U mad, Texas?

[Shiela_M]

Kyle Rittenhouse says he's going to Texas A&M and 'it's going to be awesome.' The university disagrees.

https://www.insider.com/kyle-rittenhouse-said-hes-going-to-texas-am-university-disagrees-2022-6

Pound and determined to become Florida.

Kyle Rittenhouse posts video of himself firing off a slew of bullets from an automatic firearm, declaring: 'Joe Biden, you're not coming for our guns'

https://www.businessinsider.com/rittenhouse-posts-video-firing-off-bullets-from-automatic-gun-2022-6

He's gotta go somewhere, because Wisconsin doesn't want him.

[Lois]

They've all lost their fucking minds ....

Texas Republican Party calls Biden’s 2020 win illegitimate
State GOP delegates also pushed state lawmakers to hold a vote on potential secession.

WASHINGTON — The Texas Republican Convention, in a new party resolution that delegates approved this weekend at the state convention in Houston, said President Joe Biden was not only illegitimately elected in 2020 but that he is merely the “acting” president.

“We reject the certified results of the 2020 Presidential election, and we hold that acting President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was not legitimately elected by the people of the United States,” reads the resolution in the party’s document detailing its new resolutions and platform points.

The resolution, which was approved by delegates — nearly 5,000, the party said — in a voice vote, claims the 2020 election violated the Constitution. Multiple secretaries of state “illegally circumvented their state legislatures in conducting their elections in multiple ways,” it reads, and “substantial election fraud in key metropolitan areas” warped the results in Biden’s favor.

In response, the party encourages all Republicans to “work to ensure election integrity and to show up to vote in November 2022, bring your friends and family, volunteer for your local Republicans, and overwhelm any possible fraud.”

White House national security spokesman John Kirby responded Tuesday, saying “the president is the democratically elected commander in chief, and the men and women in uniform understand that.”

And, Kirby added, “with the exception of a small number of folks there in Texas, the American people recognize that and understand that.”

The Texas GOP’s rejection of election results that have been checked, re-checked and certified as legitimate many times reflects former President Donald Trump’s lasting influence on red states and Republican voters across the country.

“The Texas Republican Party is raising record funds for election integrity, and we’ve made election integrity a top priority to ensure Texas never goes the way of Pennsylvania, Georgia or Arizona,” Republican Party of Texas Chairman Matt Rinaldi said in a prepared statement Monday. “We refuse to let Democrats rig the elections in 2022 or 2024.”

Trump’s unyielding insistence that the 2020 election was stolen from him — and his various attempts to discredit the results — have been the subject of renewed focus since the special House panel investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol went public for the first time with its findings.

In addition to the resolution rejecting the election’s certified results, convention delegates approved more than 270 platform planks, including two on an issue as old as the state itself: secession.

“Pursuant to Article 1, Section 1, of the Texas Constitution, the federal government has impaired our right of local self-government,” the platform plank reads. “Texas retains the right to secede from the United States, and the Texas Legislature should” hold a vote for Texans to decide.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2022/06/21/texas-republican-party-calls-bidens-2020-win-illegitimate/

[watcher1]

I agree, Lois.  Reading this story today in our newspaper, I couldn't believe some of the stuff Cruz and others were saying. What world are they living in?  There must be enough people in Texas to field candidates that are not so extreme.

[Pornhubby]

I agree, Lois.  Reading this story today in our newspaper, I couldn't believe some of the stuff Cruz and others were saying. What world are they living in?  There must be enough people in Texas to field candidates that are not so extreme.

The vast majority of Americans have moderate to liberal views, but the problem in Texas, like many other places, is that we have a primary system that favors the most extreme. Because the most extreme turn out and vote.

So only 20% of the Republican party participates in the primary vote, and they end up with a full-blown nut job on the ballot. And then party voters vote party. And these people get elected. Our governor? Horrible. Our lieutenant governor? Horrible. He’s not even from Texas. Our attorney general?  He’s an indicted criminal. He’s got four felony counts pending, and continues to break the law. The FBI has opened a corruption investigation, because he was selling political favors. And he still got re-elected.

So I don’t know what the answer is. I have seriously thought about pulling up and relocating. But I’m a fifth generation Texan.  I’ve lived here most of my life. I raised my family here, and it pisses the shit out of me that I have to go to such extreme measures.

[msslave]

Minnesota will take you back Toe. Ya'll just gotta lose that drawl. Oh...bring warm clothes.

[Hilda]

So only 20% of the Republican party participates in the primary vote, and they end up with a full-blown nut job on the ballot. And then party voters vote party. And these people get elected.

I suspect that "the party voters vote party" is the key. That, and perhaps the ease with which voting districts and voting requirements can be changed. And then there's voter frustration, apathy, and low turnouts.

Whatever the voting system, the bad guys always manage to sneak in.

[LtBroccoli]

So only 20% of the Republican party participates in the primary vote, and they end up with a full-blown nut job on the ballot. And then party voters vote party. And these people get elected.

