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Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:
No Kings rallies saw massive attendance and great success across Texas on Saturday: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/20/no-kings-protests-trump-democrats
...Which didn't stop Trump from posting videos of himself dumping sewage on protesters, or Governor Greg Abbott from tweeting that "Texas is targeting professors": https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5563039-abbott-texas-college-professors-leftist-ideologies/
As early voting begins today, there's confusion on multiple levels among voters in Houston's CD-18: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/20/texas-18th-congressional-district-special-election-voter-confusion/
...And a unique opportunity in Fort Worth's State Senate District 9: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article312544347.html
...Check out our 2025 Texas Statewide Voting Guide, including a link at the bottom for a printable version you CAN take with you to the polls: https://progresstexas.org/blog/2025-texas-statewide-ballot-guide
Houston friends! Join Progress Texas TONIGHT in The Heights for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025event
Thanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
The whole country is holding its breath for tomorrow's second national No Kings demonstrations - for progressives, an important opportunity to stand up to encroaching authoritarianism - but for Donald Trump, perhaps a tempting target to further crack down on his political opponents. We talk about the importance of courage at this critical moment, not only for No Kings 2, but as we face yet another blatant erasure of LGBTQ+ pride, continued injustice on our college campuses, and more.
Learn more about Alejandra Salinas and her campaign for the Houston City Council at https://www.alejandrasalinas.com/.
Houston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025event
Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can help us continue our important work at https://progresstexas.org/.
The second No Kings Day takes place tomorrow, Saturday October 18, at thousands of locations across the country and over 40 here in Texas. We've invited Hands Off Central Texas VP Melody Tramallo to join us for an inside look at the organizing of the Austin event in particular, what to expect, and best practices for a safe and effective experience for all attendees.
A handy map of No Kings events: https://www.nokings.org/#map.
Learn more about Hands Off Central Texas at https://www.handsoffcentraltx.org/.
Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:
No Kings events, happening nationally tomorrow, include at least 40 across Texas: https://www.nokings.org/#map
...Governor Greg Abbott has again activated the Texas National Guard against the second No Kings event, specifically targeting Austin, and calling the rally a "planned Antifa-linked demonstration": https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/16/texas-greg-abbott-national-guard-no-kings-protest-austin/
...Austin Mayor Kirk Watson says he has been assured that Guard troops will not be deployed to Austin's streets absent "an emergency need" and reminds attendees to avoid violence or destructive behavior: https://x.com/KirkPWatson/status/1978955848744419333
...Ted Cruz alleges that No Kings is funded by George Soros and that RICO charges should be brought against its organizers: https://www.chron.com/politics/article/no-kings-protests-ted-cruz-21103845.php
...The first use of the term "Antifa" in a federal criminal court case arrives as two Dallas-area men are charged with supporting terrorism: https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-prosecutors-bring-first-antifa-terrorism-charges-texas-police-shooting-case-2025-10-16/
It's almost time to vote! Check out our 2025 Texas Statewide Voting Guide, including a link at the bottom for a printable version you CAN take with you to the polls: https://progresstexas.org/blog/2025-texas-statewide-ballot-guide
Houston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025event
Thanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
No shortage of chaos to cover with Congresswoman Julie Johnson, between the federal government shutdown, the continued desperate GOP dodging of the Epstein files, the new congressional map designed to draw her out of the picture - and now, a Qatari military base on U.S. soil? We're truly in a WTF moment, and we're glad to have Rep. Johnson in D.C. to help fight back.
Learn more about Congresswoman Julie Johnson at https://juliejohnson.house.gov/.
Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how YOU can help support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:
Further rollbacks of the Voting Rights Act, under consideration now by the U.S. Supreme Court, could largely wipe out minority-majority congressional districts in Texas - potentially reducing the presence of Texas Democrats in the U.S. House to 3: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas-take/article/supreme-court-weighs-future-voting-rights-act-21102774.php
...CD-18 candidate and Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee has sued the Trump administration, seeking restoration of $59 million in solar benefits for Houston area families: https://www.houstonpress.com/news/houston-news/harris-county-wants-7-billion-solar-program-restored/
Applications for FEMA assistance from Kerr County - very much Trump country - have largely been denied or slow-walked, as the vast majority remain without help over 100 days past the July 4 flood: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/16/texas-floods-fema-aid-kerr-county-nonprofits/
...Several of the summer camps in the area say that new safety requirements imposed after the deaths of dozens of children in that flood are too costly: https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/politics/lone-star-politics/summer-camps-request-flood-safety-measures-delay/3932075/
One of UT Austin's most famous professors - a co-host of NPR's "Two Guys On Your Head" show - has been fired over "ideological differences": https://www.axios.com/local/austin/2025/10/15/university-of-texas-mark-artman
...Also at UT, massive opposition from alumni and faculty to the "compact" that has been offered to the university by Donald Trump: https://thedailytexan.com/2025/10/15/against-what-i-thought-ut-stood-for-alumni-faculty-express-opposition-to-trump-proposed-compact/
No Kings events, happening nationally on Saturday, include at least 40 across Texas: https://www.nokings.org/#map
...Republicans are hard at work smearing No Kings attendees in advance as ultra-radical, card-carrying Antifa members: https://www.reddit.com/r/democrats/comments/1o7tbo0/supercut_of_comments_from_republicans_today_alone/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
It's almost time to vote! Check out our 2025 Texas Statewide Voting Guide, including a link at the bottom for a printable version you CAN take with you to the polls: https://progresstexas.org/blog/2025-texas-statewide-ballot-guide
Houston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025event
Thanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:
The widespread buzz that Austin State Rep. Gina Hinojosa has been planning a gubernatorial run turns out correct - she announced her run for Governor this morning: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/15/gina-hinojosa-texas-governor-campaign-launch-2026-greg-abbott/
...We presented the first full-length interview after Hinojosa's announcement earlier today: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/happy-hour-233-rep-gina-hinojosa-announces-run-for-governor/id1552998795?i=1000731974425
The Houston Chronicle Editorial Board, noting that a judge has cast serious doubt on Donald Trump's justification for militarizing Chicago, advises Governor Abbott to bring the Texas National Guard troops he sent there back home: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/texas-national-guard-illinois-lie-abbott-trump-21098977.php
...Interestingly, the Oregon National Guard is sending a detachment to Texas - not as a counter-invasion, but as border logistics support: https://www.opb.org/article/2025/10/14/oregon-national-guard-heads-to-texas-border/
Airports in Dallas, Austin and San Antonio are declining to run a video of Trump Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blaming Democrats for the federal government shutdown on Democrats in their TSA security areas: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/14/texas-airports-kristi-noem-tsa-video-government-shutdown/
...That Noem video may be a violation of the Hatch Act: https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/14/us/kristi-noem-video-airports
No Kings events, happening nationally on Saturday, include at least 40 across Texas: https://www.nokings.org/#map
It's almost time to vote! Check out our 2025 Texas Statewide Voting Guide, including a link at the bottom for a printable version you CAN take with you to the polls: https://progresstexas.org/blog/2025-texas-statewide-ballot-guide
Houston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025event
Thanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
We've been fans of Austin State Rep. Gina Hinojosa for a long time, and have been proud to feature her on our podcast on multiple occasions - for THIS occasion, it's a conversation about her run for Governor of Texas in 2026, just announced today!
Learn more about Rep. Gina Hinojosa's campaign at https://ginafortexas.com/.
Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:
President Barack Obama appeared on the final episode of comedian Marc Maron's "WTF" podcast, heaping praise on Austin State Rep. and Senate Candidate James Talarico, and taking issue with Governor Greg Abbott's deployment of Texas troops to Chicago, considering Abbott's freakout over Jade Helm in 2015: https://deadline.com/2025/10/barack-obama-wtf-final-episode-1236583585/
...Some of those Texas troops have been sent back home after apparently being found too fat for duty by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/hegseth-national-guard-overweight-troops-chicago-b2844960.html
As a panel of El Paso judges considers that new Texas congressional map, it's notable that lawyers for the state tried throughout to conceal as much as they could about its drawing process - and that the guy who drew it 100% ignored public testimony against the redraw: https://www.democracydocket.com/analysis/in-a-federal-courtroom-in-texas-republicans-were-desperate-to-keep-details-of-their-gerrymander-under-wraps/
...Meanwhile North Carolina becomes the next Republican state to consider gerrymandering itself for Trump: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxydpr1zz2o
The number of kindergarteners showing up for school without the basic state-required measles vaccination is skyrocketing: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/13/texas-schools-vaccines-measles-delinquencies/
Helena Moreno, who was elected mayor of New Orleans last weekend, has extensive ties to Texas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena_Moreno
It's almost time to vote! Check out our 2025 Texas Statewide Voting Guide, including a link at the bottom for a printable version you CAN take with you to the polls: https://progresstexas.org/blog/2025-texas-statewide-ballot-guide
Houston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025event
Thanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Ballotpedia counts a total of sixteen candidates who have declared runs for the historic 18th Congressional District in Houston, seeking to be the next to fill a seat once held by the legendary Barbara Jordan, more recently by the beloved and departed Sheila Jackson Lee and Sylvester Turner, and shamefully held vacant by Governor Greg Abbott since Turner's untimely death last March. We present here conversations with four of the leading Democrats in the race, and you can find out about the rest of those running here: https://ballotpedia.org/Texas%27_18th_Congressional_District_special_election,_2025
Houston friends! Join Progress Texas in The Heights on Monday October 20 for our H-Town Hits Back live podcast taping event! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/houston2025event
Thanks for listening! Our monthly donors form the backbone of our funding, and if you're a regular, we'd like to invite you to join the team! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
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