Friday, April 23, 2021

EOW Wrangle from Far Left Texas

A bit more than a month until Sine Die, and we're ready for this legislative session to be over.


Poor Garnet Coleman got gaslit.  Of course, so did all of the rest of us who thought Medicaid expansion had enough votes to pass.  I'ma go ahead and blame Dade Phelan.  You can't tell me he didn't lean on those turncoats.  In other Lege business, there were some good things that happened.


Sorry, bitches.  You're still the Ridiculous Party.  Sometimes, though, even the Donks can find a way to shit their bed a little faster.


I did a piece for Earth Day yesterday ICYMI, and the only party whose candidates will get my vote in 2022 without reservation.  The Greens are mobilizing from yesterday to May Day for their issues, local candidates this year, and statewides in 2022.



There has never been a greater urgency for their cause.  Please help by volunteering, donating, or just voting for them.


More election news, and then I'll get back to environmental updates.


Don't let the assholes win in Austin, y'all.  Because there's bigger assholes than Greg Abbott that want his job, and I'm not talking about Matthew McConaghey or Sid Miller.


Read this thread from John Arnold, the Enron billionaire and hedge fund operator, about how he sees the long-term financial prospects of fossil fuel companies changing.


Yesterday a new green project kicked off here in H-Town, and it has the support of the oil and gas companies, Rice University, and a few other corporate and national and local big shots.


Maybe this can be a good thing.  The trends are certainly promising


Some of these I'll take with a grain of salt, much as I do Joe Biden's promises, declarations, etc.


Yeah, I just had to get that in there.  Here's some social justice items.


And a couple of COVID updates.


Here's some developments on cannabis in Texas.  Perhaps drafting off the Green Party's "Earth Day to May Day" (above), Willie Nelson has declared this same period "holy".


I doubt that it's a coordinated campaign, but "Go Green" in whatever fashion suits you is a sentiment I can heartily endorse.


And in case that gave you the munchies, I have some links to share on the topic of La comida Mexicana.


I was turned down by eleven banks before I finally got a loan. Every loan officer I talked to told me the same thing: “Oh, we did a restaurant loan back in 1952 and we lost our ass. We’re never doing that again.” Finally the president of one bank did it because he liked me. He liked the ideas and thought it would be good for the bank—they had a lot of minority depositors but hadn’t made any minority loans. So I got an SBA loan for $100,000, plus I had $500 from selling all my musical instruments and equipment from the band I had been in. [...] I found a carpet place selling shag carpet pieces in different colors and we put those in the cantina. When tortilla chips fell on the carpet, we used garden rakes to get them out. Then we took the cardboard tubes from the carpet rolls, cut them in half lengthwise, and painted them to look like weathered Mexican roof tiles. [...] Mariano’s was the most expensive Mexican restaurant in Dallas when it opened. Customers would tell me, “When we go to El Chico or El Fenix, we take the kids and go early. When we go to Mariano’s, we get a babysitter, we have frozen margaritas in the cantina, an elegant dinner in the dining room, and then we go back to the cantina for flaming coffee or after-dinner drinks.” We helped break the image of cheap Mexican food in Dallas.


And some art and literature links to soothe for the weekend.


Here's an excerpt from Goodreads.

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Thursday, April 22, 2021

Earth Day and the Greens



Today's Climate Summit is being well-attended by global leaders and well-received in the corporate media, but like so many of Joe Biden's other initiatives, what he's offering is half a loaf.

And with respect to the climate crisis, we need everything in the bakery.


Platitudes R Them.  It's what Kamala brought to the ticket, it's what got Mayo Pete another job in government, and it's apparently what sustains the sycophants among the Donkey orthodoxy who are breathing easier, sleeping well, and brunching every weekend.  These compromises, like the $1400 stimmys, the still-not-enough $15 minimum wage killed by Joe Mansion and Kristen's Enema, the initiative to expand the Supreme Court that died at Nancy Pelosi's hand last week, and all the other things that would keep this sentence running on to infinity and beyond are leaving me with a very sour taste in my mouth again.

So I really didn't need to hear that Biden hasn't canceled the Enbridge #3 pipeline yet to know that there's a lot he'll give lip service to, but only so much he's willing to do.

