MAGA Nuts

Melania Trump said this yesterday:

“his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America”

And this:

“hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country”

Nope. She wasn’t talking about her husband Donald.

Last night on his show, her intended target Jimmy Kimmel responded by saying that if Melania wants to dial it down, maybe she ought to have a conversation with Donald.

I agree.

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Speaking of more MAGA nuts, here is what the MAGA U.S. House Speaker said yesterday:

“I hope voters remember this in the fall. You’ve gotta keep the grownups in charge, and that’s the Republicans.”

I am thinking that a majority of voters know who the grownups are.

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Speaking of MAGA policies damaging our kids, see this from the Chron:

At Aldine’s La Promesa bilingual school, word spread among families that some students had been stopped by law enforcement while walking to school. It prompted some families to keep their children home out of fear even as district and campus leaders have assured them that “school is the safest place to be.”

The absences reflect a broader shift across the Houston area: districts have lost as many as one in five immigrant students since last year, according to an analysis by the Houston Chronicle. Overall, 20 of the region’s public school districts have lost nearly 8,300 immigrant students and nearly 18,000 emergent bilingual students. Experts link the decline to increased federal immigration enforcement.

“I get questions from my daughter … ‘Why didn’t my friend come back?’” said Cinthia Lopez, who once was a newcomer student herself and is now a parent in Aldine. “It’s hard for them. They don’t understand it.”

The district with the steepest decline, Humble ISD, lost 25% of its immigrant students, while overall enrollment decreased only by 1%, according to Texas Education Agency data. Some districts saw declines in immigrant students even as their overall enrollment remained flat or increased, such as Channelview and Cleveland ISDs. They lost 24% and 20% of their immigrant student population this year, respectively.

In Aldine, north of Houston, the district saw its overall enrollment decline 10% this year, but its immigrant student enrollment fell twice as much, by 22%.

The loss of immigrant students has forced school closures, program cuts and financial losses across districts, making an already difficult period of falling enrollment in the U.S. even more challenging for schools.

The featured includes the MAGA clown from Texas.

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This came out yesterday from Houston Public Media:

Mayor John Whitmire is facing formal ethics complaints from the Houston Progressive Caucus over his new podcast, “901 Bagby: Inside the Mayor’s Office.”

According to members of the caucus, the group filed grievances over the past week with the Texas Ethics Commission, the city of Houston’s Inspector General, and the City Controller’s waste, fraud and abuse division.

The complaints came after Houston Public Media obtained documents showing the podcast costs up to $60,000 in public funds. Because the podcast is taxpayer-funded, the group argued Whitmire’s brief allusion to next year’s municipal election during the first episode of the podcast ran afoul of state ethics rules around political advertising.

“We can’t be using taxpayer funds for an elected official to be pontificating or talking about or giving opinions about their future elections,” said Audrey Nath, co-chair of the caucus. “He should reimburse the people of Houston. Pay back the $60,000 from his own campaign funds.”

In the first episode, podcast host and former KPRC 2 anchor Owen Conflenti — owner of Conflenti media, which the city paid $60,000 for “advertising services” — asked Whitmire about his relationship with previous mayors of Houston.

After answering the question and reflecting on term limits, Whitmire said, “I’m so confident that we’re on the right track that I don’t — I don’t worry about the politics or re-election.”

“You win elections in between elections,” Whitmire told Conflenti. “I don’t have time for politics.”

The Texas Ethics Commission (TEC) enforces state laws concerning ethics and campaign finances. Under state law, public dollars cannot be used for political advertising.

Responding to a question from Houston Public Media, legal assistant Lindsay Powers with the TEC defined political advertising as “a communication supporting or opposing a candidate for nomination or election to a public office,” but said the TEC “cannot make determinations regarding the sufficiency of political advertising for a podcast” in response to a news media inquiry.

In a statement after this story was first published, Whitmire’s office said the podcast is “another communications channel the City is utilizing to keep the public informed and engaged. It serves the same purpose as social media, press releases, and other public forms of communication.” The contracting process with Conflenti Media “was conducted in accordance with the existing city ordinances and procurement guidelines,” his office added.

“The podcast is not a campaign communication; any questions about campaign activity should be directed to the John Whitmire Campaign,” Whitmire’s office stated. “The Texas Ethics Commission defines campaign communications as ‘Express Advocacy.’ The podcast will be informative and feature guests beyond the Mayor, but will not feature any campaign content for measures or candidates.”

Whitmire’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Nancy Sims, a political science lecturer at the University of Houston, said Whitmire’s election-related comments on the podcast fell into the “gray zone,” while campaign ethics attorney Andrew Cates said, “It’s close, but it’s not overtly against any laws or regulations that I know of.”

The city of Houston’s legal department — which houses the office of inspector general — and the city controller’s office did not comment on the complaints.

In addition to ethical complaints, the members of the Houston Progressive Caucus argued the podcast expense constituted waste as the city faces a daunting budget deficit — projected to exceed $170 million as the fiscal year ends in June.

“I think every one of us that has used YouTube and social media knows that engaging with the public by speaking does not cost $60,000,” Nath said. “It’s just such a waste, and in a time of a budget crisis, that doesn’t seem right.”

Over the last two months, the mayor’s office published four episodes of the podcast on audio streaming platforms and YouTube. Running from 17 to 24 minutes and featuring only Conflenti and Whitmire, the segments have covered the mayor’s initiative to address homelessness, the growing size of the Houston Police Department (HPD) and preparations for the seven FIFA World Cup matches kicking off in Houston in June.

Here is the entire read: Mayor Whitmire faces ethics complaints over city-funded podcast – Houston Public Media.

Folks know my relationship with the H-Town Mayor. I kind of think these complaints are a bit of a stretch. I wonder if the Houston Progressive Caucus is recruiting a candidate to run against the mayor next year.

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The Astros begin a six-game roadie this evening with three in Baltimore and three this weekend at Fenway.