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Monday, February 08, 2021

SB LV Hangover Wrangle


Not inclined to go long this morning.  Let's open with COVID.  An update as this post was being prepared:


Texas will hit 40,000 deaths from the coronavirus today, according to Dr. Peter Hotez.  And while hospitalizations are declining, we're a long way from reaching herd immunity.


Here's a thread from Sema Hernandez about her recent experience with one of her children in Pasadena's (TX) school.


Before "Texans Behaving Badly", let's get to some of the news generated last week by Greg Abbott and Dade Phelan.  I made mention in last Friday's Roundup, but there's also been a few other takes posted that are worth your consideration.


Texas Freedom Network also has an analysis of Abbott's SotS and also how Speaker Phelan's committee chairs will conduct business. A sample:

Anti-abortion zealots like Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, and Rep. Stephanie Klick, R-Fort Worth, will turn their committees into parade grounds for legislation designed to ban the procedure entirely ... Rep. James Frank, R-Wichita Falls, will head the Human Services Committee, giving him another shot at passing legislation to turn religion into a license to discriminate against LGBTQ Texans.


We know Phelan is against many of the marijuana bills proposed; opposition to vice has long been enforced by the Texas TaliBaptist Caucus.  But who is it besides the church crowd that's blocking casino gambling in the Lone Star State?  Reform Austin suggests a few parties.

Entities with competing interests, namely other casinos, don’t want to see the Las Vegas Sands organization running the table.

First, there are tribal interests in Oklahoma and Texas. The Chickasaw Nation has spent over $350,000 to Strategic & Public Affairs Consulting lobbyist Daniel Hodge. (PD adds: Hodge was a longtime right-hand man to the governor before opening his shop.) The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma is paying between $25,000 and $49,999 for three lobbyists. Finally the Kickapoo Tribe in Texas is paying four lobbyists between $100,000 and $150,000 each this session.

Another possible opponent to the Las Vegas Sands expansion in Texas is Tilman Fertitta, who owns the Lake Charles casino The Golden Nugget. Seven lobbyists hired by his company, Landry’s Inc. are being paid from $10,000-$24,999 to $150,000-$199,999 a year (in disclosure forms).

These numbers pale in comparison to the up to $4.5M that the late Sheldon Adelson’s group has spent building up their army of 63 lobbyists.

Money chat is normally Kuff's beat, but I don't see much lately there regarding CFR, so note RA's piece on the top ten PACs in the state.  Only two -- the bottom two -- are affiliated with Democrats or progressives, though H-E-B grocer Charles Butt's PAC and the mega-law firm Greenberg Traurig gives to politicians of both political persuasions.  As best I know, much of GT's blue side fundraising and donating is still headed by the well-connected Roland Garcia.

And concluding our look at the Lege ...

Socratic Gadfly exposes the bogus claims of NRA Pander Bear Drew Springer.


At the top of the "TBB" this week: Ted Cruz.



"The left -- and some grifters on the right -- are consumed by partisan anger and rage," the (Cruz) spokesperson said via email. "Sen. Cruz will continue to work for 29 million Texans in the Senate."

No, he won't. Cruz works only for himself, his potential run for president in 2024, and in the meantime will vote 'no' on everything Biden does or nominates and get into Twitter spats on cultural topics.




The TexTrib via Progrexas has the story about the TXGOP staffer who was fired after he posted video from the DC riot.  (He had also spread around that fake Pizzagate conspiracy theory.)  Bud Kennedy at the FWST took note of the Parker County school trustee who advanced the "Stop the Steal" nonsense.

I will save environmental and social justice links for the week-ending Round-up.  Here's a few items to close out today.

You're running out of time, and places, to get your square fish, chicken and dumplings, jalapeno cornbread, and/or chocolate ice box pie.

