Sunday, November 21, 2021
Friday, November 19, 2021
COPout26
And the winner at Cop26 is… the fossil fuel industry – cartoon https://t.co/zMwL6llvgQ
— Guardian Environment (@guardianeco) November 13, 2021
I have been surly this week, as you may have noticed, and the pending demise of all Terran species by our hand is the biggest reason.
Oh, I won't live to see it. But your children, grandchildren, great grands, and my nieces and nephews and their children surely will. And it's going to be bad, and it's coming sooner than anyone thinks.
The area deforested in Brazil’s Amazon region reached a 15-year record after a 22% increase from the prior year.
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 19, 2021
“It is a shame. It is a crime,” said Márcio Astrini, executive secretary of a network of environmental nonprofit groups. https://t.co/2iB7mMuaFO
Some say COP26 made no real decisions. It did. It decided to destroy the Maldives, Tuvalu, Kiribas and other nations for the sake of coal and oil. It decided to wreck our grandkids future so some greedy shareholders could live in luxury. Those are big decisions.
— 💧Julian Cribb (@JulianCribb) November 13, 2021
A California state agency recently warned that infrastructure planners along the coastline should expect up to 10 feet of sea-level rise by the end of the century. https://t.co/h4BNH8s6hg
— grist (@grist) November 19, 2021
"To envision just how much ice the planet has lost, and how it is indelibly altering our planet, consider this: melt on the poles in just the past few decades has changed the planet’s rotational axis," writes @PorterFox https://t.co/4WhDxG2SrL
— TIME (@TIME) November 13, 2021
In the last 40 years, the 77 degree isotherm in the Gulf of Mexico has migrated 120 miles north - 30 miles per decade. That has implications for strength of hurricanes, moisture availability for storms, algae blooms and marine species movement, to name a few. https://t.co/xUA3bhfjcy
— Jeff Berardelli (@WeatherProf) November 16, 2021
More on down the post on who's to blame (basically all of us) and what can be done at this point (pick your poison). We've been building to this moment all my life and long before, essentially ever since we started burning coal and then petroleum to light and heat our homes, then our offices, and move ourselves and our commerce around.
60 years of #ClimateChange warnings: the signs that were missed (& ignored):
— Dawn Rose Turner (@DawnRoseTurner) November 15, 2021
Effects of ‘#WeirdWeather’ were already being felt in the 1960s, but scientists linking #FossilFuels with climate change were dismissed as prophets of doom | @guardian https://t.co/X1OItH5ipF
But the people we elected to be watchdogs took payoffs to look the other way while the wealthy got ever more greedy. Thus it has always been with capitalism, sadly.
Politicians and their corporate masters decided, without our consent, that economic growth and wealth are more important than the planet.
— Lawrence loves nature (@endhunting) November 14, 2021
They had their chance, failed, and made themselves irrelevant.
My thoughts on COP26 and how we take back our planet:https://t.co/zQTBWR11OT
This tweet is not just a tweet. This tweet is a death sentence for your children one day. This sale, the million acre Alaska sale—if you still say Biden is mitigating climate change you are not a rube. You are a collaborator. https://t.co/6Ys7GCCS3y
— Susan of Texas (@SusanofTexas) November 13, 2021
In case you missed it:
“The Department of the Interior will offer up more than 80 million acres—an area larger than the state of New Mexico—of the Gulf of Mexico for drilling. It is bigger than any lease sale conducted under President Donald Trump…” https://t.co/RFOMqbcvJe
— David Wallace-Wells (@dwallacewells) November 14, 2021
— 🌻TurboKitty🌻 (@TurboKitty) November 19, 2021
Slightly longer marinating reported #COP26 piece from me, on how the American way of life is still not really up for negotiation, despite all the flashy pledges meant to suggest otherwise https://t.co/9PElxSxxrR
— Kate Aronoff (@KateAronoff) November 16, 2021
World governments spend about $423 billion every year to subsidize oil, gas and coal = 400% of the amount needed to help poor countries address climate change#insanity #ClimateCrisis https://t.co/REJS5Dd1Jd
— Green News Report (@GreenNewsReport) November 13, 2021
ummm... the fossil gas industry, in an official submission to the united nations framework convention on climate change, has just described *hydrocarbons* as a victim of cancel culture https://t.co/sIc1JiWl4R
— Ajit Niranjan (@NiranjanAjit) November 17, 2021
Here's a good question: which oil company do you think is the worst?
