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Cover by Zeke Barbaro / Getty Images My original draft of this column was a breezy little number about political theatre and the pointless-but-for-the-political-points posturing of so many Republican politicians, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who belly-flopped in his attempts to sue four battleground states that went for Biden, and Sen. Ted Cruz, who has spearheaded a challenge to the Electoral College vote count. I can t imagine either Paxton or Cruz thought they d actually reverse Trump s defeat with these stunts, but by stoking conservative ire that the election was stolen and the system is rigged, they achieved their real goal – to genuflect to Trump and court his base. ....
Jackie Venson and Chris Cubas hosting the 2019/2020 Austin Music Awards last March at ACL Live at the Moody Theater (Photo by David Brendan Hall) For hundreds of locals, the 2019/2020 Austin Music Awards transpired as the last big show they attended before life turned upside down. Wednesday, March 11, 2020, ACL Live at the Moody Theater: We were so naive, passing joints backstage on the Willie s Place balcony while getting and giving all the hugs and handshakes you could ever desire and living in utter denial of how bad the COVID-19 pandemic would soon become. City officials canceled South by Southwest the Friday previously, but venues worked to host unofficial shows and bands planned on playing them. ....