Monday, September 16, 2019

The Weekly Wrangle



The Texas Progressive Alliance thanks state Rep. Briscoe Cain for clearly demonstrating why no civilian should own a weapon of mass murder.  (These are the best lefty blog posts, Tweets and news from around and about Texas, our Texas, collated below.)

Democrats' third presidential debate, held in Space City last Thursday, was the epicenter of state and national politics for a day or two.  PDiddie at Brains and Eggs blogged about it before and after; the Texas Observer wrote about Beto and Castro's breakout, and the Chronicle followed up on the Greenpeace protestors who were arrested after they rapelled off the Fred Hartman bridge, closing the Houston Ship Channel for most of the day.


And Jef Rouner, for the Houston Press, has one simple suggestion for the eventual Democratic presidential nominee.

Fresh polling was released ahead of the debate: Univision's revealed the Lone Star to be a battleground state, while the UT/TexTrib survey found the #TXSen race lacking a front-runner beyond "don't know".  Both HPM and Kuff examined the two polls.

As our lead-in above points out, a pipsqueak in the Lege threatened Beto O'Rourke after he underscored that his mandatory assault-style weapon buyback policy would be a certainty.


There were many legislative developments last week:

RG Ratcliffe at Texas Monthly evaluated Lite Guv Dan Patrick's apparent flip-flop on background checks for gun purchases, while John Coby at Bay Area Houston called for abolishing open carry.  Rick Casey at the Rivard Report found a common thread among the Republicans targeted by the Bonnen/MQS fiasco.  And as the Lege begins the arduous process of redistricting, both the Observer and the TexTrib remind us of the problematic history of people of color attempting to cast a ballot.





H-Town muni elections stayed front and center ...

Stace at Dos Centavos released his 2019 Stace Slate.


Scott Henson at Grits made a point of following up on these false statements about crime by some of Houston's mayoral candidates.

Some climate reporting:

SocraticGadfly calls out the Dallas Observer for doing a hit job on a wind farm that's not even in its normal coverage area.

Progrexas blogs that the TCEQ finally managed to do something right.

During a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality hearing, the state denied a permit request by Altair Disposal Services to construct a landfill that would take waste from an incineration facility near Houston to Colorado County, which sits about halfway between Houston and Austin, and turn it into road material that is similar to asphalt. At issue was whether the soil in the area where Altair wanted to set up the facility would prevent hazardous waste residue from leaking into the ground water or the Colorado River.

And Grist notes that Texans are actually starting to care about climate change.

Does Texas, the metaphorical oil tank of the American petroleum operation, care about climate change? About two-thirds of it does, says a new poll of Texas voters -- and we’re not just talkin’ Democrats.

Sixty-five percent of Lone Star State voters of all political persuasions are in favor of government action to combat the climate crisis, and a third are strongly in favor of it. That’s not the only good news.

Of the 1,660 voters polled by Climate Nexus, 74 percent said they’re more likely to vote for a candidate who supports boosting federal funding for renewable energy. Among Democrats, climate change ranks right up there with the economy and jobs when it comes to issues voters care about in the 2020 election -- only health care and gun policy ranked higher. The poll was conducted in conjunction with Yale and George Mason universities.

The Texas Central Railway announced it is ready to begin construction ... as soon as it gets authorization to do so.

A planned high-speed rail line between Houston and Dallas reached another milestone Friday as the sponsoring company announced a $14 billion deal to build it -- as soon as it obtains the authority to do so.

Texas Central, the private company developing the Texas Bullet Train, announced it had signed a deal with Salini Impregilo, the Italian construction giant, and its American subsidiary, Lane Construction, to design, construct and install the 240-mile high-speed rail line using Japan’s Shinkansen trains.

[...]

“We are optimistic we could begin construction next year,” said Holly Reed, managing director of external affairs for Texas Central.

(The following excerpt is specifically for Gadfly.)

Because the trains would operate at more than 200 mph, all of the route must be separated from highways and public access. Dozens of overpasses are likely as the tracks cross urban streets and rural roads in 11 Texas counties. Earthen berms at specific crossings will also be needed where tracks cross land used by wildlife and farmers.

