Gus Bova
By Gus Bova:
John Guandolo is on a Crusade to Turn Texas Cops Against Muslims
How Climate Change Is Driving Central American Migrants to the United States
In the poor, violent Northern Triangle of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, worsening floods, drought and storms are pushing a growing number of migrants north.
Donald Trump thinks there’s an immigration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. He has no idea what’s coming. Thousands of Central American migrants arrive at the border each month, fleeing both grinding poverty and unchecked gang violence. Increasingly, they’re also escaping … Read More
Tarrant County Republicans to Host Islamophobic Speaker Days Before Vote on Muslim Leaders
The party could soon oust four members, one who's Muslim and another married to a Muslim. First, some members plan to hear from an anti-Islam crackpot.
Emails obtained by the Observer reveal that members of the Tarrant County Republican Party plan to hold a training by notorious Islamophobe John Guandolo at an undisclosed location on December 29 — less than two weeks before the local party … Read More
Border Patrol Calls Cops on Lawyers, Activists Trying to Attend ‘Stakeholder’ Meeting
Police asked civil rights attorneys and opponents of the border wall to leave a Border Patrol station in McAllen, where an invite-only border wall meeting was taking place.
Outside the McAllen Border Patrol station Wednesday morning, a group of about nine anti-border wall activists and civil rights attorneys attempted to attend a quarterly, invite-only Border Patrol meeting for local landowners and “stakeholders.” There, attendees could ask questions of … Read More
Border Residents Protest Trump’s Wall in Hidalgo County
Activists and landowners called on Rio Grande Valley residents to resist construction of a wall and protect property rights and wildlife.
Around 100 people gathered across a highway from the Border Patrol station in McAllen Sunday to denounce a 6-mile stretch of border fence that the Trump administration plans to begin building in February. The stretch of wall, which will consist … Read More
Empower Texans Loses Big on Election Night
The trend of Empower Texans’ influence at the Texas Capitol dwindling continues.
Illustration/Sunny Sone Empower Texans, the aggressively reactionary group funded by oil and gas barons Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, wasted a lot of money this year. On Tuesday, the group ate dust in nearly every competitive race it pumped money … Read More
Say Adiós to Matt Rinaldi, the Texas Lawmaker Who Called ICE to Report Latino Protesters
State Representative Matt Rinaldi, R-Irving, is good at calling ICE. He’s also good at picking fights with Latino colleagues. But the far-right legislator is no longer, it seems, so good at winning elections. With all of the early vote in … Read More
Harris County Clerk Scrubs Soros Conspiracies from Site. Will Other GOP Leaders Follow Suit?
Under pressure, Republican Stan Stanart has dropped his anti-Semitic campaign pitch.
After pushback from media and a top Houston GOP official, Republican Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart scrubbed his re-election website Tuesday night of George Soros-related conspiracies and fear-mongering. His website had featured an oversize photo of Soros’ face and a … Read More
Can John Bucy Break the GOP Hold on Williamson County?
The race for Texas House District 136 is light on fireworks. The Republican incumbent, Tony Dale, is a relative moderate disliked by the state’s far-right crusaders. An energy consultant (the most Texas Lege-y job ever), he likes to emphasize uncontroversial … Read More
Republican Deanna Maria Metzger Hopes Hispanics Will Turn on Victoria Neave
Deanna Maria Metzger wants Texas Latinos to unleash their inner reactionary. Running against Democratic incumbent Victoria Neave in North Texas’ House District 107, Metzger made her pitch in a September video celebrating Republican Pete Flores’ surprise victory in a San … Read More