You Are Going To Have To Get Involved Yourself—Texas Progressive Alliance Round-Up

Here is the most recent Texas Progressive Alliance round-up. The TPA is a confederation of the best political bloggers in Texas.

With the round-up this week is a picture I took on Thanksgiving Day of the Texas State Capitol in Austin.

Life took me to Austin this past week.

A lot of brutal things are going to happen in that building in the months ahead.  The 2011 Texas legislative session offers little more than prospect of drastic cuts in the already thin social safety net, and, on social issues and immigration issues, nothing but far-right measures and extremism.

I’d like to make a point with this blog post that I’ve made a few times in recent weeks—It is up to you to get involved.

You see what happened in the election earlier this month. Crazy and sometimes hateful people were more enthusiastic and better organized than were others in 2010.

Nobody is going to do the work of freedom and democracy for you. You should please consider volunteering, blogging, running for office, starting a blog, writing a letter to the editor, talking to your friends and family, donating money  and whatever else you think might be of value.

You have to decide that you’re going to do something about the way we are headed in Texas and in  this nation.  It is up to you.

The round-up—

Off the Kuff examined the effect of straight ticket voting on the city of Houston’s ballot propositions as well as the touching of our junk.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wonders how the Cameron County Judge’s race can get any weirder. Who won and how did things get so messed up?

This week on Left of College Station, Teddy takes a look at the bills concerning immigration that have been pre-filled in the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate. LoCS also once again covered theweek in headlines.

WhosPlayin posted a two-part series following air quality complaints in a neighborhood in North Texas near Barnett Shale gas wells and facilities.