Sunday, February 07, 2021
Sunday QOP Funnies
Nick Anderson, who founded Counterpoint, was interviewed by Houstonia Magazine about his cartooning career post-newspapers: "(A)rtists from all political leanings are providing takes on today’s biggest headlines as contributors. Of the 18 satirists, ten -- like Anderson -- saw their jobs cut. It’s too soon to know if Counterpoint will hit it big (at the moment it has more than 170,000 subscribers), but if it does this could be a way to ensure that his art form doesn’t just die out."
Please support their work if you possibly can.
Friday, February 05, 2021
EOW Lone Star Leftist Round-Up
With many parts of Texas still besieged by huge COVID-19 caseloads, a bungled vaccination rollout, and an unemployment rate unseen since the Great Recession, Governor Greg Abbott chose to paint a much rosier picture in his State of the State address Monday.
“Texas remains the economic engine of America, the land of unmatched opportunity, and our comeback is already materializing. Texas has added new jobs for eight months in a row. ... Texans are returning to work. Students are returning to school. Families are re-establishing routines,” Abbott said.
“With each passing day of more vaccinations and increased immunity, normalcy is returning to Texas.” With his prologue about that pesky pandemic out of the way, Abbott went on to outline his political agenda for the 2021 session that consists largely of red meat for his party’s right-wing base.
The governor's so-called emergency items include election integrity, which are QAnon code words for voter suppression.
Abbott (AG Ken Paxton, and others) spent the weeks leading up to the 2020 election pushing back against every local attempt to make voting in a pandemic easier and safer, all while spreading misinformation about alleged "rampant voter fraud", so (this) is no surprise ...
Several Republican lawmakers have already introduced election bills that would further restrict the mail ballot system and increase criminal penalties for voter fraud. Last session, Senate Republicans passed an “election integrity” bill that would raise criminal penalties for certain election-related offenses; establish stricter rules for assisting disabled, elderly, or absentee voters; and altogether increase the likelihood that people who mistakenly violate election laws face criminal prosecution. As (the Texas Observer) reported then, voting rights advocates warned that the bill would “sharply escalate an ongoing campaign of voter suppression.” While the bill died in the House, Abbott wants that same bill to be a starting point for lawmakers this session.
Yesterday the new speaker of the Texas House made his selections of the heads of the chamber's working committees for the session. To say there are some surprises understates it.
Briscoe Cain volunteered to help former President Donald Trump’s legal team as it attempted to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election.
— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) February 4, 2021
He will take the lead on election issues in the Texas House this year. #txlege https://t.co/ryEweeur9i
Committee picks raise eyebrows with Democrats, voting rights advocates https://t.co/BNWUHBotHy
— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) February 5, 2021
Cain, R-Deer Park, was one of several lawyers who volunteered for the Trump campaign’s failed effort to throw out the election results in Pennsylvania, traveling to Philadelphia and interviewing poll workers and watchers. He declined Thursday to say whether he believes the federal election results were legitimate, or that the Pennsylvania lawsuits were adequately vetted. ... Since then, the Houston-area lawmaker has filed three election-related bills in the House, two aimed at rooting out non-citizen voters and one proposing to increase criminal penalties on voters who list an incorrect home address.One last bit from there, for our edification.
[...]
“Texas already makes it harder to vote than any other state. Rep. Briscoe being put in charge of the Elections Committee is a clear signal that the politicians in charge intend to make it even harder,” Anthony Gutierrez, the head of Common Cause Texas, a non-partisan public-interest group, said in a statement. “We’ll be fighting to stop them at every step.”
In 2019, then-Texas Secretary of State David Whitley was forced to resign after his office attempted to purge tens of thousands of voters, few of whom were confirmed to be ineligible, and the Senate did not confirm his nomination. Under Cain’s proposed legislation, gathering data for similar purges would be required.
A poll released this week by the University of Houston showed 83 percent Republicans in Texas believe there was widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, compared to 45 percent for the electorate overall.
As of (yesterday), all of Cain’s Twitter activity before Dec. 21 appeared to have been scrubbed, including a widely shared post from November sent on his way to Philadelphia. Asked about the apparently deleted tweets, he said, “News to me.”
Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, has been named the chair of the House Redistricting Committee.
— Alexa Ura (@alexazura) February 4, 2021
Federal judges found that #txlege mapdrawers “including specifically Rep. Hunter” in 2011 racially gerrymandered Nueces County districts to "undermine Latino voting strength." pic.twitter.com/EW21J3dQEo
'Subtle shift to right'? @DadePhelan bares hand on committees. (Really, @AllenWest called him a traitor?) @James_Barragan parses the winners & losers.
