NEW: This felony charge is intimidation and retaliation by Texas DPS. It’s crystal clear from every angle of videos capturing the incident that the FOX 7 Austin photographer did not intentionally hit ANYONE while covering protests at UTAustin last week. 🧵1/3

kxan.com/news/local/aus…

Texas is permitting releases of treated oilfield wastewater into rivers from the Pecos to the Atascosa. Some see a solution to reduce underground disposal. Others warn we don't know enough about pollutants in the water.
w/ Dylan Baddour & 📸 Justin Hamel
insideclimatenews.org/news/28042024/…

This is what all the Very Serious People said about protests against the Iraq War. Guess who history has proved right.

The only way to survive on this platform now is smashing that block button like your mental health depends on it

NEW: UT Austin released 'protest rules' that say 'individuals may not come to campus without authorization,' which is in direct contradiction to a video they published 6 months ago that says members of the public can 'come to campus at any time and engage in demonstrations.'

NEW from me: The 'ghost wolves' of Galveston Island—coyotes with high levels of endangered red wolf DNA—have enchanted folks on the island, but the animals face threats from development, including a Jimmy Buffet-themed Margaritaville resort.

texasmonthly.com/travel/ghost-w…

There were about 90 officers in riot gear on this lawn about 10 minutes ago. Not 5 minutes after they left, the protestors returned.

Could be a long evening.

I just signed a law protecting free speech on college campuses.

#txlege

What, I thought we were in favor of free speech on campus? Or does that only apply if you hold an opinion on foreign policy in line with the governor?

We'll learn more soon, I'm sure, but this looks like Abbott flexing for Fox News, showing that he is 10x harder on the campus pinkos than any East Coast authority

The Texas GOP has come a long way in the last five years:

I helped organize an unpermitted walkout and rally in front of the Tower in 2003 to protest the Iraq War. The police were never this heavy-handed.

NEW from me: The 'ghost wolves' of Galveston Island—coyotes with high levels of endangered red wolf DNA—have enchanted folks on the island, but the animals face threats from development, including a Jimmy Buffet-themed Margaritaville resort.

texasmonthly.com/travel/ghost-w…

Terlingua is the perfect place for Alex Jones. “Would I have chosen Alex Jones as my neighbor if I had a choice? No. But that said, we have a very diverse community here.” Texas Monthly texasmonthly.com/news-politics/…

Forbes released their 2024 list of the Richest People in the World. I thought it would be interesting to see how many are investing in Texas politics, how much, and to who.

And turns out the answers are a lot, a lot, and mostly Republicans.
#txlege open.substack.com/pub/christacke…

SCOOPLET: Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, who not long ago switched to the Republican party, has hired a staff writer at the Dallas Express, a right wing website funded by GOP megadonor Monty Bennett, who took a leadership course with the Christian Nationalist group Wall Builders.

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It’s unclear why Every Texan would qualify either, though they spend less money attacking basic science.

The Texas Public Policy Foundation, funded by oil billionaires, got a $3 million tax break on their lavish headquarters because they claim to conduct 'scholarly scientific research.' TPPF is among the worst peddlers of misinformation about climate change.

Greg Abbott State Representative Steve Allison Dade Phelan David Covey Straus says rgratcliffe’s account of his meeting with Tim Dunn, in which Dunn called on Straus to put only Christians in leadership, is accurate.

“It was a pretty unsatisfactory meeting. We never met again,” Straus says. texasmonthly.com/news-politics/… #txlege

Another scoop in this Forrest Wilder and Russell Gold piece: TPPF's headquarters was built with a federally subsidized loan meant for disadvantaged businesses that 'do not have other reasonable financing options.” A GOP state rep helped secure the loan: texasmonthly.com/news-politics/…