Texas Progressives talks book bans, art and related

The Roundup got so big I split it into two. 

Leander ISD, reportedly a bastion of strength on non-nutter school boards and districts, has yanked "To Kill A Mockingbird," Frederick Douglass' memoir and other books from school library shelves. Why? Per the Anger and Clarity link, it's NOT SB 13, which specifically targeted school libraries; it's the "anti-DEI" SB 12. 

Sadly, the school district used AI to determine what was "DEI." What? Do school district leaders no longer read books themselves?

Pivoting back to SB 13, maybe the parents' library committees will use AI like this as well.

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Mean Green Cougar Red sees some tough demographic times ahead for US colleges and universities.

The Texas Signal highlights a new comic strip about a group of jazz musicians in the Jim Crow South and how they cope.  

Looking for bugs in the Davis Mountains is yielding insights.   

Dallas shooter Joshua Jahn and Klippenstein

As with the alleged Charlie Kirk shooter Tyler Robinson, discussed here, I wonder if friends of Joshua Jahn, the alleged ICE detainee shooter in Dallas, aren't using Ken Klippenstein, per his piece.

This has only been made more apparent given the FBI's searches in Oklahoma on Thursday, after Klippenstein wrote.

Here's his opener:

Three who knew him since at least middle school agreed to speak to me on the condition that I not name them, corroborating their friendship with photos and other records. Their accounts paint the picture of someone with a vaguely libertarian bent who despised both major parties and politicians generally (including Trump) but who didn’t engage with politics beyond that. He preferred edgy humor, video games and the message board 4chan, all of which he became increasingly steeped in as he withdrew from social life as well as their own friendships several years ago, they said.

Problem?

First, note the "several years ago." People change a fair amount, or change what they reveal a fair amount, in their 20s. 

Ken does admit that:

I wasn’t able to find anyone with insight into Jahn’s more recent views, something that his friends said was unsurprising given his withdrawal from social life over the past few years.

That said, I would have moved that caveat up earlier. 

This:

Another friend showed me a Facebook post describing how Jahn had flooded his friends’ comment sections with rape jokes — “playful shock humor,” the friend said.

Also reflects badly on his friends. That said, why isn't Ken quoting it? He boasts about transparency. He could put up a "trigger alert" or hide the actual messages behind spoilers. 

And this:

“He was never really into politics, especially not politicians,” said another friend, who had known Jahn since age 8. “He was into politics only in the 4chan sense — contrarian, provocative, boundary-pushing for laughs, not conviction.”

Undersells what 4Chan is all about. It also, along with being several years older, sets him off from Robinson, who, as far as we know, had no 4Chan presence.

Ken himself kind of "undersells" what it is:

4chan, the anonymous message board where provocation and meme warfare thrive, was apparently one of Jahn’s favorite haunts. His abrasive humor is where his friends’ opinions on him diverge the most, with some describing it as amusing but others as grating especially as his online persona bled into real life.

Try throwing the word "racism" in there. Now, we don't know what 4Chan "boards" he was on, like /pol, one of the definitely racist ones. 

Or else, per the loose screw shooters, an attempt to cash in on their Marshall McLuhan 15 minutes of fame. Even if they asked to talk to Ken anonymously, unlike Robinson's friends, I wouldn't discount that. 

As far as the bullet message, there was something nuttier yet on a car allegedly belonging to him, per Channel 4 in Dallas. So, that alone says the anti-ICE message wasn't a political message. Or does it? It could easy be read as an anti-nuke statement, nutty as it is.

That said, someone Ken didn't talk to told Channel 5 in Dallas that Jahn had been sympathetic toward immigrants, at least in the past. So, was he trying to hit ICE agents instead, then? In that case, maybe he was more politicized than Ken, and than his older friends, want to admit. The New York Post, quoting from Sharon Jahn's apparently now-deleted Facebook page, notes she called out Greg Abbott and John Cornyn as gun nuts.

OOPS: According to the FBI, Jahn intended this, per a handwritten note at his place in Durant, Oklahoma. 

