Texas Politics
The Next Census Could Determine the Future of Port Arthur
Texas Had a State Office That Could Have Investigated Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Cases. Lawmakers Defunded it Three Years Ago.
While early reports elsewhere show African Americans disproportionately infected and dying from COVID-19, Texas’ data is incomplete.
In 2005, faced with data showing that black and Native American families were overrepresented in Texas’ child welfare system, lawmakers ordered Child Protecti...Read More
The COVID-19 Disaster Has Made a Mess of Texas’ Open Government Rules
Some government officials in Texas appear to be exploiting the pandemic as a way to hide public business from the public.
Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and opportunistic public servants, government agencies now have carte blanche to operate in secret for as long as this crisis pe...Read More
‘I’m in Limbo Here’: Texans Are Met with an Overwhelmed and Antiquated State Unemployment System
The safety net meant to support the second largest workforce in the country is using decades-old technology. The workforce agency was trying to replace it when the pandemic hit.
Four months ago, Alan Chastain moved from Louisiana to the Houston area for a promising new job as a sales representative at a sign company. By late March, Chas...Read More
A ‘Stay-at-Home’ Order by Any Other Name
At a time when clear and decisive action is paramount, Governor Greg Abbott has delayed, deferred, and equivocated, likely costing lives.
Twenty-six days after an elderly Fort Bend man became the first presumptive positive case of COVID-19 in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott convened a press conference...Read More
The New U.S. Food Safety Czar is a Texas Researcher with Close Ties to the Meat Industry
Mindy Brashears’ confirmation comes at a time when Americans are scouring supermarket aisles for safe food to eat.
On Monday, amid the rapidly intensifying COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Senate quietly approved a controversial scientist from Texas to oversee the safety of the n...Read More
Texas Republicans’ Pandemic Performance Is True to Form
Dan Patrick performs for Fox News; Greg Abbott dithers; and John Cornyn defiantly refuses to log off.
On Monday evening, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick went on Fox News with Tucker Carlson and issued a call for the American economy to ramp back up in the very n...Read More
Texas Democratic and Republican Parties Spar Over How to Hold Elections During a Pandemic
With primary runoffs two months from now, Dems want universal mail-in voting; Republicans want delayed elections; and local elections officials just want some guidance.
The coronavirus outbreak in the United States presents a seemingly endless number of systemic challenges. One big one: How do you hold elections in a pandemic? ...Read More
How The Coronavirus Pandemic Exposed Abbott’s Hypocrisy On Local Control
After leaving cities and counties to handle coronavirus on their own, state intervention could be too little, too late.
Governor Greg Abbott’s office told reporters this week that cities and counties “have done a very good job of doing what is right for their municipalitiesâ€...Read More
How Christian Nationalism Moved from the Fringe to the White House
Katherine Stewart’s The Power Worshippers exposes the Christian right’s attempts to revise history and create an American theocracy.
After Hurricane Harvey devastated the Texas coast in 2017, three affected churches sued FEMA, claiming the agency’s policy against providing relief funds ...Read More