Gus Bova
Kansas-Texas transplant. Editor-in-Chief, Texas Observer. Tips: bova@texasobserver.org, or DM for Signal.
- Reposted by Gus BovaThis is Maria, a 6-year-old detained by ICE last year. She began to unravel soon after arriving at a detention center in Texas, wetting the bed after years without accidents, crying through the night and begging to breastfeed again. Most of all, she wanted to be reunited with her cat, Milo. 1/
- Reposted by Gus BovaFor months Governor Abbott secretly deployed the Texas National Guard into ICE detention facilities, even forcing them to work in the detention center that imprisoned Liam Ramos and a two month old baby.
- Super packed meeting in Austin to hear about Austin PD relationship with ICE. This is just like the front portion of the school cafeteria
- Talarico's Super Bowl ad is an ad showing people alone on their phones/tablets watching footage from the same staged speech used in a prior ad. I make no comment on the effectiveness, only on what it implies about the state of our one precious lives on this planet www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s_1...
- "A member of Irving’s environmental Green Advisory Board resigned in the days after being identified by the Texas Observer as linked with the white nationalist group Patriot Front" www.keranews.org/government/2...
- SEIU Texas endorses Crockett -- AFL-CIO did not endorse so affiliates may endorse as they like:
- The kind of shit you don't have to have read a single Orwell book to call Orwellian. "Today, in classrooms across Texas, tomorrow’s leaders are learning the foundational, critical thinking skills," such as love for our masked federal agents www.texastribune.org/2026/02/03/t...
- The bigger Hearst paper uses significantly more words in endorsement of Talarico. In summary, "Nobody really knows what electability looks like in Texas;" however, Democrats need to stop counting on an "unseen army of low-propensity voters." www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/endo...
- The San Antonio daily's ed board goes with Crockett, based on her experience in Congress and her being engaging, they write: www.expressnews.com/opinion/edit...
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- Reposted by Gus BovaFeatured story: The last time Democrats won statewide office in Texas was 1994. That year coincides closely with an important index of organizational power: peak union density in the state.
- A new Texas Center for Voucher Transparency is launched (two citations to @josephinelee.bsky.social in the press release):
- Reposted by Gus BovaLiam is home now and we are grateful to @joaquincastrotx.bsky.social for traveling to Minneapolis with him and his dad. Welcome home Liam ❤️❤️
- An emerging trend is statewide Texas Dem candidates basing a lot of their pitch on having flipped a seat in 2018. So it's odd to me how rarely media notes their performance vs. Beto in those districts. Allred ran 4 points under O'Rourke; Talarico ran 9 under.
- Reposted by Gus BovaYesterday, five-year-old Liam and his dad Adrian were released from Dilley detention center. I picked them up last night and escorted them back to Minnesota this morning. Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack.
- Well, at least they have so many popular things to fall back on. For instance, grocery store operators are seeing consistent increases in revenue per item sold. And we've significantly reduced the number of international alliances that could have broken down in the future for unforeseeable reasons.
- Looks like a win to me for the Dem in Tarrant County special
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- Huge crowd at anti-ICE rally in East Austin. This is a very random angle from the playground area -- but basically Pan Am is packed to the gills.
- Reposted by Gus BovaI will be putting in notice Friday morning with DHS to return to Dilley to check on Liam again and the many other children and families there. Liam did not look well. My staff and I are very concerned about him.
- Reposted by Gus BovaJust visited with Liam and his father at Dilley detention center. I demanded his release and told him how much his family, his school, and our country loves him and is praying for him.
- Inbox: “Our Texas labor movement is united in standing up for immigrants, union members, and our families, and calls for ICE to get out of our communities,” said @texasaflcio.org president:
- Post-publication, one subject of this story who did not respond to requests for comment, has stated on video: "Basically North Texas Patriot Front guys have like a network of businesses—it’s like five or so—of businesses we own." Update at bottom: www.texasobserver.org/revealed-fou...
- The Texas Observer debut of @alexbirnel.bsky.social: www.texasobserver.org/let-a-hundre...
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- The San Antonio daily's ed board goes with Crockett, based on her experience in Congress and her being engaging, they write: www.expressnews.com/opinion/edit...
- I finally understand what it is like to live in Minnesota or Siberia or any other of the world's most frigid locations
- Something like 8 agents wrestling the 1 guy in the video and somehow that ends with a series of gunshots. www.startribune.com/ice-raids-mi...
- Reposted by Gus BovaMan shot by federal agent in south Minneapolis www.startribune.com/ice-raids-mi...
