What do you like best about Texas?

[fudge stripe cookays]

We got great music, great food, and great culture. What's your favorite?

[RC]

1. It is far away.

[fudge stripe cookays]

5. Go away. This is OUR forum.

:P

[ROC]

68. Penis envy state envy

[GOPisEvil]

2. All of the above, except the tornadoes!

No thanks! :D

[bringiton]

11. Did you go to Texas A&M GOPis Evil?

[GOPisEvil]

15. Yes I did.

[bringiton]

19. Wow!! Good to see another fellow Aggie Democrat.

I like Aggie Democrats. We are
battle tested. I graduated in 1994.

[GOPisEvil]

25. I'm class of 1990.

And there are a few Aggies on DU. Glad to know ya.

[TX-RAT]

45. And the hail storms

Had to re roof twice in one year. Baseball size both times.

[mr_hat]

3. Living in Shreveport, LA and beating >

all the teams in the Texas Rugby Union. Heh.

[smiley_glad_hands]

4. I met my wife in Houston.

Other than that, I don't have many positive things to say about Texas. Ask me again in November, maybe then, but W has ruined Texas for me. I don't even want to visit the inlaws this Xmas if W is still in office. I must post this quickly before my wife sees it. On edit my wife has asked me to say "real barbecue", but I'm perfectly happy with the pork barbecue we have here in Va.

[lastknowngood]

6. nothing I've been there twice and wont go back unless I'm

exiled there.

[fryguy]

7. there's only one

and there are about seven states between me and it....

[osaMABUSh]

8. I actually like Texas and I'm from Pa.

Sure there are parts of it that are redneck as hell and aren't worthy of mention. But I do like the Mexican food, the Hill Country, and, the oasis of liberalism in heart of conservatism that is Austin.

Austin is a town I could live in. The music scene is fabulous. I took in the Austin City Limits Music Festival last September and it was a rocking, good time.

[salonghorn70]

9. Texas Longhorns

I have been a Longhorn fan since I was 15. Went there from 1966-1970 and 1972-1974. I simply have to say my beloved Texas Longhorns. BUT, Mexican Food would be a close second.:)

[TheCentepedeShoes]

69. '66-'70

I was at Tech. :hi: We went to different schools together!

[salonghorn70]

78. Tech?

Bad, bad things have been known to happen to Longhorns when we venture up to Lubbock. :hi:

HOOK 'EM HORNS

[Deb]

10. Texans n/t

[A HERETIC I AM]

12. George Carlin said the best thing about Texas having the death penalty

is

LESS TEXANS!


sorry...but i thought it was funny.


I lived in Irving for a while and even though that part of the Dallas area is dry, i liked Dallas.

Lots of gorgeous women but too many fundamentalist nutjobs.

[woo me with science]

13. tossup between

REAL Mexican food and bluebonnets. and tubing down the Pedernales. :)

Hey, what's the name of that place outside of Austin where there are stunning cliffs around a lake? There was an outdoor restaurant there. Can't remember what it's called....it's been a bunch of years.

[jobycom]

18. Lake Travis and the Oasis?

maybe?

[woo me with science]

27. that's the place!

had one of my first real romantic moments there.

thanks.

[jobycom]

29. An incredible view, for sure. Not as great as it used to be

Too many more houses and cars around it. But still breathtaking.

[Penndems]

14. Here's what this Virginian likes about Texas:

1. Willie Nelson

2. Four late, legendary greats: Buddy Holly, Janis Joplin, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Waylon Jennings

3. Cinco de Mayo festivals

4. Rodeos

5. Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex area

6. The plains of West Texas

7. Guilty pleasure: Bargain-hunting at Neiman Marcus's sales

8. Delicious Tex-Mex cuisine

9. San Antonio

10. Beautiful ranches

[redqueen]

63. I like your list!

Thanks from this born & raised Dallasite. :hi:

[pocoloco]

16. Big Bend

[jobycom]

17. Populists

Lloyd Doggett, Molly Ivins, Jim Hightower, Henry B. Gonzales, Ralph W Yarborough, Ann Richards, and the good LBJ (not the bad one who started Viet Nam, he was created in Washington. The good one who created the Great Society, appointed Thurgood Marshal as Solicitor General and Supreme Court Justice, and brought electricity to rural areas.)

