Texas Progressives update sports cheating and sports sellouts

You say Boomer, I say Sooner, as we observe Oklahoma beating Texas in the Red River Shootout.

This corner of Texas Progressives accepts that it's "wait until next year time" for the St. Louis Cardinals while wondering if the Houston Astros can get back to the big dance.

And, with that, we kick off the blog with a mix of sports and history.


Black Sox centennial

With the Fall Classic just days away Socratic Gadfly takes note of the centennial of the Chicago Black Sox scandal and asks, did Shoeless Joe Jackson do it along with the others? This is part 1 of a 3-part series. Part 2 will look at whether other World Series were thrown and Part 3 will examine the possibility of this happening today.


Texas politics

Former Congresscritter Pete Sessions (R-ATT) has bigger problems than Bill Flores calling him out for carpetbagging into his district. He's reportedly "Congressman 1" in a list of unindicted co-conspirators of Rudy Giuliani's two pals indicted for Ukraine-related shenanigans. The Dallas Observer also weighs in.

Pat Fallon has decided NOT to primary John Cornyn. (No word yet on the possibility of him running for Mac Thornberry's House seat.)

Texas Signal is hosting a Democratic Senate candidates forum in Houston Oct. 23.


Texana

In "Death in Solitary," the Observer takes the suicide of an inmate in solitary confinement as a lens for an array of ongoing problems in the Texas prison system.

Texas' "fix" for low-performing public schools might be as bad as the problems it wants to address.

Désiré Nizigiyamana reminds us all that refugees are a Texas success story.


Dallas

Michael Barajas comments on the aftermath of the Amber Guyger trial showing why the Dallas City Council rightly increased oversight of the Dallas PD.

Related? McKinney City Councilman La'Shadion Shemwell is bringing his Black Lives Matter POV to Dallas City Hall.


Fort Worth

Atatiana Jefferson, 18, was killed by Fort Worth cop, now ex-cop, Aaron Dean. Per the first link, she is the SIXTH person Fort Worth cops have fatally shot SINCE JUNE. Per the second link, sounds like Cowtown hired as big of a loser cop as Big D with Amber Guyger. FWPD interim chief Ed Kraus said he was getting close to firing Dean over non-use of de-escalation tools and unprofessional conduct. He didn't address the other five killings nor if he thinks he's running a shithole department.

Cowtown's firing of former chief Joel Fitzgerald less than six months ago, and his lawsuit for reinstatement, all appear related to the possibility of Corrupt Cops in Cowtown.


Houston

The Trib casts a critical eye on North Houston freeway widening plans.

Off the Kuff reviewed the 30 day finance reports from the two Houston-area legislative special elections.

John Coby bemoans unserious candidates.

Kim Ogg asks cops to support her last-ditcher attempt to fight the bail bond settlement. She appears to be doing her damndest to make up for decades of lost groups and pass John Whitmire as the biggest ConservaDem in Houston.

National

Brains offers up an Equality Town Hall 2020 update. That includes black trans people being winners (sort of) at the event. (Unfortunately, CNN repeats the likely legend that Matthew Shepard was killed as a hate crime. No, it's much more likely that his was a drug-related killing. As I say there in reviewing "The Book of Matt," it's sad Shepard has been glommed onto as an LGBTQ poster boy when that's not why he was killed. It's sadder yet that his drug dealing and other issues have NOT led him to be noted as a poster child for insidious effects of child sexual abuse. That may be in part because he's gay and national child abuse groups are afraid of opening the "it made me gay" can of worms.)

A Texas reproductive rights advocate discusses all that she sees behind the Supreme Court decision to (seemingly unnecessarily) review Louisiana's harsh abortion law.

Like Cory Booker, Beto O'Rourke is now saying God will call him home, or something like that, if he doesn't get Moar Money to run for prez.

LeBron now joins James Harden and other NBA players, along with coach Steve Kerr, in being capitalist sellouts to China.

Therese Odell wraps up an exciting week of impeachment blogging.

This:

🔥Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York-14), 🔥Rashida Tlaib (Michigan-13), and 🔥Ilhan Omar (Minnesota-3) endorse
BERNIE SANDERS for President of the United States of America.⚡️ pic.twitter.com/zs5cdS90Hi

— Our Revolution CCC (@ORContraCosta) October 16, 2019

Happened after Tuesday's Dem debate. Some in the MSM, like CNN's John King, are already trying to explain this away. I'm asking where Ayanna Pressley is, and if this isn't a reflection of what some people said a year ago, that she might be less pergressuve than the Congresscritter she primaried out, John Capuano.

I'll be curious who she DOES endorse — and when. The "who" will be very interesting, especially if it's neither Sanders nor Massachusetts' Warren. The "when" will be interesting if it comes off as a bandwagon type endorsement.