Texas’ Housing Problems Worsen

Posted on September 1, 2023 by Professor Taboo

This is a continuation of the previous two blog-posts about Texas and ~~white~~ Texan’s extreme, delusional arrogance about how great it is to live in this hardcore Red state, particularly in the far suburban and rural areas and counties. By the way, just in the last two years or so Texas has surpassed Florida, Washington, Colorado, Nevada, and North Dakota as the third fastest growing population by state in the nation. Only Utah and Idaho are growing faster. As a result, Texas has for years now had very serious growing problems and they have not been improving.

As I alluded to in my previous post Best U.S. States to Reside, the Individual Median Income for Texans is $38,059 for a 2023 single-earner Texan. However, the sad disturbing statistical fact for Texans is that in 2021 the Average Cost of Living in Texas is $45,114 per year. I guarantee that cost has gone up noticeably. The largest cost for any Texan, by far and away, will be housing. A further breakdown of the average cost of living in various Texas cities compared to the national average can be found here.

Living conditions here are not improving, but instead will decline further over the next 5–10 years.

*Dallas, Texas homeless encampment underneath an underpass of Hwy 75/Central Expressway*

The other day I was waiting in line at my grocer’s pharmacy. I had to wait about 5-7 minutes because there was only one lady behind the counter/register for customers picking up their prescriptions. The gentleman she was helping was having issues with the man’s other missing prescription. This man causing the backup behind me was a white man, approximately 5’8″–5’9″ weighing maybe 220–230 lbs. with a large beer-gut, in kaki shorts, Walmart-brand sneakers, and wearing a black t-shirt. This is what the back of his t-shirt with a camouflaged square proudly advertised:

In my mind I was chuckling a lot, given my previous two blog-posts I just published at the end of last month full of actual facts and statistics about Texas and living here, not silly unfounded propaganda on t-shirts.

I thought, “Texas is only ‘great’ if…” you are of a very specific ethnicity and demographic, within a specific socioeconomic class like a business owner. Moreover, you have belonged to a specific political party your entire adult life in Texas or some likeminded state previously before moving here. Aside from this ~~white~~ man’s ridiculous t-shirt of arrogance, living here with the rocketing housing costs in Texas, it is about to get worse.

Today, Friday, September 1^st, 2023, more than 770 new laws passed by the Texas Legislature, go into effect. The immediate effects and later ripple-effects of the new laws will impact untold millions of middle-class Texans in major urban and rural counties struggling financially during two straight years of hyper-inflation, let alone the lower-classes and disadvantaged Texans suffering the most. PBS station KERA of North Texas says more confusion and litigation is on the horizon:

“One example of this swirling confusion are rules in Dallas and Austin that that gives renters extra time to pay rent before a landlord can evict them. The ordinances ensure what some call a right for renters to “cure” the late rent before losing their home.

House Bill 2127, when it becomes law, blocks local governments from adopting, enforcing or maintaining any “ordinance, order, or rule regulating conduct….regulating evictions or otherwise prohibiting, restricting, or delaying” the eviction process. […]

At stake are countless city and county rules, ordinances, policies and practices, potentially including some humdrum policies that have been on the books for ages. That could include rules limiting fireworks, governing city and county contracts, water conservation and air quality efforts, payday lending limits, and more.”
— christopher connelly, kera (pbs) reporter for north Texas, august 29, 2023 for kera news

There are only two cities in Texas that offer the past COVID-19 counter measure called Right To Cure: Dallas and Austin. These have been city eviction regulations giving low-income or struggling renters a grace period to pay their rent and late fees before their landlord can start the eviction process. Ben Martin from Texas Housers, a low-income housing information service, says “These “right-to-cure” provisions are the norm in a majority of U.S. states.” Not so in Texas. House Bill 2127 went into effect today. To read more of Connelly’s reporting click here. What is essentially assured for struggling Texans is their protections for fair housing and a noticeably higher risk of becoming homeless after costly unforeseen events, disasters, or joblessness occur.

In other Texas and national political news, Texas is one of six (6) states at highest risk of Breakout of National Election Denialism in 2024’s Presidential election according to MAP. What are the two primary causes for this in Texas?

