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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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    Willfully Horn

    Posted

    3 minutes ago, Ghost of NMAS said:

    I think we all knew that when it came out about his scheme to transfer Texas taxpayer funds to his Colorado charter school

    Too convoluted for the hoi polloi to swallow. They need pablum. This is easy serve and easy to digest.

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    Chuckie Finster

    Posted

    35 minutes ago, Willfully Horn said:

    Receipts now coming in detailing that Mike Miles, now head of HSID, is a lying, corrupt, piece of shit.

    https://www.texasobserver.org/mike-miles-third-future-schools-midland-classes/

     

    image.thumb.png.89e8b6194cdf54bcd8736eb425ee29c6.png

    Miles is the only evidence anyone needs to support the claim that the government is actively trying to destroy public education.

    Absolutely nobody involved thinks the man is doing a good job, except for those who actually have the power to fix the issue... if they wanted to.

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    bolverk

    Posted

    23 minutes ago, Willfully Horn said:

    Too convoluted for the hoi polloi to swallow. They need pablum. This is easy serve and easy to digest.

    Well, I believe the TEA gave him the green light following a brief "investigation" of the allegation.

    • Rage+1 1
    crash_davis

    Posted

    10 Commandments and prayer time. Following Oklahoma and Louisiana's lead. That's what has become of this state. We are just another dipshit SEC state. Fuck our "leaders".

    https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/state/2025/03/05/bill-requiring-ten-commandments-in-classrooms-heads-to-senate-floor/81351406007/

    A Texas Senate committee on Tuesday approved a bill to require all public schools to display the Ten Commandments in each classroom, teeing it up to breeze through the Republican-dominated upper chamber.

    Senate Bill 10 continues the conservative Christian movement’s confrontation with separation of church and state as established by the U.S. Supreme Court nearly 45 years ago. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the three-term Republican who presides over the Senate, has identified the proposal as a legislative priority.

    Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, who authored SB 10, said he expects Texas will be sued if the Legislature enacts the bill, and he expressed hope that "it'll work its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court." There, the conservative-leaning bench would have the chance to overturn a 1980 decision that blocked Kentucky from putting the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.

    The Senate panel on Tuesday also advanced SB 11, which would allow school districts to provide dedicated prayer time for students and teachers, and SB 13, which would let parents access their children's school library checkout histories and review library catalogs. Parents can choose to opt their children out of participation in prayer periods and school boards can vote not to set aside time for religious practice.

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    Valmy77

    Posted (edited)

    15 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

    Parents can choose to opt their children out of participation in prayer periods and school boards can vote not to set aside time for religious practice.

    Can our school board vote to not display the 10 Commandments in the classroom?

    One of the things I used to like about this State is we did things our own way, regardless of whether it was Democrats or Republicans in charge. Now we just seem to crawl on our bellies to copy whatever Oklahoma does or whatever Donald Trump does. Texas isn't Texas anymore, it is just another branch of the MAGA project.  That sucks.

    Edited by Valmy77
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    Pam Cummings

    Posted (edited)

     

    Gotta get more of this. Call it the scam that it is.

     

     

     

    Edited by Pam Cummings
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    Pescado_Rojo

    Posted

    Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell resigns to take position in Trump administration

    Quote

    Gravell announced his resignation just before the March 11 Commissioners' Court meeting.

    Gravell will serve as the Region 6 advocate for the Small Business Administration in the Office of Advocacy. The office represents a five-state area including New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.

    Gravell was supposed to be the top contender to replace John Carter in Tx31 next year. I wonder if he'll still run, or if this was some sort of plan to clear the field for one of Carter's grandkids or something. 

    scottsins

    Posted

    Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell resigns to take position in Trump administration
    Gravell announced his resignation just before the March 11 Commissioners' Court meeting.
    Gravell will serve as the Region 6 advocate for the Small Business Administration in the Office of Advocacy. The office represents a five-state area including New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.
    Gravell was supposed to be the top contender to replace John Carter in Tx31 next year. I wonder if he'll still run, or if this was some sort of plan to clear the field for one of Carter's grandkids or something. 

    I’m going to assume that he’s still the next Congressional Rep from District 31.
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    bolverk

    Posted

    7 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

    Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell resigns to take position in Trump administration

    Gravell was supposed to be the top contender to replace John Carter in Tx31 next year. I wonder if he'll still run, or if this was some sort of plan to clear the field for one of Carter's grandkids or something. 

     

    2 hours ago, scottsins said:

    I’m going to assume that he’s still the next Congressional Rep from District 31.

    Fitlump imo

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    Bozo_Casanova

    Posted

    7 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

    Gravell was supposed to be the top contender to replace John Carter in Tx31 next year. I wonder if he'll still run, or if this was some sort of plan to clear the field for one of Carter's grandkids or something. 

