Abbott being Abbott

[CTC2 2797]

7 minutes ago, tchookem said:

24 minutes ago, Bullneck said:

I was in Austin last week.  I see he signed into law the $400 a year tax on electric cars. 

Can someone explain the rationale behind this? Is there some cost that EVs have that would require a yearly tax?

They don't pay gas tax for roads.  But Hot Wheels does not want people to buy EVs.  

[CTC2 2797]

On 5/17/2023 at 10:16 AM, Dnaguy said:

1.) Republicans will make change

2.) Things will get worse but only to a point where people will complain

3.) Things will continue to get worse and republicans will distract with culture issues

4.) An outside force will finally cause the bending to give way and the system will break

5.) Only after a crisis will Dems regain power ( or at least some power)

6.) Dems try to clean up mess

7.) Dems blamed for everything.

8.) Republicans regain power and start to break shit again.

rinse and repeat.

I used to think that inevitability the party in power will overreach and then people will get tired of it and vote them out.  Not true in Texas.  This is who we are.

[CooterBrown 18012]

Can someone explain the rationale behind this? Is there some cost that EVs have that would require a yearly tax?

I’m surprised it’s not a tax that is redistributed to O&G companies for lose profits.

[gmr548 16580]

Can someone explain the rationale behind this? Is there some cost that EVs have that would require a yearly tax?

You could rationalize that they’re not paying gas taxes and should chip in for road funding. I believe that’s the official position.

Of course, they’re contributing electric sales taxes at commercial chargers and the new EV tax is several times more than what the average Texas driver pays in gas taxes. That’s before even getting into how backwards it is with regard to climate and the environment.

The purpose is to disincentivize EV adoption. Everything they do is to please their corporate donors and/or the base. This happens to do a little bit of both. Neither constituency is known for thinking about long term societal consequences.

[pyrohornIII 4814]

46 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

So we're doing away with the fees collected testing the emissions of carbon-emitting cars in order to charge money on cars that have no emissions?  

With this outstanding logic, there'll be no more alcohol taxes on 3.1-7.1% beer but instead will be collected on 0.5% N/A beer to offset that.  

I got...i'm uh........nothing.  We get nothing for this.  I don't even know.  This is weird, even for Texas.  

Somebody reminded us earlier that the emissions testing is federal, not state.  Guess we'll see if they just ignore that too

 

[tx 3 putt 76958]

1 hour ago, tchookem said:

1 hour ago, Bullneck said:

I was in Austin last week.  I see he signed into law the $400 a year tax on electric cars. 

Can someone explain the rationale behind this? Is there some cost that EVs have that would require a yearly tax?

only libs drive ev’s !

[Fudge Nuggets 19190]

If I’m governor of a neighboring state, I’m putting up inspection stations at the state line and charging $1,000 to inspect your shit heap before you drive on my state’s roads.

[miguelito 11266]

I think I read on here that the recommended tax for EV's was like $70/year (to offset gas taxes they don't pay).  So of course the Lege rounded up to $400.

[Gil Bang 25959]

Nice job Texas.  

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/22/texas-hospital-adolescent-health-gender-affirming-paxton-investigation/?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark

I hope those terrific docs find a nice home in California.   San Diego is a nice town!

[ChuckNorrisActionJeans 2675]

I feel like Dell Children's needs to fucking say something. This is so horrible it makes me want to cry. Kids are going to die or end up with lifelong problems and no one seems to fucking care unless it directly affects them. As the parent of an adolescent boy, I find it personally terrifying as well... that's what it feels like --terrorism by the government.

[atomheartbevo 89671]

58 minutes ago, ChuckNorrisActionJeans said:

feel like Dell Children's needs to fucking say something.

I feel like Michael Dell should say something at this point.

[Brisketexan 105142]

I feel like Michael Dell should say something at this point.

Abbott will respond by banning computers in the state.

And you know I’m not off target with that.

[mchookem 16336]

the eating disorder and menstrual cycle nightmares hit home hard.

man...FUCK TEXAS LEADERS. and FUCK EVERY TEXAN that continues to vote for them. gotdamn.

 

[atomheartbevo 89671]

Kudos to Abbott, he's hell-bent on making Texas last-place in everything whether it be medical care or education, but he's also hell-bent on making us the laughing stock of America. A year from now after he starts wining 1%-2% of the votes in various primaries, and is left out of the debates, he'll have already damaged Texas and its reputation enough that instead of "Florida Man", there will be "Texas Man", and instead of the GIF of Bugs Bunny cutting off Florida, it'll be Bugs Bunny cutting out Texas.

