Texas blog roundup for the week of July 31

Posted on August 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance stands with Professor Joy Alonzo as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Continue reading →

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July 2023 campaign finance reports: City of Houston, part 5

Posted on August 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Previously:
Congress
SD15
City of Houston, part 1
Harris County
City of Houston, part 2
City of Houston, part 3
City of Houston, part 4

January finance reports for city of Houston candidates are here. This is at long last the end of the city of Houston finance reports. This post looks at the outgoing incumbents, the former candidates, and a couple of PACs of interest.


Name             Raised      Spent    Loans    On Hand
======================================================
Turner           23,207    110,223        0    760,761
Brown                 0      4,624   75,000     24,691
Kubosh           45,350     60,607  161,815     48,724
Cisneros              0      1,577        0     29,551
Knox              1,200      6,480        0      8,468
Robinson            500     20,785        0    249,362

Edwards         187,710    982,396        0    245,769
GarzaLindner      5,010      9,464        0          0
Laster                0      1,254        0    147,138

HGAC Area PAC    94,697    102,972        0     18,808
ProtectServePAC 157,808    168,398        0     60,017

As a reminder, the Erik Manning spreadsheet has your candidate listings. All of the files I’ve reviewed can be found in this Google folder.

For the outgoing incumbents, the main question is what will they do with their remaining cash. For most of them, I expect they’ll gradually spend it down – they have several years to disburse all those funds – and at some point will disappear from the system. Mike Laster, whose term ended in 2019, is the longest-lasting person on this list. As for Mayor Turner and CM David Robinson, one might reasonably wonder if they have another campaign for something else in them. I don’t think it will be anything in 2024 – and I swear, if I see one more article speculating about Mayor Turner running for US Senate next year I’ll scream – but it’s not out of the question. They wouldn’t have to resign at this point in their term in order to run. I don’t see it happening, but it’s not impossible.

Mike Knox is of course running for Sheriff next year. He hasn’t raised much money for it, and doesn’t have much to give from his existing account. He didn’t have much in his January report. I dunno, maybe this suggests his decision to run for Sheriff was a very recent one.

One way that a soon-to-be-former officeholder can dispense of unneeded campaign funds can be seen in Janette Garza Lindner’s report; she is now on the HISD Board of Managers and abandoned her campaign for District H when she was appointed. After paying her remaining expenses, the leftover cash was split into three equal donations, to Kids Meals, Inc; BARC Houston; and the United Way. Charitable or non-profit donations are allowed for campaign funds.

Amanda Edwards spent most of that total you see on refunds to donors to her Mayoral campaign. At least, that’s what it looked like to me. I assume the rest of that cash will go the same way – these things can take time. She’s doing fine without those prior donations.

The Houston-Galveston Area PAC was and is the campaign to put the Fair for Houston proposition on the ballot. I presume it will continue to exist to raise and spend money to get that passed as well. I’m not aware of any organized opposition at this time. We’ll see what the 30 day reports tell us.

The Protect and Serve PAC says it is in support of the John Whitmire campaign. You can draw your own conclusions from there.

That’s a wrap on the city campaign finance reports for July. Let me know what you think.

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Is impeachment criminal or civil?

Posted on August 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It makes a difference.

A crook any way you look

As we move close to the historic impeachment trial of the state’s top prosecutor, a major question for those involved is whether the proceedings Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton faces are criminal or civil.

A criminal designation would have major impact on Paxton’s trial and a legal filing made public Friday indicated Paxton and the House managers prosecuting him are at odds over the issue. Declaring it a criminal trial would afford Paxton the same legal protections of a defendant facing jail time.

The fundamental nature of the impeachment trial has emerged as possibly the most important legal contention between Paxton and House managers leading up to his Sept. 5 impeachment trial.

Paxton, the first statewide elected official impeached in Texas in more than 100 years, has filed multiple motions arguing his upcoming impeachment trial is a criminal proceeding, a designation that would prevent prosecutors from calling him to the stand and could lead to several articles of impeachment against him being quashed.

In pretrial court documents published Friday, the House managers representing the chamber that voted overwhelmingly to impeach the attorney general gave a terse reply: “Mr. Paxton is wrong.

[…]

Paxton’s filings show he has some legal precedent on his side. They include references to the 1917 impeachment trial of Gov. James “Pa” Ferguson, the last statewide official impeached.

“In Texas, an impeachment trial is legally considered a criminal proceeding,” Paxton argues in a motion to prevent prosecutors from calling him to the stand.

“Although it may proceed in part on allegations broader than those recognized under Texas’s criminal laws, our Constitution recognizes that an impeachment does not seek civil redress on behalf of a plaintiff; it is an action by the State to punish an alleged wrongdoer.”

However, some impeachment experts disagree with Paxton’s characterization of an impeachment trial as a criminal proceeding.

“It plainly is not a criminal proceeding,” said Frank O. Bowman III, a law professor at the University of Missouri who studies American impeachment.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Michael Gerhardt said the crux of the issue is whether a conviction would result in imprisonment. In Texas law, like federal law, the penalty for being convicted under articles of impeachment is removal from office and a possible disqualification from serving in the future.

“The sanctions that result from a conviction in Texas do not include imprisonment or execution,” said Gerhardt, an impeachment expert and law professor. “No criminal punishments, therefore, it’s not a criminal proceeding.”

Gerhardt said impeachment trials fall in a gray area outside of criminal and civil trials. He characterized them as political.

“This is really a political proceeding in which political authorities are exercising this unique power to punish other political figures,” he said.

“It’s not meant to be pejorative, it’s meant to be descriptive of the unique aspects of the proceeding,” he added.

[…]

Patrick likely will not make a ruling until Sept. 5, when the trial begins. A committee that created rules for the trial will also review the issue and make a recommendation by Aug. 28. Patrick could also choose to ask for a Senate vote on the issue.

It is unclear how any would rule, but the Senate has shown in at least one instance its intention to treat Paxton’s impeachment as a criminal matter. In impeachment rules adopted in June, the Senate set the criminal standard for the burden of proof for conviction to “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

The University of Missouri’s Bowman said the threshold for conviction does not necessarily make it a criminal trial. The bar for conviction will remain a decision each senator will make on their own, he said.

“The real truth of it is that every senator is the judge of what the burden of proof should be,” he said.

I guess I must have some lawyerly instincts, because the “not really criminal or civil” notion occurred to me as well. The key question here is whether Paxton can be made to testify. Of course, Paxton via his attorneys have been screaming about how he was silenced and never given a chance to speak while the House was doing its thing, and here he is now saying “you can’t make me talk”. How much of that cake do you have left after scarfing it all down? Lawyers gotta do what lawyers gotta do, and I for one would not want to put a guy like that on the stand. It doesn’t mean we can’t mock him for it.

The House prosecutors’ response is here. As with motion-to-dismiss-a-thon, the real main character here is Dan Patrick. He has a huge impact on these proceedings, and I’m sure he knows it. Like I said before, we’ll know quickly if this is going to be drawn out or over before we know it. Until then, speculate away.

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The bookstores’ view of the book rating lawsuit

Posted on August 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Some useful context from one of the plaintiffs in that lawsuit challenging a new “book rating” law.

When Valerie Koehler bought Blue Willow Bookshop, she wanted to offer an expansive selection of children’s books.

“We made it our mission to have a robust children’s section, so we’re half kids, half adults,” Koehler said. “Not a very common business model for most bookstores, but it works for us.”

Her children were in grade school when she started running the roughly 1,200-square-foot bookstore in 1996. Over the years, she realized that to be profitable, she would have to sell to more than in-store customers. She worked with area school districts — now numbering 21 — to sell books to them, help organize author visits and provide book giveaways to students.

But a Texas law set to take effect Sept. 1 could jeopardize her ability to serve school districts, Koehler said. It will require school library booksellers to identify books, including those written for teens, that are “sexually explicit” or “sexually relevant,” and those books rated “sexually explicit” would be banned from schools. The law also requires booksellers to identify such books sold to school districts in the past.

[…]

Independent booksellers say the law will require them to allocate employees, money and time to reading and rating every one of their books potentially sold to school districts. Booksellers also say they may not have records showing the contents of every book sold over several decades.

“It’s just overwhelming,” Koehler said. “It is untenable. It’s not something a small business, even a large business, could do.”

See here for the background. This story had a link to an earlier Chron story from when the bill would pass that said it would affect some 300 independent bookstores around the state. Where’s the Texas Association of Business when you really need them?

The Austin Chronicle had a story of its own from the day the lawsuit was filed.

On BookPeople’s HB 900 FAQ page, CEO Charley Rejsek writes, “Setting aside for the moment the fact that this law is clearly unconstitutional, booksellers do not see a clear path forward to rating the content of the thousands of titles sold to schools in the past, nor the thousands of titles that are published each year that could be requested by a school for purchase, neither do we have the training nor funding needed to do so.” Rejsek told the Statesman that the workload created by the law is “bad for small business”: Small independent bookstores simply don’t have the resources to review every book a school orders, which she fears would affect the business they could do with local schools.

Furthermore, the definitions of “sexually relevant” and “sexually explicit” are so vague as to be impossible for booksellers to determine. The plaintiffs point out that the definition of “sexual conduct” in the penal code seemingly encompasses any sexual-related topic, which they fundamentally oppose, as the subjective standards restrict students’ access to knowledge. The book ban does exempt material “related to the curriculum,” but there is no statewide standard for curriculum, so “it would be unclear what is ‘related to’ it,” the plaintiffs write.

The law defines “sexually explicit material” as anything “sexually relevant” presented “in a way that is patently offensive,” as defined by the penal code, which requires plaintiffs to determine whether a book is “so offensive on its face as to affront current community standards of decency.” Plaintiffs ask, which community’s standards? Is it “based on Austin, Texas, or Onalaska, Texas – or any of the more than 1,200 incorporated municipalities across Texas”? The law would also require booksellers to recall all “sexually explicit” or “relevant” books they have already sold to schools, placing additional administrative burden on them.

[…]

Ultimately, writes Rejsek, “booksellers should not be put in the position of broadly determining what best serves all Texan communities. Each community is individual and has different needs. Setting local guidelines is not the government’s job either. It is the local librarian’s and teacher’s job, in conjunction with the community they serve.”

Just a note here that the two authors of this bill were Sen. Angela Paxton, who is up for election next year in a moderately competitive district and who also believes that there should be absolutely no exceptions to Texas’ abortion law, and Rep. Jared Patterson, who is also in a moderately competitive district and who filed a ton of obnoxious bills like this one this past session. You want to channel some energy into electoral activism, there are two good avenues for you right there. In the meantime, let’s hope for a good ruling in the courts.

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Paxton’s lawyers seek to dismiss most impeachment charges

Posted on August 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

They’re defense lawyers, it’s what they do.

A crook any way you look

Lawyers for suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton requested Monday that all but one of 20 articles of impeachment be dismissed, arguing his removal would “override the will of the people” who elected him with knowledge of his alleged misconduct.

In a separate filing to the court of impeachment, Paxton’s team also requested that his trial before the Texas Senate exclude any evidence of “any alleged conduct” that occurred prior to January 2023, when his third term in office began.

The second filing — which comes as all parties are under a strict gag order barring most public comment on the proceedings and evidence — also blasted the House impeachment managers as “aggressive, reckless and misleading” with “little to no evidence whatsoever” to support their allegations against Paxton.

In their motion to dismiss, Paxton’s lawyers argued that almost all of the allegations outlined by House investigators were known to voters at the time of his most recent election, and that his impeachment would thus negate the will of Texas voters.

They also argued that Paxton’s impeachment would run afoul of the “prior-term doctrine,” which they said bars statewide officials from being impeached for conduct that predates their most recent election.

“With only a single exception, the articles (of impeachment) allege nothing that Texas voters have not heard from the Attorney General’s political opponents for years,” Paxton’s team wrote. “The alleged acts underlying 19 of the Articles took place before the Attorney General’s most recent election and were highly publicized.”

The unchallenged article against Paxton is related to the $3.3 million lawsuit settlement he reached with whistleblowers who were fired from his office after reporting Paxton to law enforcement for bribery and other alleged wrongdoing. The House’s investigation into Paxton began earlier this year, after he asked the Legislature to pay for the lawsuit settlement.

[…]

Paxton has previously argued that the “prior-term doctrine” bars his impeachment because a Texas constitutional provision prohibits officeholders from being “removed from office for an act the officer may have committed before the officer’s election to office.”

In the Monday filing, Paxton’s attorneys cited a series of cases in which the doctrine was argued, including the 1893 impeachment of Land Commissioner Colonel W.L. McGaughey and the 1917 impeachment of Gov. James “Pa” Ferguson, who unsuccessfully tried to use the doctrine to dismiss four of 21 impeachment articles he faced.

They also stated that they plan to show that most of the allegations against Paxton were “highly publicized not only at the time, but for years prior” to his 2022 election.

“Texas voters elected Attorney General Paxton despite those public allegations — so they have the last word,” Paxton’s lawyers wrote.

Some experts, including the Texas District and County Attorneys Association, have thrown cold water on Paxton’s claims about the doctrine — which is also known as the “forgiveness doctrine” — saying that it has historically been applied only to the removal of local officials.

