curated citations to news sources
Texas Tribune: Texas House Democrats flee the state in bid to block GOP’s proposed congressional map
The lawmakers’ absence means the lower chamber won’t have enough members present to function, stalling passage of a draft map Democrats have condemned as a political power grab.
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“This is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity,” state Rep. Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said in a statement, in which he accused Gov. Greg Abbott of “using an intentionally racist map to steal the voices of millions of Black and Latino Texans, all to execute a corrupt political deal.”
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“We’re not walking out on our responsibilities; we’re walking out on a rigged system that refuses to listen to the people we represent,” he said. “As of today, this corrupt special session is over.”
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Texas’ redistricting effort is also poised to set off a broader redistricting arms race, with California Gov. Gavin Newsom telling aides that he will move to redraw his state’s congressional lines to advantage more Democrats if Texas Republicans pass their map, The Tribune previously reported.
(Texas Tribune more…)
Texas Tribune: Denying quorum has been a Texas political strategy since 1870
Heather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American – August 3, 2025
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Republicans in the Texas legislature rushed a bill that would make the new map law through committee on Saturday morning after the one public hearing they held on it showed overwhelming opposition. Sophia Beausoleil of NBC 5 in Dallas–Fort Worth reports that the Texas House is scheduled to vote on the bill Monday.
(Heather Cox Richardson more…)
Steve Vladeck: Partisan Gerrymandering After Rucho
The Supreme Court isn’t responsible for partisan gerrymandering. But current events in Texas underscore how much its 2019 ruling in Rucho has left (some) states free to radically abuse the practice.
Bulwark: Killing Democracy—And Not Bothering to Hide It
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NY Times: Cruz Criticizes Hochul for Wearing Head Scarf at Slain Officer’s Funeral
In a social media back-and-forth, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York replied to Senator Ted Cruz of Texas that “anyone with basic decency” would respect the officer’s Muslim faith.
…In a statement on Saturday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations called on the senator to apologize to Ms. Hochul and to Detective Islam’s family, describing his posts as “despicable and disrespectful.”
The group also noted that Senator Cruz had been photographed wearing a skullcap at a campaign event with Jewish community leaders, which the group said “makes his attack on Governor Hochul for similarly respecting a Muslim space all the more hateful and hypocritical.”
(NY Times more…)
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Jess Piper: Dust-Licking Pimps
Mark Twain and Quincy and Immigration
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Twain is a deeply complex man whose views changed and evolved throughout his life. He was vain and always seeking wealth, but he also fought for the oppressed through humor and satire.The narrator coming through my speakers told of how offended Twain became at the treatment of Chinese immigrants in California and the constant berating and beating at the hands of both the police and politicians and random men on the streets.
As a reporter in San Francisco, Mark Twain witnessed police standing by while white men attacked a Chinese man for no reason. The narrator told me of Twain’s frustration with police complicity in racial violence perpetrated against Chinese immigrants.
In “Roughing It”, Twain said:
No Californian gentleman or lady ever abuses or opposes a [Chinese person], under any circumstances, an explanation that seems to be much needed in the East. Only the scum of the population do it – they and their children; they, and, naturally and consistently the policeman and politicians likewise, for these are the dust-licking pimps and slaves of the scum…
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Intercept: American Nurse Who Tried to Save “No Other Land” Activist Was Detained and Deported by Israel
Americans on the scene who tried to help Palestinians said Israeli authorities detained them — all as settler attackers roamed free.
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Gioconda Belli: I Was Banished by My Country’s Dictator. What Happened to Me Is a Warning.
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Then, in February 2023, I received a call from a friend in Nicaragua. What I heard left me in a state of shock: The Ortega regime had stripped me and dozens of other Nicaraguans, including my son, of citizenship. With no chance to defend ourselves, we were declared traitors. Our property was confiscated, our pensions annulled and our names erased from many public records.Today, anyone who leaves Nicaragua risks being barred from returning without explanation. Citizens seeking to return to Managua have been told by airlines that they are “not authorized” to enter the country. Officials are legally empowered to deny entry to anyone deemed a threat to peace and security. Even a critical social media post can trigger a ban.
(Gioconda Belli more…)
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Judd Legum: Days after $5 million donation to MAGA Inc., Trump freezes Medicare waste crackdown
Trump pledged to root out “waste, fraud and abuse.” Then a big contribution to his Super PAC came in.
On February 24, 2025, Extremity Care LLC, a company that sells very expensive bandages made from discarded placentas and other substances, donated $5 million to MAGA Inc., President Trump’s Super PAC. Six days later, on Truth Social, Trump blasted a pending Biden administration rule that would have barred Medicare from covering Extremity Care’s products — which can cost thousands of dollars per square inch and lack scientifically proven benefits.
…The February 24 donation was not made public until July 31, when MAGA Inc. filed its 96-page mid-year report. The Extremity Care donation appears on page 18:
(Judd Legum more…)Borowitz: Trump Taps George Santos to Head Dept. Of Labor Statistics
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“The American economy added a million new jobs in May and a billion new jobs in June,” Santos declared. “President Trump is creating jobs like crazy—he even gave one to Pete Hegseth.”
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Bulwark: Trump Smashed an Obama Legacy Item—Harming Many and Pleasing Few
Not even industry lobbyists are rushing to praise it.
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WSJ: China Is Choking Supply of Critical Minerals to Western Defense Companies
Beijing’s tightened controls are a sign of the leverage it has over the U.S. military supply chain
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Conversation: For America’s 35M small businesses, tariff uncertainty hits especially hard
Conversation: New Trump tariffs: early modelling shows most economies lose – the US more than many
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Paul Kedrosky: Honey, AI Capex is Eating the Economy
AI capex is so big that it’s affecting economic statistics, boosting the economy, and beginning to approach the railroad boom
(Paul Kedrosky more…)
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Ruth Ann Crystal MD: COVID & Health News, 8/3/25
(Ruth Ann Crystal MD more…)
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Your Local Epidemiologist: Covid-19, mosquitos, hand foot and mouth surging, kinder vaccination rates, Vaccine Injury program at risk and more
(Your Local Epidemiologist more…)
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Daily Beast: Trump Rages About Claim He Killed Epstein
(Daily Beast more…)
Timeline: Tracking the Trump Justice Department’s Anti-Voting Shift
Tracking the Lawsuits Against Trump’s Agenda
Tracking the Lawsuits Against Trump’s Agenda
Trump Pardons Database
Project 2025 Tracker
DOGE Tracker
ProPublica: Elon Musk’s Demolition Crew
Wired: 6 Tools for Tracking the Trump Administration’s Attacks on Civil Liberties
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