Texas has no risk limiting audits after elections
Majority of Texas voters cannot use secure voting machines

Given all the facts and stats about living in Texas over the last several decades and most of the 774 new legislative laws going into effect today, that man at the H-E-B pharmacy should’ve worn a t-shirt that said this:

Try to Live Safe – Love Much – Laugh Often – Learn Alot More

The Fred Rogers Test

Posted on March 7, 2022 by Professor Taboo

This past February and finally on March 1st, 2022, Texas, like many states across the nation, had its 2022 Primaries. Several key offices were on the ballots, including Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, and district-based Congressional and Legislative seats. In my mind, these primaries are just as critical as the following general elections. Why? Because if you are a voter of only one political party, a staunch party-liner as it is sometimes labelled, then naturally you should want the absolute best candidate to run against your opposing party (or enemy?). Simple, right?

But I am not a strictly party-line voter who has no serious opinion or does no research into each individual candidate, their campaign platform, or their background and government experience. Though millions of Americans forfeit their votes and voices with no regret (unless their demi-god candidate or incumbent loses?), I can’t do that. I know many of my family members and a few friends who enjoy being a strict party-line voter because it’s easy, brainless, and they don’t waste any of their own precious time or personal priorities during primary or election years. And tragically they are not alone, as you’ll soon read about most Texas registered or unregistered voters.

My conscience nor my civil virtue, duty, and privilege to be an active part of my democracy, my state’s and country’s future, will not allow me, and refuses to let me be so lazy or irresponsible. So, I have been an Independent voter for near 30-years, for many reasons I won’t go into detail today. However, I’ve never been a fan of strict party-line voting—it enables and nurtures bad democratic, civil habits, naivete, and closed-mindedness.

Ahh… but “Que Será, Será.”

*Texas turnout this past February and March 1st for Primaries*

The prevailing attitude among many Texans, in the happy pleasing song of Doris Day and Frank De Vol is that everything always works out best and beautifully in the end for everyone. Timeout! I am raining on that parade. No, that’s Hollywood fiction, a la la dreamland manufactured in the movies and like sugar-candy fed into people’s own heads. It won’t reflect reality around them, at least not for the decent, rational, typically kind people when it comes to how they’re governed and their following descendants are governed or protected. Nevertheless, this is remarkably a very prevalent attitude and mindset among too many Texans for far too long, as The Texas Tribune has (below) shown yet again.

∼ ∼ ∼ § ∼ ∼ ∼

“Historically, voter participation in midterm primary elections is dismal in Texas, with less than a quarter of registered voters casting ballots most years. This means that a majority of registered voters don’t participate. These figures also do not account for the eligible voters in the state that have not registered.”
— Mandy Cai & Sneha Day, The Texas Tribune, accessed March 7, 2022 at https://www.texastribune.org/2022/02/14/texas-primary-voting-turnout/

Many new voting restrictions on non-white Texans and constant “redistricting” or redrawing of district maps by GOP lawmakers for both Congressional state chambers, delegations, and our State Board of Education—to rewrite Texas history, among many other curriculum subjects—will impact voter turnout in Texas, making what was already historically dismal even worse for at least the next decade.

As you might imagine, this cycle of repetition I’ve seen and witnessed in Texas-voting, lawmaking, and quite literally segregating of citizens, of voters and would-be voters over the last 30-years has nauseated my stomach so much that I’ve probably developed ulcers and/or Crohn’s Disease. It is so very depressing and frustrating how a shrinking political demographic the last two decades, a near minority if not already one, is still maintaining (legally? Constitutionally?) its stranglehold and power over the entire state! How? How is this possible in a supposedly freely elected democracy?

It seems Ross Ramsey, also of The Texas Tribune, has a prescription of relief for me and other progressive, open-minded, diversity-advocate Freethinkers and typically non- or anti-Conservatives of Texas. He calls it The Fred Rogers Test. It is intended for Texas public officials who by principle and by vow, are elected and sworn into office to SERVE us Texans. Give a listen, please. It’s worth the 4.5-minutes of your time.

If you’d rather read the column, go here.

