Now in our 11th year on KPFT!
AUDIO:
POSSIBLE TOPICS: VOTETEXAS.GOV—Voter Information; REGISTER TO VOTE; March 5 Primary Elections; [6 more] events throughout Greater Houston that celebrate Black History Month; Friendswood officials discuss city policy for short-term rentals; Friendswood City Center, 106-acre mixed-use development, expected to break ground in 2024; ‘A major problem’: Fort Bend ISD bond running $133M over budget, drawing school board’s ire; Gates installed on Bissonnet Street in latest, ongoing efforts to curb crime on infamous SW Houston ‘Track’; Investors meet at Houston summit to discuss how to strengthen Texas’ power grid; Oglala Sioux Tribe Bans South Dakota Governor From the Pine Ridge Reservation; Nebraska Tribes and Native Voters Come Out On Top in Redistricting Lawsuit; Oklahoma Supreme Court Hears Case to Determine if Tribal Members Will Pay State Taxes; Orbán’s party boycotts a session of Hungary’s parliament to further stall Sweden’s bid to join NATO; More.
Welcome to Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig where we discuss local, state, national, and international stories. My co-host, assistant producer and show editor is Andrew Ferguson.
Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig (@ThinkwingRadio) is now on Wednesdays at 11AM (CT) or Thursdays at 6PM on KPFT 90.1 FM-HD2, Houston’s Community Media. You can also hear the show:
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- An educated electorate is a prerequisite for a democracy.
- You’re entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts.
Except for timely election info, the extensive list of voting resources will now be at the end.
- March 5, 2024 Primary Elections: com
- I received my mail-in ballot about a week ago. If you have applied for a mail-in ballot and have not yet received it, check with your county clerk to see if there’s a problem. As soon as you know who you’ll be voting for, you can fill out and mail in your ballot. You don’t have to wait for early voting to start.
- Early Vote Centers will be open from Tuesday, February 20, through Friday, March 1. (7 a.m. – 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 12 noon – 7 p.m. on Sunday).
- Vote Centers will accept voters from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, March 5.
- Sample ballots are now available for the primaries. Visit the “What’s on my Ballot?” page at HarrisVotes(dot)com and enter your name or address to see all the contests and candidates you are eligible to vote on! (You can bring handwritten notes or printed sample ballots to the voting booth; just be sure to take it with you when you leave.)
- The deadline to apply for a mail ballot is February 23. Click here for the application. Please fill it out, print it, and mail it to our office before the deadline.
- We will have a joint primary this year | COM | Posted on January 16, 2024 by Charles Kuffner
- ANDREW: And remember, the March 5th primaries are for the Democratic and Republican parties ONLY. The Green and Libertarian parties have nominating conventions at the local and state levels. To find a list of county parties and information on nominating conventions, visit org or lptexas.org.
- MIKE: Remember, the Green and Libertarian conventions come after the March 5 primary election and if you intend to participate, then you cannot vote in the March 5 primaries.
- MIKE: We have a couple of PSAs to start off our show:
- There are at least [6 more] events throughout Greater Houston that celebrate Black History Month; By Asia Armour | COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM | 6:01 PM Feb 1, 2024 CST / Updated 6:01 PM Feb 1, 2024 CST
- Looking for ways to celebrate Black History Month in Houston? See these seven events happening throughout the month of February in the Greater Houston area….
- MIKE: The events include opportunities for food, films, music, culture, history, and more. You can go directly to the article at CommunityImpact[dot]com, or click on the link here at ThinkwingRadio[dot]com. It is noted in the story that their list is not comprehensive, so if you’re interested, you might search the web to see what other events and celebrations of Black History Month may be available locally to you. Again, you can find this article at ThinkwingRadio[dot]com.
- In other community information, Harris County Pets to host 5 low-cost spay, neuter events throughout February; By Hannah Brol | COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM | 8:00 AM Feb 2, 2024 CST
- Harris County Pets will host … low-cost spay and neuter events throughout February in observance of Spay and Neuter Awareness Month and Responsible Pet Owners Month.
- MIKE: This event is strictly for people living in UNincorporated areas of Harris County.
- What you need to know — According to a Feb. 1 news release, each of the five events will provide spay and neuter surgeries for a total of 35 pets. Licensed veterinarians will conduct the surgeries at a cost of $25 per pet. Low-cost spay and neuter events will be held at the Harris County Pets Resource Center, located at 612 Canino Road, Houston, on the following dates: Saturday, Feb. 10; Saturday, Feb. 17; Tuesday, Feb. 20; Saturday, Feb. 24;
- To receive a low-cost spay or neuter service, pet owners must: Call 281-999-3191 to schedule an appointment; walk-ins will not be accepted; Show proof of residency in unincorporated Harris County, such as a driver’s license or any other valid ID indicating the current address. …
- Learn more — For those who are UNable to sign up for the spay and neuter events in February, click here to view a list of low-cost spay and neuter services offered by organizations throughout Harris County.
- MIKE: There is some more information in the story about the health benefits to your pet as a result of spaying or neutering them, as well as benefits to the community in reducing the population of feral strays. Andrew’s mom is very involved in rescue of strays, so he may have more to say about this opportunity.
- ANDREW: There are definitely a lot of stray dogs and cats in Houston and Harris County, more than local authorities can keep up with, the way my mom tells it. Every one of those strays leads a hard life, and runs the risk of a sad death, either out in the wild or in a shelter where they have to make room for more strays. Some get taken home or picked up by rescue groups, but a lot don’t. That’s not even to mention the damage strays can do to local bird and small animal populations. Spaying or neutering your pets stops another dog or cat from going down this path, and that’s why it’s so important.
- Friendswood officials discuss city policy for short-term rentals; By Rachel Leland | COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM | 4:21 PM Feb 6, 2024 CST / Updated 4:21 PM Feb 6, 2024 CST
- While short-term rental owners in Friendswood don’t [currently] have to register or pay annual fees, city officials are discussing if that policy needs to change as the area attracts more visitors.