“It does not appear there is any authority applying the ‘forgiveness’ doctrine to a state official like the AG,” the organization said in a May tweet.

See here for some background. We’re dealing with hundred-plus year-old precedent here, so who knows. Dan Patrick will rule on the motions, and a simple majority of the Senate can vote to dismiss any or all of these charges, so we ought to get a good feel for how this will go right out of the gate. Dan Patrick has been talking about a two or three week trial, but I assume that wouldn’t be the case if the bulk of the charges went away. Again, who knows.

Via the DMN, you can see the motions – one claims the bulk of his “alleged” corruption occurred before the last election and thus is off limits for impeachment, and the other asks for evidence of said corruption to be excluded, which is either a necessary complement or the fallback position, I’m not lawyerly enough to say. The prosecution has until August 15 to file its response, so we’ll see how they attack this. I can’t wait. TPR, Reform Austin, and the Press have more.

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More criticism of HISD’s library policies

Posted on August 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This isn’t going away.

Prominent Houston political and faith leaders on Monday denounced Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles’ plan to convert some libraries into discipline centers, adding to the growing chorus of critics opposing the change.

Members of Congress, Houston City Council and high-profile religious institutions joined Mayor Sylvester Turner — already on record opposing the move — in describing the state-appointed superintendent’s plan as an attack on lower-income communities of color.

Teachers at dozens of campuses Miles has targeted for overhaul will send misbehaving students to the library — fashioned into what he has dubbed “Team Centers” — to learn virtually. Meanwhile, Miles is eliminating librarians and media specialists from 28 “New Education System,” or NES, campuses undergoing the most dramatic changes.

The strategy has drawn national media attention in recent days and infuriated much of the city’s Democratic political leadership. U.S. Rep. Al Green, D-Houston, said Monday at a City Hall press conference that the elimination of librarians is a move toward the “resegregation of society.”

“I drank from the colored water fountain,” Green said. “I know what it’s like to have to sit in the balcony of the movie, in the back of the bus. I don’t want to go back to that. … (Mayor Turner) is taking the necessary steps to deal with this incremental step that is going to take us backwards. We’ve got to stop it here.”

Miles, appointed to the position in June by Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath as part of sweeping state sanctions against the district, remains committed to his plan. Miles has said the strategy will create better learning conditions for students and allow the district to redirect more resources to classroom instruction.

In a statement released minutes before Monday’s gathering of civic leaders, Miles said he “cannot and will not govern the state’s largest school district by press conference or press release.”

“The time for politics is over, and we will not be distracted by intentional misinformation,” Miles said.

While civic leaders can speak out against Miles’ proposals, they have no legal authority to force him to change course. Only members of HISD’s state-appointed school board — who Morath can replace at any time — have that power. All nine board members did not respond Monday to a request for comment about the library strategy.

[…]

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, said Monday that Miles’ plan reminds her of being forced to sit in the back of a segregated train as a child. In reference to Miles’ comments Monday, the long-tenured member of Congress and current mayoral candidate said she has “never received a statement like that from any superintendent of any school district.”

While librarians will be cut from some campuses, books will remain on the shelves and available for checkout on an honor system, Miles told the Houston Chronicle. But that doesn’t ease the worries of Houston City Councilmember Karla Cisneros, who called the move “an attack on communities of color.”

“Librarians are teachers, and they are some of the very best teachers,” Cisneros said. “If this is a way to cut on expenses, it is incredibly short-sighted. And it is a blow to students who are already living with the inequities that come with poverty or being a person of color.”

See here and here for some background. I had speculated before that Mike Miles might have blown off Mayor Turner on the grounds that Turner will be out of office in a few months. Given that Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is also critical of his announced policy, this controversy may well extend beyond that point anyway. I wonder if Sen. John Whitmire will address this.

It is certainly true that the Mayor and City Council have no authority over HISD and can’t affect its policies. But they can make noise and influence public opinion. Of course, how much public opinion matters is debatable, since the public has no mechanism for replacing any of the people who currently have the power to influence this. I will say again, if Mike Miles wants anything that he does here to outlast him, he might consider a bit of public relations in his approach. So far I see little evidence of that happening.

Finally, speaking of evidence, my friend Denise, who is an actual HISD librarian, left this comment on my earlier post, citing numerous studies that do show a link between school libraries staffed with certified librarians and a positive effect on test scores. If Miles’ justification for this kind of cost cutting is that it doesn’t further the goal of improving student outcomes, then what data does he have in his corner? The Press has more.

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Federal judge temporarily blocks Arkansas book censorship law

Posted on August 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Hopefully a good omen.

On Saturday, a federal judge in Arkansas temporarily blocked a new law that would have allowed local prosecutors to file felony charges against school and public librarians who loaned out material considered considered “harmful to minors.” The law—which also created a new process to challenge the “appropriateness” of books and force them to be moved to shelves inaccessible by minors—is punishable by up to six years in prison or fines of $10,000.

The preliminary injunction, issued two days before the law was set to take effect, comes in response to a lawsuit filed by a coalition including bookstores, library patrons, and public libraries in Little Rock, Fayetteville, and Eureka Springs. The libraries and bookstores argued they would be forced to remove all books from their young adult and general collections that mention sex or sexual conduct, or else ban all minors from entering their spaces.

In his ruling, US District Judge Timothy L. Brooks wrote that the law likely violated plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights. “There is no clarity on what affirmative steps a bookseller or librarian must take to avoid a violation,” Brooks wrote.  The new law set out a “a poorly defined method to challenge the ‘appropriateness’ of a book, be it a children’s book or an adult book,” the judge added added. “If the law is intended to protect minors, it is not narrowly tailored to that purpose.”

Nate Coulter, executive director of Central Arkansas Library System, praised the decision to Politico, saying the judge had correctly recognized the the law as censorship. “As folks in southwest Arkansas say, this order is stout as horseradish!” he wrote.

The Arkansas case differs in a number of respects from the just-filed Texas lawsuit, but they’re in the same family. I briefly skimmed the opinion, which is embedded at the link in the story, and it’s clear that Arkansas’s position was a whole lot of argle-bargle up-is-downism, and the judge just did not have it. We can certainly hope for something similar here. Politico has more.

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July 2023 campaign finance reports: City of Houston, part 4

Posted on July 31, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Previously:
Congress
SD15
City of Houston, part 1
Harris County
City of Houston, part 2
City of Houston, part 3

January finance reports for city of Houston candidates are here. This post will look at the Controller candidates. I’ll have one more of these to present, to give you various other reports of interest.


Name             Raised      Spent    Loans    On Hand
======================================================
Hollins         540,712    946,692        0    639,806
Nobles           64,458     30,975   50,000     94,246
Martin            1,850      7,375        0    152,495
Sanchez

As a reminder, the Erik Manning spreadsheet has your candidate listings. All of the files I’ve reviewed can be found in this Google folder.

This one is short and sweet, with four candidates but only three reports. Chris Hollins is the big dog, thanks to the fundraising he did from his Mayoral campaign. I assume he’ll continue to pass the hat around, but in the meantime if I were him I’d be shooting TV ads to blanket the airwaves with. Start with a simple “Hi, I’m Chris Hollins, you may remember me from bringing you drive-through voting in the 2020 election when we were all trying not to catch COVID. Now I’m running for City Controller and I promise to do the same great job bringing you transparency to the city’s finances. Vote for me, Chris Hollins, for City Controller.” I mean, any questions?

As for Shannan Nobles and Dave Martin, who have some money but won’t have the kind of money to compete with that, I’d remind everyone I spoke to that unlike some candidates, I was in the Controller’s race from the jump, and I have experience with the city’s finances and won’t have to learn the job on the job. You’ll have to do a lot of talking because in person and door-to-door campaigning just doesn’t have the same reach, but radio and cable and mailers are an option for you. You’re hoping to make it to an runoff, that’s the goal. Anything can happen in a runoff.

And then there’s Orlando Sanchez, who didn’t file a report, possibly because he wasn’t in the race before July 1. You are either the type of person who votes for Orlando Sanchez even though there are other choices available, or you are not. You already know this about yourself, and you don’t need anyone else telling you anything about the race to know it. Just show up and ask yourself “Is Orlando Sanchez on the ballot?”, and go from there. Shannan Nobles and Dave Martin need to get more votes than that.

Next up are outgoing incumbents, some former candidates, and a couple of PACs. After that I’ll look at the HISD and HCC races, and then we’re done for the July reporting cycle.

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Will Dallas join the Death Star litigation?

Posted on July 31, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It remains to be seen.

That’s no moon…

Council members Chad West and Adam Bazaldua told The Dallas Morning News that they know of no plans as of Thursday for Dallas to get involved in the legal challenge of HB 2127, but both said they would support the city joining efforts to overturn the new law.

“I absolutely think we should,” said West, who represents North Oak Cliff. “It’s a huge overreach when we on the local level are the ones who most understand what our constituents are demanding and what they want. There’s a reason it was called the ‘Death Star’ bill.”

[…]

Whether Dallas will actually join the lawsuit is still up in the air as of Thursday. Interim City Attorney Tammy Palomino didn’t respond to a request for comment on Dallas’ plans. Catherine Cuellar, Dallas’ communications, outreach and marketing director said the city hasn’t yet settled on a plan to move forward.

“We continue to review all our options,” she said.

[…]

Council members Jaime Resendez, Tennell Atkins, Paula Blackmon and Gay Donnell Willis told The News that the City Council hasn’t been briefed on options by the city attorney’s office since Houston sued the state on July 3
arguing HB 2127 was unconstitutional and unenforceable. San Antonio joined the suit on Monday.

Resendez, Atkins, Blackmon and Willis said they wanted to consult with the city attorney before publicly saying whether Dallas should join in the litigation.

“On the merits, of course I want to preserve home-rule and the rights of cities and the rights for us to conduct business,” said Blackmon, who represents parts of East Dallas including the White Rock Lake area. “But there’s more to all of this that we need to discuss.”

Council member Cara Mendelsohn declined to comment on the matter. Mayor Eric Johnson and the remaining seven city council members didn’t respond to a request for comment.

See here, here, and here for the background. You know where I stand on this, so you know what I hope Dallas decides to do. I asked Ginger about this and her take was “not gonna happen”. I hope she’s mistaken, but it would be nice to have some more impetus here. At the very least, it would be nice to hear from Mayor Johnson. If you live in Dallas, feel free to contact your Council member about this. Heck, if you live in any other city, do the same. Like I said, we need unity and a show of force. Let’s get some places off the fence.

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A brief Nate Paul update

Posted on July 31, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

For those of you who like this sort of thing. You know who you are.

The Texas Supreme Court denied an appeal on Friday by indicted real estate developer Nate Paul to reverse a judgment against him worth millions of dollars in his case opposing the Mitte charitable foundation. The clash mired both sides in a protracted legal battle and roped Paul into allegations against impeached and suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The Roy F. and Joann Cole Mitte Foundation invested millions in Paul’s World Class companies in 2011. Following a dispute over access to World Class’s financial records and getting their money back, the Mitte Foundation sued Paul’s companies in 2018. In July 2019, the parties reached a settlement agreement to have World Class buy Mitte’s interest in the companies for $10.5 million, according to court records.

Within days of that agreement, the FBI raided Paul’s headquarters, and the agreement collapsed. That federal investigation, which is unrelated to the Mitte lawsuit, led to Paul’s indictment in June 2023 on eight counts of making false statements and reports to lending institutions while seeking over $172 million in loans, according to federal records. Paul has pleaded not guilty to all counts, and a trial is set for July 2024.

In February 2021, an arbitrator sided with the Mitte Foundation on its claims of breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty and awarded Mitte over $1.9 million in damages. The arbitrator also ordered World Class to terminate the limited partnership companies involved in the case, sell their properties and “directed that Mitte receive its pro-rated share of the profits,” according to a memorandum opinion from the Texas Third District Court of Appeals.

Paul fought the judgment and awards in the case, on various grounds.

Paul later appealed the case to the Texas Supreme Court. Friday’s decision will put an end to the case, said Mitte Foundation attorney Ray Chester with McGinnis Lochridge.

“The Texas Supreme Court, in today’s ruling, put an end to the frivolous appeals of Mr. Nate Paul and the thirteen different law firms he has employed,” Chester said in a statement. “Our arbitration judgment against Mr. Paul personally is affirmed, and the receiver can now proceed to close the sales of the partnership properties which will result in a significant additional recovery for our client, the Roy F. and Joann Cole Mitte Foundation. This will allow the Mitte Foundation to continue and expand their tireless philanthropic efforts.”

See here for some background. Paul has bigger problems now. I don’t think this ties into the bigger picture in any way, but it’s a news item that related to stuff I had blogged about before, so there you go.

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Weekend link dump for July 30

Posted on July 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

“The ocean is turning green. Yes, it’s climate change.”

“A Mysterious Object in Deep Space Has Blinked Every 22 Minutes for Over 30 Years”.

“One Georgia County Perfectly Demonstrates The Republican Party’s Dramatic About-Face On Mail-In Voting”.

