Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig (@ThinkwingRadio) is now on Wednesdays at 11AM (CT) on KPFT-HD2, Houston’s Community Station. You can also hear the show:

1. Live online at KPFT.org (from anywhere in the world!)
2. Podcast on your phone’s Podcast App
3. Visiting Archive.KPFT.ORG

Welcome to Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig where we discuss local, state, national, and international stories. My co-host and show editor is Andrew Ferguson.

Listen live on the radio, or on the internet from anywhere in the world! Please take a moment to visit Pledge.KPFT.org and choose THINKWING RADIO from the drop-down list when you donate.

• An educated electorate is a prerequisite for a democracy.
• You’re entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts.

1. Make sure you are registered to vote! VoteTexas.GOV – Texas Voter InformationTEXAS SoS VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOT APPLICATION (ALL TEXAS COUNTIES) HarrisVotes.com­ – Countywide Voting Centers, (Election Information Line (713) 755-6965), Harris County Clerk
   1. Harris County “Vote-By-Mail’ Application for 2022
      1. Fort bend County Elections/Voter Registration Machine takes you to the proper link
      2. GalvestonVotes.org (Galveston County, TX)
      3. Liberty County Elections (Liberty County, TX)
      4. Montgomery County (TX) Elections
      5. Brazoria County (TX) Clerk Election Information
      6. Waller County (TX) Elections
      7. Chambers County (TX) Elections
      8. For personalized, nonpartisan voter guides and information, Consider visiting Vote.ORG.   Ballotpedia.com and Texas League of Women Voters are also good places to get election info.
      9. If you are denied your right to vote any place at any time at any polling place for any reason, ask for (or demand) a provisional ballot rather than lose your vote.
      10. HarrisVotes.com – Countywide Voting CentersHARRIS COUNTY – IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED FOR VOTING: Do not possess and cannot reasonably obtain one of these IDs?
          1. Fill out a declaration at the polls describing a reasonable impediment to obtaining it, and show a copy or original of one of the following supporting forms of ID:
          2. A government document that shows your name and an address, including your voter registration certificate
          3. Current utility bill
          4. Bank statement
          5. Government check
          6. Paycheck
          7. A certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate or (b) a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes your identity (which may include a foreign birth document)
          8. You may vote early by-mail if:You are registered to vote and meet one of the following criteria:
             1. Away from the county of residence on Election Day and during the early voting period;
             2. Sick or disabled;
             3. 65 years of age or older on Election Day; or
             4. Confined in jail, but eligible to vote.
             5. Make sure you are registered:
             6. Ann Harris Bennett, Tax Assessor-Collector & Voter Registrar
             7. CHECK REGISTRATION STATUS HERE
             8. CLICK How to register to vote in Texas
             9. Outside Texas, try Vote.org.
2. MIKE COMMENTARY: With so much going on in the world, it’s easy to forget that there’s still important stuff going on where we live. Life goes on. So, at a time with so much focus by the MSM on international fears and crises, this may be exactly the time for us to go back to our strong focus on local, regional and state news. As usual we will usually have some national and international news in the back half of the show. Hopefully it will include news and analysis that you are not otherwise hearing.
3. BE REGISTERED TO VOTE, and for those of you who are eligible, REMEMBER TO FILL OUT AND MAIL YOUR MAIL-IN BALLOT APPLICATIONS FOR 2022
   1. You can track your Mail Ballot Activity from our website with direct link provided here https://www.harrisvotes.com/Tracking
   2. Primary Election was yesterday, March 1. We’ll talk about that in a bit, including my personal mail-in voting experience.
4. Here is what Harris County homeowners should know about homestead exemptions; By Mikah Boyd | COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM | 1:31 PM Feb 22, 2022 CST | Updated 1:31 PM Feb 22, 2022 CST
   1. Officials with the Harris County Appraisal District explained how homeowners can take advantage of homestead exemptions in a Feb. 21 news release.
   2. The appraisal district defines a homestead as, “generally the house and land used as the homeowner’s principal residence on Jan. 1 of the tax year.” This tax exemption is now applicable to those who acquire property after Jan. 1 as long as the previous owner did not receive this exemption for the tax year. …
   3. There are many different homestead exemptions available to homeowners. Information from the HCAD details how to qualify for each type below.