[StassneyHorn 6576]

How Abbott cant see, probably because he is sitting down, that everyone on stage will turn the border from a Joe Biden problem to a Greg Abbot problem is hilarious.

his ass is gonna walk out there as a publicly elected leader for 20+ years and have an even worse “oops” than Perry did for the last 25 years to fix this and done nothing orobl

[Surly Bevo 24908]

How Abbott cant see, probably because he is sitting down, that everyone on stage will turn the border from a Joe Biden problem to a Greg Abbot problem is hilarious.
his ass is gonna walk out there as a publicly elected leader for 20+ years and have an even worse “oops” than Perry did for the last 25 years to fix this and done nothing orobl

Simpler than that. Abbott can’t see that the fear and hate crowd he is pandering to won’t vote for him because he’s a cripple.

[YGIFS 19450]

All of this misery visited upon our state because he moronically thought he had a chance this cycle.  And then he thinks when he drops out that the GOP nominee will give him a prominent appointment In exchange for delivering Texas.  Yeah Greg, that state that’s totally a battleground state in 2024 where every vote counts so it doesn’t go Blue.  
 

You fucking four wheeled failure. 

[Bama Chick 28596]

Texas and Florida are actually crazier than Alabama. Congratulations!

I actually have a theory.

Alabama is SO red that the crazy fringe doesn’t decide elections here, so our “leaders” don’t have to pander to them all the damn time.

The closeness - or the purpleness - of Texas and Florida give the nutters power. Thus, the pandering to their nuttiest desires.

Sure, Alabama will enact draconian abortion laws and laws about trans athletes but our legislators and Governor MeeMaw aren’t fucking around with UAB or Children’s Hospital or statewide book bans or university administrations etc.

If you’re winning elections by 10-15 points, the crazy QAnon 3-5% of the electorate staying home on Election Day doesn’t matter.

But if you’re only winning by 5 points or 30,000 votes in DeSantis’s case?

That 3-5% fucking matters.

[grazinhorn 472]

On 5/17/2023 at 7:59 AM, Captainant said:

On 5/17/2023 at 6:33 AM, YGIFS said:

I don't know if more kids being homeschooled is an intentional or intentional consequence.

Idk, I for one think it's an intentional consequence. 

Like anyone could even know that

[WBT 20572]

DeSantis won by 20 points

[Bama Chick 28596]

DeSantis won by 20 points

Not the first time.

Charlie Crist was a TERRIBLE candidate.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13512]

2 hours ago, Bama Chick said:

Texas and Florida are actually crazier than Alabama. Congratulations!

I actually have a theory.

Alabama is SO red that the crazy fringe doesn’t decide elections here, so our “leaders” don’t have to pander to them all the damn time.

The closeness - or the purpleness - of Texas and Florida give the nutters power. Thus, the pandering to their nuttiest desires.

Sure, Alabama will enact draconian abortion laws and laws about trans athletes but our legislators and Governor MeeMaw aren’t fucking around with UAB or Children’s Hospital or statewide book bans or university administrations etc.

If you’re winning elections by 10-15 points, the crazy QAnon 3-5% of the electorate staying home on Election Day doesn’t matter.

But if you’re only winning by 5 points or 30,000 votes in DeSantis’s case?

That 3-5% fucking matters.

Makes sense.

[hayden_horn 11362]

8 hours ago, Surly Bevo said:

Simpler than that. Abbott can’t see that the fear and hate crowd he is pandering to won’t vote for him because he’s a cripple.

you just blew my fucking mind. 

it's so obvious. he's basically a minority "other" who has to identify other "others" and turn up the hate machine to hand wave away his wheelchair. all because he has to find a way to appeal to voters keen on hate and cruelty. 

[atomheartbevo 89671]

44 minutes ago, hayden_horn said:

you just blew my fucking mind. 

it's so obvious. he's basically a minority "other" who has to identify other "others" and turn up the hate machine to hand wave away his wheelchair. all because he has to find a way to appeal to voters keen on hate and cruelty. 

The worst thing, and he's too fucking stupid to realize this, is that him being disabled would actually give him a chance to make one helluva legacy. He attended a world-class institution that's basically in his backyard here in Austin that could back him, and tapping into those resources, and his resources as governor, he could do some amazing fucking things for disable people - the kinds of things that would cement a legacy for decades to come, that would get some important legislation named after him (at the national level no less), that could get parks, schools, buildings, etc. named for him.  Dude could have made a huge name for himself nationally, including things like paralympics stuff, etc.