.@paulpaz of @amazonwatch has worked tirelessly for years to expose @Chevron's crimes in the Amazon. Watch this remarkable highlight from the DC rally where he holds up a contaminated sample for all at the Capitol to see.
— Steven Donziger (@SDonziger) November 4, 2021
"They are the poster child for the worst oil company" pic.twitter.com/2eofxy61db
"Exxon tells 5th Circuit that SCOTUS ruling voids $14 million award from pollution violations at Texas facility"
"Toyota Named Third Most Obstructive Company Towards Climate Change After ExxonMobil, Chevron"
I spared Royal Dutch Kuffner (wait; I can't call him that anymore. From now on he's just plain old Shelly) as much grief as I could. His company, after all, talks like it's trying to do the right thing. In the words of Master Jedi Yoda; "Do or do not. There is no 'try' ".
And we are all well aware that Texas isn't going to be the leader in this effort. Quite the opposite.
"Oil production at Permian Basin set to hit new record"
Methane leaking from old wells. Plastics filling the oceans. Micro-pieces of plastic in our bodies. PFAS in our drinking water. Mountains of "fast fashion" piled high in the Chilean desert. Big banks like Chase funding pipeline projects like Line 3 in the face of the most civil of disobedience. The slow death of the planet, and us, is everywhere you look.
No wonder people are suffering from 'climate depression' and quitting their shitty minimum wage jobs.
With a couple of local takes ...
Hope Osborn at Texas 2036 looks ahead to the day when Texas is no longer reliant on oil and gas taxes to fund public schools. (Might be pretty far down the list of things to worry about, since public schools, and/or the roads to get to them, will be flooded in a few years. I'm guessing home schooling gets to be a bigger thing as more Republicans clamor for their tax cuts, too.) David Collins seems to be feeling a little down, having been affected by the AstroworldFest tragedy and Glasgow. Socratic Gadfly blogged about the latest in Texas-New Mexico water rights issues and other environment and climate news, and his thoughts on Glasgow COP26 were ... well, about as angry as mine.
It's time -- waaaay past time -- to rethink everything.
Let’s not be complicit in the lie that survival through reform is possible. If the very worst of climate breakdown is to be averted, then we need a complete overhaul of the global neoliberal economic system.https://t.co/vTM3ukB7zy
— Rupert Read 🌍 (@GreenRupertRead) November 14, 2021
A reminder: the people in power don’t need conferences, treaties or agreements to start taking real climate action. They can start today.
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) November 15, 2021
When enough people come together then change will come and we can achieve almost anything. So instead of looking for hope - start creating it.
Get engaged, says @blkahn. Talk about #climate with friends. Call your senators & reps. Elect more climate champions. Get your city to ban new gas hookups & incentivize heat pumps. Do anything & everything you can. Because the world depends on it. https://t.co/ToaGJ9RwH1
— Susan Hassol, Climate Communication (@ClimateComms) November 18, 2021
I'm also going to start voting like the people I love's lives depend on it. And not like Barack Obama meant it, either.
Whats comical is accepting the Duopoly & its established game as the only way "it works". Whats comical is thinking this still when over 60% of Americans prefer a 3rd party. pic.twitter.com/mueUpieXSQ
— Ernest L. Peña 🌻 (Salaam Ali) (@SalaamEfendi) November 12, 2021
Thursday, November 18, 2021
The Thursday Credible Wrangle
With 26 days until the Texas filing deadline, it's unclear if Democrats have a credible candidate for agriculture commissioner, and I'm not aware of any Democratic candidate for comptroller: https://t.co/w6ttKDWeGo
— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) November 18, 2021
Already this morning there's a Democrat preparing to challenge Jesus Shot Sid, but that's not relevant to me. (I'm hoping Kenneth Kendrick is getting ready to launch his bid as a Green again.) I'd like to know what Svitek's definition of 'credible' is. Specifically how close it comes to Kuffner's, and whether it is dictated by the state's top oligarch, Evan Smith, Svitek's boss at the TexTrib).
