Texas Musings

10/7/23 Now adding to this section my picks for Texas and National elections and issues for 2024 and 2025, and 2026, with reasoning. Will be adding to this.

2024 Section, created 12/9/23

2024 National Elections

Disclaimer 1/9/24 I probably won't get done with this section in one day but I hope to shed light on it as I work at it.
National: I still support Biden for re-election, because a. he's trying, and b. we're called the USA and not Post-Atomic Pit #1, so that's nice. Also, I know that whoever is in charge of the military isn't necessarily put there by whoever is in office but I hope Lloyd Austin stays on. He (and whoever he's working with) have been doing an incredible job. Here is the official campaign website: Joe Biden. Regarding Kamala Harris, I have absolutely no idea what she's been up to, but logically speaking she has not fucked anything up, and that's good enough for me.

2024 State Elections for Texas

1/9/24 Real-Time Footage of 2024 Texas Election
1/9/24 Official pictures for the state election this year
1/15/24 Since this is extremely important for me I'm going to do something I don't usually do. I'm going to tell you about a specific district in Texas that I'm voting in. TX State Board of Education District 10. I am supporting Tom Maynard, a Republican incumbent for this. Here is why - his page describing his current duties and how he feels about them. He's doing a decent job and I'm okay with that. More importantly however, the other two candidates that are eligible for winning the runoff are monsters, and I don't want them anywhere near children, let alone in the educational system. This one, Raquel Saenz Ortiz wants to use kids to promote a far-left agenda. This one, Mary Bone, wants to use kids to promote a far-right agenda. And here is how I feel about it: do not use children as your political foot soldiers. What the hell is wrong with these people?! They're insane.
State elections: Since the Republican Party here is um, insane, I unfortunately support Democrats and Independents up and down the local ballot. They'll balance out whoever is Republican and is left in office. However, Democrats in Texas are also insane, and somehow more impractical and possibly more stupid than the Republicans. And that's a low bar. Here's how they (sigh, can't believe I have to explain this) can get elected. Firstly, stop being so hardline about abortion and guns. People here have a right to defend themselves and children. Recently, there have been people successfully defending themselves with said guns. Support background checks and mandate training, sure; ensure people use guns safely and with good mental status and track the weapons, sure. But don't fucking ban guns or put bars between gun ownership and people (for instance in the country fighting wild boar) who need them. With regards to being 100% pro-choice, do not do that either. Sure, mandate legal abortions for victims of rape, incest, being underage, and those with medical conditions; make plan B legal, and ensure everyone has access to contraceptives and sex ed. Go further and you can't get elected here. It's that simple. Secondly, drop the "defund the police" shtick. People in Texas are insane and we need cops end of story. Hire more cops. Fund the police. Work on police brutality and corruption and increase transparency in the entire justice system. Simultaneously use said cops to track down and eliminate white supremacist terrorist factions, of which there are too many here. Finally, I will have preference for veterans of the military especially anyone that wants to create a statewide online library of ebooks in tandem with Overdrive / Libby software funded by whatever they can scrounge up, which any Texas resident can access with their ID card. Bonus points for anyone who can make starting (and more importantly, keeping afloat) a microbusiness or small business here inexpensive and simple enough for anyone to do. 1/16/24 I've now chosen all the candidates I'm going to vote for. Here are several things I had to do: 1. Choose some Republican and Libertarian candidates. Some candidates were just unacceptable to me otherwise so I looked at the competition and in some cases it was superior. 2. Make decisions with very few facts on the table and very little transparency. I am very irked at candidates who did not put as much information about themselves online as they could and seemingly expected people to make a blind choice based on "red party" or "blue party" instead of actual issues. Of those who did, a couple of them put actual resumes and bodies of work online and I really appreciated that - but they didn't also put down their stances on hot-button issues or their precise plans for what they aimed to do once in office. More irk. The worst ones to learn about were the folks in the judicial system, which I had to dig through scanty information about and make the best choice I could, often with cobbled together news articles and stuff on their websites, not actual court cases - thankfully I didn't have to make completely blind choices there but it was very sketch. And hands down the worst were the local heroes who didn't even have websites. For those? I chose blindly based on the (D) symbol next to their name, because a blind choice between that and fascism means a choice of the lesser evil for me. Other than that I'm proud to say I chose to abstain voting for only one choice. That I know of. In my experience, once you actually have a ballot in your hands or are at the voting booth you see little surprises of yet more things to vote for you had no idea about, which is one of the many reasons why I 100% support mail-in voting for every eligible voter. 4/17/24 By this I meant everyone 18 and older who is not a felon. I also absolutely support automatic voter registration for those folks. If you're worried about ID for voting, and that's a valid concern, ask law enforcement professionals, especially people who investigate identity theft and voter fraud, if it is worth worrying about. Bear in mind, however, that gerrymandering is an equally valid concern. So is money in politics from unknown sources.
