2023 Texas Lege

[Winehole23]

Ding ding

1615103170874855424

[boutons_deux]

Fascist TX and other Repugs use the power of the state to punish political opposition, eg, companies that support BDS or invest in ESG

eg, DeSantis Goes to College

Florida Colleges Ordered To Report All Spending and Resources Activities Related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Critical Race Theory Initiatives

He sees the teaching of critical race, an academic framework that reconsiders aspects of law and society from the point of view of race,

as an attack on societal values that he favors.

He also signaled last week that he will continue legal moves to take over the legal district operating around Disney World after Disney officials criticized him over these policies.

rather than worrying about students reading below grade level, DeSantis has put his effort behind replacing school board members who want to ban books that mention race.

under pressure, real or perceived, from DeSantis policies,

professors who teach about critical race theory are busily canceling courses,

modifying their teaching or changing the language used in their classes.

Amid economic pressures, schools are stingier with granting academic tenure,

and these professors are finding it harder to resist laws banning certain racial topics,

the law “protects the open exchange of ideas” (italics in the original) by prohibiting teachers from “forcing discriminatory concepts on students.” :lol orwellian newspeak

https://www.dcreport.org/2023/01/16/desantis-goes-to-college/

Would be surprised is TX fascists don't do exactly the same

[Winehole23]

There are dedicated DeSantis threads, dude. Whatcha got on the Texas Lege?

[Will Hunting]

Ding ding

1615103170874855424
I’m fine with this.

Foreign entities buying farm land has become a real problem in the US, the TX leg putting a stop to it is actually a productive exercise (unlike the stupid shit the TX leg usually works on).

[boutons_deux]

There are dedicated DeSantis threads, dude. Whatcha got on the Texas Lege?

TX mimics FL, FL mimics TX

shitbaggery is a supreme Confederate value

[Winehole23]

I’m fine with this.

Foreign entities buying farm land has become a real problem in the US, the TX leg putting a stop to it is actually a productive exercise (unlike the stupid shit the TX leg usually works on).well, it's not free trade, whatever it is. no doubt it's part of the GOP's general realignment around nationalistic themes.

[boutons_deux]

well, it's not free trade, whatever it is. no doubt it's part of the GOP's general realignment around nationalistic themes.

Bill Gates homes more land than anybody else, claims it's not sinister.

[Trainwreck2100]

Already seeing ads for adelson's widow's plot to get her hands on our gambling money.

[Millennial_Messiah]

I’m fine with this.

Foreign entities buying farm land has become a real problem in the US, the TX leg putting a stop to it is actually a productive exercise (unlike the stupid shit the TX leg usually works on).

Correct

Neocon dems acting like isolationism is a bad thing when isolationism, anti-war, and being the party of non free trade / pro USA labor union and protectionism, was what got the blue dog dems elected for many decades

[Will Hunting]

Correct

Neocon dems acting like isolationism is a bad thing when isolationism, anti-war, and being the party of non free trade / pro USA labor union and protectionism, was what got the blue dog dems elected for many decades
Not wanting foreign entities to have control over the country’s farm supply doesn’t even make you an isolationist, it just means you’re not a soulless globalist.

[spurraider21]

well, it's not free trade, whatever it is. no doubt it's part of the GOP's general realignment around nationalistic themes.
thats fine. since when have you considered unmitigated free trade a good thing. if they do a good thing, thats good. even here in Virginia. no fan of youngkin, but at least he's been pushing for yimby policies to address housing costs/homelessness which is undoubtedly good.

[Tyronn Lue]

Is it good we don't have free trade with Iran? I think so.

[Will Hunting]

The bottom line for me is that if US nationals tried buying a bunch of Chinese farmland, the CCP would tell them to pound sand. We shouldn’t be less protective of our farmland than the Chinese are of theirs.

[BD24]

I’m fine with this.

Foreign entities buying farm land has become a real problem in the US, the TX leg putting a stop to it is actually a productive exercise (unlike the stupid shit the TX leg usually works on).
Next step would be not allowing the Mormon church to buy up farm land tbh. Any organization that gets to avoid taxes shouldn’t be able to buy up heaps of land from people/companies that actually pay in

[ElNono]

I’m fine with this.

Foreign entities buying farm land has become a real problem in the US, the TX leg putting a stop to it is actually a productive exercise (unlike the stupid shit the TX leg usually works on).

It's also a way to corner the poor, uneducated rural population, which is the main GOP voting block, tbh...

[Millennial_Messiah]

Not wanting foreign entities to have control over the country’s farm supply doesn’t even make you an isolationist, it just means you’re not a soulless globalist.

Right

Like Bill Gates the ultra woke pro-NWO democrat ultra globalist dystopianist that wants us to eat bugs and sell us off to China for profit

We did away with the Bushes, McCain and Romney a long time ago. Soulless globalism is the Democrats' turd sandwich now

[Millennial_Messiah]

[I'm] no fan of youngkin

Why not?

Be very specific.

[Will Hunting]

Why not?

Be very specific.
- He’s an anti abortion nut
- supports school choice programs that do nothing for 95% of families/students and ultimately just reduce the tax burden for rich assholes who’d send their kids to private schools with our without vouchers (all the empirical data on school choice shows that it has minimal impact on private/public school enrollments)
- he’s a trickle down economics supporter who hired the same economic advisors who helped Sam Brownback destroy Kansas with tax cuts. At one point Youngkin said he wanted to eliminate the VA income tax, then he backpedaled because people in both parties said it was a retarded idea.

your delusions that the GOP is no longer the party obsessed with tax cuts for the rich isn’t based in reality. A tax cut for the rich is the only real legislative accomplishment for Trump when he was in office, and it’s always what the GOP proposes as a solution to every problem.

[Millennial_Messiah]

- He’s an anti abortion nut
- supports school choice programs that do nothing for 95% of families/students and ultimately just reduce the tax burden for rich assholes who’d send their kids to private schools with our without vouchers (all the empirical data on school choice shows that it has minimal impact on private/public school enrollments)
- he’s a trickle down economics supporter who hired the same economic advisors who helped Sam Brownback destroy Kansas with tax cuts. At one point Youngkin said he wanted to eliminate the VA income tax, then he backpedaled because people in both parties said it was a retarded idea.


That would be a good thing and benefit all, not just the wealthy. SALT income tax in general should be federally abolished, especially since it's non deductible over 10k which is very small in the grand scheme of things. It would encourage more travel and relocation and less division between the Texas' and Florida's and Tennessee's of the world vs. the Minnesota's, Oregon's and Virginia's of the world. Heck Oregon and Washington is a bizarre dynamism, just living in, say, Vancouver WA is a tax life hack.


- He’s an anti abortion nut
- supports school choice programs that do nothing for 95% of families/students and ultimately just reduce the tax burden for rich assholes who’d send their kids to private schools with our without vouchers (all the empirical data on school choice shows that it has minimal impact on private/public school enrollments).
It's a growing popular trend and it is both fair and practical. It doesn't just benefit the rich; it also benefits middle class families who feel like their children are being indocrinated by counterculture in public school and would like to send their children to learn a more old school curriculum and culture without having to pay double (pay school property tax for other people's kids to go to woke public school while also paying expensive private school tuition). School choice is growing and become law in several states recently including purple states like WI and AZ. Just like marijuana it will in time become law in most states. It's a majority opinion popular proposal.


- He’s an anti abortion nut.

Which isn't relevant because he's done nothing to ban abortion or actually enact legislation to reduce the right and freedom for women and girls to get abortions.

[Will Hunting]

That would be a good thing and benefit all, not just the wealthy. SALT income tax in general should be federally abolished, especially since it's non deductible over 10k which is very small in the grand scheme of things. It would encourage more travel and relocation and less division between the Texas' and Florida's and Tennessee's of the world vs. the Minnesota's, Oregon's and Virginia's of the world. Heck Oregon and Washington is a bizarre dynamism, just living in, say, Vancouver WA is a tax life hack.
It would wipe out 70% of Virginia’s state budget.

The SALT deduction cap goes away automatically in a few years (another part of the Trump tax scam you rubes never read)

:lol abolishing a state’s ability to raise its own revenue. So much for muh federalism


It's a growing popular trend and it is both fair and practical. It doesn't just benefit the rich; it also benefits middle class families who feel like their children are being indocrinated by counterculture in public school and would like to send their children to learn a more old school curriculum and culture without having to pay double (pay school property tax for other people's kids to go to woke public school while also paying expensive private school tuition). School choice is growing and become law in several states recently including purple states like WI and AZ. Just like marijuana it will in time become law in most states. It's a majority opinion popular proposal.
Youre just recycling the same ipse dixits without citing a shred of evidence.

The school choice program in Arizona has already resulted in a $300 million budget hole for public schools while over 90% of K-12 students in AZ go to public schools. The program isn’t doing anything to make it so middle class families can afford alternative education if 90% of all students are still in public schools, the data shows that all it’s doing is allowing rich people to take a tax holiday by sending their kids to private schools they would be sending their kids to anyway regardless of school choice, while simultaneously gutting public education that the vast majority of families in the state still rely on.

:lmao using an extremely gerrymandered state legislature in WI elected by a minority of the state’s population passing a school choice bill as evidence of school choice being “popular”


Which isn't relevant because he's done nothing to ban abortion or actually enact legislation to reduce the right and freedom for women and girls to get abortions.
:lol what an intellectually dishonest argument. The only reason he hasn’t done anything to restrict abortion is because the state senate wouldn’t cooperate with it…he’s tried pushing for restrictions and he even got caught on a hot mic saying that he’d want to restrict abortion even more if it wasn’t such a bad campaign issue.

[Winehole23]

thats fine. since when have you considered unmitigated free trade a good thing. if they do a good thing, thats good. even here in Virginia. no fan of youngkin, but at least he's been pushing for yimby policies to address housing costs/homelessness which is undoubtedly good.not sure I see the comparison, what do you think Texas is trying to do and why is that good?

[spurraider21]

not sure I see the comparison, what do you think Texas is trying to do and why is that good?
the comparison is that theres another republican shithead who can be the occasional broken clock

will hunting gave a better explanation than i could about why what texas is doing is good

[Winehole23]

the comparison is that theres another republican shithead who can be the occasional broken clock

will hunting gave a better explanation than i could about why what texas is doing is goodI'm more than willing to agree not letting foreigners control too much productive land is wise, but I tend to doubt that's what the Texas GOP is really driving at. How much farm land in Texas is foreign owned?

Has there been any disadvantage to Texas because of it, or is the problem still more or less conceptual?

