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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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    BearSchlong

    Posted

     
    beaumont used to have a fancy fried chicken place but they moved to a big spot and failed 
    beaumont friend chicken scene is nothing special !

    Wednesday night special at JWilsons is the best we have.
    tx 3 putt

    Posted

    1 hour ago, BearSchlong said:


    Wednesday night special at JWilsons is the best we have.

     

    i've had some good lunches there 

    a good fried chicken place would crush down there 

    BrickHorn

    Posted (edited)

    On 9/18/2025 at 10:30 PM, Biff Tannen said:

    I just watched the John Oliver about the administration assault on higher education. Led by JD Vance and Stephen Miller, these dipshits have no idea the long term damage they are doing to our country and the world.

    “Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.”

     

    Edited by BrickHorn
    • Like 2
    tx 3 putt

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Firemans4Horn said:

    image.thumb.png.65ad0265983416b7949abde591589b8b.png

    Greg Abbott Sport GIF by UFC

    Biff Tannen

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Firemans4Horn said:

    image.thumb.png.65ad0265983416b7949abde591589b8b.png

    Well that seems like some bullshit. 

    • Hook 'Em 3
    • Like 1
    Evil Bill Obrien

    Posted

    8 hours ago, Firemans4Horn said:

    image.thumb.png.65ad0265983416b7949abde591589b8b.png

    So It Begins Helms Deep GIF

    GIF by Giphy QA

     

    Texas gonna clamp down and make it illegal to be a Democrat before the Midterm Primaries in March 

    • Rage+1 2
    Nivek

    Posted

    Or make all guest probationary members.

    Willfully Horn

    Posted

    4 hours ago, wild_turkey said:


    Maybe they should ignore this, bring in James Talarico to speak, and let him get ushered off campus or arrested. Make a spectacle of it.

    “As directed, here is the name of someone we have scheduled to speak to University Democrats. We shall take the absence of a reply as confirmation they are acceptable.”

    • Like 2
    Brisketexan

    Posted

    If this was to be legally upheld, would that not mean that all death threats would fall under the same protection?  

    No. Only when the person making the threat is a Fox News watcher and the target is a “leftist.” See also the fact that none of these folks cared about “violent political rhetoric!” When it was getting dozens of Hispanic, black, and Jewish people killed. But one white dude gets shot, and it was POSSIBLE that it was politically motivated…and we MUST take all action including unconstitutional action to stop all violent rhetoric (but you know, only leftist stuff).
    • Like 3
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    Bozo_Casanova

    Posted

    Like I was saying about Wesley Hunt- he’s going to get in, he will almost certainly be the nominee, and he’s even worse than Paxton because he doesn’t have Paxton’s baggage.

     

    • Rage+1 2
    Eskimohorn

    Posted

    Like I was saying about Wesley Hunt- he’s going to get in, he will almost certainly be the nominee, and he’s even worse than Paxton because he doesn’t have Paxton’s baggage.
     

    52b2b42ba40ca725a83a7cf856770da8.gif
    • Haha 2
    Brisketexan

    Posted

    13 minutes ago, Da Fino said:

     

    Wait...our leadership has been intent on throwing a teacher -- who was desperately trying to save lives and actually ended up in harm's way -- under the bus.....to try to distract from the failings of both the HEROES of law enforcement AND state and local leadership?  I for one am shocked.

    And remember what your governor says: "it could have been worse."  I guess what he left unsaid was "....we could have deflected blame onto a teacher who didn't do anything wrong.  Wait....we did that.  Nevermind."

    bluto

    Posted

    Can she sue for defamation? 

    TwiceHorn

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, bluto said:

    Can she sue for defamation? 

    Limitations has expired, so no.  Had she sued within limitations, an oldlaw court would have ordered disclosure of that at least to her, if not publicly.

    DPS dickface would have qualified immunity, at least initially.

     

    Biff Tannen

    Posted

    This is one of my least favorite threads to see bumped. Every time it’s just “god dammit, what fucked up shit did they do now?”

    • Hook 'Em 2
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    Foosters

    Posted

    7 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

    Like I was saying about Wesley Hunt- he’s going to get in, he will almost certainly be the nominee, and he’s even worse than Paxton because he doesn’t have Paxton’s baggage.

     

    Hey @Enchubben which white person's seat did he steal from a more deserving candidate at St. John's or West Point?

    Or is that just for Black people on the left?

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    • Like 1
    LurkingHorn

    Posted

    Just received from our district: 

     

    image.thumb.png.8a1c8114f294f17a17c2366a94adfa5c.png

    • Rage+1 3
    SimonBolivar

    Posted

    Just now, LurkingHorn said:

    Just received from our district: 

     

    image.thumb.png.8a1c8114f294f17a17c2366a94adfa5c.png

    Nice of the district to throw all the complaints to principals.