Jahn allegedly left handwritten notes behind that read in part, "Hopefully this will give ICE agents real terror, to think, ‘Is there a sniper with AP rounds on that roof?’"

Well, there you go. 

And, he supposedly used apps that track movements of ICE agents. And, he allegedly accused them of "human trafficking."

So, Ken, maybe Jahn was a bit more politicized than you think. 

Yes, theoretically, because a dead person cannot be legally libeled, FBI agents could be taking items out of context in Jahn's suicide note and other things, and then destroying them without letting his parents see them. That's highly unlikely, though; if nothing else, like with Seth Rich's family, you open yourself to a lawsuit for causing emotional duress, and sovereign immunity generally doesn't cover civil issues, and certainly not to the degree it extends to criminal law and government officials. 

This gets back to the "laundering" above. 

Per all of the above, he, even more than Robinson, especially given that he's several years older, fits the "target" of isolated and self-isolating gamer addict type. And, most likely, someone with other mental health issues.

Also, I get that Klippenstein is pushing back against the narratives of Der Grüppenfuehrer himself, as well as minions AG Pam Bondi, FBI head Kash Patel and Homeland Security dog-shooter Kristi Noem, but?

What if, even if short of a blaze, there's a few embers behind the smoke, which it certainly appears there are.

The big issue is the memelording, isolated and deliberately isolating White young man. (Maybe Black extreme gamers will come up with their version of Lee Boyd Malvo in the future.) IF Ken wants to run a narrative contra that of the MAGAts, this looks to be the better one. 

In any case, I don't think this will age that well for Ken. I don't think his Tyler Robinson piece will age that well either. 

To put it another way: This is like people saying, "We didn't know a child sexual abuser lived next door," or "We didn't know a serial killer lived next door." They either were talking about a time years before their crimes, or else they ignored signals that they could have known.

I also also know that Ken's been complaining about not enough of his subscribers being paid ones. I don't mean this as a diss, but I noted on Shitter about not leaving your day job, especially if Substack doesn't pay you a big old publisher's advance, like Glennwald and others got years ago. Otherwise, there's the option of paywalling at least some of your pieces to boost paid subscriber numbers.

Update, Sept. 30: Fortunately, Klipp has not seen fit to try to explain this last weekend's shooters. 

Texas Progressives talk constitutional amendments, more

SocraticGadfly says, contra places like Lone Star Left, to vote no on Proposition 4, a highly anti-environmentalist economic boondoggle. 

Off the Kuff considers the legacy of Lina Hidalgo, who will not be running for re-election as Harris County Judge. (My take from up north is a bit harsher.) 

The Monthly profiles Amir Omar, Richardson's first Muslim mayor. He talks about his work as mayor, in the main, but also his Palestinian and Iranian heritage.

Per the Observer, the Lege in 2027 should do a major overhaul of the opioid settlement fund. 

Havana Ted defending the First Amendment in the wake of FCC chair Brendan Carr threatening ABC about "the easy way or the hard way" over Jimmy Kimmel was not on my bingo card. 

At the state level, former House Speaker McDade Phelan is throwing some mild elbows at fellow GOPers over Charlie Kirk. 

Neil at the Houston Democracy Project asked if Houston elected Democrats won’t speak up on the racial purge represented by the ICE assault on the Latino working class in cooperation with HPD, how can we count on them to be of use when trans people start getting rounded-up?

The Waco Bridge analyzes how the new Congressional map makes CD17 a little less red.

The Texas Signal highlights a new comic strip about a group of jazz musicians in the Jim Crow South and how they cope.  

Texas Monthly documents what happened in Odessa after a group of fanatics won control of the local government, and then they had to actually govern. 

Law Dork explains the judge's order that dismissed Trump's latest ridiculous lawsuit against the NY Times.

MLB should say No or Non to a Montreal Expos expansion reboot

The old Expos had bad ownership, but that was far from the only problem. Attendance was slumping long before Olympic Stadium fell apart and it never rebounded, and this was long before the final denouement.