- The gist — On Feb. 5, Friendswood City Council discussed the possibility of changing its policy for short-term rentals within the city.
- The city has 10 short-term rentals. However, city officials think visitor interest in the area could grow in the coming years, as evidenced by the development of the Great Wolf Lodge in Webster, which is slated for completion in November.
- Per Texas law, Friendswood can tax short-term rentals through a hotel occupancy tax, which is 6% for the state and 7% for Friendswood, according to a presentation shown to council.
- To date, Friendswood has only documented a noise complaint and a parking violation involving short-term renters, according to a presentation shown to council. Some of the suggested changes to the policy presented to City Council included: Requiring short-term rental owners to provide guests with a good-neighbor brochure; Requiring owners to give a termination notice when the unit is no longer a rental; Requiring a contact person to be available to answer calls 24/7; [and] Enacting a penalty for not registering.
- In their own words — Council member Robert Griffon said Friendswood does not have enough short-term rentals to justify city staff investing time and resources in rolling out a stricter policy for rental owners. …
- Council member Joe Matranga said he spoke with a Galveston City Council member who praised the benefits of registering short-term rentals since it made it easier for the city to regulate the rentals and protect against undesired outcomes, such as overcrowding in the rentals or not being able to reach the rental owner to flag violations.
- Matranga also said he was aware of short-term rental owners in other cities installing bunk bedrooms in the homes to hold up to 30 people in a four-bedroom house, adding that he wanted to prevent a similar scenario from playing out in Friendswood. …
- Slated to break ground in February, Friendswood’s City Center could house the city’s first hotel, according to city documents.
- In a related story from December that provides more information about the development: Friendswood City Center, 106-acre mixed-use development, expected to break ground in 2024; By Shaheryar Khan | COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM | 2:26 PM Dec 8, 2023 CST / Updated 12:26 PM Dec 8, 2023 CST
- A 106-acre development with a hotel, retail and other mixed-use buildings could be coming to Friendswood soon …
- Tannos Development Group and Wolfgramm Capital announced the creation of the new Friendswood City Center at a launch party on Dec. 7. …
- Friendswood City Manager Morad Kabiri said the project is an “opportunity to develop one of the most difficult properties in the city,” due to infrastructure deficiencies, drainage issues and zoning restrictions. These issues have led to unsuccessful development attempts in the past.
- The details — Tannos and Kabiri say the city currently lacks substantial recreational areas and amenities, resulting in residents seeking such facilities outside of Friendswood.
- The Friendswood City Center aims to retain income within the city instead of it flowing out to neighboring areas, as the developers claim the project will expect to bring in $700 million to the city.
- The Friendswood City Center will be in the corner of FM 528 and Bay Area Boulevard and will feature a range of components, including: a luxury hotel; a 500-unit multi-family complex; retail spaces with 150,000 square feet; medical and office buildings with 200,000 square feet; mixed-use structures with condominiums with 225,000 square feet; [and] entertainment areas; [plus] smaller pad sites.
- Approximately $60 million is earmarked for infrastructure development, including new roads and a 52-acre park with a 5.2-mile trail, a fully stocked fishing lake, waterfalls, wetlands and more, Tannos said. After completion, Tannos said the park will be donated to the city.
- Next steps — The groundbreaking is scheduled for January, with a projected total build-out time of three to four years, encompassing both infrastructure and vertical construction, Tannos said.
- Tannos said he envisions further development in the area, hoping to acquire additional commercial land and continuing to contribute to Friendswood’s growth.
- Looking ahead — Kabiri said the city recognizes the growing demand for multifamily units in Friendswood, highlighting the project’s alignment with the area’s needs and quality development standards.
- Kabiri outlined plans for 2024, including the construction of additional office buildings, restaurants, microbreweries, a hotel with a conference center, and more residential development in various locations around Friendswood.
- MIKE: I’m not familiar with this area, so I can’t judge whether this development is truly a community good, or is just the kind of development that local movers, shakers, and politicians consider to be a community good.
- MIKE: I can certainly see from how it’s described that it would potentially be an economic and social benefit to the community in terms of additional jobs, housing, amenities, tax revenue, and infrastructure. I hope it works out well for all residents of Friendswood.
- ANDREW: Agreed. As for the short-term rental laws, I think Council Member Griffon is wrong to want to wait to take action. If there didn’t seem to be any reason to expect more of these rentals to pop up, his position would be more understandable. But with a major tourist attraction being built in a nearby city, I think Friendswood would be wise to shore up their regulation of these rentals now rather than later.
- MIKE: Actually, another point that makes this the time to take up the issue of short-term rentals is that there is not yet an invested constituency against it. Why wait until there is?
- ‘A major problem’: Fort Bend ISD bond running $133M over budget, drawing school board’s ire; by Miranda Dunlap | HOUSTONLANDING.ORG | February 5, 2024
- The $1.2 billion bond approved by Fort Bend Independent School District voters last May is already projected to run $133 million over budget — a predicament that shocked trustees who said Monday that they were kept in the dark about the shortfall for too long.
- District officials said multiple factors — including unexpectedly high construction cost inflation, labor shortages and internal leadership changes — have weighed on Fort Bend’s record-breaking bond, which voters approved by a roughly 2-to-1 margin last year. Fort Bend leaders planned to construct two new campuses, rebuild three aging schools and spend about $600 million on upgrades at campuses throughout the district through the bond.
- Dan Bankhead, Fort Bend’s executive director of design and construction, said district leaders will try to find ways to cut project costs, such as using cheaper materials than originally planned.
- However, the district ultimately could scale back its projects or attempt to pass another bond for more funding — though several trustees said they do not want to ask taxpayers for more money.
- The $1.2 billion bond marked the largest investment in school construction and renovations in the history of Fort Bend, which serves about 80,000 students and ranks as the Houston region’s fourth-largest district.
- At a school board meeting Monday, several trustees pressed district administrators about what caused the shortfall, who exactly bore responsibility for the errant initial projections and the timeline for disclosing concerns about the bond budget.