[spurraider21]

I'm more than willing to agree not letting foreigners control too much productive land is wise, but I tend to doubt that's what the Texas GOP is really driving at.
dont really care what they're driving at. if these dumbasses do the occasional thing that leads to a good result, ill take the good result

[SpursforSix]

dont really care what they're driving at. if these dumbasses do the occasional thing that leads to a good result, ill take the good result

Sounds like my voting strategy.

[spurraider21]

- He’s an anti abortion nut
- supports school choice programs that do nothing for 95% of families/students and ultimately just reduce the tax burden for rich assholes who’d send their kids to private schools with our without vouchers (all the empirical data on school choice shows that it has minimal impact on private/public school enrollments)
- he’s a trickle down economics supporter who hired the same economic advisors who helped Sam Brownback destroy Kansas with tax cuts. At one point Youngkin said he wanted to eliminate the VA income tax, then he backpedaled because people in both parties said it was a retarded idea.

your delusions that the GOP is no longer the party obsessed with tax cuts for the rich isn’t based in reality. A tax cut for the rich is the only real legislative accomplishment for Trump when he was in office, and it’s always what the GOP proposes as a solution to every problem.
:lol its been nice not seeing andy's posts since getting back home. his campaign near the end focused entirely on school stuff, the typical bullshit of our preschoolers being taught critical race theory, etc. pure panic-mongering

[Winehole23]

dont really care what they're driving at. if these dumbasses do the occasional thing that leads to a good result, ill take the good resultNot sure any problem would be solved, apart from former PRC generals buying land too close to military bases. Do you see any?

Bashing Iran, NK, Russia and China is fine and all, but it's more or less mindless.

[spurraider21]

Not sure any problem would be solved, apart from former PRC generals buying land too close to military bases. Do you see any?

Bashing Iran, NK, Russia and China is fine and all, but it's more or less mindless.
its not just "bashing" them. ideally stuff like this comes from a federal level as a diplomatic move or sanction.

[Winehole23]

might help our felony indicted AG rein in some big city DAs

https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/html/HB01350I.htm

[Millennial_Messiah]

It would wipe out 70% of Virginia’s state budget.

And so? Defunding the public sector for the most part is a good thing. How Texas, TN, Florida, Washington (Blue!!) State, Blue Hampshire etc... how do they do it? How are they not 70% worse off than VA?

Also, education is a privilege... not a right. Healthcare is a right... not a privilege. Public education should be abolished. Public healthcare should be the norm. The USA has it bass-ackwards.

[ChumpDumper]

And so? Defunding the public sector for the most part is a good thing. How Texas, TN, Florida, Washington (Blue!!) State, Blue Hampshire etc... how do they do it? How are they not 70% worse off than VA?Texas has property and sales taxes. The state public sector is overfunded. Public education (high school football) is the last thing rural Texans will give up.

[Will Hunting]

And so? Defunding the public sector for the most part is a good thing. How Texas, TN, Florida, Washington (Blue!!) State, Blue Hampshire etc... how do they do it? How are they not 70% worse off than VA?
Texas and Florida do it by raping people with property taxes (property taxes are the type of tax that should be abolished; taxes should only occur when money, goods, services, etc. change hands). They also do it simply by having no safety net or public services compared to most other states. States with an income tax don’t have a power infrastructure that collapses every time they dip below freezing, and they have ways to de-ice the roads / clear snow so people can drive safely.

TX and FL also each have idiosyncratic ways of raising revenue no other states have (oil and gas for Texas, massive tourism, hotel, rental industry industry in Florida where you can gouge tourists with extra taxes).

Washington has a gross receipts tax (the “business use” tax) (in additional to a normal sales tax) that raises a significant amount of revenue and no other state has it.

Tennessee has a massive sales tax (almost 10% when you factor in the local sales tax that’s also charged. It’s also one of the biggest welfare queens in the country in terms of reliance on federal dollars.

New Hampshire does it by being a small state that gets a fuckload more in federal transfers than it pays in federal taxes.


Also, education is a privilege... not a right. Healthcare is a right... not a privilege. Public education should be abolished. Public healthcare should be the norm. The USA has it bass-ackwards.
:lmao your argument went from “school choice is great for everyone!” To “well education isn’t a right, so fuck them poors!”

Glad we’re in agreement that school choice hurts 90+% of the population.

[Will Hunting]

:lol its been nice not seeing andy's posts since getting back home. his campaign near the end focused entirely on school stuff, the typical bullshit of our preschoolers being taught critical race theory, etc. pure panic-mongering
Didn’t Youngkin sign an EO his first week in office preventing CRT from being taught in schools and all of the school districts responded with “uh we weren’t teaching this stuff before your EO but cool story I guess”

Trump was a real one for randomly accusing him of being Chinese :lmao

https://wset.com/resources/media/8d5509bc-669e-4b03-92c1-3496a110b63d-medium16x9_TrumpcommentsonGov.Youngkin.jpg?1668198 773359

[spurraider21]

Didn’t Youngkin sign an EO his first week in office preventing CRT from being taught in schools and all of the school districts responded with “uh we weren’t teaching this stuff before your EO but cool story I guess”
yeah they also opened a hotline which ended up closing for lack of activity

[Millennial_Messiah]

Didn’t Youngkin sign an EO his first week in office preventing CRT from being taught in schools and all of the school districts responded with “uh we weren’t teaching this stuff before your EO but cool story I guess”

Trump was a real one for randomly accusing him of being Chinese :lmao

https://wset.com/resources/media/8d5509bc-669e-4b03-92c1-3496a110b63d-medium16x9_TrumpcommentsonGov.Youngkin.jpg?1668198 773359

Youngkin is China Man Young Kin...
DeSantis is DeSanctimonius...
Cruz is Lyin' Ted...
Rubio is Little Marco...


Trump needs to shut the fuck up.



Texas and Florida do it by raping people with property taxes (property taxes are the type of tax that should be abolished; taxes should only occur when money, goods, services, etc. change hands). They also do it simply by having no safety net or public services compared to most other states. States with an income tax don’t have a power infrastructure that collapses every time they dip below freezing, and they have ways to de-ice the roads / clear snow so people can drive safely.

TX and FL also each have idiosyncratic ways of raising revenue no other states have (oil and gas for Texas, massive tourism, hotel, rental industry industry in Florida where you can gouge tourists with extra taxes).

Washington has a gross receipts tax (the “business use” tax) (in additional to a normal sales tax) that raises a significant amount of revenue and no other state has it.

Tennessee has a massive sales tax (almost 10% when you factor in the local sales tax that’s also charged. It’s also one of the biggest welfare queens in the country in terms of reliance on federal dollars.

New Hampshire does it by being a small state that gets a fuckload more in federal transfers than it pays in federal taxes.

Good post. But what state doesn't rape people on property tax? Wyoming...? The deep south states nobody wants to live in? I agree that if I could choose to abolish income tax or abolish all property tax I would say abolish all property tax.

But, property tax hurts the wealthy and HOA republicans / suburbanites and people living in mansions much more than it hurts your base of liberals and poor blacks living in very old houses in the cities and run down shotgun houses in the middle of nowhere... most of which who vote democrat. Property tax is a wealth tax and hurts the rich much more than the poor. So I thought you'd like it.

I think a 10% or higher sales tax (only 5% on groceries) and low income and very low property tax, low gas tax is the way to go. Tax on consumption, allow people to save and invest more. Also, charge 25% sales tax for anything with designated unhealthy stuff like high fructose corn syrup, nitrites, french fries, etc... encourage a healthier diet and a fitter population.


Texas has property and sales taxes..
Virginia has all three...

And what state doesn't have property tax?

look at places like Wisconsin and Minnesota... they have very high income tax AND property tax are both sky high and they still manage to have roughly average sales tax. Ohio, too, to a slightly lesser extent, but they have RITA (local) taxes too so they're arguably worse and their property taxes rival Texas's.

[Will Hunting]

Good post. But what state doesn't rape people on property tax? Wyoming...? The deep south states nobody wants to live in? I agree that if I could choose to abolish income tax or abolish all property tax I would say abolish all property tax.
Texas and Florida are much worse in terms of the amount they tax and also how aggressive they are with re-assessments. Florida has an army of tax assessors who make sure that property owners get dinged with a reassessment every time they buy a new house.

The biggest difference though is the fact these states just have no state benefits, their infrastructure sucks, etc.


But, property tax hurts the wealthy and HOA republicans / suburbanites and people living in mansions much more than it hurts your base of liberals and poor blacks living in very old houses in the cities and run down shotgun houses in the middle of nowhere... most of which who vote democrat. Property tax is a wealth tax and hurts the rich much more than the poor. So I thought you'd like it.
Property taxes hurt renters the most. Unlike the income tax, property taxes do get fully passed down to the customer.

The property taxes paid by the wealthy are still a much smaller percentage of their income than property taxes paid by middle class/lower middle class homeowners. It's a regressive tax when you analyze it as a percentage of income.


I think a 10% or higher sales tax (only 5% on groceries) and low income and very low property tax, low gas tax is the way to go. Tax on consumption, allow people to save and invest more. Also, charge 25% sales tax for anything with designated unhealthy stuff like high fructose corn syrup, nitrites, french fries, etc... encourage a healthier diet and a fitter population.
:lmao tax on consumption

Talk about a tax system that leaves the wealthy untouched and dings poor people the most. Our economy would crater with this tax system. Wages would go down and the cost of living would go up.

[SpursforSix]

:lmao tax on consumption

Talk about a tax system that leaves the wealthy untouched and dings poor people the most.

Fucking this.

It's not even hard math.

[Millennial_Messiah]

Texas and Florida are much worse in terms of the amount they tax and also how aggressive they are with re-assessments. Florida has an army of tax assessors who make sure that property owners get dinged with a reassessment every time they buy a new house.

The biggest difference though is the fact these states just have no state benefits, their infrastructure sucks, etc.

Myth debunked. Here are two similar looking and priced, aged homes from two similar type of suburban neighborhoods. One is from a blue state with income taxes and the other is from a similar, lean-republican-but-not-redneck type of newer HOA neighborhood but in Texas:

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/46609-Pine-Valley-Dr_Macomb_MI_48044_M41055-18342

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/5501-Murton-Pl_Fort-Worth_TX_76137_M84693-44881


Note how the property taxes are almost identical, and you actually get more house in a major metro suburb in Texas for the buck.

[Will Hunting]

We did away with the Bushes, McCain and Romney a long time ago. Soulless globalism is the Democrats' turd sandwich now
:lol how did I miss this?