More bonus points for anyone in Texas that is going to modernize all the infrastructure. Guess who has us beat here? China. Yes, China. We need: sidewalks in all places (wall off roads and make them slightly more narrow and put sidewalks on either side or do whatever works best in each place), inter-Texas train systems, a sewage system in all places that doesn't uh, drain to culverts, safer and more reliable water and electrical utilities, and road systems designed for efficiency instead of seemingly to waste as much gasoline as humanly possible as well as manpower for all the incessant construction. Get some good civil engineers on these issues for once, please! If nothing else fix the roads in each place so they are logical and well designed
1/10/24 Probably, for me
1/9/24 Ahmad Hassan He claims to be capable of negotiating peace between Palestine and Israel. You know what? He might just be able to help. I recognize the presentation and social/cultural norms he's presenting on this website. They're Middle Eastern. And I don't really give a damn if you think those values are unique to either side of the conflict because they aren't, they're held by all sides. Maybe he can help that area of the world realize it for once. Maybe. I'll have to research him and his platform/background quite a bit before I can tell you more. 1/10/24 All right. Researched this candidate a bit more. Here are his qualifications. I am seriously hoping he releases his book, "Hello America" within the next couple of weeks or we might not see him win the runoff, let alone the actual election. And I like this candidate. He's not a lawyer, he puffs up his resume, he doesn't pretend to be perfect, and he schmoozes. He is absolutely perfect for negotiating peace in the Middle East, and trust me, those of you with family who live there get what I mean. Will do some more research, but I'm tentatively deciding on him for the runoff. For now, he has my vote. If newspapers in Texas feel like interviewing him it would be worth it.
1/10/24 Maybe, for me
1/9/24 Colin Allred (official website) rehashes the main Democrat talking points almost verbatim with emotional gimmicks. I've heard it all before. His background is what makes him unique. Football player, worked in the Department of Housing and Urban Development, brought a new VA hospital to Garland Texas. Sounds nice, but like a lot of Democrat talking points, what sounds nice in practice is ugly as hell in person. The VA is infamous and needs an overhaul, not expansion. The Department of Housing and Urban Development covers up a more urgent problem - the difficulty of creating and securing good jobs with microbusinesses and small businesses and minimal capital. I think there's a better way of going about things and I am not enthused about his chances of winning against a Republican. Pass. I also do not think other Democrats should vote for him, because the chances of him winning against Republicans are pretty much nil. However, as it stands now, unless and until Ahmad 'Robert' Hassan improves his website, ups his game, campaigns in person, and releases his book, he's probably the most electable option out of all of these. Even against the Republicans. And let's face it, he's still better than Ted Cruz.
1/10/24 Nopes, For Me
1/9/24 Carl Sherman Sr. has more or less pleasing ideas. With minimal details. The lack of transparency on his website is concerning. However, here's his official Texas House of Representatives page. I'm not a fan of the way he is involving religion with politics, as seen here. Pass.
1/9/24 Independent candidate, Dan McQueen. Weird website, says he's running for Congress when Ballotpedia says he's running for 2024 US Senate. Also uses the dog whistle word "Patriot" in a context he actually has a right to use, since he's a veteran of the Navy. Not enough information is listed on the website, and that's not something I appreciate. Puffs up his resume way too much, as seen here. If you claim to have a bachelor's of science in electrical engineering (also, what is that?) and can't produce the diploma, uhhhhhh.... Pass.
