Evening Roundup, August 8
Featuring The Democracy Movement, Carron J. Phillips, Colin Allred, Richard Hasen, Michael Franklin, Jamie Schler, Ruben Bolling, The Contrarian podcast, "Don't Mess with TX," and our Pet of the Week
The president’s sports council is full of people who have no business giving counsel
By Carron J. Phillips
This cast of characters is a disaster waiting to happen.
Texas redistricting attempt is racist disenfranchisement: Colin Allred on Republicans' blatant power grab
Yesterday, at Senator John Cornyn’s request, the FBI agreed to “locate” the Texas Democrats who vacated the state. But the legislators are far from hiding. In fact, many have made media appearances and public statements.
The courts are chipping away at the Voting Rights Act: Expert Richard Hasen explains
As the fight against Texas Republicans’ discriminatory redistricting maps continues, a larger conversation about voting rights is taking hold.
What 'Building the Band' teaches us about talent, culture, and the dream of America
The show uses music and storytelling to build a vision of the world we could have if we centered connection over competition.
By Michael Franklin
Summer Fruit Compote and Vanilla Honey Madeleines
"There's no point in running; you have to set off at the right time.”—Jean de La Fontaine
Tom the Dancing Bug
Follow Ruben Bolling on Substack here; Join Tom the Dancing Bug’s Inner Hive here; and here is the Tom the Dancing Bug website, with information about the new book, “It’s the Great Storm, Tom the Dancing Bug!"
The power grab in Texas with Rep. Chris Turner, Ari Berman, & Mimi Marziani
This week, President Trump demanded that Texas Republicans throw out decades of political norms in a racist gerrymander to rig the system in his favor ahead of the 2026 midterm election.
Don't mess with Texas
As Texas Republicans attempt to gerrymander the state’s districts and disenfranchise thousands of Black and Latino voters at the prompting of their cult-leader-in-chief ahead of the 2026 midterm election, state Democrats are standing up and standing tall in opposition.
Contrarian Pet of the Week
We told you we wanted to have fun, and we take fun seriously at The Contrarian. Each week we will share The Contrarian pet(s) of the week. (The pet need not be contrarian.) Subscribers are invited to submit their furry friend!
I realize The Contrarian probably has a pre-planned agenda for its sessions. But today was a day on which something should have been said about the outrage being perpetrated in/against Gaza, and about our president's proclivity for giving Netanyahu a pass on his war crimes. That the world was deaf to the cries of Jewish victims of the Nazi Holocaust doesn't justify deafness to the Gaza Holocaust now. French summer compote and the dog of the week might have given way this time.
We Contrarians and ordinary Americans must take back democracy. If it means other states following in the Lone Star state’s footsteps then so be it. They’re not going to get away with it without a fight. Trump is the biggest racist in American politics. Gerrymandering to rig an election almost always ensures the least qualified candidate wins. I am so grateful the 2nd district in Alabama was redrawn so the most qualified candidate won in 2024. The Republican running in that race was way less qualified than Representative Shomari Figures who was on Joyce Vance’s livestream yesterday. Civil Discourse. Had that district not been drawn correctly then we would’ve sent a white woman with less than 2 years college who works in a public library hand picked by a state employee to ban library books. Yes that’s the kind of representation we would have in Washington right now instead of an experienced lawyer who has worked in the Obama and Biden WH.