https://www.texasdemocrats.org/media/breaking-in-the-middle-of-a-pandemic-texas-democrats-break-the-record-for-highest-turnout-in-texas-democratic-runoff-history/?fbclid=IwAR3TnUMqKOjsyDhYbVxeEf7K1JA-QRyMav25PhWTC-Cq6Umxel_8AkxLWuI

"Austin, TX — Yesterday, in the middle of a pandemic, Texas Democrats broke the record for highest turnout in a runoff election in Texas Democratic history with a staggering 955,735 number of votes cast with 100% of the precincts reporting.

This breaks the Texas Democratic runoff record of 1994’s 746,641 runoff voters and is more than double the runoff turnout for the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial runoff, which featured 432,180 voters.

Texas Democrats are ready to win. Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa issued the following statement:
“In the middle of a pandemic, Texas Democrats showed we are ready to win with nearly a million Texans doing whatever it takes to have their voice heard. We broke the Texas Democratic record for turnout in a runoff election, more than doubling our 2018 runoff turnout.

“Republicans like Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton, and the Texas Republican Supreme Court did everything in their power to stop Texans from voting. It didn’t work. Texans will not be deterred. We will continue our fight to expand access to the ballot box and protect every Texan’s right to vote, but this election showed that Texas Democrats are fired up and are ready for change.

“Texas is the biggest battleground state in the country. There is unprecedented energy across our great state, and Texas Democrats are putting in the hard work to turn Texas blue in November. This is our moment.”
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Folks, TX is now a SWING STATE & VERY MUCH A BATTLEGROUND TO FIGHT FOR. If Joe can win in TX he wins the presidency. I'm posting here as we are 3 months from November and TX is very much in play in national politics.

https://www.roundrocktexas.gov/news/round-rock-council-votes-to-hold-previously-postponed-elections-in-may-2021/?fbclid=IwAR3N_Zc6B3L0RDMqUgbF54CZKKLKXm-n-hn3Gaq6-1D7LhbaHvRp64osLIo

The crooked GOP-majority city council knows there will be huge Dems turnout and have voted to postpone the city's local election to next May. Damn bastards can't win without cheating.

Posting this here since we're in a general election year and TX is consequential.

https://texassignal.com/texas-election-forecaster-predicts-texas-house-will-flip-in-2020/?fbclid=IwAR3VLwBnVVG03YCy7T001RjDsvVI8ZnvrVzoNtNqr4iZrjqavRgvKcBJ8P8

Mike Hailey, a longtime Texas politics reporter, is forecasting a blowout year for Democrats in the Texas House. Hailey predicts Democrats will capture an additional 15 seats in 2020, according to his Crystal Ball forecast on Capitol Inside. In 2018, Hailey predicted Democrats would nab 11 Texas House seats from Republicans — just one seat shy of the actual result on Election Day.
This year, Democrats are only nine seats away from taking control of the chamber for the first time since 2002.

“Republicans in Texas legislative and congressional districts where Trump received less than 60 percent of the vote in 2016 could be doomed as a consequence of guilt by association exclusively on a ticket with a self-destructing president at the top,” Hailey wrote.
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Only 9 seats away y'all. Crossing my fingers & toes!!

https://texastakes.com/2020/06/17/matthew-mcconaughey-to-run-for-governor-of-texas-in-2022/

Rumors of McConaughey making a run for Governor have been swirling for years. But has the time finally now come? I sure as hell believe so and here’s why.

First of all, he’d win. No doubt about it. I know it, you know it and McConaughey knows it. It doesn’t matter Texas is a historically republican state. Because when it comes to McConaughey, he represents all Texans. Politics, gender and race all become irrelevant when you throw McConaughey in the mix. He is Texas and if you polled the citizens of this great State, you’d get well over 50% who‘d vote for him to be their voice and their representative. Facts.

And while McConaughey has always been a philanthropist and never shied away from using his platform to promote awareness to any cause important to him, there’s no question he’s really ramped it up over the past few months:
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Alright, Alright, Alright...

https://www.businessinsider.com/the-pandemic-could-cost-trump-and-the-gop-senate-control-2020-5

As the pandemic fuels health and economic crises, Republicans are newly concerned they'll lose their crucial Senate majority in November.

Of the 35 senators up for reelection this year, 12 are Democrats and 23 are Republicans.
While eight of those Republicans are considered vulnerable, just two Democratic seats are at risk of flipping.

Pollsters say the coronavirus is undermining President Donald Trump and the GOP on the two most important election issues: healthcare and the economy.

Meanwhile, former Vice President Joe Biden's position as the presumptive Democratic nominee dampens the contentious debate over single-payer healthcare and aids Democratic challengers in red states.
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This is encouraging!

Hello fellow gardeners,
I have 2 long strips of grass area flanking my property about 4 ft. wide & 60 ft long. I'd like to plant a row of flowering shrubs on each strip. We're in zone 8B so any recommendation of drought-tolerant, low maintenance flowering shrubs which can withstand the hot summers and won't require frequent watering would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you & happy gardening!

I can't seem to find even any exit polling info. Anybody got more news on WI primaries turnout yesterday?

A neighbor thinned out her white iris border and gave me nearly a hundred rhizomes with foliage for replanting. I had planned to put them in the ground tomorrow but it's been raining cats & dogs here past couple days, and forecasted to rain through next Thursday. I soaked them since Wednesday thinking to keep the foliage green till Saturday. Now that it may rain nonstop this weekend, my question is how long can i soak the iris without killing them? Or should i put them in buckets with dirt till i can plant them. I don't want the foliage to dry up?

Thanks in advance for your help.

February:
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/05/us-weekly-jobless-claims.html
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week.
The data suggested the labor market was on solid footing despite the coronavirus outbreak.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped to 216,000 for the week ended Feb. 29, the Labor Department said.

March:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-the-horrific-jobless-claims-report-is-actually-worse-143929909.html
New unemployment claims surged to a record high last week, topping 3 million. But that staggering leap in joblessness likely understates the full damage the coronavirus outbreak has inflicted on the U.S. labor market, according to multiple economists.

For the week ended March 21, new unemployment claims totaled 3.283 million, seasonally adjusted, or more than twice the 1.7 million consensus economists polled by Bloomberg had expected. The figure was more than four times greater than the previous record high of 695,000 from 1982.
And the level was astronomical compared to the prior week’s 282,000 claims, and the 190,023 initial claims filed during the comparable week in 2019. As the Department of Labor put it, “Nearly every state providing comments cited the COVID-19 virus impacts.”
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It will get worse before it gets better.

Hi folks,
I have 6 Arapaho Red Flowering Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemi) Tree saplings, 5 retama saplings (Texas native xeriscaping shrub/tree) & 3 redbud saplings i need to put into the ground this weekend. I've planted trees before, but usually the larger size. This is the first time i'm planting trees from saplings. I've read up on the spacing (at least 12-15 ft apart, 5 ft. from the fence), but need to know whether i should brace the saplings with a stake. I've read some don't recommend tying them to a stake but i'm afraid they may be buffeted by strong winds and break.

Also, i've read saplings don't grow as fast - about 6 - 12 inches rather than up to 2 ft/year. If you've planted saplings i'd be happy to read your advice. I'm in zone 8B.

Thanks in advance,
OneTexan