Sunday, September 19, 2021
Thursday, September 16, 2021
The Calm After (Nicholas) and Before (87-3) the Storm Wrangle From Far Left Texas
Past storms first.
In this post we provide an updated forecast for Houston, and some thoughts about how our region, as bad as last night was, narrowly escaped a much worse storm.https://t.co/CNfHwSCJCb
— Eric Berger (@SpaceCityWX) September 14, 2021
“10-20 inches of rainfall came offshore”. “A track even 40 or 50 miles inland would have set up those heaviest rains directly across the Houston metro area”. *shudder*
An Ike Dike isn't going to stop the wind, which causes the power outages. Louisiana is still suffering from those two weeks after Ida.
Imagine it’s 90 degrees outside, your wall-to-wall carpet is fully soaked in flood water and it’s starting to mold. Your power is out so you have no air conditioning, not even a fan, and your phone has been dead for days. Everything in your fridge is rotten, but the grocery store doesn’t have power so they’re cash only, but you don’t have any cash. You don’t have a car, so your options are to keep your family inside the house, breathing in spores, or stay outside in flooded streets and unlivable heat.
This is the basic state of existence for millions of people in Louisiana after Hurricane Ida tore through the Gulf Coast. Sadly, the misery and desperation was not contained. 1,300 miles away, 44 people died from the very same storm as it pummeled New York and New Jersey.
Of the 14 deaths attributable to Ida, nine are estimated to have been caused by electricity outage-related heat exhaustion. Yeah, we got lucky here in Texas, if you want to call it that.
Galveston saw nearly 14 inches (35 centimeters) of rain from Nicholas while Houston reported more than 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain.https://t.co/0OMUZdxgtQ#txlege #254Strong
— Texas County magazine (@TexasCountymag) September 14, 2021
More than 100K customers remain without power after Nicholas.
— Erin Douglas (@erinmdouglas23) September 15, 2021
That's down from the roughly half a million who were out at the peak of outages after the storm.
CenterPoint Energy says that some customers could be out for days.
https://t.co/7x6dPjgPUC via @MitchellFerman
Though this report seems hyperbolic after reading Centerpoint Energy's account on power restoration from last night.
#Houston: Crews today drove down the outage count to ~40K (from a peak of 460K). As we sign off social media for the day, our crews, supported by mutual assistance crews, continue to work through the night. Read the latest updates on your area: https://t.co/yWR7rjUBMi #hounews pic.twitter.com/wN6K0OHZks
— CenterPoint Energy Alerts (@CNPalerts) September 16, 2021
We can all remember things being worse.
Hurricane Ike made landfall on this day 13 years ago https://t.co/hlbGpKE0RO
— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) September 13, 2021
We'd just rather not relive them for a barely-Cat 1 storm.
Let me catch up on the latest regarding the court battles getting under way on the womens' rights law and the voting rights law.
A federal judge has agreed to consider blocking the enforcement of a new Texas law banning abortions after about six weeks. | via @HoustonPubMedia https://t.co/mtfidBZfjL
— KUT Austin (@KUT) September 15, 2021
Developments in reproductive rights fight in Texas court: State judge sides with Planned Parenthood bid to block lawsuits from TX abortion law, formal ruling coming later this week, @mcohanlon reports. #abortion #txlege #TexasCourts #PlannedParenthood https://t.co/X5pS2QhZlu
— John Gravois (@Grav1) September 13, 2021
Fascinating analysis that hypothesizes that lawmakers knowingly engaged in official oppression. #txlege #quorumreporthttps://t.co/idLBYx860h
— harvey kronberg (@HKronberg) September 14, 2021
Who are the wealthy conservative donors behind the Texas abortion ban? https://t.co/TyZ4YjyHAx #txlege #SB8 #BansOffOurBodies pic.twitter.com/G94YsGfEid
— Teddy Wilson (@reportbywilson) September 13, 2021
Democrats are encouraged by the most recent development in Washington; the Freedom to Vote Act revises the For The People Act just enough to get President Manchin on board.