Nope, he helped pull up the ladder after he got his payout so that others in his situation won't get a similar payout, and he's wasting his time and energy trying to appeal to people who look down upon him for being disabled, and his reputation nowadays is about cruelty towards people he doesn't agree with politically, and it's about hate and tapping into the hate to try to appeal to MAGA, who looks down upon people like him.

He's not going to get a cabinet position in the White House, he's never going to sniff the Supreme Court unless he visits as a tourist. He's too fucking stupid to understand that though.

Here's a nice little article from 2014 highlighting that:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2014/11/05/greg-abbott-disability-governor-wheelchair/81224030/

Quote

One of Greg Abbott's favorite lines on the campaign trail is that politicians often like to say they have a spine of steel, but he literally has one.

The Texas Republican, paralyzed from the waist down, is the first elected governor to be in a wheelchair since George Wallace of Alabama in 1982. Abbott's disability has been a mainstay of his campaign since he formally entered the governor's race more than a year ago on July 14. On that date in 1984, Abbott was jogging when a tree fell on his back and crushed his spine.

Quote

Advocates say Abbott could serve as an inspiration as the nation prepares next year  to mark the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Quote

"Visibility is always good," said Lawrence Carter-Long, a public affairs specialist at the National Council on Disability. "Having more disabled people everywhere is a good thing and having them in different jobs is a good thing. It opens the mind about what the possibilities are."

Abbott, the Texas attorney general, easily defeated Democratic state Sen.  Wendy Davis to become Texas' first new governor in 14 years. Toward the end of the race, she defended a campaign commercial that opened with an image of a wheelchair.

Instead, everybody just thinks of him as a fucking asshole politician.

If MAGA came out and said get rid of the ADA and stop making buildings, etc. ADA-compliant, Abbott would join them in a heartbeat.

[BevoAbyss 2059]

Texas is run by a gang of fascists. Time's up for denial, apologia, and excuse-making.

Fascism, as displayed in Texas, is an authoritarian, ultranationalist, religious ideology with several key components.

1) A highly regimented society, with centralized, top-down rule.

2) Protected classes (white, male, wealthy, capitalist, Christian), some of which are championed/worshipped as top shelf role models (Musk, Osteen, Abbott, various celebs, athletes, etc).

3) Attacking of marginalized groups (POC, LGBTQIA+, women, secularists and secular educators, doctors/nurses, scientists and eventually non-fascist intellectuals, atheists, and environmentalists). 

4) The cult of the "great leader" and complete reverence for the public/social media spectacle, wherein the great leaders/rulers are seen as prophets of the great destiny, precisely as they mock, insult, ridicule, and humiliate the marginalized groups. The more idiotic and dumbed down the media spectacle, the more powerful it enables fascism. 

5) The engineered collapse and takeover of secular educational systems, to be used for propaganda and religious indoctrination. Vouchers, end tenure, set up bogus think tanks (Civitas), which pretends to be "free market," while also a mask for public Christian propaganda (Oh, it's coming!). Secular liberal UT is a massive target. Civitas will be like a cancer attacking from within.

6) The unwavering belief in a sacred text (Bible) and insane conspiracy theories (Q), both needed to counter events/facts/realities they do not like. Since religion gets a free pass, no one of import will attack that component. Thus, the fascists will have free reign to believe their unseen God has their back and that they are spiritually elite, have the moral high ground, and are compassionate, precisely as they oppress and humiliate and eventually kill. It's called doublethink.

7) All of the above is backed by violence and the worship of violence (AR-15s, guns, cops, soldiers, military, war). Way more violence is coming. 

Finally, the belief in all of the above as a great destiny and spiritual war, which justifies the violence, oppression, and environmental destruction.

The above is why Gregg Abbott is a fascist. Elon Musk is a fascist. So are Paxton, Cruz, Cornyn and anyone else in MAGA-GQP, anyone voting for MAGA-GQP, or anyone who is fascism-adjacent and enabling MAGA-GQP. 

I seriously doubt any media or institution will identify the above as fascism and attack MAGA-GQP on that ground. Neither will the Democrats. Rather, they will all just use largely innocuous terms like "conservative," "right wing," "far right," "extremists" -- the very terms used for Reagan 40 years ago. And Texas and MAGA-GQP are far far right of Reagan.

Bottom line: Texas MAGA-GQP are fascist. Texas may well become a fascist theocracy.

 

Edited May 23, 2023 by BevoAbyss

[atomheartbevo 89671]

This sums up the Harris County thing, and yeah I'm cross-posting

 

[HenryJames 66055]

6 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

This sums up the Harris County thing, and yeah I'm cross-posting

Didn’t the legislature just outlaw cross-posting? 