Don Henley, too.

[Penndems]

20. That reminds me . . .

I left off the late, great Barbara Jordan. One of my political heros.

Her oratorical skills both inspired and thrilled me.

(Edited for typo correction)

[jobycom]

22. Darn!

I left her off, too! Not a true populist, but a great Democrat (Heck, a great person!)

[Penndems]

23. We certainly could use her at this particular time in our history

A voice of reason, intelligence, sanity and honor against a bunch of political megalomaniacs with a Messianic complex who have none of those qualities.

[Lithos]

31. Slap yourself for that one

I got to listen to her speak several times. She was awesome in the old sense of the word. I miss her clear voice in these times.

L-

[Penndems]

36. I envy you!

What a thrill that must've been. I still remember the '76 Democratic Convention, when she gave the keynote address. OMG, that speech brought down the house.

If anybody could speak truth to power, it was Barbara Jordan. I wish she were still alive and in Congress. Fortunately, we can still listen to her speeches on video and audiotape.

[Lithos]

39. It was a thrill each and every time

She even gave the speech at my college graduation. They do not make people like her anymore.

Take a look at some of her older speeches. The content still rings true today and is just as applicable then as now.

L-

P.S.

I think I will post the whole text of that speech as I just re-read it and think it just as appropriate now as then.

[lastliberalintexas]

76. LBJ did not START Vietnam

He can be blamed for letting the MIC convince him to escalate the fighting in yet another unwinnable Red Scare Domino Theory Paranoia Offensive. But not for starting it. :-)

But you are right about there being great things about the man, SOB that he was by all accounts. I always remind Northeasterners who start railing on Southerners about racial issues that it was the hated (by them anyway) LBJ and not Kennedy who had the backbone and fortitude to push through civil rights legislation. And the Great Society programs still help people today- although we certainly need an expansion of them! LBJ left us with programs that actually try to help the people Dems are supposed to care about. Kennedy's legacy, on the other hand, is almost non-existant, save for the myth of Camelot. (I know that's not very popular to say, so I'll probably get flamed for it!)

For all of his other faults, LBJ really empathized with and understood the plight of the common man.

[jobycom]

21. And Lyle Lovette! "That's right, you're not from Texas!" Bush's song

Since he's a New Englander.

[Bridget Burke]

46. No, it's not Bush's song....

Lyle's lyrics continue with "....but Texas wants you anyway!"

[bowens43]

24. It's over 1000 miles away!!

[UrbScotty]

61. Amen to that! (nt)

[texastoast]

81. And thankfully

So are you.

[TexasProgresive]

26. All of those +

Guadalupe st in Austin, all of the musicians, artists, poets and actors from Texas. My wife, a native of Connecticut said her favorite thing about living in Texas is that she will never have to go to HELL- But she does have a thing for Willie.

BTW nice Pyr! We have 2 but ours don't look so pretty since they work for a living.

[Penndems]

53. "Let's go to Luckenbach, Texas . . .

Willie and Waylon and the boys
This successful life we're livin's
Got us feudin' like the Hatfields and McCoys . . ."

:)

[getoffmytrain]

84. between

Hank Williams pain songs and Jerry Jeff's train songs and blue eyes cryin' in the rain... let's go to Luckenbach, Texas where ain't nobody feelin' no pain.

Yeehaw!

[argyl]

28. Everything listed in your poll,plus a musical heritage second to no state.

xx

[drfemoe]

30. The State Fair AND

Diversity....