“They are doing all of that work now so that as soon as we get the financial approvals and have approval to start construction we can move forward,” Reed said.

This Jan. 31, 2018 photo shows a utility corridor which runs through Freestone County, Texas, near Fairfield, in the small community of Cotton Gin. Texas Central Partners is planning to build its 240-mile high-speed rail line between Houston and Dallas along the corridor.
Photo: Dug Begley, MBO / Associated Press

Here's where the Wrangle gets lighter ...

Some of the most colorful fall foliage in Deep-In-The-Hearta can be found in this state park.

These are some great places to celebrate Oktoberfest in Houston.


The San Antonio Current says that the debut of the Big Texas ComicCon is this weekend.  Three 'Sons of Anarchy' are headlining.

And in remembrances, the Texas Standard posted an obituary for T. Boone Pickens, the Austin Chronicle eulogized artist and songwriter Daniel Johnston ...



... while Harry Hamid's brother posted the heroes that his recently departed sibling never met.
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Sunday, September 15, 2019

Sunday Funnies










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Friday, September 13, 2019

#DemDebateTSU: who got chopped, who got screwed

(For those missing the reference ...  keep in mind Scarface is running for city council.)


Crews with the Texas Department of Transportation have cleared the last remaining remnants of a Greenpeace USA protest that started shortly after 6 a.m. Thursday and went into the late afternoon.

By Thursday night, all protesters who had rappelled off the Fred Hartman Bridge at the Houston Ship Channel had been arrested, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tweeted.

Greenpeace USA spokeswoman Valentina Stackl said Friday morning said that by 1:30 a.m., everyone had been taken into custody and were now waiting to hear about charges.

Hang 'em high, said the Khronically Konservative Kommenters.  After seven hours last week of climate change talk, there were no was just one question on the topic last night.  There's always next week.

Oh yeah ... the debate.

The consensus will probably be that Julián Castro distinguished himself in Thursday’s debate, thanks to some forceful talk on immigration, a good story about hard ethical choices, and some deliciously salty exchanges with Joe Biden. Biden himself did better than before, which isn’t saying much. There were still painful moments, especially a downright bizarre ramble delivered in response to a question on his racial record; Biden implied that black parents need instructions on how to raise children, told people to “make sure you have the record player on at night,” and then started talking about Venezuela for no reason at all. I continue to believe he is a political liability who should under no circumstances be nominated.

Bernie had some excellent answers on foreign policy and democratic socialism, sadly made less forceful thanks to a hoarse voice. Unfortunately, he was also denied the chance to say anything about climate change, meaning he couldn’t explain the urgent need for a Green New Deal.

Warren distinguished herself as an explainer of progressive policies and effectively replied to the line about people wanting to 'keep their insurance' by saying “I’ve never met anybody who likes their health insurance company.” Kamala Harris continues to duck tough questions about her atrocious record as a prosecutor, Amy Klobuchar continues to offer uninspiring centrist clichés, Beto O’Rourke continues to emphasize guns and racism, Andrew Yang gets ever closer to becoming Matthew Lesko, and Cory Booker continues to be personally endearing without offering any reason to vote for him.

Spot on, except I did not see Warren so favorably.

The senator from Massachusetts started off the night with weak answers on health care, dodging the reality of higher taxes for the middle class and simply refusing to acknowledge that the “Medicare for All” plan she endorses outlaws private medical insurance. As the night went on she got better, appearing passionate and informed.

There were some plaudits but mostly brickbats for the mods.

It’s clear that Democratic debate hosts continue their disingenuous framing of socialism and the left, from asking loaded questions about what distinguishes Bernie Sanders from Venezuela’s Nicholas Maduro to repeating conservative talking points about Medicare for All. The debates are becoming increasingly redundant, with few revelations materializing among them. However, moderators Linsey Davis and Jorge Ramos asked tough questions that were a welcome shift from the tone of previous debates.

