Texas Observer
@texasobserver.org
A nonprofit newsroom covering Texas through investigative journalism & narrative storytelling since 1954.
Follow our journos: https://go.bsky.app/EdSL3Co
🤠Learn more about us: https://linktr.ee/texasobserver
🎄Holiday giving: https://tr.ee/9w938r
Follow our journos: https://go.bsky.app/EdSL3Co
🤠Learn more about us: https://linktr.ee/texasobserver
🎄Holiday giving: https://tr.ee/9w938r
Pinned
❄️Even investigative journalists need a little holiday cheer
⛄This season, we’re grateful for a community that believes in truth-telling in Texas—especially when it matters most.
👉 Double your gift: tr.ee/9w938r
(🎄🧵 1/3)
⛄This season, we’re grateful for a community that believes in truth-telling in Texas—especially when it matters most.
👉 Double your gift: tr.ee/9w938r
(🎄🧵 1/3)
#ICYMI, from our magazine: “Bitcoin miners in general, if you map out across the United States, this is my opinion, are taking advantage of small rural communities that don’t have the wherewithal to fight back.”
Crypto's Cryptic Texas Takeover
State regulators don't want you to know about the 60-plus Bitcoin mines guzzling public water and electricity—even though consumers are already paying the price.
www.texasobserver.org
December 15, 2025 at 11:00 PM
#ICYMI, from our magazine: “Bitcoin miners in general, if you map out across the United States, this is my opinion, are taking advantage of small rural communities that don’t have the wherewithal to fight back.”
“It gives them an opportunity to use that scandal as evidence in an ideological war.”
Steve Stockman joins a dubious though growing American political tradition of disgraced politicos who have attempted to recast themselves as martyrs after being tarnished or convicted of crimes
Steve Stockman joins a dubious though growing American political tradition of disgraced politicos who have attempted to recast themselves as martyrs after being tarnished or convicted of crimes
Ex-Con Congressman Attempts a Texas Comeback
Steve Stockman, the felonious GOP politician, wants to return to Washington with a bid for a newly gerrymandered Houston-area district.
www.texasobserver.org
December 15, 2025 at 9:45 PM
“It gives them an opportunity to use that scandal as evidence in an ideological war.”
Steve Stockman joins a dubious though growing American political tradition of disgraced politicos who have attempted to recast themselves as martyrs after being tarnished or convicted of crimes
Steve Stockman joins a dubious though growing American political tradition of disgraced politicos who have attempted to recast themselves as martyrs after being tarnished or convicted of crimes
New today: “I have a gut feeling God has got something in store for this place. … To me, that plant is causing a lot of trouble, and to me, the Lord’s going to let a big hurricane come and wipe this place out.”
Peering Into the Rio Grande Valley’s Fossil Fuel Future
As deep South Texas prepares for its first gas export facility, communities along the Gulf Coast offer cautionary tales.
www.texasobserver.org
December 15, 2025 at 7:56 PM
New today: “I have a gut feeling God has got something in store for this place. … To me, that plant is causing a lot of trouble, and to me, the Lord’s going to let a big hurricane come and wipe this place out.”
“She was never a movement candidate.”
Featured story: A clear-eyed appraisal of Democrats' erstwhile shining star—a beacon of Texas progressivism under Trump 1.0—whose second term will soon end in disappointment.
Featured story: A clear-eyed appraisal of Democrats' erstwhile shining star—a beacon of Texas progressivism under Trump 1.0—whose second term will soon end in disappointment.
Lina Hidalgo Had a Vision. Harris County Won’t See It.
Her anti-climactic exit from office caps a saga of waning power and growing discord. But what her rise once promised is worth remembering.
www.texasobserver.org
December 15, 2025 at 6:34 PM
“She was never a movement candidate.”
Featured story: A clear-eyed appraisal of Democrats' erstwhile shining star—a beacon of Texas progressivism under Trump 1.0—whose second term will soon end in disappointment.
Featured story: A clear-eyed appraisal of Democrats' erstwhile shining star—a beacon of Texas progressivism under Trump 1.0—whose second term will soon end in disappointment.
