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  • I think that it’s now safe to say that we Texans now live in a failed state.  30 years of GOP rule, setting our own standard, living the “Texas Dream,” which they’ve bragged about relentlessly…and let’s see where we are:

    A majority of the state in complete failure, unable to deliver the most BASIC of services (things that are called “utilities,” not “luxuries,” for a reason).  No power.  No water.  No means of clearing roads (that one, I can’t fault the state so much….but it wouldn’t be as big a crisis if people weren’t stuck in their homes with no power and water).  So citizens are stuck in their homes, some of them dying there. 

    Water resource planning?  After pretending for decades that a drought would never happen again, and not doing ANYTHING to develop resources in the state water plan (a document actually developed using science and mathematical projections), we had several locations, including actual cities, down to a few days of water supply.  We’ve finally gotten on our horse a bit, but it may be too late if the next drought comes anytime soon.  

    State rank in key categories:

    Education – 34

    Health Care - 37

    Infrastructure - 33

    Opportunity - 39

    Environment - 44

    Infrastructure - 33 

    In overall quality of life ranking by US News, we are now #38, down from #36 just two years ago.  At that rate, we’ll be in the bottom 3 within ten years.

    We are SUPER independent, and FUCK the feds….but we have requested federal disaster assistance more than any other state in the past decade or so.

    But hey, our economy is ranked #15!

    That’s right, we have a “roaring economy” and the “Texas Miracle!”  But we can’t deliver the basics for our citizens.  The economy is VERY efficient at funneling bazillions to the very few…..with little of it “trickling down” to most Texans.  Yeah, the people on this board generally do fine, but face the facts – we’re the top 10% or so.  We are educated, older, and fortunate.

    Our federal system allows for state-by-state experiments.  Texas is the poster child for near anarcho-capitalism and zero regulation or oversight.  We have tested that approach, for over a generation now (30 years of Republican rule).  That approach is a failure.  The evidence is undeniable, and overwhelming.  It doesn’t matter how many River Oaks millionaires you produce if the rest of your people are dying in their homes.  Shit, some of those River Oaks millionaires might be freezing to death today, too.

    The kids of a middle class family can hardly afford to go to a good state school.  Their prospects for employment are mediocre.  Their prospects of suffering crippling medical debt at some point are significant.  Their chances of not having basic utilities needed for life safety at some point – all but certain.  Their chances of becoming ill or dying from a pollution-caused illness are material.

    What’s the result?  Our leaders have sold Texas as a paradise – move here!  Bring your business here!  And some businesses have done so, adding opportunity…..but providing little to no tax support for the infrastructure we all depend on.  To the contrary, over the past few years, I know more and more people – educated people, people who can do their jobs elsewhere, who are looking to bail on this state.  It’s people with young kids, who want them to grow up in a better place.  It’s people in their working years, who simply want a better path.  It’s retirees, who want a safe and secure place to live.

    We have consumed our seed stock.  We have burned through our reserves.  We are now consuming ourselves.  The ability to pitch Texas as the land of opportunity is done.  Seeing what we have become, the tentative thought/plan my wife and I had of wrapping up our careers here and then getting the hell out of Dodge is becoming much more concrete.  My children are already unlikely to make their future in this state.  Now we are, too.

    But the response from the Republican leadership and their sycophants – “how are you gonna pay for it?  Taxes?  That’s socialism!  You want that stuff, you have to pay for it!”

    Fuck yes I do, and I’m okay with that.  I want groceries…so I have to pay HEB.  I want a car…so I have to pay Ford.  I want clothes…..so I have to pay Dillards.  I want my population educated….so I have to pay the school district.  I want electricity, with enough capacity to keep us running when we need it…..so I have to pay my bill, maybe with a capacity surcharge.  I want water to come out of the taps….so I have to pay for development of resources and maintenance of infrastructure.  I want roads….so I pay taxes to build and maintain them.  YES, I have to pay for all of those things, and “nothing is free” – no fucking shit.  So, let’s pay for it.  We have the #15 economy….we HAVE the funds in this state.  An economy with the flow of funds that ours has can produce and maintain all of those results.  But we have chosen a different path; funnel all the dollars to the top, and spend next to nothing for the public good.  We have privatized profit….we have socialized the costs.  And we are dying because of it.

