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Texoblogosphere: Week of January 15th

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The Texas Progressive Alliance thinks a house of cards built by a hyperactive six-year-old is more stable than Donald Trump as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Off the Kuff takes a shot at predicting which female candidates for Congress in Texas have the best shot at getting elected.

SocraticGadfly is still waiting for Lupe Valdez to actually take a political stance.

In a sidebar, he had snarky pieces about Trump’s alleged payoff to Stormy Daniels and what’s new on Gorilla Channel viewing both run with Ken Silverstein’s Washington Babylon.

Neil at All People Have Value discussed the great Houston Democratic Socialists of America endorsed slate for 2018. APHV is part of NeilAquino.com.

Even as larger communities like Houston have welcomed the New Year and largely turned the page on Hurricane Harvey, this is not the case for many other Texas communities. As Texas Leftist shares, Harvey is very much a 2018 reality for coastal towns like Rockport.

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And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

Jim Schutze observes that life as we know it has gone on in Dallas even after tearing down the statue of Robert E. Lee.

The Current documents the brief but impactful life of the #DentonTrumpster.

Leah Binkovitz ponders the Houston region’s transit future.

Better Texas Blog plans to face 2018 with a fierce sense of optimism about what can be accomplished.

Therese Odell reluctantly climbs down into the shithole.

Leif Reigstad rounds up the Texans we lost last year that we’ll miss the most.

Grits for Breakfast points out a problem with life-without-parole sentences.

Michael Li outlines the Texas redistricting case SCOTUS has agreed to hear.

 

Texas Politics

TLCQ 2018: Fredrick A. Infortunio

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In the Second installment of the 2018 Texas Leftist Candidate Questionnaire, we hear from Dr. Fred Infortunio, candidate for the Texas State House, District 130.

Please note: Responses have been received directly from the candidate, and have been posted ver batim from the email received. This is done out of fairness to all candidates. Publishing these responses does not constitute an endorsement, but will be considered during the endorsement process.

 

TL:  What is your name, as it will appear on the ballot?

FA:  Fredrick A. Infortunio

 

TL:  Are you a current or former elected official? If so what office(s)?

FA:  I was the Precinct Chair for PCT 926 (2016 and 2017).

 

TL:  As a political candidate, you clearly care about what happens in certain levels of government. In your own words, why is government important?

FA  Government is supposed to help provide for the success, well being, and prosperity of the governed.

My campaign motto is

“For the Good of All Texans”

 

TL:  If elected, name your top 3 priorities you hope to accomplish for the upcoming legislative session. Describe how you plan to accomplish them.

FA:  So many items have been promoted by the incumbent Republicans that it is difficult to know the best place to start.

Here we go:

A.  The philosophy of the Texas legislature and governor’s office has been to cater to the very wealthy business interests under the guise of attracting business to Texas.

This in actuality, this has meant that they have consciously worked against the people in the favor of business concerns. Yes, we all need to work; businesses are where we work.  This being said, the supporting of socially responsible businesses is a priority.

I am approaching this by looking at the TCEQ. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has been crippled in their pay policies and the rules they promulgate to control pollution/polluters.  The TCEQ chronically underpays their employees and has a high turnover; their policies encourage adverse selection of employees.  Their lack of punitive teeth and the legislative pushback allows the polluters to poison Texans.

B. The tax system in the state is horribly regressive; it burdens the poor and the middle class. I have read that Texas has the third worst regressive tax system. I am not sure how much support I will get, but I am looking to impose impact fees on builders (their customers) which can be brought into the ISD or other necessary state coffers.  I saw this system used very effectively in Florida. I lived there from 1986 to 1990.

  • I suggest Imposing a small tax on luxury vehicles (over $50,000 +-)
  • in addition, a small inheritance tax on estates over $10,000,000.
  • I also believe that imposing a (small) tax similar to that in Florida on portfolio high value accounts held by Texans will help the Texas economy.

These tax proposals may not be possible in Texas. The wealthy will get the poor to get out the pitchforks.

 

The ISD tax system is also grossly unfair, it creates a very uneven playing field for the school systems, and it boosts property taxes in the districts.  The pooling of property taxes in the state to Austin and the distribution on a per student basis would serve the school systems.

This may not work but the use of the rainy day fund (ESF) to even out the distribution would be helpful.  Presently our fund is around $10B which brings in an additional $800M per year in interest. Overall, this fund is equal to about 18% of general revenue expenditures.

