Abbott being Abbott

[CooterBrown 18,015]

Abbott’s biggest crime is making Patrick sound reasonable. This fucking simulation is off the rails.

[mdmost 43,009]

11 hours ago, miguelito said:

Maybe that tree did more damage than we thought. 

Not enough damage. It's bad karma but the tree should've just finished the job. 

[jimmyjazz 45,992]

It wouldn't shock me if the underlying theory were that poors/browns are less likely to maintain their cars, and thus more likely to get into bad and perhaps deadly accidents.

Is the collateral damage acceptable?  I guess so.  Or, they just can't connect the dots.  Tomato, tomahto.

[Captainant 27,682]

28 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

It wouldn't shock me if the underlying theory were that poors/browns are less likely to maintain their cars, and thus more likely to get into bad and perhaps deadly accidents.

Is the collateral damage acceptable?  I guess so.  Or, they just can't connect the dots.  Tomato, tomahto.

That shit drives up insurance premiums. Which are already fucking doubling in some cases. Goddamnit.

[atomheartbevo 89,739]

2 hours ago, YGIFS said:

But we're still gonna be paying the same amount.  Yeah, I just don't get the play.

Republican donors are making more money from it this way.

[mdmost 43,009]

2 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

not sure it should be here or the 88th legislature thread but what was the background on eliminating the vehicle safety inspections?

Most of us keep our vehicles safe, but we've all seen plenty of vehicles on the road that appear completely unsafe or not fully functional. There are some who will drive tires to the threads/when the tire disintegrates. While that could point to current flaws (e.g. brother-in-law passing your vehicle) I don't understand blowing up the entire system.

Of all of the real and imagined problems in Texas, how is making the streets less safe a priority. Is there some anti-inspection lobby that I was unaware of?

Big cities (read Democratic strongholds) still have to keep annual vehicle inspections. 

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,515]

2 minutes ago, mdmost said:

Big cities (read Democratic strongholds) still have to keep annual vehicle inspections. 

I would be curious to see that stats on what issues are uncovered in the inspections and how many violations there are.  Removing the inspections altogether is extreme. It could be moved to every 2 years or a stringent inspection every 5. I realize that the inspections could be looked upon as regressive tax on the poor but I would assume they catch problems especially related to tires and brakes that definitely impact other, pun not intended.

[tx 3 putt 77,163]

42 minutes ago, Captainant said:

That shit drives up insurance premiums. Which are already fucking doubling in some cases. Goddamnit.

you just nailed it, more profits for the insurance companies 

[YGIFS 19,452]

21 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Republican donors are making more money from it this way.

And how do we do that?  

One word:  Volume

Edited June 19, 2023 by YGIFS

[tx 3 putt 77,163]

2 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

not sure it should be here or the 88th legislature thread but what was the background on eliminating the vehicle safety inspections?

Most of us keep our vehicles safe, but we've all seen plenty of vehicles on the road that appear completely unsafe or not fully functional. There are some who will drive tires to the threads/when the tire disintegrates. While that could point to current flaws (e.g. brother-in-law passing your vehicle) I don't understand blowing up the entire system.

Of all of the real and imagined problems in Texas, how is making the streets less safe a priority. Is there some anti-inspection lobby that I was unaware of?

abbott is the party of small government, duh !

[TexPx 2,323]

Big cities (read Democratic strongholds) still have to keep annual vehicle inspections. 

I thought Counties with big populations only have to do emission inspections.

[TexPx 2,323]

In my experience the safety inspections have become increasingly perfunctory. Last few times I didn’t even get out of my vehicle. No real brake test, no horn or wiper check, no tire tread depth check etc.

[Longhorn_Fan68 33,878]

45 minutes ago, TexPx said:

In my experience the safety inspections have become increasingly perfunctory. Last few times I didn’t even get out of my vehicle. No real brake test, no horn or wiper check, no tire tread depth check etc.

how much effort do you expect them to put in for $18 (or $20? or $30? or whatever it is now)? The whole thing a stupid microcosm of republican rule. weaken any regulation to eventual ineffectiveness until it can be removed without any public backlash whatsoever. I recently drove from Austin to Dallas and back and was just utterly appalled at how trashy the highway was. Tire treads EVERYWHERE and miscellaneous trash and debris left and right. I know I-35 is a federal highway, so without looking my guess is Abbott either didn't accept maintenance funds or shifted them to something else and left the highways to rot; as if to say: see? when the feds are in charge, things go to hell. apply the same to medicare and a host of other federal programs this state does not partake in. It doesn't take much to realize why there is such a wealth divide in this state (and country). it's fucking maddening 

[tx 3 putt 77,163]

2 hours ago, TexPx said:

In my experience the safety inspections have become increasingly perfunctory. Last few times I didn’t even get out of my vehicle. No real brake test, no horn or wiper check, no tire tread depth check etc.

only time I find out i have a brake light out

[Ghost of LL 15,539]

23 hours ago, TexPx said:

SWEPCO services most of that area and the outages are due to downed power lines.

