The Barbed Wire drives itself into the ditch

I had hopes when it the online news-y magazine was announced, then launched, late last year. I knew the Texas Monthly needed competition, and thought there was room for that.

Then, as postings faded after election day, and into this year, the hope faded a bit.

Then, we get this last week.

The Barbed Wire officially drove into the ditch the first time for letting some Billy Begala (don't think he's related to Paul) make the evidence-free claim that "the woke left" as well as rightists oppose legal gambling in Texas, along with the asshattery of using that phrase. Worse? This Begala is a managing director there, per the "about."

The Barbed Wire then drove into the ditch a second time, when, in a piece about Black cowboys, it had this:

“They didn’t have white cowboys,” Larry Callies, founder of The Black Cowboy Museum in Rosenberg told The Barbed Wire. “Black (men) was called a cowboy because of his skin,” said Callies, who is a fourth-generation cowboy and a country singer. “They called Black people ‘boys’ in the 1800s. The white man was called the cowhand. (Back then) you better not call a white man a cowboy. He’d say, ‘I’m not your boy. I’m a cowhand. Cowperson. Cowdriver.’ Not a cowboy… until Hollywood.”

The actual etymology of "cowboy" calls bullshit.

H. Drew Blackburn is promising 254 pieces, every other week, of Texana in film, books, etc. I'll read any further ones at least as critically, or else skip.

And, that will apply to the site as a whole.

Nastiness over Luckenbach

I've been to Luckenbach once, a little over a decade ago, when I lived in Marble Falls, and spent a whole weekend touring the heart of the Hill Country. Even then, the surrounding area probably wasn't exactly what it was a decade before that, with San Antonio starting to creep out that way in northwestern development. (I'd been to Boerne half a decade earlier.)

Anyway, I had no idea that a whiskey company and other issues would flash fuel inflame a division within Hondo Crouch's descendants, a division that, even if he won't admit it, seems to be purely and ultimately about money on Kit Patterson's side, and one that stands on both legal and historic shaky ground, per the story, even as me makes himself into more and more of the bad guy. And, more and more of a hypocrite to boot.

Anyway, it's all about Texas legend, so ...

Take it with a grain of salt.

That said, I think some transplants drink Texana Kool-Aid more than natives, per the old "I wasn't born in Texas but I got here as fast as I could" bumper stickers, etc.

Texas Progressives say Merry Christmas, and said Happy 250th Ludwig

And, Splendid Saturnalia, Kozy Kwanzaa and anything else you need greeted.

With that, let's dig into the roundup.

From his arts and philosophy blog, SocraticGadfly offered a hearty Happy 250th Birthday to Beethoven, including YouTube tracks of favorite orchestral, chamber group and soloist performers of some of his music.

Texas

"Lesser evilism," intra-GOP version, prevailed Saturday in the SD30 runoff as establishmentarian grifting wingnut Drew Springer beat lawlessness wingnut Shelley Luther.

Grits, looking at the rigor of police training in other countries, wishes we could apply some of that here.

Speaking of, the feds are intervening in Austin policing. Gee, once again, what about states rights etc?

Texana

The Bum Steer Awards are out! Top dog? Texas Dems for once again overpromising and underdelivering. Top runner up? The COVID-19. Greg Abbott was top/bottom dog within that. Sadly, Shelley Luther only got mentioned within Greg Abbott's mention. I forgot about Kenneth Copeland saying God would destroy the virus.

Barry Corbin is still kicking.

Texas Monthly is still fellating H-E-B.

The Big Bend's mini-Target outside Marfa is gone.

#MeToo issues in the oil patch? I am shocked! I'm also "shocked" that #MeToo accountability has, for the most part, not even started to happen.

Metromess

Ohh, more alleged bribery involving Dwaine Caraway.

A federal judge has reinstated the Botham Jean family's lawsuit against the city of Dallas, after amendment.

Helltown

Steve Hotze's Texas-fried version of the nutter conspiracy theory has led a former Houston PD captain to apparently commit what could wind up being multiple felonies, staging a deliberate rear-end collision to arrest an AC repairman whose van allegedly contained "Texas suitcases" or whatever of ballots.

Off the Kuff analyzed statewide judicial numbers and the trends from the last three Presidential elections in Harris County.

The Texas Signal commemorates Harris County's first election under the new Elections Administrator.

National/global

Trickle down economics via tax cuts for the rich is officially a failure. Shock.

That said, trickle to relatives grifting, Trump-style, has hit the Colorado GOP.

Michael Li explains the SCOTUS dismissal of the challenge to Trump's order to exclude undocumented immigrants from the 2020 Census.

Therese Odell contemplates the "Trump is literally dragged out of the White House" scenario.

Texas Monthly takes a closer look at Austin-based SolarWinds, the company at the heart of the massive Russian cyberattack.

