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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.

 

 

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Recommended Comments

DigglerontheHoof

Certifiably Surly
13 hours ago, HornOnTheBayou said:

Are we still allowed to type 58008 into a calculator and turn that upside-down?

10 years in prison, if you’re busted.

Ag with kids

Legacy Members
On 12/1/2025 at 4:31 PM, Bozo_Casanova said:

@Ag with kids has made a convincing argument that the most important consideration is what party the state votes for in presidential years “schools of thought,” so who cares about any sort of connection or even understanding of place?

A California Republican congressman needs a job! An arbitrary shape in North Texas needs a Republican! Win-win!

Maybe he met up with Hillary Clinton to discuss how to be a carpetbagger in a new state? :D

Ag with kids

Legacy Members
11 hours ago, DigglerontheHoof said:

10 years in prison, if you’re busted.

2211a870-2b3a-41be-88c4-25d1a96a3b13_498

Bozo_Casanova

Legacy Members
1 hour ago, Ag with kids said:

Maybe he met up with Hillary Clinton to discuss how to be a carpetbagger in a new state? :D

Yes, that’s it precisely. Party safe seats lead to poor representation. Glad you agree. 

pyrohornIII

Certifiably Surly
On 12/2/2025 at 10:19 PM, tx 3 putt said:

 

 

Canadian Lol GIF

Mike Lange for Comptroller.

14 hours ago, DigglerontheHoof said:

10 years in prison, if you’re busted.

ISWYDT.  Not rude at all.

bluto

Certifiably Surly

With oil prices tanking this yr, what price point puts the state budget in a bind? Feel like $55ish would pretty well kill off surplus

bluto

Certifiably Surly
7 hours ago, Pancho said:

wtf is “DEI spending?”

 

 

Love the “you might know me” line… no Bo, hardly anybody does. And those that do know you to be a piece of shit

Eskimohorn

Legacy Members
wtf is “DEI spending?”
 
 

Holy shit the comments. If even 1 in 4 are real life humans, we are fucked

Biff Tannen

Burnt Ends

There is apparently an online form to report violators of the bathroom bill. Surely this is ripe for some shenanigans. 

bluto

Certifiably Surly
5 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

There is apparently an online form to report violators of the bathroom bill. Surely this is ripe for some shenanigans. 

There needs to be a dedicated team following Dan Patrick daily and reporting him

elfenix

Certifiably Surly
On 12/15/2025 at 5:45 PM, Ghost of NMAS said:

According to that story, the threshold for an offensive plate is would it invoke a response from someone driving by.  I have a UT themed personalized plate, and I have invoked many a response from aggy and dirt burglars on the road.  I guess I can expect mine to be revoked any day.

Is there a report form online to fill out?

Evil Bill Obrien

Full Members
On 12/17/2025 at 10:43 PM, Eskimohorn said:


Holy shit the comments. If even 1 in 4 are real life humans, we are fucked

Hate to say it but there is definitively a non-insignificant number of fellow Texans who care way more about who's getting DEI and why is it not their middle aged white male self than anything else...

bender from futurama is standing next to a man with the letter a on his sleeve

Nice Guy Eddie

Certifiably Surly

It’s actually amazing that the right has made DEI such an enemy that a politician can run that he will be the most effective RR commissioner because he will root out DEI spending. Hats off to them in a perverse way.

perhaps Venezuela will soon be made the #1 enemy to replace DEI.

 

 

Brisketexan

Legacy Members

Having seen a parade of these grousing types for decades - that is, utterly mediocre white males, of which there are metric shitton (just as - spoiler - there are among EVERY demo) - this is utterly unsurprising. Because one thing they very much lack is self awareness.

They aren’t actually mad that people with greater merit are being bypassed. They’re mad that people with no special merit have lost their built-in, systemic advantages.

Mediocre Mike used to have a pretty easy path to prosperity. Maybe it included a legacy admission to a university. He got to network with people his dad did business with. Connections got him a job among other similar and like-minded white men. He drew a nice income, and coasted along, with moderate effort.

Mediocre Mike is not being “disadvantaged” by a system that says “maybe we shouldn’t just hire folks who know and grew up with people who work here; maybe we should interview candidates at Prairie View and UTEP.” He’s just lost his advantages and privileges.
“When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.”
It’s not complicated.
And watching this reflexive counter-movement that is purposefully elevating and rewarding obviously mediocre white men makes the truth that much more stark. “No more DEI!” means, in actual operation, “hire/advance/admit as many white dudes as you can, without much consideration of competence.” In short, it’s everything they accuse “DEI” of being (which, of course, it’s not).
Dumbest. Timeline.
We are practically building monuments to Mediocre Mikes and Incompetent Ikes nationwide, and trust me, we look like fucking idiots.

