Tag Archives: Texas

SCOTUS pauses SB4 again

This time indefinitely. The Supreme Court on Monday extended a temporary block on a new Texas immigration law that is being challenged by the Biden administration. In an order issued by conservative Justice Samuel Alito, the court again imposed a … Continue reading

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Sure, Pornhub could verify identities and ages if they wanted to

But that’s not the point. House Bill 1181, which was passed in June and went into effect in September, says that any entity publishing pornographic material must require a visitor to provide digital identification or use a commercial age verification … Continue reading

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Does Ted Cruz think he might lose?

Who knows what he thinks? U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign is warning donors this week that he’s already tied with Colin Allred and bracing for a tougher 2024 reelection campaign than GOP voters might expect. The push comes less than … Continue reading

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Another Republican done dirty by Abbott speaks

Welcome to the table, Rep. Clardy. When state representative Travis Clardy, of Nacogdoches, first heard rumblings of a potential Republican primary challenger early last summer, he was surprised. The woman who was considering challenging him, Joanne Shofner, was someone who … Continue reading

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Texas colleges and AI

Interesting story. When Taylor Eighmy talks to people about the growth of artificial intelligence in society, he doesn’t just see an opportunity — he feels a jolt of responsibility. The president of The University of Texas at San Antonio said … Continue reading

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Now the state sues the Colony Ridge developers

Following in the footsteps of the feds. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Houston-area developers of Colony Ridge on Thursday, accusing them of deceptive sales, marketing and lending practices that allowed their sprawling housing development to flourish. Residents of … Continue reading

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Pornhub blocks access from Texas

I’m sure you’ve already noticed, but just in case… One of the most-visited pornography websites, Pornhub, disabled its site in Texas on Thursday over objections to a state law that requires age verification to prevent access to minors. People who … Continue reading

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Nate Paul to finally serve that jail time for contempt

Sometimes you forget how slowly the wheels of justice can turn. And sometimes you’re reminded. A real estate investor accused of bribing the Texas attorney general is facing jail time after the Texas Supreme Court denied his appeal of an … Continue reading

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Fifth Circuit mostly upholds that wingnut anti-birth control ruling

A tale as old as time, the Fifth Circuit doing terrible things. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Texas law requiring parental consent to obtain contraception for minors. The decision from a three-judge panel of the federal appeals … Continue reading

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Texas Medical Board may issue guidance on abortion exceptions

I trust you will forgive my skepticism about this. The Texas Medical Board will consider language to clarify what qualifies as a medical exception to the state’s abortion laws at an upcoming March 22 board meeting. The meeting agenda was … Continue reading

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There may finally be some resistance to judge-shopping in federal courts

Good news. The Judicial Conference, the policymaking body for federal courts, announced Tuesday that it would take action against the judge-shopping that has let right-wing litigants funnel cases to friendly, often Donald Trump-appointed judges. “The policy addresses all civil actions … Continue reading

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Could San Antonio support an MLB team?

As you may have heard, Major League Baseball is starting to talk about expansion, potentially adding two more teams in the next few years. San Antonio is on the list of possible destinations for MLB, sometimes paired with Austin, which … Continue reading

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Nikki Haley’s best counties

Both Stace and I have noted the handful of counties in which President Biden underperformed in the primary election. That led me to wonder what the analogous situation was like on the Republican side. Where did Nikki Haley overperform her … Continue reading

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SB4 remains on hold

Fine by me. No rush. The Supreme Court on Tuesday further delayed a new Texas law empowering state authorities to arrest and deport migrants that would transform immigration enforcement long left to the federal government. Justice Samuel Alito extended an … Continue reading

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How about a pilotless air taxi?

