​1st picture below is word of a new protest in League City, Galveston County. I was glad to be there today ,6/27. 

Picture above makes point that you have your rights in League City & in all places.

2nd picture below is the protest today. You see there is shade which is a first-class amenity as protest goes.
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3rd picture below shows you can say 86 47 in League City. Your rights are everywhere.

The six people at this protest made a big difference. There were very many enthusiastic responses from passing motorists. Far more positive than negative. People are heartened to see allies. They process that you are out in the heat & vulnerable to whoever passes by.

There are more and more of these sometimes-modest decentralized actions across the Houston-region & the nation. This work will matter when rapid-response is needed when Trump messes with elections & further escalates attacks on civil liberties.

The next action is when you organize it. The 1st Amendment is your permit. The only credential needed is your presence. The work ahead is ours.
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(This is part of my work on the Houston Democracy Project. Link to contribute in comments. I've supported & promoted protest/pro-democracy events in the past two months in Conroe, League City, Humble, The Woodlands, Spring, Cincinnati & Montrose. This in addition to the Cornyn Office Protest and my other extensive Democracy Project work. That work includes my relentless focus on democracy issues at Houston City Hall. I'm a more effective advocate for democracy than are most candidate an elected officials.)

​NPR KUHF has a report of the far-right extremist likely to be appointed by Greg Abbott as Texas Secretary of State. His name is Nate Schatzline. 

From KUHF:

​"In Texas, the governor picks the secretary of state, and it’s unclear when Republican Gov. Greg Abbott will make a formal announcement. The current top elections official, Secretary of State Jane Nelson — who announced her resignation earlier this month — is expected to stay in office until July 17....For weeks though, signs have pointed to Nelson’s successor being state Rep. Nate Schatzline, a pastor at a Fort Worth megachurch with ties to Christian nationalism, who has repeated baseless claims about widespread fraud in American elections.....“It is believed that Schatzline would represent a disruptor model of [secretary of state] leadership: highly ideological, responsive to grassroots activist demands, and comfortable using the office as an active enforcement agency,"...he’s made it clear he is aligned with President Trump’s false views about elections......"It’s not even debatable the amount of election fraud we had through mail-in ballots. It’s not even debatable that the machines were screwed up and that we’ve seen unbelievable amounts of election fraud,” Schatzline said in an interview last year with John Herold, an election denial influencer who helped popularize a QAnon-adjacent election conspiracy theory after 2020......Schatzline is also an ally of the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in the state Ken Paxton."

Governor Abbott has said the state should take over 2026 elections in Harris County.

The Democratic nominee for Harris County Judge is Letitia Plummer who is a progressive Black Muslim woman. You see a campaign photo of her above. 

Recently, I walked into the Texas Republican convention in Houston and looked around. It was an anti-Muslim hatefest.

We know what is on the way. Attacks on our freedom and on our neighbors. There is no limit of what the right is capable of. Nothing is off the table. What kind of person still supports Donald Trump after 11 years of this?

I'm less interested in candidates than I am in our own power & our own self-protection. We need to elect Dr. Plummer for own sakes. The campaign Republicans will run against here can't be allowed to prevail. 

We need to be ready for not all our votes being counted. Fighting that will involve our leadership and willingness to show up however required. We've seen this necessity at work in the 2024 South Korean martial law crisis and in the resistance to ICE in Minnesota.

The next action is when you organize it. The 1st Amendment is your permit. The only credential needed is your presence. Voting won’t be enough. The work ahead is ours.

Below is an account from the Indivisible Kingwood folks today. They do a weekly protest near Dan Crenshaw's office. This is how it goes sometimes. It's important that we be out there no matter the aggression of the right. Above you see the patriot wearing her 8647 shirt that set off an angry man in the biggtuck. 

They are trying to define as criminals and scare us off the streets. We can't allow that to happen. We are going to have to be on the streets. Don't yield public space to bullies.

The next action is when you organize it. The 1st Amendment is your permit. The only credential needed is your presence. Voting will not be enough.The work ahead is ours.

