Progress Texas Podcasts

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Developments continue in the aftermath of the violent police stampout of a pro-Palestinian protest at UT Austin: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/2024/04/24/ut-austin-campus-student-protest-arrest-pro-palestine-protests-walk-out/73425149007/

...Governor Abbott stands by the crackdown: https://www.chron.com/news/article/greg-abbott-ut-protests-19420650.php

...Reactions abound: https://twitter.com/ProgressTX

An on-campus shooting in Arlington yesterday: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2024/04/25/arlington-school-shooting-bowie/

Don't forget to vote! Early voting for new oversight positions over local tax apprasal districts started yesterday: https://progresstexas.org/blog/why-you-should-care-about-may-appraisal-district-elections

Progress Texas invites progressive candidates to share their views with us - which we'll then share with our statewide audience - via our Certified Progressive questionnaire: https://progresstexas.org/blog/progress-texas-certified-progressives-2024-progressive-values-questionnaire

Instagram users: be sure to enable political content on that platform, which has begun opting users out: https://x.com/ProgressTX/status/1771276124498100667?s=20

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

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

The new law that has allowed an attempt by rural Republicans to oust Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza makes ALL DA's across the state vulnerable in the same way: https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2024/04/why-is-someone-suing-to-get-travis-county-da-jose-garza-out-of-office-and-what-comes-next/

Ted Cruz stuck with a small minority in the U.S. Senate voting against foreign aid for Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine: https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/23/politics/senate-vote-israel-ukraine-aid-dg/index.html

...While the kerfluffle over Cruz's podcast proceeds smells of tax problems: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/ted-cruz-iheart-podcast-taxes-19416633.php

Hardline GOP types appear to like the idea of targeting transgender teachers in the 2025 legislative session: https://www.expressnews.com/politics/article/greg-abbott-texas-drag-teachers-19418755.php

Other hardline GOP types in the U.S. House are criticizing House Speaker Mike Johnson for campaigning with Rep. Tony Gonzalez, who recently referred to his MAGA colleagues as "real scumbags": https://nypost.com/2024/04/23/us-news/republicans-fume-over-house-speakers-fundraiser-for-turncoat-texas-rep-who-called-far-right-lawmakers-scumbags/

Researchers at the notoriously liberal Texas A&M have released dire climate predictions for Texas: https://www.kvue.com/article/tech/science/climate-science/texas-hotter-wildfires-climatology-report/269-483d3038-e623-406b-b0e3-b322c0766d35

Has ERCOT seen the light? They suggest it's time for Texas to "adapt and plan differently": https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/ercot-says-texas-needs-to-adapt-and-plan-differently-to-meet-future-energy-demand

Don't forget to vote! Early voting for new oversight positions over local tax apprasal districts started yesterday: https://progresstexas.org/blog/why-you-should-care-about-may-appraisal-district-elections

Progress Texas invites progressive candidates to share their views with us - which we'll then share with our statewide audience - via our Certified Progressive questionnaire: https://progresstexas.org/blog/progress-texas-certified-progressives-2024-progressive-values-questionnaire

Instagram users: be sure to enable political content on that platform, which has begun opting users out: https://x.com/ProgressTX/status/1771276124498100667?s=20

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

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Elected Democratic leaders are decrying Republican efforts to remove Travis County DA Jose Garza: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/2024/04/22/lloyd-doggett-rogue-prosecutor-travis-county-district-attorney-da-jose-garza-texas-democrats/73412765007/?utm_source=statesman-newsalert-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsalert&utm_term=Hero&utm_content=naas-austin-nletter01

Ken Paxton calls off his quest against Seattle Children's Hospital over its care for transgender youth - but succeeds in driving them from Texas: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/22/texas-trans-health-care-investigation-seattle/

A vandalism attack on the office of Republican Rep. John Carter in Georgetown is providing lots of online ammo AGAINST the cause of Gaza peace: https://www.fox7austin.com/video/1445040

Volkswagen auto workers in Chattanooga become the first Southern group to win their union - despite the opposition of Governor Greg Abbott: https://thehill.com/business/4599535-southern-governors-joining-uaw-would-threaten-jobs-values/amp/

The president of the Grapevine Colleyville School Board, attempting to hide her past QAnon posts, called in a false police report, later retracting it:

Don't forget to vote! Early voting for new oversight positions over local tax apprasal districts started yesterday: https://progresstexas.org/blog/why-you-should-care-about-may-appraisal-district-elections

