Thumbs: The Texas Legislature isn t helping our stress levels
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Texas Speaker of the House Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, reconvenes the 87the legislature at the State Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021.Jerry Lara, Staff / San Antonio Express-News
[Thumbs down] Larry Hammerstein, a mahogany mallet who reached the rank of gavel under Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, passed away Wednesday on the House floor. It was always his dream to be part of politics, his longtime partner Beverly Soundblock said. Even as a foolhardy teen, working the Test Your Strength booth at the State Fair of Texas, Hammerstein would often taunt players by comparing them to legendary House gavel smasher Kenneth Sheets, who managed to break at least six gavels during the 2015 legislative session. That dream became a nightmare once the reality of the Legislature took hold, though. So far this session, he had seen lawmakers push legislation to outlaw abortion, target transgender students, block paid sic