Trump's presidency:
-Rewrote the tax code to create a deduction on offshore earnings of up to 10% of a company's offshore assets (literally incentivizing US companies to make larger investments offshore to get a larger tax deduction).
-The TCJA also made it so offshore income in excess of that 10% deduction was only subject to a 10.5% tax rate because they could also deduct half of their offshore income (thus halving the new 21% corporate tax rate), so the tax rate on international income is now half of what it is for U.S. income thanks to Trump's corporate tax giveaway.
-Outsourcing actual went up. During his presidency (and this data isn't even complete, it's only through October 2020), the labor department certified 311,427 jobs lost to trade, 202,543 specifically lost to outsourcing.
-1 in 4 dollars on federal procurement contracts (so $425.6 billion total) went to firms that were responsible for outsourcing some of those jobs.
-$113.9 billion in federal procurement contracts under Trump went to firms that outsourced jobs to China even though Trump promised to ban federal contracts to firms offshoring to China
-Trump let family members use their position in his administration to obtain 100+ Chinese patents (Ivanka) and a $2 billion capital commitment for his company a from Saudi Arabian investment fund (Kushner)
-Carried water for China in early 2020 when China was being uncooperative about COVID-19 (he literally claimed Xi was working "very hard" to contain COVID-19 :lmao)
-The one thing Trump did that might actually help the US avoid more outsourcing was reforming NAFTA, but even that was neutered and won't go into effect until 2025. Until then jobs will keep going to Mexico.
-The few times Trump actually purported to bring manufacturing jobs back to the US it was just a tax giveaway to companies that agreed to create US manufacturing jobs with no real accountability so they never actually fulfilled their promise. Trump and Scott Walker gave Foxconn (a Taiwanese company) $3 billion in tax incentives to build a "massive" manufacturing plant in WI that would ostensibly create 30,000 jobs with almost no accountability. Foxconn completely shat all over the agreement and used gimmicky methods to meet its hiring requirements (e.g., hiring people immediately before a reporting period and then immediately firing them). The only good thing to come out of the Foxconn debacle was that it probably cost Scott Walker a 3rd term.


Biden's presidency:
-Sheldon Whitehouse and Lloyd Doggett introduced a law that would repeal the TCJA incentives on international income discussed above but you can guess what political party blocked it.
-Biden's tax plan also included a repeal of the TCJA incentives for offshore income and even included penalties/higher taxes for offshore income. The GOP and Sinema rejected it. Biden even wanted a 10% penalty for companies with overseas call centers so we wouldn't have to deal with a curry muncher named Tanjeet Rajamalawal who speaks incoherent English every time there's a customer service issue :lol
-Biden signed an EO his first week in office to shift procurement contracts to companies that produce goods in the US. Signed various other EOs that close loopholes contractors have relied on to get procurement contracts while outsourcing jobs.
-Signature legislation was a bill that incentivized domestic sourcing for energy projects, and Joe Manchin's permitting reform bill would have been an even bigger boon for domestic energy production if the Republicans in the senate didn't obstruct it (the squad retards were against permitting reform too but that's because they're morons, not because they're globalists). Macron even went up to Manchin at Davos last week and scolded him over how much the IRA was hurting Europe because of the incentives it had for domestic production.
-2nd most signature piece of legislation was an infrastructure bill that had domestic content procurement requirements in order to receive federal funding for infrastructure projects.
-Passed the CHIPS Act (which they basically needed to trick the GOP senate caucus into agreeing to while the house GOP whipped votes against it) to compete with China's chip manufacturing and research capacity. It took a full year to pass because Ron Johnson would object every time they tried moving it forward in order to burn up floor time.


You don't know it, but you're just as much of a rube as the median QAnon MAGAboomer. All it takes is some vague rhetoric from GOP politicians about "muh forgotten man!" and "muh woke corporations!" for you to be convinced that they're the anti-globalist party because you're too intellectually lazy to compare which party's actual policy is more pro-globalism vs. more pro-protectionism when it's not even a real contest. The GOP's opposition to globalism is in rhetoric only while it never translates to real policy.

[Will Hunting]

Myth debunked. Here are two similar looking and priced, aged homes from two similar type of suburban neighborhoods. One is from a blue state with income taxes and the other is from a similar, lean-republican-but-not-redneck type of newer HOA neighborhood but in Texas:

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/46609-Pine-Valley-Dr_Macomb_MI_48044_M41055-18342

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/5501-Murton-Pl_Fort-Worth_TX_76137_M84693-44881


Note how the property taxes are almost identical, and you actually get more house in a major metro suburb in Texas for the buck.
Michigan has an average 1.54% tax rate on median home value while Texas has an average 1.8% tax rate on median home value.

Michigan's average combined sales tax is also only 6%; Texas's average combined sales tax is 8.2%. When it's all said and done, but states have a nearly identical effective state and local tax burden (8.2%).

Michigan's cost of housing is also lower than Texas's.

[Millennial_Messiah]

Michigan has an average 1.54% tax rate on median home value while Texas has an average 1.8% tax rate on median home value.

Michigan's average combined sales tax is also only 6%; Texas's average combined sales tax is 8.2%. When it's all said and done, but states have a nearly identical effective state and local tax burden (8.2%).

Michigan's cost of housing is also lower than Texas's.
I'm pretty sure it's 6% throughout the state. I've been out to eat in like 30+ jurisdictions scattered throughout the mitten and the UP both, and it's always 6%.

In Texas for most cities it's 8.25% to be precise. Was 7.25% in my childhood but they hiked it around the time of the great recession.

Michigan also is peculiar in that most jurisdictions don't have local income tax, the state income tax is flat 4.25%, and the cities with income tax are either big, old, poorer, rust belt type cities (for example, Detroit and Flint have the highest local income tax, but if you live in a nice suburb like Troy or Sterling Heights, Plymouth area, northwest Oakland County etc you dodge the local income tax) or they're random towns in the middle of nowhere (1%). You have to know which ones to avoid if you're buying a house in MI. But the system is kind of backwards because the majority of local income taxes are paid by majority-minority cities.

Michigan's cost of housing isn't really lower than Texas, though. If you look at desirable places to live (nice white-majority suburban areas with reasonable striking distance to the control city) they're about comparable or Michigan is higher. The two major control cities are Detroit and Grand Rapids, and there's a cataclysmic difference in the old, cheap, black-majority, crime-infested city neighborhoods vs. the nice suburbs. It brings down the average cost numbers in Michigan a lot, whereas the same can't exactly be said for areas outside of downtown Fort Worth and Dallas because those are simply more desirable and gentrified than say ghetto Detroit simply put.

[boutons_deux]

Tx extremists in lege trying to replace Dade Phelan

[Will Hunting]

Tx extremists in lege trying to replace Dade Phelan
Why?

[Ef-man]

Crazy TX GOP

The Republican Party of Texas launched a striking attack on one of its own this week, state House Speaker Dade Phelan, sparking a backlash from some Republicans in the chamber.

The state party began airing a radio ad that takes Phelan to task for allowing Democrats to continue chairing House committees, a longtime tradition that a small faction of House Republicans sought to end last week as the chamber crafted its rules package. But Phelan and his allies outmaneuvered them, preventing the issue — a state GOP priority — from even reaching a floor vote.

In the minute-long ad, a narrator says the speaker is "teaming up with Democrats to kill our Republican priorities." The spot started running Wednesday in Phelan’s Southeast Texas district, according to a tweet from Texas GOP Chair Matt Rinaldi.

“Call Dade Phelan today,” the ad tells Phelan’s constituents. “Tell him to be a Republican. Tell him to stop empowering Democrats. Tell him to listen to the 85% of voters who support banning Democrat chairmanships.”

https://www.texastribune.org/texas-gop-matt-rinaldi-dade-phelan-speake (https://www.texastribune.org/texas-gop-matt-rinaldi-dade-phelan-speaker)r

[Winehole23]

It's not science based.

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[Blake]

It's not science based.

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Faith based

[Winehole23]

Faith basedwhen did the core of Christian belief become picking on queers and trans? seems like a novelty to me.

[Blake]

when did the core of Christian belief become picking on queers and trans? seems like a novelty to me.

Seriously? It was against the law to be gay not so long ago because the bible says so

[Winehole23]

Seriously? It was against the law to be gay not so long ago because the bible says sosure, but this was hardly a main emphasis of evangelizing, at least when I was growing up. contempt for gays was general and part of the then normal socialization, hardly the exclusive province of believers. still is, to an extent.

[Blake]

sure, but this was hardly a main emphasis of evangelizing, at least when I was growing up. contempt for gays was general and part of the then normal socialization, hardly the exclusive province of believers. still is, to an extent.

I also don't recall gay pride parades and library drag shows as a kid so I don't think evangelicals felt they needed to vocalize their hate as much. It was just kinda mentioned in church that they'll try to recruit you so stay away.

[Winehole23]

school accountability is passe if we're talking about public vouchers for private schools

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[Winehole23]

Sound off, 1st Amendment warriors



Well, this will be fun. As you’ll recall, in 2021, Texas signed into law a bill that effectively banned the right of companies to moderate content on social media. That law has been challenged in court, and while a district court tossed it out as unconstitutional (and obviously so), the 5th Circuit reversed in a ruling so bizarre and incomprehensible, I still have difficulty understanding how anyone takes it seriously. That law is currently in limbo as the Supreme Court figures out what to do about it.

Still, as the law was being rushed through, we called out one area in which Texas laws could conflict, specifically regarding Texas’ new anti-abortion law that criminalizes aiding-and-abetting, which we feared would encourage websites to take down content around abortion, and the social media law, which says you can’t take down such content. Some people pointed out that the abortion law does have an exemption for “1st Amendment protected speech,” suggesting that maybe the two laws wouldn’t be in such conflict.

But, either way, it appears that Texas Representative Steve Toth wants to close that whole “1st Amendment” loophole. Toth, who swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution, apparently has skipped right over that 1st Amendment. Because he’s introduced HB 2690, which maybe one of the dumbest state laws I’ve ever seen (and I see a lot of dumb state laws).

The headline on the law is that it effectively makes anything related to “abortion-inducing drugs,” (which has become a key way in which abortions are performed these days) illegal. But, the law doesn’t just make buying or selling such drugs against the law, it requires websites that sell them <b>to be blocked</b>.

Pretty much everything about this law is blatantly, obviously unconstitutional. It has a blanket prohibition on any attempt to “provide information on how to obtain an abortion-inducing drug.” And, it goes further than that, banning basically any actions related to the web that involve information on an abortion inducing drug, including a flat ban on doing any of the following:


create, edit, upload, publish, host, maintain, or register a domain name for an Internet website, platform, or other interactive computer service that assists or facilitates a person ’s effort in obtaining an abortion-inducing drug;

And there’s an anti-circumvention rule too. It says anyone who does the following violates the law:

Acreate, edit, program, or distribute any application or software for use on a computer or an electronic device that is intended to enable individuals to obtain an abortion-inducing drug or to facilitate an individual ’s access to an abortion-inducing drug


Hilariously, it claims that any “speech or conduct protected by the First Amendment” is exempted which first off, no shit, but second: that’s literally everything you listed, dipshit.

