We recap the wild week in Texas politics. Grab a coldie and hang! Learn more about us at ProgressTexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Punchbowl News publishes details on a new congressional district map that Texas Republicans lawmakers may release as soon as today, featuring five new GOP-leaning districts in Austin, D/FW, Houston and the Rio Grande Valley: https://punchbowl.news/article/campaigns/texas-sized-gamble/...It bets heavily on Hispanic voters in Texas, in an election not featuring Donald Trump, to resist buyers remorse and remain loyal to Republican candidates in 2026: https://punchbowl.news/article/campaigns/gop-texas-latinos/...The Texas Legislative Progressive Caucus will hold a press conference on Democratic options this afternoon upon the adjournment of House business, as U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries plans a closed-door meeting with those same lawmakers tonight: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/2025/07/29/house-democratic-leader-hakeem-jeffries-to-visit-austin-amid-redistricting-fight/85429537007/...The national Democratic Party is in a massive fundraising push ahead of a planned targeting of several Republican lawmakers they believe will be compromised by the new map: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/us/politics/democrats-texas-redistricting.html...The House Majority PAC and its new Lone Star Fund have started running TV ads against those likely GOP targets in Texas: https://youtu.be/OvfgpTo2Vkk?si=sIfuvKXJMFNrhu_pThere's also a Democratic presser today being held by Dallas Senator Nathan Johnson and the Texas Senate Democratic Caucus on the status of THC regulation: https://www.facebook.com/NathanforTexas/photos/media-advisory-join-me-for-a-press-conference-on-cannabis-legislation-with-membe/1194566255807967/?_rdrAustin friends and soccer fans! Mark your calendar for Monday September 15, when we will gather for a live podcast taping with legendary Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver! Sponsorship opportunities are available now, and individual tickets will go on sale soon: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/allstaractivism_2025...The Brad Stuver interview will be co-hosted by Landon Cotham of the terrific Austin FC podcast Moontower Soccer: https://www.moontowersoccer.com/Progress Texas' financial reserves have dropped to about 3 months worth of funding. Help us avoid going on a permanent vacation this summer by becoming a sustaining member: https://progresstexas.org/join-pt-summer-vacation-membership-driveThanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:UT Arlington saw yet another huge public turnout in opposition to the Trump-ordered Texas redistricting scheme yesterday, the crowd exceeding the accommodation limits of the event: https://www.keranews.org/government/2025-07-28/texas-redistricting-ut-arlington-hearing...Democrats have begun making financial preparations for the potential daily per-member fines of $500 that may be a factor in a quorum break: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/29/texas-democrats-quorum-break-fundraising-fines-redistricting/Austin Congressman Greg Casar went on a fact-finding mission to a San Antonio immigration court, where he found the treatment of immigrants showing up there "deeply disturbing": https://www.fox7austin.com/news/greg-casar-speaks-out-about-way-immigration-laws-being-enforced...The Dallas Morning News confirms that ICE has been improperly detaining dozens of people in an office building in Dallas: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/immigration/2025/07/29/ice-held-migrants-at-dallas-office-for-days-families-say-exceeding-agency-standards/...A Houston man was improperly detained for two hours recently by ICE - he shares a name and resembles an immigrant they were looking for, but was born in College Station: https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/us-citizen-ice-detained-houston/285-11f4cb64-fa4a-4a65-8d5b-518413664987Austin friends and soccer fans! Mark your calendar for Monday September 15, when we will gather for a live podcast taping with legendary Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver! Sponsorship opportunities are available now, and individual tickets will go on sale soon: https://act.progresstexas.org/a/allstaractivism_2025...The Brad Stuver interview will be co-hosted by Landon Cotham of the terrific Austin FC podcast Moontower Soccer: https://www.moontowersoccer.com/Progress Texas' financial reserves have dropped to about 3 months worth of funding. Help us avoid going on a permanent vacation this summer by becoming a sustaining member: https://progresstexas.org/join-pt-summer-vacation-membership-driveThanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
For this next update from the special legislative session, we go to one of our favorite go-to voices and fighters in the upper chamber - State Senator Roland Gutierrez of San Antonio, who has just announced a re-election bid for the seat he's held since he displaced Republican Senator Pete Flores in 2020. Senator Gutierrez has been vocal in his opposition to the Trump-demanded carving up of Texas in a desperate bid to keep the U.S. House under GOP control, and his condemnation of cruel and un-American ICE activity in his district and elsewhere in Texas - we talk about those topics and more in this update.Learn more about Senator Roland Gutierrez at https://rolandfortexas.com/.Progress Texas' financial reserves have dropped to about 3 months worth of funding. Help us avoid going on a permanent vacation this summer by becoming a sustaining member: https://progresstexas.org/join-pt-summer-vacation-membership-driveThanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:College Democrats across the state are calling for a quorum break to stop the GOP redistricting scheme: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AGqBhU9AT/...Texas House Dems staged a "quorum break jump scare" on Friday, heading out for a short visit to California to discuss reciprocal redistricting with Governor Gavin Newsom: https://www.chron.com/politics/article/newsom-california-texas-trump-redistricting-20788484.php...Another delegation headed for Springfield, Illinois to have a similar conversation with Governor J.B. Pritzker: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/25/us/politics/texas-democrats-redistricting.html...The University of Houston saw an anti-redistricting rally prior to another public hearing held by the Texas House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting on Saturday, resulting in similar vitriol to Thursday's hearing in Austin: https://www.khou.com/article/news/politics/houston-congressional-district-meeting/285-65cbbc1a-0ad4-4468-8cda-97f259457bf5...Almost all of the Democratic candidates to fill the long-vacant U.S. House seat for CD-18 were present and spoke: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/2025/07/27/527261/candidates-for-texas-18th-congressional-district-speak-against-redistricting/...Dallas Rep. Julie Johnson talked redistricting this weekend on MSNBC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9k3NQH6GdUFriday also saw a bombshell allegation by an exotic dancer who claims to have had a 17-year affair with Southlake Republican State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, who last week announced a surprise reversal on his recently-announced re-election bid: https://www.sacurrent.com/news/gop-texas-rep-capriglione-drops-re-election-bid-after-reported-affair-allegations-he-funded-abortions-38066215Progress Texas' financial reserves have dropped to about 3 months worth of funding. Help us avoid going on a permanent vacation this summer by becoming a sustaining member: https://progresstexas.org/join-pt-summer-vacation-membership-driveThanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
As, promised, here's our full capture of Friday night's rally at the Delco Center in northeast Austin, hosted by Powered By People, and featuring in order:01:06 - Travis County Democratic Party Chair Doug Greco04:39 - Austin State Representative Gina Hinojosa16:06 - Round Rock State Representative James Talarico29:39 - Austin Congressman Greg Casar37:10 - Dallas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett47:30 - San Antonio Congressman Joaquin Castro1:02:06 - Former Congressman Beto O'RourkeThanks for listening! Progress Texas' financial reserves have dropped to about 3 months worth of funding. Help us avoid going on a permanent vacation this summer by becoming a sustaining member: https://progresstexas.org/join-pt-summer-vacation-membership-drive.