*Fred Rogers, of PBS’ Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood*

Here is one paragraph I found particularly profound, poignant, and accurate by Mr. Ramsey:

“Candidates are good at describing problems. They’re great at sweeping phrases, too, like “if elected, I’ll fix that.” But they speak in generalities, and what happens when they’re elected — or more to the point, what doesn’t happen — somehow slips past voters when it’s time to put people in office.”
— Ross ramsey, The Texas Tribune, accessed March 7, 2022 at https://www.texastribune.org/2022/03/07/texas-elections-problems/

Mr. Ramsey goes on to list many key, critical problems Texas is facing and has been facing for at least two-decades, probably more like four-decades. One I liked and which resonated with me:

“Teachers in Texas are overworked, underpaid, micromanaged and asked to do a lot more than teach children. Everybody says that, everybody knows that, and the lawmakers who are now talking about it on the campaign trail are often the same people who didn’t do much to fix it in the last legislative session, or the one before that.”

In an October 2013 blog-post, then Texas Governor candidate Wendy Davis, who I supported fully, asked me personally, one-on-one as a Special Ed teacher for Wards (kids) of the State in Leakey, TX: “Tell me your story? What challenges do you and your family face? What issues should be addressed to strengthen our families?” I was honestly shocked by this personal touch. Never had I received any type of correspondence like that from any Texas politician since I became a legal voter in 1981, not ever! You can read “My Story” blog-post here.

∼ ∼ ∼ § ∼ ∼ ∼

Perhaps this Fred Rogers Test can be a very simple guideline for lazy Texas voters and unregistered voters. I really do hope so. It’s a start. If not an embraced, motivating voter’s guide for lazy Texans, then the alternatives WILL be disturbing, possibly irreparable if they keep their residence here continuing their personal bubbles of denial. Problems, especially chronic problems, will not simply vanish in time or go away or be ignored as Doris Day and Frank De Vol sing you into a dreamy trance. Progressive, evolving democracy is not a toy soldier or monkey you wind-up, let it go, and expect it to run indefinitely. Democracy was never designed to be a type of nuclear power-plant that runs in and of its self, indefinitely with no input or maintenance. It is so much more, much to precious and fragile. It can die if one ignores its lifeblood or turns one’s back on her at the polls, PTA meetings, and town forums to name just three civil virtues and privileges we Texans and Americans are gifted and honorably endowed.

Consider this in light of what you are now seeing in Ukraine and to peaceful, non-violent protestors inside Russia being arrested and hauled away to prisons and jails for an indefinite period. That might be you and your own country some day.

Live Well – Love Much – Laugh Often – Listen Closer – Learn Always

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What’s Going On At the Asylum!?

Posted on October 28, 2021 by Professor Taboo

I have a brief respite from my full-time caretaker duties today. It’s allowed me a speedy post, a kind of shot in the sky from our emergency flare gun (three flares remaining 😬) so that some of you, my friends, will know that we three are ~~remarkably~~ still afloat—granted dehydrated with weak pulses—drifting in a vast, seemingly unstable, insane sea of escaped asylum patients wandering around everywhere and in our state capitol. Today, I think my sister has begun imagining me as a side of lamb-chops, prime for roasting. The white asylum jackets, those are everywhere, from one horizon to the next. A sea of white: white robes, white straight-jackets, and oddly diminishing hospital staff in white lab-jackets—those must be the lifeless buoys floating by our life-raft at night.

Am I dreaming? I believe I’ve begun hallucinating; apologies. On to the quick status update!

The Lunatics Have Escaped and Taken Over!

It is no coincidence that 666 (yes, Satan’s three digits), that’s six hundred and sixty-six new Laws went into effect (mostly) this past September 1st, 2021. Much is happening here in the Lone Star State. Too much many would retort. When Texas politicians and their fanatical supporters want to be seen and heard on the front-page of every major newscast in the country and many around the world, Texans go big indeed. Way BIG! And I’m not referring to the anatomical part most alpha-male Texans try to brag about or over compensate for… being cheated down there—or up there for that matter—by his supposed Creator. That’s another sort of “blessing” I have no interest to venture.