Today I learned there is a town named Plain Dealing, Louisiana.

[atomheartbevo 89,739]

1 hour ago, Ghost of LL said:

Today I learned there is a town named Plain Dealing, Louisiana.

Probably have a healthy civil forfeiture racket going on with the local law enforcement.

[Brisketexan 105,161]

3 hours ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

how much effort do you expect them to put in for $18 (or $20? or $30? or whatever it is now)? The whole thing a stupid microcosm of republican rule. weaken any regulation to eventual ineffectiveness until it can be removed without any public backlash whatsoever. I recently drove from Austin to Dallas and back and was just utterly appalled at how trashy the highway was. Tire treads EVERYWHERE and miscellaneous trash and debris left and right. I know I-35 is a federal highway, so without looking my guess is Abbott either didn't accept maintenance funds or shifted them to something else and left the highways to rot; as if to say: see? when the feds are in charge, things go to hell. apply the same to medicare and a host of other federal programs this state does not partake in. It doesn't take much to realize why there is such a wealth divide in this state (and country). it's fucking maddening 

This was something my wife and I noticed on a recent trip overseas, and I think it speaks to us on both a governmental level and a societal level: we traveled on some primary highways in Finland and Estonia.  Miles and miles of open road, rural areas, roadside towns, not too dissimilar from what you'd see here.  And not a scrap of trash.  Anywhere.  Either the locals don't toss it because they know it's a dick move and they look out for the common good, or the government polices the roadways and cleans stuff up pronto, or some combination of the two.

But I could make tracks between Helsinki and Turku and not see trash and debris everywhere.  It actually made an impression on us, the difference was so stark.  But, you know, America #1, and The Texas Miracle, and all those other lies we tell ourselves about how we're the bestest in the history of ever.

 

And to take this back to Abbott directly, here's this from the Blastfurnace thread in DT -- posted in a discussion of the massive and widespread storm-caused power outage in E. Texas (200,000 homes were without power, restoration is going to take a week):

That's price gouging!  It's illegal, by specific state statute!

I mean....it WOULD be....if Abbott ever got around to declaring a disaster, which he can do in about 5 minutes, with a form that's already mostly filled out and a stroke of the pen.  See, the statute only kicks in if there's an actual state or federal disaster declaration.  If not....well, what you see above is totally legal, totally cool.

Abbott has absolutely and completely abdicated his role as Governor of the State of Texas.  He's decided to instead dedicate 100% of his time and effort to being a dancing MAGA clown or somesuch, except no dancing.  He's hot garbage, and every second he is in power costs Texans stacks of money, not to mention suffering and death.  He is a net negative.  We would actually -- for real, at this point in time -- be better off with Dan Patrick as governor.  That's how fucking bad it is.

[Fudge Nuggets 19,208]

8 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

And to take this back to Abbott directly, here's this from the Blastfurnace thread in DT -- posted in a discussion of the massive and widespread storm-caused power outage in E. Texas (200,000 homes were without power, restoration is going to take a week):

That's price gouging!  It's illegal, by specific state statute!

I mean....it WOULD be....if Abbott ever got around to declaring a disaster, which he can do in about 5 minutes, with a form that's already mostly filled out and a stroke of the pen.  See, the statute only kicks in if there's an actual state or federal disaster declaration.  If not....well, what you see above is totally legal, totally cool.

Why do you hate capitalism? 

Signed,

The Three Stooges of the Inflation Thread

[jimmyjazz 45,992]

15 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

@Cheeseweasel, @Incredulity and who else? Or do you count Incredulity as two stooges?

[Incredulity 11,678]

20 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

@Cheeseweasel, @Incredulity and who else? Or do you count Incredulity as two stooges?

 

again

[Fudge Nuggets 19,208]

26 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

@Cheeseweasel, @Incredulity and who else? Or do you count Incredulity as two stooges?

52-80

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,515]

55 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

This was something my wife and I noticed on a recent trip overseas, and I think it speaks to us on both a governmental level and a societal level: we traveled on some primary highways in Finland and Estonia.  Miles and miles of open road, rural areas, roadside towns, not too dissimilar from what you'd see here.  And not a scrap of trash.  Anywhere.  Either the locals don't toss it because they know it's a dick move and they look out for the common good, or the government polices the roadways and cleans stuff up pronto, or some combination of the two.