[Cousin Strawberry 1261]

[Fudge Nuggets 19190]

15 hours ago, Bama Chick said:

Texas and Florida are actually crazier than Alabama. Congratulations!

I actually have a theory.

Alabama is SO red that the crazy fringe doesn’t decide elections here, so our “leaders” don’t have to pander to them all the damn time.

The closeness - or the purpleness - of Texas and Florida give the nutters power. Thus, the pandering to their nuttiest desires.

Sure, Alabama will enact draconian abortion laws and laws about trans athletes but our legislators and Governor MeeMaw aren’t fucking around with UAB or Children’s Hospital or statewide book bans or university administrations etc.

If you’re winning elections by 10-15 points, the crazy QAnon 3-5% of the electorate staying home on Election Day doesn’t matter.

But if you’re only winning by 5 points or 30,000 votes in DeSantis’s case?

That 3-5% fucking matters.

Pipe down, woman.

[BevoAbyss 2059]

2 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

This sums up the Harris County thing, and yeah I'm cross-posting

With all due respect to you and Rep. Johnson, that speech sums up the problem with the Democrats: total weak sauce. That little speech is not gonna have any effect on MAGA-GQP seizing elections in Houston. Zip. Nada. None. Sounded like the speech of the losing team!

When in the hell are Democrats gonna take off the gloves and announce they will not let fascists and theocrats take over the state of Texas? Clearly, bluntly, proudly. 

I submit that until MAGA and the GOP become synonymous with fascism/theocracy in the minds and words of Democrats, the Dems are doomed to lose.

You cannot defeat what you fail to identify. Failure to identify means a failure understand. You cannot defeat what you fail to understand. End of story. And likely the end of democracy in Texas.

 

 

Edited May 24, 2023 by BevoAbyss

[Brisketexan 105142]

With all due respect to you and Rep. Johnson, that speech sums up the problem with the Democrats: total weak sauce. That little speech is not gonna have any effect on MAGA-GQP seizing elections in Houston. Zip. Nada. None. Sounded like the speech of the losing team!
When in the hell are Democrats gonna take off the gloves and announce they will not let fascists and theocrats take over the state of Texas? Clearly, bluntly, proudly. 
I submit that until MAGA and the GOP become synonymous with fascism/theocracy in the minds and words of Democrats, the Dems are doomed to lose.
You cannot defeat what you fail to identify. Failure to identify means a failure understand. You cannot defeat what you fail to understand. End of story. And likely the end of democracy in Texas.
 
 

This. Every member of the GQP lies and calls democrats Marxists and communists. I’d just like the Dems to speak the TRUTH, and call the GQP what it is, a fascist religious zealot death cult.

[atomheartbevo 89671]

51 minutes ago, BevoAbyss said:

With all due respect to you and Rep. Johnson, that speech sums up the problem with the Democrats: total weak sauce. That little speech is not gonna have any effect on MAGA-GQP seizing elections in Houston. Zip. Nada. None. Sounded like the speech of the losing team!

When in the hell are Democrats gonna take off the gloves and announce they will not let fascists and theocrats take over the state of Texas? Clearly, bluntly, proudly. 

It's annoying as shit, and yeah as an independent I bash the Dems a lot, but it's fully deserved - these are not the Dems of LBJ or even Ann Richards' times.

The only bright spot is that the Republicans are completely scared shitless of the Dems, which is why they are pulling this shit and why Abbott is trying so hard to impose his will on the larger counties.  If the Republicans weren't seeing data that scares them in 2024, they might have pushed this stuff off to 2025. They were desperate to push this through at all costs.

 

[LCHorn 2620]

27 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

This. Every member of the GQP lies and calls democrats Marxists and communists. I’d just like the Dems to speak the TRUTH, and call the GQP what it is, a fascist religious zealot death cult.

Who exactly is the audience for this, though?  Do you think MAGA folks are shamed by the criticism?  Do you think the center-right Republicans who only want to preserve their economic might cringe at being called fascist?  What about the so-called “Christian” conservatives who agree little with the other two groups but have eaten heavily from a table that glorifies traditional gender roles, traditional marriage, and has been told that LGBT abortionists are the source of all their problems.  To them zealot is a compliment.  
 

And on the left, do you think they are somehow in the dark about the basket of deplorable making up today’s GOP?  Will publicly calling out the other side in the manner you describe excite them enough to vote for someone less charismatic than a once in a generation candidate like Obama?