This week's kvetch is a rare LIVE kvetch, as the team warmed up to capture Powered By People's rally on Friday night at Austin ISD's Delco Center. As we awaited a who's who of Texas progressive politics: Beto O'Rourke, Joaquin Castro, Jasmine Crockett, James Talarico, Greg Casar, Gina Hinojosa and new Travis County Democratic Party Chair Doug Greco, we covered the events of a week that were pretty insane, but that term has become very much relative these days in Texas. Our full capture of the event will follow this pod in the Progress Texas Podcasts feed. Thanks to Chris and all at Powered By People for the hospitality!Thanks for listening! Progress Texas' financial reserves have dropped to about 3 months worth of funding. Help us avoid going on a permanent vacation this summer by becoming a sustaining member: https://progresstexas.org/join-pt-summer-vacation-membership-drive.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:At the conclusion of last night's contentious hearing on Texas Republicans' push to redraw our congressional maps - at the behest of Donald Trump and with no actual maps to show - Isaiah Martin, one of the Democratic candidates for Houston's District 18, was taken to the floor twice by Capitol security and arrested by DPS on multiple misdemeanor charges: https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/tempers-flare-at-texas-redistricting-hearing-as-critics-slam-mid-cycle-map-effort...Several prominent Democrats were present to testify against the redistricting scheme, noting that no Republicans showed up to defend it: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/us/politics/texas-redistricting.html...Texas NAACP president Gary Bledsoe and LULAC Texas State Director Gabriel Rosales both testified at the first of seven planned public hearings: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/24/texas-redistricting-hearing-house-legislature-congress/...Republicans called the meeting at 8:30, but Democrats continued listening to testimony from concerned Texans, some of whom had driven hours to be heard: https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/public-hearing-coming-to-arlington-on-mid-decade-congressional-redistricting-in-texas/287-86144250-a764-42e4-b7b8-e6cbf9757206Attorney General Ken Paxton and his soon-to-be ex-wife, State Senator Angela Paxton, are suspected of mortgage fraud as three of the homes they own are listed as their primary residence on mortgage documents: https://apnews.com/article/paxton-mortgages-trump-primary-residence-homestead-deduction-bd259b6bd122afcaf4f11eac5a3a152eNorth Texas has seen a massive uptick in ICE arrests of suspected undocumented people with no criminal history: https://www.axios.com/local/dallas/2025/07/23/dallas-ice-arrests-noncriminalsProgress Texas' financial reserves have dropped to about 3 months worth of funding. Help us avoid going on a permanent vacation this summer by becoming a sustaining member: https://progresstexas.org/join-pt-summer-vacation-membership-driveThanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
There's probably no elected Democrat in all of Texas who has been a more frequent target of right wing smear attacks than José Garza, currently in his second term as Travis Country District Attorney. He's also a great example of how, when one becomes such a lightning rod for MAGA, one is probably doing excellent work - Travis County and Austin are the safest they've been in years, and it's largely due to Garza's work - and the voters of the Austin area are largely very happy customers.Learn more about the Travis County District Attorney's Office at https://districtattorney.traviscountytx.gov/.Progress Texas' financial reserves have dropped to about 3 months worth of funding. Help us avoid going on a permanent vacation this summer by becoming a sustaining member: https://progresstexas.org/join-pt-summer-vacation-membership-drive
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:When they return from summer recess on August 18, lawmakers in California will immediately faced with tough decisions on how to respond to Texas redistricting: https://www.kcra.com/article/texas-redistricting-hearings-newsom-decides-california/65493018After getting first to Trump's priorities, Texas Republicans finally got around to lesser concerns for them - Texas flood relief - but started with a four-hour "attaboy" session that drew the ire of Democratic Rep. Ann Johnson: https://www.eenews.net/articles/attaboys-dominate-texas-flood-hearing-as-lawmakers-shy-from-assigning-blame/...Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd testified that his department struggles to contact local emergency managers, who themselves have almost no minumum requirements for training or certification: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/organizational-failures-highlighted-hearing-deadly-central-texas-flooding/...Bipartisan blasting of Kerr County officials, who have opted to lower their local property taxes instead of addressing urgent needs to overhaul river flood warning systems: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/2025/07/23/texas-lawmakers-blast-river-authority-for-pathetic-decision-not-to-upgrade-flood-warning-system/85350653007/One flood won't fix Texas' drought - while AI data centers are sucking up more and more and more water: https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2025-07-25/texas-is-still-in-drought-and-ai-data-centers-are-quietly-guzzling-up-water/The Trump administration has earmarked over $1 billion for a massive detention center for ICE detainees (for now) in El Paso: https://www.chron.com/news/article/trump-awards-1-2-billion-contract-operate-texas-20782668.phpSenator Ted Cruz, with help from Senator John Cornyn, has filed a bill to target people or groups suspected of funding "antisemitic, pro-illegal" protests with RICO charges: https://www.chron.com/politics/article/ted-cruz-ice-palestine-protests-20782531.phpA Vermont school superintendent was detained and aggresively questioned by customs and immigration agents on Monday at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport in an incident that his board back home calls "deeply disturbing": https://www.advocate.com/news/vermont-gay-citizen-detained-cbpA growing number of conservative influencers are expressing regret having followed Joe Rogan to Texas and heading back west - toodle-oo, y'all: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-14930373/conservative-stars-regret-california-texas-austin-rogan.htmlTejano titan Bobby Pulido is said to be considering a pivot into politics, specifically in his native Edinburg to challenge GOP Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/24/bobby-pulido-exploratory-committee-congress-south-texas/Progress Texas' financial reserves have dropped to about 3 months worth of funding. Help us avoid going on a permanent vacation this summer by becoming a sustaining member: https://progresstexas.org/join-pt-summer-vacation-membership-driveThanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer of San Antonio was one of the primary captains of the 2021 Texas Democratic quorum break, staged in resistance against Republican attacks on voting access. Now, as the Texas Legislature considers mid-decade redistricting, he may soon be experiencing deja vu. We talk with Rep. Martinez Fischer about the Trump-directed assault on decades of civil rights advances, what the Dems can do about it, and what the stakes really are.Our friend Pooja Sethi provides information on Thursday's opportunity to testify:Thursday, July 242:00 PMRoom E1.030, Texas CapitolWhether you speak or simply show up, your presence matters.Sign up to testify or learn more:https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/schedules/html/C0552025072414001.htmThanks for listening! Progress Texas is in our Summer Vacation Membership Drive - if only 10% of our audience signs up for at least $10 per month in support, we'd be funded for the upcoming year. Please help us continue our important work at https://progresstexas.org/join-pt-summer-vacation-membership-drive.
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State Senator Molly Cook returned to work as an emergency nurse in her hometown of Houston at the conclusion of her freshman session a few weeks ago - only to be dragged back to the Capitol for a special session that, turns out, is a lot more about Governor Abbott doing the bidding of Donald Trump than helping Hill Country flood victims, or even addressing Dan Patrick's stupid THC ban. Senator Cook joined us for the first of a series of updates from Democratic lawmakers as the special session continues.Thanks for listening! Progress Texas is in our Summer Vacation Membership Drive - if only 10% of our audience signs up for at least $10 per month in support, we'd be funded for the upcoming year. Please help us continue our important work at https://progresstexas.org/join-pt-summer-vacation-membership-drive.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Day 1 of the special session saw a full court press on redistricting - no movement on flood relief, or any other issue: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/21/us/politics/texas-redistricting-floods.html...Rigging maps to win elections is tantamount to totalitarianism - "democracy thrives or dies on how we draw political districts": https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/columnists/tomlinson/article/texas-redistricting-republican-democracy-20778376.php...U.S. Reps Henry Cuellar, Vicente Gonzalez, Lizzie Fletcher and Julie Johnson are the likely Democratic targets: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/article/texas-redistricting-districts-trump-20778386.php...Any proposed maps you've seen floating around, at present are probably fake: https://www.chron.com/culture/article/texas-redistricting-map-congress-20778346.php...Until he got a call from Trump, Governor Abbott was not enthused about pursuing redistricting: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/22/texas-redistricting-abbott-republicans-resistant-trump/...And history shows that the Texas Republican majority has never given much of a damn about keeping Texans safe from floods, so the hostage maneuver is predictable: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/21/texas-hill-country-flooding-inaction-state-legislature/Progress Texas' financial reserves have dropped to about 3 months worth of funding. Help us avoid going on a permanent vacation this summer by becoming a sustaining member: https://progresstexas.org/join-pt-summer-vacation-membership-driveThe merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Goodies at https://store.progresstexas.org/.Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:The scene on the opening day off what could be a contentious and historic special legislation: a massive menu of MAGA red meat, with only 30 days for Republicans to grind it out: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/21/texas-legislature-special-session-floods-redistricting-thc/...Of course, if they don't make that deadline, Governor Abbott can just call another special session - and another, and another: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2025/07/21/what-to-expect-as-texas-lawmakers-return-to-austin-for-special-session/...Austin Congressman Greg Casar calls the Texas redistricting scheme "the biggest thing in politics you haven't heard about": https://www.msnbc.com/weekends-with-alex-witt/watch/the-biggest-thing-in-politics-you-haven-t-heard-about-dem-rep-talks-texas-redistricting-243531845601...Former Congressman Beto O'Rourke declares that Democrats must stop being "more concerned with being right than being in power": https://www.notus.org/democrats/democrats-redistricting-trump-texas-california-new-york...Houston Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher, State Rep. Jon Rosenthal and Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis will hold a town hall tonight (Monday 7/21) on the redistricting situation, starting at 7pm: https://cw39.com/news/local/today-lizzie-fletcher-hosts-texas-redistricting-virtual-town-hall-meeting/The estimate of people still missing in the July 4 flood disaster dropped from 97 to 3 on Saturday, with no change in the death toll - here's why: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/20/us/texas-floods-missing.htmlDonald Trump's Big Bullshit Bill is set to wreak havoc on Texas healthcare and hospitals: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/health/article/texas-medicaid-cuts-big-beautiful-bill-20774741.phpAustin State Rep. James Talarico's talk on the Joe Rogan Experience led that podcaster to ask Talarico to run for President: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jOGPvMftb8Progress Texas' financial reserves have dropped to about 3 months worth of funding. Help us avoid going on a permanent vacation this summer by becoming a sustaining member: https://progresstexas.org/join-pt-summer-vacation-membership-driveThe merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Goodies at https://store.progresstexas.org/.Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
As we hit another Friday in the wild wild West of Texas politics, we do so with a wary eye towards Monday - the day that a special legislative session called by Governor Greg Abbott begins. A session originally to handle Dan's Ban, then to address the obvious need for flood emergency apparatus in our river basins, then to a giant pile of MAGA red meat - including a Donald Trump-ordered carving of Texas' congressional map in an attempt to deliver Trump five more Republican seats in the U.S. House, ahead of what every GOP member knows is otherwise gonna be a massive shellacking. What will - what CAN - the Democrats do about it? We discuss.This week has also seen a grab at the control of the American news message, in the form of a wholesale defunding of public media - an essential ecosphere we at Progress Texas consider ourselves part of. In response we have launched our Summer Vacation Membership Drive, because you see, at any given time, Progress Texas stands about three months away from running out of funds. If only 10 percent of our audience signs up for at least $10 per month, that problem largely goes away - we could use your help. If you want PT to be part of the remainder of a 2025 that could see endless, contentious special sessions, and a 2026 that will see the leadup to a truly existential mid-term election for American democracy, please consider joining our fight at https://progresstexas.org/join-pt-summer-vacation-membership-drive.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Will the special session, partly dedicated to a Trump-ordered mid-decade redistricting start on Monday, or will Democrats walk out? The history of Democratic quorum breaks in Texas is interesting, including in the summer of 2021: https://www.texastribune.org/2021/07/14/texas-democrats-walkout-quorum/#:~:text=On%20July%2012%2C%20Texas%20House,pair%20of%20federal%20voting%20bills....Twice in 2003: https://www.star-telegram.com/opinion/bud-kennedy/article251796163.html...And the "Killer Bees" walkout of 1979: https://doggett.house.gov/media/in-the-news/dallas-morning-news-killer-bees-offer-strategic-roadmap-texas-democrats-latest...A Florida judge has upheld that state's racially-gerrymandered Congressional map, an example of what Texas Democrats are up against: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/florida-supreme-court-upholds-congressional-map-that-eliminates-a-majority-black-district...A Florida voting rights activist calls that decision "a direct attack on Black political power and a decision that will have ripple effects for generations": https://www.wlrn.org/government-politics/2025-07-17/florida-supreme-court-upholds-desantis-backed-congressional-redistricting-plan...Meanwhile across the country in California, Governor Gavin Newsom has two options to pursue a retaliatory redistricting move - neither of which is easy: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/17/us/california-texas-redistricting-newsom.html...Houston State Rep. Ron Reynolds issues a statement declaring his readiness to break quorum: https://t.co/LZVPAlXUjrWith two well-known Democrats declaring runs, the race for Attorney General is already interesting: https://www.lonestarleft.com/p/this-race-could-turn-the-attorneyAlmost none of the homes damaged in the July 4 flood in Kerr County are covered with flood insurance: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/kerr-county-flood-insurance-20761656.phpThe case against a Venezuelan man arrested in Texas, accused of being a gang member and deported to the CECOT death prison in El Salvador - where he remains now - has been thrown out: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/17/texas-migrant-el-salvador-tren-de-aragua-deportation-dismissed/Progress Texas Board Chair Louis A Bedford IV decries the trend of masked, unidentified ICE officers snatching civilians off of American streets: https://progresstexas.org/blog/if-ice-agents-can-hide-their-faces-who%E2%80%99s-protecting-publicThe merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Goodies at https://store.progresstexas.org/.Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Desperate measures may be called for to opposed mid-decade GOP redistricting, but breaking quorum now comes with stiff financial penalties: https://woai.iheart.com/featured/san-antonios-first-news/content/2025-07-16-will-texas-democrats-attempt-to-break-quorum-during-the-special-session/...Supreme Court Justice John Roberts is a central figure who has enabled the chaos that Trumps is now bringing to Texas: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/07/blame-john-roberts-for-enabling-trumps-massive-power-grab-in-texas/...California Governor Gavin Newsom appears ready for extreme measures to counteract Texas redistricting: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/16/newsom-jolts-california-house-maps-texas-00458927...All of this while everyday Texans are suffering under Trump's policies - we're now the #1 state in the country for financial distress: https://dallas.culturemap.com/news/innovation/texas-ranks-as-no-1-state-with-the-most-people-in-financial-distress/...Rural Texas, full of Trump voters, is set to lose a long list of rural hospitals under Trump's budget cuts: https://www.amarillo.com/story/news/2025/07/09/15-texas-rural-hospitals-are-at-risk-of-closing-medicaid-cuts-big-beautiful-bill/84518400007/...Mental health services in Texas schools are on the chopping block too, despite mental health being blamed by Republicans for our epidemic of school shootings: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/14/texas-schools-budget-cuts-mental-health/...On the Uvalde shooting, an appeals court judge has sided with news organizations who have been trying to compel Uvalde County to release related records: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/16/uvalde-school-shootings-records-release/Huge amounts of money are flowing into Republican races, and that's for the primary: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/16/texas-attorney-general-comptroller-campaign-finance-fundraising/Former Galveston mayor and Houston-area lawyer and radio host Joe Jaworski has become the second Democrat to announce a run for Attorney General: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/17/joe-jaworski-texas-attorney-general-democrat/...While Harlingen emergency physician Ada Cuellar has announced a run to challenge incumbent GOP Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz in the 15th Congressional District: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/17/ada-cuellar-democrat-monica-de-la-cruz-south-texas-congress/The merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Goodies at https://store.progresstexas.org/.Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Former Galveston mayor, Houston-area attorney and longtime progressive activist Joe Jaworski joins us to announce his run for Texas Attorney General in 2026!Learn more about Joe's campaign at https://www.jaworskifortexas.com/.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Drama building for the special session, as Democrats consider breaking quorum to block a Trump-ordered redistricting scheme - including : https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/us/politics/texas-redistricting-trump.html...Ken Paxton is threatening to "hunt down" any Democrats fleeing the session, while the plan itself could result in a "dummymander": https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/15/texas-democrats-redistricting-response-trump-republican-five-seats/?