   4. Exemptions can provide reduced property taxes for: School taxes, County taxes, Age and disability, Local option exemption, Partial exemption for disabled veterans, Full residence homestead exemption for disabled veterans, Surviving spouses of U.S. Armed Service members killed in the line of duty, Surviving spouses of first responders killed in the line of duty.
   5. Applications for a homestead exemption can be obtained online at hcad.org under the “Forms” tab.
   6. For more information or details on homestead exemption eligibility, contact the Harris County Appraisal District at 713-957-7800 or by emailing help@hcad.org.
   7. MIKE: Note that this information applies to residents of Harris County, TX. If you are in another county or state, there are probably similar opportunities for property tax reductions which will vary by locality. Check with your local appraisal district to learn more.
5. Officials discuss safety concerns, solicit public feedback ahead of planned West Alabama Street reconstruction; By Sofia Gonzalez | COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM | 6:14 PM Feb 23, 2022 CST | Updated 6:14 PM Feb 23, 2022 CST
   1. [T]he Midtown TIRZ [aka, Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone], Upper Kirby Management District and TIRZ No. 27 are working together to pursue a federal grant for a broader effort to reconstruct [West Alabama]. As previously reported by Community Impact Newspaper, the Upper Kirby district is working on a portion of West Alabama between Buffalo Speedway and Shepherd Drive, where similar improvements are being planned.
   2. The reconstruction between Shepherd and Spur 527 will include a heavy focus on safe crossing with landscaping for pedestrians and bicyclists, and a drainage upgrade … . Studying and planning are underway, and designs will be shared with the public in the future …
   3. … Concerns [regarding West Alabama] included the multiple turning patterns on the street, drivers swerving and weaving, unclear traffic flow with the lane configuration, crashes and near-miss crashes, and difficulty crossing for all road users, including pedestrians and bicyclists.
   4. The street has seen seven serious injury crashes within a one-mile stretch of the road—two of which involved pedestrian injuries—making it a high-injury network street … According to Houston’s Vision Zero, the city’s high-injury network “represents 60% of traffic deaths and serious injuries occurring on 6% of Houston streets.” …
   5. West Alabama has three lanes. In the morning during peak traffic, two of these lanes head eastbound while one goes westbound. At night during peak traffic, two lanes head westbound while one goes eastbound. At all other hours, the middle lane is used as a turning lane.
   6. Lanes have overhead signage that indicate how each lane is being used depending on the time of day, which Grove said creates another safety concern. According to Lance Gilliam—who attended the Neartown [Mike added link, aka part of Super Neighborhood 24] meeting as chief of staff for Abbie Kamin, Houston City Council’s District C representative — the third lane was supposed to be temporary, but has now been in place for going on 20 years.
   7. Several Neartown residents expressed concerns about West Alabama at the meeting, saying they would like to see the middle reversible lane be taken away.
   8. The reconstruction of West Alabama between Shepherd and Spur 527 is still in an early phase, but Grove said residents who would like a say in what happens can submit traffic safety concerns to Vision Zero’s interactive map and email safestreets@houstontx.gov.
   9. The city of Houston is also working on a section of West Alabama between Buffalo Speedway and Weslayan Street, which is slated for completion in the spring of 2023.
   10. TAGS: Heights-River Oaks-Montrose Midtown Public Safety
   11. MIKE: West Alabama could probably be widened to 4 or 5 lanes, depending on city easements and the degree of neighborhood resistances (this being a fairly affluent area), the option of left turns or no left turns, or maybe the relatively drastic measure of making West Alabama into a reversable one-way street, sort of like a multilane contraflow street. None of this ideas are perfect, but I think they represent options to consider.
6. Three historic Houston homes join Slave Route Project at Sam Houston Park; By Sofia Gonzalez | COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM | 2:16 PM Mar 1, 2022 CST | Updated 2:16 PM Mar 1, 2022 CST
   1. During a Feb. 28 press conference, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced the designation of three historic homes from The Heritage Society at Sam Houston Park to the Slave Route Project run by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
   2. The three homes are Reverend Jack Yates’ House, Fourth Ward Cottage and Kellum-Noble House.
   3. According to Heritage Society President Minnette Boesel, the buildings are from the 19th century. She said they represent the lifestyle of those who helped build the history of Houston.