Restating the obvious: I have less than zero interest in letting people like the afore-mentioned make the rules by which our governor, etc. are selected. Call them what you will -- I prefer lickspittles, sometimes starfuckers -- by any definition they are limiting our choices to red pill or blue pill. And it doesn't take a brain scientist or a rocket surgeon to look around and see where that has gotten us, and not just here in Deep In The Hearta. These gatekeepers don't want to share, don't want competition for their affections, and damn sure don't want the great unwashed masses having any say-so. So if you got the money, they got the time. And if you don't, then heet de rhoad, Jack.
Listen up, bitches: either stop pretending and put the richest MFer in charge, somebody like Elon Musk or Kelcey Warren, or think about what a neo-Bastille Day might look like once the commoners' patience has red-lined.
Don't take it personally. Strictly business. The peoples' business. Oh, and word to Svitek: your spreadsheet is woefully out of date. Get your assistant on that toot sweet.
Hola @wendydavis - I've been a long time supporter. Life long SD 27 constituent. I'm kind of confused. Uhm, why are we supporting another man in TX politics? Curious to know. @saraforTXsenate was able to get #SucioLucio to a run off. We need the voices of RGV mujeres at #TXLege. https://t.co/1tLuXK0Lwy
— ⚡️❤️🔥⚡️ (@KweenBeatrix) November 17, 2021
Another symptom of the insider establishment thumb on the scale. I'm guessing Davis -- still feeling the sting from losing to Abbott in 2014 and Chip Roy in 2020 -- is just trying to get back in somebody's good graces. As long as 'somebody' isn't a woman or outside the halls of power.
This is just...I'm dumbfounded. Beto lost by 215k votes in 2018 while the 11 safest Congressional Dems had some of the state's worst turnout (& most $$$). What are we doing here, y'all? Trying to flip Texas or hoard money in safe D districts? Give that money to organizing groups! https://t.co/1NC8iaVO3R pic.twitter.com/WhVCzPIUQW
— Cari Marshall (@CariMarshallTX) November 16, 2021
No more oligarchs, plutocrats, sycophants, party hacks, Republicans too embarrased to run as Rs, or anybody else in it for the money or the intoxication of authority. Of the people, by the people, and for the people. Or hit the reset button and start all over.
Moving on.
The record influx of recent arrivals from all over might be exactly what the state needs. That includes Californians. (And no, they're not turning Texas blue.)
— Texas Monthly (@TexasMonthly) November 15, 2021
From the December issue of @texasmonthly: https://t.co/XZvZdKXULb+
The #GlasgowCop26 was mostly a dud when it comes to mitigating the #ClimateCrisis, but one big idea survived that could make a difference and put the US and Texas in the hot seat. https://t.co/AvTEKqG2Im @HoustonChron #txlege
— ChrisTomlinson (@cltomlinson) November 17, 2021
Call it a digital gold rush. Bitcoin mining companies are flocking to Texas for our business-friendly approach and cheap electricity. But can the state's power grid handle the enormous load? #KHOU 11 Investigates at 10. #bitcoin #hounews pic.twitter.com/uHsLI49sZf
— Jeremy Rogalski (@JRogalskiKHOU) November 15, 2021
@TXSBOE rejects proposed sex ed materials for middle and high schoolers. Texas has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country with 24 out of every 1000 girls ages 15-19 giving birth. Texas has the highest repeat teen pregnancy % in 🇺🇸 https://t.co/fIeXRGEdXC
— Clay Jenkins (@JudgeClayJ) November 17, 2021
UNFAIR BURDEN: How much of your money does Texas spend on tax breaks to big business? In the case of some of the longest deals, lasting 40 or even 60 years, no one knows. Nov. 18, we continue our investigation into Texas' unchecked incentives. https://t.co/Vk6zptCrir pic.twitter.com/WdauH39jRd
— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) November 15, 2021