Quick bullet-points of what narcissistic insanity has befallen we Texans, we 8th, 9th, and 10th-generation Texians (i.e. heritage/origins not of the Confederate Deep South), we Tejanos, and Native American Tribes people here long, LONG before Confederate Southerner Euro-Americans arrived or those well after. Here’s just a handful of these unprecedented disturbing new laws:

House Bill 1927 — Texans ages 21 and older can now carry handguns with zero training nor any type weapon’s license as long as they are not legally(?) prevented from doing so. Despite this bill’s forcing through the Chambers and onto Texans, near 60% of Texans oppose permitless-carry, or what I describe as incompetent-carry.
Senate Bill 8 — prohibits abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy. This bill also rewards any private (vigilante) citizen $10,000 or more for any private Texas citizen to pursue (harass?) and win a lawsuit against “any person” accused of having “aided or abetted” in an abortion, including clinic and medical staff/doctors.
House Bill 1280 — outlaws abortions in Texas 30-days after any potential future U.S. Supreme Court decision overturns Roe v. Wade, backed heavily by Texas Republicans.
House Bill 2497 — establishes an “1836 Project” committee to produce patriotic Texas history materials, which will be distributed through channels such as when people receive driver’s licenses. The initiative’s name mirrors the “1619 Project,” a New York Times publication examining U.S. history from the arrival of enslaved people.
House Bill 3979 — limits teachers from discussing current events and systemic racism in class, i.e. “critical-race-theory.” The bill also prevents students from receiving class credit for participating in civic engagement and bans teaching of the “1619 Project.” For example, teaching a positive viewpoint about the Nazis-SS “Final Solution,” the Holocaust, is apparently urged strongly by our State’s Educational Board and by ISD’s on our middle and high school Social Studies and History teachers. They will have to soon comply. See below news video at the end of these bullet-points.
House Bill 19 — protects/insulates even more extensively “Big Business” corporations in Texas against an opposing public. It requires drivers of commercial vehicles—including Ubers, Lyfts, and delivery trucks—to be found liable in court for causing a car crash resulting in injury or death before a case can be brought against their employer.
House Bill 1382 — creates an online tracking system for mail-in ballots and applications for mail-in ballots. The system will be run by the Texas Secretary of State.
House Bill 1925 — makes camping in “unapproved” public places (homeless camping) a misdemeanor crime that carries a fine of up to $500. Cities cannot opt out of the ban, even under the virtue of compassionate aid.
Senate Bill 1 — bans Texas voters from registering using a post office box as their address, another allows the secretary of state to cut funds for voter registrars that fail to remove certain people from the rolls, and one more makes it harder to apply for a mail-in ballot for medical reasons. In this bill 24-hour voting is banned, drive-thru voting is banned, officials mailing unsolicited mail-in ballot applications is banned, further empowers Partisan “poll watchers” (indecent hecklers), and new extensive requirements for people assisting disabled voters to vote.

And no surprise, Texas Republicans have also further REDRAWN (yet again) the political districts of the state to keep Texas Republicans in majority power for the next decade. They simultaneously diminish the power of voters of color—despite new census numbers pointing to Texans of color as the main force behind the state’s population growth. The new districts will be used, no surprise, for the first time in next year’s 2022 primary and general elections, barring any court interventions.

*Texans/Asylum patients wading out into the croc-infested Mara River, Tanzania, Africa — Are they tRump Republicans seeking a Promised Land on the far side?*

Therefore, in the dysfunctional, pathological spirit of current times in Texas, I offer a most apropos musical tribute to Lone Star living inside (and outside) the Asylums, known as Texas…

See a clinic full of cynics
Who want to twist the peoples' wrist
They're watching every move we make
We're all included on the list

The lunatics have taken over the asylum
The lunatics have taken over the asylum

No nuclear the cowboy told us
And who am I to disagree
'Cause when the madman flips the switch
The nuclear will go for me

The lunatics have taken over the asylum
The lunatics have taken over the asylum

I've seen the faces of starvation
But I just can not see the points
'Cause there's so much food here today
That no one wants to take away

The lunatics have taken over the asylum...
take away my right to choose
take away my point of view

The lunatics have taken over the asylum...
take away my dignity
Take these things away from me

The lunatics have taken over the asylum...
take away my family
Take away the right to speak

The lunatics have taken over this asylum... 
take away my point of view
Take away my right to choose

The lunatics have taken over this asylum...

As I’ve mentioned to one or two blogging friends recently, me and my family are not out of the dark yet with our misfortunes this past Spring and Summer. Furthermore, it has now come to light from various specialized doctors that my Mom’s mental-memory condition is significantly worse, to put it optimistically. This is probably a contributing factor, if not the main reason, to how and why our large “Family Estate” with hefty financial account balances were possibly (illegally) accessed and emptied, moved. The investigation and litigation is ongoing. But it is clear to me that Mom was hood-winked and horribly exploited, but didn’t realize it. Now she cannot remember anything. We have our suspicions as to who or whom the non-family member(s) might be, but we must allow due course and legal officials to do their jobs. Grrrrrrr. Ugh. Where is time, or speedier time when you really need it?

