I got an interesting e-mail from Americans United for Separation of Church and State regarding those feel-good ads we’ve seen during football games, including the Super Bowl. The message on immigration and asylum seekers being compared to Joseph and Mary during the holiday season was especially powerful. But I must say I don’t trust anything until I find out who’s funding what and for what purpose. I’m especially distrusting of religious messaging. So, this e-mail answered some questions I’ve had since I first saw the ads.
Dear ____:
An expected 120 million people will watch the Super Bowl on Sunday – many just for the commercials. One viral ad – the $20 million “He Gets Us” campaign about Jesus – is funded by an influential donor to some of the most active and litigious Shadow Network groups working to undermine church-state separation.
The Servant Foundation, also known as The Signatry, is behind the ad blitz. Over the next three years, the Servant Foundation plans to spend “about a billion dollars” toward this public relations campaign. They’ve hired a PR firm to address, in the firm’s words, the problem of “How did the world’s greatest love story in Jesus become known as a hate group?”
Of course, they’re the cause of their own problem – not only has the Servant Foundation funded hate groups, but the PR firm, Haven, has represented them. Key Shadow Network members Focus on the Family and Alliance Defending Freedom are in their portfolio. Our last installment in this email series exposed ADF, a noted anti-LGBTQ hate group that has argued repeatedly in courts that religion, and specifically Christianity, is a license to discriminate; they have one such case pending before the Supreme Court right now.
But the Servant Foundation has more direct ties to ADF: It’s one of ADF’s biggest financial backers. A recent exposé reports that, “between 2018-20, the Servant Foundation donated more than $50 million to the Alliance Defending Freedom” and that those contributions “were among the five largest donations given out by the foundation in each of those three years.”
Other recipients of the Servant Foundation’s billion dollars in assets include:
Nearly $8 million went to Answers in Genesis, creationist Ken Ham’s fundamentalist ministry behind the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter.
Over $1 million was designated for the anti-LGBTQ Campus Crusade for Christ (rebranded as “Cru” since 2011).
$374,800 went to Al Hayat Ministries, an organization that seeks to “respectfully yet fearlessly unveil the deception of Islam,” and runs an Arabic-language Christian satellite TV station with the goal of converting Muslims to Christianity.
In 2020 alone, we found donations to prominent Shadow Network members American Center for Law and Justice, First Liberty Institute, and Liberty Counsel.
Also helping to fund the Super Bowl ads are the Greens, the billionaire family behind the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., and the Hobby Lobby craft store chain that got the Supreme Court to grant corporations a religious exemption to deny workers access to birth control.
This is how the Shadow Network operates – an expensive, gimmicky ad campaign that pastes a feel-good, faith-friendly face on their behind-the-scenes efforts to redefine religious freedom and gut church-state separation. But you and I know better.
So, when you hear folks chatting about this “Jesus ad” after the Super Bowl, help us expose the Shadow Network behind the ads.
In Solidarity,
Rachel K. Laser President and CEO
During tough times, we all look for feel-good messages, but we must ask ourselves if we are being duped by the messengers. Hell, everyone feels good when the local furniture salesman does something, but then are shocked when he ends up being a gambling-addicted, MAGA-supporting, tax-dodging, election denying a-hole. Or, when the local feel-good preacher locks the doors on hurricane victims. A billion-dollar ad campaign is equally suspect when it comes from people funding hate. It’s something to think about.
Posted onFebruary 10, 2023|Comments Off on Thoughts on Viernes – 02102023
First, The Good News: Robert Gallegos for Houston Mayor
Woke up this morning to ABC-13 telling me (on TV) that District I CM Robert Gallegos has tossed his hat in the ring for Mayor of Houston. The Chron has it. Gallegos is the term-limited lone Chicano on the Council. He has represented his district well, taking on issues such as environmental racism by rail companies, along with pushing for quality of life projects, such as the development of the Houston Botanic Garden in his district, and more budget money for trash and recycling in his district. His office’s constituent services rank up there as responsive and effective. Nine years of experience on Council, as well as decades of experience in the community, surely qualifies his run. Gallegos has been my favorite member, and I’ll even go as far as stating that he has rep’d me better than most at City Hall, and I live in the Mid-West of Houston.
Side note: I’ll never forget his kind words and memorial service attendance when my Mom passed away in 2016. He’s genuinely a good person who would serve all of Houston well.
