Texas Progressives look at pre-Thanksgiving state tea leaves

Lots to talk about this week, the last before people stuff themselves on turkey or else scrape up vegan alternatives, so, let's dig in to ...

This week's Texas Progressives roundup.

Texas will get about $35 billion from the Biden infrastructure bill. GOP Senators Havana Ted Cruz and Tiny John Cornyn, and even more, wingnut US House Congresscritters, who all voted against it, will nonetheless start touting its state and House district benefits in 3, 2, 1 ... 

SB 8, the anti-abortion bill, is being challenged in state district court as well as the federal level.

Luke Warford is the first Dem to announce to seek Wayne Christian's Railroad Commission seat. Wondering who Texas Greens, or anybody else outside the duopoly, will get with the new third-party and independent filing fees. Warford is narrowly targeting his run on Winter Storm Uri.

In case you haven't heard, Robert Francis O'Rourke is running for guv, and taking a page from Warford. My take here.

The Monthly looks at the possibility of Gohmert Pyle entering the crowded Republican primary against Kenny Boy Paxton for AG. I personally am ready to pop plenty of popcorn and get it if Gohmert jumps in.

Carroll ISD has more problems than "alternatives to the Holocaust." The Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights has opened a discrimination investigation.

The Observer's Michael Barajas takes another look at redistricting. It's true the process was rushed like hell. But if Dem Legiscritters were eventually going to fold the tents on their boycott of the voting bill special anyway, wouldn't it have been better to not do it at all and instead find a way to delay the process? 

Off the Kuff analyzed how the new State House map changed electorally over the past decade.

SocraticGadfly talks about the latest in Texas-New Mexico water rights issues and other environment and climate news, with thoughts on Glasgow COP26 coming for the week ahead.

Cheese, anybody? The Texas sector is growing. The story's not THAT good though. There's some great cheese at a "homestead" place northwest of Waco, that's been in operation, assuming it still is, for a decade now. Nothing about it.

That said, per a link inside that piece? I didn't realize that Texas had loosened its rules on raw milk distribution at this year's regular session of the Lege. Not good. (The Snooze's story is also not good, starting with the fact that the Texas Dairy Asssociation has consistently opposed such legislation. And the freelancer, formerly a Snooze staffer, should know that.) The big problem is not direct-to-cheesemakers raw milk, where cheese fermentation may reduce the risks, but direct-to-consumer sales of raw milk for drinking. The Monthly also misses the boat on this.

Delta-8 is back to being Ill Eagle for now.

Jessica Goldman finds out how wheelchair-accessible Houston's theaters are.

Alex Karjeker takes a closer look at how the Texas Democratic Party did as an institution in 2020.

Steve Vladeck argues for greater Congressional authority to enforce their own subpoenas.

Your Local Epidemiologist explains the mechanisms by which vaccines reduce disease transmission.

Hope Osborn looks ahead to the day when Texas is no longer reliant on oil and gas taxes to fund public schools.