Texas has it out for Harris County

[__nevii]

The recent actions from the Texas government has made it increasingly clear that the state has it out for Harris County. Not only with the suspicious state takeoever of HISD (despite an overall decent "B" grade, with plenty of worse off elsehwere in the state), but also the recent laws that have been coming out of state legislature:

 

• SB1993 grants the Secretary of State (SoS) the authority to rerun elections "under certain circumstances" for counties with at least 2.7 million people. This bill passed Senate, and is currently in House limbo. Unfortunately, two other bills have made it past House, with only the Governor's pen awaiting...
   
• SB1750 abolishes the election administrator position for "counties with 3.5 million or more," returning duties to elected county clerk and tax asscessor. Both positions are currently (D) in Houston, so not a big deal (overreach aside), right ....
  https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/texas-bill-abolishing-harris-county-election-position-heads-to-governor/
   
• Not so fast! Here's the particularly egregious doozy: SB1933, which grants the SoS the power to seize election authority (administration, voter registration) from local officials, and even suspend and replace them, with nothing more than "good causes to believe in 'problems'". The dooziest part? The bill had a last minute amendment right on the spot in House just to increase the population threshhold way up 4 million...
  https://twitter.com/DemocracyDocket/status/1661106078518476810

 

So, why such specific threshholds, hmm? Want to take a guess which is the ONLY county in Texas to fulfill said population thresholds (at least, at time of bill creations)? Moreover, are the purported "election problems" in question not possible STATEWIDE, regardless of population? Oh, and the Secratery of State is actually one of the few Texas positions that is non-elected (instead, appointed by governor) ... and there is NO BURDEN OF PROOF regarding the so-called "causes to believe" in question: clearly not a conflict of interest, right? 🙄 

No matter how it is sliced, this is straight up targeting baked into legislature. Way worse than the uproar concerning the "Tennessee Three". The "F-word" not only came out of hiding, it is blatant and blaring its foghorns loud and clear...

 

Note: this thread has political relations, but I posted it here since this forum was more active/livelier, as well as the fact that the particular forum in question (Local, State, Federal politics offtopic) was missing the option to "create a thread."

Edited May 24, 2023 by __nevii

[bobruss]

You better watch out _nevii, you might be outed by the SOS for bringing this up.

[Texasota]

You also have the state's culture war nonsense which is already having an impact on UT etc. 

[Big E]

On 6/9/2023 at 9:16 AM, Texasota said:

You also have the state's culture war nonsense which is already having an impact on UT etc. 

I don't think any "culture war nonsense", whatever that means, will matter much here. It will mainly be political support, and, more importantly, tax breaks, that will win the day here. Texas isn't opposing the bid, and the free federal investment and prestige that would come from landing it would be too good to pass up. Houston, overall, is probably the most logical location for this to be built.

[phillip_white]

9 hours ago, Big E said:

I don't think any "culture war nonsense", whatever that means, will matter much here. It will mainly be political support, and, more importantly, tax breaks, that will win the day here. Texas isn't opposing the bid, and the free federal investment and prestige that would come from landing it would be too good to pass up. Houston, overall, is probably the most logical location for this to be built.

The state just replaced the HISD superintendent/board of directors and passed a law enabling the Secretary of State to investigate Harris County elections, so state level interference is not out of the question.

[LosFeliz]

Uh, Paxton has threatened to sue Texas Children's Hospital and is going after patients and doctors. It will have a devastating effect if the tide doesn't turn quickly.

[__nevii]

17 hours ago, LosFeliz said:

Uh, Paxton has threatened to sue Texas Children's Hospital and is going after patients and doctors. It will have a devastating effect if the tide doesn't turn quickly.

The Texas government is increasingly being a thorn on the side regarding Houston/Harris county. I even created a thread in another forum detailing the predicament (along with the fight against it).

 

[Big E]

On 6/11/2023 at 2:55 PM, LosFeliz said:

Uh, Paxton has threatened to sue Texas Children's Hospital and is going after patients and doctors.

Over what, exactly?

[__nevii]

1 hour ago, Big E said:

Over what, exactly?

Culture war fluff. The old geezers in government are too infused with religious nonsense to understand the nuances regaring the transgenders (as well as LGBT in general). They think that they are qualified to make medical decisions, as opposed to the doctors, while simultaneously failing to realize the nuances regarding the gender-affirming care given to minors versus adults.
 

Edited June 15, 2023 by __nevii

[__nevii]

Frankly, conservatism is an extinction-maker: nothing more than religious addictions to rigid status-quos, hierarchies, and other such apophenias that will easily falter in a universe trending towards entropy...

The recent extreme brand of conservatism offered by the current right wing figures like Abbott, Paxton, Cruz, DeSantis, Trump, etc is especially undesirable. It needs to be stopped, lest it festers and infects the entire country (or even the world) with harmful, regressive policies.

Might seem like a bold stance in a forum like this, but talented medical officials are currently fleeing/turning down jobs in this state due to recent policies regarding the bans on abortions and gender-affirming care. If it continues long enough, that could totally hobble the ambitions regarding this entire TMC project.

Edited June 15, 2023 by __nevii

[Big E]

38 minutes ago, __nevii said:

Culture war fluff. The old geezers in government are too infused with religious nonsense to understand the nuances regaring the transgenders (as well as LGBT in general). They think that they are qualified to make medical decisions, as opposed to the doctors, while simultaneously failing to realize the nuances regarding the gender-affirming care given to minors versus adults.
 

Transitioning children? Really? That's what you think is going to stop this from happening? Look, I don't care if you think its is God's gift to man or mutilating children. It has nothing to do with ARPA-H which will be focused on things like cancer research.

 

33 minutes ago, __nevii said:

Might seem like a bold stance in a forum like this, but talented medical officials are currently fleeing/turning down jobs in this state due to recent policies regarding the bans on abortions and gender-affirming care. If it continues long enough, that could totally hobble the ambitions regarding this entire TMC project.

I doubt many doctors are abandoning the state over abortion or "gender-affirming care" for children, especially since many probably oppose these things themselves. And for those that leave, many will arrive to replace them. TMC is not defined by any of these things either.

[jmitch94]

I dated someone at McGovern med school and pretty much all of them wanted to leave the state. Don’t underestimate how these policies will drive talent away. 

[HoustonBoy]

Lets hope Texas can rid itself of the far-right and remain free from the far-left.

[__nevii]

19 hours ago, Big E said:

Transitioning children? Really? That's what you think is going to stop this from happening? Look, I don't care if you think its is God's gift to man or mutilating children. It has nothing to do with ARPA-H which will be focused on things like cancer research.

 

I doubt many doctors are abandoning the state over abortion or "gender-affirming care" for children, especially since many probably oppose these things themselves. And for those that leave, many will arrive to replace them. TMC is not defined by any of these things either.

As others have mentioned, it does have an impact. The location of ARPA-H is a decision from the federal government, which would be the Biden Administration in thise case: lots of doubt that he would choose a red state making increasingly regressive policies regarding social well-being, healthcare, and higher education over the blue states on the East Coast where such problems are absent.

Said regressive policies are already increasingly driving talented students out of the state. And with the progress that has been made in science regarding both abortions and gender-affirming care, it is going to be increasingly an oxymoron to find those talented doctors that also happen to disprove of such practices: this points to a net-result of a clear brain-drain, a drain that could stymie the ambitions of the TMC project (particularly concerning for TMCx, the innovation arm, although the manufacturing BioPort arm would probably still be a boon to cover for things regardless).

 

19 hours ago, HoustonBoy said:

Lets hope Texas can rid itself of the far-right and remain free from the far-left.

Nah, far-left is fine. At least then, there's much better oppurtunities regarding robust safety nets, increases in technology, and other advancements of the human condition such that a stronger floor is present regarding mitigation of the suffering inherent with sentience/existence. The overall egalitarian ideals of leftism leads to less indulgence in "migh makes right", "fundamental attribution error", "is-ought fallacy", and other such religious addictions: as a result, leftism is inherently more adaptable, flexible, and reliable in our universe that trends towards entropy (wherein the vast majority of cosmos is inimical to life).

 

8 hours ago, Montrose1100 said:

Let's stay on topic folks. If you'd like to discuss political issues there is a sub-forum for that.

Ordinarily I'd agree. But, in this case, actions taken by the state government have direct impacts regarding the results of this particular project: no different than economic circumstances that have altered, postponed, or cancelled numerous development projects.

[Big E]

4 hours ago, __nevii said:

The location of ARPA-H is a decision from the federal government, which would be the Biden Administration in thise case: lots of doubt that he would choose a red state making increasingly regressive policies regarding social well-being, healthcare, and higher education over the blue states on the East Coast where such problems are absent.

The Biden Administration doesn't care about local politics. They might care about putting it in a Red State simply due to not wanting to give a win to a Red State...but in the same vein they might put it in Houston just to give a boost to local Democrats to spite the state government.

 

4 hours ago, __nevii said:

Nah, far-left is fine.

Oh course, if you're a far-leftist, you would think that.

 

On 6/14/2023 at 9:07 PM, jmitch94 said:

I dated someone at McGovern med school and pretty much all of them wanted to leave the state. 

And, as I said, they will be replaced by people moving to Texas, which is experiencing a net gain in population.

[hbg.50]

When is the last time you received medical care, if ever?  Most doctors and nurses in TMC are foreign-born from countries with far more conservative beliefs than the United States. To think doctors are leaving Houston due to state politics is a joke.

[Triton]

11 hours ago, steve1363 said:

When is the last time you received medical care, if ever?  Most doctors and nurses in TMC are foreign-born from countries with far more conservative beliefs than the United States. To think doctors are leaving Houston due to state politics is a joke.

Foreign-born? I think you meant most doctors are American born but usually are children of immigrants. I surprisingly know quite a few doctors, either as friends or family, and I can't say I know any of them planning on leaving, even with the political games going on. I think if someone has strong personal beliefs about an issue, then yea, I can certainly see some leaving, but I would be willing to bet that's not the majority. Most that take residency outside of Texas eventually come back because the demand for doctors here, especially in TMC, is high.

[HoustonBoy]

Far-left ideology contributes massively to entropy and destroys the family structure which is inherent to a strong society. It is the party of malaise and economic drain. Far-right ideology constricts social progress and promotes greed. I’d say both are equally destructive with one coming in a prettier package. The political spectrum is really a circle and both sides end in authoritarianism. No thanks! Advances in technology and “the human condition” cannot be claimed be leftists or right wingers, but rather a constellation of both. Also, there is zero brain drain at the moment. It is WAY too early to make an uninformed comment like that. All of our Med schools are still at maximum matriculation and our healthcare sector state-wide is still expanding at record pace. I don’t know where you’re getting your ideas from besides making them up. @__nevii

Edited June 21, 2023 by HoustonBoy

[mkultra25]

As a writer for Esquire once put it, ideology is the gasoline for assholes. 

[BEES?!]

2 hours ago, mkultra25 said:

As a writer for Esquire once put it, ideology is the gasoline for assholes. 

That is amazing hahaha

[mattyt36]

On 6/21/2023 at 11:04 AM, HoustonBoy said:

Far-left ideology contributes massively to entropy and destroys the family structure which is inherent to a strong society. It is the party of malaise and economic drain. Far-right ideology constricts social progress and promotes greed. I’d say both are equally destructive with one coming in a prettier package. The political spectrum is really a circle and both sides end in authoritarianism. No thanks! Advances in technology and “the human condition” cannot be claimed be leftists or right wingers, but rather a constellation of both. Also, there is zero brain drain at the moment. It is WAY too early to make an uninformed comment like that. All of our Med schools are still at maximum matriculation and our healthcare sector state-wide is still expanding at record pace. I don’t know where you’re getting your ideas from besides making them up. @__nevii

I'm all for arguing that the extremes generate bad political results, but there is only one political party whose "mainstream" is now effectively being run at the national level by extremists, with the unstated (well, unwritten, I guess, as we've now gotten to the point that plenty of people are "stating" it openly) platform of said party being authoritarianism.  This is an important distinction to make, especially considering they are justifying such positions based on paranoid fantasies about a left-wing that is a marginal participant in U.S. politics at best (yet always a favorite go-to boogeyman).

[august948]

On 7/4/2023 at 3:16 PM, mattyt36 said:

I'm all for arguing that the extremes generate bad political results, but there is only one political party whose "mainstream" is now effectively being run at the national level by extremists, with the unstated (well, unwritten, I guess, as we've now gotten to the point that plenty of people are "stating" it openly) platform of said party being authoritarianism.  This is an important distinction to make, especially considering they are justifying such positions based on paranoid fantasies about a left-wing that is a marginal participant in U.S. politics at best (yet always a favorite go-to boogeyman).

Would that be akin to the other paranoid fantasy that the Republican party is being run by Nazi's?  I need not say that Nazi's are the hand's down favorite go-to boogeyman in certain circles.

[mattyt36]

9 hours ago, august948 said:

Would that be akin to the other paranoid fantasy that the Republican party is being run by Nazi's?  I need not say that Nazi's are the hand's down favorite go-to boogeyman in certain circles.

Well, augie, since you're the one who brought up Nazis, maybe it has to do with this:

P (N | T) is probably less than 1%

P (T | N) is probably in the 99% range

That is, the probability that one is a Nazi given they're a Trump voter is miniscule, but the probability that one is a Trump voter given they're a Nazi is almost a certainty, so I'd say that dog hunts.

Of course, things like this don't help, either:

Neo-Nazi demonstration near Walt Disney World has Tampa Bay area organizations concerned, 'A fear in the air' - CW Tampa (cbsnews.com)

Facebook removes Trump campaign ad with Nazi concentration camp symbol  - Vox

Moms for Liberty chapter apologizes for quoting Hitler in its newsletter | AP News

So, I wouldn't fault people for labeling the MAGA wing of the Republican Party as having Fascist tendencies, especially considering the party leadership turns a blind eye to it, or pretend it doesn't exist (sound familiar?).  Plenty has been written on the subject if you care to dig deeper.  

Having a presidential candidate who has stated openly multiple times he will "suspend the Constitution" if re-elected so he can enact retribution on political opponents is a bit Fashy, no?  Does that sound like "freedom" and "liberty" to you?

[august948]

3 hours ago, mattyt36 said:

Neo-Nazi demonstration near Walt Disney World has Tampa Bay area organizations concerned, 'A fear in the air' - CW Tampa (cbsnews.com)

Facebook removes Trump campaign ad with Nazi concentration camp symbol  - Vox

Moms for Liberty chapter apologizes for quoting Hitler in its newsletter | AP News

Watched the Tampa video, counted a whole 11 Nazis demonstrating on a street corner.

The Facebook issue is so obscure that no one other than a scholar or a political hack deliberately looking for a case to make would even notice.  That's assuming that the 88 and red triangle were not actually coincidences or, in the case of the triangle, misinterpretation of an antifa poster someone sold on a website somewhere.  Assuming this all was a deliberate, subliminal attempt to awaken the the Nazi zombie army, how many Trump campaign workers would have known the symbology and had the access to write the ad and place exactly 88 ads?  One perhaps, maybe a couple?

Mom's for Liberty, Hamilton County Indiana chapter?  Anyone heard of this group or place outside the news report?  Exactly how many "Moms for Liberty" are there in Hamilton County, Indiana?  And how many of these moms put the quote they then had to apologize for into said newsletter?  One perhaps?

Please, I know you can do better than these...

[mattyt36]

53 minutes ago, august948 said:

Watched the Tampa video, counted a whole 11 Nazis demonstrating on a street corner.

The Facebook issue is so obscure that no one other than a scholar or a political hack deliberately looking for a case to make would even notice.  That's assuming that the 88 and red triangle were not actually coincidences or, in the case of the triangle, misinterpretation of an antifa poster someone sold on a website somewhere.  Assuming this all was a deliberate, subliminal attempt to awaken the the Nazi zombie army, how many Trump campaign workers would have known the symbology and had the access to write the ad and place exactly 88 ads?  One perhaps, maybe a couple?

Mom's for Liberty, Hamilton County Indiana chapter?  Anyone heard of this group or place outside the news report?  Exactly how many "Moms for Liberty" are there in Hamilton County, Indiana?  And how many of these moms put the quote they then had to apologize for into said newsletter?  One perhaps?

Please, I know you can do better than these...

augie, here's where I am obligated to remind you that you're the one who brought the Nazis into the discussion and linked them to the GOP.  I know this infantile pseudo-libertarian cynical nihilism has made some people literal to the point such that, until Trump sprouts a toothbrush mustache, does the Nazi salute, and has a ribbon cutting for concentration camps in San Francisco, you won't believe him to be a fascist. (Although, quite honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to see if you couldn't find some way to laugh it off with something like, "lolz, can't you do better than that?")  If that's what you want to hang your hat on, be my guest--those are definitely some "special" kind of moral standards to aspire to.  I'd definitely not want to spend my personal capital standing behind that bunch as if it were some sort of shield, but you do you, buddy.

[august948]

14 minutes ago, mattyt36 said:

augie, here's where I am obligated to remind you that you're the one who brought the Nazis into the discussion and linked them to the GOP.  I know this infantile pseudo-libertarian cynical nihilism has made some people literal to the point such that, until Trump sprouts a toothbrush mustache, does the Nazi salute, and has a ribbon cutting for concentration camps in San Francisco, you won't believe him to be a fascist. (Although, quite honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to see if you couldn't find some way to laugh it off with something like, "lolz, can't you do better than that?")  If that's what you want to hang your hat on, be my guest--those are definitely some "special" kind of moral standards to aspire to.  I'd definitely not want to spend my personal capital standing behind that bunch as if it were some sort of shield, but you do you, buddy.

Just making a counter-point in a similar vein.  And pointing out that using obscure news involving a baker's dozen of nuts as evidence of impending doom doesn't carry much water.  You really should dump those in favor of the constitutional argument, although I can only find one reference so far that Trump advocated suspending the part of the Constitution regarding elections.  Has he really stated this "openly multiple times" or is that a bit of hyperbole?  And how would such an abrogation actually work? 

[mattyt36]

3 minutes ago, august948 said:

Has he really stated this "openly multiple times" or is that a bit of hyperbole?

Trump has made comments repeatedly about taking extrajudicial actions (e.g., instituting martial law, having the military seize voting machines, encouraging state attorneys general to overturn election results), not quite sure what else you're looking for.  His rhetoric since Day 1 has been to inflame half of the country against the other.  He has told militia groups to "Stand back and stand by," and only this week "Truthed" for his supporters to put the Special Prosecutor "out to rest."  What in the heck do you think "put out to rest" means?  What do you think "take back our country" means?  An innocent turn of phrase?  That the guy is simply misunderstood?  Watch any one of his famous rallies--he makes these comments, and his supporters want MORE, not less.  Maybe he is just misunderstood and is just a total joker of a guy.  Seems like, if that were true, he would eventually learn how to "change tack," and, even if he didn't, not sure why anyone would want to take the chance.

3 minutes ago, august948 said:

And how would such an abrogation actually work? 

You've got to be kidding me--it would work as every other revolution in history has.

[august948]

34 minutes ago, mattyt36 said:

You've got to be kidding me--it would work as every other revolution in history has.

That's a very broad brush you got in your hand, brother.  Can you be more specific on how you would imagine it would play out here?  Mark Milley turns the US military on Biden and anoints Trump the god king?

[mattyt36]

47 minutes ago, august948 said:

That's a very broad brush you got in your hand, brother.  Can you be more specific on how you would imagine it would play out here?  Mark Milley turns the US military on Biden and anoints Trump the god king?

Sorry, augie, I'm not in on the details of the coup plotting (shouldn't that be obvious?).  Try pretty much any member of the Freedom Caucus, Tucker Carlson, John Eastman, the Claremont Institute, your local Proud Boys chapter, or anyone else similarly spouting off about a "national divorce" if you're interested as they've definitely been working on it for a while, each bringing their own strength.  Hell, you may have heard--they even had a dry run not too long ago!

[editor]

I think that's enough Trump talk in this section. This is supposed to be about state politics. There's a National section for Mr. Trump.