The Houston Chronicle is running an important four-part series about the role of Constables in Harris County.
The story is behind a paywall-journalists need to be paid-but here is some of what it says: All together, the eight independently elected constables added deputies at twice the rate of the sheriff over the last decade, growing their budgets by 70%. They now deploy nearly 850 contract deputies, plus dozens of general patrol deputies, and collect $236 million a year in funding. The sheriff’s crime-fighting division gets $293 million. Constables’ contract patrols alone bring in roughly $74 million a year in neighborhood fees, plus $24 million more in county subsidies....But deputy constables rarely fight serious crime, a Chronicle analysis of data produced by 7 of the 8 agencies shows; Precinct 6 Constable Silvia Trevino and her staff have yet to release data requested by the Chronicle under the Texas Public Information five months ago.Over the past five years, the constables handled 70% fewer calls related to major violent and property crimes such as assault, domestic violence, theft and burglary than the sheriff.....Violent crimes like murder, assault, domestic violence and shootings made up one percent or less of each of the eight constable precincts’ calls over the last fiscal year. Meanwhile, each precinct logged thousands of check-in and “meet the citizen” visits with residents and local businesses. The precincts spent 80 to 85 percent of their time dealing with non-criminal calls like those and making traffic stops. I encourage folks to read the series. One thing that occurs to me is that these Constables are ready-made to execute Trump's planned migrant round-ups and migrant camps & also to implement Trump's use of the Insurrection Act and other openly-planned attacks on civil liberties. The attacks on our freedom will require a large local infrastructure to carry out. Three of the eight elected Constables are Republicans. I've not heard any of them dispute Trump's talk of immigrants as "vermin" or his talk of "bloodbaths." We also know that local law enforcement unions often support election-deniers and insurrectionists. And there is no reason to trust that elected Democratic Constables will stand up to anybody. There is no reason for anyone to not understand the goals of the political right at this point. Over-resourced and under-tasked, Harris County Constables are perfect partners for Trump and crew. Please sign the Houston Democracy Project petition to make the pledge to show up for freedom in 2024 no matter what. The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. Please share word of the Houston Democracy Project and support the effort with your contribution. If you have a question about the Project or a suggestion, please send an e-mail to naa61840@gmail.com
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We must have frank discussions with one another about self-protection & self-defense in the worsening political and social climate of 2024.
What does safety look like for you and the people in your life? It'll be a different calculation for every home. The right is calling people "vermin' and threatening to suspend civil liberties. They are not joking. We must take the Nazi-like words & threats seriously. We don't have an obligation to be defenseless. Please sign the Houston Democracy Project petition to make the pledge to show up for freedom in 2024 no matter what. The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. Please share word of the Houston Democracy Project and support the effort with your contribution. If you have a question about the Project or a suggestion, please send an e-mail to naa61840@gmail.com The Houston Democracy Project has been part of a series of broadcasts called Texas Grassroots Alliance Live. The goal is to feature and promote grassroots organizers across the state & to create networks of autonomy, collaboration, action, ideas and self-protection. All the shows we've done can be found on the TGA YouTube page. We'll be adding more shows all the time. We are doing two to three shows each week. On March 13, Denita Jones from the Texas Poor People's Campaign and who also helps write the Texas Resistance Rising Substack, led a discussion about what was missed in Joe Biden's State of the Union address & about caste barriers between grassroots organizers and candidates/elected officials. Here is the link to the show. Today's show was about showcasing some of the Texas Grassroots Alliance members doing strong work across the state. We promoted Michelle Davis and her Lone Star Rising Substack, Egberto Willies and Politics Done Right, Daniel Cohen at Indivisible Houston and his successful efforts to keep now defeated Harris County DA Kim Ogg accountable, and others as well! Please look for these shows & share word of Texas Grassroots Alliance Livestream Please sign the Houston Democracy Project petition to make the pledge to show up for freedom in 2024 no matter what. The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. Please share word of the Houston Democracy Project and support the effort with your contribution. If you have a question about the Project or a suggestion, please send an e-mail to naa61840@gmail.com We need to meet & defeat the right no matter where they take our politics & society this year. We can't ever be afraid.
