Monday, September 06, 2021

The Labor Day Wrangle



AUSTIN — All over America this weekend, people will be celebrating the achievements and advancements in society made by the labor movement. While some whose politics fall on the right side of the spectrum may only choose to use it an excuse to grill meats and drink beers, the truth is that Labor Day is all about celebrating unions and things like paid vacations, a forty-hour work week, and the minimum wage, all secured by the efforts of the labor movement.

In the Lone Star State however, a new executive order signed by Gov. Greg Abbott (Q-Gilead) means that Texans will be celebrating something else this weekend.

“With the stroke of this pen, I hereby designate this weekend as Forced Labor Day Weekend,” Abbott said as he signed the order. “We will gather together and honor the teenage rape victims who are forced by law to carry their stepdaddy’s baby to full term. We will celebrate the fact that here in Texas, we value every single life. Until it’s born, and then literally fuck off.”

Parades will be held in various cities and locales, Abbott announced.


In his new book, Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America, New Yorker writer Eyal Press profiles the workers we won't see politicians sidling up to for photo ops this Labor Day. He writes about drone operators, prison guards, poultry plant workers, and oil riggers. They do our dirty work and, as Press shows, they pay a price for it.

Flor Martinez, a Texas poultry plant worker, devours painkillers at the end of her grueling shifts. Stephen Stone's dangerous job on the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon drilling rig puts him in the way of a massive explosion that almost cost him his life. But Press is most interested in documenting a kind of hazard that is not typically accounted for in government safety reports: what he calls "moral injury." He borrows the term from military psychologists. It describes the impact of having to carry out tasks that violate a person's core sense of self.

Those psychic injuries can take a physical toll. Harriet Krzykowski, a mental health counselor, is so traumatized by the moral compromises her harrowing prison job entails that her hair begins to fall out in clumps. An analyst with the military's drone program suffers headaches, night chills and joint pain. Press' project is to ensure that a complacent public — those of us who consider ourselves at a remove from the jobs he describes — takes responsibility for our part in creating the conditions that allow "dirty work" to occur.


Praise the few victories and the fighters.


And prepare for the battle ahead.

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Sunday, September 05, 2021

Sunday "Texas Hold 'em Down" Funnies

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Saturday, September 04, 2021

87(3): Redistricting, aka gerrymandering


Slated, but perhaps not to be.


Scott Braddock quotes the relevant passage from the state's constitution, and Alexa Ura reports that the 5th Circuit has already appointed a three-judge panel -- one Reagan appointee, one Obama, and one Trump -- to hear the case.

Don't be surprised by the eventual lede: "In a 2-1 decision ..."  Also from Braddock:


Redistricting was done in 2003 in special session after now-Senate Dean John Whitmire reglued that year's Democratic quorum break by coming back from Oklahoma.  In 2011 the process also began in special session after the 2010 census data came in (thanks, Ballotpedia) and litigation continued through 2014.

So this seems like a novel legal argument.  I would think that precedent would be of considerable weight to the judges at every level where the case receives a hearing (though IANAL, and predicting court decisions in this arena is a bigger fool's errand than usual).  So like you, I'll watch and wait and see what happens.

Probably over the next few years.
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Friday, September 03, 2021

Deep in The Heart of Gilead


Perhaps I should start at the beginning.


I hate to burst Michelle's bubble, but electing more Democrats is simply not going to fix this problem, especially now that it's metastized to this point.


And here is where it all went off the rails for orthodox Democrats.


I just wish they could focus on their real enemies.


The topic is so tired but shitlibs are so stupid.  I can never again be in a political party full of people completely unwilling to own their failures, and worse, do absolutely nothing about them.


Let me be fair; there are lots of people ready to make good trouble and break this law.


And on that note, I'll wrap here with the cartoons.

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The Sine MF'n Die Wrangle from Far Left Texas


The carnage will continue -- redistricting lies ahead -- sometime after the long weekend, subject to Governor Helen Wheels' next summons.


And TXElects, with a spot of good news (subject to the call in the third special session).

SB 97 by Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) would have required various “audits” and “reviews” of, and “explanations” from, county election officials. It passed the Senate today on a 17-14 vote but did not make it over to the House for further action. At least one Republican voted against it.

It's apropos that statehouse Dems managed to screw up one last time before the end came.


Recriminations both accurately and falsely ascribed with respect to the origins of SB8 are still circulating, so I'll post that separately.  Let's survey the rest of the damage left behind by Hurricane IDontGiveaDamn, aka the Texas GOP.

ICYMI ...


And the bail reform bill got a lot of concerned attention from the people whose opinions I respect on criminal justice issues.


Ross Ramsey of the TexTrib and Matt Davies of Newsday, in cartoon form, provide the summary of the week's events.


I'll also address the coming redistricting fight already under way in a forthcoming post.  Lots more ahead, so I'll close with some laugh-to-keep-from-crying.

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Monday, August 30, 2021

The Nearly-Finished Special Session Wrangle


We'll all be glad when it's over.  But it ain't over.


W/r/t SB1, it was NOT always to be, as some who would excuse Texas Democrats' collective failure choose to spin.


Playing the race card just doesn't get you very far when Dan Patrick is the dealer.  Once upon a time we lived in a country where saying things like this forced an elected official to resign in disgrace.  I did not see one single person call for the lite guv to step down, which tells you how far he and his ilk in Austin have moved the Overton window.


