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Progress Texas Podcasts — Government
Progress Texas Podcasts

Progress Texas amplifies progressive values, leaders, and actions. Our top 2% globally rated podcast network meets the moment of the podcast boom, featuring three shows hosted by Chris Mosser: the Daily Dispatch, the Happy Hour, and In Progress. We reach millions online with this content, sharing pro-democracy, pro-justice, pro-gressive messaging 24/7, by Texans for Texans.

Copyright: © Progress Texas

Latest Episodes:

Daily Dispatch 10/11/23: Vouchers Breezing Through Senate, and More Oct 11, 2023

Show notes

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Governor Abbott's school voucher bill passed easily on party lines by the Senate Education Committee, now goes to the full body: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2023/10/10/texas-senates-education-savings-account-proposal-kicks-off-school-choice-debate/

...Over the objections of advocates for students with disabilities: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/10/texas-school-vouchers-disabilities-special-session/

...All eyes on House Republicans representing rural districts, who hold the key to beating back vouchers: https://www.kut.org/politics/2023-10-10/in-texas-rural-republicans-hold-the-line-against-school-vouchers

...Meanwhile, a new ban on COVID vaccine requirements by private employers - including healthcare providers - also breezes through committee: https://www.kxan.com/news/texas-politics/texas-senate-committee-passes-expanded-ban-on-covid-19-vaccine-mandates/

Elon Musk, who owns extensive industrial property in Texas, is under fire by the EU over Hamas misinformation spreading on X/Twitter: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/eu-warns-elon-musk-potential-investigation-hamas-content-rcna119783#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16970193763111&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcnews.com%2Ftech%2Fsocial-media%2Feu-warns-elon-musk-potential-investigation-hamas-content-rcna119783

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador files a complaint with federal officials over Texas DPS border safety inspections, which are backing up millions of dollars of cargo: https://www.freightwaves.com/news/mexican-president-blames-texas-run-border-inspections-for-delays

Texas has executed a death row inmate whose execution delay was just upheld by a court on Monday, due to an appeal by the Texas Attorney General's office: https://apnews.com/article/texas-execution-murphy-supreme-court-6d9cd44d7c7a6817d53e1bcb74e8534f

And Texas music phenom Kacey Musgraves weighs in in favor of Prop 14, which will establish funds for new state parks - video at the link: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/article/kacey-musgraves-constitutional-amendment-18418182.php

Thanks for listening! Find our handy voter guide for next month's election, and consider making a donation to help Progress Texas continue our important work, at https://progresstexas.org/.

Daily Dispatch 10/10/23: Texas GOP In Disarray Begins Push For Vouchers, and More Oct 10, 2023

Show notes

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Texas Republicans are at each other's throats as the special session on school vouchers opens: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/09/special-session-school-vouchers-dan-patrick-dade-phelan/

Headline of the month: "Why Texas Moms Could Sink School Choice": https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/politics/yall-itics/texas-moms-could-sink-school-choice/287-acab7fd5-3f4f-4d5e-9294-9e3284ba0e38

The effects of the new Israel/Hamas clash will be felt acutely in the Lone Star State: https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/texans-are-already-feeling-the-impacts-of-the-attacks-in-israel/

...While Governor Abbott moves to increase security at Texas synagogues and Jewish schools: https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/texas-gov-abbott-spends-4-million-dollars-to-secure-jewish-schools-synagogues-in-texas-blocks-state-purchase-of-goods-from-gaza-strip/3356063/

Ken Paxton is set to file criminal complaints over doxing by Texas House impeachment managers: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2023/10/09/texas-ag-paxton-to-file-anti-doxing-complaints-against-house-impeachment-managers/

TODAY - Tuesday October 10 - is the last day to confirm your registration for next month's election: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/2023/10/04/you-can-shape-how-texas-amends-its-constitution/

And a Texas A&M physics professor has become an internet sensation with her insane experiment shows: https://www.khou.com/article/news/education/texas-am-physics-performance/285-1634808e-3e40-4216-b360-5cd1ab7556e7

Daily Dispatch 10/9/23: Special Session On Vouchers Begins, and More Oct 09, 2023