Progress Texas invites progressive candidates to share their views with us - which we'll then share with our statewide audience - via our Certified Progressive questionnaire: https://progresstexas.org/blog/progress-texas-certified-progressives-2024-progressive-values-questionnaire

Instagram users: be sure to enable political content on that platform, which has begun opting users out: https://x.com/ProgressTX/status/1771276124498100667?s=20

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

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Texas mom and reproductive rights activist Amanda Zurawski is on the trail with the Biden/Harris campaign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdBwynnn9HE

Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza has been targeted for removal under a new state law by Comal and Bell County Republicans: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/20/texas-rogue-prosecutors-law-jose-garza-removal-attempt/

...All as Ken Paxton is seeking to assert state prosecutorial authority into local matters: https://www.statesman.com/story/opinion/editorials/2024/04/17/ken-paxton-texas-attorney-general-proposal-plan-extend-reach-local-government-editorial/73338806007/

...And as Paxton has failed (so far) to escape a misconduct lawsuit related to his work on behalf of Donald Trump to overturn the 2020 election: https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/texas-attorney-general-paxton-must-face-attorney-ethics-case-appeals-court-rules-2024-04-19/

Greg Abbott has taken to bashing on transgender teachers: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/greg-abbott-trans-teachers-texas-1235008156/

...But seems oblivious that Texas is now hiring thousands of presumably non-trans teachers who are unqualified for the job: https://www.fox7austin.com/news/texas-public-schools-uncertified-teachers-on-the-rise

A 10 year old Nixon boy has admitted murdering a neighbor when he was 7 - using a gun stored loaded in a truck glove compartment by his grandfather: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2024/04/19/texas-10-year-old-confessed-to-shooting-to-death-man-2-years-ago-authorities-say/

Early voting in the first of two May elections - for oversight positions with municipal tax appraisal districts - starts today! https://progresstexas.org/blog/why-you-should-care-about-may-appraisal-district-elections

Progress Texas invites progressive candidates to share their views with us - which we'll then share with our statewide audience - via our Certified Progressive questionnaire: https://progresstexas.org/blog/progress-texas-certified-progressives-2024-progressive-values-questionnaire

Instagram users: be sure to enable political content on that platform, which has begun opting users out: https://x.com/ProgressTX/status/1771276124498100667?s=20

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

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

This 4-20, we recognize that while over half of the United States now enjoys either legal recreational cannabis or at least generous medical allowances, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wants to take away even the inferior weed alternatives we have to settle for in Texas: https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/south-texas-el-paso/news/2024/04/18/texas-lt--gov-prioritizes-delta-8-ban-ahead-of-legislation-session

Texas Representatives in the U.S. House are divided on Ukraine aid, between traitors and non-traitors: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/18/texas-republicans-ukraine-aid-chip-roy/

Is Ken Paxton playing four-dimensional chess with his claim that that huge SCOTUS loss for Texas was actually a win? Our sources say, hell no: https://www.chron.com/politics/article/ken-paxton-texas-court-loss-19410575.php

Democratic U.S. Rep Vicente Gonzalez was outraised two to one in the first quarter by GOP backers of challenger Mayra Flores: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/18/mayra-flores-outraises-vicente-gonzalez/

South Texas farmers are in big trouble as water supplies dwindle before summer even arrives: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/18/south-texas-drought-agriculture/

...While an affluent community in the San Antonio area, Fair Oaks Ranch, has apparently been stealing water for 20 years from an improperly registered well: https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/illegal-water-pumping-fair-oaks-19408218.php

Today's date, April 19, is one of importance to militant white supremacist types - but pales in comparison to April 20, Adolf Hitler's birthday: https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/oklahoma-city-bombing-timothy-mcveigh-extremism-rcna148465

Don't forget about the Texas Gun Sense community picnic on Saturday, April 20 in central Austin: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tx-gun-sense_texas-gun-sense-invites-all-of-our-supporters-activity-7183153558412750850-cS-U

Progress Texas invites progressive candidates to share their views with us - which we'll then share with our statewide audience - via our Certified Progressive questionnaire: https://progresstexas.org/blog/progress-texas-certified-progressives-2024-progressive-values-questionnaire

Instagram users: be sure to enable political content on that platform, which has begun opting users out: https://x.com/ProgressTX/status/1771276124498100667?s=20