1/9/24 Steve Keough Another veteran of the Navy. This one's platform's main emphasis is on beating Ted Cruz. Okay, but given that every Democrat candidate's main talking point could be that, only his is. There are a bunch of nifty pictures about the issues on his website but none of his actual stances on these issues are explained in any detail. I am very leery of this lack of transparency. But will research him further. Not enough information is listed on the website, and that's not something I appreciate. Abilene Reporter News mentions he aims to assist with speeding up processing times for those who would legally immigrate to Texas from Mexico. However, again, he doesn't provide the newspaper with enough details in that interview. In this one, El Paso Times interview, he does. Yeah, this could work. In fact apparently he's visited border towns on both sides of the US border, both in Texas and in Mexico, to see what's actually going on. That's critical - and unusual for a political candidate, since they're infamous for praising themselves while doing nothing. However, I don't like his former involvement as a staff member under Clinton, considering Clinton's involvement with Ghislaine Maxwell. Unfortunately, that makes him unelectable in this current political climate. Pass.
1/9/24 Heli Rodriguez Prilliman The button for "Issues" doesn't work on her website. However her biography page does, indicating she's seen at least some success as an entrepreneur. The Biography part of her website indicates she plans to make Texas government-funded freebies such as universal Texas healthcare, more affordable childcare, etc. without any fiscal plan in place at all, let alone a viable one. Nice ideas, but without any actual plans. Not viable against the Republicans. Pass.
Absolutely Nots, for me
1/9/24 Roland Gutierrez His immigration stance Holy shit there are so many things wrong with what he's saying I don't even know where to start but I will try. "Our country has 30 million job vacancies that Americans will not take. An increase of workers will put the U.S. economy on steroids and safeguard our social security program for the next 100 years." Okay. We have all of these job vacancies because labor laws are too lax to prevent slave labor working conditions, and he wants to PROMOTE this and also illegal immigration with which to fill these slave labor vacancies. What. The. Fuck. Not only is this wildly unethical, it makes him unelectable in a state justifiably scared of too many people coming from Mexico, with drugs and the cartels coming with. Democrats choose him? Democrats lose in November. That's all there is to it.
1/9/24 Tracy Andrus certainly has an interesting premise. Only two issues are mightily promoted: cancellation of student loans and reparations for descendants of former slaves. The first issue makes sense considering the ridiculous loan sharking of college my generation saw, to a certain extent. The second, however: I personally don't think that reparations are an empowering thing, in fact I think they're disempowering, therefore I don't support his platform. Bear in mind I could ask for reparations as a descendant of Holocaust survivors, and there's a reason I don't (Ironically, has a lot to do with Ayn Rand, and like I say often, her fanboys these days have no idea what she actually was saying). Upon closer inspection of the website, there's a lot of idealistic enthusiasm and I like that, it seems he actually cares, but I really don't think a lot of it is realistic. Take a look for yourself. Most importantly, this person is not electable and that's a huge deal for elections versus a mightily bankrolled and brainwashed bunch like the (Fascist) Republicans these days. Not yet - could have a lot of potential in future years if he gets more experience, perhaps as a mayor somewhere. After starting and running a successful business or achieving similar success in something extraordinary, as I explained under the 2024 section (see a couple paragraphs below this one). However - there is one thing I refuse to elect him on the basis of: drilling for oil. No. It's 2024, get with the times.
1/9/24 Victor Dunn No website, wtf. Pass. I believe in this day and age having a website that's comprehensive enough for people to get the gist of your campaign is the bare fucking minimum. Fail to do that and I believe you'll probably fail in other more important areas.
1/9/24 Meri Gomez Ballotpedia page for website only available through social media. Here's her defunct website. Pass.
1/9/24 Thierry Tchenko Immigration section Wants to provide a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. As someone that's literally opened my home for people I barely knew and really regretted this, I know from experience this is absolutely insane. Pass. Also, it will absolutely make the Republicans win. There's a whole slew of issues with this idea, most notably the security risks that come with it, and people in Texas care about the safety of this place, ergo, unelectable.
1/9/24 Sherri Taylor No website. Pass.
1/9/24 Green party candidate, only relevant in November: Mason Cysewski. No website. Pass.
1/9/24 Mark Gonzalez No explanation on the website of where he stands on each of the issues, just a personal biography. Pass.
1/9/24 John Love III Apparently running for both Senate and for Congress but his website does not reflect that. John Love For Texas Can't even get the website right? Pass. Well aware I'm being hypocritical here with regards to the website. There are two reasons. 1: Dan McQueen's a veteran. 2: Dan McQueen is an Independent. I did, after all, start out Republican before they completely lost their minds to Heil Trump mindsets or similar. However he'll probably end up on the list of "absolutely nots, for me" after a few days of research anyway, we shall see
1/9/24 Soren Pendragon No website. Pass.