I’m unsure when I will be afforded this kind of brief, opportune respite for WordPress again, but I will and do pop-on every so often. Geezzz, if there is one thing I’ve realized these last four months it’s that I NEED, I mean… really need contact, engagement, discussion with civil, intelligent, reasonable thinking, adventurous, moderate and especially free-thinking minds! I’m surrounded by everything that is none of this, my life-line, my steady diet of unconventional, sort of unpopular popular freaky, liberal friends and who possess impeccable senses of humor! Well, there’s one or two who don’t fit that description, but they’ll remain nameless. 😉

Be safe and well all of you. I miss my precious, regular, usual hours with all of you. Hopefully this world—maybe this state?—will return to a moderate normal and kinder balance. We can hope so, yes?

Texas’ 1836 Project

Posted on July 11, 2021 by Professor Taboo

There are different stories, legends, and narratives in popular culture today in Texas, and parts of the U.S., about events that took place over twelve days and nights at Misión San Antonio de Valero February 23 to March 6, 1836, otherwise known as the Siege of the Alamo. One such pop-narrative is from a southeastern Anglo-American viewpoint, post-Civil War. Another is from a later Anglo-Texian viewpoint about the new Republic begun in 1845. And still another much less popular or well-known narrative from an indigenous Tejano viewpoint begun in circa 1821. There is a fourth narrative that is so obscure and completely overlooked today that for the purposes of this blog-post, time, and word-count I shouldn’t mention it. But that would disrespect and defeat the virtues of Agnotology, something I personally hold very dear in our modern fight against disinformation, destitute scholarship in town squares, and partisan politics. Therefore, I will indeed mention the unsung fourth narrative of earliest Texas history: the Indian Nations of Taysha, or Texas.

It’s worth mentioning that part of Texas’ state and national identity is wrapped in what we call the Six Flags of Texas. Technically speaking this is not the full story. It should actually be at least “Seven Flags of Texas,” perhaps one representing the Indian Nations of Taysha. But unfortunately when Anglo-Americans write their victorious histories, peoples they’ve labelled “uncivilized” are omitted and made footnotes, maybe. But oh well, I digress.

Quietly woven throughout the narratives of the Southeastern Anglo-American and Anglo-Texian viewpoints, but rarely mentioned publicly or taught in Texas school classrooms today was slavery’s role in Texas’ fight for independence from Mexico and eventual willing annexation by the expanding United States. The deluge of Anglos immigrating from the Deep South slave-states which Mexico was against and trying to stop were, in the minds of Mexico’s government and empresarios, illegal incursions and seizures. At the very least, they were controversial, agitating, and enflamed tensions present between several clashes of cultures throughout the once vast (proclaimed) Spanish Territory of Tejas. Anglo-American immigrants did not wish to pay any taxes or tariffs to the Mexican government, particularly to Antonio López de Santa Anna who seized power himself in an insurrection against former President Bustamante. Many prevalent Tejanos of Tejas such as the very well-known José Antonio Navarro opposed Santa Anna’s dictatorship and by default Mexico.

What might surprise many Texans today is that several of Tejas’ Tejano elite such as the Navarro family also owned slaves, and by default and by way of economic motivations, Navarro and key Tejanos of Texas’ Republic also opposed Mexico’s recent independence from Spain and from the practice of slavery. However, these historical facts found on a Texas 1860 Census Slave Schedule for Atascosa County (location of Navarro’s San Geronimo Ranch) show he owned six to nine slaves indicating clearly that Texas’ fight was at least in part to keep slavery legal in the new Republic. Navarro and other famous Texas Tejanos with him fought Mexico for independence along with slave-owning Anglo-Americans…

…to protect the practice of slavery in Texas, upon which cotton farming relied heavily. It was not uncommon for families of this group to own slaves in the colonial period. Although the number of families holding slaves was small, it was a vital connection between Tejano elites and American cotton growers immigrating to Texas.
“Henry and Patsy Navarro” from Casa Navarro History at the Texas Historical Commission website, accessed 7/10/2021

What is also commonly unknown about earliest Texas history is that those same Tejanos who fought, bled, and died for Texas’ independence from Mexico at the Alamo and other battle-fields eventually lost over the next decade their original land grants and rights as citizens of Texas. By 1860-61 they were “legally expunged” you might say when Texas officially joined the Confederate States of America and its fight to keep slavery alive.

