Dimensionally Barrett

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...

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...

Source:  https://bayoubluedems.com/ It’s been a minute since the last Democracy Cafe in March , but I really genuinely enjoy these meetings. The idea is simple; cover a topic and its relevance to Houston. Last Saturday’s was “Immigration” and provided a couple of hours of reflection and spirited discussion.  People start arriving at ten and meet and mingle and then break up into groups of four for two sessions. Each session is about half an hour long that goes by far too quickly. A facilitator is chosen who remains in place, then the other three people find other places to light. This keeps perspectives fresh and all of us motivated to learn. I was a facilitator and couldn’t ask for more vibrant cohorts. The first break-out session was centered the question “How do immigrants (legal, illegal) impact Houston specifically? Recognizing that Houston is 24% immigrant population means that the impact is immense. Consider that one in four people are non-native across a broad section ...

Candidate for Chair of the Texas Democratic Party Lillian "Lillie" Schecter Source: lillieforchair.com To say that Texas is full of strong women is a gross understatement. Barbara Jordon, Ann Richards, Molly Ivins, my mother, the list could go on. In Houston, we’ve had Kathy Whitmire and Annalise Parker, both remarkable mayors and groundbreakers. We lost a great woman when Sheila  Jackson  Lee passed and currently we have Judge Lina Hidalgo, Harris County Commissioner Leslie Briones , Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher , and Lillian "Lillie" Schecter , who spoke yesterday at the monthly ROADwoman meeting.  A longtime and incredibly successful political fundraiser and strategist, she has worked on campaigns at all levels of government up to the national, on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign. As chairwoman, she raised five million dollars for the Harris Country Democratic Party (HCDP), more than the state Democratic Party. She knows the machine, she know fundraising, and s...