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Where I Went Instead of the HCGP Meeting Last Night

28/11/2017

 
Not to dwell on it here, but one of my Green comrades who attended last night's Harris County Green Party meeting was moved afterward to express his disgust via email, calling it "another damn hideous general membership meeting." He has called for a small task force to assemble and engage in some strategic planning, tentatively on Saturday 9 December, at a venue to be determined, and I have tentatively accepted the invitation.

As for me, I kept alive my current streak of not attending HCGP meetings: four consecutive months. This new habit of non-participation has resulted in a considerably less stressful existence. Green activity used to feed my soul, even when differences of opinion on strategy or tactics occasionally grew rancorous; now the environment has grown toxic, driving away more old hands than just Yours Truly.

Instead, I got to see real democracy in action.

Last week, Kayleen was perusing our local NextDoor site, and she told me of an upcoming neighborhood meeting called by District D City Councilmember Dwight Boykins at The Address, a sports bar recently opened near Highway 288 and Old Spanish Trail (US-90A). So I went.

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Two Weeks Off & Back to the Routine Texobloggage

27/11/2017

 
It's partly due to the Thanksgiving interruption, and partly due to a lack of suitable material, that has kept me off the blog these last two weeks. We can also add general disgust with current events. Despite the unending barrage of news about the awfulness of our species, there still isn't much to report within my particular purview.

This would be a good place, however, to remind Greens and Green Sympathizers that the window for applying to run for public office in 2018 is open until 11 December 2017. See this page on txgreens.org for the downloadable PDF application and the address to which to send the completed form. Anyone who volunteers to run should be prepared to assist with the ballot access petition drive in the 11 weeks following 13 March.

To hedge your bets against the petition drive not succeeding (and the odds against a successful drive are pretty tall), run as an independent, as JosH [sic] Darr is doing in US House District TX-2. (JosH does not have a website up yet. Anybody wanna help with that?) For most not-statewide races, including for the US House, independent campaigns must collect and submit only 500 signatures, as opposed to the 47,000-plus that third parties must gather.

​Your blog-o-rama awaits below the fold.

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Damn I'm Old Texoblogosphere

13/11/2017

 
Happy Birthday to Me! Or, at least, wish me a Less Miserable Birthday, as I roll an "Ask me about my lower back pain!" bumper sticker onto my truck. Naw, occasional pangs of existential dread aside, things aren't all that bad, but I'm definitely feeling my age. Tonight I plan to take some solace in the carrot cake that Kayleen lovingly baked yesterday.

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With this week's lefty blog post and news roundup, the Texas Progressive Alliance hopes that the victories won by a broad and diverse slate of Democrats around the country last Tuesday—and with the special election for the seat in the US Senate representing Alabama starting to turn their way--is the start of something promising.

Although there is still some close-mindedness and hypocrisy to overcome.

Off the Kuff analyzed the Houston-area election results from last week.

SocraticGadfly talked about Veterans Day and stupid wars in light of the World War I centennial.

Democrats turned it up, out, and on in last Tuesday's elections, wrote PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.

Texas Freedom Network's Insider blog declares that it's long past time for a Mexican American textbook and curriculum in our state's public schools. 

In his collection of criminal justice news, Scott Henson at Grits for Breakfast points to the Mother Jones piece that indicates TDJC spokesperson Jason Clark might not be telling the truth about the Beaumont-area prison that flooded during Harvey.

The "new" Music City Mall in Lewisville addresses its planned installation of a Ten Commandments monument, reports the Texan Journal.

The tenth annual green (not Green) Holiday Party in Austin is announced by Texas Vox.

Neil at All People Have Value said folks should vote for Elizabeth Santos in the HISD District 1 runoff on Saturday, December 9. APHV is part of NeilAquino.com.

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And from other blogs and news sources:

An explosive account by Olivia Messer in The Daily Beast reveals the men in the Texas Legislature behaving badly toward women. It's not the latest development in the ongoing and unreported-but never-to-be-forgotten sexual harassment in the workplace that's breaking news; only the most statewide. RG Ratcliffe at Burkablog knows it's a long and sordid tradition at the Capitol.