- Deputy Superintendent Steven Bassett said Fort Bend administrators received information about the wayward budget projections in September and could have adjusted the bond budget in November, but they didn’t feel they had to “pull the fire alarm.” …
- MIKE: There’s some more finger-pointing in the story, along with a table showing the original projections and the updated projections with cost overruns. The article goes on:
- … The bond budget shortfall ranks among the first major issues new Superintendent Marc Smith will confront after being selected by the board in December, just two weeks after Whitbeck’s rocky exit. Smith, who previously served as Duncanville Independent School District’s superintendent, did not speak at length about the projected shortfall Monday.
- School districts traditionally outline projects and the expected cost for many bigger projects when asking voters to approve a school bond. The plans are typically developed alongside a committee of local residents. Fort Bend followed these practices last year.
- However, voters are not approving specific construction or spending plans when they cast their ballot for a school bond. Rather, they are merely authorizing the school district to issue bonds — and in some cases, raise the local property tax rate — needed to raise the money for projects. As a result, Fort Bend leaders could change or scale back their plans for the bond without needing voter approval.
- The district also could ask voters to authorize more financing for bond projects, though Trustee Angie Hanan said she is concerned about building trust with the public moving forward. … Trustees asked district administrators Monday to give them monthly updates on the bond and its expected costs.
- MIKE: The first comment I have on this story, I want to say emphatically — The last thing that the trustees should do is opt for “cheaper materials”. Cheaper materials are just that. They’ll not last as long; they may require more maintenance; they may even make construction or installation more difficult, which could increase labor costs. And you can be sure there will be unintended consequences.
- MIKE: I’ll share a maxim I created during my 20 years of window covering installation as part of what I modestly called “Honig’s Laws”: “The cheaper a product is, the harder it is to install, until it’s so cheap that it’s practically uninstallable.” Especially in large projects, this becomes unacceptable to contract trade people and they will charge more to get the job done.
- MIKE: So cheaper materials will probably end up being a false economy.
- MIKE: As for going over the bond issue budget, there certainly needs to be an investigation as to how that occurred and what can be done to prevent such errors in the future.
- MIKE: I’m curious where the cost overruns are occurring. Are they in bids in which the bidders should be held to contract prices? Or in materials that can’t be held to a fixed price, again as per the bids? Kind of like a menu item that’s listed as that day’s “market price”. Perhaps the contracts needed to be written in such a way as to substantially protect the district from price changes.
- MIKE: These are just some of the questions that need answering. And of course, there also needs to be some individual accountability.
- ANDREW: That’s all true. Though the district might retort “if we can’t use cheaper materials, how are we supposed to keep to the budget?” I would respond that the responsible thing to do here is to scale back the spending.
- ANDREW: If I thought voters would go for another bond, I’d say do it, but this is Texas. Lots of voters here don’t like the idea of government spending even when lives are riding on it; I doubt a second, “oops” bond would be very popular.
- ANDREW: When scaling back, I’d look to preserve proposals that seem the most direly needed. Rebuilding those aging schools, for example, sounds pretty important; district-wide upgrades certainly would be nice to have, but maybe some of them can be put off. Because cheapening out on the materials just sounds like the district will be spending more money on the same things down the road.
- MIKE: I agree with Andrew, if Fort Bend adjusts to a slightly less ambitious plan now without cheapening materials. Then, they can go back for more bond money later, several years down the road after the initial bond money is mostly used up.
- Gates installed on Bissonnet Street in latest, ongoing efforts to curb crime on infamous SW Houston ‘Track’; By Christian Terry, Digital Content Producer | CLICK2HOUSTON.COM | Published: February 6, 2024 at 9:36 PM / Updated: February 6, 2024 at 9:52 PM. Tags: Bissonnet Street, Bissonnet Track, Houston
- The Houston Police Department said strategically installed gates will be closed at night and reopened in the morning to prevent illegal activity on Bissonnet Street.
- The gates are the latest in the city’s efforts to address crime issues in the area known as the “Bissonnet Track.” The so-called Bissonnet Track is in the news consistently for its ties to prostitution, human trafficking and more.
- In 2023, HPD began closing Plainfield Street and Centre Parkway, between Bissonnet and the Southwest Freeway, every night.
- At the time the streets were closed, business owners in the area said having the police close certain streets reduced the amount of activity drastically.
- “I don’t even see anybody on the street anymore,” one business owner said at the time.
- MIKE: It’s important to note that these closures do not block Bissonnet itself. I searched for what the closure hours are. The best I could come up with was a Houston Landing story from June 2023 that said, “HPD has closed Centre Parkway and Plainfield Street to traffic nightly from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Motorists wanting to get to Bissonnet Street from the Southwest Freeway or vice versa have had to find alternate routes.”
- MIKE: I don’t live in that area, nor do I visit very often, so this was the first I had heard of it. Knowing what to expect if I have to pass through that area is useful.
- MIKE: You can see a map showing the streets that are closed in a Houston Landing story from January 22, 2024. If you’re interested, I suggest that you click the story links I’ve provided to get more information.
- ANDREW: Stopping human trafficking (specifically) is certainly an admirable goal, and I’m glad that folks in the area feel safer according to the Houston Landing story, but I can’t help but feel that gating off entire streets after certain hours seems a little… dystopian. I’m not sure I like the possible normalization of the police gating off any area they consider to have high enough crime.
- ANDREW: Besides, as a Constable’s Office representative notes in the Landing story, some of this activity is just moving elsewhere in the city. It looks to me like these gates have been most effective at just sweeping the problem under the rug instead of actually solving it.
- ANDREW: I see this strategy of closing roads as part of a broader strategy of criminalizing sex work — one of the least directly harmful parts, sure, but a part nonetheless. If the point is to stop human trafficking via stopping sex work, the problem is that punishing sex work actually makes it harder to stop human trafficking, because sex workers who may become aware of harmful exploitation can’t tell police about it for fear of being arrested themselves.
- ANDREW: Instead, I would suggest that city officials push for changes to federal and state law that would enable Houston to take a decriminalization approach to sex work, and thus allow sex workers to help fight human trafficking as well as set up safely off of the street. This would have the same impact of making Bissonnet and the surrounding area a safer place, and would feel a lot less like Houston had its own personal Arkham City.
