What?!! “Three faraway Texas government agencies have quietly erased $635M in property value from Harris County’s tax rolls, resulting in over $10M in lost revenues every year for services such as schools, police and hospitals.” https://www.houstonchronicle.com/projects/2024/affordable-housing-stolen-taxes/
“No presidency has been as thoroughly surrounded and supported by the private fund industry as America’s incoming administration.”
Opinion | How Private Funds Could Hurt Americans Under Trump (Published 2024)
The fund managers who backed Donald Trump’s candidacy have welcomed his victory with calls for new directions in policy.
Is this a point of pride now? “U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D) is claiming some credit for Texas’ controversial buoys to prevent migrants from crossing the Rio Grande, saying he pitched the idea to Border Patrol years ago.”
The Texas Tribune
Henry Cuellar pitched adding buoys in Rio Grande to deter migrants years ago - The Texas Tribune
The congressman said he joined other Democrats in opposition to the use of the floating barriers and razor wire at Texas’ border because of the l...
This article spends a lot of space bemoaning how “Protecting a chief executive [from security threats] full time costs roughly $250,000 a year” and very little space on how families who make a fraction of that are routinely denied healthcare.
The ‘Chilling’ Fatal Shooting of a C.E.O. Has Business Leaders on Edge (Published 2024)
After Brian Thompson of UnitedHealthcare was killed in Manhattan, the phones at corporate security firms were “ringing off the hook.”
“The targeted killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has become a defining moment in the zeitgeist of American health care. …But instead of eliciting sympathy, it opened the floodgates for an outpouring of rage…over the health care system.”
STAT
Killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO brings resentment of the health care system to the fore
People are grappling with two heavy subjects at once: the callousness of the slaying, and an undercurrent of deep-seated anger at the health care i...
“State leaders have shown a decadeslong antipathy toward the health insurance program. If Trump makes severe reductions, it’s unlikely leaders would have the political will to make up any lost federal funds with state money, experts say.”
The Texas Tribune
If Trump makes cuts to Medicaid, Texas officials could seize the opportunity to further slash the program - The Texas Tribune
State leaders have shown a decadeslong antipathy toward the health insurance program. If Trump makes severe reductions, it’s unlikely leaders wou...
Is this really what we’re considering, Texas??? “An Arizona grand jury has indicted two out-of-state residents for allegedly applying to the state’s private school voucher program as parents to 50 children – 43 of whom did not exist – and receiving more than $110,000.”
AP News
Arizona grand jury indicts pair for alleged school voucher fraud
An Arizona grand jury has indicted two out-of-state residents for allegedly applying to the state’s private school voucher program as parents to ...
Many people may not know that Taiwanese Americans exist, that we have a distinct culture and language from that of the Chinese, that the first wave of migrants here fought to end a dictatorship back home and are still fighting to maintain their freedom there. I wrote about my family’s and others’ journey here in Houston. #AAPI #Asianamericanhistory #taiwaneseamerican
The Texas Observer
Texas’ Hotbed of Taiwanese Nationalism
For decades, Houston families like mine have helped keep the flame of independence burning.
What?! Even fluoride in our water’s at risk?! “FL surgeon gen., Joseph Ladapo, on Fri recommended that communities in the state stop fluoridating their water- a move that could be a sign of more public health shifts to come under the incoming Trump administration.”
STAT
Florida's surgeon general wants to stop water fluoridation. Will more states follow?
Florida’s surgeon general Joseph Ladapo is recommending that communities in the state stop fluoridating their water.
Trump selected TV doc Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Svcs. Oz wants to “move seniors and most Americans into private insurance plans that have been raising premiums and denying roughly one in ten medical claims.”
The Lever
Trump Picks Oz, Champion Of Medicare Privatization
Trump says he will nominate the TV doctor, who has been paid to push Medicare privatization while investing in health care giants.