Millions remain without power as Texans brace for more calamity
Across the state, millions of Texans remain without power. The situation is dire in Texas as temperatures plunged below zero in most of the state. Several lawmakers including Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner are also demanding answers from the Electrical Reliability...
Afternoon Update: Controlled Blackouts to Continue
As much of Texas remains iced in and without power, officials with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and cities across the state have begun advising consumers currently impacted by power outages that they may remain without power into tonight and potentially...
Musings: What’s a rolling blackout?
Chances are if you’re reading this you may be sitting in your car, engine running and heater blasting, because the winter weather event gripping Texas has led to such overwhelming demand that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, which operates the...
Harris County scores victory against Valero pollution permit
The Harris County Attorney's Office announced this week that they successfully challenged the state-issued permit of a Valero petroleum refinery that allowed the company to spew 512 tons of hydrogen cyanide per year into the surrounding Houston area community. ...
The History of the Ted Cruz-Zodiac Killer meme
“Ted Cruz is the Zodiac Killer” is the greatest political meme of the 2016 election cycle — perhaps of all time. Throughout 2016 the internet was abuzz with tongue-in-cheek speculation that Cruz was the notorious serial killer who terrorized Northern California in the...
Polling: Cruz still beloved by Republicans but hated by most Texans
Recent polling from the University of Houston shows the attitudes of Texans after the attack on the Capitol building last month. The online survey of 1,329 Texans shows Cruz has strong support among Republicans but is generally loathed by most Texans. The...
Impeachment case uses Texas Biden bus incident as proof of Trump inciting violence
On the second day of the Trump impeachment trial, Rep. Stacey Plaskett introduced evidence about the former president inciting violence that was familiar to many in Texas. Speaking in front of the Senate, Plaskett recounted a harrowing scene from October that occurred...
Hearing to determine healthcare fate of 8,000 low-income Texans draws closer
Only a week remains on the temporary restraining order issued by a Travis County judge that blocked an attempt by Gov. Greg Abbott to exclude Planned Parenthood from the state’s Medicaid program. At-risk are some 8,000 low-income Texans who depend on Planned...
Musings: The Horror and Hope of Impeachment
Like many of you, I’ve had to force myself not to vomit or cry several times this week watching the powerful video evidence impeachment managers have used to make their case for convicting Donald Trump in his historical second impeachment trial. For me, the events of...
Texas Republicans attack Mark Cuban over anthem decision
As one of the most outspoken sports franchise owners in the country, Mark Cuban has a way of generating headlines. Several Texas lawmakers are castigating Cuban after he announced that the Dallas Mavericks had recently stopped playing the national anthem at their...
Op-Ed: Extremists pushed me out of Afghanistan, but they won’t dim my love for America
Last month, when I watched fanatical Trump supporters and white supremacists storm the United States Capitol, I was reminded of Afghanistan and the trauma I experienced at the hands of the Taliban. Like many refugees, I’d come to America to escape political and...
Harris County voters want fewer people in jail, polling shows
New polling from The Appeal and Data for Progress shows that most Harris County residents support bail reform measures and want fewer people in the county’s overcrowded jail amid the COVID-19 pandemic The polling shows 59 percent of residents in Harris County favor...
Can Ted Cruz harness Trumpism?
While some Republicans like Ben Sasse and Adam Kinzinger are trying to purge Trumpism from the GOP, others have gone in the opposite direction in the hope of political gain. A staunch Trump ally and one of the eight Republican senators who voted against certifying the...
Oil and Gaslighting: Texas leaders must acknowledge economic climate change
Texas has been a dominant force in the oil industry for over 100 years, but to remain an energy powerhouse our leaders must prepare us for a future where fossil fuels play a diminishing role. The Biden Administration has already shown its commitment to helping...
What Kamala Harris means to biracial kids
In a world that is increasingly polarized by race, it’s easy to forget about us. The mixed kids. The people in that racial grey area where people stare at you a little longer because they can’t quite tell what you are. We are the racially ambiguous people in your TV...