Since the end of the American Civil War in 1865, the legendary fight at the Alamo twenty-nine years earlier was intentionally altered to emphasize the southern Anglo-American and Anglo-Texan narrative as a fight solely against Santa Anna, thus overshadowing all other narratives in the face of humiliated Confederate defeat. Confederate Texans wanted to save face then and were successful. Now today with the advent of reignited racial awareness and heated tensions, resident first-, second- and third-generation Texans (a few fourth-generation too) and politicians—many of whom trace their pedigrees to the Midwest and Deep South slave-states—want at any cost to protect and advance a more Anglo-narrative of Texas history. More precisely, Texas school curriculums are being further realigned to promote an anachronistic Republican narrative which is not comprehensive or contextual to verifiable Taysha–Tejano Texas history.

Over the past two-weeks of this month, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, himself a first-generation Texan from Maryland, confirmed on his Twitter account that he personally called for the censorship and cancellation of a July 1st book promotion at the Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin, TX. The name of the book and co-authors? Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth by Chris Tomlinson, Bryan Burrough, and Jason Stanford.

But this censoring tactic is part of a greater movement by GOP state officials like Gov. Gregg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Senator Ted Cruz, and other Republican officials regarding critical race theory and whether verifiable academic history has a place in Texas public school curriculums.

On June 16th, 2021 the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 797 requiring Texas schools to display the term “In God We Trust” across campus buildings if such signage is donated to them. House Bill 2497 was passed by the Texas Legislature in May 2021 giving a biased GOP committee the authority to promote our “official” state history—to residents receiving their driver’s license—from the aforementioned Anglo-narratives. House Bill 3979 is awaiting Gov. Abbott’s signature and it dictates how Texas teachers can talk to their students about current events and America’s as well as Texas’ history of racism and slavery. These legislative bills are just three of a number of other bills in a state-wide Republican campaign to ~~teach~~ reteach and promote a more narrow, patriotic version of our national and Anglo-Texan histories. Here in Texas it is called The 1836 Project and it plays off of and counters the acclaimed or controversial 1619 Project, but with a modern, intentional Texas GOP twist. From Gov. Gregg Abbott this past May:

“To keep Texas the best state in the United States of America, we must never forget why Texas became so exceptional in the first place.”

Personally I would argue that these recent campaigns to modify or omit established historical scholarship that is indeed verifiable, in Texas and other states, began as early as 2010, if not sooner. Though governmental officials like Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick are and have been censoring or obstructing democratic freedoms and liberties in Texas on public property, they have gone much further than book promoting events.

For those of you born prior to the year 2000, remember in your classrooms the concept of “Compare and Contrast“? Critical-thinking and analysis skills are paramount for students to learn and acquire for the overkill of today’s “Disinformation Age.” Beginning at least in 2010 and 2012 political campaigns within the Texas GOP began muddling up this vital concept and skill getting taught in our public school curriculums. From The Poynter Institute’s PolitiFact website:

Gail Collins [of the New York Times] says Texas GOP platform calls for schools to stop teaching “critical thinking.”
Sue Owen, PolitiFact.com, August 11, 2012 — accessed 7/11/2021

Nevertheless, the Texas GOP did muddled-up and confuse the issue. Deputy Executive Director of the Republican Campaign, Chris Elam, stated the platform subcommittee unintentionally and unknowingly implied opposition of teaching critical-thinking in schools. He and his party were correct about that as can be read here:

“We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.”

As Gail Collins wrote, the Texas GOP platform does state that the party opposes “critical thinking.” But Collins also leaves out some important context. The platform makes it clear that its opposition is centered on one type of education model: outcome-based education.

