SocraticGadfly: Texas Progressives on the border and more

February 03, 2022

Texas Progressives on the border and more

Off the Kuff looks at the developments in the SD10 redistricting lawsuit.

SocraticGadfly talks about the odiousness of antivaxxers blathering ignorantly about the Nuremberg Code, especially with the anniversary of the Wannsee Conference.

On immigration issues, per the excellent Border/Lines, it's ever more clear that #StatusQuoJoe is exactly that. Result? An exodus of executive branch young blood, led by Andrea Flores, even as oldsters like Ron Klain and Susan Rice, defend largely preserving the status quo.

Tex-ass now has both a battle and an issue on environmentalism. The battle? The feds have rejected the state's attempt to set a more lenient standard for ethylene oxide, a chemical key to production of household detergents and related items produced in Greater Houston (and southern Louisiana's) Cancer Alley. The issue? As known by many of us, and amplified in Winter Storm Uri, TCEQ shuts off pollution monitors in the face of severe weather.

Kenny Boy is trying to get the Court of Criminal Appeals to overturn its December decision that he cannot unilaterally prosecute election fraud allegations. And, he's jumped in bed not just with Steve Bannon but pillow guy Mike Lindell to push this. (That said, the Observer is wrong when it indicates just a few states have partisan judicial elections. While only seven states have partisan elections for their top courts, 18 do for lower courts, per Ballotpedia. In addition, of the 21 states with retention elections, in eight, the initial election after a gubernatorial appointment to fill a vacancy is a partisan election. In total, that's 26 of 50, more than half.)

Melinda Lucio could be the first woman executed in Texas since 2014 if SCOTUS doesn't do the right thing.

Alex Sammon asks just how much will Pelosi or others of the Democrat establishment go to the mat again this year for corruption-investigated Henry Cuellar? Sammon notes that Cuellar has a decade-plus history of ethics issues and violations. The Monthly has more, including that some third-party ad buys have dried up and that the San Antonie Express-News has endorsed Jessica Cisneros.

Who is Kandy Kaye Horn and why is she running for gov, and as a Rethuglican to boot? Not asked by the Monthly — will she and other minor candidates get just enough votes to push the race to a runoff? She appears to be as befuzzled in some ways as Kinky Friedman.

Mucus (THAT Mucus) and "furries." Click the link to learn more.

The first First Amendment lawsuit against Collin College for shit-canning a prof has concluded; Lora Burnett settled for OK money, and contra Collin's hack PR spox, it's a win not only for her, but for others suing the college; the settlement's not sealed and thus is admissible in their suits.

Grits for Breakfast looks at a time when the Austin Police Department removed lights and sirens from its police cars to encourage better driving by its officers.

The Current provides an oral history of the legendary punk band The Butthole Surfers' time in San Antonio.

Eric Berger cheers on the James Webb Space Telescope.

John Nova Lomax documents the Nicknamed Krogers of Houston. 

A federal judge has enjoined BNSF railway workers from going on strike. Check back on Feb. 8.

Greg Sergeant rightfully calls out Ruy Teixeira (and tho not named, the James Carvilles et al) in saying that Dems need to ignore "wokeness" entirely, and just shift that Overton Window.

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