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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.

 

 

User Feedback

Recommended Comments

HenryJames

Certifiably Surly
17 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

OR, make Choice B, the woman dies, and a jury decides you got it wrong and you get a ruinous malpractice judgment against you.

Texas still has medical malpractice lawsuits?

tx 3 putt

Legacy Members
21 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

That's the part that matters.

Because here's how it breaks down for a doc in Texas who might provide such care: make Choice A, and Ken Paxton decides you got it wrong and you go to prison for the rest of your life.  OR, make Choice B, the woman dies, and a jury decides you got it wrong and you get a ruinous malpractice judgment against you.

OR....choice C - GTFO Texas, and go practice someplace sane that won't subject you to such idiotic choices.

Any doc who DOESN'T pick choice C really doesn't have good decisionmaking skills.

Med students are already opting out of OB-GN calls to Texas.  It's going to get worse, much worse.  I literally thought about this over the past week.  If/when my adult daughter becomes pregnant, I do not want her to visit us in Texas at any time during her pregnancy. I do not want to take the risk that while she is here, even if for just a few days, a life-threatening complication develops, and she dies because of our stupid laws.  Texas (and every other state with similar laws) is a no-go zone during pregnancy for any woman who wants to stay alive.  Again, it's the only rational decision.

 

hard to get an abortion when there are no doctors !!!!!

Brisketexan

Legacy Members
19 minutes ago, HenryJames said:

Texas still has medical malpractice lawsuits?

It does.  And killing a young adult with proven wage-earning capacity is one of the few suits that can yield real damages (economic damages are not capped, only non-economic ones.  So, you can kill a baby pretty much for free (real pro-life state we got here, right?), but if you kill mom and she has any evidence of wage-earning capacity, you're fucked on damages.  Never mind the sickness of a "pro-life" state only treating your life worthwhile if you have proven evidence of earning wages, that's the law in Texas, the most "pro-life" state in America!)

17 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

 

hard to get an abortion when there are no doctors !!!!!

Well, and those doctors just treat women.

Women aren't really full citizens/humans in Gilead, so it's no big loss.

Updawg

Legacy Members

Played golf with a retired obgyn recently. We didn’t really get into it all but he pretty much said the current state led to his decision to retire

mchookem

Certifiably Surly

yeah, our doctor in Austin retired shortly after we moved... he and his husband said 'fuck this state' and relocated to Santa Fe.

4th&Five

Certifiably Surly

My wife and I lost our long time doctor and our kid’s pediatrician in the last 6 months. Both blamed Texas politics. 

tx 3 putt

Legacy Members

lololol

evading motherhood 

TxEx84

Burnt Ends
On 10/29/2024 at 10:26 AM, Brisketexan said:

WHY THE FUCK HAS EVERY FUCKING GIANT ASSHOLE IN AMERICA DECIDED TO MOVE TO TEXAS, PARTICULARLY AUSTIN?  We have Alex Jones, Joe Rogan, Elon Musk, Tony Hinchcliffe.....for fuck's sake, I live here, and I would fully support a nuclear strike on this town because wiping out those fucking assholes would be such a giant net gain for humanity.

Wait. Tony Hinchcliffe lives in Austin?!? Aw shit. 

Xminus6

Certifiably Surly
6 minutes ago, TxEx84 said:

Wait. Tony Hinchcliffe lives in Austin?!? Aw shit. 

He’s one of Rogan’s boys. He tapes his podcast out of Rogan’s studio complex.

Paper_jam

Legacy Members
1 hour ago, atomheartbevo said:

 

That ad needs to be running EVERYWHERE

giphy.gif

 

 

DigglerontheHoof

Certifiably Surly
3 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

image.thumb.jpeg.f22510fea08b46d4c2e52a4871d1c652.jpeg

Bury his carpetbagging ass in a landfill. 

Hefeweizen

Certifiably Surly
On 10/29/2024 at 5:57 PM, Shaddie said:

Goddamn it I’m trying to post Alonzo mourning gif and I’m an old so can’t get it 

 

I Guess If You Say So GIF

Al Bundy's Napoleon Hand

Legacy Members
5 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

image.thumb.jpeg.f22510fea08b46d4c2e52a4871d1c652.jpeg

Nailed it. Who says we can't all come together? 

Willfully Horn

Certifiably Surly

POS doesn’t break down boxes. Add it to the list.

CooterBrown

Full Members

Why is that old lesbian sitting on a trash bag?

Brisketexan

Legacy Members
Why is that old lesbian sitting on a trash bag?

Because she’s pure trash.
Label fits, you pieces of shit.

safe sex

Burnt Ends

Fuck both of you >:(

(Fuck Dan Patrick too, ftr)

Keef

Legacy Members

The most shocking part of this picture is that Dan Patrick appears to recycle.

tx 3 putt

Legacy Members

IMG_2258.jpeg

tx 3 putt

Legacy Members

good job abbott 

 

pacman

Burnt Ends

They missed it for the longest time but finally found fraud. It's a Republican, so nothing will be done before elections.

