Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Frozen (but Thawing) Wrangle


This obviously is a monumental screw-up by the state of Texas, ERCOT, and the companies responsible for power generation in Texas. Why was demand not better anticipated? How are generating plants rated for cold weather production? The list of questions goes on and on. There is plenty of blame to go around, as it seems likely that people will lose their lives due to cold, or medical needs for electricity.

Be wary of those quick to scapegoat wind turbines or any single government official or political sides for this failure. This is a failure of the whole government and a lack of sensible regulation of electricity generators. We need to learn from this mistake so that it is not repeated. After our teeth stop chattering, of course.


Lots more, including the usual, to come today (as long as the juice stays on).
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Sunday, February 14, 2021

Sunday "Case Dismissed" Funnies



Nick Anderson, who founded Counterpoint, was interviewed by Houstonia Magazine about his cartooning career post-newspapers: "(A)rtists from all political leanings are providing takes on today’s biggest headlines as contributors. Of the 18 satirists, ten -- like Anderson -- saw their jobs cut. It’s too soon to know if Counterpoint will hit it big (at the moment it has more than 170,000 subscribers), but if it does this could be a way to ensure that his art form doesn’t just die out."

Please support their work if you possibly can.
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Tuesday, February 09, 2021

Extra Texas Left Wrangling



Lots happening; another impeachment trial, Neera Tanden's confirmation hearing, the Lege gaveling back in, and me with a pot full of links already, so here comes a second edition of the Wrangle.

First, a few updates since yesterday.  "Team Cruz" has been trending overnight.  If Ted wants to play like this, we got time.  Today, tomorrow, every day for the next four years.


And regarding other Texans Behaving Badly:


With respect to COVID-19:


I promised an update on environmental news, and it's going to intertwine with Houston business and Texas Democrats and Republicans in Washington.  Feel free to connect the dots.  Let's start with this news item.

-- Houston Energy Companies Lost Billions in 4th Quarter of 2020

ExxonMobil, which has its main campus in Houston, reported a stunning $20 billion in losses in the fourth quarter alone. Reuters reports it's the first time Exxon has posted an annual loss as a public company, and some investors are using it as an opportunity to push Exxon to focus on clean energy in hopes of boosting investor returns.

Houston-based ConocoPhillips lost more than $700 million in the fourth quarter for a total loss of $2.7 billion in 2020. BP, which also has its U.S. headquarters in Houston, reported a full-year loss of $5.7 billion, compared to $10 billion profit in 2019.

(Last) week the price of West Texas oil hit an 11-month high at just over $55 per barrel. For most of last year prices hovered at or below $40 a barrel. Many companies say they need around $50-60 per barrel to break even.

Oilprice.com reported the week before last that the frackers are gearing up again.  That reads to this dispassionate observer as the very definition of 'boom and bust'.  Put another way: "This juice might be worth the squeeze again; let's work this lemon some more before we move on".

But some things aren't coming back.

Lone Star Republicans are as dense as bedrock about the prospects for 'oil bidness as usual', but a handful of Texas Dems are no smarter.

Vicente Gonzalez of McAllen, Henry Cuellar of Laredo, Lizzie Pannill Fletcher of Houston and Marc Veasey of Fort Worth objected to the president’s order directing the secretary of the interior to halt new oil and gas leases on federal public lands and waters.


The very definition of pandering.

While our electeds can't see past their next campaign finance report, those of us who want to keep breathing clean air and drinking clean water will focus over the horizon.  Some oil companies are taking baby steps in the right direction.  And some residents of polluted fenceline communities are taking matters into their own hands.  There's just so much more that needs to be done.


That's my segue to some Lege business.  So if the Godniks won't let us gamble at the tables, is it possible they might allow sports books?


The announcement of the Sports Betting Alliance comes after the late Sheldon Adelson’s group, Las Vegas Sands, expanded their lobbying effort to legalize gaming in Texas. The Sands' push appears to want to work in tandem with the alliance to take the biggest shot to legalize both sports betting and gambling in Texas in recent memory.

Andy Abboud, senior vice president of government affairs for the Las Vegas Sands, told the Dallas Morning News, “We view sports wagering as a component of our efforts in bringing destination resorts to Texas and creating robust, long-term economic development and jobs for the state. We look forward to working in tandem with their coalition during the legislative session.”

Mark Cuban, billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks told the Morning News in an email, “I think it’s time ...it makes no sense for us to force Texans to go to neighboring states to gamble in casinos.”


