Vanity Fair: “Texans hit with astronomical bills—even if they did everything they could to conserve energy—have plans whose electricity prices are not fixed and instead tied to variable wholesale prices. Obviously, that means that when demand increases, their bills rise, with the goal, according to architects of the system, being to “balance the market by encouraging consumers…
“Why Texas Democrats lost the 2020 voter turnout battle, even among Latinos”
NBC News: “Texas Democrats conceded that Republicans won the state’s turnout battle in the 2020 election by staying in the field despite the coronavirus pandemic, while the state’s Democrats relied on digital and more unreliable telephone contact with voters. According to a post-election report provided in advance to NBC News, the party lost its “most powerful and competitive advantage”…
“Biden Backs Studying Reparations as Congress Considers Bill”
AP: “President Joe Biden’s White House is giving its support to studying reparations for Black Americans, boosting Democratic lawmakers who are renewing efforts to create a commission on the issue amid the stark racial disparities highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. A House panel heard testimony Wednesday on legislation that would create a commission to examine…
Beto O’Rourke Taking Leading Role in Organizing Texas
Politico: ““He has basically done the work of Stacey Abrams in Texas, if you look at this record of raising money and volunteers,” said Eliot Shapleigh, a former Texas state senator and longtime friend of O’Rourke, referring to the former Georgia gubernatorial candidate whose organizing helped elect two Democrats to the Senate in her state…
Stand Your Ground Bill Re-Gaining Steam in AR
Fox 16: “Senate Bill 24, the Stand Your Ground Bill, was passed out of the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. The bill removes the duty to retreat from Arkansas’ self-defense laws. Proponents of the bill said prosecutors across the state already don’t take into account the duty to retreat so this bill is just putting…
In Depth Look at How Corporations Trumped Regulators in TX
Texas Observer: “Experts hired by the Texas Public Utility Commission, which oversees the state’s electric and water utilities, concluded that power-generating companies like Luminant had failed to understand the “critical failure points” that could cause equipment to stop working in cold weather. In May 2014, the PUC sought changes that would require energy companies to identify and…
“North Carolina tests how Republicans see themselves after Trump”
WaPo: ““Just in the last day or so I’ve had several people tell me or call me or email me about how they are going to do the same thing,” said Robert F. Orr, a former North Carolina Supreme Court justice and onetime Republican gubernatorial candidate, who announced his resignation from the party last week….
“Ted Cruz’s Flimsy Excuse For His Cancun Beach Vacation Just Fell Apart”
HuffPo: “Cruz initially blamed his daughters, saying they asked to go away with friends since there was no power and school was out and he just “wanted to be a good dad.” Cruz claimed he planned to return home immediately after dropping them off, then admitted he had actually intended to stay through the weekend…
Toll of the TX Failure Becoming Clear: Five Dozen Reported Dead, So Far
NY Times: “While the final tally could be much higher, Mr. Anderson was among at least 58 people who died in storm-affected areas stretching to Ohio, victims of carbon monoxide poisoning, car crashes, drownings, house fires and hypothermia….At its height, about four million Texans were without power this week as temperatures plummeted to the teens…
VA Man gets 3 years for driving truck toward BLM protestors
Star Tribune: “A Virginia man was sentenced to three years in jail for brandishing a hatchet and driving his truck toward a group of Black Lives Matter protesters, according to a news report. Emanuel “Manny” Wilder, 20, was sentenced Thursday and was also ordered to pay $1,856, the cost of his extradition from Florida, The…