South Texas Chisme

Texas republicans want drivers to pay for rape kits.

2017-09-18T06:27:00.000-05:00

republicans don't care if a rapist is caught. Rape enables their male dominant cultural ideals.

Driver's license applications will soon ask Texans whether they'd like to donate $1 or more for sexual assault kit testing. It's the state's latest effort to reduce a backlog that has swelled for years.

Their latest effort falls way short. How about taxes? republicans say they are for law and order. Ooops. That's just a dog whistle for using laws and police to harass people of color.

Time to read a TPA blog post!

2017-09-18T06:14:00.002-05:00

The Texas Progressive Alliance encourages you to keep supporting Harvey and Irma relief efforts as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff reminds us that we have elections this November and they still need our attention.

As part of job hunting, Socratic Gadfly pays careful attention to some of the fluffery and hyperbolic language in employment ads and job descriptions and translates some for you, likely as part of an ongoing series.

The question "what happened" was not answered by PDiddie at Brains and Eggs, but rephrased as: 'WTF are Democrats going to do going forward?' (Hopefully not more infighting.) He also had a good word to say about Houston mayor Sylvester Turner's efforts in managing the city's responses to Hurricane Harvey.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wonders what is worse? Denying food stamps to Harvey victims or refusing to register students to vote?

Turning 50 this week, Neil at All People Have Value offered a list of his favorite politicians in life. It is not a long list. APHV is part of NeilAquino.com.

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And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

Daniel Williams highlights the continued need for local non-discrimination ordinances in Texas.

Melissa Law denounces the idea that Harvey was anything but a catastrophe that is still ongoing.

It's Not Hou It's Me shares her mucking experience.

Juanita rounds up some of the lesser 9/11 memorials.

Therese Odell rounds up the late night reactions to the Ted Cruz Twitter porn-liking saga.

Michael Li explains what happens next in the redistricting case.

Mean Green Cougar Red examines Harvey-related survivor's guilt.

Dan Wallach goes into detail about the security properties that a voting system needs to have.

Space City Weather looks back at all of the Harvey-spawned tornadoes.

Texas uses trumped up criteria to deny food stamps to Harvey victims

2017-09-15T08:20:00.001-05:00

Yes, Texas republicans are that cruel. Cruelty, hatred and incompetence.

Advocates for poor and moderate-income Texans are urging state officials to reconsider requiring that Hurricane Harvey victims return to their home counties to apply for federal disaster food relief.

High schools in Texas ignoring voter registration law

2017-09-15T08:18:00.000-05:00

Of course, they are.

Thirty-four years ago, the Texas Legislature enacted a novel law requiring high school principals to register eligible students to vote. But many aren’t complying, and voter participation remains chronically low.

Our white supremacist president can't decide how best to torture DACA kids

2017-09-15T08:15:00.002-05:00

Tell them to self deport. Say ICE will use DACA info to round them up. Put them in purgatory for six months. Say you'll work a deal to help them. Say you didn't mean to work a deal to help them.

Confusion reigned Thursday morning after President Donald Trump offered conflicting statements on the state of a possible deal with Democratic leadership that would both extend an Obama-era immigration program and beef up border security.

RAICES to help DACA kids

2017-09-15T08:10:00.001-05:00

The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) hosted the clinic to provide information about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA or the Dream Act) program and what could happen if it is reversed under the Trump administration. RAICES hosted the event at Del Mar College's Center for Economic Development venue.

Link

Port Arthur nursing home administrator hindered evacuation efforts

2017-09-15T08:06:00.001-05:00

Police on Thursday raided a Port Arthur, Texas, nursing home where 74 elderly residents were rescued from floodwaters after Harvey hit, according to a police affidavit obtained by CBS affiliate KFDM-TV.

Jeff Rosetta, the administrative director at Lake Arthur Place, is accused of criminal negligence or recklessness for his part in injuries sustained from the incident, according to the affidavit.

"Medical documents will show some of the individuals sustained injury as a direct result of the catastrophic flooding and the evacuation finally orchestrated at the last minute by citizens," the affidavit states.

Link

US Supreme Court with illegitimate Gorsuch endorses racism and cheating for elections

2017-09-14T08:29:00.000-05:00

All the republicans voted for racism, discrimination, cheating, extreme gerrymandering and the destruction of our democracy.

A divided Supreme Court is blocking lower court rulings that ordered Texas to redraw some congressional and legislative districts.

