Texas Progressives look at energy kabuki theater, redistricting, Abbot pandering

I pulled out my original section on energy kabuki theater as it was long enough for a separate blog post.

Here you go. Read and get mad. If you're a Dem, and your legiscritter doesn't act as needed, and on the RRC as well as PUC and ERCOT, get them primaried!

With that ...

On to other items in a fun Roundup with a few surprises.

Redistricting

SocraticGadfly looks at the Census delay and wonders if that will make redistricting even harder and more of a fistfight in a Lege special session, including the possibility of internecine Republican fights as well as R-D battles.

Abbott pandering watch

Off the Kuff focuses on the maskless mandate and the widespread negative reaction to it.

Abbott's masklessness order, along with his blaming Ill Eagles later, is just another move in his pander watch. I keep the odds of him being primaried from the right next year at about 50 percent. Question is, by who?

This social media bill drafted by Bryan Hughes and enthusiastically backed by Strangeabbott is of course unconstitutional. Facebook and Twitter are private actors. As Abbott is required by law to swear to protect the Constitution of the US, it would be "fun" to see Biden try to remove him ... or, to give teeth to James Wilson's worries, criminalize the bill requiring such oath-swearing.

Strangeabbott has also backed an anti-riot bill similar to those making the rounds in other wingnut-led states. The 2019 Lege passed a "pipelines not people" bill similar to that of the Cajun Coneheads to the east.

John Coby is mad about the damage Republican political leaders have done to Texas' reputation. (With this, is John defending a Democratic version of Texas Exceptionalism?)

Therese Odell vents some fury at Greg Abbott.

Other Texas politics

David Beard takes a deeper look at the TDP 2020 autopsy report.

Charles Miller appraises the new federal Medicaid proposal, which could mean $3 billion more for Texas.

Other stuff

Planned Parenthood is back in Lubbock. Good.

Californication DOES happen in some not -so-good ways in Texas. Like natural-gas utilities in Austin, as per PG&E in California, battling regulation.

The "eyes who really care about Texas" are on rich racist tea-sippers. They're also on privilege-pandering administrators. As Jemele Hill notes (and she did a great thing leaving ESPN), this is nothing but conservative cancel culture. And the song DOES have a racist background. Grits offers a solution.

What will Alamo Drafthouse look like as it emerges from bankruptcy?

The DMA has a new Frida Kahlo exhibit. Learn more here.

Metromess

A new political action group wants to push left — in May's nonpartisan local elections.

A Dallas police officer is under investigation for allegedly being involved with murdering two murder witnesses.

Jim Schutze was national on CBS This Morning, even though he's been AWOL from D Mag for a month and counting now, and D Mag has said nothing about his change in status.

Cooke County Attorney Ed Zielinski may not fully grasp the First Amendment.

National

The Supremes have scheduled a conference on the Libertarian-Green lawsuit against the Commission on Presidential Debates.

Biden's executive order on voting is nice. Well, no, it's "nice," because it's kabuki theater.

I kicked Andrew Kloster's ass on Twitter. Again. And from the start.

National/global

Not all Israeli leadership, including not all Israeli military leadership, at least in the retired wing, either oppose the Iran deal or like everything about modern Israel. Remember, frank talk about Israel and Palestine is more likely in Tel Aviv or even West Jerusalem than in New York or Washington.