Ed Markey and AOC have introduced Bernie Sanders' watered-down Green New Deal once more, to the expected huzzahs and hosannas.  They'll have to fight not only Pelosi and Schumer but MTG and Ted Cruz every step of the way, so it's performative, an art the Queen of Queens (and the Bronx) is burnishing of late.  Their highest hopes are by aiming low, maybe they can slip under the bar, much like old Joe himself.


I'm gonna take a hard pass on all of that.

Twenty twenty-two is the statewide cycle, which means that a whole bunch of Blue Dogs will try to show that they're not as bad as the TXGOP.  And our state media will focus on the Republican primary, because their self-fulfilling prophecy for about 30 years now has been that's the only election that matters.  Meanwhile the Permian farts methane like a small gaseous planet -- from fracking flares to uncapped, abandoned wells; the Amazon burns, our oceans are full of plastic and our air is full of carcinogens.  Does that sound like something we ought to keep doing?

If it is then you must be on the waiting list to buy a ticket on the first Elon Musk rocket flight outta here.  Good luck with that.

The pandemic, and the resulting economic slowdown, demonstrated that reducing our consumption of fossil fuels could heal the Earth.  But we're getting back to business now.  That's a death sentence.  Now a very wise man once said that repeating the same action and expecting a different result is a symptom of insanity.  So now you know why I will be voting for NO Democrats who don't indicate that they understand this simple logic.

In the case of Governor of Texas, the choice is easy.


David Collins interviewed her some time back, and she's got an active and engaged Tweet feed, so direct your questions there if you have any.

Don't expect her to get much publicity.  That's up to you and me, unless you think voting for a conservative Democrat again -- or Dishrag forbid, Matthew McConaghey -- and anticipating that person to defeat Greg Abbott is a smart idea.  (Hint: Abbott isn't going to lose a November election, no matter what that recent poll says.  If he gets upset in his primary, that Republican will win.  Which means Texas will have a farther-right-wing freak than him calling the shots.)

Even Rick Perry got re-elected running against another Republican and Kinky Friedman not so long ago.  And the other Republican, in this case, wasn't Chris Bell.  So you might as well vote for someone with some principles you believe in, as opposed to 'lesser evil', 'harm reduction', etc.  And maybe the Democrats will catch a clue and stop running GOP-Lite.

Maybe that last is too much of a stretch ...?
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Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Happy 420 and DogeCoin Day Round-Up from Far Left Texas

Celebrating your intoxicants and cryptocurrencies -- not to be confused with non-fungible tokens (although I can certainly see how that might happen) -- on this Taco Tuesday.


"Because the Dallas Morning News needs to sell papers and generate clicks for their website" is the answer to Charles' question.


The DMN Opinion writers have me blocked on Twitter because I've excoriated them so many times that their blisters have blisters.  They're the most conservative bunch in the state, but it appears they have finally become as revolted as everybody else at the extremism of the TXGOP.  And we all know the real problem: the TXDonks are unable to offer anything of substance to counter them.  This affirms my premise that the reason Texas has the worst Republicans in the world is because Texas Democrats are completely inept.


And like everyone else in state media -- and most everybody else in the blogosphere -- the DMN is a bunch of blinkered duopolists. (With Earth Day this week, I'm going to suggest the best alternative.  Stay tuned for that.)

There's a paucity of Tex Dems willing to take a shot at somebody next year, and so far they're mostly rich white men: Mike Collier, Joe Jaworski.  Judge Lina Hidalgo (probably) won't be running.  Beto just isn't sure what he wants to do next year, and that's as honest an answer as you'll get from him.  The Castro brothers are stale masa; they've been sitting out too long.  Waiting for the Latin@ vote to show up for Democrats has resulted in south Texas Latin@s turning into Republicans, as they got tired of waiting for the Dems to listen to their concerns.  And all the other secondary solar systems have recently burned out; Wendy Davis, MJ Hegar, Christine Ramirez, etc.


So the Snooze, bored to tears and with a bit of Confederate controversy at the moment, throws out a poll with Alrightx3 against Abbott, never mind polling's accuracy being at an all-time low, never mind messy complications like party affiliation or contrast in Matt Mac's policies (?!) or any other thing that citizens might actually consider when they vote.

And while it is certainly true that the citizenry gives a far smaller shit about policies these days than ever, what the Dallas News is executing here says far more about our democracy -- or our Republic, if you're picking nits -- than anyone would like to admit.