— Bob Garrett (@RobertTGarrett) February 5, 2021
Spoiler alert: If your last name's Bonnen or you're a Bonnen guy, you're good. (Sorry, Dan H.) #txlegehttps://t.co/6trBW6sncN
Wieners: "Fresh blood", i.e. the new generation of right-wing freaks; Team Bonnen (a clap-back at Empower Texas, despite all the wingnuts at the committee helms), Dallas Republicans, and in the spirit of bipartisanship ... Democrats Victoria Neave and Harold Dutton.
Loosers: The old guard; the X-Men (the ten Lege Rethugs who garroted ex-Speaker Dennis Bonnen) and female members of the House, who got stiffed on chairs.
Bruised fee-fees, new alliances, an upended dynamic because of the pandemic, an assured special session on redistricting, where the long knives will come out ... fun!
Captain @DadePhelan in three months #txlege https://t.co/rnyn9agI2K pic.twitter.com/yzhxYIo3vf
— The 87th Legislature (@The87thTxlege) February 5, 2021
Captain @DadePhelan come third special session #txlege pic.twitter.com/9nCvkL98Cv
— The 87th Legislature (@The87thTxlege) February 5, 2021
I could go long again on Texans behaving badly, but that topic really exhausts me, so I'll save it for Monday's Wrangle. A few social justice updates:
#FreeZephi
— Karine Omry (@KarineOmry) February 4, 2021
Zephi was a 16-year-old child sex trafficking victim when her trafficker murdered her sex buyer.
Urge @DallasCountyDAO to drop all charges against Zephi Treviño!
Call: 214-653-3600
Email: john.creuzot@dallascounty.org pic.twitter.com/I4Cz8236LE
Judge temporarily blocks Texas from kicking Planned Parenthood out of Medicaid program https://t.co/UZKEwu6SLY
— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) February 3, 2021
Lawyers seek response to 'deep indifference to human suffering' at Harris County Jail, citing a man who died of COVID at the lockup. Days later his lawyer billed for work on his case. @sam_kett https://t.co/pMbmV4vubK via @houstonchron
— Gabrielle Banks (@GabMoBanks) February 5, 2021
In lawsuit, woman trampled by HPD police horse accuses department of negligence: https://t.co/Lg0Zr8fzAj #kprc2 #hounews
— KPRC 2 Houston (@KPRC2) February 4, 2021
Payday and car title lenders in Texas got more than $45 million in #COVID19 aid https://t.co/0ikY4t1K09 #TXLege
— Forever in debt to your priceless advice. (@PDiddie) February 2, 2021
And scattered, mostly unrelated good news/bad news Tweets to close out.
Just in: no @RODEOHOUSTON in 2021. https://t.co/4dIuEIiZym
— Jasper Scherer (@jaspscherer) February 3, 2021
A year ago tonight...Lizzo & Chance the Rapper were coming to the rodeo. The Astros had a new slogan, "For The H." But flights from China to Houston had already been cancelled. A local virus hunter warned, "It’s time to be attentive to what’s going on around the world." #khou
— The Bishop (@BillBishopKHOU) February 5, 2021
Tribute to Buddy Holly on the spot where he died #OTD in 1959. 🎸 pic.twitter.com/JMWidFHIVQ
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) February 3, 2021
Monday, February 01, 2021
The Far Left Texas Weekly Wrangle
By gaveling in and out within minutes last week, the clown car that is our Texas Legislature is making obvious its plans to take the long way home this session.
To be fair, this is as much about the coronavirus ravaging us all as it is the wait for the
Block-level data needed for redistricting may not be available until after July 31 -- at least two months after the regular legislative session ends -- according to the latest timeline released by the U.S. Census Bureau. The delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have been exacerbated by the need to correct “irregularities” in the data.
More (granular, for you data nerds) from TXElects. This early snail's pace is imposing another hardship on Lege staff.
Soooooooo the Texas Senate is adjourning till February 9th; I have only seen my Austin apartment ONCE but my landlord is gonna want all the rent; y’all could have told me this was what we doing before I signed my lease #texlege #txlege pic.twitter.com/0HgY66ZGwC
— Camille Lasin (@CamilleLasin) January 26, 2021
There were five public hearings last week of the state Senate Subcommittee on Redistricting, all of them socially distanced and all covered by Reform Austin. Here's their report from last Friday. You have two opportunities this week, via ACLU Texas, to get a Zoom briefing that previews the session (if you need to catch up). Here's that schedule.
