Thursday, April 14, 2022

The Political Stunt Express Wrangle from Far Left Texas


Let's do a duopoly politics update.  We have to start with Governor Border Crisis, because he's all the rage this week.


As has been the case for the past 25 years, the Republican goober's Democratic opponent is failing to capitalize on the mistakes and meanness of the incumbent.


Beto and his people are useless.  "Touring an empty warehouse" -- that'll really draw the cameras -- while Abbott bused asylum-seekers halfway across the country for a publicity ruse after creating miles-long truck traffic jams at border entries, aggravating the nation's inflation crisis.  The man in the wheelchair has yuge Trump energy.  (Clue: This is how you do it.  I predict a staff shakeup soon.)

Here's a polling round-up.  I see that Chuckles hasn't gotten to them yet, probably because he's busy with those community college candidate interviews and bicycle trail updates and scolding the media for noting Ted Cruz's latest culture skirmish.


BTW, regarding Cuellar...


Hidalgo is pushing back defiantly against the charges leveled against her staff.  (One more example for O'Rourke in how to fight back.)


But she and all the rest of Team Blue have enormous headwinds.


Not the least of which is Joe Biden's albatross around their necks.

One more thing before moving on: the story of Pee Bush's -- and by extension his family's -- pending political demise is officially overtold.  These fetishes by the state's media are reminiscent of the way they fawned over Matthew McConaughey last year, and before him the Castro brothers for numerous cycles.  Get over yourselves, starfuckers.  Even Texas Republicans don't care about the Bushes any more.  Once he's defeated, we'd all like to see you write about the people who are running for office who aren't corrupt, or pandering, or demonstrably ignorant and stupid.


Here's the environmental news.


And as typical, a lot of social injustice developments.  Guns up first.


I am in dire need of some pleasantry.

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Tuesday, April 12, 2022

"Bad Monday for your Favorite Texas Politico" Wrangle


A couple of extensive profiles of our self-loathing psychopath of a governor hit the social media airwaves yesterday.  Mimi Schwartz and Michelle Davis showed no mercy, just as Greg Abbott conducts his own life.


“There is a seething anger in him that reveals itself in really hateful ways against the weakest people."


I've been blogging about Abbott since David Van Os ran against him for the SCOTX in 2004.  These two long reads don't reveal anything new to me.  The worst part is that he's not in as much electoral hot water as the Harris County judge, unfortunately.


Kuffner finally had something to say about this case, but it was as little as he could get away with.  No real surprise there.

I'll return to Abbott's latest clusterf at the border momentarily.  This next article seems newsworthy for its reveal of the president's, shall we say, mental adeptness.


Himself?  Abbott?  Hey, wasn't Ted Cruz riding around with truckers in DC a couple of weeks ago? Probably too much to ask of our junior senator to step in and do something here.


After all, there's probably some book that must be banned from schools or a nervous, insecure child that needs to be bullied about their sexuality.


It's not as if Texas has any real problems that they've created while they sucked up to the extremists among the GOP primary voter base.


I feel increasingly less confident that we are going to be able to vote our way out of this morass.  Maybe it's just me.


I don't have any soothers or calm-me-downs today.  You're on your own.
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Monday, April 11, 2022

"Women Still Have Reproductive Rights in Texas" Wrangle


But they are hanging by a thread.  Let's begin with the political tweets from the weekend.


The arrest of Lizelle Herrera reverberated across the nation.  Not just because we all thought it was about Texas being, you know, but because the law enforcement officials in Starr County are all Democrats, including the DA, whose office would've -- under the usual procedure -- presented a charge of murder to a grand jury for indictment before suddenly deciding the law wasn't on his side.  There is a great deal more the public needs to know about this matter, and I suspect it is going to smell very bad.

RGV Democrats are in a world of hurt, it seems.


Greg Abbott's border fiasco is also being exposed.


It will be a pretty nifty trick if the governor can stifle commerce with America's largest trading partner, choking the supply lines and driving up inflation to new heights, and get away with blaming it on Biden.  I think the only real question is whether Democrats will let him.



Teddy Wilson explains how much worse it can get after Roe v Wade is overturned.  And with the postpourri from the TPA, Kuff notes that the state of Texas is seeking to do violence to the Voting Rights Act as it defends itself against multiple redistricting lawsuits. The San Antonio Report reports on the city's settlement of two "sanctuary cities" lawsuits filed by Ken Paxton.  The Texas Signal highlights Dan Patrick's obsession with Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law, and the TSTA Blog has some straight answers as to why there's a teacher shortage.

One more:


The environmental news still dominates the headlines (or at least it should).


SocraticGadfly took note of the new IPCC climate report, which (he interprets as saying; it doesn't actually say...) we're up shit creek and doubts either major party will take the actions needed to address this as a crisis (he gets this right).  And Texas 2036 announces the results of its poll about younger Texans' preference for electric vehicles.


I posted at length about the Cyber Rodeo, the splashy open house for Musk's GigaTexas factory east of Austin, on Friday.

A few social justice updates.