Previously: Students at the University of Houston’s Muslim Student Association recently were victims of an attack on campus where a man approached their gathering, threw a Quran into a bonfire, and shouted anti-Muslim messages through a megaphone.
With Islamophobia on the Rise, Houston Becomes Home to First Ismaili Center in the Country
Despite growing anti-Muslim sentiments and discrimination, American Muslims continue to engage civically and thrive as a community.
www.texasobserver.org
December 15, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Previously: Students at the University of Houston’s Muslim Student Association recently were victims of an attack on campus where a man approached their gathering, threw a Quran into a bonfire, and shouted anti-Muslim messages through a megaphone.
New from @gaigedavila.bsky.social: As deep South Texas
prepares for its first gas
export facility, the Observer
has reported out the impacts
of LNG facilities in the
industrialized town of
Freeport and in Cameron
Parish, Louisiana.
prepares for its first gas
export facility, the Observer
has reported out the impacts
of LNG facilities in the
industrialized town of
Freeport and in Cameron
Parish, Louisiana.
Peering Into the Rio Grande Valley’s Fossil Fuel Future
As deep South Texas prepares for its first gas export facility, communities along the Gulf Coast offer cautionary tales.
www.texasobserver.org
December 15, 2025 at 3:10 PM
New from @gaigedavila.bsky.social: As deep South Texas
prepares for its first gas
export facility, the Observer
has reported out the impacts
of LNG facilities in the
industrialized town of
Freeport and in Cameron
Parish, Louisiana.
prepares for its first gas
export facility, the Observer
has reported out the impacts
of LNG facilities in the
industrialized town of
Freeport and in Cameron
Parish, Louisiana.
New from Gaige Davila: As deep South Texas
prepares for its first gas
export facility, the Observer
has reported out the impacts
of LNG facilities in the
industrialized town of
Freeport and in Cameron
Parish, Louisiana.
prepares for its first gas
export facility, the Observer
has reported out the impacts
of LNG facilities in the
industrialized town of
Freeport and in Cameron
Parish, Louisiana.
Peering Into the Rio Grande Valley’s Fossil Fuel Future
As deep South Texas prepares for its first gas export facility, communities along the Gulf Coast offer cautionary tales.
www.texasobserver.org
December 15, 2025 at 3:06 PM
New from Gaige Davila: As deep South Texas
prepares for its first gas
export facility, the Observer
has reported out the impacts
of LNG facilities in the
industrialized town of
Freeport and in Cameron
Parish, Louisiana.
prepares for its first gas
export facility, the Observer
has reported out the impacts
of LNG facilities in the
industrialized town of
Freeport and in Cameron
Parish, Louisiana.
From 2023: "Not only are bonnets, scarves, and durags a necessity for protecting our tresses, they are also forms of creative expression, incorporating a vast palate of colors, imagery, and patterns."
Protect and Serve
How Black women and men cover, decorate, and celebrate their locks to embrace their pride. From photographer Cindy Elizabeth.
www.texasobserver.org
December 14, 2025 at 8:00 PM
From 2023: "Not only are bonnets, scarves, and durags a necessity for protecting our tresses, they are also forms of creative expression, incorporating a vast palate of colors, imagery, and patterns."
Texas sure can be the strangest state! Let our pal Molly guide you through some of the recent, weirdest headlines ...
Read more from Strangest State: www.texasobserver.org/topics/stran...
Read more from Strangest State: www.texasobserver.org/topics/stran...
December 14, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Texas sure can be the strangest state! Let our pal Molly guide you through some of the recent, weirdest headlines ...
Read more from Strangest State: www.texasobserver.org/topics/stran...
Read more from Strangest State: www.texasobserver.org/topics/stran...
Last week: Long before being convicted of crimes, he was known for disregarding federal rules. During his two nonconsecutive congressional terms he failed to disclose assets as federal law requires and his campaign accepted donations under false names.
Ex-Con Congressman Attempts a Texas Comeback
Steve Stockman, the felonious GOP politician, wants to return to Washington with a bid for a newly gerrymandered Houston-area district.
www.texasobserver.org
December 14, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Last week: Long before being convicted of crimes, he was known for disregarding federal rules. During his two nonconsecutive congressional terms he failed to disclose assets as federal law requires and his campaign accepted donations under false names.