- MIKE: You might explain that witty reference for the uninitiated.
- ANDREW: Ah, of course. It’s from a Batman video game. Batman sends supervillains to the Arkham Asylum, which gets destroyed, so another supervillain convinces the city to wall off its old town as a mega-asylum to replace it … and put him in charge. As part of his plot to “end all crime”, this guy fills Arkham City with weapons and starts sending every criminal he can there to kill each other, quickly followed by law-abiding folks who just don’t like the idea. I think you can see why I made the connection.
- Gates installed on Bissonnet Street in latest, ongoing efforts to curb crime on infamous SW Houston ‘Track’; By Christian Terry, Digital Content Producer | CLICK2HOUSTON.COM | Published: February 6, 2024 at 9:36 PM / Updated: February 6, 2024 at 9:52 PM. Tags: Bissonnet Street, Bissonnet Track, Houston
- The Houston Police Department said strategically installed gates will be closed at night and reopened in the morning to prevent illegal activity on Bissonnet Street.
- The gates are the latest in the city’s efforts to address crime issues in the area known as the “Bissonnet Track.” The so-called Bissonnet Track is in the news consistently for its ties to prostitution, human trafficking and more.
- In 2023, HPD began closing Plainfield Street and Centre Parkway, between Bissonnet and the Southwest Freeway, every night.
- At the time the streets were closed, business owners in the area said having the police close certain streets reduced the amount of activity drastically.
- “I don’t even see anybody on the street anymore,” one business owner said at the time.
- MIKE: It’s important to note that these closures do not block Bissonnet itself. I searched for what the closure hours are. The best I could come up with was a Houston Landing story from June 2023 that said, “HPD has closed Centre Parkway and Plainfield Street to traffic nightly from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Motorists wanting to get to Bissonnet Street from the Southwest Freeway or vice versa have had to find alternate routes.”
- MIKE: I don’t live in that area, nor do I visit very often, so this was the first I had heard of it. Knowing what to expect if I have to pass through that area is useful.
- MIKE: You can see a map showing the streets that are closed in a Houston Landing story from January 22, 2024. If you’re interested, I suggest that you click the story links I’ve provided to get more information.
- ANDREW: Stopping human trafficking (specifically) is certainly an admirable goal, and I’m glad that folks in the area feel safer according to the Houston Landing story, but I can’t help but feel that gating off entire streets after certain hours seems a little… dystopian. I’m not sure I like the possible normalization of the police gating off any area they consider to have high enough crime.
- ANDREW: Besides, as a Constable’s Office representative notes in the Landing story, some of this activity is just moving elsewhere in the city. It looks to me like these gates have been most effective at just sweeping the problem under the rug instead of actually solving it.
- ANDREW: I see this strategy of closing roads as part of a broader strategy of criminalizing sex work — one of the least directly harmful parts, sure, but a part nonetheless. If the point is to stop human trafficking via stopping sex work, the problem is that punishing sex work actually makes it harder to stop human trafficking, because sex workers who may become aware of harmful exploitation can’t tell police about it for fear of being arrested themselves.
- ANDREW: Instead, I would suggest that city officials push for changes to federal and state law that would enable Houston to take a decriminalization approach to sex work, and thus allow sex workers to help fight human trafficking as well as set up safely off of the street. This would have the same impact of making Bissonnet and the surrounding area a safer place, and would feel a lot less like Houston had its own personal Arkham City.
- MIKE: You might explain that witty reference for the uninitiated.
- ANDREW: Ah, of course. It’s from a Batman video game. Batman sends supervillains to the Arkham Asylum, which gets destroyed, so another supervillain convinces the city to wall off its old town as a mega-asylum to replace it … and put him in charge. As part of his plot to “end all crime”, this guy fills Arkham City with weapons and starts sending every criminal he can there to kill each other, quickly followed by law-abiding folks who just don’t like the idea. I think you can see why I made the connection.
- Greg Abbott defends migrant tactics in Eagle Pass amid escalating legal battle with Biden administration; DPS tells visiting governors that efforts to deter migrants are effective and razor wire and buoy barriers “save lives.” By Pooja Salhotra and Madaleine Rubin | TEXASTRIBUNE.ORG | Feb. 4, 2024 @ 5 PM Central
- Flanked by visiting Republican governors, Greg Abbott on Sunday afternoon railed against President Joe Biden’s handling of the southern border and recommitted to defending the state from an “invasion” of migrants.
- Abbott has doubled down on enforcement at the border amid an escalating feud with the federal government over who controls part of the Texas-Mexico border in Eagle Pass, a town of about 29,000 residents. Although immigration law enforcement is under the jurisdiction of the federal government, Abbott claims the Biden administration has failed to enforce immigration law, leaving the state to fend for itself.
- Texas has continued to erect razor wire as a barrier between the Rio Grande River and Shelby Park, a 47-acre area in Eagle Pass, even after the federal government said the wire impedes federal border agents from apprehending people who cross the river. …
- Abbott said gang members, as well as hundreds of people on the terrorist watch list, have been apprehended at the border. He thanked border patrol agents at checkpoints who have seized millions of lethal doses of fentanyl and thousands of pounds of methamphetamine.
- Republican governors have rallied behind Abbott’s efforts to deter illegal immigration. Last month, 25 of them released a joint statement, arguing that Texas has legal authority to defend itself because the Biden administration has failed to enforce immigration laws.
- About half of those Republican governors traveled to Shelby Park on Sunday, where they praised Abbott for his methods, such as building a border wall, installing wire and placing a string of buoys in the river. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said they would continue to deploy National Guard troops to the border to support Abbott.
- Col. Freeman Martin, deputy director of DPS’s Homeland Security Operations, told the visiting governors Sunday that Abbott’s directives are working, according to a pool report from the Houston Chronicle. During a briefing at the DPS Eagle Pass Area Office, Martin said the razor wire and buoy barriers “save lives.”
