Greg Casar becomes more self-delusional

Casar, just in his second term in Congress, and current head of the Pergressuve Cucks, what I call the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and with good reason, is increasing his levels of self-delusion.

First, heading this org isn't a desired gig. Indeed, per this piece, Casar was unopposed last year; the previous head was term-limited.

That said, per my top link, progressive he is not:

He would rather build coalitions than pass ideological purity tests that have pushed voters away from the left. He espouses a more working class message, steering away from the culture wars and back to economic concerns that dominated voters’ minds this year.

Business as usual. Oh, sure, in various places in various stories, he condemns the Joe Manchins of the world, but says it wasn't that Yachtsman Joe wasn't too liberal or too conservative, but that they didn't offer enough progress. It's statements like this that lead me to use the word "pergressuve."

Or, in other words, contra the likes of Radley Balko, he believe the bullshit about "woke."

The self-delusion has now gotten worse, though.

Per the Monthly, he thinks Tex-ass is "up for grabs."

Dayum. Even though state Dems made Gilberto Hinojosa walk the plank, his "victory is just around the corner" spirit is alive and well. Contra the core of the piece, once California started going hard "blue," it was abetted by people from the OC and San Jose and Inland Empire Californicating Tex-ass (and Aridzona). Texas isn't up for grabs for, oh, at least a decade?

GOP wingnuts want a conservative version of Californicating Texas

The Monthly talks about how Tex-ass wingnuts want to pull off a conservative version of Californicating the state. A poster child is SB 8 from two years ago, which allowed private citizens to file lawsuits in abortion-related issues.

Unknown to me until reading that story? The whole idea, though of course with different targets, originated in California far earlier. For example, those carcinogen worries you see on so many products? Required in California — and enforceable by citizen lawsuit. It's easier for companies to print one version of such labels nationwide. Here's the skinny.

If you’ve ever visited the great state of California, you may have experienced that cumulative effect, as well as some alarm at finding out that nearly everything there will give you cancer. Any consumer product or location there that contains any level of a carcinogen, from coffee machines to Disneyland, is required by a 1986 law to display a warning about its potential to cause cancer and birth defects. Because makers of consumer products will invariably want to sell those products in California, many items sold outside the state also contain the warning. And because testing to determine the levels of carcinogens is so expensive, manufacturers may slap warnings on products that don’t contain carcinogens at all, lest they be hit by lawsuits later. Those lawsuits can be brought by enterprising members of the public, just as with SB 8.

Never knew that before.

And beyond wingnut political purity, this stuff has also come to Tex-ass:

There’s a bipartisan consensus that Americans eat like garbage, and that ultra-processed food is at least partly to blame. But Senate Bill 25 is notable for its mechanism of correcting the national appetite. It presents a list of 44 ingredients or categories of ingredients, from dyes to bleached flour, many of which are commonly included in products Texans buy at grocery stores and which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration already regulates. Any product made with one of those 44 elements—pancake mix, tortilla chips, granola bars—now must include a warning on its packaging that it “contains an ingredient that is not recommended for human consumption by the appropriate authority in Australia, Canada, the European Union or the United Kingdom.”

Interesting indeed. (And also highly hypocritical, per the story.)

Here's the bill. It's the "physical education in schools" bill; the food stuff comes later, about halfway down. Before that, it has many other things, like an elective high school course, and a required college course, on food and nutrition. Sounds good, right? But with wingnut promoting Brainworm Bobby's rants about seed oils, maybe it's not.

The lies of a Californicating wingnut in Tex-ass

We're just going to spell this out via my set of Tweets, with some added framework:

First, there's the beginning of my take:

A wingnut (presumably from the OC) talks about Californicating Tex-ass and trying to become a Texan. There are some truths but plenty of lies here.
Biggest lie is not really owning up to Californicating. Beyond that?https://t.co/5ZW4uutWm6
1/x

— TheRealSocraticGadfly 🥝☢️🌻🌲 (@real_gadfly) April 2, 2024

I add to it the observation that if you didn't know about Tex-ass humidity in the first place, you're a Dum Fuq right there.

Then we go to her claims that you can see oh so many stars in Tex-ass. (I suppose she's one of those Californicating wingnuts who has been hypnotized by "Deep in the Heart of Texas" from two many two-stepping classes). She also talks about the so many national parks in Texas.