And, of course, the law provides a private right of action (i.e., anyone can sue) against anyone who does any of the above. So even granting the “except for speech protected by the 1st Amendment” (which is everything) what will happen is a flood of vexatious lawsuits against any website providing information on abortions.


A person, other than this state, a political subdivision of this state, and an officer or employee of this state or a political subdivision of this state, has standing to bring and may bring a civil action against a person who provides or maintains:

(1) an interactive computer service that allows residents of this state to access information or material that assists or facilitates efforts to obtain elective abortion abortions or abortion-inducing drugs;
(2) a platform for downloading any application or software for use on a computer or electronic device that is designed to assist or facilitate efforts to obtain elective abortions or abortion-inducting drugs; or
(3) a platform that allows or enables those who provide or adi or abet elective abortions, or those who manufacture, distribute, mail, transport, abortion-inducing drugs, to collect money, digital currency, resources, or any other thing of value in connection with that conduct.



So, basically, any website that provides information on abortions, or which sells abortion-inducing drugs, can be sued by anyone.

Free speech!

The bill goes further, explicitly telling ISPs they need to block websites that the government tells them to block (it actually lists out six websites it requires ISPs to block, just to make it explicit just how against the 1st Amendment this bill is).


RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMATION AND MATERIALS ACCESSIBLE THROUGH CERTAIN INTERNET WEBSITES. Each Internet service provider that provides Internet services in this state shall make every reasonable and technologically feasible effort to block Internet access to information or material intended to assist or facilitate efforts to obtain an elective abortion or an abortion-inducing drug, including information or material intended to assist or facilitate efforts to obtain an elective abortion or an abortion-inducing drug, including information or material accessible through:

(1) the following Internet websites:

(A) aidaccess.org;
(B) heyjane.co;
(C) plancpills.org;
(D) mychoix.co;
(E) justthepill.com; and
(F) carafem.org;

(2) an Internet website, platform, or other interactive computer service operated by or on behalf of an abortion provider or abortion fund;

(3) an Internet website, platform, or other interactive computer service for downloading any application or software for use on a computer or electronic device that is designed to assist or facilitate efforts to obtain an elective abortion or an abortion-inducing drug; or

(4) an Internet website, platform, or other interactive computer service that allows or enables those who provide or aid or abet elective abortions, or those who manufacture, mail, distribute, transport, or provide abortion-inducing drugs, to collect money, digital currency, resources, or any other thing of value.


Look, when you’re at the point that you’re literally writing out a list of websites that ISPS need to block, you might just be violating the 1st Amendment.https://www.techdirt.com/2023/03/03/texas-which-recently-passed-law-to-ban-content-moderation-now-pushing-law-banning-abortion-related-info/

[Winehole23]

So, um, how does this work with Texas’ social media bill, HB 20? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ There is no answer. Because HB 20 says that a social media platform “may not censor a user, a user’s expression, or a user’s ability to receive expression” based on their “viewpoint.” So, if (for example) a pro-choice person posted information on abortions and about abortion-inducing medicine, a social media website would be prohibited from taking down that content under HB 20, but also open to being sued by basically everyone based on HB 2690.

I mean, both of these are pretty clearly unconstitutional intrusions over speech, but it just goes to demonstrate how incredibly short-sighted and ignorant all of these laws are. In trying to demand that websites not moderate, Texas Republicans apparently forgot that they also are very much wishing to censor content at the same time.

[Winehole23]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fqjln2LWAAEujSH?format=jpg&name=medium

[boutons_deux]

school accountability is passe if we're talking about public vouchers for private schools

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charter schools throughout the Confederacy are a backdoor to re-segregation, no blacks or browns need apply

[Winehole23]

Austin already voted for this.

So much for devolution of government to localities. Bashing big blue Texas cities is gonna backfire on the Texas GOP at some point.

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[RandomGuy]

Sound off, 1st Amendment warriors

https://www.techdirt.com/2023/03/03/texas-which-recently-passed-law-to-ban-content-moderation-now-pushing-law-banning-abortion-related-info/

They are that dumb. SCOTUS will realize at some point the can of worms it opened up.

[RandomGuy]

Austin already voted for this.

So much for devolution of government to localities. Bashing big blue Texas cities is gonna backfire on the Texas GOP at some point.

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One would think so.

[boutons_deux]

They are that dumb. SCOTUS will realize at some point the can of worms it opened up.

SCOTUS6 ChristoFasicist oligarchy toadies know they are untouchable, SUPREMELY above the other 2 branches, and clearly rule that way.

Catholic Alito says they can't know what effects their rulings have, and says they don't fucking care.

[Winehole23]

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[RandomGuy]

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smh. We can't pay teachers enough to keep them in the profession, but man for bullets and guns and cops an endless stream of cash.

[Winehole23]

One would think so.

58-42, not a close vote.

[Winehole23]

Texas GOP wants to replace DAs and county officials they don't like.

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[Winehole23]

Abbott says he'll call however many special sessions it takes to get it done. Rural Texans will suffer the most.


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FrDUhf9WAAExZ3H?format=jpg&name=900x900

[Winehole23]

Big government conservatives at work

https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/pdf/HB02127I.pdf

1636393080851922945 (https://twitter.com/Grits4Breakfast/status/1636393080851922945?s=20)

[Winehole23]

Probably won't pass, but xenophobia sells.

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[Winehole23]

https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/Text.aspx?LegSess=88R&Bill=SB8

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[leemajors]

https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/Text.aspx?LegSess=88R&Bill=SB8

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Glad my daughter is graduating in two months!

[Winehole23]

Foxes guarding henhouses will investigate themselves, should any hens die in their custody.


[Sandra] Bland’s treatment by Texas law enforcement in July 2015 quickly blew up into a national scandal. In the following years, her family channeled that public pressure over her death into a $1.9 million settlement agreement (https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/09/15/494071469/sandra-blands-family-reportedly-reaches-1-9-million-settlement) with Waller County that also mandated changes at the local jail, as well as into a statewide reform bill the Texas legislature passed (https://www.texastribune.org/2017/06/15/texas-gov-greg-abbott-signs-sandra-bland-act-law/) in 2017 bearing Bland’s name. The Sandra Bland Act required Texas police to collect more data on traffic stops and make a “good faith effort” to divert people with mental illness away from jail.

The new law also required Texas sheriffs to commission an independent investigation whenever people die in their jails. That job has mostly fallen to the Rangers (https://www.texasobserver.org/locked-up-and-left-to-die/), and state police investigations into jail deaths have spiked since 2018, when the requirement went into effect, helping spotlight the dehumanizing and dangerous conditions that can lead to preventable deaths.

But those investigations could soon dry up because of a bill (https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/pdf/SB01896I.pdf#navpanes=0), filed in the Texas legislature this month by a Republican lawmaker, that would allow sheriffs to investigate themselves for deaths in their jails. Under the bill, the current mandate for an independent investigation would no longer apply if a death is due to “natural causes or occurring in a manner that does not indicate an offense has been committed,” even though such conclusions are what an investigation is supposed to determine in the first place.
https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/pdf/SB01896I.pdf#navpanes=0

[Winehole23]

just what we need

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[Winehole23]

Crony capitalism, conservative big government picking winners and losers.

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[Winehole23]

Texas pissing in the wind

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[Winehole23]

"We're #43, and no amount of money can improve that."

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[scott]

Glad I checked into this thread to remind myself how right I was to leave that shithole of a state :lol

[Winehole23]

Crosshairs on Harris County.


On Thursday, April 13, the Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 1933, a bill that would empower the secretary of state to seize election authority from county officials.


Other legislation moving this session would similarly wrestle control from local administrators. For example, Senate Bill 1750 would eliminate the position of election administrator in counties with a population of 3.5 million or more (Harris County is the only county with this many people) and Senate Bill 1993 would give the secretary of state the authority to order an election to be rerun in counties with a population of more than 2.7 million (again, only Harris County would qualify) under certain circumstances. S.B. 1750 and S.B. 1993 have both advanced out of committee and await a vote on the full Senate floor.
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/texas-senate-passes-bill-to-seize-control-of-elections-from-local-authorities/

[Winehole23]

GOP can't win Texas cities anymore, so it's passing laws to preempt government there.

[Winehole23]

Look, another preemption bill. TX GOP hates home rule.

More big government conservatism.

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[Winehole23]

During the last session, the Texas Lege passed a law requiring counties to use technology that doesn't exist, to fix a hypothetical problem.


Passed as part of the sweeping voting law known as Senate Bill 1 in 2021, this particular measure was proposed by Sen. Bob Hall and supported by Hughes, the voting bill’s author. Both legislators at the time said the provision would prevent “cheating” and the “manipulation” of vote data stored in USB flash drives and taken from polling places to central counting stations — although there’s no evidence such malfeasance happened.

The law requires the use of equipment in which data “once written, cannot be modified.” That prohibits counties from using reusable storage devices, such as the USB flash drives, which are certified by the secretary of state. That requirement also prohibits the use of equipment such as ballot scanners and tabulating machines, all now used to count votes. The technology the law demands instead is often referred to as WORM, which stands for “write once, read many,” and generally refers to CD or DVD drives and the discs they burn data onto.

Votebeat reported that when the law takes effect in September 2026, in order to fully comply with it, counties will have to buy entirely new voting systems for each election, since the whole point is that the equipment can’t be reused. The secretary of state’s office estimates it will cost taxpayers more than $116 million to replace the eliminated equipment, plus an ongoing cost of more than $37 million every two years, since new equipment would have to be purchased for each election.

And that’s only if counties are able to find such equipment. Voting equipment that would match the requirements does not appear to have been invented by any election equipment company operating in the United States.https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/13/texas-election-equipment-law/

[leemajors]

During the last session, the Texas Lege passed a law requiring counties to use technology that doesn't exist, to fix a hypothetical problem.

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/13/texas-election-equipment-law/

I hope they accidentally buy CD-RWs

[Ef-man]

During the last session, the Texas Lege passed a law requiring counties to use technology that doesn't exist, to fix a hypothetical problem.

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/13/texas-election-equipment-law/

Unfunded mandates are just wishful thinking as the local communities will not be able to implement them without $$$$.

Can’t make them buy things they can’t afford, especially the small rural areas.

It will certainly lead to increased taxes for texans.

[Winehole23]

Retroactive defense for the APD officers charged with assaulting and maiming protesters in 2020.

