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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

InkaUtexas

Burnt Ends
On 2/24/2025 at 4:30 PM, Brisketexan said:

I mean, that whole itinerary was one classy-ass weekend:

Texas State campus tour

Twin Peaks

Buccee's (not listed, but word is he stopped there on the way to SA)

UTSA campus tour

Wax Museum

Ripley's Believe it or Not!

Ripley's Illusion Lab

Mr. Crabby's Seafood

 

Whoever that dude is, he's future leadership material for sure.

 

At least he did not visit aggy. Oh wait, that was for sunday but he got the sniffles.

Bullneck

Certifiably Surly
7 hours ago, bolverk said:

That word looks like a slangy, kind of a kids' way of saying "eleven hundred" in German or how it might sound like, but it got no hits on Google.

image.png.8895264b44e391b57cdc17fde7202607.png

Grandmother was first generation German immigrant from Nordheim/Orange Grove.  

tx 3 putt

Legacy Members
(edited)
On 2/24/2025 at 4:30 PM, Brisketexan said:

I mean, that whole itinerary was one classy-ass weekend:

Texas State campus tour

Twin Peaks

Buccee's (not listed, but word is he stopped there on the way to SA)

UTSA campus tour

Wax Museum

Ripley's Believe it or Not!

Ripley's Illusion Lab

Mr. Crabby's Seafood

 

Whoever that dude is, he's future leadership material for sure.

 

 

twin peaks, twice on valentine's day is a huge flex !

Edited by tx 3 putt

Ghost of NMAS

Certifiably Surly

The Texas GOP is gearing up to gut the Texas Citizens Participation Act by making it easier for SLAPP suits to continue and easier to deny the defendants the right to recoup legal fees for frivolous lawsuits.  Once again the party of individual liberty is out to stifle the individuals rights in favor of corporate interests and the wealthy elite.  Of course this effort is being supported by Texans for Lawsuit Reform.

bolverk

Legacy Members
7 hours ago, Bullneck said:

Grandmother was first generation German immigrant from Nordheim/Orange Grove.  

Cool. I'm just curious if my wild guess was correct. Let me know what Alebmhunert means when you get the chance.

Chad Fuck

Legacy Members
At least he did not visit aggy. Oh wait, that was for sunday but he got the sniffles.

Seems more like a Blinn guy.
 
twin peaks, twice on valentine's day is a huge flex !

One of those servers really liked him!

UTCzech III

Certifiably Surly
29 minutes ago, bolverk said:

Cool. I'm just curious if my wild guess was correct. Let me know what Alebmhunert means when you get the chance.

 

Bullneck

Certifiably Surly
(edited)
2 hours ago, bolverk said:

Cool. I'm just curious if my wild guess was correct. Let me know what Alebmhunert means when you get the chance.

1,100 (Eleven hundred). The old Pearl Beer slogan was "From the Country of 1,100 Springs."

(Edit: UTCzech beat me to it.  UTCzech probably knows the Pavelka Brothers). 

Edited by Bullneck

Bateshorn

Legacy Members

Pearl gave me the shits. 

Real Housewives Of Atlanta Nene GIF by Bravo TV

Brisketexan

Legacy Members
1 minute ago, Bateshorn said:

Pearl gave me the shits. 

Real Housewives Of Atlanta Nene GIF by Bravo TV

Ahem.

South Austin

Certifiably Surly
7 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Ahem.

Fair. Sometimes I get the shits from reading your posts.

Brisketexan

Legacy Members
2 minutes ago, South Austin said:

Fair. Sometimes I get the shits from reading your posts.

giphy.gif?cid=6c09b952eh6xl6oply864s8b3j

Satchel

Legacy Members

Measles cases now being reported in Rockwall County. One school age kid has died in west Texas. I guess we should brace ourselves for measles outbreak all over the state. This is so unnecessary.

Pescado_Rojo

Certifiably Surly
48 minutes ago, Bateshorn said:

Pearl gave me the shits. 