***** restaurants to hole in the wall authentic tex mex and everything in between. Special mention for great steak houses with reasonable priced huge slabs of beef (my personal favorite being mesquite grilled)

Piney woods to deserts, canyons, lakes, rivers

Symphony and museums to rodeos
(San Antonio has the best museums)

ALL kinds of music

Diverse ethnic cultures

Artifacts - dinosaur tracks, arrowheads, historical buildings

Texas Pride (the major thing that opponents criticize)

The best highways in the country (this was pointed out by out of state travelers)

Wide open spaces

Science and technology

Many colleges and universities

.. more not coming to mind at the time

There are things I don't like as well. Texas is not "paradise" after all. Great exercise focusing on positives .. thanks.

[physioex]

32. That's were W is going back...EOM

[Gman]

33. FIESTA!!!!

NIOSA (Night In Old San Antonio for you transplants :-) ) started tonight!

[salonghorn70]

80. I Can Smell the Fajitas Now

:)

[Barbara917]

34. Adding to this list

Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, Dennis Quaid, Randy Quaid, Carol Burnett, Gene Roddenberry, Brent Spiner, Nolan Ryan, Sissy Spacek, Willie Nelson, Buddy Holly, Larry Hagman, many more.

And one humorist most of you have never heard of. She's funnier than Al Franken and Molly Ivins put together and her favorite punching bag is Tom DeLay. Take a look at Susan DuQuesnay's latest article here - http://www.brazosriver.com/hammertime.htm">Its Hammer Time

[drfemoe]

35. Farrah Fawcett too ..

Plenty of outlaws hail from Texas too ...
http://www.famoustexans.com
http://www.50states.com/bio/texas.htm

And my Favorite, Tommy Lee Jones.

Paula Zahn and Leeza Gibbons, although not born in TX, moved straight from the DFW market to national networks.

[argyl]

51. And my personal favorite Angel,Jacklyn Smith.

[fudge stripe cookays]

62. Nolan Ryan is an asshole Repug

And did some dirty dealing to get that stadium built down in Round Rock. I don't know the whole story, but my mom has a book that was written about it.

[redqueen]

67. Oh wow that is a hoot!

She needs to be published here... THANKS for that link!

Fixed link here, btw:

http://www.brazosriver.com/hammertime.htm

Tom DeLay’s appearance at the Rosenberg Civic Center last weekend to explain teacher retirement was everything I could have wished for – Tom was arrogant, rude, patronizing, and I have 400 witnesses to prove it. And then, as if determined to make this the best day of my entire life, Tom threatened to have people “removed” and would not allow the news media into the room.

Thank you, Tom! I owe you a big one, Bub. For years, everybody thought I was exaggerating about your rotten attitude until you came to Rosenberg and made me look like Miss Understatement Festival Queen.

However, I did think that my fellow audience members were a little rough on Tom with all their booing and sardonic laughter. After all, Tom was slumming by coming to Rosenberg. With schoolteachers, for Socrates’ sake! Schoolteachers don’t have any money and the Rosenberg Civic Center is certainly a long slide down from the country club or Haughty’s Steak House. I think Tom was expecting the Mother Teresa Award for Being a Regular Guy because of this event. But instead, he got booed. And, worse yet, laughed at. By mostly women. Hundreds of them.

It restored my faith in sisterhood.

much more!

:thumbsup:

[TN al]

37. That it is far enough away...

...that I probably won't accidentally stumble into it.

[GOPisEvil]

38. Don't you have your own state forum?

Why would you come in and defecate on ours?

[NoPasaran]

40. Some folks

Just wasn't raised right!

[redqueen]

64. I know people

who still blame the influx of out-of-staters in the late 70's/80's for our recent republican infection.

:evilgrin:

[rangerfan]

41. Other, It's whole other country!!

[elfwitch]

42. Oh there is so much to love...

Tex-Mex food
Taco Cabana
H.E.B.
wildflowers
Austin
San Antonio
Fiesta
The Hill Country
Largest Continental State (Alaska shouldn't count anyway, too much ice)
Shiner Beer
Blue Bell Ice Cream
Big Red (i only drink the diet)
Pecans
Poteet Strawberries
Fredericksburg Peaches
South By Southwest Music Festival
Don Henley
Barbecue and Chili

I will mention San Antonio again. (I miss my home)

[drfemoe]

48. Peanut Patties!! .. lol .. n/t

[2bfree]

43. Garner State Park!

We spent 2 weeks each summer there from the time I was about 4 years old till I in my twenties. Ah.......the memories! Floating down the Frio, bbq and beer, horse back riding and those dances!