I mean this sincerely as an inquiry into political tactics; who is the audience?  What is the objective of calling them out?  If it moves neither side then what purpose does it serve?

[Brisketexan 105142]

Who exactly is the audience for this, though?  Do you think MAGA folks are shamed by the criticism?  Do you think the center-right Republicans who only want to preserve their economic might cringe at being called fascist?  What about the so-called “Christian” conservatives who agree little with the other two groups but have eaten heavily from a table that glorifies traditional gender roles, traditional marriage, and has been told that LGBT abortionists are the source of all their problems.  To them zealot is a compliment.  
 
And on the left, do you think they are somehow in the dark about the basket of deplorable making up today’s GOP?  Will publicly calling out the other side in the manner you describe excite them enough to vote for someone less charismatic than a once in a generation candidate like Obama?
I mean this sincerely as an inquiry into political tactics; who is the audience?  What is the objective of calling them out?  If it moves neither side then what purpose does it serve?

1) they need to be shamed. And harassed. Relentlessly. Drive a handful to suicide, if we can. There are a handful on whom this would still work. If we drive one of them to suicide from despair, that’s a win.
2) galvanize and invigorate their opposition. Hate is the currency that buys enthusiasm these days. Fail to transact in that economy at your peril. Get Dems fired up to fight against an actual force of evil…because that’s what they are.

[LCHorn 2620]

4 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

1) they need to be shamed. And harassed. Relentlessly. Drive a handful to suicide, if we can. There are a handful on whom this would still work. If we drive one of them to suicide from despair, that’s a win.
2) galvanize and invigorate their opposition. Hate is the currency that buys enthusiasm these days. Fail to transact in that economy at your peril. Get Dems fired up to fight against an actual force of evil…because that’s what they are.

I’d rather respond quickly rather than research and provide citations, but I’ve read plenty on #2 that argues that’s bad tactics with the Dems.  As a group they just don’t respond to fear based political messaging in the way that righties do.  
 

It’s unfortunate that the GOP elites have just nailed it when it comes to creating a platform that keeps their core constituents highly engaged.  We can argue that the Dems need to play rougher on the margins but let’s be honest, the failure on the Dem side isn’t because of messaging, it’s because they are just fucking terrible at playing the long game.  The small, subtle surrender in the rural areas begat state house losses.  The attempt to mollify their most socially progressive members alienated center right seniors, further compounding the loss in the rural areas and sparsely populated states and they keep pounding the table yelling “demographics will save us!” while the GOP knee caps them on voting rights.  
 

If you want to turn that around, you don’t do it by becoming opposite to Republicans but more righteous, you figure out how to win marginal elections in swing districts, groom state candidates that offer more than membership in a minority group, and grass roots the shit out of everything.  It’s labor intensive and expensive but unfortunately your voters don’t drink Fox-style Koolaid and you’ll have to actually work for their vote.  

[Brisketexan 105142]

I’d rather respond quickly rather than research and provide citations, but I’ve read plenty on #2 that argues that’s bad tactics with the Dems.  As a group they just don’t respond to fear based political messaging in the way that righties do.  
 
It’s unfortunate that the GOP elites have just nailed it when it comes to creating a platform that keeps their core constituents highly engaged.  We can argue that the Dems need to play rougher on the margins but let’s be honest, the failure on the Dem side isn’t because of messaging, it’s because they are just fucking terrible at playing the long game.  The small, subtle surrender in the rural areas begat state house losses.  The attempt to mollify their most socially progressive members alienated center right seniors, further compounding the loss in the rural areas and sparsely populated states and they keep pounding the table yelling “demographics will save us!” while the GOP knee caps them on voting rights.  
 
If you want to turn that around, you don’t do it by becoming opposite to Republicans but more righteous, you figure out how to win marginal elections in swing districts, groom state candidates that offer more than membership in a minority group, and grass roots the shit out of everything.  It’s labor intensive and expensive but unfortunately your voters don’t drink Fox-style Koolaid and you’ll have to actually work for their vote.  

Counterpoint: the GQP are fascists, and we should treat them as such. In every way. Every way.

[Bama Chick 28596]

Pipe down, woman.

Civics lesson time - he doesn’t have fuck to do with shit when it comes to state laws.

Also - pot, kettle etc.


At least we elected a Democrat in a state election in the last decade.

Face it - as much as y’all like to portray Alabama as the poster child for red state craziness and being assbackward, Texas has lapped us in that race over the last three years.

We used to make ourselves feel better by exclaiming “Thank goodness for Mississippi!”.

Now it’s, “We may be crazy but at least we ain’t Florida and Texas crazy!”.