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Friday, December 18, 2020

T'was the Week Before Xmas Lone Star Roundup

I'm not pleased with my Latin@ post (here's something worth reading from Latino Rebels, though).  I've rewritten mine a couple of times, and with the Census delay in providing updated demographics, there's not going to be much in the way of currency in the projections for redistricting/gerrymandering in the forthcoming legislative session.  Plenty of scare-mongering speculation, though.  I'm tempted to resort to a Kuffner-styled Weakend link dump, but since I find that lazy and half-assed ... probably not.  Don't really know what I'm going to do with a post I've spent probably forty hours on and doesn't meet my personal standards.  Anyway ...



It's remarkable that Ken Paxton didn't find his way to the top of either Texas Monthly's Bum Steer Awards or Progress Texas' Worst of 2020, but that just shows you how stiff the competition is.


The winners were well-deserved.


More of TM's selections throughout this post.  Here's a salute to Governor COVID, who would rather kill Texans than cower before the "bidness/freedumb" base of the TXGOP.


More "do as I say, not as I do" from our elected leaders.


There were other late contenders for Bum Steers and Worst Texans.  Here's one of the hard-charging finalists on my personal list.


Read the whole Tweet thread.  Few stories have the shock capacity of this one.


Guess who's behind the Liberty Center for God and Country?  It was "Christians Outed for Behaving Less than Godly" week.


Then there's Greasy Henry Cuellar, whose bad behavior was noted twice.


Besides shafting AOC -- a trending topic this week regarding M4A -- who was the beneficiary of slots on Energy and Commerce?


Those of us who won't be supporting corporate Democrats any more have a long, hard job ahead.  And it doesn't involve pushing people like Fletcher to the left.

Despite these Grinches ...


... several Texans got in the spirit of the holiday season.


I have more of the typical updates on environmental and criminal and social justice news that will wait until Monday's Wrangle.  Closing today with these.

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Monday, September 28, 2020

The Weekly TexLeftBlog Wrangle


Texas lefty bloggers and Tweeters are gearing up for the first Biden-Trump debate after steeling themselves from being triggered by the first half of "The Comey Rule", which aired last night on Showtime.  Brendan Gleeson -- starring as The President -- makes his grand entrance tonight on the last episode of the two-part docu-drama.  To say that there's been some PTSD suffered across the nation is understating the situation.


Anyway, we have lots of Lone Star Tweets and news to read and talk about (mostly election- and COVID-related today; other topics at the end of the week).  First and again from the courtroom:


Kuff stayed on top of the voting litigation news with updates about the wingnut assault on early voting, and the probably short-lived reinstatement of straight-ticket voting.  Corona Connor drew some interesting maps of CD10, one of the three Congressional districts that Beto carried in 2018 but the Republican incumbent won.  In your best-read of the week, Ben Wofford at Wired (republished at Portside so you don't have any paywall issues) details the decades-long give-and take between Travis County Clerk Dana Debeauvoir and Rice University professor Dan Wallach -- and many others -- over secure voting machines.



A few SD30 special election updates.


Ross Ramsey at the TexTrib via Progrexas says "keep calm and vote on".


The Texas Politics Project has the executive summary of several of the above news items for those of you with limited reading time.


And looking past November ...


Following up on the growing divide between Texas Republicans, this next story was first referenced in the Friday 9/18 Round-up (scroll down to "Speaking of stupid").


As James Barragan Tweeted in last Friday's Round-up, the Lege must deal with the most ominous revenue shortfall (related to COVID and the crashing of oil, of course) in almost a century.  All tax streams must be on the table.  A full legalization of casino gambling and cannabis, with an appropriate taxing mechanism, should be under careful consideration.  The TXGOP cannot continue to allow the Evangelical Caucus to hinder progress for the sick (Medicaid expansion) the young (our public school system) and the old (our seniors' assisted living challenges during these crises).

In one of the more ridiculous election-related developments last week, Texas Monthly has a few questions about that Dan Crenshaw ad.


And the TexTrib provides the segue between politics and pandemic.


Erin Garcia de Jesus at the San Antonio Current worries about the "twindemic" of COVID plus influenza.


