A great final Houston sunset for 2023.
Here is the link to the photography section of the Houston Democracy Project. Thanks to everyone fighting for democracy & a decent and kind society. Happy New Year 2024.
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Two books I found interesting & helpful this year were I Have No Enemies--The Life and Legacy of Liu Xiabo & Let The Record Show--A Political History Of Act Up New York, 1987-1993. You see the books above. I Have No Enemies is a biography of the late Nobel Peace Prize winning Chinese Dissident Liu Xiabo. It discusses his intellectual development, personal life, role in Tiananmen Square during the June 4, 1989 massacre and his approach to making change. Let The Record Show is about interactions and relationships-- often difficult--between activists of different races, education levels and life experiences during some years of the AIDS crisis. It talks at length about taking physical risks facing aggressive New York City police & also about the high barriers between grassroots activism and official channels. (Still very much a thing.) In 2024, we must be able to imagine ourselves as dissidents facing authoritarians and their violent allies & be able to see ourselves as part of a movement working with people far outside our normal day-to-day existences. We must to be able to grasp and then willing to confront whatever is ahead. 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]. As you see above, Democratic Houston-area Texas State Senator Carol Alvarado is observing Pledge of Allegiance Day. Very good. We should all make note of the Pledge of Allegiance. Here is a history of the Pledge from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Senator Alvarado says we should note the day by reflecting on what we have in common & reaffirming our commitment to liberty and justice for all. Excellent. What are additional ways Senator Alvarado and Houston/Harris County elected Democrats could mark Pledge of Allegiance Day? What would be patriotic actions to promote democracy and the general welfare? Here are three ideas: *Speak frankly about the threat to civil liberties and democracy from the political right and the Republican Party. Bipartisanship is fine with an opposing party that supports democracy. But what if no such opposing political party is available? How is Senator Alvarado preparing her constituents for the authoritarian challenge of Trump-led 2024 elections? *Prepare a detailed written plan of increasing November voter turnout in Senator Alavardo's District 6. The plan could discuss the hiring of canvassing teams, how these teams will trained and what they will be paid, what groups and organizations Senator Alvarado will work with, how the Senator will team up with other local elected Democrats to boost turnout, what permanent structure to boost turnout the Senator's 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. What could be a higher priority for Harris County elected Democrats? All elected Democrats should prepare such a plan. *Speak to law enforcement unions supporting election-deniers such as Ken Paxton, Donald Trump and any Republican who has not publicly distanced themselves from these anti-democratic figures, about the dangers of strong law enforcement support of politicians at odds with our rights. There is no public safety without democracy. We must expand our commonly-held conceptions of public safety to include our freedom. Senator Alvarado and other local elected Democrats could well-observe Pledge of Allegiance Day with the simple patriotism and smart politics of preparing for a clear and growing authoritarian threat that puts our most basic freedoms and values at great risk. 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 two strongest competitors in the Texas Democratic U.S. Senate primary to defeat Ted Cruz are U.S. Rep. Colin Allred (Link to campaign website that has no issues section.) from the Dallas-area & Texas State Sen. Roland Gutierrez of San Antonio. Rather than considering where they stand on issues,-Gutierrez seems somewhat to the left of aggressively centrist Allred-I'll base my vote on who I think will best generate turnout in the November election. This primary will cost millions of dollars that will go to consultants and TV ads & do nothing to strengthen grassroots organizing or build structure for November turnout. One of the main competitors will lose and the money spent on his campaign will disappear into the air. We need high turnout in November to hold off Republicans in Harris County, defeat Ted Cruz, defeat as many Republicans as possible across Texas and win against Donald Trump. There is no point to conceding in advance. What if elected Democrats in safe legislative districts worked as hard as possible to generate turnout in low-turnout districts? It might make a big difference. It has never been tried. All I want to know from Rep. Allred and Senator Gutierrez is how they will generate high Democratic turnout in November. The Congressman doesn't have an issues page on his website and the