- “Let Us Work:” Texans Gather in Front of Governor’s Mansion to Protest Lockdown
- Texas governor to ease some coronavirus restrictions after Trump pushes for a reopening – it’s not enough Abbott, remove all orders infringing on freedom
- Over 200 Texas Grassroots Leaders Demand Abbott Deliver Plan for Reopening Texas
- Abbott faces crosswinds as he prepares plan to reopen Texas – the stupid and unable to judge proportionality will never be satisfied so ignore them.
- Governor Abbott Issues Executive Order Establishing Strike Force To Open Texas – a good committee but the order is still a massive overreach.
- Who’s who on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Strike Force to Reopen Texas
- Gov. Abbott: Texas schools to stay closed for the remainder of the school year
- The Back Mic: A List of Regulations Waived by Governor Abbott During the Coronavirus Pandemic
- Judge Orders Texas Prison to Provide Soap, Masks for Inmates
- Texas wants federal funds for uninsured tests News | 3 hours ago
- AG Paxton Urges Fifth Circuit to Once Again Uphold Governor Abbott’s Executive Order Suspending Elective Medical Procedures
- Doctors and hospitals, facing financial hit, urge Abbott to lift ban on elective medical procedures – we’re all supposed to listen to the experts are we not? Abbott and all the rest should therefore listen to the medical community!
- Gov. Greg Abbott relaxes ban on nonessential medical procedures, says courts will decide if abortions can proceed – “Starting Tuesday night, health care facilities will be allowed to perform a limited number of nonessential surgeries, as long as those surgeries don’t deplete medical resources and allow the hospital to keep at least 25% of its capacity available to treat patients with COVID-19”
- Where Are Child Protective Services’ Coronavirus Tracking Numbers?
- SBOE approves African American studies course – I wonder if it will stress that segregation was a Democratic Party creation and opposed by Republicans? Don’t bet on it being clearly stressed. If anything it will claim the parties were somehow flip-flopped “back then.”
- Analysis: Coronavirus could threaten local property tax limits
- Texas is running out of money to pay unemployment benefits. People will still get paid, but businesses may see tax hikes as a result.
- How Texas lawmakers are navigating the personal and professional during coronavirus pandemic
- Rep. Thierry gains bipartisan support for establishment of Emergency COVID-19 Racial Disparities Task Force – utterly ridiculous.
- What’s Going on With Mail-In Ballots?
- Lawsuit Over Expanded Mail-In Ballot Campaign Raises Questions About State, County Power
- SD14: Travis County Judge, Democrat state senate candidate, returns $5,000 after campaign ethics violation
- How congressional campaigns are dealing with COVID-19
- Battleground 2020: A Breakdown of Runoff Fundraising Numbers for Key Texas Congressional Races
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- Coronavirus related
- Let’s Not Pretend This Is Constitutional
- COVID-19 mitigation is a weighing of harms
- For the purposes of Texas Executive Order GA-14 the following are considered “Essential Services”
- Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report, P&I mortality surveillance
- 2019-2020 Texas Influenza Surveillance Activity Report
- Texas COVID-19 situation report for 4/17/2020 (pdf) – 393 deaths in Q1 plus half of April. Official Texas 2018/19 flu season deaths were 9249 by end of July last year, over 10,000 for the year.
- Texas COVID-19 deaths now 428, only 1,522 in hospital – There are over 54,000 staffed hospital beds in Texas. That’s less than 3% of Texas staffed beds. Flu seasons often see higher numbers than this. “Data shared by Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson showed of the 1,150 confirmed coronavirus cases in Dallas County, 500 were hospitalized. More than 2,100 patients with the flu have been hospitalized over the same four-week period.”
- 963 new coronavirus cases reported in Texas, 16,455 total.– not much compared to 29,000,000 people. “The number of COVID-19 patients being treated in Texas hospitals dropped by 79 to 1,459, according to the figures reported at midday Thursday by the Texas Department of State Health Services.”
- Pro-Trump Protesters Push Back on Stay-At-Home Orders – they are right.
- Texas to Allow ‘Retail-to-Go’ at All Stores Starting April 24
- Ban on Gatherings of Family and Friends Could Be Lifted May 1
- Tarrant County Using Flawed Data for Coronavirus Policy
- More nursing home COVID-19 deaths, more, more
- Wichita County pulls back on some of its crazy overreaching restrictions, more
- Abilene police issue first citations for violating shelter in place order – don’t pay it and take the city to court.
- AbiMar Foods closes Abilene plant after 9 employees test positive for COVID-19
- How Safe Are Fluffy And Rex From The COVID-19 Pandemic?
- COVID-19 patients may be most contagious one to two days before symptoms appear, study finds – same with influenza
- Austin man’s acrylic boxes help Texas doctors stay safer while treating people with coronavirus
- Georgetown orthopedic surgeon recovers from harrowing ordeal with coronavirus
- Doctors and hospitals, facing financial hit, urge Abbott to lift ban on elective medical procedures
- Travis County GOP Chair Criticizes Exemption of Homeless from Public Facial Coverings Requirement – shows the absurdity of political nature of these stupid orders from local officials
- Dallas County Mandates Masks – pure tyranny.
