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I’m going to make an effort to not mention any elected official or candidate on social media or here on the Houston Democracy Project Blog in the week ahead. We are the main act.

(Above--A picture of Houston today. There is a photography section on this website.) 

This weekend I have two speaking engagements and I’m figuring out what to say. On Saturday, I’m a speaker in Angleton, Brazoria County at an event run by the Southern Brazoria County Democrats Club, & on Sunday I’m the guest at the monthly Democrats of La Porte meeting. This is part of my work on the Democracy Project.

I’m going to discuss us as rank and file people being ready for the challenge ahead. I’m going to talk about our need to find one another across all barriers.

The way to be correct about what the right intends is to envision the worst things:

* They know A.I. is coming for people’s jobs and view people who won’t be able to find work as excess population.
* They believe in climate change-No matter what they tell you- and feel people in a disaster zone should not choose to live in such a place. It is their fault.
* They only want white people-and just certain white people at that-in the United States.
* They don’t care if you live or die.
* ICE is a secret police with a larger goal of taking our rights.

We need to find everyone inside the 610 Loop, the entire City of Houston, all of Harris County and all neighboring counties who is ready for the fight, or looking for ways to join the fight. We can't leave out anybody.

People need to know the ally across the street, across town and across the region.

Most of all we need to know our own power. We must develop our own skills and abilities. Let’s create the climate and structures where we can accomplish. 

More to come....

I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel.​​

Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. ​​​​​​​​

​Letitia Plummer resigning from Houston City Council to run for Harris County Judge, lessens the Democratic majority on Council from 10-6 to 9-6. It opens up the prospect of a 4th Republican holding one of the five at-large seats. Dr. Plummer is leaving At-Large seat #4. 

The majority of the current term remains. The current Council term ends at the end of 2027. Whoever wins the special election to replace Dr. Plummer will have an advantage of incumbency. This election could strengthen Mayor Whitmire's influence on Council.

It’s important to remember that no matter if you know an elected official or think they do a good job, they will do what they want to do. As elected officials play musical chairs,-costing Houston a vote in Congress for much of 2025-we hope that we'll just be able to live in a free society as we fight off the white supremacists & authoritarians.

I'm not saying to not vote for Dr. Plummer. People will assess what matters to them. I might end up voting for her. I'm saying that we have so many fights in front of us and it is frustrating to have another fight to deal with. I find it exhausting. 

The Houston Democracy Project will press Dr. Plummer to commit time and resources to keep the seat Democratic. You'll hear more about that effort soon. Dr. Plummer is clearly free to run for anything she wants. But these seats belong to the public rather than to the political class. 

Public comment time at Houston City Council is each Tuesday at 2 PM. Here is how you can speak at Council and here is how to contact your councilmember.  The earlier before the session you sign up, the higher up on the speaker's list you'll be. The agenda session to conduct Council business is each Wednesday at 9 AM. The agenda is posted in advance. Council can be watched live on HTV Houston Television and the most recent session is available at any time on the HTV feed on Facebook. Here is the link to past sessions of Council. Here are maps of Council districts so you can see who represents you. 
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​I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel.​​

Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. ​​​​​​​​

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​ICE and other federal troops stormed through MacArthur Park in Los Angeles today. The Houston Democracy Project tries to keep it local, but ICE's powers are nation-wide and no city is safe. So it is a local story. 

​From Fox Channel 11 in Los Angeles: (Picture above from same source) 

" (Mayor Karen Bass) explained a group of children were there as part of their summer camp program before federal agents moved in...."In my opinion, it's a political agenda of invoking fear and terror," she said. "No plan other than fear, chaos, and politics."....FOX News' Bill Melugin spoke to Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino who, like Secretary Noem, said agents aren't going anymore...."I don't work for Karen Bass," Bovino said. "Better get used to us now, cause this is going to be normal very soon. We will go anywhere, anytime we want in Los Angeles." 

​Reports say no arrests were made. It seems it was just a stunt to terrorize people and put on a show. 

Here are some additional details on the incursion and some history of MacArthur Park from the Associated Press. 

They are testing what they can get away with in our cities. We must not accept it. 

Here are some questions for Houston City Councilmembers and future Council candidates that we can all ask about ICE and our rights: 
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* With HPD cooperating with ICE, what process is in place to make certain Houstonians will receive due process if sized by ICE? 