“It is never too early for a case to involve Republicans pointing fingers at each other.”

RIP, Josephine Chaplin, actor and daughter of Charlie Chaplin.

Cry harder.

Cry harder.

Cry harder.

Cry harder.

“Some people just want the privacy to unwind with a handful of pudding.”

“As I mentioned elsewhere, it seems sort of silly to grieve a brand identity, but it’s not about the bird, it about the fact that Twitter was a place, with people, and now that place is gone. Musk took a city with thriving neighborhoods and decided to run a fucking interstate through the most interesting parts of it, and the interstate doesn’t actually go anywhere good; it just runs from Bitcoin Town to Fascistburg.”

“They’re the names you don’t know. Hollywood’s ‘journeyman’ actors explain why they are striking”.

RIP, Pamela Blair, stage and screen actor who originated the role of Valerie “Dance: Ten, Looks: Three” on Broadway in A Chorus Line.

RIP, Carlin Glynn, stage and screen actor who won a Tony in her Broadway debut as madam Mona Stangley in The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas; she is also the mother of actor Mary Stuart Masterson and widow of actor/writer/director Peter Masterson, who co-wrote and co-directed “Whorehouse”. Also, Pamela Blair was in that same original “Whorehouse” cast; it was a rough week for that show. Glynn went to high school in Houston and got her start at our Alley Theater. Oh, and she was Molly Ringwald’s mom in Sixteen Candles.

At least five Jeopardy! winners won’t cross the picket line for Tournament Of Champions.

What Elizabeth Spiers says.

Wishing Bronny James all the best.

“Oppenheimer reportedly got a boost in the box office during its opening weekend thanks to last-minute Barbie-viewing hopefuls facing sold-out theaters.” So once again, suck it, whiners.

Bankrupt them.

“Decades of public messages about recycling in the US have crowded out more sustainable ways to manage waste”.

“Olivia Pichardo becomes first woman to homer in NY wood bat league”.

RIP, Sinéad O’Connor, Irish singer and activist. As a reminder, Sinéad O’Connor was 100% right about the Catholic Church.

“If you put this all together, it’s not a series of individual mini-scandals. It’s a generation of young Republican operatives who are fanning out into campaigns, congressional offices and think tanks. They present as edgy young conservatives but are actually wholly immersed in a world of digital racism, incel-drenched misogyny and fascist-curious strongman worship.”

RIP, Randy Meisner, bassist and founding member of The Eagles.

“On July 26, 1973, ZZ Top offered “Tres Hombres,” which included “La Grange,” a single that almost hit the Top 40 and remains one of the band’s best-known songs. Here are seven things to know about this landmark album with commentary from Gibbons this year and from Hill in 2020, a year before his death.” Worth the click just for the photo of the band from 1970.

RIP, David Feldman, former City Attorney for Houston. I met him once or twice and know his son Cris, who helped me with some blog-related legal questions awhile back. My condolences to his family.

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 1 Comment

The Trib on the “political dominoes” of the Mayor’s race

Posted on July 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A lot of what’s in here is stuff we already know. I want to focus on this bit from later on:

Sen. John Whitmire

“I think both Whitmire and Jackson Lee are kind of institutions in town, so the fact that there could be two open seats — a state Senate and a congressional seat, which is rare — I think there’s going to be a lot of people lining up to get into those races,” said Michael Kolenc, a Houston-based Democratic strategist who is not working for any of the candidates. “I think candidates would be wise to look at the calendar and start early.”

The toughest scenario may be if the mayoral runoff falls after the filing deadline for the 2024 primary, meaning Whitmire and Jackson Lee could have to decide whether to seek reelection before knowing the outcome of the mayoral race. The last time there was a mayoral runoff in Houston — in 2019 — it came five days after the filing deadline for the following year’s primaries.

Under a law passed during the latest regular legislative session, House Bill 357, the runoff would have to fall on a Saturday between 30 and 45 days after the November election. That leaves two options, Dec. 9 and 16 — one date falling before the filing deadline and the other after.

[…]

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee

At least two Democrats have launched campaigns for Senate District 15. The first in was Karthik Soora, a renewable energy developer, followed by Molly Cook, an emergency room nurse who challenged Whitmire in the 2022 primary, receiving 42% of the vote as Whitmire’s only opponent.

Both Cook and Soora say they are running regardless of what Whitmire decides to do.

“I’ve had this conversation with a million people, but for me it makes no difference at all,” Cook said in an interview, adding that she “never stopped running” after her 2022 campaign.

Both indicate they would bring a more progressive perspective to the seat than Whitmire.

“I think that what we see with the Texas Legislature, with the attorney general’s impeachment, is that people are sick of this establishment that’s not serving them,” Soora said in an interview, pitching himself as a “real Democrat.”

As for Jackson Lee’s seat, she has held it since first winning election in 1994, when she beat former U.S. Rep. Craig Washington in the Democratic primary. It was last open in 1989, when Washington won a special election to fill the vacancy left by the death of U.S. Rep. Mickey Leland.

Edwards is the most prominent Democrat already running for Jackson Lee’s seat. The former Houston City Council member and 2020 U.S. Senate candidate was running for mayor until she dropped out In June, switched to the congressional race and endorsed Jackson Lee for mayor.

“I do think Congresswoman Jackson Lee can win the race and certainly anticipate that her seat will be the one that becomes open,” Edwards said. Still, she added, she “will remain in the CD-18 race even if Congresswoman Jackson Lee decides to pursue CD-18 again.”

Edwards has already raised more than $600,000 for her congressional campaign and has been endorsed by Higher Heights for America PAC, a national political action committee that works to elect Black progressive women. The group has also endorsed Jackson Lee for mayor.

First, let me remind everyone that there would be special elections in either or both of these districts, depending on whether the loser in the runoff (yes, I’m assuming it will be a Whitmire/SJL runoff) also steps down from their existing post. Some of that action would happen right around the same time as the 2024 primary. It will be a huge pileup no matter how you look at it.

Now then. We knew already that Karthik Soora and Molly Cook intended to stay in the SD15 primary regardless of what happens. One might be a little surprised to hear Amanda Edwards being so forthright about intending to run in CD18 regardless of Rep. Jackson Lee’s status, but that was the whole point of jumping straight into CD18 once she departed the Mayor’s race. It’s still early and things can happen, but I’m taking them all at their word.

The factor that I was not aware of before now was this new law affecting when the runoff date may be. As far as I can tell by looking at the text, there are two differences. One is that the runoff must be at least 30 days after the election, not 20; the maximum time is 45 days after the election. The other is that the Secretary of State sets the runoff date; I can’t tell from the existing law who had that power before; maybe it was the City Secretary.

I don’t think this changes a lot, in the sense that the usual runoff date for city elections has been the second Saturday of December. That would be December 9 this year, which is two days before the primary filing deadline of December 11. The point is that the runoff could also be on December 16, in which case Whitmire and Jackson Lee would have to decide about 2024 before they know about 2023. I don’t know why the runoff date would be a week later than usual, but it could be, and so we have to consider it.

As to other candidates jumping in, that’s certainly a possibility, but keep in mind that for many potential candidates, to do so would mean giving up the seat they currently have. State Reps would have to file for something other than their current office. Houston City Council members would have to resign to run. That at least puts up some obstacles for a number of serious potential contenders. I agree with Michael Kolenc that anyone who doesn’t already have some resources available to them needs to get started soon, as both Edwards and the SD15 contenders have a head start. I just don’t know offhand who those folks might be.

Posted in Election 2023, Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The stunning arrogance of Team Paxton

Posted on July 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Even for a cynic like me, this is breathtaking.

A crook any way you look

Rep. Jeff Leach was “pissed off.”

He had just found out that Ken Paxton wanted $3.3 million to settle a lawsuit with a group of whistleblowers who’d accused him of corruption and retaliation. Leach, a Collin County Republican like Paxton, considered the Texas attorney general a friend — one he fiercely defended in the past.

But asking the Legislature to pony up the money was too much. On Feb. 10, he texted Michelle Smith, Paxton’s senior advisor, and urged the state’s top lawyer to come to the Capitol and publicly explain himself.

“Legislators have questions and we want answers. If we get the satisfactory answers, then all will be fine,” Leach wrote to Smith, according to copies of the messages The Dallas Morning News obtained through public records requests.

“I don’t think y’all understand how pissed members are, including many of your conservative friends in the house and senate. I don’t know a single legislator who believes taxpayers should be expected to be on the hook for this,” he added.

Smith balked.

“What happened to, ‘I will work with him until the day I die?” she responded in the text thread, urging Leach to speak directly with Paxton. “If he’s a friend get the full story.”

“The Christian thing to do is to ask what’s going on in Private. If you don’t like the answer then do whatever public,” she added later in that conversation.

“You’re really gonna go there with me?!” Leach fired back. “This is on Ken. Not on me. I’m doing my job. I will be calling a public hearing and he and I can have the conversation on the record.”

“You do you,” Smith replied.

You know what happened from there. The story describes how the text exchanges between Leach and Smith got more barbed and personal, and it’s kind of amazing to watch – go read the texts for yourself to get the flavor. The story also notes how through the entire back and forth between the Lege and Paxton’s office over paying for the settlement, it was always someone else speaking on Paxton’s behalf and never Paxton himself. Paxton would sometimes deign to attend a committee hearing but he never spoke, even when legislators asked him questions directly. This is what I mean by “arrogance”. I noted it as a possible catalyst for the impeachment way back at the beginning of this whole mess.

This is another situation in which I wonder if anyone, in this cases at the AG’s office, knows how to do politics in even the most basic way. I can’t tell if Paxton and his minions don’t realize that he could have avoided all of this if he’d just acted like a grownup and talked to the Appropriations committee like he was asked to, or if they do know that and still think he shouldn’t have had to talk to these commoners about all of that unpleasantness. This isn’t about ideology or making the rounds on the wingnut media circuit, it’s basic human relations. The Legislature – quite rightly, quite reasonably , quite understandably – wants to do its normal thing in the appropriations process, and that means asking the man himself why they should pay for this settlement. Someone who understood politics at the most basic level would show up, be direct and forthright and a little self-deprecating, with some humor and a bit of self-awareness, and in the end they’d have gotten most if not all of what they wanted. Really, truly, this is not rocket science.

The best part of all this is now we have Tony Buzbee braying about how the Lege did all this in secret (to be fair, they did catch us by surprise when the General Investigations Committee had its hearing) and never gave Paxton the chance to defend himself, when in reality from the beginning he’s refused to say a damn thing. Every step of the way, he brought this on himself. Whatever happens in the Senate, let’s not forget that. Reform Austin has more.

Posted in Scandalized!, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The traffic signal control cabinet mural program is back

Posted on July 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A bit of cool news from the inbox:

The Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs (MOCA) is proud to announce that its signature Traffic Signal Control Cabinet Mural Program is back in operation after a one-year hiatus. The program, also known as “TSCC Mural Program,” began in 2015 to curb graffiti in neighborhoods and serve as a gateway for artists to engage in civic art.

“I am delighted to see the Traffic Signal Control Cabinet Mural Program back,” says Mayor Sylvester Turner. “I am excited to see the new murals that will be painted across the city. These murals not only delight the senses of our residents, but also add to the unique character of our neighborhoods. They are part of what makes Houston an Art City—a cultural mecca filled with works of art for all to enjoy.”

Underground Planet Art Studio, also known as UP Art Studio, has been a longstanding partner since the beginning and has been instrumental in establishing the TSCC Mural Program. They have even coined the term, “Mini Murals” for cabinet murals to which they provide project management.

On July 26th, 2023, the Mayor and Council approved a new City contract with UP Art Studio. The Latin American-owned studio, founded by Houston artist couple Elia and Noah Quiles, has a long history of creating murals of all kinds throughout the city, including the Montrose Rainbow Crosswalk, the latest asphalt art project in Gulfton, and the couple’s annual Big Walls, Big Dreams Mural festival. They also manage the interactive and informative website, Houstonmuralmap.com.

With the approval by City Council, comes the arrival of new murals to neighborhoods across Houston. As part of Mayor Sylvester Turner’s commitment to investing in more public artwork across the city through the Complete Communities Initiative, 20 new mini murals will be created in areas of the city that have been historically disadvantaged and lack public art. Four mini murals are planned in each of the following neighborhoods: Fort Bend Houston, Magnolia/Manchester, Kashmere Gardens, Sunnyside, and Alief/Westwood.

To paint a TSCC mural, MOCA requires that Houston-area artists are hired and strongly encourages engagement with community on mural design. Cabinets can be sponsored either by Council District offices, City departments, individuals, communities, businesses, or organizations.

Interested parties can now inquire by first identifying a cabinet’s location and submitting it through an inquiry form. For more information on the TSCC Mural program, visit the FAQ for the program, here.

These are all over town and they are delightful, as you can see from the embedded image. Here’s a photo of one in my neighborhood I took while it was still a work in progress. That was taken in 2016, and in case you can’t tell it became a portrait of Ann Richards. Anyway, I’m glad to see this program get restarted. I hope to see more new ones out an about soon.

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First (and hopefully only) sore loser election contest lawsuit begins Tuesday

Posted on July 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

What a slog this has been.

