Sunday "I'll Do Anything But That" Funnies

The Legal and Social Justice Wrangle from Far Left Texas

Opening today with the growing crusade by Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton to prosecute Texans for raising their children in a manner of their own choosing.  Those efforts have been blocked for now.

A Texas appeals court sided with the parents of a transgender teenager in a ruling Wednesday, rejecting Attorney General Ken Paxton’s efforts to allow a child abuse investigation to proceed. | via @TexasTribune https://t.co/TG2GcqsMMp

— KUT Austin (@KUT) March 9, 2022

.@MayorAdler proclaims March 9 as Transgender Youth and Family Safety Day. 🏳️‍⚧️ The City stands in solidarity with our LGBTQIA+ community and will protect their rights to seek care + feel physically and mentally safe in our community. pic.twitter.com/IeZ6Rz3fJN

— City of Austin (@austintexasgov) March 9, 2022

Thousands have remained in the shadows following Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive calling for parents of transgender youth to be investigated for child abuse if they support medical interventions. But one family is speaking out against “state terrorism.” https://t.co/W1KhKVZ3KD

— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) March 9, 2022

Texas Lawyers who specialize in LGBTQ family law say the number of families reaching out in fear of potential child abuse investigations is unlike anything they’ve ever seen. https://t.co/LP88XFoNqR

— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) March 8, 2022

NEW: The only specialty clinic for transgender youth in Texas closed last year with little explanation.

I obtained phone recordings of hospital executives discussing political pressure they were under to close it, including from Gov. Greg Abbott's officehttps://t.co/B6paZT72re

— Azeen Ghorayshi (@azeen) March 8, 2022

A business alliance of large TX employers like Microsoft and Amazon released a joint statement condemning the AG and Governor's attack on trans kids.

But according to @JuddLegum, 11 of their companies donated $138,000 to Abbott and Paxton's campaigns. https://t.co/zMp3FcCF6a

— Gillian Branstetter (@GBBranstetter) March 3, 2022

This week's #politicalcartoon by @Branchtoon.#Abbott #Paxton #transrights pic.twitter.com/DkaFcdrNYX

— Houston Chronicle Opinion (@ChronOpinion) March 1, 2022

"We realized we wouldn't feel comfortable asking LGBTQ+ voices from the Clubhouse community to come to Texas...and if we feel that way, we shouldn't be there at all," a Clubhouse spokesperson said. | via @NPR https://t.co/MLKjcWjKXW

— KUT Austin (@KUT) March 4, 2022

We are proud to have @TLDEF Exec. Director @AndyMarra on the @SXSW panel "Trans Texans Need Us: Hear From the Front Lines" along with @TransTexas, Charlie Apple, @DiamondStylz of @MarshasPlate, & @jessicashortall. #SXSW2022 #txlege Join us on March 13: https://t.co/hn1iI0XCaY https://t.co/27NloGkcw0 pic.twitter.com/8O6yYEEt01

— Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (@TLDEF) March 8, 2022

Concern for the burden of Texas teachers has also surged.

This is a joke right? After all that manufactured outrage about CRT and potentially criminalizing educators? Or helping gender challenged kids. Banning/burning books? Why would anyone who cares about kids want to teach in Texas? #txlege https://t.co/B9DXPzchzp

— harvey kronberg (@HKronberg) March 8, 2022

“The average pay for teachers has not increased between 2010 and 2019; it instead decreased from $55,433 to $54,192.”

You’re welcome, task force. https://t.co/G6hcQv8EOF

— Emily Ramshaw (@eramshaw) March 8, 2022

Texas Library Association forms coalition against banning bookshttps://t.co/v2J03VGs6Q

— KXAN News (@KXAN_News) March 8, 2022

ICYMI: A 3rd @collincollege professor has filed a free speech lawsuit against the school.

In this case, the prof claims the school didn't renew his contract after he called for Confederate statues to be removed in Dallas & criticized their COVID plan:https://t.co/d98hZAXx7N

— Kate McGee (@McGeeReports) March 9, 2022

Brittney Griner becomes a secondary casualty -- or perhaps a prisoner -- of the Russian war on Ukraine.  She may eventually be a bargaining chip.

Over the weekend, news broke that the WNBA star, one of the best basketball players Texas has ever produced, has been in custody in Russia for weeks. How that happened: https://t.co/oVQZnB7Diq

— Texas Monthly (@TexasMonthly) March 7, 2022

Abbott megadonor Kelcy Warren's attorney against @BetoORourke has represented Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, a close associate of Vladimir Putin and a business partner of Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort. So, not much different. https://t.co/pLd8BTOhlf

— Scott Braddock (@scottbraddock) March 7, 2022

I may have more about this defamation lawsuit in a subsequent politics Wrangle, or I may just Tweet a few items.  This is the sort of red-blue bantering that simply does not interest me all that much any more, TBH.  I will echo Shells Seas and say that when we start barbecueing the 1%, I'm lining up for a fatty piece of Kelcy Warren's rump.