* Is the city tracking what happens to people HPD hands over to ICE? Given the clear human rights implications of how ICE is operating, the City of Houston should be certain it is not contributing to unlawful conduct.

* If/When the Trump Administration moves forward with threats to civil liberties such as the suspension of habeas corpus, will HPD resources be used to assist Trump?

* When will Council Republicans advocate with federal Republican officeholders about budget cuts that impact Houston & how much longer will they be silent on the bigotry and cruelty we are seeing from the right? When will Council Democrats & Democratic Council candidates hold them accountable?

The six Council Republicans are Julian Ramirez, Willie Davis, Twila Carter, Amy Peck, Fred Flickinger & Mary Nan Huffman. Use the resources below to contact them and demand they do much better. 

​Public comment time at Houston City Council is each Tuesday at 2 PM. Here is how you can speak at Council and here is how to contact your councilmember.  The earlier before the session you sign up, the higher up on the speaker's list you'll be. The agenda session to conduct Council business is each Wednesday at 9 AM. The agenda is posted in advance. Council can be watched live on HTV Houston Television and the most recent session is available at any time on the HTV feed on Facebook. Here is the link to past sessions of Council. Here are maps of Council districts so you can see who represents you. 
​
​I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel.​​

Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. ​​​​​​​

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Weather disasters are political.

Houstonians know this well. Hurricane response and the politics of who gets disaster relief and who does not are political even if it should be otherwise. 

The right will happily use natural disasters to hurt people they don’t like and to spread lies. And of course we can have no meaningful discussion of how climate change causes big rain events. 

With the missing still not accounted for from the ongoing Kerrville flood, Marjorie Taylor Green says people  are altering the weather. This echoes claims in the 2024 Presidential campaign that Democrats were directing hurricanes to Republican areas. 

​We can't just dismiss this stuff no matter how it sounds to us. If we don't assert ourselves right off, we'll be stuck (Or more deeply stuck.) in exchanges about Jews and trans people with weather machines and how excessive rainfall means we should hire more ICE agents. It's not how it should be. But we know from the endless calls to "not politicize" mass-shootings, that little from the right is said with true concern for victims. 

The right also likes to shift blame. The State of Texas blamed the National Weather Service for a forecast the state says did not accurately project the Kerrville/Central Texas floods. 

Channel 13/KTRK meteorologist Travis Herzog tells the accurate story:

"I have looked back at the timeline of warnings issued by the National Weather Service…. and I agree with assessments I’ve seen from other meteorologists that the National Weather Service issued timely warnings.… The first Flash Flood Warning for Kerr County was issued around 1 a.m., and the first Flash Flood Emergency (highest level of flood warning issued..) was issued around 4AM, which automatically triggers a “Wireless Emergency Alert” to all cell phones within the warned area (unless users have elected to turn off those alerts). I’m also told by Houston’s former NWS Warning Coordination Meteorologist Dan Reilly that flash flood warnings issued hours earlier also contained a “considerable tag” that would’ve also triggered cell phone alerts in the middle of the night where cell service was available….It certainly didn’t help the situation that the Austin/San Antonio NWS weather forecast office is understaffed by 22% and without a Warning Coordination Meteorologist, but I see no evidence yet that it hurt the situation either with what I know." 

I’m glad Mr. Herzog is speaking quickly to fight misinformation and to highlight reckless federal cuts. You know it is just a matter of time until someone falsely says that since the National Weather Service missed the floods, it should be privatized or sold off.

Weather journalist Herzog has been willing to speak up before which is very much appreciated. 

State Representative Christina Morales from Houston has also been quick to join the fight. 

Here is part of a Facebook post from Rep. Morales:

Our region is facing increasingly extreme weather—yet we’re rejecting common‑sense investments in public safety. We can deploy sensors, live water‑level gauges, and automated alerts today, as so many experts have long recommended.

The ask:

 1. Hold leaders accountable—Texans deserve answers from Lt. Gov. Patrick on why these commonsense bills were shelved.
 2. Push for infrastructure now—support equitable flood protection in every vulnerable county.
 3. Raise your voice—tweet, write, call to demand transparency and action: Why isn’t flood safety a top priority?

Here is a post Rep. Morales linked to from Texas Rural Reporter about productive policy legislation that would help keep people safe in floods. 