From today:

"These 11 defenders of democracy made a difference today! The mobile community was quite vocal, ups and downs, but we really caught the eye of a super MAGA! Well, shall I say, Cindi got his attention with her sign. He was so over-the-top agitated that he called the cops on us. As we were packing up, 2 HPD cars rolled up, as did the super MAGA jerk in his big ole truck. The cops were really nice and said they were checking to make sure we were all okay. Then they informed us someone had called in about one of our signs. I asked if it was the loud guy in the truck. Yep. Cindi asked if he was insulted about her 8647 sign and they said yes, so she showed it to them. The jerk then stood on his truck threshold and started yelling at us. We asked if they will have to come out every time someone gets offended. They said yep. They waited until we were all pulling out of the parking lot before they left. As we were leaving they went over and talked to the jerk. Life of a protester!"

There are many of these sometimes-modest decentralized actions across the Houston-region & the nation. This work will matter when rapid-response is needed when Trump messes with elections & escalates attacks on civil liberties. We are getting to know and trust one another.

There is a new weekly protest in League City, Galveston County. There are more and more of these sometimes-modest decentralized actions across the Houston-region & the nation. This work will matter when rapid-response is needed when Trump messes with elections & escalates attacks on civil liberties. We are getting to know and trust one another.

The next action is when you organize it. The 1st Amendment is your permit. The only credential needed is your presence. The work ahead is ours.

Details-"Howdy! Starting this Saturday (6/27), I will be holding A weekly protest near the Helen Hall Library in League City, at the intersection of West Walker and Highway 3 starting at 11:00. Stay until 12:30 or leave earlier - and enjoy the shade trees while there. Hope to see you Saturday!"

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I’m signed up to speak at public comment time at Houston City Council on Tuesday, July 7.

You can speak at Houston City Council as well.
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Here are some of the points I’ll make:

1. Mayor Whitmire makes clear he’ll give HPD the overtime $ they want without serious review.

2. I’ve heard the Mayor 4 times cite “protest” as a reason for some of the overtime.

3. We would have less to protest if the six Republicans on Houston City Council & the police and fire unions, would stop supporting white supremacists and authoritarians for public office.

4. The Texas Republican State Convention recently held in Houston was a dangerous gathering of extremists. That the 2028 Republican National Convention is in Houston is a clear public safety threat.

5. The police union endorses the elected officials we protest, then get the overtime $ from the frequent over-policing of protest. What a racket.

6. All the protests have been peaceful. Yet we seem to have handed over many Houston streets to red light-runners, street racers and bullies. Police resources would be better assigned to lawbreakers than to protestors. HPD should do better at assessing actual public safety threats.

7. The far-right police union is the biggest bunch of paid agitators in town. They should be ignored. The recent solid ballot box defeats of police union-backed Dwight Boykins and Nick Hellyar show that they can be tuned out.

8. The people Mayor Whitmire has unlimited $ to police are basically rank & file Democrats. That’s who organizes the various weekly protests on highway overpasses and at busy intersections. That is who the bulk of the attendees at No Kings are. It’s fine that others who attend local protests might not consider them self as such—But most do.

9. We should have Houston City Councilmembers who support our pro-democracy efforts. If you signed up to serve in public office during an authoritarian crisis, then you signed up to to for political, career and potentially physical risks. I know that in my peaceful protest, I have assumed a measure of physical risk. Many Houstonians have.

10. We deserve better than a Mayor who won’t fight for our freedom.

​11. The next action is when you organize it. The 1st Amendment is your permit. The only credential needed is your presence. Voting will not be enough. The work ahead is ours.

​There have been many concerns about the amount of overtime $'s being used by the Houston Police Department.

Mayor Whitmire was asked about the overtime at a press conference last Wednesday, 6/10. You see him in his response above. He said a good portion of the overtime comes from "..storms, protests, tragedy...."

Mayor Whitmire has repeatedly cited protest as a reason for the police overtime. I've heard him say it four times. So I'm certain he has said it many more times than that.  

I've written here before about HPD often over-polices protest. It seems sometimes they just have too many resources. 