- Citizens React to Travis County’s Mask Mandate, Jail Threat
- Face Masks Mandated in Bexar County – 900 “cases!” 2,003,554 people live there! The cases # does not even make half-a-thousands of a percent!
- Doc says masks help you not spread disease but mostly if made of thick material like denim “not a silver bullet”
- Government entities cannot spend as if everything is normal
- Texas Towns Hit Hard As COVID-19 Keeps Tourists At Home
- First responders worried about coronavirus but committed to the job
- Beware Governor Declaring ‘God Did Not Do This’ — Help Us in Our Pandemic Pain. We Need All the Divine Help We Can Get.
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- Federal/DC related to Texas
- Trump gives governors 3-phase plan to reopen economy – not good enough, too many excuses to keep limiting freedom over too long of a time.
- Ted Cruz talks COVID-19 with local leaders VIDEO
- Business Owners Left Out as Lending Program Goes on Hold
- Can the President Adjourn Congress and Make Appointments Without Senate Confirmation?
- Susan Combs: Returning to Texas for family reasons
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- Presidential race / national politics
- Joe Biden: Coronavirus Crisis an ‘Opportunity’ to Enact Green New Deal Policies
- Buttigieg on Coronavirus: We’re Seeing ‘Life-and-Death Consequences’ of Ignoring Science on Climate Change
- Biden isn’t the man with the plan
- Klobuchar: Misconduct Allegation Against Biden ‘Has Been Investigated’ – really? By whom and when of what authority?
- Liberty Leads to Health and Prosperity
- Pelosi’s pricey refrigerator becomes symbol of disconnect during coronavirus pandemic
- Roger Stone denied retrial, judge says forewoman’s anti-Trump comments don’t prove bias
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- Border / immigration
- Rio Grande Valley border agents reporting frequent encounters with drug smugglers
- Detained Migrant With COVID-19 Forced to Call in to Court
- Secretary Hughs Convenes First Border Trade Advisory Committee Meeting Of 2020
- Laredo, a key Texas border crossing, uses strict coronavirus measures as it fears spread to rest of U.S.
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- Business
- Texas unemployment claims have passed 1 million since mid-March
- As economic data lags, Texas reports 4.7% jobless rate for March
- Baker Hughes Oil & Gas Rig Count Summary
- U.S. oil and gas rig count continues steep declines
- Oil extends slump below $18 as gloomy demand outlook persists
- AAA Texas: Statewide Gas Price Average $1.01 Cheaper Per Gallon than One Year Ago
- Schlumberger posts $7.4 billion loss
- ConocoPhillips cuts production, deepens budget cuts
- U.S. shale production swings to negative in Rystad projections
- Enterprise opens more storage options with two-way shipping along Seaway Pipeline
- Meals & Masks: Exxon Mobil gives Houston restaurants a much-needed lifeline
- Blue Origin hiring 20 per week, Texas location included
- First manned SpaceX Dragon flight scheduled for May 27th
- SpaceX reuses sections of damaged Starship prototype for next version
- Clothing and cotton sales plummet 50% due to Wuhan panic
- Longtime Austin brewpub NXNW permanently closes because of coronavirus – there will be tens of thousands of such not reported. And the virus didn’t close it, the overreaction by government closed it.
- Even for ‘essential’ Austin companies, the outbreak is causing strains, forcing changes.
- USAA reverses course on seizing federal stimulus checks – why you don’t want to have all your business in one bank.
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- Crime & general news of Texas
- Midland police arrest barricaded subject for stalking, federal gun and drug charges
- Man in wheelchair hit, killed while crossing street in Midland
- Odessa Police investigate fatal stabbing
- Wichita County indicts man accused of WF murder
- Wichita Co. SO deputy indicted for taking intimate pictures, more
- Four Wichita Falls teens accused of killing Carolyn High indicted on capital murder
- One arrested in Olney drug bust
- Police arrest man at scene of Abilene house fire
- $12,400 reward offered of info on murder of young girl killed in Abilene 2 years ago, 2-year anniversary of Jeannie Quinn case, and family still waiting on murder charges to be filed
- Lubbock man takes plea, will serve 8 years for burning child in hot water
- Video shows gunfire, end of police chase in deadly incident Thursday in Lubbock VIDEO
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- Local government
- Texas Mayors Want Equal Access to Coronavirus Federal Aid – they all want money, money, money and that’s the only reason some even made disaster declarations.
- Analysis: Coronavirus could threaten local property tax limits
- Government entities cannot spend as if everything is normal
- Amarillo’s Proposed Debt Issuance to Build Water Park Sparks Petition
- Deadline Extended for Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program
- COVID-19 makes planning for a potential bond election more complicated for Wichita Falls ISD – even with all this they focus on spending and more debt.
- Travis County Judge, Democrat state senate candidate, returns $5,000 after campaign ethics violation
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- Colleges & universities
- Universities financially smashed by coronavirus – most of the public universities need a huge cutback anyway.
- TTU: Nearly Empty Residence Hall A Haven For Immuno-compromised Student
- LCU Announces Renovations for the Rhodes Perrin Recreation Center
- Lamenting No Public Farewell for Trinity’s President Calgaard – maybe the Leftism and secularism that has infected Trinity is reason to not have a warm farewell?
Pratt’s post for 4/17/2020
April 17, 2020 by Leave a Comment
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