Josephine Lee

https://texasobserver.social/@josephinelee

Reporter Texas Observer (npub1xf8…0uw6)

EMAIL: lee@texasobserver.org
Stories at: https://www.texasobserver.org/author/josephine-lee/

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Last Notes

2025-09-13 13:31:22 UTC

The Texas Education Agency has now directed school districts to monitor teachers’ social media posts and fire teachers who criticize Charlie Kirk on social media- continuing Kirk’s efforts to have teachers reported and fired for their stated beliefs. https://www.professorwatchlist.org
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2025-08-24 20:11:07 UTC

“Robert Kennedy Has Gutted Our Best Defense Against Future Pandemics
mRNA technology saved America’s bacon in 2020. Now RFK Jr. is defunding it.” https://prospect.org/health/2025-08-20-robert-kennedy-has-gutted-best-defense-future-pandemics/

2025-08-24 18:42:54 UTC

The GOP States With Guards Deployed to D.C. Have Urban Murder Rates Way Higher Than D.C.’s
https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2025-08-19-gop-states-guards-deployed-dc-higher-urban-murder-rates/

2025-08-17 22:31:42 UTC

If held to the same standards, 27 private schools identified by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune through tax filings likely would have violated state law. … meant to prevent self-dealing and conflicts of interest if they were public. https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/13/texas-vouchers-private-schools-conflicts

2025-06-30 15:28:38 UTC

“Republican Sen. Thom Tillis went to the Senate floor and slammed the GOP’s plans for drastic Medicaid cuts — warning Republicans they are about to ‘make a mistake on health care and betray a promise.’” https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/06/29/congress/thom-tillis-slams-megabill-trump-00432290 Inside Congress Live

2025-06-30 14:35:07 UTC

“The Justice Department is aggressively prioritizing efforts to strip some Americans of their U.S. citizenship.” https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/immigration/2025/06/30/525225/doj-announces-plans-to-prioritize-cases-to-revoke-citizenship/ DOJ announces plans to prioritize cases to revoke citizenship – Houston Public Media

2025-06-30 01:17:17 UTC

Zohran Mamdani: “This Is The Heart Of The Battle For The Future Of The Democratic Party” https://www.levernews.com/zohran-mamdani-this-is-the-heart-of-the-battle-for-the-future-of-the-democratic-party/

2025-04-25 22:46:38 UTC

Inspector General Probes Whether Trump, DOGE Sought Private Taxpayer Information or Sensitive IRS Material https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-doge-irs-treasury-tigta-inspector-general-probe

2025-04-13 15:55:59 UTC

“Besides filing lawsuits and issuing angry statements, unions have done little to teach Trump that he has anything to fear from attempting to destroy them.” https://inthesetimes.com/article/unions-labor-strikes-afge-doge-trump-federal-workers

2025-03-21 15:12:51 UTC

In Q&A with DOE employees: “I just hope that people realize that it’s not because we don’t want to serve you. It’s because we have people in power right now who want to break this system and who want to get rid of the fact that education is an equalizer.” https://www.texasobserver.org/department-of-education-trump-union-cuts/

2025-03-03 20:51:12 UTC

“Ultimately, you’re going to see the system collapse and an interruption of benefits,” O’Malley [former U.S. Social Security Administration Commisioner] said. ..Ahead of any interruption in benefits, “people should start saving now,” O’Malley said. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/01/doge-actions-may-cause-social-security-benefit-interruption-ex-agency-head.html

2025-01-31 01:46:41 UTC

I wonder how much more Musk’s companies will get in government handouts through tax write-offs and what not while he continues to attempt cutting basic services for everyday people.
https://truthout.org/articles/tesla-paid-zero-federal-income-tax-in-2024-despite-2-3-billion-in-income/

2025-01-06 20:54:41 UTC

Interesting read! https://prospect.org/power/2025-01-06-ford-musk-made-cars-backed-fascists/

2024-12-25 03:10:56 UTC

“The country’s largest health insurers have invested over $120 billion into repurchasing their own shares since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010.” https://www.levernews.com/health-insurers-gave-120-billion-to-shareholders-while-denying-your-claim/

2024-12-17 23:28:14 UTC

What?!! “Three faraway Texas government agencies have quietly erased $635M in property value from Harris County’s tax rolls, resulting in over $10M in lost revenues every year for services such as schools, police and hospitals.” https://www.houstonchronicle.com/projects/2024/affordable-housing-stolen-taxes/

2024-12-10 23:19:01 UTC

“No presidency has been as thoroughly surrounded and supported by the private fund industry as America’s incoming administration.” https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/03/opinion/trump-presidency-billionaires.html

2024-12-09 00:14:45 UTC

Is this a point of pride now? “U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D) is claiming some credit for Texas’ controversial buoys to prevent migrants from crossing the Rio Grande, saying he pitched the idea to Border Patrol years ago.” https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/04/henry-cuellar-texas-rio-grande-border-buoys-immigration/

2024-12-08 23:47:37 UTC

This article spends a lot of space bemoaning how “Protecting a chief executive [from security threats] full time costs roughly $250,000 a year” and very little space on how families who make a fraction of that are routinely denied healthcare. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/06/business/brian-thompson-insurance-executives-threats.html

2024-12-08 23:28:00 UTC

“The targeted killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has become a defining moment in the zeitgeist of American health care. …But instead of eliciting sympathy, it opened the floodgates for an outpouring of rage…over the health care system.” https://www.statnews.com/2024/12/06/unitedhealthcare-ceo-killing-outrage-pain-resentment-reaction-brian-thompson/