It's exhausting to be on the opposite political and societal side from consistently terrible people. You'd like to be able to disagree without the knowledge the person you're talking to is content to take your rights and ruin people's lives. Until a better day however, we must be relentless in our advocacy and not feel that somehow we are above the fight. 

I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel.​​

Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. ​​​​​​​

Almost every issue has a local angle. We should find that angle and act on it every time. 

We must define responsibility in a way that holds people accountable and identify the local officials who have responsibility. 

Every elected official takes an oath to the Constitution. Local elected officials must protect democracy and the rule of law. 

The Republican Party is united behind Trump and cruelty. Local elected Republicans must be directly questioned about ICE in our region, and about devastating funding cuts impacting research, jobs and local health and safety at the Texas Medical Center, FEMA and the National Weather Service. 

The six Republicans on Houston City Council are Amy Peck, Mary Nan Huffman, Fred Flickinger, Julian Ramirez, Willie Davis & Twila Carter. Acting locally, we know their names and can speak to them directly. 

Local officials and candidates must campaign everywhere and not just where comfortable or where a consultant says to go. Politically active rank-and-file advocates must also see everyone. Connect people today who did not know each other yesterday.   

Local is regional. Inside-the-loop-Houston often has a clear voice. There is also Houston as a whole with neighborhoods and communities that don’t have the input and power they merit. Our region includes Harris County outside the city, Fort Bend County and more. 

There is strong work being done in Brazoria, Galveston & Montgomery counties. We need those allies. There are rank-and-file voters and advocates in these counties who don’t realize there are others on the same street who feel the same way about the erosion of democracy, or who are afraid to make their views public. They need our support. 

June 14th No Kings protests were well attended in Katy, League City, Jersey Village, Kingwood, Sugar Land, Conroe, and Huntsville as well downtown Houston. These successful protests were rank-and-file organized. People everywhere in the Houston area want to be free, are willing to do the work and will show up for themselves. 

Make it local.  Use knowledge of your neighborhood, people you know and issues you care about as tools to establish connection with the person next door or 50 miles away.

Public comment time at Houston City Council is each Tuesday at 2 PM. Here is how you can speak at Council and here is how to contact your councilmember.  The earlier before the session you sign up, the higher up on the speaker's list you'll be. The agenda session to conduct Council business is each Wednesday at 9 AM. The agenda is posted in advance. Council can be watched live on HTV Houston Television and the most recent session is available at any time on the HTV feed on Facebook. Here is the link to past sessions of Council. Here are maps of Council districts so you can see who represents you. 
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​I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel.​​

Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. ​​​​​​​

Just some observations as the terrible bill is passed in Washington. It's depressing and Knicks me off my stride for a. minute. But it's also a day to assess where we are & be certain about the urgent need to move forward. 

* We are at the point where all the various factions and divides between people who stand united in opposition to what is taking place, need to find one another. The intent on the right is clearly to take our rights & to have the option to disappear us and kill us. 

* If you are a rank & file person on our side of pro-democracy aisle acting in good faith, then you are okay with me even if we have disagreements. I’ll work to be okay in your eyes as we proceed. We have to work together to fight this nightmare.

* The passing of the bill doesn’t tell us anything we didn’t know about the Republicans & about the people in our lives who support it or who are silent. (I’m always open to anyone who wants to choose a better path if you want to stop enabling all this.)

I’m going to keep at it as best I can & I ask you to do the same if you are able. This all is a massive mental health crisis for decent people. It’s a full betrayal of anything good or hopeful.

* Tomorrow, July 4, is just another day which means another day to find our way to one another for the very difficult challenge ahead.​ It's also though a day to find our bearings after a defeat and still move forward. 

​Above is information about a Fourth of July event in Conroe, Montgomery County for Democrats and folks on the left & below is information about a pro-democracy rally on July 12th in Angleton, Brazoria County. I am one of the speakers on July 12. The Angleton event is put on by the Southern Brazoria Democrats Club.

It's essential that the fight for democracy extend far from the city center. In the recent June 14th No Kings protests, there were well-attended events in Katy, League City, Jersey Village, Kingwood, Conroe and Huntsville. 