    My fellow Texans are dying in their homes….and there’s nothing I can do about it today.  And I am enraged.

    I love Texas.  I am 6th generation here.  My ancestors have Texas historical markers on their graves.  We helped make this state, and this state helped make us.  It educated us (back when college was affordable).  But it’s time to face the fact – this state is a failure, and on its current path, with its current leadership and philosophy, it will only get worse.  This state has a terrible future, unless we dramatically change our path.   Chances of that happening?  0.0% -- because we’ll continue to vote for the guys who make our leadership priorities bathroom bills, and transgender sports, and requiring the national anthem be played at certain events.  Any bill that has been proposed to improve emergency preparedness of gov’t entities has been crushed by the Republicans controlling the lege….but we will definitely stick with those guys.  No taxes.  No government functionality.

    What we are seeing happening right now is our system working EXACTLY AS IT WAS DESIGNED AND INTENDED TO WORK.  And we will, I guarantee it, collectively decide to stick with that.  This state is in free-fall, and anyone with eyes can see it.  And anyone with a brain is starting to think of ways to make their life elsewhere.  It breaks my goddamned heart to see us commit collective suicide, but here we are.

     

     


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    Willfully Horn

    Posted

    5 hours ago, PTINS said:

    Glad I'm retired so I don't have to worry about this shit anymore.

     No kids, huh?

    • Hook 'Em 2
    Pato del Muerto

    Posted

    On 2/4/2025 at 11:22 AM, pyrohornIII said:

    From the article, pretty much yeah, or at least make it a dicey thing to do legally.

     

     

    Makes zero sense. An embryo or zygote may have full rights, but that does not include the right to be inside a woman’s uterus. That is her choice because it’s her uterus. That goes for those fertilized outside and inside of an embryo.  
     

    we should all have the right to remove any foreign body from inside us. 

    • Hook 'Em 2
    mchookem

    Posted

    what a fucking dick

    "hey constituents that I'm supposed to represent - hahaha and fuck you, bye!"

    children. our leaders are children. 

    • Hook 'Em 2
    • Like 2
    • Rage+1 2
    miguelito

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Pato del Muerto said:

    we should all have the right to remove any foreign body from inside us. 

    Take it to the deportation thread.

    • Haha 1
    wild_turkey

    Posted

    Makes zero sense. An embryo or zygote may have full rights, but that does not include the right to be inside a woman’s uterus. That is her choice because it’s her uterus. That goes for those fertilized outside and inside of an embryo.  
     
    we should all have the right to remove any foreign body from inside us. 

    If that bill were to pass, it would not only shut down IVF to future couples who need it, but it could create some significant legal problems for people who have already used it.

    Destroying an embryo would be considered murder. Suppose you’ve already been through IVF and you have unused embryos that are still frozen. What if you don’t have plans to use them? They will force implantation of all embryos or donate to another couple? What if the mother dies and only the father is left alive with embryos that he cannot biologically carry? Would he be legally required to find a surrogate mother?

    I guess you could say this is too radical to actually ever happen but look around at the radical shit happening lately.

    If I hypothetically had frozen embryos right now, perhaps I would hypothetically consider transferring them to another state, but Ken Paxton has previously indicated he would go after Texan women who leave the state for an abortion, so why should this be any different?
    Evil Bill Obrien

    Posted

    9 hours ago, Michael Knight said:

    image.thumb.png.a59d6d704d205309044de033e5d2e321.png

    What’s really sad is Cornyn is supposed to be our “elder statesman” senator, and yet still acting like a petulant child…

    • Hook 'Em 1
    • Like 1
    • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
    Nice Guy Eddie

    Posted

    On 2/2/2025 at 11:41 PM, Superhero said:

    As if the Texas education system isn't already one of the worst.

