Y'all-itics

It may not feel like it, but the election will be here in the blink of an eye.  And if you’re a Texan, you should brace yourself for an onslaught of political advertising.  The most recent campaign finance reports are out, and they tell quite a story in the Lone Star state, where some political observers wonder if a political realignment is underway.  In this week’s episode of Y’all-itics, the two Jasons sit down with Texas Tribune D.C. Bureau Chief Abby Livingston for a quick 20-minute dissection of the fundraising haul for Democrats and whether the green could be helping to turn Texas blue.

Texas Tribune Story

Pencils, Pens and chalk?  ✅

Alliance AFT

Covid19 cut a major hole in the Texas economy – as businesses operate at a fraction of capacity or close permanently. But the virus has also sparked a huge demand for some products and their companies are struggling to keep up with demand. In this episode of Y'alli-tics, the Jasons talk to small businesses across the state – from a bike shop in Richardson that had to hire on extra help because of the demand for bicycles to a plexiglass distributor in Houston that is now supplying restaurants and businesses across the country with the material to make safe spaces. There’s even a puzzle maker in Wimberley that is now shipping his puzzles around the world as so many people stay inside these days.

https://www.acplasticsinc.com/

https://www.bikemart.com/

https://wimberleypuzzlecompany.com/

When the virus first hit in March, the Jasons knocked back a green beer at a popular Dallas pizzeria as the city announced it would cancel the St. Patrick’s Day block party. A lot has changed since then. That pizza joint is still open but has been outfitted with a maze of plexi-glass dividers. Jason and Jason follow up with the owner about the difficulty of adjusting to the challenges posed by the pandemic…including the question this restaurateur had to confront: What do you do when one of your restaurant employees tests positive for Covid-19?

The Texas Restaurant Association is asking the governor to implement a survival plan for the industry. On this episode of Y’all-itics, the TRA shares a staggering projection for how many eateries will likely shutter permanently. And they offer some suggestions for how Texans can save their favorite restaurants---including a tip to buy gift cards and wait to use them. The association warns that the pain restaurants are feeling will be borne out in the state’s budget. The huge sums of money that once flowed into state coffers from food and drink sales has been tremendously diminished by the shutdown followed by the slowdown.

 LINKS:

https://www.txrestaurant.org/

https://gapc.co/

This week, Yall-itics makes its first stop all the way up in Philadelphia, PA. The Jasons talk with the man heading up a renowned research team there. The scientists have been modeling how the pandemic will affect different metros across the country. And when they ran the numbers for Harris County recently, they were ‘alarmed’. The potential case-count nearly went off the chart as they took a look out four weeks into the future. The trajectory is definitely going in the wrong direction, but the research team there says recent reopening rollbacks and some simple, but critical changes in our individual behaviors may prevent their worst-case scenario graph from becoming reality.

 June brought a swell of Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations in Texas, particularly in some of the larger metro areas, like Harris County. From Pennsylvania, Yall-itics makes its way into the heart of the Texas Medical Center, often referred to as the largest complex of medical facilities in the world. One expert there explains why medical professionals are calmer than they were when they first encountered the virus this spring. The headlines from the medical center have been dire lately, but this well-positioned expert says there is still plenty of capacity to take care of new patients. But he warns against complacency, noting how easily this virus can exploit our failure to stay vigilant…saying that we will only be able to keep the economy open by getting better at maintaining safety precautions.

Policy Lab Covid-19 mapping

Texas Medical Center Bed Capacity

Are Republicans nervous about winning Texas in November? Vice President Mike Pence is coming to Dallas on Sunday. President Trump just visited 10 days ago. Why is the Trump campaign spending time, money and resources in a state that has been a GOP lock for them for decades? Joining the Jasons this week are two of the smartest minds in Texas politics: Abby Livingston, D.C. Bureau Chief for the Texas Tribune, and Vinny Minchillo, Principal at Glass House Strategies. The podcast discusses how big of a flop Trump’s Tulsa rally was, who Biden might pick as a running mate, and why history cannot predict what will happen in November.

In a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling, the justices ruled 6 to 3 that employers cannot discriminate against LGBTQ employees because of sex.  And one of the court’s most conservative justices wrote the ruling.  In fact, Justice Neil Gorsuch said, “the answer is clear.”  The ruling is important to a great many Texans, who have long been denied this protection.  In this edition of “Y’all-itics,” the two Jasons sit down with Stacy Bailey, a Mansfield ISD teacher who was suspended after showing a picture of her partner, the woman who would become her wife, to students in her elementary classroom.   And they’re also joined by Katie Hays, the lead evangelist at Galileo Church in Fort Worth – a church with a large LGBTQ community

https://www.galileochurch.org/

Katie Hays on WFAA

It’s been two weeks since the death of George Floyd in police custody.  And America has witnessed days and days of protests in cities all across the country.  So what now?  In this week’s episode of Y’all-itics, the two Jasons take an in-depth look at police reform and some of the concrete ideas on the table.  Here in Texas, for instance, there is already discussion about “See Something, Say Something” legislation.  And law enforcement experts tell the Jasons the incident – and the days that followed – are unlike anything the country has ever seen… and could lead to meaningful reform.

Harvard Implicit Bias Test

An educator. An Author. A Politician. A reporter. In this week’s episode of Y’all-itics, the two Jasons are joined by a panel of African-Americans who share their voices and thoughts on what’s happening in their communities following the death of George Floyd while in police custody. From protest to policy, this powerful conversation examines past, present and future as it relates to the African-American experience and what the country needs to do to move past one of the most challenging times in American history.

On Wednesday May 27th, America is scheduled to return to space for the first time in nearly a decade.  Astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley will fly on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft for an extended stay at the International Space Station.  And as usual, the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston will play a leading role.  As you might guess, it’s not easy to get into space.  And it is never 100% safe.  In this episode of Y’allitics, the two Jasons have an in-depth conversation with JSC Director Mark Geyer about the mission, acceptable risk and the hard work that got us ready to launch America.