Sunday, November 15, 2020
Sunday "Prognitive Dissonance" Funnies
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Thursday, November 12, 2020
More Texas Left Wrangling
⚡️ “How Democrats lost so many South Texas Latinos” by @WSJ https://t.co/p63Ba4Ebec #TXLege #TX2020 #Elections2020 #ElectionResults2020 #RGV
— Forever in debt to your priceless advice. (@PDiddie) November 11, 2020
And a bit more from other sources, collated.
You should read everything on Latino voters but particularly those from other Texas-based journalists:
— Arelis R. Hernández (@arelisrhdz) November 10, 2020
Dallas Morning News: https://t.co/Ck2oxVhUaA
McAllen Monitor: https://t.co/vAX70t0lpS
WSJ’s @efindell: https://t.co/mAXo0bfjDE
From @ceciliaballi https://t.co/1LBw91V6MH https://t.co/7R2z1ZdBrZ
And before moving on, the snark.
Say it louder for los pendejos in the governors mansion. #RGV https://t.co/JkOyHOqyvy pic.twitter.com/7GYwyIxcdQ
— Antonio Arellano (@AntonioArellano) November 11, 2020
We're Number One Million (and more, by now). Take a bow, Governor.
3/ The pandemic strategy here has mirrored Texas’ individualistic approach to health care: Each person for themselves. Wait for crises to crop up instead of taking steps to prevent them. Cut assistance at the first sign it’s helping.https://t.co/awElajkG1x
— Texas Observer (@TexasObserver) November 11, 2020
You can read the Tweets before and after that one to get the full picture, but the one person that needs to be held accountable is Greg Abbott.
Considering all of the mistakes of Texas Democrats exposed in the election just concluded, that will be a tall task. Still no reason to leave defining the narrative to the likes of Mark Jones. Twenty twenty-two is going to present a different battlefield, but some things never change: Republicans will run against the status quo (Joe Biden) and Democrats ...? Well, they should as well, obviously (Abbott, Dan Patrick, Ken Paxton, and all of rest of the corrupt and incompetent Republican leadership in Austin).
The scandals swirling around the state's attorney general -- that he has forced out all the whistleblowers in his office, that he sent an armed guard to intimidate them prior to that, that he had an affair with a woman hired by his donor, whose home and office was raided by the FBI, all while he remains under indictment on securities fraud charges -- are enough to turn a mouldering Richard Nixon into a different shade of green (envy). That the likes of George Pee Bush is already angling to take his job tells you exactly what Texas Republicans are.
With the elections mostly settled -- one seat in the state Senate will be resolved in five weeks -- and the Speaker's contest over before it started, and revenue shortfalls projected due to the pandemic, the Lege has enormous issues to address. Monday was the first day for legislators to file bills, and the dais is loaded already.
As pre-filing of bills begins, Texas legislators focus on emergency powers of the governor, police reform, abortion, and more
Lawmakers came out swinging on their first day of pre-filing for the 87th legislative session, filing bills on Medicaid expansion, COVID-19 death benefits for first responders, and shell bills for the state’s redistricting plans.
As of mid-afternoon, #txlege watcher Tanner Long –- who charts these things in detail –- was hinting the 87th legislature was closing in on the all-time high for first-day filings set during the 85th session: 525 bills. Today’s filings already surpassed the first-day record of the 86th session, which was 472 bills.
The first bill goes to @Victoria4Texas, who has re-filed a bill on sexual harassment claims at @TXWorkforce The @TexasObserver had a good write up after the 86th. https://t.co/6fKH6LkaDS #txlege
— Kimberly Reeves (@edwonkkimmy) November 9, 2020
Looks like we have our first Medicaid expansion bill of the 2021 #TXlege session, via @JudithZaffirini.
— Cover Texas Now (@covertexasnow) November 9, 2020
Expect to see a lot more.
With a number of Republicans legislators speaking out in favor of Medicaid expansion during the campaign, we should see more momentum this session. pic.twitter.com/urtmMMlkBl
The 87th #TxLege Session starts Jan. 12, and we have been hard at work researching and developing policy on the biggest issues in public education. Check out our 2021 Legislative Agenda to see our policy recommendations. #TxEd
— RaiseYourHandTexas (@RYHTexas) November 10, 2020
During their 2020 campaigns, several GOP TX House candidates in swing districts made promises to protect women's health funding & consider expanding Medicaid. It remains to be seen if those promises will be kept now that the election is over. #txlege https://t.co/YHGAtWq9oi
— RA News (@ReformAustin) November 11, 2020
Donks: Hold. Their Feet. To the Fire.
