etherealfire.bsky.social
@etherealfire.bsky.social
mom, grandma to 1 fabulous little man and 4 sweet furbabies, obsessed bookworm, eternal etherealgirl and true blue forever - it's the freaking 21st century - never ever going back. No DMs, please.
i think the party of sick freaks who want to inspect kid's private parts should be branded as such
Gillian Branstetter@gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 2d agoAn initiative on the ballot in Washington state in November would require all athletes seeking to play girl's sports from kindergarten to high school to undergo "genetic screening, a testosterone-levels test, or an examination of their reproductive anatomy" before they can play
In addition to transphobia, this is likely about creating a registry of cis girls in sports and then tracking if sports has an impact on their future fertility (remember, Heritage Foundation wants to eliminate most sports for women due to unscientific concerns about negative impact on fertility)
Gillian Branstetter@gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 2d agoAn initiative on the ballot in Washington state in November would require all athletes seeking to play girl's sports from kindergarten to high school to undergo "genetic screening, a testosterone-levels test, or an examination of their reproductive anatomy" before they can play
the real risk of child sexual abuse isn't trans people using the restrooms or locker rooms that reflect their genders, it's coaches and teachers and youth pastors who you want to give a legitimate reason to be inspecting their genitals in the name of oppressing people who aren't hurting anyone
how many real people have experienced actual, documented harm at the hands of Trans people playing sports? ok, how many children will be victimized by mandatory genital inspections, because you know the number isn't zero? tell me again, who are you trying to protect here??
chopping it up with the transphobes before the Fire-Fever game on Friday really hammered this home: they want to endlessly "debate" abstract gender concepts because they have absolutely no way to implement any kind of sports-gender policy that doesn't require a whole lot of child genital inspection
Gillian Branstetter@gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 2d agoAn initiative on the ballot in Washington state in November would require all athletes seeking to play girl's sports from kindergarten to high school to undergo "genetic screening, a testosterone-levels test, or an examination of their reproductive anatomy" before they can play
The True Texas Project and Young Republicans are hosting multiple events in Texas next month with the head of a self-styled white nationalist "think tank," the White Papers Policy Institute. WPPI promotes mass deportations and "remigration." It has strong ties to major white nationalist groups.
Ken Paxton has spent months calling James Talarico a soyboy vegan and religious extremist. It isn't working: He's getting killed in fundraising, his scandals are mounting, and most polls show the race is either a toss-up or favors Talarico. So now, he's pivoting. The latest:
Ken Paxton Is Acting Like He Thinks He Could Lose
After calling his opponent a vegan freak for months, Paxton is finally pivoting to issues voters care about.
texasmonthly.com
Texas has a very large middle class Latino population that is fairly conservative (a whole lot of super maga chuds in this demo too). It's pretty idiosyncratic. Tejanos are less likely to be offended by some of the racism we've seen via policy but they're not entirely immune. I'm hopeful tbh
Like I'm sure they'll make Harris county as much of a pain in the ass as they can but they already do that. Ultimately any anti-trump surge will matriculate from atypical voters in the suburbs, which is also where chud support is the strongest. tldr you might see some shocking results in Nov
If people decide they want to vote, they'll be able to do so. It's got demographics that could rapidly turn it into another Georgia or Virginia. I don't think there's honestly much the state can do if normally ambivalent voters decide they wanna vote 3/
It's suppression via indifference ("why bother??"). There are easier states that are way easier register and vote in, but the state also has a sophisticated licence/address system that makes it pretty easy to vote. Most Texans have a driver's licence 2/
Texas has a large middle class that doesn't vote at high rates. Not because it is difficult to register but because it all seems pointless. Turnout as a function of GDP/capita is 2nd lowest (Hawaii). This isn't "voter suppression" like you'd imagine 1/
Brandon Friedman@brandonfriedman.bsky.social · 4d agoThe questions are no longer about whether Talarico is ahead and can he win. The answers are clearly yes and yes. Even Fox News now has him over 50%. The question is whether Texas Republicans can successfully suppress enough votes to swing the election. They are taking active measures to do so now.
James Talarico on Texas officially banning THC: “Texans aren’t going to stop smoking weed and eating edibles because politicians in Austin say so. We are now telling full-grown adults how to live their lives. This is the nanny state at its worst; this is big government at its worst."
Maddow asked #JamesTalarico about attacks on #trans people and those who think that to win, Dems must "moderate" on trans rights. Talarico answered, "I don't believe we win by selling people out." #Texas
Three consecutive polls show James Talarico narrowly ahead of Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race. The latest: Texas Southern U. has Talarico up 47%-45%. In the past week, a Fox poll had Talarico up 51-48 and a Texas Public Opinion Research survey found Talarico up 45-40.
I wonder what the national committees will do about this race. A week of advertising just in Texas is probably equal to a week in 3-4 other states.
VoteHub@votehub.com · yesterdayTEXAS 🤠 U.S. Senate Q2 2026 Fundraising 🔵 James Talarico: $30 million 🔴 Ken Paxton: $9 million Talarico's haul is the largest fundraising total ever recorded by a U.S. Senate campaign in the second quarter of an election year.
🚨🚨🚨 TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY SHOWS TALARICO IN THE LEAD -James Talarico 47% -Ken Paxton 45% Black voters: -Talarico 79% -Paxton 12% Hispanic: -Talarico 57% -Paxton 38% static1.squarespace.com/static/67aa7...
static1.squarespace.com
Abbott has very good reason to be concerned about getting dragged down by Paxton. It was one thing to share a ballot with Ted Cruz. At least Cruz could raise money and GOTV and his unpopularity was for more esoteric Ted Cruz reasons. Paxton implicates the entire GOP for better or worse.
Abbott’s internals must have him spooked www.texastribune.org/2026/08/03/t...
Texas data center projects must stop until state audits them
On Monday, the governor ordered the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to audit all data centers wanting to connect to the state’s power grid.
texastribune.org
Ken Paxton hasn’t debated in over a decade. I wonder why. Maybe it’s because he’d have to explain how his corruption crisis became Texas’ affordability crisis. James Talarico is ready. Paxton is still hiding. Debate him. Or keep running.
🚨Caught on camera: Ken Paxton PANICS when asked about owning 15 homes worth $9 million on a $153,000 government salary. Paxton dodges, stammers, then says “I’d like to keep today to law enforcement!” Classic Paxton—refuses to answer, cuts the presser short. Texans deserve better.
"Politicians like Ken Paxton, they use those difficult issues to rile people up, to divide us, to distract us in order to win power for themselves." -James Talarico on not taking the bait on trans panic.
Trump, Paxton & Cruz hit Talarico with their worst early on… this is saying they don’t have anything to use against him. Trump & his cronies were attacking Talarico because he didn’t eat BBQ. In Texas those are fightin’ words… btw, he DOES! Talarico for Texas #Blues
James Talarico: Since taking office, Ken Paxton has become a multi-millionaire — all while most Texans’ pay has remained stagnant for decades. He now owns 15 homes, while most Texans can't afford one. We can't afford Ken Paxton's corruption.
This was repeated harassment of two young female staffers over many months. He was offering to skip votes to spend time with one of them, and attempting to hide what he was doing from other staff. bsky.app/profile/josh...
Josh Marshall@joshtpm.bsky.social · 2d agolisten to the music if not the lyrics and you start to get a real Foley/2006 fall of the Auction House vibe talkingpointsmemo.com/news/house-e...