    It’s Kelly vs that crazy Florida lady that was trespassing in the Moody Center. 

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    troph

    Posted

    Who are my lake Travis parents?
     

    We are hosting a fundraiser for the school board candidates at our place. I would love to connect and get you over here emptying your pockets for maga destroyers. DM me…

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    troph

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

    Put the Tesla in the garage 

    virtue signaling doesn't do shit to beat the facists. I'll leave my pink hat, my "this is not normal" sign in the closet and leave my tesla in the driveway and focus on actually doing something that has a direct effect on outcomes other than just voting.

    troph

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Pato del Muerto said:

    Sure it will. 

    With all do respect I’ve been an activist for a long time. The closer your actions are to actual votes the better. Vote, GOTV, and fundraise are what matters right now.  Next up is visible protest, hearing attendance, and putting pressure with letters and calls on elected officials. From there you get into things like selling a used Tesla on the secondary market and posting on message boards. While I post too I’ll focus on that first category. 

    Fudge Nuggets

    Posted

    28 minutes ago, troph said:

    Vote, GOTV, and fundraise are what matters right now.

    Fundraising don't mean shit.

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    Pato del Muerto

    Posted

    I can envision a near future state where lake Travis and other communities like it won’t have a school board because a combination of loss of funding and loss of students to private schools because of vouchers will shutter the ISD. 
     

    troph

    Posted (edited)

    11 minutes ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

    Fundraising don't mean shit.

     

    2 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

    I can envision a near future state where lake Travis and other communities like it won’t have a school board because a combination of loss of funding and loss of students to private schools because of vouchers will shutter the ISD. 
     

    Thank you for sharing your concerns. I’ll make sure management is notified. 

    Edited by troph
    Brisketexan

    Posted

    11 minutes ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

    Fundraising don't mean shit.

    The dollars you would have spent on fundraising are better spent on ammunition and other necessary supplies for the coming events.

    hornmpa96

    Posted

    13 minutes ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

    Fundraising don't mean shit.

    Fundraising in small local elections such as the school board elections mentioned in Troph’s post absolutely matters.

    National and statewide elections is another story.

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    tx 3 putt

    Posted

    31 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

    I can envision a near future state where lake Travis and other communities like it won’t have a school board because a combination of loss of funding and loss of students to private schools because of vouchers will shutter the ISD. 
     

     

    school board karens disagree

    South Austin

    Posted

    37 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

    The dollars you would have spent on fundraising are better spent on ammunition and other necessary supplies for the coming events.

    Wow.  This year's elementary school field days are going to be epic.

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    Nice Guy Eddie

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Pato del Muerto said:

    I can envision a near future state where lake Travis and other communities like it won’t have a school board because a combination of loss of funding and loss of students to private schools because of vouchers will shutter the ISD. 
     

    thats the unspoken plan. When that occurs, some political donors will be celebrating.

    sasquatch69

    Posted

    This is really wild - billionaire Monty Bennett suckered a bunch of Dallas-area education  bigwigs into signing on to help a new nonprofit, the Dallas Education Alliance - which turned out to be a front for a push to start a right-wing charter school that would benefit from a new state voucher program. Those folks fell all over themselves distancing from it when they found out. 
     

    https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2025/03/monty-bennett-is-secret-mastermind-behind-dallas-charter-school-group/

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    Fudge Nuggets

    Posted

    8 hours ago, troph said:

     

    Thank you for sharing your concerns. I’ll make sure management is notified. 

    Good.  They need to bump up their numbers, show some decent returns before asking for more money.

    troph

    Posted

    32 minutes ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

    Good.  They need to bump up their numbers, show some decent returns before asking for more money.

    A local school board candidate is spending $10-15k of their own money on a $25k race. They have day jobs and kids in the school and care about what’s going on. These aren’t career Dems man. Jesus fucking Christ. This place is jaded to fuck all. 

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    Brisketexan

    Posted

    A local school board candidate is spending $10-15k of their own money on a $25k race. They have day jobs and kids in the school and care about what’s going on. These aren’t career Dems man. Jesus fucking Christ. This place is jaded to fuck all. 

    Oh, “jaded” doesn’t even scratch the surface.
    I believe that humanity is beyond any redemption, and that we fundamentally like it that way.
    Fudge Nuggets

    Posted

    50 minutes ago, troph said:

    This place is jaded to fuck all. 

    Yeah, no shit.

    • Haha 3
    bluto

    Posted

    Take it all inIMG_7778.thumb.png.91868a67f2f52befcb95f19e9afae96c.png

    • Rage+1 1
    elfenix

    Posted (edited)

    Quote

    AUSTIN, Texas — A new bill filed in the Texas House would prevent students from behaving like anything other than a human being at schools in the state.