Texas Progressives watch Trump being RELENTLESS at losing; we also talk tacos, Fair Park

This progressive corner of the Texas Progressives wishes readers safe Thanksgiving travels if they're headed elsewhere, safe dining from COVID as well as bad cooking wherever they're at, and safe discussions if they're sharing the holiday space with wingnuts.

With that, let's dive into this week's roundup. We even talk cooking!

Texas politics

Former city manager of San Antonio Sheryl Sculley pulls back the curtain on just how bad police and fire unions in the Alamo City — and by extension in some ways, the whole state — simply suck. And, to add icing to the cake, re the unions angle? She's the daughter of a labor organizer.

As of last weekend, Kay Granger was the most prominent Texas Republican to tell Trump to move on.

Off the Kuff examined recent Presidential results in the Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth areas.

Raise Your Hand Texas prepares for the next fight over school finance at the Legislature.

Texana

Texas Monthly has a delicious food guide to all things taco! No listing of Thanksgiving-themed tacos or New Mexico "Christmas" themed ones. Sorry, can't give you everything.

The Mexicans are invading! Well, specifically, the crested caracara. One person reported seeing one recently at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge, so Texas Monthly's report is confirmed.

DosCentavos writes about one of his favorite performers, Max Baca, of the Grammy winning Los Texmaniacs, who has been in a fight against COVID-19.

Dallas

D Magazine talks with the architect who completed, authentically, the restoration of Fair Park's Hall of State.

And, high rises on Oak Lawn? Pass.

Jim Schutze seems to love him some charter schools and teaching to the test, as well as repeating winger stereotypes about lazy teachers and such.

National

New York AG Letitia James is taking a new look at tax deductions claimed by the Trump Org, including consulting payments to First Grifter Ivanka. The NYT has more.

Raffi Melkonian delivers a play-by-play account of Rudy Giuliani's day in Pennsylvania court.

Global

SocraticGadfly had two pieces related to recent climate change news. First, does a new Norwegian-British study show the James Kunstler alarmist types might be right? Second, it appears we now have the measurement tools to implement a carbon tax PLUS carbon tariff, which must be a part of climate change control.

Texas school history textbooks are teh suck — here's how, part 1

The Monthly has the first in a three-part series about how Texas public school history textbooks are teh suck. The first piece is good. I'll have to admit that, growing up in New Mexico and reading a book that told me exactly where in today's Morocco he was from, I did not know that "Esteban"'s real given alternative modern dubbed name was Mustafa Azemmouri. 

That said, noting the normal Arabic suffix for place-based surnames, I could have figured that out soon enough, if I operated on the assumption that he had a place-based surname. Also, given that Azemmour was the place where he was sold into slavery, and unknown if it was his birthplace or not, this also may not be totally correct.

In fact, if I recall correctly, from the book I read, he was BORN in the interior of Morocco, so, giving him the name of Mustafa Azemmouri could be putting lipstick on a hog, or, to put it into modern language, substituting one privilege for another.. Mustafa itself is a very common Arabic name, and whatever Arab — I presume that rather than fellow Berber, assuming he was that — may have sold him into slavery may have given him that name. Hell, maybe Arabs used it as a name for slaves they sold in general. Also, "Mustafa" sounds similar enough to "Esteban" it would have made an easy way to give him a Christian first name, whether he was baptized on Dec. 26 or not.

That said? If you asked around GOP Austin, Danny Goeb would say they're great, Strangeabbott would issue a Jesuitical hair-splitting statement while talking about his Mezzican wife, Kenny Boy would try to sell you stock in Pearson and Tim Dunn would pay $1 million to get the SBOE to approve a textbook even more wrong.

THAT said, calling Azemmouri "Black" might not be accurate, either. We have no pictures of Esteban, and he WAS, after all, from Morocco, not Congo. 

So, the first piece is good. But, with this, it falls a touch short of great.

Texas Progressives talk wingnuts, Valley voters, Luby's, lab meat brisket

Plenty of state and national political news to talk about in this week's Texas Progressives Roundup. As has been semi-regular for the past six months, state, national and global coronavirus news and analysis has been split out into a separate post. So, with that, let's dig in!

Texas

Can a new PAC really turn Texas blue by turning out Hispanics in the Valley? Yeah, you can keep coloring me skeptical until it happens.

SocraticGadfly says that the wingnuttery was thick at an SD30 special election GOP candidate forum.

Off the Kuff was on top of the big vote by mail rulings this week, both the good news and the bad news.

 Gus Bova asks a damned good question: "Why does Cornyn tweet?" (Maybe because, as in other things, he's trying to play wingnut catch-up to Ted Cruz?)

Dallas PD head U. Renee Hall is leaving, end of the year, with a sudden announcement. Dallas Observer's hot takes and ... NONE within the first five days by Schutze, surprisingly, who DOES report about BLM coming to the Park Cities, albeit with tidbits of Schutze-style fearmongering.

DosCentavos posts about the long-awaited video release of the HPD killing of Nicolas Chavez and the firing of those involved. What's next?

