congress

Texas Standard: May 29, 2020

As much of the Lone Star State reopens, many prisoners in Texas eligible for parole are remaining behind bars. Why the hold up? We’ll explore. The governor says officials are monitoring the state for possible flareups and outbreaks but that effort’s overlooking many parts of Texas, notably communities of color. We’ll have details. Also, Texas hospitals that received bailout cash are suing a growing number of poor or unemployed patients. And rethinking the mythology surrounding the Texas ranger, the week in politics and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: May 27, 2020

Is it too dangerous to vote in person? New safety guidelines for election season and how they’re connected to the fight over mail in ballots in Texas. Also, how a pandemic is an unseen player in congressional races statewide. And an innovative program in Bexar county to help tens of thousands furloughed and fired, with payments plus retraining. Plus apprehensions at the border, the lowest ever? A Politifact check plus a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: February 19, 2020

Democrats duke it out over who’s best to battle John Cornyn: Bob Garrett of the Dallas Morning News will join us with the takeaways from debate night. Plus, the one presidential candidate striking fear in the hearts of some Texas democratic politicos. Here’s a hint: he’s a democrat. Also, using federal gun laws to help battle domestic violence. Plus a new report on widespread flaring in west Texas: how bad is it, and will it lead to tightening regulations? Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: July 22, 2017

Known for taking a stand on abortion rights and a gubernatorial race that won her national attention, Wendy Davis gets back in the game. In an announcement early Monday, former state Senator Wendy Davis made it official, announcing a challenge to a republican congressman, we’ll have details. Also, where the Texas GOP might be the most vulnerable? The answer might surprise you. Plus a prominent Texas university opens its doors to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: June 25, 2019

The President’s deal with Mexico inflated, critics said. But the New York Times among those now crediting Mr.Trump with a change at the border. The White House threat to increase tariffs with Mexico. Did the gambit work? We’ll take a closer look. Also, a conservative firebrand says goodbye to the Texas legislature. Does it say something more about a changing of the guard in Texas politics? Plus, from oil giant to energy superpower: the story of renewables coming of age in the Lone Star State. All of that and then some today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: June 18, 2019

The President promises millions to be deported starting next week as he gets set to launch his reelection campaign. The pledge comes amid record numbers of apprehensions at the border and as he prepares for his first big campaign rally of the 2020 election cycle. Empty politics, or the launch of a major new enforcement action? We’ll explore. Also- the best lawmakers in Texas, and the worst too. In the aftermath of the 86th Legislative session Texas Monthly issues its long awaited biennial rankings. Plus the rest of what’s what this Tuesday and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: January 11, 2019

Day 21 of a government shutdown. The end in sight? Short answer, no. But a freshman congressman from Texas remains optimistic. We’ll hear why. Also, you wanna build that wall Mr.Trump? Texas will get ‘er done. That appeared to be the message from Lt. Gov Dan Patrick when the president visited south Texas yesterday. Was that a serious suggestion? If so who pays for that and with what exactly? We’ll take a closer look. And a new space race of sorts: now its quantum computing. Plus the week in Texas politics and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: December 4, 2018

A Texas Representative is leaving the state house’s ultra-conservative group. We’ll take a look at what the move could say about the upcoming Texas legislative session. Plus, the Texas Attorney General is accusing San Antonio’s police chief of violating the so-called sanctuary cities law. What happens now? And a Texas-based non-profit has been making big money housing immigrant children. A new investigation explores. Plus we’ll introduce you to U.S. Representative-elect Veronica Escobar. Why she says El Paso is the new Ellis Island. And we’ll take a look at a list of 31 of the most powerful people in Texas. You might be surprised. All of that and so much more today on the Texas Standard:

In 15 Minutes, Barbara Jordan Built A Legacy

Andy Warhol summed up our modern, technology-driven world: “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” But Barbara Jordan turned this idea on its head. In 15 minutes, she delivered a speech that gave her lasting, worldwide fame.

She was only 38 when she, on national television, argued for the indictment of Richard M. Nixon for high crimes and misdemeanors. Surrounded by more senior members of the House Judiciary Committee, mostly men with far more experience in government and law, Jordan gave a speech that was so brilliant, she stunned the committee and mesmerized those watching on television.

Here is how she opened:

“Earlier today, we heard the beginning of the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States: ‘We, the people.’ It’s a very eloquent beginning. But when that document was completed on the seventeenth of September in 1787, I was not included in that ‘We, the people.’ I felt somehow for many years that George Washington and Alexander Hamilton just left me out by mistake. But through the process of amendment, interpretation, and court decision, I have finally been included in ‘We, the people.’ Today I am an inquisitor. An hyperbole would not be fictional and would not overstate the solemness that I feel right now. My faith in the Constitution is whole; it is complete; it is total. And I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction, of the Constitution.”

Jordan’s Watergate speech is flawless in its eloquence. Few people ever reach these persuasive heights – you find it in Lincoln, and Kennedy and Martin Luther King. And you find it here in Barbara Jordan, a rare talent for setting logic on fire.

