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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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    Eskimohorn

    Posted

    And it’s fucking beautiful. One of the healthiest states with the lowest level of obesity. I love Colorado. Maybe it’s time to start planning the escape 

    Met a vendor rep at a conference who splits time living between Texas and Colorado. She says in Texas people meet up for margaritas and queso. In Colorado they meet up for activities like hiking, yoga, cycling or climbing.
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    Pato del Muerto

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Macanudo said:

    He's an Ag with 9 kids.  He most certainly is not all right. 

    88bb0876-79a4-4e82-910c-1aac4fbbfdb3_tex

    • Haha 6
    royiv

    Posted

    4 minutes ago, Eskimohorn said:


    Met a vendor rep at a conference who splits time living between Texas and Colorado. She says in Texas people meet up for margaritas and queso. In Colorado they meet up for activities like hiking, yoga, cycling or climbing.

    IMG_2459.gif.f6b6e67d8d5658a286ea944f7ae05508.gif

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    crash_davis

    Posted

    11 minutes ago, Eskimohorn said:


    Met a vendor rep at a conference who splits time living between Texas and Colorado. She says in Texas people meet up for margaritas and queso. In Colorado they meet up for activities like hiking, yoga, cycling or climbing.

    You can't spell "excessively fat" without Texas.

    Im_smarter_then_you

    Posted

    27 minutes ago, Gourmand said:

    repped for the Bomani Jones reference

    Far too few people have heard Bomani torch Will Cain on his own show in the aftermath of that Bubba Wallace Nascar controversy. Absolute fire from Bomani.

    Not sure if he went to school here but he’s a Longhorn fan as well

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    Valmy77

    Posted

    2 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

    Yep, the actual tax burden in California is lower for most people than in Texas.

    And then when you start figuring in things like cost of health insurance that are directly impacted by a state's political policies, the non-real-estate cost-of-living in Cali is even or cheaper than Texas.

    Yeah I figured that out when I got a tax calculator. I would actually pay less tax in California in my position. But the big earners would get soaked.

    I cannot speak to the cost of living though. I imagine living inland in California is not too bad. Those coastal cities seem pretty horrifyingly expensive but I have only ever visited them.

    Foosters

    Posted

    23 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

    Yeah I figured that out when I got a tax calculator. I would actually pay less tax in California in my position. But the big earners would get soaked.

    I cannot speak to the cost of living though. I imagine living inland in California is not too bad. Those coastal cities seem pretty horrifyingly expensive but I have only ever visited them.

    what would this cost inside the loop in Houston?

    https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/901-Grizzly-Peak-Blvd-Berkeley-CA-94708/24848629_zpid/

    Bozo_Casanova

    Posted

    33 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

    Yeah I figured that out when I got a tax calculator. I would actually pay less tax in California in my position. But the big earners would get soaked.

    This is not how you humblebrag

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    Foosters

    Posted (edited)

    15 minutes ago, We’reTexas said:

    Someone’s really interested in Berkeley!

    Haha...you got me.

    I was with some friends/family from Texas 2 weeks ago - all of whom live in "desirable" parts of DFW and Houston. Their homes are all valued well over 1m, but they were bemoaning the fact that they could never make it in CA due to home prices. Played a bit of cell phone flop out with Zillow to illustrate. No doubt coastal CA is more expensive, but depending on where you live, you might not experience the sticker shock you'd expect. 

    Edited by Foosters
    mchookem

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Im_smarter_then_you said:

    Yep but that’s nine future GOP voters

    have that many and the odds of having a 'black sheep' or two go way up.

    Aqua Buddha

    Posted

    Is this real?  If so, troll game is strong:

     

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    We’reTexas

    Posted

    26 minutes ago, Foosters said:

    Haha...you got me.

    I was with some friends/family from Texas 2 weeks ago - all of whom live in "desirable" parts of DFW and Houston. Their homes are all valued well over 1m, but they were bemoaning the fact that they could never make it in CA due to home prices. Played a bit of cell phone flop out with Zillow to illustrate. No doubt coastal CA is more expensive, but depending on where you live, you might not experience the sticker shock you'd expect. 

    That’s a really nice house - think it will go closer to $3M based on comps, but to your point that’s a huge house for Berkeley and relatively not a bad deal compared to the nicer neighborhoods of Houston, Dallas and Austin (especially). 

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    LCHorn

    Posted

    17 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

    That is an amazing property with incredible views. I would expect a similar property to be pretty closely priced in most major cities in Texas actually. Certainly in the 1.5 million dollar area at least.

    That house is gorgeous, we need to start a house porn thread.  

    mchookem

    Posted

    house and food porn...gonna be the only kinda porn y'all can get shortly lol

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    Dr. Teeth

    Posted

    11 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said:

    Is this real?  If so, troll game is strong:

     

    He’s talking a lot. But like most Democrats, he is just talking and tweeting. He needs to set the process in motion. Texas will be ready by midterms. Talking about it won’t help that. 

    softlynow

    Posted

    17 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said:

    Is this real?  If so, troll game is strong:

     

    Are you sure it's not a bit?

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    Chult86

    Posted

    3 hours ago, SubliminalHorn said:

    And it’s fucking beautiful. One of the healthiest states with the lowest level of obesity. I love Colorado. Maybe it’s time to start planning the escape 

    Made the move to CO from FL. Zero, I repeat, ZERO regrets.

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    pacman

    Posted (edited)

    Idiocy at its finest.

    Screenshot_20250813-124910.png

     

    And the predictable commentary..