Unlike casinos, there is a significant amonut of illegal bookie action going on everywhere -- online and off. It just makes sense ... but that usually doesn't move our legislators much.

I'll blog about the Movement for a People's Party and the Green Party, perhaps tomorrow and append some of my thoughts to David Collin's, along with a profile of the GPTX's gubernatorial candidate. Closing here today with some suggested fiction reading.

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Monday, February 08, 2021

SB LV Hangover Wrangle


Not inclined to go long this morning.  Let's open with COVID.  An update as this post was being prepared:


Texas will hit 40,000 deaths from the coronavirus today, according to Dr. Peter Hotez.  And while hospitalizations are declining, we're a long way from reaching herd immunity.


Here's a thread from Sema Hernandez about her recent experience with one of her children in Pasadena's (TX) school.


Before "Texans Behaving Badly", let's get to some of the news generated last week by Greg Abbott and Dade Phelan.  I made mention in last Friday's Roundup, but there's also been a few other takes posted that are worth your consideration.


Texas Freedom Network also has an analysis of Abbott's SotS and also how Speaker Phelan's committee chairs will conduct business. A sample:

Anti-abortion zealots like Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, and Rep. Stephanie Klick, R-Fort Worth, will turn their committees into parade grounds for legislation designed to ban the procedure entirely ... Rep. James Frank, R-Wichita Falls, will head the Human Services Committee, giving him another shot at passing legislation to turn religion into a license to discriminate against LGBTQ Texans.


We know Phelan is against many of the marijuana bills proposed; opposition to vice has long been enforced by the Texas TaliBaptist Caucus.  But who is it besides the church crowd that's blocking casino gambling in the Lone Star State?  Reform Austin suggests a few parties.

Entities with competing interests, namely other casinos, don’t want to see the Las Vegas Sands organization running the table.

First, there are tribal interests in Oklahoma and Texas. The Chickasaw Nation has spent over $350,000 to Strategic & Public Affairs Consulting lobbyist Daniel Hodge. (PD adds: Hodge was a longtime right-hand man to the governor before opening his shop.) The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma is paying between $25,000 and $49,999 for three lobbyists. Finally the Kickapoo Tribe in Texas is paying four lobbyists between $100,000 and $150,000 each this session.

Another possible opponent to the Las Vegas Sands expansion in Texas is Tilman Fertitta, who owns the Lake Charles casino The Golden Nugget. Seven lobbyists hired by his company, Landry’s Inc. are being paid from $10,000-$24,999 to $150,000-$199,999 a year (in disclosure forms).

These numbers pale in comparison to the up to $4.5M that the late Sheldon Adelson’s group has spent building up their army of 63 lobbyists.

Money chat is normally Kuff's beat, but I don't see much lately there regarding CFR, so note RA's piece on the top ten PACs in the state.  Only two -- the bottom two -- are affiliated with Democrats or progressives, though H-E-B grocer Charles Butt's PAC and the mega-law firm Greenberg Traurig gives to politicians of both political persuasions.  As best I know, much of GT's blue side fundraising and donating is still headed by the well-connected Roland Garcia.

And concluding our look at the Lege ...

Socratic Gadfly exposes the bogus claims of NRA Pander Bear Drew Springer.


At the top of the "TBB" this week: Ted Cruz.



"The left -- and some grifters on the right -- are consumed by partisan anger and rage," the (Cruz) spokesperson said via email. "Sen. Cruz will continue to work for 29 million Texans in the Senate."

No, he won't. Cruz works only for himself, his potential run for president in 2024, and in the meantime will vote 'no' on everything Biden does or nominates and get into Twitter spats on cultural topics.




The TexTrib via Progrexas has the story about the TXGOP staffer who was fired after he posted video from the DC riot.  (He had also spread around that fake Pizzagate conspiracy theory.)  Bud Kennedy at the FWST took note of the Parker County school trustee who advanced the "Stop the Steal" nonsense.

I will save environmental and social justice links for the week-ending Round-up.  Here's a few items to close out today.

You're running out of time, and places, to get your square fish, chicken and dumplings, jalapeno cornbread, and/or chocolate ice box pie.

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Sunday, February 07, 2021

Sunday QOP Funnies



Nick Anderson, who founded Counterpoint, was interviewed by Houstonia Magazine about his cartooning career post-newspapers: "(A)rtists from all political leanings are providing takes on today’s biggest headlines as contributors. Of the 18 satirists, ten -- like Anderson -- saw their jobs cut. It’s too soon to know if Counterpoint will hit it big (at the moment it has more than 170,000 subscribers), but if it does this could be a way to ensure that his art form doesn’t just die out."

