From Gus Bova, in our magazine: The majority of U.S. states enacted forced-sterilization laws that targeted the non-white and the disabled, leading to more than 60,000 coerced operations. But #Texas, perhaps surprisingly, never passed such a law.
The Texas Observer
The History of Eugenics in Texas Isn't What You Think
A new book unearths a chapter of the state’s story when anti-intellectual fundamentalism was put to good ends.
 #history #politics #USpol #ableism #racism #books #bookstodon @bookstodon group #science
From @npub1j3fa...mqxd: County officials have continued to deflect questions at press conferences about what actions they took after #NWS warnings came out when many were asleep, saying they remain focused on search and rescue operations.
The Texas Observer
'I Think We’re Gonna Stay': Texans Hang On in Tragedy-Stricken Hill Country
The Richardsons are among the lucky in Kerr County, at the epicenter of “flash flood alley,” who narrowly survived the river’s sudden rise.
 #politics #USpol #weather #flooding #flood #CentralTexas #Texas #Kerrville #KerrCounty #environment #ClimateChange
Our top story: Extreme #flooding events are nothing new to #Texas. Neither are droughts. And the first does tend to follow the second here. This weather reality has likely been exacerbated by climate change.
The Texas Observer
I Remember the 2002 Fourth of July Hill Country Floods. This Year, the Water Returned.
These floods do not come from nowhere. They are an effect of larger historical, structural, and environmental processes.
 #ClimateChange #news #politics #USpol #environment #water #floods #CentralTexas #Kerrville #KerrCounty #history #weather #drought
Our top story: What happens after the flood and the waters have receded? What comes after all that is left are fractured memories and moldy floorboards?
The Texas Observer
I Remember the 2002 Fourth of July Hill Country Floods. This Year, the Water Returned.
These floods do not come from nowhere. They are an effect of larger historical, structural, and environmental processes.
 #history #floods #flooding #CentralTexas #KerrCounty #Kerrville #water #ClimateChange #environment #weather #news
Bringing this one back ... just because! From Justin Miller in 2024: Ken and Angela Paxton have ties to a jet-setting lobbyist-turned-CEO caught in a tangled web of alleged fraud involving a powerful business clan and a commercial shipping giant.
The Texas Observer
A Jet-Setting CEO, the Paxtons, and an Alleged Massive Fraud
Ken and Angela Paxton have ties to a corporate honcho caught in a tangled web of alleged fraud involving a powerful business clan and a commercial ...
 #corruption #fraud #Texas #KenPaxton #AngelaPaxton #politics #USpol #TXlege #news #law
Earlier: Without any announcement or open debate, the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature passed a biennial state budget that will effectively halve the amount dedicated to its multi-billion-dollar #border security operations—from a proposed $6.5B down to about $3.4B.
The Texas Observer
Texas Quietly Downsizes Border Security Spending
But outlays remain far above state funding prior to the Operation Lone Star era.
 #immigration #police #security #HumanRights #Texas #politics #USpol #TXlege #news
“Climate change loads the dice toward more frequent and more intense #floods. The flash flood that tore through Camp Mystic at night, when people were most vulnerable, shows the deadly cost of underestimating this shift.”
The Texas Observer
Climate Change Helped Fuel Heavy Rains that Led to Devastating Hill Country Flood
Officials are reporting more than 100 fatalities in Kerr County, including 28 children.
 #KerrCounty #Kerrville #CentralTexas #politics #USpol #politics #environment #ClimateChange #news
"I want you to imagine a toddler appearing in court to face off against a government-trained attorney trying to deport them. Think of their terror as they take their seat in the courtroom, legs swinging because they’re not long enough to reach the floor."
The Texas Observer
How Republicans Are Willfully Endangering Immigrant Kids
GOP lawmakers often claim they want to protect children, but their policy decisions tell a different story.
 #ICE #politics #USpol #news #Trump #HumanRights #immigration #fascism
Previously: Texas lawmakers ordered sheriffs in all counties to enter into cooperation agreements with #ICE, that may be limited to jailhouses—or may convert deputies into roving immigration agents.
The Texas Observer
Legislature Mandates Sheriff-ICE Cooperation in Jails or Streets
Texas lawmakers are ordering nearly all counties to seek federal agreements that may be limited to jailhouses—or may convert deputies into roving...
 #politics #USpol #news #Texas #immigration #police #TXlege #HumanRights
Earlier: What does it say about us when we tolerate—or even support—policies that traumatize, neglect, and abuse children? How much cruelty will we inflict—or passively allow our nation’s leaders, laws, & institutions to inflict on our behalf—on #children?
The Texas Observer
How Republicans Are Willfully Endangering Immigrant Kids
GOP lawmakers often claim they want to protect children, but their policy decisions tell a different story.
 #HumanRights #immigration #ICE #Republicans #politics #USpol #news #fascism