First, divorce is in general a state-by-state issue. So is marriage, other than the federal constitutional bar on discriminating against gay marriage. Different states have different minimum… Read More
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A skeptical left-liberal's blogging on Texas and national politics, environmentalism, journalism, church-state issues, atheism, more
I have two Mac desktops at home.The older one is a way old eMac maxed out on OS at 10.11 El Capitan.The newer one, recently purchased but still used, is a 2013 iMac on 10.15 Santa Catalina… Read More
I've read recently that the amyloid plaque idea of Alzheimer's is not on the most solid ground, but it's verboten to question it, let alone offer alternatives, in serious research journals.W… Read More
This is an extended review of an overall bad Orwell biography, focusing mainly on one issue. It's an issue that I didn't know about before, until a Goodreads friend asked me if I had read an… Read More
I forgot to do a top posts for the month of June, so, this instead.As usual, these may not have been posted within the past three months. Posts outside that time frame, but with renewed popu… Read More
Just like a little over two weeks ago, as I discussed then, we're getting dueling headlines and dueling stories, all fueled by dueling leaks, of course, because that's how the MSM in DC (sou… Read More
As someone who saw the whole original 20-minute video? Per the details of their emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, via Courthouse News? It's not just the ACLU and ACLU of Texas that… Read More
Independent Political Report updates the Colorado state LP vs LP National clusterfuck.
Indeed, what DOES happen if both orgs complete all paperwork by the
state's Sept. 6 deadline? The sta… Read More
More and more cities are closing city pools to save money, the Tribune notes.
Example No. 1? Lubbock now has ZERO public swimming pools open. Splash
pads are being promoted as a cheaper op… Read More
Christian nationalist big biz engaged in vote suppression? Say it ain't so, but ProPublica says it is, with a dissection of the previously unknown to me Ziklag Foundation. Two of the big pla… Read More
Off the Kuff wrote lots of things about Beryl. Neil at the Houston Democracy Project said hurricanes are political. Space City Weather argues that Houston deserves a much better electri… Read More
Earlier this month, I've had multiple run-ins with people like this on Twitter.I don't give a fuck if you're not a Russian bot, because you come off like one.Regular readers of this outpost… Read More
The Squad: AOC and the Hope of a Political Revolution by Ryan Grim
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This book is mendacious by silence in some big ways, one above all.In other words, beyond the scatt… Read More
First, we now know the suspect is Thomas Michael Crooks. He was 20 years old. His dad reportedly bought the weapon, about six months ago. The son appears to have been a gun and explosives se… Read More
Let's look at this "Free and Equal" debate set for tonight, as puffed by Stein in a Thursday email.TL/DR? Jill Stein loves it because there's nobody to her left that got invited.People invol… Read More
Kinky Friedman, who (in)famously, and hilariously, ran for Texas governor in 2006, and who passed away a couple of weeks ago, probably could have had the job if he had serious-ed up at… Read More
I say YOU and not ME because, per this Texas Monthly story on the issue, I rarely use it, and basically never have it running during the daytime when I am home and yes, you read that right… Read More
I had a group of related items that, once the last one came up on my radar screen, I pulled from this week's Texas Progressives Roundup to run separately. Amarillo nutters, after the city co… Read More
Even after MSM DC insiders last week did a mix of a mea culpa, or rather, more, a tua culpa of finding other members of their tribe at fault for not reporting more in Dementia Joe's health… Read More
I said this spring that I looked forward to the Green Party further withering on the vine with three-time retread and BDS hypocrite Jill Stein at the top of the ticket, and the Libertarian P… Read More
This isn't like three days ago, with Der Starmer and New New Labour winning in the UK, in a low-turnout vote that saw LibDems (no better) as the second-biggest beneficiary.Instead, actual le… Read More
On Twitter last week, Nat-Sec Nutsack™ types were talking about how Russia's offensive categories were surely dying if it still couldn't capture Chasiv Yar.Ready to eat those words now… Read More
The Trump immunity ruling is everything wrong about today's SCOTUS. It's partisan; it pretends not to be partisan; it takes an initial bite of the apple while pretending that it won't take m… Read More
Former Uvalde ISD police chief Pete Arredondo has been indicted for his role, or failed role, in the mass shooting two years ago. Will DPS head Steve McCraw, who testified to the still-conve… Read More
