We need your voice, your strength, your abilities and your name on the ballot.  You can do this – yes, you actually can.  It does not take a war chest.  If your message has value, then people will help you.  People will help guide you and walk you through the steps.  We can put you in touch with those people.

Your local government needs you, as does the Board of Education and the Texas Legislature.  Think you can’t do it? Don’t have the time? The money? The ability?  Maybe you do.  If you don’t know a former candidate, let us introduce you to one that will help you.  There are lots of good folks who are happy to share experiences with you.  They are not rich and they have jobs.  They have abilities – but not all-encompassing knowledge of all topics – just like you don’t have.
Consider it, because too many times, Democrats have not voted, because their ballot lacked the candidates.  Give them choices.  Give yourself the chance to grab this opportunity.  It takes courage – but every opportunity does. 

1.  You can announce and start campaigning today.  Always appoint (and file) a campaign treasurer before you take a penny or spend a penny.  Just to make it easier on yourself, keep campaign money separate from personal money. 
2. First day to file for 2024 Primary Election:  Saturday, November 11, 2023.
3. Deadline to file for 2024 Primary Election:  Monday, December 11, 2023 at 6 pm.

Our first candidate for 2024 is Pervez Agwan, who is running for US Congressional seat 7.  This is one of the new districts in Houston.  
"With the latest round of redistricting, the newly drawn Congressional District 7 spans from Fort Bend County, to Mission Bend, Alief, Sharpstown, Gulfton, then further east to Montrose & the Heights.  This is now the most diverse congressional district in Texas, & deserves progressive representation that represents us, not corporate interests."
Visit his website to learn more about this smart, dynamic, young candidate.  AgwanforUs.com

The 'crisis' about Title 42 is disturbing, because it should never have been a conversation.
​
During the '80's there was a huge influx of migrants from El Salvador escaping civil war. It was not a political problem, it was a situational problem. It might have been a smaller scale, but everything was a smaller scale 40 years ago. As an immigration attorney, I experienced the fairly orderly resolution. Immigration judges and attorneys were assigned, folks got their hearings and were heard. Almost all of them had family or organizations across the country willing to transport, house and take responsibility for them. Very few, if any, remained in the area of entry, without resources. Changes of venue were routine, and folks went to Chicago, Minneapolis, Sand Diego and little towns all across America. Their cases were then resolved in those areas.
The last federal administration dissolved all refugee services in the US - which has caused a huge and unworkable burden on nonprofits and houses of faith. Those refugee services should have been revived by now.
We can all pretend that Covid was the reason for Title 42 (wink, wink), but the same response of the 80's would work today, and there no reason to think it wouldn't. The administration was not caught unawares, but knew in advance this day was coming. Why was there not a plan in place to provide a proper and orderly processing?
There is no reason for the RGV or El Paso or Southern California to be in the headlines. There is no reason for these people escaping for asylum to be denied and returned. We have procedures that work. We need to use them.

With Early Voting in the state closing, and Election Day looming, it is nut-cuttin' time.  Do you know the difference between Republicans and Democrats?  Republicans vote, no matter what.  They don't care about the stains on their candidate. They just vote.  Their candidate can be stained with scandal, criminal charges, corruption, and negligence.  They don't care, they just vote.

Democrats care.  They demand integrity, character and values from their candidates.  If we don't see perfection, we stay home or move on with excuses.  We can learn that imperfection is acceptable.  If our candidate is fighting against a horrendous option, we can consider it our duty to vote to overcome the worst that could result.  We can be more pragmatic in our approach to voting.  We can under-vote a ballot.  Can't stand that Dem candidate?  Think that candidate is crooked?  Fine, skip the race and vote for the folks that should/need to be in office.

Texas is at a crossroads.  Democracy is at a crossroads.  Dems will lose across the state and the country, if we do not step up and change our course in the world. Only one day left.  Nut-cuttin' time.

Surely we can all agree that these Americans being held in Russian prisons are actually hostages, not prisoners.  Britney Griner and now Paul Whelan, are now the most visible of these Americans, but there are others.  Paul Whelan is being accused of espionage, Britney Griner of possession of cannabis oil.