And we all hope we don't have a new environmental problem to be concerned about, after the weekend brought this tragic news.


More economic, ecological, and social justice headlines later.  Ending here today on as upbeat a message as possible.

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Thursday, September 17, 2020

White House Update: Greens and Blues see red (w/*updates)


Donks win some (Wisconsin, *Pennsylvania), Sunflowers fight back (Texas).


Plenty blogged already about that legal case.


There's been a lot of the geek fighting Twitter is famous for, so I'll just post some of my favorites.


I suppose that's enough blinding hypocrisy for one week.

-- While the Democrats and the Greens fought it out in court, Kanye also had to do battle for ballot access. The stress is getting to him though, and he's ... well ...


I was going to put "seeing yellow" in the headline, but it looks like he's properly hydrated, as it's more straw-colored. I would like to know if he was holding his own phone for this video. His hand -- if it's his -- is remarkably steady.

-- What's Sleepy Old Joe been up to? Latinx outreach.


Keep in mind that he hired all these new people with Latin surnames after being criticized for failing with the Browns, and this is what they came up with.


I don't know. I don't know what this is, either.


I was the quartermaster for my Scout troop at summer camp in 1969. I think that's the last time I've heard the word spoken. Ladies' department managers have lived a little longer than quartermasters, but they're going the way of department stores and dinosaurs also. Maybe Joe should go down to the Bijou and watch a newsreel, catch up on current events.

*Update: Biden's drive-in town hall on Thursday evening went well for him, although Politico thinks it was a softball session. Personally I wasn't thrilled, or surprised, at his support for fracking.


"Nothing will fundamentally change", except Kamala's shoes.


-- So let's mention Trump's town hall, where he got told to shut up by the Black woman, confused herd immunity with herd mentality, and a few other lies and ignorant comments.



*Update: Cash strapped Trump campaign awaits bailout from big donors

-- Just listen to this man.


Who needs a yard sign?
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Saturday, August 08, 2020

EOW* Lone Star Wrangle

*EOW -- Eye on Williamson -- was the name of a fine TPA blog managed by a fellow, or fellows, who blogged under WC News and Dem Bones a decade ago.  Brian also served on the SDEC for a brief period of time before moving to Seattle for employment with Microsoft (IIRC).  EOW  -- in this post's title the acronym means "End of Week" -- is one of a bushelful of Texas lefty blogs that have gone kaput over the past ten or so years.  BOR, Burnt Orange Report, is another.  Its founders also moved on to bigger and better things: KT Musselman is now a justice of the peace in Williamson County; Phillip Martin works at Progress Texas and for the Texas House Democratic Caucus; and Matt Glazer, well, has done a whole bunch of important things.

My point is that as independent media comes full circle in terms of its importance to and influence on the dialogue in the public square, I'm looking for more Texas voices to include here: vlogs, podcasts, tweeting, writings on Medium and Substack, what have you.  All I ask is that they be intelligent, consistent in producing content, and original (promoting Democrats and Democratic campaigns is overtilled acreage, y'all.  They also have to have an RSS feed that Blogger can detect so that they show up in the right-hand column, of course.)  Keep sending me your tips, but please also send your favorite sources so I can add them to the blogroll and include them in this biweekly round-up.

Opening today with the optimism brimming among the Donkey herd.  Patrick Svitek and Abby Livingston for the TexTrib compile snapshots of the state of play for a few of the spotlight dances.

 
I'll add some of my thoughts to theirs (the kind you won't read anywhere else, you know).

-- TX24: Candace Valenzuela won her runoff in the Democratic primary and will face Irving mayor Beth Van Duyne.  Republicans have long controlled this Tarrant Count region, but the polling shows it slipping away from them.


-- TX21: The incumbent, former Ted Cruz flack Chip Roy, squares off with Democratic darling Wendy Davis, and recent polling shows a tight race.  The progressive alternative in this contest is also a former gubernatorial candidate, Tom Wakely, who's running under the Green banner.


