The Christmas Eve Eve Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance wishes its readers a very Merry Christmas. Here's the roundup of blog posts from TPA members as we prepare to celebrate the holiday with friends and family.

Off the Kuff wants to know why no one is taking responsibility for enforcing voting rights in Texas.

Eye On Williamson digs deeper into how the Democrats in Texas must move the policy discussion back to the left, so it can get to where it needs to be. More on Democratic message strategy in Texas in The Overton Window.

After the blogosphere's sudden realization that next year's Houston City Council will have just two female members, Texas Leftist decided it was time for a more in-depth look at diversity in the Bayou City's municipal government, with some invaluable help from Charles Kuffner. And surprisingly, we're not as diverse as we appear to be.

"What the Duck?!" asked PDiddie at Brains and Eggs. The reality show quacks opened a new front in the culture wars, and just in time for Christmas! While everyone quarreled about it on Facebook and Twitter, the US Senate quietly re-authorized the federal government to continue detaining Americans indefinitely. The real outrages again get supplanted by the fake ones, as the USA! USA! hurtles toward Idiocracy.

The Republican war on women continues with voter ID cards. Who wouldn't love to see their ex-husband's name branded on their voter ID. CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants to you imagine the horror.

Neil at All People Have Value said resistance to a wicked culture is an everyday thing and is hopeful.  All People Have Value is part of NeilAquino.com.

Texpatriate releases a list of Best and Worst members of the Houston City Council.

And here's some more of the best of the left of Texas from last week.

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Progress Texas released their Ten Best List, and Bay Area Houston posts his Christmas Wish List.

The Salon of Somervell County notices that Obama and the Democrats in Washington are moving on immigration reform.

Socratic Gadfly observed that Rick Perry crony Phil Wilson, the former head of TXDoT, got appointed to another post in the final year of the Goodhair administration.

This payday lending post is for you, Greg Abbott, says nonsequiteuse.

New Media Texas has Beyonce's Guide to Increasing Civic Engagement.

And finally, the TFN Insider has 2013's War on Science year in quotes.

Sunday Holiday Funnies

I pity the fool who shows this to Megyn Kelly.

While you were quarreling about Duck Dynasty, the Senate passed NDAA

It still includes the indefinite-detention-for-Americans provision, and omits Sen. Gillibrand's clause on prosecutions of military sexual assaults.

Yesterday the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act was fast-tracked through the Senate, with no time for discussion or amendments. And you know, it's Christmastime, so they just passed it so that they could recess for the holidays. The new version of the NDAA has already been quietly passed by the House of Representatives.

It authorizes massive spending, including $527 billion in base defense spending for the current fiscal year, funding for the war in Afghanistan, and funding for nuclear weapons programs.

The indefinite detention allowed by the original NDAA is still there, and it’s actually worse now, because there are provisions that will make it easier for the government to target those who disagree. Section 1071 outlines the creation of the “Conflict Records Research Center”, where the unconstitutionally obtained information that the NSA has collected is compiled and shared with the Department of Defense. The information, called in the wording “captured records,” can be anything from your phone records, emails, browsing history or posts on social media sites.

I see on my Facebook wall this morning that people are still staking claims to righteousness, for and against the Duck Commander and his God-fearing brood.

Personally, I have had my fill of that "controversy".  If Americans left and right cannot pull their heads out of their asses and start talking -- and doing something -- about the things that will make an actual difference in their lives, then there's no hope for this nation.

None.  It's only Idiocracy that lies ahead.

Texas Greens release full 2014 candidate list

The statewide top-of-the-ballot was previously revealed; this latest list contains statewide judicials and downballot Congressional and local races.  A press release is forthcoming, but for now the spreadsheet has the names, offices, and contact data.  Some of the highlights...

-- As surmised, the Greens filed for three statewide judicial slots left unfilled by the Texas Democratic Party. Those are...

• Jim Chisholm of Houston, for Justice of the Texas Supreme Court, Place 8.
• Judith Sanders-Castro of San Antonio, for Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 4.
• George Joseph Altgelt of Laredo, for Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 9.

In addition, Charles E. Waterbury of Dallas is running for Place 7 on the Texas Supreme Court.  Waterbury and Chisholm stood for office in 2012; I wrote about them both, and those SCOTX races, in this post.

-- The Congressional Greens include -- as I was tipped -- Remington Alessi, who is challenging Sheila Jackson Lee in CD-18.  (Jackson-Lee has also drawn a repeat Democratic  primary foe.  Update: He's not actually a Democrat, which you can verify if you click that link and listen to him being interviewed by Michael Berry.)  Mark Roberts will again run against Ted Poe in CD-2.  George Reiter, the co-chair of the Harris County Green Party and a UH professor (he also has a radio show on KPFT) will take on Congressman Al Green.  Don Cook, fresh off his bid for Houston mayor, submits his name in CD-13, where the incumbent Mac Thornberry has two Republican primary challengers, and then a Democrat and a Libertarian in the fall of 2014.  And kat swift of San Antonio, the GPTX's matriarch, filed against Lloyd Doggett in CD-35.  The Greens will also have a candidate in the race to replace Steve Stockman in CD-36; he is Hal J. Ridley Jr. of Bridge City.

-- Austin legislative candidates include, for District 10 of the Texas state Senate (the one being vacated by Wendy Davis), John Tunmire of Fort Worth.  David Courtney, the husband of the Green Party's lieutenant governor nominee, will run once more against Joan Huffman in SD-17.

State representative challengers are eight in number across the state and include Art Browning, again challenging Republican Allen Fletcher  in HD-130, and Morgan Bradford, the only opponent to Rep. Borris Miles in HD-146.

-- There are four Green candidates for County Judge across the state: David Collins in Harris (Ed Emmett, incumbent), Paul Pipkin in Bexar (Nelson Wolff, inc.); Jeff Questad in Travis (Samuel Biscoe, inc., retiring) and Frank Cortez in Webb (Danny Valdez, inc.).

There are also four Greens running for County Clerk: Earl Lyons in Bexar (Gerry Rickhoff, incumbent); Bill Stout in Travis (Dana DeBeauvoir, inc.); Matthew Hanson in Comal (Joy Streater, inc.); and Schyler Butler in Denton (Cynthia Mitchell, inc.).

-- Houston attorney Clint Davidson is a candidate for for Harris County Court of Criminal Law #13.  He has a blog titled "Trouble is My Business".

-- All of the 51 Texas Green Party candidates on the 2014 ballot can be found here.