Round-ups, camps, attacks on civil liberties & bloodbaths will require substantial local infrastructure & cooperation from local officials.

We must ask hard questions of the officials we support of how they will meet challenges of worsening political/social climate in Texas & the nation.

​Don't wait for elected officials at act or a court to rescue us. We must advocate for our own freedom and safety while we still can.

Ask tough questions of people in power about who will provide the local infrastructure for authoritarianism.    

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 [email protected] ​

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Mayor John Whitmire never stops talking about "transparency", but the City of Houston seems headed in a very different direction under his leadership. 

Above is a Tweet from Houston Chronicle Latino Communities reporter Jhair Romero. He was threatened with arrest by Houston Police at an event where folks opposed to the War in Gaza were protesting Mayor Whitmire. Mr. Romero's offense was asking questions of the protestors.

Threatening to arrest members of the press is not transparency. Nor is it a good use of resources when we are told over and over that there are not enough police. 

The failures of transparency and disregard for the press under Mayor Whitmire go further.

The Houston Landing asked the City of Houston to provide details regarding traffic congestion as   

From The Landing: 

"The Houston Landing submitted a Texas Public Information Act request for “any data, studies, plans, communications (both internal and external), and any other records” related to both the installation and removal of the median....In response, the city sent a letter to the Texas attorney general’s office requesting an opinion on whether some of that information could be withheld, citing terrorism...The contention from the city is that the requested information includes discussions among city employees about vulnerable intersections and traffic routes most at risk for congestion or collisions. Using that information, terrorists could plan an attack that could target travelers, first responders and public transit, the city’s letter said." 

What? 

Maybe the Whitmire team thinks it's funny. They may enjoy referring the matter to Ken Paxton to stifle the press & take another punch at the "anti-car activists" as the Mayor has termed people who don't support red light running and endless aggressive driving.    

​Or maybe they really think members of the press and activists are in fact dangerous. They clearly thought that a Houston Chronicle reporter needed to be threatened with arrest for just doing his job.

In any case, Mayor Whitmire does not appear to care much about transparency & is the wrong leader as we confront clear authoritarian threats in Texas and the nation.  

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 [email protected] ​

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, under-tasked and unaccountable, Harris County Constables are perfect partners for Trump and crew.     
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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 [email protected] ​

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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 [email protected]  

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 [email protected] 

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​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 [email protected]    

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 [email protected].

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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 [email protected].    

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 [email protected] ​

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​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.