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[Winehole23]

HB 20 would give deputized vigilantes with no LE experience civil and criminal immunity .

What could go wrong?


HB 20, authored by state Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, would create "Border Protection Units," overseen by a governor-appointed chief, to "arrest, detain and deter" asylum-seekers entering the U.S. without documentation. The chief could hire "law-abiding citizens" with no law enforcement experience, as long as they don't have a felony conviction, according to the bill. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/04/07/texas-bills-test-state-immigration-enforcement/11601307002/

[Winehole23]

Today's radical Republican Party.

[Winehole23]

why shouldn't cities get to lobby?

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[Winehole23]

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[Winehole23]

Look, another preemption bill. TX GOP hates home rule.

More big government conservatism.

1646939735028375552It passed.

Houston alone has about as many people as Indiana or Missouri. Denial of home rule is a big deal.

[Winehole23]

another solution in search of a problem that, apparently, only occurs where Democrats win elections in Texas


Under the proposed law (https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/Text.aspx?LegSess=88R&Bill=SB220), the secretary of state would appoint a “chief election marshal” for geographical regions of roughly one million people. The chief marshal would have the authority to deputize other law enforcement officers as long as they are with DPS. Designated election marshals would have the power to issue commands to local election administrators to halt any conduct they believe violates the law, initiate investigations and make arrests.
...


The bill also modifies how Texas courts handle election lawsuits. It disqualifies local judges from presiding over lawsuits involving elections in their judicial district or county. It also creates a rocket docket system giving judges three-hour deadlines to hear election lawsuits filed while voting is ongoing.
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2023/04/20/texas-dps-would-police-elections-under-new-bill-passed-by-the-senate/

[Winehole23]

the Texas GOP doesn't do basic governance anymore. just wall to wall culture war bullshit.

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[Winehole23]

what public schools need: more religious indoctrination


In opposition to the bill, John Litzler, general counsel and director of public policy at the Texas Baptists Christian Life Commission, said at the committee hearing that the organization has concerns about taxpayer money being used to buy religious texts and that parents, not schools, should be having conversations about religion with their children.https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/20/texas-senate-passes-ten-commandments-bill/
https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=88R&Bill=SB1515

[Winehole23]

very short sighted, could really hurt Texas universities

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[pgardn]

Keep it coming.

[leemajors]

as if Patrick does not live inside a fucking bubble.

[Winehole23]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FugCq92WYAE0BpP?format=png&name=small

[boutons_deux]

very short sighted, could really hurt Texas universities

1649187088007327744

BS. Tenured profs are untouchable, by definition.

Killing tenure would intimidate all profs, any who bothered to work in TX Unis with no chance for tenure, with political interference.

The fascist Repugs want total political control of all aspects of society.

[Winehole23]

nest feathering


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[Winehole23]

do tell

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[Winehole23]

Dan Patrick killed legalization last two times it passed the House...

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[Winehole23]

Why is a law like this needed? We're not talking about kids here, what's the problem with adults doing wtf they want?


Senate Bill 1029 (https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=88R&Bill=SB1029) would make physicians and health insurers financially liable for their patients’ lifetime medical, mental health and pharmaceutical costs resulting from complications of gender-affirming medical care (https://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/24/texas-transgender-kids-transition-related-health-care/#91a5a267-3054-4cd2-883f-184b8392030b) even if the providers lack fault or criminal intent. The bill exempts such treatments for kids with “medically verifiable genetic sex disorders.”


According to health groups, the bill would make it highly unlikely for health care providers offering these treatments to be able to get medical liability coverage, leaving them personally on the hook for potential medical, legal and other costs. These financial risks could deter physicians from providing puberty blockers (https://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/24/texas-transgender-kids-transition-related-health-care/#79f59745-d60c-4767-ae7b-cbb8f55e158e), hormone therapies (https://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/24/texas-transgender-kids-transition-related-health-care/?utm_source=liveblogshare&utm_medium=social#54fc1916-21af-4d29-9120-c4960c601e73) and gender-affirming surgeries (https://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/24/texas-transgender-kids-transition-related-health-care/?utm_source=liveblogshare&utm_medium=social#9a8a9769-3b0a-4161-94aa-de66c95e2644) to trans people of all ages in the state.
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/25/transgender-health-care-legislature/

[Winehole23]

building a moat around oil and gas companies and giving them huge subsidies won't make the Texas grid more reliable


These throughlines suggest that the “power grid reform” is less concerned with grid protection than with subsidizing Texan gas, whose crippling failures contributed in large part (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/17/climate/texas-blackouts-disinformation.html) to the 2021 crisis—and which, through the magic of the state’s deregulated, regional energy marketplace, is beginning to be crowded out by renewables (https://reneweconomy.com.au/gas-cant-compete-with-wind-solar-and-storage-even-in-worlds-biggest-market/). Weatherized gas backup, as delineated by Senate bills 6 and 7, might appear to be a reasonable solution, if not for the fact that much of 2021’s crisis stemmed from the failures of lines transmitting natural gas. Gov. Greg Abbott’s infamous, and untrue, post-disaster claim (https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-winter-storms-2021/2021/02/18/968967137/no-the-blackouts-in-texas-werent-caused-by-renewables-heres-what-really-happened) that wind-energy failures caused the 2021 blackouts has now been translated into opportunistic policy, with potentially horrific outcomes for Texans.https://slate.com/business/2023/04/texas-power-grid-senate-plan-gas-fossil-fuels-renewables.html

[Winehole23]

giving teachers a license to maim and kill kids, what could go wrong?

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[Winehole23]

Book learning only, please. We wouldn't want kids thinking they can do something to change the world, right now.

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[Winehole23]

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[Winehole23]

so much for the will of voters, prosecutorial discretion and small government conservatism

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[Winehole23]

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[Winehole23]

put guns in their hands, and suddenly Texas can pay teachers more...a lot more.


Texas lawmakers advanced a bill (https://legiscan.com/TX/text/HB13/2023) this week that would compensate school employees with stipends of up to $25,000 per school year for being trained to carry a weapon on K-12 campuses and buses.https://www.k12dive.com/news/Texas-bill-incentive-stipend-to-arm-teachers-school-sentinels/648924/

[Winehole23]

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[Winehole23]

Anti-groomer going down for grooming.

[Winehole23]

https://media4.giphy.com/media/26xBMzgnvm1j328EM/giphy.gif

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/08/bryon-slaton-pressure-resign-texas-house/

[Winehole23]

Home cooking

https://legiscan.com/TX/bill/SB1045/2023

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[Winehole23]

Impressive timeline on l'affaire Slaton and the far right's attempt to hush it up.

https://www.texasscorecard.co/slaton-tried-to-survive/

[Winehole23]

Republican theocrats amping up school indoctrination.

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[Winehole23]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FvsxKkJWIAUO2DI?format=jpg&name=900x900

[Winehole23]

Qualified immunity for right wing paramilitaries?

https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/pdf/HB00020I.pdf#navpanes=0

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[Winehole23]

Republican groomer goes down

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[FuzzyLumpkins]

They actually pass anything? Great they caught a pedo but any legislation?

[Winehole23]

how the sausage got made

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[boutons_deux]

Qualified immunity for right wing paramilitaries?

https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/pdf/HB00020I.pdf#navpanes=0

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TX shitbags supporting Schutzstaffel and vigilantism. What a shithole

[Winehole23]

Notes may not be there for the voucher bill -- rural reps know what's up.

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[Winehole23]

No public testimony for the voucher bill, SB 8

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fv2N_vcXwAIk28N?format=jpg&name=large

[Winehole23]

Multi-tiered justice, appointed judges for me, elected judges for thee.

https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/pdf/HB00019S.pdf#navpanes=0


The state’s $200 billion fossil-fuel industry has thrown its weight behind legislation that would create a new system of district courts to hear certain disputes involving corporations. While 26 states (https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/19/legislature-create-courts-republican-bills/) already have so-called business courts, the Texas proposal has a unique feature: Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who has been bankrolled by fossil fuel donors, would have the power to personally appoint judges, who would then serve two-year terms — a tenure that would let Abbott quickly remove judges if they deny favorable rulings to his supporters.


The legislation backed by the oil industry comes just after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-rejects-oil-companies-appeals-climate-change-disputes-rcna49823) climate cases against fossil fuel companies to proceed in state courts. Opponents of the business-court plan say that not only would it run afoul of the state constitution, which (https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/selection-and-discipline-state-judges-texas#:~:text=The%20Texas%20constitution%20provide s%20that,a%20rigorous%20independent%20campaign%20r equirement.) mandates the popular election of district and appellate judges, it could also set a dangerous national precedent by undermining the independence of the judiciary.


As a result, cases that would otherwise be heard by judges elected by communities in their districts could instead be forced into courts controlled by the governor — and by extension, his donors.
https://www.levernews.com/big-oil-tries-to-buy-its-own-courts/

[boutons_deux]

TX shitbag Repugs block vote on bill to raise age from 18 to 21 for AR15-type purchases.

Gun Slaughter is the "price of freedom"

[Winehole23]

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[Winehole23]

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[FuzzyLumpkins]

The teacher shortage looks to be ignored once again.

[Winehole23]

The teacher shortage looks to be ignored once again.Feature, not a bug.

Texas is a live experiment in deschooling. Wrecking public education is the point.

[Winehole23]

1659739474237222912

[Winehole23]

(tbh, it would be hard to top the last lege for shady smoke filled rooms, abruptly substituted language and creative application of the rules.)

[Winehole23]

this time around there are 1-2 dozen hateful culture war laws, a whole raft of them.

[Winehole23]

1660833737293045762

[Extra Stout]

Feature, not a bug.

Texas is a live experiment in deschooling. Wrecking public education is the point.
It’s selective deschooling. Specific public schools in affluent, heavily white areas will be voluntarily funded through the PTA and such. Otherwise, the end goal is like Louisiana where parents easily can send their kids to inexpensive and/or publicly-subsidized private schools, especially religious ones.

The reason is simple — white parents don’t want their kids to be around the black underclass. They don’t believe the black underclass is educable, they see them as incorrigibly violent, and are heavily invested in the school-to-prison pipeline for that piece of the population.

You will have to wait until the end of time for those people to listen to the arguments about the root causes of minority social dysfunction.

[Extra Stout]

I know there is a moral panic about “wokeness” and “grooming” in the schools, but without that fear of violent nonwhites, I just don’t believe there would be the energy to sustain the movement.

It seems incoherent given their acceptance of mass shootings, but it’s really not. I believe humans value group status over individual well-being as long as basic needs are being met, because group belonging is a more important on Maslow’s hierarchy than self-esteem or self-actualization.

