 Today is Presidential Inauguration Day. It couldn't be more depressing. It's also Martin Luther King Day. That's a source of hope. The Houston Democracy Project will keep at it no matter what. Your contribution will help me continue the effort. (Above is a picture of Houston I took. There is a photography section in the Houston Democracy Project.) Authoritarianism will require a local infrastructure. Local officials will be fully involved with supporting and implementing Musk/Trump's far-right plans. They should be held accountable. We must also ask more of Democratic Party elected officials. Consistent low turnout in Democratic districts and failure to acknowledge the seriousness of what is going on is no path forward. Here is some of what the Houston Democracy Project involves: *The Houston Democracy Project Blog you are reading right now. * The Houston Democracy Project Hour on the Egberto Willies' Politics Done Right Show every Thursday on KPFT-FM at 6 AM. You can watch it on Egberto's YouTube page at any time. * Co-Organizer of the John Cornyn Houston Office Protest, which is approaching its 8th year on Houston streets. It's essential people see others like themselves willing to stand confidently for democracy no matter the aggression of the right. We set the example. * A number of appearances as the featured speaker at local Democratic Party club meetings. My next speaking engagement is set for the Oak Forest Democrats meeting on March 3rd. * A consistent and active social media presence with a wide audience. Find me on Bluesky, where I have nearly 7000 followers so far @neilaquino.bsky.social * Active participation in the Texas Grassroots Alliance, which works to support autonomous Texas grassroots organizers. * I'm the 2024 Barbara Cigainero Volunteer of the Year award winner for the Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus. * A special focus on Houston City Council and democracy issues. I sometimes speak at Council. I often post here about Council and Mayor Whitmire. I've closely followed and made an impact on Council's discussion of issues such as the right to protest on sidewalks & Houston's Sidewalk Ordinance. How we use public space is an essential aspect of democracy. I'm a resource for information about Houston City Council in general. Please e-mail me at [email protected] with any questions about what is going on at Council. I'll do my best to answer or work to find an answer. * Numerous, ongoing one-on-one conversations with rank and file democracy advocates and with candidates/elected officials about support and protection of our freedom. * I was chosen by a television news program in Estonia as a Texas activist to talk to, for a show about Election '24 broadcast across the three Baltic nations. * Always showing up for others & not yielding an inch to the right. I'm also willing to challenge elected officials. I'm fully autonomous with no entangling connection to any interest group or politician. I was quoted in the Houston Chronicle online edition about protests at City Hall this past Saturday. I made three important points: 1. It is up to us. Nobody is coming to save us. 2. We have to find our way to one another despite our differences. 3. The 1st Amendment is your permit to protest. From the Chronicle: "57-year-old Neil Aquino, who has been part of a group that has protested outside of Senator John Cornyn’s office in Houston every Tuesday afternoon for the last eight years. Aquino said he came Saturday mainly to oppose Trump’s inauguration, but welcomed the manifold crowd of feminists, Democrats, Brown Berets, Democratic Socialists and more. 'It’s important for people to see people like themselves stand up for democracy about any topic,” Aquino said. “The first amendment is your permit.' " Our freedom is up to us. Please contribute as I work for all of us. Thank you.
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 Houston activist Sarah Terrell was arrested at the HISD Board of Managers this past Thursday evening. She was asked to be quiet by the unelected Board of Managers. But she kept talking and telling the truth. Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare should drop charges against Ms. Terrell. Here is the e-mail to share this view with the DA: [email protected] From the Houston Chronicle: Nearly five-and-a-half hours into the board's regular January meeting, HISD board member Janette Garza Lindner proposed a motion for the appointed board to authorize the sale of 17 district properties deemed surplus.....“Why don’t you sell Hattie Mae while you’re at it?” said Sarah Terrell, before the board voted on the measure. “You are the most disappointing people.”...The Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center is HISD’s headquarters, where the Board of Managers holds monthly meetings. After Terrell spoke, HISD board President Audrey Momanaee verbally gave Terrell her first warning, and Terrell immediately responded with “You are so disappointing.” . And it went from there until Sarah was dragged out in handcuffs as you see above. I got tossed out of the last HISD meeting I attended. The Board President told me I was too loud and I told her she was not elected and not to talk to me. We went around a couple of times and she threw me out. Just like with Sarah. I didn't go there looking for trouble. The unelected board that sits there in place of the elected board is difficult to look at. The thought of being a good citizen who cares about Houston and about democracy & then of being spoken to by that unelected board is unpleasant. It's been a long time since I got thrown out of any place. The HISD Board of Managers and Superintendent Mike Miles are really hard to take. That this is so is reflected in the rare and solid ballot box defeat of the HISD Bond this past November. In the last few days, it has been reported that Superintendent Miles authorized $870 million is HISD purchases without proper board approval. From the Houston Landing: "Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles’ administration greenlit about $870 million in spending over the past 16 months without receiving required school board approval, breaking district policy....HISD administrators did not bring about 130 purchase agreements — all made through a process that allows HISD to skip soliciting bids from vendors — to the district’s state-appointed board for monthly approval, bypassing a step designed to provide oversight and transparency...The total potential value of the purchase agreements amounted to about $55 million per month during the 16-month period, nearly double the monthly average of $30 million approved during the two years before that span, a Houston