Let's see what the bad-behaving cops have been up to lately.

Billie Davis was an unhoused Houston man repeatedly harassed by cops. He couldn't pay a few thousand dollars cash premium to buy his release after he was charged with trying to get away from cops. Because he was poor, he was transferred to a for-profit private jail in Louisiana.

— Alec Karakatsanis (@equalityAlec) March 4, 2022

BREAKING NEWS: The sheriff of Dimmit County, Marion Boyd, has been arrested on charges involving stalking, oppression and evidence tampering.https://t.co/PvgpqPyjmA

— News 4 San Antonio (@News4SA) March 3, 2022

Denton police have confirmed that a woman was struck by a University of North Texas police car as law enforcement drove Republican Jeff Younger from a speaking engagement on campus Wednesday night. https://t.co/1kehM5E0rP

— DentonRC (@DentonRC) March 3, 2022

(You miss the Jeff Younger talk?  He didn't get to say much actually.)

ICE quietly collected millions of people’s financial records as part of a surveillance program that fed the information to a database accessed by local and federal law enforcement agencies. https://t.co/RiZkQJLxwy via @Haleaziz

— Adolfo Flores (@aflores) March 8, 2022

BOOM!

Today, the courts sided with our client. A federal court ruling will prohibit the government from using public health authorities, like Title 42, to deport families seeking asylum at our borders. pic.twitter.com/Oy7fNHsS11

— RAICES (@RAICESTEXAS) March 4, 2022

Both the ACLU of Texas and anti-gun death activist Shannon Watts noticed the Border Patrol's fascist actions at Brownsville's Charro Days weekend-before-last.

Scoop: Texas State Bar complaint moves forward against AG Ken Paxton over attempt to overturn 2020 electionhttps://t.co/jM6gbK2pWS

— Taylor Goldenstein (@taygoldenstein) March 8, 2022

BREAKING: Austin officials have settled a lawsuit for $2.95 million from Brad Ayala, who was 16 years old when a police projectile seriously injured him in the May 2020 protests. The city has now agreed in total to pay more than $13 million in protester claims from the munitions. pic.twitter.com/FDp2PS3w35

— Tony Plohetski (@tplohetski) March 3, 2022

Last: H-Town mayor Sly Turner still loves him some po-po.

Someone ask the mayor how much these police raises are expected to cost the city and how we'll pay for it.

Last I heard, the city is consistently strapped for cash because of the revenue cap, and HPD is the city's biggest department so...are we rich now?https://t.co/UoxuYtoUNS

— Jaison Oliver (@oJaison) March 3, 2022

For an in-depth look at why police unions are so powerful, please read my @TexasMonthly profile of former @HPOUTX president Joe Gamaldi. You'll learn that Mayor Turner and nearly every member of the Houston City Council receive union campaign contributions https://t.co/e7JuX1YbwK

— Michael Hardy (@mkerrhardy) March 4, 2022

All eyes are now on the Texas Supreme Court after Mayor Turner doubled down Wednesday in their fight against equal pay for firefighters. https://t.co/h6pUNMPJi3

— Chron (@chron) March 9, 2022

One conservative who behaved badly got his comeuppance this week.

Guy Reffitt, Texan whose son turned him in, guilty on 5 charges from Jan. 6th insurrection https://t.co/NF5Ruv4qEy

— Forever in debt to your priceless advice. (@PDiddie) March 8, 2022

But the fascists aren't letting up.

Meet @MrAndyNgo's new buddies @KeepDallasSafe, who ran a firm called Crowds on Demand using paid actors to manufacture political incidents for corporate clients. More recently they've been manufacturing incidents with Ngo, the master of the craft.https://t.co/4Ybo7c3SMT

— Barrett Brown (@BarrettB) March 6, 2022

A few labor pieces:

Workers at the Starbucks location on 24th and Nueces streets near the University of Texas have formed a union. https://t.co/xLWgvHgHjn

— KVUE News (@KVUE) March 8, 2022

While Kroger's profits soar, their workers are left out in the cold.

This is what bosses really think of the "essential workers" they once lauded! https://t.co/8M07TBEz8f

— Austin DSA (@austin_DSA) March 8, 2022

Healthcare workers in TX are being pushed to our limits, but a new report indicates @HCAhealthcare may be exacerbating the crisis with TENS OF THOUSANDS of unnecessary ED patient admissions: https://t.co/f7qt01WgVW

— SEIU Texas (@SEIUTX) March 3, 2022

When @Gannett’s lawyer stops by the @statesman for a visit…you can bet the @AustinNewsGuild will send a welcoming committee 🦇#keepaustininformed #saveourstatesman #FAIRCONTRACTNOW pic.twitter.com/S5oLTGLWCa

— Madlin Mekelburg (@madlinbmek) March 3, 2022

"It galled me that the Cowboys refused to pay their cheerleaders a living wage, only to pay them off handsomely behind closed doors. That $2.4 million settlement could have covered all the cheerleaders’ measly $15 per game for more than 550 seasons."https://t.co/VLhKIeZKLZ

— Texas Monthly (@TexasMonthly) February 26, 2022

Wrapping up this very long Wrangle with some social justice and injustice items.  A couple of people picked up on the irony of renaming SH288 the Barbara Jordan Memorial Parkway.

