You can tell I engineered today's political drama as part of our spring subscription dive! open.substack.com/pub/lifeitso...

Last week’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais completes the gutting of the Voting Rights Acts of 1965. Here's a primer. open.substack.com/pub/lifeitso...

The third assassination attempt upon Donald Trump in two years has taught the MAGA sheeple an important lesson: we need a bigger, better ballroom. open.substack.com/pub/lifeitso...

Ted Cruz resolutely demurs when offered (four times now) a seat on the United States Supreme Court. And why shouldn’t he? He dreams of the presidency, but should probably stick to podcasting. open.substack.com/pub/lifeitso...

Texans celebrates the Battle of San Jacinto because it harkens back to more heroic times. Our current leaders do not inspire such heroism. open.substack.com/pub/lifeitso...

“If we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane.” – Jimmy Buffett Sunday Funnies, by @DeeceX open.substack.com/pub/lifeitso...

The War in Iran goes on, Texas prepares for NewMexit, and plans to ruin the Big Bend region with a birder wall move forward. In all three instances, the government has trouble telling us the truth. 3-Point Shots: Does Anyone Tell the Truth Anymore? , by @DeeceX open.substack.com/pub/lifeitso...

We’ve Already Lost The War With Iran. We just don’t know it yet. We’ve Already Lost The War With Iran. , by @DeeceX open.substack.com/pub/lifeitso...

An Easter meditation on life, beauty and the passage of time.

The battle is not over yet, but there are encouraging signs the government will not despoil the Big Bend region in its obsession with “securing” the border. open.substack.com/pub/lifeitso...

Our C-List national leadership may not have thought of everything. open.substack.com/pub/lifeitso...

In which Donald Trump confides to his diary about how things are going. open.substack.com/pub/lifeitso...

From Politico PM just now … "In 2024, Donald Trump won back the White House in a landslide victory … " Really? What are they huffing over at Politico?

Religious faith is bent and misshapen as a tool to win culture wars in ways that would horrify the Founders. Still, there is holiness in the world.

Democrats proved they still have a heartbeat in last night’s Texas primaries.

The federal government is proposing to extend its wall-building project into the Big Bend National and Big Bend Ranch State parks. Their plans will destroy one of America’s last great treasures. open.substack.com/pub/lifeitso...

Last night, a gunman killed three and wounded 14 in an attack the FBI is saying had "a potential nexus to terrorism." open.substack.com/pub/lifeitso...

Donald Trump hit the nail on the head in his State of the Union address last night — we are quickly growing exhausted by all the winning in the good ol' USA! open.substack.com/pub/lifeitso...

In his Super Bowl halftime show, the Puerto Rican musical artist and global star Bad Bunny reminded us that "Americans" includes everyone who lives on the American continent. open.substack.com/pub/lifeitso...

This is a “No B.S., calling it as I see it” edition of Three-Point Shots. lifeitsownself.substack.com/p/3-point-sh...

Donald Trump is building his own United Nations, You, too, can get in on the ground floor!

I always see, hear and learn new things when I am on the road with Marfawitz. But this one was a doozy.

Last Saturday's murder of Alex Pretti by ICE agents who shot him in the back 10 times has shocked the nation. The blowback has reached Donald Trump; will it stir the Congress?

Indeed, we have not seen such an extraordinary collection of grifters and second-raters since the last meeting of Trump’s cabinet. open.substack.com/pub/charlies...

In the first year of his second term, Donald Trump has upended the Constitution, the laws, and the international order. And nothing is stopping him.

Donald Trump has designs on the Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s medal. But so does Greg Abbott.

Machado instead decided to "gift" it to President Trump during their Oval Office meeting today in return for … what? open.substack.com/pub/lifeitso...

Donald Trump has designs on the Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s medal. But so does Greg Abbott.

It would take a two-word amendment to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to subject ICE agents and other federal law enforcement officers to the same liability for constitutional violations that local and state officers currently face. If Congress actually cared about what it's seeing, it could pass that overnight.

Breaking NYT: The Pentagon used a secret aircraft painted to look like a civilian plane in its first boat attack, according to officials briefed on the matter. The laws of armed conflict forbid combatants from feigning civilian status. That is a war crime called "perfidy."

AOC: I want everybody to understand that the cuts to your health care are what’s paying for this. You get screwed over to pay a bunch of thugs in the street that are shooting mothers in the face.

Everyone agrees the Talarico-Crockett matchup will be the marquee event in the March Democratic primaries. But there’s lots of debate over who ought to win, and why. open.substack.com/pub/lifeitso...

First, Venezuela and now, Boquillas. The Trump Administration’s plan to [plunder the Western Hemisphere] secure our energy future has taken a big step forward.

The U.S. incursion into Venezuela is unconstitutional, poorly thought out, and likely to destabilize oil prices, the European alliance, and several South American countries. What could go wrong?

Its National Roof Over Your Head Day. The leading cause of homelessness for women & children is domestic violence. The Mary Parrish Center provides rapid & transitional housing to survivors escaping domestic violence. To give 👉🏼 linktr.ee/mary_littleton

David Richards, who passed away on November 13, was one of the great lawyers and progressive leaders of Texas history. open.substack.com/pub/lifeitso...

Donald Trump is facing down the entire leadership of Europe today to convince them of his plan to sell Ukraine down the river. Will he succeed? open.substack.com/pub/lifeitso...

On today’s #DogShirtTV, @benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org, @hollybfletcher.bsky.social & @jonrauch.bsky.social welcome Deece Eckstein @deecex.bsky.social a veteran Texas lobbyist and political analyst, to discuss the current state of #Texas and its government. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RkP...

As many as 56 Democratic members of the Texas House have left the state, denying the House the quorum it needs to pass Trump's redistricting scheme. open.substack.com/pub/lifeitso...

Texas's current effort to redraw congressional district Ines in the middle of the decade is inviting retaliation from other, bluer states. What's the point of the escalation? Mid-Decade Redistricting: Why? , by @DeeceX open.substack.com/pub/lifeitso...

The White House is hoping the Texas Lege will redraw congressional lines to make them even more divorced from demographic and political reality. What could go wrong?

We used to dream great dreams in our land. We thought we could make life better for everyone, and actively worked to do that. When did we become so petty?

Part of making time-lapse movies of West Texas sunsets is the very Eastern practice of Zen.

Part of making time-lapse movies of West Texas sunsets is the very Eastern practice of Zen.

If Jesus, Allah, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster will it, you may get a great deal on a mattress today. But, as we seem to forget, there is much more to Memorial Day.

Arguably the first Memorial Day celebration was held 160 ½ years ago, in a field in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The country is again in danger from within – will it survive?

The Qataris have given the president a $400 million “Palace in the Sky,” and there is nothing suspicious about that. So I want my own plane. Foreign governments, are you listening? open.substack.com/pub/lifeitso...

The Qataris have given the president a $400 million “Palace in the Sky,” and there is nothing suspicious about that. So I want my own plane. Foreign governments, are you listening? open.substack.com/pub/lifeitso...