Progress Texas Podcasts

These days, it seems that Facebook, Instagram and other major social media platforms would much rather deal in cat videos than politics - perhaps political talk is too much trouble to moderate, or maybe too intellectually challenging to be much fun for much of their attention-addled audiences. In this second of two full panel discussions from this year's Unified Jam in Austin, Unified Head of Partnerships Brian Smith discusses the current collision between politics and social media with two power players in the digital political messaging space: Shaniqua McClendon is VP of Politics for Crooked Media, the producers of Pod Save America, Lovett Or Leave It and a whole array of great progressive podcasts and digital products, and Kyle Tharp is Managing Director of the political news platform Courier Newsroom and the author of the popular weekly "FWIW" newsletter.

Find out more about Unified at https://www.joinunified.us/.

Thanks for listening! Learn more about what we do at Progress Texas and how to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org/.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

After yesterday's allowance of SB-4 to take effect by the U.S. Supreme Court in returning the case to the 5th Circuit of Appeals, the 5th Circuit renews the hold- as of this morning, it's blocked: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/03/19/us/texas-immigration-supreme-court

...Reactions within Texas border communities: https://apnews.com/article/texas-state-law-abbott-biden-migrants-mexico-f63836e590f2cdea15acd387b78ef292

...Reactions from the White House: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2024/mar/19/us-supreme-court-texas-migrant-law

...Reactions from the three SCOTUS liberal Justices: https://thehill.com/campaign-issues/immigration/4542757-sow-chaos-sotomayor-chastises-supreme-court-for-allowing-texas-law-to-stand/

...Reactions from Mexico: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/19/us/mexico-texas-border-immigration.html

The Texas Permanent School Fund has yanked over 8 billion of your tax dollars from the investment company Blackrock over that company's environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/state/2024/03/20/esg-blackrock-texas-permanent-school-fund-withdraws-investment/73028870007/

A University of Houston survey finds that President Biden is lagging behind Donald Trump among Texas Latino voters: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/election/2024/article/texas-latinos-prefer-trump-biden-matchup-uh-poll-18642473.php

Governor Abbott and House Speaker Dade Phelan hung out publicly yesterday in Dallas - is that weird? https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/19/greg-abbott-dade-phelan-primary/

March is Women's History Month! See a new analysis of what that month really means in Texas: https://progresstexas.org/blog/inspire-inclusion-celebrating-international-womens-day-2024-texas

Thanks for listening and have a great weekend! All about all we do, and several fun ways to support our work, can be found at https://progresstexas.org/.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito extends the Court's stay on SB-4 a third time, seemingly indefinitely: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68597752

...Indicating anything but an open-and-shut matter: https://www.nytimes.com/article/texas-border-law-challenge-explainer.html

The Dallas Morning News kicks Texas GOP Chair Matt Rinaldi on his way out the door: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/2024/03/19/will-texas-gop-continue-its-descent-without-matt-rinaldi-as-chair/

...Apparent successor Abraham George was recently stopped by police from confronting his wife's lover with a gun: https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/state/texas-news/texas-gop-chair-candidate-tried-confront-wifes-alleged-lover-with-loaded-gun/287-cfd22953-0cea-443c-9cc5-cd9c0d430367

...A new review of the descent into conspiratorial madness by the Texas Republican Party: https://www.npr.org/2024/03/18/1239283038/how-the-texas-gop-has-grown-more-and-more-conservative

Attacks on contraceptive options for Texas teens is just another step in the conservative throttling of reproductive rights: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/03/18/teenager-birth-control-parental-consent-texas/

The Gillespie County GOP's primary hand-counting experiment was a failure - but other county parties are likely to repeat it: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/19/texas-republican-hand-count-election/

The historic fires recently in the Texas Panhandle are only the beginning as climate change parches the landscape and electrical transmission remains hazardous: https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/epic-wildfire-texas-panhandle-just-preview

Stay tuned to this feed for two panel discussions from this year's Unified Jam in Austin: https://www.unifiedjam.com/

March is Women's History Month! See a new analysis of what that month really means in Texas: https://progresstexas.org/blog/inspire-inclusion-celebrating-international-womens-day-2024-texas

Thanks for listening and have a great weekend! All about all we do, and several fun ways to support our work, can be found at https://progresstexas.org/.