“This is scary. It’s adding to the vigilante state we live in.”
Texas' anti-trans bathroom bill went into effect December 4. Here's how the state government could weaponize this new law against public institutions, from libraries to prisons:
Texas' anti-trans bathroom bill went into effect December 4. Here's how the state government could weaponize this new law against public institutions, from libraries to prisons:
How the Bathroom Bill Weaponizes Transphobia Against Public Institutions
A legal expert called the new anti-trans Texas bathroom law “the most plainly unlawful, undemocratic legislation I’ve seen in recent history.”
www.texasobserver.org
December 13, 2025 at 8:00 PM
“This is scary. It’s adding to the vigilante state we live in.”
Texas' anti-trans bathroom bill went into effect December 4. Here's how the state government could weaponize this new law against public institutions, from libraries to prisons:
Texas' anti-trans bathroom bill went into effect December 4. Here's how the state government could weaponize this new law against public institutions, from libraries to prisons:
From Sana Patel: Despite growing anti-Muslim sentiments and discrimination, American Muslims continue to engage civically and thrive as a community.
With Islamophobia on the Rise, Houston Becomes Home to First Ismaili Center in the Country
Despite growing anti-Muslim sentiments and discrimination, American Muslims continue to engage civically and thrive as a community.
www.texasobserver.org
December 13, 2025 at 6:00 PM
From Sana Patel: Despite growing anti-Muslim sentiments and discrimination, American Muslims continue to engage civically and thrive as a community.
Our top story, from @samrussek.bsky.social: It’s worth lingering on Lina Hidalgo’s double-edged legacy: a meteoric rise and a stumbling decline, a wave of Democratic empowerment followed by a striking bout of impotence.
Lina Hidalgo Had a Vision. Harris County Won’t See It.
Her anti-climactic exit from office caps a saga of waning power and growing discord. But what her rise once promised is worth remembering.
www.texasobserver.org
December 13, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Our top story, from @samrussek.bsky.social: It’s worth lingering on Lina Hidalgo’s double-edged legacy: a meteoric rise and a stumbling decline, a wave of Democratic empowerment followed by a striking bout of impotence.
Wednesday, from @liseolsen.bsky.social: Former Congressman and felon Steve Stockman, a Friendswood-area conservative who was convicted of 23 federal corruption charges in 2018, has declared himself rehabilitated and fit to run again for the U.S. House of Representatives.
Ex-Con Congressman Attempts a Texas Comeback
Steve Stockman, the felonious GOP politician, wants to return to Washington with a bid for a newly gerrymandered Houston-area district.
www.texasobserver.org
December 12, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Wednesday, from @liseolsen.bsky.social: Former Congressman and felon Steve Stockman, a Friendswood-area conservative who was convicted of 23 federal corruption charges in 2018, has declared himself rehabilitated and fit to run again for the U.S. House of Representatives.
Applications are open until December 31, y'all ... 🤠
I had this job in 2007, can’t recommend it enough. You’ll learn so much and find yourself with opportunities you never expected.
In my case, I learned I did not want to cover politics for a living, but I had the opportunity to leave a small imprint on the mag with my camera and this pic of Obama
In my case, I learned I did not want to cover politics for a living, but I had the opportunity to leave a small imprint on the mag with my camera and this pic of Obama
December 12, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Applications are open until December 31, y'all ... 🤠
Reposted by Texas Observer
I had this job in 2007, can’t recommend it enough. You’ll learn so much and find yourself with opportunities you never expected.
In my case, I learned I did not want to cover politics for a living, but I had the opportunity to leave a small imprint on the mag with my camera and this pic of Obama
In my case, I learned I did not want to cover politics for a living, but I had the opportunity to leave a small imprint on the mag with my camera and this pic of Obama
![In February 2007, Barack Obama left the stage at Austin's Auditorium Shores and waded into the crowd of 20,000.
Someone in the giddy throng pressed a black cowboy hat into his hands.