Roll Tide.

[atomheartbevo 89671]

1 hour ago, LCHorn said:

Who exactly is the audience for this, though?  Do you think MAGA folks are shamed by the criticism?  Do you think the center-right Republicans who only want to preserve their economic might cringe at being called fascist?  What about the so-called “Christian” conservatives who agree little with the other two groups but have eaten heavily from a table that glorifies traditional gender roles, traditional marriage, and has been told that LGBT abortionists are the source of all their problems.  To them zealot is a compliment.  

And on the left, do you think they are somehow in the dark about the basket of deplorable making up today’s GOP?  Will publicly calling out the other side in the manner you describe excite them enough to vote for someone less charismatic than a once in a generation candidate like Obama?

I mean this sincerely as an inquiry into political tactics; who is the audience?  What is the objective of calling them out?  If it moves neither side then what purpose does it serve?

1 hour ago, Brisketexan said:

1) they need to be shamed. And harassed. Relentlessly. Drive a handful to suicide, if we can. There are a handful on whom this would still work. If we drive one of them to suicide from despair, that’s a win.
2) galvanize and invigorate their opposition. Hate is the currency that buys enthusiasm these days. Fail to transact in that economy at your peril. Get Dems fired up to fight against an actual force of evil…because that’s what they are.

Here's a big part of the problem:

Trump won Texas by 5.6% of the votes.  A lot of people think that's a big percentage.  It's not - Trump only won Texas by 630,000 votes in 2020, and that 630,000 votes could be covered by Harris County and one or two other counties if they got off their asses and got more of the registered voters out to vote.  

The Republicans know how close things are. They know if they don't appeal to the lowest-common denominator, that they won't show up.  That if they don't scare the lowest common denominator, and not just the Cletuses (Cletii?) in the trailer parks, but some of the middle-class rednecks, etc., and if they don't get out the nutso Qanon types who weren't voting a lot prior to Trump arriving on the scene, then the Democrats will cover that 630,000 votes.

@LCHorn the Republican politicians also know that if they go batshit hard right-wing/fascist, whether it's taking control of Harris County's elections or trying to shove "unlicensed" chaplains in schools, that the "center-right Republicans who only want to preserve their economic might" will still pull that lever for Republicans.

That's the fucking problem.   The center-right Republicans will still vote Republican no matter how crazy things are, so the Republican politicians give no shits about moderate/center-right Republicans because they are already in the bag - they are focusing on trying to round up the "Oprah's drinking the fluids of children to stay young and JFK Jr is going to run with Trump" mentally ill types as well as the nutso Christian types who clearly haven't read a Bible in years.

The only good thing on the horizon is they can't stop the demographic changes that have them spooked about next year and 2028, and they are setting up fights with moderate Republicans who don't want Abbott or Patrick's views on Christianity shoved down their kids' throats, not to mention the majority Catholics who will not be pleased if a bunch of evangelical fuckheads show up in the schools. Religion is a very personal thing for most people, and the Republicans trying to shove their brand of Christianity into the public schools will get pushback once more people realize what's happening.

Edited May 24, 2023 by atomheartbevo

[Fudge Nuggets 19190]

6 hours ago, Bama Chick said:

Civics lesson time - he doesn’t have fuck to do with shit when it comes to state laws.

Also - pot, kettle etc.


At least we elected a Democrat in a state election in the last decade.

Face it - as much as y’all like to portray Alabama as the poster child for red state craziness and being assbackward, Texas has lapped us in that race over the last three years.

We used to make ourselves feel better by exclaiming “Thank goodness for Mississippi!”.

Now it’s, “We may be crazy but at least we ain’t Florida and Texas crazy!”.

Roll Tide.

No shit. But you come in here acting like your state is immune from the cray  while your state elected probably the dumbest mother fucker ever to the Senate. 
Pipe. Down. 

[BevoAbyss 2059]

9 hours ago, LCHorn said:

I mean this sincerely as an inquiry into political tactics; who is the audience?

Legit question. Thanks.

I do not have an instant, easy answer that will win the next election. However, I do know a failed strategy when I see one. Though I was born/raised in Texas and graduated from UT, I have not lived in Texas in almost 30 years. Career took me elsewhere. However, I own some Texas ranch land and when passing through Dallas/Austin/ Houston, I sometimes see friends and family (mostly liberals and Democrats, but some MAGA/MAGA adjacent). Here's what I see, hear, and know.

The "Beto Play Nice Plan" is a proven failure.

— Beto's plan might well have worked in the 1970s-1980s. Not in the 2020s-2030s.