Real Housewives Of Atlanta Nene GIF by Bravo TV

Was it Pearl, or was it because you had 14 of them and followed it up with some 3 AM Taco Bell? 

Pato del Muerto

Certifiably Surly

1100 springs has a great cover of “why you been gone so long”

Longhorn_Fan68

Certifiably Surly
13 minutes ago, Satchel said:

Measles cases now being reported in Rockwall County. One school age kid has died in west Texas. I guess we should brace ourselves for measles outbreak all over the state. This is so unnecessary.

oh, it's gonna get bad. I'm grateful that the people I care about also care about science and the well-being of their kids, so I don't think this will affect anyone I know personally. but it's gonna fuck up a lot of lives and it was preventable. i really don't know what else to say at this point

Bateshorn

Legacy Members
4 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Was it Pearl, or was it because you had 14 of them and followed it up with some 3 AM Taco Bell? 

schitts creek lol GIF by CBC

safe sex

Burnt Ends
(edited)
7 minutes ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

i really don't know what else to say at this point

Sucks for the innocent kids. Can't force the parents to vaccinate. Fuck this shit

Edited by safe sex

Longhorn_Fan68

Certifiably Surly
Just now, safe sex said:

Sucks for the innocent kids. Can't force the parents to vaccinate. Fuck em, I guess?

I mean, if their own parents can't be compelled to care, why should I? I still do, but it's because I'm a human with empathy and it sickens me anytime children are caught in the crossfire of stupid

safe sex

Burnt Ends

Focus on the kids and people you can help. 

C-Man

Burnt Ends

7516a9b88258e366f09867b775485612.jpg

Better fit here

Brisketexan

Legacy Members
55 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Was it Pearl, or was it because you had 14 of them and followed it up with some 3 AM Taco Bell? 

39410551657d933361daf35a5b3199a3.gif

40 minutes ago, safe sex said:

Focus on the kids and people you can help. 

No.  I'm done with that shit.  It's time for social chemotherapy.  Brutal, devastating chemo....because the only language assholes speak is pain.  So, let the universe speak to them in a way they understand.  If what it takes to get the assholes to grasp that maybe, just maybe, we live in a society and our actions impact other people, so maybe we perhaps might ought consider the impact on other people before we act, is the death of their children?  We crossed that rubicon a LONG time ago.  They are HAPPY to have dead kids stack up....so long as they are the kids of "the other."  Let the pain and awful loss bring itself home.

Empathy is dead.  Coercion by pain is the only force in the universe with any remaining power.  

I didn't make these rules.  I think they are insanely stupid and cruel.  But they are now engraved in stone.  Pretending they aren't is lying to yourself.

UTCzech III

Certifiably Surly
2 hours ago, Bullneck said:

1,100 (Eleven hundred). The old Pearl Beer slogan was "From the Country of 1,100 Springs."

(Edit: UTCzech beat me to it.  UTCzech probably knows the Pavelka Brothers). 

Which ones?  I knew some from Corpus, played in a polka band with George

Bullneck

Certifiably Surly
4 minutes ago, UTCzech III said:

Which ones?  I knew some from Corpus, played in a polka band with George

That would be them (Robstown https://www.jbpavelkainc.com/ ).

This would be where:

pxl_20210522_181159080.mp_.thumb.webp.767fa00ade925763bd357ee4bb184436.webp

 

UTCzech III

Certifiably Surly
5 minutes ago, Bullneck said:

That would be them (Robstown https://www.jbpavelkainc.com/ ).

This would be where:

pxl_20210522_181159080.mp_.thumb.webp.767fa00ade925763bd357ee4bb184436.webp

 

Played there a few times back in the day, good hall

UTCzech III

Certifiably Surly
9 minutes ago, Bullneck said:

That would be them (Robstown https://www.jbpavelkainc.com/ ).