I suspect that "the party voters vote party" is the key. That, and perhaps the ease with which voting districts and voting requirements can be changed. And then there's voter frustration, apathy, and low turnouts.

Whatever the voting system, the bad guys always manage to sneak in.

It's the problem with the first around the pole mentality that the primaries bring out.  Since a lot states have closed primaries where only party members can vote and it's not nearly as popular or important as the general election, the winner of the primary is trying to out draw the other members.  That's how we end up with GQP candidates that just spout off whatever crazy conspiracy theories they heard on OAN because Fox News is "too librul" for them.  It's also how the Bernie Bros gain seats on the Democratic side, but not nearly as dangerous as the Q-Anon chucklekfucks.  Since the general election is usually a battle between the winner from each party, the normal people from each party are left with the pick of the crazy bunch.  Since too many Republicans would vote for literal fascists before ever voting for a Democrat that might want to help make sure poor people don't starve to death, we end up with the crazies running things.

A big part of how we ended up with Trump was the primary system in a lot of states.  In 2016, the GOP field had 17 candidates to start.  Keeping in mind the 80/20 rule where 80% of your problems come from 20% of your sources, 16 of those 17 candidates tried to split the regular 80% of the voting block while Tangerine Tojo embraced the Crazy 20.  By the time the field whittled down to a handful of candidates who could defeat Trump, he had a decent but not insurmountable lead that was exasperated when the final two 'normal' candidates chose to fight each other instead of one of them bowing out and letting the other win for the sake of the country.  Another reason to hate Ted Cruz, he was in third behind Marco Rubio and Trump.  If Ted dropped out a month earlier and endorsed Rubio, that would've been enough to defeat Trump and he could've secured himself a cabinet post if he wanted.  Instead, we get Ted Cruz being Ted Cruz and doing horrible things like fleeing Texas for Cancun when the power grid collapsed or allegedly knocking up Lauren Boebert and paying her a six-figure "campaign donation" after she blackmailed him about having his abortion.  Though, maybe the money is well-earned for her having to fuck a lizard person.

Texas pulls this shit every time there's a Democrat in the White House, but this time they're high enough on their own bullshit that they might pull the trigger.  Texas seceding would end quickly and badly.  Assuming for a moment that a secession referendum passes, they don't have a standing army to talk about to defend them from either the U.S. or Mexico, and do they honestly thing the U.S. will just give them Fort Hood or Fort Bliss or Dyess AFB?  If the Texas Militia comprised of Meal Team 6 and Gravy Seals LARPers show up with their AR-15's, they'll find out they're not effective against Air to Surface missiles or drone strikes.  Then we have the millions of Americans trapped behind enemy lines in a now-hostile foreign nation under seige by a theocratic dictatorship masquerading as a failed democracy.  They have no social services of their own worth a damn to replace the ones they'd lose, their infrastructure is a joke that goes out every time the weather spikes, and they don't produce enough food of their own to feed 28.6 million people.  That first month comes when Grandma doesn't get her SS check because she's no longer and American and her Medicare was cancelled, she's gonna be pretty pissed off.  And as the GQP decides to 'punish da libz' in the cities like Dallas and Austin, things are gonna get ugly quick.

Of course, this also throws Federal politics into a tizzy as well.  What happens to their senators and congresspeople when Texas secedes?  Just look at the Civil War.  Congress is under no obligation to seat them.  Even if the GQP manages to win a majority of the House later this year, if Texas leaves they take their 28-30 Republican congressmen with them.  That would cost the GQP the majority in the House and the Speakership.  Likely a majority in the Senate, too.  And the Republicans can say goodbye to those 40 Electoral College votes as well.  There is no path to the GQP taking the White House without Texas, and hasn't been for 50 years.  The last time a Republican won the White House without Texas was Nixon in 1968, and the state only had 25 EV's then.

When Texas wants back, it won't be just business as usual.  They'll have to contend with new Voting Rights legislation, anti-gerrymandering laws, most of those that supported the secession will be forced out of office, and I highly doubt that Texas would be readmitted as one state.  They'd probably be split into a few different states, just to keep them from pulling this crap every again.

[watcher1]

So only 20% of the Republican party participates in the primary vote, and they end up with a full-blown nut job on the ballot. And then party voters vote party. And these people get elected.

I suspect that "the party voters vote party" is the key. That, and perhaps the ease with which voting districts and voting requirements can be changed. And then there's voter frustration, apathy, and low turnouts.

Whatever the voting system, the bad guys always manage to sneak in.

That is how it has been in Illinois for years. The only time a bad apple is caught and thrown in jail is when the Feds investigate. One party domination is not a good thing.

[Supersoftball]

Maybe Texas will go back to being part of Mexico.

Their army is already here locked at loaded. You can blame every GOP-owned home builder and highway construction company for hiring them since they won't pay a livable wage.