Mar-a-Lago Event Attendees Can Pay $50,000 for Dinner and a Photo with Trump and Ken Paxtonhttps://t.co/2BCU9CXfnt
— Dallas Observer (@Dallas_Observer) November 12, 2021
Several of the academics, journalists and authors involved with the nascent University of Austin @uaustinorg left previous jobs after stirring controversy for comments on issues ranging from race to transgender and religion, @meganmmenchaca reports https://t.co/EnrtcGNmvg
— Austin Statesman (@statesman) November 11, 2021
“Are you aware that I am a member of the press?” — Dallas journalist @stevanzetti sues the City of Dallas and four police officers after he was struck with projectiles and arrested while covering Dallas protests in June 2020: https://t.co/Lxqn1YHbGJ
— U.S. Press Freedom Tracker (@uspresstracker) November 8, 2021
The woman who threw soup in the face of a Temple restaurant employee was arrested Wednesday morning and booked into the Bell County Jail, according to police. https://t.co/eM3pJ2AIvU
— KVUE News (@KVUE) November 17, 2021
Capitalism in action. pic.twitter.com/FWoUk3OIfb
— Gritty is the Way (@Gritty20202) November 9, 2021
Incredible. I need to get offline.
Houston geologist, historian, musician, and author Dan Worrall will speak about the long distance trade routes among the Indigenous peoples through Texas and beyond.
The talk, titled “The Late Archaic Lower Brazos Culture and the Nature of Long Distance Exchange Networks”, is sponsored by the Houston Archeological Society.
Worrall will speak at the monthly (in person and virtual) meeting of the society on Thursday, Nov. 18, at 7:00 p.m. He will bring a collection of artifacts from a site in west Fort Bend County for show and tell.
According to Worrall, people of the Late Archaic Lower Brazos Culture (4,000-2,000 years ago) lived along the lower parts of the Brazos and Colorado Rivers extending to the coast. Their territory was approximately equivalent to that of the Coco/Karankawa of the early Historic Period (500 years ago).
The meeting takes place at the Trini Mendenhall Community Center, 1414 Wirt Road in Houston, starting at 6:30 p.m. The program begins at 7. Here is more information about the talk.
The meeting will be offered virtually via Zoom and YouTube Livestream. The YouTube Livestream link is https://youtu.be/xfCvhInhBp4.
The Houston Zoo is having an adults-only holiday spectacular with booze! @houstonzoo #khou11 #HouNews https://t.co/6dAKuM4xER
— KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) November 17, 2021
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
The #TakeAHikeDay Wrangle from Far Left Texas
While Beto's every twitch and utterance continues to be scrutinized and fawned over by the corporate media gaggle following him everywhere, I'll wait until the kerfuffle subsides before addressing the marquee matchup next year. I would like to give one of the consistently under-reported candidates some attention.
I'm the only one running for that seat willing to talk about socialism. Most people I talk to who would be considered conservative think they need to worry about communism while we see the kind of control that they fear under capitalism. I try but I could definetely use the help! https://t.co/DtKvDZQ6uS
— DelilahForTexas💚☮🌻🌎 (@DelilahforTexas) November 16, 2021
Aside to Governor Fish Lips: Get your socialists straight, dumbass.
I'm glad @BetoORourke is running on legalizing marijuana and expanding Medicare. Look at our website to find out more! https://t.co/mFZtI719gT
— DelilahForTexas💚☮🌻🌎 (@DelilahforTexas) November 16, 2021
I imagine his team already checked it out as those have been part of our platform from the beginning. Oh and 2nd ammendment rights too.
And she's right; the Texas Greens do have a tall task ahead.
Looks like we have a lot of work to do! #GreenTwitter #COP26 https://t.co/l6vb3H7Wms
— DelilahForTexas💚☮🌻🌎 (@DelilahforTexas) November 2, 2021
So pitch in, and help out Delilah if you can.
