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JMR

@jamesfortexas.bsky.social
964 followers 331 following 533 posts

freelance writer covering art, the built environment, culture, people and politics, mostly in dfw and texas. quorum report’s newsclipper.

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JMR @jamesfortexas.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
This Fort Worthian who likes Dallas (imagine that!) reviewed Mark Lamster's new book Welcome to Paradox City: A Critical History of Dallas Told Through Its Architecture for Architect's Newspaper. www.archpaper.com/2026/10/in-w...
archpaper.com
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Gus Bova @gusbova.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Believe it or not, I was already working on this before the Ron White episode came out. Thanks to him for making this seem less random. Behold, the world's definitive work of investigative journalism concerning whether Joe Rogan wants James Talarico to win: www.texasobserver.org/joe-rogan-ja...
texasobserver.org
Does Joe Rogan Care Who Wins the Texas Senate Race?
An exhaustive accounting of the Austin podcast giant's thoughts (and lack thereof) on James Talarico, Ken Paxton, and the electoral contest between them
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David R. Brockman, Ph.D. @drdrbrockman.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Texas is the first state to require all public school students to read religious texts. The new reading list includes nursery rhymes and Hamlet but only Christian & Jewish texts, despite the fact that about 1/3 of Texans belong to neither religion. www.texasobserver.org/state-bible-...
texasobserver.org
The State's Bible-Only Reading List Is a Disservice to Texas Kids
A new required list doesn't meet the need to learn about the major religious traditions that make up Texas today—and it could impair public schools' ability to serve diverse populations.
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Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · 10/09/2026
New today: @byjustinmiller.bsky.social takes us to Laredo, where a hotly contested battle for Congress is taking place between conservative incumbent Democrat Henry Cuellar, and Democrat-turned-Republican Tano Tijerina. Tijerina is endorsed by Trump but still casts himself as a political outsider.
texasobserver.org
In Laredo, a County Judge and MAGA Convert Seeks to Topple Henry Cuellar
Tano Tijerina, who prominently switched parties after Trump's 2024 inroads in South Texas, is trying to cash in on political connections while also casting himself as the insurgent outsider.
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Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
New: Some political consultants say the Trump White House's targeting of mail-in ballots is sparking debates about campaign strategy in the home stretch. As one put it: “We’re all flying blind." time.com/article/2026...
time.com
‘Flying Blind’: Trump’s Mail-In Ballot Fight Leaves Campaigns Guessing
As states begin sending out mail-in ballots to voters, some campaigns are questioning if they should focus less on those votes than usual
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the Mountain Goats @themountaingoats.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Reuters obit is paywalled so as is so often the case here’s Architectural Digest to the rescue. If you don’t know Kusama’s story, take the time to read. She used her life to illuminate a secret path. www.architecturaldigest.com/story/yayoi-...
architecturaldigest.com
AD Remembers Yayoi Kusama, Avant-Garde Icon
The genre-transcending visionary was known for her provocative performance art, polka dots, and pumpkins
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Txnewsprincess @txnewsprincess.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
There is the obvious issue with the Texas Sun title and credit but y’all he couldn’t spell Ella Langley right either.
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Austin American-Statesman @statesman.com · 22/08/2026
Paramount is considering relocating some of its operations out of California, and Austin has emerged as a possible destination.
bit.ly
Paramount eyes Austin as potential new base in California exit
Paramount is considering relocating some of its operations out of California, and Austin has emerged as a possible destination.
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Chef Kennedy🐸🏳️‍🌈 @kennedy.northsky.social · 20/08/2026
Russel Wright's Casual China, also trans
Russel Wright's Casual China pitcher, very quirked up pitcher with a big ol knob above its spout, take that as you will
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Might Scare-ger @mikesager.net · 20/08/2026
I'm sorry. The Denver Republican party is run by a dude named Hugo Chavez and he's in trouble because he won't back a candidate named Marx?
