It's our first anniversary! And what a year it's been. Way WAY too many Lege sessions, the Democratic quorum break, unprecedented and unlimited ugly from the Texas GOP. And, a LOT of Truly down the hatch. Reviewing our first year, it's pretty amazing what we've endured - and it's also starkly clear that we've still got a long way to go - so, THANK YOU for being part of the family.

Meanwhile - we have a primary election to unpack. What were we surprised about, what are we excited about, and what are the challenges ahead in May and November? We're lucky to have Cliff Walker of progressive, Black and Brown-owned communications and advocacy firm Seeker Strategies to contribute his take - including the fact that Republican voter suppression appears to be working just as designed in Texas, contrasted with the huge and growing buzz for Beto O'Rourke!

This evening (Wednesday March 2) at 6pm, the annual Amplify Austin Day begins - a full 24 hour celebration of giving and support of worthy Austin-based charities and non-profits, and Progress Texas is once again a proud participant! Seems like a great time to pause, reflect on the first year of our podcast, thank YOU for making that first year such a huge success, and explain how supporting Progress Texas is such an easy and important way to help Texas move forward into a better, brighter future.

Either directly (at https://progresstexas.org/), or via Amplify Austin (at https://www.amplifyatx.org/campaigns/progress-texas), we can't thank you enough for being part of the ongoing and building progressive movement in Texas.

Even with weeks of buildup, the invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin's Russia has still been a complete shock to most Texans. What will be the immediate and long-term impacts in Texas, what can we do to help, and what's coming next? Dr. Jody Ferguson is an Austin-based author and expert on Russian political thought and strategy, and we're honored to have spent some time listening to his insight - his hosts for this special bonus podcast are Progress Texas Development Manager Brett Isaacs and Content Creation Specialist Chris Mosser.

There are many ways YOU can help: we found a good collection of Ukraine-focused aid organizations that was posted by KSAT television in San Antonio.

Yesterday, the whole country was shocked (once again!) at another callous, disgusting election-year maneuver by Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, who have once again singled out transgender Texas kids as a prop in their never-ending cosplay of cruelty for the most vile dregs of the Republican voting base. This time though, yet another creative legal innovation: they're going after the families of these vulnerable young Texans, attempting to criminalize them with accusations of child abuse. And what's more, all of this is an obvious ploy to distract both Democrats and Republicans away from Abbott's blatant corruption and collusion with the energy industry to fleece Texans for generations. Ground Game Texas' Julie Oliver and Progress Texas Content Creation Specialist Chris Mosser join us for this week's discussion - you almost can't write this stuff! But, we discuss our options in fighting back...first and foremost, VOTE. Thanks for joining us!

Marijuana attorney Susan Hays joins us from her hops and hemp farm near Alpine! Susan brings together an extensive background in progressive advocacy, and an impeccable pedigree in land management and environmental stewardship - plus expertise on what a Texas-based marijuana industry could mean for our state. She's challenging longtime Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, who is a walking anachronism - as is much of his party. The agriculture sector in the Lone Star State needs leadership that will help us succeed in the actual real world. 

We welcome special guest Jessica Montoya Coggins of Texas Signal for a discussion of the ongoing primary election: while urban turnout is looking decent, our state's history of low turnout in elections like these appears to be holding. New restrictions on voting access are causing an unprecedented number of registration rejections - but our hope is that an over-arching sense of voter suppression may actually help turnout, as voters defy efforts by the GOP to silence progressive voices in Texas. As Jessica says: if Republicans weren't terrified of Democratic voters, they wouldn't bother trying to stop us from voting. So get it done! And thanks for your support.

As we record, early voting in the 2022 primary election begins in just a few days, on Valentine's Day, Monday February 14. This may come as a surprise to even engaged progressives - who, along with the rest of us, may simply be a little burned out. But the struggle continues, and this week we're here to help get you caught up and ready to go. At the top of the ballot, Beto O'Rourke has dominated the Dem side and is already the presumptive nominee in the race for Governor. On the other side, Governor Greg Abbott, while well-funded by the under-regulated Texas energy industry, finds himself beset by motivated, hard-right challengers - all of whom would make an even worse leader for Texas than Abbott already is. Further down the ballot, we discuss the races for Lieutenant Governor (index to 15:20), Attorney General (22:50), State Comptroller (29:10), Land Commissioner (34:55), Agriculture Commissioner (43:15), and Railroad Commissioner (47:15). Don't forget, in a low turnout election, YOUR vote carries more weight than in most - get it done, and bring your friends too!

Given the way our long-indicted current Attorney General Ken Paxton has run the top law enforcement office in Texas, Texans may have forgotten what that office is supposed to be about: enforcing the law and ensuring justice, not just protecting the Republican regime. It also might seem that correcting this issue is beyond our reach, but it's not. We enjoyed meeting one Democrat who's stepping up to challenge what has become the status quo at AG: Rochelle Garza of the Rio Grande Valley.

As we record the podcast this week, Texas is bracing for another February Arctic blast. Governor Abbott - who shared in the financial windfall from last year's freeze in which millions of Texans lost power, and hundreds did not survive - has been promising for months that the power will stay on this time, but just yesterday our Governor walked back that promise. Democrat Beto O'Rourke is on a "keep the lights on tour" and drawing attention to the #AbbottTax where consumers are footing the bill to weatherize the grid. We've also got tips for getting through this next environmental trial for Texas - good luck to us all. Stay warm and safe - and don't forget how the elected leaders of our state have once again failed to earn our confidence.

Brett Isaacs joins the Happy Hour crew as we cover this week's big news that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has announced his impending retirement. Do we expect Republicans to play nice with President Biden's replacement wishes? And a big announcement, as we present a new initiative to protect abortion rights in Texas and across the nation: it's time for a Roevolution! Lots to cover, and important ways YOU can join the fight - join us to learn more, and thanks as always for your support.