The Weekly Runoff Wrangle

In bringing you this week's blog post roundup, the Texas Progressive Alliance is dismayed that we must once again stand with Planned Parenthood as they come under fire, literally and figuratively.

Off the Kuff gave three more looks at the Houston electorate in 2015.

Socratic Gadfly is willing to go beyond Bernie Sanders and supports a selective use of corporate socialism.

The last Houston mayoral debate is scheduled for Saturday, December 5, and as early voting begins Wednesday, December 2nd, PDiddie at Brains an Eggs offered his P-Slate for the runoff.

Neil at All People Have Value took more pictures of Houston as part of making plain the value of everyday life. APHV is part of NeilAquino.com.

Dos Centavos praised the opening of Cafécollege Houston (which isn't a new cafe').

BlueDaze guest blogger Chuck “Gas Plant” Dickens, great-great-grand-nephew of the original author of A Tale of Two Cities, posts a 21st century version of the story... one which will give us gas.

jobsanger takes notice of the word politicians and the media won't use to describe the Robert Dears of America: Christian.

John Coby at Bay Area Houston checks his watch and reminds us that it's time for the GOP to scare the crap out of everyone again.

And CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme is irritated by the fact that Texas is still denying birth certificates to children of 'certain' US mothers.

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And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

The TSTA Blog thinks school funding trumps test score concerns.

The Makeshift Academic considers the state of Medicaid expansion in the wake of the Louisiana election, and The Quintessential Curmudgeon has more from across the Sabine, from the election of a Democratic governor to the mystery swirling around the fate of the head football coach at LSU.

Lize Burr interprets Greg Abbott's most recent bout of shameless base-pandering.

Texas Watch invites you to donate to important causes for #GivingTuesday.

The Lunch Tray has a Thanksgiving message about childhood hunger, and Beyond BONES relates a more complete history of Thanksgiving.

Michael Brick cheers as more offensive team nicknames bite the dust.

TransGriot reveals the Secret Trans Agenda.

Grits for Breakfast references a podcast from the Cato Institute that refers to Texas police unions using 'the playbook of Saul Alinsky'.

Prairie Weather wants to know if you'd let one of your children marry a Trump supporter.

TFN Insider wonders if a Texas state representative believes that the Colorado Planned Parenthood shootings were justified.

Last, Fascist Dyke Motors advises everyone to never meet their heroes.

Turner, King debate December 5

Via Mike McGuff, via teevee station press release:

KHOU 11, Houston Public Media and Free Press Houston are bringing Houston mayoral candidates Bill King and Sylvester Turner to the stage for HOU Decide: King vs. Turner, airing live at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5 on (the local CBS affiliate). 

The debate comes in the middle of the early voting period, which opens Wednesday, December 2 (typo corrected) and closes on Tuesday, December 8.  Election Day is Saturday, December 12.  Here's my preferred candidates in the runoff.

Sylvester Turner received 32 percent of the vote in November, while King received 24 percent. The debate will cover a variety of topics Houstonians care about, and the candidates will be challenged to also ask questions of each other. [...] The public is invited to submit their questions for consideration via social media using the hashtag #HOUDecide starting now.

No polling for the mayoral runoff that I have seen yet.

In addition to airing on KHOU 11, the debate will broadcast live on News 88.7 at 7 p.m. Dec. 5. The debate may be viewed on KHOU.com, houstonpublicmedia.org and freepresshouston.com, as well as each partner’s social media pages. A rebroadcast of the debate will air on Houston Public Media TV 8 at 9 p.m. Dec. 6. 

This group of media outlets, with many of the same moderators, sponsored the last mayoral forum before the general election and did a reasonably good job, especially in their follow-up reporting.

A low turnout favors the GOP-connected candidates, so if you really want a Merry Christmas and a Happy New (Four) Year(s), you'll make time in between football and shopping and Christmas decorating and cooking for a quick trip to the polls.

Leftover Turkey Toons

Aldous Huxley vs. George Orwell: Who got it right?

And perhaps both of them got it right.  You know... market-based totalitarianism.  Here's more if you want to dive a little deeper.  It's lengthy, so be mindful of your 'almost infinite appetite for distractions'.