Pato del Muerto

Certifiably Surly
59 minutes ago, Im_smarter_then_you said:

 

image.gif.fba9b89d7c12de75c71708df3b597473.gif

atomheartbevo

Certifiably Surly
(edited)
27 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

It’s actually amazing that the right has made DEI such an enemy that a politician can run that he will be the most effective RR commissioner because he will root out DEI spending. Hats off to them in a perverse way.

perhaps Venezuela will soon be made the #1 enemy to replace DEI.

If we are going after DEI, shouldn’t we start tearing up wheelchair ramps as being woke and DEI?

Edited by atomheartbevo

bolverk

Legacy Members
7 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Having seen a parade of these grousing types for decades - that is, utterly mediocre white males, of which there are metric shitton (just as - spoiler - there are among EVERY demo) - this is utterly unsurprising. Because one thing they very much lack is self awareness.

They aren’t actually mad that people with greater merit are being bypassed. They’re mad that people with no special merit have lost their built-in, systemic advantages.

Mediocre Mike used to have a pretty easy path to prosperity. Maybe it included a legacy admission to a university. He got to network with people his dad did business with. Connections got him a job among other similar and like-minded white men. He drew a nice income, and coasted along, with moderate effort.

Mediocre Mike is not being “disadvantaged” by a system that says “maybe we shouldn’t just hire folks who know and grew up with people who work here; maybe we should interview candidates at Prairie View and UTEP.” He’s just lost his advantages and privileges.
“When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.”
It’s not complicated.
And watching this reflexive counter-movement that is purposefully elevating and rewarding obviously mediocre white men makes the truth that much more stark. “No more DEI!” means, in actual operation, “hire/advance/admit as many white dudes as you can, without much consideration of competence.” In short, it’s everything they accuse “DEI” of being (which, of course, it’s not).
Dumbest. Timeline.
We are practically building monuments to Mediocre Mikes and Incompetent Ikes nationwide, and trust me, we look like fucking idiots.

 

I agree 100% with all that, but here's the thing. Many of the Mediocre Mikes of America are absolutely confused about what it is. They think DEI is the same thing as affirmative action.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I had to explain to...wait for it...my buddy Mike that DEI is essentially an outreach thing, not a quota thing or even a hiring-preference thing. It just means casting a wider net to capture potential candidates from groups that aren’t traditionally considered for interviews in job applications. He's just fed a constant stream of bullshit from Fox and all the weirdo podcasts he listens to while driving his truck around the oil patch. His response was "Well, I guess that's alright." He's not a bad dude, just poorly informed.

The same goes for the whole CRT thing. They don’t realize it basically means to recognize "institutionalized racism" exists, a term that olds like us have always known. I'm not sure what he thought it meant, because he couldn't define it. And, again, I said as much to him, and he was all like, "Oh."

I'm pretty sure that's why all the conservative commentators use these vague, jargony academic initialisms rather than what the shit actually means. And I understand, because I fucking hate it when people start using alphabet-soup speak as if I would know what the hell shit like EMBM means. Sure, it's a great shortcut if you know what it means, but most people don't, so it's an automatic turnoff to the uninitiated.

Nice Guy Eddie

Certifiably Surly
(edited)
34 minutes ago, bolverk said:

 

I agree 100% with all that, but here's the thing. Many of the Mediocre Mikes of America are absolutely confused about what it is. They think DEI is the same thing as affirmative action.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I had to explain to...wait for it...my buddy Mike that DEI is essentially an outreach thing, not a quota thing or even a hiring-preference thing. It just means casting a wider net to capture potential candidates from groups that aren’t traditionally considered for interviews in job applications. He's just fed a constant stream of bullshit from Fox and all the weirdo podcasts he listens to while driving his truck around the oil patch. His response was "Well, I guess that's alright." He's not a bad dude, just poorly informed.

I work for a company that started up a DEI dept and now has renamed it to something else. Honesty I can't tell you what they do. It doesn't bother me that they exist but its never been clear why we need them.  Now I'm a white guy that has never felt discriminated against and usually more than fairly compensated so that most likely skews my opinion about this area.

I'm also skeptical about some HR functions as well.