Show notes

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

A third special session called this year by Governor Greg Abbott is set to kick off this morning at the Texas State Capitol: https://www.kxan.com/news/texas-politics/school-vouchers-border-security-and-covid-mandate-bans-heres-what-to-expect-in-texas-3rd-special-session/

...Which we covered extensively in this weekend's special edition of the Progress Texas Happy Hour: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/happy-hour-130-why-school-vouchers-are-bad-for-texas/id1552998795?i=1000630493979

...Already breaking ranks, at least one Democratic lawmaker: Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins of San Antonio: https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/politics/inside-politics/texas-politics/texas-democrat-compromise-school-choice-vouchers/287-2c051461-4bc3-47ee-8cd0-c479a7f2b084

...And another House Democrat, Gene Wu, has a theory on why public school funding was left off the agenda: https://x.com/GeneforTexas/status/1710296945225306451?t=wYU0An7_knEQmhND-7BClg&s=03

...As protests begin over the weekend at the Capitol grounds and Governor's Mansion: https://www.kvue.com/article/news/politics/texas-legislature/austin-state-capitol-anti-voucher-rally/269-c7589d65-a454-4abd-994f-9506832d1393

...And Republicans remain smugly confident that vouchers will pass: https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/politics/inside-politics/texas-politics/texas-school-choice-bill-legislation-chair-house-public-education-committee-likes-odds-passing/287-d0a89ea3-a3ae-4b59-bb01-de7966ffaaa9

Also on the special session agenda: immigration, with the Colony Ridge neighborhood near Houston singled out by name: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/08/us/texas-migrants-housing-colony-ridge.html

...While progressives puzzle over the Biden Administration's decision to authorize 20 more miles of border wall through an environmentally sensitive zone: https://www.npr.org/2023/10/08/1204545880/the-biden-administration-is-building-a-controversial-part-of-the-border-wall-in-

Texas law enforcement steps up monitoring of worship sites and military installations in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/law-enforcement-increase-patrols-in-metroplex-after-attack-on-israel/

...While U.S. Rep Michael McCaul worries that his own party's fragmented leadership may encourage American foreign adversaries: https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/08/congress-israel-hamas-mike-mccaul-00120514

Prominent Texas Republican operatives Jonathan Stickland and Matt Rinaldi are caught hosting notorious anti-Semite and generally gross person Nick Fuentes at a Fort Worth office building (warning that this read is particularly disgusting): https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/08/nick-fuentes-kyle-rittenhouse-jonathan-stickland/

A high-ranking Exxon executive is busted for sexual assault at a Magnolia hotel: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/exxon-mobils-top-shale-exec-arrested-on-sexual-assault-charge-in-texas-df29c965

And there IS a little good news this morning, for South Texas anyway: looks like it's gonna rain: https://www.expressnews.com/san-antonio-weather/forecast/article/tropical-storm-lidia-south-texas-18412692.php

Thanks for listening! Find out all you need to know about voting in the constitutional amendment proposition election next month at https://govotetexas.org/ , and consider helping Progress Texas continue our important work at https://progresstexas.org/.

Happy Hour 130: Why School Vouchers Are Bad For Texas, And How To Fight Back Oct 06, 2023

Show notes

Governor Greg Abbott has followed through with his promise to call the Texas Legislature back for a third time - at the very least - in his effort to push through his deeply unpopular plan to redirect millions of taxpayer dollars to private schools - many of them with church ties - at the expense of the public schools those dollars were collected to support. School vouchers have been defeated over, and over, and over for decades in Texas - WHY is the Governor so dead set on something almost nobody, save the minority of well-off Texans already opting for private education, wants at all? We try to answer that question, and measure the potential for resistance, with a special talk featuring Texas Senator Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, Patty Quinzi of the Texas chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, and Dr. Chloe Latham Sikes of IDRA - the Intercultural Development Research Association. The session starts Monday October 9 - the time to express your opposition to school vouchers to your elected representatives in Austin is NOW.

Thanks for listening! Find our freshly-published progressive voter guide for November's constitutional amendment proposition election - and consider supporting our important work - at https://progresstexas.org/.