Meanwhile there were more marches for voting rights over the weekend.


Some of you are free to keep hope alive.


I've seen this show before.  I know how it ends.


On to the rest.


Here I'll clean out my old bookmarks with some news items that have aged but are no less relevant.

-- From The Militant:

John Henry Ramirez is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville Sept. 8, the third execution there this year.

Ramirez filed a federal suit Aug. 10 after prison officials denied his request to have his pastor, Dana Moore of the Second Baptist Church, pray with him in the death chamber and lay hands on him as he dies. Ramirez’s attorney filed for his execution to be postponed while the issue is litigated.

-- Fake Texas Temporary Car Tags Linked to Crimes as Far Away as New York

A recent FBI investigation found more than a half-million fraudulent paper tags were sold by just three people to buyers across the country.  [...]  And that’s not the only way to get fake tags.

In May, an FBI investigation found three people in Houston set up "fraudulent and fictitious" used car dealerships -- and got more than 500,000 tags from the DMV that appeared legitimate to any police officer.

-- Texas town torn by racial rift subject of new NBC podcast

The deep-dive, six-part podcast about Southlake, the upscale suburb of around 31,000 people 25 miles northeast of Fort Worth, begins streaming on Aug. 30.

-- Does Houston really want to lead the energy transition, or is this more greenwashing by Big Oil?

Winding down here with some less aggravating pieces.

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Sunday, August 29, 2021

Sunday FDA Funnies

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Saturday, August 28, 2021

Jeffrey L. Dorrell, March 25, 1955 – August 23, 2021


My brother, may he rest in peace.

Jeffrey Lee Dorrell was born on March 25, 1955 in Beaumont, Texas, the first of four children of Earl and Jean Dorrell. Jeff began school at Averill Elementary in Beaumont. The family moved to Vidor where Jeff attended junior high and high school, graduating as salutatorian of his class in 1973. During high school Jeff served as a Congressional page to U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson, which spurred an affinity for politics and the law. Jeff attended the University of Texas in Austin, was an active member of the Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity, and graduated with honors with a B.A. in Business Management in 1977.

Jeff started work after college with the Conoco Oil Company in Midland, quickly learning the Texas oil and natural gas business. He soon moved to Houston and worked for the Coastal States O&G Corp. and the infamous Oscar Wyatt. After several years with Coastal, Jeff started his own oil company, Fortis International, regularly trading oil and natural gas with companies across Texas and the world.

In 1994, Jeff sold his company and followed his dream to attend law school. He graduated from the University of Houston Law School and would practice law the rest of his life. He worked for several law firms including Dorrell & Farris, LP with his close friend David Farris; Escamilla, Poneck, and Cruz; and most recently was a partner at Hanszen Laporte.

The highlight of his law career was arguing, and winning, a lawsuit before the US Supreme Court. In Jeff’s own words: “Lawyers dream of having a case at the Supreme Court. In 2015, the Court agreed to hear Husky International Electronics v. Ritz -- which I had managed to lose three times in lower courts. On May 16, 2016, 7 of the 8 Justices agreed with me that fraudulently transferring assets to avoid paying creditors is wrong. Fortunately, I can be just a bit stubborn.”

Jeff stayed very active in the LGBTQ and PRIDE communities and formed lifelong friendships with many wonderful, caring people. He traveled, vacationed, and socialized with many close friends.

Jeff was a confident, driven, personable, competitive, fun-loving individual his entire life with a deep affection for his dogs. He worked hard, played hard, and lived life to the fullest. Jeff would not want anyone to feel sorry for him in any way but to remember the fun times with him fondly, warmly, and affectionately.

Jeff is survived by his partner, Mike Centeno; his mother, Jean Dorrell, brothers Perry (Sue) and James (Pam), sister Jean Ann (Dan), nieces Jessica Morgan (Josh), Ashley Hargrove (Grayson), and nephew Chris Dorrell (Maggie), and many cousins and grand-nieces and nephews.

Special thanks go to Julie Devlin and David Farris for lovingly providing care and support to Jeff during these last few months. Their devotion and dedication was heartfelt and genuine. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to any charity Jeff supported, including the Houston Food Bank or K-9 Angels Rescue.

And thank you all for your friendship, love, and support of Jeff. A celebration of his life is being planned in Houston for later this fall and details will be shared as they are available.

A shorter version of this obituary also appears in today's Houston Chronicle.
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Thursday, August 26, 2021

Voter Suppression Day Wrangle *update


Update 2 (8/27):


Hold the phone ...


I'll check back in tomorrow evening (with a fresh post).

Update 1:


Original post:


Follow the action at the #TXLege hashtag or in my Tweet feed at the top right. In other news ...


Yes, the very bad is upon us, with the worst to come.


On this travesty, there is considerable pushback.


Others, not so much.  And new dangers loom.


With a few political updates:


Dowd would be primarying Mike Collier if he takes the leap; another Republican turned Democrat.  Moldy Caucasian conservatives are about all Texas Dems are good for any longer, I guess.

Here's the latest from the southern border.


Beginning my segment on the environment with an anniversary.


With a new storm brewing and taking aim at the Texas/Louisiana Gulf Coast, keep in mind that personal responsibility is all you can count on in our headlong rush to "freedumb".  Take all necessary precautions now.


COVID, and then criminal justice news.


A union update:


And two calm-me-downs.

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