TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalDonald, It's Not About You
Trump looks at every issue through the lens of whether it makes him look good or bad. And he projects this premise onto his critics. Thus, the Democrats are delaying school openings in order to make him look bad.
As the Twit-in-Chief tweeted, “The Dems think it would be bad for them politically if U.S. schools open before the November Election, but is important for the children & families.”
Actually, the nation’s governors, mayors, and school officials (many of them Republicans) are trying to balance agonizing choices. On the one hand, kids need face-to-face learning. And their parents rely on schools as safe places for their children while they go to work.
On the other hand, a reversion to normal school schedules obviously isn’t safe.
Trump isn’t making these awful trade-offs any easier. He’s denying schools extra funding in the face of a collapse of state and local revenues. And he’s doing nothing to relieve the extra pressure on child care systems, as more learning is necessarily done remotely.
Read more: https://prospect.org/blogs/tap/donald-its-not-about-you-pandemic-school-openings/
(American Prospect)
Unsanitized: Labor Repression in Mexico and Dangers in the COVID Workplace
In a world without coronavirus, this would have been a big week for Trump’s re-election. He had planned to host the leaders of Mexico and Canada to celebrate the updated NAFTA agreement coming into force on July 1. Instead, Justin Trudeau didn’t show up and few paid attention to Andrés Manuel López Obrador showing up. Even fewer have paid attention to the fact that the new NAFTA (the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA), designed to improve labor rights in Mexico and therefore create a more level playing field for North American workers, appears doomed to not accomplish that goal.
Throughout Mexico, workers and worker advocates trying to assert the rights given through USMCA and in the country’s new labor law are being harassed, fired, and arrested. And coronavirus is being used as a smokescreen to facilitate these subjugations. Manufacturing wages in Mexico are 40 percent lower than wages in China, according to Public Citizen’s Lori Wallach, and the resistance from mostly U.S.-owned manufacturing sites along the border ensure that things will stay that way.
On Wednesday, Wallach hosted a remarkable event with Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-IL) and Susana Prieto Terrazas, whose story the Prospect has previously covered. Prieto, a labor attorney, was arrested and held for a month in a Matamoros prison for “leading a riot” at a labor court. In reality, it was a protest that Prieto didn’t attend. She was put in jail because she represents one of the first independent labor unions in Mexico, not the sham “protection unions” that the USMCA was supposed to eliminate. Prieto helped workers in Matamoros win wage hikes last year, and therefore she must be punished.
The main thing that Prieto was organizing at the time of her arrest was workplace and wage protections due to COVID-19. Most of the border manufacturing sites, known as maquiladoras, have not shut down or even slowed down their assembly lines. Masks or other protective equipment were not distributed, and travel on packed buses to the factories continued. Prieto alleged that 25 percent of workers in the maquiladoras have fallen ill, and “death has begun in Matamoros.”
Read more: https://prospect.org/coronavirus/unsanitized-labor-repression-in-mexico-and-dangers-in-the-co/
(American Prospect)
I, Pastafari: A Flying Spaghetti Monster Story
With millions of believers worldwide, The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is the world's fastest growing religion. Followers of the faith, Pastafarians, have been preaching the message of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) since The Prophet Bobby Henderson's 'Open Letter to the Kansas School Board' went viral in 2005. In response to a decision to teach evolution alongside creationism as equivalent theories in science classes statewide, he argued that it would then only be fair to teach other creation beliefs in science as well. Specifically, his belief: that a Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe. I, Pastafari is a story about a few brave Pastafarians evangelizing the message of the FSM, while confronting intolerant skeptics for the freedom to access privileges in law granted to other "real" religions. In a time of anti-vaxxers, flat-earthers, fake news, and alternative facts, the Pastafarians may be the savior the world has been waiting for.
Texas-sized brand: Why are the Longhorns so valuable?
Although Texas football won its last national championship 15 years ago and hasn't contended for a title since 2009, the Longhorn brand still reigns.
Texas posted just one 10-win season in the last decade, unlike juggernauts Alabama, Clemson and rival Oklahoma. Still, the Longhorns, valued at a nation-high $1.1 billion in 2018, are among college football’s top earners, according to an annual study by Ryan Brewer, an associate professor of finance at Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus.
