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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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    Bozo_Casanova

    Posted (edited)

    1 hour ago, Evil Bill Obrien said:

    Pretty interested to find out what the real reasons are that Abbott vetoed SB3 because the stated legality issues/because it was the right thing to do just don’t seem like something he would go to absolute war with Lt Dan over… gotta be more to the story

     

    34 minutes ago, tx ind said:

    Real reason is even he thinks Dan Patrick is a clown

    The governor doesn’t care about Dan Patrick at all. He wants to be president.
     

    I would bet folding money that his polling of GOP primary voters in Iowa and New Hampshire shows that whereas SB3 could hurt his chances, legalized THC for adults + abortion ban + vouchers is a good combination.

    A losing fight for the 10 commandments is also a winner.

    Edited by Bozo_Casanova
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    Fudge Nuggets

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Evil Bill Obrien said:

    If this is true I may have to actually apologize for a small portion of the mean things I have said about Abbott...

    small portion...
     

    Y'all are so cute.  He wants to replace it with something even worse.

    Evil Bill Obrien

    Posted

    3 minutes ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

    Y'all are so cute.  He wants to replace it with something even worse.

    for once I don't think so, Abbott could have easily just let SB3 go into effect (didn't even have to sign it) and then laid all the blowback from legal challenges and really bad public opinion at Lt Dan and the Lege's feet, but instead stuck his neck out to veto it and call a special session that appears to have the aim at regulation of THC to a similar degree as alcohol.

    Bozo_Casanova

    Posted (edited)

    “A guy I know” just told me that the governor has realized that Dan Patrick and the Dunn faction is out of sync with the base on this. The data is telling his team that legal THC is broadly popular, and more importantly, has no political downside in the 2028 GOP primary field.
    He sees this as an opportunity to polish his resume and restore his brand without giving up any red meat conservative street cred. 
    For this special session he is looking for a a signature win: a broad, bipartisan bill with both Democratic and Republican majorities if possible, and is open to literally anything short of full marijuana legalization provided that it advances his chances in a presidential campaign. 
     

    Take it for what it’s worth, because I can’t verify any of that, but my guy knows the right people.

    Edited by Bozo_Casanova
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    DaysOff

    Posted

    He's really running for POTUS? He's not even a real man. Legs and dick don't work. Sad.

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    Longhorn_Fan68

    Posted

    19 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

    “A guy I know” just told me that the governor has realized that Dan Patrick and the Dunn faction is out of sync with the base on this. The data is telling his team that legal THC is broadly popular, and more importantly, has no political downside in the 2028 GOP primary field.
    He sees this as an opportunity to polish his resume and restore his brand without giving up any red meat conservative street cred. 
    For this special session he is looking for a a signature win: a broad, bipartisan bill with both Democratic and Republican majorities if possible, and is open to literally anything short of full marijuana legalization provided that it advances his chances in a presidential campaign. 
     

    Take it for what it’s worth, because I can’t verify any of that, but my guy knows the right people.

    tell your guy to tell hotwheels that full legalization would greatly help any political aspirations he has. can only go up from zero, right?

    • Haha 4
    BrickHorn

    Posted

    Just now, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

    tell your guy to tell hotwheels that full legalization would greatly help any political aspirations he has. can only go up from zero, right?

    After visiting several dispensaries in CO, IL, and CA, I can say that full legalization is not all it’s cracked up to be. Far fewer options are available in legal states. Shit, Total Wine on 183 has 10-20x the selection of THC drinks compared to the best-stocked legal state dispensary I’ve been to. 

    Hopefully the Leg figures out a way to regulate the current market without shrinking it. I actually think the House bill that Patrick killed would have been a good approach. 

    SaucyJack

    Posted

    13 minutes ago, BrickHorn said:

    After visiting several dispensaries in CO, IL, and CA, I can say that full legalization is not all it’s cracked up to be. Far fewer options are available in legal states. Shit, Total Wine on 183 has 10-20x the selection of THC drinks compared to the best-stocked legal state dispensary I’ve been to. 

    PFFFT

     

    mqdefault.jpg

    • Like 1
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    Biff Tannen

    Posted (edited)

    15 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

    Still waiting for action on SB3. My prediction is that he doesn’t sign it, allows it to pass into law, and then calls a special session to “fix it” before it takes effect

    Nvm. Can’t read good.  

    Edited by Biff Tannen
    MissingInAction

    Posted (edited)

    1 hour ago, DaysOff said:

    He's really running for POTUS? He's not even a real man. Legs and dick don't work. Sad.

    I laughed WAY too hard at this.

    Thank you.

    Edited by MissingInAction
    Bozo_Casanova

    Posted (edited)

    BTW- the text of his Statement seems like he’s saying the objectives were good but the bill would not survive a challenge, but the list of suggestions he makes for legislation coming out of a special reads more like a regulatory framework for recreational THC products. 
     