But I could make tracks between Helsinki and Turku and not see trash and debris everywhere.  It actually made an impression on us, the difference was so stark.  But, you know, America #1, and The Texas Miracle, and all those other lies we tell ourselves about how we're the bestest in the history of ever.

Off topic but Americans love their right to toss trash everywhere. I frequently run at a Houston park. Trash everywhere. It gets picked up and visitors trash it again within a day. The parking lot looks to be where people empty trash that's in their car. It appears that when some people finish a water bottle, the best place to deposit the bottle is dropping it on the ground.  </old man yell at clouds>

[Brisketexan 105,161]

5 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Off topic but Americans love their right to toss trash everywhere. I frequently run at a Houston park. Trash everywhere. It gets picked up and visitors trash it again within a day. The parking lot looks to be where people empty trash that's in their car. It appears that when some people finish a water bottle, the best place to deposit the bottle is dropping it on the ground.  </old man yell at clouds>

There's a bigger cultural commentary on a society driven by individualism/primacy of the "self" at all costs vs. a society that sees itself as, well, a society.  Won't threadjack here to go all the way down that road.

[Francisco 2.0 32,395]

 

 

[Brisketexan 105,161]

28 minutes ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

 

 

He's shooting all the hostages.  All of them.  Because the assholery is the point.

Seriously...he's just a giant fucking asshole.  It doesn't need any more political analysis than that.

[Bozo_Casanova 26,504]

58 minutes ago, Incredulity said:

 

again

You want to put your balls on a man's face? Seems like a weird way to come out, but know you are seen and celebrated. 

[Incredulity 11,678]

8 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

You want to put your balls on a man's face? Seems like a weird way to come out, but know you are seen and celebrated. 

Homophobia noted.

[TexPx 2,323]

This was something my wife and I noticed on a recent trip overseas, and I think it speaks to us on both a governmental level and a societal level: we traveled on some primary highways in Finland and Estonia.  Miles and miles of open road, rural areas, roadside towns, not too dissimilar from what you'd see here.  And not a scrap of trash.  Anywhere.  Either the locals don't toss it because they know it's a dick move and they look out for the common good, or the government polices the roadways and cleans stuff up pronto, or some combination of the two.
But I could make tracks between Helsinki and Turku and not see trash and debris everywhere.  It actually made an impression on us, the difference was so stark.  But, you know, America #1, and The Texas Miracle, and all those other lies we tell ourselves about how we're the bestest in the history of ever.
 
And to take this back to Abbott directly, here's this from the Blastfurnace thread in DT -- posted in a discussion of the massive and widespread storm-caused power outage in E. Texas (200,000 homes were without power, restoration is going to take a week):

That's price gouging!  It's illegal, by specific state statute!
I mean....it WOULD be....if Abbott ever got around to declaring a disaster, which he can do in about 5 minutes, with a form that's already mostly filled out and a stroke of the pen.  See, the statute only kicks in if there's an actual state or federal disaster declaration.  If not....well, what you see above is totally legal, totally cool.
Abbott has absolutely and completely abdicated his role as Governor of the State of Texas.  He's decided to instead dedicate 100% of his time and effort to being a dancing MAGA clown or somesuch, except no dancing.  He's hot garbage, and every second he is in power costs Texans stacks of money, not to mention suffering and death.  He is a net negative.  We would actually -- for real, at this point in time -- be better off with Dan Patrick as governor.  That's how fucking bad it is.

I believe he signed a disaster declaration on the 17th.

[tx 3 putt 77,163]

2 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

 

Abbott has absolutely and completely abdicated his role as Governor of the State of Texas.  He's decided to instead dedicate 100% of his time and effort to being a dancing MAGA clown or somesuch, except no dancing.  He's hot garbage, and every second he is in power costs Texans stacks of money, not to mention suffering and death.  He is a net negative.  We would actually -- for real, at this point in time -- be better off with Dan Patrick as governor.  That's how fucking bad it is.

100% this. The man turned into a tyrant terror. Those two billionaires are getting their moneys worth 

when’s the last time he’s had an open / unscripted news conference ? Actually taking questions and answering 

[tx 3 putt 77,163]

He’s horrible, horrible human being …..

 

[Okie State 3,821]

That shit drives up insurance premiums. Which are already fucking doubling in some cases. Goddamnit.

They are out of control. I've never made a single claim in 22 years of driving and my premiums are outrageous. My cars aren't even new or especially nice.

[atomheartbevo 89,739]

38 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

He’s horrible, horrible human being …..

Wait he was uninsured?  Is that real?  Everybody else had to step in and pay his bills?

[YGIFS 19,452]

IIRC correctly, he had just graduated law school and was prepping for the bar exam when the incident happened.  It would be reasonable to assume that he was between insurance plans before he started at B&B.  And while he filed for recourse (understandably), he did not immediately turn around and turn off all tort claims like some people think.  He was a centre-right jurist, AG, and first term governor that I had issues with but was not a completely unreasonable man.  He was a voice of reason to a batshit element of our state.  