Tuesday, February 2nd 2021, 6p-7:30p CST
Thursday, February 4th 2021, 6p-7:30p CST
Among the many items you can keep an eye out for:
The amount of landmass that is required to nullify Austin/ Travis County representation in the US Congress is stunning. pic.twitter.com/jmXHcssNO3
— Luanne Platter (@fabalasays) January 29, 2021
"No matter what type of health insurance they have, every Texan should be able to get the full range of reproductive health care, including abortion. Rosie's Law would make the right to abortion a reality for Texans." - Kamyon Conner (@TEAFund) #TxLegehttps://t.co/KYRSwnV2p3
— Planned Parenthood Texas Votes (@PPTXVotes) January 28, 2021
Nearly 3/4s of Texans ‘strongly’ support passing the #GeorgeFloydAct. The#txlege bill by @RoyceWestTX And @Senfronia4Texas will reform our broken criminal justice system and how police interact with the public. https://t.co/ozEYkP2TwT
— ACLU of Texas (@ACLUTx) January 29, 2021
What's also weird about this is that most testimony on bills comes at the behest of lobbyists. If we axe lobbyists, then I suspect the only testimony to show up -- good or bad -- will be the testimony lawmakers like. #txlege #txed #creepyandwrong #87th https://t.co/v9drhuGQeL
— Kimberly Reeves (@edwonkkimmy) January 28, 2021
In this year's #txlege, Republican lawmakers hope they can make Texas' anti-abortion laws among the most restrictive in the country.
— Rebekah Allen (@rebekahallen) February 1, 2021
via @ShannonNajma https://t.co/GPsZSnnz2Q
Equality Texas warns of the forthcoming attack on trans kids.
The survey mentioned above (in ACLUTx's tweet) opened a few eyes.
From the @hobbyschooluh #txlege survey on #Marijuana:
— Mark P. Jones (@MarkPJonesTX) January 28, 2021
86% Support Medical Marijuana.
71% Support Decriminalization (~traffic ticket-$250 fine).
66% Support Legalizing & Taxing Sale of Marijuana.
61% Support Legalizing Possession (small amounts).https://t.co/fgvq2Ygrkw
.@hobbyschooluh poll on new revenue sources:
— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) January 27, 2021
- Casinos: 70% of Texans support (78% of Democrats/67% of Republicans/72% of independents)
- Marijuana: 66% (83%/44%/70%)https://t.co/Gs1LiWnY8O #txlege
"only 19% and 27% [of Texans] favor an expansion of coal mining and fracking respectively" https://t.co/YtcRYEsUGa
— Jay Blazek Crossley (@JayCrossley) January 27, 2021
Despite those approval ratings on legal weed (we already knew he was a pessimist on casino gambling), Speaker Dade Phelan is dour about its chances.
Phelan also offers more of his personal view on another potential new revenue source: "I think we're doing just fine without legalized marijuana" in Texas. #txlege https://t.co/da50ZgjeZL pic.twitter.com/abLoOygnNp
— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) January 29, 2021
Perhaps one day Texas will elect representatives who will follow the will of the people. That day appears to be a long way off. Behold the stupidity as it relates to fossil fuels (refer back to the polling about fracking and coal mining above).
Four Texas Democrats in the U.S. House have come out against President Joe Biden’s executive order directing the secretary of the interior to halt new oil and gas leases on federal public lands and waters “to the extent possible.”
In a letter, Democratic Reps. Vicente Gonzalez of McAllen, Henry Cuellar of Laredo, Lizzie Pannill Fletcher of Houston and Marc Veasey of Fort Worth called Biden’s order “far-reaching” and demanded he rescind it, arguing that banning “responsible energy leasing” would eliminate jobs, decrease the country’s gross domestic product, increase crude imports from foreign countries and chip away at federal revenue, among other concerns.
In this piece, titled "Gov. Greg Abbott Vows To Fight Joe Biden’s Energy And Climate Agenda", even he is smart enough to acknowledge what these four damned Blue Dogs cannot.
Abbott acknowledged that in Texas, there is “either zero or close to zero” federal lands where drilling is done, so Biden’s order does not impact the state as much as it does New Mexico, for example.
Abbott is, naturally, overly suspicious that Biden “will be trying to take actions that will make it harder, more difficult and more costly” for oil and gas businesses in Texas. Jeebus, I would hope so. Loren Steffy for Texas Monthly timely observed that the oil industry didn't do so well under Trump.
While I'm here, let me drop in these links to more news on environmental topics.
The EDF survey found that roughly 1 in 10 flares in the #PermianBasin were either unlit or malfunctioning. And a new report adds another layer onto this problem—whether the flares are even permitted in the first place. https://t.co/NzZobtw61Y
— DeSmog (@DeSmogBlog) January 29, 2021
As Earthworks blogger Sharon Wilson has written: flaring is (still) flamingly stupid, but unlit flaring is worse. All yell: "How stupid is it"?
