(A)ny references to geopolitical causes or pleas for humanity were overshadowed by the blow that Will Smith landed on Chris Rock. It used to be that partisan statements triggered a bit of discord and division in the room; this time it was one of Rock’s crass jokes about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
None of this is okay. The #assault is not okay. “Jokes” about a medical condition is not okay. The inaction from security is not okay. #ToxicMasculinity is not okay.
— Capitalism & Colonialism Kill (@ResistInReality) March 28, 2022
What just happened?!? #Oscars2022 pic.twitter.com/PtpeZihK45
The segue to Texas relevance:
(Oscars co-host Wanda) Sykes later took aim at the wave of new voting restrictions when she presented a shredded piece of paper. “You like democracy? Here is a voter registration form for the state of Texas,” she said.
And with that ...
Also coming up: the Biden administration is suing Galveston County over its newly redrawn political maps, alleging the county has diluted Black and Hispanic voting strength. @HoustonChron's @jaspscherer has the latest: https://t.co/BJiWbJDs4T
— Texas Standard (@TexasStandard) March 25, 2022
Republican candidate for Texas AG @georgepbush launches website https://t.co/kGbJfA1ngr about the incumbent to “inform Texans of the rampant corruption of scandal-plagued Ken Paxton,” according to a press release. pic.twitter.com/Gz7efsxn7h
— Taylor Goldenstein (@taygoldenstein) March 25, 2022
And the Texas Observer would like the next land commissioner to forget the Alamo and focus on more important things.
The race for Governor of Texas is drawing a lot of national media attention but the media is completely ignorning the campaign of Green Party candidate @DelilahforTexas. We talk to Delilah about this & more on this week’s Unruly—which is out now on Callin. https://t.co/hzy6nxKOFo
— Ryan Knight ☭ (@ProudSocialist) March 25, 2022
Only the usual fail by our corporate state media. Here are the social injustice Tweets.
NEW: Texas is investigating two drug companies for alleged false advertising and "off-label" use of puberty blockers to treat transgender youth.
— 🌟 Lauren McGaughy (@lmcgaughy) March 24, 2022
One company said it doesn't market its drug for treating gender dysphoria but will cooperate. https://t.co/OFupCnzVt9 #txlege #LGBT
The Denton City Council has adopted a long-debated nondiscrimination ordinance that includes protections for LBGTQ+ people. Via @dallasnews https://t.co/zz5ye8OLef
— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) March 25, 2022
A guy on FB who opposes Austin ISD's efforts to ensure all families feel welcome, threatening "lynchings"
— Jessica Shortall🧂🥴 (@jessicashortall) March 24, 2022
This is what state leaders are unleashing on TX communities, or staying silent about.
Example upon example of turning Texan against Texan, just to win elections#txlege pic.twitter.com/34cXNlT7rx
“They’ve created a nefarious state enforcement system to punish brown and black immigrants. There’s real human suffering … as well as consequences to the border communities that are required to enforce it.” - @laurapena82, Beyond Borders Program Directorhttps://t.co/7Rz9fUf2Fs
— Texas Civil Rights Project (@TXCivilRights) March 24, 2022
And the legal and criminal injustice ones.
Chair @leachfortexas says 81 Texas House members - Republicans and Democrats - have signed onto a letter asking the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to spare the life of deathrow inmate #MelissaLucio
— Scott Braddock (@scottbraddock) March 24, 2022
"I have never seen a more troubling case," Leach said #txlege pic.twitter.com/nqbo9w72Ej
A San Marcos teen has been indicted on a federal hate crime charge for setting an Austin synagogue on fire last fall.
— Taylor Goldenstein (@taygoldenstein) March 24, 2022
He has autism and Tourette syndrome, and experts are assessing his mental competency, according to his attorney. (via @Katie_Statesman)https://t.co/OkjQyHJ7RH
Austin Police Department annual report shows a disproportional number of Black Austinites arrested and injured. https://t.co/uY06a5KFpI
— Austin Chronicle (@AustinChronicle) March 23, 2022
Under the Texas Controlled Substances Act, drug testing equipment is classified as drug paraphernalia which, you guessed it, makes it illegal for people to recreationally test.https://t.co/6tP6bU0FYe
— KXAN News (@KXAN_News) March 23, 2022
Council OKs new Houston police contract, despite calls for a more public process https://t.co/LEhqnBp9u1 via @houstonchron #hounews
— Matt Schwartz (@SchwartzChron) March 23, 2022
And some environmetal headlines.