U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez speeaks up about DACA kids detention at border

2017-09-14T08:23:00.000-05:00

On the heels of U.S. Border Patrol's detention Monday at the Falfurrias checkpoint of 9 recipients of a federal program designed to protect them from deportation, U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, penned a letter Wednesday to President Donald Trump, the acting secretary of Homeland Security and acting commissioner for the Department of Homeland Security.

“This incident signals a troubling shift in policing of these young people,” Gonzalez said in the letter. “This begs the question, what checks are being performed? How far are we from rounding up these young people for deportation?

Link

Cameron County says no to DACA repeal and wall

2017-09-13T08:17:00.000-05:00

No to immigrant bashing. No to Hispanic bashing. No to monuments to racism and hate. Sounds good.

Cameron County Commissioners Court passage of two resolutions Tuesday was met with applause by members of the public who attended the special meeting.

The first vote was on a resolution expressing opposition to President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall.

...

The second resolution called for Congress and the Trump administration to work toward a solution to protect “dreamers” before the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program expires.

4 Texas republican members of congress vote against Harvey aid

2017-09-13T08:06:00.000-05:00

Because they are mean, selfish, craven, "I've got mine" assholes.

Four Texas Republicans opposed the package: Reps. Joe Barton, Jeb Hensarling, Sam Johnson and Mac Thornberry. But none of them represent counties deemed disaster areas by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Ozone action day for Corpus Christi

2017-09-12T09:08:00.001-05:00

You can thank the Texas republicans and the national republicans for favoring their oligarch friends' profits over your health.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has issued an Ozone Action Day for the Corpus Christi area for tomorrow Tuesday, September 12, 2017.

Border Patrol detains DACA kids at Texas border

2017-09-12T09:04:00.002-05:00

The harassment continues, escalates.

Amid confusion over a new immigration policy, several DACA recipients were detained at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in Falfurrias on Monday despite ambiguous assurances from President Donald Trump about having “nothing to worry about.”

Oh, and Trump is a TERRIBLE manager. No one knew what to do for sure?

Oligarch interests in exporting natural gas against the interests of US citizens

2017-09-11T08:18:00.000-05:00

We know how that works. Oligarchs are in charge.

Democracy was nice while we fleetingly had it.Industrial Energy Consumers of America, a trade group representing U.S. manufacturers, says exporting too much domestically produced natural gas to countries that don’t have free-trade agreements with the United States will jeopardize this country’s supply of natural gas and cause prices to skyrocket.

What does the trade status of the receiver had to do with it? If it's gone, it's gone.

Time to read a TPA blog post

2017-09-11T08:12:00.002-05:00

The Texas Progressive Alliance sends its thoughts and prayers to Florida as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff looked at the hopefully temporary reinstatement of the voter ID law as it goes through the appeals process.

SocraticGadfly offers up a trio of Harvey-related thoughts related to possible future "big ones." Would an Ike Dike be a massive military-industrial complex boondoggle? Can Houston and Harris County do anything different on evacuation ideas? And does greater Houston, like some other disaster-prone areas, simply have too many people living there?

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme is angry with the previous Houston flood control head and the current pollution helpers.

Family feuds are the most fun to watch, especially when you're not in the family, laughed PDiddie at Brains and Eggs as he popped more corn.

Neil at All People Have Value said people really need to move on from the Sanders/Clinton primary fight. APHV is part of NeilAquino.com.

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And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

Better Texas Blog talks fighting hunger after Harvey.

Michael Li shows the proposed remedial Congressional maps.

The Texas Living Waters Project will work to find innovative flooding solutions for the next Harvey.

The TSTA Blog cheers the selection of John Sharp as statewide hurricane czar.

Dos Centavos wants us to think about undocumented immigrants as something other than cheap labor for rebuilding after disasters.

Nick Anderson sums up what merits a special session for Greg Abbott and what does not.

Edinburg EDC budget fails to pass

2017-09-08T08:20:00.000-05:00

City council members did not approve the proposed budget for the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation this week after two members on the council expressed concerns about some expenditures.

Link

Houstonians dosed with toxic pollutants

2017-09-08T08:13:00.000-05:00

Petrochemical corridor residents say air that is bad enough on normal days got worse as Harvey crashed into the nation's fourth-largest city and then yielded the highest ozone pollution so far this year anywhere in Texas. The Houston metro area was ranked 12th in the nation for worst ozone pollution by The American Lung Association this year, although its air was better than the Los Angeles and New York regions.

Link

Direct your ire towards man, Mike Talbott, who made poor flood control decisions in Houston

2017-09-07T08:26:00.001-05:00

In recent years, some local officials have attempted to strengthen rules to protect from catastrophic flooding, but their efforts have been shot down by politically powerful developers. And then there are the local officials who completely deny it's a problem.