Other state funds average about 6.5% of expenditures. The size of the fund as it relates to the lack of services provided is grossly unfair.  The education system and the flood control systems, other infrastructure could be improved using a more equitable management of this fund and tax management.

C. The voter ID laws for Texas have been struck down by the Supreme Court, as being repressive for minority voters.

They were originally (falsely) developed to combat voter fraud in Texas.

The original voter fraud was created and implemented by the Texas legislature in their gerrymandering (again struck down by the Supreme Court) of the districts. Again, the Texas Republican controlled legislature, and governor have shown their fraudulent nature in promulgating these laws and resisting any changes. I will work in any way that I can to implement the redrawing of districts to properly represent the people of Texas.

 

TL:  In the coming years, the state of Texas is on course to have an unprecedented boom in the state’s population. But with more people and more opportunities comes an ever-increasing strain on Texas roads and infrastructure. Describe your thoughts on what needs to be done to improve Texas infrastructure now so we can plan for a bright future for the state.

FA:  As mentioned above the restructuring of the tax system is one of the keys to improvement of the infrastructure. I know that draining the ESF is counter productive past a certain point but effectively using that money is a good place to start.

A commuter rail system between the major Texas cities will also improve the growth of the state economy.

I am not sure of the utility or pricing of the toll roads; I would like to look at the pricing and growth of the toll road systems.

The impact fees mentioned above will also help take the strain off the tax systems.

 

TL:  Even as impressive growth continues in around the state’s urban centers, rural Texans are faced with a healthcare crisis.  According to Laura Garcia of the Victoria Advocate, rural communities across the state have lost 18 hospitals in less than five years, and this was before any additional challenges worsened by natural disasters like Hurricane Harvey.  Without hospital services in or near their local communities, the medical and emergency care is at an increasing risk our citizens.  As a legislator, how would you plan to address this issue and help Texas’ vital rural healthcare facilities stay open?  

I have not given much thought to the rural healthcare system.  Having said that, I point out that Governor Abbot has turned down $65B for the Texas Medicaid system just to spite President Obama. This hurts all Texans.  I would rely on House colleagues from those districts to propose systems that will help the rural medical problems.  The opposition to Planned Parenthood, I am sure, did not help the situation.

 

TL:  In 2017, the Federal Communications Commission voted to overturn an Obama-era rule which classifies internet service providers as public utilities, and thereby governed under the 1934 Communications Act.  This decision essentially erases the principle that Internet Service Providers should treat all online content equally without giving preference to particular sources, otherwise known as Net Neutrality.  Please describe your views on this decision, and whether or not you would support legislation at the State or Federal level to uphold the principle of Net Neutrality.

FA:  Net neutrality is necessary to the fair distribution of communication services throughout the country.  The opposition to net neutrality is another instance of controlling the money in the country in favor of the aristocracy and against the people. The internet can be considered to be a public utility.

 

TL:  What makes you the best candidate for this office?

 

I truly care for the condition and success of the society, of the people.  Everyone’s life improves as the whole boat rises. I am not controlled or beholden to the Republican plutocracy.  I am running for this position because of what the Republicans have done to the citizens of Texas.

I have a broad scope of knowledge and a philosophy which looks to the improvement of the condition of the people.

I am an Chemical and Safety engineer (Certified Safety Professional – retired, with a PE(fl) license).  which allows me to understand the production methods and pollution problems in Texas; I have an excellent understanding and experience with the oil, gas, chemical, , pharmaceutical, utility, and general industries.

Further, I have audited, surveyed, and consulted to over 1,000 businesses in the US.   From my experiences, I have found companies that are excellent, good, bad and ugly. It is the bad and the ugly ones that kill people and destroy the environment. There are a small number of socially irresponsible industries/companies which harm our society.

I hold an MBA-finance which helps me to understand the budgeting and finance problems of Texas, the people, the school systems, and businesses.

Moreover, I am well read holding a  doctorate in business and management with sub specialties in organizational and general culture. I do have a broad scope of knowledge.

 

TL:  When not on the campaign trail, how do you like to spend your free time?

FA:  I like to hang out with my wife watching television, I study political problems and philosophies, and I work against Trump at every chance I get. I like to shoot my pistols then reload the ammunition (reloading ammunition is very relaxing and requires a great deal of focused concentration).  I like to work around my home; I also like to hang out in my pool listening to music.

 

Thanks to Dr. Infortunio for their responses.

Texas Primary Election Day is Tuesday March 6th, and Early Voting begins February 20th.  Early voting procedures can differ depending on your county, but here are helpful links to some: Harris County, Fort Bend County, Brazoria County, Montgomery County, Galveston County.  For other areas, visit the Texas Secretary of State’s Elections Page for your county information.