Daily Dispatch 10/6/23: Outrage Over Biden Border Wall Call, and More Oct 06, 2023

Show notes

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

President Joe Biden says he had "no choice" but to authorize 20 miles of new border wall through a sensitive environmental zone in South Texas: https://apnews.com/article/biden-us-mexico-border-wall-immigration-texas-f99fd10257292a898618236df3613979

Biden's lack of faith in the efficacy of border walls clashes with a statement by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who says they're needed: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/05/biden-border-wall-texas-starr-county/

U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro will file a resolution today condemning right-wing talk of military intervention south of the Mexican border: https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/10/05/texas-congressman-wants-house-renounce-gop-contenders-threats-of-military-strikes-mexico.html

Governor Abbott releases his agenda for the third special legislative session, set to begin Monday - public school funding is a glaring omission: https://t.co/0ciFXa93Mm

And the third annual Trans Pride Fest happens Saturday in Denton: https://www.click2houston.com/news/texas/2023/10/06/amid-anti-lgbtq-legislation-a-north-texas-college-town-hosts-its-third-annual-trans-pride-event/

Our super-popular progressive voting guide is up! Study up: https://progresstexas.org/2023-texas-statewide-ballot-guide

Thanks for listening! Please consider supporting our important work at https://progresstexas.org/donate.

Daily Dispatch 10/5/23: More Border Walls in Texas Get Biden Go-Ahead, and More Oct 05, 2023

Show notes

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Both sides of the political divide now recognize that the U.S. is experiencing an immigration crisis: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/influx-migrants-border-gains-renewed-attention-crisis-rhetoric-spreads-rcna118595#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16964949969634&csi=1&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcnews.com%2Fpolitics%2Fpolitics-news%2Finflux-migrants-border-gains-renewed-attention-crisis-rhetoric-spreads-rcna118595

...While the Biden Administration gives an emphatic green light to Trump-reminiscent border wall construction: https://apnews.com/article/border-wall-biden-immigration-texas-rio-grande-147d7ab497e6991e9ea929242f21ceb2

...A Liberty County housing development comes under Republican fire for selling homes to undocumented citizens (which is legal): https://news.yahoo.com/texas-neighborhood-became-target-over-222036668.html

...And El Paso sees an uptick of high-speed chases related to illegal immigration, complete with gunfire: https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/crime/2023/10/04/texas-dps-el-paso-border-smuggler-pursuit-chases-intensify/71045860007/

The Texas GOP delegation in the U.S. House is being courted by multiple candidates to replace Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/mccarthy-speaker-race-18406295.php

...While talk of Donald Trump taking the job is exciting his cult following, but remains a remote possibility: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/04/texas-republicans-scalise-jordan-hern-speaker/

...And Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan faces a similar challenge to his position at the outset of the third special session: https://www.kxan.com/news/texas-politics/after-mccarthy-texas-speaker-phelan-to-face-challenge-for-gavel/

Texas House Rep. James Talarico sounds the alarm on West Texas oil tycoons spending huge money to exert religious influence on Texas government: https://t.co/pUCZqtsXak

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave a long and brainy talk at the University of Texas at Austin this week: https://www.state.gov/secretary-antony-j-blinken-during-a-conversation-at-the-university-of-texas-at-austin-moderated-by-former-u-s-ambassador-to-nato-kay-bailey-hutchison/

And Texas may be home to the nation's biggest concentration of cheaters - but at least they're honest about it: https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-cheaters/285-000833ca-28cc-4298-8f3a-8d7cba19e653#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16964920665746&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.khou.com%2Farticle%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Ftexas%2Ftexas-cheaters%2F285-000833ca-28cc-4298-8f3a-8d7cba19e653

Thanks for listening! Please consider supporting Progress Texas in our ongoing and important work at https://progresstexas.org/.