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JMR @jamesfortexas.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
"Yet if Texas were to define religion down because of Christians’ discomfort with Muslims, what’s to prevent that same redefinition squeezing Christians in the future?" #txlege
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JMR @jamesfortexas.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Even Christianity today is pushing back on proposals limiting Muslims' freedom to worship in Texas: christianitytoday.com/2026/08/texa.... #txlege
christianitytoday.com
Texas Should Not Define Religion Down - Christianity Today
Freedom of worship is a foundational American right with sound scriptural support. Meddling with it is wrong—and shortsighted.
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JMR @jamesfortexas.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Something different: I'm the inaugural writer-in-residence at Masure Gallery of Photography in Fort Worth! My friends at the Dallas Voice wrote about my new role: dallasvoice.com/masure-galle...
dallasvoice.com
Masure Gallery announces DV contributor as its inaugural writer-in-residence - Dallas Voice
On Tuesday, The Masure Gallery of Photography in Fort Worth announced the appointment of James Russell as its first writer-in-residence. The gallery’s new initiative will be aimed at supporting arts a...
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Bolts @boltsmag.org · 10/08/2026
Open races for governor. Tests for reform prosecutors. The primaries to replace Lindsey Graham and Tina Smith. Legislative showdowns. Our guide breaks down what to watch tomorrow—it gets busy:
boltsmag.org
110 Elections to Watch This August - Bolts
A string of high-profile Senate and governor primaries will headline August and set the stage for November. They include the rushed special primary to replace the late Lindsey Graham in... Read More
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JMR @jamesfortexas.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
For Texas Architect, I unloaded on Texas cities for using deferred maintenance as a precedent for demolishing and abandoning civic structures, including I.M. Pei's Dallas City Hall. Fort Worth and San Antonio aren't spared either. magazine.texasarchitects.org/2026/07/28/d...
magazine.texasarchitects.org
"Deferred Maintenance" Endangers Civic Heritage - Texas Architect Magazine
If “deferred maintenance” is the government’s version of the excuse “the dog ate my homework,” then some Texas cities may…
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JMR @jamesfortexas.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
For Texas Architect, I unloaded on Texas cities for using deferred maintenance as a precedent for demolishing and abandoning civic structures, including I.M. Pei's Dallas City Hall. Fort Worth and San Antonio aren't spared either. magazine.texasarchitects.org/2026/07/28/d...
magazine.texasarchitects.org
"Deferred Maintenance" Endangers Civic Heritage - Texas Architect Magazine
If “deferred maintenance” is the government’s version of the excuse “the dog ate my homework,” then some Texas cities may…
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JMR @jamesfortexas.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
ok bsky we're back.
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Rebecca Rauber @defeatthefascists.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
“What power each of us holds” As Sanho says, this is the perfect bookend to Douglass’s “What to the slave is your 4th of July?” speech. #NoFascistUSA
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JMR @jamesfortexas.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
It took prayers, patience and pro bono work, but debartolo architects and Kristian Kelley Landscape Architecture were anle to complete to complete Oasis, a community center in Chandler, AZ, for ministry Live Love. www.archpaper.com/2026/07/deba...
archpaper.com
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Sarah Archer @sarcher.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Something I’ve glimpsed during the NBA finals and the World Cup are how much we need—and how much cities thrive on—experiences of shared joy. The understanding of how important this is (which might simply be the state of not being a sociopath) should be a big priority in 2028.
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JMR @jamesfortexas.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
No Big Bend Wall continues fight against border wall, citing environmental and archaeological threats www.archpaper.com/2026/06/no-b...
archpaper.com
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JMR @jamesfortexas.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
I first saw Rosemary Meza-DesPlas's textured, hair-laced work in 2004. I've wanted to write about her since. I did! For Arts and Culture Texas. I previewed Aquí, Escuchar (Here, Hear), at the Martin Museum of Art at Baylor University through November 27. artsandculturetx.com/the-stories-...
artsandculturetx.com
The Stories that Hair Can Tell: Rosemary Meza-DesPlas at the Martin Museum of Art
Rosemary Meza-DesPlas is among the godmothers of her craft. Since the early 2000s, the Garland, Texas native has set the standard for how to integrate human specimens in art. All she’s using is hair.
