Monthly Archives: April 2023

I’ll help you pack, dude

Posted on April 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This story about the furniture guy’s latest temper tantrum about Harris County took me a couple of hours to work up the mental energy to click on. Now that I have, my reaction is simply this: Just fucking move to … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, April 21 edition

Posted on April 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week in Dallas-area news, two big stories: the Tarrant County election chief has resigned, and more on the Harlan Crow angle of the … Continue reading →

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Anti-mifepristone order still paused

Posted on April 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

SCOTUS needs a couple more days. The Supreme Court extended its stay on lower court rulings on mifepristone until Friday just before midnight, meaning that the drug will remain accessible and available at least until then. The order, written by … Continue reading →

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Sen. Gutierrez appears to be getting set to challenge Ted Cruz

Posted on April 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a San Antonio Democrat who has become a fierce champion of the families impacted by the Uvalde school shooting, is likely to run against Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024, The Texas Tribune … Continue reading →

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Least-surprising headline of the week

Posted on April 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

From the Chron: “GOP donor tied to Clarence Thomas has given Texas lawmakers $19M”. The Texas billionaire in the middle of the controversy around U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has a long history in Texas politics, donating more than … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of April 17

Posted on April 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes you enjoyed the extra couple of days you had this year to file your taxes as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Anti-mifepristone litigants respond to SCOTUS appeal

Posted on April 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Today we find out what SCOTUS will do. The anti-abortion doctors who first brought the case seeking to get mifepristone yanked from the markets filed a reply brief Tuesday, starting the clock on the Supreme Court’s response. It’s the latest … Continue reading →

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House passes bill to outlaw cities

Posted on April 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

That’s not literally what this does, but it may as well be. In a major escalation of Republicans’ efforts to weaken the state’s bluer cities and counties, lawmakers in the Texas Legislature are advancing a pair of bills that would … Continue reading →

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Kacsmaryk’s disclosure problem

Posted on April 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

What is it with these wingnut judges and their inability to follow the law? As a lawyer for a conservative legal group, Matthew Kacsmaryk in early 2017 submitted an article to a Texas law review criticizing Obama-era protections for transgender … Continue reading →

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Harris County versus AG over when election records can be withheld

Posted on April 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. Harris County is battling Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office over its ability to withhold election records that have been requested under the state’s public information law. In the case, filed last December, the county argues it should be … Continue reading →

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“Fort Worth is the new Austin”

Posted on April 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Hadn’t thought of it that way. Who speaks for Fort Worth in the nation’s capital? For more than 25 years the go-to member of the Texas delegation for Tarrant County has been U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth. From securing … Continue reading →

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B-Cycle hits the brakes

Posted on April 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Unfortunate. Hopes for a much-needed infusion of cash from a new partnership with Metro have yet to be fulfilled, leading Houston Bike Share to warn users that prices will increase and the number of available stations will shrink, starting May 1. The nonprofit … Continue reading →

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Rep. Jackson Lee makes her Mayoral candidacy official

Posted on April 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Here she comes. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee kicked off her campaign for mayor Friday night with a rally on the rooftop of Post Houston, promising to “unlock City Hall” for all residents and embrace their diversity while outlining a municipal agenda to tackle … Continue reading →

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Lege may fix one particularly dumb aspect of its omnibus voter suppression law

Posted on April 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A small bit of progress. Texas lawmakers are trying to undo an expensive election problem they didn’t realize they had created in the first place. In 2021, they passed a law that is set to require counties to purchase vote-counting … Continue reading →

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We wait to see how much harm the House will do to LGBTQ+ people

Posted on April 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a very scary time. Chants of “Protect trans kids” echoed across the Capitol as hundreds of LGBTQ Texans and their supporters gathered Saturday afternoon to express anger and fear over a slate of rapidly moving bills targeting queer people. … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for April 16

Posted on April 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

“As society stares down the barrel of what is almost certainly just the beginning of these advances in generative AI, there are reasonable and technologically feasible interventions that can be used to help mitigate these abuses. As a computer scientist … Continue reading →

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Staffer alleges that Slaton had sex with an intern

Posted on April 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Really gross and inappropriate if true. A Capitol staffer alleged in an internal complaint that state Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, had “sexual relations” with an intern two weeks ago. The new details of the allegation come from the complaint … Continue reading →