Well, THIS corner of Texas Progressives does, even if nobody else will. Boy, was the June 27 debate a clusterfuck for Biden and Democrats. So much so that Kuff had three posts the next morni… Read More
British voters are at the polls as I type, which, serious news followers and readers of this site know. Results will not be available until late tonight, British time, if not Friday morning… Read More
Earlier today, in stories published less than 15 minutes apart, we first had, from the NYT:Followed by Agence France-Press at Irish site RTE — and with different header and update, app… Read More
This tweet of mine summarizes where we're at. Nepo mommy / DC Media Insider Susan Glasser (& hubby, nepo dad / insider Peter Baker?) ignoring they either knew, or shld have known, a… Read More
In his weekend link dump, Kuff fellates American Prospect fellating
Zionist Josh Marshall. No, really; the word "Israel" is nowhere in the
story. Perlstein also doesn't call Marshall out w… Read More
The Inquirer, in a house editorial touted by the likes of its often-good, but BlueAnon, columnist Will Bunch (see here for my take on him as an author, and here for my take on him as specifi… Read More
Per Grist, new papers show that the "cork in the bottle stopper" glacier of the Antarctic is being eroded in two different ways.One is the "grounding line," where Antarctic glaciers move off… Read More
Boy, what a clusterfuck that was June 27!That said, NO Dem is "stepping forward," contra Politico, to replace him. Maybe DNC minions will organize something in a vape-filled back room, but N… Read More
What is up with these stubborn Dum Fuqs, who are clearly in the wrong. (More below.)ACLU and ACLU of Texas have filed a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court, as well as asking for… Read More
Via Kuff, I saw the Trib story this morning. More at the Chron. As a newspaper editor, remembering the 2006 Texas gov campaign, including being part of a group interview of Kinky after a cam… Read More
Texas and New Mexico ahd for months, nay years, battled over Rio Grande water issues, having previously faced, then settled, similar mattes over Pecos River water.This spring, they cam… Read More
Whether she's formally Mises Mice or just alt-white nutters within the Libertarian Party, Ricki Schlott (no shit Ricki?) opined in the New York Post about why they hated LP nominee Chase Oli… Read More
And no, that's not necessarily good.Agreed that Just Stop Oil is in performance art before politics.
(I draw more serious conclusions than that OP, namely about the issue
of this possibly… Read More
Texas electricity needs could nearly double in six years. Wait for: More attacks on renewables by wingnuts. Blackouts and brownouts. Don't wait for: Texas asking to once again (it did many d… Read More
Genocide Joe has written Israel a new blank check, this one for attacking Hezbullah in Lebanon. And #BlueAnon will still continue to claim it owns my vote.That said, the Joint Chiefs now say… Read More
Julian Assange Is Still Not A Journalist, And Likely Still Is A Seth Rich Liar, But He Is Going Free
First, the second half of that header.Per NBC, and many other news outlets, Assange has reached a plea deal with the US government. He is expected to appear in court at Tuesday evening US ti… Read More
Or, at a minimum, one of the leaders of the move to vote "Uncommitted" is lying to herself. Michael Arria of Mondoweiss, like me, rightly wondered where this movement goes now that the… Read More
Contra US lies, the US did possibly sabotage
Russia-Ukraine peace talks in early 2022. Via Aaron Maté, I note that
US officials were "alarmed" at original terms. That said, Poland w… Read More
I agree with Golf Mag's rhetorical (or so it seems to me) question and expected answer.Yes, this was Rory's worst majors loss ever (well, with hindsight, No. 2 outside of his Masters meltdow… Read More
Kind of going down the Jesus mythicism route, a Chrissy Hansen appears to be doing Candida Moss (with whom I agree on martyrdoms) on steroids, and claim that 1 Clement talks about internecin… Read More
Very insightful longform piece by Philip Ball, talking about the latest of what we know about "noncoding RNA" being another mechanism of gene control, along with epigenetic tags, and more. T… Read More
In a story sure to warm the cockles of People's CDC types, this interview claims it is.Problem? If not entirely, to some degree, it comes off as throwing shit against the wall.Specifically… Read More
I mean, his blanket refusal to negotiate period with Hamas is, beyond being genocidal and warmongering.It's also plain stupid.And full of crap. Per the rhetorical question in the header, Jam… Read More
Next up for Israel's genocide-glinting eyes? Trying to take out Hezbullah
in Lebanon. French President Macron wants a peaceful (or more peaceful,
we should say) alternative, but Israel ref… Read More
I had originally scheduled this as the next presidential news roundup, but with all the focus on one potential new political party, shifted to it being just about that.Via Independent Politi… Read More
