TX Progressives talk Cornyn, Whitley, climate change

The Texas Progressives, all here legally and commenting on voting in Texas legally, offer this week's roundup.

First, either John Cornyn personally or one of his staffers stepped in a big tub o shit. I'm guessing it was Big John himself, who's been walking around with his own personal Overton Window for years and years now, all while the Austin stenos equivalent of Beltway stenos in DC largely give him a pass.

Knowing that calling Hitler a socialist or democratic socialist doesn't fly, he went Mussolini instead:

“We were the first to assert that the more complicated the forms assumed by civilization, the more restricted the freedom of the individual must become.” Benito Mussolini

— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) February 24, 2019

Non-duopoly (I think) journalist Tim Shorrock, who went to high school overseas with Big John, called him out:

Since Sen. Cornyn has decided to insult socialists with the lie that their thinking is "incompatible with freedom," let me remind him that he was a big supporter of George Wallace when he was in high school in Tokyo in 1968. I know because I was there. https://t.co/Oaugs2A3TY https://t.co/msHYCbb10P

— Tim Shorrock (@TimothyS) February 25, 2019

I'd never seen that Texas Observer piece before, but Shorrock nails Cornyn's hide to the wall like a coonskin. Remember, that piece is from way back in 2002. And, sorry, Tim, as you well know, Cornyn, more suavely than Havana Ted, continues to play this time of card game.

The Texas Observer looks beyond the Permian Basin to see how, with even less excuse, the natural gas flaring in the Eagle Ford is ridiculous.

That flaring — and the oil drilling that causes that flaring — contributes to global warming and other aspects of climate change. A new computer simulation says that, on a worst-case scenario, if we hit 1,200 ppm of carbon dioxide and equivalents in a century, not only will we have 7 degrees Fahrenheit (4C) of warming, we will so destroy cloud cover that that could add AN EXTRA 15 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT! Yes, alarmism! And needed! That's a total of 12C, or TWENTY DEGREES FAHRENHEIT,  of warming!

Houston Public Media reports all 12 Dems in the Texas Senate oppose David Whitely as Secretary of State. So, does he get Abbott off the hook and withdraw his name, or not?

Jim Schutze confirms what I suspected from early on — that the Dallas Morning Snooze's pitching of Big D as a spot for Amazon's second headquarters was predicated in part on flipping the Belo Building to Amazon. (The Snooze will still sell you a $25 "Beer" T-shirt, though!)

Socratic Gadfly mocked the owner of the New England Patriots with some Kraft Porkaroni and Cheese.

David Bruce Collins offered partial thoughts on the presidential candidacy of Tulsi Gabbard, while noting he's aware of "issues."

Brains has his latest prez candidate roundup, focused on Bernie Sanders entering the race. His admonition that ANY Dem will be called a socialist, as well as the face that Bernie IS a Dem, were both ignored by Ted, who has his post-Hillary knickers in an even tighter knot this year.

Off the Kuff quibbled with some of the conventional wisdom in the HD125 special election and runoff.

The Rag Blog reviews the new Eugene Debs graphic novel bio.

Bobby Hankinson refuses to be shamed out of supporting victims.

Beyond Bones highlights a few iconic symbols of Texas that actually have their origins outside the Lone Star State.

Mimi Swartz asks if the problem with standardized test results is the tests themselves.

The Bloggess urges you to have the talk (not that one, the other one) with your kids.

Add this to the list of items of Amazon as bad actor at its fulfillment centers in Dallas and elsewhere: It reportedly sells bootleg media.

Finally, the TPA highly recommends this profile of Monica Roberts and her mission to identify transgender murder victims. Monica had some issues with her TransGriot blog disappearing shortly after that piece was published, but that's been resolved (for now, at least) and it wouldn't have stopped her anyway.