This would be where:

pxl_20210522_181159080.mp_.thumb.webp.767fa00ade925763bd357ee4bb184436.webp

 

Sorry if this is huge, actually played with two members, George Pavelka and Mark Rebecek

IMG_2671.jpeg

Bullneck

Certifiably Surly

Polka talk not going away.

UTCzech III

Certifiably Surly
2 minutes ago, Bullneck said:

Polka talk not going away.

You better believe it

tx 3 putt

Legacy Members
1 hour ago, UTCzech III said:

Sorry if this is huge, actually played with two members, George Pavelka and Mark Rebecek

IMG_2671.jpeg

 

nothing wrong with 'Jalisco'

Mrs Whiggins

Full Members

I can do the chicken dance, that's all I got.

The story behind the chicken dance & why we do it at Oktoberfest

Longhorn_Fan68

Certifiably Surly
16 hours ago, Bullneck said:

That would be them (Robstown https://www.jbpavelkainc.com/ ).

This would be where:

pxl_20210522_181159080.mp_.thumb.webp.767fa00ade925763bd357ee4bb184436.webp

 

did it also serve as a jail? I bet the fire marshall loves the bars on the windows

Doc Sam Beckett

Certifiably Surly
16 hours ago, Bullneck said:

Polka talk not going away.

raf750x1000075t101010_01c5ca27c6.thumb.webp.e1f39683a5a5ad33a6760df3c84515d3.webp

Gap03

Certifiably Surly
21 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

39410551657d933361daf35a5b3199a3.gif

No.  I'm done with that shit.  It's time for social chemotherapy.  Brutal, devastating chemo....because the only language assholes speak is pain.  So, let the universe speak to them in a way they understand.  If what it takes to get the assholes to grasp that maybe, just maybe, we live in a society and our actions impact other people, so maybe we perhaps might ought consider the impact on other people before we act, is the death of their children?  We crossed that rubicon a LONG time ago.  They are HAPPY to have dead kids stack up....so long as they are the kids of "the other."  Let the pain and awful loss bring itself home.

Empathy is dead.  Coercion by pain is the only force in the universe with any remaining power.  

I didn't make these rules.  I think they are insanely stupid and cruel.  But they are now engraved in stone.  Pretending they aren't is lying to yourself.

I mean, if this is what it takes to overcome the programming that these dumbfuck parents inevitably put their kids through, I'm on board.  If this outbreak gets widespread enough, I'm down with buying some airtime in a couple of years just to say - "Remember that time you almost died from the measles?  That's because your parents are in a cult, utterly incompetent and/or don't give a shit about you.  Probably all three.  Don't be like your parents.  Read a book. No, not that one - a real book."

tx 3 putt

Legacy Members
3 hours ago, Doc Sam Beckett said:

raf750x1000075t101010_01c5ca27c6.thumb.webp.e1f39683a5a5ad33a6760df3c84515d3.webp

 

i grew up in the heart of tex mex czech german pol land .....

 

 

High Plains Drifter

Full Members
On 1/22/2025 at 6:14 PM, tx 3 putt said:

these three idiots are in charge of the worlds 8th largest economy, just a fyi ...

 

IMG_2723.jpeg

 

I honestly can't decide which face is more punchable. 

 

Longhorn_Fan68

Certifiably Surly

they all look like AI caricatures 

Schulz2.0

Certifiably Surly
On 2/26/2025 at 4:38 AM, Bullneck said:

Grandmother was first generation German immigrant from Nordheim/Orange Grove.  

My grandmother was 2nd generation from Orange Grove.

tx 3 putt

Legacy Members

Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) has a warning for veterans: you'll have to "contribute" to society if you need food assistance.

So I guess fighting for your country and maybe taking a few bullets, or maybe losing a limb is not a big enough contribution to society. Apparently one must still slave in order to be compensated by the very government that is responsible for your condition, you must work regardless of your physical or mental stability.

Republicans are flat out the most vile psychotic assholes on the planet. Why veterans support this piece of shit party is beyond me.

tx 3 putt

Legacy Members
On 2/26/2025 at 5:38 AM, Bullneck said:

Grandmother was first generation German immigrant from Nordheim/Orange Grove.  