     

    Late reply on my part but this is the goal. There is a conservative movement that we should eliminate public schools. This allows for lower taxes and more religious schools. 

    pacman

    Posted (edited)

    And less upward societal movement of poor/middle class kids. Can't be mixing our precious wealthy kids with the peasant kids.

    Edited by pacman
    • Hook 'Em 3
    • Like 2
    mchookem

    Posted

    so is anybody talking about this? 

    https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/07/health/west-texas-measles-outbreak/index.html

    Quote

    A measles outbreak is growing in a rural area of West Texas where vaccination rates are well below the recommended level.

    Quote

    As of Friday afternoon, the outbreak has jumped to 14 confirmed cases and six probable cases among people who are symptomatic and had close contact with infected individuals, Zach Holbrooks, executive director of the South Plains Public Health District, told CNN.

     

    Quote

    All the cases are believed to be among people who are not vaccinated against measles, Holbrooks said, and most of them are in children.

    if only there were a way to mitigate the threat of this disease! 🤔

    • Like 2
    • Rage+1 1
    • Fuck Around and Find Out 4
    bluto

    Posted

    If you don’t already listen, Texas Take podcast is a solid listen for Texas politics. Braddock is a bit blow hard-y, but the info and historical context is solid.  
     

    this week dove into voucher bullshit. Damn good intel. 

    • Hook 'Em 2
    speed817

    Posted (edited)

    Double post

    Edited by speed817
    Kel Varnsen

    Posted

    What if I'm going in the men's room and it's a shrinkage day?

    Freaking Out George Costanza GIF

    • Like 1
    • Haha 3
    Horn Under a Bad Sign

    Posted

    Remember Colony Ridge, the massive development (some say 100,000 people are already there, with the possibility of 200,000 being there shortly) in Liberty County?  It's comprised mostly of illegal aliens. The builder gave 1.5 million dollars to Greg Abbott's re-election campaign. There have already been huge drug busts, mass shootings etc ... 

    It has grown massively.  This helicopter footage is pretty dramatic.

    https://x.com/CollinsforTX/status/1703871577341735050



     

    Colony Ridge.jpg

    mchookem

    Posted

    im sure ICE is all over that

    Bullneck

    Posted (edited)

    On 2/10/2025 at 2:54 PM, Disco Strangler said:

    Hilarious!  That's Dan Patrick's office number.

    I'm fucking hammered so I called and left a message.  

    11 minutes ago, mchookem said:

    im sure ICE is all over that

    If there was a problem, yo, they'd solve it.

     

    Edited by Bullneck
    • Haha 2
    royiv

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Horn Under a Bad Sign said:

    Remember Colony Ridge, the massive development (some say 100,000 people are already there, with the possibility of 200,000 being there shortly) in Liberty County?  It's comprised mostly of illegal aliens. The builder gave 1.5 million dollars to Greg Abbott's re-election campaign. There have already been huge drug busts, mass shootings etc ... 

    It has grown massively.  This helicopter footage is pretty dramatic.

    https://x.com/CollinsforTX/status/1703871577341735050



     

    Colony Ridge.jpg

    With CFPB being dismantled, I’m sure this will be going nowhere.

    https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-and-doj-sue-developer-and-lender-colony-ridge-for-bait-and-switch-land-sales-and-predatory-financing/

    DreadHead

    Posted

    22 minutes ago, royiv said:

    "Foreclosure and property deed records show that Colony Ridge flipped at least 40% of all the properties it sold between September 2019 and September 2022, selling approximately 8,237 properties twice, 3,267 properties three times, and 2,067 properties four or more times in three years."

    Damn... what rotten little racket they have going there. The developer donates to Abbott to build there, the Republicans blame Democrats for an "open border' that allows people to settle there, and the in-house financing from the developer offers immigrants no credit, no down payment, high-interest loans.

    And now Republicans will send in ICE, round everyone up, and send them off to private detention centers built by other Abbott donors, to rake in that nice Fed money Elon is "finding".

