Texas Progressives, stuffed with food, offer up a post-holidays Roundup

This outpost of Texas Progressives was grateful for Thanksgiving while being unsure whether the latest possible date of the holiday is good or bad vis a vis Black Friday capitalism. It's good that it comes later, but it's bad that the later date means a harder sell from the capitalists.

Leaving readers to ponder that phenomenon, let's dive in. (But first, a moment of silence for the turkeyed campaign of Kamala is a Cop.)

Pigging out on Texana

Yes, let's talk pork, before we talk more birds.

Pig Stand makes its last stand in San Antonio, as the original drive-in restaurant chain dies down to one site.

Wild hogs can and do kill, and just did so again in Anahuac.

And, they also "play through" on the back nine, according to the Observer's Strangest State.

H/t Brains for a couple of the links inspiring the thematic section


Sports

Instead of talking turkey, Socratic Gadfly talked Redbirds, as in Cardinals. He first said the Birds need to get a starting pitcher, then called out Post-Dispatch columnist Derrick Goold for drinking management Kool-Aid.


Texas politics

Like an oily oil slick, Smokey Joe Barton is back, and shamelessly telling us his part in wrecking world climate.

Blood from stones and turnips doesn't compare to fines and fees from poor criminals. Michael Barajas has the details.


Texas politics, Trib-norance division

J. Edward Moreno talks about the "Texodus" of GOP Congresscritters without ever mentioning the Newt-led cap on committee chair/ranking member term limits.

Ross Ramsey claims there is no middle in Texas politics. Rather, there is no left.  And, it's people like Ross in particular, leading the Trib, and the Trib and other state papers, that make it that way.

With stuff like this, is it any wonder I think its 10th anniversary huzzahing is overdone?


Texana

Texas Monthly's new web roundup piece is about how the cowboy boot is made for Texaning.

And, it's got Texana on the other side of the Sabine, including tamale talk in time for the holidays.

If you must buy crap (not tamales), TM has its Texana holiday shopping guide.

The Wilks Brothers get hammered by oil, and even more, gas prices in the dumpster. (In turn, this is  part of why many people with gas leases oppose wind farms, which the Dallas Observer was too dumb to know.)


Dallas

Some 45 years ago, Monty Python got its American TV breakthrough in Dallas, of all places. (About a dozen years ago, when "Holy Grail" got a theatrical re-release, I saw it, and heard it in glorious surround sound, at The Inwood.) And, in part to honor the KERA person who made it happen, John Cleese is accepting a comedy award in Dallas tonight.

Stephen Young, for the holidays, offers up Dallas' 10 worst turkeys. Fort Worth Weekly does the same for Cowtown.

Jim Schutze takes a whack at the piñata of charter schools, but winds up, shockingly, not having a real opinion.


Houston

Tony Buzbee appears to be dead in the water in the mayoral runoff.


National

Brains' 2020 update is best summarized by the David Klion Tweet he incorporates, which says of Obama in part: "He considers himself the leader of the party but refuses to lead." Wasn't that Obama as president as well?