The Texas General Land Office discriminated against communities of color when it doled out federal relief funds after Hurricane Harvey, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found. https://t.co/sFi06tYSXV

— WFAA (@wfaa) March 8, 2022

Houston is hailed as a national success for fighting homelessness. But the reality isn’t quite as rosy. https://t.co/mvVyYB3qkM via @TexasObserver #HouNews #HTX

— Forever in debt to your priceless advice. (@PDiddie) March 8, 2022

4,164 Texans died from gun violence in 2020.

Yet Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn do everything in their power to block change. The #TXleg passes weak gun laws that endanger public safety.

We installed the Houston Gun Violence Memorial to call on their #CourageToAct. pic.twitter.com/70a41PmZhE

— Giffords (@GiffordsCourage) March 9, 2022

Larry Callies says historically white men were cowhands and slaves were cowboys until Hollywood took on the term the in 1920s. https://t.co/0DIzDDPGQK

— KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) March 6, 2022

German detainees in a beer garden in the Crystal City Internment Camp in Crystal City, Texas, back in 1944. Many Texans don't know that, from 1943-1948, the U.S. government operated an interment camp in Crystal City for families of German and Japanese descent. pic.twitter.com/sHDFTfyN6M

— Traces of Texas (@TracesofTexas) March 9, 2022

The Environmental Wrangle from Far Left Texas

Beginning an overdue update on climate developments with last week's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report from the UN, which rings the alarms again that there is no time left to waste to cure what ails our planet.

The IPCC report is a big deal.

It's considered the gold standard for climate science — and it has never before revealed in such stark detail how climate change is leading to a staggering loss of plants and animals. https://t.co/554thZ3xrx

— Vox (@voxdotcom) March 3, 2022

“One of the things that really leapt out to me in the report was them just coming out and saying we are locked into an increase, we’re going to get hit with climate change at this point,” Michael Lewis of @EnvironmentTex tells the Signal. https://t.co/DorQOtI5cB

— Texas Signal (@TexasSignal) March 4, 2022

“The sobering reality of climate change is already here, and while we can’t entirely prevent its impacts, we do already have the knowledge and tools to protect ourselves.” https://t.co/zfr1ynGhys

— Climate Reality (@ClimateReality) March 5, 2022

This won't be a long Wrangle but it does have some Tweets that go back to mid-February, and need some categorization.  So this segment concerns water.  First: the Texas Living Waters Project warns that the Hill Country faces numerous threats to its long-term viability, and the window for addressing those threats is closing.  (Keep reading, below, for better news on this topic.)

Almost nine of every 10 Texans are concerned that water supplies will be exhausted, given current weather trends and the prospect for worsening drought conditions, according to latest #TexasVoterPoll #txlege #txwaterhttps://t.co/cxzeg96xao

— Texas 2036 (@Texas2036) February 21, 2022

https://t.co/yt7LC5Ns9z "According to a publication by the San Antonio Water Supply Company (which later became SAWS), some people had been asking for a clean water supply since at least 1840, when the remains of two American Indians were dumped into the acequias."

— Margarita (@Blancanieves721) February 22, 2022

NEW: Millions of gallons of waste have leaked from the City of Baytown’s sewer system, according to @BayouCityWK.
The organization has notified the city that it plans to sue over what it says are violations of the Clean Water Act for the unlawful spills.https://t.co/qDlwJs13fH

— Emily Foxhall (@emfoxhall) March 2, 2022

Parties are asking to extend settlement talks in a contentious yearslong Rio Grande lawsuit before the U.S. Supreme Court, as participants say there is hope that the dispute can be resolved without further litigation. https://t.co/NroCFDDTsA

— Texas Standard (@TexasStandard) March 7, 2022

Lavaca Bay is home to one of the most notorious Superfund sites in Texas—an industrial plant complex that leaches toxic mercury into surrounding waters, creating a zone where fish have been too dangerous for humans to eat.

By @_e_delger and @LiseDigger:https://t.co/uXkd5ssdLl

— Texas Observer (@TexasObserver) February 18, 2022

I'll take that to segue to a few more pollution posts.