Edited by Nice Guy Eddie

bolverk

Legacy Members
2 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

I work for a company that started up a DEI dept and now has renamed it to something else. Honesty I can't tell you what they do. It doesn't bother me that they exist but its never been clear why we need them.  Now I'm a white guy that has never felt discriminated against and usually more than fairly compensated so that most likely skews my opinion about this area.

 

Just depends on what kind of organization you work with. There's more to it than the job application stuff, but that's what most can relate with.

Most of my career has been in publicly facing roles that involve significant community input, including economic development, downtown revitalization, historic preservation, and other planning-related projects. So, on that kind of stuff, you want to get as many perspectives as possible.

Say, for example, you're working on a downtown revitalization plan, and the group you're working with is folks from the community, but they're all white people who live in the nice neighborhoods on the edge of town. They love their little downtown, but they don't actually shop there much, except for that nice restaurant on the corner or that cute little boutique a couple of doors down. Sometimes, what they're really just interested in is preserving the buildings: a community pride thing.

Then you start running some numbers or look around and see that the neighborhoods are populated by Black or Hispanic (potential customers who can conveniently shop downtown), but they've never been invited to the downtown revitalization table to provide their input. Well, from a market demand standpoint, it's kind of idiotic not to include them, but somehow it never dawned on the white folks to get their ideas. Getting them involved is essentially DEI. The same could be said for internal operations. Maybe there's a committee or something, planning I-don't-know-what within your very large organization, but everyone at the table is from a single demographic group. Well, that's kind of dumb. You should want a diversity of perspectives.

I don't claim to be an expert on all this, but really, that's the kind of thing that might go beyond just casting a wider net for talent recruitment, like, say, holding a job fair at a Historically Black College or University or a Hispanic-Serving Institution, for example.

Pato del Muerto

Certifiably Surly
17 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

I work for a company that started up a DEI dept and now has renamed it to something else. Honesty I can't tell you what they do. It doesn't bother me that they exist but its never been clear why we need them.  Now I'm a white guy that has never felt discriminated against and usually more than fairly compensated so that most likely skews my opinion about this area.

I'm also skeptical about some HR functions as well.

Our DEI group I think is a way to account for some money going to certain projects- and give structure to the whole endeavor.  There isn’t someone drawing a salary to be DEI coordinator or anything else, but there are different groups (ECG or something- employee community groups or a similar term) like black employee group, lgbtq, Asian and Pacific Islander, etc. 

it’s all voluntary and not restricted to actually being a member of the group, I could join any of them if I felt compelled. 
 

they get budgets for education and outreach, might raise funds for things, and generally try to help their group. 
 

and that is internal stuff, aside from the goal of recruiting talent from all over to build the best teams. Those groups probably help with this aspect as well. If you have a science day at a mostly tribal school, for instance, it probably helps to have NA folks there participating and sharing their experience. 
 

so yes, the government should absolutely be taking part in DEI activities.  Or put another way, why would someone not want to be diverse, equitable, and inclusive- or not want their government or employer to be such?

fuggled

Legacy Members

I hadn't heard about this case when it first started.  Sounds like another great example of Paxton finding new and creative ways to harass Texans.

Quote

Priscilla Villarreal was not arrested for "merely asking questions," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton insists in a brief urging the Supreme Court to reject the Laredo news vlogger's petition for review of her First Amendment case. Yet that is literally what happened to Villarreal in 2017, and the precedent set by that incident poses a threat to journalists across the country.

Villarreal, who operates a locally popular news outlet on Facebook, alleges that local officials, annoyed by her "unfiltered style" and periodic criticism of them, conspired to punish her by treating her journalism as a crime. After months of looking for "any excuse" to arrest her, she says, they settled on an obscure, rarely used Texas law, located in a chapter targeting "Abuse of Office," that makes it a felony to "solicit" nonpublic information from a government official "with intent to obtain a benefit."

Laredo police had never before arrested anyone under that law, which originally was aimed at curtailing official corruption by punishing the use of inside information for financial gain. But they claimed Villarreal had violated the statute twice by asking a police officer to confirm details of a public suicide and a fatal car accident.

According to police and prosecutors, the "benefit" that Villarreal sought was increased Facebook traffic. Since reporters routinely aim to attract readers or viewers by obtaining and publishing information from government sources, that interpretation of the law effectively criminalized basic journalism.

After police obtained arrest warrants for Villarreal, she turned herself in. According to her petition, "police officers took cell phone pictures of [her] in handcuffs while mocking and laughing at her."