Republicans who have spent the past nine months questioning Harris County’s November elections will have their day in court Tuesday when the first of 21 lawsuits aimed at overturning the results will go to trial.

GOP judicial candidate Erin Lunceford lost to incumbent 189th-District Judge Tamika Craft by 2,743 votes — a 0.26 percent margin, much narrower than most of the contested races in which some candidates trailed the winners by up to 35,000 votes. The fate of the other 20 cases could depend on whether Lunceford’s attorneys are able to convince a judge that a shortage of ballot paper on Election Day, along with a myriad of other alleged problems, impacted enough votes that the winner of the race is uncertain.

Judge David Peeples, a visiting judge from San Antonio, is overseeing the 21 Harris County election contest lawsuits.

Attorneys representing candidates involved in the lawsuit did not respond to requests for an interview.

However, Andy Taylor, Lunceford’s attorney, told the Houston Chronicle in April that he was not depending solely on an Election Day ballot paper shortage to persuade the judge to throw out the election results for his client.

In fact, most of Taylor’s strategy is now aimed at other voting issues, according to First Assistant County Attorney Jonathan Fombonne, who represents Harris County, which is not a party to the lawsuit.

“What (Taylor) is trying to prove is that there were a bunch of illegally cast votes, mostly votes that are what we call non-traditional ballots, as in provisional ballots, ballots by mail, or ballots that were cast with statements of residence should not have been accepted,” Fombonne said.

[…]

In court filings, Lunceford’s attorneys have argued for throwing out ballots cast by voters who arrived at the polls during the extended time, as well as thousands of other provisional ballots they claim should not have been counted.

Ultimately, the question of whether alleged problems resulted from mistakes or malfeasance will not be relevant in the trial, Fombonne said.

“The election contests don’t turn on malfeasance,” Fombonne said. “You could have malfeasance; you could just have a simple mistake. The issue is, did the person who won the election actually win the election? And if you can show that it was because of malfeasance, it doesn’t get you any further than if you can show that it was because of some mistake.”

When Lunceford’s team originally filed the lawsuit, their argument was based primarily on the ballot paper shortages, Fombonne said.

“The crux of the trial has transformed completely by challenging forms of ID, signatures, addresses and things like that that we believe are mostly completely false,” Fombonne said.

See here for the most recent update. It’s hilarious, pathetic, and completely predictable that Andy Taylor would move on from the original evidence-free hypotheticals to his old playbook of claiming that the votes were somehow illegal. Don’t forget Rule #1 around here, which is never believe a word Andy Taylor says.

My expectation is the Taylor will try to kick up a bunch of dust and hope that enough of it gets into everyone’s eyes. I suppose the absolute worst case scenario here is that there would need to be some number of do-over elections, which is too chaotic and wild to even contemplate. I do agree with the statement Mark Jones made at the end of the story, which is that if Erin Lunceford, whose margin of defeat was much smaller than anyone else’s, does not prevail, then the rest of the suits will likely go away. Let’s hope for that outcome.

Posted in Election 2022, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

HPD releases its official report on the AstroWorld tragedy

Posted on July 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Read it and see for yourself.

They looked like rag dolls, Reece Wheeler thought.

One by one, the Astroworld Festival coordinator watched from the command center as unconscious Travis Scott fans’ were crowd-surfed out of the mosh pit and dumped into the sea of bodies raging before one of the biggest rappers in the last decade performed.

The concert hadn’t even begun.

Wheeler texted Shawna Boardman — the festival’s exterior manager of security, a minute before Scott took the stage:

“There’s panic in people’s eyes,” he wrote. “This could get worse quickly.”

“Yes,” Boardman replied.

Wheeler watched in horror over the next hour as no one stopped the concert. Wheeler texted her again:

“I would pull the plug but that’s just me,” he wrote. “I know they’ll try to fight through but I would want it on the record that I didn’t advise this to continue. Someone’s going to end up dead.”

The messages were among thousands of pieces of evidence gathered by the Houston Police Department during its investigation of the Travis Scott Astroworld festival, where 10 fans died and hundreds of others were injured on Nov. 5, 2021. The police department released its complete investigative report Friday.

The 1,266-page document comes on the heels of Scott’s fourth studio album release: “Utopia.”

The police report details for the first time how Scott perceived what was happening mid-performance and what he told police. It contains police interviews with concert promoters, security personnel and other key witnesses that never have been made public before. And it shows, in vivid detail, how no one seemed to know how to stop the tragedy as it unfolded.

Scott had come under fire immediately after the tragedy for continuing to perform for 37 minutes after police and fire officials declared the situation a “mass casualty event.”

Houston police said concert promoter Live Nation had agreed to cut the show short at 9:38 p.m., but Friday’s report indicated Scott did not leave the stage until 10:13 p.m.

Police interviewed two witnesses who said they heard Scott being told in his earpiece that the concert had to end early because there were “bodies on the ground” and that three people had died. Scott told police he didn’t learn of the deaths until after the show, and investigators were unable to understand a recording of the messages relayed to Scott because of the poor quality of the audio.

Scott’s attorney, Kent Schaffer, and Live Nation’s attorney, Neal Manne, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

On June 29, a grand jury declined to indict Scott and five other individuals for their roles in the 2021 tragedy after a 19-month investigation. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said the grand jury “found that no crime did occur, that no single individual was criminally responsible.”

The tragedy happened after Scott took the stage on the first night of the two-day festival. Victims were pinned against barriers after thousands squeezed together, investigators said at the June 29 media briefing.

A year after the tragedy, the Houston Chronicle reported no new regulations or standards regarding security, venues or event planning that could help prevent a similar fatal incident had been adopted by the city or Harris County.

The festival took place at NRG Park, which is county property managed by the Harris County Sports and Convention Corp. The complex, however, is within the jurisdiction of the Houston police and fire departments. A joint city-county task joint task force later was convened to clarify jurisdiction in cases with overlapping authority.

See here for the previous update. There’s a lot more in the story, and of course there’s the 1266-page report that HPD Chief Troy Finner has encouraged us all to “dig in” to. Houston Landing has provided some key takeaways, and the impression I get is that there was a lot of chaos, communications weren’t as clear as they could have been, and there were opportunities missed to prevent what happened. The grand jury concluded there was no criminal element, but I’ll bet that the attorneys representing the many plaintiffs who have sued Scott and LiveNation and others will be reading all this very closely. Discovery in those cases will almost surely tell us a quite a bit that we don’t yet know. The Chron has more.

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Colorado to return to the Big XII

Posted on July 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s about to be the Big XIII, not that they will ever call it that, nor stay at that number. But it’s my blog and I can call it as I see it.

The University of Colorado will leave the Pac-12 for the Big 12 after the 2023-24 season, as the school formalized its future membership in the Big 12 on Thursday. The Colorado Board of Regents voted unanimously in favor of the move during a public videoconference, completing the final step in a process that for the past 24 hours has largely been considered a formality.

“The time has come for us to change conferences,” Colorado president Todd Saliman told the Board of Regents on Thursday afternoon. “We see this as a way to create more opportunity for the University of Colorado, for our students and our student-athletes and create a path forward for us in the future.”

Colorado’s departure will coincide with the end of the Pac-12 television deal, which expires after the 2023-24 season, which means Colorado won’t have to pay any exit fee. Colorado is expected to join the Big 12 at a pro rata basis, which is an average of $31.7 million in television revenue over the course of the league’s new deal starting in 2025.

“Let me state up front that this move was not just based on money or finances,” said Colorado athletic director Rick George. “A decision this big has a lot more to do than just money.”

George and Colorado chancellor Phil DiStefano, who spoke to reporters on Thursday evening at a press conference on campus, emphasized their desire for stability, but also spoke about the draw of competing in three different time zones, and the national exposure they’ll get from ESPN and FOX as major factors.

[…]

Colorado’s decision is the latest blow to the Pac-12, which loses both USC and UCLA to the Big Ten in 2024 and is amid a contracted process of landing a new television deal. Pac-12 leadership is expected to meet with presidents Thursday night to discuss that league’s next steps, sources told ESPN.

Colorado’s swift announcement came less than a week after Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff said he wasn’t concerned about the Big 12 trying to poach any teams.

“It’s not a concern,” he said last week at Pac-12 media day in Las Vegas, addressing the topic publicly for the first time this year. “Our schools are committed to each other and the Pac-12. We’ll get our media rights deal done, we’ll announce the deal. I think the realignment that’s going on in college athletics will come to an end for this cycle.”

Colorado’s George was asked on Thursday about the timing of the school’s decision, given Kliavkoff’s recent comments.

“Do I think I caught my peers off guard?” he said. “I don’t believe so, but that’s a question you have to ask them.”

The Buffaloes had emerged as the loudest skeptics of Kliavkoff’s ability to land a reasonable television deal. School officials from Colorado met in person with Big 12 officials at a neutral site in early May, per ESPN sources.

George insisted that Colorado’s decision “wasn’t about” any failures by the Kliavkoff or frustrations with a lack of a media rights deal.

“George Kliavkoff is doing as good a job as he can do, and he works his ass off and works tirelessly for the members of the Pac-12,” George said. ” … but this decision wasn’t about that. It was about this, and that’s the Big 12 conference and what’s best for CU and CU athletics and our student-athletes, and that’s what we made this decision based on.”

The move marks a return for Colorado to the Big 12, where they were members from 1996 to 2010. According to ESPN’s Stats & Information Group, Colorado is the first team that has left a conference and returned to the same league on its own volition. (Temple was expelled by the Big East after the 2004 season). Colorado left for the Pac-12 in 2011 and has had no bowl wins and just two winning football seasons since the move. Colorado is coming off a 1-11 season and new coach Deion Sanders will coach just one season in the Pac-12.

Kind of amazing. And there’s more to come, one way or another.

The Big 12 officially added four new members — BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF — on July 1 as a means of rebuilding its conference following the scheduled departures of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC on July 1, 2024. The league will consist of 14 teams for the 2023 season before dropping to 13 in 2024 once UT and OU exit and CU enters.

It is believed the Big 12 has been considering further expansion, not only making overtures to other Pac-12 programs but also basketball powerhouses like UConn and Gonzaga, Dodd reported in June. Yormark confirmed at Big 12 Media Days earlier this month that he would prefer to remain at 14 teams, which would require the addition of two schools after the Longhorns and Sooners depart — the Buffaloes and another program.

[…]

Previously, it was believed the Big 12 was interested in not only Colorado but the other so-called “Four Corners” schools from the Pac-12: Arizona, Arizona State and Utah. Whether that interest remains or can be rekindled remains to be seen.

The Big 12 sees the addition of Colorado as separate move from any additional expansion, which would potentially come at a later date, sources tell Dodd.

The move needed to be handled delicately. Because of legal liability, the Big 12 could not be seen as initiating interest with Colorado. Protocol dictates that CU must first apply for membership to join the Big 12 before it can be formally welcomed into the league.

Apparently SMU is hoping to get in on the action as well. Not sure how likely that is, but it’s a reminder that the game of conference dominoes never really ends. Given how there were obituaries for the Big XII being drafted after the UT and OU departures, this is an incredible turnaround for the Big XII. And as noted, the wheel will be spinning at least a little longer. Buckle up.

Posted in Other sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mayor Turner criticizes HISD’s library removals

Posted on July 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest.

Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday blasted Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles’ plan to close dozens of school libraries and turn them into discipline rooms, alleging it was targeted at “selected communities.”

In an impassioned speech at City Council, Turner said the library had given him a view of other worlds during his hardscrabble youth. Turner and council members alleged that the move to shutter libraries was an extension of the Texas Legislature’s book-banning policies.

“You cannot have a situation where you are closing libraries for some schools in certain neighborhoods and there are other neighborhoods where there are libraries, fully equipped. What the hell are you doing?” Turner said.

Turner’s comments represented his most pointed critique yet of Miles, who was appointed by the Texas Education Agency in June as part of its takeover of HISD.

[…]

In an email Wednesday morning, HISD officials said “we understand the significance of certain programs associated with libraries and will strive to maintain those valuable offerings.” Miles previously has defended his idea as a back-to-basics measure that prioritizes spending resources on teachers in some of the city’s highest-need schools.

As mayor, Turner has no direct power to influence policies at the independently-managed school district. However, he used his platform to urge the district’s state-appointed board of managers, many of whom are longtime civic figures in Houston, to reject the proposal.

“If you’re a board of manager, you cannot allow this to happen. If you represent the city in any way, and you are a board of manager, this cannot happen on our watch, because it does not reflect Houston’s values,” Turner said.

[…]

None of the nine HISD board members immediately responded to requests for comment.

Turner also invited Miles to City Hall, because, he said, “you are in Houston, you do not operate in a vacuum.”

See here for the background. I’d recommend that Miles take the Mayor up on his invitation. It would be good PR, you might come to some understanding, and at the very least you really don’t want the most powerful person in the city attacking you like this. Among many other things, he might have enough sway with the Board members to push them into not approving this part of the plan. This issue might also not go away with the end of Turner’s time as Mayor. A little investment in time and schmoozing now might save a bunch of headaches later.