[Gothmog]

44. Texas is a great place

It was hard to decide between Amys and real mexican food. Texas is such a great place to live.

[RoundRockD]

47. I love Central Market. I hate the summers.

My family has lived here for almost three years and we're still getting used to it.

[fudge stripe cookays]

50. Nothing like the blast furnace that is August to make you long for

a vacation to the Polar Ice Caps, eh?

[djeseru]

49. Fort Worth *sigh*

I love the history, the layout, the cultural distirct, the food, downtown ~ I'm just homesick.


Did I mention Fort Worth?

[Maestro]

52. Being able to buy some nice land to call your own.

With local flora and fauna.

[Ishoutandscream]

54. Friendly people and most important of all

THE DALLAS COWBOYS!!!

[beachbum]

55. Where can I try some of Amy's Ice Cream

Mexican Food is tops on my list, but there are so many great things about Texas, most of you have listed them already. So many great towns. I can travel in one direction and go to the beach, another direction and go to SA, another direction and go Austin. I was born in Houston, so I am partial to it. But Texas is so HUGE and there is so much to it. :) :) :)

Oh... still in mourning for the Houston Oilers, Bum Phillips...Luv You Blue!!! waaaa.

[fudge stripe cookays]

56. Gotta get to Austin for it.

You might be able to find it packaged at one of the Central Markets. Not sure.

[GOPisEvil]

79. There's an Amy's in San Antonio, too.

Quarry Market.

[BlueCollar]

57. Esperanza's Mexican Restaurant

North Main Street
Fort Worth

[aQuArius]

58. I 2nd that...

good stuff! Especially when there's great company ;)

[montieg]

59. Two things...

barbecue done right and being able to see the stars at night

[texas1928]

60. Yeah I voted for dodging Tornadoes.

I love the weather in Texas. In particular I love the storms. I lived in California for two years and their idea of a severe storm is a couple of claps of thunder and some pee size hail. I missed the storms, there is nothing like watching a line of storms throwing up towers and watching the anvil spread out. being in Lubbock and the flatness of it you can see them coming a long way off. I was a storm chaser for a long time and I would love to get my license again so I can go out and spot, but my wife won't let me since we only have her car right now. I miss it.

I also like real Dr. Pepper from the Dublin area, and the best Mexican restaurant is in San Angelo (Mejor Que Nada). Also the BBQ is the best. My wife and I even tried the Kansas City BBQ in San Diego (where they filmed the raunchy bar scenes from Top Gun) and they can not come close to Rudy's BBQ. And the steak house is a Texas tradition, a good one (in my opinion the best ever) is the Lowake Steak House in Lowake, Texas. They have the best onion rings ever, and if you order a draft beer the mug has a 1/4 inch of frost from top to bottom, and the beer is cold. Oh and being in California you can not get Shiner Bach out there, and I missed that greatly.

The other thing I like is the small town Texas life style, I graduated from a class of 69 kids and I knew all their names, I knew most everybody in my high school on a first name basis. I went to college in Arlington and I always knew when I was getting close to home, when people started to wave as they passed on the highway. Yeah, i know it sounds corny but it made me feel good. Arlington was ok but growing up in a small town I missed the quiet of my town.
Shoot, growing up if you heard a siren everybody went outside to see what was going on, Arlington, heck even San Angelo, people did not even bat an eye. Growing up in a small town also kept you out of trouble, because you knew if you did something wrong and got caught, your parents were going to find out. Hey, it did not mean that we did not try, and a lot of things we never got caught. If I had gotten caught on 3/4 of the things we did I would still be grounded.

[redqueen]

65. What a great poll, FSC!

*sigh*

So much has been mentioned in this thread already. So hard to choose...

Really excellent Mexican food.

