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  • Texas -- a failed state


    Brisketexan

    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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    5 minutes ago, Ten Bears said:

    jesus fucking christ. So much goddamn false victimhood mindset.

    image.png.62c84d08f216bc026c7dae4f2f783aea.png

    Lawmakers are expected to continue that trend during this year’s legislative session (the Ten Commandments bill already has been refiled). And pastors, emboldened by President Donald Trump’s reelection and the ultraconservative U.S. Supreme Court, said Tuesday that they believe they have their best shot yet to topple the church-state wall and the Johnson Amendment, a federal rule that prohibits churches from engaging in overt political activity.

    Rick Scarborough has spent decades working to do exactly that. A former Southern Baptist pastor in Pearland, he has become a leader in a movement that seeks to mobilize pastors and undermine the Johnson Amendment, which he says is toothless but has been used by “cowardly” pastors who don’t want to engage in politics. The result, he said, has been an ineffectual Texas Legislature that has often cowered to the LGBTQ+ community and their heretical, progressive Christian allies. (Texas lawmakers have passed dozens of anti-LGBTQ+ bills in recent years, overriding opposition from a large majority of Democrats).

    One of his movement’s ultimate goals, he said Tuesday, is to draw a lawsuit that they can eventually take to the U.S. Supreme Court, which they believe will ultimately overturn the prohibition and unleash a new wave of conservative, Christian activism.

    “The Johnson Amendment is nothing but a fig leaf to cover the fear that pastors already have,” he said in an interview after praying over GOP lawmakers on the Capitol lawn. “Most pastors are so fearful of their reputation that they won't stand, and they don't know how much God will defend them if they get out there and stand up and speak fearlessly.”

     
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    On 1/14/2025 at 10:27 AM, NeverMarryAStripper said:

    I really wish people would quit calling them Christian Nationalists.  The one thing they are not is Christian

    So what you're saying is they're "ChINOs"?

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    On 1/14/2025 at 5:58 PM, bolverk said:

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but a lot of shit going on in America feels a bit like the mid-to-late 1980s. It's crossed my mind a couple of times, but this really brings back that decade when we had fashionable & performative high school popularity contest bullshit like:

    • WWJD bracelets
    • Choose Life T-shirts
    • Prayer around the (flag)Pole
    • A bunch of fucking Alex Keatons running around (this time with podcasts)

    I dunno. Maybe I'm off base and just matching up various memories to get a handle on things, but it does have that overall vibe.

    In the 90’s we had Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Young Life.

    Super fucking lame. 

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    On 1/14/2025 at 3:08 PM, Brisketexan said:

    Dustin Burrows of Lubbock is your new Texas Speaker of the House.

    He's better than the other option, from what I understand.

    I damn with faint praise, perhaps.

    I actually know David Cook.  He's not a bad guy, but I haven't gotten political with him.  There's a few data points indicating he's not a big Trumper type.  But his suppport from the ultra-loons seems to belie that.

    But hell, I don't know.

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    12 hours ago, Captainant said:

    jesus fucking christ. So much goddamn false victimhood mindset.

    image.png.62c84d08f216bc026c7dae4f2f783aea.png

    Lawmakers are expected to continue that trend during this year’s legislative session (the Ten Commandments bill already has been refiled). And pastors, emboldened by President Donald Trump’s reelection and the ultraconservative U.S. Supreme Court, said Tuesday that they believe they have their best shot yet to topple the church-state wall and the Johnson Amendment, a federal rule that prohibits churches from engaging in overt political activity.

    Rick Scarborough has spent decades working to do exactly that. A former Southern Baptist pastor in Pearland, he has become a leader in a movement that seeks to mobilize pastors and undermine the Johnson Amendment, which he says is toothless but has been used by “cowardly” pastors who don’t want to engage in politics. The result, he said, has been an ineffectual Texas Legislature that has often cowered to the LGBTQ+ community and their heretical, progressive Christian allies. (Texas lawmakers have passed dozens of anti-LGBTQ+ bills in recent years, overriding opposition from a large majority of Democrats).

    One of his movement’s ultimate goals, he said Tuesday, is to draw a lawsuit that they can eventually take to the U.S. Supreme Court, which they believe will ultimately overturn the prohibition and unleash a new wave of conservative, Christian activism.

    “The Johnson Amendment is nothing but a fig leaf to cover the fear that pastors already have,” he said in an interview after praying over GOP lawmakers on the Capitol lawn. “Most pastors are so fearful of their reputation that they won't stand, and they don't know how much God will defend them if they get out there and stand up and speak fearlessly.”

     

    If a church wants to get political, they should lose their tax exempt status. I’d be ok with that trade off.

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    3 hours ago, Dnaguy said:

    In the 90’s we had Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Young Life.

    Super fucking lame. 

    We had the FCA kids, too. It was kind of a weird deal that I had some trouble wrapping my head around.

    In early high school, I was still in the thrall of Reaganism because I was being raised in a Republican Southern Baptist household and still called myself a Christian at the time, but the notion that Christianity was linked to athletic performance didn’t really settle with me. It just felt a little fake, ya know? Like a bad taste in my mouth kind of thing.

