Daily Dispatch 1/6/25: January 6 and Trump Election Certification Surreal Crossroads For Progressives, and More

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Today's certification of the election of Donald Trump provides a surreal beginning to a troubling new era: https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5066046-trump-insurrection-pardons-betrayal/ ...Even some Republicans in Congress, at least at this point, appear hesitant about the widespread January 6 pardons Trump has promised: https://apnews.com/article/trump-pardons-congress-capitol-riot-crimes-4443c672fc3b1492640684652647cde6 Navigating between legitimate issues and culture war distraction will fall to Texas progressives as the legislative session starts soon - one legitimate issue is housing, which Republicans will likely use as an excuse to further erode local control in our bigger cities: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/06/texas-legislature-housing-affordability-crisis/ The Texas Supreme Court will hear the case between SMU and the United Methodist Church, in which the university seeks to establish its independence from the church, on January 15: https://www.aol.com/texas-supreme-court-hear-arguments-194022067.html Texas has neglected our part in funding the federal 988 suicide hotline, resulting in thousands of those desperate calls going unanswered amidst a huge uptick in Texas' suicide rate: https://www.ksat.com/news/texas/2025/01/06/amid-a-7-million-deficit-to-texas-suicide-hotline-thousands-of-calls-are-abandoned-monthly/ The merch to match your progressive values awaits at our web store! Grab your goodies at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://store.progresstexas.org/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We're loving the troll-free environment at BlueSky! Follow us there at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@progresstexas.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Thanks for listening! Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.