A judge later dismissed the felony charges against Villarreal, concluding that the law underlying the case was unconstitutionally vague. After Villarreal sued Laredo officials for violating her First Amendment rights "under color of law," a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit rejected the defendants' argument that they were shielded by qualified immunity, a doctrine that blocks such claims unless they allege violations of "clearly established" law.

"Priscilla Villarreal was put in jail for asking a police officer a question," the majority noted. "If that is not an obvious violation of the Constitution, it's hard to imagine what would be."

 

Bozo_Casanova

Legacy Members
1 hour ago, bolverk said:

I agree 100% with all that, but here's the thing. Many of the Mediocre Mikes of America are absolutely confused about what it is. They think DEI is the same thing as affirmative action.

I’ve been thinking about starting a thread to discuss that Jacob Savage essay because of its vitality and the impact it’s having (or not) on our politics, but I haven’t because I suspect it will just be progressives who haven’t read it reciting the catechisms which is exactly what MAGA is doing with it. 
 

But, having read it, it’s not about how the mediocre Mike’s didn’t get a fair shake, which is what progressives and MAGA are flogging to make their usual points.
 

It’s about a very specific window in time and how that impacted a very specific demographic cohort in a very real way. 

bolverk

Legacy Members
13 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

I’ve been thinking about starting a thread to discuss that Jacob Savage essay because of its vitality and the impact it’s having (or not) on our politics, but I haven’t because I suspect it will just be progressives who haven’t read it reciting the catechisms which is exactly what MAGA is doing with it. 
 

But, having read it, it’s not about how the mediocre Mike’s didn’t get a fair shake, which is what progressives and MAGA are flogging to make their usual points.
 

It’s about a very specific window in time and how that impacted a very specific demographic cohort in a very real way. 

I'm not familiar with that essay. Do you mind posting it? Obviously, I don't want to derail this thread, so if you do start another thread about it, I'd be happy to read it there.

LCHorn

Full Members
16 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

I’ve been thinking about starting a thread to discuss that Jacob Savage essay because of its vitality and the impact it’s having (or not) on our politics, but I haven’t because I suspect it will just be progressives who haven’t read it reciting the catechisms which is exactly what MAGA is doing with it. 
 

But, having read it, it’s not about how the mediocre Mike’s didn’t get a fair shake, which is what progressives and MAGA are flogging to make their usual points.
 

It’s about a very specific window in time and how that impacted a very specific demographic cohort in a very real way. 

I wish you would, I don't think we have enough single topic threads on the board and it means everything kind of gets sucked into the various Trump threads.  

LCHorn

Full Members
3 minutes ago, bolverk said:

I'm not familiar with that essay. Do you mind posting it? Obviously, I don't want to derail this thread, so if you do start another thread about it, I'd be happy to read it there.

Jacob Savage, Millenial White Men are getting the shaft

I'm actually reading it now so I can recite the catechisms to @Bozo_Casanova😉

TwiceHorn

Full Members

Was previously unfamiliar with Compact.

Although it's not obvious from the masthead, they invoke the phrase "common good."  

On the one hand, the common gooders are just the polite and thoughtful version of MAGA.  On the other, they raise points worthy of consideration.

As pertains to that article, I note that it's mostly focused on DEI in media and academia, two fields that arguably benefit the most from diversity and also two fields heavily and unfairly previously dominated by white males.  Also tends to focus on "elite" institutions.

 

Biff Tannen

Burnt Ends
2 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

image.gif.fba9b89d7c12de75c71708df3b597473.gif

Came here to post this. Well done. 

Bozo_Casanova

Legacy Members
42 minutes ago, LCHorn said:

I wish you would, I don't think we have enough single topic threads on the board and it means everything kind of gets sucked into the various Trump threads.  

 

41 minutes ago, LCHorn said:

Jacob Savage, Millenial White Men are getting the shaft

I'm actually reading it now so I can recite the catechisms to @Bozo_Casanova😉

 

4 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Was previously unfamiliar with Compact.

Although it's not obvious from the masthead, they invoke the phrase "common good."  

On the one hand, the common gooders are just the polite and thoughtful version of MAGA.  On the other, they raise points worthy of consideration.

As pertains to that article, I note that it's mostly focused on DEI in media and academia, two fields that arguably benefit the most from diversity and also two fields heavily and unfairly previously dominated by white males.  Also tends to focus on "elite" institutions.

 

It has a thread now, this isn’t the right place for it

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