(if you like this Texas Leftist post, please consider a donation!  Help us encourage Progressive, common sense ideals in the Lone Star State!!)

Texas Politics

Redistricting War: SCOTUS To Hear Texas’ Gerrymandering Case

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If there’s one thing Texas seems to do well, that has to be disenfranchise and suppress minority voters.  After the mostly Republican state legislature drew maps that were clearly, undeniably discriminatory from the 2010 census, minority rights groups immediately moved to sue for fairer maps.  Now, for the majority of the decade, the state’s redistricting process has been caught up in court.

As Alexa Ura of the Texas Tribune reports, the Redistricting War now enters year 8 as the Supreme Court finally wades in, this time at the request of Republicans…

Further extending a drawn-out legal battle, the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a case over whether Texas’ congressional and House district boundaries discriminate against voters of color.

[…]

The Supreme Court’s decision to weigh the state’s appeal will further delay any redrawing efforts even after almost seven years of litigation between state attorneys and voting and minority rights groups that challenged the maps. It’s unclear when the court will schedule oral arguments in the case, which is formally known as Abbott v. Perez.

In ruling against the maps last year, a three-judge panel in San Antonio sided with the voting and minority rights groups who accused Republican lawmakers of discriminating against voters of color, who tend to vote for Democrats, in drawing the maps. The state has denied targeting voters by race and admitted instead to practicing partisan gerrymandering by overtly favoring Republicans in drawing the districts.

The panel specifically flagged two congressional districts and nine House districts in four counties as problematic. But the Supreme Court in September temporarily blocked the lower court rulings — and any efforts to redraw the maps — in two 5-4 decisions as it considered the appeal from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

So in case you missed that, Texas Republicans are only denying blatant gerrymandering based on race, but they’re perfectly fine with blatant gerrymandering based on political party.

But at some point, the buck on this type of behavior has to stop.  Surely the 9 Justices of the Supreme Court are smart enough to see the unfairness of of one neighborhood like Houston’s diverse Museum District being sliced, or cracked between three Congressional Districts (because you know, minorities).  The practice of extreme gerrymandering, in combination with the state’s stringent Voter ID laws, should be more than enough evidence o the wrong that has been done.  Even if the Republicans consider this a win, let’s hope it also presents an opportunity for fairness.

 

Texas Politics

TLCQ 2018: Glenn “Grumpy” Williams

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In the First installment of the 2018 Texas Leftist Candidate Questionnaire, we hear from Glenn “Grumpy” Williams candidate for the Texas State Senate, District 5.

Please note: Responses have been received directly from the candidate, and have been posted ver batim from the email received. This is done out of fairness to all candidates. Publishing these responses does not constitute an endorsement, but will be considered during the endorsement process.

 

 