But really, this goes back again to what I’ve been saying about Miles winning trust and getting buy-in. The difference in outcome is between a lasting program that does the things he says and carries on without him, and something that’s written in sand and gets wiped out the minute his ass is out the door. Which one does he want? I’m sure Mike Miles has mantras that he repeats about not being here to be loved, and sure, I get that. All I’m saying is that he doesn’t need to be a villain either, and he would be better off if he made more of an effort to not be one.

UPDATE: sigh

Mayor Sylvester Turner rejected an invitation from Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles to visit campuses Miles is overhauling, accusing the new schools chief Thursday of creating an “apartheid situation” in the district.

Turner said the “gimmick” invitation — released by HISD’s press office Wednesday afternoon after the Mayor blasted Miles’ plans to turn dozens of school libraries into discipline centers — wasn’t for him, but rather the media. Turner said he didn’t see the letter until media outlets began reporting on it.

“I’m not looking to be a photo op with the superintendent when he’s taking the district in the wrong direction,” Turner said Thursday. “If he really wanted to have a conversation, he knew how to pick up the phone, call me or find his way to City Hall and ask to meet with me.”

Sometimes, people who are in political positions or who want to be in political positions claim that they themselves are “not politicians”. Being a politician, or being seen as one, is often viewed negatively by many, for reasons both valid and disingenuous.

The thing is, most successful politicians get to where they are by having a good understanding of people – what they want, what motivates them, and so on. I can tell you, from observing politics and being acquainted with many politicians and people who work with them, any halfway decent politician would not have done what Mike Miles did here. It was at best ham-handed, at worst condescending and out of touch.

Miles should have done what Mayor Turner suggested and reached out to him, by phone or email, to have a conversation, maybe set up a personal meeting, any number of things to get them together and work through differences and find common ground. That’s good politics, but it’s also good basic human interaction. If you’re in a disagreement with someone, an email or call from you to them is much more likely to result in something positive than a public post on Facebook that invites them to come to an event you’re having for other purposes so you can show them why you’re right and they’re wrong. This is not complicated.

At this point, I wonder if Miles is being deliberately antagonistic because what does he care what the Mayor thinks, the Mayor has no power over him anyway, or if he’s just clueless on a turbocharged level and also has no one around him who knows any better. Maybe he just doesn’t have anyone around him to tell him that he’s acting like a fool. I am absolutely boggled by this.

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The long line of shitty people who prop up Ken Paxton

Posted on July 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

There’s no end to these assholes.

A crook any way you look

Hours before the Texas House overwhelmingly voted to impeach Ken Paxton in May, a well-funded supporter of the attorney general issued a threat to his fellow Republicans.

A vote to impeach Paxton, Jonathan Stickland wrote on Twitter, “is a decision to have a primary.”

“Wait till you see my PAC budget,” he later added.

Stickland is the leader of Defend Texas Liberty, a political action committee that has donated millions of dollars to far-right candidates in the state. It is a key part of the constellation of political campaigns, institutions and dark-money groups that a trio of West Texas oil tycoons — Tim Dunn and brothers Farris and Dan Wilks — have pumped small fortunes into as part of a long-term crusade to push Texas to the extreme right.

And, until last month, no state politician had received more money from those groups than Paxton, who has in turn used his office to push ultraconservative priorities while declining to defend state agencies in numerous lawsuits filed by groups connected to Dunn and the Wilks brothers, including those seeking to undermine the state’s campaign finance laws.

Now, with the clock ticking toward Paxton’s September impeachment trial before the Texas Senate, Stickland and his far-right friends are fighting hard and spending big to protect their most important ally — and to stave off a major loss amid their ongoing fight for control of the Texas GOP.

It’s a long story and most of the people mentioned in it are terrible, so read on at your own risk. My hope for acrimony and division is well placed, but it remains to be seen whether that translates to any electoral advantage. As one of the terrible people in this story notes, as nasty and exhausting even to them all of the crap from the oligarchs is, it’s had the desired-to-them effect of making Texas a lot more right wing over the past 20+ years. And it will keep doing so until they start losing elections.

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Dispatches from Dallas, July 28 edition

Posted on July 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think.

This week in news from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, we have a grab bag of news on regular beats: ransomware, Collin County’s favorite hometown Attorney General, six degrees of Clarence Thomas, and more. Plus updates on last week’s police violence story, suburban school districts behaving badly, a Mary Kay convention, a tree burn in East Texas, and last, but not least, a baby klipspringer.

This post was brought to you in part by the music of the late Sinéad O’Connor.

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July 2023 campaign finance reports: City of Houston, part 3

Posted on July 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Previously:
Congress
SD15
City of Houston, part 1
Harris County
City of Houston, part 2

January finance reports for city of Houston candidates are here. This post will look at the various district candidates. I’ll do the Controller’s race and other reports of interest later. Let’s dive in.


Dist Candidate     Raised      Spent     Loan     On Hand
=========================================================
A    Peck          40,675     17,109        0      47,669

B    Jackson       55,275     33,270        0      36,975
B    London         4,757      1,438        0       3,688
B    ElBey
B    Willis

C    Kamin        161,883     75,878        0     347,656
C    Bradley        1,240        447        0         792

D    EvansShabazz  33,145      8,944        0      29,758
D    Ford           1,696      1,696        0           0

E    Flickinger    13,128     18,304  103,000     101,186
E    LemondDixon   18,064      4,276        0      13,871

F    Thomas        64,475      7,121        0     152,041

G    Huffman       83,870     29,302        0     100,467

H    Castillo     100,760     67,065   10,000     120,930
H    ReyesRevilla  30,555      8,950        0     100,463
H    Rivera         3,720      2,754        0         281
H    Stearns

I    Martinez      81,867     38,390        0     116,633
I    Garcia

J    Pollard      308,665     23,605   40,000   1,004,439
J    Sanchez

K    Castex-Tatum  95,345     14,226        0     236,917

?    McGee              0          0        0           0
?    Boozer           985        771        0           0

As a reminder, the Erik Manning spreadsheet has your candidate listings. All of the files I’ve reviewed can be found in this Google folder.

There are only three open district seats, in districts E, H, and I. Of the three, H – my district – looks the most interesting. Just going by the yard signs in my neighborhood it’s a two-person race, with Mario Castillo and Cynthia Reyes Revilla about even by my reckoning. I know nothing about the other two, or about Mark McGee, if he really is running for H.

None of the incumbents appear to have serious challengers. Ivan Sanchez was a candidate for CD07 back in 2018 and he’s been busy on social media, but you know the rule by now – no report, no respect. I met Lloyd Ford at the last HCDP CEC meeting, and I’m always happy to see city candidates show up at events like that, but CM Carolyn Evans-Shabazz is well established, and the electorate in city races tends to be older. This would be a tough nut to crack even if he were raking it in.

Speaking of raking it in, I look at some of the cash on hand totals here and I wonder if we might be seeing a future CD18 candidate in this post. I’m not a fan of Ed Pollard, but we’ve been talking about his extremely vigorous fundraising for some time, and we are way beyond “overkill” for what he needs to win re-election in his district. What he’s doing only makes sense if he’s looking ahead to the next office. At first I thought that might have been Mayor, but it’s clear that’s not the case. Not for now, anyway – that money doesn’t expire, and you figure someone will take a crack at Mayor Whitmire/Jackson Lee in 2027. But CD18 would also make sense, and he’s the only person on the scene who can match up with Amanda Edwards. The downside is that now with the four-year terms, he’d have to resign to run, and I don’t see that happening. But he’s got to be running for something else at some point – CD09? SD13? County Judge? Your guess is as good as mine. We’ll find out eventually.

Anyway. Martha Castex-Tatum and Tiffany Thomas could also throw their hats into CD18, with less money to start out but with a record to run on and some name ID. They too would have to resign, and they too seem unlikely to want to do that, especially since it would have to happen even before they got sworn in for the next four years. I’m just putting it out there so that if it does happen you can say you saw it here first.

That’s about all there is to say here. The filing deadline is in a couple of weeks, and it’s in these races where you’re likely to see some late entrants. We’ll look at the 30 day reports when the time comes. Next up, the City Controller’s race. Let me know what you think.

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Booksellers sue over new book rating law

Posted on July 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

These lawsuits, they are starting to pile up.

A coalition of Texas bookstores and national bookseller associations filed suit on Tuesday over House Bill 900, which aims to ban sexually explicit material from school libraries.

HB 900 passed in the Legislature and was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this year. It is set to go into effect on Sept. 1 and requires book vendors to assign ratings to books based on the presence of depictions or references to sex. In school libraries, books with a “sexually explicit” rating will be removed from bookshelves. And students who want to check out school library books deemed “sexually relevant” would have to get parental permission first.

Plaintiffs in the suit include two Texas bookstores, Austin’s BookPeople and West Houston’s Blue Willow Bookshop, as well as the American Booksellers Association, the Association of American Publishers, the Authors Guild and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

They are suing defendants Martha Wong, chair of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission; Keven Ellis, chair of the Texas State Board of Education; and Mike Morath, commissioner of the Texas Education Agency.

According to the official complaint, which was filed in an Austin federal court, the plaintiffs argue that HB 900 violates the First and 14th amendments by regulating speech with “vague and overbroad” terms and targeting protected speech.

They go on to argue that HB 900 forces the plaintiffs to comply with the government’s views, even if they do not agree, and that the law operates as prior restraint — which is government action that prohibits speech or other expression before the speech happens.

“The book ban establishes an unconstitutional regime of compelled speech, retaliation, and licensing that violates clear First Amendment precedent and this country’s history of fostering a robust marketplace of ideas,” the complaint says.

The CEOs of both bookstores say it is not possible for them to comply with the rating system required of book vendors in HB 900. The sheer volume of titles they would need to rate is too much, Charley Rejsek, CEO of BookPeople, said in a statement.

In a joint statement by the three bookseller associations, they said they are not questioning that content for students should be age-appropriate, but rather that they believe HB 900 does not accomplish such a goal.

“It robs parents, schools and teachers from across the state of Texas of the right to make decisions for their respective communities and classrooms, instead handing that role to a state entity and private businesses,” the statement says.

The complaint emphasizes how the plaintiffs believe HB 900 will “shatter” small bookstores in Texas, placing “additional economic pressure” on them.

Another one that was not on my list. Clearly, I didn’t have enough imagination. This bill certainly sounds ridiculous and anti-free speech and unenforceable, but who knows what the courts will make of it. Well, okay, I expect a sane ruling from the Austin district court, something bonkers from the Fifth Circuit, and a jump ball from SCOTUS. Isn’t this fun? The Chron has more.

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

What does Mike Miles have against libraries?

Posted on July 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I do not care for this.

Superintendent Mike Miles, appointed in June by the Texas Education Agency to lead Houston ISD, will eliminate librarians and media specialists from the 28 campuses under his New Education System and an additional 57 aligned schools that opted into a version of the whole-scale systemic reform plan that aims to lift student achievement and improve the quality of instruction.

Miles said the former library spaces at most NES and NES-aligned campuses will instead be converted into “Teams centers” — formerly called Zoom rooms — where students who misbehave in the classroom will be sent to watch the lesson virtually and others can work alone or in groups for differentiated instruction.

The book collections will remain on the shelves at the schools with no librarians, according to the district, with students able to take them home through an honor system or access them during before and after school hours.

The new policy marks a big departure from the priorities outlined by the previous HISD administration led by former superintendent Millard House II, who aimed to put a librarian or media specialist at every campus in the district under his five-year strategic plan and invested millions of dollars in pandemic relief funding to purchase new library books.

“There was this great surge of improvement and excitement about the libraries, so it was so discouraging to take that step backwards,” said Anne Furse, a library advocate and co-founder of a group called Friends of HISD Libraries.

[…]

Miles said the staffing model for NES and NES-aligned schools does not include a librarian because the district must prioritize resources to meet specific outcomes, including closing the achievement gap, raising student proficiency and preparing kids for their future. His administration is raising teacher salaries and providing incentive bonuses to teachers and administrators at the campuses targeted for reform.

“Right now, we are going to try to raise achievement, we’re going to try to have high-quality instruction, so the focus is on those teachers who can do that,” he said. “If you have to prioritize resources, then you want to get a teacher who can deliver the science of reading versus a librarian.”

Miles questioned whether the House administration’s plan to expand librarians to more campuses was tied to any specific outcome, noting that schools should be judged by their results rather than their “inputs.”

“Any big initiative needs to come with metrics for success,” he said. “We’re not doing things that are just popular. We’re not doing things that we’ve always done, we’re not doing things that are just fun, we’re not doing things that are just nice to have or good, unless we can measure its success.”

At the most basic of levels, I can see where Miles is coming from on this. Libraries and librarians cost money, his NES program costs a lot of money, and you can only fire a bunch of central office staffers once. Disruptive kids need a place to go, so the now-repurposed libraries can serve for that. And if there isn’t a bunch of data showing a correlation between libraries and test scores, we know what will be prioritized. I get it.

But come on. Why can’t the libraries just serve the function of being a good place for the kids? One that can at least complement the laudable effort to improve reading scores by, you know, providing books for the kids to read. Not everything has to be laser-focused on the bottom line. Quality of life matters, too.

