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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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    Fastbreak

    Posted

    THC ban is heading to Abbotts desk to sign. Woukd kill entire industry while boosting big pharma. With the upcoming destruction of Medicare it's going to mean more pain and financial ruin for people like the elderly and veterans.

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    Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand

    Posted

    On 5/24/2025 at 9:20 PM, Ghost of NMAS said:

    They should include a list of all the ways that Abbott, Paxton, and Patrick have broken them to hang next to them

    I Did That Trump stickers next to each one

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    Fastbreak

    Posted

    You shall have no other gods before Me.

    giphy.gif

    You shall not make idols.

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    You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.

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    Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

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    Honor your father and your mother.
    You shall not murder.
    You shall not commit adultery.

    giphy.gif

    You shall not steal.

    giphy.gif

    You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

    giphy.gif

    You shall not covet.

    giphy.gif

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    Bullneck

    Posted

    Vibrators too?  I guess the incel lobby is stronger than I thought.

     

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    Chad Fuck

    Posted

     

    I was told this ban is all because our buddy Danny Goeb was late to the pot party and wound up with poor position in the thc market. So he’s going to burn it all down, then once the backlash happens he can bring it back with his own corporate friends. He will be a hero to those who forgot he tanked it and then also be much richer. The bearer of this message occupies a “Lobo-esque” (the cartels are coming after Ole Googly Eye, dontcha know!) position in my personal circle of friends, so take it as you will. But it has the air of plausibility around it.
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    GreenspointTexas

    Posted

    The 10 commandments shit is fucking so dumb. At this point, I dont know how anyone can be a christian anymore

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    Ghost of NMAS

    Posted

    Well, none of the people doing this shit are actually Christians

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    Steamboat1874

    Posted

    I am getting ready to place a very large order before the Republicans once again pass a bill the majority of Texans are against.

    Fucking assholes will not put it on the ballot because they know they will lose.

    Same with vouchers and gambling.

    I fucking hate Republicans and if you voted for one I hate your ass too.

    Nazis

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    tx 3 putt

    Posted

    12 hours ago, Fastbreak said:

    THC ban is heading to Abbotts desk to sign. Woukd kill entire industry while boosting big pharma. With the upcoming destruction of Medicare it's going to mean more pain and financial ruin for people like the elderly and veterans.

     

    more customers for private prisons 

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    pyrohornIII

    Posted

     

    On 5/24/2025 at 5:10 PM, Bozo_Casanova said:

    Speaking of which, did y'all know they might push Colin Allred to run for Senate against Paxton?
    It’s the political equivalent of point shaving.

    While there are some who are behind another Allred run, I say the majority are gunshy of it at this point.  He burned a lot of bridges trying to play the bi-partisan game.  Beto has been rattling his sabre some.   We shall see.  I'd personally like to see Crockett take a swing at it. 

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    Brisketexan

    Posted

     
    While there are some who are behind another Allred run, I say the majority are gunshy of it at this point.  He burned a lot of bridges trying to play the bi-partisan game.  Beto has been rattling his sabre some.   We shall see.  I'd personally like to see Crockett take a swing at it. 

    Fuck this shit.
    We need Danny Trejo to move here and run as Machete.
    You think I’m kidding. I’m not. The GQP redefined itself with a “celebrity.” We have to do the same. That’s the American attention economy at work.
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    Pato del Muerto

    Posted

    7 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:


    Fuck this shit.
    We need Danny Trejo to move here and run as Machete.
    You think I’m kidding. I’m not. The GQP redefined itself with a “celebrity.” We have to do the same. That’s the American attention economy at work.

    He’s 2 years older than Trump

    Brisketexan

    Posted

    He’s 2 years older than Trump

    Sure.
    But Machete.
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    wildcat09

    Posted

    On 5/24/2025 at 4:04 PM, Willfully Horn said:

    Exit polling in the last Senate race concluded a majority of native Texans voted for Beto. The last presidential election showed rural Hispanics shifted their support to turnip in numbers that could mean the majority of native Texans voted R. I haven’t seen, and not for lack of trying, a report definitively saying so, one way or another.

    But, I too am represented in Washington by a carpetbagging coprophagist. Paxton and goeb are both carpetbagging grifters. While Abbott is believed to be  born in Wichita Falls, many people are saying his mother actually pushed him out in Oklahoma, but sucked enough ass in Wichita Falls to get his birthplace changed,

    There's something very unintentionally (and darkly) hilarious about this. Nobody remembers Allred's run because he never even fucking campaigned.