    In other words:

    Its Happening Ron Paul GIF

    Edited by Bozo_Casanova
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    Bookman

    Posted

    We can haz legal weed?

    SimonBolivar

    Posted

    4 minutes ago, Bookman said:

    We can haz keep legal weed?

    FIFY

    • Hook 'Em 1
    Longhorn_Fan68

    Posted

    4 hours ago, BrickHorn said:

    After visiting several dispensaries in CO, IL, and CA, I can say that full legalization is not all it’s cracked up to be. Far fewer options are available in legal states. Shit, Total Wine on 183 has 10-20x the selection of THC drinks compared to the best-stocked legal state dispensary I’ve been to. 

    Hopefully the Leg figures out a way to regulate the current market without shrinking it. I actually think the House bill that Patrick killed would have been a good approach. 

    show me a good problem to have. anytime you can cut out the black market is a good step in the right direction, imho. it will undoubtedly be messy to start and possibly for a while, but decriminalization is the necessary step here. I would trade legality for red tape any day

    tx 3 putt

    Posted

    abbott about to drop new taxes on thc / thc products 

    Macanudo

    Posted

    14 minutes ago, Bookman said:

    We can haz legal weed?

    You'll get nothing.  And like it.

    • Haha 1
    Dnaguy

    Posted

    53 minutes ago, Bookman said:

    We can haz legal weed?

     

    38 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

    You'll get nothing.  And like it.

    Or just ask your friends coming from Colorado to just pack some in their checked luggage and bring you back some edibles

    tx ind

    Posted

    49 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

    abbott about to drop new taxes on thc / thc products 

    We have that on tobacco and alcohol already don’t we? I don’t think many would care as long as there was a path to legality.

    • Hook 'Em 2
    Pescado_Rojo

    Posted (edited)

    10 minutes ago, tx ind said:

    We have that on tobacco and alcohol already don’t we? I don’t think many would care as long as there was a path to legality.

    These idiots will tax it at 300% and use the money for "education" (They'll buy "Baby Billy's Bible Bonkers" games for their $10K/yr online private schools)

    Edited by Pescado_Rojo
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    cmontexas

    Posted

    Swam4Texas has gotta be furious

    • Haha 1
    Pato del Muerto

    Posted

    Do we want everybody drunk?  I guess yes, since it’s legal. 

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    BearSchlong

    Posted

    These idiots will tax it at 300% and use the money for "education" (They'll buy "Baby Billy's Bible Bonkers" games for their $10K/yr online private schools)

    My daughter's friend group in Chicago has someone periodically bring it from Michigan because IL set their taxes…too high

    426288ba3f7a0116982ade39cb9b4c8d.gif
    • Haha 3
    Eskimohorn

    Posted

    The governor doesn’t care about Dan Patrick at all. He wants to be president.
     
    I would bet folding money that his polling of GOP primary voters in Iowa and New Hampshire shows that whereas SB3 could hurt his chances, legalized THC for adults + abortion ban + vouchers is a good combination.
    A losing fight for the 10 commandments is also a winner.

    In the last GOP poll, wasn’t Abbott at 0.0?
    • Haha 1
    Bozo_Casanova

    Posted

    Just now, Eskimohorn said:


    In the last GOP poll, wasn’t Abbott at 0.0?

    Less, probably 

    • Like 1
    Pescado_Rojo

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

    yes, dan, this state would be 1000x better if everyone were high. don't ask stupid questions.

    Starting with him

    23 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

    Less, probably 

    e62416c4-7ad8-450c-b496-d4ea36a3208f_tex

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    dcbc

    Posted

    42 minutes ago, pacman said:

    "The state law does not allow us to have a closed primary," said George. "So we're just trying to get the court to tell us that the Republican Party of Texas has the right to have closed primaries[.]" 

     

    So the law says you cannot, and you want a court to say you can?  Legislating from the bench is fine when your side wants it, I guess.

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    Vegas64

    Posted

    So are we getting medicinal flower?!

    Horn of Gabriel

    Posted

    Dan Patrick has such a punchable face.  What a complete asshole.  When he dies if he doesn't end up in hell, there's no point in having one.

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    Bookman

    Posted

    5 hours ago, Horn of Gabriel said:

    When he dies if he doesn't end up in hell, there's no point in having one.

    I have some bad news for you. 