Screenshot_20241104_081642_X.jpg

Screenshot_20241104_081700_X.jpg

crash_davis

Legacy Members

Texas OB/GYNs released this today. I've already said it before. My eldest daughter graduated from UT and GTFO of this piece of shit state. My second daughter has a great job here in Austin but will be looking to transfer as soon as she can, hopefully in a year or two. Most of their female friends left the state and are never coming back. I am counting down 3 years until I can retire and leave this piece of shit state. 

FUCK YOU if you are voting for the despicable pieces of shits who legislated this affront to women.

texas-obgyns-released-this-letter-today-

texas-obgyns-released-this-letter-today-

texas-obgyns-released-this-letter-today-

GreenspointTexas

Certifiably Surly
59 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

Texas OB/GYNs released this today. I've already said it before. My eldest daughter graduated from UT and GTFO of this piece of shit state. My second daughter has a great job here in Austin but will be looking to transfer as soon as she can, hopefully in a year or two. Most of their female friends left the state and are never coming back. I am counting down 3 years until I can retire and leave this piece of shit state. 

FUCK YOU if you are voting for the despicable pieces of shits who legislated this affront to women.

texas-obgyns-released-this-letter-today-

texas-obgyns-released-this-letter-today-

texas-obgyns-released-this-letter-today-

I know 3 of these women, 2 we hang out with from time to time. Dr Gandhi delivered two of my 3 children at TCH. Props for sticking their necks out

Brisketexan

Legacy Members
9 minutes ago, GreenspointTexas said:

I know 3 of these women, 2 we hang out with from time to time. Dr Gandhi delivered two of my 3 children at TCH. Props for sticking their necks out

This.  More courage to stand for what's right, and to OPENLY stand against what is wrong, is what we need.  It's contagious.

Kinda this sorta thing:

dGRHp4.gif

Firemans4Horn

Legacy Members
1 hour ago, crash_davis said:

Texas OB/GYNs released this today. I've already said it before. My eldest daughter graduated from UT and GTFO of this piece of shit state. My second daughter has a great job here in Austin but will be looking to transfer as soon as she can, hopefully in a year or two. Most of their female friends left the state and are never coming back. I am counting down 3 years until I can retire and leave this piece of shit state. 

FUCK YOU if you are voting for the despicable pieces of shits who legislated this affront to women.

texas-obgyns-released-this-letter-today-

texas-obgyns-released-this-letter-today-

texas-obgyns-released-this-letter-today-


 

It’s settled. Dallas >>>> Ft. Worth

bolverk

Legacy Members
42 minutes ago, Firemans4Horn said:


 

It’s settled. Dallas >>>> Ft. Worth

Props to the docs from Odessa, Lubbock, and Nacogdoches for putting their names out there.

crash_davis

Legacy Members

In the Reddit comment it was stated that many, maybe most, of the docs in the letter are in the Texas Children's Hospital network. I probably wouldn't blame your OB/GYN if she/he isn't on the list. They probably weren't aware that this letter existed. But I think this list probably echoes the thoughts and feelings of the vast majority of OB/GYNs in the state. 

 

crash_davis

Legacy Members
1 minute ago, bolverk said:

Props to the docs from Odessa, Lubbock, and Nacogdoches for putting their names out there.

Will be interesting if/when those docs leave the state, and those places are left with no/limited options for OB/GYN. magat dipshits will blame cancel culture or some bullshit.

Valmy77

Full Members
Just now, crash_davis said:

Will be interesting if/when those docs leave the state, and those places are left with no/limited options for OB/GYN. magat dipshits will blame cancel culture or some bullshit.

I imagine they will point out that people had babies for centuries before these communist Doctors came around. They can squat down and push out that baby and get back to work.

Firemans4Horn

Legacy Members
1 minute ago, Valmy77 said:

I imagine they will point out that people had babies for centuries before these communist Doctors came around. They can squat down and push out that baby and get back to work.


they  just hope they make it to kindergarten when RFK Jr’s scarlet fever epidemic kills them. 

tx 3 putt

Legacy Members
7 minutes ago, bolverk said:

Props to the docs from Odessa, Lubbock, and Nacogdoches for putting their names out there.

 

they are maga fucked

getting burned at the stake as witches fucked 

tx 3 putt

Legacy Members
7 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

In the Reddit comment it was stated that many, maybe most, of the docs in the letter are in the Texas Children's Hospital network. I probably wouldn't blame your OB/GYN if she/he isn't on the list. They probably weren't aware that this letter existed. But I think this list probably echoes the thoughts and feelings of the vast majority of OB/GYNs in the state. 

