Yesterday’s annular eclipse as viewed from a city park on the outskirts of Hondo, #Texas. There was a broad layer of high clouds when we arrived but luckily they broke up & blew away just in time for the main event. Had to get up in the wee hours and drive 225 miles (362 km) west to get right in the center of the path but it was well worth it.
NEW: #Russia has jumped into the #Texas border controversy and is now cheering on civil war in the US and promoting the right-wing border convoy. Even more interestingly, I found evidence that disinformation accounts associated with the notorious Internet Research Agency (Russia’s “troll factory”) may be being “reactivated” to promote a secessionist movement in Texas.
So, the former president of the United States is calling on states to take up arms to support Texas in its standoff against the federal government. That’s about as close to calling for civil war as you’re going to get without actually saying the words.
This is a situation that could spiral out of control in a heartbeat. I would not assume it’s just bluster. #politics#texas#trump#immigration
First they require in-person #returnToOffice, then they relocate business units from one location to another, and force those who can’t uproot their lives to leave.
The Apple location in #SanDiego isn’t going away. But they intentionally forced 121 people to choose between moving to #Austin, or lose their jobs. Make no mistake, this is a layoff.
Never mind the fact that #Texas is hostile to anyone with a uterus, or is not cishet—why the hell anyone would move to that state? If anything, Apple should be shutting down their Austin office, and paying for people to relocate to a state that better ensures their safety.
“Apple to Shutter 121-Person San Diego AI Team in Reorganization”
In 2020, a contingent of Trump supporters used trucks and vehicles to form a "Trump Train", which harassed and endangered a Joe Biden campaign bus driving through Central Texas.
Fearing for safety, the bus operator requested police support. Except once it entered San Marcos (just south of Austin), the local cops refused to intervene.
Several travelers on the bus sued, claiming the city violated the Klan Act of 1871.
Pay attention to what's happening in this case: the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals just essentially ruled that it's fully legal to jail journalists for reporting leaked information, or any information they obtain from government officials without going through "proper channels."
This story is crazy. A small town Texas bigot tries to run a gay couple out of town, but in the process of fighting back, they discover that the bigot has been embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the town. So she apparently burned down the town hall, fled the state, and is living homeless in a Colorado park.
The GOP’s Secret to Protecting Gerrymandered Electoral Maps? Claim Privilege.
Through new and expansive assertions of privilege, #Republican legislatures around the country are shielding their work on allegedly discriminatory #voting maps to prevent the public from finding out how and why they made their decisions.
UT Austin, my employer, beats and jails students engaged in peaceful protest, then manufactures propaganda that deeply misrepresents what the students were doing and had planned to do.
How am I supposed to work at an institution willing to hurt any students I recruit to come here? This is untenable.
"At Bumble, the women-centered dating app that calls Austin home, executives say that about one third of their 150 Texas employees have left the state entirely, opting for remote work...The reason: It’s not just hard to keep talented employees in Austin in a post-Roe world, where doctors might not perform even medically necessary abortions for fear of reprisal, it’s also hard to attract them to Texas in the first place."
Back in March, when the #fediverse came together to help save us, we changed our name to “Texas Observer Lives!”
Today, we changed it back to just "Texas Observer" because we need YOUR HELP to survive into 2024! It's up to our readers to preserve the voice of progressive #Texas by joining our fall membership drive.
Norlan Bayardo Herrera is a 20-year-old Honduran who drowned in the Rio Grande as Greg #Abbott's torture barrier sends desperate refugees to unsafe areas
The humanity of those dying to come to America" #Texas
Hi everyone. I'm going to share a new #introduction.
I'm a #nonbinary (they/them) movement journalist in my 40s, currently based in Central #Texas. From 2022 until today's layoffs, I was Digital Editor at the @TexasObserver. I've been a writer, journalist and editor since at least 2011, when I got my start on the primordial political blog Firedoglake. My involvement with the Occupy Wall Street movement helped make me a journo and I've always worn my bias on my sleeve.
A fifth-grader from #Brownsville ISD reported being bullied by his principal. Five days later, he was handcuffed and detained. He spent 3 days in solitary confinement.
Murder was the leading cause of death among pregnant and postpartum people in the U.S. In 2022 alone, at least 17 #Texas women were killed while pregnant or shortly after giving birth.
"#Texas saw an estimated 26,313 rape-related pregnancies during the 16 months after the state outlawed all #abortions, with no exceptions for survivors of rape or incest, according to a study...
That’s the highest estimate among the 14 states with total abortion bans, with Texas having the largest population" H/t: LOLGOP
This week: When #Brownsville ISD had an 11-year-old boy arrested and placed in #solitary confinement, we dug deeper. What we found was horrifying: Over 75 fifth-grade students have been arrested there this year.
Texas A&M has agreed to pay Dr. Kathleen McElroy $1 million after her recruitment process broke down over "DEI hysteria." Dr. McElroy will remain a tenured professor at UT Austin.
This is a long shot, but my spouse is looking for someone who can donate a 3D printer or a laser cutter to a group of artists and #makers who used to experience chronic homelessness. It is an actual #nonprofit so you can get the tax write off. Please boost in case someone in the #fediverse can help.
(Edit to add: in #Texas!)
(edit 2: It needs to be able to print ceramics.)
News of money previously given to #House Speaker Mike #Johnson's congressional campaign by #Russian nationals has re-emerged after the #Republican rejected a $95 billion foreign aid bill passed in the Senate.
In 2018, a group of Russians were able to donate to Johnson's bid for the Louisiana seat he eventually won as the money was funneled through the #Texas-based American Ethane company.