This is impossible to ignore. Capturing natural gas can help us fight the immediate threats of a warming planet AND oil companies could make millions. https://t.co/IjA01YsZwF
— EDF (@EnvDefenseFund) January 28, 2021
"We have to get together as a community to defend ourselves."
— Houston Public Media (@HoustonPubMedia) January 31, 2021
A look back at the Deer Park ITC fire and its aftermath, on Ep. 2 of the podcast Fire Triangle from @HoustonPubMedia and @TPRNews. https://t.co/XISfuaNaOu
Texas will soon start testing drinking water for lead and copper in roughly 25,000 schools and child care facilities following an update to federal standards.
— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) January 30, 2021
The change comes in the aftermath of the Flint, Michigan, water crisis. #txed https://t.co/B1EJy9cbJn
I won't have anything to say today about a possible Beto for governor run. I already have my candidate. I also won't have any Trumpists 'Behaving Badly'. Had enough of those for a lifetime. (Still might be forced to update later in the week.) Here's a couple of things regarding the pandemic.
If you're over the age of 65, or you are over the age of 16 and have an underlying health condition, you are now eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine in Texas. But eligibility is one thing and getting a dose, quite another. https://t.co/DSL56YhvOF
— Texas Standard (@TexasStandard) January 31, 2021
Dos Centavos however had a successful Harris County vax portal registration.
Thousands of incarcerated people and employees at Houston’s jail have tested positive for COVID-19. Sheriff Ed Gonzales recently recommended over 1,500 bail reductions, but DA Kim Ogg agreed to only 60. And police keep arresting more people.https://t.co/vGMhTAQfO0
— The Appeal (@theappeal) January 27, 2021
There's my segue to the social justice -- and injustice -- updates.
A survivor of the El Paso Walmart shooting has been deported after a traffic stop on Wednesday, according to the Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services.https://t.co/GKnHOAEUI5
— KTSM 9 News (@KTSMtv) January 30, 2021
"Jimenez, who suffers from stage-four kidney disease, could now finally get decent medical care—including a transplant. Being freed would save her life." https://t.co/hUDOI0Dh3l
— Texas Monthly (@TexasMonthly) January 31, 2021
THREAD: #ATXCouncil took a big step forward by buying another hotel to house those experiencing homelessness. We’ll be using funds diverted from our police budget to run the hotel and provide services like job aid, mental health care, & more. @theappeal https://t.co/YtDPdYw0eD
— Gregorio Casar (@GregCasar) January 28, 2021
Grits for Breakfast expresses cautious optimism about new Travis County DA Jose Garza.
Each year TX police jail thousands of ppl for offenses that carry fine-only punishments. These are often "contempt of cop" situations like Sandra Bland's arrest. Will the recent uprising over race & policing push TX lawmakers to finally curb these arrests? https://t.co/r63bNhgr17
— Michael Barajas (@michaelsbarajas) January 26, 2021
Today my office dismissed 36 alleged sex workers from the County’s Bissonnet Track lawsuit. We are committed to finding solutions on street trafficking, but using a civil injunction to back door sex workers into the justice system is not the answer. https://t.co/2GfjvtoAfM
— Christian D. Menefee (@CDMenefee) January 28, 2021
With the lighter side items to wrap this Wrangle ...
Shari Biediger for the San Antonio Report writes about the death of the publisher of Castroville's newspaper, which has almost unraveled the entire community. Jason Guerrasio for Insider spoke with Lizzie Gottlieb, whose father, Robert, and LBJ biographer Robert Caro are the focus of her documentary, 'Turn Every Page'.
Corpus Christi woman's crocheted Bernie Sanders doll sells on eBay for more than $20,300 https://t.co/fN4H7Paa6G
— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) January 27, 2021
For one San Antonio kid, the GameStop stock saga ended simply, triumphantly, and with $3,200 in hand. https://t.co/rpUHAslU6z
— Texas Monthly (@TexasMonthly) January 31, 2021
Austin-based director Jason Neulander and two Texas actors bring a play about homelessness, police violence, and illness to the screen.https://t.co/q7FaEyjWtF
— Texas Observer (@TexasObserver) January 30, 2021
The only known photo of Blind Lemon Jefferson, Texas blues and gospel singer-songwriter and musician. He was one of the most popular blues singers of the 1920s and has been called the "Father of the Texas Blues. Taken in 1926. He is buried in Wortham, Texas. pic.twitter.com/JPipv0Vuoc
— Traces of Texas (@TracesofTexas) January 31, 2021