   4. UNESCO’s Slave Route Project launched in 1994 to promote a better understanding of slavery, Turner said, adding it is important to preserve and learn from history so the past will not be forgotten or repeated.
   5. “Our goal in preserving homes and having these designated in the Slave Route Project is to educate residents and visitors as well as create cultural tourism,” Turner said.
   6. TAGS: The Heritage Society Houston Sam Houston Park Heights-River Oaks-Montrose Sylvester Turner Heights-River Oaks-Montrose Parks & Recreation
7. KPFT NEWS:
   1. Join us on Saturday, March 5, 2022, from 11:00 a.m. to 2 p.m., for a Town Hall Meeting powered by the Community Advisory Board of KPFT.  You can register at this link. The theme is Community Media: What Does the Future of Progressive Media Look Like? You Get to Decide. The purpose of this Town Hall meeting is to bring programmers, listeners, and people from diverse communities who are committed to a mission to build lasting understanding between diverse communities, to promote the full distribution of public information, and to employ varied sources in the public presentation of accurate, objective, comprehensive news on all matters vitally affecting these communities. For more information, go to kpftcommunityadvisoryboard.org and register for a seat at the table where you get to decide.
8. Some thoughts on Primary Day; by Charles Kuffner | OFFTHEKUFF.COM | Mar 1st, 2022
   1. Will we learn more about the mail ballot debacle [COM]?: “Mail ballot usage during early voting has dropped precipitously since 2018, with tens of thousands of voters — especially Republicans — ditching the forms after two years of the GOP’s baseless claims that absentee voting facilitates fraud. … [Then there are statistics. — Mike]”
   2. Kuffner then goes on: “We’ve discussed this before. We need to know more about what happened with mail ballots. Remember, there were two parts to this, one for the application for the mail ballot, and one for the ballot itself. How many applications, from each party, were initially rejected for not using the right form or not being filled out correctly, with the right voter ID information? How many of those were subsequently fixed, and how many were never resolved? Of the mail ballots that were then sent out and returned, how many from each party were initially rejected for (again) not having the right voter ID information included? How many of those were then fixed and successfully submitted? Of the people who didn’t get their mail ballots fixed and returned, how many then voted in person? How many people who voted by mail in the 2020 and/or 2018 primaries and who are still on the voter rolls did not vote at all this year? More data, please!”
   3. MIKE: My personal mail-in ballot experiences this year were not happy. My application was initially rejected because I mailed it in too early (by like a day or 2), so I had to resubmit. My next issues were with the mailing process. First, there was the usual ballot envelope. The ballot goes in there and the ballot envelope gets sealed. I don’t believe that part changed. The ballot envelope goes into the mailing envelope.
   4. MIKE: But the mailing envelope! That was new. It had TWO glue seals. The top one sealed the envelope. Underneath that seal were spaces for you to enter your best phone number and your email address. You also had to enter your TxDL/ID number or the last 4 digits of your social. As per some advice I got on TV, I interpreted the “OR” as an “AND”, just to be on the safe side. You then lick and seal the bottom glue seal which is supposed to hide that information. Because of that information is now REALLY secure under that piece of paper. Yeah. But no voter discouragement of mail-in ballot suppression going on here.
9. MIKE: So, I got this email: “Encourage Congress to support local radio!” (Even though I’ve linked to this, I would NOT enter any personal information there!)
   1. The Local Radio Freedom Act opposes a performance tax on local radio stations and recognizes radio’s vital role in every community. This bipartisan resolution is supported by over 230 members of the House of Representatives and Senate! Please take action today and thank your members of Congress who are supporting this legislation or encourage them to cosponsor it if they have not already.
   2. MIKE: Having been in radio for the better part of over 10 years, “local radio” can be a very misused and even deceptive term. Plus, I have never heard of this “act” before, so I did some quick research.