26 air complaints over one week provide more proof of continuous, unregulated pollution in Texas https://t.co/leFhGVC5CZ by @TXsharon @Earthworks #TXLege

— Forever in debt to your priceless advice. (@PDiddie) March 7, 2022

The EPA wants to reclassify ethylene oxide as significantly more carcinogenic than previously thought.

Texas is the only state to reject that higher standard.https://t.co/rX3APjbiSZ

— Houston Public Media (@HoustonPubMedia) February 22, 2022

What’s ‘The Hidden Cost Of Batch Plants’? Houston Inspires Campaign Raises Awareness https://t.co/IE4eJKaChB via @RANewsTX

— RA News (@RANewsTX) February 22, 2022

I've spent the past seven months reporting on an existential crisis for the $13 billion Texas wine industry. A Monsanto-developed herbicide is devastating vineyards in the High Plains around Lubbock, where 70 percent of our wine grapes are grown. https://t.co/gdn2WrMZTD

— Michael Hardy (@mkerrhardy) February 23, 2022

Look what the UK government slipped under the table while we were distracted.
There's a very good reason why neonicotinoid pesticides should never be used in agriculture. They are devastating to a wide range of life. https://t.co/wPWP6Kcnif

— George Monbiot (@GeorgeMonbiot) March 2, 2022

Yesterday, residents were out in Fifth Ward calling yet again on Union Pacific to clean up the contamination at the rail yard by their homes.

They stood by the road as 18-wheelers sped by and train wheels screeched. https://t.co/RYHZ03x3dh (photos by @coomerchron) pic.twitter.com/S4bNPszscF

— Emily Foxhall (@emfoxhall) March 1, 2022

Horrific pollution from @TotalEnergies frack site in historically black community of Stop Six in Ft. Worth https://t.co/TD17lNcxmS via @FortWorthReport @matieurober

— Liveable Arlington (@LivablArlington) March 7, 2022

Microplastics are linked to obesity and worse, yet there is no foreseeable limit to our growing appetite for plastic products. Why we need to change our habits now: https://t.co/0c6dCUUB5O @HoustonChron #txlege #recycling #plasticpollution

— ChrisTomlinson (@cltomlinson) March 7, 2022

Here's a pair of items on wildfires.

In 2022, Texas has had twice as many fires through mid-February as in an average year. Wes Moorehead, an expert at the Texas A&M Forest Service, explains what’s happened this year and what the future might hold for the state.https://t.co/AMQRvq1JHM

— Texas Monthly (@TexasMonthly) March 7, 2022

The Texas Standard reports that an independent panel comprised of experts from other states investigated the cause of the Texas Parks and Wildlife's prescribed-burn-turned-wildfire that occurred near Bastrop in January, and offered suggestions to prevent it from happening again.

Here's a few more noteworthy developments.

Alito twice denied the reality of the #ClimateEmergency. https://t.co/pOkXlrrdI5

— Forever in debt to your priceless advice. (@PDiddie) March 5, 2022

Today marks six years since the murder of Indigenous activist Berta Cáceres. Berta fought for the land rights & livelihoods of the Lenca people in Honduras. She fought the destructive Agua Zarca Dam, facing the wrath of corporate interests and the police state. #RIP #RestInPower pic.twitter.com/nyUS4XK2tr

— Rainforest Action Network (RAN) (@RAN) March 3, 2022

And closing with some more upbeat news.

Are Pre-Fab Low-Cost #Solar Arrays The Next Big Thing?https://t.co/xphvi8W3WX

Kindly RT#Energy #ClimateAction#RenewableEnergy #CleanEnergy#Carbon #SDGs#ClimateCrisis #FridaysForFuture#Innovation #DemVoice1 #CO2#CleanTech #EnergyTransition@mvollmer1@DrJDrooghaag@bkaydw pic.twitter.com/pUjedoK4QN

— Arik Ring - Energy Engineering Expert (@arikring) March 4, 2022

🔔 On #InternationalWomensDay, @SheClimate will release their short film on female leadership in the face of #climatechange on @wbnofficial.
📣 The organisation wants to give a voice to those missing from climate negotiations https://t.co/vNGlvqCRcz pic.twitter.com/viOS73Tpz9

— We Don’t Have Time (@WeDontHaveTime) March 4, 2022

The San Antonio Report has a link to first-of-its-kind research on the growth and environmental health of the Texas Hill Country.  It calls the San Antonio Edwards Aquifer Protection Program a shining example of conservation efforts in the state, and urges other Texas cities to follow its lead.

Bat falcon spotted in Texas is the first ever recorded in the US https://t.co/nwowzktoDS

— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) February 18, 2022

From droughts in the west to average rainfall in the southeast, weather across the Lone Star State varied greatly this past year.

Experts say this might lead to a patchy wildflower season—but there will still be places to see a stunning display of color. https://t.co/cwyQUr2jTw

— Texas Highways Magazine (@TexasHighways) March 6, 2022