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From my in-box

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I spend a good bit of time trying to cull and curate the general mass of information and goads to action I receive. My assumption is that at least something may be useful and maybe jumpstart engagement or re-energize flagging enthusiasm. Rather than try to polish this, because I am working on a couple of more demanding pieces, I’m sharing these nuggets from my in-box. Some of it is more geared to Texas and Harris County, but there are also more general topics under discussion here. Take what you need and share accordingly. I’ll lead with what I think requires the most attention statewide. I’m not at all surprised that the sobriquet “State Railroad Commissioner” hasn’t been changed; it sounds old-timey and anodyne, but make no mistake. The position is the key to Texas’ direction in energy policy and implementation. The agency has not regulated railroads since 2005. The Texas Tribune’s guide to candidates: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/02/09/texas-railroad-commission-primary-2026-gui...
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Stuff to Do: Texas primaries edition

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This will be short and sweet, but I’ll be posting and reposting reminders like this in the coming weeks. This is quite simply the most valuable guide to the primaries. Bookmark it, read it, share it. Only 1 in 10 voters in Texas participate in primary elections. This has to change. The primary is where people are supposed to choose who represents them in a general election. Apathy and ignorance is why we’re in the mess we’re in. Get informed, inform others, and turn out to vote! https://www.texasmatters.org This Texas Tribune’s article is a good quick reference to who’s running for Texas governor: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/01/21/2026-texas-governor-primary-guide/ And more locally: Bayou Blue Dems - February Meeting: Meet the 2026 Primary Candidates https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/877136/ Additional resources: https://www.harrisvotes.com/ https://apps.texastribune.org/features/2026/texas-march-2026-primary-ballot/ https://ballotpedia.org/Voter_turnout_in_Texas Source: har...
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Early February check-in

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I played dress-up and went to the Johnson-Jackson Lee-Richards Gala at the Hilton Americas in Houston where workers organized and are now members of Local 23 ! Taylor Rehmet’s victory as Democratic senate representative for the 9th district in northeast Texas is significant in ways that Dem leadership may not grasp and that Republicans are already repudiating. The Texas Tribune has a good overview here . However, one thing the Tribune hasn’t looked at and what I’m speculating about is that Democratic leadership in the House may not quite grasp what this means. Rehmet had a tight, focused campaign and the focus was on Latinos and those voters who have felt betrayed by and then, subsequently, hurt by the Trump regime. They played hardball and despite being outspent by several magnitudes, won a district that went for Trump bigly in 2024. What Schumer and Jeffries don’t seem to get, repeatedly, is that they’re not up to speed with the current discourse among voters in this country. Increas...
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Facebook for Bluesky: January collection

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I’m still not sure if I’ll keep this up, but these are posts for folks on Bluesky who have divested themselves of the Metaverse. I applaud them but for the moment, I still maintain my FB accounts for posting my writing & keeping in touch with friends and family around the globe. My idea is to share posts from people who aren’t on Bluesky and who write cogent and /or interesting posts.  To anyone reading this who isn’t on Bluesky, consider joining. It’s a generous and growing community of communities, mostly mutually supportive and far less toxic than X or for that matter, Facebook. I’ll start with Mark Provost: And from January 16: From an old pal I followed from the early 00s as one of my favorite journalists, Kevin Sites, quoting a post by a former Marine on ICE. This is from December, but I find Goodman Mickey’s post worth a read. And just for fun, here are random posts and memes (some are off Bluesky for Facebook folks who might be reading this and want to get a sense of th...
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