To all that? This:

First, contra .@BridgetPhetasy there's plenty of places to see stars in California: Death Valley, Mojave Natl Preserve, Joshua Tree (east side) Lava Beds for starters.
Related? THIS: "There are tons of national parks to explore" is a fat fucking lie. TX has TWO Natl Parks 2/x

— TheRealSocraticGadfly 🥝☢️🌻🌲 (@real_gadfly) April 2, 2024

And a part two:

National Recreation Areas, National Monuments etc. do not count as "national parks." And, IF they DID, they'd count for California, too, which has far more.
Tex-ass is deficient in public land in general. Big problem. 3/x

— TheRealSocraticGadfly 🥝☢️🌻🌲 (@real_gadfly) April 2, 2024

OK there.

Finally, re her attempt at reverse snootiness, I proffered:

2nd, there's plenty of diversity of thought in California, contra your stereotypes. .@BridgetPhetasy
3rd? I'm sure if you go to the right parks in Austin, or Preston Hollow/Highland Parks in the Metromess, or River Oaks in Helltown you'll find nannies in the parks there, too. 4/x

— TheRealSocraticGadfly 🥝☢️🌻🌲 (@real_gadfly) April 2, 2024

And, there you go. Seriously, not sure about Westlake in Austin or Helltown, but I can speak of the Metromess.

My only remaining question is, is she more a conscious liar, or per my "Deep in the Heart," is she more someone who's been brainwashed?

The Californication of Tex-ass

The LA Times writes about the Californication of Tex-ass, and how, per the old "wherever you go, there you are" pop psychology adage, they're essentially bringing many of California urbanization's problems with them. Unmentioned? Next will come the "pulling up the ladder after you" stage. (In the Southwest and Mountain West, Californicators can be among leading bitchers about their new digs being Californicated.)

Among the bitching here will probably be that Texans aren't Texan enough.

No, really. Not sure about his 2022 gov run against Strangeabbott, but in his 2018 Senate run against Havana Ted Cruz, R.F. O'Rourke took a majority of native Texan voters. It was non-natives, who are above all Californians, who swung hard to Cruz. (I can't remember if I voted Libertarian or undervoted.)

Next, they'll bitch about all the California problems they brought. Scratch that; many are already bitching about Austin housing prices.

After that? They'll bitch about the weather they were too fucking dumb to research, ignoring that Tex-ass has plenty of humidity in the eastern 1/3 and a fair chunk in the central 1/3. They'll then bitch when their excessive A/C use strains an antiquated power grid that's supposed to represent everything of what's best with Texas

Texas Progressives — contamination-free version

Texas Progressives hope Ted Cruz gets healthy — and stays totally quiet while in his coronavirus quarantine cocoon, while wishing that other wingnuts like Matt Gaetz had at least this level of common sense on occasion.

In the meantime, dig into the contamination-free version of the Texas Progressives roundup.


State coronavirus

A Frisco coronavirus case is reportedly the first in the state contracted domestically.

There will be NO SXSW this year. With more and more vendors already pulling out over coronavirus fears, Austin Mayor Steve Adler pulled the plug. More on economic impact from Texas Monthly; Austin Chronicle notes that it was NOT insured for an occasion such as this, which will add to the economic impact. The alt-weekly adds that (in part because of this) that organizers didn't want to pull the plug themselves, nor did they want the city to do it. Up in Dallas, before the plug was officially pulled, Jim Schutze thought the idea was going too far. Since this post went up, the Houston Livestock Show also bit the dust, while the NBA seasons of the Mavs and Rockets, along with the rest of the Association, were put on hold.

Too much? I think largely indoor events with large crowds maybe do need this level of concern. Largely outdoor events, especially as weather warms? Probably less concern.


Texana

SocraticGadfly says that, contra past fearmongering by Greg Abbott, and contra recent bad reporting by Atlantic based on worse reporting by the Dallas Snooze, Texas is not being Californicated.

The Observer says gentrification is making central cities look like each other and the cookie-cutter suburban subdivisions that surround them.

The idiots following the wrong route — and possibly indulging real estate grifting in Roans Prairie — for high-speed rail in Texas claim they could begin construction by the end of the year. I've blogged about real-estate grift in Dallas, as well as in Roans Prairie, and more, long ago.

The Dixie Chicks are back.

 Rick Casey reminds us that Texas was the first Southern state and the ninth in the nation to ratify the 19th amendment, granting women the right to vote.

Texas politics

The Texas Democrat (sic) Party is so butt-hurt over various things that it's suing the Secretary of State to restore straight-ticket voting. Per Ballot-Access News, ignoring the stupidity of a U.S. District Court in Michigan, it has no leg to stand on. In any case, get in line behind real voting issues lawsuits, like the Greens and Libertarians over HB 2504 and related. Kuff reviews the filing and offers his own thoughts. Note to state Dems: If Kuff ain't doing handsprings over it, it's a turkey for sure.