Updating an old post of mine from earlier this month, as I see it, Texas Greens who refused to pay the HB 2504 filing fees stand a solid chance of getting back on the ballot. BUT!!! They have to appeal the Travis appeals court's ruling.

Grits for Breakfast tries to make sense out of Greg Abbott's muddled messages on police funding. 

Chris Hooks makes the same effort, with the same result. 

Marice Richter reports on a veteran Republican political consultant switching parties this year. (Editor's note: Switching after helping a wingnut upset Ryan Sitton in the RRC GOP primary, THEN claiming today's GOP doesn't represent your values? Something's rotten in the state of Denmark. But, I keep this in as a Kuff choice just to illustrate what being a ConservaDem is about.)

Dee Dee Watters insists that we include Black trans women when we say "Black Lives Matter". 

 Jef Rouner experienced a range of emotions on the first day of remote school. 

Grace Keyes warns us to not take the Postal Service for granted.

Texana

Lab grown meat is coming for the Texas brisket. Given all the effort that BBQ guru Daniel Vaughn says is involved? I highly doubt the price point will be close to the natural-world thing for decades.

It's officially the end for Luby's. This isn't unexpected. And, I'm one of those people who, many years ago, ate at Luby's (and at Furr's in New Mexico) and yes, my habits have changed. (I'll still stuff my face at a Pancho's, or did pre-COVID, but, if it's all-you-can-eat, give me Souper Salad and eating healthier.)

Pepe the Frog's creator, who is NOT a wingnut, tries to rescue him from the wingnuts. It's interesting, and I had no idea of the origin story.

National

How many Trump tweets will Twitter actually remove under its new policy, described by CNN? "Slim" or "none"?

McConnell's efforts to keep the Senate in GOP hands surely have taken some sort of blow with the failed "skinny stimulus." But how much? The Democrats will need to play this as McConnell going backward, and do so quickly. BUT? This could be a head fake by Mitch, who would then go back to his midsummer offer, tout how great it is, and out-chess Chuck Schumer if that one fails.

Australian teens have joined those in the US and elsewhere in filing a climate change lawsuit, this to try to block a coal mine expansion.

Oil and gas execs busted, in a secret recording, for private truths vs public lies on methane and global warming.

Also under the environment, a bunch of actual and alleged environmental movement founders have come out and said "don't vote Hawkins." They stress you can push Biden leftward. How well did that work with Obama? I refer to Ted Rall's "electoral trolley problem."

Bernie Sanders says Joe Biden's being too much a centrist is worrying to Bernie about Joe's campaign prospects.

QAnon in the upper reaches of Wall Street? Yes. And, per a response to me on Twitter? Probably money involved, or at least the prospect of grifting.

Texas Progressives have you mesmerized

For yet another week, there's plenty of interesting — good, bad and ugly — news and views in and around the Lone Star State and beyond that caught the eye of Texas Progressives in general and this corner in particular.

So, let's dig in.

Here you are.


Texana

Socratic Gadfly notes that Freedom from Religion Foundation had a lawsuit victory over Gov. Greg Abbott upheld on appeal. As he said at the initial filing, it's a case he wishes both sides could have lost in some way.

Buying a house, but not getting the land? The Observer looks at the big picture on community land trusts, in a longer read. (One thing not mentioned by the Observer: the whole myth of a home as an investment.)

The Observer welcomes Tristan Ahlone as new editor-in-chief. As a long-time reader of High Country News, familiar with his work, I say this is a great add.

Get your art fix online. The Observer has the details.

Angelo State's prez resigned without reason.

The Texas Living Waters Project reminds us that flood planning is still a thing we need to be thinking about.

Early prognostications of this year's Atlantic hurricane season aren't good.


Texas politics

Off the Kuff notes an update to that weird "ghost candidate" story from the HD142 primary.

David Bruce Collins reminds us that the Texas Green Party convention, to be done virtually, is this weekend. Register here.


Criminal justice

Grits has the receipts on "perhaps the junkiest of junk science," forensic hypnosis. When it's worse than bite marks, blood spatter and other Texas forensic pseudoscience, it has to be bad. And it is. And deadly, since we're a death penalty state.

Grits talks about how Abbott has lost round one in his thinly-coronavirus-veiled attack on bail reform.

He also offers an update on his cancer recovery.


National

Bernie wasted no time this time around in starting the sheepdogging.

David Bruce Collins, like me, wonders just how many of the #BernieOrBust folks actually will leave the Dem party Nov. 3. And by "leave," both he and I mean voting Green, not staying home and not voting at all.

Why did Bernie go Bust? Gadfly offers his thoughts, mainly based on Bernie being a bad campaigner.


Global

Turns out baby daddy Julian Assange wasn't quite so isolated, and certainly not so monastic, inside the Ecuadorean embassy in London. And the baby mommy and him have been partners for 9 years, and engaged since 2017, but marriage not on the plate until now. And, if Assange's mom is mad about invasion of privacy, she can tell her kid to start by apologizing for the Seth Rich conspiracy theory.