Today is Monday, August 4, 2025. The newest repugnican outrage comes out of that fucking red-hat stronghold Texas with a battle brewing over this state’s redistricting effort that will plunge Republicans into the majority in 2026. This is outright stealing an election that hasn’t even been called yet, and this is the strategy that Dump’s lapdogs in Texas are trying to engineer. An online article for CNN by Eric Bradner entitled “How Texas’ redistricting effort is having major implications across the US” lays out the awful tactic that this state is attempting to carry out.

Bradner indicates that this move by Texas to strip minorities of their vote is already having major implications across the country. This effort is already spurring other Republican-dominated states to consider following the Lone Star’s lead as Democratic governors weigh their options to retaliate with their own mid-decade redistricting efforts. But Democrats in the state have staged a walkout before the Texas legislature could carry out a vote in favor of this immoral redistricting. They have fled the state in a bid to block the repugnican effort to redraw congressional districts in the GOP’s favor. I don’t know how long these brave lawmakers can stay away since the disgusting governor Abbott announced that arrest warrants can be issued against the Democrats who fled the state.

The convicted felon in chief is pushing this gerrymandering effort, and it is his lapdog Abbott who called the 30-day special session in which the GOP unveiled proposed maps that could shift as many as five U.S. House seats in the republican column, thus ensuring the ugly republicans maintain their majority in the House for the entire duration of the convicted felon in chief’s second terrible term.

Why this is being done now is that Dump fears that if Democrats regain the House, they will launch full investigations into all of his lawless policies that he succeeded in carrying out without compunction.

Democrats are in the minority in the Texas House, but they hold enough seats that they can deprive the chamber of the number of legislators necessary to do business under House rules. That’s why many fled the state on Sunday, with most flying to Illinois and others traveling to New York, outside the reach of Texas law enforcement.

Finally, Democratic governors are now pledging to “fight fire with fire,” as New York Governor Kathy Hochul has stated when presented with the news out of Texas. Thus the governors of California, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York have suggested they will explore redrawing their own congressional district maps to add more Democratic-leaning seats, or left the door open to doing so. Today, Hochul said, “The gloves are off, and I say, bring it on.”

Let’s hope and pray that other repugnican-led states do not follow Greg Abbott’s lead. But if they do, let’s hope that Democrats will grow a spine and not sit back and let democracy be lost in 2026. It’s already moribund, thanks to this sexual predator in the White House doing anything he wants to do without any guardrails stopping him. Democrats really must become as ruthless as their repugnican counterparts – there’s no getting around it.

Just to mention some personal news: Elliot and I are leaving for the West Coast on Thursday, August 7, to attend our friends’ 50th-anniversary party on Saturday, August 9, since Elliot sort of invited himself to the party several weeks ago when he was on the phone with “Elana.” It is Elana who has had a lifelong relationship with Elliot’s beloved deceased aunt Esther. She would have been considered somewhat of a daughter to Esther who had no children of her own. She has lived in Woodland Hills for many years now with her husband “Cary,” who is a retired rheumatologist. What is nice about going to Los Angeles now is that we can celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary with these friends as well. Our anniversary this year is on Sunday, August 10. Personal anniversary greetings are particularly welcome here. LOL

And so it went!