Landing analysis shows." Also from The Houston Chronicle: "Alex Elizondo, HISD's chief of public affairs and communications, said Friday that the Harris County District Attorney's Office had accepted charges filed against Terrell for trespassing. ....." Imagine a decent citizen of the community being charged with trespassing in a public building by this usurper board. Spending $870 million without proper oversight is fine. But Ms. Terrell somehow merits arrest and charges. Again--Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare should drop charges against Ms. Terrell. Here is the e-mail to share this view with the DA: [email protected] Sarah is a strong & committed activist with a history of advocacy and care for our schools far more extensive than any of the so-called Board of Managers. Citizen-activism played a big part in DA Teare's election. The censure of former DA Kim Ogg by Harris County Democratic Party Precinct Chairs was an important milestone in Mr. Teare's primary win over former DA Ogg. That effort was fully volunteer-activist led. The days and months ahead may bring many conflicts between pro-democracy patriots and people who work to take democracy away. We must press our elected officials at every turn to be the side of democracy. 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 Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways. Please help the effort.  Houston City District I Councilmember Joaquin Martinez yesterday hosted a meeting to inform Houstonians of rights and resources they have in immigration matters. (And also as renters.) Above you see notice of the event. It was also posted in Spanish. It has been difficult to get local elected Democrats to even acknowledge the imminent prospect of mass deportations. As part of my work with the Houston Democracy Project, I spoke at Council in October about the deportations. I've also posted here about how Texas Senate District 15, my senate district, is 42% Latino and 9% Asian. Senator Molly Cook should take an active role in telling people in SD 15 what is on the way. Mr. Martinez posted some pictures of the event. There were many topics addressed beyond immigration and renters rights. I hope it was a constructive time. Councilmember Sallie Alcorn also attended as did a member of Republican Councilmember Twila Carter's staff. Councilmember Carter attended a Mattress Mack-sponsored get out the vote rally. So I'd not trust anybody associated with her about any immigration concerns. Councilmember Martinez was a part of a Zoom town hall in early October calling for a tax hike to replace City of Houston budget funds lost from storm recovery efforts. He was joined in that effort by Councilmembers Alcorn, Letitia Plummer and Mario Castillo. The four councilmembers did not have to do that. They took a political risk to call for a tax increase. (The needed revenue hike got nowhere. A portion of the lost funds was restored by far-right Dan Patrick throwing a bone to his buddy Mayor Whitmire. It wasn't a gift. It was money Houston pays in taxes to the state and that often does not get returned.) There is a lot of trouble ahead. Deportation raids may well break up families and involve deportations of American citizens. Civil rights are at risk. Elected officials are rarely reliable allies. But you never know who will show up with some imagination or even courage. Councilmember Martinez's meeting was a step forward because he acknowledged the issue publicly. Thank you to Councilmember Martinez for that step. Though soon enough a lot more will be needed. 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 Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways. Please help the effort.  Happy birthday Martin Luther King! Above is a picture of six great books about Martin Luther King. The three up top are a three volume life of King and his times. Another great resource is a collection of recorded King speeches called A Knock At Midnight. On my old Texas Liberal blog, I used to do a Martin Luther King Reading Reference list each year. Here is the last one I did back in 2013. I don't think King would be surprised by where we are in America today. 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 Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways. Please help the effort.  There was an effort locally to hold a Houston Woman's March the weekend before Trump's inauguration. I don't know the folks who were looking to organize the event, but thank you to them for the effort. Last night the organizers posted on Facebook that the march was canceled because they could not get a permit from Houston police and the city. This distressed me because it furthers the myth that you need a permit to protest. (And because the city and HPD are not good faith actors in protecting our right to protest.) (Above is a picture I took from the 2017 Houston Woman's March.) The First Amendment is your permit to protest. Also, police are not here to protect protestors. You need a permit to march on the street and for electronic sound amplification. You need a permit for use of certain facilities in some city parks. You can use sound amplification or march on the street without a permit. But doing so puts you at risk of a citation or arrest. You have to decide what risks you want to take. Even the State of Texas says you have the right to assemble and protest. From the Texas Constitution: Sec. 27. RIGHT OF ASSEMBLY; PETITION FOR REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES. The citizens shall have the right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble together for their common good; and apply to those invested with the powers of government for redress of grievances or other purposes, by petition, address or remonstrance. Here is some broader information on your rights as a protester from the ACLU of Texas. Today at Defense Secretary-designate Hegseth's confirmation hearing, Hegseth refused to answer questions from Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan about if he would follow unlawful orders from Trump. It is clear that our civil liberties at risk. We have a right to protest. The Constitution gives us the right to protest. Do not trust police or any political figure to protect your freedom in a crisis. Know your rights & be ready to use them. 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 Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways. Please help the effort. Some people are considering leaving Facebook & also Meta-owned sites Instagram and Threads, because Meta has caved to the far-right, anti-democratic criminal syndicate about to take power in Washington & that has a hold on many state governments.