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Our first look at the Board of Managers wannabes

Posted on April 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

An eclectic group, to say the least. The Chronicle on Friday obtained through a public records request a list of people who applied to the position through the end of March. In total, 374 people applied through the deadline last … Continue reading →

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The benefits of going fine-free

Posted on April 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I love this story. Two months ago, a Houston resident walked into the city’s public library and returned three long-overdue books from the 1990s. The trio of the returned books included “Tenth Dimension” by Jeremy Bernstein on elementary particle physics, … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS pauses that anti-mifepristone ruling

Posted on April 15, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A brief timeout. The Supreme Court granted the Department of Justice’s emergency request to temporarily halt lower court rulings that would have reimposed restrictions on mifepristone that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had lifted in recent years. The stay … Continue reading →

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TEA takeover approved by trustees

Posted on April 15, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

That was a formality and will be noted later in the post, but first there was this. Members of the Houston ISD board of trustees peppered a Texas Education Agency representative with questions about the upcoming takeover at a public … Continue reading →

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House General Investigations Committee issues subpoenas

Posted on April 15, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll keep an eye on this. The Texas House Committee on General Investigating issued four subpoenas Friday, though it did not say to whom or for what purpose. It was this legislative session’s first meeting of the committee, which investigates … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit barely limits ridiculous anti-mifepristone ruling

Posted on April 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

In other words, the Fifth Circuit did Fifth Circuit things. The notoriously right-wing Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld much of Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s ruling on mifepristone from late last week in an early Thursday decision that may prompt the … Continue reading →

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Houston rescinds its anti-busking ordinance

Posted on April 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good call. Houston formally abandoned an ordinance Wednesday that banned buskers throughout most of the city, four months after it was struck down by a federal judge. For decades, Houston made busking — musicians and other artists performing on streets … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, April 14 edition

Posted on April 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week in Dallas-area news, we have a lot more on Harlan Crow and the Six Degrees of Clarence Thomas, the Bryan Slaton scandal, … Continue reading →

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Feds take steps to protect abortion health data

Posted on April 13, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Biden administration released a raft of proposals related to keeping abortion-related health information private Wednesday morning. Some of the measures are specifically targeted to shield providers from prosecution, so far the primary way red states are seeking to … Continue reading →

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Should the HISD Board bother doing anything right now?

Posted on April 13, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a good case for No, and if that’s their thinking then they’re already on the way. Houston ISD board members expressed concern Thursday about making budget cuts to campuses right before the district is taken over by the Texas … Continue reading →

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The doctors involved in the lawsuit to clarify Texas’ draconian forced birth law

Posted on April 13, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good stuff. Last spring, Dr. Judy Levison started to give her routine answer when a patient, who was 15 weeks pregnant, asked why she should receive a blood test that picks up certain fetal defects. Some women simply want to … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of April 10

Posted on April 13, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance has just realized that somehow it’s April already as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Could we get an expansion of medical marijuana?

Posted on April 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe, but I have my usual doubts for the usual reasons. Texans who suffer from chronic pain and potentially other debilitating conditions would be able to access the state’s medical marijuana program under a bill advanced by the Texas House … Continue reading →

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This is definitely a “root for the meteor” situation

Posted on April 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Also a “pop some corn” situation. Two state lawmakers have called for the resignation of Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, after The Texas Tribune reported that he is being investigated after allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a Capitol intern. … Continue reading →

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Rerun candidate running again

Posted on April 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Oh good grief. Orlando Sanchez, the former Harris County treasurer, City Council member and mayoral candidate, is running for city controller, his second consecutive run for the office. Sanchez received 47.8 percent of the vote in 2019, losing to incumbent Chris Brown, who … Continue reading →

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Tuesday mifepristone update

Posted on April 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

First things first, that lawless ruling from the wingnut Texas judge has been appealed. The U.S. Justice Department on Monday asked a federal appeals court to keep the abortion pill mifepristone on the U.S. market as litigation plays out, days … Continue reading →

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So what will we do to protect our kids from predatory youth pastors?

Posted on April 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Like this guy. An internal complaint filed against state Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, alleges that he was engaging in a potentially “inappropriate relationship” with an intern. The complaint came after an incident in which Slaton and the staffer allegedly … Continue reading →

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