11 years ago today, Ken Paxton surrendered at the Collin County Jail on felony securities fraud charges. This is his mugshot.
Where did we go wrong . .
@rerussell.bsky.social
“This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper.” ― T.S. Eliot Hitchens' razor: That which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.
I like the idea of a small city car, these LSVs are another attempt, which in the past has been the province of somewhat silly looking glorified golf cars. The real hobble is the 25mph speed limit. Our crosstown connectors are 40. LSVs need to go 40. www.cnbc.com/2026/08/03/e...
Are Americans ready to embrace tiny 'cars'? These companies think so
Electric low-speed vehicles, or LSVs, are a step above a traditional golf cart but below a typical light-duty car or truck sold in the U.S.
cnbc.com
Every other day, 83-year-old Marilyn Tewa of the Hopi Tribe loads buckets into her pickup and drives 5 miles to haul water. “That’s what keeps us alive,” Tewa said. Four states stand in the way of a deal to give her community water.
Native American Tribes Came Together to Secure Their Rights to Colorado River Water. Four States Are Stalling the Deal.
Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming are resisting the deal because it would allow the Navajo and Hopi to lease water to cities downstream, likely the growing towns around Phoenix.
propublica.org
DJT confounds me sometimes - I can't figure out if he is contrarian bully who is sadistic for the sick joy it gives him; if he is really just naturally makes the wrong choice nearly every time offered; or there is semi-secret chaos cabal and he's just a tool. I await the eventual tell-all books.
Mrs. Betty Bowers@mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · last wk.“Many, many people died of Covid after I left office because while I was in office I let it rage throughout the population with my lies, neglect, and incompetence! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Just an appreciation post for this guy. The COVID pandemic would have been far worse without Dr. Fauci's decades of experience as guidance through it. Had he been working under an adult president and not the child that presided over 2020, he would have saved even more lives without having to contend
It's more important now that ever before!!! VOTE!!!
This is what women are up against. Many keep their precious married name as it matches their children, or, because you have to spend so much time and money to change your name, or, because everyone knows you by that name, etc.
Andrea Devon@andreadevon.sheshed.rocks · 3w agoIt’s 2026. Why are women still expected to prove decades-old name changes? Women shouldn’t have to keep proving who they are. Enough. #SheShed #ViVaHerAlliance
Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times recently documented specific, concrete cases of people who died in Africa of malaria, HIV, and other maladies due to DOGE-driven reductions in medical supplies and aid workers.
Last week was the 3rd Annual Reason Reception – where advocates and members from all faiths, or none at all, came together to celebrate religious liberty, constitutional democracy, and the growing movement to protect these fundamental freedoms.
FEMA and DHS want to withhold 20% of states’ federal disaster grant funding — at least $148 million — if they do not make changes to their election systems demanded by Trump. Now, 25 states and D.C. are suing. https://demdock.com/3RzIeaB
This is how democracies begin to slide toward authoritarianism. Former 60 Minutes correspondent Cecilia Vega says that after new leadership took over at CBS News, she and her team were repeatedly pressured to include claims they could not verify.
Commentary: As banal as it is to say, the root cause of most crime is poverty, and neither eliminating the police, constructing innovative diversion programs nor creating new departments will deal with that.
Ronald J. Allen: The public conversation about reducing crime suffers from a deadly confusion
chicagotribune.com
Somehow I doubt that Paxton would see this frame and perceive the irony that it looks like a satirical joke assembled to point out just how friggin white he is.
I can't believe they are still doing this. Such a crybaby.
An anti-corruption candidate rose to fame for highlighting government waste – and doing it in an elephant costume. Several political outsiders leaned on social media to blaze a path to elected office this year. #colombia #whiteelephant #politics www.csmonitor.com/World/Americ...
How a ‘white elephant’ ended up in Colombia’s Congress
An anti-corruption candidate rose to fame for highlighting government waste – and doing it in an elephant costume.
csmonitor.com
DJT has been on this tariff tirade for a couple years now, and they don't work as he claims. Americans pay nearly all the increase in prices, not the outside manufacturers. He's fleecing the working class while cutting taxes for the rich, and giving away the USA. www.csmonitor.com/Business/202...
Trump moves to rebuild tariff wall. Will the results be different?
As Trump plans new tariffs, effects of his economic strategy seem muted. One political lesson: Taxes disguised as tariffs have caused little backlash.
csmonitor.com
Trump wants to end mail-in voting. Millions of Americans vote by mail because they're disabled, deployed overseas, elderly, or working a job that won't let them stand in line for hours. This isn't about security. It's about who gets to vote at all. Tell Congress to stop it:
Tell Congress: Stop Trump’s Plan To End Mail-In Voting
Contact Congress today!
actionnetwork.org
And for those dozing in the back, to be clear, this is a threat from Mullin that if you don't cheat on behalf of Trump and his anointed candidates, we will persecute and possibly prosecute you.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3w agoMullin says that election officials in states that don’t cooperate with the Trump administration may face jail time
Yep, it's the 'if i win I must be a genius, if i lose - then you must have cheated' argument. We really need a better grade of politician in this country.
Ariana Niko@ariananiko.bsky.social · 3w agoPresident Trump knows his party is on track to lose the midterms.That’s why all this noise about the 2020 election matters. If he truly believes it was rigged,then the legitimacy of his own 2024 victory is called into question. People should pay close attention. This isn’t random. Share this Vote!🇺🇸
DJT collects to his sphere those who bend to his will regardless of the ethical considerations. He partners with those that flatter him. An unfortunate side effect is getting really bad advice from them, like - go to war with Iran, it will be another easy win like Venezuela🙄. It's gone so wrong.
The Nation Magazine@thenation.com · 3w agoThe expensive, ruinous conflict in Iran has resumed for no other reason than one octogenarian narcissist’s inability to face reality. www.thenation.com/article/worl...
In Greek mythology Narcissus is brought down by Green reflecting pool 🤔
Every time we start treating this as just another political fight, the bar gets a little lower. A president going after critics, questioning elections, or treating political opponents like enemies shouldn’t become something Americans simply get used to. That’s the real danger. #USPolitics #Midterms
Will someone in Russia please come to their senses and stop this stupid stupid war. 😥
Anton Gerashchenko@antongerashchenko.bsky.social · 3w agoRussia killed 13-year-old Uliana Vorona from Sumy. On July 11, the girl was on her way to the city center and waiting at a bus stop when a Russian guided aerial bomb struck the road nearby. She was killed instantly. Uliana loved drawing, hoped to work in IT one day, and trained in athletics.
Leonid Brezhnev's adopted great-grandson says he joined Russia's war hoping to "see Nazis" and realized the stories were false only once he reached the front. "I think to change your mind about this war, everyone needs to be here," he said in an interview. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Brezhnev’s great-grandson joined Russia’s ‘special military operation’ to ‘see Nazis.’ Now he’s a Ukrainian POW who says the Nazi threat is a myth. — Meduza
The adopted great-grandson of Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, Anton Milaev, took part in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and was taken prisoner in the spring of 2026. On July 6, the “Khochu…
meduza.io