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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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    Bullneck

    Posted

    Polka talk not going away.

    UTCzech III

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, Bullneck said:

    Polka talk not going away.

    You better believe it

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    tx 3 putt

    Posted

    1 hour ago, UTCzech III said:

    Sorry if this is huge, actually played with two members, George Pavelka and Mark Rebecek

    IMG_2671.jpeg

     

    nothing wrong with 'Jalisco'

    • Hook 'Em 2
    Mrs Whiggins

    Posted

    I can do the chicken dance, that's all I got.

    The story behind the chicken dance & why we do it at Oktoberfest

    • Hook 'Em 2
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    Longhorn_Fan68

    Posted

    16 hours ago, Bullneck said:

    That would be them (Robstown https://www.jbpavelkainc.com/ ).

    This would be where:

    pxl_20210522_181159080.mp_.thumb.webp.767fa00ade925763bd357ee4bb184436.webp

     

    did it also serve as a jail? I bet the fire marshall loves the bars on the windows

    Doc Sam Beckett

    Posted

    16 hours ago, Bullneck said:

    Polka talk not going away.

    raf750x1000075t101010_01c5ca27c6.thumb.webp.e1f39683a5a5ad33a6760df3c84515d3.webp

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    Gap03

    Posted

    21 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

    39410551657d933361daf35a5b3199a3.gif

    No.  I'm done with that shit.  It's time for social chemotherapy.  Brutal, devastating chemo....because the only language assholes speak is pain.  So, let the universe speak to them in a way they understand.  If what it takes to get the assholes to grasp that maybe, just maybe, we live in a society and our actions impact other people, so maybe we perhaps might ought consider the impact on other people before we act, is the death of their children?  We crossed that rubicon a LONG time ago.  They are HAPPY to have dead kids stack up....so long as they are the kids of "the other."  Let the pain and awful loss bring itself home.

    Empathy is dead.  Coercion by pain is the only force in the universe with any remaining power.  

    I didn't make these rules.  I think they are insanely stupid and cruel.  But they are now engraved in stone.  Pretending they aren't is lying to yourself.

    I mean, if this is what it takes to overcome the programming that these dumbfuck parents inevitably put their kids through, I'm on board.  If this outbreak gets widespread enough, I'm down with buying some airtime in a couple of years just to say - "Remember that time you almost died from the measles?  That's because your parents are in a cult, utterly incompetent and/or don't give a shit about you.  Probably all three.  Don't be like your parents.  Read a book. No, not that one - a real book."

    tx 3 putt

    Posted

    3 hours ago, Doc Sam Beckett said:

    raf750x1000075t101010_01c5ca27c6.thumb.webp.e1f39683a5a5ad33a6760df3c84515d3.webp

     

    i grew up in the heart of tex mex czech german pol land .....

     

     

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    High Plains Drifter

    Posted

    On 1/22/2025 at 6:14 PM, tx 3 putt said:

    these three idiots are in charge of the worlds 8th largest economy, just a fyi ...

     

    IMG_2723.jpeg

     

    I honestly can't decide which face is more punchable. 

     

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    Longhorn_Fan68

    Posted

    they all look like AI caricatures 

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    Schulz2.0

    Posted

    On 2/26/2025 at 4:38 AM, Bullneck said:

    Grandmother was first generation German immigrant from Nordheim/Orange Grove.  

    My grandmother was 2nd generation from Orange Grove.

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    tx 3 putt

    Posted

    Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) has a warning for veterans: you'll have to "contribute" to society if you need food assistance.

    So I guess fighting for your country and maybe taking a few bullets, or maybe losing a limb is not a big enough contribution to society. Apparently one must still slave in order to be compensated by the very government that is responsible for your condition, you must work regardless of your physical or mental stability.

    Republicans are flat out the most vile psychotic assholes on the planet. Why veterans support this piece of shit party is beyond me.

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    tx 3 putt

    Posted

    On 2/26/2025 at 5:38 AM, Bullneck said:

    Grandmother was first generation German immigrant from Nordheim/Orange Grove.  

     

    orange grove between mathis and alice ?

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    Bullneck

    Posted

    46 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

     

    orange grove between mathis and alice ?

    Yes, sir.

    StassneyHorn

    Posted

    If @UTCzech III is 70 or older I’m going to assume he has slept with all of Halletsville and does house calls in Sweet Home.

    • Haha 1
    elfenix

    Posted

    5 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

    Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) has a warning for veterans: you'll have to "contribute" to society if you need food assistance.

    So I guess fighting for your country and maybe taking a few bullets, or maybe losing a limb is not a big enough contribution to society. Apparently one must still slave in order to be compensated by the very government that is responsible for your condition, you must work regardless of your physical or mental stability.

    Republicans are flat out the most vile psychotic assholes on the planet. Why veterans support this piece of shit party is beyond me.

    daily reminder that republicans hate you

    • Rage+1 1
    TexEx15

    Posted (edited)

    FOX 7 had a news story about measles vaccination rates, which included a chart to data from Texas DHS that allows you to search by school district. I sense a trend among the lowest rates of vaccination against measles. You can find the full chart here. https://infogram.com/mmr-vaccinations-1h1749wny3mdq2z?live

     

    IMG_6530.jpeg

    Edited by TexEx15
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    UTCzech III

    Posted

    9 hours ago, StassneyHorn said:

    If @UTCzech III is 70 or older I’m going to assume he has slept with all of Halletsville and does house calls in Sweet Home.

