December 23, 2020

Why the South Is Organizing Its Own Green New Deal

LAKE CHARLES, LA.—After Hur­ri­cane Lau­ra hit in late August, a local chem­i­cal plant erupt­ed in flames. The fire, one of 31 post-Lau­ra oil and chem­i­cal leaks report­ed, sent up plumes of smoke and chlo­rine gas. Louisiana offi­cials told res­i­dents (many of whom had lost pow­er or their homes) to shel­ter in place and turn off their air con­di­tion­ing in the sum­mer heat to avoid the fumes.

“How do you shel­ter in place with no shel­ter?” KD Minor, a com­mu­ni­ty orga­niz­er from Lake Charles, asked dur­ing a vir­tu­al con­fer­ence in August. Minor began coor­di­nat­ing relief before Lau­ra hit, pro­vid­ing res­i­dents with gas mon­ey to evac­u­ate. Oth­ers matched her con­tri­bu­tions, and “$5 turned into $1,000,” which Minor dis­trib­uted through For­ev­er Cal­casieu, a mutu­al aid net­work. Minor is still help­ing peo­ple get assis­tance as hur­ri­canes bat­ter the region.

Lau­ra wasn’t the first storm to expose over­lap­ping vul­ner­a­bil­i­ties in the Gulf South—where thou­sands of oil and gas wells, refiner­ies and petro­chem­i­cal plants sit in a storm path super­charged by the emis­sions of the fos­sil fuel indus­try—nor will it be the last. While res­i­dents of Texas, Louisiana, Mis­sis­sip­pi, Alaba­ma, and Flori­da are build­ing mutu­al aid net­works, they’re also mak­ing longer-term plans, like the Gulf South for a Green New Deal.

Like the nation­al Green New Deal (GND) res­o­lu­tion, the Gulf South GND pro­pos­es slash­ing plan­et-warm­ing emis­sions through an ener­gy tran­si­tion with well-pay­ing union jobs, hous­ing, trans­porta­tion and health­care for all. But the Gulf South plat­form goes fur­ther, call­ing for an end to pipeline con­struc­tion, divest­ment from region­al mil­i­tary instal­la­tions and repur­pos­ing fos­sil fuel infra­struc­ture for renew­able ener­gy. It also demands food sov­er­eign­ty, repa­ra­tions for Black, Brown and Indige­nous peo­ple, and the redis­tri­b­u­tion of unpol­lut­ed lands to mar­gin­al­ized groups.

Read more: https://www.texasobserver.org/why-the-south-is-organizing-its-own-green-new-deal/

December 23, 2020

Today in scams, this absolutely brazen cash grab for a bus trip to Trump's 2021 inauguration

After seeing this in the Bulwark newsletter the other day, we were pretty sure it would be dead on Eventbrite by the time we clicked.



But nope, these hucksters are still taking money. For a bus trip to Donald Trump's inauguration.

On Jan. 20, 2021. (Screaky-screaky noise as you grind your fists into your eye sockets in disbelief.)

YEP.

There's a sucker born every minute, as P.T. Barnum said, and I might add that most of them are wearing MAGA hats.



Read more: https://www.sacurrent.com/the-daily/archives/2020/12/22/today-in-scams-this-absolutely-brazen-cash-grab-for-a-bus-trip-to-trumps-2021-inauguration
(San Antonio Current)

December 23, 2020

After lobbying by Texas club owners, COVID-relief deal includes $15 billion to save music venues

No, that $600 federal check isn't going to go far, but music fans have reason to celebrate the passage of the long-delayed second stimulus deal.

The $900 billion package approved last night incorporates the Save Our Stages Act, which provides for $15 billion in Small Business Administration grants to help independent music venues survive the pandemic.

Save Our Stages was introduced in July by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, in the Senate and U.S. Reps. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, and Roger Williams, R-Texas, in the House. It followed months of lobbying by venue owners warning that COVID-19 shutdowns will shutter clubs, bars and theaters across the country.

Blayne Tucker, a San Antonio club operator involved in the lobbying effort, said the relief comes as venue owners and employees face months of additional downtime before live music makes a significant return.

Read more: https://www.sacurrent.com/sa-sound/archives/2020/12/22/after-lobbying-by-texas-club-owners-covid-relief-deal-includes-15-billion-to-save-music-venues
(San Antonio Current)

December 23, 2020

No Evidence Of Election Fraud In Harris County, Task Force Finds

Harris County did not find any evidence of election fraud in the November election, despite widespread allegations of fraud from individuals ranging from President Donald Trump to local Republicans.

That's the finding of a multi-agency, bipartisan task force set up to monitor the safety and security of the election — the Harris County Elections Security Task Force — composed of individuals from the Harris County District Attorney's Office, the County Attorney's Office, the County Clerk's Office, and the Office of Precinct One Constable Alan Rosen.

The task force used techniques including undercover investigations and even explosive detection canine units to track down any evidence of fraud or tampering.

Special Assistant County Attorney Terence O'Rourke, the task force organizer, said the group responded to hundreds of allegations of wrongdoing, but found little evidence.

Read more: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/harris-county/2020/12/20/388187/taskforce-finds-no-evidence-of-election-fraud-in-harris-county/

December 23, 2020

The Stimulus Bill Screws Over Single Childless People

The recent COVID stimulus bill is expected to deliver $600 to Americans. I can just about pay my rent with that because I am married with a child and that adds up to $1,800 for the household. If you’re not, the government doesn’t seem to care about you as much.

