Texas' real water problem ...

Is one that Charles Perry won't touch. And, that is the need to regulate groundwater pumping amounts, as the Trib details. Having lived on both sides of the state line in the Ogallala Aquifer's southern end, I know what a problem this is.

As the story notes, groundwater districts are essentially "toothless" on the rule of capture, and rural Rethuglicans in the Lege like it that way; so do many of the Anglo rurales on the High Plains. As noted, it fits the "rugged individualism" mythos which is of course a lie.

The real issue is that the Lege won't address the issue of groundwater in aquifers being like a stream or river. And, given past battles with New Mexico, it's a hypocrite on this.

Beyond the state level, the feds aren't doing enough via the Interstate Streams Commission, either.

Texas Progressives look "forward" to end of Lege session

I'll have more detailed thoughts in days and weeks ahead, beyond a few issues I already wrote about earlier this week. Meanwhile, here's this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff has some advice for THC retailers about what to do next. 

SocraticGadfly looks at the Supreme Court unanimously, yes, gutting the National Environmental Policy Act in light of his non-duopoly voting.

School district library censorship is here in Tex-ass, pending Strangeabbott's signature. Brad Buckley is wrong about removal of classics being a red herring. That said, I look forward to the bible, with incest, adultery, sanctioned daughter-killing and more, getting yanked.

The Texas Supremes are letting Kenny Boy Paxton keep investigating (and intimidating) Annunciation House.

At least the Lege didn't give Paxton even more power to investigate actual, alleged or made-up election crimes. 

The Lege's attempt to regulate mifepristone (and abortion telehealth) appears dead.

Dan Patrick is a lying nutbar about THC (like he is about many other things).

Neil at the Houston Democracy Project posted about the busy week for the Project ahead. This includes being the featured speaker at the June Spring Branch Democrats meeting.

The Eyewall takes one last look ahead to the hurricane season.

The San Antonio Report notes the cancellation of a major cyber security conference due to the "challenging" US policy climate.  

Houstonia writes about several Houston chefs who were DACA recipients and who are speaking out against Trump's immigration atrocities.

The Texas Living Waters Project adds up the wins and losses for water resources in the 89th Legislature.

In the Pink Texas read that Jake Tapper book so you don't have to.

Shock me the Lege didn't pass an ethics bill.

Per the Observer, RIP to Ronnie Dugger, its founding editor.

RIP Loretta Swit. From MASH regulars, it's Alda, Farrell, Farr and Burghoff left.

RIP Champagne Charlie Rangel.

Texas Lottery Comm is dead as is Miriam Adelson's casino dream

The Texas Lottery isn't dead, but the Lottery Commission is. Also dead, in case nobody this side of Miriam Adelson has figured out that Dannie Goeb's statement every two years at the start of a Lege session that "he hasn't seen a gaming bill that he likes," is the chances of casino gambling in Tex-ass as long as he's Lite Guv.

So, Miriam and son-in-law Patrick Dumont, if that's why you bought the Dallas Mavs, that's a big fat fucking fail second only to letting Nico Harrison keep his job.

Now, that's if Strangeabbott signs the bill.

If not, per the Sunset Commission and lack of funding for the Lottery Commission in the budget bill, the Lottery itself is also dead.

And, if Adelson and Dumont believe any different, I've got an honest Bibi Netanyahu ceasefire for sale. Or a red heifer without blemish.

GOP senators wanting to purity-test selves on Trump budget

First, there's Ron Paul, who says he doesn't like the amount of money sloshing around, then does an about face and says he'll vote FOR it — if the debt ceiling increase is removed.

This lets him play the part of voting to increase the debt, then voting against increasing the debt ceiling later. A true hypocrite as well as a poseur; no wonder many fellow Rethuglicans don't like Sen. Squirrel Hair. (At least the carpet weaver has added a few touches of gray to the weave.)

Ron Johnson calls the budget bill's deficits "completely unsustainable" before saying he wants to see Trump succeed. Translation? "I'll vote for it while pretending to be a deficit hawk," kind of like Squirrel Hair.

Johnson then invoked Elmo Musk and DOGE as his "out," apparently in the idea that he can blame Trump for not listening to Musk if he has to — all while keeping an ear to the ground of which of the two is more popular among wingnuts-sqaured.

Meanwhile, in the House that just passed it, Speaker Mike Johnson, the choirboy with Peter's two swords, did his St. Ronald of Reagan, Jack Kemp, Art Laffer, etc., said the CBO has it wrong, and this big beautiful new deficit will do a supply side self healing.

ICE, AI, unconstitutional searches and Texas PD hypocrisy

The Barbed Wire expands on a story by 404 Media about how police departments around the state (and other states) are cooperating with ICE by using AI-powered license plate reading "searches."

This key graf explains why local cop shops are involved:

Earlier this week, the independent online outlet reported that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement has tapped into a nationwide AI-enabled camera network with the help of local law enforcement agencies. Their findings are based on data obtained by activists via a public records request to an Illinois Police Department for search logs from police departments around the country that have contracts with Flock, a surveillance company that provides automatic license plate reader technology to government agencies. ICE does not have a contract with Flock, which 404 Media noted as an indication that the federal department is using local agencies as side-door access to the tool.

There you go.

A sidebar graphic notes that Dallas PD and Houston PD, much more so, are leading participants. These are supposed to be "librul" cities at least somewhat supportive of immigrant rights, but with ConservaDem John Whitmire running Houston, this is not a real surprise. Anyway, there's the hypocrisy with the two big-city PDs.

OK, the constitutionality?

The Flock database lookups are typically done without a warrant or court order, a practice that an ongoing federal lawsuit filed by the Institute for Justice argues is unconstitutional and violates the Fourth Amendment.

The rise of privately run surveillance camera networks like Flock, and the data sharing practices they facilitate between law enforcement agencies, has raised concerns among lawmakers regarding lack of oversight.

There you go.

Then, another worry here in Tex-ass:

Another recent story from 404 Media punctuates the point and demonstrates that it’s not just a matter of immigration. The outlet reported that a sheriff in Johnson County ran a Flock search for a woman who they said self-administered an abortion, citing concerns from her family about her safety. Last summer, Attorney General Ken Paxton asked a judge to strike down a rule that protects the privacy of pregnant people who travel across state lines to get abortions. Several Texas counties also have tried to ban travel out of state for abortion, which is illegal in Texas. If such bans become law, there’s little to stop law enforcement agencies from using license plate readers to track and charge abortion seekers.

And that's why any PD participating in this has blood on its hands.

Give the whole thing a read.

Hey, kids, don't take your phones to school

Per one of Johnny Cash's hits:

Pending Gov. Abbott's signature, student cellphones, except for medical and other authorized needs, will be banned from use on K-12 school campuses during the school day. The student safety issue of some parents is a red herring, especially with campus security meaning that if there is a shooter at school, it will be on a lockdown anyway.

My issue is that, as I have expected all along, the bill doesn't pay school districts for a magnetic lockbox system, because it specifies districts have the option of banning student cellphones from being brought to school in the first place.

Yeah, good luck with that, any superintendents and school boards who go that policy route. You'll get fragged by parents.

And, as I read it? The Trib's story has a big fail. The bill says it takes effect on Abbott's signature, not Sept. 1, if more than two thirds of both houses pass it. And, they did. (I tagged the Trib and its reporter on Shitter, and as normal from the Trib, have yet to hear back.)