One of them was Mike Talbott, the longtime head of the powerful Harris County Flood Control District, who — during his 18 years on the job — made many key decisions about how the Houston area should cope with its nagging flooding problems. In an interview last year shortly before his retirement — and after two major, back-to-back floods in Houston — Talbott told us he strongly disagreed with nearly everything scientists and experts had told us.

Link

Abbott says no superfund pollution problem in Houston

2017-09-07T08:22:00.000-05:00

republicans say all sorts of stuff that's demonstrably false. Every. Single. Minute. Of. Every. Single. Day. Their whole world depends on false reality or 'alternate facts.'

'Abbott: No hazardous waste sites in Houston area found leaking so far'

'Air monitors detect cancer-causing compound as environmental concerns grow in east Harris County'

15 State's attorneys general sue over recinding DACA

2017-09-07T08:15:00.000-05:00

Our attorney general, a man under fraud charges, is a racist and sued to throw DACA kids out of our country.

Fifteen states and the District of Columbia sued Wednesday to block President Donald Trump's plan to end a program protecting young immigrants from deportation — an act Washington state's attorney general called "a dark time for our country."

McAllen PD employees arrested for assault

2017-09-07T08:11:00.000-05:00

A judge arraigned two McAllen Police Department employees on misdemeanor assault charges Wednesday.

McAllen Assistant Municipal Judge Ricardo Montalvo arraigned police Officer Michael Ray Basaldu, 37, of Edinburg and Emergency Communications Specialist Brianda Gabriela Arratia, 24, of Edinburg on Wednesday afternoon.

Link

3 more RGV cities say no to papers please racial profiling

2017-09-06T07:40:00.000-05:00

The Pharr and San Juan City Commissions unanimously passed resolutions opposing the bill, which was scheduled to go into effect Friday until U.S District Judge Orlando Garcia granted an injunction the night before. This halted major provisions of the bill from becoming law.

The Alamo City Commission also voiced its opposition to the bill after discussing it with the city attorney during a closed executive session, and a formal resolution will be on the agenda for the next meeting, said Mayor Diana Martinez.

link

Irony?

2017-09-06T07:33:00.000-05:00

'Immigrants are sought for labor shortage in Harvey recovery'

Texas can thank republicans and their oligarch friends for the air pollution

2017-09-06T07:28:00.000-05:00

And, the coming health misery.

'Air quality remains concern in aftermath of Harvey
Houston area under alert for ground-level ozone, a lung-damaging air pollutan'

But, don't worry says the EPA. Or, maybe worry. Liars.

The Environmental Protection Agency is circling back on its monitoring of the quality of Houston's air after releasing a statement Sunday saying that "local residents should not be concerned about air quality issues related to the effects of the storm."

Even as the statement was released, the agency's AIRNow website showed the Houston area was under alert for ground-level ozone, a lung-damaging air pollutant, for a fourth day in a row.

'Oil refineries in Hurricane Harvey’s path are polluting Latino and low-income neighborhoods'

'Air monitors detect cancer-causing compound as environmental concerns grow in east Harris County'

Independent air monitors have detected a plume of cancer-causing benzene near homes and businesses outside a Valero Energy oil refinery in east Houston, raising concerns among environmentalists and city officials who say the compound is nearly twice the state limits for short-term exposure.

The highest concentration was detected in an area near Manchester Street and 96th Street close to the refinery, which voluntarily reported an oil spill at the plant earlier this week in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, according to the Environmental Defense Fund, which worked with California-based Entanglement Technologies to measure the benzene levels.

republican racism is on full display

2017-09-05T08:38:00.000-05:00

The age of Ronald Reagan and Bush racist dog whistles is over. Not just pandering and exploiting. Now, we have embracing.

Throw young innocent kids who have the best to offer our country out. Check.

Big a gigantic, expensive monument to racism that harms the environment, takes private land and disrupts traffic to Mexico. Check.

Cities along the border with Mexico object.

Seven cities in Hidalgo County will consider resolutions opposing the border wall Tuesday, the same day Congress reconvenes to decide before the month’s end how much money, if any, to allocate for the president’s proposed wall.

Local elected municipal officials in McAllen, Edinburg, Pharr, San Juan, Alamo, Palmview and Sullivan City will discuss and take possible action on resolutions opposing the construction of new border walls, levees and fences along the U.S.-Mexico border.

republicans are not susceptible to reason. Anger, racism, misogony and hate are the GOP motivating forces.