I'll be part of any coalition that accomplishes this purpose. I don't care who is in the coalition. Please sign the Houston Democracy Project petition to make the pledge to show up for freedom in 2024 no matter what. The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. Please share word of the Houston Democracy Project and support the effort with your contribution. If you have a question about the Project or a suggestion, please send an e-mail to naa61840@gmail.com My Houston City Council District Councilmember, Abbie Kamin from District C, sent out the picture you see above of nine of the ten women on Houston City Council. Councilwoman Kamin sent the picture to note Women's History Month. Houston City Council has 16 members. It is good that a majority of Council are women. It's also so three of those women are Republicans, and to my knowledge have been silent about: * Republican Governor Greg Abbott saying he'd shoot migrants if he didn't think he'd be prosecuted by the Biden Justice Department. * Republican Party boss Donald Trump saying he intends to suspend civil liberties and launch mass round-ups and deportations of migrants. The three Republicans are District H Mary Nan Huffman in the front row on the right, At-Large #3 Twila Carter in the center of the front row & District A Amy Peck sitting to the left of Councilwoman Carter. Councilmember Kamin is between Ms. Huffman and Ms. Carter. This same silence is true of the three Republican men on Houston City Council. I've written it is a mistake to normalize At-large #1 Councilmember Julian Ramirez even if he seems rational at times. The other two Republican men are At-Large #2 Willie Davis and District E Fred Flickinger. Our freedom is on the line. The Republican Party is extremist and authoritarian. People have an obligation to speak up. Houston City Councilmembers have the ability to influence the actions of police and have a platform in the media. They have power. Bipartisanship is essential to a functioning democracy. But we have no obligation to work with people who would take our rights and our futures. Until the six Republicans on Houston City Council speak clearly for democracy, take them for the threats to the safety of our families and democracy that their allegiance to the Republican Party establishes them to be. It is really so much to ask people to acknowledge shooting migrants is wrong & that Donald Trump should not be President? Please sign the Houston Democracy Project petition to make the pledge to show up for freedom in 2024 no matter what. The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. Please share word of the Houston Democracy Project and support the effort with your contribution. If you have a question about the Project or a suggestion, please send an e-mail to naa61840@gmail.com My father, Anthony S. Aquino, died on this date in 2010 at the age of 80. Tony was a medic in the Korean War.
Below is some of what he wrote about the Korean War in the 1970's: “One thing that I learned is that the young men who fought in our wars should never be forgotten…Another fact I learned…is that millions may serve but far fewer fight. So, in reality, for many who have served, war is a glory-and-gory myth that feeds on its own legends and publicity.…Another truth I learned is that civilians are combatants in war-–embattled victims perpetually on a losing side….That brings us to the biggest deception: The need to be ready defend our freedom if we are to keep it. Those who say that freedom has a price are absolutely right, and wrong: International conflict today is beyond ideology. The only freedom American and Russian leaders offer their people today is the freedom to kill ourselves in the name of freedom. This is not freedom, but allegiance to a suicidal death culture….Today, we are servile to our masters, mistaking economic well-being for true freedom, which is the freedom to live hopefully and not to die needlessly.” Thankfully Tony died before Trump became President. He never saw Trump embrace the North Korean dictator. Trump degrades everything he touches. I don't know how decent people tolerate it or have any self-respect in accepting it. Have a drink or a cigarette today to recall Tony. Buy a lottery ticket or read a book. Tony spent a year on the North Korean/Chinese border in combat that helped bring some freedom to South Korea. (Though recently there have been attacks on that freedom. Thanks to Trump and his supporters for helping create a climate that erodes freedom across the Earth. And all politicians should stop taking the endorsement of anti-democractic police unions.) If Tony could fight for strangers 5000 miles away from his home in Rhode Island, we can show up for our own freedom here at home. Please sign the Houston