UT football's decline in the 2010s doesn’t erase its historic success or Texas’ dominance in other sports and areas, said 2008 alumnus Kyle Umlang, who shares Longhorn sports data with his 10.6 thousand Twitter followers.
“It’s only been mediocrity for the last decade, but we’ve been playing football for 125 years, and the majority of that we’ve dominated,” Umlang said. “But we’re not just a football school; I like to call us an everything school.”
Read more: https://thedailytexan.com/2020/07/05/texas-sized-brand-why-are-the-longhorns-so-valuable
Brookshire Grocery Co. extends hourly appreciation pay through Labor Day weekend
In a continued effort to help its employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, Brookshire Grocery Co. is extending appreciation pay through Sept. 11 for its retail and logistics employees in recognition of their hard work serving customers.
The extension of $1 more per hour began March 24 at BGC.
Through additional nine weeks of extra pay, Brookshire’s will have given over $21 million to employees through bonus checks, gift cards, temporary wage increases for retail and logistics employees, retail incentives, employee discounts, on-site meals, and a compensation plan for those who may be directly affected by COVID-19, according to a company statement.
“Now more than ever, our retail and logistics employee-partners have continued to go above and beyond to provide our customers with product, outstanding service and a safe place to shop,” Trent Brookshire, COO for Brookshire Grocery Co., said. “I am so proud of our employees and this appreciation pay is a tangible offering of our sincere gratitude for everything they are doing. These heroes showcase their compassion and dedication every day while filling our essential responsibility in our communities. I am so proud to be part of such an incredible team who upholds such high standards for service and safety.”
BGC has also made several changes to benefits, including temporarily waiving co-pays for medical services delivered through MDLive.
Read more: https://tylerpaper.com/news/local/brookshire-grocery-co-extends-hourly-appreciation-pay-through-labor-day-weekend/article_45f10d46-c2e4-11ea-bcd1-631559d6ca8d.html
'Dan's disinformation jeopardized our way of life,' says Crenshaw opponent Sima Ladjevardian
While positive COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Texas, GOP Rep. Dan Crenshaw has been a strong advocate for wearing no masks, all while hosting no-mask in-person events in the state.
Meanwhile, Texas is reporting 1 of 7 coronavirus cases nationally over the past week, a new grim milestone regarding the pandemic.
In accordance with party lines, Crenshaw has continuously given factually wrong takes regarding the coronavirus on social media and Fox News. In early March, Crenshaw claimed that masks do not help to prevent the virus, and even called Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s mask order “way over the top and draconian” and leading to “unjust government tyranny. But Gov. Greg Abbott issued a similar statewide mask order on July 2, and Crenshaw now believes it is a “targeted measure” and “the governor makes a good case for it.”
Then on June 12 Crenshaw said the virus is “not going to get transmitted” and that “it seems obvious that mass gatherings should be limited.” But a week later, he attended multiple maskless meet-and-greet events in Houston, including a packed-house event with Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.
Read more: https://texassignal.com/dans-disinformation-jeopardized-our-way-of-life-says-crenshaw-opponent-sima-ladjevardian/
Venture capitalists starting to show interest in Brownsville, Texas
BROWNSVILLE, Texas – Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation is set to host the inaugural StartUp Texas Pitch Summit this Wednesday, July 8 via a livestream from the Brownsville Performing Arts Academy.
BCIC Executive Director Josh Mejia said the event will showcase early stage companies presenting their product or service to a judging panel of industry experts, venture capitalists, and high profile media.
If the judges like what they see and hear, the finalists could win a share of $100,000.
In a Zoom conversation with The Rio Grande Guardian, Mejia said there was a little bit of uncertainty as to whether BCIC’s StartUp Texas program would be a success, due to the economic downturn caused by COVID-19. However, he said his fears have been allayed.
“We have narrowed it down to ten finalist startups that are scalable. Some are homegrown and some from Mexico City, and some coming from the northeast portion of the country, up in Boston.”