    The Forbidding Unlawful Representation of Roleplaying in Education, or FURRIES, Act, filed by Austin-area Republican State Rep. Stan Gerdes, would "prohibit any non-human behavior by a student, including presenting himself or herself, on days other than exempt days, as anything other than a human being."

     

    https://www.kvue.com/article/news/politics/texas-legislature/texas-house-furries-act-filed/269-857d860f-539d-4497-a53a-4e201fa251bf

    Is this the adults being in charge?

    Edited by elfenix
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    bolverk

    Posted

    I guess that means no more high school mascots or productions of The Wizard of Oz.

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    Valmy77

    Posted

    I think this is one of those bills where you have to be steeped in right wing moral panic mongering to get it. I think this is about the legend of kids identifying as cats and having litter boxes in school or some shit like that. But I don't know for sure.

    • Like 2
    Guadaloopy

    Posted

    Apparently they can recognize more than “STOP” to opt-out.

    IMG_2421.thumb.jpeg.a1ba25398ea0ada24107e3fdbf8bbf1a.jpeg

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    MissingInAction

    Posted

    On 3/12/2025 at 11:04 AM, Brisketexan said:

    The dollars you would have spent on fundraising are better spent on ammunition and other necessary supplies for the coming events.

    Just put my go bag together. 6 days rations then it's mad Max time.

    South Austin

    Posted

    So much fraud and waste going on with our state parks.

    Radical Larry

    Posted

    McKinney Falls State Park brought to you by Carl’s Jr. 

    • Haha 1
    Nice Guy Eddie

    Posted

    On 3/12/2025 at 5:28 PM, bolverk said:

    Texas Senate majority unveils bill requiring voters to prove their citizenship
    All 20 GOP senators signed on to Senate Bill 16, which would apply to currently registered voters, and restrict some to only congressional elections.

    How exactly would the average voter be able to prove their citizenship status? And realize that Trump is fighting to remove birthright citizenship. If that occurs, then showing up with a certified birth certificate means nothing other than you were born here. And just saying your parents were citizens, and therefore confers citizenship on you, may not be enough. Whos to say that your parents were citizens or their parents? 

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    bolverk

    Posted

    Just now, Nice Guy Eddie said:

    How exactly would the average voter be able to prove their citizenship status? And realize that Trump is fighting to remove birthright citizenship. If that occurs, then showing up with a certified birth certificate means nothing other than you were born here. And just saying your parents were citizens, and therefore confers citizenship on you, may not be enough. Whos to say that your parents were citizens or their parents? 

    Quite the conundrum, ain't it? It's almost as if they want to prevent a lot of Texas citizens from voting by a) creating an elaborately Byzantine process and b) intimidating the shit out of our darker-hued neighbors.

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    bolverk

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

     

    you have to prove citizenship to get a texas DL ?

    You don't have to be a citizen to get a driver's license, or at least you used not to have to. Now, I'm unclear.

    tx 3 putt

    Posted

    Just now, bolverk said:

    You don't have to be a citizen to get a driver's license, or at least you used not to have to. Now, I'm unclear.

    my last DL i had to bring a passport or approved papers 

     

    bolverk

    Posted

    From the DPS website: https://www.dps.texas.gov/section/driver-license/apply-texas-driver-license

    Step 1.  Gather the Required Documentation:

    1. Proof of U.S. Citizenship or Lawful Presence (if not a U.S. Citizen)
    2. Proof of Texas Residency
    3. Proof of Identity
    4. Social Security Number
    5. Evidence of current Texas Vehicle Registration for each vehicle you own. Visit Texas Vehicle Registration website for more information.  Proof of vehicle registration applies to new residents who are surrendering an out-of-state driver license only.
    6. Proof of Insurance for each vehicle you own or a statement affirming you do not own a vehicle.
    7. Impact Texas Driver (ITD) certificate, if you will be taking a driving test for the issuance of your driver license.  The certificate must be dates within 90 days for your driving skills test.
    8. A six-hour adult Driver Education course, if you are 18 through 24 years of age and applying for your first Texas driver license.  This requirement is waived for new residents 18 or older who are surrendering a valid, unexpired driver license from another state.  (No driver education requirements for ages 25 and older)  
    Fudge Nuggets

    Posted

    17 minutes ago, bolverk said:

    Quite the conundrum, ain't it? It's almost as if they want to prevent a lot of Texas citizens from voting by a) creating an elaborately Byzantine process and b) intimidating the shit out of our darker-hued neighbors.

    Why are they bothering?  Non GQP people don’t vote now.




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