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A U.S. federal appeals court last week temporarily blocked President Joe Biden’s order mandating that companies with 100 or more employees require their workers to get vaccinated or submit to weekly COVID-19 testing. Texas was among the states that filed a joint petition challenging the order.
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Gov. Greg Abbott accomplished the impressive feat of losing two court cases on the same day last Wednesday. Both state and federal courts ruled against Abbott on issues related to his orders banning localities from issuing mask mandates. A federal judge ruled that banning schools from requiring masks violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, while a state appeals court ruled that San Antonio can issue a mandate while a suit questioning the legality of Abbott’s order is litigated.
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Warner Bros. last week sent a ceaseand-desist letter to the local bar ownership group planning a Harry Potter-themed pub crawl in San Antonio. In its letter, a California-based attorney wrote that the pub crawl “attempts to take advantage of and improperly benefit from the enormous goodwill already established in the Harry Potter properties” — goodwill threatened in recent years by the transphobia of author J.K. Rowling. The renamed crawl will take place Nov. 18. Delta-8 THC is, for the moment, legal in Texas again. Travis County District Judge Jan Soifer last week issued an injunction barring the state from enforcing its ban on the sale of the compound. Retailers began offering Delta-8 after the Texas Legislature passed a 2019 law legalizing the sale of hemp. However, the state health department placed it on its list of illegal drugs in October. — Abe Asher
YOU SAID IT!
“Texas conservatives’ fixation on school textbooks is always present. It can always be energized.” — Cal Jillson,
Southern Methodist University political scientist on Gov. Greg Abbott’s call for a probe into “pornography” in Texas schools.
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That Rocks/That Sucks
Facebook / Rick Scarborough
ASSCLOWN ALERT
‘Taking over’ Texas school boards with ‘Christocrat’ Rick Scarborough Assclown Alert is a column of opinion, analysis and snark. Self-described “Christocrat” — apparently shorthand for “homophobic foe of the separation of church and state” — Rick Scarborough has doubled down on his threat to help conservative evangelicals “take over” Texas school boards. Four candidates backed by the far-right activist were successful in forcing runoffs this month for seats on the Houston Independent School District’s board. And he’s now raising money
A comprehensive study from Texas’ state health department found that unvaccinated Texans were 20 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than those who were fully vaccinated. The analysis, which tracked data from September 4 through October 1, also found that unvaccinated people were 13 times more likely to contract the virus than people who have received their jabs. Gov. Greg Abbott last week demanded that the Texas Education Agency investigate criminal activity associated with students obtaining “pornography” in Texas schools. Abbott didn’t provide any evidence that students are obtaining obscene material at their schools, nor did he explain why asked the TEA to take on the task since it has no law enforcement capability.
through his group Recover America to put far-right candidates on two other Houston-area districts, the website Right Wing Watch reports. Scarborough has said that once he’s flipped those Houston boards, he’ll turn his sights — and his fundraising efforts — to others across the state. Of course, the outcome of those Houston ISD runoffs will offer clues whether Scarborough has the political heft to carry through with his threat. The name of Scarborough’s podcast, “Mixing Church and State God’s Way,” provides a clear view of his agenda. But if that’s not reason enough for concern, the activist has also claimed God would “probably give us the cure for AIDS today” if the U.S. stopped supporting LGBTQ rights and that Santa Claus leads kids to Satan, according to Right Wing Watch’s reporting. Regardless of how successful Scarborough is in engineering a statewide power grab, this is one assclown who has no business tampering with Texas schools. — Sanford Nowlin
The infrastructure bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this month will set aside $35 billion for Texas projects. While much of that will be sunk into maintenance, an estimated $3.3 billion will be used to advance public transit projects around the state — a figure many experts feel is insufficient given Texas’ expanding population and the threat of climate change. Texas could also receive money to weatherize its energy infrastructure. — Abe Asher
Wikimedia Commons / US Navy Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Sara Eshleman
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