Progress Texas Podcasts

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

13 U.S. House Republicans from Texas - more than any other state - are among the 67 members of their party who are co-sponsors of H.R. 722, which would establish a national ban on abortion: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/722/cosponsors

...More on H.R. 722: https://thistleandmoss.com/p/hr722-the-republicans-try-to-ban?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Lt. Governor Dan Patrick's list of his top 25 legislative priorities include prayer and the posting of the Ten Commandments in schools, banning books, and doing away with "Drag Time Story Hour": https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/29/dan-patrick-priorities-texas-senate/

...Private school vouchers are on Patrick's list too, and he insists the Republican voucher plan won't pull funds from Texas public schools: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/video/lt-gov-dan-patrick-texas-senate-set-to-approve-bill-for-thousands-of-students-to-attend-private-s/

...Should vouchers pass, Texas' private schools are all but certain to raise their tuition rates, as their counterparts in other states with voucher programs have: https://www.lonestarlive.com/news/2025/01/texas-voucher-plan-could-lead-to-higher-private-school-tuition-experts-say.html

A Facebook post by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, highlighting that most of Texas' biggest companies have not yet raised consumer prices in anticipation of Donald Trump's import tariffs, fails to note that almost a third of them have: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18hvHuM39f/

Ted Cruz lies on national TV that "thousands and thousands" of Americans died during the building of the Panama Canal - in fact most of those deaths were of workers from the Carribean, while about 300 were Americans: https://www.sacurrent.com/news/sen-ted-cruz-falsely-claims-thousands-of-americans-died-building-the-panama-canal-36629308

A Lubbock dad of three, working on securing a green card, has been swept up in Trump's deportation sweep after a Lubbock police officer turned him in to ICE during a traffic stop: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/29/texas-immigration-lubbock-police-traffic-stop-ice-deportation/

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Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Hard to know where to start in evaluating the devastating impacts on Texas that Donald Trump's freeze on federal spending would have: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/28/texas-trump-federal-spending-freeze/

Several Texas Republicans in the U.S. House have presented bills designed to codify recent Trump executive orders into permanent law: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/27/texans-congress-trump-executive-orders/

Austin Congressman Greg Casar is one of 20 House Democrats who have written to Donald Trump, wondering what happened to his promise to lower food prices: https://www.chron.com/politics/article/texas-food-prices-trump-20061041.php

D/FW Republican Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne has filed legislation to end federal financial backing of the development and production of cleaner transportation fuels: https://biomassmagazine.com/articles/texas-lawmaker-introduces-bill-to-repeal-45z-clean-fuel-production-credit

Texas House Minority Leader and Houston Democrat Gene Wu gave a great talk via the Texas Tribune yesterday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWqVKuJy6wU

The Texas Senate Committee on K-12 Education has fast tracked Senate Bill 2, which would establish a private school voucher program, to a full vote in the Senate: https://www.kvue.com/video/news/state/texas-news/texas-school-voucher-plan-advances-sb2-senate-vote-private-school-funding/269-e3372769-b66b-4123-928a-3f326dd6d80d

The head of Israel's World Holocaust Remembrance Center Yad Vashem has criticized Elon Musk for encouraging German citizens to disregard their own fascist past: https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/27/europe/israel-holocaust-memorial-chair-musk-criticism-intl/index.html

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Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

In spite of renewed federal border control efforts, a very low current flow of migrant traffic at the border, and after $11 billion wasted - Governor Abbott has deployed more Texas National Guard troops to Operation Lone Star: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/texas-gov-greg-abbott-deploys-hundreds-more-troops-texas-mexico-border/

...San Antonio State Rep. Trey Martinez-Fischer is as confused as we are - and wants an audit of Operation Lone Star's expenditures: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/democratic-state-rep-fischer-opposes-gov-abbott-s-deployment-of-400-more-texas-troops-to-the-border/vi-AA1xYyFa

Fort Worth ISD officials are working to identify a North Side High School substitute teacher who posted to Twitter an invitation for ICE to raid that heavily Hispanic-serving school: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/fort-worth-isd-investigating-social-media-comment-calling-for-ice-at-high-school/

Actress and singer Selena Gomez has pulled down an Instagram post expressing her distress at the uptick in deportations, after coming under a massive MAGA attack - including Senator Ted Cruz: https://www.chron.com/politics/article/selena-gomez-raids-cruz-20058899.php

One of the January 6th rioters pardoned by Donald Trump is free despite a request from Texas law enforcement for him to be kept in custody - he's wanted for soliciting sex from a minor, and is now at large: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/january-6-trump-pardons-andrew-taake-b2687340.html

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Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

A variety of federal agencies began "enhanced targeting operations" against, so they claim, undocumented immigrants presenting criminal threats across Texas, including Austin and San Antonio: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/26/texas-immigration-deportation-ice-austin-san-antonio/

...Also in North Texas and the Rio Grande Valley: https://www.keranews.org/news/2025-01-26/ice-begins-immigration-raids-across-texas-dozens-arrested