On to a few more noteworthy filings of late:
North Texas Democrat @BeckleyforTX joins race for lieutenant governor #txlege #tx2022 https://t.co/jQOkt5gdBv
— TX Capital Tonight (@TXCapTonight) November 16, 2021
The news here is that a woman and an actual Democrat entered the race for lieutenant governor, but the TexTrib settled on describing Beckley as "one of the most liberal members" of the statehouse. Many Texas Democrats seem to dislike her, if Twitter comments are any barometer. This may say something about Beckley but probably says more about rando TexDonks who Tweet, as well as the TexTrib, who in announcing GOP bids for office do not lead off with "one of the most conservative members" ... Mark Jones' reviews notwithstanding. Even poor Beckley called herself a 'moderate' in her announcement. Meanwhile the titular head of the Texas Not-So-Progressive Caucus shrugged and semi-endorsed Mike Collier, the other former Republican already running. I'd laugh if any of this marginalization, unconscious or otherwise, was funny any longer. It isn't.
Among 5 primary season dramas @gromerjeffers recommends watching:
— Bob Garrett (@RobertTGarrett) November 15, 2021
Van Taylor vs Keith Self in TX CD-3 (Collin County)
Eddie Bernice Johnson's retirement vs. re-election decision (she has an announcement this Saturday)#2022elections #txlege
https://t.co/LyVsZgRVTl
Plenty of speculation to be had here, but the reelect logo seems like an unusual choice if she's announcing retirement #TX30
— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) November 15, 2021
State Rep. Ina Minjarez, D-San Antonio, announces she’s running for Bexar County judge, becoming the latest Texas House member to not seek re-election.
— Jasper Scherer (@jaspscherer) November 15, 2021
Minjarez had teased a bid for county judge after @Judge_wolff said he won’t seek re-election: https://t.co/m3S8A9NpfX #txlege https://t.co/8tcjT5c5U0
Minjarez joins former state district judge Peter Sakai in the race. In reporting that news, TXElects listed all of the state representatives and senators who are retiring or running for another slot. The list was the best I had seen but is already out of date with Beckley's announcement, the departure of southeast Texas Rep. Joe Deshotel, and this:
New: @RepDominguez is officially in for the race to succeed @SenatorLucio https://t.co/fIMZ09S5nS #SD27 #txlege
— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) November 17, 2021
You can see why following this just on Twitter is a job for someone who gets paid a lot to do so. I'm a pensioner, so I'm moving on ... to lesser but still notable developments.
2022 is going to be one long year. #txlege https://t.co/IoL7PcUlbZ
— Jim Henson (@jamesrhenson) November 15, 2021
Aren't we all.
Tough interview for the AG, not just reconciling conflicting vax mandates but apparently has no opinion on abortion bounty hunter law #txlege---Chris Wallace Calls Out Texas Hypocrisy on Vax Mandates https://t.co/0SPO9OLoRw via @thedailybeast
— harvey kronberg (@HKronberg) November 14, 2021
BREAKING: The U.S. Department of Education’s civil rights enforcement arm has launched an investigation into allegations of racial and gender discrimination at the Carroll Independent School District in Southlake, Texas.
— Mike Hixenbaugh (@Mike_Hixenbaugh) November 17, 2021
Scoop from @ahylton26 and me: https://t.co/JPbBn5LFoK
A new Texas redistricting lawsuit filed by @scsj, @aaldef, and @aclutx challenging state house, state senate, and congressional maps. #txlege https://t.co/eBV6jlYNbZ
— Michael Li 李之樸 (@mcpli) November 17, 2021
Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir says she's retiring.
— KUT Austin (@KUT) November 13, 2021
DeBeauvoir worked for more than a decade designing a one-of-a-kind ballot system that pioneered security features that are now commonplace in most U.S. voting machines. https://t.co/Ip6hwo53Nq
A couple of labor items:
BREAKING: 14,000 #Houston grocery worker #strike at @Kroger could happen in next week as @UFCW union members vote on contract#EssentialWorkers are standing up for good pay and healthcare they've earned as #COVID continues
— Abraham White (@abwhite7) November 14, 2021
New @HoustonChron @AmandaDranehttps://t.co/z8Un8L49ti
With Thanksgiving a week away, Kroger shouldn't be fucking around with the help, because they are very likely to find out what happens when they do. (And the truth is they have been, for a very long time.) If you needed a reason to start shopping at HEB, please take this one.
