Texas

Emboldened by court rulings and election victories, the Christian right is outspoken as it pushes its moral views through the Texas Legislature.

Testifying this month against bills that would put more Christianity in Texas public schools, the Rev. Jody Harrison invoked the violent persecution of her Baptist forefathers by fellow Christians in colonial America.

Harrison hoped the history lesson would remind Texas senators of Baptists’ strong support for church-state separations, and that weakening those protections would hurt people of all faiths.

Instead, she was rebuked.

“The Baptist doctrine is Christ-centered,” Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, responded sharply. “Its purpose is not to go around trying to defend this or that. It is to be a disciple and a witness for Christ. That includes the Ten Commandments. That’s prayer in schools. It is not a fight for separation between church and state.”

Harrison was not allowed to reply, but in an interview said she was stunned that a lawmaker would question a core part of her faith. The exchange, she said, perfectly encapsulated why she has fought to preserve church-state separations — the same religious protections that Campbell said are a distraction from bills that might bring school kids to Christ.

“It was a wake up call,” she said. “I don’t think people — even many churches — realize that this is going on right now, and that is alarming.”

A hunter found a mammoth tusk sticking out of a creek bed on a ranch in the Big Bend region. There is an interview with Bryon Schroeder, director of the Center for Big Bend Studies at Sol Ross (a Texas university), on the linked page, but I'll add a few quotes:

How could this be overlooked for so long? It must be just that remote.

I think it’s that remote and there’s not that many people out there. I think these hunters had a little serendipity involved. These guys were out, you know, the right place at the right time.

It could have also just been dislodged rather recently because, I mean, it was in the creek drainage. So it could have just been exposed that quickly.

And it was it was it known that prior to this discovery mammoths lived in this region or what?

Yeah, so Harvard, with Sul Ross, did a very early, very large study out here in the late 1920s, early ’30s. And they knew about a lot of mammoths, and we’ve been actually trying to find those mammoth localities. And we just haven’t had a ton of luck.

And so people knew about them, but nobody’s ever dated them. Nobody’s ever really found one and figured out, you know, which part of the Pleistocene we’re talking about. Because at some point, mammoths get over here before people do.

You know, are these too early? Are these the right age for being associated with humans? And we’ve just not done that work because we just haven’t been able to find those localities.

How rare is this discovery? I mean, when was the last time a discovery like this was made out in your neck of the woods?

Uh, I’m sure there’s probably some ranchers out here that probably know where a lot of mammoths are on their land.

They just haven’t rang you up yet.

Yeah, haven’t rang me up. I’ve been doing this for over 20 years and I’ve seen one. I’ve seen this one. So they’re fairly rare.

Something a little more lighthearted that what usually gets posted around here, so I thought I'd share.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/39969354

The Forbidding Unlawful Representation of Roleplaying in Education, or FURRIES, Act, filed by Austin-area Republican State Rep. Stan Gerdes, would "prohibit any non-human behavior by a student, including presenting himself or herself, on days other than exempt days, as anything other than a human being."

The law would allow for exempt days, such as Halloween and other school dress-up days.

The law defines "non-human" behavior as "any type of behavior or accessory displayed by a student in a school district other than behaviors or accessories typically displayed by a member of the homo sapiens species," with provided examples being:

Using a litter box for the passing of stool, urine or other human byproducts

A personal or outward display, except during a school play or by a school mascot, through surgical or superficial means of features that are non-human such as using tails, leashes, collars or other accessories designed for pets

Using fur, other than naturally occurring human hair or a wig made to look like human hair

Artificial, animal-like ears

Other physiological features that have not historically been assigned to the human race through a means of natural biological development

Students who bark, meow, hiss or make other animal noises that are not human speech

Licking oneself or others for the purpose of grooming or maintenance.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/26631455

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/26612267

Summary

Rural Texas is struggling to contain its worst measles outbreak in 30 years due to crumbling public health infrastructure, hospital shortages, and limited medical staff.