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Justin Miller @byjustinmiller.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
The Texas data center boom has exposed a growing intra-GOP tension over local control, between hamstrung and wary county officials and pro-state supremacy, pro-uninhibited growth state leaders. www.texasobserver.org/data-center-...
texasobserver.org
Data Center Boom Exposes GOP Faultlines over Local Control
In rural areas like Caldwell County, local Republican officials and citizens are scrambling to find ways to empower counties and slow AI-fueled development.
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Scott Braddock @scottbraddock.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Data centers, failing farms, screwworm concerns, and more have set rural Texas "on fire" politically. The latest on that and more on this must-listen episode podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...
podcasts.apple.com
"Where The Hell is The Money?"
Podcast Episode · Quorum Report Radio · June 5 · 1h 17m
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JMR @jamesfortexas.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
"Brad Alberts, president and CEO of the Stars, told The News months ago that, barring unforeseen, wholesale renovations that would cost in excess of a half-billion dollars, the Stars needed to build anew or be left behind." lol www.dallasnews.com/business/art...
dallasnews.com
Why the Mavericks and Stars say American Airlines Center is obsolete
The Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars haven't agreed on much in recent months, but they agree on this: American Airlines Center is outdated. How can an arena become obsolete in 25 years?
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Shelterforce @shelterforce.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
The next Opportunity Zone map could shape investment for the next decade. This article explains why local leaders need to stay engaged. 📖 bit.ly/43BA049 #CommunityDevelopment #OpportunityZones
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Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Amazing premise for a mid-tier X-Files episode: “The archbishop of Washington, D.C., on Wednesday removed a longtime archdiocesan exorcist, saying his recent comments about UFOs being demons ‘gravely undermine’ church teachings.”
washingtonpost.com
Archbishop removes D.C. priest as exorcist for saying UFOs are demons
Monsignor Stephen Rossetti had been an archdiocesan exorcist in Washington for nearly two decades.
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JMR @jamesfortexas.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
they could always call it the american airlines center. www.star-telegram.com/news/local/f...
star-telegram.com
Fort Worth’s premier concert venue, Dickies Arena, may be getting a new name
The company that owns Dickies doesn’t want to be a part of the arena anymore, according to arena officials.
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JMR @jamesfortexas.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
6 deadlines made, 2 to go.
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Sanho Tree @sanho.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Happy Pride Month from the New York Times!🙄
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Sanho Tree @sanho.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Are going to pick them up after Markwayne Mullin diverts their flights to Indianapolis?
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JMR @jamesfortexas.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
Only been up an hour and got more done than I did all this week. 🥊🥊🥊
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Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · 28/05/2026
From @liseolsen.bsky.social, in our magazine: With support from Ft. Bend county leaders, the new Black Cowboy Museum’s building, 10 times larger than the existing location, will soon rise in Bates Allen Park, a park that originally was a Freedmen’s town called Kendleton.
texasobserver.org
A Black Cowboy Museum, Rebooted
With diversity and history under attack in Texas, Fort Bend County leaders are bucking trends to back the expansion of a museum featuring Black cowboy culture.
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Katelyn Burns @katelynburns.com · 26/05/2026
Subscribe to Burns Notice! It's good! burnsnotice.com
burnsnotice.com
Burns Notice
Trans rights, politics internet culture, gaming, and the occasional sports thing. A newsletter by independent journalist Katelyn Burns.
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Scott Braddock @scottbraddock.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
There's *always* something else that comes out about Attorney General Paxton. On CNN, I talked about Republicans freaking out about him being their likely nominee for US Senate in Texas youtu.be/FFcavgkuSHw?...
youtu.be
Braddock on CNN: There is always something else that comes out about AG Paxton
YouTube video by Scott Braddock
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JMR @jamesfortexas.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
315 am and life comes at you fast
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Justin Miller @byjustinmiller.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
In the runoff to replace Bobby Guerra in House District 41 in Hidalgo County, it's a progressive insurgent versus an establishment-backed local banker www.texasobserver.org/texas-house-...
texasobserver.org
In South Texas House Runoff, It’s a Progressive Insurgent Versus the Establishment
In Hidalgo County's open House District 41, Bernie-backed Julio Salinas is up against McAllen City Commissioner Seby Haddad, who’s backed by most of the local politicos.