Those are coming, too. Not as quickly and with fewer details now available, but it’s out there. Advanced Air Mobility company Wisk agreed to a deal with Sugar Land last week to bring pilotless air taxis to the Houston area. … Continue reading

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Judge puts brakes on Paxton’s attack against Annunciation House

Good. Attorney General Ken Paxton “acted without regard to due process and fair play” in seeking to shut down a leading migrant service provider, an El Paso judge said Monday in a ruling that blocks the state’s efforts for now. … Continue reading

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A closer look at Colony Ridge

There have been problems for awhile. Not the kind of problems that got the wingnuts all frothed up, but problems nonetheless. When the fast-growing Colony Ridge development outside Houston became a fixation of right-wing media last year, Texas’ Republican leaders … Continue reading

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There’s only one way forward after this primary

The worst people you know had a very good week last week. It’s likely to get better for them after the runoffs. These headlines capture the essence of it: ‘Disastrous’: A shaken Texas House prepares for rightward shift after record … Continue reading

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Dallas Mayoral recall effort goes nowhere for now

It could still happen, but the same concerns exist as before. In a press release early Wednesday morning, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson let everyone know that the effort to recall him had failed “miserably.” Dallas activist and business owner Davante … Continue reading

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Annunciation House has its hearing

Seems like it might have gone well for them. An El Paso district judge lashed out at the Texas Attorney General’s Office after a lawyer said in court Thursday that Annunciation House was “stonewalling” by refusing to negotiate over documents … Continue reading

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City of Uvalde gets its report on police performance at Robb Elementary

It landed with a thud. A city-commissioned independent review of Uvalde police’s response to the Robb Elementary School shooting cleared local officers of wrongdoing, infuriating parents of the 19 children killed in the massacre and at least two city council … Continue reading

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Ousted Rep. Rogers has some thoughts about why he lost

He’s on the right track. It’s just a question of whether he takes it to the correct destination. The corruption that exists at the highest level of Texas state government would have made Governor “Pa” Ferguson blush. Governor Greg Abbott … Continue reading

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Evaluating the polls

This year we got a set of polls for various Democratic primary races from the UH Hobby Center. Because of the nature of some of the races and the fact that we don’t usually get this kind of polling data, … Continue reading

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Boca Chica land swap allowed to proceed

I still dunno, man. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission voted unanimously Monday to pursue an exchange that would give 43 acres of Boca Chica State Park in Cameron County to Elon Musk’s SpaceX spacecraft company. The state park land … Continue reading

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Dispatches from Dallas, March 8 edition

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, primary coverage. And more primary coverage. And some primary analysis, even. This week’s post was brought to … Continue reading

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Initial thoughts on the 2024 primary

Some opening considerations as we peruse the final unofficial voting data. Before you read my words, go check out Stace, Campos, Reform Austin, and the Texas Signal. Here we go: – Final turnout in Harris County was 176,396 for Dems … Continue reading

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Three Ken Paxton updates

I missed these in the recent news rush, but spotted them all more or less at once via the Google News app on my phone. Doomscrolling for the win, I guess. Whistleblowers: Texas Supreme Court must reject Ken Paxton’s ‘scheme’ … Continue reading

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Primary 2024 results: Democratic headlines

It’s going to be a late night and I have a couple of long days ahead of me, so I’m going to do some quick summaries based on what I now know, and will come back later to fill the … Continue reading

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Primary 2024 results: Republican headlines

It’s going to be a late night and I have a couple of long days ahead of me, so I’m going to do some quick summaries based on what I now know, and will come back later to fill the … Continue reading

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Today is Primary Day 2024

From the inbox: Election Day for the first-ever Joint Primary Elections in Harris County is tomorrow, March 5. More than 500 vote centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for voters to cast their ballots. Voters can … Continue reading

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The Fifth Circuit remains extremely on brand

Of all the Fifth Circuits in the world, they’re the Fifth Circuitest. A new law empowering state authorities to arrest and deport migrants seeking asylum in the United States may soon take effect after an appeals court stepped in to … Continue reading

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Abortion and IVF roundup

Texas IVF patients are dealing with a lot of uncertainty right now. Heather Burzlaff has four embryos in a freezer in Dallas and she doesn’t know what to do with them. After seven years of medications, egg retrievals and waiting, … Continue reading

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One more look at primary turnout

Here’s the Derek Ryan report on early voting in the primaries, which sent me off into a rabbit hole yesterday. Early voting is over. (Thank goodness! Early voting is always the busiest point of the entire two-year election cycle for … Continue reading

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Getting revenge is the best revenge

I have one thing to say to these Republicans. State Rep. Glenn Rogers is mad as hell, and he’s not being shy about it. “Kiss my ass!” he recently told a statewide Republican official who had endorsed his primary opponent. … Continue reading

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