Kroger will discontinue "hero" pay for front-line employees on May 17
Sunday, May 10, 2020
Sunday 'Treated Worse than Lincoln, Mom' Funnies
Kroger will discontinue "hero" pay for front-line employees on May 17
Wednesday, May 06, 2020
Race for the White House Update: Live and Let Die
Without covering his own face, President Trump visited a Honeywell factory making N95 face masks in Arizona while Guns N' Roses' 'Live and Let Die' played in the background https://t.co/ighshLku9i pic.twitter.com/damCXpt9Oh
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 6, 2020
Judge Torres found that Cuomo’s decision to cancel the NY primary violated both the 1st and 14th Amendments. We lose credibility about standing up for voting rights when we condone the shenanigans in NY. Thank you Judge Torres for speaking the truth. https://t.co/eqhxxHCBEM
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) May 6, 2020
NEW: We showed voters a clip of @JoeBiden's denial of Tara Reade's allegations of sexual assault.
— Cameron Easley (@cameron_easley) May 4, 2020
After watching, 26% of Democrats -- including 40% of those under 45 -- said the party should select a different nominee.
Read @eyokley here: https://t.co/KwiMxKRdTd pic.twitter.com/d9kIkwe4Cn
Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez says he fully expects his party to hold an in-person nominating convention this summer. https://t.co/OCJrYUfR1Q
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) May 3, 2020
Excellent piece by @perrybaconjr. The Democratic Party is much more responsive to and molded by the George W Bush NeverTrumpers than the Sanders left. https://t.co/2mqEXLkEJV
— Krystal Ball (@krystalball) May 5, 2020
Jesse 'The Maybe' Ventura decides against 2020 campaign https://t.co/ThZePJ7mV5 via @I_P_R
— Forever in debt to your priceless advice. (@PDiddie) May 5, 2020
Update on @GovJVentura deciding not to run for office:@NomikiKonst @briebriejoy @MattBinder @_michaelbrooks pic.twitter.com/Fq4RWPGjPf
— Bernie Soldier 🎙 (@BernieSoldier) May 5, 2020
I am happy to announce that Angela Walker as my running mate for vice president.
— Angela N Walker (@AngelaNWalker) May 6, 2020
Angela is a veteran working-class activist with decades of experience in social movements, unions, and as an independent socialist candidate.
Read the full announcement at https://t.co/ITatsgBISC pic.twitter.com/1f4R0tsvwy
(Last Saturday, May 2nd), the Libertarian National Committee voted to:
- Invoke the “impossibility” clause in its convention contract with the JW Marriott in Austin, Texas; and
- Postpone the 2020 Libertarian National Convention to a place to be determined, and an opening date no later than July 15; and
- Adjourn their e-meeting to (this coming) Saturday to consider options for that move.
New Hampshire state Representative Max Abramson, who previously sought the Libertarian Party’s 2020 presidential nomination before withdrawing in March, has decided to seek the presidential nomination of the Veterans Party of America. Abramson broke the news last Tuesday on his campaign blog. Last month Abramson told IPR that two different political parties had contacted him about running for their presidential nominations. He did not specify which ones at the time.According to Abramson, the Veterans Party of America is in the process of organizing for November on a platform of “restoring the Constitution and bringing the troops home.” It plans to hold its national convention May 17 online.
The Veterans Party of America was founded in 2014. In 2016, it ran reliability engineer Chris Keniston for president. He appeared on the ballot only in Colorado and Mississippi and received 7,251 votes. ...Although the party, which describes itself as “centrist,” is concerned with veterans’ issues, being a veteran is not a requirement for membership.
Blankenship, 70, was the CEO of Massey, a coal mining company, from 2000 until 2010. During his tenure, the 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine disaster killed 29 people in West Virginia. Blankenship blames the disaster on the negligence of officials from the Mine Safety and Health Administration. The federal investigation that followed the disaster led to the prosecution of Blankenship. At the criminal trial, the jury rejected three felony charges but found him guilty of conspiring to violate federal mine safety laws, a misdemeanor with a prison sentence of one year. The prosecutors were later found to have committed reckless misconduct due to their failure to disclose witness memoranda. Blankenship continues to maintain his innocence and decided to run for West Virginia’s U.S. Senate seat after leaving prison in 2017.