Daily Dispatch 10/4/23: Texas U.S. Rep Wants Trump For Speaker, and More Oct 04, 2023

Show notes

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

After resisting his nomination, all Texas U.S. Reps stuck with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to the end: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/03/texas-republicans-kevin-mccarthy-speaker-vote/

...And now, Fort Bend Rep. Troy Nehls wants Donald Trump to be the new Speaker: https://www.khou.com/article/news/politics/troy-nehls-nominates-donald-trump-speaker-of-the-house/285-ac4a2f55-bbe0-4df0-90f5-ae0d8f7dc843

House impeachment managers release more dirt on Attorney General Ken Paxton, which they say they didn't have time to use during the impeachment trial: https://www.kvue.com/article/news/special-reports/paxton-impeachment-trial/new-evidence-ken-paxton-impeachment-trial-texas/269-9189a8fe-e8f9-4c6a-a55e-311f705821ad

A new outline of efforts by petroleum power players and their Republican protectors to undermine renewable energy and resist federal regulation is a frustrating read: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/columnists/tomlinson/article/texas-air-pollution-gop-lawuits-climate-change-18401627.php

...While ERCOT calls for power plants shut down due to pollution to be revived in case they're needed for winter energy shortages: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/texas-power-grid-seeks-increase-operating-reserves-winter-preparation-2023-10-02/

...One of those is a coal-fired plant near San Antonio that's been mothballed for five years: https://www.expressnews.com/business/article/ercot-calls-closed-power-plants-texas-grid-winter-18403794.php

The encroachment of conservative politics and religion into North Texas public school districts is the subject of a new podcast series from NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/politics-and-religion-s-growing-influence-in-three-texas-school-districts-194360901777

Another Democrat has declared a run for the soon-to-be-vacated Texas House seat representing El Paso: https://kfoxtv.com/renderer/kfoxtv/amp/news/local/el-paso-city-rep-alexsandra-annello-announces-bid-for-texas-state-representative

And the long process of opening a sample from an asteroid is taking even longer than expected at Johnson Space Center: https://gizmodo.com/osiris-rex-asteroid-sample-return-excess-materials-1850894913

Thanks for listening! Please consider supporting Progress Texas with a donation at https://progresstexas.org/.

Daily Dispatch 10/3/23: U.S. Rep Henry Cuellar Unharmed in D.C. Carjacking, and More Oct 03, 2023

Show notes

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of San Antonio and South Texas was thankfully unharmed after carjackers stole his car at gunpoint in D.C. last night: https://apnews.com/article/congress-henry-cuellar-carjacking-capitol-texas-87eddb457f20ec614fbb473115480987

State Senator Juan Hinojosa writes an op-ed on why school vouchers would be bad for Texas: https://riograndeguardian.com/hinojosa-say-no-to-school-vouchers-in-texas/

House Speaker Dade Phelan is under increasing pressure to step down by prominent figures to his right: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2023/10/02/texas-house-speaker-dade-phelan-faces-mounting-pressure-following-ken-paxton-impeachment/?outputType=amp

Remarks by Governor Greg Abbott during a speech in New York City conjure images of "abortion enforcement" at Texas' state lines: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZzg_luniz4 (index to 35:57)

House Rep. Frederick Frazier of McKinney, under two felony indictments for over a year, may see yet another extension of his trial date due to the upcoming special session: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/02/frederick-frazier-texas-criminal-trial/

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a new trial for death row inmate Robert Roberson, convicted of killing his young daughter on the basis of debunked medical science and his autism: https://www.tpr.org/criminal-justice/2023-10-02/supreme-court-declines-to-stop-texas-from-executing-man-over-junk-science-conviction

...SCOTUS will also soon review Texas and Florida laws that seek to force social media platforms to support objectionable and false conservative content: https://www.wokv.com/news/local/florida-texas-social-media-censorship-laws-headed-us-supreme-court/4CJA7CKOCVETRJOVJRHJRCMNSM/

Rice University's President laments the reluctance of faculty recruits to move to Texas due to our oppressive political environment: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-02/texas-politics-are-making-it-harder-to-hire-professors-at-rice#xj4y7vzkg

Texas transplant Elon Musk has been sued for slandering a man on Twitter/X, by the same lawyer who successfully sued Alex Jones in the Sandy Hook case: https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2023-10-02/elon-musk-sued-for-slander-by-attorney-who-successfully-sued-alex-jones/

Progress Texas ED Kathleen Thompson will take part in a press conference today in Dallas supporting Prop. 14, which if passed would grant more funding to Texas state parks: https://ballotpedia.org/Texas_Proposition_14,_Creation_of_the_Centennial_Parks_Conservation_Fund_Amendment_(2023)

And finally - FINALLY - hard science proves that Whataburger is quantifiably superior to In-N-Out Burger: https://www.mysanantonio.com/food/article/whataburger-innout-debate-18397650.php

Thanks for listening! Learn more about how YOU can support Progress Texas at https://progresstexas.org/.

