Tag Archives: Donald Trump
Engineer Who Helped Build the Wall Details Its Weaknesses
As you might have guessed, the U.S.-Mexico border wall is not very hard to get around.
Joseph Jarvis knows the U.S.-Mexico border wall more intimately than most. A 71-year-old contractor who works in engineering and construction, Jarvis oversaw th...Read More
Documents: CBP Ignored Federal Biologists’ Input on Border Wall
Border security officials visited wildlife preserves in Starr County, then blew off the recommendations of the scientists they brought along.
In December 2017, a group of Customs and Border Protection officials met with federal wildlife biologists in McAllen for what CBP billed as a collaborative meet...Read More
She’s 28. She’s an Immigrant. She’s in Charge of Texas’ Most Populous County. Get Used to It.
When Lina Hidalgo was elected Harris County judge in November, many scoffed at her unexpected victory. Now she’s on a mission to prove that her progressive agenda is just what Houston needs.
by Blake Paterson April 3, 2019 Simon Cruz timidly approached the lectern at the March 12 meeting of the Harris County Commissioners Court. The 79-year-old resi...Read More
Under Mindy Brashears’ Leadership, USDA Will Let Swine Slaughter Facilities Go Hog Wild
An inspector at a special deregulated hog plant told the Observer that the USDA’s new pork slaughter proposal that eliminates maximum line speeds is a “recipe for disaster.”
On March 15, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s top food safety official delivered good news to the pork industry. The official was Mindy Brashears, a forme...Read More
A New Book on the American Political Divide Calls, Unconvincingly, for Civility
The authors of Polarized are thoughtful exemplars of a lost ethic who care more about commonality than victory.
Let’s say you wanted to host a public conversation that would demonstrate civil disagreement and the search for common ground between two people with seemingl...Read More
How Trump’s Tax Cuts Could Accelerate Gentrification and Inequality in Houston
Tucked inside Trump’s 2017 tax cuts is a tax break for real-estate investors worth $1.5 billion. Critics say it could become a gentrification accelerant.
Once a crown jewel of Black Houston, the Third Ward is no longer affordable for many longtime homeowners and tenants. High-end townhomes have subsumed many part...Read More
The Interview: Mass Resistance
Rebel priest Roy Snipes discusses his fight to save a historic chapel from Trump’s wall.
On a foggy February morning, just south of the border town of Mission, the parking lot behind the La Lomita chapel is full. It’s the eighth week of a novena ...Read More
Why is Beto Running for President, Exactly?
In the national spotlight, O’Rourke’s ideological amorphousness could prove to be too great a liability. Or it could be his biggest strength.
Four months since Election Day 2018, Beto O’Rourke’s much-hyped announcement that he’s running for president begs the question of, “Why?” As we all kn...Read More
How Tea Partiers Fueled Texas’ Latest ‘Voter Fraud’ Freakout
Election-related crimes are rare, but activists like Aaron Harris have become both a legal and political weapon in Texas Republicans’ war on election fraud.
by Michael Barajas March 6, 2019 In August, a group of outraged conservative activists sent Governor Greg Abbott a letter that helped spark Texas’ latest vote...Read More