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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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    Ghost of NMAS

    Posted

    It just blows my mind that they can come right out and say the stated goal of their redistricting plan is to increase their control and not even pretend to hide it and know full well that it will be upheld

    • Hook 'Em 1
    berlinerbaer

    Posted (edited)

    Try to show up if you can.

    image.png.1a23bd8601cfa1117a45fcd492ec1dc3.png

    Edit: More details regarding venues to come...

    Edited by berlinerbaer
    • Hook 'Em 1
    bluto

    Posted

    Theres only one endorsement that matters in that race. If it stays on the sidelines then I still think Paxton will win by 5 pts. 

    • Hook 'Em 1
    Nice Guy Eddie

    Posted

    On 7/19/2025 at 6:59 PM, chainsaw said:

     

    The right is probably upset that they can't crack every dem district. The only thing holding them back is that they appear to require physical connectivity within a district. Otherwise Dems would lose each district.

    CooterBrown

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

    Ballgame 

     

    Meh.  The average Texas isn't even aware there's a Texas Supreme Court.

    • Hook 'Em 2
    • Like 1
    LCHorn

    Posted

    On 7/19/2025 at 8:24 PM, Ghost of NMAS said:

    blows my mind that they can come right out and say the stated goal of their redistricting plan is to increase their control

    While I totally agree with you, if we’re being fair, our opposition is based on the same logic (redistricting is poised to diminish our own control of political outcomes).  
     

    This is also a reason why I think the Dems should have a continual background campaign of preserving voting rights integrity, including pushing for state and national laws that bring consistency and fairness to elections (ideally, around the idea of increasing competition between candidates).  

    Ghost of NMAS

    Posted

    14 minutes ago, LCHorn said:

    While I totally agree with you, if we’re being fair, our opposition is based on the same logic (redistricting is poised to diminish our own control of political outcomes).  

    That might be an argument if the districting wasn't already gerrymandered to the extreme favor of the GOP.  They used to at least try to pass their gerrymandering off as creating legitimate districts; now they don't even try to hide it.

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    Bozo_Casanova

    Posted (edited)

    3 hours ago, bluto said:

    Theres only one endorsement that matters in that race. If it stays on the sidelines then I still think Paxton will win by 5 pts. 

    I would take the over, but at the moment Paxton +5 seems about the right line. 

    Edited by Bozo_Casanova
    Updawg

    Posted

    He should have said 6

    South Austin

    Posted

    On 7/22/2025 at 10:34 AM, Bozo_Casanova said:

    Ballgame 

     

    I assume that’s a non-public “that’s what they told me” endorsement. Because I don’t think Texas judges can publicly endorse another political candidate.

    TwiceHorn

    Posted

    1 hour ago, South Austin said:

    I assume that’s a non-public “that’s what they told me” endorsement. Because I don’t think Texas judges can publicly endorse another political candidate.

    *former

    • Hook 'Em 1
    South Austin

    Posted

    35 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

    *former

    Ah.  Proceed . . . .

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    gernblansten

    Posted

    SIAP

    Texas AG claimed three homes as primary residence. Democrats are being probed for similar issue
     

    “The problem: Mortgages signed by the Paxtons contained inaccurate statements declaring that each of those three houses was their primary residence, enabling the now-estranged couple to improperly lock in low interest rates, according to an Associated Press review of public records. The lower rates will save the Paxtons tens of thousands of dollars in payments over the life of the loan, legal experts say.”

    “The records also revealed that the Paxtons collected an impermissible homestead tax break on two of those homes, and they have routinely flouted lending agreements on some of their other properties.”

    https://apnews.com/article/paxton-mortgages-trump-primary-residence-homestead-deduction-bd259b6bd122afcaf4f11eac5a3a152e

     

     

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    berlinerbaer

    Posted

    Texas Dems are holding a rally right before the Texas House public hearings on redistricting are supposed to be held in the same general area.

    mobilize%20rally%20logo%207%2024_2025072

    Are they learning?

    • Hook 'Em 2
    Biff Tannen

    Posted

    1 hour ago, berlinerbaer said:

    Texas Dems are holding a rally right before the Texas House public hearings on redistricting are supposed to be held in the same general area.

    mobilize%20rally%20logo%207%2024_2025072

    Are they learning?