Daily Dispatch 10/2/23: Texas Republicans Fight (And Fail) For Federal Shutdown, and More Oct 02, 2023

Show notes

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Four U.S. House Reps from Texas fought to the bitter end in their mission to shut down the government: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/29/texas-republicans-government-shutdown-vote/

...While Rep. Greg Casar of Austin sheds light on what the GOP in D.C. is really after: https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2023/09/28/biden-impeachment-inquiry-republicans-refuse-acknowledge-trump-accountability-cases/70995287007/

Governor Abbott sets next Monday October 9 - Indigenous People's Day - as the start of the first of what could be many special legislative sessions in his quest for privat school vouchers: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/29/greg-abbott-texas-leglislature-school-vouchers/

...Advocates for vouchers have already spent millions, and intend to keep it up: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/state/2023/10/01/texas-school-choice-vouchers-2023-drew-millions-statewide-campaign-spending/70786997007/

...Such a program would have the side effect of worsening segregation in Texas schools: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/letters/article/abbott-school-vouchers-education-special-session-18388020.php

...And none of this is likely to be easy for the Governor: https://www.texasobserver.org/abbott-school-vouchers-special-session/

Is Texas a "battleground state" in 2024? Ted Cruz thinks so: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/how-texas-become-battleground-2024

Some Black women in Texas have begun seeking more reliable maternity care outside our borders: https://www.businessinsider.com/women-crossing-state-lines-give-birth-black-maternal-mortality-crisis-2023-9

...While research on a new DNA-based COVID vaccine in San Antonio shows promise: https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2023/10/02/new-type-of-covid-vaccine-showing-promise-at-texas-biomed/

Thanks for listening! Please consider supporting Progress Texas at https://progresstexas.org/donate, and get your registration squared for the November election NOW at https://govotetexas.org/.

Daily Dispatch 9/29/23: Lawyers Press Abortion Funds For Associate Info, and More Sep 29, 2023

Show notes

Anti-abortion attorneys have begun pressing Texas abortion funds for information on the people they've assisted, and those who have supported the funds, apparently intending future legal action under SB-8: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/28/texas-lawyer-abortion-ban-procedure-patient-information

...While, as expected, remote Cochran County becomes the first county bordering another state to enact a so-called "abortion trafficking" ordinance: https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/news/politics/government/2023/09/28/cochran-county-texas-adopts-abortion-ban-travel-for-procedure/70994567007/

Dallas U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett issues a scathing (and highly entertaining) critique of GOP efforts to impeach President Biden: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2023/sep/28/texas-democrat-asks-witness-how-many-times-gop-said-if-in-biden-allegations-video

Texas Republican lawmakers cheer on the impending partial federal government shutdown: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2023/09/28/in-government-shutdown-blame-game-many-texas-republicans-say-pain-will-be-worth-it/

Reuters reviews the current situation at the Texas/Mexico border: https://www.reuters.com/world/migrants-cross-into-texas-undeterred-by-razor-wire-or-new-asylum-rules-2023-09-28/

Ken Paxton gets into it with Yelp over crisis pregnancy centers: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/yelp-asks-court-block-texas-lawsuit-over-crisis-pregnancy-center-notices-2023-09-28/

...While Senator John Cornyn takes a quiet swipe at our thrice-indicted AG: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2023/09/28/john-cornyn-on-texas-ag-ken-paxton-impeachment-trial-verdict-its-time-to-move-on/

The water situation in Kyle, south of Austin, may be a bellwether for future statewide water issues: https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2023-09-29/is-kyles-water-problem-a-microcosm-of-central-texas-drought-issues/

And as fall arrives, the ages-long debate over beans in Texas chili returns: https://thetakeout.com/texas-red-chili-beans-vs-no-beans-debate-origin-history-1850881556

Thanks for listening! Please consider supporting our important work at https://progresstexas.org/, and get yourself ready for November's election at https://govotetexas.org/.

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