Earlier in March, we participated in the annual Unified Jam - a political discussion and gathering event hosted by the progressive organizing social media network Unified - in the midst of Spring festival season in Austin. In this first of two panel sessions we're presenting in podcast form, introduced by Unified CEO Shion Deysarkar and moderated by our own Chris Mosser, we meet three young Texas women who've been in the thick of running for office in 2024, and they openly shared the many ups, and difficult but manageable downs, of navigating the campaign trail in Texas. Molly Cook is in the May runoff election for the Texas State Senate seat vacated by new Houston Mayor John Whitmire, Ashika Ganguly is a candidate for Austin City Council District 10, seeking to replace the term-limited Alison Alter, and Angel Carroll, while coming up short in her primary for House District 52, is in it for the long haul and will certainly be on a ballot near you in coming years. A great and inspiring conversation for YOU, if you've thought about running for something - let's do it!

More on Unified at https://www.joinunified.us/.

Thanks for listening! Find out more about how to support Progress Texas this all-important election year at https://progresstexas.org/.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

The U.S. Supreme Court is likely to issue a ruling on SB-4, Texas' new harsh and possibly unconstitutional new border security law: https://komonews.com/news/nation-world/scotus-decision-on-sb-4-sweeping-texas-border-security-law-could-come-by-monday-immigration-border-security-southern-border-migrant-crisis-operation-lone-star-initiative

...While SCOTUS declines to hear a case against West Texas A&M's ban on drag shows, leaving the ban intact: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/drag-show-ban-at-texas-university-left-intact-by-supreme-court

...The new rule against "judge shopping" doesn't solve the problem of activist conservative Trump-appointed judges, who will still get to rule on important cases: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/03/john-roberts-matthew-kacsmaryk-nationwide-injunctions-judge-shopping.html

...Reaction from John Cornyn and other GOP lawmakers shows how fond they were of being able to shop judges: https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/republican-reaction-mcconnell-kacsmaryk-judge-shopping-rcna143610

A UT geologist warns that climate change will soon drive Texans indoors, into uneasy "fortresses of solitude": https://thehill.com/policy/equilibrium-sustainability/4529404-climate-change-is-trapping-texans-in-an-arid-fortress-of-solitude-expert-says/

Texas A&M's former president wants an independent review of the University's decision to sever ties with its Qatar campus: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2024/03/16/tamu-president-qatar-decision-needs-transparency/

And be sure to remind the Trump fans in your life that, once in power, dictators don't tend to worry themselves about who voted for them or not: https://snyder.substack.com/p/the-strongman-fantasy?action=share

March is Women's History Month! See a new analysis of what that month really means in Texas: https://progresstexas.org/blog/inspire-inclusion-celebrating-international-womens-day-2024-texas

Thanks for listening and have a great weekend! All about all we do, and several fun ways to support our work, can be found at https://progresstexas.org/.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

At the behest of two Texas attorneys, the Texas Medical Board is set to discuss clarification for medical exceptions to the near-complete ban on abortion care in Texas: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/14/texas-medical-board-doctors-abortion-guidance/

Ken Paxton escalates his assault on Frisco ISD, whose social media posts about funding he sees as illegal electioneering: https://communityimpact.com/dallas-fort-worth/frisco/education/2024/03/14/texas-attorney-general-claims-frisco-isd-violated-restraining-order-files-contempt-motion/

A shadowy Texas company that paid an FBI informant now under indictment for lying to his handlers about Hunter Biden has been connected to Donald Trump: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/14/company-paying-fbi-informant-trump-connections

...While Republicans freak out at the suggestion by U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez that Trump is kinda like Hitler: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/14/vicente-gonzalez-trump-jews-for-hitler/

Good and bad news for the Texas grid as a major fossil fuel-fired power plant will go offline next March: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-14/texas-s-strained-power-grid-is-poised-to-lose-a-big-gas-plant

...While a Spanish renewable energy company prepares to build a huge renewable generation and battery storage facility in Texas: https://www.yahoo.com/news/battery-storage-facility-texas-continues-040000054.html

March is Women's History Month! See a new analysis of what that month really means in Texas: https://progresstexas.org/blog/inspire-inclusion-celebrating-international-womens-day-2024-texas

Thanks for listening and have a great weekend! All about all we do, and several fun ways to support our work, can be found at https://progresstexas.org/.