During the three-man 2018 campaign for the Republican nomination, at least 105 media outlets and individuals falsely described Blankenship as a “felon” and/or “convicted felon.” Blankenship alleges the coverage implied his responsibility for the deaths in the mine disaster and cost him the election. He sued for defamation and the case is currently going to trial. After losing the primary, Blankenship joined the Constitution Party and attempted to run as the Constitution Party nominee for the seat but was denied ballot access.
Blankenship announced his intention to seek the Constitution Party presidential nomination in October 2019. During his campaign he sought to out-Trump Trump, meaning he wanted to present himself as a better reflection of the President Donald Trump’s moment than Trump himself. This included a populist platform of restrictive immigration and protectionist trade policies.
Ahead of the national convention, Blankenship participated in a few presidential debates and won the non-binding primary in Missouri. He also won the binding primary in Idaho that effectively left him as the nominee of the unaffiliated Idaho Constitution Party.
Blankenship’s running mate, William Mohr, is from the Michigan Taxpayers Party, the Constitution Party affiliate in Michigan. He ran on the party line for state legislature in 2012 and 2014, receiving 3 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively, in those elections.
According to the April 2020 print edition of Ballot Access News, the Constitution Party is currently on the ballot in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Tuesday, May 05, 2020
TexProgBlog Wrangle II: Revenge of the Fifth
as its #RevengeOfTheFifth i thought you may appreciate this... pic.twitter.com/3xI605z1s7— Dave wagstaff (@Dave_Waggy) May 5, 2020
The Trump administration's own Bay of Pigs fiasco in Venezuela, reported last evening, featured two Texans in leadership roles.
Venezuela captured private military invaders sponsored by the US. https://t.co/RR3c8bdrkH— Maria ⏳ (@ml_1maria) May 5, 2020
Omfg. These barney fife soldiers brought their company identification card and army id card to a coup. Admitting a direct connection to trump. MSM silent as usual. https://t.co/UFKJdy7BsJ— By-Tor🌹 (@BrianArizona) May 5, 2020
Here are a couple of citizen action items for today.
Mark your calendars! Tuesday, May 5th is the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Uniting (in isolation) for MMIW awareness. Wear your red in support! Let's paint social media RED!! Chi-Miigwetch ♥ #MMIWG #JusticeForAll #NoMoreStolenSisters pic.twitter.com/P72EgAhZmK— Winterlady (@Pochohantas1957) May 2, 2020
Join TOP & allies for a virtual rally May 5 on Facebook Live as we raise our voices to urge @GovAbbott to use his power to expand Medicaid & address the health of Texans who need our help most in this crisis!— Texas Organizing Project (@OrganizeTexas) April 30, 2020
RSVP: https://t.co/OKDwwZu5cX#txlege #ExpandMedicaid #SickOfItTX pic.twitter.com/uDcJPTC4sm
Some additional accounts of the lawsuits against limitations to early voting by mail (aka absentee voting, mail ballots, and a few other names):
TX, (& 6 Other States) Said Violating 26th Amend w/ Absentee Ballot Restrictions: Latest #BradCast— Brad Friedman (@TheBradBlog) May 1, 2020
Guest: @Slate legal journalist @mjs_DC; Also: U.S. economy plummeting at staggering rate; One Fox 'News' host pushes back (a bit)...
FULL STORY, LISTEN: https://t.co/WDbkMe52IT pic.twitter.com/bSMI9Lrsva
Anyone 65 or older can get a mail-in ballot, most of the rest can't, because the GOP fears fraud. We know a lot of sneaky old people, though.https://t.co/DtJriyTWf0— Dallas Observer (@Dallas_Observer) May 4, 2020
And other litigation updates.
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit decided Monday that a case challenging the Texas prohibition of government entities from contracting with companies who boycott Israel is moot.