_bhlid=f8b2bec379355a332431cf659f421e931ee30532...A closer look at a potential "dummymander" shows that as it stands, safe blue districts are safer than safe red districts in Texas, making a weakening of those red districts a hazardous prospect: https://prospect.org/politics/2025-07-16-texas-redistricting-maneuver-may-harm-republicans/...The only real swing seats left in Texas are in the Rio Grande Valley, due to a surprising swing to Trump last year - no surprise, the cancellation of the RGV's biggest annual public health event due to Trump budget cuts: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/16/texas-rio-grande-valley-border-health-federal-cuts/...Ahead of all of this, Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into alleged non-citizen voting in Harris and several other counties: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/voting/2025/07/15/526434/texas-attorney-generals-office-opens-investigation-into-allegations-of-noncitizens-voting-in-harris-county/Propublica finds great disparity between claims by Kerr County officials that the July 4 flood couldn't have been predicted, and long oral and written histories that more or less do exactly that: https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-floods-oral-histories...Polling shows that most Americans believe that the death toll from the flood could have been much less severe if government officials had been better prepared: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5403144-poll-flood-deaths-texas/Republican Kerr County officials, under scrutiny due to the flood, are experiencing an unfortunate work hazard that's become familiar to Democratic leaders in bigger cities - death threats: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/texas-officials-death-threats-flash-flooding_n_68766208e4b0eefef0c4f62c...Those same officials, at their first meeting after the flood, acknowledge that the actual number of missing people remains uncertain: https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2025/07/14/death-threats-and-uncertainty-over-total-number-of-victims-key-takeaways-from-kerr-county-commissioners-court/The family that owns Camp Mystic admits that the supervising owner Dick Eastland, who himself perished in the flood, didn't start evacuating kids from near the river until 46 minutes after receiving an emergency flood alert: https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/camp-mystic-evacuation-delayed-despite-warning-20770025.php...Those phone alerts, due to their frequency, similarity between situations, and typical long distance from the emergency itself, have become too easy for Texans to ignore or even turn off: https://www.keranews.org/texas-news/2025-07-15/texas-flood-alert-warning-phoneSeveral campaign announcements today, including Dallas State Senator Nathan Johnson, who becomes the first Democrat to announce a run for Attorney General: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/nathan-johnson-texas-attorney-general-20766914.php...Democrat Marquette Greene-Scott announces a repeat run against MAGA clown Troy Nehls in the 22nd Congressional District: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/2025/07/14/526241/marquette-greene-scott-who-challenged-rep-troy-nehls-in-2024-announces-bid-for-congressional-district-22/...And ultra-MAGA Conroe State Rep. Steve Toth issues a primary challenge against GOP incumbent Congressman Dan Crenshaw in Congressional District 2: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/15/steve-toth-dan-crenshaw-texas-republican-primary-congress/
Progressives across Texas are taking note of the recent return of former Tarrant County Democratic Party Chair Allison Campolo to that important post. As the political tides turn across the nation, a flip in Tarrant County would likely be a harbinger of even more widespread and long-overdue change across the Lone Star State, so having an experienced progressive fighter (and actual Kung Fu champion) in this key position is welcome news indeed. Progress Texas board member and longtime Fort Worth politico Jason Smith joins us for a fun and important discussion.Learn more about Allison Campolo and the Tarrant County Democratic Party at https://tarrantdemocrats.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Flood recovery efforts have resumed amidst great uncertainty about how long it will take, or whether it's possible, to recover the rest of the estimated 100 who remain missing: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/14/texas-flood-missing-update/Food banks in Austin, San Antonio and elsewhere, at a moment when their services will be in high demand due to the floods, have already been hobbled by Trump funding cuts - and that's before the cuts in the Big Bullshit Bill kick in: https://grist.org/food-and-agriculture/texas-food-banks-flood-survivors-trump-funding-cuts/U.S. Senate Democrats are calling for a probe into whether or not Homeland Security Kristi Noem's cost-cutting measures caused a delay in FEMA response that may have needlessly cost lives: https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/07/14/congress/kristi-noem-fema-cost-control-investigation-00452212Rumors that cloud seeding may have contributed to the intensity of the July 4 storm in the Texas Hill Country are false - just as they have been when arising after recent hurricanes: https://www.kut.org/energy-environment/2025-07-15/cloud-seeding-weather-manipulation-technology-kerr-county-texas-floods-misinformation-conspiracy-theoryA moving tribute to the counselors at Camp Mystic who bravely protected their campers, written by one of their colleagues: https://www.chron.com/news/article/camp-mystic-tribute-texas-flood-20768074.phpAs lawmakers begin filing bills for the special session starting Monday, there's nothing so far relating to flood recovery or preparedness: https://www.kxan.com/news/texas-politics/no-flood-related-bills-on-first-day-of-texas-special-session-filing/Can California Governor Gavin Newsom counteract GOP-leaning redistricting in Texas by similarly stacking his state for the Democrats? Probably not: https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/california-texas-redistricting-20769678.phpWhen Will Democrats Get Mad? Perhaps the better question is: when will Democrats get out of their own way and do something? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2btHwfv4Go4Governor Abbott's refusal to release emails between himself and Elon Musk because they are "too intimate and embarrassing" sure has us curious: https://fortune.com/2025/07/15/texas-governor-greg-abbott-elon-musk-emails/The merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Goodies at https://store.progresstexas.org/.Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:The July 4 flood death toll rose to 132 as new flooding stopped recovery efforts on Sunday: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/texas-flooding-map-lampasas-river-trump-fema-death-toll-latest-b2788441.htmlFamilies of victims who are still missing are beginning to come to terms that Governor Abbott's pledge to recover all of them may be impossible to fulfill: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/texas-families-face-grim-reality-that-some-missing-from-floods-may-not-be-foundGovernor Abbott's highly flawed football metaphor, meant to deflect accountability in the name of toughness, draws the condemnation of Hall Of Famer Earl Campbell: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/14/us/politics/texas-floods-greg-abbott-stoicism.htmlThe failure of Texas to be prepared for the July 4 flood is part of a much longer pattern of neglect under Republican rule, which includes Winter Storm Uri, the Uvalde school massacre, and much more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/13/texas-disaster-weather-preparations-usWest Texas Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez calls for accountability for the flood disaster in the upcoming special session, which seems to us a pipe dream at best: https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/13/politics/video/texas-congressman-calls-on-accountability-for-floods-cannot-allow-girls-to-drownHouse Minority Leader Gene Wu notes the many bills offered by Democrats in the recent regular session aimed at improving safety infrastructure and planning that were killed by Republicans out of partisan spite: https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/11/us/video/the-lead-texas-governor-abott-donald-trump-floods-fema-jake-tapperOther Houston Democrats are also up in arms about the Trump-demanded redistricting plan, while experts note the risk of over-reach that could undermine formerly-safe GOP Representatives: https://www.khou.com/article/news/politics/democrats-gov-abbott-redrawing-districts-special-session-texas/285-3427ffde-df9d-4a12-b8d7-c492cd41d7a4The hypocrisy of undertaking redistricting under DOJ accusations of racial gerrymandering, just as the state has been defending its current map as race-blind, is stunning: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/11/texas-redistricting-racial-gerrymandering-coalition-districts-trump/The new Superman movie is being derided as "woke" by right-wing media, when the character's main mode is kindness - if kindness is wokeness, then we're woke, y'all: https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/superman-woke-james-gunn-credit-fox-news-rcna218375The merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Goodies at https://store.progresstexas.org/.Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
In this episode of the Progress Texas Happy Hour, we're honored to welcome Michael Wilmore-Crumrine, President of the Lesbian & Gay Peace Officers Association – Austin (LGPOA-Austin). Under Michael's leadership, LGPOA-Austin is preparing to host the 2025 World LGBTQI+ Conference for Criminal Justice Professionals — marking the first time this international gathering will take place in the United States. This historic event will bring together officers, activists, and public safety professionals from around the world to push for building more inclusive and equitable justice systems.We talk about what it means to lead with authenticity, the mission behind LGPOA, and why this conference is such a powerful moment — not just for Austin, but for LGBTQ+ visibility everywhere. It's a conversation about service, community, and creating space where all people can be seen, heard, and respected.To learn more about LGPOA-Austin, visit: https://www.lgpoa-austin.com/And, check out the 2025 Proud to Be Your Friend Conference at https://www.proudtobeyourfriend.org.Thanks for listening! You can learn more about Progress Texas and support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org.
