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The John Birch Society Sees a Renaissance in North Texas
Once sidelined, the decades-old right-wing group has seen a resurgence in the state. On a sweltering day in July, Mark Fulmer looked cool and collected in the bonus room at the Spring Creek Barbeque in Bedford, a suburb outside of Fort Worth. He stood at a podium in front of about a dozen right-wing activists who had come for the inaugural luncheon of the John Birch Society—a far-right group of conspiracy theorists founded during the Red Scare.
Cancelled in Friendswood
Haley Carter learned a valuable lesson recently: If you want to be the Grand Marshal of an Independence Day parade, it helps to be a Marine, a star soccer pro, and an honors graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. You just can’t tell Governor Greg Abbott...
‘Nobody Has Accepted Accountability’: Uvalde Families Demand Change to Police and School Personnel
After the release of a damning House report, a Monday night school board meeting became tense and passionate as organized Uvaldeans refused to be silent. On Monday evening, almost two months after the deadliest school shooting in state history took place two miles across town, a crowd of Uvaldeans trickled into their South Texas city’s spacious high school auditorium for a special school board meeting to weigh in on the now-frightening prospect of the incoming 2022-2023 school year. In the front row of seats, families placed photographs of the victims—19 elementary schoolers and two teachers—slain on May 24 by an 18-year-old man with an AR-style rifle.
Injured, Sick, Widowed, and Sued
Articles must link back to the original article and contain the following attribution at the top of the story:. This article was originally published by the Texas Observer, a nonprofit investigative news outlet. Sign up for their weekly newsletter, or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.”. Articles cannot be rewritten,...
Is San Antonio for the Birds?
A version of this story ran in the July / August 2022 issue. Articles must link back to the original article and contain the following attribution at the top of the story:. This article was originally published by the Texas Observer, a nonprofit investigative news outlet. Sign up for their weekly newsletter, or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.”
Queering the Border
When construction began on Trump’s U.S.-Mexico border wall, an influx of public art ensued. Graffiti artists began inking up the walls, and performance artists were creating political art. French artist JR created a huge paste-up mural of a boy peeking into America. Coffins were hinged to parts of the wall in Tijuana, while artists in Ciudad Juárez created seesaws that spanned both sides.
Abortion Is (Again) a Criminal-Justice Issue
Outlawing reproductive healthcare causes more harm without the intended effect. Whenever abortion came up during my three decades working on criminal-justice reform, the interlocutor always took the attitude, “That’s someone else’s job.”. Not anymore. With the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on...
Dear Biden: Protect Our Poppies
A yellow and orange blanket of petals stretched across the foot of the mountains. Birds with red bellies darted through the clear blue sky. These were the wonders I saw when I visited public land near Castner Range about seven years ago. It was spring, the time when every year, the Mexican gold poppy blooms.
Uvalde Marches for Transparency and Gun Reform
Some 500 protesters withstood the brutal heat to demand justice for those lost in the May 24 school massacre. On Sunday evening, as temperatures topped out at a withering 104 degrees, some 500 demonstrators gathered in southwest Uvalde at Robb Elementary School—the site, 47 days prior, of the deadliest school shooting in Texas history, which left 19 elementary-age children and two teachers dead. Out front sprawled a memorial to the lives stolen: a collage of weathered stuffed animals, crosses, letters, and flowers.
Ann Richards’ Legacy Is a Light for Dark Times
There’s a little thrift store in North Austin that has a blue sun-faded Ann Richards yard sign in the window. If you were to inquire, as I did, if the sign was for sale, you’d be politely told “no”—it’s as much a part of the store as the pride flag hanging in the window above clusters of ceramic knickknacks. The store owner did, however, show me another piece of Texas history, a black-and-white photograph under the checkout counter’s plate glass of Ann Richards, Barbara Jordan, and George H. W. Bush.