    Then, there was the whole FFA vs. FCA confusion that I could never keep very straight because all the FFA kids were also in the FCA. I dunno; I’ve never been good with acronyms, but the blue jackets helped sort it out sometimes.

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    1 hour ago, bolverk said:

    We had the FCA kids, too. It was kind of a weird deal that I had some trouble wrapping my head around.

    In early high school, I was still in the thrall of Reaganism because I was being raised in a Republican Southern Baptist household and still called myself a Christian at the time, but the notion that Christianity was linked to athletic performance didn’t really settle with me. It just felt a little fake, ya know? Like a bad taste in my mouth kind of thing.

    Then, there was the whole FFA vs. FCA confusion that I could never keep very straight because all the FFA kids were also in the FCA. I dunno; I’ve never been good with acronyms, but the blue jackets helped sort it out sometimes.

    FFA

    spacer.png

    FCA

    spacer.png

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    3 hours ago, Homercles said:

    I’ve always been partial to Fuck Off Jesus

    image.jpeg.de9bdd18be2d338f9b69838138ccd78f.jpeg

    I've always wondered: are these new drawings with modern captions or old drawings with modern captions? dude has some pretty sweet kicks in that drawing

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    23 minutes ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

    I've always wondered: are these new drawings with modern captions or old drawings with modern captions? dude has some pretty sweet kicks in that drawing

    Looks like he has an Apple Watch as well, although that artist signature does say ‘96.

    not to even mention he appears to be stretching carpet that’s already tacked down in that direction, while there’s a huge gap along the wall behind Jesus. 

    Edited by Pato del Muerto
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    2 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

    Looks like he has an Apple Watch as well

    Pretty sure that's a Casio Calculator Watch. Don't ask me how I know. Pretty sure the date on the bottom right says '96

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    13 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

    I actually know David Cook.  He's not a bad guy, but I haven't gotten political with him.  There's a few data points indicating he's not a big Trumper type.  But his suppport from the ultra-loons seems to belie that.

    But hell, I don't know.

    Is he a Republican? If yes, he’s a big Trumper type. Don’t fool yourself.

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    14 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

    I actually know David Cook.  He's not a bad guy, but I haven't gotten political with him.  There's a few data points indicating he's not a big Trumper type.  But his suppport from the ultra-loons seems to belie that.

    But hell, I don't know.

    I'm sure Burrows is just the lesser of two evils, but Cook was the chosen one by Abbot, Patrick, and the nonresident billionaires who own the rest of our state government so there is no way that he is not a Trumper

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    3 minutes ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

    I'm sure Burrows is just the lesser of two evils, but Cook was the chosen one by Abbot, Patrick, and the nonresident billionaires who own the rest of our state government so there is no way that he is not a Trumper

    Sometimes we are forced to chose the lesser of two evils over the evil of two lessers. 

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    1 hour ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

    Sometimes we are forced to chose the lesser of two evils over the evil of two lessers. 

    Or two weevils, which may be the case here.

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    On 1/14/2025 at 5:58 PM, bolverk said:

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but a lot of shit going on in America feels a bit like the mid-to-late 1980s. It's crossed my mind a couple of times, but this really brings back that decade when we had fashionable & performative high school popularity contest bullshit like:

    • WWJD bracelets
    • Choose Life T-shirts
    • Prayer around the (flag)Pole
    • A bunch of fucking Alex Keatons running around (this time with podcasts)

    I dunno. Maybe I'm off base and just matching up various memories to get a handle on things, but it does have that overall vibe.

    During the 1980s you also had the AIDS crisis so LGB folk were a public obsession much like TQ folk are today.  There was also a push for visibility. The political battle included Equal Rights Ordinances in municipalities across the country, much like the school board fights over trans rights now as trans visibility surges.  And like the substantial defeats trans folk are suffering now, so did LGB folk in the 1980’s.

    yes there are a lot of similarities.

     

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    On 1/15/2025 at 7:15 PM, Dnaguy said:

    In the 90’s we had Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Young Life.

    Super fucking lame. 

    Young Life still exists at Anderson High School.

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    26 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

    Young Life still exists at Anderson High School.

    I did learn the words to free falling during Young life so it wasn’t all a total loss.

    But dammit if I thought I was going to get a handy at that weekend Young Life camp. Kimberly was fucking tease.

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    1 hour ago, troph said:

    During the 1980s you also had the AIDS crisis so LGB folk were a public obsession much like TQ folk are today.  There was also a push for visibility. The political battle included Equal Rights Ordinances in municipalities across the country, much like the school board fights over trans rights now as trans visibility surges.  And like the substantial defeats trans folk are suffering now, so did LGB folk in the 1980’s.

    yes there are a lot of similarities.

     

    Also the satanic panic 

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    1 hour ago, Pato del Muerto said:

    Also the satanic panic 

    Yep. play the Kiss albums backward and it says very clearly “I love Satan.”

    the possible good news is after the 1980’s  backlash we enjoyed progress. Hoping we have the same coming in the future. Not banking on it given other factors like resource scarcity, climate change induced global stress, wealth inequality, decentralized threats like terrorism, and population density. 