The Chron already has the local experts talking about the race. I’ll analyze the analyzers next week.
Abbott Doubles Down On Being A Bigot–Again!
Greg Abbott hates diversity as a means of social change as he has banned using diversity as a hiring tool. The only kind of diversity he approves of is the usual hiring of ass-kissing vendidos who are willing to sell-out their own people. He’ll parade around a babos@ who will walk lock-and-goose-step with his Trump-like policies. Otherwise, it’s not his kind of diversity. We’ve been through it before here on DC when Latinos support any given republinut Latino appointee as a win for diversity, but in reality, it’s a win for right-wing pendejos. Why are we so surprised?
Abbott Isn’t Accountable To Uvalde
Abbott’s DPS has decided that a couple of DPS troopers is enough to punish DPS for the Uvalde shooting response. If they fire too many, they won’t be able to keep the border boondoggle staffed, I gather. That’s OK, Uvalde County voted for Abbott, so they must be OK with what happened in Uvalde. I guess that means that doofus DPS director gets to stay, too. He said as much.
Biden’s New Super-Duper-Deportation Rule
A new Biden initiative to immediately deport non-Mexicans has the administration back-tracking on the plan. So, as always, there is confusion in the news. One reason they’re contemplating Mexico as a drop-off point is that they have bad relations with Cuba and Venezuela because of the blockades the US has imposed on them which makes for difficult trips to drop-off deportees. And Mexico is willing to work with the US, but probably at a price. There is sure to be an uproar from US-based (and connected) folks from the targeted deportation countries. Biden’s mistake is that he refuses to work with these countries because he might earn a few political points, but hardly any votes, by making noise about them. Democrats lost an opportunity to do something worthwhile in migration during the Democratic majority.
Democrats seem to have loved President Biden’s challenges to Republicans that they work together during the next year. Biden’s listing of bipartisan accomplishments surely made Dems feel good. Republicans responded with their usual hate, using their latest version of anti-Black and anti-Latino hate on a few issues in which Biden was less than stellar.
Immigration
Biden’s call for bipartisanship on immigration reform was weak. After doing nothing on the issue with a Democratic majority, he thinks bipartisanship will do the trick. But right off the bat, he proposes further militarization of the border with added Migra-Mice on the ground. This, after doing nothing regarding reform of ICE and the Border Patrol who continue their violent tendencies. Biden also seems to blame the fentanyl crisis on the border, while the demand is right here in America. The one part of this package are the DREAMers, who have been played by both sides since the issue was created as a means to achieve bipartisanship on something. Well, the call was made once again.
The Detention Watch Network released a report on issues that Biden must still address, including detention of migrants, ending cooperation between local police and ICE, and ending family detention prisons.
Sadly, Republicans will not allow much of anything, other than more militarization and human rights violations. Any negotiation will see Dems ceding this for whatever weak reform is created . That’s if anything happens.
Police Reform
I sort of feel like Roland Martin. It seemed Tyre’s mom was doing a better job of calling on police reform from the balcony. Any discussion of police reform should go beyond accountability for murdering black people. If there is no culture change in the current toxic state of policing, there will still be death and destruction of families, only with more slaps on the wrist–and more DAs failing to indict.
That call for Congress to pass police reform by @POTUS@JoeBiden was pathetically WEAK. Yes, it was emotional discussing #TyreNichols and “The Talk,” but the best he could muster was “do something”? Wait until our @BlkStarNetwork post-SOTU discussion. My panel is LIVID.
With Biden’s call to end the pandemic emergencies, it seems America has given the reins to big pharma who will overcharge the poor and uninsured ($80 to $120 for COVID shots). It’s not even on Biden’s radar to have a bipartisan solution to ensure people have access to COVID-related health care, if infected. And the immunecompromised have been left to fend for themselves with no antibodies and no help in staying safe. Of course, Biden did chastise big pharma regarding diabetes meds and profits, so that makes up for it? Anyway, I’m glad Senator Bernie Sanders was an ominous reminder (and hopefully focal point) that COVID is still here.
Overall
Biden hit all the spots that might appease middle class America, though. Infrastructure, vacation hotel bills, etc. Many of us still await the infrastructure investment that is to come and if whether it will be life-changing for people and not just government contractors. I haven’t stayed at too many hotels during the last few years, but the hotel thing seemed to excite the middle class.