Well, it looks very much like Noam Chomsky is not dead yet.And, per all the things in the header above after his name, that's what happened.A herd of Twitter blue check types, many rushing t… Read More
This isn't going to be as fierce of a takedown obit as I did on Ruth Bader Ginsburg, aka the Notorious RBG, aka here, the Neoliberal RBG, a few years ago. (And, yes, as of 3 p.m. CDT here in… Read More
So, alt-white wingnuts, the True Texas Project, schedule conference for next month
in Cowtown, at city-owned Botanic Gardens. Multiple speakers say they
were unaware of full agenda and oth… Read More
Our newest Supreme Court justice got a bit of hagiography treatment last week.As pictured at left, the details of that photo will be explained near the bottom. All nine justices, essentially… Read More
This one's for you BlueAnons who complain that the mainstream media treat Diaper Don with kid gloves.We start with a tweet by Nathan J. Robinson about a NYT article in which he noted it's De… Read More
These lies by any fundagelical Protestant Christian, or Catholic or Orthodox equivalent, done willfully and knowingly (and yes, they're knowingly) are a violation of the Eighth Commandment… Read More
"Disingenuous" is one of those words that has a clear denotative as well as connotative meaning, and in fact, in common use, the denotative often takes the lead, with insinuations of somethi… Read More
Via a commenter on High Country News' Facebook page, on its story about a Moab developer planning (and now putting on hold) a new development named after Ed Abbey characters from The Monkey… Read More
The Fifth Circuit says Llano County Library must reshelve 8 of the 17 books it hauled down and a federal district court said it had to reshelve; the other 9, per a split ruling, will stay do… Read More
I think a majority of halfway knowledgeable fans know that the St. Louis Cardinals are past the break-even point on their contract with third baseman Arenado, but a willful contrarian or som… Read More
I eventually decded to pull these items from the most recent presidential roundup, as it was getting long. It posted yesterday; here it is. Also yesterday, a roundup of major international r… Read More
President Macron of France doesn't have to worry about inviting Russians to D-Day. He's a strong-presidency president with time left on his term. That said, any continued talk about getting… Read More
Yes, it is D-Day, and France's President Macron pissed off other NATO members last month by inviting Russian representatives, though not President Putin, the the 80th anniversary.As I said o… Read More
Last week, I saw a piece by Center for Biological Diversity citing Ken Salazar, our ambassador to Mexico, calling for a block of Mexican avocados being imported to the US, and I had multiple… Read More
As we should all be, per this Guardian piece.And, the piece was written before the latest sweltering in Mexico. This: “I think 3C is being hopeful and conservative. 1.5C is alread… Read More
Dr. Brad Wenstrup is probably less wingnut than many GOP Housecritters. But, at the same time, he's ex-military, ie, Nat-Sec Nutsacks™ material. Dr. Raul Ruiz is is certainly among ide… Read More
Yes, I know Baseball Reference was doing it two full years ago, and I know that MLB players of today are celebrating Rob Manfred's action to make it official. That still doesn't make it righ… Read More
Kenny Boy is abusing Texas' consumer protection laws to investigate GoFundMe if it has the "wrong" fundraisers, along with many other such shenanigans. And, of course, his office refused to… Read More
It's not Sophie's choice, but it is interesting, the future for current Texas Speaker of the House Dade "Dade" Phelan.A majority of incoming Texas House Republicans want the practice of comm… Read More
I offered an initial guesstimate last December; this is about 50 percent a reprint of that, with updates on specific items in italics and new backgrounding information.Now that candidate iss… Read More
I'm a secularist, so no thoughts and prayers, or tots and pears, for people in Valley View, but yes, sympathy for the families, remembrance of the dead, and finally, recognition of the frail… Read More
Per a post on r/Cardinals that is the stupidest one I've ever seen and that was eventually hauled down by mods, some douchebro from Effingham (moderates NSFW "Effingham hookups" sub) claimed… Read More
In a sense, no, they don't need to be fixed, but in another, they do.It's Kevin O'Connor, so take it with a grain of salt. But, he's got good insights in general for what the Nuggets have to… Read More
Congress at War: How Republican Reformers Fought the Civil War, Defied Lincoln, Ended Slavery, and Remade America by Fergus M. Bordewich
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I like a history book that is… Read More
Per this Yale Climate Connections piece, which is where the graphic is coming from, don't be surprised! That's like a five-alarm fire!Within that, there's this takeout:The Caribbean is home… Read More
An interesting story
in Texas Monthly about state attorney general Ken Paxton vs El Paso's