A fascinating #txlege #tx2020 outcome is that the Lt. Gov. no longer has a 3/5 supermajority to bring bills to the floor (Dems having flipped a seat back for a 13-18 split), but no one's calling it a win (Dems) or loss (Rs) bc everyone assumes he'll just change the rules (again)
— Jessica🧂🥴 (@jessicashortall) November 11, 2020
Moving on to environmental Tweets:
While its major rivals have invested in renewables or shifted to producing more natural gas, Exxon has insisted on staying the course even as investors and consumers increasingly turn away from dependence on oil.https://t.co/wTJYUFcmqv
— Texas Monthly (@TexasMonthly) November 11, 2020
The Texas Railroad Commission already allows industry to influence its decisions. Now, a newly elected commissioner who doesn’t believe in climate science will be one of three people in charge of regulating the state’s oil and gas industry. https://t.co/J9I4ENlPWB
— Texas Observer (@TexasObserver) November 10, 2020
As the pandemic continues to strain oil and gas companies, some are using it as an opportunity to more aggressively shift toward the development of renewable fuels. https://t.co/RRgC6CQoRm
— Texas Standard (@TexasStandard) November 9, 2020
And a few social justice stories.
Family separations at the border did not end with an executive order or a federal injunction; the federal government continues to rip families apart to this day via covert operations. We can't ignore it and let these families down. https://t.co/0iswgHODPR
— Texas Civil Rights Project (@TXCivilRights) November 9, 2020
Harris County has approved $2M for a taxpayer-funded legal defense program for poor immigrants facing deportation, as well as $500k to assist those who are crime victims secure special visas.
— Zach Despart🖊️ (@zachdespart) November 10, 2020
The #Houston area was the largest in US without such a program.https://t.co/neVhx057uh
The Dallas City Council is expected to vote on a $1 million plan aimed at holding the city’s police officers accountable. https://t.co/QvzpKpozsD pic.twitter.com/24uZ5qgQ95
— CBSDFW (@CBSDFW) November 11, 2020
And to wrap, some Texas music news (of a sort).
Ivan Koop Kuper at The Rag Blog writes about Texas blues legend Lightnin' Hopkins and his ground-breaking appearance on "Austin City Limits" in 1978 (broadcast in '79), how it was facilitated by a member of the Lege, and more about his fame thereafter.
Rob Halford of Judas Priest tells all in a new book. @HalfordMetal @judarpriesthttps://t.co/ttzHez9LTD
— Houston Press (@HoustonPress) November 6, 2020
Farewell, Disco Kroger https://t.co/WCTfkIPaj5 via @eatingourwords #HouNews
— Forever in debt to your priceless advice. (@PDiddie) November 11, 2020
Monday, November 09, 2020
The Lone Star Leftist Wrangle
Sister station in Abilene reports their ICUs are full. #COVID-19 https://t.co/b41r5DABtq
— Fred Cantu (@fredcantu) November 6, 2020
BREAKING: Judge Ricardo Samaniego says El Paso will have to move to 10 mobile morgues as COVID-19 deaths continue to spike.
— Keenan Willard (@KeenanKFOX_CBS) November 9, 2020
El Paso set up its 4th mobile morgue just a week ago. Six more are now needed.
Judge says he’s now leaning toward extending the county’s shutdown order. pic.twitter.com/YfcA8VpNDb
One week in an America riven by politics and the plague https://t.co/cVnsHfopCJ
— Forever in debt to your priceless advice. (@PDiddie) November 9, 2020
Houston ranks third on the list of US cities with the most people who are suffering financially as a result of the impacts of COVID-19. And SocraticGadfly provided updates on coronavirus-related store boycotts and semi-boycotts.
By now you must be familiar with the outcome, most of the results and backstories, and probably several of the opinions about what happened in Texas last Tuesday. A lot of people got it very wrong, but none more so than the little old lady at the beauty shop. She's really slipping, y'all.
I have been sitting on some secret internal data of the people who have voted early and I will tell you that it will be close in Texas but nationally, it’s gonna be a landslide. No reason to take a nap today – James Carville and I say we’ll know by 10:30. And, this “Trump movement” will last about as long as the Tea Party did.
I am not so sure that Trumpism is going away.
Vanilla ISIS by @Nick_Anderson_ https://t.co/46BxW5kY7l
— Debbie (@SoothingCollars) November 2, 2020
(A contrarian sidebar to Nick's toon: 'Sanity' I guess I can roll with, as long as they keep him dosed on Aricept; 'Decency'? Not so much given Tara Reade, all of his votes for wars, the '94 crime bill, palling around with Strom Thurmond and the other segregationists in the Senate, etc.)
There was lots of celebrating and dancing in the streets after Biden was declared the victor on Saturday, but the opposition forces rallied as well. In North Texas and in Lumberton, to name two.
Hundreds of supporters of President Trump rallied in Lumberton Sunday for a "voter integrity rally" organized by Texas Representative Brian Babin to voice support for Trump, who lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.
— KENS 5 (@KENS5) November 9, 2020
https://t.co/42criz61Mq
Rick Casey observed that Texans of both major party persuasions turned out to the polls in droves to keep the status quo, and that fact glaringly exposed our divisions. Bonddad posted his postmortem; David Collins wryly -- or perhaps ruefully -- blogged that his campaign lost again to the undervote; Kuff had his same old same old, and Peter Holley at Texas Monthly met a few of the people who voted after midnight in Harris County.