Senator bases his issues focus on polls. I know that because he told me. At a Democratic rally in Houston last month, I asked Senator Gutierrez if he would be discussing protection of democracy in his campaign. He tried to shift the conversation to gun violence. I get that given he represents Uvalde. But it is not what I asked him. When I pressed him he told me "....guns polled second with Latinos and third with African-Americans." Once you tell me that I figure the rest of the platform is the result of polls as well. (Above is a picture I took of Sen. Gutierrez as he talked with a voter.) So just tell us how you'll increase Democratic turnout. The campaign websites for Mr. Allred and Mr. Gutierrez could have detailed plans of increasing statewide turnout. The plan could discuss the hiring of canvassing teams, how these teams will trained and how much they will be paid, what groups and organizations the campaigns will work with, how the campaigns will approach and work with local elected Democrats to boost turnout, what structure to drive turnout will they leave for the next election cycle & whatever I'm missing here. Candidates and elected officials come and go. Our problems remain. Low voter turnout in Texas is persistent. The threat of national authoritarian government is imminent. Statewide Texas government is already in the hands of vote-suppressing extremists. Texas women have to leave the state for health care and Ken Paxton is seeking lists of trans Texans. We likely won't see comprehensive plans on increasing turnout from either candidate. We'll just have to guess. What we can do for certain is press all Democratic candidates and incumbents about turnout & empower ourselves for the challenging days ahead by expecting more from the people we support at the ballot box. 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 Police Union says it won't be a priority to enforce Texas SB 4 that allows police to question and arrest people suspected of being undocumented.
Here is what it says in the Houston Landing: "We're here to help victims of crime. We're not here to be the immigration police. It's not our job," said Doug Griffith, President of the Houston Police Officers' Union." The police union is in agreement with Judge Hidalgo. Again from The Landing: “To have local law enforcement playing as immigration officers — a role they’re not trained for — is probably the worst thing right now for the criminal justice system as a whole here in Harris County,” said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo in a press conference, stressing that taxpayers would have to foot the bill for the additional jail costs. Griffith agreed that SB 4 is a resource issue. “As far as Houston, we don’t have the manpower or the time to be able to do anything like that,” he said." The Landing article said the union will be acting off guidance from the Houston Police legal department. First of all, good to see the statement. It shows a pragmatic and humane approach. Still, there are questions. Mr. Griffith says there is a manpower issue involved. Mayor-elect Whitmire says he will hire more cops and is asking 200 Department of Public Safety Texas state troops to serve as police on Houston streets. If the manpower issues are resolved to Mayor Whitmire's satisfaction, will policies towards the undocumented change? Can Mayor Whitmire offer assurance DPS troops won't act as deportation squads in Houston communities? These police are under Greg Abbott's command. There were many of these state troops present at a recent Abbott/Trump political event at the border. When DPS was deployed in Austin for street patrols, there were disproportionate arrests of Latinos and Black people & a refusal to comply with Mayor Kirk Watson's request that they leave. How will Mayor Whitmire have any more authority of state police troops than did Mayor Watson? If Donald Trump is returned to the White House, will DPS troops help enforce Trump's openly announced plans to suspend civil liberties? Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton won't be standing up for Houstonians against Donald Trump. The expansion of police powers involved in SB 4 is a threat to all freedom-loving citizens. It is up to the people of Houston and Harris County to protect democracy. It'll be our involvement and our questions that will serve as essential checks and balances against the anti-democracy push of the political right, and the frequent absence of imagination and unwillingness to take risks from our side of the aisle. It'll be our involvement that offers the best hope of protecting 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]. Peace to you if the holiday season is not what you would imagine it to be. Pictured here is the Constitution ornament on our tree & a family menorah purchased in Rome. Here is a history of Kwanzaa from the Africana section of the great podcast History Of Philosophy Without Any Gaps. The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled Donald Trump cannot be on the Colorado Republican Primary Presidential ballot.
