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Opinion: 5 Reasons Liberals Love Christmastime

Opinion: 5 Reasons Liberals Love Christmastime

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10 Ways to Change the Subject When Politics Comes Up This Holiday Season

By Jeff Balke
Nov 25, 2021

It's the holidays. You can tell because every store is blaring Christmas music and there are strung lights hanging from every available tree, roof overhang and shopping center. Right now, it feels a bit whimsical and nostalgic. By December 26, you'll want to strangle an elf and eat venison made...
Opinion: Rittenhouse Verdict Further Sanctifies “Defensive” Murder

By Jef Rouner
Nov 22, 2021

The jury in the Kyle Rittenhouse case found him not guilty of murder, which is exactly what laws like the Wisconsin castle doctrine are designed to do. It’s also a huge win for people obsessed with fatal defensive gun use. It’s a common misconception that the jury in the Rittenhouse...
Opinion: Beware the Virginia Trans Assault Trap in Texas’ Upcoming Governor’s Race

By Jef Rouner
Nov 17, 2021

A lot of factors contributed to Governor Glenn Youngkin’s gubernatorial win in Virginia earlier this month, including the fact that Virginia nearly always switches from the president’s party in their governor races. One thing that hasn’t been mentioned much, though, is the fact that shortly before Election Day there was...
Beto O'Rourke Announces to No One's Surprise That He's Running For Texas Governor

By Margaret Downing
Nov 15, 2021

To absolutely no one's surprise, El Paso Democrat Beto O'Rourke announced Monday that he is running for Texas governor — a statement immediately greeted with end-of-days warnings among Republican politicos. O'Rourke's message: that the elected leaders in Texas haven't done right by the people living in the state, that they've...
Technicality That Enabled the Texas Abortion Ban May Trip it Up Before U.S. Supreme Court

By Margaret Downing
Nov 2, 2021

It is more than a little ironic that the technical loophole the Texas conservative officials used to shut down the federally-guaranteed right to abortion in our state may be upended by another technicality. And by conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court, no less. Monday, the Supreme Court heard arguments...
Opinion: Matt Krause's Bad Books List Another Sign of the Texas Dystopia?

By Margaret Downing
Oct 27, 2021

Students in Texas public schools shouldn't read books that involve sexism or racism because it might make them feel bad? Armed with a list of about 850 books that he apparently finds suspect, Matt Krause, the conservative state rep (R-Fort Worth), wants an accounting from an unknown number of the state's...
Gov. Abbott Digs in Further on No Vax Mandates For Employees

By Margaret Downing
Oct 12, 2021

In yet another do-over for Greg Abbott, on Monday the Texas governor issued his latest executive order now saying that private businesses in the state cannot mandate COVID vaccinations for employees. In a previous executive order, Abbott said governments could not require employees to be vaccinated but that he would...
Federal Judge Blocks Texas Abortion Law — For Now

By Margaret Downing
Oct 7, 2021

”Labeling it an "unprecedented and transparent statutory scheme," a federal judge Wednesday issued an order blocking the new Texas abortion law — at least for now — which means that abortion providers can resume their activities in the state if they feel confident enough to do so. Predictably, the opinion...
Turner’s Housing Deal Mess. How Has Such a Deft Politician Ended Up Here?

By Dianna Wray
Oct 6, 2021

As the narrative continues to unfold over the recent accusations alleging that Mayor Sylvester Turner committed ethics violations by awarding an affordable housing contract to a firm co-owned by one of his former law partners, we keep finding ourselves pondering just how strange it is that Turner has allowed himself to...
Texas House Speaker Phelan Rebukes Abbott and Patrick On Illegal Voting And Winter Storm Response

By Schaefer Edwards
Oct 1, 2021

In a series of tweets Thursday night, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) publicly broke with Gov. Greg Abbott over Abbott's insistence that Texas lawmakers should increase penalties for voting illegally, and disagreed with Gov. Dan Patrick’s assertion that retiring state Rep. Chris Paddie (R-Marshall) couldn’t be trusted based on...
Proposed Texas House District Maps Would Protect GOP Advantage Statewide

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 30, 2021

If the new Texas House district maps unveiled by the Republican-led House Redistricting Committee Thursday are approved as expected, incumbent Republicans across the state would by and large be protected, likely solidifying the GOP’s grip on the House for the next decade. That advantage would come at the expense of...
Trump Tells Texas Four County Audit Isn't Good Enough

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 30, 2021

Days after Gov. Greg Abbott’s administration hastily announced a partial audit of Texas’ 2020 election results, former President Donald Trump declared that the limited audit wouldn’t be enough to satisfy him or the legions of MAGA diehards in the Lone Star State. In a statement to the Texas Tribune Wednesday,...
Over 1.2 Million Marriage Licenses Added To Harris County's Website

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 30, 2021

Access to Harris County’s marriage records took a leap into the 21st century on Wednesday, as the Harris County Clerk’s Office announced it had added more than 1.2 million marriage license records to its website, making it possible to view copies of them and purchase them online. All Harris County...
GOP-Drawn Texas Congressional Map Gives Wesley Hunt A New Red Seat For The Taking

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 29, 2021

When the GOP Texas Senate on Monday unveiled its proposed new district maps for Texas’ seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, the likely impact on greater Houston’s slate of congressmen and women was pretty clear. Local red districts would get redder and blue districts would get bluer under the...
Abbott Tells Fox News A Rape and Incest Exception To New Abortion Ban Won't Happen

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 27, 2021

In a recent Fox News interview, Gov. Greg Abbot didn’t flinch when questioned as to why Texas’ new “heartbeat bill” that’s effectively banned abortions as early as six weeks after conception doesn’t have any exceptions for rape or incest, and said he believes there’s no way the Republican-led Texas Legislature...
Trump-Backed Audit, a Hasty Senate and a Sleepy House Mark Week One of Texas' Third Special Session

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 27, 2021

One week into the Texas Legislature’s third round of overtime, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s Senate has already cranked out plenty of GOP priority legislation and even a first stab at new Senate districts maps at a breakneck pace. Meanwhile, the biggest news to come out of the Texas House is...
The Many Mugs of Stevie Van Zandt Come Together in New Memoir

By Bob Ruggiero
Sep 27, 2021

When talking to the multi-hyphenate man Stevie Van Zandt, it’s a challenge to pick just which version of him to discuss first. The guitarist/best bud of Bruce Springsteen and core member of the E Street Band who also has a thriving solo career? The actor in groundbreaking cable series like...
Pro-Choice Groups Beg U.S. Supreme Court To Hurry Up And Rule On Texas Abortion Ban

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 24, 2021

Sick of being forced by Texas’ controversial “heartbeat bill” to tell Texans seeking abortions they’ll have to venture hundreds of miles out of state to have their pregnancies terminated, Texas abortion providers and pro-choice groups filed an emergency request Friday asking the U.S. Supreme Court to bypass the normal appeals...
Texas COVID Deaths Surge While Hospitalizations Fall As Delta Wave Continues

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 24, 2021

As public health experts predicted all along, the quick rise in Texas COVID-19 cases from the summer’s Delta surge has finally been followed by a dramatic uptick in deaths from the virus. While there are now thousands fewer Texas hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients than there were a few...
Trump Pressures Abbott To Add 2020 Texas Election Audit To Special Session Agenda

By Schaefer Edwards
Sep 23, 2021

While Gov. Greg Abbott has been adamant that he’s the only person in Texas who can decide what topics lawmakers can and can’t pass laws about during the still ongoing special legislative sessions, some of his Republican allies have very successfully pushed him to get their own pet legislation on...

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