    Probably not. But maybe. 

    GreenspointTexas

    Posted

    I like the district that goes from Pearland to the northermost point of Texas. 700 miles/10 hr drive

     

     

    IMG_4063.jpeg

    • Haha 1
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    The Original Greaser Bob

    Posted

    11 hours ago, berlinerbaer said:

    Texas Dems are holding a rally right before the Texas House public hearings on redistricting are supposed to be held in the same general area.

    mobilize%20rally%20logo%207%2024_2025072

    Are they learning?

    Dems:  Are you with us, Doctor (of Jurisprudence) Wu?

    • Like 1
    Gap03

    Posted

    22 minutes ago, GreenspointTexas said:

    I like the district that goes from Pearland to the northermost point of Texas. 700 miles/10 hr drive

     

     

    IMG_4063.jpeg

    Worth noting that the "proposed maps" floating around are ones developed by some randos, not the legislature:

    https://www.chron.com/culture/article/texas-redistricting-map-congress-20778346.php

    Not that the GOP might not try to do something similar, but I don't think they've unveiled anything yet.

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    GreenspointTexas

    Posted

    24 minutes ago, Gap03 said:

    Worth noting that the "proposed maps" floating around are ones developed by some randos, not the legislature:

    https://www.chron.com/culture/article/texas-redistricting-map-congress-20778346.php

    Not that the GOP might not try to do something similar, but I don't think they've unveiled anything yet.

    That district is just over half an hour from kansas. Fucking crazy. In fact its closer to kansas than galveston proper. But yeah its prolly gonna be something like that, watch

    Horn Dog

    Posted

    On 7/22/2025 at 11:52 AM, Nice Guy Eddie said:

    The right is probably upset that they can't crack every dem district. The only thing holding them back is that they appear to require physical connectivity within a district. Otherwise Dems would lose each district.

    I really don't see what there is to stop them from breaking this  "requirement".  Who is gonna stop them?  SCOTUS?  LOL. 

    • Rage+1 2
    Gap03

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Horn Dog said:

    I really don't see what there is to stop them from breaking this  "requirement".  Who is gonna stop them?  SCOTUS?  LOL. 

    And even if they did, the GOP has hired every Flow Free expert to help them circumvent any such requirement.

    flow-15mania-70.png

     

     

    • Hook 'Em 2
    sasquatch69

    Posted

    Do as I say, not as I do, part 5,238.

    https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/25/giovanni-capriglione-affair-texas-house-republican/

    Quote

    Three days after state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione announced he was dropping his reelection bid, the conservative news site Current Revolt published an interview with a former exotic dancer who alleges she had a 17-year affair with the Southlake Republican.

    The woman, Alex Grace, alleges that Capriglione paid her for “meetups” and “funded several abortions for his own personal gain.”

     

    • Haha 1
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    TheStoicPaisano

    Posted (edited)

    Supposedly some cookie batter/cum talk…no kink shaming.

    Briscoe Cain of course is calling for his head.

    Edited by TheStoicPaisano
    C-Man

    Posted

    Supposedly some cookie batter/cum talk…no kink shaming.
    Briscoe Cain of course is calling for his head.

    Apparently he was a pretty staunch proponent of the legislation that effectively ended women’s reproductive freedom in Texas.
    • Like 1
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    TheStoicPaisano

    Posted (edited)

    11 minutes ago, C-Man said:


    Apparently he was a pretty staunch proponent of the legislation that effectively ended women’s reproductive freedom in Texas.

    Cain just wants it see his name online I think. And I fell down a rabbit hole:

     

    IMG_1015.jpeg

    We’re clearly both 84 kids.

    Edited by TheStoicPaisano
    berlinerbaer

    Posted

    16 hours ago, GreenspointTexas said:

    I like the district that goes from Pearland to the northermost point of Texas. 700 miles/10 hr drive

     

     

    IMG_4063.jpeg

    I believe Texas law forbids counties of low population from being cracked open. This map shouldn't fly for that reason.