[Extra Stout]

The other dynamic I could get behind is the desire to dominate. The most antagonistic divide in the country is not black/white or Anglo/Hispanic or educated/uneducated but rather red whites/blue whites. Us versus them is the most basic organizing principle of human beings, and the more similar “them” are, the greater the anger and violence to differentiate “us” from “them.” So to protect group differentiation and group status there is this need to ensure dominance. So “owning the libs” is actually a primal need.

[Extra Stout]

So with that dynamic the desire to dismantle public education would be nothing more complicated than that blue whites value public education.

[RandomGuy]

It’s selective deschooling. Specific public schools in affluent, heavily white areas will be voluntarily funded through the PTA and such. Otherwise, the end goal is like Louisiana where parents easily can send their kids to inexpensive and/or publicly-subsidized private schools, especially religious ones.

The reason is simple — white parents don’t want their kids to be around the black underclass. They don’t believe the black underclass is educable, they see them as incorrigibly violent, and are heavily invested in the school-to-prison pipeline for that piece of the population.

You will have to wait until the end of time for those people to listen to the arguments about the root causes of minority social dysfunction.

This.

[RandomGuy]

I know there is a moral panic about “wokeness” and “grooming” in the schools, but without that fear of violent nonwhites, I just don’t believe there would be the energy to sustain the movement.

It seems incoherent given their acceptance of mass shootings, but it’s really not. I believe humans value group status over individual well-being as long as basic needs are being met, because group belonging is a more important on Maslow’s hierarchy than self-esteem or self-actualization.

https://twitter.com/KylieInCali84/status/1660367672662700032

Eyup.

[Winehole23]

Paxton accusing Bonnen of being a drunk.

1661097919443881987

[leemajors]

Patrick accusing Bonnen of being a drunk.

1661097919443881987

Is Paxton claiming to speak from a place of credibility? lol me for not realizing this is about a probe of Paxtons office

[pgardn]

Very interesting takes from Extra Stout.
Good stuff.

[Winehole23]

1661223401380278272

[Winehole23]

1661057669128503355

[Winehole23]

even Republicans can't stand the horseshit they're asked to carry.

1660642715153969152

[ElNono]

I know there is a moral panic about “wokeness” and “grooming” in the schools, but without that fear of violent nonwhites, I just don’t believe there would be the energy to sustain the movement.

It seems incoherent given their acceptance of mass shootings, but it’s really not. I believe humans value group status over individual well-being as long as basic needs are being met, because group belonging is a more important on Maslow’s hierarchy than self-esteem or self-actualization.

Related:

Objection to sexual, LGBTQ content propels spike in book challenges
An analysis of book challenges from across the nation shows the majority were filed by just 11 people

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/05/23/lgbtq-book-ban-challengers/

Excerpt from the article:
But in interviews, book challengers say they are fighting for children’s innocence, sanity and well-being — and, some believe, for their souls.

Cindy Martin, a mother of four in Georgia’s Forsyth County schools, challenged three books last school year. In one complaint, lodged against “Check Please! Book 1: #Hockey,” a graphic novel about a college hockey team whose protagonist comes out as gay, she demanded that school officials “remove all copies and burn it.”

Martin said in an interview that she stands by her call to burn “Check Please!” which she criticized for “using the f-word, and it’s in the sexual sense.” She said titles available in school libraries promote casual sex and degrade women. She predicted letting children read those books will lead to pregnancy, abortion, sexual harassment, rape and sexually transmitted diseases.

“It has no place in the school system. It really has no place in society,” she said. “I am a believer in Jesus Christ, and I feel he has put this passion in me to protect children.”

[Winehole23]

Is Paxton claiming to speak from a place of credibility? lol me for not realizing this is about a probe of Paxtons office
A Texas House committee heard stunning testimony from investigators Wednesday over allegations of a yearslong pattern of misconduct and questionable actions by Attorney General Ken Paxton (https://www.texastribune.org/directory/ken-paxton/), the result of a probe the committee had secretly authorized in March.In painstaking and methodical detail in a rare public forum, four investigators for the House General Investigating Committee testified that they believe Paxton broke numerous state laws, misspent office funds and misused his power to benefit a friend and political donor.

Their inquiry focused first on a proposed $3.3 million agreement to settle a whistleblower lawsuit filed by four high-ranking deputies who were fired after accusing Paxton of accepting bribes and other misconduct.

Committee Chair Andrew Murr (https://www.texastribune.org/directory/andrew-murr/) said the payout, which the Legislature would have to authorize, would also prevent a trial at which evidence of Paxton’s alleged misdeeds would be presented publicly. Committee members questioned, in essence, if lawmakers were being asked to participate in a cover-up.

“It is alarming and very serious having this discussion when millions of taxpayer dollars have been asked to remedy what is alleged to be some wrongs,” Murr said. “That’s something we have to grapple with. It’s challenging.”
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/24/ken-paxton-abuse-power-house-investigation-texas/

[Winehole23]

Sine Die is May 29

[FuzzyLumpkins]

1661223401380278272

Abbot asks for independent panel to analyze poor performance in schools. They are completely ignoring the panels recommendations.

[RandomGuy]

this time around there are 1-2 dozen hateful culture war laws, a whole raft of them.

Priorities. This is why red states tend to be shitholes.

[RandomGuy]

Abbot asks for independent panel to analyze poor performance in schools. They are completely ignoring the panels recommendations.

Link?

[Winehole23]

Billions in property tax relief, but not an extra penny for public schools.

1661796498391146497

[boutons_deux]

Fascist Christian nationalist aka Texas repugs,

trying to force the ten commandments into public schools and

parachuting unlicensed Christian "pastors" as counselors into public schools

I expect these Christian pastor frauds will be on taxpayer salaries

[Winehole23]

Texas GOP writes in support of our crooked AG.

1662131621191925761

[Leetonidas]

The GOP led state house committee is recommending Paxton's impeachment because...the democrats? lolwat :lol

[Winehole23]

The GOP led state house committee is recommending Paxton's impeachment because...the democrats? lolwat :lolBlaming everything on Dems has its limits. The Dems haven't held a statewide office or run the Texas government since 1994 -- almost thirty years.

[boutons_deux]

Why tax policy experts fear the Texas House plan to lower property taxes could have dire ripple effects

Both the House and the Senate’s proposals on property tax cuts would give modest savings to the typical Texas homeowner,

but critics say

the House plan could create vast inequities and

disproportionately benefit wealthy homeowners.

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/15/texas-house-property-taxes-appraisal-cap/

Benefit the wealthy? of course :lol

[Winehole23]

Talerico has beclowned the Texas GOP regularly this session.

1662226748589903877

[Winehole23]

minor, but cool

1663613758210551817

[Extra Stout]

Why tax policy experts fear the Texas House plan to lower property taxes could have dire ripple effects

Both the House and the Senate’s proposals on property tax cuts would give modest savings to the typical Texas homeowner,

but critics say

the House plan could create vast inequities and

disproportionately benefit wealthy homeowners.

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/15/texas-house-property-taxes-appraisal-cap/

Benefit the wealthy? of course :lol

Yes it does. Dan Patrick is right about appraisal caps. Not only do they disproportionately benefit owners of more expensive homes, they also privilege existing homeowners over first-time homeowners, and existing homes over new homes. Over the long run, they discourage new home construction. Appraisal caps are bad policy.

[scott]

Ever notice how Property Tax reform is a top priority every session in the TXLege? It's almost like it's an issue they don't actually want fixed...................

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Ever notice how Property Tax reform is a top priority every session in the TXLege? It's almost like it's an issue they don't actually want fixed...................

To fix it they would need to revamp the way we fund schools. Given they are trying to undermine the system it certainly seems to be working as intended.

Abbot asked the Sunset Commission to investigate poor school performance. He ignored it all.

[SnakeBoy]

Cars registered in Texas after 2025 will no longer need safety inspection, but fee remains
https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/cars-registered-in-texas-after-2025-will-no-longer-need-safety-inspection-but-fee-remains-texans-vehicles-tesla-bill-crashes-governor#

Nice :tu

[pgardn]

Cars registered in Texas after 2025 will no longer need safety inspection, but fee remains
https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/cars-registered-in-texas-after-2025-will-no-longer-need-safety-inspection-but-fee-remains-texans-vehicles-tesla-bill-crashes-governor#

Nice :tu

could be.

How do you think insurance companies will work with this? Its an easy tack on if they want.
Id rather give it to the State.

[Winehole23]

Another middle finger raised to Uvalde massacre survivors. Seems the Lt. Gov. can make veto-proof bills disappear simply by not signing them after they are passed.


A bill signed by a presiding officer following both chambers’ approval then not going to the governor for review is rare. This session — of the more than 1,240 bills enrolled — HB 30 is the only one that had not made it to Abbott’s desk as of Friday, according to a search and analysis of the Texas Legislature Online.

https://www.kxan.com/investigations/lawmakers-passed-police-transparency-bill-so-why-hasnt-it-reached-the-governor/

[Winehole23]

Marc Levin is nobody's liberal.

The law says the Lt.Gov "shall sign," it's a job requirement for the Lt.Gov to sign shit the lege passes, believe it or not.

1665835142974152704

[Winehole23]

Swaggering contempt for the law is thematic in the Texas GOP. Will to power doesn't scruple over the rules.

[Winehole23]

Goes hand in glove with licking the boots of the quasi-baronial constabulary. The state monopoly on force is sacred and must never be questioned or brought into official disrepute, especially when it disgraces itself.

[Winehole23]

[dp]

[Winehole23]

The GOP is bad at governing even when they run everything.

1665841929995558913

[Winehole23]

Abbott and Patrick at each others' throats.

1669097401196371970

[Winehole23]

"VOUCHERS OR VETO"

1670169912453505025

[Winehole23]

Another middle finger raised to Uvalde massacre survivors. Seems the Lt. Gov. can make veto-proof bills disappear simply by not signing them after they are passed.

https://www.kxan.com/investigations/lawmakers-passed-police-transparency-bill-so-why-hasnt-it-reached-the-governor/short story, shorter: Dan Patrick eventually signed it.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Another middle finger raised to Uvalde massacre survivors. Seems the Lt. Gov. can make veto-proof bills disappear simply by not signing them after they are passed.

https://www.kxan.com/investigations/lawmakers-passed-police-transparency-bill-so-why-hasnt-it-reached-the-governor/

Lt Governor has always been able to block legislation. It is the core of their power. This one is the biggest problem in Texas IMO, repeatedly disregarding the will of the people using said power.

[Winehole23]

yeah, but Dan Patrick eventually signed it.

[Winehole23]

First bill in the special session seeks to defund public schools -- in 2038.