     

    Screenshot_20250813-125027.png

    Edited by pacman
    Longhorn_Fan68

    Posted

    52 minutes ago, Dr. Teeth said:

    He’s talking a lot. But like most Democrats, he is just talking and tweeting. He needs to set the process in motion. Texas will be ready by midterms. Talking about it won’t help that. 

    you assume they aren't? I'm pretty sure he can chew gum and walk. I'm guessing their silence on details is so they don't get leaked and someone tries to counter them with some other bullshit

    Captainant

    Posted

    44 minutes ago, pacman said:

    Idiocy at its finest.

    Screenshot_20250813-124910.png

     

    And the predictable commentary..

     

    Screenshot_20250813-125027.png

    what is it with chuds telling people to "cope" or "cry harder" and whatnot? Saw it a ton yesterday from imma's buddy stassney and it's like they're spiking the football on being a shithead. Really strange antisocial stuff.

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    Longhorn_Fan68

    Posted

    1 minute ago, Captainant said:

    what is it with chuds telling people to "cope" or "cry harder" and whatnot? Saw it a ton yesterday from imma's buddy stassney and it's like they're spiking the football on being a shithead. Really strange antisocial stuff.

    because the internet and this current regime have emboldened cowards everywhere and the thing about cowards is they usually don't have cogent arguments when facts and opinion don't align with theirs (usually only opinion), so they resort to name calling, or in this case, the more pedantic version of that. if they were allowed to tell you to go kill yourself, they would. instead they resort to that adjacent version

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    mchookem

    Posted

    17 minutes ago, Gooby said:

    This right here is how the cow ate the fucking cabbage....

     

    whoa 😳 who's that guy? i like Talarico but i think y'all need more of this 🔥 

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    Biff Tannen

    Posted

    Yeah, more of that would be nice.  But it has to be every single day.  Not once every 6-8 months or so.  

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    wildcat09

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

    How the fuck the consultant class forces Colin Allred down our throats instead of Roland Fucking Gutierrez is beyond me. 

    Only Democrats could think "you know what we need? A football player, but we gotta make sure he doesn't act anything like a football player, he'll have to act like a normal politician!" 

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    Im_smarter_then_you

    Posted

    48 minutes ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

    you assume they aren't? I'm pretty sure he can chew gum and walk

    Can’t say the same about your governor

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    TwiceHorn

    Posted (edited)

    Also, if your ideology is that good, and your belief in it that strong, exposure to other ideas will only reinforce it.

    Problem is  . . . . 

    Quote

    I realized, Michael ... that I had emerged, not through the doors of Kenner, Bach & Ledeen ... not through the portals of our vast and powerful law firm but from the asshole of an organism whose sole function is to excrete the poison, the ammo, the defoliant necessary for other larger more powerful organisms to destroy the miracle of humanity. And that I had been coated in this patina of shit for the best part of my life. And the stench of it, the stain of it would take the rest of my life to undo. And you know what I did? I took a deep, cleansing breath and I set that notion aside. I tabled it. I said to myself, "As clear as this may be, as potent a feeling as this is as true a thing as I believe that I have witnessed today, it must wait. It must stand the test of time."
    And, Michael, the time is now

     

    Edited by TwiceHorn
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    yoladu

    Posted

    1 minute ago, Im_smarter_then_you said:

    That west u house is nice

    image.thumb.png.23035dd9cb795b7d58b5306956618bac.png

    BrickHorn

    Posted

    4 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

    My daughters and I talk about this. I’ve always been puzzled about where the idea of on-campus indoctrination comes from. I don’t think humanities and liberal arts faculty are any more or less tolerant of dissent than they ever have been, and so also frankly don’t think curricula and professors usually have the ability to dictate a  point of view to their students. 

    My daughters have said they think it’s just a matter of exposure to other students and new places, because the only kids they have seen do 180  ideological turns in college are kids from sheltered, homogeneous environments who see the world outside for the first time and realize that things are not as they were told. There’s a prog-left version of this too, but the Republican small city kids learn that cities aren’t dangerous, liberals don’t hate the free market, people don’t get third term abortions other than in medical emergencies and white Christian political conservatives are the discriminators more often than they are the object of discrimination. 
    And it is not extremely important also that college is where the gay kids from those environments finally have the space to accept themselves for the first time. 
    And then they come home from college, and the parents blame woke indoctrination, when it was really just seeing the world outside the cloister for the first time. 

    Yep. My Facebook aunts and uncles think higher education filled our generation’s heads with evil liberal bullshit. But the truth is: my aunts and uncles are fascist country dumbfucks. When we were kids, we suspected as much. College merely helped us confirm it.

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    UncleSonny

    Posted

    Holy shit, what a little bitch 

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    SimonBolivar

    Posted

    Steel spine, yeah right. We're the people sitting in 68 degree AC all day listening to bro country and complaining about brown people that make me pick English on the ATM. 

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    Longhorn_Fan68

    Posted

    who the fuck is Will Cain? first i have heard of him

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    Fudge Nuggets

    Posted (edited)

    Hey Hot Wheels, no offfense about “steel spines” you crippled old bastard. 

    Edited by Fudge Nuggets
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    GreenspointTexas

    Posted

    45 minutes ago, UncleSonny said:

    Holy shit, what a little bitch 

    What a pussy omg

    Bozo_Casanova

    Posted

    21 minutes ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

    who the fuck is Will Cain? first i have heard of him

    He’s a dipshit from Sherman who played water polo at Pepperdine before running a magazine about quinceañera planning.

    No, really. 

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    Chuckie Finster

    Posted

    Holy shit, what a little bitch 

    Nothing says “steel spine” like bitching out of an interview then carefully crafting your response the next day.
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