Turning the tables on Republicans regarding Social Security played beautifully. And there are great ideas that I hope come to fruition. Unfortunately, the media and insider Dems were treating this as Biden’s re-election announcement, rather than a list of things to work on during the next year. I took “finish the job” to mean actually accomplishing something more than re-election. A Democratic majority should have finished the job.
The Right-Wing
The response was more racism from Arkansas’ governor blaming America’s problems on CRT and the border. Meanwhile, she called for a return to Trump’s racist policies. Business as usual for the Republicans.
Posted onFebruary 3, 2023|Comments Off on Thoughts On Viernes – 020323
After my first post in a long while, I was elated by the positive response. In fact, some good friends fed me more hope.
Joaquin Martinez for District I
I’ve known this was going to happen for a while. I’ve known Joaquin for a long time now and have always been impressed by his commitment and drive to serve the community. I met him during his service in the nonprofit sector and was impressed by his campaign abilities during his run for State Senate. But he has proved himself as an effective doer as a staffer for current District I CM Robert Gallegos. Of course, I’m proud to say CM Gallegos has served me more effectively than most on the horseshoe on issues beyond my own district. That said, Joaquin is sure to continue that trend of excellent constituent services and transparent policy-making. Learn more about him by following his campaign on Facebook.
Richard Cantu for At-Large 3
Our current HCDE Trustee Richard Cantu announced his intention to run for At-Large 3 recently. Cantu has relevant experience, both as an elected official and as a countywide campaigner. He has actually been reaching beyond political connections. I look forward to an exciting grassroots campaign that is about and for the people, which is something we all need. Stay tuned.
Ivan Sanchez for District J
Many have already seen Sanchez making the rounds as he challenges a well-funded incumbent, who based on his fundraising, is looking for more. Running a grassroots campaign that promises to deliver results for the people, Sanchez offers experience as a Congressional staffer and real estate development pro. He helped found a millenial networking group that is quite active, too. He has also been part of the movement calling for more Latin@ representation on City Council.
With at least one other name that I hear about (but have not seen anything official or biographical in my inbox) set to run for At-Large 1, it seems Latin@s are indeed in the running for citywide and district positions. We’ve needed more of this.
COVID-19 Is Still Here
But just a reminder to candidates and people alike, COVID-19 hasn’t gone anywhere despite the Biden Administration’s call to end the pandemic emergencies on May 11. The “end” only means that vaccines and boosters will cost the uninsured over $80 each. That free testing will end. And that a host of other benefits will be gone.
Recently, Biden’s CDC ended the use of Evushield, an immune boost for the immunocompromised because it is ineffective against the new variants. Its creator, Astrazeneca, states they are working on clinical trials for a replacement, but those who required the added protection have been left in the lurch with only suggestions for masking, staying away from other humans, and continued boosters. Thanks! Like, maybe suggest it to everyone else!
Locally, COVID-19 is still around. Almost 15% of people being tested are positive. The wastewater reading is over 300%. People are still dying and getting sick. It’s not the flu. New variants are highly transmissible. COVID-19 is an inflammatory disease that affects ones organs and tissues in the long term, not just during infection. Together, all of Biden’s cancellations will have effects, while enriching corporations who didn’t feel they made enough money the last few years. And appeasing the COVID-deniers.
Anyway, mask up, stay boosted, and try not to be foolish by being among crowds you can’t trust. As much as I might support some of the aforementioned candidates, I won’t be at their events for obvious reasons.
Well, after a personally challenging 2022, I decided to take a break in January to clear my head and think about what I want to do with this blog. And I still don’t know. Given the lack of federal leadership in taking on the pandemic and society basically giving up on itself by going unmasked and getting infected more than once (Society, not me), getting involved in stuff isn’t something on my mind. But at least I have this blog, right?
I do know that 2022 left me with a sense of wanting more out of so-called progressives, knowing that the right-wing continues its attack on good things and that we need to be better at fighting back. There needs to be more from those we choose to lead us than daily selfies and minimal returns on our political investments (our vote) when we actually have a majority. That said, a couple of things have happened that give me a little bit of hope. So, I’ll start 2023 (Happy New Year, by the way) with a short listing of things that give me hope.