...Protests against Trump's immigration policies have begun popping up, including one at the Texas State Capitol in Austin: https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/protest-at-texas-capitol-after-ice-operations-in-austin/

...And a bigger one near downtown Dallas: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/video/protesters-rally-in-north-texas-over-new-immigration-policies/

The Texas Senate has rolled out a school voucher plan that would grant Texas families $10,000 for private school tuition and other expenses - not nearly enough to cover it: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/education-news/2025/01/24/511928/texas-senate-proposes-extensive-school-voucher-like-program-with-1-billion-price-tag/

...While over 20 bills limiting a range of policies regarding vaccines have been filed: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/27/texas-legislature-vaccine-mandate-bills/

Texas transplant Elon Musk, already under fire for his Nazi salute the other day, gave an address via video link at a rally for Germany's notorious far-right AfD party, in which he advocated for Germans to disregard their own fascist history: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/elon-musk-appears-video-german-far-right-campaign-event-2025-01-25/

A list of all 123 January 6 defendants pardoned by Donald Trump with Texas ties has been published: https://patch.com/texas/across-tx/123-jan-6-defendants-tx-pardoned-trump-s-first-official-act

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The Progress Texas staff were pleased to be a part of today's forum of five of the candidates to become the new Chair of the Texas Democratic Party in March. We gathered for a quick post-event recap - enjoy and keep it here for future forums.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Upending over five decades of tradition, but right in line with their anti-democratic MAGA fanaticism, the Republican majority in the Texas House voted yesterday to ban Democrats from chairing committees: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/23/texas-house-republican-committee-chairs/?utm_source=Texas+Tribune+Newsletters&utm_campaign=9a17e04997-trib-newsletters-thebrief&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-9a17e04997-103307619

As the State Bar of Texas unceremoniously drops disciplinary proceedings against Ken Paxton for his false claims during attempts to undermine the 2020 election, our Attorney General is officially above the law: https://apnews.com/article/texas-paxton-2020-election-lawsuit-9ff4bdde238196830a639c3e7d07358e

Even as Republican budgets seek to continue funding Governor Abbott's Operation Lone Star boondoggle to the tune of multiple billions of dollars, the Governor is asking the federal government to reimburse Texas for the $11 billion it has already blown: https://www.fox4news.com/news/texas-greg-abbott-border-security-refund-operation-lone-star

Should Trump follow through with his threat of an across-the-board 25% tariff on Mexican imports, his voters in Texas are set to see prices head the opposite direction than that they voted for: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/article/texas-mexico-trump-tariff-20049363.php

Join us Saturday afternoon at 2 for our livestream of the first in-person Texas Democratic Party Chair candidate forum from the historic LBJ Ranch! We'll cover it via Youtube: ⁠youtube.com/@progresstexas⁠

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Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

The welcome challenge to the MAGA distortion of Christianity by Bishop Mariann Budde during the Trump inauguration proceedings casts new light on attempts by Texas GOP lawmakers to force that distorted vision into public life in Texas: https://thebarbedwire.com/2025/01/22/texas-is-on-the-path-to-even-harder-right-christian-supremacy/

Budget drafts submitted yesterday by the House and Senate include billions for private school vouchers, a meager public school teacher pay raise, and NO drawdown of spending on Operation Lone Star: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/22/texas-budget-school-vouchers-teacher-raises-border-security/

...They also include around $10 billion for infrastructure investment, while an independent report places the price tag for keeping up our water infrastructure at $150 billion: https://www.keranews.org/texas-news/2025-01-23/texas-economy-stands-to-lose-billions-of-dollars-without-investments-into-its-water-infrastructure

...Corpus Christi, for example, is resorting to desperate measures to shore up its water supply, all while more and more private industry sucks up more and more of that limited, life-sustaining resource: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/23/texas-corpus-christi-water-emergency-reservoirs/

Texas is failing to provide a system for taking guns away from convicted abusers, falling short of both Federal legal standards and the wishes of the heavily-conservative U.S. Supreme Court: https://www.keranews.org/news/2025-01-23/the-supreme-court-says-domestic-abusers-shouldnt-have-guns-is-texas-listening

Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has hired back as his chief of staff a man he recently let go after he pled guilty to bribery charges: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/article/sid-miller-todd-smith-20047308.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaG91c3RvbmNocm9uaWNsZS5jb20vcG9saXRpY3MvYXJ0aWNsZS9zaWQtbWlsbGVyLXRvZGQtc21pdGgtMjAwNDczMDgucGhw&time=MTczNzYzNTIzODUxOQ%3D%3D&rid=MTAxN2FkY2MtNWNjOS00NDYzLTk3OGYtZTQ4OWJiNTAyMzNl&sharecount=Mw%3D%3D

Join us Saturday afternoon at 2 for our livestream of the first in-person Texas Democratic Party Chair candidate forum from the historic LBJ Ranch! We'll cover it via Youtube: youtube.com/@progresstexas

The merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Grab your goodies at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://store.progresstexas.org/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

San Antonio is one of the cities said to be in the crosshairs for ICE's renewed push for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants: https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/immigration-raids-texas-trump-20046972.php

...The expansion of dentention facilities in Texas and other states - to the benefit of private prison companies - is an integral part of the Trump plan: https://www.tpr.org/border-immigration/2025-01-20/aclu-texas-government-likely-to-cooperate-with-mass-deportation-efforts-expected-under-trump

...People protected by DACA or Temporary Protected Status are implored to keep those protection arrangements up to date: https://www.keranews.org/news/2025-01-22/tps-daca-reapply-north-texas-immigration

...Trump's promised mass deportation presents a reckoning for America on our true humanitarian and ethical self-image: https://www.expressnews.com/opinion/editorial/article/trump-mass-deportations-era-20037685.php

...Governor Abbott and other fans of mass deportation have not been honest with their MAGA voter base on how such a move will undermine the "Texas miracle": https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/texas-gop-anti-immigration-hard-liners-putting-on-a-show/

...Officials in Mexico are concerned that they'll be asked to take deportees from other countries, as well as those who have been ripped away from long-established lives in the U.S.: https://www.texasobserver.org/is-mexico-prepared-for-mass-deportations/

The January 6th insurrectionists have been absolved by Trump via a variety of legal maneuvers: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/20/us/politics/trump-pardons-jan6.html

Over 100 Texans are among those who have recieved clemency and many are on their way home from prison: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/21/texans-insurrection-capitol-trump-pardon/

...One Jan. 6th rioter writes, "We Are In Charge...This Is Our Country": https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/high-profile-jan-6-cases-with-north-texas-ties-pardoned-or-commuted-by-trump/vi-AA1xClCV#details

The merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Grab your goodies at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://store.progresstexas.org/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Stories we're following at Progress Texas:

Right out of the chute, as promised, a flurry of executive orders from Donald Trump - many of which will face immediate legal challenge: https://apnews.com/article/trump-day-1-executive-orders-3a035a0bbd37b5c12630b92c8c8a9625

We bid godspeed and offer our admiration and gratitude to Cecile Richards, who died yesterday at home at the age of 67: https://thebarbedwire.com/2025/01/20/cecile-richards-did-not-quit-neither-can-we/

Even as border crossings slow to a trickle, Governor Abbott couldn't resist the spectacle (and expense) of deploying more buoys into the Rio Grande this weekend: https://www.fox4news.com/news/texas-border-buoy-rio-grande-immigration

...While Abbott's "border czar" has been picked by Trump to head up the U.S. Border Patrol: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/16/texas-border-patrol-czar-mike-banks/

Lt. Governor Dan Patrick appears to be entertaining the idea of clarifying Texas' anti-abortion laws for the benefit of doctors caring for critical pregnancy patients: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/state/2025/01/20/lt-gov-dan-patrick-says-texas-should-amend-abortion-ban/77839131007/

A new poll shows a distinct lack of zeal for Republican policies among Texas voters, post-election: https://texaspolitics.utexas.edu/blog/uttexas-politics-project-poll-finds-still-simmering-election-concerns-texas-legislature

The merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Grab your goodies at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://store.progresstexas.org/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

We're loving the troll-free environment at BlueSky! Follow us there at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/progresstexas.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠.

Thanks for listening! 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:

Seven employees of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission have been fired under suspicion of breaching the data and stealing the service funds of thousands of low-income Texans who rely on their services: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/17/texas-hhsc-food-stamp-fraud-data-breach/

Amarillo anti-choice activist judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, his court cherry-picked by of officials from Idaho, Kansas and Missouri and in defiance of a recent SCOTUS ruling, has green-lighted those states efforts to scale back access to the abortion drug mifepristone: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/texas-judge-allows-states-to-advance-efforts-to-restrict-access-to-mifepristone/

Christian Nationalist elements in Texas are smarting after an opening day loss in their effort to install Rep. David Cook as House Speaker: https://www.chron.com/culture/religion/article/christian-alt-right-politics-20036423.php

...The effort to Christianize government, should it succeed in Texas, is highly unlikely to stop at the Lone Star State's borders: https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/texas-speaker-vote-christian-nationalists-trump-rcna187869

...State Senator Phil King of northwest D/FW is once again pressing to require the Ten Commandments to be posted in every Texas classroom: https://www.chron.com/politics/article/ten-commandments-texas-schools-20035683.php

...Meanwhile a SECOND North Texas pastor is accused of child sexual abuse, just this month: https://www.keranews.org/news/2025-01-15/another-north-texas-pastor-arrested-on-child-sexual-abuse-charge-court-records-show

The merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Grab your goodies at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://store.progresstexas.org/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

We're loving the troll-free environment at BlueSky! Follow us there at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/progresstexas.bsky.social⁠⁠.

Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.