Please support their work if you possibly can.
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Friday, February 05, 2021

EOW Lone Star Leftist Round-Up

Greg Abbott's state of delusion and Dade Phelan's wacky committee chair choices lead the loony tunes headlines going into Super Bowl weekend.

Your pal, Gov. Helen Wheels.

With many parts of Texas still besieged by huge COVID-19 caseloads, a bungled vaccination rollout, and an unemployment rate unseen since the Great Recession, Governor Greg Abbott chose to paint a much rosier picture in his State of the State address Monday.

“Texas remains the economic engine of America, the land of unmatched opportunity, and our comeback is already materializing. Texas has added new jobs for eight months in a row. ... Texans are returning to work. Students are returning to school. Families are re-establishing routines,” Abbott said.

“With each passing day of more vaccinations and increased immunity, normalcy is returning to Texas.” With his prologue about that pesky pandemic out of the way, Abbott went on to outline his political agenda for the 2021 session that consists largely of red meat for his party’s right-wing base.

The governor's so-called emergency items include election integrity, which are QAnon code words for voter suppression.

Abbott (AG Ken Paxton, and others) spent the weeks leading up to the 2020 election pushing back against every local attempt to make voting in a pandemic easier and safer, all while spreading misinformation about alleged "rampant voter fraud", so (this) is no surprise ...

Several Republican lawmakers have already introduced election bills that would further restrict the mail ballot system and increase criminal penalties for voter fraud. Last session, Senate Republicans passed an “election integrity” bill that would raise criminal penalties for certain election-related offenses; establish stricter rules for assisting disabled, elderly, or absentee voters; and altogether increase the likelihood that people who mistakenly violate election laws face criminal prosecution. As (the Texas Observer) reported then, voting rights advocates warned that the bill would “sharply escalate an ongoing campaign of voter suppression.” While the bill died in the House, Abbott wants that same bill to be a starting point for lawmakers this session.

Yesterday the new speaker of the Texas House made his selections of the heads of the chamber's working committees for the session.  To say there are some surprises understates it.


Cain, R-Deer Park, was one of several lawyers who volunteered for the Trump campaign’s failed effort to throw out the election results in Pennsylvania, traveling to Philadelphia and interviewing poll workers and watchers. He declined Thursday to say whether he believes the federal election results were legitimate, or that the Pennsylvania lawsuits were adequately vetted. ... Since then, the Houston-area lawmaker has filed three election-related bills in the House, two aimed at rooting out non-citizen voters and one proposing to increase criminal penalties on voters who list an incorrect home address.

[...]

“Texas already makes it harder to vote than any other state. Rep. Briscoe being put in charge of the Elections Committee is a clear signal that the politicians in charge intend to make it even harder,” Anthony Gutierrez, the head of Common Cause Texas, a non-partisan public-interest group, said in a statement. “We’ll be fighting to stop them at every step.”

In 2019, then-Texas Secretary of State David Whitley was forced to resign after his office attempted to purge tens of thousands of voters, few of whom were confirmed to be ineligible, and the Senate did not confirm his nomination. Under Cain’s proposed legislation, gathering data for similar purges would be required.

One last bit from there, for our edification.

A poll released this week by the University of Houston showed 83 percent Republicans in Texas believe there was widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, compared to 45 percent for the electorate overall.

As of (yesterday), all of Cain’s Twitter activity before Dec. 21 appeared to have been scrubbed, including a widely shared post from November sent on his way to Philadelphia. Asked about the apparently deleted tweets, he said, “News to me.”



Some things never change; this cartoon is from 2003.


Wieners: "Fresh blood", i.e. the new generation of right-wing freaks; Team Bonnen (a clap-back at Empower Texas, despite all the wingnuts at the committee helms), Dallas Republicans, and in the spirit of bipartisanship ... Democrats Victoria Neave and Harold Dutton.

Loosers: The old guard; the X-Men (the ten Lege Rethugs who garroted ex-Speaker Dennis Bonnen) and female members of the House, who got stiffed on chairs.

Bruised fee-fees, new alliances, an upended dynamic because of the pandemic, an assured special session on redistricting, where the long knives will come out ... fun!


I could go long again on Texans behaving badly, but that topic really exhausts me, so I'll save it for Monday's Wrangle.  A few social justice updates:


And scattered, mostly unrelated good news/bad news Tweets to close out.