I'm not here to tell you to stay or suggest that you go. It's your call. (Just like it is your call to forgive or not the people who voted for this horror show.) Social media is an important part of how I showcase my work on the Houston Democracy Project & promote the John Cornyn Houston Office Protest I don't have the money to purchase ads someplace. I need the resources I have access to. Meta is run by Zuckerberg. Twitter is run by the monster Musk. Tik Tok is run by the brutally repressive Chinese government. There is nothing to prevent Bluesky, YouTube or Sub Stack from being taken over by the right. Everything gets bought and trashed. It's all about money and repression. I understand why people would want nothing to do with any of it. If you leave Facebook/social media, please keep the Houston Democracy Project in mind. Please consider contributing to the Project. I have a strong record of showing up for others & I've not yielded to the aggression of the right. I'm a resource for information about Houston City Council in particular & the local fight for democracy as a whole. I never stop fighting. If your values and need for mental well-being tell you to leave whatever social media platform, that is what you should do. As part of your departure, think about the rank and file and grassroots voices you connect with mostly on social media & find ways to remain connected. Our freedom is up to us. We are going to need each other in the difficult days 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 Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways. Please help the effort.  Governor Greg Abbott is using a tragedy impacting diverse urban people he hates to help Putin/Musk/Trump attack democracy. You see his tweet above. He says there would be needed resources for Los Angeles if only we were not sending money to Ukraine. Governor Abbott could have mentioned any country. He picked Ukraine. Is the problem tax cuts for the rich or corporate subsidies or immense wasteful military spending. Nope. The problem in Abbott's view is the war Putin started Trump wants to end on Putin's terms on Putin's terms and that is part of the aggressive attacks on democracy from Co-President Musk. If Abbott cares so much about Los Angeles, why doesn't he care about Houston? He didn't care if we got state money after Hurricane Harvey. He signed a law allowing the state to easily overrule municipal ordinances. He made certain the state will be able to overturn elections in Harris County. The idea Greg Abbott cares if the people of Los Angeles live or die is laughable. He doesn't care if the people of Texas live or die as we see with the endless Texas Republican refusal to expand Medicaid. If he cared about the well-being of the people of Los Angeles and Houston, Governor Abbott would address climate change which is a big cause of the California wildfires and Hurricane Harvey. The use of people's misery to help take away our freedom and the freedom of people around the world is a core purpose of the Republican Party. These are horrible people doing terrible things. We must be aware of what is taking place and fight back everyday. 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 Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways. Please help the effort.  Musk, Trump & the right are blaming California and Los Angeles for the terrible fires taking place. Elon Musk blamed the fires on DEI hires in the Los Angeles Fire Department. Donald Trump is blaming Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass for a bunch of things they did not do and policies they did not have. From Mother Jones: Some of the themes emerging are consistent: pretty much every wildfire is accused of not being a wildfire at all, but a planned attack meant to further some sinister end. This serves two purposes: casting doubt on the established science of climate change, and finding a more politically useful target to pin a disaster on. Conspiracy peddlers blamed the devastating 2018 wildfires in Northern California on 'directed energy weapons,” a tidy mix of climate change skepticism blended with endless paranoia about what the government is capable of perpetrating on its own citizens. Typically, proponents’ “evidence” for this will be claiming that the fire is displaying unusual or suspicious behavior, unlike a “normal” fire. Those ideas quickly surfaced this week: Stew Peters, for instance, claimed that in some firestruck areas “none of the bushes and trees were disturbed at all” and the “lawns are still green,” adding, “the government wants to kill you and then they want to steal your land.” Climate change appears much very much a factor in the Los Angeles fires. After Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Trump blamed victims of the storm for needing to be rescued. Here is what he said: "Saved 16,000 people, many of them from Texas, for whatever reason that is. People went out in their boats to watch the hurricane. That didn't work out to well. That didn't work out to well." Climate change made the rain and the flooding worse from Hurricane Harvey. Facts don't matter and suffering doesn't matter to Trump and the right. Every disaster that hits cities and Democratic-voting states will be blamed on the people most impacted. There will not be any solutions offered. Every bad thing will be used to compound the harm. We won't yield to this. We'll fight back. 