And you can use Miles’ logic to eliminate all kinds of other things that make school more than just test preparation. Music, art, theater, gym, recess, lunch – what empirical evidence do we have that those things improve outcomes? What data are we even using to evaluate the libraries?

I keep coming back to this point, but even if what Miles is doing has the effect of maximizing student gains in the short to medium term, if people don’t like the things he did to make that happen, they’re not going to support continuing to do them when he and the Board of Managers are out of here. He and the Board need to build trust and get the buy-in from the community. Moves like this don’t help that. I’m beginning to think Mike Miles did not learn this lesson from his experience as DISD Superintendent. Which, I have to say, does not add to my confidence in him as a leader.

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Texas blog roundup for the week of July 24

Posted on July 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance says “Hodwy, y’all” as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Continue reading →

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UH-Hobby Center poll: Whitmire 34, Jackson Lee 32

Posted on July 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I have plenty to say about this.

Sen. John Whitmire

State Sen. John Whitmire and U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee would be neck-and-neck for first place if the Houston mayor’s race were held today, but Whitmire would sprint ahead in a potential runoff, according to the first major poll of the contest.

The poll released Tuesday confirms what many political observers long have suspected: high name recognition gives Jackson Lee and Whitmire an edge over the rest of the crowded field ahead of the Nov. 7 election.

However, Jackson Lee’s decades as a familiar face in Houston politics also could hurt her. Dragged down by the nearly half of voters who have at least a somewhat negative view of Jackson Lee, she would trail Whitmire by 18 percent in a runoff.

The poll, an online survey of 800 likely voters between July 12 and 20 by the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston, offers the first glimpse at which candidates already have established themselves as potential contenders.

Its results should be interpreted with caution, however, since there are months to go before the election and few of the candidates have begun spending in earnest on ads and outreach.

Renée Cross, senior executive director of the Hobby School, said in a prepared statement that the poll shows that Whitmire and Jackson Lee essentially are household names in Houston.

“Relatively few voters say they don’t know enough to have an opinion about either Congresswoman Jackson Lee or, to a somewhat lesser extent, Senator Whitmire, while more than half say they don’t know enough about the other challengers,” she said.

[…]

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee

In the mayoral race, a candidate needs a majority of votes — one more than 50 percent — to win outright and avoid a runoff election with the second-place finisher.

The University of Houston poll found that in a first round of voting, Whitmire would take about 34 percent of the vote compared to Jackson Lee’s 32 percent, within the 3.5 percent margin of error. The rest of the field drew less than 3 percent support, with 22 percent of voters undecided.

On the broader question of who voters “definitely” or “might” consider voting for, 29 percent said they would consider casting a ballot for Garcia; 27 percent said they were open to considering Gallegos. Nineteen percent said the same about Khan, while 18 percent said they were open to considering Kaplan.

In a runoff, the line dividing Whitmire and Jackson Lee would sharpen. He would take 51 percent of respondents’ votes compared to 33 percent for her.

Of the survey respondents, 40 percent had a very negative view of Jackson Lee, compared to 8 percent of Whitmire. While the race officially is nonpartisan, Jackson Lee is particularly weak among Republicans, only 2 percent of whom said they would vote for her. Whitmire, like Jackson Lee, is a Democrat, but he would take 56 percent of the GOP vote in the first round.

The poll writeup and data can be found here. I’ll get to my points in a minute but first here’s the Chron.

Whitmire’s edge over Jackson Lee in a runoff came largely from his anticipated sweep of Republican votes, with a whopping 88 percent of GOP respondents favoring him over Jackson Lee. These numbers highlight Whitmire’s bipartisan appeal, Jones said, a narrative he’s been championing since the start of his campaign.

Meanwhile, Jackson Lee is the preferred choice for Democrats in a potential runoff, albeit with a narrower margin of 55 to 28 percent.

“The reason why Whitmire is the winning candidate in the runoff is that he gets virtually all of the Republican vote, a large majority of the independent vote and at the same time is still able to win a quarter of the Democratic vote,” Jones said. “Republican votes lined up strongly behind Whitmire in large part because of his record on being tough on crime and his moderate image.”

The two candidates’ voter bases are markedly divided along demographic lines as well.

Jackson Lee commands a significant edge over Whitmire among Black likely voters in a runoff scenario, claiming 64 percent to Whitmire’s 19 percent. Whitmire, on the other hand, surpasses Jackson Lee among white and Latino likely voters, with 63 percent and 54 percent of those groups, respectively, saying they intend to vote for the state senator.

Differences also emerge along gender lines. Whitmire nudges ahead among women, with a runoff vote intention of 43 percent compared to Jackson Lee’s 38 percent. This lead significantly amplifies among men, where he garners 58 percent support, far ahead of Jackson Lee’s 27 percent.

[…]

Houston elections have a history of being unpredictable, according to Nancy Sims, a veteran political consultant and a political science lecturer at the University of Houston. With November still a few months away, the numbers in the poll should be taken with a pinch of salt, she said.

“It’s extremely early to be predicting a runoff,” Sims said. “It clearly gives Whitmire an advantage. What it doesn’t take into account, of course, are the issues and events that will occur as the campaigns heat up.”

Much of this election hinges on voter turnout, she said, and key factors will include whether Black voters — who overwhelmingly back Jackson Lee — become more engaged as the campaign evolves, whether Republicans ramp up their support for Whitmire, and whether some Democrats start to question Whitmire because of his moderate stance.

The early polling results have also painted a large target on Whitmire’s back, Sims said. As a result, both Jackson Lee and the other 12 candidates will likely focus their energy on challenging the state senator.

A Chronicle editorial that quoted Whitmire’s plan to bring in 200 Department of Public Safety troopers to Houston if he becomes mayor has stirred up some backlash from activists and others on social media. Sims said she expects more incidents like this will unfold in the coming months.

“One thing we’ve historically seen is, although mayoral elections are nonpartisan, they tend to take on a more partisan shape towards the runoffs,” Sims said. “Will the race begin to take on a bit more polarization as it moves forward? That could make all the difference.

Jeronimo Cortina, an associate professor of political science at the University of Houston, agreed with Sims’s assessment that substantial shakeups in voter sentiment could still occur.

“This is the first snapshot of the electorate in this particular point in time,” He said. “Can another candidate come up from the bottom or can someone slip from the top? Absolutely.”

All right, my thoughts:

– Election polling for city races is tricky because you just don’t know what the “likely voter” base looks like. It varies too much from cycle to cycle. We’ve only had two city elections since the change to four-year cycles in 2015. The numbers themselves in this poll are believable enough. It’s just that the error bars around them are very high, and that has nothing to do with the margin of error.

– One point I have made before is that there are a lot more registered voters now in the city of Houston than there were in 2015, the last time there was an open Mayor’s race. Over 150K new voters as of last year, probably more by the time we start voting. That means that the turnout level is higher to begin with, and the electorate will contain a significant number of people with at most one previous city election in their history. I don’t know how this poll screened for likely voters, but that is a challenge for any pollster.

– I’d have to look at the data on new voter registrations since 2015, but given the way Harris County elections have gone since then, I’m going to guess these folks lean decidedly Democratic. The two frontrunners are of course both longtime Democrats, but Whitmire’s support among Republicans could be wielded against him by the Jackson Lee campaign. That said, some of these newer voters are Republicans and independents, and some of the new Democrats are likely to be in alignment with Whitmire. At the opening jump, it’s not clear that either of these two candidates might have an edge among the newbies.

– It’s very important to remember that basically nobody is paying that much attention to the Mayor’s race right now. Outside of some yard signs, it’s not very visible yet. The non-Whitmire and SJL candidates have some money to spend but haven’t made their presence felt yet. Every poll is a snapshot in time. This one captures name ID more than anything else given where we are in the process.

– Runoffs are their own election entirely, and they have always exerted an outsized force on the Mayoral race because they tend to be concentrated in a couple of districts. What’s weird about this year is that with only three district Council races and no HISD races of interest, it’s likely that most if not all of the runoff energy will be in the other citywide races. (District H is the only Council district that looks like it will have a runoff, given the current state of the lineups.) I can’t think of a similar example from the past.

– The three potential At Large runoffs, as well as the Controller runoff, could feature a Black candidate as one of the choices. That would seem to favor SJL, given the poll’s data. On the other hand, at least one At Large race plus the Controller’s race could also feature a Republican candidate, and that would seem to favor Whitmire. District E could have a runoff if a third candidate emerges, and that would also favor Whitmire. My point here is that you can’t say anything about the Mayoral runoff without knowing what other races are also having runoffs.

– I think we are going to see more polling than usual in this race, and I think those polls are going to be all over the place. Please, whatever you do, be very careful about any narratives based on whatever poll (of whatever quality) that just got released.

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

San Antonio joins Houston’s “Death Star” lawsuit

Posted on July 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Welcome aboard, there’s plenty of room for more.

That’s no moon…

After weeks of complaints from council members who say the law’s vagueness is preventing them from doing their jobs, San Antonio leaders said Monday that the city has joined a lawsuit filed by the City of Houston earlier this month. Austin is also considering suing the state over the law.

“We are in solidarity with other Texas municipalities,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said at a press conference Monday at City Hall. Also in attendance were City Attorney Andy Segovia, City Manager Erik Walsh and Councilwomen Teri Castillo (D5) and Melissa Cabello Havrda (D6).

“This is big government overreach, plain and simple, and it demonstrates the dangers of a radical agenda being codified session after session at the capital,” Nirenberg said.

Houston’s lawsuit claims HB 2127 is in conflict with the state constitution, which in 1912 gave cities the ability to govern themselves. The suit also suggests the new law lacks the “unmistakable clarity” required for a state to intervene in that authority.

The Texas Legislature has explored a number of bills in recent years that would restrict cities’ ability to regulate specific private employment practices, such as paid sick leave mandates, which are strongly opposed by the business community.

Rather than waiting to address those issues as they come up, proponents of HB 2127 say the law will prevent cities from venturing outside the policy areas that the state has explicitly given them authority to regulate in the first place.

The lawsuit San Antonio joined contends that HB 2127 significantly broadens the definition of “preemption,” or the legal concept used when one governing body seeks to restrict a lower government’s ability to set rules in a particular field. The idea is being deployed with increased frequency across the country to change the local governing landscape.

Segovia said the city “will be faced with litigation and continued ambiguity and vagueness” if HB 2127 takes effect.

“Ultimately city taxpayers will bear the brunt of these unanswered questions under HB 2127 through protracted litigation,” he said.

See here and here for the background. As I said, I welcome their participation and I hope they are joined by many other cities, in whatever capacity suits them best. It would be great on a number of levels if some number of smaller cities, in red areas, also sued, because this will affect them as well. I don’t know how likely that is – maybe those cities don’t think this affects them, or maybe there’s too much pressure on them to go along and get along – but it would be nice. I’ll keep an eye on it. The Current and Texas Public Radio have more.

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The Lone Star Rail idea never truly dies

Posted on July 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, it is a good idea, even if the obstacles seem to be impossible.

San Antonio and Austin, two of the fastest-growing U.S. cities, sit just 80 miles apart. That’s too close for regular flights and just far enough for a drive up Interstate 35 to be a real pain in the ass.

Among public transportation advocates, the distance between the two Texas cities is considered a sweet spot where reliable rail service isn’t just feasible but necessary.

With President Joe Biden’s signature “Build Back Better” bill allocating nearly $20 billion for rail transit, grassroots organizations — including San Antonians for Rail Transit and RESTART Lone Star Rail District — are popping up, pumping out petitions and grabbing the attention of local politicians.

“We are coalition-building right now, and our goal is to get different advocacy groups, nonprofits and even things like chambers of commerce to get on board and say, ‘Yes, we would benefit from a rail link between Austin and San Antonio,'” RESTART founder Clay Anderson said.

Indeed, a thesis published by one of Anderson’s former colleagues at Columbia University argues that a rail link connecting Austin and San Antonio would grab significant enough ridership to justify its expense.

However, the region has been down this road before. Business leaders spent decades talking about the idea, and the Lone Star Rail District, established to create such a line, crashed and burned in 2016 with little to show for the millions pumped into the entity.

Yeah, 2016, though there were a couple of mentions of a revival in 2019. I’ve been following this dream since 2009, though as noted the effort goes back much farther than that.

Again, it makes sense! Austin and San Antonio are close together. I-35 is a parking lot. The entire region is booming, with New Braunfels and San Marcos becoming regional powerhouses. There’s already a set of tracks! All that’s been missing is leadership, funding, vision, and consensus. No biggie.

Keep the dream alive, I say. It’s a good idea, and people will buy into it if they believe it’s an actual option. Maybe someday, with another federal infrastructure bill and a state government that wants to do something other than widen highways, it could happen. Hell, as long as we’re dreaming, we could extend that line farther south, too. It could happen, you never know. I wish them all well.

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

“Parental rights” for me but not for thee

Posted on July 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

That’s what the anti-trans ban on gender-affirming care is all about.

Gov. Greg Abbott and state lawmakers have used variations of the phrase “parental rights” this year to push a litany of legislation, with varying degrees of success.