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

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

After a 9-0 unanimous loss at SCOTUS in a property rights dispute for Texas, Ken Paxton curiously claims it was actually a win: https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4600506-lawyers-for-texas-rancher-blast-paxtons-claim-of-supreme-court-win/

Recent Biden administration expansion of debt cancellation will benefit almost 217,000 Texans to the tune of $9.5 billion (with a B): https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Texas-4.12.pdf

...While Harris County officials announce a multi-million dollar investment in new job apprenticeships in a win for local and state unions: https://progresstexas.org/blog/harris-county-follows-biden%E2%80%99s-bold-investment-union-apprenticeships

49 Texas water utilities have been found short of new standards for "forever chemicals" from the EPA: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/16/texas-pfas-forever-chemicals-public-water-systems-epa-limit/

...While little old Muleshoe, Texas comes under suspected Russian cyber attack upon its water system: https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/17/politics/russia-hacking-group-suspected-texas-water-cyberattack/index.html

Don't forget about the Texas Gun Sense community picnic on Saturday, April 20 in central Austin: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tx-gun-sense_texas-gun-sense-invites-all-of-our-supporters-activity-7183153558412750850-cS-U

Progress Texas invites progressive candidates to share their views with us - which we'll then share with our statewide audience - via our Certified Progressive questionnaire: https://progresstexas.org/blog/progress-texas-certified-progressives-2024-progressive-values-questionnaire

Instagram users: be sure to enable political content on that platform, which has begun opting users out: https://x.com/ProgressTX/status/1771276124498100667?s=20

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

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

A new poll shows Ted Cruz leading Colin Allred by less than the percentage of undecided voters: https://www.khou.com/article/news/politics/elections/texas-poll-cruz-allred-trump-biden-race/285-bcc3a200-0d18-448d-ba7a-90e8fa4996dd

Texas Republican Congressmen Michael McCaul and August Pfluger are among the GOP gang who delivered the futile and stupid impeachment articles against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate yesterday: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/16/michael-mccaul-august-pfluger-mayorkas-impeachment/

Republican Tarrant County Judge Tim O'Hare told Commissioner Alisa Simmons, a Black woman, to "sit there and be quiet" during a partisan exchange at the Tarrant County Commissioners Court yesterday: https://www.keranews.org/government/2024-04-16/you-sit-there-and-be-quiet-tarrant-commissioners-argue-over-county-judges-contract-employee

Increasing heat is coupling with ever-building energy demand to erase the springtime power draw lulls that ERCOT still unrealistically wants to use for grid maintenence: https://www.marketplace.org/2024/04/16/texas-electric-grid-is-feeling-the-strain-and-its-not-even-all-that-hot-yet/

Freeport LNG is levied an embarrassingly small fine for years of emissions violations at its Quintana plant: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/texas-regulators-fine-freeport-lng-environmental-breaches-2024-04-17/

Early voting in the municipal elections of new oversight positions with county tax apprasial districts starts Monday! https://progresstexas.org/blog/why-you-should-care-about-may-appraisal-district-elections

Don't forget about the Texas Gun Sense community picnic NEXT Saturday, April 20 in central Austin: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tx-gun-sense_texas-gun-sense-invites-all-of-our-supporters-activity-7183153558412750850-cS-U

Progress Texas invites progressive candidates to share their views with us - which we'll then share with our statewide audience - via our Certified Progressive questionnaire: https://progresstexas.org/blog/progress-texas-certified-progressives-2024-progressive-values-questionnaire

Instagram users: be sure to enable political content on that platform, which has begun opting users out: https://x.com/ProgressTX/status/1771276124498100667?s=20

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

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review a 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that protest organizers are liable for the actions of attendees, undermining the First Amendment right of gathering and demonstration: https://www.chron.com/politics/article/texas-right-to-protest-19403818.php

...While video of the death of another unarmed Black man while being restrained by police in Texas is released: https://www.expressnews.com/news/texas/article/kenneth-knotts-body-cam-footage-19395426.php

The Texas Health And Human Services Commission is found to be in contempt of federal court over its failure to follow up on claims of abuse and neglect by children in our foster care system: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/15/texas-foster-care-federal-judge-fine-contempt/

Lt. Governor Dan Patrick is hoping the Republican "Contract On Texas" will pave the way for the elimination of property taxes (and the destruction of public schools) in Texas: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/columnists/tomlinson/article/texas-property-tax-elimination-schools-19399995.php