- Martin’s claim echoes previous assertions by DPS and Abbott that the buoys deter people from trying to cross, thus reducing drownings. The state has provided no evidence of that, however. Calls to DPS for more details weren’t immediately returned late Sunday afternoon.
- In January, a woman and two children drowned trying to cross the border at Eagle Pass, and Mexican authorities rescued two others. Federal officials accused the state of refusing to allow Border Patrol agents access to Shelby Park to assist in the rescue and recovery. State officials said Border Patrol requested access to the park after the drownings had already occurred.
- The standoff between Texas and the federal government began after the Texas National Guard and state troopers took control of Shelby Park in January, blocking Border Patrol agents from entering. …
- Under federal law, the federal government has sole jurisdiction over the enforcement of immigration laws, a power upheld by multiple U.S. Supreme Court decisions.
- The Texas forces have deployed miles of concertina wire along the border at Eagle Pass, including around Shelby Park. When Border Patrol agents began cutting through the wire to apprehend migrants or reach those who needed medical attention, the state sued the federal government, accusing it of damaging state property.
- The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling in December that prohibited Border Patrol agents from cutting the wire. But on Jan. 22, in a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the lower court’s ruling.
- The ruling did not explicitly grant Border Patrol agents access to the park or require the state to remove the concertina wire, prompting Abbott to double down. Shortly after, National Guard and state troopers continued to block federal agents’ entry to the park and deploy more concertina wire as Abbott maintained his long-standing claim that the Biden administration has refused to enforce immigration laws. …
- Another legal confrontation is brewing: Late last year, Abbott signed into law a bill that allows police to arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the Texas-Mexico border on state charges. Scheduled to take effect in March, the legislation prompted the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups to file lawsuits to overturn the law.
- In an interview with the New York Times published Friday, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas called Abbott’s actions on the border unconscionable, saying the state refused to communicate or coordinate with the federal government to create disorder. …
- Abbott’s visit to Eagle Pass coincided this weekend with the arrival of a convoy of Americans opposed to the Biden administration’s handling of border policy.
- The Take Our Border Back convoy departed from outside Washington last week, passing through Dripping Springs along the way. Organizers called it a peaceful protest, though some critics expressed worry about violent or secessionist undertones. Border Patrol officials evacuated a migrant processing center in Eagle Pass Thursday after the FBI warned of threats to the facility. …
- The convoy arrived Saturday in Quemado, a rural community about 20 miles north of Eagle Pass. A rally attracted a modest crowd and remained peaceful, The New York Times reported. Attendees listened to Christian music, waved “Trump 2024” flags and called on the federal government to secure the U.S.-Mexico border. …
- During the Sunday afternoon press conference, some members of the Take Our Border Back convoy faced off against Eagle Pass residents, who condemned Abbott for spending billions of dollars on the border. Just outside of Shelby Park, convoy members held pro-Trump signs and chanted “USA.” Meanwhile, Eagle Pass residents and activists from other border towns such as Laredo led their own chants of “Vive la frontera.”
- Some of those residents held a press conference before the governor’s. Speakers criticized members of the convoy for “hijacking Christianity.” Others criticized Abbott for taking over a city park.
- “Quit wasting our tax dollars on political propaganda,” said Juanita V. Martinez, an Eagle Pass resident and Maverick County Democratic Party Chairperson. “Abbott doesn’t care about anything but boosting his Republican political agenda.”
- MIKE: By shipping illegal migrants and asylum seekers to northern cities, I have to admit that Abbott has made his point by effectively lining up northern Democratic mayors to his side about the Feds needing to do more to secure the border, but mainly to provide financial and logistical support to localities that simply are not equipped to handle this crush of people.
- MIKE: Of course, it’s essential to note that Abbott did this in the worst and cruelest of possible ways. He refused to give advance warning of migrants’ arrivals, at random points and at all hours of the day and night.
- MIKE: Migrants arrived without proper clothing, often in freezing temperatures with no one prepared to receive them. There was no chance to prepare food to greet them. No medical treatment was immediately available for those who might need it. Many of them were removed from the immigration courts they were scheduled to attend, making their necessary appearances very difficult, if not well-nigh impossible.
- MIKE: As is so common in 21st century Republican posturing about illegal immigration, the cruelty was part of the point. How so-called self-described “Christians” can rationalize this kind of vindictive mercilessness as consistent with their New Testament scriptures is a constant puzzlement to me. Maybe their going to the wrong bible lessons.
- ANDREW: There’s something bitterly funny about a group of people calling themselves the “Take Our Border Back” convoy demonstrating against people who literally live on the border they’re talking about. If the border belongs to anyone, it belongs to the people of Eagle Pass and every other community along it. This convoy from Washington has no claim.
- MIKE: A while back, Andrew introduced me to a newsletter called “Native News Online”. I found it interesting enough to subscribe, and ended up using it often enough that I send them a small monthly contribution. Today I have several stories I’d like to discuss. First is: Oglala Sioux Tribe Bans South Dakota Governor From the Pine Ridge Reservation; By Levi Rickert | NATIVENEWSONLINE.NET | February 05, 2024
- The Oglala Sioux Tribe has banned South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (R) from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation after the governor gave an incendiary speech about immigration to the South Dakota legislature last Wednesday.
- In the speech, Noem stated she wants to send razor wire and security personnel to Texas to stop immigration to the U.S.-Mexico border. She also stated that a gang–allegedly tied to a cartel, calling themselves the Ghost Dancers are bringing drugs onto the reservation.
- The banishment came Friday in a four-page statement written by Oglala Sioux Tribe President Frank Star Comes Out.
- “Due to the safety of the Oyate [people or nation], effective immediately, you are hereby banished from the homelands of the Oglala Sioux Tribe!” Tribe President Frank Star Comes Out said in a statement addressed on Friday to Noem.
- Star Comes Out accused the governor, an avid supporter of former President Donald Trump, of making the immigration problem a political issue to benefit the former president’s chances of reelection. Star Comes Out suggested Noem is vying to be Trump’s vice president nominee.