They’ve vowed to empower Texas parents in their fights for everything from sweeping changes to the state’s foster care system and what can be taught in schools to using tax dollars to subsidize kids’ private school tuition.

But Kari, a Georgetown mother of a transgender 17-year-old, says she feels like she has “no choices at all” as she and her family stare down a ban on puberty blockers and hormone treatments for trans minors that goes into effect Sept. 1.

“My rights as a parent have not only been infringed upon, but they’ve been stripped. I’ve been removed from making a decision about my child’s health care with my child and for my child,” said Kari, who agreed to talk to The Texas Tribune if her full name wasn’t used because she fears her family could be targeted by hate groups.

Senate Bill 14’s passage leaves families with trans kids in a myriad of challenging situations. Some are weighing the stress of uprooting their lives against the psychological damage their children could experience once access to gender-affirming care is cut off. Others are unable to leave the state and are preparing to watch their children go through what they call government-forced detransitioning. And one low-income family with a trans kid wants to move but is struggling to raise money to do so.

The law will allow trans minors already receiving transition-related care to be “weaned off” puberty blockers and hormone treatments in a “medically appropriate” manner. But parents and medical experts say the law doesn’t provide clarity on how that should happen — and that can be unsafe to wean people off of such treatment at all.

Texans whose kids are transgender say the law is an affront to the notion that Abbott and the Legislature are champions of parental rights since each of the choices it leaves them could have dire outcomes. And a new lawsuit that aims to block the ban on gender-affirming care argues that the law violates parental rights already enshrined in the state constitution.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and Lambda Legal are representing several doctors and parents of trans kids, who argue in the lawsuit that SB 14 violates those constitutional rights by stopping parents from providing medical care for their children. It also says the law discriminates against transgender kids because the ban applies only to them and allows cisgender children to access the same treatments for care that isn’t aimed at transitioning.

The state constitution says Texans can’t be “deprived of life, liberty, property, privileges or immunities, or in any manner disfranchised.” The suits argues that means Texas parents with transgender children should not be blocked from accessing the recommended treatment that doctors and medical groups say lessens trans kids’ higher rates of depression, anxiety and suicide.

“The Texas Constitution provides stronger rights for parents, stronger rights in the guarantees of equality … and much stronger rights with respect to the individual rights of autonomy,” Lambda Legal senior counsel Paul Castillo said. “Those decisions that rest with parents are at their apex when they are made in consultation with physicians who recommend this medically necessary care.”

[…]

Kari said she put in hours of research and had several discussions with her child’s therapist and doctor before deciding that testosterone treatments were the best way to avoid the “personal anguish” her son would feel as his body developed the physical characteristics of a gender with which he didn’t identify.

Lawmakers supporting the bill said children are too young to decide whether to undergo gender-affirming care, even though the treatments they will soon be banned from accessing are available to cisgender kids of the same age for other medical purposes.

“A lot of politicians throw around the term ‘informed decision,’ but that’s exactly what we’ve done,” Kari said.

Emily Witt, a spokesperson for the Texas Freedom Network, a left-leaning state watchdog organization that supports public education and religious freedom, said state leaders, in order to limit the rights of trans people, are using the term “parental rights” to tap into a groundswell of fears from Texans who think the government is going too far in determining what their kids learn.

“It’s been co-opted to tap into this cultural fear of not having control over your kids’ lives,” Witt said, “when really their agenda is erasing trans people.”

See here for more on the lawsuit, then go read the rest and try to put yourself in Kari’s shoes. I have multiple friends and one family member (that I know of at this time) who are parents of trans kids. I know how hard this enmity of the state has been for them (the family member lives in another state, one that isn’t hostile to them). I’m not an anxious person, I’m fortunate to not have to deal with pervasive negative thoughts, just normal parental worry. The thought that I could be criminalized by the state for giving my kid the love and care they need makes me hyperventilate. It also makes me very, very angry.

The people who are being targeted by this pernicious bigotry are facing some very dark times. I don’t know how long that may last or how bad it may get – Lord knows, it can very easily and very quickly get worse. I do know that our society as a whole will be the lesser for it, and in ways that are entirely predictable yet mostly invisible at this time.

At least once a day Dr. Ximena Lopez sees a parent crying in her clinic. They’re crying because Lopez just told them they need to find a new way to get transition-related care for their children — by leaving Texas or sourcing treatments outside the state — because the state outlawed these treatments for trans youth.

After a yearslong barrage by activists and lawmakers, the state has won the battle against the use of transition-related care, like puberty blockers and hormone therapies, for transgender youth. While the war over this health care remains in question — and a legal fight to block the new law begins in Texas — clinics have closed and some doctors have stopped providing this care.

“The reason why I’m leaving Texas is that it’s unbearable for me,” Lopez said. “It’s so devastating that I just can’t bear living in a state where I feel oppressed and where I’m just seeing my patients suffer.”

Lopez formerly provided gender-affirming care to trans youth as the director of the GENder Education and Care, Interdisciplinary Support (GENECIS) program, which was jointly run by the Children’s Medical Center and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. By the end of July, she’ll no longer practice at the Dallas hospital and plans to move out of Texas.

In light of the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for kids, The Texas Tribune spoke with over half a dozen doctors who practice this type of medicine about the fear of losing their jobs, scaring away medical providers from working in Texas and — most importantly — revoking this critical health care for transgender children.

From state-launched investigations into the families of trans youth, to threats of actual violence, doctors are fearful to speak out against the attacks on transgender health care. Physicians raised concerns that the state is driving physicians away from Texas and inadequately training the next generation of medical professionals.

[…]

In recent months, many patients — including adults — have lost access to care as providers have left the state, a spokesperson for Texas Health Action, a nonprofit health care provider with clinics in Dallas, San Antonio and Austin, told the Tribune.

Dr. Anita Vasudevan, a primary care physician from Texas who chose to continue practicing in California instead of returning to her home state because of the ban on gender-affirming care and abortion, said the loss of Lopez and the GENECIS program highlights the issue of specialized providers leaving the state. This translates to missed learning opportunities for medical professionals in training, which will result in worse care for patients, she said.

“We’re building a generation of providers that just, unfortunately, won’t receive the level of training that they need in order to take care of patients in the ways that they need to be taken care of,” Vasudevan told the Tribune. “That’s a hard pill to swallow.”

[…]

One area of particular concern, doctors said, is the worsening of an existing pediatric specialists shortage. In Texas, an estimated 17.4% of children have special health care needs that require attention from specialized pediatricians, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. These shortages mean patients have to travel longer distances and wait for weeks or months to see subspecialists, which can result in delaying or forgoing treatment.

Lauren Wilson, a pediatric hospitalist and the president of the AAP Montana chapter, partially attributes this shortage of doctors for children to the disparity in pay between adult and pediatric specialists. According to a 2023 compensation report from the healthcare-related companies Doximity and Curative, endocrinologists make nearly $60,000 more annually than their pediatric specialist peers, who undergo commensurate levels of training.

Shortages in this speciality — pediatric endocrinology — is of particular concern to Wilson because these doctors treat a wide range of children. This area of medicine deals with hormones and associated issues and mostly treats children with diabetes or growth problems. But these physicians also often specialize in gender-affirming care treatments like puberty blockers and hormone therapies for trans children (less specialized physicians can also administer gender-affirming care.)

[…]

It’s not clear how many doctors have left or will leave Texas in response to restrictions on gender-affirming treatments, but states that have enacted other health care restrictions offer some clues.

States with abortion bans saw a 10.5% decrease in applications for obstetrics and gynecology residencies in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to data from the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Doctors, including Lopez, said they have already seen the effects with candidates deciding after the interview process not to accept positions in Texas “because of the politics.”

See here for previous blogging on Dr. Lopez and the GENECIS program, with a more recent update from Ginger. The “future doctor shortage” caused by our draconian anti-abortion laws is a regular beat around here. It may take awhile for these effects to be noticed, perhaps well past the time when the likes of Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick have swanned off to retirement communities. Plenty of us will still be around to feel them. Until then, the solution, or at least the mitigation, remains the same, and that’s at the ballot box. Say it with me one more time: Nothing will change until our government changes.

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The Harris Health System data breach

Posted on July 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

While a lot of the cybersecurity incidents that I’ve been tracking here could have been prevented by the entities that suffered them, this is an exception. And also a reminder.

Patient information was exposed in a cyberattack that affected the Harris Health System and other industries worldwide, officials said Friday in a news release.

The attack, which came to light last month, involved a Russian ransomware group that gained access to the file transfer software MOVEit. The compromised information at Harris Health varied by patient but may have included Social Security numbers, immigration status and information related to treatment, such as procedure information, treatment cost and diagnosis. The information did not involve Harris Health medical records or patient financial information, the release said.

The health system has started sending letters to affected patients with additional information on steps to monitor and protect their personal information. The system also offers complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection services to patients whose Social Security numbers were compromised.

Patients are encouraged to review statements from their health insurer and healthcare providers and to contact the insurer or provider if they notice any services they did not receive.

[…]

Harris Health learned about the breach on June 2 and launched an investigation with a third party, the release said. The investigation found that the breach occurred on May 30.

The incident did not affect all Harris Health patients — only those whose information was included in the files downloaded from the MOVEit server, the release said. The Harris Health network remains fully operational and there has been no impact to patient care or services, the release said.

As the story notes, lots of companies and government entities were victimized by this attack, which was similar to the Accellion breach from 2021; indeed, the same attacker was responsible for both. MOVEit, like Accellion, is a SaaS application, so it is operated and maintained by the vendor. As the customer, you are relying on them to keep the barbarians from the gate. Sometimes you lose. That’s how it is with cybersecurity – you can do everything right on your end, but you’re still vulnerable because you’re dependent on partners, vendors, contractors, and so on. It just is what it is. Anyway, since I’ve blogged so much about this stuff I wanted to mention this one as well.

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Justice Department files that promised lawsuit over the Texas river wall

Posted on July 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s what happens next that really matters.

The U.S. Justice Department announced Monday it is suing Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott after the state declined to remove the floating barrier deployed earlier this month on the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass.

The lawsuit, filed in an Austin federal court, alleges the barrier was installed without necessary authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“Because Texas installed the Floating Barrier without seeking the Corps’ authorization, the Corps and other relevant federal agencies were deprived of the opportunity to evaluate risks the barrier poses to public safety and the environment, mitigate those risks as necessary through the permitting process, and otherwise evaluate whether the project is in the public interest,” the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit also alleges that the floating barrier obstructs navigation on the river and demands that the state remove the barrier.

[…]

Last week, the Justice Department sent a letter threatening legal action against the state if it did not respond with a commitment to remove the barrier by 1 p.m. Central time on Monday. Abbott responded with a letter to President Joe Biden on Monday morning committing to keep the barrier in place.

See here for the background. The Trib story doesn’t state what the aim of the lawsuit is, but the Associated Press indicates that the feds are asking for the river wall to be dismantled. Which is what I would have expected, but I like to be sure. The question to me is simply does the state of Texas comply if they lose in court, or do they go full Alabama and say “nah” and dare the courts or whoever to make them? And if it’s the latter, what happens then? I genuinely have no idea. I’d also rather not find out, but I fear and suspect that we will. The Chron, which notes that this is the second lawsuit Abbott is facing over this, has more.

Posted in La Migra, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

July 2023 campaign finance reports: City of Houston, part 2

Posted on July 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Previously:
Congress
SD15
City of Houston, part 1
Harris County

January finance reports for city of Houston candidates are here. This post will look at the various At Large candidates. I’ll do the district races and the Controller’s race later. Let’s dive in.


Dist Candidate     Raised      Spent     Loan     On Hand
=========================================================
AL1  Miles        189,366     28,313   50,000     161,052
AL1  Baker          3,795      2,725        0       1,070
AL1  Ramirez       34,301     21,079   20,000      40,892
AL1  Reyes         96,586     46,735        0      30,577
AL1  Wolfthal      57,025     31,454        0      44,892
AL1  Dolcefino

AL2  Nwabara       20,316     10,513   20,000      30,720
AL2  Hellyar      131,528     25,209        0     135,248
AL2  Vilaseca     109,182     23,792        0      89,585
AL2  Davis          9,500          0        0       9,500
AL2  Bess         146,587     26,024        0     109,525
AL2  Coryat        12,050      3,635        0       9,914

AL3  McCrutcheon    2,725      1,905        0         920
AL3  Carter       160,485     50,965    4,000     190,096
AL3  Cantu         43,623     13,586   10,000      30,038
AL3  Curry         17,812      2,148        0      15,670
AL3  Joseph        10,060     37,675  102,755      82,351
AL3  Cooper
AL3  Amadi
AL3  Nguyen
AL3  Ganz

AL4  Plummer       93,392     11,870    7,000     100,392
AL4  Morales       19,852     12,854      205      25,219
AL4  Branch         4,358      3,605        0         752

AL5  Alcorn       166,625     61,043        0     406,170
AL5  Cossey

As a reminder, the Erik Manning spreadsheet has your candidate listings. All of the files I’ve reviewed can be found in this Google folder.