1/10/24 Texas Judicial System 2024 Elections

State court cases search tool for Texas Using the search tool, you can click on "all courts" and copypaste a bar number in the appropriate field then hit search. A bunch of cases will come up. Click on any and you will see a dinky little PDF you can open that describes the detail of each case. You also cannot see the actual court documents without a paywall and/or registration with identity verification, as seen here. You still might not get access if you aren't a lawyer registered by the Texas Bar; that is unclear. Yes this is officially recommended by the Texas legal system, on the bottom of the page here.
1/10/24 Holly Taylor only Democrat candidate filing to be the presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. State court cases search tool for Texas Her bar number is 00794721. If I happen to dislike her work, I will look into all the other options for presiding judges for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, even Republican ones, for reason of there is less room for error in the judicial system than in the political one. As it turns out, I hate her work, because a lot of it is filing or collaborating to allow successful "motions for extensions of time to file brief" for murderers, pedos, and rapists, meaning those guys got to spend more time not facing justice and continuing to commit crimes instead of actually going to court. Oh, and those "motions to extend time" also clogged up the Texas legal system with much time-wasting. Hard pass. Other names were on those documents as well, and I will not be voting for any of them. Here's one of the documents In pdf form and here are the names listed: Darlene Byrne, Chief Justice, Thomas Baker, Justice, Gisela Triana, Justice, Charli Kelly, Justice, Edward Smith, Justice, Rosa Lopez Theofanis, Justice. Don't know how these people aren't ashamed to show their faces in public. In the interests of ethics I'll skip mentioning the attorneys representing this scum because that's the unenviable job of a criminal defense attorney.
1/10/24 Here's who's running against her: David J. Schenk, Republican. His bar number is 17736870. Was attorney in a case where the evidence was destroyed, a medical malpractice suit involving Brandon Urquhart, M.D.. Seems to be a recurring thing, whatever "Case file was destroyed per retention schedule" means. He seems to have a habit of getting into writ of mandamus type cases as seen here. He also seems to have a habit of at least assisting in granting motions for extensions of time to file responses in more white collar crime type cases, as seen here and here. These cases go back to the late 90s, so he has been at this a while. In theory, he could be involved in indulging some level of white collar crime by being too easy on businesses (hey, the legal world is a dirty profession), but considering the ramifications of choosing someone milquetoast on serious crime like Holly Taylor or unprofessional like Sharon Keller, that is acceptable in comparison. I'll continue to look over these case files but since the other options for this office are so bad, and since my cursory glance through these doesn't indicate any major red flags, I'm leaning towards voting for him.
1/10/24 Judge Sharon Keller, Republican who is the incumbent. Apparently infamous for saying "we close at five" when someone wanted her to work a little overtime regarding a death penalty case, as mentioned on Texas Monthly. I've encountered this kind of unprofessional "work comes last, I come first" attitude since I came to Texas more than a few times, and it's disgusting every time. Not voting for her.