Their last year above 2 million was 1983. Last year above 1.8 million was 1987. Post-stadium fix (I saw them as the "home" team in old Busch in 1991, the very game that Lee Smith broke the NL single-season saves record. (Big Lee is big indeed; Since the Cards were the "road" team, all loge and box seats were sold essentially at "cost." Me and my friends were about 20 rows up from the Cards bullpen on the 1B foul line.) Post-fixes, they only cleared 1.5 million once. 1997 was the last 1M+ season.

Yes, bad ownership/management was an issue. Even there, not all of that was Jeff Loria, or even close to it. He didn't acquire the team until 2000. Charles Bronfman in the 1980s was a piece of work as owner, but even that wasn't an issue. 

Below Olympic Stadium's famous falling apart in 1991 (and earlier) the stadium was not in a good neighborhood and other things. In addition, the retractable roof design sucked and wasn't used that much when it was finally installed.

As for the 1994 strike being a knife in the back because the Expos would have won the World Series? The 116-win Seattle Mariners would like a word. As far as a World Series win helping further attendance? The Miami/Florida Marlins and their two WS wins are knocking at the door. 

As far as MLB knifing the Expos at the tail end of 2003? Somebody should have knifed the idea of Montreal as an expansion site for 1969 in the first place.

It's colder by a few degrees than Toronto (53/39F for Toronto April vs 52/34 for Montreal and 48 inches of snow in Toronto vs 85 in Montreal), and with nothing bigger than Jarry Park available — and it needing a massive expansion — until 1977, no, MLB just never should have gone to Montreal. Toronto is a bit warmer, and Exhibition Stadium was bigger and better than Jarry Park from the get-go.

Also, promises were made, and failed to be kept, on how quickly the team would replace Jarry Park. MLB has been down this road with other stadium issues, and should be once burned, twice shy on a repeat of this. 

Beyond the Expos, the fact that the original CFL Alouettes folded — TWICE — should be a pro sports note — Les Habitants are very popular; other pro sports should take a pass. Add in the Francophone language issue, and that's another reason that US-based pro sports leagues probably should take a pass on Montreal, including MLB expansion. 

Kenny Boy and Angela's divorce vs Texas media

The Trib, the Observer and Pro Publica want Ken and Angela Paxton's divorce records. The Observer's story notes that Ray Wheless, the judge ordering the sealing, is far from disinterested. It's also interesting that, among the state's biggest print media outlets, neither the Snooze nor the Startlegram are part of the joint filing to unseal the records.

That said, per the piece, there's plenty to look at. 

Have either Kenny Boy or Ms. Angela been cheating on "primary residence" issues for tax money, since they've already had ethics disclosure issues?

If Angela wants Ken to admit fault, on what specific grounds? Names, details and dates, the last above all, with media then getting to ask, why did you wait two, five or whatever many years before filing?

Does John Cornyn have any connection to this? 

What all is in Kenny Boy's counterfiling? Especially, is there any hint about Angela and possible past bad behavior? 

Libertarian Party hypocrisy and more

Independent Political Report has the general story, about the troublemaking antisemitism of the New Hampshire Libertarian Party on 9/11, which follows on other problems LP National had perceived with both the New Hampshire and Colorado state affiliates this spring, and the national executive board's failure to deal with them then on a defeated censure motion.

As IPR notes, that May censure effort was over New Hampshire endorsing Trump last year (hold on to that thought), as well as racism by both. Weirdly, it ignored  Colorado went well beyond NH. It didn't endorse Trump. It actually nominated Brainworm Bobby. (Or tried to, until LP Secretary Caryn Ann Harlos filed the correct Chase Oliver paperwork with the Colorado SoS. Harlos would go on to sue then-LP chair Angela McAwful.)

That leads us to where we are now, and the hypocrisy issue. 

The Libertarian Party's executive board pursued a motion of censure against the LP of New Hampshire, which appears even more overrun with Mises Mice than the party nationally. 

I'm going to do a long quote block:

Libertarian National Committee At-large Representative Sam Bohler introduced a motion Friday to censure the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire, citing what he described as antisemitic and homophobic content shared by the affiliate on social media. The motion also invited the party to self-disaffiliate. 