I don’t think anyone begrudges me getting extra cash for my kid. Obviously, this quarantine has been hard on them, too. What I’m saving in tuition at her local jiu jitsu dojo I’m spending on her therapy because kids are literally getting suicidal over all this. Taking care of the most vulnerable members of our society is what society is actually for.

That said, this continued insistence that the nuclear family household should always be the ones to reap the maximum benefits of the welfare state is quite literally killing people who aren’t married and don’t have kids. This is no secret to Texans. In this state you can’t even get on Medicaid if you’re a non-disabled, childless adult under 65 since our state has refused the expansion of benefits under the Affordable Care Act. Our food assistance program is similarly stingy, and single, childless people can usually only get three months out of the year worth of help.

The over-arching theme of these assistance programs isn’t that families with children need more help. It’s that people who are “abled” and “unburdened” don’t need help except in the direst circumstances. Maybe that was true back in the ancient 1970s when you could still afford rent on a fry cook’s salary, but it hasn’t been true in my lifetime.

Read more: https://www.houstonpress.com/news/the-covid-stimulus-bill-is-bad-for-single-people-11520988

December 23, 2020

Satanists Posted a Dallas Billboard Advocating for Reproductive Rights: 'Abortions Save Lives!'

Just in time for Christmas, drivers cruising down Highway 80 in Dallas can now catch a glimpse of a 10-by-40-foot bulletin from The Satanic Temple declaring, “Abortions save lives!”

In addition to Dallas, the organization has posted billboards in Houston and Miami, said Sydney Goodwin, the temple’s Religious Reproductive Rights spokesperson. So far, the ads have inspired “overwhelmingly positive” reactions from Satanic Temple members, Goodwin said.

“We have had some on social media say that they’d love to take a trip to one of the three cities just to see the billboards — and, in fact, I would too,” she said with a laugh.

The temple unveiled two designs last week; both state, “Our religious abortion ritual averts many state restrictions.” The Dallas billboard goes on to say, “Pregnancy complications are the sixth most common cause of death among women between the ages of 20 and 34.”

Read more: https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/the-satanic-temple-bought-11971116

December 23, 2020

Protesters Call Gainesville 'Most Racist Small Town in Confederate States of America

For months, the anti-racist organization PRO Gainesville has been conducting protests calling for the removal of a colossal Confederate monument from Gainesville’s courthouse lawn, but Friday, the group took a more provocative approach.

“Welcome to Gainesville, The most racist small town in the Confederate States of America,” declared an eye-catching blue-and-red banner unveiled at Friday’s demonstration.

Protesters say the statue is a symbol of hate that makes them feel uncomfortable in their own town. Yet Cooke County’s commissioners have chosen to keep the monument in its position of prominence, making the bold 13-and-a-half-foot banner necessary, said PRO Gainesville founder Torrey Henderson.

“We know this is not the Confederate States of America: This is America, and it’s time for us to progress," Henderson said.

Read more: https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/gainesville-protesters-continue-to-call-for-removal-of-confederate-statue-display-controversial-banner-11970912

December 22, 2020

Austin-Travis County area crosses threshold for highest coronavirus restrictions

The Austin-Travis County area on Monday crossed the threshold that health officials have said would trigger the highest level of pandemic-restrictions.

On Monday, Austin-Travis County health authorities said the the rolling seven-day average of hospitalizations for the area had reached 50.1. It's the highest that the figure has been since July 25, when the average was 53.1.

That average is one of several key indicators that health officials look at when considering changes to coronavirus-related guidelines, in addition to the number of patients in intense care units, ventilator use, positivity rate and seven-day moving average of new cases.

If that number goes above 50, county health authorities have said they will consider Stage 5 restrictions, the toughest restrictions recommended under Austin Public Health's risk-based guidelines.

Read more: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2020/12/21/austin-travis-county-covid-dec-21-20/4001692001/

December 22, 2020

Court: Texas could face daily $75,000 fine if it doesn't comply with foster care orders

A federal judge on Friday found the state of Texas in contempt of court for continuing to fail to comply with court orders put in place to protect children in state custody from abuse.

The state may face a daily $75,000 fine for each day it remains in noncompliance with orders from Corpus Christi-based federal District Judge Janis Graham Jack, who has required the state to put in place a system to check licensed foster care providers' history of allegations of abuse and neglect. Jack gave the state 15 days to comply.

The fines will begin on the 16th day if the departments overseeing Texas' foster care services cannot provide proof of compliance.

Friday's ruling is the latest twist in a nearly 10-year-old class action lawsuit over allegations of abuse, neglect and systemic failures in Texas' child welfare system.

Read more: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2020/12/21/texas-could-face-daily-75-k-fine-after-found-contempt-court/3983643001/

December 22, 2020

Juarez police find tiger cub named Thor riding in car passenger seat

A tiger cub named Thor was seized by Juárez authorities after police saw him riding in the passenger seat of a car over the weekend.

A police patrol pulled over a black Nissan Maxima after spotting the 5-month-old cub in the passenger seat of a car driven by the tiger's owner on Zaragoza Boulevard in the Parajes de Oriente area of eastern Juárez, a news release stated.

Police said that the owner, identified as Daniel P.C., was arrested on environmental charges because the exotic animal was not properly secured and the owner allegedly did not have permits for the big cat.

The owner also was warned that he could not display the animal in public without the proper safety precautions.

Read more: https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/local/juarez/2020/12/21/tiger-cub-thor-riding-car-juarez-mexico/3986315001/


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