As luck, and a quick shutter finger, would have it. Matt Wright, a 26-year freelance photographer who was the Observer's blogger at the time, was looking at Obama through a telephoto lens about 30 yards away as the scene unfolded. "He had this grin on his face, plunked it on his head, and tipped it once," Wright said. "It was kind of mock serious."
A few hours later, Wright posted the photo to the Observer's blog, writing, "As (Obama] exited the podium, people were practically running. trying to find a way backstage to have their picture taken with him. Crazy stuff."
The indelible Image-simultaneously capturing
Obama's poise and playfulness-quickly became an Internet phenomenon. Wright said he realized the photo had gone viral when the next day someone showed him a mass e-mail headlined "There's a New Sheriff in Town." Over the past year, the cowboy Obama photo has cropped up on Atlantic Monthly's Web site, as well as in the Austin American-Statesman, an ad for a cowboy hat company in Denver, a museum exhibit called "Cowboys and Presidents," and on YouTube, in a video featuring mariachis singing an Obama themed corrido.
Since his brief Austin giddy-up, Obama seems to have steered clear of cowboy accoutrements.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters in August, "Barack Obama doesn't wear cowboy boots, doesn't wear a cowboy hat-because it wouldn't look right." We know better. -Forrest Wilder](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:mcirit3dx4qo3xhjli3wsy6n/bafkreiciwitvlo4mv2xmdw24i4kdntjlvu4xex7n6ad7i7oxtal4g36gcu@jpeg)
December 12, 2025 at 8:33 PM
I had this job in 2007, can’t recommend it enough. You’ll learn so much and find yourself with opportunities you never expected.
In my case, I learned I did not want to cover politics for a living, but I had the opportunity to leave a small imprint on the mag with my camera and this pic of Obama
In my case, I learned I did not want to cover politics for a living, but I had the opportunity to leave a small imprint on the mag with my camera and this pic of Obama
❄️Even investigative journalists need a little holiday cheer
⛄This season, we’re grateful for a community that believes in truth-telling in Texas—especially when it matters most.
👉 Double your gift: tr.ee/9w938r
(🎄🧵 1/3)
⛄This season, we’re grateful for a community that believes in truth-telling in Texas—especially when it matters most.
👉 Double your gift: tr.ee/9w938r
(🎄🧵 1/3)
December 12, 2025 at 8:34 PM
❄️Even investigative journalists need a little holiday cheer
⛄This season, we’re grateful for a community that believes in truth-telling in Texas—especially when it matters most.
👉 Double your gift: tr.ee/9w938r
(🎄🧵 1/3)
⛄This season, we’re grateful for a community that believes in truth-telling in Texas—especially when it matters most.
👉 Double your gift: tr.ee/9w938r
(🎄🧵 1/3)
Reposted by Texas Observer
To my younger Lubbock BlueSky friends. NO BETTER place to work than where Molly Ivins used to write.
Our 2026 Elections Internship is open for applications until December 31. Get front-row journalism experience covering a high-octane election cycle with us.
Work for the Texas Observer
We’re a nonprofit with a strong public service mission; we seek to expose injustice and to produce the kind of impact journalism that makes a difference.
www.texasobserver.org
December 8, 2025 at 8:01 PM
To my younger Lubbock BlueSky friends. NO BETTER place to work than where Molly Ivins used to write.
Reposted by Texas Observer
What was Lina Hidalgo? When was Lina Hidalgo? Why was Lina Hidalgo? For @texasobserver.org, I appraised Democrats' erstwhile shining star—a beacon of Texas progressivism under Trump 1.0—whose second term will soon end in disappointment.
www.texasobserver.org/lina-hidalgo...
www.texasobserver.org/lina-hidalgo...
Lina Hidalgo Had a Vision. Harris County Won’t See It.
Her anti-climactic exit from office caps a saga of waning power and growing discord. But what her rise once promised is worth remembering.
www.texasobserver.org
December 9, 2025 at 3:38 PM
What was Lina Hidalgo? When was Lina Hidalgo? Why was Lina Hidalgo? For @texasobserver.org, I appraised Democrats' erstwhile shining star—a beacon of Texas progressivism under Trump 1.0—whose second term will soon end in disappointment.
www.texasobserver.org/lina-hidalgo...
www.texasobserver.org/lina-hidalgo...