    I hate this state.

    • Like 5
    • Rage+1 1
    PTINS

    Posted

    On 2/5/2025 at 8:18 PM, Willfully Horn said:

     No kids, huh?

    To be clear, I continue to have an interest in climate change and the balance between an industrialized civil society and having to burn wood to cook.

    My not worrying about this shit is reference to be retired and not having to deal hands-on with the idiocy of policy making by individuals with little understanding of the issues they are trying to govern.

    The Original Greaser Bob

    Posted

    18 minutes ago, GreenspointTexas said:

    This is fucking madness. What.the.fuck. 
     

     

    this state sucks ass

    Let a transgendered high schooler race in a high school swim meet, fool me once.

    Let two more race over the course of the next year, we won't get fooled again.

    pacman

    Posted

    Oh, Matt..poor little fellah, ignorance doesn't look good on you .

    Screenshot_20250218-200519.png

    • Rage+1 1
    Dnaguy

    Posted

    On 2/7/2025 at 2:16 AM, pacman said:

     

    On 2/7/2025 at 9:04 AM, Disco Strangler said:

    image.jpeg.5f607af7216ab380919210f1ce233c33.jpeg

     

    On 2/7/2025 at 9:27 AM, Kel Varnsen said:

     

     

    On 2/10/2025 at 1:32 PM, Schulz2.0 said:

    m4o8aav95no81.jpg.cc4a2fd37454f55fd62197c34dd54953.jpg


    To protect and get served.

    Thin blew line.

     

    seriously though, the interviews were so gold I just couldn’t stop laughing.

    Quote

    Internal Affairs Investigator: So the first one, when you went in with no recording device, was somebody outside? Did they drop you off or did you drive yourself there?
    Ofc. Travis Plybon: I drove myself there.
    IA Investigator: So, just pulled out of patrol, given some city money, and told to go and see if you can solicit something.
    Ofc. Travis Plybon: Yes, sir. I said, I was told, 'hey, make sure you bring some clothes today if you, if you're going to do' - because it was, they asked me like a couple days before. 'Hey, make sure you bring clothes this day.' I showed up to the office, I was given money and given the brief, and it was discussed whether someone would go with me and they said, 'no, no, no, you're fine. You can do it.' 

     

    And some more amazingness

    Quote

    Internal Affairs Investigator: What caused you to go over four minutes of getting a h******, almost five minutes, if your instructions from them were, that once the deal is made and they touch you, you need to break contact.
    Ofc. Dunn: I was trying to ask her questions, as far as, like, hey what's your name, trying to get - they didn't ask me to do that. They didn't ask me to get her name, they didn't ask me to get any of the questions I asked in the recording.. that was just me trying to be proactive.

     

    • Haha 3
    mchookem

    Posted

    On 2/20/2025 at 5:42 PM, bolverk said:

     

    whoo-ey. man, i was incredibly grateful to have retired from state service just 5 months before covid hit.

    i might be even more grateful now reading that^. i've been thru some legislative trauma, this will probably be cranked to 11.

     

    • Hook 'Em 1
    • Like 1
    Mrs Whiggins

    Posted

    On 2/18/2025 at 10:46 AM, pacman said:

    If he is successful, I think we all should rip out every ramp and rail at the mansion and his office.

    Elevators...

    tx 3 putt

    Posted

    Attorney General Ken Paxton recently testified before the State Senate Finance Committee that his office had to hire outside lawyers on a contingency-fee basis, with rates as high as $3,780 per hour, because his office lacked appropriated funds. #txlege

     

    Hungry Dinner GIF

    • Like 2
    Updawg

    Posted

    Must be expensive trying to find anyone that wants to work for the asshole

    • Like 3
    Pato del Muerto

    Posted

    Tx doge gonna be all over that for sure

    InkaUtexas

    Posted

    5 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

    Tx doge gonna be all over that for sure

    @3500 an hour.

    • Like 1
    • Haha 1



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