This has been going on for two years though.  The worse his outlook gets for being an even remotely considerable contender for the GOP nomination, the crazier he behaves.  The original play was garner a few percent, hid hard right, make sure Texas is all sewn up just in case, and then ride that into at the very least a Courts of Appeal appointment, if not SCOTUS or Cabinet.  That's all off the table now.  It's turned to a bizarre inward battle with his own state party.  This is going to get very, very weird.  And we are all of us, going to suffer.  humblebrag/ Dan Patrick's biggest benefactor got half in the bag the other night at that hotel over off 360/2244.  He loves to be the prognosticator, even more than me.  And he certainly has the funds and connections to do it, unlike me.  And he laid down his drink, ran his hands through his hair, and confessed, "I have no fucking idea where this is going but it's not going to end well for Texas."  Then we hit on the waitress, but I'm honestly fucking worried.  

[Burt 4,087]

4 hours ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

 

 

That is self loathing at its finest. 

[atomheartbevo 89,739]

47 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

The original play was garner a few percent, hid hard right, make sure Texas is all sewn up just in case, and then ride that into at the very least a Courts of Appeal appointment, if not SCOTUS or Cabinet.  That's all off the table now.  It's turned to a bizarre inward battle with his own state party.  This is going to get very, very weird. 

He's going to push a lot of people into voting (D) (or rather get a lot of people out to vote), or at the very least, make a lot of Republicans in Texas wonder what the fuck is going on and not in a good way.  I wonder if he realizes that.  He's fucking lucky it'll be a Presidential year. I'm not saying he's putting the state into play just yet, but the irrational bullshit is not a good look for somebody who wants a cushy appointment or cabinet job.

[Kel Varnsen 8,539]

10 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

He's going to push a lot of people into voting (D)

[atomheartbevo 89,739]

1 hour ago, Kel Varnsen said:

Patrick, Paxton, Abbott, and the Texas legislature are scared shitless that the state is going to flip, else they wouldn't be taking over the Harris County elections.  Gotta give the Republicans credit, they don't hide their fears.

[tx 3 putt 77,163]

coming soon to any Texas county with a Whole Foods .......

Step #1 - get rid of county wide voting, vote in any precinct (done)

Step #2 - get control of voting in only 'some' Texas counties (work in progress)

 Step #3 - Profit !

 

[4th&Five 41,565]

[YGIFS 19,452]

realitybittes/ "Irony?  I can't define it.  But I know it when I stand up and see it."  

[HenryJames 66,133]

 

[royiv 9,326]

2 hours ago, 4th&amp;Five said:

Not really. The taxpayers pay for a security detail to drive him around wherever he wants 24/7. Not only will he get a state sponsored escort to the polls, he gets to cut to the front of the line to vote, you know for security reasons.

['stache 21,825]

On 6/19/2023 at 9:39 PM, atomheartbevo said:

Wait he was uninsured?  Is that real?  Everybody else had to step in and pay his bills?

I was uninsured through law school because I couldn't afford it and wasn't going to pay it with more debt. 'Murica.

[Bama Chick 28,596]

I’m posting a picture of Pedro Pascal to get that horrid picture of that ginger mulleted man off the forum page.

[Horn Under a Bad Sign 20,453]

 

 

 

[ChuckNorrisActionJeans 2,678]

4 hours ago, HenryJames said:

 

tell it to state Dem chair Gilbert Hinojosa and his shitty (non)-strategy with Hispanics .... as they turn to the R party

[YGIFS 19,452]

Trey Martinez Fischer and Eddie Rodriguez had a very comprehensive and smart blueprint for turning out Hispanic voters, but more importantly appealing to moderate/centre-left/centre-right Hispanic voters...particularly in suburbs and gentrifying urban areas.  And of course, their leadership wiped their ass with it and now you see what's happening in the RGV.  And that's going to keep happening.  

[F250 28,791]

5 hours ago, HenryJames said:

 

The Reconquista has begun.

 

[Brisketexan 105,161]

58 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

Trey Martinez Fischer and Eddie Rodriguez had a very comprehensive and smart blueprint for turning out Hispanic voters, but more importantly appealing to moderate/centre-left/centre-right Hispanic voters...particularly in suburbs and gentrifying urban areas.  And of course, their leadership wiped their ass with it and now you see what's happening in the RGV.  And that's going to keep happening.  

Texas Democratic party leadership is the Greg Davis of party leadership.

[Gil Bang 25,980]

On 6/19/2023 at 3:36 PM, Francisco 2.0 said: