Greg Abbott - Gregory Wayne Abbott, former TX AG, now 48th Governor of Texas

[Gregg]

Uh, what does Abbott gain by pardoning this guy? I wondered that before this came out.

The guy got lobbied for by Fox News, where he appeared several times and told his I'mma scared widdle bunny" story.

[Dave from down under]

I’m surprised that Anders hasn’t arrived to explain why he shouldn’t have been charged in the first place.

Armed & “scared” = license to kill.

[Volkonski]

TonyStark@progressivecafe.social
Old Hippie
@old_hippie@masto.ai
@TonyStark According to TX Gov. Abbott, blue and red states have the same number of gun deaths. No pushback from the interviewer.

[Kendra]

Here is a clip in which
@GregAbbott_TX
:

1) Conveniently leaves out the fact that Texas’ gun death rate is 73% higher than CA’s.

2) Accidentally points to exactly why we need federal gun safety laws.

Abbott cut over $200 million from the agency that provides mental health services in TX, and Texas ranks 50th in available mental health services.

[raison de arizona]

Texas has bused over 17,000 migrants to sanctuary cities:

Over 9,200 to DC
Over 5,700 to NYC
Over 1,600 to Chicago
Over 925 to Philadelphia

We will continue to provide this critical support to our overwhelmed Texas border towns until Biden secures the border.

[RTH10260]

Texas plans a floating barrier in the Rio Grande. Here's what we know about it

June 9, 20231:31 PM ET
Juliana Kim

Gov. Greg Abbott plans to install a stretch of buoys on the river that divides his state and Mexico in an attempt to hinder migrants from crossing into Texas.

The Rio Grande is considered one of the deadliest routes for migrants. Over the years, hundreds of people, including babies and children, have died on the river, mainly from drowning in its turbulent current.

Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, described the floating barrier as a "proactive way" to prevent migrants from putting themselves at risk of drowning. But he also emphasized that the buoys will act as another layer of border security.

"What these buoys will allow us to do is to prevent people from even getting to the border," McCraw said at a border security bill signing ceremony on Thursday.

But immigrant advocates say that many people who attempt to cross the Rio Grande do so because they know of very few options to reach the U.S.

"Abbott's latest stunt will make this situation even more dangerous and deadly," said Mary Miller Flowers, director of policy and legislative affairs at the Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights.



https://www.npr.org/2023/06/09/11812449 ... rio-grande

[RTH10260]

New snorkeling adventures, though wildlife may not match that of the Great Barrier reef.

[AndyinPA]

More dangerous and deadly is a feature, not a bug.

[neeneko]

More dangerous and deadly is a feature, not a bug.

When your political and social power depends on human suffering, yeah, you tend to optimize for it.

[raison de arizona]

That report mentioned Abbott authorizing Texas law enforcement to arrest for Federal immigration violations. Didn’t Arpaio already try that and get shut down?

[Gregg]

Is the United States border the North or South Bank of the Rio Grande? Because that story says they're drowning them before they even get to the border.

Maybe the Mexican Coast Guard (does Mexico have a Coast Guard?) should just wait for it to be finished and them go take it down to use as pool floats in the Presidential Palace.

The drug cartels might do that as well, and they aren't so picky about where the border is.

[RTH10260]

Is the United States border the North or South Bank of the Rio Grande? Because that story says they're drowning them before they even get to the border.

Maybe the Mexican Coast Guard (does Mexico have a Coast Guard?) should just wait for it to be finished and them go take it down to use as pool floats in the Presidential Palace.

The drug cartels might do that as well, and they aren't so picky about where the border is.

Neither. Traditionally it's the center line of rivers. Except when the huge rivers have a huge flood plane and a narrow channel that keeps flowing at all times. Then the center of the low level flow is considered the border. Except again when the river decides to flow a different path after flood season. Then things get tricky.

[bob]

That report mentioned Abbott authorizing Texas law enforcement to arrest for Federal immigration violations. Didn’t Arpaio already try that and get shut down?

Local law enforcement can be certified to arrest for immigration violations.

US DOJ yanked MCSO's certification because of Arpaio. I don't know if it has since been recertified.

[Gregg]

Neither. Traditionally it's the center line of rivers. Except when the huge rivers have a huge flood plane and a narrow channel that keeps flowing at all times. Then the center of the low level flow is considered the bored. Except again when the river decides to flow a different path after flood season. Then things get tricky.
[/quote]

Okay. The border between Ohio and Kentucky, which was the subject of a Supreme Court case because the river has actually moved quite a bit since the Army Corps of Engineers built the navigation pools is the northern shore, but not the current northern shore, the place where the northern shore was in 1792. I remember the case being a big deal when I was in high school.

The boundary between Ohio and Kentucky is the low-water mark on the northerly side of the Ohio River as it existed in 1792 when Kentucky was admitted to the Union, not the current low-water mark on the northerly side of the river.
Ohio v. Kentucky, 444 U.S. 335 (1980)

[raison de arizona]

I asked chat gpt if the border was the middle of the Rio Grande.

No, the Texas-Mexico border is not located in the middle of the Rio Grande. While the Rio Grande (or Río Bravo in Spanish) forms a significant portion of the border between Texas and Mexico, the border itself is not defined by the middle of the river. Instead, the border follows the course of the river, which means that the specific boundary line can shift slightly over time due to changes in the river's path. The exact location of the border is determined by various legal and diplomatic agreements between the United States and Mexico.

[RTH10260]

Lucky you are not a lawyer, else ChatGPT may have been making up the story

[raison de arizona]

Let this sink in some more: A governor, who is disabled himself, vetoes a bill to make voting secure and accessible for disabled Texans.

Passed House & Senate w/ near unanimous, bipartisan support: 138-3 and 29-2

#txlege

Worth noting on this one >> The bill as passed limits the remote system to those who qualify to vote absentee due to disability. It’s NOT true, as the Gov’s veto proclamation implies, that ANY person who qualifies to vote absentee can use the system. #txlege

[Ben-Prime]

Also, this:

Gov. Greg Abbott approved this week a law that will eliminate city and county ordinances like Austin and Dallas’ mandated water breaks.

[raison de arizona]

Also, this:

Gov. Greg Abbott approved this week a law that will eliminate city and county ordinances like Austin and Dallas’ mandated water breaks.

I think I may have found the problem.

Texas is the state where the most workers die from high temperatures, government data shows. At least 42 workers died in Texas between 2011 and 2021 from environmental heat exposure, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workers’ unions claim this data doesn’t fully reflect the magnitude of the problem because heat-related deaths are often recorded under a different primary cause of injury.

This problem particularly affects Latinos because they represent six out of every 10 construction workers, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Unions expect heat-related deaths to go up if mandated water breaks go away.

“Construction is a deadly industry. Whatever the minimum protection is, it can save a life. We are talking about a human right,” said Ana Gonzalez, deputy director of policy and politics at the Texas AFL-CIO. “We will see more deaths, especially in Texas’ high temperatures.”

[Ben-Prime]

Gov. Greg Abbott approved this week a law that will eliminate city and county ordinances like Austin and Dallas’ mandated water breaks.

I think I may have found the problem.

This problem particularly affects Latinos because they represent six out of every 10 construction workers, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Unions expect heat-related deaths to go up if mandated water breaks go away.

If it prohibits one Messican from taking a 'Murican job...

[raison de arizona]

Abbott is on a roll, one might say.

Abbott signs bill to bar diversity, equity and inclusion offices from Texas colleges

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watc ... -colleges/

[raison de arizona]

[tek]

Abbott needs a wood shed event.

Just sayin'

[Ben-Prime]

Abbott needs a wood shed event.

Just sayin'

As in "none of us wood shed a tear"?

No, I keed. I get what you mean and couldn't resist the pun. Also, obligatory NADT disclaimer.

[RTH10260]

Texas governor signs bill rescinding water breaks as deadly heat grips state
Measure will nullify local ordinances that provide workers protection from devastating, triple-digit temperatures

Maanvi Singh
Fri 23 Jun 2023 23.38 BST

Amid a dangerous heatwave that has brought blistering temperatures across Texas, the state’s governor signed a law this week eliminating local rules requiring water breaks for workers.

The measure, which will take effect later this year, will nullify ordinances enacted by Austin and Dallas that mandate 10-minute breaks for construction workers every four hours. It also prevents any other local governments from passing similar worker protections.

Just days after Greg Abbott, the governor, ratified the law, officials said a 35-year-old utility lineman working to restore power in Marshall, Texas, died after experiencing symptoms of heat illness. The heat index – which takes into account both the temperature and humidity – was 100F (37C) while he was working.

It was an omen of what could come after HB 2127 takes effect in September, wrote the Texas branch of the AFL-CIO union, referring to the far-reaching law that not only curbs cities’ right to enact worker protections, but a number of labor, agriculture, natural resources and finance measures. “Banning required rest breaks for construction workers in the Texas heat is deadly.”

The law’s passage has enraged workers’ advocates, who warn that it will result in even more heat-related deaths and illnesses in a state that already tallies the highest number of worker deaths due to high temperatures.

“In the midst of a record-setting heatwave, I could not think of a worse time for this governor or any elected official who has any, any kind of compassion, to do this,” said David Cruz, the communications director for League of United Latin American Citizens National (Lulac), a Latino civil rights group. “This administration is incrementally trying to move us backwards into a dark time in this nation. When plantation owners and agrarian mentalities prevailed.”

Six out of every 10 construction workers in Texas are Latino, and labor advocates say that the law will hurt Latino and Black communities that are already disproportionately affected by extreme heat. Hispanic workers made up a third of all worker heat deaths since 2010, according to an NPR/Columbia study.

Local protections are crucial, advocates say, because the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha) does not have a national heat protection standard.

Still, the Republican lawmakers pushing the new law have said it eliminates a “hodgepodge of onerous and burdensome regulations” that Texas businesses face. The effort aims to prevent cities and counties from enacting progressive policies that counter the state Republican supermajority’s aims.






https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... s-heatwave