Monthly Archives: September 2025

NY AG to intervene in Carpenter case

Posted on September 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Raising the stakes. New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday said she will intervene in a legal fight over Texas’ ban on abortion pills, escalating a national showdown between states that have restricted abortion access and others that are … Continue reading →

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Let’s unseal those divorce records

Posted on September 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Yes, please. As you might recall, Texas Attorney General (and noted pen pilferer) Ken Paxton and state Sen. Angela Paxton (R-McKinney) are getting divorced after 38 years of marriage. Angela Paxton announced on X.com in early July that she initiated the divorce “on … Continue reading →

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Another look at Waymo’s robotaxi approach versus Tesla’s

Posted on September 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good long analysis here. A month after Tesla launched a trial robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, in June for select fans, CEO Elon Musk told investors that the company’s driverless taxis would likely be available to “half the population of … Continue reading →

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Interview with Vincent Sanders

Posted on September 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, there is a hearing scheduled to begin October 1 in federal court to hear arguments about the new Congressional map. The original group of plaintiffs against the current map, whose trial was finally heard in May, subsequently … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over ban on lab-grown meat

Posted on September 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Fascinating. Two cultivated meat companies have filed a lawsuit against officials in Texas over the law that bans the sales of lab-grown meat in the state for two years. California-based companies UPSIDE Foods, which makes cultivated chicken, and Wildtype, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food, Legal matters | Tagged | 1 Comment

The WPBL holds a tryout

Posted on September 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Another step forward for professional women’s baseball in the US. That future began to actualize over a whirlwind weekend in Washington, where more than 600 women from 10 countries arrived for open tryouts ahead of the WPBL’s inaugural season next … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for September 7

Posted on September 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

“This isn’t a debate about vaccine safety— researchers take that seriously and study it continuously. This is a coordinated campaign to undermine evidence-based medicine itself. When the nation’s top health official calls for retracting peer-reviewed research (a recent Danish study … Continue reading →

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Talarico says he’s in for Senate

Posted on September 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s go. Texas Rep. James Talarico will announce Tuesday he’s jumping into the race for U.S. Senate, according to two people familiar with the plans who were granted anonymity to discuss them. Politico and CNN reported the plan earlier Friday. … Continue reading →

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The latest abortion news

Posted on September 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll start here. The Texas Senate passed new bounty hunter-style abortion legislation Wednesday night to quash mailed abortion pills, targeting a method that has slipped through the cracks of abortion bans and contributed to the slight rise in the total number of … Continue reading →

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State GOP sues to force closed primaries

Posted on September 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I have no idea how this might work. The Republican Party of Texas filed a lawsuit against Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson on Thursday in a bid to restrict participation in the GOP’s primary elections to only voters registered … Continue reading →

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The CD18 lineup

Posted on September 6, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Wednesday was also the filing deadline for the CD18 special election. Amanda Edwards has a photo of the SOS proclamation that includes a listing of the candidates and their parties. This Community Impact story also has the lineup and campaign … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed against anti-student protest bill

Posted on September 6, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is the time in the calendar when bills from the last legislative session that are now in effect get sued for various reasons. This one is particularly head-scratching. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression sued the University of … Continue reading →

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From the “We don’t have to take our clothes off” department

Posted on September 6, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Coming to a street near you. As Houston peels away bike lanes, a group of cyclists plans to peel away its clothes and pedal through the city in protest. World Naked Bike Ride Houston is planned for Sept. 13, both beginning … Continue reading →

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The At Large #4 lineup

Posted on September 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Wednesday was the filing deadline for both CD18 and Houston City Council At Large #4. There are fourteen filed candidates plus one write-in. I will offer a bit of commentary on each. – Alejandra Salinas, Dwight Boykins, and Al Lloyd … Continue reading →

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Lege fails to pass disaster emergency response bill

Posted on September 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

What a bunch of jokers. Efforts to overhaul local emergency response to disasters failed after the Texas Senate concluded its business early Thursday without taking up the House’s version of a bill that would have mandated new training and licensing … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, September 5 edition

Posted on September 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth: it’s budget season for the cities and counties, with some facing hard choices and others dropping tax … Continue reading →

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There’s more than one way to make voting harder

Posted on September 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is such a bad idea. After years of using a touchscreen machine to mark their ballots, voters in at least three Texas counties will be asked instead to make their selections directly on the paper ballots, by hand, starting … Continue reading →

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Missouri gets in the mid-decade Trump redistricting game

Posted on September 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

From The Downballot. Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe has summoned lawmakers for a special session beginning on Wednesday, during which he wants them to adopt a new congressional gerrymander that would flip Missouri’s 5th District from blue to red. Democrats, however, … Continue reading →

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Please don’t lie about the amount of poop in Houston’s waterways

Posted on September 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t think that’s too much to ask. Two former employees of a wastewater testing lab in Conroe are facing federal conspiracy charges after authorities alleged they falsified test results to conceal high levels of feces and other contaminants released … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of September 1

Posted on September 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance wishes everyone a happy Labor Day week as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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On being financially prepared for future disasters

Posted on September 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Got to be thinking about it. Houston might need to make some policy changes to ensure that the city has enough money on hand to provide disaster relief as storms become more frequent and more expensive to recover from, Controller … Continue reading →

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More on the lawsuit over the latest DEI ban

Posted on September 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I mentioned this in passing last week but wanted to give it its own post. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and a group of LGBTQ+ and student rights organizations are suing to block a new state law that … Continue reading →

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The “Trump Burger” story

Posted on September 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose we must make note of this. The thing about Trump Burger is that it was always irresistible, even for those who would rather eat just about anywhere else. The restaurant is what its name suggests: A burger joint devoted to … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food, La Migra | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Nobody knows what to do about the dumb Ten Commandments law

Posted on September 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a mess. Texas school districts must decide whether to display Ten Commandments posters in every classroom before a new law requiring them to goes into effect Monday, even as its fate remains tied up in court. A federal judge enjoined 11 school districts from displaying … Continue reading →

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We have been so lucky to avoid hurricanes so far

Posted on September 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Because the response would be the bigger disaster. Employees at the Federal Emergency Management Agency wrote to Congress on Monday warning that the Trump administration had reversed much of the progress made in disaster response and recovery since Hurricane Katrina … Continue reading →

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DaSean Jones to resign from his bench in October

Posted on September 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This comes as a bit of a surprise. Judge DaSean Jones, the elected Democrat in the 180th District Court and the defendant in Harris County’s last pending 2022 election contest suit, plans to resign in October, his lawyer said Friday. … Continue reading →

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Ivermectin for everyone!

Posted on September 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Sure, why not? The Texas House on Wednesday passed a bill that would make ivermectin — a drug used mostly in this country to treat livestock for parasites — available to Texans without a prescription. The latest legislative action moves … Continue reading →

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