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    Larry T. Spider

    Posted

    So if we get the 11 billion back, it’s going to education? Sweet.

    • Like 1
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    royiv

    Posted

    3 minutes ago, Larry T. Spider said:

    So if we get the 11 billion back, it’s going to education? Sweet.

    It’s most definitely not going to public education.

    BrazilHorn

    Posted

    14 minutes ago, Larry T. Spider said:

    So if we get the 11 billion back, it’s going to education? Sweet.

    Those rural football mega stadiums and water parks aren’t going to build themselves. 
    Oh wait recapture already taking care of those, so no. 
     

    You will get more and more bond and prop packages which raise taxes and like it. 

    Pescado_Rojo

    Posted

    18 hours ago, pyrohornIII said:

     

    While there are some who are behind another Allred run, I say the majority are gunshy of it at this point.  He burned a lot of bridges trying to play the bi-partisan game.  Beto has been rattling his sabre some.   We shall see.  I'd personally like to see Crockett take a swing at it. 

    I'd LOVE to have her as a senator, but the racist dog whistles in that campaign would be ultra-gross. Especially if Paxton wins the R primary (he will). 

    Longhorn_Fan68

    Posted

    Just now, Pescado_Rojo said:

    I'd LOVE to have her as a senator, but the racist dog whistles in that campaign would be ultra-gross. Especially if Paxton wins the R primary (he will). 

    good, she's demonstrated she's more than capable of not only deflecting that shit, but turning it back on them. I hope she continues to pursue higher office

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    Brisketexan

    Posted

    Just now, Pescado_Rojo said:

    I'd LOVE to have her as a senator, but the racist dog whistles in that campaign would be ultra-gross. Especially if Paxton wins the R primary (he will). 

    Yeah.  None of this conversation matters.  Paxton wins the R primary running away (seriously, he beats Cornyn by 10 points or close to it).  And he'll win the Senate race against whoever the D's put up by at least 6 points.  Because we are a shitty state full of shitty people, and Paxton's shittiness, criminality, etc., are not negatives -- they are strengths to our electorate.

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    Chad Fuck

    Posted

    Yeah.  None of this conversation matters.  Paxton wins the R primary running away (seriously, he beats Cornyn by 10 points or close to it).  And he'll win the Senate race against whoever the D's put up by at least 6 points.  Because we are a shitty state full of shitty people, and Paxton's shittiness, criminality, etc., are not negatives -- they are strengths to our electorate.

    Real talk.
    Steamboat1874

    Posted

    4 minutes ago, Chad Fuck said:


    Real talk.

    And true.

    LCHorn

    Posted

    13 minutes ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

    good, she's demonstrated she's more than capable of not only deflecting that shit, but turning it back on them. I hope she continues to pursue higher office

    I have a hard time imaging her with the kind of crossover appeal needed to win a plurality of voters in Texas.  She’s better as a bomb throwing house rep or going for something less ambitious like Texas AG.  
     

    One of the unfortunate consequences of having such a terrible state party is that good candidates are running for higher office before they are ready.  

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    Fudge Nuggets

    Posted

    She would get her ass kicked in the election, but at least she would fight them, like really fight them.  I could see old dead eye make a snide comment towards her during a debate and the next thing you know, she’s tying back her hair, taking out her earrings and running across the stage to whoop some ass.

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    MissingInAction

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

    She would get her ass kicked in the election, but at least she would fight them, like really fight them.  I could see old dead eye make a snide comment towards her during a debate and the next thing you know, she’s tying back her hair, taking out her earrings and running across the stage to whoop some ass.

    Go on...

    • Like 1
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    Vegas64

    Posted

    20 hours ago, GreenspointTexas said:

    The 10 commandments shit is fucking so dumb. At this point, I dont know how anyone can be a christian anymore

    Jewish, too, right? 10 commandments is OG Torah iirc....

    BearSchlong

    Posted


    Sure.
    But Machete.

    In Trejo’s autobiography, which I own and cherish because his life is truly fascinating, he talks about how during his criminal childhood they avoided starting shit with average law abiding citizens because they were “Republicans” - which was his gang’s catch-all slang for people who would bring heat from law enforcement, not for people of any particular political affiliation.

    If you haven't read his book, I recommend it.
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    royiv

    Posted

    55 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

    Talarico is so good at making these people look stupid, but they don't care. They have an audience of two billionaires, and don't give a single shit what ordinary Texans think

    I love how he just deadpans it when he’s questioning these morons.

