Robert Downen
Texas Monthly writer focused on the far right, Christian nationalism and the billionaires funding them. Helped expose the Southern Baptist abuse crisis. Fan of Hip Hop and loud guitars. DAEAC#E evangelist. Send me good music.
- Reposted by Robert DownenThis is most Menards thing I’ve ever seen
- Reposted by Robert DownenRESULT: Omaha's Republican Mayor Jean Stothert just lost to her Democratic challenger John Ewing. Stothert, who was running for a fourth term, resorted to anti-trans ads and messaging around who uses bathrooms in the final stretch of the campaign. Ewing will be Omaha's first Black mayor.
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- Reposted by Robert DownenBREAKING: The Episcopal Church has announced it will end its decades-old partnership with the government to resettle refugees, citing moral opposition to resettling white Afrikaners from South Africa who have been classified as refugees by the Trump admin. religionnews.com/2025/05/12/e...
- Reposted by Robert DownenFor everyone who was like “Google search is getting worse,” we were absolutely right.
- Reposted by Robert DownenNearly a third of Black people who contracted COVID-19 have experienced long COVID symptoms, one study found, but are “not being taken as seriously,” said one patient.
- “Why does liberty not visit the bodies of Palestinian children whose limbs are missing, whose ribs are exposed under thin skin and who are born lovingly only to die under an Israeli bomb?”
- Reposted by Robert DownenIllinois Gov. JB Pritzker plans to sign an executive order preventing state agencies from obtaining or disclosing data that personally identifies people with autism, unless required for medical care or legal matters. “Every Illinoisan deserves ... the freedom to live without fear of surveillance.”
- Reposted by Robert DownenI’m so glad papers like the Berkshire Eagle still exist. this reporter covered every detail of these arrests, including quashing a rumor that the building’s maintainance guy called ICE on these men (he didn’t). support your local journalists!
- Reposted by Robert DownenThe National Institutes of Health will partner with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid to create a database of Americans with autism, using insurance claims, medical records and smartwatch data.
- Guilty Balls.
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- “Chicago Pope” sounds like the name of the breakout mixtape from a south side Chicago drill rapper named Louis The XIV
- Happening now: Texas Senate committee hearing testimony on two versions of bills to end NDAs in sex abuse lawsuits. One version, passed unanimously by the House, would end NDAs for all sex abuse lawsuits. The other would limit it to child sex abuse lawsuits.
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- Happening now: Texas House Republicans - including vocal election fraud conspiracy theorists - are pushing to allow poll workers to be armed, citing a wave of threats and harassment they've faced (because of election fraud conspiracy theories).
- Reposted by Robert DownenAn awful lot of people think Nazi-esque crimes might happen again — including in the US. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
- Reposted by Robert DownenHard to overstate NIST's role in global cybersecurity
- Scoop: NIST's Computer Security Division — responsible for research & standards on cyber, privacy, cryptography, AI, etc. — has lost more than a dozen people, including its chief, to early retirements. www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/nist-cy... The departures could imperil key work.
- Appreciate this article for going out of its way to not call what JP Sears does "comedy."
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- A Texas lawmaker, along with Gov. Greg Abbott, wants to ban Furries & cat litter from schools, make it child abuse to encourage "non-human" behavior, and let the AG investigate/fine districts for violations. But the author can't name specific examples of such behavior.
- Reposted by Robert Downen3️⃣ The first two were in the greater Houston area. Hopping over for two in the DFW region, now. Starting with Grapevine-Colleyville: bsky.app/profile/tani...
- RESULT: Voters in the 'greater Fort Worth' region have ousted a conservative member of the Grapevine-Colleyville school board, Tammy Nakamura. Nakamura was part of the board's majority when they passed this policy... on a 4-3 vote. (www.texastribune.org/2022/08/22/g...)
- Reposted by Robert Downen4️⃣ Finally, let's finish with Mansfield: bsky.app/profile/tani...
- RESULT: Voters in Mansfield, Texas, have ousted three conservative members of their local school board tonight. This is a school board that has been at the frontlines of book-banning in Texas, as you can see here: fortworthreport.org/2025/03/19/m...
- Reposted by Robert DownenTexas conservatives who've championed book bans & anti-LGBT policies suffered big losses tonight in school board races. And They seem to have lost their working majorities to pass their policies in big school boards. I tracked these results in FOUR boards tonight. So a 🧵 on each ICYMI.
- Pretty big news out of North Texas, an epicenter for far-right schoolboard takeovers: Yesterday, the GOP in Tarrant County - a bellwether for the state - went 0-11 in the three largest towns; and seven school board candidates backed by the Christian nationalist Patriot Mobile PAC also lost.
- Reposted by Robert DownenIn 2023, a program connecting Utah farmers and ranchers to free therapy vouchers was so successful, the federal money ran out in four months. “I want you to know,” the program director recalled one recipient telling him, “that this saved my life.” With @sltrib.com
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- Reposted by Robert DownenA @reuters.com investigation identified 11 judges whose families faced threats after they ruled against President Trump. Many have come after billionaire Elon Musk attacked them on his social media platform. www.reuters.com/investigatio...
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- Reposted by Robert DownenScoop: Trump appointed snr state dept official sought stafff's internal comms w/ journalists, European officials, + critics of Trump for a “Twitter files”-style dump to try + prove that the State Dept's Global Engagement Center censored conservatives. www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/01/1...
- Reposted by Robert DownenNEW: A fund backed by Abu Dhabi will be making a $2 BILLION business deal using cryptocurrency from the Trump family's venture, World Liberty Financial, according to Zach Witkoff. That transaction would be a major contribution by a foreign government to President Trump’s private venture.