Whatever one wishes to call it and play complicated games with words and phrases, this past May and June 2021 in our Texas Congress, the confusion and muddling has been scaled up again. It seems it has taken on yet another form when it all begins to censor and omit significant facts that compose an exhaustive contextual historical picture. This new type of political manipulations upon verifiable, established academic scholarship—whether in classrooms or in the town square—has become a dangerous epidemic in 21st-century America. Allowing this epidemic to continue will only setup further future digressions into sociopolitical turmoil that is ill-equipped to correct, adapt, and progress itself into a truly healthy, thriving Constitutional democracy. I’m unsure how you my readers might feel, but this destitution of Agnotology being replaced by (hyper?) Patriotism over historical, contextual facts disturbs me greatly.

Live Well — Love Much — Laugh Often — Learn Always

2016: Cries for Mutiny

Posted on January 4, 2017 by Professor Taboo

This is part one of a two-part blog-post

(paragraph break)

This here is why it is so important to personally communicate with our state and federal officials, as well as be very active citizens exercising our civil duties and responsibilities!

The U.S. Constitution, Supreme Court, and integrity of the Union of 50 states has been under threat by a retro-popular sociopolitical mentality that is eerily reminiscent of Medieval Europe’s theocratic feudal systems. I address here one such local example out of many Texas Congressional members acutely bent on returning to those Dark Ages. Click his picture’s caption below for his full article and modus operandi. Following is my personal letter to the TX Congressman.

andrewmurr2 — *Texas House Representative (R), Dist. 53 – Andrew Murr*

My personal written response to Mr. Murr’s article and posture:

Mr. Murr, Texas H.R. Dist. 53,

I read your July-Sept 2016 opinion-editorial (Op-Ed) article in HomeTown magazine entitled “What To Do When the Feds ‘Mess with Texas?‘” and I must say it was quite polarizing and partisan. I feel the claims made in your article may not completely represent those of your citizens in your 12 counties but your personal beliefs/opinions as is the Op-Ed designation. However, just in case it is based on a comprehensive survey of your 12-county citizens, I’d like to offer another perspective to those residents.

If there’s one factual statistic about Texas it is that it has become a more diverse culture of politics and beliefs than 30 or 50 years ago! The traditional sociopolitical landscape of Texas has and is quickly evolving into a ‘non-Caucasian’ spectrum, e.g. Texas is now primarily a Hispanic non-Caucasian demographic. Old Texas traditions are fortunately dying out.

While reading your first nine paragraphs, I couldn’t help but think this verbiage can represent any side of Texas sociopolitical issues: What does it mean to be one state unified with 49 others? What are the many benefits of being part of the United States of America? For starters, Texans and three other southwestern states are all protected and/or supported by federal law-enforcement staff and agencies from Mexican, Central, and South American drug cartels. Texans owe much gratitude to the commerce of 49 other states supporting Texas. These are just two benefits out of many! But sadly, the spirit of your article hinted of that old typical rhetoric of “Texas is better than the entire U.S. and can be a bully in federal politics if it so desires! After all, we are the ‘Lone Star’ state and we don’t need anyone! We can fly our state flag above the stars-n-stripes when we want!” This sort of arrogance I loathe as an 8th-generation Texan myself. Many times a year I remember the plethora of NATIONAL benefits we Texans enjoy as Americans! Your article hints of 1860’s secession, or worse… when Texas was a Republic and could not and did not stand on its own!

The very protections federal support provides economically, socially, and militarily (and you vaguely and implicitly touched on, if at all) CANNOT be provided by 254 Texas counties, let alone twelve. With due respect Mr. Representative, it is a give and take relationship with our federal union. Your three specific gripes: restrooms, equality, and Obamacare, are very minor issues compared to the numerous advantages Texas gains being an integral part of the Union of 50 United States! It would be quite arrogant for Texas to expect and dictate what is suitable for 49 other states to legislate, especially on such three MINOR issues you point out. Yet, you state later…

“There is little to suggest that Washington will ever curtail its intrusion into state and local affairs, regardless of the outcome of elections or change of administrations. So lets look at what we have done and what we can continue to do, both here in Texas and across the country, to take matters into OUR OWN HANDS.”

Wow! I am appalled by such mutinous cries!

I will contribute to the broader education or re-education of readers about the purpose of our U.S. Supreme Court, the highest court in the land… even over Texas. But before I explain its purpose, let’s remember why we hold elections every 2- or 4-years, or it might vary depending on which state, county, and municipality voters reside.