When we started writing our blogs 15 years ago, this parlor game of speculating on who might run in the next election was about the most interesting thing we did.  Today we do the spreadsheets and the investigating and the corporate media does the prognosticating and the simping.

In an effort to retain relevance in a world where they are increasing irrelevant, the stuffed shirts sitting around a conference room table in Big D are almost the last people I want selecting our politicians.  We don't need any W.R. Hearsts or Roger Aileses, Lone Star version.  End of rant.

Greg Abbott's gun buddy Ted Nugent caught COVID-19 (although I'm surprised he didn't catch 14, 15, 16, or 17.)  Matt Angle is being nicer than me.


John Cornyn stepped in his own shit again


Ted Cruz should just delete his account.


Catching up with Lege business: the Biden administration says the state can't use the waiver for Medicaid that the Trump admin gave them, so the choice is to either expand the program under the original (read: Obama) guidelines or do nothing.  Guess which of those Abbott/Patrick/Phelan will very likely choose?


I have to rant again.

It is Dade Phelan who does not want to expand Medicaid.  And it is Dade Phelan who appointed Briscoe Cain to head the committee to shepherd these voter suppression bills through the lower chamber.  Dade Phelan is the guy with the gavel standing by and watching as the House jams through these bills outlawing abortion, legalizing permitless carry, and making trans kids the object of scorn and hate.  And it will be Dade Phelan who will make sure that gerrymandering the Republicans in power for another decade happens.

If there are any Democrats in the Texas House who thought they were going to get a fair shake from this Speaker, wake TF up and start fighting back.  He's as bad as the other two of the Big 3.


Let me update 'cops behaving badly', or in this first case, "Fire chief caught with his pants down".


I'm sure he hopes the Politifact Texas crew doesn't score this 'pants on fire'.

This video below is graphic.  Use your discretion.


I have a lot more on this topic but I'll move on to the social justice headlines after posting Alexandra Samuels, late of the TexTrib, now for 538.


Okay, let me wrap with a few things that will make me -- and hopefully you -- feel calmer.


More local election news, the environmental and COVID updates I left out of here, and some other stuff tomorrow on Friday. Earth Day, and the Greens, on Thursday.
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Monday, April 19, 2021

The Monday Morning Wrangle from Far Left Texas


Lots to get to since I skipped the update at the end of last week.
How much time and space should I spend on documenting the atrocities associated with gun carnage just in Texas over the past few days?  Frankly it's too difficult to keep up with.  Perhaps I'll just point out that the bloodshed doesn't register with any members of the Lege that weren't previously concerned about it ... and that includes a handful of Democrats.


A reminder to Rep. Crockett that the open permitless carry bill passed with bipartisan support.

Two of the Democrats who voted for HB 1927 — Reps. Terry Canales of Edinburg and Ryan Guillen of Rio Grande City — were expected because they were already joint authors of the legislation. [...] The five other Democrats who backed the bill were Reps. Tracy King of Batesville, Harold Dutton of Houston, Eddie Morales Jr. of Eagle Pass, Richard PeΓ±a Raymond of Laredo and Leo Pacheco of San Antonio.

(The tally was 87-58, which is to say that it would have passed without any Ds voting for it.)

So it is accurate to describe this legislation -- and a host of additional bills on voting rights, womens' rights, transgender childrens' rights -- as the extreme conservative faction in Austin going for broke.


Most of the Texblogosphere remained focused on the bills that will reduce voter turnout in order for the Republicans to maintain their grip on power.  The rationales are still flimsy.


And the costs more significant than who retains control of the state.


Kuff analyzed the propagandist's advantage in pushing voting restriction.  Rep. Erin Zwiener reacted to the passage of anti-trans bill HB1399, while Rep. Gina Hinojosa answers Dan Patrick's questions about voter suppression in SB7.  And Reform Austin covered Rep. Briscoe Cain's history of supporting laws that reduce the vote.


Alluding to Rep. Zwiener's Tweet embedded above, the most compelling testimony under the Pink Dome last week came from a ten year-old girl.


Yvonne Marquez profiled the notable trans-activist Shappley in Texas Monthly.  And the Dallas Voice compared these legislators to a pack of schoolyard bullies.


More about our lawmakers making bad laws, as referenced above.


I'll do Greg Abbott's polling against Matthew McConaghey, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz acting like fools again, some environmental, COVID, and election-related and social justice news later.