Flying under my radar, Ryan Sitton got upset in the GOP primary for his Railroad Commission seat. Jim Wright is still a Rethug, but if he holds off whatever Doink wins the runoff to face him, it can't be but an improvement, at least at initial glance.

Paradise in Hell is enjoying the fight between Dan Patrick and George P. Bush over the Alamo.

Kenny Boy Paxton's PAC has taken money from Juul even while the state is now suing it.

Dallas

Rent-a-Center got busted for conspiring with competitors, but got a slap on the wrist.

Sheriff's deputies were busted for looting at a store they were guarding that was wrecked by last fall's tornado.

John Wiley Price's hand-picked serf from a decade ago to run Dallas County Elections officially admits screwing up.


Houston

Dos Centavos explores the strange story of The Ghost of HD142.

Craig Hlavaty finds the four nerdiest items in Houston.

Durrell Douglas documents how #ProjectOrange is helping inmates at the Harris County Jail exercise their right to vote.

National

In Brains' presidential check-in, he, like many alleged pergressives on Twitter in the previous week, bemoans the DNC throwing elbows at Tulsi without talking about who Tulsi really is. I had thought of changing my featured post away from the Tulsi Kool-Aid one, but as long as the likes of Brains and JV Graz are pouring it, it stays up until she officially leaves the race. No, she's not a Putin puppet; she's a Hindutva harridan. Some of her stanners know this and ignore it; many are just ignorant, period.

And, Mini Tuesdasy, Second Tuesday, or whatever one calls it? It seems to have confirmed the Super Tuesday narrative that Bernie can't get out the vote — and that specifically, he can't get out the youth vote. I had a brief discussion with one stanner Tuesday morning, who said "but all those youth at rallies." I didn't directly use the word "slacktivism," but I think that's some of what we're seeing. Worse for Sanders? Exit polls in Michigan had Biden beating him among whites without a college degree. He's in trouble. Period.

Also on Second Tuesday? Andrew Yang proved himself to be Just.Another.Politician.™ by endorsing Biden. I laughed on Twitter at Yang Gangers. The "Math" man kind o flunks with the claim that Biden is the prohibitive favorite. And, Mr. UBI touter flunks the idealism test that he let loose in the Yang Gang suckers.

Ted Rall actually enters blind squirrel finding acorn territory, or does better than that. He says part of Sanders' problem was "framing." He may be right; did "Medicare for All" captivate that many? That said, he's not all right. I'm unaware of the MSM attacking Bernie for talking about GOTV problems with youth. Both he and Jacobin caution not to write Sanders off yet. But, the Jacobin piece has no problem writing off "ill-fated third party attempts." I told Howie Hawkins he needs to talk to the author, a fellow Teamsters rep.

Is Texas being Californicated? No, not really

Is Texas being Californicated? No, not really. This Frisco development likely mainly has other Texas move-ins.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about Texas Monthly calling Fredericksburg the new Aspen.

In addition to calling out that general bullshit, I said that to the degree housing costs WERE going up there, it was primarily due to their fellow Texans.

But, Derek Thompson at The Atlantic didn't get the memo. Or more to the point, he read the wrong memo from places like the Snooze.

So, time to set him straight.

First, to the degree Texas, especially its suburbs, ARE being Californicated as Derek Thompson claims? That said, the idea that this might be a political tipping point? Tosh or at least semi-tosh. The majority of California migration here is from places like the OC, the Inland Empire, San Diego exurbs to the south of that, and portions of the Central Valley. Red, or at least red-dish. Now, these folks may not be as conservative as the likes of Former Fetus Forever Fuckwad Jonathan Stickland or Gohmert Pyle, but they're conservative enough.

That said, many Californicators aren't moving to Tex-ass. Per the Wall Street Journal, high property taxes (and they are, for Texans who still think they may not be, but refuse to look at an income tax). a $10K cap on state and local tax deductions, while not hitting Texas as hard as California or New York, is hitting it hard enough.

As for the Snooze saying more Californians move to North Texas than people from any other state?

No duh, dum fux. California is still far and away the most populous state in the Union. And, many conservative Californians do see some things they like. In suburban areas, the Former Fetus types of the world, like Stickland himself, may find themselves more and more deciding to leave the Lege. But as the recent special election for HD 28 points out, that day ain't here yet. Stickland has a good chance of being replaced by a Rethug, just one not quite so winger as him.

Let's look more at the Nerdwallet piece that said Snooze guy Dom DiFurio blogged about. (That's really what it was.)