The motion, posted to the LNC’s public Business List on September 12, references a 9/11-themed image depicting a Hasidic Jewish man piloting a plane toward the Twin Towers with the caption “We did it,” as well as the use of slurs in other posts. Bohler argued that the affiliate’s messaging undermines the Libertarian Party’s commitment to individual dignity and damages its national reputation. 

“LPNH’s posts have devolved into low-effort rage bait,” Bohler wrote. “The audience those posts attract is toxic, and as some of them join the affiliate, it will only push it further into deplorable rhetoric.” 

Bohler’s resolution calls on the New Hampshire state party to disaffiliate and cease using the Libertarian Party name, allowing another group to petition for affiliation in its place. The full language of the motion reads: 

Whereas, the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire has published posts on social media depicting a Jewish person piloting a plane in connection to the September 11 attacks, and the use of homophobic slurs, which reasonable people would consider antisemitic and bigoted; 

Whereas, this behavior diminishes the Libertarian Party’s image on the national stage, damaging not only our reputation but also our ability to grow; 

Whereas, a previous attempt to censure was dismissed, yet the pattern of behavior has only escalated; 

Be it therefore resolved, that the Libertarian National Committee censures the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire for its despicable conduct, and invites them to disaffiliate and cease its use of the Libertarian Party name so as to allow another group more in line with the values of this Party to petition for affiliation. 

This marks the second censure attempt targeting the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire in 2025. The first, introduced in May by LNC Treasurer Bill Redpath, cited racist and antisemitic imagery as well as the affiliate’s endorsement of Republican Donald Trump during the 2024 election cycle. That motion was later combined with a separate proposal by Redpath to censure the Libertarian Party of Colorado and failed in a 5–10 vote, with LNC Chair Steven Nekhaila abstaining.

So, there you go. 

The hypocrisy? And irony and other things? 

On Sept. 19, LP National's Shitter account said:

Democrats, the party of censorship & speech police. pic.twitter.com/KhB4Km5gYr

— Libertarian Party (@LPNational) September 19, 2025

As I posted on IPR:

Speaking of censure and Twitter, I believe that, at least in the view of the New Hampshire LP, and of those of us who like to snark, LP National committed an own goal yesterday.

And followed with:

Beyond what I said above, why is LP National singling out Democrats among the two duopoly parties? Especially given the party’s semi-official Trump flirtation last year, and events of the past week, this is hugely hypocritical. 

To snark away, I’ll respectfully suggest Nekhaila and others read Matthew 7:3-5, then look at who all gets to run LP National’s Twitter.

There you go. 

Beyond that? The arrest of journalist Mario Guevara further refutes the LP National lies. 

I also said the first paragraph of my second self-quote to the LP National Tweet.

Will the LP board do anything about this? Doubtful.

Will anybody on the LP board, or allies, who are semi-regular habituants of IPR respond to me? 

An additional issue is that, while LPNH does not have ballot access (so much for that vaunted "Free State" push, even if NH has tough ballot access laws, eh?) Colorado DOES, as far as I can tell.

So, are they going to be able to get away with that, the Brainworm Bobby attempted nomination, even if it was cut off at the pass last year? If so, the LP national is even weaker than I thought, and the non-Mice should just jump ship to that new Liberal Party. (And, that should have been added to the censure motion of earlier this year in my opinion.)

McAwful wound up resigning, but still chairs (shock me) the Mises Caucus within the LNC. The "shock me" is both ways; I'm surprised the Mises Mice find her trustworthy enough to be its leader. Among reasons not to trust her? She claimed Oliver would be a Trump spoiler stealing votes from Democrats. Instead, the shitshow stole votes from the LP.

That said, I also told the LP National Shitter account that its current "bio" is inaccurate, given that, in the 2024 presidential election, it finished well behind the Green Party and is now the fourth-largest, not third-largest, US political party. 

And, people like Libertarian grandee Richard Winger of Ballot Access News, a commenter on that IPR post, as of earlier this year, still couldn't or wouldn't deal with this. 

Beyond all of the above, it remains kind of fun to back on the LP in general.