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 Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways. Please help the effort.  Congressmember Lizzie Fletcher is holding a virtual town hall meeting tonight, January 8th. Above you see notice of the virtual town hall. Congressmember Fletcher has held a range of events over the years to meet with constituents according to her website. Some have been in-person and others virtual. In recent months, she has moved towards virtual events. I'm glad Congressmember Fletcher is holding town halls. The Congresswoman is not specifically the issue here. It's time for elected officials to go to mostly in-person town halls. Accessibility issues need to be addressed and all forums need to be open to all people. Virtual town halls have a place. But in my view, nothing replaces the effectiveness of one-on-one direct conversation. With the nation and Texas shifting towards authoritarianism, average citizens face risks for joining peaceful political protest and also for routine political advocacy. Elected officials can't be isolated from these realities. I take part in a weekly pro-democracy protest outside of Senator John Cornyn's Office. (Each Tuesday, 11:30-1, 5300 Memorial Dr.) We've been out for almost eight years now and are peaceful lawful folks. While the great majority of reactions are always positive, things that have been thrown at us include eggs, a softball, potatoes, lit cigars and batteries. A man opposing us once showed up with a holstered gun. If we can take these risks showing up for democracy, our elected officials can as well. Even the most routine political activity in Houston has risks. Political canvassing comes with encounters with stray dogs, aggressive dogs at the door, relentless heat and poor air quality. Every frequent canvasser has stories of bullying right-wingers encountered along the way. These stresses are taken up by dedicated volunteers (And paid canvassers as well) of all ages. We've seen in South Korea in recent weeks the value of showing up in person the value of showing up in person. Fighting the imposition of martial law, both members of the South Korean assembly & everyday people worked together and took risks for their freedom. Leadership is putting yourself in the same place as the people you serve. All elected officials should take constituent questions in an open and accessible place and on a frequent basis. If there are unscripted or disruptive moments--So be it. It's a chance we all have to take if we are going to win our fight against authoritarianism in the United States. 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 Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways. Please help the effort. Mass deportations are on the way from the Trump administration.
These deportations may well involve American citizens. Families will be separated. Is any elected Democrat in Houston/Harris County taking a clear public role in preparing constituents for what is on the way in terms of deportations? (Or highly possible attacks on civil liberties.) If so, I've not heard of it. We've been told time and time again by the Democrats we've donated to, volunteered for and voted for in Harris County, that diversity is one of our greatest local strengths and that immigration is good. Here is an opportunity for our elected leaders to put those words into action. Here are some things our officials could do: 1. Be willing to discuss the matter in the first place. 2. Tell people what legal rights they have if interacting with law enforcement or immigration officials & tell people what type of resources are available for people facing deportation and guide people to those resources. 3. Press for answers about to what extent the Houston Police Department and the Harris County Sheriff's Office will be taking part in deportations. The moment local police become direct agents of Trump policies, it is a new world for civil liberties and our relationship with municipal law enforcement. 4. Whatever else they could think to do and have planned to do given that they are elected leaders, this is very diverse city/county and the deportations are starting soon. We were told all through 2024 what would take place if Trump won. According to information on the official state page of my State Senator Molly Cook, a plurality of people in Senate District 15-41.2%-are Hispanic. 8.6% of people in SD 15 are Asian. Hispanic and Asian communities will be among those targeted by Trump's deportation squads. Here is a map of SD 15. I encourage Senator Cook to aggressively inform the people of SD 15 about what is happening and of their rights. Her leadership would be welcome amid the silence and avoidance defining the response of elected officials to an issue of great significance to Houston/Harris County. There is a lot of trouble ahead. The more trouble there is, the more we'll see that each of us are really the leaders. But that doesn't mean we don't need all the help we can get from our elected employees. 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 Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways. Please help the effort. |
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