- Put another way, mass protests are making the White House nervous, causing even Vance to tone himself down www.cnn.com/2026/01/23/p...
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- Now: @repmarcveasey.bsky.social moves to cut pay of ICE attorney with racist X account to $1 www.texasobserver.org/congressman-...
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- Reposted by Gus BovaDrug deaths are rising in Texas prisons and state jails, and synthetic cannabinoids like K2 have become the primary killer. Jackie Wiley went into a state jail on a drug charge. He never made it out. www.texasobserver.org/state-jails-...
- An excellent investigative profile here from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: www.texasobserver.org/state-jails-...
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- It's hard to say exactly when or how far, but the pendulum will swing back on immigration and policing. When it does, what will all the Dem politicians and pundits who transparently swung to the right with it really have accomplished by doing so? www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
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- Reposted by Gus BovaNew from me and @tristanl.ee with a bit of help from @wileydcope.bsky.social: We identified companies in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that are operated either by members of Patriot Front or individuals with multiple connections to Patriot Front www.texasobserver.org/revealed-fou...
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- Reposted by Gus BovaBREAKING: James Rodden, an ICE prosecutor who the Observer identified last year as the operator of an X account that posted “America is a White nation," “‘Migrants’ are all criminals,” and apparent praise of Adolf Hitler, appeared to be back at work Tuesday. www.texasobserver.org/ice-prosecut...
- Reposted by Gus BovaNEW: Police—sheriffs, Texas state cops, and even ICE—can follow the location of your smart phone without a warrant. Yet, we know little about how this software has been used. via @texasobserver.org + @pulitzercenter.org www.texasobserver.org/texas-police...
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- Hey y'all, the @texasobserver.org is hiring for our David McHam Fellowship for Investigative Reporting, a 1- to 2-year full-time job that's an essential part of our newsroom. The preferred applicant for this round will focus on border and immigration. Apply by 2/6! www.texasobserver.org/jobs/
- New from @stevanzetti.bsky.social: A Dallas megadonor, a new nonprofit, and a scheme to relocate the homeless out of downtown shed light on a larger right-wing triumph over “housing first.” www.texasobserver.org/dallas-texas...
- Reposted by Gus BovaNew: I spoke to Rice University Latin American Studies Professor Luis Duno-Gottberg and @sdonziger.bsky.social about the history of U.S. oil adventurism in Venezuela and the role Chevron is set to play in Trump's blood-for-oil imperial venture. www.texasobserver.org/houston-oil-...
- The Observer's closing thought for the year: A Light the Darkness Cannot Extinguish, from @drdrbrockman.bsky.social www.texasobserver.org/a-light-the-...
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- The @texasobserver.org is still seeking student applicants for an internship helping cover the 2026 elections! Details here: www.texasobserver.org/jobs/
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- As total membership in Texas unions grows, the state's labor federation is moving into a new era of leadership, with Latin@s in both of the top roles for the first time: www.texasobserver.org/texas-afl-ci... from @josephinelee.bsky.social
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- Excited to see the Texas Observer's nonprofit board grow at the end of this year, adding @maudbeelman.bsky.social, @blibal.bsky.social, and Gabriela Resto-Montero: www.texasobserver.org/board/
- "I think that we should be looking at who it is that can expand the electorate so we can win. We have spent a lot of time doing the philosophy lessons of who it is that we believe can win—and we keep losing, versus being willing to do something different." www.texasobserver.org/jasmine-croc...
- It was never plausible to carry out mass deportations while focusing on the "worst of the worst"; there aren't enough serious criminals in the deportable population. Tom Homan was always crystal clear they would be indiscriminate
- A thoughtful assessment of Lina Hidalgo that avoids the schadenfreude of the typical rise-and-fall political story: www.texasobserver.org/lina-hidalgo...
- Republicans aside, there's no one who knows how to win the 2026 U.S. Senate race in Texas
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- Checked the clock and it's still today so run don't walk to the link below!
- Hey hey internet, today is GivingTuesday! Your donation today to @texasobserver.org fuels the hard-hitting, deep-dive reporting Texas needs now more than ever. Plus all gifts today are matched up to $25,000! Donate: texasobserver.fundjournalism.org/donate/?camp...
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- Reposted by Gus BovaHey hey internet, today is GivingTuesday! Your donation today to @texasobserver.org fuels the hard-hitting, deep-dive reporting Texas needs now more than ever. Plus all gifts today are matched up to $25,000! Donate: texasobserver.fundjournalism.org/donate/?camp...
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