Our frequency of political elections accommodates an evolving, changing spectrum of democratic civilization and its governing. Though arguably 4-8 years is seen by many as too long a term(s) in office, it is also reasonably argued that 4-8 years is inadequate for measuring the efficiency, feedback, accuracy, and success/failure of previous legislation and governing. Yet, there is no arguing this frequency/infrequency certainly does hold value for the SPIRIT of democracy! The people are heard. Therefore, there is rarely any cause for political hyper-tantrums or social anarchy when 2-4 years expires so quickly and the “voice of the people” can be heard and represented again.

The purpose of our U.S. Supreme Court is to be the final judge in all cases involving laws of Congress, and the highest law of all — the U.S. Constitution. This role DOES NOT make the Supreme Court all-powerful; in fact, far from it. Their power is limited or “checked” by the other two governing branches — Congress and the President along with his/her cabinet. Though governing a democratic people in this manner does not guarantee perfection in all cases at all times, but it seems to be one of the better governing systems in the world… when kept in parity and as pure as possible.

The democratic system represents in theory, and for the most part in practice, a system of governing which represents the “greatest good for the greatest number.” However, as history has adequately shown, it isn’t always pure. For example, in order for President Lincoln to have his 13th Amendment (via his Emancipation Proclamation) pass by a two-thirds majority in 1863 in the House chamber of Congress, Lincoln’s cabinet, aids, and lobbyists were forced to use ‘impure’ bribes and promises in order to capture certain Congressional votes or abstentions to get the 13th Amendment passed—the freeing of all slaves!

Our three-branched system doesn’t exempt the Supreme Court from impurities either. In 1857 the Supreme Court (Dred Scott vs Sandford) basically ruled that African-Americans were not part of the “sovereign people” who made the U.S. Constitution, were thus not U.S. citizens, and hence could not sue for their freedom. In this situation it is (pure?) good the federal Congress and White House later passed amendments that overturned this Supreme Court decision… and 8-9 years later did so with 5 slave-owning Justices (Democrats) and only 2 dissenting abolitionist Justices (Republicans).

It is worthy to note one example of the usefulness of Mr. Murr’s “democratic” battle-cry would ironically be our need to overturn the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in favor of Citizens United; which was a Republican-majority Supreme Court decision then undermining Mr. Murr’s “popular” democracy today. So it repeatedly begs the question, “How and why does a court case reach the final highest court of the land?” Research it and learn! Don’t just take anyone’s words for it or any politician’s battle-cry for it! Do the legwork and homework yourself!

Clearly, governing or ruling a people MUST be frequently evolving with several democratic “check-points” in the system to guard against a plutarchy (like Texas? 12 Texas counties?) from seizing and/or manipulating power and laws that DO NOT represent the majority of 49 other United States… and in which Texas is supposed to be part of. It is a give and take Mr. Murr.

As you correctly stated in your second paragraph:

“The Founding Fathers established our form of [Federal] government so that citizens, through their elected officials, could establish laws that reflect their desires; [and] particularly at the state and local levels.”

Though some/many Texans forget they are part of a bigger picture, a bigger Union and enjoying those many benefits of a Federal Team/Union—sometimes getting consumed by their own little world, or as you correctly said “particularly at the state and LOCAL levels”—having the protections of a Federal 3-branched Team is a wonderful blessing for ALL Americans, especially those who are not “in the majority” (oligarchy?) of social, political, or religious or non-religious sectors yet STILL deserve their individual rights, freedoms, and protections as American citizens, even in Texas.

Sincerely,
Professor Taboo (here, in place of my real name)

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My Conclusion For This Post
The theme of my written letter to Congressman Murr was centered on his rallies (threats?) of mutiny aboard the U.S.S. America, e.g. “into OUR OWN HANDS.” His assertions about the function and authority of our Federal Branches as well as the spirit of six Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, additionally a lengthy history of Supreme Court decisions upholding the separation of church and state… are simply and as a whole misinformed. His direct attacks on “Public Restroom Policy” and “Same-Sex Marriage” politically are nothing to ignore or dismiss, but their protection and/or legislation is unambiguously paramount! I’ll address their defense and other inevitable sociopolitical issues more thoroughly in my next post, 2017: Our Past, Present & Forecast.

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Live Well — Love Much — Laugh Often — Learn Always

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