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    • Like 2
    sidis

    Posted

    it is amazing to me how quickly trump can get the supreme court to invoke the supreme court for his petty bullshit about ftc committee members on speed dial but when blatantly obvious violations of the fucking constitution of the united states is codified in a few of its states' laws, it sure is slow to fucking act.

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    Nivek

    Posted

    Just received from our district: 
     
    image.thumb.png.8a1c8114f294f17a17c2366a94adfa5c.png

    Display them upside down and in front of the trash can.
    • Hook 'Em 3
    Gap03

    Posted

    19 minutes ago, LurkingHorn said:

    Just received from our district: 

     

    image.thumb.png.8a1c8114f294f17a17c2366a94adfa5c.png

    How long before the Satanic Temple donates copies of the Seven Fundamental Tenets to be posted alongside the Ten Commandments?

    DrjP0CEWkAAx35i?format=jpg&name=medium

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    • Drool 2
    Brisketexan

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, Nivek said:


    Display them upside down and in front of the trash can.

    I like the idea of putting up a blank poster next to them, with large spaces numbered 1-10.  Attach a pen, so you can have a discussion about leadership.  "Class, who can name prominent leaders -- community, political, social -- who have violated any of these commandments?  What's that?  You want me to put down RFK Jr. and Ken Paxton next to #6, thou shalt not commit adultery?  Ok then.  What's that?  Greg Abbott and Donald Trump next to "don't bear false witness?  What's that...Trump again for not keeping the sabbath holy because he golfs on Sundays?  Alright kids, good stuff.  Y'all all get participation points."

    • Hook 'Em 4
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    • Haha 1
    Horn Dog

    Posted

    How much would it cost to make some custom 10 commandments urine cakes like this for school donation?  Might as well make the bathrooms smell a little better.

    IMG_1532.jpeg.76ce091cb3b2c8069d5a0545295c3a26.jpeg

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    Satchel

    Posted

    Damn, Tech:

    Texas Tech University System Chancellor Tedd Mitchell restricted the discussion of transgender and nonbinary identities during classroom instruction across the system’s five universities, according to a letter he issued late Thursday.

    The letter makes Tech the state’s first university system to issue such limits. Mitchell didn’t explicitly detail what can and cannot be acknowledged in academic discussions or curriculum. He instructed university presidents to ensure faculty follow a presidential executive order recognizing only male and female sexes, Gov. Greg Abbott’s letter directing state agencies to “reject woke gender ideologies” and a new state law that requires a strict binary definition of gender for the collection of vital statistics.

    Mitchell’s guidance comes after Angelo State University, one of the system’s campuses, instructed faculty not to discuss transgender identities in the classroom.

     

    “While recognizing the First Amendment rights of employees in their personal capacity, faculty must comply with these laws in the instruction of students, within the course and scope of their employment,” Chancellor Tedd Mitchell wrote in a memo Friday.

    HenryJames

    Posted

    The free speech on campus guys must really be angry!

    • Hook 'Em 1
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    Gil Bang

    Posted

    are there any lawyers on this board that can discuss what this means?

     

    • Rage+1 1
    TwiceHorn

    Posted (edited)

    8 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

    are there any lawyers on this board that can discuss what this means?

     

    Nothing, really.  At least for a number of years.

    Law schools will still be approved or accredited by the ABA and will probably continue to tout that for the rationals.

    What this is, I believe is the Rules Governing Admission to The Bar of Texas.  Right now, most Texas bar sites related to this are blocked by Chrome as dangerous.  Haha.

    It goes on to say that graduates of an "approved" law school are entitled to take the bar.    Which means the Texas Supreme Court is going to get busy for a minute approving and disapproving law schools.

    Where it gets funky is when they approve Liberty law school and disapprove Harvard and Yale.

     

     

    Edited by TwiceHorn
    pacman

    Posted

    https://www.kxan.com/top-stories/anti-dei-crusader-sid-miller-urged-ut-to-enroll-student-emphasizing-her-race-and-socioeconomic-status/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_KXAN_News&fbclid=IwY2xjawNHc0VleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHmgLd5pm9Gquu-Oo5NJlfxPJwCio7LtdVzx5bqs2KGduWZWfb5ByZtVUIMp0_aem_2PwT7F8KFHPU-ym8z7KDIg

     

    Quote

    He said the student was a “biracial Latina,” whose father had “retreated” to Argentina a decade ago, leaving her mother to raise the student and her brother by herself. The student, he said, had been accepted but missed the enrollment deadline earlier that month. She did not have a computer, and did not know to look for the acceptance letter online, Miller wrote.