1673802901733654538

[Winehole23]

1673813690116632581

[Winehole23]

The GOP is bad at governing even when they run everything.

1674097655968825349

[Winehole23]

stiff-arming the public on legislation with intergenerational impact

1675111779523866625

[Winehole23]

Paxton attempts to chain smoke his wife's recusal.

1682485434293600256

[Winehole23]

Republicans are wrecking education in Texas. Penny wise for pound foolish.

1685998540550488065

[SnakeBoy]

Republicans are wrecking education in Texas. Penny wise for pound foolish.

1685998540550488065

“Elections have consequences. Collectively we got what we voted for.”

:tu

[Winehole23]

Of course you'd be for that.

[boutons_deux]

Swaggering contempt for the law is thematic in the Texas GOP. Will to power doesn't scruple over the rules.

That applies to the entire Trash dominated repug cult

Boebert wants her MAGAtts referred to as ultra MAGAtts

[ChumpDumper]

Paxton attempts to chain smoke his wife's recusal.

1682485434293600256

Damn, how many senators did he marry?

[Winehole23]

Texas has been controlled by a Republican trifecta for about thirty years, but Republicans are still blaming Democrats for bad government.

1693065813748568321

[Winehole23]

Paxton probably can't weasel out by resigning. Even Rick Perry is suggesting the lege should throw him overboard, er, respect the process.

1695537587140604178

[Thread]

Texas has been controlled by a Republican trifecta for about thirty years, but Republicans are still blaming Democrats for bad government.

1693065813748568321


Paxton probably can't weasel out by resigning. Even Rick Perry is suggesting the lege should throw him overboard, er, respect the process.

1695537587140604178

Daddy-O, you ain't a turnin' Texas. Uh, uh. Nope.

[Winehole23]

1695799741257339297

[Winehole23]

This preemption bill takes power away from voters who elected Democrats in big cities. It's reactionary bullshit. We've had home rule in Texas for 130 years and one party rule at the state level for almost 30 years.

The GOP can't beat the Dems at the polls in big cities, so they're taking away powers cities have had since the turn of the 20th century.

1696933218446922232

[Winehole23]

Special session incoming.


Gov. Greg Abbott has notified the Texas Legislature that a third special session will begin on Oct. 9.

A Sept. 26 letter signed by Abbott and addressed to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan, did not indicate the focus of this special session. But the governor has said repeatedly the next special session would focus on public education, including the issues of school vouchers and public school funding.https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/29/greg-abbott-texas-leglislature-school-vouchers/

[Winehole23]

As some of you may recall, the Lege couldn't find a single penny in additional funding for Texas schools in the regular session.


In the end, school districts have paid the price. Many school officials have had to adopt deficit budgets, meaning their expenditures outweigh their revenues. Some school districts have dipped into their savings to offer teachers minimal raises, balance their budgets or simply to keep the lights on. Others are considering closing campuses all together to save money.

[Thread]

Special session incoming.

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/29/greg-abbott-texas-leglislature-school-vouchers/

Perhaps Ma Richards has risen from the grave.

[Winehole23]

FWIW, the Texas Consitution requires that suitable provision be made for public education. Abbott and Texas (R)s are pissing on that.



ARTICLE 7. EDUCATION

Sec. 1. SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE OF SYSTEM OF PUBLIC FREE SCHOOLS. A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to the preservation of the liberties and rights of the people, it shall be the duty of the Legislature of the State to establish and make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools.

(Feb. 15, 1876.)https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CN/htm/CN.7.htm

[Thread]

FWIW, the Texas Consitution requires that suitable provision be made for public education. Abbott and Texas (R)s are pissing on that.

ARTICLE 7. EDUCATION



https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CN/htm/CN.7.htm

Big deal. Constitutions/state OR U.S. mean little to zip to your side. You just trump, I mean tromp all over 'em when their edicts don't suit your side.

[Winehole23]

FWIW, the Texas Consitution requires that suitable provision be made for public education. Abbott and Texas (R)s are pissing on that.

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CN/htm/CN.7.htmTexas Baptists and rural Texas Reps don't like vouchers.

Private school vouchers are a sop to rich Texans and culture war billionaires who want Christian indoctrination instead of the universal public education required by the Texas constitution since the 19th century.


Earlier this week, members of the Baptist General Convention of Texas called out Abbott for violating constitutional laws that separate church and state when he called on religious leaders to use the pulpit to promote “School Choice Sunday” on October 15.

“Government should not interfere with the free exercise of religion, and no religion should depend on public tax dollars for support,” wrote Baptist church leaders in the statement.

Director of Pastors for Texas Children Reverend Charles Johnson told the Observer that the fear-mongering about indoctrination in public schools is “ludicrous.”

“When [rural Texans] really look around the school, they see their family members and their church members,” Johnson said. “They’ve grown up together, the children have been in school together. There are cross-racial relationships. The teacher who harbors a humanistic concern for the well-being of every child is going to guard the freedom and dignity of the child’s religious expression.”

https://www.texasobserver.org/from-bullying-legislators-to-co-opting-church-pulpits-the-governor-and-the-billionaires-behind-him-are-determined-to-defund-public-schools/

[Winehole23]

Abbott is threatening to primary rural Reps who don't get on board.

[Winehole23]

wow, money given a (https://x.com/PatrickSvitek/status/1712141685323444577?s=20)way

1712141685323444577

[Winehole23]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F8LwuGHX0AAL_od?format=jpg&name=large

[Winehole23]

Dan Patrick fades the heat for Defend Texas Liberty and keeps their $3m dollars. Is he their spokesman now?

1712221848795066659

[Winehole23]

They support Israel's right wing because they think it will hasten the end of the world.

1712227827913785637

[Winehole23]

Coddling neo-Nazis seems to be a reasonable place to draw a red line, but only a handful of Texas Republicans seem to to be willing to do it.

DTL's meeting with Nick Fuentes lasted 6.5 hours, it wasn't a chat over lunch.


In a statement, Frisco Rep. Jared Patterson said that he has given $2,500 to a pro-Israel charity, to account for the in-kind contribution of the same value he received from Stickland.

“I was appalled to learn Defend Texas Liberty PAC hosted a Nazi sympathizer and Holocaust denier for six hours,” Patterson said in a statement. “I could not rest until I washed my campaign from the stain of this organization and its leader.”https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/11/jared-patterson-nick-fuentes-defend-texas-liberty-jonathan-stickland/

[Winehole23]

Even Kyle Rittenhouse had enough sense to leave the building.

1711876064916431090

[Thread]

Even Kyle Rittenhouse had enough sense to leave the building.

1711876064916431090

And even more than enough sense to shoot those fucks who fucked around (Effy) & found out (Effy).

"Who's the wild man now!"

[Winehole23]

Virtue signalling Republicans piling on (http://https://x.com/RobertDownen_/status/1712499136568692844?s=20)Defend Texas Liberty.

1712499136568692844

[Winehole23]

Great thread.

Recapture is a shiny object, underfunding is the real culprit.

https://x.com/ChandraKus/status/1711838086169063893?s=20

[Winehole23]

When school budgets get tight, property-wealthy districts are often quick to blame the primary equity tool of the
school finance system: recapture. However, recapture, also known as “Robin Hood,” is not the villain in this story.
Kids of all backgrounds, from Texarkana to Austin to Brownsville, deserve a high-quality education regardless of
the property value within their community. Instead of providing all schools with adequate levels of funding, the
Legislature has used recapture to justify bringing the top down rather than the bottom up. By deeming some
districts as “property-wealthy” while not providing enough funding to anyone, legislative leadership has sowed
division among districts. In order to increase school funding so that all districts are able to support high-quality
education for all students, Texans must reject these divisions and demand a finance system that meets the
true costs of providing a solid public education.

[Winehole23]

Disabled students need not apply.


SB 1 also includes a provision that would require private schools to tell parents that they are not subject to federal and state laws regarding services to children with disabilities. An amendment that would have required private schools to give children with disabilities the same level of services as public schools failed.https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/12/texas-senate-school-vouchers-special-session/

[Winehole23]

Vouchers: $8000 per student with zero standards, accountability or compliance with federal law.

1715187763195056273

[Winehole23]

Patrick donating DTL's $3m bribe to Israel underscores the palpability of the TX GOP's ties to Neo-Nazis, Patrick indignantly said he'd keep the money before the Texas Tribune's unmasking.

Matt Rinaldi and Chris Russo will probably be thrown overboard, but the well has already been poisoned, policies put forward by Strong Texas Borders and DTL are likely to become law in this special session.

1717253660613202206

[Winehole23]

Raw power is all that matters to radical Republicans.If rules have to be broken, so be it.

1717321519854952466

[Winehole23]

Deputizes peace officers to deport people.

What could go wrong?

https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=883&Bill=HB4

[Winehole23]

1717519623443149053

[Extra Stout]

Raw power is all that matters to radical Republicans.If rules have to be broken, so be it.

1717321519854952466
Classical liberalism is over. The rules-based order is over. There is only friend and enemy now. For friends, everything. For enemies, the law.

[Winehole23]

.

[Winehole23]

The difficulty the Texas GOP is having kicking neo-Nazis and antisemites to the curb underscores that.

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/27/matt-rinaldi-texas-gop-republicans-nick-fuentes/

[Thread]

Classical liberalism is over. The rules-based order is over. There is only friend and enemy now. For friends, everything. For enemies, the law.

All because Trump made President and you could not/would not brook it.

[Thread]

The difficulty the Texas GOP is having kicking neo-Nazis and antisemites to the curb underscores that.

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/27/matt-rinaldi-texas-gop-republicans-nick-fuentes/

Just send 'em back over to Ukraine, that's the Nazi HQ moved over from Germany 80 years back. We weren't told that though then. 80 years later now we're told.

American Democracy.

[Winehole23]

1717916601821880402

[Winehole23]

Oh but the real problem is Dade Phelan "politicizing antisemitism."

[Thread]

Oh but the real problem is Dade Phelan "politicizing antisemitism."

You ain't turnin' Texas you silly son-of-a-bitch, you. Now stop it, Winester. It's Friday, damn ya.

[Thread]

1717916601821880402

Well, you know the Jews, Winester, they got the short end of the dirty stick in the '30's, '40's, '70's/Idi dada/ and now the '20's as the Ham busted that kosher hole wide open. They're feelin' put upon, so, we have excuse 'em once and again.

[Winehole23]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F9r_1dlWEAAa9fj?format=jpg&name=large

[Winehole23]

as recently as last summer, it was more or less constitutionally settled that the federal government sets immigration law

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/22-58_i425.pdf


now comes Senate Bill 4, which lets any peace officer whasover transport a suspected alien to any legal point of entry, and makes refusing the removal a crime.

https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/883/billtext/pdf/HB00004E.pdf#navpanes=0

[Winehole23]

even the most powerful people in Texas government suck at governing.