First of all, thank you to Chairman Evbagharu for his service. The position of Party Chair is the most thankless position that entails the equivalent of herding cats, among more important work. It takes a special kind of person to do this part of the job with the ultimate goal of winning elections through coordinated campaigns and effective fundraising. So, that Abogada Mintz is running is not surprising. As she stated:
The Party needs a leader that can keep the county moving forward and not only preserve the accomplishments from the last three election cycles but someone that can build on that progress.
I have run political campaigns, block walked, texted, phone banked, hosted fundraisers, raised money and ran for political office.
I believe that I can be very effective as the Harris County Democratic Party Chairwoman where I can use my experience and knowledge to ensure that Harris County continues to be Democrat and to help turn Texas Blue.
So, one of these days, the County’s Executive Committee (Precinct Chairs) will be getting together to elect the new Party Chair. I wholeheartedly support Silvia Mintz because she does have those leadership qualities needed to keep Democrats together while aiming to win elections. Bottom line: Harris County is still the place in Texas that will finally put a Democrat into statewide office, and this will happen with a chair that will not only win elections, but utilize innovative ways to energize the electorate.
Anyway, this is one moment that has given me some hope.
HOLLY FLYNN VILASECA ANNOUNCES FOR COH AT-LARGE #2
Another good friend, former HISD Trustee, Holly Flynn Vilaseca, announced her candidacy for Houston City Council At-Large Position 2 n FB. I’ve known Holly for years from our participation in local leadership groups and I was very supportive of her work on the school board. As she stated:
I’m running to put families first and ensure we have safe, healthy communities for all Houstonians. We deserve a city government that’s transparent and spends our tax dollars wisely. We deserve reliable city services and better infrastructure.
Together, we can take our city to the next level in economic development, innovation, and quality of life. I can help our communities accomplish these goals with my proven experience in responsible budgeting and operational efficiency. But I can’t do it without your support. Donate to our grassroots campaign at: Actblue.com/donate/HollyforHouston
No doubt, this was another recent happening that gave me some hope.
The City of Houston is currently being sued by LULAC for its lack of Latin@ representation on the City Council. One look at candidates raising money in at-large races and one sees the lack of representation in the people the check-writers support. This needs to change, and it needs to go beyond single-member fiefdoms (what the lawsuit is seeking and probably won’t achieve). So, I’m glad to see Holly jumping in to represent in an at-large race. As I’ve always said, we live everywhere and are qualified to run everywhere.
Reality is hitting us in the face right now, which is one of the reasons I was so out of it on blogging. The implications of a right-wing-led US House and an emboldened and bigoted Texas government are already affecting us, whether through awful public policies or a lack of political will to fight back on the left. Democrats won locally in 2022, but Republicans will continue on their favorite line of whining–creating doubt about election outcomes. We need energy, and these two announcements provided me a bit of a spark.
It’s safe to say that local Republicans didn’t mind the voting problems at locations which opened late or were short-staffed at the beginning of Election Day. When supplies were running low at some locations, though, all of a sudden they wanted to be a protected class. So goes the hypocrisy of the Republican Party. It’s all about them–especially when they lose.
Don’t worry, Rethugs, I was almost a victim of those damn printers, too. (Did you hear that HC Elections was counting emergency ballots yesterday?)
I voted on the first day, being the responsible kind of voter who fears dying between Day 1 of early voting and Election Day and not having my vote counted. Though the polling location (Tracy Gee Center) was busy and the configuration of the room between check-in and voting was backwards, I got through that process. Unfortunately, when it came to pushing in the 2nd ballot sheet into the printer, it jammed. Badly! The first couple of lines printed before it skewed badly and injured the paper.
I immediately called up a poll worker who literally had to pull the sheet out, had me put my name on yellow sticky on the ballot while he found a supervisor. I stayed at my polling station, hoping that my vote wasn’t lost. Thankfully, a supervisor brought a new sheet, the poll worker ran it through, and the 2nd page was printed. Finally, both sheets went through the scanner and I was done, placing the I VOTED sticker on my mask. Yes, I still mask.
Anyway, voters need to check their paper print-outs to ensure everything printed out. We have these “paper trails” that were demanded by people for a reason. I thought the paper trail was going to be cash register receipt of my choices for ME, but so much for that.