• Phoenix, as well as the Metromess, had California's Southland as the No. 1 move-in source.
• Chicago, Denver, Portland, San Antonio, Seattle all had the Southland as the No. 2 source.
• Houston had it as third.
• Other Texas metro areas, in aggregate, were the largest Metromess move-in source. In fact, by itself, Helltown was almost twice as popular a DFW move-in source as the Southland. Ditto on other Texas metros, on the target move-out destination.
• Vegas was the No. 1 destination for LA and the Inland Empire. Other Cal metros were No. 1 for San Diego and San Francisco. (In a fail, Nerdwallet didn't mention in-state moves for the first two.

If you're going to write a piece like that, coastal transplant guy, that's how you do it.

Beyond the high taxes, the Observer for the Metromess, and Texas Monthly for Helltown, have already refudiated the idea that Texas' main urban areas are low-income paradises, at least when compared to New York. The Snooze apparently didn't get that memo either.

As posted by me in a Texas Progressives roundup a couple of weeks ago:

When transportation sprawl, and housing and other costs relative to pay are all factored in, both Dallas and Houston are LESS affordable than New York City. For whatever reason, even though the Metromess and Houston are almost dead even on these costs, Texas Monthly writes its story on the issue only about Houston. (Unless it does the rewrite I suggested.) Related? Contra former Houston mayor Annise Parker's past bragging about how Helltown would eventually pass Chicago? The Windy City is cheaper, per the first link. And that ignores the humidity, skeeters and flooding of Houston, along with the climate change that will exacerbate all. Do we file this under "Rick Perry's Texas Miracle" or "Greg Abbott's Texas Miracle"?

The Dallas Observer DID pick up on the Dallas angle.

Per the bullet points above, Nevada also has no state income tax, is a much shorter move from California than Texas, and since Fredericksburg is NOT the new Aspen, like California, Nevada has skiing.

Drew and Pat's semi-excellent road trip

Perhaps in kind of emulation of Robert Francis O'Rourke and Will Hurd, State Sen. Dan Fallon (R-Prosper) and State Rep. Drew Springer (R-Muenster) had a joint town hall recently, though Fallon did 95 percent of the talking.

Thank doorknobs for our Texas Legislature state legiscritters, Fallon (R-Yankee Catholicdom) and Springer having this road trip.

Fallon, sounding like a true libertarian, said:

“You rent your home back from the state after you pay off your mortgage.” (He's not a true libertarian, of course.)

He claims a 2.5/3.5 percent property tax rate cap is in line with inflation. With general inflation, maybe. With valuation rates in metropolitan areas, no it’s not.

I’ve blogged about, and even written a newspaper column about, this bullshit before. If you believe in capitalism, you have to accept housing rates spiking in fast growing urban areas. Senate Bill 2 substitutes the dead weighted hand of GOP Legiscritter wingnuts for Adam Smith’s invisible hand.

Of course, that hand is mythical, but it’s invoked by wingnuts all the time. They then pull a reverse No True Scotsman and claim to still be capitalists.

If free/reduced lunch students are the fastest growing demographic, the Texas miracle already isn’t succeeding, Fallon also said.

It ain’t succeeding, and as shown back when Tricky Ricky was governor, is built on Earl — the stuff in wells — and Ill Eagles. The Straus wing of the GOP likes to pretend the state doesn’t depend on Earl or his cousin Nat (Gas). But it does. The Danny Goeb wing likes to pretend it doesn’t depend on Ill Eagles. Gov. Strangeabbott likes to pretend he’s above the fray.

He then mentioned the “save Chick-fil-A” (from what, tasting crappy?) bill. Claims San Antonio airport was harming it. Claims SA Express-News is “no bastion of conservativism.” Claims San Antonio. is very blue.

“California” four-lettering was sprinkled throughout. Not as in four-letter words being used, but wingnut use of "California" as a four-letter word.

Anyway, Fallon has bravely helped save Texas from being Californianized** and other exploits, so Hip, Hip, Hooray.

More seriously, as more and more people call out the modern GOP as a "party of fear," that's what I think of here in Texas. Every time the "we're not California" gets pulled out, behind a boast, I see a touch of fear that maybe California is right.

Also more seriously, I know that events like these are all base-appealing red meat. Not sure about Fallon's electoral history, but Springer hasn't been primaried since his first election and never has faced a general election foe of Dem, Lib OR Green. That's kind of sad.

So, when you're running in a rural district that runs out to the Panhandle (that will change in some way with redistricting, I expect) you can do this.

===

** Being Californianized, the Texas fear that the state will in any way be influenced by California, is not the same as being Californicated.

THAT is when Californians of any and all political stripes "discover" a small town in the Mountain or Intermountain West and overrun it. Taos, New Mexico is a recent example. A larger city like this is Bend, Oregon. Fanta Se was partially, and more slowly, Californicated. Silver City, New Mexico, is a case of a failed Californication.