Paul Whelan may or may not be guilty of the crime charged, and Griner has acknowledged possession but mitigates it as inadvertent.  Suppose they both are guilty, the problem is that a Russian imprisonment bears no resemblance to reasonable or fair.

The US has offered a huge prize, Viktor Bout to secure their release.  He is a vicious purveyor of death.  The US is negotiating with terrorists in an effort to rescue a basketball star who was stupid.  Whelan should have been included with Trevor Reed, and is hoping to be included with a Griner swap.  They are not the only Americans suffering in a Russian prison, as others are Names Forgotten whose sentences are most likely also far more oppressive than their real or imagined crimes.

Griner is a superstar who is underpaid because she is a woman.  She is not poor, she is underpaid.  She faced unfair and inexcusable market forces that caused disparity for all women's sports. The choices facing her were:  1.  Find a supplemental source of income not located in an oppressive regime at war with a free country, that is a friend of the United States and the European Union; or 2.  Choose to market your skill and talent inside the walls of that regime.  She chose Door #2 and says that she accidentally left her medicinal cannabis oil in her suitcase.  She made a stupid choice.  Most folks in jail have made stupid choices.  

It is laudable that America is negotiating for her release; but only if America is negotiating the release of all political and criminal defendants in Russian jails.  Once on US soil, the State Department, with the DOJ can sort out the details of the crimes and punishments.  

Every single one of them can say Thank You for being rescued, but especially Griner, who created her own mess in the first place, and the consequence may be that a death machine gets released to continue his deadly pursuits.

​

I am no fan of Mike Pence, but credit given when it is due. Vice President Pence was absolutely heroic on 1/6 and the days leading up to it. A lesser person would have caved under the pressure, leading to even more horrific events.

Although he clearly knew what was being planned in the days before 1/6, and his staff understood the possible dangers, I still admire his steadfast determination in the face of relentless pressure. I try to see it through the eyes of a Republican that respects the rule of law. Pence and this army of lawyers and advisers were given multiple scenarios that would justify maintaining the office. All of them said that 'that's insane, you can't do that', but they also respected the law, and researched it to see if the 'nutty' ideas had any basis in law. They owed that to the country and to their party of choice. They also owed it to have a factual and legal argument to disavow tfg and Eastman and his cronies from their plans. The wall they kept facing was that tfg didn't care if it was legal or factual, only that he maintain power.
I absolutely support that if these people had publicly voiced their opinions, it might not have gone as far as it did, but I understand, from their viewpoint why they didn't, and how they did not anticipate the violence of that day.
My anger is directed towards the people in the Capitol that night, that were terrified by the carnage and outraged at tfg, but today curry his favor. Those are the ones that are today's clear and present danger.​

Parkland
Las Vegas
Sutherland Springs
Sandy Hook
Buffalo
Uvalde
El Paso

In no particular order or location or time, except they are all mass killings, seven of hundreds in the past few years.  Common denominators?  Assault weapons.  Look at the hundreds of other.  They are spread across the country, in different venues, different times of day, different killers.  They all had a weapon of war in the hands of a shooter.  

"Show me a hero, and I will show you a tragedy."  F Scott Fitzgerald.  Another common denominator is that every mass killing had at least one hero:  a mom, a security guard, a pastor, a teacher, someone.  No more heroes, please.  Let's get rid of weapons of war in the hands of the populace, and start eliminating the need for so many heroes.  I would like to take all the guns, but am willing to compromise on these - because until we do, the next one happens while you read this.

This is Pride Month, and it's good, because the LGBTQ+ community is marginalized.  Like all marginalized people everywhere, they face daily prejudices and micro-agreessions. Sometimes the aggression is blatant and violent.  They want and need to be a regular part of society, and want and need to be regular enough that a 'Month' becomes more of an honor than a necessity.

They need allies and they need allies all year long, not just in June.