TL:  What is your name, as it will appear on the ballot?
GW:  Glenn “Grumpy” Williams
TL:  Are you a current or former elected official? If so what office(s)?
GW:  no
TL:  As a political candidate, you clearly care about what happens in certain levels of government. In your own words, why is government important?
GW:  Government’s main purpose (on all levels) should be to serve victims. This includes prevention (insuring that individuals do not suffer discrimination from racism, sexism.
homophobia and abuse programs to address elder abuse, child abuse, domestic violence, and abuse/discrimination directed toward minorities of all descriptions)
prosecution of those who abuse or discriminate, elimination of programs that facilitate economic oppression, and compensation for those who have suffered governmental abuse or discrimination.
TL:  If elected, name your top 3 priorities you hope to accomplish for the upcoming legislative session. Describe how you plan to accomplish them.
GW:  Engage all Texans in meeting needs of abused and neglected children through a series of programs including election of vulnerable citizen commissioner, reversing the disastrous course of privatization of conservatorship function of Department of Family and Protective Services and rewriting DFPS policies to make them friendly to ‘customers’ of the Department. (more fully discussed on my manifesto “Twelve Modest Proposals for the State of Texas, the Greatest State in the Greatest Nation of the Greatest Planet in the Greatest Solar System of the Greatest Solar System of the Greatest Galaxy in the Greatest Universe Known to Man” found on the ‘ Read My Propaganda’ section of my website located at www.WilliamsforSD5.com  proposals 1 and 2,)
Level the playing field so that prosecution of police officers for excessive force does not face unfair and often insurmountable burdens favoring the police officer defendants.  (more fully developed in my manifesto – proposal #4.)
Address the ‘lack of exercise’ epidemic by developing a physical fitness voucher (more fully developed in my manifesto proposal number 6)
TL:  In the coming years, the state of Texas is on course to have an unprecedented boom in the state’s population. But with more people and more opportunities comes an ever-increasing strain on Texas roads and infrastructure. Describe your thoughts on what needs to be done to improve Texas infrastructure now so we can plan for a bright future for the state.
GW:  I would start by implementing the recommendations of the American Society of Civil Engineers, I would reverse the trend toward the building of more toll roads, and examine more fully what the legislature can do to promote public transportation.
TL:  Even as impressive growth continues in around the state’s urban centers, rural Texans are faced with a healthcare crisis.  According to Laura Garcia of the Victoria Advocate, rural communities across the state have lost 18 hospitals in less than five years, and this was before any additional challenges worsened by natural disasters like Hurricane Harvey.  Without hospital services in or near their local communities, the medical and emergency care is at an increasing risk our citizens.  As a legislator, how would you plan to address this issue and help Texas’ vital rural healthcare facilities stay open? 
GW:  A major cause of the crisis in rural health care is the uncompensated costs that hospitals face – we need to address this by expanding Medicare and by restoring rates that were slashed due to a flawed study (Rider 315 in 2015)
On a national level we need to support single payer system
We need to increase prevention efforts (see my manifesto – proposal 3) and deal with the lack of exercise epidemic through a physical fitness voucher (see my manifesto proposal number 6)
TL:  In 2017, the Federal Communications Commission voted to overturn an Obama-era rule which classifies internet service providers as public utilities, and thereby governed under the 1934 Communications Act.  This decision essentially erases the principle that Internet Service Providers should treat all online content equally without giving preference to particular sources, otherwise known as Net Neutrality.  Please describe your views on this decision, and whether or not you would support legislation at the State or Federal level to uphold the principle of Net Neutrality.
GW:  This was a terrible decision which has many negative ramifications. I would support legislation but it needs to be on a federal level. We can not have fifty different sets of rules and regulations addressing the internet.

TL:  What makes you the best candidate for this office?

GW:  Being totally devoid of charm and charisma I will allow voters to focus on issues.
Having 41 plus years experience as a lawyer  (with 40 of them being employed in governmental service as CPS attorney, Legal Advisor for Killen and Austin Police Departments and Deputy City in Wichita Falls) I believe I can best demonstrate how various proposals will effect individual Texans.
TL:  When not on the campaign trail, how do you like to spend your free time?
GW:  Dance!   I do Zumba, Jazzercise, Afro-Brazilian, Hula, etc. (I like to brag that I am usually the best male dancer in these classes but I guess I should admit that I am usually the only male dancer in these classes and that if another guy shows up I am automatically relegated to being the second best male dancer, and if two other guys show up I become the 3rd best male dancer, you get the picture.)
Thanks to Mr. Williams for the responses.
Texas Primary Election Day is Tuesday March 6th, and Early Voting begins February 20th.  Early voting procedures can differ depending on your county, but here are helpful links to some: Harris County, Fort Bend County, Brazoria County, Montgomery County, Galveston County.  For other areas, visit the Texas Secretary of State’s Elections Page for your county information.
 (if you like this Texas Leftist post, please consider a donation!  Help us encourage Progressive, common sense solutions in the Lone Star State!!)
Texas Politics

After Controversial ‘Mandatory Service’ Proposal, Beto O’Rourke Changes Course

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One thing to know about Texas politics… it’s a rough and tumble course.  And for a Texas Democrat?  Those rough patches may as well be a thorn-ridden labyrinth.

It’s a lesson that Democratic Senate Candidate Beto O’Rourke is learning quite quickly, as his massive campaign attempts to radiate from his El Paso Congressional District to every last corner of the Lone Star State.  The Congressman, who first pledged to visit voters in all of Texas’ 254 counties, is well north of 200 at the start of 2018.  But while he’s becoming an expert at logging miles, the campaign rhetoric still has some imperfections.  As Mariah Medina of KSAT 12 News reports, the candidate recently had to change course on a controversial proposal…

SAN ANTONIO – Days after sharing his idea to introduce a bill that would require all young people to spend at least a year “in service to this country,” U.S. Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke backtracked from that statement.

On Monday, the El Paso Democratic congressman said, in part, “I made a mistake,” as he addressed voters via Facebook live on Monday.