- In which a lawyer for the Oklahoma Attorney General warns that, by allowing publicly-funded religious charter schools, the Supreme Court would be upending American education and spark a wave of litigation over who and what can be taught that would ultimately be decided by... the Supreme Court.
- Trump's Religious Liberty Commission has one non-Christian, is led by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who claims "God wrote the constitution," and includes Kelly Shackelford, an ex-president of Council For Natl Policy whose First Liberty Institute has been instrument in eroding the church-state wall.
- Reposted by Robert DownenNEW: A former member of the Texas A&M chapter of Turning Point USA leaked a group chat tied to the group. In texts reviewed by Chron.com, Aggie conservatives mocked George Floyd, Muslims and transgender people. Read more from @fbugenhagen.bsky.social:
- Does licking Cheeto dust off your fingers count as a "non-human behavior" since it's kinda like how cats groom? A Texas lawmaker trying to ban furries, litter boxes and "non-human" behavior in schools says no, that's fine. But he still can't cite a single confirmed incident to justify his bill:
- Reposted by Robert DownenJUST IN: A federal judge in Texas, appointed by Donald Trump, will allow those targeted by the Alien Enemies Act in South Texas to proceed with a class action against the government. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
- Happening now: A Texas rep is grilling the author of a bill that would ban "non-human behavior" in schools - a response to furry/cat litter myths. Current debate: Is licking Cheetoh dust off your fingers the same as grooming yourself like a cat? Would the Attorney General would investigate that?
- Reposted by Robert DownenNEW: The DOGE kid at the CFPB holds investments in entities overseen by the agency. While owning them, he failed to recuse from helping to fire employees. Jake Pearson has the story: www.propublica.org/article/doge...
- Reposted by Robert DownenUkraine journalist who died in Russian captivity was tortured and had her organs removed www.cbsnews.com/news/viktori...
- Scenes from 10PM at the Texas Capitol: David Barton carrying a box of old textbooks to an overflow room for a hearing on public education that *just* resumed. There are 20 bills being heard, including one to put the 10 Commandments in public schools.
- Bigotry aside, this whole stunt is also lame because it's not even original. You know who else did the exact same thing at the exact rally in 2015? Christine Weick, who you may know as the "Monster Energy Drinks are Literally Satanic" Lady of 2014 internet fame. Bottoms up. And the Devil laughs.
- Muslims are holding a rally at the Texas Capitol as part of their civic engagement day. Valentina Gomez just charged the mic to call Muhammad a pedophile, and there are two dudes holding signs that call Muslims unclean, yelling at children.
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- Happening now. So far I count no furries and one David Barton
- In the wake of a white Texas teen's fatal stabbing by a Black high schooler, a whole host of figures - from more mainstream folks to outright eugenicists and neo-Nazis - have rushed to exploit it. I wrote about that, and the broader mainstreaming of hate and grift in our politics.
- Reposted by Robert DownenBreaking News: The Trump administration dismissed all the scientists working on the government’s premiere report on the effects of climate change in the U.S.
- man I just love Explosions In the Sky so damn much
- Reposted by Robert DownenStephen Miller was just asked, by one of the friendly pro-Trump media outlets, if the DOJ might "take action" against Pritzker for "inciting insurrection." Miller: "His comments, if nothing else, clearly could be construed as inciting violence."
- Reposted by Robert DownenCan confirm: Just spoke to him, and Barber and two others were, in fact, arrested. Story coming.
- Reposted by Robert DownenBREAKING: Police just surrounded Rev. William Barber, prominent activist and pastor, as he and others prayed in the U.S. Capitol Rontunda. Police then expelled everyone (including press!) from the Rotunda to (presumably) arrest them. I've covered protests here a lot. Never seen anything like it.
- Reposted by Robert DownenEXCLUSIVE: Two DOGE employees have access to a network used to transmit classified nuclear weapons data and a separate network used by the Department of Defense, sources tell NPR.
- Self-described prophet Cindy Jacobs has spent decades building the foundations for today's Christian nationalism. Now she believes "she’s won, through providence, a crucial battle in the fight between good and evil." Read this excellent profile by @sandivillarreal.bsky.social:
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- Reposted by Robert Downenin New Hampshire, JB Pritzker hits the "simpering timidity" of many Dems: “Fellow Democrats, for far too long we’ve been guilty of listening to a bunch of do-nothing political types who would tell us that America’s house is not on fire,even as the flames are licking their faces"
- Reposted by Robert DownenAnd now, a note on Bill Owens who, until this past week, was the executive producer of 60 Minutes. We’ll be back next week with another edition of 60 Minutes.
- Slowly remove the “can’t spell DIE without DEI” sticker from my Raytheon drone and replacing it with “I Bought This Before We Knew They Were Woke”
- I wrote about this moment/rally, and the wave of online racism and exploitation over Austin Metcalf’s death. It’s easy to ignore stuff like this as online noise. But it’s hurting real people and an entire, grieving community — while helping normalize hate at an alarming rate. (Link below)
- Last week I watched a bunch of accounts (mostly on Twitter) steal and share without credit footage of a protest that was filmed by journalists who flew from New York to Texas for a day to cover it. It’s infuriating and should be called out.
- Some perspective on how intense the digital mob has been: Monitors of online extremism said there’s been as much activity re: Austin Metcalf as there was for Jordan Neely’s killing — stunning given the difference in population/media markets in New York vs Frisco, and Neely’s death being filmed.
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- Next week, the Texas House is holding a hearing on bills that’d require the 10 Commandments in classrooms and ban “non-human behavior” in public schools. Put another way: There is a non-zero chance that I’m going to get to watch David Barton argue with a furry. 🤞🏼