    Quote

    Often referred to as the "county line rule," Section 26, Article III, Texas Constitution, as modified by the federal courts to comply with the one-person, one-vote standard mandated by the Fourteenth Amendment, requires that house districts be apportioned among the counties according to the most recent federal decennial census population, subject to the following:

    1. a county with sufficient population for exactly one district must be formed into a single district;

    2. a county with a population smaller than the population needed for a whole district must be kept whole and combined with one or more contiguous counties to form a district;

    3. a county that has sufficient population for two or more whole districts must be divided into that number of districts, with no district extending into another county; and

    4. each county with a population sufficient for one or more whole districts plus a fraction of another district must be divided into that many whole districts, with the excess population added to one or more contiguous counties to form an additional district.

    In practice, it is sometimes impossible to draw a statewide plan that completely satisfies these rules while maintaining districts with equal populations. The Texas courts have allowed a house plan to violate the county line rule to the limited extent necessary to draw a plan that complies with the federal one‐person, one‐vote requirement. For example, a county with less than the population needed for a single house district may be split between districts when no other option is available to create equally populated house districts.

    https://redistricting.capitol.texas.gov/reqs

    That being said, rule 3 is violated all the time.

     

    pyrohornIII

    Posted

    17 hours ago, Gap03 said:

    Worth noting that the "proposed maps" floating around are ones developed by some randos, not the legislature:

    https://www.chron.com/culture/article/texas-redistricting-map-congress-20778346.php

    Not that the GOP might not try to do something similar, but I don't think they've unveiled anything yet.

    Yeah, these maps are mainly red herrings.  They are not going to reveal the true maps until they bring them up to vote.   That keeps the protests down and basically toothless because how can you testify against something that isn't publicly proposed.  

     

     

    tx 3 putt

    Posted

    the supreme court will have to step in for these maps to be used in 26

     

    miguelito

    Posted

    The SC is perfectly willing and ready to do that.

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    Horn Dog

    Posted

    Let me save everyone some time:


    “We find the Texas redistricting maps valid for immediate use.  We find the California redistricting maps invalid for use till at least after 2030 and subject to decades of appeal. “

    6-3. SCOTUS

    • Like 2
    • Rage+1 7
    softlynow

    Posted

    52 minutes ago, miguelito said:

    The SC is perfectly willing and ready to do that.

    They probably have 2 form opinions ready to go. Red state? Fill in the name of the state on the “map approved” form. Blue state? Grab the “map violates” form, fill in the name of the state and the “reason for denial” blank. Any reason will do.

    Swing state? That will require a clerk to show off a bit, and the 6 will build in some drama to maximize bribe payments and other benefits. 

    • Hook 'Em 1
    Surly Bevo

    Posted

    Oh hey look, another shitbag Republican with rules for thee but not for me.  This particular shitbag happens to represent me....fucker.  

    • Like 2
    Ghost of NMAS

    Posted

    I hope you didn’t buy any cookies at his daughter’s bake sale

    • Like 2
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    Chuckie Finster

    Posted

    26 minutes ago, HenryJames said:

     

    image.gif.fd6ba171c822d11aeed9fc19b81f5b28.gif

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    South Austin

    Posted

    The party of family values.

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    bolverk

    Posted

    54 minutes ago, Surly Bevo said:

    Oh hey look, another shitbag Republican with rules for thee but not for me.  This particular shitbag happens to represent me....fucker.  

    It feels like NE Tarrant County is the epicenter of GOP loony tunes land.

    Surly Bevo

    Posted

    Just now, bolverk said:

    It feels like NE Tarrant County is the epicenter of GOP loony tunes land.

    Oh it's still the rurals wontonly voting against almost all of their interests (well except the hate/racism) at astonishing clips that are the absolute craziest but this area isn't far behind.  

    bolverk

    Posted

    3 minutes ago, Surly Bevo said:

    Oh it's still the rurals wontonly voting against almost all of their interests (well except the hate/racism) at astonishing clips that are the absolute craziest but this area isn't far behind.  

    Oh, of course, rural Texas is batshit. What I'm getting at is the concentration of crazy Texas Republican Party leadership stuff, meaning the organized bizarros of NE Tarrant County.

    • Hook 'Em 1
    Fudge Nuggets

    Posted

    On 7/25/2025 at 8:14 AM, The Original Greaser Bob said:

    Dems:  Are you with us, Doctor (of Jurisprudence) Wu?

     

    Horn Dog

    Posted

    2 hours ago, HenryJames said:

     

    Well yea,  just like Jesus would do!




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