The Texas Observer February 2017

Remember Their Names Can you imagine fleeing such violence, poverty or crime that you would risk traveling across a desert with only a small backpack (“Introducing ‘I Have a Name/Yo Tengo Nombre,’” December 8, texasobserver.org)? These were real men, women and children. Every person should have a hearing, whether they are seeking a better job, fleeing violence, or seeking political asylum. Our immigration system needs real, bipartisan solutions. Kim Moss-Allen ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO Bathroom BS THIS WILL ALSO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON DIS- abled citizens (“Patrick, Kolkhorst Unveil ‘Deeply Divisive’ Anti-Trans Bathroom Bill,” January 5, texasobserver.org). My friend, who lives in Austin, has ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and recently commented that his wife and daughters are his caregivers and they have to take him into the women’s restroom when…

LGBT RIGHTS Haters Get Flushed FOR TEXAS VALUES, A RIGHT-WING ADVOCACY GROUP, THE small, relatively conservative community of Dripping Springs may have seemed like a good target for its latest anti-transgender bathroom campaign. But three months after the group stormed into town, Dripping Springs ISD officials were standing firm in their decision to allow a 9-year-old trans girl to use restrooms according to her gender identity. Soon after Texas Values launched its campaign, a large group of parents formed to support the third-grade student and defend the district. Organized as “Many Stripes, One Tiger,” the group plans to take its fight to Austin to lobby against Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick’s anti-trans bathroom bill. “We’re trying to get the message out that our school district is doing just fine without Dan…

In November, the United States Geological Survey announced that a West Texas oilfield known as the Wolfcamp shale is the biggest ever discovered in the United States, containing approximately 20 billion barrels of oil and 16 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. But oil is not a modern discovery. Native Americans in Texas are said to have used it for hundreds of years, with records showing that they told European explorers it had medicinal qualities. When the Spanish explorers of Hernando de Soto’s expedition, led by Luis de Moscoso Alvarado, found oil floating on the water along the Texas coast in 1543, what did they use it for? a. To trade with the Karankawa b. To caulk their boats c. To waterproof their beards d. Chapstick…

#FAKENEWS “Regardless whether the Texas Tribuneor other members of the mainstream media likes it, we will continue to post things we find newsworthy, interesting, thought-provoking, funny, or controversial and let our followers decide whether its [sic] news, satire, or something else. As they say over at Fox News. We report. You decide!” —Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller on Facebook, December 3, responding to a Texas Tribune story analyzing his social media use. “In an age where you can get information in an instant, rather than slam ‘fake news sites,’ how about encouraging folks to do their own due diligence and fact check what they’re being told?” —An article on former U.S. Representative Allen West’s website, November 16. “The liberals want to distract us with charges of ‘fake news,’ but we…

DURING HIS CAMPAIGN for office, President Donald Trump told voters that if elected he would build a “big, fat, beautiful wall” from coast to coast. Along the 1,250 miles of Texas-Mexico border, 110 miles of fencing already exist. If the Trump administration decides to construct more fencing along the rest of the Texas border, it will have to navigate deep canyons, a national park, an ever-shifting river and a treaty with Mexico that requires binational consent before structures can be built in the river’s floodplains. In some parts of the border, the wall has aggravated flooding and resulted in diminished property values for landowners. THE RIO GRANDE The sinuous Rio Grande is the official border between Texas and Mexico. Existing border fence segments act as dams, catching debris during floods…

By creating a circuit where politicians such as Ted Cruz and Dan Patrick could speak directly to conservative activists, tea party groups changed the future of the state simply by existing. MANY PROGRESSIVES REMEMBER THE TEA PARTY REVOLUTION OF 2009-2010 as an extended exercise in unreason. That’s not wrong. But it was also, quite possibly, the most successful political organizing movement in the last half-century of American politics. The tea party transformed the GOP from a broken and battered political party to a ruthlessly effective organ in the body politic — all in the space of about 18 months. As Democrats plot a path out of the wilderness, it’s important to consider how the right did it. ¶ In those years, the tea party was full of scorn for Barack…