- The Oglala Sioux president says Noem is wrong about the immigrants seeking asylum in the United States when she said they need to be put into cages. Star Comes Out said many of the immigrants are [indigenous] Indians from places like El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico who arrive at the southern border “in search of jobs and a better life.”
- “They don’t need to be put in cages, separated from their children like during the Trump Administration, or be cut up by razor wire furnished by, of all places, South Dakota,” he said.
- The Oglala leader expressed his resentment on Noem’s speech when she mentioned a gang calling themselves the Ghost Dancers is murdering people on the Pine Ridge Reservation and is affiliated with border-crossing cartels that use South Dakota reservations to spread drugs to other parts of the country.
- “I and the Oyate are deeply offended that you alleged [that] ‘Ghost Dancers’ are affiliated with these cartels. Ghost Dance[, one of the most sacred ceremonies,] was used with blatant disrespect and is insulting to our Oyate,” Star Comes Out wrote in his conclusion.
- Friday’s banishment was not the first time the Oglala Sioux Tribe told Noem she is not welcome on its reservation. The Noem administration has a history of maintaining a contentious relationship with the South Dakota tribes.
- In May 2019, the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council unanimously voted to tell her she is unwelcome on the Pine Ridge Reservation until she rescinds her support for anti-protest legislation. Two additional Sioux tribes — Cheyenne River and Yankton — expressed their solidarity with the Oglala Sioux Tribe.
- During the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem had a showdown with the Oglala Sioux Tribe and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe when the two sovereign nations decided to close its reservations to non-Natives.
- MIKE: I’ve never known American Indians except in passing, so I can’t say that I understand their rituals and culture. I don’t have much that I’m qualified to add to this story except to say that it’s interesting how native tribes are exerting their sovereignty in various situations, from politics to culture to technology. There will undoubtedly be times that there will be contention between native and American policy preferences, but it’s good that we can now start to discuss these disagreements openly, and hopefully with some degree of reasonable compromise.
- MIKE: I will note that if you go to the map I’ve linked to in References, you’ll see that if all the South Dakota tribes joined in this ban, it includes a lot of South Dakota. Also at the link is an interactive “Travel Guide to Tribal Lands” that you can peruse. Visits to South Dakota tribal lands are welcome. Pages 10 and 11 offer tips on etiquette when visiting tribal lands.
- ANDREW: I would quite enjoy seeing all tribes with territory overlapping South Dakota join in this ban. Imagine Kristi Noem losing access to about a third of the state! Unfortunately, I have to wonder if this ban could actually stand in court — I want it to, but the US doesn’t exactly have a great track record with respecting tribal boundaries, in any sense of the word. If it did stand, though, that might open some very interesting possibilities for tribal law.
- REFERENCE: Interactive Map of South Dakota Tribal Lands — Aktá Lakota Museum | An Outreach of St. Joseph’s Indian School
- Nebraska Tribes and Native Voters Come Out On Top in Redistricting Lawsuit; By Elyse Wild | NATIVENEWSONLINE.NET | February 02, 2024
- Two tribes in Nebraska last week successfully negotiated a court approved redistricting plan with Thurston County to settle a lawsuit in which the tribe’s alleged the county intentionally diluted the impact of Native voters.
- On January 26, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska approved a consent decreethat requires the Nebraska county to adopt a new district plan to provide Native Americans a fair opportunity to elect candidates to the Thurston County Board of Supervisors. Local elections will use the new map starting in next year’s elections and until the next redistricting process begins after 2030.
- As a result of historical participation in the 2020 Census, the Native population in the United States grew by an astonishing 86.5%. According to Census Data, in 2021, Thurston County had a population of 6800, 60% of which is Native American. The majority of those Native residents are of voting age.
- The new map makes it so four of the seven Board of Supervisors districts will provide Native voters with a fair opportunity to elect their preferred candidates, as required by the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA).
- This case marks the third time Thurston County has been successfully sued under the VRA for a redistricting plan that violates the rights of Native American voters in the county.
- “Native people in Thurston County have thrived against all odds in spite of any setback, and this includes defending Native voters’ right to participate in legal and fair elections in Nebraska,” Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska Chairwoman Victoria Kitcheyan said in a statement. “We negotiated the new district map with county officials so Native voters will have a fair chance at electing candidates to the Board of Supervisors in 2024.”
- In 1979, courts subjected Thurston County to a consent decree forbidding the adoption of an at-large voting system as violating Section 2 of the VRA because an at-large system would disenfranchise the estimated 28% population of Native voters in the county at the time.
- As a result of another lawsuit, the courts in 1996 required Thurston County to create a legal district map that fairly apportioned the then-estimated 36% population of Native voters per the VRA.
- The 2023 consent decree requires Thurston County to create a legal district map that reflects that Native Americans now comprise almost 60% of the county’s population and make up a majority of the voting-age population of Thurston County.
- During Thurston County’s redistricting process after the release of the 2020 Census, the Board of Supervisors refused to implement a VRA-compliant map proposed by both Tribes and instead adopted a map that will now be replaced by a VRA-compliant map as required under the new consent decree. …
- Native American voters continue to [face historical] disenfranchisement in many states and districts. Polling places located far from remote tribal communities and voter ID laws that prevent citizens living on reservations without traditional street addresses from voting have contributed to Native Americans having the lowest voter turnout of all groups.
- Mobilization efforts by Native-led organizations are changing that, however, and Native American voters [increasingly] play a major role in local and federal elections, according to a new report by the National Urban Indian Family Coalition.
- In 2002, South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) was re-elected by 500 votes when the final votes were counted on the Pine Ridge Reservation, according to an investigationby the Native American Rights Fund.
- Michigan had one of the closest margins in the 2016 Presidential Election, with a margin of 0.3 percent. With more than 100,000 Native people aged 18 and older in Michigan, the number of Native people eligible to vote was four times more than the margin of victory in the state, according to the investigation.
- ANDREW: This is great news! In a state like Texas, where racist election maps are almost the default and it’s a coin flip whether a court will actually strike one down, one can forget that there are people fighting this kind of voter suppression and winning. A county that’s majority-Native is interesting as well. Hopefully the elected Supervisors will reflect the population they serve after next year’s election.