A new federal courts rule is aimed at preventing "judge shopping" - filing lawsuits in districts with single judges of sympathetic sensibilities - a favorite tactic of Ken Paxton's: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/ken-paxton-court-rule-18971181.php

More artists, and now panel speakers, have been bailing on SXSW over its ties to the military and defense tech industries: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesfarrell/2024/03/13/dozens-of-bands-and-panelists-pull-out-of-sxsw-festival-in-texas-heres-why/#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17103752871384&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fjamesfarrell%2F2024%2F03%2F13%2Fdozens-of-bands-and-panelists-pull-out-of-sxsw-festival-in-texas-heres-why%2F

The 2021 Fair Access Law, which forbids state government from doing business with companies with environmental, social and governance policies, has made financing big ticket projects in Texas much more expensive: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/state/2024/03/13/texas-anti-esg-law-costs-losses-of-millions-of-dollars/72947344007/

Millions also burned - literally - in recent Panhandle wildfires: https://www.kxan.com/news/texas/texas-wildfire-damages-could-exceed-1b-lawyer-says/

...While methane emissions by petroleum producers appears much more out of control than recently thought: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/mar/13/us-gas-leaks-report-climate-change#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17104058588972&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbusiness%2F2024%2Fmar%2F13%2Fus-gas-leaks-report-climate-change

70 percent of Texas teachers are ready to quit: https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2024/03/14/nearly-70-of-texas-educators-say-theyre-ready-to-leave-profession-survey-shows/

...How can Texas support our teachers? https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2024/03/14/six-ways-texas-can-support-teachers/

...The word from one GOP State House Rep. drummed out over his resistance to Abbott's voucher scam: https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/travis-clardy-school-voucher-crusade/

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is in trouble over her online shilling for a Texas dentist: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/kristi-noem-faces-lawsuit-promoting-texas-dentist-social-media-rcna143325

Will Texas ever turn blue? One crunch of the data says it's inevitable: https://www.lonestarleft.com/p/will-texas-ever-turn-blue-heres-what

March is Women's History Month! See a new analysis of what that month really means in Texas: https://progresstexas.org/blog/inspire-inclusion-celebrating-international-womens-day-2024-texas

Thanks for listening and have a great weekend! All about all we do, and several fun ways to support our work, can be found at https://progresstexas.org/.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

The U.S. Supreme Court has delayed the enactment of Texas' new immigration law SB-4 until at least Monday afternoon, while a new legal challenge is launched: https://apnews.com/article/texas-immigration-law-sb4-7b74b6637dd39320dfdb447a189e745f

...While Laredo U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar spearheads a new Democratic action group on immigration: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/12/henry-cuellar-democrats-senate-border-bill/

SXSW distances itself from Governor Greg Abbott following his criticism of artists leaving the festival over its sponsorship ties to the defense industry: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/sxsw-texas-greg-abbott-military-sponsorship-1234986219/

...While SXSW threatens legal action against a pro-Palestinian activist group over use of its logo: https://www.chron.com/culture/article/sxsw-protests-18926378.php

Texas is doing its best to silence an advocate raising the alarm about growing maternal mortality rates: https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2024-03-15/the-texas-task-force-that-reviews-pregnancy-related-deaths-is-losing-its-sole-advocate-position/

...While the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a Texas law eliminating confidential contraception for minors: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/12/texas-parental-consent-birth-control-fifth-circuit-title-x/

Texas, the Energy Capitol of America, suffers more power outages than any other state: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/texas-leads-nation-power-outages-18887152.php

...While the Panhandle will see perfect conditions for more wildfires today: https://www.ktsa.com/texans-should-stay-prepared-as-extreme-wildfire-danger-increases/

Ted Cruz is warning his donors that he's in for a tough fight with Colin Allred: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/ted-cruz-allred-fundraising-18894530.php

Sherman ISD has suspended its Superintendent over the call to remove a trans student from a high school play last year: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-superintendent-suspended-trans-students-removal-oklahoma-rcna143017

A former Hays County Republican operative has been given a massive prison sentence for child sex abuse and pornography: https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/bo-michael-dresner-sentencing/269-17fad9be-ddb4-4304-b956-fb3ba7bb7344

A new documentary on the Alex Jones Sandy Hook trial is coming to HBO: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/truth-vs-alex-jones-trailer-hbo-1235846888/#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17103146639967&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hollywoodreporter.com%2Fmovies%2Fmovie-news%2Ftruth-vs-alex-jones-trailer-hbo-1235846888%2F

March is Women's History Month! See a new analysis of what that month really means in Texas: https://progresstexas.org/blog/inspire-inclusion-celebrating-international-womens-day-2024-texas

Thanks for listening and have a great weekend! All about all we do, and several fun ways to support our work, can be found at https://progresstexas.org/.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

A judge in El Paso has backed Annunciation House, a large migrant shelter near the border, in refusing to turn its records over to Ken Paxton: https://elpasomatters.org/2024/03/11/el-paso-annunciation-house-ken-paxton-court-ruling/