Democracy Project petition to make the pledge to show up for freedom in 2024 no matter what. The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. Please share word of the Houston Democracy Project and support the effort with your contribution. If you have a question about the Project or a suggestion, please send an e-mail to naa61840@gmail.com. I spoke this evening at the Humble Area Democrats March meeting about the Houston Democracy Project. They had a friendly & informed crew of 20 folks. Thanks to club president John Cotter for the invitation. It was great to be with committed active citizens and to have a strong conversation about what we can do to fight back and make progress. I'm available to speak about the Houston Democracy Project at your Democratic club meeting or any type of meeting you have! I can be reached at naa61840@att.net. I went to the quarterly meeting County Executive Committee of the Harris County Democratic Party this evening. Above is a picture of the meeting. Up at the front of the room, Justice of the Peace Steve Duble is swearing in new Precinct Chairs. Democracy in action. Tomorrow I'm the featured speaker at the Humble Area Democrats Club. The meeting program begins at 7 PM. The location is Los Cucos, 9520 N. Sam Houston Parkway E in Humble. My topic will be the Houston Democracy Project. I will be witty and informative. Above is a Tweet by Republican State Rep. of Tom Oliverson. Rep. Oliverson is in Harris County. He is here retweeting defeated and always bitter Alexandra Mealer. Already they are talking about removing Democratic Harris County DA nominee Sean Teare. This though Mr. Teare has not even been elected and the election is 8 months away. Ms. Mealer was part of shameful, anti-democratic lawsuits to overturn the 2020 election. She got as far with that as she did with running for Harris County Judge. Rep. Oliverson's comment here should be taken as a clear threat. It is a threat to democracy and our safety. The refusal of Republicans to accept election results undermines the basic foundations of our society. It strips vulnerable populations of their voice and power at the ballot box. It mocks the service of those who fought confederates and fascists. It seeks to make Texas a one-party state with no accepted political opposition. There is no public safety without democracy. You're not safe without a true prospect of representation, or with elected representatives who must always look over their shoulder at the prospect of removal by authoritarian Republicans. Rep. Oliverson and Ms. Mealer would take your democracy and your safety. They are threatening you right out in public view. Take them at face value and fight back. Please sign my Change.org petition to make the pledge to show up for freedom in 2024 no matter what. The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. Please share word of the Houston Democracy Project and support the effort with your contribution. If you have a question about the Project or a suggestion, please send an e-mail to naa61840@gmail.com. The Harris County and Texas primary was this past Tuesday. The runoff is on May 28.
Here is the Houston Democracy Project primary wrap-up--- We must be relentless in pressing the Democrats who advanced on March 5th to do all they can to boost November turnout & to make clear to the people of Harris County the implications of a Republican victory in 2024. Republicans are open is saying they intend to suspend civil liberties and conduct mass round-ups and deportations of migrants. Those round-ups would surely involve Houston. This commitment to big turnout must involve state legislators in safe seats, unopposed judges, our Harris County Commissioners and the County Judge. We must hold Harris County from Republicans, defeat Ted Cruz and defeat Trump in Texas. More than voting will be required to keep us safe. We must be prepared to be on the streets, discuss self-defense and organize ourselves outside of standard political channels. As for our elected officials and well-funded non-incumbents, they can work everyday to drive every Democrat possible to the General Election ballot box. We must demand that they do so. That's my wrap-up: All the winners must fight us all the time. We can't let up in insisting that they deliver. Please sign my Change.org petition to make the pledge to show up for freedom in 2024 no matter what. The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. Please share word of the Houston Democracy Project and support the effort with your contribution. If you have a question about the Project or a suggestion, please send an e-mail to naa61840@gmail.com. |
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March 2024
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