 

orange grove between mathis and alice ?

Bullneck

Certifiably Surly
46 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

 

orange grove between mathis and alice ?

Yes, sir.

StassneyHorn

Legacy Members

If @UTCzech III is 70 or older I’m going to assume he has slept with all of Halletsville and does house calls in Sweet Home.

elfenix

Certifiably Surly
5 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) has a warning for veterans: you'll have to "contribute" to society if you need food assistance.

So I guess fighting for your country and maybe taking a few bullets, or maybe losing a limb is not a big enough contribution to society. Apparently one must still slave in order to be compensated by the very government that is responsible for your condition, you must work regardless of your physical or mental stability.

Republicans are flat out the most vile psychotic assholes on the planet. Why veterans support this piece of shit party is beyond me.

daily reminder that republicans hate you

TexEx15

Legacy Members
(edited)

FOX 7 had a news story about measles vaccination rates, which included a chart to data from Texas DHS that allows you to search by school district. I sense a trend among the lowest rates of vaccination against measles. You can find the full chart here. https://infogram.com/mmr-vaccinations-1h1749wny3mdq2z?live

 

IMG_6530.jpeg

Edited by TexEx15

UTCzech III

Certifiably Surly
9 hours ago, StassneyHorn said:

If @UTCzech III is 70 or older I’m going to assume he has slept with all of Halletsville and does house calls in Sweet Home.

Only 58 sorry, well 59 in two months, am travelling to New Ulm tomorrow so maybe can make a side trip on the way back

Gap03

Certifiably Surly
3 hours ago, TexEx15 said:

FOX 7 had a news story about measles vaccination rates, which included a chart to data from Texas DHS that allows you to search by school district. I sense a trend among the lowest rates of vaccination against measles. You can find the full chart here. https://infogram.com/mmr-vaccinations-1h1749wny3mdq2z?live

 

IMG_6530.jpeg

The next pandemic:

f603e106-bacb-468e-b03d-24deb28777ff_tex

Or at least I can dare to dream ...

Pato del Muerto

Certifiably Surly
(edited)
4 hours ago, TexEx15 said:

FOX 7 had a news story about measles vaccination rates, which included a chart to data from Texas DHS that allows you to search by school district. I sense a trend among the lowest rates of vaccination against measles. You can find the full chart here. https://infogram.com/mmr-vaccinations-1h1749wny3mdq2z?live

 

IMG_6530.jpeg

At least when these kids get sick, the parents won’t be demanding the best care on earth at subsidized rates. Right?  They’ll accept what they can personally pay for. Right?

 

and as good Christians, they certainly wouldn’t run up an enormous bill and then stiff the hospital that cared for their little miracle   

Edited by Pato del Muerto

Bateshorn

Legacy Members
20 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

 

i grew up in the heart of tex mex czech german pol land .....

 

 

Holy fuck. I just had the best flashback to being a little and playing on my Grandfather’s back while sitting in the beer garden at the Saengerrunde/Scholz Garten. 
 

Thank you, Sir.

Satchel

Legacy Members

That Texas could be so big and so backward, is disgusting:

https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/28/texas-measles-abbott-lawmakers-response/

State and local health officials are setting up vaccine clinics and encouraging people to get the shot, which is more than 97% effective at warding off measles.

But neither Gov. Greg Abbott nor lawmakers from the hardest hit areas have addressed the outbreak publicly in press conferences, social media posts or public calls for people to consider getting vaccinated. State and local authorities in West Texas have not yet enacted more significant measures that other places have adopted during outbreaks, like excluding unvaccinated students from school before they are exposed, or enforcing quarantine after exposure.

The response to Texas’ first major public health crisis since COVID is being shaped by the long-term consequences of the pandemic, experts say — stronger vaccine hesitancy, decreased trust in science and authorities, and an unwillingness from politicians to aggressively push public health measures like vaccination and quarantine.

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