Here is what Mayor Whitmire has said about the overtime: 

"Historically, overtime requests for the Houston Police Department have been driven by major storms, special events, and protests. These are services that are needed and requested by Houstonians. I believe failing to adequately fund HPD overtime is equivalent to defunding the police."

Below you see signs I saw today on a Houston lawn.  

It's important to understand who is attending the protests that Mayor Whitmire says merit unlimited HPD overtime.

These protests are in most part attended by rank & file Democrats concerned about losing democracy. This  is who has been attending No Kings and the various weekly and bridge overpass protests across Houston and the Houston-region. Every single one of these very many events has been peaceful. Most of the people--not all of course--are rank & file Democrats. 

If Mayor Whitmire wants to keep an eye on extremist threats to Houston, he had a great chance to do so last week when the Texas State Republican Convention was in town. It was a hate-fest. 
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This is not about the police officers themselves. People who attend protests want and merit security. We need protection from the right. 

But it is important to understand just who it is that Mayor Whitmire is looking to police with unlimited resources. It's not the aggressor. Mayor Whitmire has stated clearly that Governor Abbott's opinion is the only one "that matters." He's never lifted a finger to support pro-democracy efforts in Houston. 

​Houstonians with Talarico and democracy signs have heard clearly the threats to interfere in 2026 elections and the racial hate coming from the Republican Party. We deserve a City of Houston government that fights for democracy, rather than viewing Houstonians who want to live freely as people to be contained with unlimited police resources. 

​Above you see anti-Islamic materials I picked up at the Texas State Convention in Houston this past Friday, 6/12. Below you see the booth on the exhibition floor from where I found some of this stuff. 

Governor Abbott was a featured speaker at the Republican Convention. Back at the time of the Houston City Council ICE ordinance, you recall that Mayor Whitmire said "There's only one opinion that matters, and that's the governor's."

​Our Democratic Party nominee for Harris County Judge is Letitia Plummer. Dr. Plummer is a Black Islamic woman. I bet we know Governor Abbott's opinion of Letitia Plummer. 

Where do the six Houston City Council Republicans stand on this? We know that Houston Republican Councilmember Julian Ramirez spoke up specifically against hatred towards Muslims. He merits credit for that.

How about Twila Carter, Willie Davis, Amy Peck, Mary Nan Huffman and Fred Flickinger? Are they fine with this bigoted hatred? ( It's entirely possible they are.)

Will Houston City Council Democrats be out on the 2026 campaign trail? Council Democrats Joaquin Martinez, Martha Castex-Tatum and Sallie Alcorn are already on the 2027 campaign trail. These three appeared on stage at a recent re-election fundraiser for Mayor Whitmire. 

If you are a Democrat who can show up for John Whitmire even after his strong admonishment by Democratic Precinct Chairs, then you can definitely show up for our Harris County Judge nominee.

​The Texas Republican Party is a hate-filled cult. Every Republican elected official at every level of government is an accessory to that hate. Elected Democrats who signed up to serve in office during an authoritarian crisis have an obligation to show up for us in every way possible--Including on the streets.

When we protest for basic Constitutional rights, we are often over-policed. On the other hand, the biggest hate group in the state--the Texas Republican Party--comes to town and it's just all okay. It is so upside-down.

It's stuff like this why I repeat over and over that the next action is when you organize it, the 1st Amendment is your permit, the only credential needed is your presence. 

Never forget what Mayor Whitmire said--"There's only one opinion that matters, and that's the governor's."

The fight for democracy and civil rights in Houston is a rank-and-file led task. ​Voting is not going to be enough. The work ahead is ours.

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​I've spent the last 11 days in Cincinnati, Ohio. I visited family and friends. I also found a group of regular bridge protesters. They were a good crew. I took part in two protests. The sign is Ohio Fights Fascism. 

They go by the name of Coffee. Compassion. Action! Here is the link to their Facebook group. Above is a picture of two patriots on the Monmouth Ave. Viaduct. The white structure on the left is where they keep all the road salt for when it snows.

The next action is when you organize it. The 1st Amendment is your permit. The only credential needed is your presence. Voting is not going to be enough. The work ahead is ours.