 Above is a picture that tells a thousand words posted on Twitter a few days ago by the so-called Texas Military Department. You see there is no American flag. Though there is of course a come and take it flag along with the Texas flag. Here is how the Texas Military Department describes itself: Who We Are: The Texas Military is commanded by The Adjutant General of Texas, the state's senior military official appointed by the governor, and is comprised of the Texas Military Department, the Texas Army National Guard (TXARNG), the Texas Air National Guard (TXANG) and the Texas State Guard (TXSG). Here is how they describe their mission: Our Mission: Provide the Governor and the President with ready forces in support of state and federal authorities at home and abroad. They themselves say they exist in part to serve the President and federal government. At the moment though our Texas Military Department seems ambivalent about their stated mission. Currently they are posted at the border asserting the supremacy of the State of Texas over the government of the United States of America. You can say it is an act and for show. I think we should take it at face value. There is a clear authoritarian threat in Texas and the nation. Making a production out of ignoring the American Flag, the Texas Military Department appears more part of the threat than an agency of government that will defend democracy and keep Texans safe. The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. The Project will continue through 2024 at the least. 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 [email protected].
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 Above you see what the Houston Police Department posted on social media on Martin Luther King Day. It's easy to be cynical about such a post. But at the same time, we should never give up on the idea that all people merit the protection and services that they pay for with tax dollars, and the services they deserve simply because they are residents of the city. Yesterday I wrote about Houston-area State Rep. Gene Wu terming the Republican Party the biggest threat to his community. Rep. Wu is correct to focus on the threat from the Republican Party and the right. It's a focus that law enforcement should share. Not only the Houston Police Department, but the Harris County Sheriff as well. It is the Republican Party and extremist right defying federal authority, politicizing the state police, encouraging hate and undermining elections. All these issues are directly relevant to Houston and Harris County. We must have a future rooted in democracy and freedom. The Houston Police Department said on King Day, "The time is always right to do what is right." A way HPD could do what is right is to understand that there is no public safety without democracy. HPD could live up the legacy of Martin Luther King by using the resources it currently applies to writing endless tickets for Food Not Bombs, to instead address actual threats to Houston. Threat number one is the Republican Party which is a party of insurrection and racial hate. The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. The Project will continue through 2024 at the least. 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 [email protected].  Texas District 137 State Rep. Gene Wu said something on the mark a few days ago. He said the biggest threat to his community is the Republican Party & as you see above lists reasons why. I would add to his list law enforcement unions that refuse to step away from support of election-deniers and traitors & any law enforcement unit in Texas that follows unlawful orders from Greg Abbott to subvert federal power. We must expand our conception of public safety to include democracy and following the United States Constitution. It is good to see an elected official clear about how it is the political right at the lead of any accurate list of public threats. There is more Rep. Wu could do to fight for freedom and it is up to each of us rather than elected officials to lead the fight. Very few elected officials are fully reliable allies. At the same time, it is important we understand who and what we are facing & the danger they represent for all of us. Rep. Wu's comments help further that goal. The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. The Project will continue through 2024 at the least. 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 [email protected]. Fundraising e-mails are a lot of horse hockey, but one from Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee recently caught the attention of the Houston Democracy Project.
County Attorney Menefee is a good public official who has been willing to oppose the State of Texas and stand up for the best democratic and pluralistic values of Harris County. Here is some of what he said in his fundraising pitch: It’s becoming increasingly clear that Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee for President of the United States in 2024. We don’t need to speculate what type of President that Trump will be. We already know. Trump’s term as President was filled with attacks on local control, upheavals of our political norms, and undermining the will of the people. On top of that, Trump has also said that if reelected, he will be a “dictator on day 1.” I’ve stood up to Greg Abbott and his Republican allies in Austin’s repeated overreach of our rights in Harris County, and I will gladly stand up to a President Trump as well. We will be doing everything we can to reelect President Biden, but we cannot be as caught off guard or ill-prepared as we were in 2016. 2024 is shaping up to be an even more chaotic and divisive election. But if we organize from the grassroots, I know we can propel President Biden and Texas Democrats to victory. I'll do something I rarely do and take a politician at face value. I believe Mr. Menefee cares about the full Democratic slate, about democracy and is willing to involve and encourage grassroots & rank and file voters in the fight for freedom. He is saying things here that all elected Democrats in Houston and Harris County should be saying no matter what office they hold. Here are three suggestions- *Prepare and make public a detailed written plan for increasing November voter turnout. Encourage other elected officials to do the same. The plan could discuss the hiring of canvassing teams, how these teams will trained and what they will be paid, what groups and organizations will be worked with, how he will team up with other local elected Democrats to boost turnout, what permanent structure to boost turnout the effort will leave for the next election cycle & whatever else I'm missing here. This high turnout is needed to hold Harris County for Democrats, defeat Ted Cruz and strongly oppose Donald Trump. *Actively encourage citizen involvement by specifically asking Harris County residents to contact the Harris County Democratic Party to become a trained poll-watcher in 2024. *Help create a political climate where involved citizens outside the insular network of elected officials, connected non-profits and Whitmire-endorsing unions have a voice with people with power such as Mr. Menefee. I'm deeply cynical of elected officials. But I'm keeping hope alive for Mr. Menefee. The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. The Project will continue through 2024 at the least. 