Davis unflinchingly confronted Biden on his positions on racial equality and disinterest in reparations, and she directly called out Kamala Harris’ criminal justice record. Likewise, Jorge Ramos keyed in on Biden’s support for the Obama administration’s deportations of 3 million people.

As the debate was 3 hours long, there should have been plenty of time to follow up on these questions, instead half of the first hour was spent re-litigating Medicare for All. While there were no clear winners, and the frontrunners’ positions will likely change little after tonight, at least a few pointed questions forced some to contend with their records.

I agree that the two Texans, particularly Beto, had the best night.

He managed to turn the mass shooting in his hometown into a broader, bolder argument for what the country needs and why he can provide it. That memorable line -- “Hell, yes, we're going to take your AR-15, your AK-47” -- came after he described how a 15-year-old bled out over the course of an hour because there weren't enough ambulances to get to the wounded. It’s part of his new model of throwing caution to the winds. To me it makes him a stronger candidate. But I’m not a middle-of-the-road suburban voter.

The gun nuts in the Lege erupted.  And with Greg Abbott and Ted Cruz both creeping away from Dan Patrick to his right, the momentum for pushback has been established.

Another big moment for O'Rourke came at the end of a riff on racism, when he said of Trump: "We have a white supremacist in the White House and he poses a mortal threat to people of color across this country."

O'Rourke's campaign was ready for a spike in Google searches and social media traffic that followed. His website was overhauled to feature a menacing red image of Trump with the words "The President of the United States of America is a white supremacist" -- as well as lots of links to Trump's racist comments.

I saw lots of whining about Castro being mean to Biden, which Boot Edge Edge carped about from the stage.   Castro slapped him down, too.

"Are you forgetting what you said two minutes ago?" Castro ... said to Biden. "Are you forgetting what you said two minutes ago? I can't believe that you said -- two minutes ago -- that they had to buy in and now you're forgetting that. We need a health care system where you're automatically enrolled."

Buttigieg cut in, saying, "This is why presidential debates are becoming unwatchable."

He continued: "This reminds everybody of what they cannot stand about Washington. Scoring points against each other, poking at each other."

Castro replied, "That's called the Democratic primary election, Pete. That's called an election."

This is exactly what any presidential nominee wants in a veep.  Bravo to Castro, and blue stars to both Beto and Julián.  It's about time.

I could really do without any more of Yang, Klobuchar, Mayo Pete, and Karmala, but we're stuck with them for awhile longer.  Steyer will be there in October, and Tulsi is just one more poll away.

Booker damned both Biden and Castro with faint praise, or something.


Let's note the heretofore undiscovered fault line between Bernie and Liz.

(Sanders and Warren) have been reluctant to go after each other when sharing the debate stage; in fact, they frequently end up agreeing with and supporting each other. The pair had a significant disagreement on Thursday night, though, when Warren swung a question about gun control around to announce her stance on the Senate filibuster.

"We have a Congress that's beholden to the gun industry," Warren said. "And unless we're willing to address that head on and roll back the filibuster, we're not going to get anything done on guns."

[...]

Sanders was asked afterward if he would support abolishing the filibuster as well. "No," the senator said bluntly. Sanders has said in the past that "Donald Trump supports the ending of the filibuster so you should be a little bit nervous if Donald Trump supports it," and argued that he has other ways to work the Senate rules.

But The New York Times' Astead Herndon observed that Warren coming out against the filibuster was strategic in that it "force[s] Bernie into a rare place of being an institutionalist."

Here's what's most interesting: establishment Democrats scoff at a President Sanders' chances of passing any of his agenda without at least something like reconciliation.  So this development is worth observing.  Sanders, with his decades of Senate experience, may have a trick up his sleeve, or may know something Warren, an upper chamber rookie, simply doesn't.

To the macro point:

I do not believe Warren can defeat Trump.  (I'm all but certain Biden can't.)  I find her outreach to the Democratic elites disingenuous to her presentation; it reveals her fauxgressive façade.  Bernie, in fact, is going to have to take the gloves off and go after her.

More for another day.
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