David Leftwich

the intensity of my anger at those who would criminalize the homeless — a population literally created by the greed and callousness of the ruling class — is very hard to contain. it was you who dismantled the safety net. if you don’t like the results, put it back

Genuinely incredible that she's saying this with 2 accused rapists on either side of her

Imagine if "combating homelessness" meant housing people, not brutalizing and disappearing them.

The same president that wants to call up the National Guard to handle crime in DC, which is at its lowest rate in years, instigated one of the most violent uprisings in the city, all for the purpose of maintaining power. Donald Trump is the gravest threat to peace in Washington, DC.

tyrants, butchers, murderers!

Trump Wants U.C.L.A. to Pay $1 Billion to Restore Its Research Funding

Trump has turned our children’s futures into an extortion scheme. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/u...

Bezos admits he couldn’t have succeeded without socialism and government help: “When I started Amazon…I didn't have to develop a transportation system to deliver the packages. It already existed. It was called the postal service and Royal Mail and Deutsche Post.“

El Salvador’s Leader Is Autocrat to Some, Godsend to Others Lawmakers approved constitutional changes abolishing term limits and allowing President Nayib Bukele to stay in power indefinitely. Why now?

The New York Times goes both-sides with El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, raising doubts about whether he’s really an autocrat even though Bukele has described himself as the world’s “coolest dictator.”
I think it’s clear that NYT is neutral on the question of democracy vs. dictatorship, even in the U.S.

Trump administration violated impoundment law by canceling NIH grants, slowing new awards, GAO finds The Government Accountability Office found that the Trump administration, by abruptly canceling NIH grants, had violated a 1974 federal law

The Govt. Accountability Office issued a report today finding that the Trump admin has violated a law blocking presidents from withholding funding Congress has approved

@mmolteni.bsky.social & I break it down:

www.statnews.com/2025/08/05/g...

kennedy is going to kill a lot of people

Top Trump officials are meeting at the Vice President’s residence tomorrow to discuss their next moves to cover-up Trump’s involvement with Jeffrey Epstein

Again, if you just keep an eye out for breaking stories about Republicans being convicted for pedophilia or, in this case, doing work to cover up for their pedophile friends and relatives, it quickly becomes an everyday thing.

No one saw this coming, right? (Looking at you, Bill Cassidy.)

Kennedy lied his way thru his confirmation hearings so he could attain the power he needs to implement his reckless plan to undercut, if not destroy, the nation’s vaccine system.

This will cause deaths. Thank you, Trump voters.

Why a NASA satellite that scientists and farmers rely on may be destroyed on purpose The Trump administration has asked NASA staffers to draw up plans to end at least two satellite missions that measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to current and former NASA employees.

The damage Trump & the GOP are doing to the climate, science, and accurate data collection (across many fields) will do harm for generations.

www.npr.org/2025/08/04/n...

Tomlinson: On Trump’s command, Abbott will end democracy in Texas President Donald Trump needs the Republican primary elections to determine who stays in power.

“they are trying to return Texas to the days when a handful of mostly white, rural and older primary voters got to choose who held political office.” @cltomlinson.bsky.social

Yes 💯

it also substitutes coherent policy making with quid pro quo transactions

IMHO it’s a terrible way to set policy, and there needs to be more writing on how it’s being normalized as a policymaking strategy

i have been thinking a lot about how the entire concept of “the deal” is antithetical to transparency, fair play and rule of law, as larry notes. the deal is necessarily nonstandard, ad hoc and dependent on the whims of the dealmaker

Actions speak louder than words. What do you think is the real priority of TX Republicans, flood relief or drawing Trump’s maps?

This is why I helped shut down the corrupt special session. Join me in the fight: secure.actblue.com/donate/chris...

#txlege

All so suburbanites, who don’t pay taxes in the city, can maybe cut a couple of minutes off their commute and not pay tolls on the often empty Hardy Toll Road.

TxDOT bulldozed 160 homes, 433 apartments, 500 public housing units, 5 churches, and 344 businesses right in Downtown Houston—wiping out $310 million a year in tax revenue.

And for what? A $1.1 billion-per-mile highway expansion.

Meanwhile, we’ve got a housing crisis…

I don't say this lightly: The New York Times should fire the reporter and editor who chose to present a leak from the white house as if it was a leak from Harvard.

Don't print lies in the newspaper

breaking quorum is really hard. these House Dems will be attacked, away from loved ones, and incurring fines. let's all support these folks. if you live in another state, fight alongside us. this affects you too.

official donation link: texashousedems.com/donate-now/

I'm not saying it would change much but I do kind of wish reporters with access would repeatedly, like every day, ask Republicans in Congress why they have decided that blatant corruption of the sort that has been consensus illegal for centuries is now basically entirely legal for this one guy.

San Antonio Tejano legend Flaco Jimenez dies at 86, family says Grammy Award-winning musical artist Flaco Jimenez has died, his family announced on his social media late Thursday night. He was 86.

R.I.P. Flaco Jiménez, a true music legends. Love his music.

www.ksat.com/news/local/2...

Ted Cruz pushes legislation to use RICO to target activist groups Cruz introduced a bill that adds "rioting" to the list of activities prohibited by the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

This is just another attempt to suppress free speech and the right to assemble: www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/art...

One of the many problems with this is farm work isn’t a summer job but year round skilled labor. If you just focus, on difficult, labor-intensive harvests: citrus is harvested autumn through spring depending on variety and location, apples early fall. Produce is being harvested throughout the year.

Busted

rep. jasmine crockett (D) takes the mic at the TX redistricting public hearing in houston:

this is wild: so many houstonians have shown up to speak at this redistricting hearing that the committee has *run out of sign up forms.* the chair says they are printing more.

for anyone following along: there are clearly *hundreds* of people signed up to speak at this TX redistricting hearing in houston. the committee has come up with these rules: speakers will get 2 min each & the hearing will end after 5 hours of public testimony.