She was persuasive because she was anchored in the Constitution rather than anger or political posturing. Many worried at the time that agreeing to file articles of impeachment was the same as throwing Richard Nixon out of the White House without due process. She opens the constitution and teaches:

“It is wrong, I suggest, it is a misreading of the Constitution for any member here to assert that for a member to vote for an article of impeachment means that that member must be convinced that the President should be removed from office. The Constitution doesn’t say that.”

Jordan had a beautiful blend of legal and common language, a style that the man on the street can follow and be moved by. She tried to allay these fears by explaining, in Constitutional terms, that all the House can do is vote for impeachment, which is an indictment. The Senate must have the trial and decide guilt or innocence – and punishment.

She again follows the technical explanation with a simpler one:

“The framers of this Constitution were very astute. They did not make the accusers and the judgers — and the judges the same person.”

She follows this razor-like rationale, guided only by the Constitution, to this conclusion:

“Has the President committed offenses, and planned, and directed, and acquiesced in a course of conduct which the Constitution will not tolerate? That’s the question. We know that. We know the question. We should now forthwith proceed to answer the question. It is reason, and not passion, which must guide our deliberations, guide our debate, and guide our decision.”

Nixon resigned a few days later. I don’t think he cared to face this inquisitor.

And it wasn’t just Jordan’s infallible logic that supporters admired and opponents feared. It was her divine voice and impeccable diction that animated that logic, seeming to place it beyond rebuttal.

I have a friend, Dr. Juliet Garcia, who served on a bank board with Jordan. She says Jordan “could read the agenda and make it sound profound.”

When Barbara died in 1996, having devoted her life to serving Texas, Ann Richards remembered her this way. “There was simply something about her that made you proud to be a part of the country that produced her. And she forever redefined what it meant to be a Texan in the eyes of this nation.”

Jordan’s life was truly a succession of firsts: first African-American woman to serve in the Texas State Senate, first African-American Texan elected to Congress, first woman to deliver a keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, first woman to have a statue erected in her honor at UT Austin, and – this makes me smile – even in death she achieved another first. She was the first African American to be buried in the Texas State Cemetery. I do miss her. We sure could use her voice, and her logic, today.

Texas Standard: March 5, 2018

There’s Abbot and Valdez and White and who else? What does it take to make a mark in a contest like this? We’ll have details. Also, With just hours to go before primary day: gimme 5 takeaways: the university of Houston’s Brandon Rottinghaus on the big themes going into Tuesday. And 3-2-1-will we ever see liftoff by SpaceX in south Texas? We’ll have the view from the launch pad. And not since the days of sputnik: a milestone for a major Texas export. Hank Hill would be proud. All those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: February 9, 2018

A budget deal reached, but it took a while to get there and it’s STILL not a long-term fix. We’ll look at how Texas lawmakers voted. Also, suing the federal government: It’s not something that went out of fashion for Texas when Obama left office. Why the state continues to file lawsuits even with a Republican in the White House. And, tequila! A shortage could be on the horizon for the liquor that goes so well with Tex Mex. We’ll look at what’s going on in the industry that’s causing some crisis. And Texans may not be natural snow bunnies, but a few have still jumped to the highest levels of winter sports competition. We’ll tell you who to keep an eye out for in the Olympic action. Those stories plus the week in politics with the Texas Tribune, today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: November 3, 2017

The Texan who heads the House Science Committee: and who opposes arguments on climate change, won’t be going back to Washington. Lamar Smith’s announcement not to seek reelection comes as his colleagues take the wraps off a new tax reform plan- one that democrats call a giveaway to the rich, and the republicans claim will benefit the middle class. So what does it mean for Texas? We’re asking questions. Also, a new I-35 rivalry between teams that aren’t even in their respective cities. Confused? So are a lot of soccer fans. We’ll explain. Plus: a preview of the Texas Book Festival, the week that was in Texas Politics and much more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: May 3, 2017

Southwest says no more overbooking. But what about everyone else? Public outrage becomes political baggage for the airlines, we’ll have the story. Also some legal experts call it one for the ages: a federal court in Texas issues a ruling that could tilt the scales for the poor accused of low-level crimes. So why haven’t you heard about it? You will today. Plus, something dangerous in the water? Concerns mount in a Texas city known round the world for its fixer uppers. And a bill to crackdown on cyberbullying: why suicide prevention groups are raising red flags. And can you live stream an open public hearing in Texas? You sure about that? Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:

Gerrymandering

A federal court ruled recently that Texas lawmakers were intentionally discriminatory when it came to drawing congressional maps. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.

A Tribute to Shirley Chisholm (Ep. 51, 2015)

IBA presents a tribute to the late Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm, former congresswoman from New York’s 12th congressional district and the first African-American woman elected to Congress.

June 4, 2015

Former Governor Rick Perry is launching his presidential campaign, but can he overcome his indictment, his low poll numbers, and — a third thing i can’t remember….
As Congress takes a closer look at last month’s attempted terrorist attack in Garland, we’ll hear how the so-called Islamic State is using social media to build a fan base. What’s up with the Dallas bag ban? Texans probe a moon of Jupiter and an easy way to backup the pictures on your smartphone.

KUT Weekend – January 24, 2014

Angry North Texans protest earthquakes to oil and gas regulators….getting low income kids back in class….and where in the world is Texas Congressman Steve Stockman? Those stories and more in this edition of KUT Weekend!