1719870660413886542

[Winehole23]

Deputizes peace officers to deport people, based on mere suspicion, without any hearing.

What could go wrong?

https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=883&Bill=HB4Passes Senate, moves to House.

[Winehole23]

The choice is illusory for Texans who can't afford private school even with the stipend and nonexistent for Texas counties without private schools, which is most of them.

1725286048098361520

[Winehole23]

Gotta say, it's striking how little politics posters on a Texas board care about Texas politics.

[Winehole23]

It's way closer to us, and our votes count for more.

[Winehole23]

Rural Republicans not budging (https://x.com/TexasTribune/status/1725566230503809048?s=20)

1725566230503809048

[Cry Havoc]

Rural Republicans not budging (https://x.com/TexasTribune/status/1725566230503809048?s=20)

1725566230503809048

Why would the GOP vote to remove vouchers? Don't they love vouchers? I'm not as intimately familiar with the OTG stuff in Texas.

[Winehole23]

Why would the GOP vote to remove vouchers? Don't they love vouchers? I'm not as intimately familiar with the OTG stuff in Texas.Rural Texas loves their public schools and here are few private options available.

Friday night lights and all that.

[Cry Havoc]

Rural Texas loves their public schools and here are few private options available.

Friday night lights and all that.

Weiiiiiiird.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

It's a good thing. More than half of the private school options include theology to varying degrees in their curriculum. This whole thing is about the modern Puritanism movement. The same people who pushed to end Roe.

They do not have enough people to support their policy in the current plurality so they are trying to get the state to manufacture some for them.

[Winehole23]

Weiiiiiiird.Not really, if you think about it. In a lot of rural counties public schools are the main social hub and the biggest institution around. For the students, schools are the career escalator and the ticket to big city life.

[Winehole23]

Public education is a per se public good. Rural Texans understand this.

[Winehole23]

Establishing and maintaining a system of robust, universal public education in Texas is also a constitutional requirement going back to the 19th century.

But that doesn't count for much for today's radical Republicans.

[Winehole23]

1725636929306136884

[Winehole23]

"school choice" is a cynical ploy to line the pockets of political donors and indoctrinate children

1725921189485244880

[Winehole23]

Texas GOP struggles (https://x.com/MarkMcCaig/status/1727396744529420527?s=20) to oust antisemitic and neo-Nazi adjacent elements.

Longview is the principal city in Gregg County, TX.

1727396744529420527

[z0sa]

The choice is illusory for Texans who can't afford private school even with the stipend and nonexistent for Texas counties without private schools, which is most of them.

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I'm gonna sound stupid saying I haven't done much research, but it's the truth. That said, public schools with teachers who consistently underperform (as is the Republican/right wing argument that potentially resonates with me personally) in terms of their students' testing scores -- how do we deal with these currently? As far as I can see from the limited dive I've taken shows very little regard for student performance when retaining teachers. If your school sucks, why should your taxes keep supporting it? There's arguments for things like school being a glorified daycare so poor parents can work 2 jobs or whatever, sure - I get that side of it. But wouldn't vouchers serve a similar purpose? I'm going to read more up on it in the very near future as my daughters are reaching ages where this stuff matters. At first glance, school choice sounds great to me, but I'm sure I'm missing a lot of the picture here, friend.

[Winehole23]

I'm gonna sound stupid saying I haven't done much research, but it's the truth. That said, public schools with teachers who consistently underperform (as is the Republican/right wing argument that potentially resonates with me personally) in terms of their students' testing scores -- how do we deal with these currently? As far as I can see from the limited dive I've taken shows very little regard for student performance when retaining teachers. If your school sucks, why should your taxes keep supporting it? There's arguments for things like school being a glorified daycare so poor parents can work 2 jobs or whatever, sure - I get that side of it. But wouldn't vouchers serve a similar purpose? I'm going to read more up on it in the very near future as my daughters are reaching ages where this stuff matters. At first glance, school choice sounds great to me, but I'm sure I'm missing a lot of the picture here, friend.The part that you're missing is that the underperformance of public schools is overhyped, despite schools being chronically underfunded and teachers routinely disparaged. People generally like the schools their children go to but disparage schools in general, kind of like how they like their US reps but hate the US Congress. I know that doesn't answer the question of turning around underperforming schools. Investing more in them and trying to retain teachers couldn't hurt, though, particularly in Texas. We're way below the median.

Charter schools are measurably worse than public schools pretty much everywhere, and private schools are beyond the reach financially for most Texans, not numerous enough to accommodate all who might want to change, and not generally accountable to regulatory standards. Nor norms relating to reasonable accommodation for students with special needs.

Public schools have their problems, but cheap cynicism and sweeping generalizations don't help. Standardized testing seems to be more of a placeholder for accountability than accountability itself.

I'm not sure why schools need to spend so much more money on administration than cuŕriculum and teaching. It certainly doesn't seem to be an efficient use of resources. Sorting kids by age rather than ability and not being able to accelerate the curriculum for students who can assimilate it faster seem like two obvious problems to me, but I'm not an expert either, and none of us get to remake education from the ground up. It's a hard problem.

[z0sa]

The part that you're missing is that the underperformance of public schools is overhyped, despite schools being chronically underfunded and teachers routinely disparaged. People generally like the schools their children go to but disparage schools in general, kind of like how they like their US reps but hate the US Congress. I know that doesn't answer the question of turning around underperforming schools. Investing more in them and trying to retain teachers couldn't hurt, though, particularly in Texas. We're way below the median.

Charter schools are measurably worse than public schools pretty much everywhere, and private schools are beyond the reach financially for most Texans, not numerous enough to accommodate all who might want to change, and not generally accountable to regulatory standards. Nor norms relating to reasonable accommodation for students with special needs.

Public schools have their problems, but cheap cynicism and sweeping generalizations don't help. Standardized testing seems to be more of a placeholder for accountability than accountability itself.

I'm not sure why schools need to spend so much more money on administration than cuŕriculum and teaching. It certainly doesn't seem to be an efficient use of resources. Sorting kids by age rather than ability and not being able to accelerate the curriculum for students who can assimilate it faster seem like two obvious problems to me, but I'm not an expert either, and none of us get to remake education from the ground up. It's a hard problem.

A lot of great insight - thank you.

The bolded really jumps out at me. Are private schools, by and large, worse on the same metrics as public schools, or is there simply a lack of information/requirements to submit such information? I've got some digging to do. If it's the former, then vouchers are silly out of hand. If it's the latter, it's suspicious as hell.

[Winehole23]

A lot of great insight - thank you.

The bolded really jumps out at me. Are private schools, by and large, worse on the same metrics as public schools, or is there simply a lack of information/requirements to submit such information? I've got some digging to do. If it's the former, then vouchers are silly out of hand. If it's the latter, it's suspicious as hell.Honestly, I don't know how private schools measure up in the aggregate. Looking at the summary of TEPSAC regs below, it would seem that reporting of educational outcomes is optional for private schools in Texas, as it's hardly mentioned at all. It doesn't appear that Texas requires private schools to do academic assessments of any kind.


Accreditation, Registration, Licensing, and Approval



Accreditation: optional
Registration: no requirements
Licensing: no requirements
Approval: no requirements


Teacher Certification



Teacher certification is not required for private schools.
All teachers in accredited private schools must be "highly qualified," but each accrediting agency is allowed to define what that means as part of its approval process. The accrediting agency may choose to use the Texas state teacher certification or may develop its own standards, as long as they are higher than those for the Texas state teacher certification. The accrediting agency also has the option of recognizing out-of-state credentials. TEPSAC Policy Book.



https://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/non-public-education/regulation-map/texas.html

[z0sa]

^ So I spent some time doing research, but really, you've already nailed it, WH. Not surprised.

There's absolutely no accountability for teachers or the curriculum, and on multiple studies done in other states with long standing voucher systems, such as in the Milwaukee area, students did worse on average.

It does seem like a very clear case of haves vs have-nots, as middle class kids who otherwise might not go to private school are subsidized at the expense of the possibly lower class kids (but it would depend on the district, obviously).

Also, most parents in the studies I skimmed seemed to do it for religious reasons and not necessarily educational reasons.

All that said, I'm still actually a fan of the debate occurring, though I'm more leaning against vouchers now. Shit schools are shit schools, there should be some fire under their asses rather than simply accepting failure is endemic.

[Winehole23]

^ So I spent some time doing research, but really, you've already nailed it, WH. Not surprised.

There's absolutely no accountability for teachers or the curriculum, and on multiple studies done in other states with long standing voucher systems, such as in the Milwaukee area, students did worse on average.

It does seem like a very clear case of haves vs have-nots, as middle class kids who otherwise might not go to private school are subsidized at the expense of the possibly lower class kids (but it would depend on the district, obviously).

Also, most parents in the studies I skimmed seemed to do it for religious reasons and not necessarily educational reasons.

All that said, I'm still actually a fan of the debate occurring, though I'm more leaning against vouchers now. Shit schools are shit schools, there should be some fire under their asses rather than simply accepting failure is endemic.thanks btw for discussing policy, it's a relative rarity in this forum these days.

:tu

[Winehole23]

Establishing and maintaining a system of robust, universal public education in Texas is also a constitutional requirement going back to the 19th century.

But that doesn't count for much for today's radical Republicans.it did for the radical Republicans of the 19th century, and today's radical Republicans are still red-assed about it.

[Winehole23]

Today's party of Lincoln hates the OG party of Lincoln.

[Winehole23]

Also, most parents in the studies I skimmed seemed to do it for religious reasons and not necessarily educational reasons.it's faith based, not evidence based.

that's a political choice. favoring evidence and academic assessment is too.

[Winehole23]

vive la difference

[Winehole23]

SB 4 will result in US citizens getting arrested and deported. It's a racial profiling law.

"Papers please"

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[z0sa]

it did for the radical Republicans of the 19th century, and today's radical Republicans are still red-assed about it.

We all know today's Republicans are southern democrats from the 1930s era. At least, we should all know that.

[z0sa]

it's faith based, not evidence based.

that's a political choice. favoring evidence and academic assessment is too.

Why I'd probably say no on a referendum about vouchers. I don't mind religion - but I also don't want to subsidize it, which seems like the real intention here, the more I read and ponder.

Want a hand up to get your kid into a better school? Hell yes.

Want a hand out so your kid can learn about the Bible? Hell no.

[Ef-man]

John Oliver had a show highlighting that charter school quality is an issue.


https://youtu.be/l_htSPGAY7I