   3. MIKE: I found this excerpt on a page from Steve Womack (R)(ARK-03): “… The Local Radio Freedom Act is a non-binding resolution that reaffirms Congress’s support for local radio stations and opposes new fees or taxes on local, free, broadcast radio which could jeopardize those very services upon which so many rely…”
   4. MIKE: So … “Non-binding”, which makes one question the point of the act. Upon further searching, I found this: “Oppose the Local Radio Freedom Act: Protect music and artists from Big Radio”.
   5. MIKE: It goes on, “Under the misnomer of the “Local Radio Freedom Act,” (LRFA), ‘Big Radio’ is using its influence in Washington to preserve the subsidy that ensures they don’t have to play by the same rules as other music platforms. Everyone deserves to be paid fairly for their hard work. Music creators are no exception. Through LRFA, the radio industry is renewing their effort in Congress to maintain a carve-out which gives them a huge competitive advantage over innovative services like SiriusXM, Spotify, Pandora, and Apple Music – it allows them not to compensate music creators for their work, while innovative services do. There’s also nothing “local” about LRFA or radio itself. Consolidation within the radio industry over the last decade has resulted in ten radio corporations owning hundreds of stations across the country. These ten broadcast behemoths are responsible for about half of the revenue generated by the nearly $15 billion radio industry. …
   6. MIKE: So, what I’m inferring here is that the non-binding Congressional measure is an effort to protect so-called “local radio music stations” from having to pay royalties for music played on their air. What’s kind of funny is that, if I recall correctly, it’s considered copyright infringement to play a free commercial radio station in a business because it is claimed to deprive the radio station of royalties, even though they’re running commercials. This then requires businesses to pay for “piped-in” music to because of royalties.
   7. MIKE: Ironies abound.
10. Election results: How Texas voted in the 2022 primary; By Carla Astudillo | TEXASTRIBUNE.org | March 1, 2022
    1. Greg Abbott, Beto O’Rourke and Dan Patrick won their primaries outright.
    2. AG Paxton is in a runoff against former Texas Ag Commissioner George P Bush. You can see the rest of the Texas results here.
    3. ANDREW: What happens when nobody runs in one party’s primary but someone wins the other party’s nomination?
11. Indicted Austin officer Justin Berry advances to GOP runoff for [Central Texas’ House District 19] seat ; Berry, who will face Ellen Troxclair in the runoff, was one of 19 Austin officers accused of using excessive force on people demonstrating against police brutality in 2020. by Timia Cobb | TEXASTRIBUNE.ORG | March 2, 2022, Updated: 1:33 AM Central
    1. MIKE: The margin was Troxclaire 38.3% to Berry’s 35.4%. Since this is a Republican primary, I’m a little surprised that Berry didn’t win outright, since candidates showing a propensity for violence often do really well in Republican elections.
12. Many voting locations throughout Texas did not open because of staff shortages; In some voting locations where a party’s appointed polling judge didn’t show up, election officials allowed the other party’s judge to operate both parties’ voting machines in an effort to keep the polling place running. by Reese Oxner and Uriel J. García | TEXASTRIBUNE.ORG | March 1, 20226 hours ago
    1. … If one of the parties’ judges is absent, the polling site cannot operate. That’s because by state law, no polling site can serve only one party, Tarrant County elections administrator Heider Garcia told The Texas Tribune. Garcia said it was difficult to recruit polling staff this year, but he couldn’t say exactly why. “I honestly can’t tell you why people are not motivated,” he said. “Was it pay? Was it lack of interest? Was it stress over possible penalties? I mean, I don’t know. We need to reach out to the people who said no.”
    2. During last year’s legislative sessions, Texas lawmakers created new criminal penalties for election workers accused of interfering with poll watchers’ activities. The new rules were enacted after many Republican officials echoed former President Donald Trump’s false claims of widespread voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election, despite there being no evidence. Election officials and voting rights groups warned legislators that the new restrictions could have a potential chilling effect on election workers.