2024-12-08 23:05:28 UTC

“State leaders have shown a decadeslong antipathy toward the health insurance program. If Trump makes severe reductions, it’s unlikely leaders would have the political will to make up any lost federal funds with state money, experts say.” https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/04/trump-medicaid-cuts-texas-residents/?utm_source=Texas+Tribune+Newsletters&utm_campaign=3e4aa7e66e-trib-newsletters-thebriefweekly&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-3e4aa7e66e-102826281&mc_cid=3e4aa7e66e&mc_eid=81ead3d78f

2024-12-08 22:50:02 UTC

Is this really what we’re considering, Texas??? “An Arizona grand jury has indicted two out-of-state residents for allegedly applying to the state’s private school voucher program as parents to 50 children – 43 of whom did not exist – and receiving more than $110,000.” https://apnews.com/article/school-voucher-fraud-arizona-02c8feb11e3f79b39d55554837b31198

2024-11-26 01:42:41 UTC

Many people may not know that Taiwanese Americans exist, that we have a distinct culture and language from that of the Chinese, that the first wave of migrants here fought to end a dictatorship back home and are still fighting to maintain their freedom there. I wrote about my family’s and others’ journey here in Houston. #AAPI #Asianamericanhistory #taiwaneseamerican https://www.texasobserver.org/houston-hotbed-taiwanese-nationalism/

2024-11-25 01:28:35 UTC

What?! Even fluoride in our water’s at risk?! “FL surgeon gen., Joseph Ladapo, on Fri recommended that communities in the state stop fluoridating their water- a move that could be a sign of more public health shifts to come under the incoming Trump administration.” https://www.statnews.com/2024/11/22/fluoride-drinking-water-florida-surgeon-general-urges-halt-echoes-rfk-jr/

2024-11-25 01:03:56 UTC

Trump selected TV doc Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Svcs. Oz wants to “move seniors and most Americans into private insurance plans that have been raising premiums and denying roughly one in ten medical claims.” https://www.levernews.com/dr-oz-can-now-pull-off-his-medicare-privatization-scheme-2/

2024-11-17 19:44:20 UTC

This is a 2012 documentary but still very relevant as a reminder of how U.S. intervention in Latin America- its efforts to topple democratic reforms and prop up dictatorships, led to mass migrations from those countries to the U.S.- including from the Dominican Republic in the 60s, El Salvador and Guatemala in the 1980s, and from Mexico after NAFTA in the 90s, putting into perspective the more recent wave of migration from Cuba and Venezuela. https://youtu.be/5gW84cAN2Pw?si=_ubw-qvw24-2YiDT

2024-11-12 15:55:13 UTC

When asked how Trump’s mass deportation plan can avoid family separation, Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said, “Families can be deported together.” https://youtu.be/qeR8GARzUCA?si=gXtt5I58XQGpNyxL

2024-11-06 12:38:41 UTC

“The former and now future U.S. president’s demagogue genius got him so far, but the Democrats offered him yet again the opening because they’ve increasingly lost touch with their traditional constituents: working class and lower-middle-income voters… The Democrats have consistently failed to understand the reasons for working-class disaffection — let alone find remedies to offer them.” https://www.politico.eu/article/democrats-us-election-2024-keep-forgetting-working-class-left-wing-parties/

2024-11-02 21:49:38 UTC

A data report by @matt_zdun shows that Californian migrants to Texas are not creating a blue wave: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/projects/2024/california-texas-politics/?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaG91c3RvbmNocm9uaWNsZS5jb20vcHJvamVjdHMvMjAyNC9jYWxpZm9ybmlhLXRleGFzLXBvbGl0aWNzLw==&time=MTczMDU4NDEzNzQzMQ==&rid=MmQzYmVhOGEtNjQ5Zi00YTg3LTg0MzktYjY1OWJkZDlkY2Ji&sharecount=MQ==

2024-11-02 21:10:00 UTC

“Trump, Preparing to Challenge the Results, Puts His 2020 Playbook Into Action” https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/02/us/politics/donald-trump-kalama-harris-campaign.html?unlocked_article_code=1.W04.U6mE.4czS13RjbiaH&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

2024-10-23 00:10:26 UTC

Pro Publica found low income parents in AZ used school vouchers much less than rich families bc of barriers to private schools, demystifying the narrative of “parental choice” around private school vouchers. https://www.propublica.org/article/arizona-school-vouchers-esa-private-schools

2024-10-05 22:53:27 UTC

Decades of climate denialism leading to Hurricane Helene’s impact in NC started with Governor Pat McCrory, a former executive at Duke Energy @lucydstockton https://www.levernews.com/before-hurricane-helene-a-perfect-storm-of-climate-denialism/

2024-09-30 23:56:00 UTC

Separate and unequal: A court of unelected, pro-business Abbott appointed judges to oversee a new court for business disputes. https://www.dallasnews.com/business/2024/09/30/texas-launches-business-courts-as-statewide-caseload-grows/

2024-09-18 01:28:13 UTC

We’re raising $5K in 5 days. Please help donate to the Texas Observer and support investigative journalism in the state of a Texas here! 👇 https://t.co/EUtI9XyBOD

2024-07-31 22:45:10 UTC

To poets out there in Texas!👇
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