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    pacman

    Posted

    Best of all, the commandments are so important to her that she had to fumble around and look it up.ost kids learn that before they graduate out of kiddie Sunday school.

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    The Original Greaser Bob

    Posted

    “If you think that it would be impossible to improve upon the Ten Commandments as a statement of morality, you really owe it to yourself to read some other scriptures. Once again, we need look no further than the Jains: Mahavira, the Jain patriarch, surpassed the morality of the Bible with a single sentence: 'Do not injure, abuse, oppress, enslave, insult, torment, torture, or kill any creature or living being.' Imagine how different our world might be if the Bible contained this as its central precept. Christians have abused, oppressed, enslaved, insulted, tormented, tortured, and killed people in the name of God for centuries, on the basis of a theologically defensible reading of the Bible.”

     Sam Harris, Letter to a Christian Nation

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    Sawbonz

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

    Yeah.  None of this conversation matters.  Paxton wins the R primary running away (seriously, he beats Cornyn by 10 points or close to it).  And he'll win the Senate race against whoever the D's put up by at least 6 points.  Because we are a shitty state full of shitty people, and Paxton's shittiness, criminality, etc., are not negatives -- they are strengths to our electorate.

    Harris county could win it by themselves. I say let her run and let her go off on these fucks

    Pescado_Rojo

    Posted

    36 minutes ago, Sawbonz said:

    Harris county could win it by themselves. I say let her run and let her go off on these fucks

    not after they slash the number of voting locations in certain parts of the county, don't ship enough ballots to certain parts of the county, and start the bi-annual whisper campaign that if you have warrants they will arrest you for voting. 

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    MissingInAction

    Posted

    2 hours ago, BearSchlong said:


    In Trejo’s autobiography, which I own and cherish because his life is truly fascinating, he talks about how during his criminal childhood they avoided starting shit with average law abiding citizens because they were “Republicans” - which was his gang’s catch-all slang for people who would bring heat from law enforcement, not for people of any particular political affiliation.

    If you haven't read his book, I recommend it.

    Absolutely true. In 10 years of living in the St Johns area the only people who have ever fucked with me were white, crack heads,  or white crack heads. 

    Latinos just want to practice their english with me, and my espanol with them. Ive developed a Jalisco accent im told.

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    Sawbonz

    Posted

    14 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

    not after they slash the number of voting locations in certain parts of the county, don't ship enough ballots to certain parts of the county, and start the bi-annual whisper campaign that if you have warrants they will arrest you for voting. 

    They will turn out for the right person. They’ve had 50+ years of not seeing a real difference whether they turn out or not. Allred squandered a golden opportunity. Crockett wouldn’t 

    kevwun

    Posted

    Like they turned out for Kamala?

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    Sawbonz

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, kevwun said:

    Like they turned out for Kamala?

    Do you think they saw her as an agent of real change?

    Brisketexan

    Posted

    14 minutes ago, Sawbonz said:

    They will turn out for the right person.

    No.

    They won't.

    kevwun

    Posted

    4 minutes ago, Sawbonz said:

    Do you think they saw her as an agent of real change?

    I think they'll find some excuse to not vote.  I'm glad you still have some hope though.  It's been beaten out me.

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    Pancho

    Posted

    I thought radical republicans were for freedom?

    why is this a bad thing that needs a ban? It’s not taking away guns

     

    Bullneck

    Posted

    23 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

     

    more customers for private prisons 

    image.thumb.png.32d879557db67a0c8a1553502866750e.png

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    wildcat09

    Posted

    Just now, TexasHooch said:

    Um... What?

     

    Was just coming here to post this. Literally all a Texas Dem running for statewide office should do is point to this and yell loudly and often how they're all fucking like this.

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    TwiceHorn

    Posted

    11 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

    Was just coming here to post this. Literally all a Texas Dem running for statewide office should do is point to this and yell loudly and often how they're all fucking like this.

    Aaron Nielson?  Need deets.

    Also, take a look at the SGs of Texas.  Quite a rogue's gallery.  But these motherfuckers are seriously the most responsible parties for the state's slide into fascism.

    DDD Dad

    Posted

    1 minute ago, DDD Dad said:

     

    What's his surly handle?

    • Haha 9
    Bozo_Casanova

    Posted

    17 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

    Was just coming here to post this. Literally all a Texas Dem running for statewide office should do is point to this and yell loudly and often how they're all fucking like this.

    Kenan Thompson Snl GIF by Saturday Night Live

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    TwiceHorn

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, DDD Dad said:

    What's his surly handle?

    Untitled_Session6820_Edit_b04c11633f.jpg




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