This is relevant to the Houston Democracy Project and locally because it points the way to the brave and correct conduct needed for the fight for democracy in Houston and Harris County. Those Colorado Justices did a courageous thing. You know they are getting many physical threats from Colorado and across the nation. They have opened themselves to possible retribution from Trump if he returns to the White House. And they have taken a a needed and assertive step that other state courts have shied away from. Local elected officials could take notes. The Republican authoritarian threat grows daily. Greg Abbott is Governor and Ken Paxton is Texas Attorney General. Governor Abbott recently signed SB 4 which in the name of addressing border issues has the effect of greatly extending police powers. Republican frontrunner Trump is openly discussing suspending civil liberties and using anti-immigrant language right out of Hitler. So far we've not seen a sense of urgency from local elected Democrats. Most were missing in action from recent Houston city elections that saw Republicans gain an At-Large Council seat. The social media feeds of Democratic officials show them at the usual run of holiday parties, sporting events and fundraisers. There is far less mention of SB 4 or Trump's talk of immigrants polluting the blood of the nation then there is of the holiday social calendar. We are being told out loud what is on the way. We already live in a state controlled by right-wing extremists. Our elected officials need to get with the program. They will only do so if we demand it of them. People in power are unlikely to act until they see their self-interest at risk. By then we will be out of luck. 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]. Governor Greg Abbott signed SB 4 today. This bill allows Texas State Police (DPS) & local police to arrest people they suspect of having crossed the border undocumented.
From the Texas Tribune: "Immigrant rights organizations, Democrats and former immigration judges said the SB 4 that makes illegally crossing the border a state crime is unconstitutional because immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility. Federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have ruled that immigration laws can only be enforced by the federal government. But some Texas Republicans have said they hope the new law will push the issue back before a U.S. Supreme Court that is more conservative since three appointees of former President Donald Trump joined it." I've read in multiple places that SB 4 won't survive court review. I don't what about today's right-wing courts inspires confidence the bill won't be allowed to stand. Houston Mayor-elect John Whitmire intends to ask for 200 DPS troops to police Houston. These politicized Texas state police that can turn a routine traffic stop into a deportation, will be the same ones enforcing Trump's anti-democratic decrees in Texas cities if he returns to the White House. People don't understand how quickly they can be defined as criminals by others with power & access to arrest powers and overwhelming force. It's not the migrants the right is gunning for in the end. It is our civil liberties they want in the service of an authoritarian vision. Immigration is an important issue. It does not negate discussion of the issue to say the enhanced police powers extended police powers granted by SB 4, can easily be imagined being applied to all Texans in an authoritarian future that each day takes greater form. 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 Landing recently wrote a story about John Whitmire's successful race for Mayor of Houston. From the article: .....Whitmire repeatedly proclaimed that he would not stoop to negative attacks himself. He kept buying millions of dollars worth of ads, according to campaign finance reports, and his canvassers kept knocking on doors, according to Orta. ...The campaign never seriously considered going negative itself, his consultants said....Jackson Lee was getting attacked-but not by Whitmire. Instead, a pro-Whitmire political action mailer sent out mailers accusing her of wanting to defund the police. Senator Whitmire outsourced the negative attacks to law enforcement unions and to the super-nasty Republican echo chamber. Above is a picture of one of the many "public safety" union mailers I got. I think I got 5 total. On one hand, that's just politics. But on the other hand, the law enforcement unions involved support without apparent hesitation candidates and officials who have tried to overturn our Harris County elections. Republican voters are propelling Trump to the 2024 Republican nomination even as he uses Hitler-like language. As you see above, far-right Governor Greg Abbott congratulated Sen. Whitmire on his win. So sure John Whitmire did not himself go negative. He left the negativity to folks with a tenuous commitment to democracy. It got him elected and made Houstonians who value democracy less safe. There is no public safety without democracy. Will John Whitmire stand-up to his electoral allies as authoritarian threats rise? I'd not wager so much that prospect. 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 some of how the news agency Reuters reported Trump's rally this evening in Durham, New Hampshire :
"Donald Trump, the Republican presidential frontrunner, said on Saturday that undocumented immigrants were "poisoning the blood of our country," repeating language that has previously drawn criticism as xenophobic and echoing of Nazi rhetoric......Jason Stanley, a Yale professor and author of a book on fascism, said Trump's repeated use of that language was dangerous. He said Trump's words echoed the rhetoric of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, who warned against German blood being poisoned by Jews in his political treatise "Mein Kampf"." The Houston Democracy Project tries to keep it local......But this is local. How is any local elected official who supports this guy for President of the United States anything other than a threat to public safety in Houston and Harris County? There is no public safety without democracy. We are being told out loud and clear as day what is on the way. It's up to each of us to push back & protect ourselves, the people in our lives & our values. 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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October 2024
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