TX22: After Troy Nehls emerged from the muddy, bloody GOP runoff with Kathaleen Wall, he scraped his website of references to Trump.  That's because he's up against the Democrat who nearly defeated the retiring Congressman (Pete Olson) two years ago, Sri Preston Kulkarni.  Few places in America reflect the changing demographics and politics of America's suburbs better than this Sugar Land district, which was represented by Tom DeLay just a few years ago.

TX10: Mike Seigel is back for another shot at Michael McCaul.  He's the most progressive Democrat in this class, and as you might have guessed, the DCCC is staying away again.  Texas' electeds are treating him better, though, and he came close enough in '18 -- five points in a district Beto O'Rourke won by .1 of a percentage point -- that a presidential turnout might get him over the hump.

TX2: Dems think they have a shot at knocking off Dan Crenshaw, the media favorite who lives to scratch on "libruls" and "Communists" and other so-called ee-vils.  Sima Ladjevardian is a solid establishment candidate but Crenshaw has a national following and the fundraising to back it up.  This district was surgically gerrymandered to cancel Montrose and other inner Houston Democrats with bumfuck East Texas Republicans, and IMO the only thing that will excise Crenshaw is a redraw in 2022 by a Democratic statehouse at the Lege.  I'd like to be wrong.

TX31: After MJ Hegar chose to challenge John Cornyn instead of taking a rematch with John Carter, Christine Mann, the runner-up in 2018, stepped up again.  But she lost the runoff to Donna Imam, another progressive whiz kid whom the DCCC has avoided.  With a small war chest and some bruised intraparty feelings locally, Imam has a tall hill to climb.

TX7: Lizzie Fletcher's challenger Wesley Hunt was diagnosed with COVID-19 as tried to board Air Force One last week, alongside Louie Gohmert and Donald Trump.  Fletcher is the neoliberal poster child: Pelosi sycophant, loves fossil fuels and war toys, hates Medicare for All.  I didn't vote for her in 2018 and I won't vote for her again this November.  She should still win.

TX32: Colin Allred is Lizzie Fletcher's brain in the body of a Dallas Cowboys linebacker.  They vote exactly the same way.  This is classic old school, Martin Frost/Matt Angle Texas Democrat machine politics.  It's also the reason why Joe Biden narrowly won the Texas primary after Obama told all the other shitlibs to drop out and fall in line behind him.  The whining about "soshulism", even from seemingly progressive Democrats like Sylvia Garcia, was at fever pitch that first weekend in March, and Obama heard their cries and answered their prayers.

Hey, it might win one more time, if the polls are right.  Later today, in Sulphur Springs ...

 
More on state Congressional races later.  Here's a bit on the Cornyn-Hegar matchup (Dems are optimistic but I am not).

 
I'll be voting for the Green, David Collins.

 
In East Texas statehouse races:

 
I have a lot more to get to in this Wrangle.  It seems Texas Republicans are having things go from bad to worse for themselves, and quickly.

 
"My professional advice as a financial consultant would be to sell me everything you have for a dollar, except that I already own you."  It should be noted that this is still gallows humor.


There's a point at which Republicans' efforts to demonstrate that government doesn't work becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy just isn't funny.  We reached that point many years ago.

 
Moving on to the latest environmental news ...

 
Save Buffalo Bayou reprints an op-ed from Amanda Fuller and Jordan Macha that ran in the Houston Chronicle regarding the urgency of converting Harris County's flood mitigation from concrete ditches and paved-over prairies to something more nature-based.

 
Missing your hemp headlines?

 
Eater Houston lists their favorite spots to pick up CBD-infused drinks, smoothies, and ice cream-style treats.  Cooling off and chilling out sounds like a great idea.

 
The Rivard Report is up to Episode Eleven in their 'Cabeza de Vaca' series; the latest entitled "Faith the Size of a Pecan".

I told you I had a lot to get to.  We're almost at the end.

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