[Pornhubby]

Texas governor confronts Biden at airport after complaining he wasn’t invited to border visit

Joe Biden was confronted by the governor of Texas on the tarmac on Sunday after the latter complained hours earlier that he had only been extended an invitation to meet him as an afterthought.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/greg-abbott-texas-biden-airport-b2258304.html?utm_source=reddit.com

[Pornhubby]

https://www.sacurrent.com/news/study-ranks-texas-among-the-nations-least-educated-states-31036003?media=AMP+HTML

[Pornhubby]

Republican-led Texas House impeaches state Attorney General Ken Paxton

Updated May 27, 20236:41 PM ET
FROM
THE TEXAS NEWSROOM
By
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán | The Texas Newsroom


The real amazing thing is that he was ever fucking elected in the first place. He only had three felony indictments pending concerning securities fraud. And then he got reelected with an FBI investigation pending, for abuse of office and firing his  assistant attorney generals who accused him of election fraud.

[Lois]

Texas Paul slams Texas's Republicans.

[Pornhubby]

Texas Governor Abbott just signed an executive order nullifying all municipal and agency regulations requiring employers to give workers a periodic water break. We’re having record heat, record heat related deaths, and the GOP denies workers a sip of water on the job. Because God knows how much money that costs corporations.

[Pornhubby]

Texas tumbles to No. 36 in new 2024 ranking of best states to live

Amber Heckler, CultureMap
Aug 15, 2024, 8:20 am

Texas is being ruled out as one of the top states to live in the country, according to a new livability study by WalletHub. The Lone Star State ranked No. 36 out of all 50 states.

WalletHub ranked every state based on 51 metrics in five major categories: Affordability, economy, education and health, quality of life, and safety. Factors that were considered include a state's housing affordability, the share of the population living in poverty, wealth gaps, the quality of the public school system, road quality, among others.

Texas' not-so-stellar ranking has now branded the state as the 15th worst state to live in the nation. For comparison, Massachusetts ranked as the No. 1 best state to live in, followed by Florida (No. 2), New Jersey (No. 3), Utah (No. 4), and New Hampshire (No. 5).

In a confusing ranking of states with the best economies, Texas placed No. 36, despite WalletHub's earlier 2024 report that declared Texas had the fourth best economy in the nation.

Here's how the study broke down Texas' ranking across the remaining four key dimensions:

No. 8 – Quality of life rank
No. 34 – Safety rank
No. 34 – Affordability rank
No. 38 – Education and health rank

The study's findings show Texas has the fifth lowest rate of homeownership nationwide, ranking No. 46 out of all 50 states. In the ranking of each state's population aged 25 and older who have earned a high school diploma or more, Texas ranked No. 49. The state similarly ranked at the bottom of the list for its proportion of the population that has insurance (No. 50). Texas workers also have the second-longest average work week, placing the state at No. 48 (tied with Wyoming) in the national comparison of average weekly work hours.

The only ranking that Texas excelled in (surprisingly) was the restaurants metric. Texas landed in a four-way tie with California, New York, and Florida for the No. 1 most restaurants per capita.

Other WalletHub studies have supported the idea that Texas may not be the best state for putting down roots. Most recently, the state landed a middling rank as the No. 29 best public school system in the U.S., and it ranked No. 28 in WalletHub's annual report of the "Best and Worst States for Military Retirees."

Moreover, Texas ranked 28th in a new report on best states for the arts by SmileHub, a nonprofit tech company founded by the same CEO as WalletHub.

"When deciding on a place to move, you should first consider financial factors like the cost of living, housing prices and job availability," said WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe. "Many states have strong economies, though, so you should also consider a wide variety of other factors, such as how where you live will impact your health and safety, and whether you will have adequate access to activities that you enjoy. If you have children, a robust education system is also key."

At the opposite end of the study, Louisiana landed at the bottom of the national ranking as the worst state to live in for 2024. New Mexico (No. 49), Arkansas (No. 48), Alaska (No. 47), and Nevada (No. 46) round out the five worst states.

[Dudester]

There is a movie (Down And Out In Beverly Hills) about a father that is moving his kids every few months to keep his kids in the Beverly Hills school district. Basically, apartment complexes offering 500 bucks a month for three months with a considerable mark up to over 2,000 a month after the three months, so at 90 days, the family is finding new digs.

With that said, not too long ago I lived in a really nice apartment in an upscale part of town. There was an elderly woman below me whose apartment stank something fierce because of what she cooked every day. Her granddaughter lived with her because the complex was only 300 yards from one of the best high schools (in the top 5) in the state. That poor girl lived with her grandmother until her mom found a place in the district a year later.

You do what you have to do to in order to achieve certain goals.

As far as education, there are actually a lot of high paying jobs that do not require a college education, among them is coding. Take a course at a junior college, take your certificate and apply at a computer firm and you're golden.

As far as home ownership, there are two firms out there (I think one is Blackstone?) that buy up houses as soon as they are on the market. These two companies are trying to turn the country into a country of renters. Now that the fact has come to light, a number of  state legislatures are trying to craft legislation to put the brakes on these two companies.

As far as affordability, there are several reasons for this and those two companies are one of the reasons.

As far as the safety situation, yeah, there needs to be more pro active police out there. The two PD's I worked for, most of the officers tried to do as little as possible per shift. Not only was I pro active, but I was also a magnet for trouble.