The outbreak, concentrated in unvaccinated communities, has sickened nearly 200 people and caused one child’s death.

Local health officials rely on makeshift solutions and long-distance testing while facing slow state and federal support.

Funding from pandemic-era grants helped some areas, but overall investment remains low, leaving rural communities vulnerable to future outbreaks.

Experts warn proactive vaccination efforts should have started earlier.

Hello there!

Would it be possible to get the links in the sidebar updated to use the format that allows you to go to that community without leaving your instance? I'm in midwest.social, but when I click on the sidebar, it takes me to the community on Lemmy.World, meaning I'm not logged in and can't interact.

I think the way to do this would be to format the links like this:

! [email protected]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/26510225

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/26488233

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/33912874

Over the last three years, the head of a small charter school network that serves fewer than 1,000 students has taken home up to $870,000 annually, a startling amount that appears to be the highest for any public school superintendent in the state and among the top in the nation.

Valere Public Schools Superintendent Salvador Cavazos’ compensation to run three campuses in Austin, Corpus Christi and Brownsville exceeds the less than $450,000 that New York City’s chancellor makes to run the largest school system in the country.

But Cavazos’ salary looks far more modest in publicly posted records that are supposed to provide transparency to taxpayers. That’s because Valere excludes most of his bonuses from its reports to the state and on its own website, instead only sharing his base pay of about $300,000.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/26277925

Summary

A US natalist conference, promoting higher birth rates, is set to feature speakers advocating race science and eugenics at the University of Texas, Austin.

Organized by Kevin Dolan, the conference includes figures like Jordan Lasker, who promotes discredited race-IQ theories, and advocates of "liberal eugenics" like Jonathan Anomaly, who offers IQ screening for embryos.

Speakers also include figures from the far-right fitness scene and those associated with publications pushing racist pseudoscience.

Elon Musk, a natalism supporter, has amplified some of these views online. The event has drawn criticism for platforming these ideas.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/25983285

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/25806106

Summary

An investigation by the Texas Observer identified ICE Assistant Chief Counsel James Rodden as the operator of "GlomarResponder," a white supremacist X account.

The account, active since 2012, has posted racist, xenophobic, and pro-fascist content, including support for mass deportations and anti-immigrant violence.

Rodden's identity was confirmed through biographical details, court records, and social media activity. ICE has not confirmed his employment but is investigating.

Legal experts warn that his views compromise his ability to fairly represent the government in immigration proceedings. Rodden declined to comment.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/25767449

Summary

Jocelynn Rojo Carranza, an 11-year-old girl from Gainesville, Texas, died by suicide after enduring months of bullying over her family's immigration status.

Classmates allegedly mocked her and threatened to report her family to ICE. The school was aware of the bullying but failed to notify Carranza’s family.

Her mother, Marbella Carranza, only learned of the harassment after her daughter's death and is now working with investigators and the school to understand what happened and why she was not notified.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/25717730

Summary

The Dallas Police Department (DPD) announced it will not participate in ICE immigration raids, instead launching outreach meetings to reassure immigrant communities.

Led by the UNIDOS Latino Community Outreach Program, the initiative aims to dispel misinformation and encourage crime reporting.

Interim Chief Michael Igo emphasized that DPD focuses on public safety, not immigration enforcement. However, individuals with outstanding warrants may still face arrest and possible deportation.

Additional meetings, including legal guidance sessions, are planned in Dallas and neighboring areas to support and inform migrant residents.

cross-posted from: https://ponder.cat/post/1650384

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/32822004

State health officials said Friday in a news release that those who are infected are either unvaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown. Thirteen people have been hospitalized.

The cases have been concentrated in a “close-knit, undervaccinated” Mennonite community, Texas Department of State Health Services spokesperson Lara Anton said. Gaines County is highly rural, so many of the families send their children to small private schools or are homeschooled, Anton said.

“The church isn’t the reason that they’re not vaccinated,” Anton said. “It’s all personal choice and you can do whatever you want. It’s just that the community doesn’t go and get regular health care.”