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Texas -- a failed state


Brisketexan

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5 minutes ago, Ten Bears said:

jesus fucking christ. So much goddamn false victimhood mindset.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Super fucking lame. 

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

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

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

I damn with faint praise, perhaps.

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

But hell, I don't know.

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12 hours ago, Captainant said:

jesus fucking christ. So much goddamn false victimhood mindset.

image.png.62c84d08f216bc026c7dae4f2f783aea.png

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

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

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

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

 

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

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3 hours ago, Dnaguy said:

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

Super fucking lame. 

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

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

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

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1 hour ago, bolverk said:

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

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

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

FFA

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FCA

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23 minutes ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

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

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

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

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13 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

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

But hell, I don't know.

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

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14 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

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

But hell, I don't know.

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

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3 minutes ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

yes there are a lot of similarities.

 

Edited by troph
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26 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

Young Life still exists at Anderson High School.

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

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

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1 hour ago, troph said:

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

yes there are a lot of similarities.

 

Also the satanic panic 

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1 hour ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Also the satanic panic 

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

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

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16 minutes ago, Dnaguy said:

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

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

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

Texas, our Texas.  All hail the mighty state.

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18 minutes ago, troph said:

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

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

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

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21 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

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

Texas, our Texas.  All hail the mighty state.


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

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

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

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

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6 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

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

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

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12 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

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

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

 

Naming the Antichrist: The History of an American Obsession

 

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

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1 hour ago, pacman said:

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

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