With the deadline to register to vote in the November midterm elections
tomorrow, the Texas Progressive Alliance encourages you to
double-check your status if you have already registered to be certain you are ready to cast your ballot.
The state's website link to request a voter registration application (within the first link above)
crashed and stayed down for several hours this past Saturday.
The state's voter rolls have surged to
15.6 million Texans, surpassing the 14 million registered voters since the last midterm election (2014). More than 400,0000 have signed up to vote since March, and Harris County led the way with
over 55,000 of those.
On to the roundup of lefty blog posts and news from around the Lone Star State from last week!
The Texas Tribune collects everything you need to know about voting this autumn.
Texas Standard says that the Brennan Center will be closely watching Texas again for indications of the kind of
voter suppression tactics -- excessively strict application of the voter id requirement, voters illegally purged from the rolls, and the like -- the state has long been guilty of.
Maria Recio at the
Austin Statesman describes how John Cornyn
secured the necessary votes to get Brett Kavanaugh confirmed to the Supreme Court.
Grits for Breakfast seems encouraged by Greg Abbott's apparent evolution on marijuana decriminalization, revealed in
his debate with Lupe Valdez ten days ago. Michael Barajas at
TO is
somewhat more skeptical.
The
Fort Worth Star Telegram has the details on Ag Commissioner Sid Miller
complaining about a homemade yard sign, and the police going to the woman's Central Texas home and confiscating it.
Never forget who Sid Miller is: a fascist who tramples on the free speech that offends him.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
halted the execution of Juan Segundo after questions about his mental capability were raised.
David Collins posted Parts II ("
Shut Up About Purity Tests") and III ("
The Harder Way") of 'Demanding Better', his pleadings to the progressive electorate to just let the two-party system die already.
Brains and Eggs blogged about the debate between the Houston firefighters union president and Mayor Sylvester Turner over Proposition 2, the 'pay parity' referendum.
SocraticGadfly sees that the Corps of Engineers could soon
be pushing an Ike Dike, which he continues to oppose.
Charles Watson at
Rural Texas Voices writes about substance abuse trends in Texas.
Texas Vox wants you to know that the state has a plan to ship nuclear waste through your neighborhood, and there is still time for you to speak out about it.
Jim Schutze's observations about the plight of the homeless in the
Dallas Observer reveal the
sociopathy of city leaders and those who support them in this endeavor.
And the
Texas Observer's collection of "
Strangest State" news (from the third quarter of the year -- July, August, September) features a woman in Corpus who spoke at a city council meeting dressed as a cockroach.