1/10/24 Texas Railroad Commissioner 2024 Election, Not Just About Railroads, LOL

Katherine Culbert Democrat. Supports oil and gas. Sigh.
Bill Burch Democrat. Supports fracking. Sigh.
Edwardo Espinoza Green party. Veteran of the US Army and Operation Desert Storm. Actually saw combat. Was a schoolteacher for 20+ years helping students gain literacy skills. Understands what's at stake with regards to transitioning to renewable energy in Texas as fast as possible and if elected will revitalize the Texas economy with renewable energy jobs that will bring long term and short term enormous economic growth to this state. If he acts in the manner he proposes to act, asthma symptoms will decrease statewide, quickly. I'm voting for him. In fact if you can donate to his campaign, you might want to. First candidate in this whole shit show I'm actually excited about voting for.

10/9/23 November 7, 2023 Constitutional Amendment Election for the state of Texas: if you live in another state check the equivalent pages for your state because it's likely they're doing something similar now given the state of yellow journalism in the US and how news agencies are asking for more funds while steadfastly refusing to report news in a nonbiased professional manner covering all sides of a story and wondering why they're going under, gee whiz, wonder how that happened. Anyway it turns out you can attempt to railroad a lot of really corrupt and crazy stuff through last-minute elections on a local and state level if the news isn't properly covering anything

Voter Registration Checker Tool Check to see if you are registered to vote in Texas
Sample ballot for it
Texas Secretary of State Elections Website
Application for ballot by mail
Ballot by mail and ballot by mail application tracker
Proposition 1: Against. Reasoning: There are probably a wide variety of laws on the books at a national level for this already. This tips the local balance of power in favor of land owners, who already have plenty of it, and I fear exploitation of the environment by said landowners given too much authority over the environment in their area.
Proposition 2: For. Reasoning: If this provides extra budget padding for child care facilities in Texas, it could help kids get what they need. That is, if daycare operations use the funds appropriately. I'd rather take the risk that they wouldn't than not give them extra money at all.
Proposition 3: Against. Reasoning: Protecting the wealthy from reasonable taxation is another form of creating a bunch of royal families or oligarchs in the United States and is a direct threat to democracy and rule of law. Hard pass.
Proposition 4: Against. Reasoning: This one is kind of vague, but I figure there has to be a better, less fishy way of achieving the first bit and am totally against the last bit: a four-year term of office for members of board of directors for "certain appraisal districts." That's super suspicious.
Proposition 5: For. Reasoning: Like Proposition 2 in that the funds could in theory be misappropriated but I'd rather have research and innovation from government funds in Texas universities than none at all or less than there would be. We've got to move the economy forward and I know of no better way than R&D and better education.
Proposition 6: For. Reasoning: it's water, we need it to survive, and our infrastructure needs to get modernized.
Proposition 7: For. Reasoning: I live here and I like my utilities to not shut off when they're needed most thank you
Proposition 8: For. Reasoning: Same deal, also this would majorly help people get work from home jobs and boost the economy by a lot.
Proposition 9: For. Reasoning: To make teaching more attractive long term for teachers in Texas by showing them how we treat the retired teachers. The more the teachers earn, the more likely it is we'll have a functional education system, which only sounds like a waste of money when you haven't seen what happens when you do not properly fund this (spoilers: I have trauma)
Proposition 10: For. Reasoning: This one was hard to decide on. I'm sure there are better ways of getting good health care here than to reduce taxes for equipment and inventory for medical manufacturing suppliers, ways that aren't as likely to fund greed, corruption etc. but those ways aren't here yet, and right now, we need better health care here. So, I'm voting for it. Also you may notice this does not cost the taxpayers here anything directly so that's good.
Proposition 11: For. Parks and recreation departments in this country do a good job and I generally vote for anything that funds them.
Proposition 12: Against. Why exactly would I vote to get rid of the office of the person who sees where the money is going in Galveston County, Texas?
Proposition 13: Against. Why exactly would I vote to raise the retirement age of the cretins that are our state justices and judges? Hard pass.
Proposition 14: For. More state parks! Awesome!