Poetry: ‘Parade,’ ‘Fever’
In our hands or above us at all. And waited on hold—your broken pleas. So long we’ve forgotten she’s our baby, too. Do you think free access to journalism like this is important? The Texas Observer is known for its fiercely independent, uncompromising work— which we are pleased to provide to the public at no charge in this space. We rely on the generosity of our readers who believe that this work is important. You can chip in for as little as 99 cents a month. If you support this mission, we need your help.
A ‘Love Letter’ To Texas Wildlife
With vibrant natural colors and beautiful cinematography both underwater and aboveground, Deep in the Heart: A Texas Wildlife Story is an immersive documentary that showcases the wonders of Texas wildlife, and introduces the audience to aspects of our environment that most people never get to see. An in-depth look at Texas’s diverse ecosystems and jaw-dropping landscapes, this documentary not only showcases the natural splendor of our state but also what we can do to preserve it. Narrated by Matthew McConaughey, the filmmakers tell the stories of 12 unique Texas animal species, and the fight to keep them alive.
Roe’s Grassroots Beginnings
A version of this story ran in the July / August 2022 issue. At the back of the newsroom of the Rag, Austin’s storied and raucous underground newspaper, a volunteer sat by a phone, waiting for calls from women searching for help. In hushed tones, the volunteer would tell the callers what they needed to know to get safe abortions, even though providing such information meant volunteers risked getting in trouble themselves.
Seeking Wisdom That’s Deeper Than ‘Crayola’ Religion
A Fire To Light Our Tongues is an antidote to the belief that religion must be linked to intolerance, racism and hate. Since I’m personally religious, it grieves me to admit religion is implicated in much of what’s wrong with society today: relentless attacks on reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ people, public education, gun control, even democracy itself. I’m tempted to agree with those who regard religion as more problem than solution—especially here in Texas, where religion is so often linked with intolerance, racism, and hate.
Labeled ‘Hispanic’
Articles must link back to the original article and contain the following attribution at the top of the story:. This article was originally published by the Texas Observer, a nonprofit investigative news outlet. Sign up for their weekly newsletter, or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.”. Articles cannot be rewritten,...
U.S. Immigration Policy Is to Blame for the Horrific Mass Death in San Antonio
Originally published by Truthout. One hundred human beings were inside an 18-wheeler without water or air conditioning in the blistering 100-degree Texas heat. Fifty of them are now dead. Sixteen more people were taken to a hospital—including four children. That was this Monday in San Antonio. This is the deadliest of such tragedies in recent years, but it is not the first. In 2003, 19 migrants were found dead inside 18-wheelers in Victoria, Texas. In 2017, there were 10 migrants found dead in 18-wheelers—also in San Antonio.
Pre-Roe, They Risked Their Lives to Control Their Destinies
Articles must link back to the original article and contain the following attribution at the top of the story:. This article was originally published by the Texas Observer, a nonprofit investigative news outlet. Sign up for their weekly newsletter, or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.”. Articles cannot be rewritten,...
With SCOTUS EPA Decision, Texas Coal Plants Live to Cook the Climate Another Day
Regardless of the federal ruling, local efforts to shut down the most polluting power plants and switch on clean energy continue. As Texans swelter under an unrelenting heatwave and breathe polluted air, Ken Paxton joined 16 other state attorneys general in celebrating the Supreme Court decision on Thursday to undermine the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. With West Virginia leading the charge and coal companies joining in, the group had filed a lawsuit last year against the EPA asking the Justices to reign in the federal agency’s powers under the Clean Air Act.
Immigrant Moms Get Rare Win in Long-fought Family Detention Case
The state Supreme Court weighed in on a fight to stop the state from licensing detention centers as childcare facilities. Seven years ago, a group of formerly detained immigrant mothers, an Austin-based nonprofit, and a daycare owner teamed up to fight Texas’ handling of federal family detention policy. After a long series of judicial victories and defeats, they secured a rare and belated victory last month in the state’s highest court.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Faces A Reckoning
As part of a Sunset Commission review, Texans are calling out the state agency for failing to address environmental injustices. Jon Niermann, the chairman of the state agency charged with enforcing environmental laws, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), appears not to understand how environmental racism works, nor if the phenomenon even exists.
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