Colin Allred is now outpacing even Beto O'Rourke's impressive fundraising numbers from 2018: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/15/colin-allred-beto-orourke-ted-cruz-fundraising/

Those billions of federal dollars coming to Texas via a massive investment in Samsung, explained: https://thehill.com/business/4594523-biden-administration-samsung-texas-chips-act/?email=467cb6399cb7df64551775e431052b43a775c749&emaila=12a6d4d069cd56cfddaa391c24eb7042&emailb=054528e7403871c79f668e49dd3c44b1ec00c7f611bf9388f76bb2324d6ca5f3&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=04.15.24%20Tech

Don't forget about the Texas Gun Sense community picnic NEXT Saturday, April 20 in central Austin: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tx-gun-sense_texas-gun-sense-invites-all-of-our-supporters-activity-7183153558412750850-cS-U

Progress Texas invites progressive candidates to share their views with us - which we'll then share with our statewide audience - via our Certified Progressive questionnaire: https://progresstexas.org/blog/progress-texas-certified-progressives-2024-progressive-values-questionnaire

Instagram users: be sure to enable political content on that platform, which has begun opting users out: https://x.com/ProgressTX/status/1771276124498100667?s=20

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

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Not only is it Tax Day here in mid-April, but we've also already started getting warnings of power failures from ERCOT: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-12/texas-warns-of-possible-power-emergency-next-week

Hard right GOP Texas House lawmakers have written up a Contract On Texas, which would allow them to push through their most radical agenda items with little resistance: https://www.kxan.com/state-of-texas/state-of-texas-contract-with-texas-aims-to-push-house-further-right/

...Part of which is threatening people who seek abortion care with the death penalty: https://www.yahoo.com/news/texas-gop-preach-morals-abortion-142543561.html

Red states across America are hard at work putting together copycat anti-migrant laws based upon SB-4: https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/14/us/texas-immigration-law-iowa-other-us-states-cec/index.html

...Could the collective harrassment threatened by SB-4 build voting unity among Texas Latinos? https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/04/texas-immigration-law-latino-voters/678063/

...Louisiana soldiers sent in to help with Operation Lone Star have largely been sitting around doing nothing: https://www.nola.com/news/politics/national_politics/louisiana-soldiers-on-mexico-border/article_a0122d24-f930-11ee-86dd-47dfc542a907.html

Ken Paxton's effort to crack down on Media Matters for negative reporting on Elon Musk's X has been defeated in court: https://www.thedailybeast.com/judge-deals-blow-to-texas-ags-retaliatory-probe-of-media-matters-for-america

GOP slimeballs Jonathan Stickland and Matt Rinaldi have formed a new right-wing action group called "Ratmaster Holdings LLC": https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/12/jonathan-stickland-matt-rinaldi-white-supremacy-scandal/

Don't forget about the Texas Gun Sense community picnic NEXT Saturday, April 20 in central Austin: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tx-gun-sense_texas-gun-sense-invites-all-of-our-supporters-activity-7183153558412750850-cS-U

Progress Texas invites progressive candidates to share their views with us - which we'll then share with our statewide audience - via our Certified Progressive questionnaire: https://progresstexas.org/blog/progress-texas-certified-progressives-2024-progressive-values-questionnaire

Instagram users: be sure to enable political content on that platform, which has begun opting users out: https://x.com/ProgressTX/status/1771276124498100667?s=20

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

Late last week, the Biden administration and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced a new rule designed to close the infamous "gun show loophole" - gaps in background check requirements that allowed basically anyone, regardless of criminal background or mental state, to buy a gun from a dealer outside of a brick-and-mortar shop. And - right on cue - our senior Senator John Cornyn has announced a fight to block it. We've invited our good friend Nicole Golden, Executive Director of Texas Gun Sense, back to the Happy Hour to tell us what this new rule means, what chances its opposition might have of undermining it, and what's next in the fight for common-sense gun safety regulations that's been central for their hard-working organization for a lotta years now - we are fans.

Learn more about this new rule here: https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/04/13/bidens-bulls-eye-on-gun-loophole-background-checks-are-needed-on-every-weapon-sale/

Learn more about Texas Gun Sense (and RSVP for the April 20th picnic in Austin!): https://txgunsense.org/

Thanks for listening! Learn more about what Progress Texas does, and how you can join the fight too, at https://progresstexas.org/.