National 2024 Elections

Biden. I can't believe I have to explain this but this administration is the only reason we don't have craters where the nukes hit us, kthxbai
Whoever I decide on and whatever issues I decide on are coming from a standpoint as follows: if this country does not bring back manufacturing, technological innovation and advancement, intellectual rigor, value placed on science and scientific inquiry and truth, and colleges worth attending that aren't a total ripoff, we will fall even more behind than we already have in terms of both hard and soft political power worldwide. This is not a good thing and it makes us less safe on a national level. It also has a ripple effect internationally in reducing the power of democracy as well as making dictatorships stronger and having people lose faith in democracy itself, and if you know anything about history, you know how well that goes. Any candidates I choose will have to have a proven track record of being both accomplished in academia - namely they will require at least a Master's degree in a scientific field or technological field - and they will also have to have a proven track record of holding their own as adults that did not need to rely on handouts from politics or from silver spoons or from Communist policies to earn a living. Alternatively they will require, like Biden, a track record of achieving extraordinary things for several years at least such as avoiding a nuclear holocaust - that amount of proven achievements. They will, indeed, have to have pulled themselves up by their proverbial bootstraps. This rules out a lot of candidates.
Here is what is at stake besides political power: economic viability and stability, quality of life, safety of living conditions, and every other metric via which nations are judged. I've noticed a trend lately of people emigrating to other countries and unless this country fixes stuff, fast, we will soon find ourselves surpassed by just about every other country. This doesn't sound like a bad thing but it leads to brain drain, and yes, this is a slippery slope argument. It is, however, applicable. We lose the best scientists, inventors, innovators, educators, and even businesspeople to other countries? We lose everything that makes us viable as a world power. In fact, we find ourselves being the bottom of the heap instead of the top dog real fast, especially when it comes to our military. "But my racism! My entitlement, my intersectionality!" Yeah okay, whatever, that kind of stupidity worshipping attitude's going to get us all killed.

State 2026 Elections

Literally anyone but Greg Abbott, who is keeping this state quite literally at third world development levels. Will be looking very intently at all veterans who run for governor.

7/7/22 Please check out the Shopping and the cope with heat sections, since they now have resources for buying the best AC units, solar panels, electric vehicles, and off-grid eco-friendly tech. Because fuck ERCOT.

3/13/23 Here's a musing you might find amusing. Most days I wake up and ask myself "hey what the fuck am I doing in Texas?!" And the answer is weird. Yes, it's got so much bullshit. Yes, it is odd, outlandish, and makes you feel like you are living on Mars. Yes, it's bible-thumping, bigoted, white supremacist, and annoying overall. But straight up there are some really good people here. Obviously not the white supremacist ones or the other shitlords (but frankly those are everywhere, I hate to tell you...). The land is beautiful too even if it'll kill you in a heartbeat if you aren't careful. Oh also the wildlife likes to kill other harmful wildlife. Mosquitohawks kill mosquitoes, fire ants kill basically every harmful bug that'd otherwise invade (including termites), our wasps and rattlesnakes apparently have done a number on the murder hornets, etc. - um, it's basically another country here. But the most endearing thing here is the fact that Texas culture advocates for defending yourself. Multiple articles have (for decades) cited the Texas tendency to defend oneself and loved ones with weapons versus attempted crimes and succeeding, and judges not punishing you for doing that. Good.

3/19/23 Uh, there are a lot of things about Texas that native Texans don't notice. I think it's important that I point some of them out.

4/14/23 Wikipedia article about Niger, the country I think you will find this to be an interesting read. This place has outdoor temperatures similar to ours throughout the year, though about 5 degrees hotter on average. I found it interesting, having moved from a northern area of the country to Texas. This seems to be a similar step in that direction for me. Northern state - Texas - Niger. Same basic changes in life quality. And this is the direction Texas is heading. Pro-life! Woo hoo! Also, this is a very good example of why I am adamant about free internet and good high quality running water for everyone worldwide. The literacy rate in Niger is super low. And they do not have enough water almost year round, and their government sure ain't helping. I am not okay with that are you?
Other states in this country do not have a culture of family loyalty. They do not have as much of a focus on protecting kids or family or any of that. If any.
Other states are not at all like Texas. Stop assuming they are!!! It really is like another country!
Other states have this history of seriously mistreating kids in public schools. Texas... apparently not to the same extent. Probably has a lot to do with the whole lots of people here actually caring about their kids thing. Stop assuming everyone in every state parents like that. Sadly, no.
The Christianity here is not at all like the Christianity in other places. Even the Catholicism here. People here often really do believe in this kind of thing instead of just pretending to. THAT IS NOT TYPICAL. In other states you will find people using Christianity in any form like a cudgel to beat and bludgeon innocent people into being poor and disadvantaged, and in some cases to run them out of town (or worse, so much worse) - and this is often just infighting amongst Christians; it's much worse versus people who are not Christian. It still happens here, but not nearly to the same extent. Case in point, our abortion laws actually allow medically necessary abortions, abortions in case of incest, and abortions in case of rape. Therefore our medical system has recently been flooded with people from other states seeking emergency pregnancy-related care. 3/22/23 LOL spoke too soon. Okay then, welcome to Texas... no sex here. Ever. For anyone. Enjoy your drought!
Lard will kill you. There are other ways of adding flavor to food besides using this kind of stuff. Excessive saturated fat from animal products or other sources will kill you. It's traditional, and I understand Texas has less issues with facing mortality than other places but like, why speed your passage to the pearly gates in such a painful manner? First time I had Texas barbecue let's just say it was a hell of a shock. DAMN.
There's got to be a more efficient way of killing all the wild boar besides shooting them. They'll just reproduce and get stronger and scarier. You know it. Stop using them as an excuse to ask for the fully auto weapons. Semi-auto in the boondocks is all you need anyway if it's high caliber enough (and if you reduce the difficulty of pulling the trigger so you can put more rounds into say, a ten foot boar or all his buddies). Also we do not need that shit in the city, and we don't need excessive firepower just to compensate for ahem, things, while endangering most of the population by deregulating weapons way too much. Think you can still aim with that spray-pray fully-auto bullshit? Ooookay. You suck at guns. Good day, sir.
Please ffs travel more. People love Texas. That's great! They love it enough to never ever leave. That's not good! People here don't get life anywhere else. So they drink their beer, and eat their steak, and vote Republican, and have the same couple dozen people they've known their whole lives tell them it's the right thing to do. Unlike in other states in the US where this kind of thing is inherently toxic and evil, in Texas I daresay it's just because a lot of people here are clueless
The number one way to improve Texas is to improve its education system from pre-K to graduate school levels and past that. Public school... uh I'm not the right person to say much about that. But colleges-wise, the ones here are stupendously nepotistic and there's a wide open field for more colleges and institutions of higher education to set up. Start your universities and colleges in Texas? Good idea.
It's nearly impossible to open a (legal) business here thanks to the lovely lack of transparency provided by the Comptroller, the Texas government in general, and the Secretary of State. Awesome. Maybe we should fix that.

My choices for the October 2022 election with quick blurb reasons; I hope you research the candidates yourself also in great detail:

Governor: Michael Cooper - education emphasis, details not platitudes/empty promises, better qualified than beto. But Democrats being idiots we are apparently getting Beto as the airhead pretty boy choice. Okay, whatever, I guarantee he's better than whatever creepoid the Republicans shit out of their ranks.

Lt. Governor: Mike Collier - despite his being paid by oil and gas interests, Carla Brailey, the honest choice, was frankly unelectable due to supporting universal prek, and the other other choices are either meritless hacks or have stupid ideas. Still would rather have this guy than anyone Republican in Texas.