We have a couple of oddball filings here. James Joseph listed $10,060 in unitemized contributions on his summary page, with $112,815 for his total raised. On his Subtotals page, which comes next, the $10,060 was listed as the total of his contributions, with $102,755 in loans. He also filed a correction report, which was signed by his treasurer instead of by him, but didn’t actually detail the correction he intended to make. I can infer what he intended, but he needs to file a correction to the correction.

Incumbent CM Letitia Plummer did something similar, listing an virtually impossible sum of $57,814 in unitemized contributions, with $93,392 as the total raised, and then put the $57,814 figure on the Subtotals page for her actual total contributions. That $93,392 plus the $7,000 loan she listed adds up to her $100,392 cash on hand total, which is also completely implausible. I looked back at the January reports to see if her cash on hand from there could be reconciled with these numbers, but it just can’t. I have no idea what her true numbers are; as of Thursday she had not filed a correction report.

Willie Davis, who has run a few times before, listed $1,272 in expenses from personal funds, which he intends to refund from contributions, which means his cash on hand number is really $8,228. I assume one does things this way because one needs to spend money before one has the ability to raise it, but all of his contributions are dated April 20 and all of his expenses came at or after that date. Go figure.

The two incumbents with challengers both look to be in good shape. CM Sallie Alcorn, who by all accounts has been a stellar member of Council, had another strong report and a well-stocked treasury against a no-name opponent who didn’t file a finance report. CM Letita Plummer has a reasonably well-known opponent in Roy Morales, who always seems to do better than I think he will. I could see him forcing this race to a runoff, but I feel confident CM Plummer will prevail in the end.

In At Large #1, going by the Manning spreadsheet, three of the six candidates are Dems and three are Republicans, but the three Dems were by far the biggest fundraisers, with Melanie Miles putting in the best numbers. Anthony Dolcefino ran in 2019 and has some name recognition thanks to his dad, but you don’t file a finance report, you don’t get any respect from me.

At Large #2 is all Dems except for the aforementioned Willie Davis, who made it to a runoff twice against outgoing incumbent David Robinson but never came close to beating him. Honestly, if I were the king of the smoke-filled back room, I’d consider moving one of Nick Hellyar, Holly Vilaseca, or Danielle Bess over to At Large #3. Only two of them can make the runoff here, so why not spread the strength around a bit?

As for At Large #3, Richard Cantu is a current HCDE Trustee, so he’s won elections before, but that’s not a high profile office and he doesn’t have much money. James Joseph has some money but it’s all loans and you really need more than $100K to get your name out there to the citywide electorate. That is the same Richard Nguyen who had previously served in District F, but without a finance report (and he wasn’t great at filing them as a Council member), what are you gonna do? I get a lot of campaign emails from Donnell Cooper, but (say it with me now), no campaign finance report, no respect. Twila Carter is the Republican candidate (well, Ericka McCrutcheon is also a Republican, but with 99% less juice) with support from the business community (her campaign contributors include Tilman Fertitta and Jim Crane) as well as endorsements from HPOU and HOME-PAC, the builders’ association. She’s the one to watch, but Houston’s a Democratic town and with a Mayoral runoff between two Democratic candidates she’s got a needle to thread in order to win. I don’t know which Dem currently in this race is best positioned to beat her.

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Steven Hotze enters the impeachment chat

Posted on July 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Wait, what?

A crook any way you look

Houston conservative activist Steve Hotze filed a lawsuit Friday challenging the gag order issued by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial, arguing the policy violates free speech protections under the Texas Constitution.

In a petition filed in Travis County District Court, Hotze also is seeking to block a rule that bars Paxton’s wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, from participating in private deliberations or voting in the trial. Both provisions are among a package of rules adopted by the Senate ahead of the trial, which is set to begin Sept. 5. The rules were approved on a 25-3 vote.

Hotze, an ultraconservative GOP donor who has long supported Patrick and Ken Paxton, argued the gag order “unreasonably restricts speech by prohibiting communication with an elected official.” The order prevents both sides from making public statements that carry the “substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing the trial.” Violators face $500 fines and jail time.

“For all practical purposes, the Senate is saying we don’t want to hear from you Texans, even though we were elected to represent you,” said Jared Woodfill, Hotze’s attorney.

[…]

In the rule requiring Angela Paxton to recuse herself, Senate lawmakers cited a part of the Texas Constitution that bars members from voting on matters in which they have “a personal or private interest.” In his petition, Hotze argued the rule singles out Angela Paxton while ignoring conflicts of other senators. He noted that state Sens. Charles Schwertner and Mayes Middleton were allowed to fully participate in the trial, despite supporting Ken Paxton’s primary opponents in last year’s GOP primary.

“Every senator presiding over General Paxton’s impeachment trial has a bias or partiality for or against General Paxton,” the lawsuit reads. “Party affiliation alone raises partiality concerns. The Democrats in the Senate have worked to defeat General Paxton for years and most of the Republican senators have supported General Paxton.”

The lawsuit, which marks the first legal challenge to any part of the impeachment proceedings, names Patrick and the Texas Senate as defendants, along with the Senate sergeant-at-arms. Patrick oversees the Senate and will serve as the presiding officer, a role similar to that of a judge, during Ken Paxton’s trial.

A spokesperson for Patrick did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Joining Hotze on the lawsuit is Allesan Paige Streeter, a Collin County resident who lives in Angela Paxton’s district and voted for her last year, according to the petition.

“By excluding Senator Paxton from the impeachment process, Ms. Paige is left without representation in a matter of state wide importance,” the petition reads.

Former state Rep. Molly White, a Republican who represented Central Texas, and talk radio host Sam Malone are also listed as plaintiffs.

I’m sitting here with my mouth hanging open, trying to formulate words. It’s harder than you might think.

Okay, first, how do any of these geniuses have standing to sue? This is a political process, and the decision to exclude Angela Paxton – which, as I have pointed out, doesn’t change the math for convicting Ken Paxton, because she will still count as being present, so the two thirds needed to convict him accounts for her as well – was handled according to Senate rules. Courts as a general matter do not get involved in that sort of thing. Maybe if you squint real hard you can see how the constituent might have some grounds for complaint, but by that logic then anyone in the state could file a similar lawsuit over the fact that the Attorney General they voted for has been suspended from office. But what the hell do the other two have to do with anything? If you look at what the lawsuit claims, it’s basically “no one will talk to them about the impeachment trial” and they’re both supporters of Ken Paxton. This is some quality Jared Woodfill lawyering right here.

Second, the invocation that this process is rife with political conflicts of interest, which is the same argument for barring three Dem Senators from serving as “jurors”, has a certain appeal. But once you open that can of worms, then the logical endpoint is that the impeachment process is itself impossible. Literally everyone is conflicted. The simple argument for why Angela Paxton is more conflicted than everyone else is that she’s literally his wife. I can see the case for not singling her out like that, once you accept the “everyone is conflicted” premise. But the Senate made its choice in the rulemaking process and then ratified it by vote. If the courts can step in and second guess that kind of thing, then again, I don’t see how any impeachment could ever happen.

Third…no, that’s enough. All of us are getting dumber by the minute as we contemplate this. It’s time to touch some grass. I’ll keep an eye on this, you go enjoy your weekend. You’re welcome.

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Feds to sue over Abbott’s river wall

Posted on July 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good, but you’ll forgive me if I keep my expectations low.

The Department of Justice is ready to sue Gov. Greg Abbott over the floating buoy barrier he deployed in the Rio Grande to block migrants from crossing the river from Mexico into Texas near Eagle Pass.

The DOJ sent Abbott a letter on Thursday warning that the state’s buoy barrier is unlawful.

“The State of Texas’s actions violate federal law, raise humanitarian concerns, present serious risks to public safety and the environment, and may interfere with the federal government’s ability to carry out its official duties,” the department wrote, according to a copy obtained by Hearst Newspapers.

Assistant Attorney General Todd Kimm and Jaime Esparza, United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas, go on to write that the wall of buoys violates the Rivers and Harbors Act, which prohibits the creation of any obstruction to the navigable capacity of waters of the United States. They further point out that Texas did not seek authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deploy the barrier, which is required by the law.

“This floating barrier poses a risk to navigation, as well as public safety, in the Rio Grande River, and it presents humanitarian concerns. Thus, we intend to seek appropriate legal remedies, which may include seeking injunctive relief requiring the removal of obstructions or other structures in the Rio Grande River,” the letter states.

This is adjacent to, but not the same as, the pushing children into the river atrocity. The question I have is simply this: What enforcement mechanism will be used once the court order is in hand? Because we have Republican-controlled states already defying federal court orders, and I figure I’ll be named the next CEO of TwitterX before Greg Abbott willingly complies with this. So what happens then? Anyone want to speculate on a peaceful, law-abiding solution to this crisis? I’m not sure I can. The Trib has more.

UPDATE: On brand and as expected.

Posted in La Migra, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Weekend link dump for July 23

Posted on July 23, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

“Cult films are the lifeblood of so many cinephiles, and imagining a world without them points to a bleak and sanitized existence. Ross has a point. Streaming apps have become one of the dominant methods of consuming entertainment, effectively killing the rental market and continuing to choke out cable television. Cult classics existed before home video, and certainly before streaming, but we still have to wonder: Does the bleak future of streaming suggest a world without new cult classics?”

“America’s aging houses of worship face a stark choice: sell, redevelop, or pray for a miracle.”

“I recently spent a day at the Library of Congress, reading Goofus and Gallant strips from over the years, and found that the panels are remarkable windows into history. They chart the shifting freedoms and boundaries of childhood, and illustrate how adults’ expectations of kids have changed over the decades.”

“Anti-LGBTQ laws in the US are getting struck down for limiting free speech of drag queens and doctors”.

“It was the culmination of a bizarre shift for Rasmussen Reports. After two decades of fairly consistent right-leaning polling of elections and political issues, the firm had stopped acting like a normal pollster. Rather than simply asking Americans about their beliefs in conspiracy theories and fringe views, Rasmussen Reports has amplified those beliefs, lending them its legitimacy as a household name in politics — to the delight of right-wing politicians and influencers eager for new material.”

“To my mind, though, the anti-Semitism is almost the least interesting part of this. Kennedy is a full-of-himself conspiracy theorist and bullshit artist. The whole line of thought he’s spouting here is textbook. He makes these pretty outrageous claims. Each link in the chain of his argument comes in a factitious wrapping of bullshit.”

RIP, Jane Birkin, actor, singer, activist, namesake of the Hermès Birkin designer handbag, mother of actor Charlotte Gainesbourg.

“Alabama Republicans Are Daring the Supreme Court to Uphold Its Own Voting Rights Ruling”.

“Never make contact with a public toilet, never ever, ever cross a picket line. What was the third one? Oh yeah, never wear musk oil to the zoo.”

“Benjamin Franklin was so busy as an inventor, publisher, scientist, diplomat and U.S. founding father that it’s easy to lose track of his accomplishments. So add one more to the roster: his early work in printing colonial paper currency designed to counter a constant threat of counterfeiting.”

“The struggle to work enough to qualify for union health coverage is huge for actors, as the responses to a tweet by WGA member Caroline Renard highlight. Renard pointed out that it takes $26,000 a year in earnings on SAG-AFTRA jobs to qualify for insurance, and 87% of members don’t qualify in any given year. There were plenty of working actors ready to tell their stories.”

David Tennant is a mensch.

Boy, that story about The Dress sure took a dark turn.

“The latest Threads update adds a ‘follows’ tab, but it doesn’t do what you’d like”.

“While there is little doubt that many a Mesozoic mammal became a meal for a dinosaur, it may come as a surprise to learn that some mammals also dined on dinos.”

“Two Jupiter-like planets, known as PDS 70b and PDS 70c, are already known to orbit the star.
But astronomers also spied a cloud of debris within the orbital path of PDS 70b, which could represent the building blocks of a new planet that is actively forming or already formed. The scientists believe their direct image may be the strongest evidence to date showing that two exoplanets can share the exact same orbit.”

“The premise of the rule of law is that everyone is subject to it and no one is above it. And so, I hope that when we get through this agonizing period in American history, we will be able to say that everyone was treated fairly under the rule of law and that no one escaped criminal accountability for offenses against the United States just because of an office they once held or a certain kind of privilege.”

RIP, Kevin Mitnick, legendary hacker and author.

Netflix’s password sharing crackdown seems to be working pretty well.

A closer look at that “small town” video.

RIP, Tony Bennett, legendary singer.

“Kevin Maxen, an associate strength coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars, has become the first male coach in a major U.S.-based professional league to come out as gay.”

RIP, André Watts, award-winning pianist and one of the first Black superstars of classical music.

“In other words, I don’t think the timing of the trials or verdicts matters as much as we might think. It’s true that it would be better to have the trials and have a newly inaugurated Trump disappear them than to have them never held at all. But that’s a bit more of a moral victory than I have an appetite for. What it all comes down to is that you have a judicial and an electoral track. They may move in parallel. But a Trump victory on the electoral track will inevitably cancel a Trump defeat on the judicial one. The salient point to take from this is that Trump’s fate rests ultimately on the outcome of the election.”

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