New voting rights bills in the Senate. Key points:
— Lee Drutman (@leedrutman) September 14, 2021
1. New name: the Freedom to Vote Act.
2. New voter ID compromise provisions -- totally reasonable.
3. Manchin is very engaged.
4. Filibuster almost certain, but necessary precursor to filibuster reform.https://t.co/ss13cDhDeg
Freedom to Vote Act includes:
— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) September 14, 2021
-ban on partisan gerrymandering
-automatic & Election Day registration
-no-excuse mail-in voting & access to drop boxes
-prohibitions on election subversion
-two weeks early voting & Election Day holiday pic.twitter.com/lGgPkgc49M
The redistricting provisions of the Freedom to Vote Act have a number of differences from the earlier For the People Act. Some of them are BIG. A thread 🧵 #fairmaps 1/
— Michael Li 李之樸 (@mcpli) September 14, 2021
And that's my segue to the redistricting battle gearing up for the start of next week's special session of the Texas Lege.
Texas' population explosion from 2010-2020 occurred primarily in metro areas while the state saw 143 rural counties lose population - something with big implications during redistricting #txlege #publicpolicy #Politics #redistricting #urban #Rural #Texas https://t.co/31Js58SFnI
— PLCTexas (@PLC_Texas) September 13, 2021
@TexasDemography has released two fact sheets using the Census 2020 P.L. 94-171 redistricting data to help users understand and analyze the data:
— Texas Demographic Center (@TexasDemography) September 9, 2021
1. For Texas Counties, 2010-2020 (https://t.co/QoE1OXwDJ3)
2. For Texas Places, 2010-2020 (https://t.co/y0PIGCYgxa)#Census2020 pic.twitter.com/XfcMycMC4S
Texas State Senators, we are told, have privately been shown their own maps ahead of redistricting. Based on various conversations, it sounds like @DanPatrick's goal is to take it from an 18 to 13 Republican advantage to a 20 - 11 GOP majority #TxLege https://t.co/WTxLQ3es2z
— Scott Braddock (@scottbraddock) September 15, 2021
This piece from Slate provides a good summary of the strategy of the TXGOP regarding voting rights, womens' rights, and redistricting.
“Texas Republicans are acutely aware that as their numbers contract demographically, they can’t continue to rule over minorities, or pass unpopular laws like S.B. 8, unless those minorities are systematically discouraged from voting. “ #txlege https://t.co/vwvVkltb2r
— Anthony Gutierrez (@antgutierrez) September 14, 2021
Here's a bit of the latest in election news.
Democrats see their opening in race against embattled AG Ken Paxton https://t.co/swAFmjlCPw
— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) September 16, 2021
Until the Donks get a gubernatorial candidate that suits the establishment, this is the most important race on the ballot. And with the latest entry in the GOP primary, the Repubes are publicly acknowledging it; getting rid of Ken Paxton themselves makes all of the reasons for replacing him go away for the Blues. And they have the usual headwinds, plus a few new ones. For one example:
The party assumes people of color will turn the state blue. But most Tejanos consider themselves white. And more are voting Republican.https://t.co/7MOIahz09H+
— Texas Monthly (@TexasMonthly) September 13, 2021
Dems still see hopeful signs that they can turn back the red tide.
Highlights: 52% of Texans say that the state is worse off than this time last year and 92% say they are concerned about Texas' future. #txlege https://t.co/99lfhCMiqf
— Hope Osborn (@HopeOsbornTX) September 14, 2021
A local update: Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has had a bumpy ride of late. She was forced to cave on that contract to Felicity Pereyra, the Democratic consultant I used to know well who almost hit the big time before the commissioners made a stink about it. The Chron's op-ed board piled on. (Another story I don't recall reading on Off the Kuff. Maybe I just missed it.) Now this.
Worth noting here that Hidalgo and the other two Democrats pitched a large tax rate increase in '19 that was blocked by the Republican commissioners. https://t.co/Y4uMfcHzcK
— Zach Despart (@zachdespart) September 14, 2021
Hidalgo has a Green challenger named Joe McElligott, who's run for various offices a few times before. Flies mostly under the radar.
If @SylvesterTurner isn't going to provide lawyers for houston families facing eviction
— Joe McElligott (@joe_mcelligott) September 10, 2021
Then @linahidalgotx needs to step uphttps://t.co/WzDN0Mh3ni https://t.co/vdqG0m0Abq
I don't really want to register a protest vote against Hidalgo next year, but I'm still bothered by her -- and her team's -- ignoring my repeated questions about the county's new voting machines back in March. So I'd like to see more and better out of both Hidalgo and McElligott before choosing between them. Moving on to criminal and social justice headlines ...