The court vacated the preliminary injunction and remanded the case to the district court to dismiss the complaints. The order did not address the constitutionality of Texas’s law.
Judge (E. Grady) Jolly wrote that the case was moot because all of the plaintiffs are sole proprietors, and Texas enacted legislation that exempts sole proprietors from the “No Boycott of Israel” certification. The plaintiffs claim that the law violates their First Amendment speech rights.
.@rossramsey: The goal of blanket liability protection for businesses that reopen during the pandemic is to protect them from whatever might go wrong as the economy comes out of its deep freeze.— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) May 5, 2020
The logic around that is twisted. https://t.co/CF4WrhYnAb
Rather than go long on the plethora of coronavirus updates from around the state, this piece from Rich Shumate of Chicken Fried Politics provides insight to the travails of governors, senators, and state legislators across the South in dealing with the competing interests of capitalism and public health and safety. What troubles Greg Abbott is not different from what concerns the governor in Florida or the Senate Majority Leader from Kentucky; their respective reactions -- and whether they are up for re-election this year -- certainly is.
Still, we must acknowledge the shortcomings of our leaders.
If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck. pic.twitter.com/nSF2YvTKpc— The Truth Is Out There (@drmom247) May 5, 2020
Man blocked from @JohnCornyn's Twitter feed gets unblocked after filing lawsuit— ChickenFriedPolitics (@ChkFriPolitics) May 2, 2020
--ChickenFriedPolitics.com is The Place for Southern Politics--https://t.co/IFOJZY3Sqr
Folks in rural Texas that still support Trump and Gov. Abbott should watch this @60Minutes report because they are leaving them exposed to the ravages of #CoronaVirus. These people don't care about you. #60Minutes #Texas https://t.co/REVV1KTTzv— franklin Brown (@franklin19788) May 3, 2020
In a follow-up to an item in last week's Wrangle ...
After drawing ire from smaller businesses and some lawmakers, the network of hotels run by prominent Texas Republican donor Monty Bennett will be returning all of the $76 million it received in coronavirus disaster funds. https://t.co/SaRtSN9Vch— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) May 3, 2020
All together now: "Okay, Alex; EAT. MY. ASS."
being eaten by alex jones is number one with a bullet on my new chart of “ways i least want to die” https://t.co/BHASuQx2iD— dan solomon (@dansolomon) May 1, 2020
As difficult as it is to top that, one salon owner tried her best.
Armed Supporters Show Up To Guard Dallas Salon Defying COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Order https://t.co/Sg2mv8v5kH— Jeff Moore🌾🌹🌾 (@JMooreBoston) April 29, 2020
The tornado that ripped through Polk County in East Texas last week produced debris that will be a long time cleaning up. Elsewhere on the environmental front ...
What a pity https://t.co/Qll3BTzZaY— Mary Annaïse Heglar (@MaryHeglar) May 1, 2020
Wrapping another Wrangle with some of the lighter items, such as they are.
Why did Asleep At The Wheel frontman Ray Benson go public about his COVID-19 diagnosis? "Because I couldn’t get a test,” he says. “But the outpouring of love and concern was incredible.” https://t.co/Vpc7eotbYt— Texas Standard (@TexasStandard) May 3, 2020
In a pair of stories from the Valley, Jose Antonio Lopez writes at the Rio Grande Guardian about Alonso de León, another of the Spanish explorers and settlers of Texas. And Dan Clouse at LareDOS has a tale from Uncle Billy about a map to buried treasure at Lake Falcon.
The annual SXSW festivals and conferences were among the first major economic casualties of the coronavirus.— Texas Standard (@TexasStandard) May 3, 2020
Now, fans around the world will be able to watch films that would have been featured at SXSW through a virtual venue – no badge required. https://t.co/BqCqJzpi2t
You may not know the name, but you definitely know the face. Caleb Landry Jones, the 'weirdo' actor in projects like "Get Out" and "Twin Peaks: The Return," has a new—weird—album, out tomorrow. https://t.co/3mhUxJafAC— Texas Monthly (@TexasMonthly) April 30, 2020