And closing today with the soothers.

Ahead of Scott Scheffler's victory at the Masters yesterday, Richard Justice wrote a profile of the UT alum who is professional golf's top player.

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Sunday, April 10, 2022

Sunday "Rabies on Capitol Hill" Funnies

"Accuse the other side of that which you are guilty".  -- Joseph Goebbels, paraphrased
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Friday, April 08, 2022

The Cyber Rodeo Wrangle from Far Left Texas


As I mentioned near the end of Tuesday's Climate Wrangle, whether America's foremost plutocrat and his latest Giga-venture is good for Texas and for the planet is to be judged at a later date.


Don't ever forget that it's always about the money, no matter how much they pile up.

And don't put COVID in your rearview mirror yet.


I have too many social injustice posts, and I'm including some cops and Republicans behaving badly among them.

It wasn't enough for John Cornyn and Ted Cruz to vote against the confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson; they -- along with nearly all of their fellow shitheels -- had to stage one last performance.


Supreme Court politics is the pettiest.


Last in this segment, from yesterday's TCEQ hearing regarding a permit for a small batch concrete plant in the Aldine neighborhood on Houston's north side (read the entire thread).


Now close your laptop and put your phone in your pocket and go touch some grass.  You have Fiesta in San Antonio, the Art Car Parade in Houston, and a hundred thousand other things to enjoy offline this weekend, all across this big beautiful state. Don't start any fires.

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Thursday, April 07, 2022

"Get on the Bus, Greg" Wrangle


There's forty-nine more ways to get rid of Governor Helen Wheels.


Yes, our state media is waking up to the manipulation.  Performative actions designed to manufacture outrage among the white conservative base is a page out of Dan Patrick's playbook.


Despite all of these stunts and the underlying hypocrisy, don't put your hopes on Beto no matter what that Texas Lyceum poll said.


I am sorry to report that Texas Democrats are going to fail you miserably this cycle.


Even Blue Dog Kuff broke the Eleventh Commandment on Vela. The latest epic fails of Harris County elected and appointed officials?  Not so much.


I'm so old I remember when Noriega was picked by Markos Moulitsas to be the Dems' candidate to post up against Cornyn in 2006.  He was still married to Melissa and just a lieutenant colonel in the Guard then.  So yeah, lotta things have changed.  Speaking of the troops:


I have a few more things to post about Abbott.


"This exact issue" could get Beto -- and Democrats who run strongly on it -- elected.  There are lots of Republicans and Libertarians who would vote for a Democrat who was out, loud, and proud about legalization.  Or decriminalization.  Or just advancing medical cannabis.  O'Rourke and others have voiced support, but IMHO it's their most important campaign plank.  More than the power grid, more than women's reproductive rights, more even than voting rights.  No single issue has the potential of swinging more votes their way than legalizing cannabis.

But it doesn't matter to me; I won't be voting for him anyway.


That's my segue to a few climate updates (since Tuesday).


I'll hold some of the social injustice tweets for tomorrow (they're unpleasant).  It will be another beautiful weekend across the state with lots of fun things to do outside, so go do some of them.  Today's Opening Day and I have baseball on my mind.  Here's a few blasts from the Astros' past.

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Tuesday, April 05, 2022

'Time is Runnin' Out' Climate Wrangle


How it started/How it's going:


"Give me all the bad news first, PDid."


That's not the entirety of the bad news.  How much time do we have (for me to tell you just a bit of the worst of it)?


Okay then.  Is there any hope?  Some good news, or suggestions for action?


I'm not convinced that the grand opening later this week of Giga Texas is all good news, but it's probably more good than bad.


And Socratic Gadfly definitely supports wilderness designation for most of Big Bend National Park with a few addenda and observations about that.

With that, I'll wrap this Wrangle with some scenes from the field trips of the SEJ conventioneers, who seemed enthralled and enchanted by the natural wonders of Southeast Texas.  Enjoy.

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Monday, April 04, 2022

The Social Justice/Injustice (and more) Wrangle


Let's begin with some of the events from the weekend just passed.


Kimberly Shappley also celebrated Transgender Day of Visibility, and The 19th reported on what TDoV meant for trans folks in Texas this year.


Counter-weighted unfortunately by the ongoing social injustices.


It's difficult to say whether Dr. Hotze's publicity stunts are a social injustice, the rantings of a lunatic, or just garden-variety demagoguery.  You decide.


One thing is clear, as Zach Despart points out ...


Here's another pathetic example of Houston Democrats' foibles playing right into the hands of the raging local conservatives.


Unforced error after error in a midterm cycle that will be dominated by Biden's and DC Dems' failures to accomplish significant relief for suffering Americans foreshadows an electoral shellacking in November.  No amount of demonizing the demons in the GOP will rescue them.


The latest IPCC report has dropped, so I'll have some tweets about that and the #SEJ2022 conference from over the weekend in a large environmental Wrangle tomorrow.  Right now I feel like I need a few calm-me-downs.

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Sunday, April 03, 2022

Sunday "Grand Orgy Party" Funnies

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