Galveston…
— Mass Disturbance (@MassD) September 14, 2021
Police arrest another white guy without beating him. pic.twitter.com/ktEOdWACX1
Texas' 10/27 execution of Ruben Gutierrez has been cancelled.
— Jolie McCullough (@jsmccullou) September 15, 2021
The DA asked to withdraw the date yesterday, court records show.
Last year, #SCOTUS stopped his death in an ongoing fight over religious advisers' access to executions: https://t.co/DfYfJqrcCI #deathpenalty
Texas judges again order Harris County DA Kim Ogg to stop withholding Harding Street raid evidence https://t.co/VnkOLZiCJ2 via @houstonchron #hounews
— Matt Schwartz (@SchwartzChron) September 15, 2021
Court-appointed watchdogs found Texas foster care children were exposed to sexual abuse, given the wrong medication and neglected in unlicensed placements. https://t.co/13R2exeZwX
— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) September 15, 2021
More bullying of local governments, no solutions for homelessness from the governor and the people who work for him #txlege https://t.co/tcTQAJSv8z
— Scott Braddock (@scottbraddock) September 13, 2021
The Austin Justice Coalition among several other organizations are gathering at the Texas Capitol speaking out against voting, abortion, and other laws recently passed. @cbsaustin pic.twitter.com/4JPRCt3aw1
— Ricardo Lewis (@RicardoLewisTV) September 11, 2021
They were met by armed counter-protesters, a new wrinkle of the state's relaxed gun laws.
It also happened in Austin yesterday. A white man showed up to a peaceful protest, armed, with the intentions of intimidating people of color. This man was wearing a 3%er shirt. @shannonrwatts #TurnTexasBlue #txlege pic.twitter.com/1u4qJcv3sR
— Shell_Seas (@LivingBlueTX) September 12, 2021
It seems like good news that Miami has sniffed out Art Acevedo early.
Former Houston police chief on the hot seat five months into his new job https://t.co/HsWAtSF2YL
— Matt Schwartz (@SchwartzChron) September 15, 2021
The documentary zooms in on one particularly dangerous area: Brooks County, population 7,100, where more than 2,000 migrants are presumed to have died since 2008. https://t.co/Ymh7ZWMP43
— Texas Observer (@TexasObserver) September 14, 2021
Last week, a Texas prosecutor dropped dozens of trespassing cases against migrants arrested under @GovAbbott's new "catch and jail" policy.
— Jolie McCullough (@jsmccullou) September 14, 2021
ICE/CBP didn't want to take the men, so some were dropped at a border town bus stop w/out documentation. https://t.co/SK6yESl7aP #txlege
Proud to join scores of ATX environmentalists, social justice advocates, union organizers, & progressive leaders at the @NoWayPropA kick-off.
— Bob Libal (@blibal) September 9, 2021
Prop A would cause deep cuts in our libraries, parks, fire, & EMS. It will make Austin less safe.
📸: @texrising pic.twitter.com/7wKDm7TiFu
And to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month, LareDOS reports that Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) has a full offering of engaging lectures, presentations, and activities.
The month-long celebration will launch with a traditional El Grito, Thursday, Sept. 16, from 7-9 p.m. in the Student Center Green at an event organized by the student organization Campus Activities Board.
For one Mexican-American studying Texas History in school back in the 1960s and 70s, he learned something that wasn’t in the history books. https://t.co/ajU8guMxkr
— KENS 5 (@KENS5) September 16, 2021
Come see the shows Senderos del Desierto (Salvador Rodriguez) and On the Waterfront (June Ainsworth) Sept 10 – Oct 10 at Rockport Center for the Arts, 401 S. Austin Street. Rockport, TX.
— Glasstire (@Glasstire) September 13, 2021
#texasart #texasartist #contemporarylandscapepaintings@RockportTXArt #goseesomeart pic.twitter.com/axw1miqxtH
Monday, September 13, 2021
The Monday Morning Wet Wrangle from Far Left Texas
A bit of a scattershot postpourri this morning, between catching up and clearing out the bookmarks.