ExxonMobil workers begin voting on @steelworkers future at @exxonmobilbmt refinery https://t.co/4LJs5YazHh #SETX
— Forever in debt to your priceless advice. (@PDiddie) November 16, 2021
And don't buy any gas from ExxonMobil, either.
Here's the criminal and social justice news.
The Texas health department insists delta-8 is an illegal substance. But there is no law against the substance, and state troopers haven't made a single arrest. https://t.co/zOIvIHTHel
— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) November 14, 2021
#breaking There was a small riot at Briscoe Unit, the prison holding ppl arrested thru Abbott’s border initiative, Operation Lone Star. Several men - US citizens arrested w/the migrants - started fires in protest, got gassed, broke out windows & went outside to escape the gas pic.twitter.com/HoUUuS77UI
— Keri Blakinger (@keribla) November 16, 2021
.@LinaHidalgoTX wanted an independent investigation of the #AstroWorld disaster to ensure objectivity.
— Zach Despart (@zachdespart) November 16, 2021
Commish @AdrianGarciaHTX, a former Houston police officer, instead offered a plan to support that agency's probe and do an internal Harris County review.https://t.co/ffKhHml8zm
I sure wish former cops wouldn't cover for cops.
Let this sink in: At 12:00pm today, there are about 1,000 human beings trapped in the downtown Houston jail, separated from their families, because they cannot pay between $100-$1,000 money bail premiums. They are presumed innocent, and 18 of them have died this year.
— Alec Karakatsanis (@equalityAlec) November 16, 2021
Ed Gonzalez can Tweet all the daily platitudes and inspirational quotations he likes. When he becomes Sheriff Joe's top border cop, nothing is going to fundamentally change. And everybody knows it.
How about some good news?
No insurance? No doctor? No problem. For $60 a month, the University of Houston College of Medicine Direct Primary Care Clinic is open to you. https://t.co/qJDnOA2h6C #khou11
— KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) November 11, 2021
The Texas Workforce Commission is providing 12 months of free child care to low-income parents who are employed in the accommodations, food services and retail industries in addition to arts and recreation. https://t.co/CtYTgpFak2
— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) November 17, 2021
70% of Indigenous people live outside of reservations, embedded in day-to-day society. Experience the beauty and complexity of what it means to be Indigenous. Watch #OurAmerica: Indigenous and Urban" starting Wednesday wherever you stream ABC13 Houston. @CharlyABC13 pic.twitter.com/WnkEzeGSFr
— ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) November 16, 2021
And a few more soothers.
🎄 Don’t miss out on TXU Energy presents Zoo Lights this holiday season with your crew! As you walk along the Zoo Lights path, you’ll come across the Enchanted Forest presented by King & Spalding featuring a few new elements never seen before. Buy tickets: https://t.co/8hB5Vb0Tyi pic.twitter.com/JPDiOmUGIs
— Houston Zoo (@houstonzoo) November 14, 2021
Happy #SundayFunday, y'all.
— HMNS ❤️🦖🧠🌌 (@hmns) November 14, 2021
Just a few more days until #RamsesHMNS and the new Hall of Ancient Egypt open at #HMNS.
❤️🐶
VISIT: https://t.co/BsNOZr4Yh4 pic.twitter.com/E6b6tLB5ig
"You don't find the blues, the blues find you."
— Traces of Texas (@TracesofTexas) November 16, 2021
---- the great Lightnin' Hopkins. Lightnin' was born in Centerville in 1912 and passed away in Houston in 1982. He was a huge influence on many Texas musicians. @BillyFGibbons has some great Lightnin' Hopkins stories. pic.twitter.com/df6SS7L1OO
Meanwhile, in Texas. . .
— Texas Monthly (@TexasMonthly) November 15, 2021
Deputies wrangled a kangaroo that was on the loose in Boerne and returned it to its owners.
Plus, more Texana news: https://t.co/KzqCZxMOrt