Thanks to the good folks who committed to working for Harris County Elections for ensuring my vote counted.
Now, the staffing shortages and paper shortages do need to be addressed. The paper trail part is state-mandated now, so, maybe more staff to run a q-tip with alcohol on the rubber thingies that pull the ballot paper in are needed. I don’t know. You got paid people for that. But more paper kept in accessible secure locations or something!
But is this a blatant, purposeful violation of ones voting rights? It’s an inconvenience for sure, but we have 782 voting locations on Election Day that a voter can vote at. At least in my neighborhood, from Tracy Gee I could go down the street to one of the Chinese Cultural centers off Corporate to vote. A little further and I have the Alief ISD polling station. The options were plentiful. We just haven’t gotten people out of the mentality that they don’t have to vote JUST in their neighborhood.
The options were also plentiful for people who somehow didn’t pay attention to all the TV attack ads and mail reminding them that there was an election–early voting and Election Day–yet decided to give up when the one location they went to didn’t open up on time. Or didn’t realize it until they got a text that election day was extended by an hour (to vote on a provisional ballot that may or may not be counted).
Now, some might say, “How Republican of you, Stace, to have these thoughts.” But there were two million people in downtown sweating it out (and stinking it up) for the Astros a day before, I figure driving a few miles to a polling location wouldn’t be that big a deal. Maybe I’m just experiencing less faith in humanity. I wonder why.
Is there voter suppression? Of poor and ethnic folks? Hell yeah. Which is why we have early voting for two weeks, a late night of early voting, a weekend of early voting, and 782 locations to vote at on Election Day.
Do folks still have issues getting to vote? Of course! Especially by mail. The Republicans have improved their voter suppression tactics to include racist mailings to go along with their racist policies that make people give up on democracy. Gerrymandering is voter suppression, too. But given the fact that 9 million people in Texas (a million or so here in Houston) didn’t show up to vote, it’s safe to say that a lot of folks just weren’t giving a shit and for a whole lot of reasons. And that’s a whole other discussion to have, but other than forced voting, I’m not sure what a good solution is.
I’m proud to be the son of Tacho and Flora who instilled in me a love of voting and participating in the political process. And believe me, I went through a phase this summer of wondering if I should even bother, but that subsided when I saw all of the lies and misinformation by Fascist Mack and MagaMealer and “Judicial Fairness PAC.” But I guess 9 million others in Texas don’t want to be like me.
Needless to say, Republicans, your rights were not violated. Inconvenienced? Sure. And the rights of Democrats at those voting locations, too, but you didn’t seem to care about them. But there is a lot of that going on, mostly because of Republican policies.
Congrats to County Judge Lina Hidalgo. She fought off an all-out attack from Fascist Mack, his millionaire buddies and his puppet of a candidate, consistently adding to her lead as the votes were counted throughout the night. Other Dems, including District Clerk Marilyn Burgess and County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth return to their jobs, and Dr. Carla Wyatt will take over as County Treasurer in January. Amy Hinojosa and Andrea Duhon return to the Harris County Dept of Education board, too.
We will have a new Pct. 4 County Commissioner as Lesley Briones pushed on through to defeat the no-show incumbent. With Judge Hidalgo and Commish Adrian Garcia earning re-election, Harris County Commissioner’s Court will now have four (4) Democrats–a supermajority that can ensure strong budgets and policies are passed whether GOPer Tom Ramsey shows up or not. Some say this isn’t a mandate, but after all the hate-mongering and money wasted by the other side, I think Harris County did achieve a strong mandate for progressive values and policies.
With all of the attack ads full of misinformation and fear-mongering against “Democrat Judges,” Dems lost a few judicial races, including 180th District Judge Dasean Jones. Of course, the local Dem DA assisted in the bail-related fear-mongering, so, I hope Judge Jones stays close and challenges the DA in 2024. There were several sitting judges who were “in the news” regarding bonds and releases, but it seems Republicans honed in on African-American judicial candidates because they are the ones that lost. The non-Black judges seemed to cruise into re-election. Just an observation.
That said, I’m surprised nothing was said about all the corporate money that was used to create the Republican “crime” message that attacked all of the judges. The money came from Texans for Lawsuit Reform, a very dead Sheldon Adelson’s Vegas gambling corporation, and other non-crime, non-law enforcement-related corporations. They were trying to buy civil court judges, people! They didn’t care about crime.