Here's a few maps.
For those intrigued by these things: Fun map of changes in Harris County prez voting preference vs. 2016. More good maps, especially with regard to turnout in the Houston Chronicle also: https://t.co/qu3cSCAHp4 https://t.co/DI3IYZoaWF
— Matt Lanza (@mattlanza) November 8, 2020
Similar to @JMilesColeman's map, here's the Dallas Metroplex. Biden surged in whiter suburbs, winning Plano, Allen, and Tarrant County among others, places not carried by a Presidential Democrat since at least LBJ. #txlege #Election2020 #ElectionResults2020 #ElectionTwitter pic.twitter.com/TfZme2FDnN
— OryxMaps (@OryxMaps) November 8, 2020
As promised, a few words about the brown vote in Tejas. As a lead-in, one of the things I will attempt to do in my forthcoming post is break down the unhelpful usage of 'Hispanic', 'Latino/a' 'Latinx' (as I have been employing) to describe a group of people that are far too diverse to be lumped together. Here are some observations about that.
Latinx People in the US Are Never Going to Fit Into One Demographic - VICE https://t.co/bM0EkIoqIz
— Tony Diaz (@Librotraficante) November 6, 2020
If you're a gringo like me and follow Diaz or listen to his KPFT radio program, you understand this. If you identify as one in the list below, you know this.
MY LESSON:
— Krystal 🌺 (@ATXKrystal) November 4, 2020
Cubans
Belizeans
Mexicans
Brazilians
Nicaraguans
Venezuelans
Argentineans
Puerto Ricans
Etc.
...should not be treated as one.
It's not like all of us white people vote the same, after all. In fact, Black people are the only racial demo that bloc-votes, and that is because of a shared experience.
Harris County voting from Asian Americans doubles but don't assume everyone in that group agrees who should be president. https://t.co/28acvfiK4d
— Houston Press (@HoustonPress) November 2, 2020
Much more on this topic to come in this space. A bit more for today:
In Texas, more Latinos voted for President Trump in the 2020 election than in 2016. Now experts from both parties are trying to distinguish why. https://t.co/2Soo8CsuQq
— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) November 6, 2020
DosCentavos gives us his take on the Texas Latino vote and how Dems missed an important issue in South Texas.
Surprised that you didn't mention the one and done nature of the Trump vote in Starr County. Yes, there was a surge of first-time Trump voters, but they didn't vote for Cornyn or anyone else. Hegar only got 134 fewer votes than Beto and results aren't complete... pic.twitter.com/QybS1x3hhG
— Aziz Gilani (@TexasVC) November 8, 2020
Houston Latina bloggers commend Biden-Harris victory https://t.co/uYd3UmYxWX pic.twitter.com/952kyKS0DP
— ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) November 9, 2020
As I'm running long here again, I'll save the Texas Lege news -- including Speaker-to-be Dade Phelan and AG Ken Paxton's latest flare-up -- and move toward the finish line with a few CJ, social justice, and environmental pieces, closing on the light side.
Grits for Breakfast evaluated the state of criminal justice reform after the election. The Austin Chronicle reported that the state's first hemp harvest in 80 years is in, describing the outlook for farmers in terms of both regulation and the market.
Lew Moorman for the San Antonio Report worries about the cost side of inequality. (I am not sure that Moorman's "how are we going pay for all this" premise is the proper question, and if the GOP maintains control of the US Senate after the Georgia runoffs in December, then any deficit spending the Biden administration may have hoped to do will be moot anyway.)
The version of Texas history taught in school is often anglicized and sanitized. In part three of our examination of a state textbook, we look at the period just after the revolution, when Texas stood as its own nation for nine years. https://t.co/98zmBzzalu
— Texas Monthly (@TexasMonthly) November 6, 2020
In a lasting patch of Texas beach, residents seek to keep #oil out. By @erinmdouglas23https://t.co/oD0PvwKbJf
— Earthworks (@Earthworks) November 6, 2020
Another coal-fired electricity plant closed in East Texas, and residents of Williamson County take action against the state's rock mining industry as the deleterious environmental effects become apparent. And the Laredo Morning Times says the Texas oil and gas industry is very pleased with the outcome in the Texas Railroad Commissioner's race.
The world, by way of Texas, lost two of its most iconoclastic, mythologized artists this past month – Jerry Jeff Walker and Billy Joe Shaver.
— NPR (@NPR) November 9, 2020
Critic Charles Aaron breaks down the impact of their work on the wider sound of American music:https://t.co/VhfOQT3eKS
In honor of my cover article on this month's Texas Highways magazine, Texas Highways is offering a great subscription deal for those who read my Twitter feed. Great way to send a bit of Texas for Christmas. You have to use this exact link, though: https://t.co/fDFy26FuOJ. pic.twitter.com/2kGYfIJzdw
— Traces of Texas (@TracesofTexas) November 7, 2020