition of a human right, does it?  He seems to be fooling some people (again, scroll down) with this double talk, but he ain't foolin' me.  I simply can't vote for O'Rourke if he continues obfuscating on this issue.

YMMV, of course.

How about Sylvester Turner for governor?

He has a free shot, he knows both sides of the aisle in Austin (pretty well), and he can't get along with some of the usual Democratic constituencies in Houston.  Seems tailor-made for the job.

Simmering tensions and acrimony between Houston firefighters and Mayor Sylvester Turner have boiled over after the mayor erupted at firefighters who spurned him at two recent public events.

The most recent incident, which took place at a Houston Rockets game Thursday, prompted the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 341 to send Turner a letter warning him not to threaten the association's membership.

"Twice in the past week, you threatened firefighters that declined to engage with you in public settings," HPFFA President Marty Lancton wrote in a Friday letter sent to Turner and city council members. "We believe these confrontations violate state law. If they occur again, we will take appropriate action."

When asked about the incident, Turner said the firefighters had engaged in unprofessional and inappropriate behavior.

That's the pot calling the kettle you-know-what-color.  It's getting hard to tell who the mayor hates more: the firefighters or the homeless.

The tensions come amid a worsening relationship between firefighters – who campaigned extensively for Turner before his election in 2015 – and the mayor, particularly over recent moves to rein in looming pension obligations and what they see as the city's failure to bargain in good faith during contract negotiations.

"Firefighters deserve a good contract and a raise," said Gaylon Davenport, president of the Houston Black Firefighters Association. "They do a good job and everyone knows that. They deserve a raise and it hasn't happened and because of that it's toxic."

Why do these odd confrontations always happen at Rockets games?

Lancton said a fire inspector had been working at the Rockets game Thursday, which Turner was attending. The firefighter – who has been with the department for 15 years – saw the mayor approaching and tried to walk away.

"You don't walk away from me," he said Turner yelled, threatening to make sure he wouldn't be able to work security at the stadium in the future, and making him give his identification details to several cops working on his security detail.

"It's absolutely inappropriate from anyone in power to intimidate and aggress someone -- a classified member of the fire department -- when they're trying to diffuse a situation," Lancton said. "There are clear guidelines and laws, if someone felt someone was behaving inappropriately. There are ways to handle that situation."

Just days before, another firefighter had gotten crosswise with Turner at a National Night Out event in Gulfton, Lancton said.

After Turner spoke, he tried to speak to some firefighters also participating in the event, one of whom declined to shake his hand.

Turner apparently told the firefighter, "I'm still your boss," and stormed off, Lancton said.

Read on at the end of that piece where the mayor didn't have to call for backup from two Republican members of council.   Just a couple of weeks ago, Turner and a couple of Democratic CMs (prior confrontations blogged) quarreled again in too-personal fashion, this time about Harvey-related debris removal.  It's probably a good thing for his relationships with Paul Kubosh and Dave Martin and Brenda Stardig and Mike Knox, et. al., that the study on Confederate monuments got interrupted by the hurricane.

So Hizzoner seems like a bipartisan kinda guy, someone who can work well with conservatives and crack on Democrats when they don't show proper deference, or something.  For all the hard work Turner did and the goodwill built up during his crisis management in the aftermath of this year's 500- year storm, it sure seems as if he could spend that political capital more productively than in an unnecessary extension of a pissing contest with the city's firemen and women.  Why, he's even got fresh experience at forcing Greg Abbott to knuckle under, and that's kind of a big deal.

There are, after all, some difficult and expensive questions emerging that somebody down at Bagby will have to answer, and Turner won't be able to wield that tax hike cudgel twice.  And if the New Democrats running the TDP can't get Joe Straus or Joaquin Castro to run ... who better than Sly?

The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance cannot deny that it has also called Donald Trump a moron -- among other things -- as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff is glad to see that at least for now, your voter registration info is safe from the clutches of the Trump Commission.

Noah Horwitz, in the Houston Chronicle, asks why the flags shouldn't just be left at half-mast perpetually in this hellish new world of ours.  (And don't miss yesterday afternoon's Funny with the perfect toon tie-in.)

Cardinals fan SocraticGadfly salutes the success of the old NL Central rival Houston Astros, while offering a Redbirds post-mortem and to-do list, including wondering if Giancarlo Stanton is available and at what possible price.

Our Revolution swung through Austin, Houston, San Antonio, and Tyler with Nina Turner and Jim Hightower headlining, and PDiddie at Brains and Eggs cautioned the state's withered Democratic Party that their future lies there (and essentially nowhere else).  Update: The Progressive Wing posted Tweets and photos of the North Texas rally.

jobsanger has some sobering facts about guns in America.

Texas Vox applauds Austin for making solar power more accessible.

The Lewisville Texan Journal thinks that a nearby upscale neighborhood called Castle Hills might be a contender for Amazon's HQ2.

Neil at All People Have Value said the bottom line goal of his political activism is to be able to account for himself as we fight Trump and all these lousy people.  APHV is part of NeilAquino.com.

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More Lone Star blog posts and news!

In Texas Monthly's regular roundup of state political developments, Ken Paxton is under investigation again -- this time for bribery -- and the TexTrib sees Trump headed our way (Dallas, specifically) for a fundraiser near the end of this month.  (PoliTex says a photo with him will set you back 35 grand.)

Adventus fears that smaller communities damaged by Harvey will miss out on recovery funds.

Offcite looks at the lessons Houston can learn from suburbs that were designed with nature in mind.

Better Texas Blog insists that insurance coverage for contraception should be a health care standard.

Mean Green Cougar Red has had enough of the "search for answers" after every mass gun homicide.

The TSTA Blog compares and contrasts Don Willett and Thurgood Marshall.

In an era when 97% of of criminal cases end in a plea bargain, Grits for Breakfast wonders why an innocent person would accept one.

And the Rivard Report takes a *ahem* gander at how new laws regarding the ownership of chickens might reduce food insecurity in the Alamo City.

Sunday Afternoon 'Projectile Dysfunction' Funnies

Cowboy hat tip to Noah Horwitz ...