Governor Abbott#GregAbbott #Texas #NoMoreRapists #WhiteAfterLaborDay #GovernorAbbott @IndianaJournos @EandPCartoons pic.twitter.com/UIanwJXzoD
— Tim Campbell (@tc2oons) September 10, 2021
Gov. Abbott told reporters that Texas will work to eliminate all rapists. Except, as a justice on the Texas Supreme Court, he didn’t do that at all. #TXDeservesBetter https://t.co/3wvQxIADyg
— Progress Texas (@ProgressTX) September 9, 2021
Will new #Texas abortion ban threaten state's future as a mecca for tech workers?@washingtonpost
— ChickenFriedPolitics (@ChkFriPolitics) September 12, 2021
-Southern politics are on the menu at ChickenFriedPolitics.com-https://t.co/UVrjSS9ALl
"We've come to the conclusion after talking to lots of candidates that they want to join Solugen but they don't feel comfortable coming to Texas, so for us it's become a no brainer to have R&D facilities elsewhere..." #txlege https://t.co/tkmYroUOGj
— EricaGrieder (@EricaGrieder) September 9, 2021
Bospar, a California-based public relations agency, is paying for its staff members who live in #Texas to relocate to “ensure they have control of their reproductive health.” https://t.co/t9MhG4a4SH
— KVUE News (@KVUE) September 10, 2021
The CEO of Salesforce said the company will help employees leave Texas, and he did so while retweeting a story linking the offer to concern about Texas’ new anti-abortion law.https://t.co/ScSA8RU2no
— CBS Austin (@cbsaustin) September 12, 2021
So it begins. Reinforces Forbes poll showing 2/3 of college educated workers will think twice about moving to Texas #txlege https://t.co/vjpXZwMAmg https://t.co/mncJknr7kU
— quorumreport (@quorumreport) September 11, 2021
It's not just the companies who won't be coming here now, or even the ones leaving; it's the ones we'll be stuck with (as long as we keep patronizing them, that is).
How much money Buc-ee’s owner has donated to Gov. Abbott, Texas Republicans https://t.co/GY8LJVPH4d
— mySA (@mySA) September 12, 2021
FACTS
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) September 9, 2021
1. @ATT donated 300K to the sponsors of Texas' abortion ban
2. @ATT refuses to comment on the ban or its donations
3. @ATT is running ads on Twitter casting itself as a champion of women
4. @edgillespie, who runs legislative strategy @ATT, wants to ban abortion pic.twitter.com/F35Aw4UsBE
Wrapping up another bad week for the governor, whether he knows, cares, or not.
'This is a really horrific bill': Lawsuits have already been filed block the voting restrictions law, including one by LULAC, Voto Latino, Texas Alliance for Retired American and Texas AFT. https://t.co/vuhErImV6R
— WFAA (@wfaa) September 7, 2021
I looked back at all Donald Trump's tweets claiming election fraud over the last year and compared them to language in the new Texas election law. This is what I found. https://t.co/TJftDyzEfm
— Jeremy Wallace (@JeremySWallace) September 8, 2021
As we reported at the time, Abbott's latest executive order allows private businesses to mandate vaccines for employees: https://t.co/szZ4vNiYLj https://t.co/IivETS7xYr
— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) September 9, 2021
Texas Governor Greg Abbott Pulls Ahead in Race to Determine Biggest GOP Assh*le - Vanity Fair https://t.co/hfogXDupwr
— Dr. Carole Eldridge, DNP, RN, CNE, NEA-BC (@Nerdnurse) September 11, 2021
He's not worried. He doesn't care what anyone thinks, and the Lege is about to solidify their control -- and that of the Congress -- for another ten years.
Forget money: It is redistricting that allows 35% of voters to control the Texas political process. Gives lie to majority rule. The primary rules even though the Constitution only recognizes the election in November #txlege https://t.co/dJf6d68kKi via @houstonchron
— harvey kronberg (@HKronberg) September 11, 2021
Thank goodness we have a strong, unified, Democratic Party in charge in Washington, ready to take bold, decisive action for the people.