    3. James Slattery, a senior staff attorney for the Texas Civil Rights Project, pointed to the new voting laws, often referred to as Senate Bill 1, as a possible deterrent that kept election judges from participating in Tuesday’s elections. …
    4. Kathleen Thompson, the communications director for the Dallas County Democratic Party, said some election judges had told her they were concerned about the new voting restrictions and harsh penalties enacted last year. The Dallas County Republican Party did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
    5. The Brennan Center for Justice, which sued Texas over its voter restrictions, last year criticized the effects these laws may have on election workers. …
    6. The locations with vacancies were ones that typically saw a low turnout for the party with the vacancy, he said. For instance, one location that typically sees a larger Republican voter turnout and had only a dozen or so Democratic voters last year was missing its Democratic election judge Tuesday, he said.
    7. The same thing happened in Dallas County, Thompson said, with Democrats filling staffing for Republicans at 25 sites to keep them open. …
    8. MIKE: I recall an election where one voting precinct in Montgomery County had a single voter.
    9. … Hidalgo County Democratic chairperson Patrick Eronini said the shortages came because there was not enough time to train staff on how to operate the new voting machines and because some staff members died from COVID-19. Ten election judges quit because they didn’t feel comfortable with the new machines, he said.
    10. “I ask all those who are quick to criticize to volunteer for future elections,” Eronini said on Facebook. “I apologize that we were forced to close some locations but there were circumstances beyond our control.”
    11. Eronini said in a phone interview with the Tribune that he believed the new voting restrictions may have also caused people to be afraid to work this election cycle. …
    12. MIKE: Universal mail-in voting would solve most of these problems.
13. MIKE: The larger regional story aside, let’s talk about the coming technology. Death rays are coming, so let’s talk about the coming technology:
    1. Israel speeds roll-out of laser interceptors for thriftier defence, Bennett says; By Dan Williams | REUTERS.COM | February 1, 2022, 12:19 PM CST, Last Updated 11 hours ago
    2. Israel is accelerating the roll-out of laser-based interceptors as part of a plan to surround itself with such technologies and reduce the high costs currently incurred when shooting down aerial threats, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Tuesday.
    3. Lifting the veil on prototype interceptors that would use lasers to super-heat incoming drones or the kinds of rockets favoured by Iran-backed guerrillas, Israeli defence officials predicted last June such systems would be ready for action in 2025. READ MORE
    4. But Bennett announced a dramatically shortened timeline.
    5. “Within a year already the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) will bring into action a laser-based interception system, first experimentally, and later operationally, first in the south, then in other places,” he said in a speech. …
    6. “And this will enable us, as the years advance, to surround Israel with a wall of lasers which will protect us from missiles, rockets, UAVs and other threats,” he told Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies.
    7. The SkyRanger 30 HEL: Novel laser weapon with a 30mm revolving gun; To thwart a full range of airborne threats. By Ameya Paleja | INTERESTINGENGINEERING.COM | Feb 08, 2022
    8. German defense manufacturer, Rhinemetall, has unveiled its Skyranger 30 HEL, a hybrid air defense system that is capable of firing guided missiles as well as laser beams at aerial threats. In addition to this, the Skyranger 30 HEL also features a 30 mm automatic cannon, completing its range of offerings to counter any type of aerial threats, the company said in its press release.
    9. Militaries around the world are keen to incorporate high-energy weapons in their arsenal to counter the rising threat from cheaply assembled drone swarms as well as sophisticated drones of adversaries. The weapon systems are being tested heavily and in different stages of their deployment. However, these are dedicated systems that need to be deployed in high-risk areas, in addition to conventional modes of defense. … The SkyRanger HEL was publicly presented at a counter-drone event organized by the Swiss procurement agency late last year, the press release added.
    10. ANDREW: Science fiction loves depicting laser weapons. When they’re fictional, they’re cool. When they’re real, they’re terrifying. Much like the slaughterbots we discussed last week, this is a kind of weaponry far beyond anything our existing rules of war are prepared to handle. Humanity does not yet know how to responsibly handle lasers– blinding airplane pilots is a good example– and I don’t know if we ever will. There is no way lasers would stay used to shoot down projectiles. If developed, they will at some point become small enough to use in riot control, and I don’t know about you, but I think superheating someone should count as cruel and unusual punishment. We may still have the chance to stop laser weaponry. I strongly suggest we take it.