Texas
Here's to the beginning of this community. I'll be posting news articles and such that I come across pertaining to Texas. Please read the rules in the sidebar and be kind to your neighbors!
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21081107
www.msnbc.com
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21020339 > ***No Democrat has won a statewide race in Texas in decades. But conditions are friendlier than ever.*** > > There's a reason no Democrat has accomplished [a statewide victory in Texas](https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/ted-cruz-starts-sound-rather-nervous-re-election-bid-rcna175494) since 1994. > > Pulling off such an upset would require a uniquely talented politician running an almost perfect campaign. That candidate would need to display discipline, calm and poise. Be telegenic and quick on the feet. The candidate would need to be thoroughly Texan and have an identity infused with elements of the state's cultural zeitgeist. The person would need to run in a halfway decent national political environment. And even with all of those boxes checked, that rare Democrat would still need to square off against an extraordinarily disliked Republican running a lackluster campaign without much support from the person's own colleagues. > > Enter: Rep. Colin Allred. > > Allred's [remarkable debate performance](https://www.msnbc.com/jose-diaz-balart/watch/-lying-ted-was-back-colin-allred-on-his-tense-debate-with-sen-cruz-221889605758) Tuesday spawned a flurry of Instagram slides, TikTok videos and X posts. Both in Texas and nationwide, news feeds have been flush this week with clips of the former professional football player **rebuking Sen. Ted Cruz for hiding in a "supply closet" during the attempted insurrection at the U.S. Capitol --- a riot by a mob that Cruz himself helped whip up**. Others showed him repeatedly referencing the time **Cruz flew to Cancun, Mexico, as hundreds of Texans died during the middle of a winter freeze, or hammering him on his abortion stance** --- an issue critical to white female voters who have been [abandoning the GOP](https://nytimes.com/video/us/politics/100000009729442/abortion-bans-republicans-trump.html) [in droves](https://thebarbedwire.com/2024/10/09/she-voted-for-trump-then-she-had-two-terrifying-miscarriages-in-texas/). > > But an impressive debate performance alone is not enough for a Democrat to win a state like Texas. However, polls, fundraising and a changing political climate have all looked promising for Allred. Today, Texas Democrats are in an extraordinary situation, one that has proved elusive over the past three decades: They have an actual chance of winning a statewide race.
newrepublic.com
cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/45058429
I was just checking the ballot for my area, and half of it was unopposed Republicans. Where is the Democratic party?!
Who do you think won the debate and why?
> Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an interlocutory appeal June 17, on the same day a trial centered around the validity of Project Connect’s funding structure was set to begin. The attorney general’s initial claim argued the Austin Transit Partnership — the organization tasked with designing and constructing the Project Connect light rail system — didn’t have the jurisdiction to bring forth a bond validation lawsuit, filed in February. ... > The 15th Court of Appeals dismissed Paxton’s appeal, citing “lack of jurisdiction.” The case was originally punted from the trial court to the Third Court of Appeals before landing in the 15th Court of Appeals, which began operating Sept. 1.
Alleged that gas companies created artificial shortage days before storm to boost demand and then charge elevated rates, which then caused blackouts
The "Pro-Life" Party, everyone. SMH Meanwhile... >At a campaign event over the weekend in Fort Worth, Texas, hundreds of Allred’s supporters broke out in raucous applause when he vowed to protect a woman’s right to an abortion. “When I’m in the Senate, we’re going to restore Roe v. Wade,” Allred said. Please vote, y'all. There's more at stake than just a presidency.
cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/14010304 > State constitutional rights to abortion are on the ballot in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Nevada, and South Dakota. > > Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wisconsin have initiatives on the ballot to ban noncitizens from voting. It's already illegal, but the initiatives will probably be used to harass and disenfranchise minorities and activists, if they pass. > > Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, D.C., Alaska, and Missouri will vote to adopt or prohibit ranked choice voting. > > Alaska, California, Massachusetts, and Missouri will vote to adopt a $15-18 minimum wage. > > And so on. [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/2024_ballot_measures) has a complete list. > > [Go register to vote](https://www.vote.org/), or check your registration if you've already registered.
vote.gov
Note: The Texas election site is confusing and can make it seem like you can register to vote online, but you cannot
electrek.co
Part of the larger federal grid infrastructure updates announced today.
cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/13880275
www.texastribune.org
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/20406912 > Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and his progressive allies sought to mobilize their young supporters Tuesday at a rally on the campus of Texas State University, where they urged a crowd of several hundred to set aside their reservations about Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. > > **Sanders, acknowledging that some of his followers were dismayed by Harris’ support for Israel in the war in Gaza, framed the idea of voting for Harris as an ad hoc solution to keep Republican Donald Trump out of the White House and “retain the foundations of American democracy.”** > > “Short term, let us elect Kamala Harris as president,” Sanders said. “Long term, let us work together to transform this country and create a nation that works for all, not just the few.” > > Sanders visited the Texas State campus in San Marcos as part of a three-day swing through the state, bookended by rallies in San Antonio and Austin. He was joined Tuesday by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Greg Casar of San Antonio and former El Paso congressman Beto O’Rourke. > > --- > > 🗳️ **Register to vote:** https://vote.gov/
theweek.com
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/20923017 > [Volunteer for texas democrats](https://www.mobilize.us/texasdemocrats/)
www.keranews.org
Some excerpts: >In a 78 page ruling, U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez found that a key part of the Texas 2021 omnibus voter legislation is confusing, vague, overly broad, violates freedom of speech along with the 14th Amendment and there is no actual problem of illegal vote harvesting. >"Witnesses were particularly uncertain about how to interpret the terms “physical presence” and “compensation” — neither of which is defined in the statute — and how the Canvassing Restriction impacts organizers’ ability to provide voting assistance during their in-person interactions with voters," Rodriguez wrote. >Under the ruling, the Texas Attorney General’s office can no longer conduct investigations based on the provision. The AG’s office cited it when it recently conducted a series of raids on the homes of Latino voting rights activists and a Democratic candidate for the Texas House. The lawsuit brought by multiple Texas voting rights organizations asked for relief from several parts of SB1. But Saturday’s ruling only concerned the state’s attempt to block assistance with absentee ballots.
www.texastribune.org
"As midnight nears, the lights of El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, fill the sky on the silent banks of the Rio Grande. A few months ago, hundreds of asylum-seeking families, including crying toddlers, waited for an opening to crawl through razor wire from Juarez into El Paso. No one is waiting there now. Nearly 500 miles away, in the border city of Eagle Pass, large groups of migrants that were once commonplace are rarely seen on the riverbanks these days. In McAllen, at the other end of the Texas border, two Border Patrol agents scan fields for five hours without encountering a single migrant. It’s a return to relative calm after an unprecedented surge of immigrants through the southern border in recent years. But no one would know that listening to Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump talking about border enforcement at dueling presidential campaign events. And no one would know from the rate at which Texas is spending on a border crackdown called Operation Lone Star — $11 billion since 2021."
www.cbsnews.com
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/20280658 > Texas Attorney General **Ken Paxton** has vowed to continue defending what he considers Texans' right to carry firearms on land owned or leased by governmental entities. > > **The Texas Supreme Court ruled Thursday night that it would not block a firearms ban at the State Fair of Texas**. Paxton's office had sued claiming the city and the fair are violating state law by prohibiting most people from bringing firearms onto public property. > > A Dallas County judge [declined to issue](https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/texas-state-fair-gun-ban-lawsuit-hearing/) an injunction preventing the ban's enforcement. Neither the [Fifteenth Court of Appeals](https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/appeals-court-denies-attorney-general-ken-paxtons-appeal-on-state-fair-gun-ban/) or the Supreme Court intervened.
I don't like beer and I don't generally eat the food at the state fair, but I might make a trip for this. Thanks to [@RVLara23@mastodon.social](https://mastodon.social/users/RVLara23) for the original post on Mastodon
www.fox4news.com
Even other Republicans think Ken Paxton is bad at his job. This is some nice judicial snark: >Remarkably, the State’s presentation to this Court takes no position on whether the State Fair of Texas, a private entity, has the legal authority to exclude patrons carrying handguns from the Fair. This may surprise many observers, given that the ostensible purpose of this litigation is to determine whether Texas law entitles law-abiding Texans to carry handguns at the State Fair despite the Fair’s recently enacted policy to the contrary. Go ahead and read the whole thing, though, including the footnote. It's only 4 pages of double-spaced text with huge margins. They are not even disagreeing -- although they should -- but rather just laying into Paxton for how sloppy the filings were.
"Judge shopping for me, not for thee"
www.nbcnews.com
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/20021549
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/20368025 > Vote, get active, get involved > > [Find how to register to vote for where you are](https://vote.gov/) > > [Find opportunities to volunteer for dems around you](https://events.democrats.org/)
www.nbcnews.com
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19637526 > https://ghostarchive.org/archive/iHXDz > > https://archive.ph/WxdTL
www.theguardian.com
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19575830 > **_Plaintiffs in lawsuit allege they were terrorized for more than 90 minutes as at least 40 vehicles encircled the bus_** > > A jury trial opening in Austin, Texas, on Monday will seek to hold Trump supporters accountable for [allegedly ambushing a Joe Biden-Kamala Harris campaign bus](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/31/biden-harris-bus-texas-trump-supporters-highway) on the state’s main highway in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election. > > Plaintiffs in the lawsuit allege they were terrorised and intimidated for more than 90 minutes as they took a bus tour canvassing for the Democratic ticket in the final days of the election. > > At least 40 vehicles flying Make America great again flags formed themselves into a so-called “Trump Train” and encircled the bus, trying to run it off the road and playing what the suit claims was a “madcap game of highway ‘chicken’”. > > The plaintiffs, who include the bus driver, a Biden campaign staffer and Wendy Davis, the former Texas senator and Democratic gubernatorial candidate, say they were forced to cancel campaign events for fear that the intimidation would be repeated. **They are pursuing punitive damages under both Texas law and the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, a federal statute from the Reconstruction period designed to end political violence and voter intimidation**.
But that’s ok because Nestle will upsell it back to you in a bottle labeled Ozarka after they’ve finished pumping it all from Canton.