These successful protests were volunteer-organized by rank & file folks just like you and me. (As was for the most part the No Kings rally in Downtown Houston that drew 26,000 people.) This volunteering and community participation also involves assuming the physical risks of challenging an authoritarian, white supremacist opponent. The Patriot Front showed up at the Kingwood No Kings event. 

There is a lot of energy and great work being done throughout Houston away from the center city & well out into Harris County and neighboring counties.

There is a weekly protest each Friday at noon at the Social Security office at 13302 Westheimer. (No protest on Friday the Fourth.) This protest at an outside the loop location gets a great response from young Black and brown motorists. You wish our local political establishment had a real interest in harnessing that energy. 

My experiences and observations with the Houston Democracy Project suggest to me that people on our side of the aisle outside Houston's 610 Loop, are sometimes less connected to established power and more engaged with different ways of doing things. This is a generalization. But I feel it has some truth. 

We need everyone we can get for the challenge ahead. We've got to find all our people. There are allies everywhere. Folks in strongly-Republican areas and in parts of Houston/Harris County often left behind by conventional politics are essential in our struggle. 
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I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel.​​

Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. ​​​​​​​

​Today at the John Cornyn Houston Office Protest, we had four HPD units watching us. We had 36 people at today’s Week 438. You see our team today above. (The John Cornyn Houston Office Protest is each Tuesday, 11:30-1, 5300 Memorial Dr. ) 

That’s fine with the police. The officers are not there to bother us. Everyone is an individual. We don’t make any assumptions about what anybody is thinking.

What was a bit frustrating today, was that the officers were talking to the guy the building where the Cornyn office is located sends out each week to watch us, and not interacting with us. That happens sometimes.

Senator Cornyn’s staff merits protection. They don’t need protection from us because we are not messing with them. But I’m certain they get all sorts of phone calls. We merit protection as well & we should be seen as Houstonians engaged in productive conduct.

We called the officers down to our protest today and come and talk to us. You see them in the 2nd picture.
Here is what we said to the officers:

* It is Senator Cornyn who looks the other way at right-wingers who storm the Capitol and attack cops.

* Most Houstonians did not support Cornyn at the polls. We are the mainstream in Houston.

* Things we’ve had thrown at us are lit cigars, potatoes, eggs, a softball and batteries. We are not a problem. I could have also mentioned the 21 times we’ve coal-rolled by big pickup trucks. I forgot to say that.

* I bet the 36 people at this protest vote in every election, use turn signals and return library books on time. These are really law-abiding people in contrast to the felon President.

* You should come down here and see we are people like anybody else. We stand out on this hot corner because our rights are being taken away. The majority of lives are over at our ages and still we stand on this hot corner with people throwing stuff at us.  

We must normalize interacting with police officers. We don’t need to be overly-deferential and we don’t need to be reflexively critical. We have a right in our own cities, to be seen as people proceeding as best we can to retain our freedom and to stop the cruel white-supremacy of the right.

There is a lot of trouble ahead. The Trump people are fully serious about suspending civil liberties. We must meet the challenge ahead.

I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel.​​

Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. ​​​​​​​

I'm back from visiting family in Cincinnati & back at the daily work of the Houston Democracy Project.

Above is a picture of a pro-democracy protest I attended in Cincinnati this past Saturday. This is at River Rd./Route 50 in Cincinnati's Sedamsville neighborhood. This was part of a number of protests along Route 50 across the nation. 

Most reactions were positive. We were in a Republican area. It heartens people to see friends and allies where they don’t expect to see them. And you can never assume who is a friend or a foe.

At this protest, I got my first heil hitler with the salute from a guy in a red sports car with the U. of Cincinnati logo on his license plate. Attending a government-financed school made little impression on him it seems. I wasn’t really surprised. This is what many Trumpers are & we need to grasp that as we prepare as needed for the challenge ahead.

​Regretfully, JD Vance lives in Cincinnati. Below is the set up when he is home. If you are headed down William Howard Taft, you have to turn around. You’d think he’d live in rural Ohio with his people. But he lives near the art museum and the playhouse in a solidly Democratic city.

I was glad to be able to take part in an action while in my other hometown of Cincinnati. Everywhere I go, I want to help out. 

I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel.​​

Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. ​​​​​​

I won't be able to update the blog for a few days, so I'm going to leave here my recent list of ways to approach the current distressing political situation and things you can consider doing as we keep up the fight. 