Chandler Davidson, professor emeritus of Rice University and one of the nation's leading authorities on voting rights in relation to racial equality and social justice, passed away on April 10.


I join the Texas progressive bloggers and the many students he mentored in grieving the death of Jim Henley: teacher, debate coach, CD7 challenger to John Culberson, and former HCDE trustee.


More on the way.
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Sunday, April 18, 2021

Sunday "Anti-Faxxers" Funnies

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Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Taco Tuesday Bento Box Collation from Far Left Texas

Hungry?  Not on the keto diet?  This round-up of the best of the port side of the Texblogosphere has something for everyone.  *Updates throughout posted below.

Sorry that I have to begin again with Greg Abbott.


That's not paraphrasing him.  Here's the thing: he's not this stupid and there's no excuse for him being this ignorant.  And he's too adept at lying for this to be another put-on, just one more con of the science-resistant TXGOP base.  Rural Republicans who run cattle know all about herd immunity.  Was he too ashamed to mention out loud -- in all of the briefings he's sat through about COVID and vaccines -- that he didn't know what the term meant?  He couldn't have quietly asked someone who did know?  Luis Saenz, Mr. 'Honest Broker', where are you?

This is more in line with his usual.


Venal and catering to the worst instincts of Texas Republican primary voters is what we've come to expect from you, Governor.  You're slipping.  Besides, John Cornyn holds the crown for stupid Tweets, and you should let him keep it.


It's only Tuesday.  Gonna be a long week, especially if Dan Patrick keeps cranking out the hate.


Just when you think the conservatives in the Texas Lege have sunk as low as a catfish's belly in a sewer ditch ... they wiggle in deeper.


It's days like yesterday that I am glad that Saint Molly has gone on to her great reward and must no longer waste her beautiful mind considering the actions of these reprehensible guttersnipes.

Before I segue, let me point out one more Texas Republican behaving badly, and another whose sudden disability I should acknowledge.


West gets a pass here; he really doesn't know any better.  He's an immigrant from Florida.


Dan Crenshaw's almost-last Tweet before he was struck blind had to do with "progressive fascism" (sic), so I'll just wish the Congressman well with his upcoming retina surgery ... and an early, happy retirement from politics.  Eyesight or no, FOX News would have a collective orgasm live on The Five if you joined their stable of pundits, sir.  I hear there's an open national radio slot, daytime, for a prominent conservative demagogue as well.

I promised more Lege in yesterday's Wrangle so I must follow through.  The voting curtailment bills have been covered enough for the moment and the transgender discrimination legislation is simply too distasteful to mention beyond the above, so let's move down the ...um ... ledger.


"Today" in the above was actually last Friday.  Sports gamblers, it's time to mobilize.


Providing the assist from here to criminal and social justice news ...


Two thoughtful pieces here from Texas Monthly.


Meg O'Connor at The Appeal notes that the city of Austin is using money diverted from policing to fund substance use care.  Rachel Martin for NPR examined the lingering issue of hunger for many Texans one year into the COVID pandemic.  And CBP found two girls, ages 3 and 5, in a remote area of west Texas after smugglers dropped them from the top of a 14-foot high section of wall at the southern border.  They hope to reunite them with their mother, who is already in the US.


Some environmental news:


The second Harris County chemical plant fire in two weeks killed a worker in Crosby.  The first, an explosion in Channelview, is still under investigation as to what precisely caused the blaze.  And restart issues trouble the massive Total refinery in Port Arthur from Winter Storm Uri.  So as oil rises and frackers get back to work, expect prices at the gas pump, the grocery store, and for building materials like roofing and insulation that are petro manufacturing-dependent to keep going up, spurring that "inflation" scare word at the Fed.  If you know that the existing housing market in Texas is red hot for sellers now -- and if you know why that is -- then you can extrapolate that building materials of all kinds are hot commodities just because of renovations alone.  For that matter, even wood pulp is short, and that affects the price of everything from toilet paper to lumber.  All this demand translates to more immediate pollution here in southeast Texas, and more long-term deleterious effects to the planet.

One bright spot for our ecology.


This is still a politics blog, and while I am unenthusiastic about the early jockeying for statewide elections in 2022, I bring you the latest anyway.  Of more immediate interest will be the various municipal elections conducted this year around the state.


These days I find myself more interested in past history than current.


And that's my segue to the lighter side.


Still a few links left for later in the week.
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