    • Haha 1
    Homercles

    Posted

    I too have been to multiple dispensaries in legal states.  The products may be more limited, but I’ve found them to be completely consistent and without fear of being in the waiting zone ‘did I get a bunk one or…holy shit I may have made a mistake, cancel all plans and lock all doors code green I repeat code green’.  That alone is nice

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    Longhorn_Fan68

    Posted (edited)

    1 hour ago, Homercles said:

    I too have been to multiple dispensaries in legal states.  The products may be more limited, but I’ve found them to be completely consistent and without fear of being in the waiting zone ‘did I get a bunk one or…holy shit I may have made a mistake, cancel all plans and lock all doors code green I repeat code green’.  That alone is nice

    yeah, the oversaturation of thc-a in texas gives a false impression of the availability of actual thc products. I still believe regulation (correct, actual regulation, which we know we won't get, but still) is better than unfettered market - at least when we're discussing mind-bending substances. consistency and expected dosage are big things and should be taken seriously. I think flower should be generally be unregulated and anything that is concentrated should be regulated.

    Edited by Longhorn_Fan68
    Satchel

    Posted

    23 hours ago, elfenix said:

     

    Thirteen states, all with Republican governors, opted out of a federal summer food program that provides electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards to families for the purchase of groceries.These states include Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.

    • Rage+1 5
    bluto

    Posted

    Fan damn tastic, schatzline gunning for the state senate seat that Hancock just vacated to move over to comptroller. Can only imagine the fuck head O’Hara has lined up in Fort Worth to replace schatz. 

    SimonBolivar

    Posted (edited)

    On 6/23/2025 at 4:50 PM, Ted Lange said:

     

    I love this headline from a local paper.

    image.png.f35283f0eff4ce2e3b938a7493a39459.png

    Real headline should read, "State rep pretends to need more information on topic that he felt confident enough to vote on, but now smells which way the wind is blowing in his party's power structure."

     

    Edited by SimonBolivar
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    Satchel

    Posted

    Good news!

    https://texaspolitics.utexas.edu/blog/june-2025-university-of-texas-texas-politics-project-poll-economic-concerns-drag-trump-s-job-approval-underwater-in-texas-while-most-texans-oppose-ban-on-thc-products-dividing-gop-leadership

    A new University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll finds approval of President Donald Trump’s job performance falling into net-negative territory for the first time in his second term, with 44% approving and 51% disapproving, tied for the highest negative job approval rating ever recorded for Trump in University of Texas polling. Texans’ views of the performance of state political leaders also took a negative turn as economic concerns persist in the Lone Star State, and the legislature looks toward a potentially heated special session following Gov. Greg Abbott’s veto of SB 3, the comprehensive ban on hemp-derived and other THC products aggressively championed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

    In the wake of Gov. Abbott’s veto, and his subsequent announcement that he would convene a special session in July to reconsider less restrictive regulation, the poll reveals that Texas voters largely side with Abbott overall, but with the plurality of Republicans slightly in favor of the ban favored by Lt. Gov. Patrick.

    More than half of Texas voters, 53%, opposed the ban passed by the Legislature, while 31% supported it. Republicans remain closely divided, with 46% supporting a ban and 39% opposing it, a reflection of Texas Republicans’ divided opinions on the legal status of marijuana writ large Well more than half of Democrats (68%) and independents (58%) were opposed to the Legislature’s THC ban. In another item assessing the more general handling of marijuana/cannabis laws by state leaders and the legislature, 22% approved and 47% disapproved of the state’s performance so far, with similar patterns in partisan evaluations to those seen in the more specific item. The poll was conducted shortly after the end of the session but prior to Abbott’s veto.

    Satchel

    Posted

    I hold on to hope that little by little, bone marrow Republicans/conservatives will begin to understand the degree to which their loyalty and obeisance to a party that no longer exists, has harmed them and the country they purport to love. Just today, there have been rumblings from the base who have begun to question why a guy who is spending 25 million on his second wedding, needs a tax cut paid in part by the 21% of Iowans who are will lose their Medicaid to make it possible. These are the murmurings of which revolutions are made.

    • Like 3
    Nice Guy Eddie

    Posted

    I'm always so annoyed that when the state GOP officials want to provide tax relief, they only focus on property tax. Which further strangles local govt and schools, forcing them to be more dependent on the growing state of Texas govt. And Texas does it best to refuse federal funds.

    If Abbott or Patrick want to lower taxes, they should only have the right to change the state sales tax. If they want to lower tax revenue, they should start with state tax revenue first. I don't even see why or how they should have control of local taxes. Believe the sales tax rate has been 6.25% (state level) since 1990. If it was those nasty Dems that took it up to 6.25%, why hasn't the GOP brought it down. Funny how there's never a peep out of them to touch their funds.

    Satchel

    Posted

    15 hours ago, Satchel said:

    I hold on to hope that little by little, bone marrow Republicans/conservatives will begin to understand the degree to which their loyalty and obeisance to a party that no longer exists, has harmed them and the country they purport to love. Just today, there have been rumblings from the base who have begun to question why a guy who is spending 25 million on his second wedding, needs a tax cut paid in part by the 21% of Iowans who are will lose their Medicaid to make it possible. These are the murmurings of which revolutions are made.

    My bad. The Bezos wedding will cost 56 million…slightly more than mine.




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