This week's blowing off of the collective steam is especially cathartic, having come at the end of a week in which we watched the horrible situation in Central Texas get worse, and worse...and worse. State Senator Angela Paxton dumps her cheating husband at long last, Colin Allred appears to be playing the same old playbook, and yet another massive tragedy strikes Texas, complete with the loss of dozens of kids. We can't even.Thanks for listening, y'all. Learn more about Progress Texas at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:A full week after the fact, Donald Trump is visiting Texas today to observe the flood damage in Kerr County: https://apnews.com/article/trump-texas-floods-fema-phase-out-b77d9681d2d39f8c201351b54ecf944f...The Kerr County Sheriff's Department took a full 90 minutes to relay a flood warning called in by a firefighter in Ingram as the floodwaters were rising: https://abcnews.go.com/US/kerr-county-officials-waited-90-minutes-send-emergency/story?id=123631023...Instead of installing the outdoor flood warning system discussed for years but put off for lack of funding, Kerr County spent an over $10 million ARPA windfall in 2021 on other stuff: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/10/texas-kerr-county-commissioners-flooding-warning/...One might think that Chip Roy, Kerr County's U.S. Congressman, might send down federal dollars earmarked for flood safety infrastructure - until one is reminded that Chip Roy is the biggest tightwad in Washington: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/you-need-fewer-bureaucrats-chip-roy-uses-tx-flood-as-excuse-to-cut-government/ar-AA1I3X5xGovernor Abbott's hopes that the flood might shield his cynical redistricting power grab from public outcry and opposition might be overly optimistic: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/10/greg-abbott-midterms-republicans...One political academic predicts that as things currently stand, the Republicans could suffer "a complete sweep" in 2026: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/10/texas-republican-redistricting-mapsTexas State Senator Angela Paxton, after for years suffering the public shame of her husband's infidelity and the impeachment that followed, has filed for divorce from Attorney General Ken Paxton: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/10/angela-paxton-divorce-texas-attorney-general-ken/The merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Goodies at https://store.progresstexas.org/.Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Difficult conversations should take place in all regions of a diverse state like Texas, especially after 30-plus years of one party rule. Beyond placing blame on rural regions or certain sects of historically Democratic voters, we should first take a deep look inwards and be ready to listen to those different from ourselves. Last month, over a hundred Democratic county party chairs, rural organizers, and freshly announced candidates held a conference in Bastrop, Texas. The 134 PAC invited both Progress Texas Podcasting Director Chris Mosser and Advocacy Manager and former small-town City Councilor Reagan Stone to take part - an honor and lots of fun. For the closing panel of the event, Reagan joined San Angelo attorney and Co-Founder of the 134 PAC Jon Mark Hogg, and seasoned rural political consultant and proud Missouri farmer Will Westmoreland to start the hunt for answering questions on turning Texas blue. Moderated by University of Houston at Victoria Political Science Professor Woodrow Wilson Wagner, this episode is an off-prompt attempt at defining why our conservative neighbors don't always vote for what may serve their best interests, and how progressive Texans might go about starting difficult, but very important, conversational exchanges with their more conservative counterparts.Learn more about the 134 PAC at https://www.the134pac.org/.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can help support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:The death toll of the July 4 flood disaster has risen to 120, but is still exceeded by the number of missing, which remains over 150: https://www.cnn.com/weather/live-news/texas-flooding-camp-mystic-07-10-25...New policies imposed upon FEMA by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appear to have created a 72-hour delay in the agency's response to the flood: https://www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/kristi-noem-texas-floods-response-35531843...Even when it came, the FEMA deployment was an anemic 100 staffers, dwarfed by the almost 2,000 the state sent: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-fema-response-texas-floods-b2785617.html...Not that the state response was very effective - Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring says he didn't even know about advance deployment of response resources: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/09/texas-hill-country-floods-kerrville/...A paltry $73,000 for a flood condition dashboard didn't even get done in time - it's set to be discussed in mid-July: https://abcnews.go.com/US/texas-flood-kickoff-meeting-kerr-county-warning-system/story?id=123622025Setting a new standard for cynicism, Governor Abbott will use the tragic flood as political cover for a redistricting power grab in the upcoming special session, as ordered by Donald Trump: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/09/abbott-special-session-texas-redistricting-flooding-thc-abortion-pills/...The map redraw will target four urban, non-white majority districts in Houston and Fort Worth - and the session will also attempt to ram through a wide variety of unfinished right-wing goals: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/2025/07/09/526083/congressional-redistricting-including-in-houston-on-texas-governors-agenda-for-special-legislative-session/The merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Goodies at https://store.progresstexas.org/.Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:The number of missing people in the July 4 floods has jumped dramatically, from about 40 yesterday to 173: https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/texas-flooding-updates-13-dead-20-campers-unaccounted/?id=123488468...A team of firefighters and responders from Mexico have traveled north to join the search and recovery effort: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/08/mexico-firefighters-texas-flooding-search-rescue...A San Antonio news anchor blasts Governor Greg Abbott and Homeland Security Kristi Noem for spending the first 27 minutes of a press conference on Saturday, when families remained hopeful for survivors, praising each other and Donald Trump: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/stephania-jimenez-kristi-noem-gregg-abbott-flood-press-conference_n_686bb8e6e4b0762f74e180fb...The Trumpies have changed their tune somewhat on FEMA, who are now engaged in the recovery effort - just days after planning publicly to dismantle that agency: https://apnews.com/article/fema-disaster-texas-flooding-trump-emergency-2d05ccbd82e0b8e4d33979cbd71efb73...Still unclarified, what local Kerr County officials did or didn't do in the over three hours between the first flood warning and the arrival of the wave: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/08/texas-weather-service-warning-kerr-county/...No Kerr County officials weighed in on an online message board conference about the threat of heavy rain given by the National Weather Service on Thursday July 3: https://x.com/BudKennedy/status/1942704509504962749/photo/1...Just two days prior to the flood, the Texas Department of State Health Services greenlit the emergency plans of Camp Mystic, where 27 died, mostly children: https://www.yahoo.com/news/texas-inspectors-approved-camp-mystic-235051076.html?guccounter=1...Ted Cruz steps in it again, taking two days to return from Greece amidst the disaster, after his office insisted his return was "as fast as humanly possible": https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/ted-cruz-toured-the-parthenon-before-heading-home-to-texas-disaster-reportA great many Texans regularly visit and own property in and around Ruidoso, New Mexico, where they've seen flooding this week reminiscent of the Guadalupe: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5392092-new-mexico-severe-flooding-claims-lives/The merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Goodies at https://store.progresstexas.org/.Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Day five of the recovery effort in Kerr County begins as the July 4 floods become the deadliest rain-related flood in the U.S. in almost 50 years: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/texas-flooding-camp-mystic-map-death-toll-victims-latest-news-b2784433.htmlLocal officials in Kerrville have continued to deflect questions about their response to the flood: https://apnews.com/article/texas-floods-kerr-county-warnings-31c4e493e9f1b6d0406df310e74d3f98...Records show an effort by Kerr County commissioners to keep an antiquated word-of-mouth system in place for river flooding events, while expressing reluctance to accept grants from the Obama administration for infrastructure improvements: https://abcnews.go.com/US/former-texas-county-officials-thought-informal-phone-calls/story?id=123552333...Some of those officials are likely more fond of Donald Trump, whose cuts to the National Weather Service may have adversely affected the forecast, and has proposed eliminating FEMA, who are now working alongside volunteers in Kerr County: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/us/politics/texas-floods-trump-administration.html...Governor Abbott has indicated that flood safety will be addressed in an upcoming special legislative session, but has not specifically said that will happen during the one already called to begin July 21: https://www.kxan.com/investigations/abbott-special-session-may-address-warnings-after-deadly-texas-floods/...Lt. Governor Dan Patrick has gone a bit further, promising that the state will install a flood siren system in the Guadalupe River Valley by next summer: https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/state/texas-news/texas-flood/lt-gov-dan-patrick-state-will-pay-put-sirens-along-guadalupe-river-before-next-summer/287-2d253a6e-2c1d-40b4-9a04-4f1198314b9f...Other towns with rivers to manage nearby do have flood sirens installed, including nearby Comfort: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/deadly-texas-floods-one-town-warning-siren-rcna217202...Kerrville Pets Alive expect to have dozens of cats and dogs, displaced from their homes in the storm, up for adoption in coming weeks: https://kerrvillepetsalive.com/The merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Goodies at https://store.progresstexas.org/.Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:The latest on the July 4th floods in Kerr County and across Central Texas, where the death toll has surpassed 80 and over 40 remain missing: https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/texas-flooding-updates-13-dead-20-campers-unaccounted/?id=123488468...County and state leaders immediatly attempted to shift blame to weather forecasters - did they get it wrong? https://www.npr.org/2025/07/06/nx-s1-5458512/texas-flash-flood-weather-forecast...Those same leaders themselves acknowledge cell coverage and public flood warning infrastructure shortfalls that might have made a difference: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0rvp24wvrqo...Kerr County has passed on building outdoor flood siren warning systems for years, finding them too expensive: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/06/us/texas-flood-warnings-sirens.html...State Rep. Wes Virdell, one of only 14 House members to vote against HB 13, which would have established new emergency infrastructure funding had it not died in the house, says events of this weekend have made him reconsider that vote: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/06/texas-disaster-warning-emergency-communication-bill-kerrville-floods/...The flood itself is considered by many climate experts as a prime example of the type of weather behavior we can expect to see more frequently due to human-influenced climate degradation: https://www.axios.com/2025/07/06/climate-texas-tragedy-future...Legendary Austin meteorologist Jim Spencer responds to Facebook trolls accusing him of "politicizing the situation": https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1aoZ5DZ5ov/?mibextid=wwXIfrThe merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Goodies at https://store.progresstexas.org/.Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Last weekend, Progress Texas Digital Associate Haley Smith visited the welcome social for the Texas Young Democrats and Texas College Democrats Joint Convention in downtown Austin to talk with young, passionate leaders from across the state. Tune in for candid conversations, a pulse check on the grassroots movement, and inspiration from the young people leading the charge toward a more just and inclusive Texas.Thanks for listening! You can learn more about Progress Texas and support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org.