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Sanho Tree @sanho.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
This is me in Congress explaining how some of our most longstanding problems (like the drug war) have counterintuitive solutions and why it traps more dim-witted politicians. The harder you pull, the stucker you get. That’s why prohibition doesn’t work.
Photo of me in a suit in front of a podium pulling on a Chinese finger trap and getting my hands stuck.
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Emi the Sweary Cook🌵 @undercoveremi.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
I know there are also people out there that don’t read criticism because “I don’t need anyone to tell me what to like!” But that’s not what good criticism is. A good critic uses their education and experience in film to provide context and explain why certain techniques in a film move you.
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Txnewsprincess @txnewsprincess.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Should this be needed? No. But is this also good to offer? Yes, because it increases the odds that a child will not suffer from having their education disrupted.
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The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 16/05/2026
Among the groundbreaking innovations unveiled at U.S.-hosted exhibitions were the telephone, Ferris wheel and electric lighting. on.wsj.com/4dM20YF
on.wsj.com
In their heyday, World’s Fairs gave Americans a glimpse of technologies, products and ideas that were poised to change daily life
Among the groundbreaking innovations unveiled at U.S.-hosted exhibitions were the telephone, Ferris wheel and electric lighting.
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Josh Gondelman @joshgondelman.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
"I have cryogenically frozen my penis and filed it down to a fleshy icicle to replace any feminine roundness on my body with a masculine point."
mcsweeneys.net
At Long Last, I Have Maxximized My Looks
“At long last, I am a stone-cold seven, the kind of guy who could win a Jacob Elordi lookalike contest in a farm town with a population of 200.”
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JMR @jamesfortexas.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
lol. Texas made more complaints about Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show to the FCC than any other state. Ft. Worth, San Antonio and Austin residents submitted the most. www.dallasnews.com/arts-enterta...
dallasnews.com
Texas made more complaints about Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show to the FCC than any other state
Texas was No. 1 in complaints to the FCC after Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime performance
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Dr. Michael Phillips @drmphillipsut.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
In an op-ed I co-authored I warn that unless local cities act to shield intentional football fans from abuse by ICE when the World Cup comes to the Dallas area this summer, the games could become a financial disaster and a human rights tragedy. www.star-telegram.com/opinion/opn-...
star-telegram.com
Dallas-Fort Worth must support World Cup fans worried about Trump, ICE | Opinion
International visits to America have dipped amid concerns over immigration enforcement, and that could include soccer fans. | Opinion
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JMR @jamesfortexas.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
sorta bittersweet. Been reduced to 1 to at most 4 articles for a clients. that's down from 15-20. Anybody in DFW and TX want coverage? Primary beats are visual arts, architecture/the built environment, emphasizing reviews, criticism and hard news. Hit me up and be so kind as to repost.
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Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · 07/05/2026
“We work with elected officials, our police department, our constable, businesses, to keep our area clean and safe, working on flooding mitigation, things like that. Those are things that I believe he [Vo] should be doing. But every time we try to schedule something with him, there’s no response.”
texasobserver.org
In Diverse Southwest Houston, Longtime Incumbent Hubert Vo Forced into Runoff Row
After 20 years in office, opponents say he’s become out of touch and absent. Now he must survive a runoff against Alief school board member Darlene Breaux.
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Amy McCarthy @aemccarthy.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
HEY did you read this yet?
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Lee Bey @leebey1.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
My architecture column today. Good news for historic Bryn Mawr Avenue and downtown's former Chicago Daily News Building.
chicago.suntimes.com
Edgewater's historic Bryn Mawr Avenue heads toward possible landmark status
The Art Deco former Chicago Daily News Building will also get the nod from the Commission on Chicago Landmarks.
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Aman Batheja @amanbatheja.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
NBC: Kamala Harris telling donors she believes the Democratic National Committee should release its buried autopsy of her failed 2024 campaign, according to a person who has heard the conversations
nbcnews.com
Kamala Harris wants the DNC to release its autopsy report of the 2024 campaign
Amid turmoil over the Democratic Party’s future, Harris has been privately sounding out confidants about her own prospects.
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Rural Indexing Project @ruralindexing.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Historic pump house Rockford, WA
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