Well, Democrats haven’t elected anyone statewide for over 25 years, and that reality continues. South Texas continues to add to Republicans’ bottom line, and anything over 35-40 % of the vote in those counties will keep the GOP strong statewide–even as suburban areas “liberalize.” Whether it’s “moderate” Democrats who fail to do anything about educating the South Texas public about progressive issues, Christian fundamentalism that creeps into politics, or South Texas voters falling for right-wing hate-mongering as if they aren’t included in the attacks, it’s a problem. A message problem for Democrats.
Thankfully, at the local level Democrats are still in charge in most of South Texas–even Starr County. It is gerrymandering that ensured right-wing victories in CD-15 and CD-23. There’s a lot to unpack and discuss about South Texas, but as long as Nancy Pelosi feels the need to help sell-outs like Henry Cuellar during Democratic Primaries, the party pendejadas will continue.
Bexar County had a good night, as did Travis County and Dallas County. For some reason, Republicans targeted Harris County, finding and exploiting weaknesses in our bottom line. Fortunately, they ran mediocre (yet well-funded) candidates with awful puppeteers (Fascist Mack, Steve Hotze, etc.) and exploited crime victims in creating a fear-based message. Democratic activists were still successful in the ground game, despite the daily vitriol on TV. Kudos to them. [Travis County Note: Good luck to Celia Israel as she moves on to a Mayoral run-off, and to Jose Velasquez in Austin City Council District 3 run-off.]
While Dem faithful seem to have adopted Greg Abbott’s “it could’ve been worse” line after the results were finally posted, given results in other urban areas of the state which were strong for Democrats, perhaps something needs to be discussed. The activism is working, but the media response to right-wing lies leaves much to be desired. Also, it might help reminding voters how great our elected officials are–at least those that are great. But, hey, we won!
Anyway, Dems have some work to do for 2024, including having a cleaner, more meaningful slate that runs together and supports itself from top to bottom. Of course, this is also something to think about for the 2023 local elections as we remember who, from those in the running for Mayor and Council, stood up for our Democratic slate and who did not.
And somebody educate the local newsreaders about the political and election process before they go on TV. The overdramatization of the last eight ballot boxes was quite annoying.
Kuff has more. And I thought I was the only one making hand gestures at homes with Mealer signs.
Find a polling location anywhere in Harris County by clicking here.
VOTE FOR ALL OF THE DEMOCRATS
Here are some truths.
Vote to Re-Elect Judge Lina Hidalgo. She has served us well through disasters, a pandemic, and especially through the day-to-day affairs of the County. She shows up for work, which cannot be said about Republican commissioners, like Jack Cagle and Tom Ramsey. If you want our county services left intact, if you want the Sheriff funded, and if you want to ensure our medical services still exist next year, then we must keep the Democratic majority. And that means re-electing Judge Hidalgo and electing Lesley Briones for Pct 4 Commissioner.
The local furniture guy does not support the best interests of the people of Harris County. He puts on a good show, but he falls short of caring for anything that doesn’t get him a tax dodge or hedge his business risks, like betting on the Astros to pay for all of “free” furniture. He’s a tax-dodging, MAGA-supporting, election-denying gambling addict, and Alex Mealer doesn’t fall far from those descriptors. Don’t tolerate whiny Republicans who will gamble away your rights and your own livelihood to enrich themselves.
And what about “Democrat Judges”? They have served us well, ensuring fairness and justice in the criminal and civil courts. The money for all of those anti-Democrat Judge ads is coming from a a few donors who do not care about your safety. Corporate groups like Texans for Lawsuit Reform (they have nothing to do with crime), Las Vegas Sands Company (which probably gets a lot of money from at least one local gambling addict, Trinity Equity Partners, Don McGill Toyota, and some other millionaires who don’t care about your safety, but care about buying civil court judges for their own benefit and that of their rich buddies. Vote for the Democrats if you want your best interests guarded.
We need Beto O’Rourke, Rochelle Garza and the Democrats at the top of the ballot to end the political career of Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton and the rest of the Republicans who threaten our livelihoods everyday. So, vote accordingly.