Annunciation House as a migrants' refuge. But, the "quarter of the
state" following Catholic tea… Read More
Greg Abbott "hearts" murderers. #fify on the header, Trib. The Monthly has more. I had nuanced thoughts at the time Perry was arrested, including on the issue of guns in general and Garrett… Read More
Great two-part piece by Pro Publica, working with the Trib, dropped last week, about wingnut attempts to reshape public schools — from someone who was on the ground for this.Courtney G… Read More
After more than a decade of staling out by Texas officials, starting with Susan Combs, and a shitload of corruption by US Fish and Wildlife Service, last week FWS finally extended Endangered… Read More
I recently called out Schutze on his Substack for the latest, hand-waving this time, installment of his fellating Houston ISD super Mike Miles. (As I wrote here last fall, Schutze long had a… Read More
I was going to post this to my original piece about the presidential debate annoucement, since I didn't see it until 12 hours after that posted, but then thought it would be burying the lede… Read More
By now, every golfing fan and his or her grandma has heard about the early Friday morning incident at the PGA Championship, that is, the arrest of Scottie Scheffler.And, of course, Twitter i… Read More
This is funny as hell.A developer in Moab, per High Country News, planned to name a new subdivision after Cactus Ed Abbey. As the piece notes, this is the antithesis of everything he s… Read More
Add #ChickenshitJoe to #GenocideJoe. Afraid that Chicago 2024 will be a repeat of Chicago 1968, he and other Democratic Party leaders are trying to move online as much of the convention as t… Read More
The top news presidentially from yesterday? Two presidential debates this year, one in June and one
in September, and outside the aegis of the Commission on Presidential
Debates. That's th… Read More
Meet Troy Nehls, joining Havana Ted Cruz as elected Rethuglican money-launderers.#TotsAndPears about East Texas flooding. This still won't wake up climate change denialists, and the Trib's p… Read More
Contra this piece? It's not "just me" if somebody throws a banana peel in the forest. Bananas aren't native in most places, first. Second, fruit peels in general don't decay in the open… Read More
A month ago, I offered my critical thoughts ("critical" in the more technical, more than psychological) on Mondoweiss claiming that President Biden's knee-jerk support of Bibi Netanyahu and… Read More
I'd heard plenty about this nuttery when it first broke, per the New York Times story.Via Orac, I'd heard about Stephen Colbert's jokes.And, yes, via Orac (setting aside his deep-fried #Blue… Read More
Apparently, though I didn't see anything at Independent Political Report, Libertarian National Committee head Angela McArdle invited her Luciferian master, RFK Jr., as well as Donald Duck Tr… Read More
I had blogged last fall about Kennedy visiting Auntie Angie's House, an abortion alternatives site for Black women that apparently believes the "abortion is Black genocide" BS.So, imagine my… Read More
Capital and Main talks about Schuyler Wight leaving his West Texas home once a month, every month, to try to get the Railroad Commission to do something — ANYTHING — about orphan… Read More
If the FBI weren't run by a Zionist enabler named Christopher Wray, pro-Palestinian protestors at UCLA wouldn't have to engage in potentially inaccurate doxxing to identify their mob attacke… Read More
That's nowhere more true than with educational issues in general and the State Board of Education in particular, per a forum in the runoff for Republican nominees for SBOE District 12.Challe… Read More
I'm not a duopoly voter, of course.BUT?As I say in my header here, and on my Twitter profile, I am a SKEPTICAL leftist. And I mean that in both the modern "show me your work" so-called "scie… Read More
Because a regular Easter isn't good enough!
SocraticGadfly’s NewsletterYou HAVE purchased, and ARE reading from, your Trump Bible, are you not?Specifically… Read More
Charles Kuffner of Off the Kuff as in the organizer of the Texas Progressives: Zionist by silence over saying nothing about the DPS crushing of pro-Palestinian protestors at UT. Nor, at that… Read More
Joe Biden is an open liar about pro-Palestinian protestors at Columbia, as well as a free speech hater, and coming closer
to expressing quasi-dictatorial thoughts about the arrest of protes… Read More
Jill Stein has scored a semi-major endorsement, by Columbia prof Jeffrey Sachs.
Important, given all the shit at Columbia in the past week or two. Am I
voting for her? Still not. Let me kn… Read More
The biggest news? After the Libertarian National Committee invited both Genocide Joe Biden and Donald Duck Trump (but not anybody else) to attend the LP's convention this summer, Trump accep… Read More
I see what I did there with that headline.I've long, on this forum, called out the US and other NATO countries for pushing a proxy war in Ukraine. I've fought back against the Uki-tankies of… Read More