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Monday, February 01, 2021

The Far Left Texas Weekly Wrangle



By gaveling in and out within minutes last week, the clown car that is our Texas Legislature is making obvious its plans to take the long way home this session.

To be fair, this is as much about the coronavirus ravaging us all as it is the wait for the redistricting gerrymandering numbers.

Block-level data needed for redistricting may not be available until after July 31 -- at least two months after the regular legislative session ends -- according to the latest timeline released by the U.S. Census Bureau. The delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have been exacerbated by the need to correct “irregularities” in the data.

More (granular, for you data nerds) from TXElects.  This early snail's pace is imposing another hardship on Lege staff.


There were five public hearings last week of the state Senate Subcommittee on Redistricting, all of them socially distanced and all covered by Reform Austin.  Here's their report from last Friday.  You have two opportunities this week, via ACLU Texas, to get a Zoom briefing that previews the session (if you need to catch up).  Here's that schedule.

Tuesday, February 2nd 2021, 6p-7:30p CST

Thursday, February 4th 2021, 6p-7:30p CST

Among the many items you can keep an eye out for:


Equality Texas warns of the forthcoming attack on trans kids.

The survey mentioned above (in ACLUTx's tweet) opened a few eyes.


Despite those approval ratings on legal weed (we already knew he was a pessimist on casino gambling), Speaker Dade Phelan is dour about its chances.


Perhaps one day Texas will elect representatives who will follow the will of the people.  That day appears to be a long way off.  Behold the stupidity as it relates to fossil fuels (refer back to the polling about fracking and coal mining above).

Four Texas Democrats in the U.S. House have come out against President Joe Biden’s executive order directing the secretary of the interior to halt new oil and gas leases on federal public lands and waters “to the extent possible.”

In a letter, Democratic Reps. Vicente Gonzalez of McAllen, Henry Cuellar of Laredo, Lizzie Pannill Fletcher of Houston and Marc Veasey of Fort Worth called Biden’s order “far-reaching” and demanded he rescind it, arguing that banning “responsible energy leasing” would eliminate jobs, decrease the country’s gross domestic product, increase crude imports from foreign countries and chip away at federal revenue, among other concerns.

In this piece, titled "Gov. Greg Abbott Vows To Fight Joe Biden’s Energy And Climate Agenda", even he is smart enough to acknowledge what these four damned Blue Dogs cannot.

Abbott acknowledged that in Texas, there is “either zero or close to zero” federal lands where drilling is done, so Biden’s order does not impact the state as much as it does New Mexico, for example.

Abbott is, naturally, overly suspicious that Biden “will be trying to take actions that will make it harder, more difficult and more costly” for oil and gas businesses in Texas.  Jeebus, I would hope so.  Loren Steffy for Texas Monthly timely observed that the oil industry didn't do so well under Trump.

While I'm here, let me drop in these links to more news on environmental topics.


As Earthworks blogger Sharon Wilson has written: flaring is (still) flamingly stupid, but unlit flaring is worse.  All yell: "How stupid is it"?


I won't have anything to say today about a possible Beto for governor run.  I already have my candidate. I also won't have any Trumpists 'Behaving Badly'.  Had enough of those for a lifetime.  (Still might be forced to update later in the week.)  Here's a couple of things regarding the pandemic.


Dos Centavos however had a successful Harris County vax portal registration.


There's my segue to the social justice -- and injustice -- updates.


Grits for Breakfast expresses cautious optimism about new Travis County DA Jose Garza.


With the lighter side items to wrap this Wrangle ...

Shari Biediger for the San Antonio Report writes about the death of the publisher of Castroville's newspaper, which has almost unraveled the entire community.  Jason Guerrasio for Insider spoke with Lizzie Gottlieb, whose father, Robert, and LBJ biographer Robert Caro are the focus of her documentary, 'Turn Every Page'.

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Sunday, January 31, 2021

Sunday "Party of Trump" Funnies

Please read this essay by Jack Reilly about the slow demise of political cartooning.  And support the craft if you can.
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Monday, January 25, 2021

The Weekly Wrangle from Far Left Texas



Anyone else worn out from these "Hold my beer" challenges between our Lone Star Coupks?


Paxton is leaving state government in less than two years.  One way or another.


Maybe Texas Republicans will police themselves, but I won't hold my breath.  I'd rather see the GOP, here and everywhere, cleave itself in two.


On the lower rungs of Lone Star deplorables:


Garret Miller of Richardson posted along with his selfies that he "just wanted to incriminate himself a little LOL".  Mission accomplished.