    Only 58 sorry, well 59 in two months, am travelling to New Ulm tomorrow so maybe can make a side trip on the way back

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    Gap03

    Posted

    3 hours ago, TexEx15 said:

    FOX 7 had a news story about measles vaccination rates, which included a chart to data from Texas DHS that allows you to search by school district. I sense a trend among the lowest rates of vaccination against measles. You can find the full chart here. https://infogram.com/mmr-vaccinations-1h1749wny3mdq2z?live

     

    IMG_6530.jpeg

    The next pandemic:

    f603e106-bacb-468e-b03d-24deb28777ff_tex

    Or at least I can dare to dream ...

    Pato del Muerto

    Posted (edited)

    4 hours ago, TexEx15 said:

    FOX 7 had a news story about measles vaccination rates, which included a chart to data from Texas DHS that allows you to search by school district. I sense a trend among the lowest rates of vaccination against measles. You can find the full chart here. https://infogram.com/mmr-vaccinations-1h1749wny3mdq2z?live

     

    IMG_6530.jpeg

    At least when these kids get sick, the parents won’t be demanding the best care on earth at subsidized rates. Right?  They’ll accept what they can personally pay for. Right?

     

    and as good Christians, they certainly wouldn’t run up an enormous bill and then stiff the hospital that cared for their little miracle   

    Edited by Pato del Muerto
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    Bateshorn

    Posted

    20 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

     

    i grew up in the heart of tex mex czech german pol land .....

     

     

    Holy fuck. I just had the best flashback to being a little and playing on my Grandfather’s back while sitting in the beer garden at the Saengerrunde/Scholz Garten. 
     

    Thank you, Sir.

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    Satchel

    Posted

    That Texas could be so big and so backward, is disgusting:

    https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/28/texas-measles-abbott-lawmakers-response/

    State and local health officials are setting up vaccine clinics and encouraging people to get the shot, which is more than 97% effective at warding off measles.

    But neither Gov. Greg Abbott nor lawmakers from the hardest hit areas have addressed the outbreak publicly in press conferences, social media posts or public calls for people to consider getting vaccinated. State and local authorities in West Texas have not yet enacted more significant measures that other places have adopted during outbreaks, like excluding unvaccinated students from school before they are exposed, or enforcing quarantine after exposure.

    The response to Texas’ first major public health crisis since COVID is being shaped by the long-term consequences of the pandemic, experts say — stronger vaccine hesitancy, decreased trust in science and authorities, and an unwillingness from politicians to aggressively push public health measures like vaccination and quarantine.

    • Like 1
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    wild_turkey

    Posted

    I'm grateful that the people I care about also care about science and the well-being of their kids, so I don't think this will affect anyone I know personally. but it's gonna fuck up a lot of lives and it was preventable.


    Well, the MMR vaccine efficacy against measles is 97%, so if this shows up in schools, you could expect about 1 in 33 vaccinated kids to get measles. So the selfish and/or ignorant anti-vax crowd is hurting more than just their own family, and even some normal responsible people will suffer.
    • Like 1
    Evil Bill Obrien

    Posted

    Always knew that we would be turbo fucked during the next pandemic/public health crisis after COVID, just didn't expect it to happen so soon or to start in West Texas...

    • Like 1
    DaysOff

    Posted

    7 hours ago, Satchel said:

    That Texas could be so big and so backward, is disgusting:

    https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/28/texas-measles-abbott-lawmakers-response/

     

    State and local health officials are setting up vaccine clinics and encouraging people to get the shot, which is more than 97% effective at warding off measles.

    But neither Gov. Greg Abbott nor lawmakers from the hardest hit areas have addressed the outbreak publicly in press conferences, social media posts or public calls for people to consider getting vaccinated. State and local authorities in West Texas have not yet enacted more significant measures that other places have adopted during outbreaks, like excluding unvaccinated students from school before they are exposed, or enforcing quarantine after exposure.

    The response to Texas’ first major public health crisis since COVID is being shaped by the long-term consequences of the pandemic, experts say — stronger vaccine hesitancy, decreased trust in science and authorities, and an unwillingness from politicians to aggressively push public health measures like vaccination and quarantine.

    It's christianity. 0/10. Would not recommend. Remember that era called the dark ages?

    • Like 1
    troph

    Posted

    1 hour ago, wild_turkey said:

     


    Well, the MMR vaccine efficacy against measles is 97%, so if this shows up in schools, you could expect about 1 in 33 vaccinated kids to get measles. So the selfish and/or ignorant anti-vax crowd is hurting more than just their own family, and even some normal responsible people will suffer.

     

    This is why vaccination for yourself and community vaccination rates of 95% or more are needed to ensure EVERYONE is safe, individual immunity plus community immunity requires cooperation among all people - fuck that noise ….

    free freedom GIF
     

    except for …

    Drag Queen Kiss GIF by Paramount+
     

    these people are so fucking dumb…

    Are You Stupid Antoine Dodson GIF

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    • Like 1
    elfenix

    Posted (edited)

    11 hours ago, Satchel said:

    That Texas could be so big and so backward, is disgusting:

    https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/28/texas-measles-abbott-lawmakers-response/

     

    State and local health officials are setting up vaccine clinics and encouraging people to get the shot, which is more than 97% effective at warding off measles.

    But neither Gov. Greg Abbott nor lawmakers from the hardest hit areas have addressed the outbreak publicly in press conferences, social media posts or public calls for people to consider getting vaccinated. State and local authorities in West Texas have not yet enacted more significant measures that other places have adopted during outbreaks, like excluding unvaccinated students from school before they are exposed, or enforcing quarantine after exposure.

    The response to Texas’ first major public health crisis since COVID is being shaped by the long-term consequences of the pandemic, experts say — stronger vaccine hesitancy, decreased trust in science and authorities, and an unwillingness from politicians to aggressively push public health measures like vaccination and quarantine.

    instead they're addressing important issues:

     

    1895599626939744566.webp

    Edited by elfenix



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