The news moves fast, y'all - between the time we recorded this on Thursday afternoon and posting time a couple of hours later, the U.S. House has passed what we've come to correctly call Donald Trump's Big Bullshit Bill - a truly historic heist of working class America for the richest in our country. As the elections of 2026 approach, it will be all-important not to let our fellow Texans who will be impacted - a great many of whom are Trump voters themselves - forget this moment. All the more important and appropriate, as we all prepare to celebrate Independence Day, to remind ourselves of what REAL patriotism is, and to spread that message as well.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
For a time that isn't typical, we're not bringing you the typical talking points. Herman Ibanez has 40 plus years of experience in clean energy. From developing green solutions for municipalities to multinational companies, we like to list him as a consultant on the good side of the revolving door. Either way you look at it, he has boundless knowledge surrounding ERCOT, energy regulation and investments, nuclear research, and federal spending.This week, we chatted about Trump's big horrid spending bill, wrongfully budgeted priorities expected to add trillions to our national debt. This bill definitely won't help you. Your electric bill is going to keep going up, jobs will be lost, and we will further fall into the Trump Recession.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:The U.S. House appears preparing to vote on Donald Trump's Big Bullshit Bill: https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-7-3-2025...As of last night, Austin Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett was holding out hope that the bill could be stopped: https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/doggett-holding-out-hope-that-trumps-one-big-beautiful-bill-could-fail-in-house...Austin Republican Congressman Chip Roy, seemingly holding out over the massive impact to the national debt, seems likely pliable over additional benefit cuts: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/us/politics/trump-conservatives-bill.html...Massive impacts on Texas, especially those in rural, Republican areas, appear to be landing on deaf GOP ears: https://www.keranews.org/texas-news/2025-07-02/texas-trump-tax-big-beautiful-bill-congress-snap-medicaid...The Texas clean energy sector, which just dodged a bullet with the end of the state legislative session, could be devastated by the bill: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/trump-budget-bill-wind-solar-ira-credits-20415094.phpRumors are growing that recently-former San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg is planning to run for Governor: https://quorumreport.com/quorum_report_daily_buzz_2025/chatter_growing_louder_out_of_san_antonio_that_for_buzziid32725.html...Our recent talk in San Antonio with Mayor Ron and newly-elected Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones: https://progresstexas.org/podcast/special-live-pod-san-antonio-party-progress-mayor-ron-nirenberg-and-mayoral-candidate-ginaWe should pay attention to lesser-known, upstart candidates too, including former astronaut Terry Virts of Houston, running for Senate: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/human-spaceflight/former-astronaut-terry-virts-talks-about-his-senate-run-trump-and-the-nasa-budget-in-exclusive-space-com-interview-video...And East Texas farmer and firefighter Bobby Cole, running for Governor: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/greg-abbott-reelection-20415198.phpThe upcoming special session appears likely to be characterized by growing tension between Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick over "Dan's Ban": https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-special-session-2025-thc-ban-greg-abbott-dan-patrick/285-982791df-6705-49fd-9d88-5ae09939b2caThat expected lawsuit over the new law requiring the displaying of the Ten Commandments in Texas classrooms from the ACLU has arrived: https://www.kxan.com/video/aclu-files-suit-against-texas-ten-commandments-law-kxan-news-at-6-p-m/10859214/Heading into the 4th of July weekend, Texas ranks terribly on a ranking of states based on patriotism: https://austin.culturemap.com/news/city-life/least-patriotic-states-texas-2025/As the Progress Texas Summer Vacation series focuses on the Big Bend region, we learn that Donald Trump's undercutting of the National Park system is both politically and fiscally stupid: https://www.tpr.org/2025-06-23/as-visitors-flock-to-parks-deep-cuts-leave-rangers-and-wildlife-at-riskThe merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Goodies at https://store.progresstexas.org/.Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
As part of our larger “Progress Texas Summer Vacation" series, we reviewed the threats to our national parks with Cristóbal López, the National Parks Conservation Association's Texas Field Representative. Our talk ranges from exacerbated staff shortages, to how Trump's budget bill could create the largest public lands sale in modern history - so billionaires can cut you out of “America's best idea” and keep the views to themselves.Learn more about this ongoing work at https://www.npca.org/articles/9320-senate-committee-abandons-national-park-staff-in-reckless-budget-proposal, and at https://www.npca.org/articles/8858-new-order-threatens-park-service-s-efforts-to-protect-and-explore-american.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Trump's Big Bullshit Bill, passed by the Senate, now heads for the House, where part of the opposition is Texas Congressman Chip Roy - whose concerns about impacts to the national debt will likely lead to even deeper cuts for vulnerable Americans: https://www.tpr.org/government-politics/2025-07-02/why-texas-rep-chip-roy-broke-with-trump-on-the-gops-mega-bill...Rural, red, Republican Texas is about to feel the full impact of the bill as the healthcare desert they already live in gets even worse: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/budget-bill-trump-medicaid-rural-hospitals-20402463.phpSenator John Cornyn - in major trouble in polling against Ken Paxton - has lost none of his fundraising prowess as he'll have at least $12 million to fend off his primary challenger: https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/07/01/congress/john-cornyn-fundraising-texas-senate-primary-ken-paxton-00434713Progress Texas Executive Director Kathleen Thompson weighs in on what Zohran Mamadani's success in NYC means for Texas: "young people are motivated if they're turned on by a candidate": https://thebarbedwire.com/2025/07/01/politicians-texans-can-learn-zohran-mamdani/...And we review that time in 2008 when Kathleen bested recently-declared Texas Senate candidate Leigh Wamsganss, who wanted Texans to ignore bad polling on then-VP candidate Sarah Palin: https://vimeo.com/27319160Advocacy and Development Coordinator Tatum Owens has been travels in the Pacific Northwest, where she's experiencing firsthand the impact of Trump's budget cuts on our national parks: https://www.commoncause.org/fr/actes/tell-congress-stop-trumps-cuts-to-national-parks/The merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Goodies at https://store.progresstexas.org/.Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Texas Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, naturally, are all in for Donald Trump's deeply unpopular Big Bullshit Bill: https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-7-1-2025...It will have massive effects in Texas, both for SNAP recipients and the 15% of Texans who rely on Medicaid: https://www.kxan.com/news/texas-politics/how-could-changes-to-snap-and-medicaid-in-the-one-big-beautiful-bill-impact-texas/...Elon Musk is up in arms about the cuts to electric vehicle subsidies in the bill, and Tesla stock took a dive this morning when Trump suggested DOGE have a look at Musk's federal take: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/01/tesla-shares-tumble-after-trump-says-doge-should-look-at-elon-musks-subsidies.html...Don't cry for Elon though - the loss of USAID is projected to result in 14 million needless deaths globally by 2030: https://www.ft.com/content/945a0301-2bf5-4e0f-bdc4-f07f82891cb1As expected, former Dallas Congressman Colin Allred has formally launched a run for the U.S. Senate: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/01/colin-allred-texas-us-senate-democrat-2026-cornyn-paxton/A host of Texas GOP establishment biggies are calling for Tarrant County Republican Party Chair Bo French to resign over a recent bigoted tweet - but figures in the hard right lunatic fringe are rallying in support: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/texas-republicans-tarrant-county-bo-french-social-media-poll-jews-muslims/Progress Texas Summer Vacation! Advocacy Manager Reagan Stone paid a visit to the Alamo over the weekend: https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/unesco-san-antonio-missions-nps-layoffs-20202390.php...And Advocacy and Development Coordinator Tatum Owens has been traveling in the Pacific Northwest: https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/research-restrooms-summer-staffing-crunch-hits-national-parks-after-trump-cuts-2025-06-08/The merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Goodies at https://store.progresstexas.org/.Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Donald Trump's continued press to establish an authoritarian regime, supported by his stacked Supreme Court, gives progressives all the more reason to rise and resist: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/28/us/supreme-court-trump-victories.html...The Trump tax bill, on the verge of passing the Senate, provide even more reason for working Americans to make their opposition known: https://apnews.com/article/senate-bill-trump-tax-breaks-spending-cuts-549c2fdd47c1965007282b8461687bc9...Seeing that opposing Trump is a fatal mistake for Senate Republicans, and living in fatal fear of a Ken Paxton primary, John Cornyn is now sucking up to the President with whom he has up till now maintained distance: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/30/john-cornyn-senate-texas-primary-republicans-trump-paxton/...Who will the Democrats put up for Senate? Beto O'Rourke, James Talarico, Joaquin Castro and more gathered Friday night in San Antonio: https://www.tpr.org/government-politics/2025-06-29/who-will-texas-democrats-pick-to-be-their-nominee-to-run-for-u-s-senator...GOP toxicity in both D.C. and Texas are giving Dems hope for '26: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/06/30/why-democrats-are-excited-about-texas-real-this-time/...Governor Greg Abbott and Senator Ted Cruz find themselves in an endorsement battle in the race for Texas Comptroller: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2025/06/30/hard-fought-2026-gop-primaries-could-reshuffle-texas-politics/...Fort Worth State Rep. Nate Schatzline, just days after declaring a run for the Texas Senate, chickens out when a Patriot Mobile executive declares for the same seat: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article309578670.htmlA capital murder charge brought against a North Texas man accused of slipping abortion-inducing drugs to his pregnant girlfriend represents a new move by anti-abortion activists to establish fetal personhood: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/30/texas-abortion-pill-capital-murder-charge-fetal-personhood/The merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Goodies at https://store.progresstexas.org/.Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
On this week's download of frustration and triumph and frustration, the crew celebrates the win of Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral primary - which both portends the rising power of young progressive voters, and has also unleashed an amazing outpouring of panic from not only the far right, but also, strangely enough, some from the Democratic old guard. What gives? We talk about it, and more.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can join in our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Current and former aides to Attorney General Ken Paxton are in an all-out and tawdry legal battle over alleged obstruction during Paxton's 2023 impeachment, threatening to become a sideshow for Paxton's expected run for Senate next year: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/26/ken-paxton-impeachment-witness-tampering-former-employees/?_bhlid=1ce16d89f9b2653aa078b30c686107bc7fce03c7...Top Democrats are lining up to face Paxton next year, as Congressman Joaquin Castro, former Congressmen Colin Allred and Beto O'Rourke, and Austin State Rep. James Talarico have begun talks to discuss the plan: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2025/06/26/democrats-allred-castro-orourke-talarico-meet-to-discuss-2026-options/...O'Rourke, Talarico and Castro will all speak tonight at a Powered By People event in San Antonio: https://www.mobilize.us/poweredxpeople/event/798485/Tarrant County Republican Party chairman Bo French, once again, displays his childish bigotry online - when will Fort Worth area Republicans tire of his embarrassing antics? https://www.sacurrent.com/news/north-texas-republican-party-shares-online-poll-asking-whether-jews-or-muslims-are-bigger-threat-37841913The Trump administration is expanding its military footprint in Texas, endangering the right of Texans to enjoy outdoor spaces near the border: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/26/texas-military-zone-expansion-illegal-immigration/...The Posse Comitatus Act is now being significantly strained in the Texas borderlands: https://www.npr.org/2025/05/06/g-s1-63778/military-border-zone-posse-comitatus-explainedSocial Security is NOT doomed to insolvency - it could be made solid if the top 6% of American earners paid in the same rate as the rest of us: https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriksherman/2025/06/24/social-security-faces-cuts-even-though-theres-a-fix-for-its-problems/The merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Goodies at https://store.progresstexas.org/.Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
The second time we've run Joe Jaworski's "Midterms" political talk show hosted by KPFT-FM in Houston, where it runs every Tuesday morning, features a talk with former Congressman Beto O'Rourke! It was recorded just after Beto's swing through Texas on his tour of town hall meetings - since, of course, he's joined Senator Bernie Sanders and Austin Congressman Greg Casar and more for a similar run of rallies through the state.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can get involved in our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:New bi-monthy polling in Texas finds negativity growing against Republican leadership and policies, from Donald Trump to Governor Greg Abbott and on down the line: https://texaspolitics.utexas.edu/blog/june-2025-university-of-texas-texas-politics-project-poll-economic-concerns-drag-trump-s-job-approval-underwater-in-texas-while-most-texans-oppose-ban-on-thc-products-dividing-gop-leadership...Also deep bipartisan disapproval for Dan's Ban of THC products, vetoed by Abbott and now central to an upcoming special session: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/25/texas-poll-voters-oppose-thc-ban-sb-3/The special session will likely cover more than Dan's Ban - a massive water-pumping project in East Texas has led to calls to reform state laws that allow almost unlimited private water access: https://www.kltv.com/2025/06/26/east-texas-lawmaker-might-ask-gov-abbott-add-water-rights-special-session/...So far, not much has been said about tackling redistricting in the special session - this one, anyway - which is good, because it's a terrible idea: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/2025/06/26/texas-shouldnt-use-special-session-to-redraw-electoral-maps/Trump's "big beautiful bill", if passed as written, would be the end of at least 15 rural hospitals across Texas: https://www.markey.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/letter_on_rural_hospitals.pdfThe Texas oil industry has thus far ignored Trump's calls to expand pumping to offset his misadventures in Iran - unlike the dictatorships Trump admires, American oil producers are more beholden to their investors than to the Dear Leader: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/article/trump-oil-production-texas-20391839.phpThe merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Goodies at https://store.progresstexas.org/.Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Former Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger has become an influential player in Texas politics since moving his family to the Houston area after leaving the U.S. House in 2022. His vocal rejection of Donald Trump and the MAGA movement, including his active involvement in Trump's second impeachment, has brought him into natural alliance with progressives across the country. Congressman Kinzinger recently took part in a forum with several recent Democratic winners of North Texas elections, organized by the Dallas County Democratic Party and held at Northaven United Methodist Church on June 17, and this podcast contains his remarks as well as an interview conducted by Congressman Kinzinger's fellow anti-Trump Republican and military veteran Michael Wood, in which the two explore the history and current nature of the MAGA movement, and strategies on how the rest of America should go about resisting it.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how to support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:The primary win of young Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamadani in the New York City mayoral election is being seen by some as a bellwether for the national Democratic party: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/25/nyregion/cuomo-mamdani-mayor-primary-nyc.html...Also representing that wave, Austin Congressman Greg Casar has been sticking to economic messages over cultural issues on his recent tour with Bernie Sanders: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/25/greg-casar-midterms-2026-democrats-economic-populist-message/...Also with the Democratic new guard is Dallas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, who has once again been denied a leadership position by the Dem establishment, who tend to see her as "overzealous": https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/24/texas-jasmine-crockett-house-oversight-committee-ranking-democrat/?_bhlid=1766cdc79b48c2d325de759b7727d6aa2da63f9e...Houston Congressman Al Green - not a young lawmaker but definitely a fiery one - has seen his move to impeach Donald Trump for his attack on Iran fail, once again at the hands of Democrats concerned about the middle: https://www.axios.com/2025/06/24/trump-impeachment-iran-democrats-al-greenEast Texas rancher and firefighter Bobby Cole has launched a campaign for Governor as a Democrat, promising to support working Texans - and to legalize marijuana: https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/bobby-cole-texas-governor-20391255.phpA migrant detention camp in El Paso is straining at the seams, part of a swelling number of people under ICE detention - much to the glee of the private prison industry: https://elpasomatters.org/2025/06/24/ice-detention-facility-el-paso/The merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Goodies at https://store.progresstexas.org/.Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Today marks the beginning of a three day conference of the Texas State Board of Education in Austin. The quarterly meet ups set policies and standards for Texas public schools. That includes curriculum, adopting instructional materials, establishing graduation requirements, and managing the permanent school fund.As the SBOE is one of our lesser known state elected bodies, we brought you District 3 State Board of Education Member, Marisa Perez-Diaz, the most senior Democrat, who represents San Antonio and South Texas, to give us an insider's view of the most important matters on the agenda. We're also joined by friend and ally Rocio Fierro Perez, Political Director with the Texas Freedom Network, who shares context to the ongoing fights safeguarding separations between church and state and vital funds that support our neighborhood schools. Learn more about Marisa Perez-Diaz at https://sboe.texas.gov/state-board-of-education/sboe-board-members/sboe-member-district-3.Learn more about Rocio Fierro Perez and Texas Freedom Network at https://tfn.org/.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:In the only budget item from the 89th Legislature he vetoed, Governor Abbott has nixed Texas' participation in the federal Summer EBT program, designed to keep lower-income kids fed during summer months: https://www.sacurrent.com/news/texas-gov-greg-abbott-vetoes-summer-lunch-program-for-low-income-kids-37817843Lt. Governor Dan Patrick is fully hysterical over Abbott's ban of Dan's Ban - he's accusing the hemp industry of connections to cartels and terrorists, and claiming that stoned people are walking in front of trains: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/lt-gov-dan-patrick-criticize-texas-gov-greg-abbott-vetoes-bill-banning-thc/...The Texas hemp industry, having dodged a bullet, are voicing their enthusaism for additional regulation: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/23/texas-hemp-regulations-age-restriction-enforcement-thc-sb-3/...All this drama over THC products in Texas could be for nothing, as there's potentially a federal ban in the works: https://themarijuanaherald.com/2025/06/u-s-house-committee-ban-hemp-thc/The ACLU has filed a lawsuit challenging SB 12, signed over the weekend by Governor Abbott - it represents a further ban of DEI policies and practi ces in Texas school districts: https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/the-aclu-sues-texas-to-block-new-parental-rights-lawColin Allred, Beto O'Rourke, James Talarico and all other Democrats thinking about running for the U.S. Senate have been beaten to the announcement punch by retired astronaut Terry Virts of Houston: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/23/us/terry-virts-john-cornyn-senate-texas.html...While Houston State Senator Joan Huffman joins a growing field of Republicans running for Attorney General: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/23/joan-huffman-texas-attorney-general-republican-primary-2026/Correction from Monday: Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders didn't make the Amarillo "Fighting Oligarchy" tour stop in Amarillo, as he was called back to D.C. over Trump's attack on Iran - but Beto O'Rourke and Congressman Greg Casar addressed a big gathering there: https://www.newschannel10.com/2025/06/23/fighting-oligarchy-tour-stops-amarillo-sparks-dialogue-war-wealth-issues/The merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Goodies at https://store.progresstexas.org/.Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Latest on Donald Trump's attack on nuclear facilities in Iran: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/22/us/politics/trump-iran-decision-strikes.html...Responses from Texas Democratic U.S. Reps Lloyd Doggett, Greg Casar, Lizzie Fletcher, and Sylvia Garcia: https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-lawmakers-leaders-trump-iran/285-32881e5e-89ce-49ef-bd91-2795e3151ad6...Rep. Joaquin Castro: https://x.com/JoaquinCastrotx/status/1936625247827984825?t=W3viAqQkePA_BDDbdUMCzw&s=03...Rep. Julie Johnson: https://x.com/RepJasmine/status/1936589516283978011?t=oUJBI0mTXCogRIoPwFoGmw&s=03...Eight things to know about Trump's Iran attack, from Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy: https://www.chrismurphyct.com/p/8-things-you-should-know-about-trumps?utm_campaign=post&triedRedirect=trueGovernor Abbott has vetoed SB 3, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick's THC ban: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/22/texas-thc-ban-bill-greg-abbott-veto-senate-bill-3/?_bhlid=4937622fa4afb7b6d628185df1035b9f2279d7b7...Abbott has called a special session for a re-do on hemp regulation, and a revisiting of six other bills he vetoed: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/22/texas-governor-greg-abbott-special-session-veto-bills-thc-ban/...Abbott signed into law SB 10, the forcing of the display of the Ten Commandments in Texas classrooms, which is certain to face aggressive legal resistance: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2025/06/21/gov-abbott-signs-ten-commandments-bill-mandating-displays-in-texas-classrooms/...He also signed into law SB 11, which will allow local school boards to mandate prayer time in their districts: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2025/05/22/prayer-period-in-texas-public-schools-expected-to-reach-gov-abbott-for-approval/...And Abbott signed HB 229, the "Women's Bill Of Rights" that amounts to an erasure of trans Texans into law on Friday: https://klewtv.com/news/nation-world/gov-abbott-signs-womens-bill-of-rights-which-opponents-call-an-attack-on-trans-texansThe merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Goodies at https://store.progresstexas.org/.Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
Hard to believe that our 15th Anniversary shindig in Dallas was just under two weeks ago - so much is happening, and so quickly, that time is really flying by. Podcasting Director Chris Mosser works the room when we gather our friends together to check in on how they feel about our work at Progress Texas, and this pod presents a bunch of our favorite Texans - whom we thank with all of our hearts for their dedication to progress, and their support of our organization.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
We're excited to be one of the first to bring to you a discussion with newly-announced Democratic candidate for Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Clayton Tucker. He's a rancher, president of the Texas Progressive Caucus, and works as a fair trade organizer, fighting corporations that use international trade policy to rig the rules against working people and ship jobs overseas. You might already know him as one of Texas' architects in framing policy around working families and quality services that help people like you. Of course, when referring to the most scandalous of our statewide officials—there's no one better to shine light on and frankly dig in on, than Republican Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. Here's Clayton's take on how he would refocus the office on the farmer, ranchers, and children it was meant to serve.Learn more about Clayton Tucker and his campaign at https://www.claytontuckertx.com/.Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.
Our weekly blowing off of the proverbial steam covers the afterglow of the glorious No Kings weekend, Governor Abbott's deadline to sign legislation or get off the pot on Sunday, our worst fears about exactly WHO these masked ICE agents actually are, and more.Have a great weekend and thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas at https://progresstexas.org/.
Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:Despite the risks, opposition within his party, and terrible optics, it's looking like Governor Greg Abbott may cave to Donald Trump and call a special legislative session for a rare mid-decade redistricting session: https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/20/politics/redistricting-texas-ohio-republicans-houseSunday marks the deadline for Governor Greg Abbott to sign bills into law. On the THC ban, will he choose personal freedom - or a nanny state in Texas? https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/greg-abbott-texas-thc-ban/...Texas Longhorns football legend Ricky Williams calls on "my friend Greg Abbott to please veto this bill": https://www.kvue.com/article/news/politics/texas-legislature/texas-thc-ban-ricky-williams-greg-abbott/269-4cba052f-589d-4728-aae9-f1aeb7e477e5...Even right wing media in Texas acknowledges the strong bipartisan opposition to Dan's Ban: https://thetexan.news/issues/social-issues-life-family/trump-polling-firm-finds-bipartisan-opposition-to-banning-thc-products-in-texas/article_9f5b1478-7bc7-499a-8b07-6d5bb04eea48.htmlSunday is also the deadline for Abbott to sign, or not, two bills representing a significant encroachment of Christian religious dogma into Texas public schools: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/religion/2025/06/19/524438/bills-on-religion-in-public-schools-await-gov-greg-abbotts-signature-as-sunday-deadline-looms/The Bernie Sanders "Fighting Oligarchy" tour hits McAllen tonight and both Amarillo and Fort Worth on Sunday, where Bernie will be joined by Congressman Greg Casar and former Congressman Beto O'Rourke: https://www.expressnews.com/politics/article/bernie-sanders-fighting-oligarchy-tour-texas-stops-20378303.php...We presented the Austin stop of this same tour last October: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/special-pod-mount-rushmore-of-progressives-rally-at/id1552998795?i=1000671582577The merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Goodies at https://store.progresstexas.org/.Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at https://progresstexas.org.
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