Gus Bova

Pam Perillo’s Sisterhood of the Condemned She's a death row survivor, but she doesn't think she's really any different from her friends who are still set to die.

Powerful profile from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: www.texasobserver.org/pam-perillo-...

(To be clear, a serious primary where progressive vs moderate positions are tested may sound nice, but in Texas the Dem ideological divides are often kinda phony and the whole thing ends up a waste of time & $ basically. Also, Texas primaries are in March!)

Something Texas Dems keep failing to replicate about 2018 is that Beto was in the Senate race by February 2017 (and Joaquin Castro was officially out by that May, fully clearing the way).

This, well, is the opposite of that: www.statesman.com/news/politic...

Recently finished up my last freelance work of the year before moving on to a mad sprint of book writing, so —rather earlier than usual — it's time for my year in review! Here, in no particular order, are the features I'm proudest of.

At Barton Springs, Trans Existence Becomes Resistance Following a transphobic incident earlier this year, community members gathered to "protect trans joy."

“Trans visibility is important, but also trans people deserve to have fun.”

For @texasobserver.org magazine, I teamed up with photographer Harmon Li to document a "Trans Takeover" at Austin's Barton Springs swimming hole. A moment of queer and trans joy that came weeks after a violent attack ...

Prosecutors Drop Only Criminal Cases from Hays County Airbnb Raid Pending drug charges have been abandoned from the multi-agency April operation that supposedly targeted Tren de Aragua and led to multiple deportations.

In April, state + fed police raided a bday party near Austin, arresting ~50 people including nine kids.

Cops claimed w/o evidence they’d busted a Tren de Aragua gathering, + only charged two people w/ a crime.

Now, the local DA has dropped both charges
www.texasobserver.org/prosecutors-...

Prosecutors Drop Only Criminal Cases from Hays County Airbnb Raid Pending drug charges have been abandoned from the multi-agency April operation that supposedly targeted Tren de Aragua and led to multiple deportations.

That April raid on a birthday party in Hays County resulted in zero criminal charges, despite claims this was some big TdA bust.
www.texasobserver.org/prosecutors-...

Texas’ Top Voucher Vendor Taps Abbott Allies in Contract Bid, Program Rollout The New York firm Odyssey is now running the state’s lucrative voucher scheme with a little help from the governor’s friends.

The company that won the contract to run Texas' new school voucher program leans on former Abbott aides for help www.texasobserver.org/texas-vouche...

There is a cottage industry of liberal commentators who barf out that Dems must move right on immigration every 2 years; meanwhile, politics probably actually depends on things like Pizzagate seeding a right-wing bloc that, 9 years later, has pedophilia cabals as their #1 issue

Texas AG on 10/22: "Attorney General Ken Paxton Arrests 35 Illegal Aliens for Immigration Violations Through Partnership with Trump Administration"

On 11/12: "As these individuals were not arrested by the OAG..."

Well gee, I wonder how people got the wrong impression...

Now that the dust has settled I can finally let the city know that my futile vote for Prop Q was still meant as a vote against the new logo.

It's not too late to reverse course, replace it with a bat eating a taco

OK in. Prop Q toast:

don't think i've ever seen Travis Co. take this long with early vote results

Texas Turns Its Sprawling State Police Force Into Immigration Agents for Trump The notorious 287(g) task force program has finally reached DPS, raising fears of widespread racial profiling.

NEW: The notorious 287(g) task force program has finally reached the Texas Department of Public Safety, raising fears of widespread racial profiling.

In other words: Texas is deputizing some of its state officers to act as roving ICE agents.

www.texasobserver.org/texas-dps-28...

Texas Turns Its Sprawling State Police Force Into Immigration Agents for Trump The notorious 287(g) task force program has finally reached DPS, raising fears of widespread racial profiling.

Big (bad) news from @francescadnunz.bsky.social: www.texasobserver.org/texas-dps-28...

The ‘Queen Mother’ of the Reparations Movement Gets Her Due A UT-Austin historian tells the under-told story of Audley Moore, “one of the most important activists and theorists of the twentieth century.”

A great review from @capaciousmood.bsky.social that's a satisfying read but still leaves you wanting to pick up the book: www.texasobserver.org/queen-mother...

Lawsuit: www.texaspolicy.com/wp-content/u...

3. TPPF is also going after the city's ability to apply wage and employment requirements *in its own contracts*.

A concern that critics of the bill and other bills like it raised for years but that was usually waved off by GOP proponents:

2. The "death star" bill carved out existing payday lending ordinances.

And yet... (TPPF lawsuit targets this Dallas ordinance on left; law carveout is on right)

A TPPF lawsuit against the City of Dallas seeks to push the bounds of what the 2023 "death star" bill applies to, validating the fears of all those who said the bill was far too vague

1. The bill author said it would not affect nondiscrimination ordinances. Yet TPPF seeks to undo:

The Texas Department of Public Safety, Criminal Investigations Division, signed a 287(g) task force agreement with ICE on 10/17: www.ice.gov/identify-and...

I feel like the alarm dial may be turned to its maximum level already.

Nevertheless, it is alarming that the Texas AG is sending out cops from w/in his office to make immigration arrests so that, among other things, he can become a U.S. senator. Plus the fascist quote to boot

Why the City of Austin Wants Voters to Hike Their Property Taxes And what Prop Q could mean for the future of local governments in Texas

Check out my article in the Texas Observer about Prop Q, the Austin tax rate election.

www.texasobserver.org/austin-prope...

Lots of opportunites right now for aspiring state reps in Austin. Local labor leader Montserrat Garibay announces for Gina Hinojosa's seat.

I interviewed her a few years back as she joined the Biden administration, here: www.texasobserver.org/texas-labor-...

ICE Still Won't Answer Questions About Prosecutor with White Supremacist X Account Congressman Marc Veasey arrived at an ICE facility Monday in his latest attempt to follow up on the Observer's reporting.

NEW: ICE remains mum regarding prosecutor exposed as white supremacist.

"They want to signal to the other white supremacists...out there that under this administration things are going to be different and you’re not going to have to worry about losing your job"
www.texasobserver.org/ice-white-su...

Trump's ICE Arrested a Whistleblower Who Exposed Sexual Assault in Detention. Now, He’s Left the Country. Douglas Menjivar is a survivor and activist. He’s also married to a U.S. citizen, but he was caught up in the president’s mass deportation agenda anyway.

"He married an American citizen in 2017. But he was unable to obtain a green card, routinely reporting to ICE until June 10, when agents arrested him after he dutifully arrived for his appointment. That day, they took him..." www.texasobserver.org/trump-ice-ar...

Thank goodness that *both* these logos now appear in the email signature from the APD press office.

This level of consistent branding has cleared up the years of confusion I experienced just seeing the logo that inscrutably said "Austin Police"

Is a Strong Latino Candidate Texas Democrats’ Only Hope? The party is long-overdue for such a leader at the top of the ballot.

See @byjustinmiller.bsky.social column from a couple months ago for some more general background: www.texasobserver.org/latino-top-b...

YouTube video by Gina Hinojosa Gina for Texas: “Fight Back”

This raises the possibility of all three top-ballot Dem spots being Austin state reps.

On the other hand, Hinojosa is from Brownsville and has a last name that basically shouts deep South Texas. First serious Latin@ Dem to jump in statewide so far: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rU6...

The Court of Criminal Appeals has stayed Robert Roberson’s execution, sending his case back to a lower court for reconsideration. He was scheduled to be executed in less than a week.