 

 

isn’t texas children’s having severe financial issues ??

CooterBrown

Full Members
4 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

Will be interesting if/when those docs leave the state, and those places are left with no/limited options for OB/GYN. magat dipshits will blame cancel culture or some bullshit.

They'll dangle a visa at foreign doctors to get them to come and work here.   If you go look at the list of doctors in places like Victoria DeTar Hospital, it's already like 70% foreign doctors.  Most of the the rest are from Houston, Austin, and Dallas, who they pay 1-2 weeks salary to come practice there for 1 day a week. 

tx 3 putt

Legacy Members
1 minute ago, CooterBrown said:

They'll dangle a visa at foreign doctors to get them to come and work here.   If you go look at the list of doctors in places like Victoria DeTar Hospital, it's already like 70% foreign doctors.  Most of the the rest are from Houston, Austin, and Dallas, who they pay 1-2 weeks salary to come practice there for 1 day a week. 

homer simpson simpsons GIF

Macanudo

Legacy Members
31 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

They'll dangle a visa at foreign doctors to get them to come and work here.   If you go look at the list of doctors in places like Victoria DeTar Hospital, it's already like 70% foreign doctors.  Most of the the rest are from Houston, Austin, and Dallas, who they pay 1-2 weeks salary to come practice there for 1 day a week. 

Isn't it ironic?

crash_davis

Legacy Members
28 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

Isn't it ironic?

Irony requires some self awareness. Magat don't self aware.

Pimphand

Legacy Members

Oh dear sweet summer communist fools. Please GTFO.

China needs you

Nice Guy Eddie

Certifiably Surly
18 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

They'll dangle a visa at foreign doctors to get them to come and work here.   If you go look at the list of doctors in places like Victoria DeTar Hospital, it's already like 70% foreign doctors.  Most of the the rest are from Houston, Austin, and Dallas, who they pay 1-2 weeks salary to come practice there for 1 day a week. 

Abbott and Patrick will use tax dollars, mainly paid by the large cities, to fund doctors to staff small town hospitals. But those small town residents will sneer at the deadbeat welfare recipients in the big cities.

Eskimohorn

Legacy Members
Abbott and Patrick will use tax dollars, mainly paid by the large cities, to fund doctors to staff small town hospitals. But those small town residents will sneer at the deadbeat welfare recipients in the big cities.

What program is this? They have 90% support as is. in rural communities. Why do anything to help? The rural people just blame Obamacare for their hospitals closing (that was literally the sentiment).

tx 3 putt

Legacy Members

 

4 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Abbott and Patrick will use tax dollars, mainly paid by the large cities, to fund doctors to staff small town hospitals. But those small town residents will sneer at the deadbeat welfare recipients in the big cities.

 

small town medical care is already horrible 

Valmy77

Full Members
10 hours ago, Pimphand said:

Oh dear sweet summer communist fools. Please GTFO.

China needs you

This is my home. You will have to force me out.

mchookem

Certifiably Surly

my high-anxiety niece just called from Denton for a pep-talk. she picked up a shift at work (high end restaurant) to try and take her mind off it. she said they are almost fully booked with large parties tonight (8 and 10 tops)... election celebration dinners? hopefully.

she said 'even neighborhoods where old people live' in Denton are awash in Allred and H/W signs 🤞

it's a long shot but it would be so good for her mental health of Cruz could be taken down! i would love that for her soooo much!

anyways... she and her bf graduate next month (summa cum laude! UNT honors college! #proud 😊)...if Trump wins they plan to break their lease and move into our basement until they are ready to permanently relocate.

lol? 😐

 

DDD Dad

Certifiably Surly
37 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

 

The only people interfering with voting or ballot tabulation are local poll watchers (primarily of the R variety).

Close friend of my wife worked during early voting at a location here in Dallas last week and is working again today.  She said that last week she was repeatedly approached by one of the poll watchers challenging what she was doing (when apparently watchers were prohibited from any interaction with poll workers and instead were required to notify the precinct judge of any issues to be addressed).  

Ghouls.

 

Nivek

Burnt Ends
10 minutes ago, DDD Dad said:

The only people interfering with voting or ballot tabulation are local poll watchers (primarily of the R variety).

Close friend of my wife worked during early voting at a location here in Dallas last week and is working again today.  She said that last week she was repeatedly approached by one of the poll watchers challenging what she was doing (when apparently watchers were prohibited from any interaction with poll workers and instead were required to notify the precinct judge of any issues to be addressed).  

Ghouls.

 

Feature, not a bug.

bluto

Certifiably Surly

Holy fuckin shit if you think the national scene was a bloodbath, you have no idea what that means until you dig into the state level results. Disastrous doesn’t begin to describe it. 

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