- MIKE: Legally speaking, Texas is not in much danger of these kinds of lawsuits. There are only about 4700 acres of native lands, and they are widely separated into three reservations. The Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas have the lion’s share of that land at 4500 acres in east Texas. According to “The Texas Politics Project – Where in Texas are indigenous groups? — Unlike most western states, Texas today has almost no Indian lands, the result of systematic warfare by Texas and the United States against [indigenous] groups in the nineteenth century that decimated tribes or drove them onto reservations in other states. While the limited number and size of Indian reservations in Texas today reveal much about relations between European-descended settlers and Indians at the turn of the 19th century, these reservations account for only a small percentage of the native Americans in the state. Though only about 2,624 people have formally enrolled as members of Texas tribes, the 2000 census counted 118,362 people in Texas who identified themselves as exclusively American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN).”
- Oklahoma Supreme Court Hears Case to Determine if Tribal Members Will Pay State Taxes; By Native News Online Staff | NATIVENEWSONLINE.NET | January 30, 2024
- This week, the Oklahoma Supreme Court heard opening arguments in a case that will determine whether or not tribal members are required to pay state income taxes.
- In 2020, Muscogee (Creek) Nation enrolled tribal member Alicia Stroble filed for an income tax refund for the previous three years based on the fact that she lived within her tribe’s reservation and was employed by the tribe. Two years later, a judge for the Oklahoma Tax Commission ruledin Stroble’s favor. But the tax commission rejected the decision, and Stroble appealed.
- The tax commission argued Stroble doesn’t live on reservation land, but on private land (within reservation boundaries) owned by an individual, and is therefore ineligible for any state income tax exemption.
- Three Oklahoma tribes—Cherokee Nation, Chickasaw Nation, and Choctaw Nation— filed a joint brief in support of Stroble, contending that collecting income taxes from tribal members employed by their tribe amounts to a sovereignty issue that contradicts established law.
- The tribes cited legal precedent established by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993, where the court held that “a state may not tax the income of a tribal member who lives and works in her tribe’s Indian Country.”
- “The Nations’ sovereignty is threatened because…If the State has the power to convert reservation economic activity into state tax dollars, it will negate ‘the right of reservation Indians to make their own laws and be ruled by them’ and jeopardize each Nation’s ability to operate programs and services that benefit their members and the State,” the brief states.
- Oklahoma’s Governor Stitt—an enrolled Cherokee citizen— posted a video on X saying his goal is to ensure “fairness across the board.”
- “If the Supreme Court rules that one race doesn’t have to pay taxes, then no one should,” he said. “It’s that simple.”
- Tribal leaders disagree and point to the broader implications that hang in the balance of the legal challenge.
- “The dispute raises broader questions regarding the interpretation of tribal sovereignty, federal law, and the tax obligations of Tribal citizens within Indian Country,” Muscogee (Creek) Nation Principal Chief David W. Hill said in a statement. “All of which hold great significance in relation to Indian Country’s autonomy.”
- MIKE: This will be interesting. If tribes are allowed to set their own taxation policies without worrying about double taxation by the state, this could make a big difference on reservations, whether the money is left in the hands of individuals or taxed for tribal infrastructure and social needs, or maybe a balance of both.
- MIKE: And then there is the issue of fairness. If tribe members are sending money to Oklahoma City, but are they getting at least the value of those taxes back in in tribal benefits? I hate to assume, but I suspect not.
- MIKE: And while this story doesn’t mention it, if this case succeeds, I wonder how this will end up eventually impacting collection and distribution of sales taxes, permit fees, etc. One way or another, this case, could end up setting an important and broadly accessible precedent for Oklahoma, and perhaps other tribes across the United States … Of which Texas is still one.
- ANDREW: Agreed. I want to explicitly counter Governor Stitt’s ridiculous assertion that this case is about race, though. It isn’t. It’s about sovereignty. Tribal nations are given roughly equal status as states under federal law. A US state collecting state taxes from people living and working on federally-recognized Native land would be like Texas collecting taxes from people in eastern New Mexico because they live on land that Texas used to claim. Just because one state-level government claims or had claimed land that belongs to another state-level government doesn’t give the first government the right to tax it. Surely conservatives can understand that.
- MIKE: Texas wants to regulate people traveling out of state for abortions and healthcare, so in Texas, anything is possible. Or as Calvera noted in “The Magnificent 7”, “In Texas, only Texans can rob banks.”
- Orbán’s party boycotts a session of Hungary’s parliament to further stall Sweden’s bid to join NATO; By JUSTIN SPIKE | APNEWS.COM | Updated 8:34 AM CST, February 5, 2024
- Lawmakers from the party of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán boycotted an emergency session of parliament on Monday where a vote was scheduled to place Sweden’s bid to join NATO on the legislative agenda, adding to 18 months of delays that have angered Hungary’s allies.
- The governing Fidesz party, which holds an absolute majority in parliament, has stalled Sweden’s bid since July 2022, alleging that Swedish politicians have told “blatant lies” about the condition of Hungary’s democracy.
- After Turkey’s parliament voted to approve Sweden’s accession in January, Hungary became the last of the military alliance’s 31 members not to have done so, leading its allies to pressure the nationalist government to hold a vote without delay. Orbán told NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg last month that he would urge his party to ratify the bid “at the first possible opportunity.”
- Monday’s session in parliament was supported by six opposition parties, but Fidesz lawmakers didn’t attend, scuttling the attempt to place a vote on the legislature’s schedule.
- Several ambassadors from NATO member countries attended the proceedings, including U.S. Ambassador David Pressman. In brief comments to the media following the session, Pressman said that the United States looks forward to “watching this closely and to Hungary acting expeditiously.”
- “Sweden’s NATO accession is an issue that directly affects the United States’ national security and affects the security of our alliance as a whole,” he said. “The prime minister pledged to convene parliament to urge parliament to act at its earliest opportunity. Today was an opportunity to do that.”