When your child or friend or family member comes out to you, be an ally.  Prepare to be an ally, and try to be better than I was.  Recognize the difficulty they experienced in talking to you and honor that by being serious and welcoming.  Listen instead of talking.
Twelve years ago:
My child:  Mom, I'm gay.
Me:  Oh thank  goodness <smiling and mildly laughing>.
My child:  Okay, I am confused.
Me:  Honey, I have known for years - the whole family has.  We just kept waiting for you to know.
My child and me:  Lots of hugging and kissing and talking.

In the end, it turned out well, but my flippant attitude could have easily sunk the conversation.  I could have been more sensitive and more in-tune to the difficulty and courage she was experiencing.  Be an ally this month.

And the next one and every one after that.

Sharing an important message from Lawyers Defending American Democracy:
"This month, our Democracy Heroes and Threats emerge from horrific instances of recent gun violence in AmericaIn Buffalo, a hero gave his life trying to save his community from a killer who represents a vast threat to our democracy – mass murders by individuals inspired by the fomenting of political and racial hatred via social media and the internet.  
There are a raft of extremist groups espousing the violent overthrow of the US government and the instigation of a race war. The Buffalo killer followed the script laid out on social media by these extremists. 
Their theories include the Great Replacement – the notion that Jews are bringing dark-skinned immigrants into the country to replace white Christians. Another theory, accelerationism, is that mass killings by lone wolves - such as the murders at the Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston - will start a race war that will lead to a neo-Nazi regime. These theories are increasingly gaining traction on-line.

The Buffalo killer was a threat who represented the same ideology. In this instance, he was an 18-year-old white supremacist radicalized via social media during the pandemic. He lived in a small town near Binghamton, an economically depressed region of New York, and conducted extensive surveillance and planning prior to choosing his target, a Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, over 200 miles away. 
He committed mass murder armed with a semi-automatic weapon and wearing body armor, and posted online a 180-page screed embracing the Great Replacement Theory and Accelerationism. He also referenced role models whose racial hatred led to murders in South Carolina and New Zealand. 

The hero, Aaron Salter Jr., was a fifty-six-year-old security guard at Tops who died trying to protect the employees and customers from this young white supremacist intent on murdering Black shoppers. Mr. Salter was a retired Buffalo policeman with a wife and three children. 
A report from the Center for American Progress has cataloged the threat from white supremacist violence. The White House National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism reports: “Preventing domestic terrorism and reducing the factors that fuel it demand a multifaceted response across the Federal Government and beyond.” 

Days after the Buffalo murders, John Cheng, a 52-year-old doctor, died a hero as he tried to protect parishioners at the Geneva Presbyterian Church, where a Chinese man opened fire at a Taiwanese church in Laguna Woods, CA. Five others were wounded in the attack. 
Dr. Cheng was taking his mom to church. The church’s former Pastor, Billy Chang, subdued the gunman; Dr. Cheng was shot when he sought to wrestle him to the ground. The shooter, another threat to democracy, had sent a diary of 7 volumes handwritten in Mandarin to a local paper describing his hatred of Taiwan. 

And now, barely weeks later, the country is reeling from the slaughter that has left 19 children and 2 teachers dead. The motive of the shooter is unknown, but it is known that he broadcast his intent on social media prior to carrying out his horrific crimes.  

Implicit in the rule of law should be the notion that when our kids attend school, when we enter our house of worship, and when we shop for groceries, we are safe from attack by armed men with assault rifles. We are shattered by these experiences, unnerved by their impact on our sense of safety, and deeply grieving for the victims and their families, just as we are grateful for the heroes willing to give their lives to save others."

This sums it up well.
From a Texas teacher, with permission:
"​So, I teach elementary school, in Texas. I'm hearing a bunch of nonsense on things that can be done, such as only one door, police at schools, arming teachers, etc. We are actually trying to teach in these schools for goodness sakes! Do some people not realize that we actually take the kids OUTSIDE for recess?? That they stand in line for pickup in the afternoon? That they are huddled around the front door in the mornings, waiting for it to open?? That they are all dismissed within 5 minutes?
As for arming teachers, you've got to be kidding me. They can't possibly mean that, can they? Most ridiculous idea ever.
So disgusted I don't even know what else to say. Ban the mass-people killing machines outside of a war situation already!"