Public records researched by Melissa del Bosque at the Texas Observer disclose the planned route of the proposed southern border wall. Fifteen segments would bisect three wildlife areas in the RGV, and put more home and structures in jeopardy than previously known.

DBC Green blog also analyzes the election results from last Tuesday, and understands--more clearly than most—​that they weren't the changes establishment Democrats could believe in.
[The election outcomes] demonstrated amply that 1) mainstream Democratic candidates and strategies don't get it done; 2) progressive and populist ideas and candidates win, and 3) people will turn out mostly to express their utter revulsion at our alleged president, not because they have any great love for—or knowledge of—the candidates.
Paradise in Hell is more than ready to draw a line on automatic weapons.

The Texas Living Waters Project is not afraid to use contested case hearings to fight for our state's rivers and bays.

Juanita Jean at The World's Most Famous Beauty Salon needs your help to get mail ballots for 2018 to people who need them, especially in counties affected by Harvey.

Therese Odell at Foolish Watcher grapples with the revelations about Louis CK.

Monica Roberts at TransGriot documents the history of transgender candidates running for legislative offices.

And Harry Hamid crossed a street yesterday.

5.77% Turnout and Why Our System Still Sucks

9/11/2017

 
ICYMI, we had some elections the other day, including right here in Texas.

More than 94 percent of registered voters in Texas apparently did miss it. How many of us never even knew about the election is a little harder to quantify, but I'd wild-guess that a majority did not.

Statewide, we were voting on seven amendments to the State Constitution, mostly on matters designed to be kept obscure and off most voters' personal radar. The voters approved all seven. Turnout rates for the various ballot questions ranged from 5.56 to 5.77 percent, so the IDK vote represented a substantial portion of those who did bother to vote.

At least there was some variation in the percentages voting Yes, so it doesn't look as if those who showed up just looked at the deliberately deceptive ballot language and said, "Yeah, whatevs." Perhaps some informed voters found resources that recommended against some of the propositions on the state ballot, and they voted accordingly.

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RIP HP Texobloggage

6/11/2017

 
The print edition of the Houston Press almost made it to its 30th birthday. However, we have received news from editor-in-chief Margaret Downing herself that the alt-weekly that Voice Media has pulled the proverbial plug after several years of questionable fiscal viability. Most of the editorial staff have been laid off. See the link below to longtime HP utility infielder Jeff Balke's encomium.

So. Many. Thoughts. Here are just a few.
  1. It wasn't that long ago—what, two years?—that Free Press Houston also went web-only. BTW, if you're among the handful of Texas residents likely to vote tomorrow, FPH's Chelsea Thomas has some recommendations.
  2. For those of us who remember the early days of Public News, when the all-volunteer staff of music- and art-lovers did the layout by hand, the evaporation of city weeklies in print form brings big tears.
  3. Balke's blog entry lists many of the talented journalists and others with whom he worked at HP, mention how many of them have graduated to more stable, less alt media sources. Possibly before his time, there were also folks like Lisa Gray (now curating the Gray Matters blog at the Houston Chronicle) and the redoubtable city-beat analyst Tim Fleck.
  4. Elephant in the Room time: One factor that helped keep the Press afloat for too many years, as with other Voice publications, was thinly veiled back-page line ads from human traffickers and other questionable businesses, via backpage.com and elsewhere. FPH ran several pieces on that matter: here's one of them from the "Worst of 2011" issue.

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With the weekly blog post and lefty news roundup, the Texas Progressive Alliance really encourages you to cast a ballot tomorrow—because with turnout like this, your vote is going to carry a lot more weight than usual.

Off the Kuff looks at the third quarter campaign finance reports for Texas Democratic Congressional candidates.

Socratic Gadfly offers his detailed take about the bombshell Donna Brazile dropped on the Democratic Party.

An Astros fan almost since birth, PDiddie at 
Brains and Eggs posts his 56-year remembrance of growing up with the team and celebrating their first World Series championship. And Houstonia has pictures of the victory parade, which 700,000 were predicted to attend, but officials estimated a million people showed up.

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