#ICYMI: Between mid-October and early November, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and federal ICE signed a pair of agreements that will authorize some state police within DPS’s Criminal Investigations and Highway Patrol divisions to effectively operate as ICE agents.
Texas Turns Its Sprawling State Police Force Into Immigration Agents for Trump
The notorious 287(g) task force program has finally reached DPS, raising fears of widespread racial profiling.
www.texasobserver.org
December 12, 2025 at 6:30 PM
#ICYMI: Between mid-October and early November, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and federal ICE signed a pair of agreements that will authorize some state police within DPS’s Criminal Investigations and Highway Patrol divisions to effectively operate as ICE agents.
Texas sure can be the strangest state! Let our pal Molly guide you through some of the recent, weirdest headlines ...
Read more from the November/December 2025 issue of our magazine: www.texasobserver.org/issues/novem...
Read more from the November/December 2025 issue of our magazine: www.texasobserver.org/issues/novem...
December 12, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Texas sure can be the strangest state! Let our pal Molly guide you through some of the recent, weirdest headlines ...
Read more from the November/December 2025 issue of our magazine: www.texasobserver.org/issues/novem...
Read more from the November/December 2025 issue of our magazine: www.texasobserver.org/issues/novem...
Places like the Ismaili Center play an essential role in cosmopolitan cities like Houston. They provide venues for respect, public education, and peaceful coexistence.
With Islamophobia on the Rise, Houston Becomes Home to First Ismaili Center in the Country
Despite growing anti-Muslim sentiments and discrimination, American Muslims continue to engage civically and thrive as a community.
www.texasobserver.org
December 12, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Places like the Ismaili Center play an essential role in cosmopolitan cities like Houston. They provide venues for respect, public education, and peaceful coexistence.
Earlier: Par is what you set it at.
No more than 12 in your 4-some.
Missing balls are considered stolen. (No penalty.)
Bikinis Ok.
No more than 12 in your 4-some.
Missing balls are considered stolen. (No penalty.)
Bikinis Ok.
A Trip Through Willie Nelson’s Golf Course, His Unorthodox Rules, and His Uncertain Tribal Identity
My wife Monica and I had different reasons for journeying to Pedernales. She’s a fan. But our visit to Willie’s golf course was partly for my research on a book on Native-owned golf courses.
www.texasobserver.org
December 11, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Earlier: Par is what you set it at.
No more than 12 in your 4-some.
Missing balls are considered stolen. (No penalty.)
Bikinis Ok.
No more than 12 in your 4-some.
Missing balls are considered stolen. (No penalty.)
Bikinis Ok.
Reposted by Texas Observer
🧵The #OverdoseEpidemic is a #PublicHealth issue, not a carceral one. The more we continue to wage a so-called " #WarOnDrugs," more accurately described as a war on people, the more people we will lose from otherwise preventable #Overdoses. We deserve more —
bit.ly/BorderHarmReduction
bit.ly/BorderHarmReduction
In Juárez, a Militarized Border Makes Drug Use More Deadly
Growing security deployments pose unique challenges for harm reduction groups.
bit.ly
December 11, 2025 at 5:47 PM
🧵The #OverdoseEpidemic is a #PublicHealth issue, not a carceral one. The more we continue to wage a so-called " #WarOnDrugs," more accurately described as a war on people, the more people we will lose from otherwise preventable #Overdoses. We deserve more —
bit.ly/BorderHarmReduction
bit.ly/BorderHarmReduction
Yesterday: President Trump pardoned Steve Stockman in December 2020 after he’d served two years. But Trump’s pardon didn’t relieve him of the duty to complete probation or to repay conservative victims more than $1 million in restitution.
Ex-Con Congressman Attempts a Texas Comeback
Steve Stockman, the felonious GOP politician, wants to return to Washington with bid for newly gerrymandered Houston-area district.
www.texasobserver.org
December 11, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Yesterday: President Trump pardoned Steve Stockman in December 2020 after he’d served two years. But Trump’s pardon didn’t relieve him of the duty to complete probation or to repay conservative victims more than $1 million in restitution.