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 [email protected].  I used the minute allowed to candidates at the big Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus endorsement meeting today to talk up the Houston Democracy Project and promote the 7th Anniversary of the John Cornyn Houston Office Protest on January 30th. The John Cornyn Houston Office Protest is each Tuesday, 11:30-1, 5300 Memorial Dr. Let's lead the fight for our freedom ourselves. The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. The Project will continue through 2024 at the least. 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 [email protected]  Here is a picture of some winter shade in Houston. Photography is a part of the Houston Democracy Project. Here are a number of my pictures. Please take a look. The situation at the Texas border grows more tense each day. Governor Abbott and his seditious allies don't respect the Constitution. We need to be ready and not afraid of wherever the conflicts of 2024 take us. The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. The Project will continue through 2024 at the least. 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 [email protected]  There is a new effort from the Houston Democracy Project and the John Cornyn Houston Office Protest. It is a Change.org petition asking people in Houston and Harris County to commit to showing up as needed as we confront anti-democratic threats in 2024 and 2025. Below is the text of the petition. Here is the link to sign. Please sign and share the petition. We must organize and act to meet the challenges ahead. We must take the lead ourselves. The John Cornyn Houston Office Protest began seven years ago as one of many Tuesday protests at offices of Republican Senators when Donald Trump was inaugurated. To our knowledge, we are the last weekly protest remaining. Over time, our mission has shifted. Without forgetting Cornyn is awful, our core mission has become the act of showing up no matter what as we face the authoritarian threat from the right. With the exception of Hurricane Harvey when our corner was underwater, we haven't missed a week. Will you commit to following the example of the Cornyn Protest team and showing up or being present as needed no matter what in 2024 and into 2025? What does this mean?
Showing up is critical. Here in Texas, Republicans have passed legislation allowing them to meddle in or even overturn Harris County election results. Nationally, Republicans are nominating Trump again. Trump has not committed to accept election results and has said he'll use the Insurrection Act to suspend civil liberties and consider sending the National Guard into cities. Consider your role in 2024. As tired as we are, there is no doubt about the threat. We must be willing to show up as people who met live freely. Make pledge now to yourself, to the people in your life and to the values that guide you, that you will show up and be present no matter what in 2024 and 2025. The John Cornyn Houston Office Protest Team has never let up over seven years. We can't let up either. The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. The Project will continue through 2024 at the least. 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 [email protected] Greg Abbott is defying the Supreme Court on allowing the federal government to remove the razor wire at the border. He's making statements intended to incite the far right. The Texas state police forces at the border are politicized in the service of Abbott. Republicans in Texas and across the nation are cheering this all on.
This post doesn't need links or further detail. It's a story as old as America. It's a menace we had beaten for a time. But now it is back. We can fight back and insist that our politicians fight on our behalf. Or we can yield to these traitors and lose our futures. The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. The Project will continue through 2024 at the least. 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 [email protected]  Below is a Martin Luther King quote Republican Houston City Councilmember Julian Ramirez used on Facebook to mark MLK Day. “People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other, and they don’t communicate with each other because they are separated from each other.” Martin Luther King, Jr., Cornell College, Mount Vernon, Iowa, Oct. 15, 1962. That's all fine. But Mr. Ramirez is a Republican endorsed by the Harris County Republican Party. Harris County Republicans are very much a party of Greg Abbott and Donald Trump. Bipartisanship is important. We must be able to work across the aisle. But there must be a bottom line of humanity and support for democracy. Councilmember Ramirez might meet those standards. I had a conversation with him over the summer and he seemed possibly reasonable. Yet Mr. Ramirez is part of an extremist organization,--The Republican Party--and we are right to insist he speak up about today's cruel and authoritarian Republican Party. (Above is a picture I took of Mr. Ramirez talking to a Houstonian.) Here is another thing MLK said: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige, and even his life for the welfare of others.” Councilmember Ramirez everyday has the opportunity make to clear that Greg Abbott saying he'd shoot migrants if he could get away with it is wrong, and that Donald Trump is the wrong person to lead the Republican Party and be President of the United States. If Councilmember Ramirez would speak and act with courage, then he would indeed reflect the life and mission of Martin Luther King. The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. The Project will continue through 2024 at the least. 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 [email protected] The Houston Democracy Project keeps it local, but it is worth noting crowds estimated into the hundreds of thousands who marched in many German cities in recent days against the rise of a far right-wing party that is discussing mass deportations.
Showing up is a big deal. It is often more than half the battle to recall the cliche. Knowing when to show up, showing up as often as needed, showing up when you are nervous or afraid to show up, showing up when others don't show up--It all matters a lot and takes brains to get right. It is something any person of good will who applies some thought to the matter can get right. There is a lot of trouble ahead in 2024. Resolve to show up as needed. It is an important thing that we all can do in an effective and hopeful way. The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. The Project will continue through 2024 at the least. 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 [email protected]. |
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