— I am not saying be an asshole. A person can be nice and still use the correct terms and definitions to describe the political conditions. Be firm. Don't cave. 

— If Hollywood can make The Handmaid's Tale, then why can't Democrats and media use the correct terms, as dramatized in that series? It's all right before our eyes.

— Yet, my Beto-voting Dem friends in Dallas/Houston are mostly in denial. Joined several for tacos and tequila last summer. They somehow think it is not as bad as it is. Amazing! In between tequila shots, we were doing screen shots of online dictionaries and seeing how the definitions of fascism and theocracy applied to Texas. At least one friend has since told me that our conversation has her (no pics) thinking much more about seeing fascism/theocracy and not mere "right wing" extremism. Obviously, an anecdotal example. Sometimes it's not an easy process to see the forest amid the trees. 

The Beto/Democrat Plan is aspirin for a cancer.

— MAGA-GQP are a cancer for Democracy in Texas (and America). The rights of many groups are in peril. Democracy may well die, with horrors to come. I think Beto once used the term "post truth is pre-fascism" in a tweet. But that was about it, as far as I can tell. Beto's correct, but pre-fascism was the Reagan era. Now is fascism. 

— What happens when you have recurring headaches that start out mild, and you take aspirin, which works for a while? Only the headaches slowly intensify across several years. Then your doctor does a blood test, X-Ray, and you have brain cancer. What happens? You have to treat it with radical steps. No more aspirin. Beto is the aspirin. 

Who are the audiences?

It's not MAGA-GQP. Almost all are completely beyond hope, as best I can tell. However, a tiny percentage might be open to seeing the obvious.

There are two key points to clearly explain and reinforce to Texans.

1) MAGA-GQP are fascists and theocrats, according to any dictionary not tossed out of a school library.

2) The very first right in the First Amendment is freedom from religion, not freedom of religion. Look it up. 

All of this needs to be repeated endlessly. In-person, across all media platforms. With dictionary definitions. With the text of the First Amendment. Repeat, repeat, repeat. American Exceptionalism and "it can't happen here" must be countered with the mounting evidence.

Audience 1: The media, journalists, editors.

— As best I can tell, the media (newspapers, TV, Texas Tribune) have utterly failed to identify the political situation in Texas. 

— Dems can start by asking the media why MAGA-GQP are not identified as fascists and theocrats. And keep asking. And keep on asking. Pull out a freaking dictionary on their phones. Tell the reporters that these Reagan-era terms are no longer accurate. "Conservative," "Right wing." "Extremist." "Far right." Etc.

— For example, the Texas Tribune is intellectually bankrupt, it just doesn't know it. Under the guise of being "fair" and "objective," the Tribune 100% enables and empowers MAGA every day. As such, the Tribune is a threat to democracy. If the Tribune was a cancer doctor, every patient would die. 

— On the other hand, I see thoughtful people using fascism and theocracy across many social media/blogging platforms, such as Substack, Medium, and others like it. Of course, their audiences are tiny compared to TV, newspapers, and megachurches. 

— The Dems need a statewide plan to do this. Across all platforms. Of course, they likely never will.

Audience 2: A percentage of independents. 

— How many? I do not know. Surely, there is a percentage of indies who are smart enough to realize MAGA-GQP are fascists/theocrats when they hear those terms. People are saying this in some platforms. Some protesters have fascism on their signs.

Audience 3: Non-believers in religion. This is over 20% of Texans and growing fast across America. When in the hell are Dems gonna speak out and represent that group? That includes me and I have never ever felt the Dems accurately see the obvious about religious fanaticism. Religious freedom does not mean freedom from critique. Democrats seem oblivious to this.

Sadly, the secular education and secular media systems have largely failed.

— Especially when it comes to critical thinking. Even more in politics and religion.

— Of course, this will not solve everything. Thought and action are needed across culture. Texas corporations and university leaders are not gonna do anything. If MAGA-GQP can scare parents over CRT and woke and Marxists (etc.), then surely the Dems can deploy the terms fascism and theocracy. Someone has to step up their game in the political arena. The only option is Democrats. It sure as hell ain't the freaking Libertarians. 

TLDR/Bottom Line. Someone has to fight the cancer to democracy. And it begins with the right diagnosis. It might well be too late. 

Edited May 24, 2023 by BevoAbyss

[atomheartbevo 89671]

[DDD Dad 14339]

On 5/22/2023 at 5:02 PM, Bullneck said:

I was in Austin last week.  I see he signed into law the $400 a year tax on electric cars. 