Read more: https://riograndeguardian.com/mejia-venture-capitalists-starting-to-show-interest-in-brownsville-texas/
Texas A&M participating in research study analyzing racial profiling during traffic stops in Texas
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M and Tarleton State University’s Dr. Alex del Carmen are partnering together to analyze data on racial profiling reported by Texas law enforcement agencies in the past year.
Dr. Del Carmen is the Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts’ School of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Strategic Studies. He is a leading national expert on racial profiling in policing, and has experience in two high profile police reform cases.
He will lead teams at Texas A&M to study data involving police conduct during traffic stops. This includes whether the officer knew the race of the individual they stopped beforehand, if they gave a verbal or written warning during the stop, and if the officer used force that resulted in injury.
“Now, more than ever, the analysis of police data specific to minorities is crucial to the better understanding and reconciliation of our communities,” said Dr. Del Carmen in a press release.
Read more: https://www.kagstv.com/article/news/local/texas-a-m-u/texas-am-research-study-racial-profiling-traffic-stops-texas/499-b2ae7640-3941-4a88-88de-cc419e62230c
Chesapeake Files for Bankruptcy -- Good Riddance
On Sunday, June 28, Chesapeake Energy filed for bankruptcy. The restructuring comes at the end of a long fall for the second largest producer of natural gas in the country for years. It is a fall that a lot of people in Fort Worth — and elsewhere — are celebrating.
When the shale drilling boom began in Colorado, it didn’t take long to inch its way east, toward Texas. Chesapeake, Devon, XTO, and others scrambled to lease land on which to drill. By 2006, Fort Worth already had 440 producing gas wells, mostly on public lands or on the edge of town. Mayor Mike Moncrief was all for it. He said the money from gas leases on city land and the revenue from monthly royalties on every well in the city would bring us untold wealth. We’d be rich as a city, and the people who participated would receive mailbox money every month.
Landmen, whose job it was to secure leases on land that could then be sold to a gas company, promised regular checks. They were careful not to promise specific amounts but always suggested that there was nothing like going to your mailbox to find a check in there.
Initially, several companies vied for the rights to drill Fort Worth’s Barnett Shale, but Chesapeake’s co-founder and CEO, Aubrey McClendon, won the day, and by 2008, his company was doing the majority of gas drilling here. His plan was ambitious: The company could envision more than 4,000 wells beneath city streets and parks, golf courses, and supermarkets.
Read more: https://www.fwweekly.com/2020/07/08/chesapeake-files-for-bankruptcy-good-riddance/
For North Texas Colleges, Reopening During a Pandemic Means Different Things
The fall semester is arriving fast and North Texas colleges are navigating whether in-person classes during a pandemic is the safest path for students. Paul Quinn College announced Thursday that classes for the upcoming fall semester will be conducted entirely online and tuition will be reduced by $2,325. The University of North Texas, the University of Texas at Dallas, and Southern Methodist University all currently plan to follow a hybrid approach, which provides options for remote and in-person learning at a reduced capacity.
Dr. Michael Sorrell, the president of Paul Quinn College, said the school’s decision prioritizes the health and safety of the Paul Quinn community. He said guidance from medical experts was clear and the difficulty of enforcing social distancing standards in a college environment meant distance learning was the best option until the spread of the coronavirus is under control.
“I think that if other institutions feel as if they have the ability to restrict the behavior of 18 to 22-year-olds, particularly on a 24-hours-a-day 7-days-a-week basis for 15 weeks, and they can do that in a manner which allows them to keep everyone on their campus safe, God bless them,” Sorrell said.
The University of North Texas at Dallas has taken a similar approach, announcing on July 1 that the fall semester would be primarily online with some exceptions for courses like science labs. Most of its students are locals and few live on campus.
Read more: https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2020/07/for-north-texas-colleges-reopening-during-a-pandemic-means-different-things/
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Gender: MaleHometown: South Texas. most of my life I lived in Austin and Dallas
Home country: United States
Current location: Bryan, Texas
Member since: Sun Aug 14, 2011, 03:57 AM
Number of posts: 112,150
