Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Monday, October 30, 2017
The Weekly Wrangle
The Texas Progressive Alliance can't wait to see what tricks and treats Robert Mueller has in his bag as it brings you this week's roundup. Early birds are watching Paul Manafort surrender this morning.
Off the Kuff looks at the latest UT/Texas Tribune poll and wishes the pollsters had a bit more vision.
Socratic Gadfly first offered his take on the Joe Straus retirement announcement and then excoriated the inside-the-Mopac media gaggle for its use of the phrase "moderate Republican."
The PDid slate -- recommendations in the ongoing election for Texas constitutional amendments, Houston municipal bonds, and HCC and HISD candidates -- is posted at Brains and Eggs. Stace at Dos Centavos also has some advice for Houston and Harris County voters.
In profiling 2018 Texas progressive candidates Lillian Salerno (TX-32), Tom Wakely (Governor), Derrick Crowe (TX-21), and Dayna Steele (Tx-36), Down With Tyranny! merits inclusion in our Wrangle this week.
The Lewisville Texan Journal, returning to its digital roots, rolled its final print edition last week.
Texas frackquakes are getting mapped now, according to Texas Vox.
The Texas Moratorium Network has photos and video from the March to Abolish the Death Penalty last Saturday, at the Capitol.
jobsanger would like to remind you that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.
In another crude, racially insensitive display, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller shares a suicide joke on social media. Sid Miller IS the joke, folks.
Houstonia has some suggestions for where you can celebrate Día de los Muertos.
Neil at All People Have Value reviewed the post-hurricane Harvey public art work in Houston called "Toxic Pile of Dirt." APHV is part of NeilAquino.com.
In more state news and lefty blog posts, Houston sports teams made news for all the right reasons and a few wrong ones over the weekend.
Something yuuuuge was missing from Rev, Franklin Graham's revival in Waco, and David Brockman at the Texas Observer took notice.
An undocumented teenager held in federal custody in Brownsville was finally able to exercise her reproductive choice after a month-long court battle. Doyin Oyeniyi at Texas Monthly provides the account.
The Rivard Report bemoans how unsafe San Antonio is for pedestrians.
Writing for the Houston Chronicle, Dr. Jennifer McQuade of MD Anderson wants to know where our government is in Puerto Rico. And in 'Techburger', his new blog for the Chronicle, Dwight Silverman gives four reasons why Amazon Key is a bad idea.
Space City Weather examines the Harris County proposals for flood mitigation.
Wes Ferguson at the Daily Post sees fewer Texas high schoolers interested in playing football.
Aaron West at Free Press Houston has more on the history of the three skinheads arrested in Florida for firing a gun at protestors of the Richard Spencer rally.
Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, eulogizes Catherine Vance, a 40-year-old gun safety advocate from Houston who passed away a few days ago.
And Harry Hamid has a few night anthems of a ghoul.
Off the Kuff looks at the latest UT/Texas Tribune poll and wishes the pollsters had a bit more vision.
Socratic Gadfly first offered his take on the Joe Straus retirement announcement and then excoriated the inside-the-Mopac media gaggle for its use of the phrase "moderate Republican."
The PDid slate -- recommendations in the ongoing election for Texas constitutional amendments, Houston municipal bonds, and HCC and HISD candidates -- is posted at Brains and Eggs. Stace at Dos Centavos also has some advice for Houston and Harris County voters.
In profiling 2018 Texas progressive candidates Lillian Salerno (TX-32), Tom Wakely (Governor), Derrick Crowe (TX-21), and Dayna Steele (Tx-36), Down With Tyranny! merits inclusion in our Wrangle this week.
The Lewisville Texan Journal, returning to its digital roots, rolled its final print edition last week.
Texas frackquakes are getting mapped now, according to Texas Vox.
The Texas Moratorium Network has photos and video from the March to Abolish the Death Penalty last Saturday, at the Capitol.
jobsanger would like to remind you that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.
In another crude, racially insensitive display, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller shares a suicide joke on social media. Sid Miller IS the joke, folks.
On Facebook, Texas Ag Commissioner Sid Miller's "joke of the day" is about suicide. #txlege pic.twitter.com/ddVYu8VpaE— Bobby Blanchard 🌈 (@bobbycblanchard) October 29, 2017
Houstonia has some suggestions for where you can celebrate Día de los Muertos.
Neil at All People Have Value reviewed the post-hurricane Harvey public art work in Houston called "Toxic Pile of Dirt." APHV is part of NeilAquino.com.
====================
In more state news and lefty blog posts, Houston sports teams made news for all the right reasons and a few wrong ones over the weekend.
Something yuuuuge was missing from Rev, Franklin Graham's revival in Waco, and David Brockman at the Texas Observer took notice.
An undocumented teenager held in federal custody in Brownsville was finally able to exercise her reproductive choice after a month-long court battle. Doyin Oyeniyi at Texas Monthly provides the account.
The Rivard Report bemoans how unsafe San Antonio is for pedestrians.
Writing for the Houston Chronicle, Dr. Jennifer McQuade of MD Anderson wants to know where our government is in Puerto Rico. And in 'Techburger', his new blog for the Chronicle, Dwight Silverman gives four reasons why Amazon Key is a bad idea.
Space City Weather examines the Harris County proposals for flood mitigation.
Wes Ferguson at the Daily Post sees fewer Texas high schoolers interested in playing football.
Aaron West at Free Press Houston has more on the history of the three skinheads arrested in Florida for firing a gun at protestors of the Richard Spencer rally.
Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, eulogizes Catherine Vance, a 40-year-old gun safety advocate from Houston who passed away a few days ago.
And Harry Hamid has a few night anthems of a ghoul.
Sunday, October 29, 2017
Sunday Funnies
82% of Democrats believe "Russia-backed" content on social media affected 2016 election outcome; Clinton campaign and DNC helped pay for Steele dossier
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Joe Straus quits Texas House
The so-called sane Republicans -- as Charles Pierce said yesterday about Jeff Flake and Bob Corker -- are going to have to come up with a better response than just running away. Harvey Kronberg crams as much into his executive summary of the past ten months as one can into two paragraphs.
It sounds as if -- in a run-on sentence of massive proportions -- HK thinks the governor is going to have be the grown-up and stop pandering to the MAGA base of the TXGOP. Harvey has lots more Austin connections than me, so I'm sure he has a basis for believing that. But as AF One landed in Dallas this afternoon, the governor spun his wheels on the tarmac to get in the picture with Trump.
It's truly remarkable watching a crippled man play both sides of the Texas Republican Party's freak right wing against the middle, or the left, or whatever the soon-to-be former-Straus Caucus calls themselves ('moderate' just doesn't work for me). One of these days his manipulation of the ignorant is going to blow up in his face. That day is still a ways off.
As to the news: conservative watchers mostly screamed with glee, while Democrats either cried their eyes out or shat their drawers in unmitigated terror. Let the parlor games begin.
-- Do I think Straus has plans to shoot his $10 million dollar wad on something besides, to quote former TDP chair Boyd Richie from 2006, "a few select Texas House races"? All snark aside, I certainly hope so. Surely Joe isn't slinking away into retirement just to be another million-dollar lobbyist, right? Right?
Update: Tilove at the Statesman echoes Straus: "I don't think so."
-- Where does his top lieutenant, Byron Cook, who bailed out right behind the Speaker this morning, fit in to any of this? The same cryptic 'look for other ways to serve Texas' line was in his resignation letter.
Chris Hooks got paid a little early this week.
"No one can say." Pfffft. He'd know better than that (he means, of course, that early speculation about what might occur is as reliable as the Texas Tribune's polling) if he didn't have me muted on Twitter, the putz.
One thing we can say is that the legacy and self-described "very conservative Democrat" who is 'exploring' a run for governor got his news completely Bigfooted by the Speaker's sudden withdrawal today. Too bad. Maybe there's a spot for him somewhere on Joe Straus' independent ticket.
Speaker Joe Straus today stunned even his closest colleagues with his announcement that he would not seek re-election to his seat in the House. This after polling in the field showed that even his weakest San Antonio precincts were solidly behind him. In addition, there was no possible math that did not have him re-elected to lead the House.
While his low opinion of the hysteria-based rhetoric of other statewide officials and the off the rails priorities of the special session (many but for his efforts) would have further made the recovery of the Gulf Coast even more protracted than it would otherwise be were barely camouflaged, one of the great stings had to be Governor Greg Abbott reassuring CEOs that Straus would kill the bathroom bill at the same time he was rallying pastors to sermonize on its behalf from the pulpit.
It sounds as if -- in a run-on sentence of massive proportions -- HK thinks the governor is going to have be the grown-up and stop pandering to the MAGA base of the TXGOP. Harvey has lots more Austin connections than me, so I'm sure he has a basis for believing that. But as AF One landed in Dallas this afternoon, the governor spun his wheels on the tarmac to get in the picture with Trump.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott greets Trump after he exits Air Force One at Love Field. Trump in town for fundraiser https://t.co/FqMFV1eKtG pic.twitter.com/rJMfed9ErS— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) October 25, 2017
It's truly remarkable watching a crippled man play both sides of the Texas Republican Party's freak right wing against the middle, or the left, or whatever the soon-to-be former-Straus Caucus calls themselves ('moderate' just doesn't work for me). One of these days his manipulation of the ignorant is going to blow up in his face. That day is still a ways off.
As to the news: conservative watchers mostly screamed with glee, while Democrats either cried their eyes out or shat their drawers in unmitigated terror. Let the parlor games begin.
-- Do I think Straus has plans to shoot his $10 million dollar wad on something besides, to quote former TDP chair Boyd Richie from 2006, "a few select Texas House races"? All snark aside, I certainly hope so. Surely Joe isn't slinking away into retirement just to be another million-dollar lobbyist, right? Right?
Update: Tilove at the Statesman echoes Straus: "I don't think so."
-- Where does his top lieutenant, Byron Cook, who bailed out right behind the Speaker this morning, fit in to any of this? The same cryptic 'look for other ways to serve Texas' line was in his resignation letter.
Chris Hooks got paid a little early this week.
John Zerwas, a moderate who once flirted with supporting Medicaid expansion, today announced his bid to (replace Straus as Speaker), and Chris Turner, the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, quickly signaled a willingness to deliver the caucus’ votes to the best possible contender. That would mean, hypothetically, that Zerwas will need some 15-25 Republican votes to clinch it in the way Straus once did. That seems very doable — particularly if Democrats are able to make real gains in the next general election, in what should be a favorable climate — but no one can say.
"No one can say." Pfffft. He'd know better than that (he means, of course, that early speculation about what might occur is as reliable as the Texas Tribune's polling) if he didn't have me muted on Twitter, the putz.
One thing we can say is that the legacy and self-described "very conservative Democrat" who is 'exploring' a run for governor got his news completely Bigfooted by the Speaker's sudden withdrawal today. Too bad. Maybe there's a spot for him somewhere on Joe Straus' independent ticket.
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