As Biden popularity falls, Democrats fear losing Senate, 30 to 50 House seats https://t.co/aZgKerRHsY
— RWLatstetter (@latstetter) September 10, 2021
A Democratic senator from one of the poorest states in the entire country is sitting on the deck of his yacht helping corporate lobbyists try to pare back the anti-poverty bill, and this is portrayed by corporate media as absolutely normal and not at all sociopathic https://t.co/hk6QFE2ntI
— David Sirota (@davidsirota) September 9, 2021
If I’m @JoeBiden I tell @Sen_JoeManchin my DOJ may just investigate his daughter & she may just go to prison. Unless of course he takes another look at the $3.5 trillion bill and has a change of heart. It’s what FDR & LBJ would’ve done. And it would’ve worked. https://t.co/F6hH8qWB0Z
— Secular Talk🎙 (@KyleKulinski) September 8, 2021
And also in Austin. ICYMI ...
The 2022 dilemma for @TexasDemocrats https://t.co/OsR0ZnrS49 #TXLege #TX2022 #NoBeto #NoCastro #HouNews #ATX #SATX #DFW #RGV pic.twitter.com/bZIGSKE7s0
— Forever in debt to your priceless advice. (@PDiddie) September 11, 2021
Oh well. Maybe in 2028. Or 2032.
Coastal Texas, and poor Cajun country, is going to get awfully wet this week so I thought I'd collect a few storm-related posts before we get washed away again.
In case you missed it, I caught up with the founding father of Houston's Ike Dike plan. He says September may see a key step forward... https://t.co/WjirhQb9S7
— Kaitlin Monte 𝔽𝕆𝕏𝟚𝟞 (@kaitlinmonte) September 8, 2021
What you need to know about the finalized Houston Ike Dike plan soon headed for Congress https://t.co/b9RCPIJ0m0
— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) September 10, 2021
Last October, the Corps of Engineers estimated total costs of the Texas coastal protection plan ("Ike Dike") at $26.1 billion--almost exactly the current estimate for the Galveston Bay part alone. @emfoxhall @evan7257 @GalvNews @HoustonPubMedia @HoustonChron pic.twitter.com/pGvzvk15eg
— Eric Bender (@ebender00) September 11, 2021
In Manchester, cancer rates are 22% higher than in #Houston. During Hurricane Harvey, nearly 94% of extra toxic emissions in all of #HarrisCounty were concentrated almost solely in Latino, Black, & low-income communities.#TXlege #TCEQ #EPAhttps://t.co/MXrPH4DGh7
— Anna Núñez (@nunez_anna) September 10, 2021
After Hurricane Ida, around 642,000 people remain without access to clean water, according to the Louisiana Department of Health. https://t.co/OSdrjVqCTO
— grist (@grist) September 9, 2021
The Great Storm made landfall on this day in 1900. September 8, 1900 would mark the defining moment of #GalvestonHistory and its effects are still felt today.
— Galveston Island (@GalvestonIsland) September 8, 2021
Learn more about #HurricanHistoryWeek at https://t.co/37ZxH1hV9o#LoveGalveston #GalvestonHistory #1900Storm pic.twitter.com/NQCJ6dMVU2
Sept. 10, 1961: Hurricane Carla set to make landfall along Texas coast https://t.co/c6DeJMBo2l
— BayouCityHistory (@BayouCtyHistory) September 10, 2021
And since I'm in a historical frame of mind ...
“We choose to go to the moon in this decade”---JFK at Rice University, Houston, today 1962: pic.twitter.com/EROSw4NUwc
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) September 12, 2021
The Tamale House folks in Austin send in this shot of the intersection of Congress and Cesar Chavez in Austin back in 1970. You can see the 1st Tamale House on the left behind the two men. Here's what (almost) this same spot looks like today: https://t.co/IryFMgsiqI
— Traces of Texas (@TracesofTexas) September 10, 2021
51 years! pic.twitter.com/VFQQxay5dE
December Bats
— Christopher V. Sherman (@cvsherman) September 10, 2021
Here’s a never before revealed Austin bat photo that I really love with because of the colors in the sky. I call this the December Bats as it’s the December photo in my new Austin #Bat Calendar available now at: https://t.co/YMzbawKdRW
#bats #austintx #atx #texas pic.twitter.com/zs0Frlx2xp