TX Attorney General: My choice was Joe Jaworski - popular, an actual attorney with a lot of experience that is current, ex-mayor of galveston, seems ok and at least not a shithead like the other republican guy, also, electable, as opposed to the relative unknowns also running. However, Democrats being idiots (again), Rochelle Garza and her hardline left-wing ideas won the runoff. After some weighing of the options, including Mike Ash, who doesn't have that much info on him online, I decided on Rochelle Garza as who I will be voting for. Because expanding healthcare access and protecting kids' safety in school is on the whole more pro-life than Ken Paxton. Ironic, considering she's hardline pro-choice. I'm not all that happy about this choice but it'd save more lives than Paxton's policies would take. her website Probably most importantly, her campaign promises to investigate the grid failure and ensure it never happens again. I think she's actually the linchpin of ensuring Texas stays safe to live in as opposed to being a danger to life and limb.

Agricultural Commissioner: Susan Hays - an actual farmer plus supports hemp farming in rural texas done ethically. Uh, for those of you who didn't know, hemp is not psychoactive; it's used to make rope, paper, and industrial lubricants.

Railroad Commissioner: Luke Warford - the best choice! if you are a Democrat, literally the only choice! also not a problem with him

Comptroller: Janet Dudding - don't really have a problem with her

Land Commissioner: Jay Kleberg, seems to be okay overall

If in doubt I plan to vote blue up and down the ballot this coming election in October, 2022. I ain't touching the Fascist KKK ideology of today's "Republican" party with a ten foot pole, esp. not in Texas. Next year and in 2024, however, I'm sure the Democrat party will double down on sending literal Communists and corrupt yes-men (who don't solve a single problem but plaster band-aid feel good "solutions" on the massive issues) up and down the ballot so will look at both parties' candidates then.

For 2024 I support Biden for re-election. Why? We need someone boring. You can even make that an unofficial campaign slogan for the guy if you want, I don't care who gets the credit. Besides that it's pretty nice that the guy and the administration has somehow managed the Russia crisis, which has been nicely hushed up by most major media sources as a potential nuclear armageddon, so we kind of owe him one. However. I want to get rid of the two-party system by voting for individuals, not parties, and plan to vote almost entirely third-party besides Biden in 2024. Please join me and tell everyone you know because honestly, the two-party system of blind partisan voting by red vs blue instead of voting for individuals and their qualifications has brought this country to its knees. I think it's high time we got rid of it.

You know, I've been trying to decipher this bizarre state since I moved here a few years ago. It's weird. Really weird. But I've got your number now, Texas. I know how you tick. And here's what I have to say. The allure of Texas is the fact that it's got a heart. The majority of people in the state have only one thing in common, and they are really diverse externally: they want to do the right thing. So I'm telling you, with every heartless action, with every cold and cruel thing done to oppress and hurt the innocent or the undeserving, that's done in the state of Texas, the spirit of Texas dies a little. I think I showed up with the state on its last legs in that regard. Will it improve? That's up to you, man.

The Texas mystique also seems to be "where dreams come true." But in reality it's usually, these days, where every last dream is shot to shit.

You want to fix Texas? Then switch from fossil fuels to renewables and from old-fashioned jobs like ranching to high-tech jobs like manufacturing of computer tech. The whole state could be another Silicon Valley. Wanna know why it isn't? Obsession with the past. Dumb as fuck.

Probably the most weird thing about Texas is the Bible-thumping obsession with harming thy neighbor. Wha?! Clearly, it's the Christians here that can fix the problems, and they have to bring this up with their pastors, families, and friends, and be like, hey, this isn't right. Obviously I'm oversimplifying but at heart there isn't more to it than that.

If you wonder why the national attention is on Texas, it's probably because in many ways Texas has a lot of soft power in the US. It's a bit like the US itself in that respect. Meaning? The civil rights battles that are fought here will make one of the biggest impacts in history, for good or for ill. If you're not a total fuck-up, and you live in Texas, you might want to bring one hell of a fight to the table. Because the people smashing everyone non-rich, non-white, diverse, non-Christian, non-connected, and non-privileged into the dirt here sure aren't going to take it easy on you just because you don't show up to the fight. Aren't you tired of this thinly disguised Texas caste system? Bring it down!!!

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