​Here is the list:

1. Ask yourself what you want to accomplish. Win elections? Build community? Protest? All these things have value. None are exclusive of the others. You can divide your efforts between these and other efforts. You have solid judgement and there is no clearly correct course. Do your best according to your skills, goals and the demands of the moment. 

2. We must fully understand the stakes so we can fight as needed. Musk does want to tank the economy. The goal of Trump/Musk is to destroy democracy. They are white supremacists and eugenicists. They do support dictators abroad. They are a direct threat our freedom and safety. Everything is on the line. 

3. Accept that this is a mental health crisis for millions of people. This includes you. Take time for yourself and the people in your life. 

4.  When an opportunity comes to act in solidarity with someone in your community--Take it. We did this in Houston recently when many people e-mailed Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare calling for charges to be dropped against activist Sarah Terrell after her wrongful arrest by the unelected HISD Board. In part thanks to these e-mails, charges were dropped. Let's have the backs of people here at home who stand up for us. Even if they are strangers or from a community you are not part of. 

5.  When an opportunity comes to act in solidarity with others across the country--Take it. This is why so many took part in the February 28th economic blackout. It did have some financial impact. Even more important than that, we saw we can work together across racial, class and geographical barriers. 

All our actions are a test run for the weeks and months ahead. How about a general strike next? 

6. Ask more of Democratic Party elected officials. They are our elected employees. Contact both local and national elected officials. Politicians from across Harris County and across the whole country send us fundraising e-mails. So we can contact them no matter where they are.

Here are some things you can ask/demand:

* Aggressively push back against attacks on our freedom.
* Work year-round to improve turnout in safe gerrymandered Democratic districts. Hold your fellow elected officials who don't  do this accountable. 
* Address the fact that even when we win elections, Republicans want a Viktor Orban-authoritarian state. What is a way forward other than lifetime of conflict?
* Given that we may be in for a lifetime of conflict, have our backs for strategies such as economic boycotts, general strikes and large-scale protest or whatever is a path forward. 

7. Support independent media or media you feel works to tell the truth. The Associated Press is a good general news service that has not allowed Trump to bully them to use the term "Gulf of America." It merits support. Here in Houston, the Egberto Willies' Politics Done Right program is fully independent and also merits support.

8. Municipal and local politics matter. Authoritarianism will require a local infrastructure to implement Trump/Musk policies.  Follow & become involved in local politics. Public comment time at Houston City Council is each Tuesday at 2 PM. Here is how you can speak at Council and here is how to contact your councilmember.  The earlier before the session you sign up, the higher up on the speaker's list you'll be. The agenda session to conduct Council business is each Wednesday at 9 AM. The agenda is posted in advance. Council can be watched live on HTV Houston Television and the most recent session available at any time on the HTV feed on Facebook. Here is the link to past sessions of Council.

The Houston Landing (RIP) recently wrote a good article about interacting with Houston City Council. It's a useful start to learning about Council 

9. I'm not aware of any centralized place for information about protest in Houston. There is a protest at Senator John Cornyn's office each Tuesday, 11:30-1, 5300 Memorial Dr.  Keep an active eye out for actions you can take part in. There is also a weekly protest from noon to one at the Social Security office at 13302 Westheimer at the very busy corner of Westheimer & Eldridge. 

​Protest is essential. People must see others like themselves willing to stand up no matter the aggression of the right. Voting is critical but it is not enough. We saw this not long ago in South Korea where protest was vital in fighting off martial law. 

The First Amendment is your permit to protest. The next protest will take place when organize it. 

10. Think about what self-defense looks like for you and the people in your life. You have a right to be as safe as you can be. 

11. If a Trump supporter wants to change his or her mind--Welcome them even if it is difficult. We need all the numbers we can get. 

12. Please support the Houston Democracy Project. The Houston Democracy Project is an independent source of action and information. This is just what is required as traditional institutions struggle to respond to current realities. Please read the Houston Democracy Project Blog often. 

13. Do your best. Hold on to your people. Admit to yourself and others you trust how painful this is. Enjoy life because life is good. Find the courage you can muster. Welcome anyone who wants to join us even if they did not grasp it already. Keep fighting.

14. Every act of opposition matters.

I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel.​​

Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. ​​​​​