While many local leaders in the state’s largest cities and counties acted swiftly to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Texas early on, the reactions of state Republican leaders to the crisis was much slower. Then after belatedly issuing a shelter-at-home order and closing nonessential businesses, Gov. Abbott and other Republican leaders have apparently decided […]
TFN
It’s Past Time for Texas Leaders to Condemn Gun Extremists on COVID Measures
Gun extremists are threatening violence over public health orders during the COVID-19 pandemic. But what are Republican Texas officials doing about it? Nothing. […]
No, Protesting Public Health Measures Doesn’t Make You Like MLK or Gandhi
As most Texans try to protect their families during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s become increasingly clear that the state’s Republican leaders are putting politics ahead of public health. Consider, for example, state Rep. Matt Shaheen, R-Plano, comparing a Dallas salon owner who kept her shop open in defiance of public health orders to Martin Luther […]
Happy Birthday: TFN Marks 25 years as a Progressive Champion in Texas
Cecile Richards wanted to see for herself how much the religious right was expanding its influence in the halls of Texas government. So in January 1995, Cecile attended her first State Board of Education meeting, watching how religious-righters on the board were hijacking textbook adoptions to promote their political agenda. “It’s worse than I imagined,” […]
It’s Over: A Look Back at the 86th Legislative Session
The 86th session of the Texas Legislature is history. Lawmakers left town on Monday following a session that, generally speaking, had fewer of the culture war fights we’ve come to expect. You can attribute that to elections, and it seems the results of last November have elected officials worried about their fates at the ballot […]