Ted Cruz complains of regular Saturday pro-Palestinian protests in his front yard: https://www.chron.com/politics/article/ted-cruz-palestine-protests-18881832.php

The Texas Health and Human Services appears to have leaked the private information of thousands of East Texas: https://www.ketk.com/news/local-news/more-than-3000-east-texans-data-leaked-in-texas-health-and-human-services-commission-breach/

Worries mount that Texas' notoriously underfunded specialized health care and special education services will collapse under increased demand as more babies are born under our abortion ban: https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/11/Texas-disability-services-abortion/

Good environmental news: we're now adding solar capacity faster than sunny California: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2024/03/11/solar-power-is-now-bigger-in-texas-not-california/

...And bad environmental news, as Texas sues the EPA over new limits on methane emissions by petroleum producers: https://heatmap.news/climate/texas-epa-methane

U.S. Rep Ronny Jackson of Amarillo, a retired Navy doctor, has been lying about his rank and hiding a demotion for two years: https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2024/03/07/lawmaker-who-claims-to-be-a-retired-rear-admiral-was-actually-demoted/

Former Republican candidate Daniel Rodimer has been arrested on suspicion of homicide in Nevada: https://apnews.com/article/homicide-retired-wrestler-sought-55b6c44fde97429fab5cbe6d37e67cfe

Christian Nationalism a Go Go: watch for news on SACR, an exclusive group of wealthy and influential white Christian men who seek to establish an American theocracy: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/inside-a-secret-society-of-prominent-right-wing-christian-men-prepping-for-a-national-divorce

...Why Texas is such a hotbed for Christian Nationalist activity: https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/texas-christian-nationalism-epicenter/

...East Texas State Rep. Matt Schaefer says the quiet part out loud: https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/texas-state-rep-matt-schaefer-provides-a-case-study-in-christian-nationalism/

...And even the student paper at Baylor is alarmed about Christian Nationalism: https://baylorlariat.com/2024/03/11/beware-of-christian-nationalism-god-and-texas-should-not-mix/

March is Women's History Month! See a new analysis of what that month really means in Texas: https://progresstexas.org/blog/inspire-inclusion-celebrating-international-womens-day-2024-texas

Thanks for listening and have a great weekend! All about all we do, and several fun ways to support our work, can be found at https://progresstexas.org/.

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

A helicopter crash Friday at the border killed three service members: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/2-soldiers-border-patrol-agent-dead-helicopter-crash-texas-mexico-bord-rcna142589

A lawsuit filed by Texas against a federal program for immigrants from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela has been thrown out: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-rejects-texas-lawsuit-against-immigration-policy-biden-border-strategy/

Hundreds protested SB-4, set to take effect this week, at the Capitol over the weekend: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/protesters-rally-against-sb4-at-texas-capitol/

A judge has decided against the National Labor Relations Board, who wanted to improve conditions for franchise employees to unionize: https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/federal-judge-texas-blocks-us-labor-board-rule-107998334

Colin Allred sees disarray within the Texas GOP as a good sign for his chances to beat Ted Cruz: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4522776-colin-allred-says-texas-republican-party-is-seeing-an-internal-civil-war/

...While Cruz says he's courting...Democrats? https://www.statesman.com/story/news/columns/2024/03/10/texas-elections-senate-race-ted-cruz-colin-allred-win-support-of-democrats/72880265007/

Julie Johnson credits the women of her district for securing her win and prioritizes abortion rights in her first term: https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/politics/inside-politics/texas-politics/lgbtq-advocate-gives-women-credit-helping-her-win-congressional-race-outright-avoid-runoff/287-7cfa7124-2fce-4f6e-969d-908fafe06049

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has developed a reputation for defying the U.S. Supreme Court: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/11/us/supreme-court-texas-death-penalty.html

Voting success for Abbott and Paxton's revenge tours represent a further empowerment of the radical right fringe in Texas: https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/texas-primary-election-far-right-victory/

...While out of state money, misinformation and Donald Trump were more influential on voters than vouchers or the impeachment: https://texasruralreporter.substack.com/p/zero-zilch-nada-the-border-trump?r=2dg05g&utm_medium=web

...And Democrats in safe blue districts need to renew efforts to back the statewide progressive cause: https://www.lonestarleft.com/p/an-open-letter-to-the-democrats-in

March is Women's History Month! See a new analysis of what that month really means in Texas: https://progresstexas.org/blog/inspire-inclusion-celebrating-international-womens-day-2024-texas

Thanks for listening and have a great weekend! All about all we do, and several fun ways to support our work, can be found at https://progresstexas.org/.