     

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    HenryJames

    Posted

    22 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

    are there any lawyers on this board

    Negged.

    • Hook 'Em 1
    • Haha 3
    Chad Fuck

    Posted

    https://www.kxan.com/top-stories/anti-dei-crusader-sid-miller-urged-ut-to-enroll-student-emphasizing-her-race-and-socioeconomic-status/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_KXAN_News&fbclid=IwY2xjawNHc0VleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHmgLd5pm9Gquu-Oo5NJlfxPJwCio7LtdVzx5bqs2KGduWZWfb5ByZtVUIMp0_aem_2PwT7F8KFHPU-ym8z7KDIg
     
    He said the student was a “biracial Latina,” whose father had “retreated” to Argentina a decade ago, leaving her mother to raise the student and her brother by herself. The student, he said, had been accepted but missed the enrollment deadline earlier that month. She did not have a computer, and did not know to look for the acceptance letter online, Miller wrote.
     

    Rules for thee but not for me, example 193939293939.
    • Hook 'Em 4
    Captain Ron

    Posted

    1 hour ago, pacman said:

     

    You missed the money quote:

    Quote

    The Texas Tribune confirmed the student is the daughter of one of Miller’s political associates, Lisa Pittman, an Austin lawyer who specializes in cannabis law and calls herself the “First Lady of Texas Cannabis Law” on social media and in news articles. Miller appointed Pittman to the agency’s Industrial Hemp Advisory Council in 2020, just after the Texas Legislature legalized growing and selling industrial hemp in 2019.

     

    • Hook 'Em 1
    Brisketexan

    Posted

     

    Her mom is a lawyer. But she “doesn’t have a computer” to check her email for acceptance letters.

    Yeah. That makes sense.
    • Like 2
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    Ghost of NMAS

    Posted

    Most of the Sufly lawyers don’t have computers

    • Like 1
    • Haha 1
    South Austin

    Posted

    11 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

    Her mom is a lawyer. But she “doesn’t have a computer” to check her email for acceptance letters.

    Yeah. That makes sense.

    Your First Lady of Texas Cannabis Law.

    Headshot - Lisa L. Pttman - gray.jpg

    • Like 2
    HenryJames

    Posted

    57 minutes ago, Chad Fuck said:

    He said the student was a “biracial Latina,”

    Biracial Latina Student is the name of my punk band pornhub search.

    • Hook 'Em 3
    • Like 1
    • Haha 1
    Brisketexan

    Posted

    3 minutes ago, South Austin said:

    Your First Lady of Texas Cannabis Law.

    Headshot - Lisa L. Pttman - gray.jpg

    Negged.  She should look like this:

    entertainment-2015-04-dazed-and-confused

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    bluto

    Posted

    30 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:


    Her mom is a lawyer. But she “doesn’t have a computer” to check her email for acceptance letters.

    Yeah. That makes sense.

    Yes, the girl whose mother is a an attorney and Kincaid product, the girl who graduated from Westlake HS, she is living like a Haitian with a single bicycle powered light bulb in their lean to. 

    • Hook 'Em 2
    • Haha 4
    TwiceHorn

    Posted

    1 hour ago, South Austin said:

    Your First Lady of Texas Cannabis Law.

    Headshot - Lisa L. Pttman - gray.jpg

    I have dealt with some "cannabis lawyers" on trademark issues, but not her specifically.

    It goes about like you'd expect.  

     

    • Haha 1
    tx 3 putt

    Posted

    2 hours ago, Brisketexan said:


    Her mom is a lawyer. But she “doesn’t have a computer” to check her email for acceptance letters.

    Yeah. That makes sense.

     

    her mom is constantly posting here, tying up the computer 

    Full House 90S Tv GIF

    • Haha 3
    Firemans4Horn

    Posted

    Trump coming after UT-Austin with his low rent mob tactics

     

     

    • Rage+1 3
    Eskimohorn

    Posted

    are there any lawyers on this board that can discuss what this means?
     

    85034a10c8bfe9037ae82096846cf778.gif
    • Haha 3
    bluto

    Posted

    46 minutes ago, Firemans4Horn said:

    Trump coming after UT-Austin with his low rent mob tactics

     

     

    You mean UT system bending over and inviting Trump 

    tx 3 putt

    Posted

    49 minutes ago, Firemans4Horn said:

    Trump coming after UT-Austin with his low rent mob tactics

     

     

     

    abbott will gladly make sure Texas schools fall in line 

    • Hook 'Em 1



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