- A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers last week called on Orbán to immediately ratify Sweden’s bid, saying patience with Hungary is “wearing thin” as it continues to delay its approval.
- In a separate statement, U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat and chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, raised the prospect of imposing sanctions on Hungary for its conduct, and called Orbán “the least reliable member of NATO.”
- Following the session on Monday, Agnes Vadai, a lawmaker with the liberal Democratic Coalition party, said that Orbán’s conduct has “put Hungary into a very humiliating position,” and that there was “no reason” for his government to have blocked Sweden’s NATO membership.
- “I think that it’s very personal for Orbán, and it’s also very irrational what is he doing despite all the pressure that’s coming,” she told The Associated Press. “He himself should understand that (Sweden’s membership) is going to serve the interests and the security of the Hungarian society.”
- Hungarian officials have indicated that Fidesz lawmakers won’t support holding a vote until Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson accepts an invitation by Orbán to visit Budapest to negotiate on the matter. Kristersson has said that he will make the trip, but only after Hungary approves his country’s NATO membership.
- Fidesz said in a statement on Monday that ratification of Sweden’s NATO accession can take place during a regular session of parliament, “but we are expecting the Swedish prime minister to visit Hungary first.”
- “If this is an important issue for the Swedes, the Swedish prime minister will obviously come to Budapest,” the party said.
- Hungary’s parliament is scheduled to reconvene on Feb. 26. But Vadai, the lawmaker, said that there was no guarantee that Orbán’s party would commit to a swift approval.
- “I’m not sure whether the opening session will start with the Swedish ratification, unfortunately,” she said.
- MIKE: I can see how this Alphonse and Gaston act by Hungary and Sweden can be a problem. I suppose that a fair compromise might be for the Swedes and Hungarians to meet in a mutually acceptable third country, but obstinate heads will likely prevail. I’ll be curious to see how the diplomats finesse this. Andrew?
- ANDREW: I think the issue is not necessarily where they will meet, but Orban wants the meeting (and presumably, from it, an apology) before ratifying Sweden’s NATO membership, and Kristersson wants the meeting (and maybe not an apology) afterwards. I don’t see much opportunity for compromise there, unless they want to try and have both the ratification and the meeting at the same time. Though maybe that’s not as ridiculous as it sounds… hmm.
- ANDREW: But how did we get here? In one way, Russia is to blame for Sweden and Finland joining NATO. The Russian invasion of Ukraine was always a big, stupid move, as are sometimes necessary in geopolitics. Initially I was thinking this big, stupid move was just a gesture to get NATO to back off, and Russia would pull out as soon as either NATO promised to stop accepting new members on Russia’s border or Moscow realized that wasn’t going to happen.
- ANDREW: I was, of course, wrong; Putinism and Russian conservatism (much like conservatism and capitalism around the world) demand shows of strength and influence and conquest and wealth in order to maintain political and social control domestically. Putin backing out of Ukraine would not only not satisfy these requirements, it would be an embarrassment by their standards.
- ANDREW: I don’t know if NATO backing off would have stopped the invasion (I think there’s a chance that “winning” against NATO might have satisfied Putin’s need for strength) but I know that not getting what he wanted out of NATO meant the only other thing for him to gain was Ukraine. At that point, it became indisputably a war of conquest, if it wasn’t before. Finland and Sweden seeing this and joining NATO out of fear of it happening to them makes perfect sense, and is exactly the opposite of what Putin wanted in the first place. There’s irony in that.
- ANDREW: But that doesn’t mean I think these countries joining NATO is a good thing. World War I was famously the big conflict it was because of the myriad of alliances, and alliances against alliances, that the nations of Europe had entered into; when one was attacked, four more got dragged into the fight.
- ANDREW: In my view, there’s nothing stopping the same thing from happening again today, and having big alliances like NATO and CSTO (the Collective Security Treaty Organization; Russia’s version of NATO) getting bigger makes it even more likely that a small conflict can blow up into a global war. When I think about political polarization, this is what I think about: the shrinking numbers of non-aligned states who can act as a bridge between the West and… everyone else.
- ANDREW: So as much as I can’t blame Sweden and Finland for applying to join NATO, I also wish they hadn’t. I wish they’d reached out to the UN or the Non-Aligned Movement for security guarantees. I wish Putin had decided he could survive pulling out of Ukraine politically, and done so. But here we are. All there is to do now is hope this news doesn’t cause the hands of the Doomsday Clock to move any closer to midnight.
- MIKE: I feel compelled to add here that the UN is in no position to give anyone security guarantees. There are some non-aligned countries that can — maybe — give security guarantees to small nations, but nothing on the scale of a European nation. And remember, getting there is half the fun.
- MIKE: I might also point out that, to paraphrase an old saying, Security Guarantees are sometimes worth less than the paper they’re written on. Ukraine negotiated away a nuclear deterrent in good faith based on security guarantees from the US and United Kingdom. As the Ukrainians initially learned and may be learning again, security guarantees provide for them that provide for themselves.
- ANDREW: That’s an interesting point, and it raises a question in my mind. With NATO growing ever bigger, surely some member states have rocky history with each other. If nothing else, situations like Hungary holding up the joining of Sweden could create some internal friction between members. The question is: could NATO grow to a point where there’s enough animosity between certain member states that if one of them is attacked and invokes the collective defense article, some member states might try to withhold their aid from the nation under attack?
- ANDREW: I’m sure that would have consequences, but that might not stop a nation blind with resentment from doing it. If it did happen, that would create a whole other mess, one that certainly wouldn’t make fighting a war any easier. Maybe that’s another argument to limit the number of members of not just NATO, but any alliance.
- MIKE: It’s interesting that it’s Hungary and Sweden we’re discussing rather than Turkey and Greece. Now those are two members who probably long ago would have fought a war if they weren’t both in NATO.
- REFERENCE: Alphonse and Gaston — From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (“Alphonse and Gaston is an American comic strip by Frederick Burr Opper, featuring a bumbling pair of Frenchmen with a penchant for politeness. …”)
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