I was saddened to hear of the passing of the first Chicano to run for Texas Governor under the banner of La Raza Unida Party, Ramiro (Ramsey) Muñiz. In 1972, he garnered 6% of the vote, almost causing the defeat of right-wing Democrat Dolph Briscoe. He helped change the face of Texas politics, though, the struggle continues.
Charismatic, politically savvy, and quite the motivator, Muñiz was a Baylor-educated Lawyer and Chicano political superstar who headed up a statewide ballot for one of the most locally effective third parties in Texas whose purpose was not only representation, but progressive policies that would benefit Chicanos all over Texas.
In 2018, I posted about his decades as a political prisoner, which came to an end with a compassionate release. I rank him up there with Leonard Peltier (still imprisoned)–an activist not liked by the federal government, no matter who was in charge. Muñiz resided at Leavenworth, a military prison, after multiple drug convictions with which most end up in a lower security prison. Family and friends, though, kept up the fight to achieve his release. Unfortunately, it took major illnesses for him to be released. Thankfully, he lasted another few years, still gave his speeches, still provided advice to activists, and was able to die with dignity and with his family.
Border Patrol doesn’t seem to have much to do down on the border, so, when they have the chance to chase down migrants being driven in a private vehicle you know the chances are good that they will cause an accident–even death. And that is what occurred in Uvalde, TX when the Migra gave chase down a stretch of highway that led into downtown Uvalde and caused a collision of the pickup being chased into a semi-tractor killing two and injuring 10 others in the pickup.
It’s no secret that these migrant chases are a danger, not just to law enforcement and the migrants, but also for innocent drivers who get caught up in them. And it’s not just the Border Patrol, which is led by Joe Biden, but also Greg Abbotts boondoggle which funds overtime for DPS and local sheriffs.
What is unfortunate is that Democrats running statewide aren’t saying much, other than Abbott’s activities are a waste. Well, duh. In fact, Abbott’s activities are a danger to all and are the cause of racist practices and policies beyond what Abbott leads. Biden sitting on these policies and not doing much about them doesn’t help, either.
Two men shot two migrants, killing one and injuring another, earlier this week while the two victims stood along a West Texas road getting water, authorities said. One of the alleged shooters is reportedly a warden for a privately run immigration detention center.
So, Texas bigotry promoted and led by Greg Abbott meets the private prison boondoggle. They were only charged with manslaughter, from initial reports. So, it must be asked: What the fuck is going on?
Anyway, this is another example of continued racist policies and practices in the name of “securing borders.” And nothing has been said by Democrats running statewide.
Abbott’s Border Wall
Greg Abbott just wasted $300 million on 14 miles of border wall. This is just another death-causing ploy as migrants will still cross, but in more dangerous and treacherous areas of the border. They’ll die from the heat, from vigilantes, and/or migrant chases.
UPDATE: Beto O’Rourke responded this morning on his FB page:
This is the predictable result when Abbott describes asylum seekers as an “invasion,” asks Texans to “defend” the state from immigrants by “taking matters into our own hands,” and treats refugees like political props instead of human beings.
We saw it 3 years ago in El Paso. We will continue to see this until we have a governor who sees migrants as human beings, and is focused on solutions instead of political stunts.
We have real problems at our border and with our immigration system. Everyone can agree on that much. But I hope we can also agree that stunts like busing asylum seekers, and inciting hatred for and fear of those fleeing dictatorships hasn’t solved any of those problems.
We should focus on the commonsense solutions that most Texans actually agree on: a safe, legal, orderly path for those who want to come here to work, join family or seek asylum. A Texas-based guest worker program could meet critical labor needs in construction, agriculture and a number of other industries in Texas, supporting Texas businesses and our economy.
We could work with federal partners to lift the visa caps on countries like Mexico, where the wait-time to join family members today can take up to 20 years. And for asylum seekers, let’s fund more judges and administrators to adjudicate asylum claims far more quickly. Today, it can take 6 years. How about working to get it down to a matter of months?
When we ensure that those who come to our country follow our laws—and that our laws follow our values and economic needs—not only will we achieve much more for our fellow Texans, we will be far more successful at stopping drug traffickers and human smugglers who mean us harm.
That means we no longer have people coming in between ports of entry, crossing into the U.S. undocumented, risking their lives and putting extraordinary strain on Border Patrol agents and border communities. It means that we are safer, stronger, and more successful as a state.
We are better than this news. Now is the time to prove it.
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