    Edited by troph
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    16 minutes ago, Dnaguy said:

    I did learn the words to free falling during Young life so it wasn’t all a total loss.

    But dammit if I thought I was going to get a handy at that weekend Young Life camp. Kimberly was fucking tease.

    A good friend of mine tried out Young Life at RE Lee High in Houston back in the 80s.  At her very first meeting, someone raises their hand and asked the moderator or whatever he was "So, I know the Bible says we aren't supposed to be friends with jews because they killed Jesus, but my nextdoor neighbor Benjamin have known each other our whole lives, and I still want to be his friend."  My friend waits, grinning, for the moderator to gently correct this poor, misguided young soul, only to hear "well, you're right - the Bible DOES say we aren't supposed to be friends with jews....."  My friend got up, walked out, and hasn't darkened the door of any Christian enterprise except for weddings and funerals since that day.

    Texas, our Texas.  All hail the mighty state.

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    18 minutes ago, troph said:

    Yep. play the Kiss albums backward and it says very clearly “I love Satan.”

    the possible good news is after the 1980’s  backlash we enjoyed progress. Hoping we have the same coming in the future. Not banking on it given other factors like resource scarcity, climate change induced global stress, decentralized threats like terrorism, and population density. 

    I wanted to add that a rise in outward evangelical Christianity, by nature, will be accompanied by a rise in demonic accusations.  Or maybe it’s the other way around. But it is two sides of the same coin.  When a movement starts where people are taught they there is evil everywhere, people begin to report seeing…evil everywhere. 

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    21 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

    A good friend of mine tried out Young Life at RE Lee High in Houston back in the 80s.  At her very first meeting, someone raises their hand and asked the moderator or whatever he was "So, I know the Bible says we aren't supposed to be friends with jews because they killed Jesus, but my nextdoor neighbor Benjamin have known each other our whole lives, and I still want to be his friend."  My friend waits, grinning, for the moderator to gently correct this poor, misguided young soul, only to hear "well, you're right - the Bible DOES say we aren't supposed to be friends with jews....."  My friend got up, walked out, and hasn't darkened the door of any Christian enterprise except for weddings and funerals since that day.

    Texas, our Texas.  All hail the mighty state.


    In the 90’s suburban northeast Houston had decided the tribe was ok to socialize with.

    The 5 or so of them in our class of 900 or so were cool enough that their eternal damnation wasn’t going to keep us from being friends.

    Maybe some of the more progressive amongst the group thought that they could sneak their way into heaven / got grandfathered in. All the movies and pop culture stuff about the Holocaust like Schindlers List kind of made hating on Jews a little much.

    That didn’t stop folks from using the phrases ‘Don’t be Jew’ or ‘That’s Jewish’ in relation to something being bad. Much like using the phrase ‘That’s gay’ when something was lame.

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    6 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

    I wanted to add that a rise in outward evangelical Christianity, by nature, will be accompanied by a rise in demonic accusations.  Or maybe it’s the other way around. But it is two sides of the same coin.  When a movement starts where people are taught they there is evil everywhere, people begin to report seeing…evil everywhere. 

    Oh, that's already happened.  Go to conservative social media -- it is full of "DEMONS AMONG US!" shit.

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    12 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

    I wanted to add that a rise in outward evangelical Christianity, by nature, will be accompanied by a rise in demonic accusations.  Or maybe it’s the other way around. But it is two sides of the same coin.  When a movement starts where people are taught they there is evil everywhere, people begin to report seeing…evil everywhere. 

    I had to read a solid book on that during grad school.

     

    Naming the Antichrist: The History of an American Obsession

     

    Naming the Antichrist: The History of an American Obsession | Oxford Academic

    Edited by SimonBolivar
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    1 hour ago, pacman said:

    If I could trade doing away with North Korea, but in return I would have to do away with Texas I would take that deal in a heartbeat. Your imbeciles in charge are hellbent on destroying anything that remotely functions well there. It’s both incredible and sad to witness from afar. I hope my niece and nephew just get homeschooled. 

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    23 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

    Young Life still exists at Anderson High School.

    I participated in Young Life at Anderson in the late 90s to get with a girl. It worked, but man that was some lame shit. 

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    9 hours ago, UpperWestside said:

    I hope my niece and nephew just get homeschooled. 

    Well you’re in luck because sadly that’s what our state leaders seem to want too.

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    1 hour ago, tx 3 putt said:

    i'm pretty confident on abbott's next move ...

    all public school students must have their citizenship verified to attend school 

    A related bill has already been introduced by former Flower Mound councilman-turned-House member Ben Bumgarner, an ally of Abbott. It’s a little more nuanced, but seems to be heading in that direction.

    https://legiscan.com/TX/text/HB371/2025

     

    Edited by sasquatch69
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    35 minutes ago, sasquatch69 said:

    A related bill has already been introduced by former Flower Mound councilman-turned-House member Ben Bumgarner, an ally of Abbott. It’s a little more nuanced, but seems to be heading in that direction.

    https://legiscan.com/TX/text/HB371/2025

     

     

    abbott wants to act before florida steaks the thunder

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