 

On 5/22/2023 at 5:19 PM, tchookem said:

On 5/22/2023 at 5:02 PM, Bullneck said:

I was in Austin last week.  I see he signed into law the $400 a year tax on electric cars. 

Can someone explain the rationale behind this? Is there some cost that EVs have that would require a yearly tax?

https://www.nbcdfw.com/investigations/effort-to-kill-state-vehicle-safety-inspections-advances-in-texas-senate/3262896/

On 5/22/2023 at 5:24 PM, YGIFS said:

So we're doing away with the fees collected testing the emissions of carbon-emitting cars in order to charge money on cars that have no emissions?  

With this outstanding logic, there'll be no more alcohol taxes on 3.1-7.1% beer but instead will be collected on 0.5% N/A beer to offset that.  

I got...i'm uh........nothing.  We get nothing for this.  I don't even know.  This is weird, even for Texas.  

Not just the fees, the inspections as well.  "Well, there's just too much fraud and corruption with the inspections so we just need to get rid of it.  Oh, we need that revenue?  Let's tax EV's.  Those people aren't supporting our O&G industry.

On 5/22/2023 at 5:27 PM, CTC2 said:

They don't pay gas tax for roads.  But Hot Wheels does not want people to buy EVs.  

 

On 5/22/2023 at 6:02 PM, gmr548 said:

You could rationalize that they’re not paying gas taxes and should chip in for road funding. I believe that’s the official position.

Of course, they’re contributing electric sales taxes at commercial chargers and the new EV tax is several times more than what the average Texas driver pays in gas taxes. That’s before even getting into how backwards it is with regard to climate and the environment.

The purpose is to disincentivize EV adoption. Everything they do is to please their corporate donors and/or the base. This happens to do a little bit of both. Neither constituency is known for thinking about long term societal consequences.

 

On 5/22/2023 at 7:57 PM, miguelito said:

I think I read on here that the recommended tax for EV's was like $70/year (to offset gas taxes they don't pay).  So of course the Lege rounded up to $400.

Probably. 

I mean, if the idea is to make EV's pay for their impact on the roads, I dunno, maybe tie to to annual odometer readings?  No, let's just put a blanket tax on them that far exceeds their contribution to maintenance expenses.

[YGIFS 19450]

So EV drivers should pay more in taxes/fees because they don't support the O&G industry, but rather the sustainable energy industry which is unreliable for them because of how much we talk about how unreliable Solar & Wind are?  But their money is totally reliable based on their unreliable cars on our unreliable roads being charged by an unreliable energy mix of sustainable sources backed-stopped by a portfolio of hydrocarbons which are reliably unsustainable?  I have that right? 

[sidis 9828]

EV drivers do a significant amount support the natural gas industry in texas.  generally, 40-50% texas grid is fed by natural gas.  when people plug their ev's in, the charge received by the car does not arrive by magic.

[YGIFS 19450]

Yes, I realize that.   We still do a decent portion of our business in the O&G space.  Was attempting (poorly) to point out that with solar charging stations, etc.-the EV market is not to be measured like traditional hydrocarbons nor their wear and tear on the roads and air.  Plus, as his former chief of staff-DH-warned Abbott, people will see this as a progressive tax on the rich.  "They can buy that vehicle and avoid taxes, well then they can pay this $400 fee by golly!"  Because that sounds an awful lot like, "They benefit from the same public infrastructure as the rest of us with those fancy cars...then they certainly have the means to pay their fair share!"   

[VRHorn 718]

41 minutes ago, sidis said:

EV drivers do a significant amount support the natural gas industry in texas.  generally, 40-50% texas grid is fed by natural gas.  when people plug their ev's in, the charge received by the car does not arrive by magic.

[tx 3 putt 76958]

Well said ….

 

[YGIFS 19450]

so Wal-Mart has an inclusive clothing section and now HEB went 'woke'.  

So for probably 51%+ of Texas counties, that means their population has to buy food at Dollar General/Family Dollar?  So they'll die off quicker with no fruits and vegetables?  And we're worried, why?  

[kevwun 15789]

They could also die waiting in line at Dollar General.  Has to be the slowest checkout process on Earth.  And the employees don't even bother to restock the shelves.  They just leave shopping carts full of new shit in random aisles.

Edited May 26, 2023 by kevwun

[Pescado_Rojo 19416]

Just now, kevwun said:

They could also die waiting in line at Dollar General.  Has to be the slowest checkout process on Earth.

That's because there's usually a fist fight in front of you. Sometimes it's a cashier and a customer, others it's two cashiers.