O’Rourke held a town hall in Corsicana last week and shared the controversial idea with those in attendance. The senate candidate told the Corsicana audience he hoped to introduce a bill to congress that would require “every young person,” regardless of their socioeconomic background, to serve their country in some way whether that be in military service, a medical unit, a teaching unit etc.

Many, however, took O’Rourke’s comments to mean only military service. Others felt the “mandatory” aspect of his idea mirrored conscription.

“In talking about that, I said ‘I’d like to make that mandatory,'” O’Rourke said in a Facebook live on Monday. “That is a word that has concerned a lot of you and I got to tell you, you’re right.”

As soon as his original announcement was made, a heated debate sparked across all corners of Texas social media.  While some were in full support of the concept, others even likened the thought of a mandatory service requirement to “slavery” or “involuntary servitude”.  A rather extreme comparison, given how countries across the globe often have mandatory service duties as part of one’s right to citizenship.

But whatever the case, it appears that O’Rourke heard those concerns, and has moved forward in the best way possible.  In today’s political climate, even an apology seems like a bold step.

Lesson learned.

 

 

Equality, Texas Politics

Texoblogosphere: Week of January 1st: Happy BLUE Year!!!

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he Texas Progressive Alliance wishes everyone a happy and blue-wavey new year.

Off the Kuff took a closer look at Democratic Congressional candidates around the state.

SocraticGadfly riffed on the idea of the Twelve Days of Christmas and found 12 jobs even better than knitting for Hillary Clinton.

EgbertoWillies.com writes about “Chappelle to poor whites: Trump is fighting for me, not you” and points out that “Evangelical Christians will pay for trading faith for power, morality lost forever.”

Neil at All People Have Value said Democrats running for office at every level of government in 2018 should be asked how they will respond to the threat of authoritarian government in the U.S. APHV is part of NeilAquino.com.

Texas Leftist has a new theme for this new, BLUE year:  Don’t get ready, STAY ready.

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And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

The Rivard Report tells the story of Holocaust survivor Rose Williams on her 90th birthday.

Grits for Breakfast defends using risk assessments at bail hearings.

Therese Odell was still on the Trump watch beat over the holidays.

DeAnne Cuellar tells you how to save the Internet.

Juanita is feeling better now, thanks to all for the concern.

Along with ushering in 2018, January 1st was also the closing day for the 51st celebration of Kwanzaa, a Communitarian holiday festival which celebrates and educates the culture, struggles and triumphs of the Pan-African Diaspora.  The featured photo shows a fully lit Kwanzaa Kinara on the festival’s final day of celebration.

Houston Politics, Politics, Texas, Texas Politics

2018 Texas Leftist Candidate Questionnaire

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Remember when we said that in 2018, the goal is not to “Get Ready”, but to STAY Ready??

Such is the case with the TLCQ 2018:  The Texas Leftist Candidate Questionnaire.  This year, we are focusing on the March 6th 2018 Democratic Primary, and depending on those results, may do a second cycle for the General Election.

 

1. What is your name, as it will appear on the ballot?

2. Are you a current or former elected official? If so what office(s)?

3. As a political candidate, you clearly care about what happens in certain levels of government. In your own words, why is government important?

4. If elected, name your top 3 priorities you hope to accomplish for the upcoming legislative session. Describe how you plan to accomplish them.

5. In the coming years, the state of Texas is on course to have an unprecedented boom in the state’s population. But with more people and more opportunities comes an ever-increasing strain on Texas roads and infrastructure. Describe your thoughts on what needs to be done to improve Texas infrastructure now so we can plan for a bright future for the state.

6. Even as impressive growth continues in around the state’s urban centers, rural Texans are faced with a healthcare crisis.  According to Laura Garcia of the Victoria Advocate, rural communities across the state have lost 18 hospitals in less than five years, and this was before any additional challenges worsened by natural disasters like Hurricane Harvey.  Without hospital services in or near their local communities, the medical and emergency care is at an increasing risk our citizens.  As a legislator, how would you plan to address this issue and help Texas’ vital rural healthcare facilities stay open?  

7.  In 2017, the Federal Communications Commission voted to overturn an Obama-era rule which classifies internet service providers as public utilities, and thereby governed under the 1934 Communications Act.  This decision essentially erases the principle that Internet Service Providers should treat all online content equally without giving preference to particular sources, otherwise known as Net Neutrality.  Please describe your views on this decision, and whether or not you would support legislation at the State or Federal level to uphold the principle of Net Neutrality.

8. What makes you the best candidate for this office?

9. When not on the campaign trail, how do you like to spend your free time?

 

And there you have it… the questions for TLCQ 2018.