The yeoman's work of identifying the Texas insurrectionists came not from police but from local progressive activists, who've been dealing with these knobs in their communities for a long time.


Update:


"What is it about the pandemic that’s made people toss common sense in exchange for legalism?"


Bud Kennedy at the StartleGram reports on the Oathkeepers' ties to Fort Worth-area LEO.  Jenna Ryan, the Frisco realtor who demanded a pardon from Trump after her insurrection antics were well-documented on social media, said she rode on that private plane to DC "because of a cute guy".  Who got with another girl.  Sami Sparber for the San Antone Current wrote about the Texas-based anti-vax org that collected over $100,000 in PPP money last year.

Informed Consent Action Network was among five anti-vaccine groups that collectively received more than $850,000 in federal loans from the Paycheck Protection Program, the Washington Post reported ... The organization received $166,000 in May, according to founder Del Bigtree. [...] The Austin-based nonprofit has more than 43,000 followers on Facebook and regularly posts information questioning the safety of the coronavirus vaccines. Facebook and YouTube penalized Bigtree’s online anti-vaccine talk show last year for violating misinformation policies and downplaying the severity of the pandemic.

Lauren Drewes Daniels for the Observer blogged that Dallas County had sought an equitable vaccine distribution plan, and the state said 'nope'.  Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and BLM activists continue negotiations on a civilian police accountability board (why these discussions are moving so slowly I leave to your imagination.)

“My thought process is that we’re stagnated,” said Ashton P. Woods of Black Lives Matter Houston.

Woods, along with other community activists, have said they’ve worked for years to see some of the reform policies come into fruition and argues change can begin now.

“Many of the recommendations from this advisory council, much like others, looks like it’s collecting dust on the shelf,” Woods said.

There are positive developments.


Tricia Cortez at LareDOS took note of Trump's border wall ... hitting the wall.

There was an election over the weekend, and as expected two Republicans go to a runoff for the vacancy in the statehouse.  One is a wealthy business owner and one meets the governor's seal of approval.  TXElects:

Jacksboro attorney and Jacksboro ISD trustee David Spiller will face Nocona boot manufacturer Craig Carter in a runoff election to fill the unexpired House term of Sen. Drew Springer (R-Muenster).

The Texas Signal talks about a preliminary effort to create a pipeline of candidates for US attorneys and federal court judges.  Better late than never, I suppose.  This is a microcosm of the Donkey Party's ineptitude in one glance: a total failure to understand or wield power.  Why did DC Senate Democrats go into hibernation when Obama was president, failing to force a single judicial confirmation until Harry Reid finally sucked it up and eliminated the filibuster for those?  Why couldn't they figure out a way to stop Moscow Mitch from confirming a third of the Supreme Court and a fourth of the entire federal judiciary -- nominated by an impeached president -- over the past four years?  And for the past week, McConnell has again taught a master class in obstructionism even as Majority Leader Schumer extends his hand of cooperation and draws back a bloody stump?

To bring this point back home: how does the Texas Democratic Party have a Latino chairman for the past 8 years and lose counties in the RGV to Trump?!?

Something is deeply wrong, and it can't all be the fault of the worst Republicans in the country.  Maybe TexDems can just wait until, you know, demographics turn the tide for them.


See, by the time this saves their hides, the Gulf will be lapping at the state Capitol's south steps.

Here's a business news update.


As alternative fuels rise, carbon-based energy sources fall.


That doesn't stop Mr. Tesla from fighting for the right to drill for natgas near his launching pads in Boca Chica.


More snark, in keeping with this blog's motto (at the top, in case you forgot):


I'll call this next segment "end of an era".


Jeff Balke for the Houston Press sadly (at least for this blogger) detailed four things we will miss with the departure of George Springer to the Toronto Blue Jays.  And former Rockets owner and automobile titan Charlie Thomas passed away from COVID.

I have a handful of Texas music links.


Socratic Gadfly has Janis Joplin singing a Mercedes-based river for Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.  The Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences in Lubbock is now prepares to open in February (though with less fanfare than they had hoped).

(Rave On, the restaurant inside the Buddy Holly Hall, as it gets ready for its debut. 
Photo courtesy Justin Rex, Lubbock A-J)

And I'll wrap it today with these.

Lauren Hough tears apart an essay from a Californian who moved to "Austin" with absolutely no sense of geography, reality, or self-awareness.

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Sunday, January 24, 2021

Sunday "Biden Signs" Funnies



Please read this essay by Jack Reilly about the slow demise of political cartooning.  And support the craft if you can.
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