Texas Progessives round up the normal news and idiocy

The Green Party has its Texas convention and other things rumble along outside the world of COVID. Unfortunately, the oil world is not rumbling along even as Glenn Hegar  plays make-belief and we miss a golden opportunity to nationalize some oil companies.

Dig in, but don't despair too much. And don't open any Overton Windows.

Texas politics

The state Green Party convention broke strongly for Howie Hawkins for president. David Bruce Collins, the Senate nominee, has details.

Off the Kuff looks at the initial ruling in the TDP's lawsuit to expand vote by mail access.
Texana

You can run, but you can't hide, Greg Abbott, and Comptroller Glenn Hegar:

The Greg Abbott Texas miracle is again in the shitter, as the economy, still pretty oil dependent despite lies of Comptroller Glenn Hegar, saw the unemployment rate jump above the national rate. You know, so much of this stuff, like oil's effect, is EASILY refuted. Yet the lies.

— Sheepdogging been berry berry good to me 🚩🌻 (@AFCC_Esq) April 17, 2020

And, the lies and the brags, and their combination especially, gall me. Texas political leaders like to brag about a booming economy when, for most of the past 20 years, the booms have been fueled by two things: "Earl" and Ill Eagles. But, now that earl's in the tank, and the #MAGA folks keep pushing to "build the wall," there's no wiggle room. As for Hegar, he lies about Texas not having an oil-dependent economy as much as his predecessor, Susan Combs, lied about protecting the dunes sagebrush lizard.

The Observer has a long read about Texas inmates stuck in solitary. It is disgusting, but unsurprising, that Texas has more inmates in solitary than the rest of the states combined.

The Lunch Tray notes a somewhat favorable ruling in a lawsuit over USDA school nutrition rollbacks.


Austin

Grits looks at racism problems in Austin PD and the department's and city's unwillingness to do more.


San Antonio

The city is demolishing its oldest public housing site, a heart of its Mexican-American heart. That said, calling the city the Mexican-American capital of the U.S. seems as much branding as anything. Just because it's larger than a say, Albuquerque or Santa Fe, both of which are older but smaller, and in Santa Fe's case, Californicated, doesn't make it true. Or, in the part of Texas that's really New Mexico, El Paso. El Paso is more Hispanic than San Antonio, though the current city is only post-Guadalupe Hidalgo. Albuquerque is somewhat less Hispanic, but older.

National

Great piece here, primarily Texan, but also national and ultimately global. DeSmog Blog, at that link and linking to a piece by Johanna Bozuwa, explicitly says it's time to look at nationalizing oil companies.

The Keystone XL pipeline had a federal permit cancelled by a judge.

May futures for WTI went negative. While that was IN PART because the contract was expiring Tuesday, the Wall Street spinners can't totally spin the future of oil for months ahead. Oil will be backed up in June as well, and the contract for June is already not looking good.

Nancy Pelosi appointing Donna Shalala to honcho Dems' oversight of the coronavirus bailout money illustrates to a T why Pelosi refused (of course, on the ground House Dems had few people working on it, either, right AOC?) to do an Emoluments Clause impeachment.

The Southwest is gonna be screwed by climate change. Really screwed.

Primo Nutbar was claiming, almost surely untruly for a variety of possible reasons, that Jesse Ventura was asking to be let in the Green Party prez circus.