Texas GOP's Patrick, Christian and Hegar claim to be conservative, but they behave like crony-capitalist thugs when they blacklist investment firms over #cleanenergy funds. https://t.co/CpLz3i28kA @HoustonChron #txlege #energytwitter
— ChrisTomlinson (@cltomlinson) March 23, 2022
By protecting oil and gas, Texas will cede its energy leadership to other states | Opinion https://t.co/jVtzVYQiA5
— Dallas Morning News (@dallasnews) March 25, 2022
⚡️ "Why the global oil market hinges on five U.S. counties" by @BBGVisualData https://t.co/6RHOGpxfts #TXLege #Permian What #ClimateCrisis?🤡
— Forever in debt to your priceless advice. (@PDiddie) March 24, 2022
What does climate change have to do with it?
— Erin Douglas (@erinmdouglas23) March 25, 2022
- Sept to Feb was 8th driest & 7th warmest such six-month period on record
- Increasing temps enhance drying
- Climate change increases variability of rain, meaning more rain when it does rain (creating fuel) https://t.co/46NLtyKOJM
Record high temperatures across Central Texas, along with gusty winds and dry brush, continue to fuel a fire north of Killeen. The Crittenburg Fire is an estimated 17,000 acres with 0% containment. https://t.co/Rhs1Qcbsuf
— WFAA (@wfaa) March 28, 2022
Jobs Are Scarce and Pollution Rampant as Oil And Gas Companies Along Texas Coast Automate Operations. https://t.co/6KJLJpdbLA
— Texas Observer (@TexasObserver) March 26, 2022
For years, raw sewage has overwhelmed the city’s aging wastewater infrastructure. Now, following a lawsuit brought by the EPA, the city is spending $725 million to clean up its act—a change that was needed ten years ago, says one city employee. https://t.co/joG9DeeNQ4
— Texas Monthly (@TexasMonthly) March 24, 2022
Joppa is a historical Black community in Dallas. It’s also one of the city’s most polluted neighborhoods.
— Sierra Club (@SierraClub) March 23, 2022
Community leaders have teamed up with researchers to study how air pollution is affecting people's health in Joppa: https://t.co/czgLnAePlG
Throughout the year, a small group of botanists and wildflower enthusiasts set out to collect seeds in an effort to save some of the rarest flora in the state. https://t.co/yYBVUQQYVP
— Texas Highways Magazine (@TexasHighways) March 23, 2022
It was unsettling to read about the upheaval at the Observer.
It's been several months, but some days I'm still sad about how the Texas Observer as I knew it disappeared over night. Many thanks to @naomiandu and @ObjectiveJrn for telling more of that story here: https://t.co/SftMZ6PO36
— Amal Ahmed (@amalahmed214) March 24, 2022
This review of a very disconcerting week -- not taking into account the developments in Ukraine, at the Supreme Court confirmation hearings, and essentially every direction in which you might have glanced -- requires a few extra soothers.
Galveston was once the Ellis Island of the South. But Jewish arrivals had to navigate a society marked by racial and religious politics. https://t.co/OmckNfCnb1
— Texas Monthly (@TexasMonthly) March 25, 2022
Richard Linklater recalls a childhood in space race-era Houston in his new Austin-made animation. https://t.co/5xtzXvZ62v
— Austin Chronicle (@AustinChronicle) March 24, 2022
LOOK AT THIS BEAUTY! New KHOU drone video shows the current state of the Memorial Park Land Bridge Tunnels.
— KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) March 23, 2022
The eastbound lanes open to vehicular traffic on March 28 after a ribbon-cutting ceremony. All lanes will open in April. #khou11
READ: https://t.co/P2XZ68VU0h pic.twitter.com/71EM4VP19U
Stumbled down a research rabbit hole: @librarycongress' original copy of Clifton Church's 1894 book "Dallas, Texas, Through a Camera." https://t.co/O3u1HzFEHO pic.twitter.com/iB93Vvv8V3
— Robert Wilonsky (@RobertWilonsky) March 25, 2022