Stunning fields of wild Bluebonnets.

Vast panoramas of huge thunderheads.

The thrill of frequent tornadoes in the Spring.

Summers that make you appreciate how much shade and a fan can do! Not to mention the great growing season, unless it's tomatoes or something like that, but I've still got some coming in so no complaints!

THE MUSIC SCENE!

Art... I love the Kimbell, and the kitschy stuff at Trader's Village too! :)

Wide open spaces, where the neighbors wave, the air is sweet, and you can still see the stars shine brilliantly.

Austin!

Glen Rose!

Lake Whitney, where I spent many happy weekends camping durin gthe summers as a kid.

Joe T's! (And yeah, REAL barbecue!)

*sigh*

[TEXASYANKEE]

66. There's not much about Texas that I DON'T like!

I moved here from Michigan when I was 20 and liken myself to the bumpersticker: "I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could."

Everything is a generalization but basically: The people are big hearted and very friendly. One can play just about any outdoor sport all year long (softball in my younger days, golf now). If you're a birdwatcher, Texas is THE best place to be -- spring migration along the coast (especially the upper coast) is awesome. Big Bend, Ft Davis, and Guadalupe Mtn National Park are outstanding birding locations all year round.

Dallas Cowboys. Texas Rangers. Hill Country in the springtime. BBQ at Mt Zion Baptist Church in Huntsville. Tubing the Guadalupe River. Natural Science Musueum in Amarillo. I could go on and on and on ... suffice it to say, I love Texas!

[TexasBushwhacker]

71. I'm a native and I love to hear this

Not that I haven't heard it before, but still, especially with Bush in office, there's a lot of Texas bashing that goes on by people who've never lived here. Most people I know who moved here from other states would never think of going back, even with our ghastly summers, hurricanes and tornadoes.

I must admit, we have a lot of diversity because we're so dang BIG. I'm a native Houstonian and I had the first chance to relocate that I've had in years. I actually checked out other states, and although I always like visiting other places, I ended up moving all the way to Austin.

One thing that wasn't mentioned but has to have at least some impact is we still have NO STATE INCOME TAX. Our real estate is still, for the most part, affordable. As a single woman, I can still be a home owner, and I mean a HOUSE, not a condo with cardboard walls. You can't say that everywhere.

BTW, I voted "other" because I love ALL the things on the list, and plenty of things that weren't mentioned. I'm not surprised no one voted for our beaches though - LOL. Our lakes and rivers are great, but the Gulf Coast beaches are just beach tar and jellyfish, IMHO.

[TEXASYANKEE]

77. Okay, I'll support the Texas coast!

As an avid birdwatcher, the Texas coast is a fantastic place to set up a scope. From Padre Island to Corpus to Galveston, the year round birding is outstanding. There was recently a wild juvenile Flamingo spending time at the Texas City dyke (speculation is that, in its wanderings, it ventured up from the Yucca Peninsula). Local birders kept a log and more than 3,500 people from all over the US came to Texas City to see the Flamingo -- myself included.

Now, as far as sunning and bathing, well I can't speak to that. :-)
But as far as serious birdwatching, there is no better spot in the good old USA than any stretch of Texas coastline.

[Imalittleteapot]

70. Angelos - Fort Worth

Best ribs and coldest beer in town.

[sonias]

72. Everything that has been mentioned above plus..

All great lists! The best damn populists in the world, great writers, the beautiful cities, fabulous musicians and great food, great parks like Big Bend, Gardner State Park, South Padre Island, Lost Maples etc. One of the most diverse cultures in the country. Our beautiful state capitol building even though it is controlled by the repukes for the moment. Wonderful state festivals and chili cook offs and great beer and handmade Tito's vodka. The fact that we can drive to another country (Mexico) any time we want to. NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. The great list of current and former political heroes like Lyndon Johnson who gave us the civil rights bill and the Great Society programs. Barbara Jordon, Henry B. Gonzalez, Mickey Leland and on and on. Great athletes to which we can add Lance Armstrong to. He'll be picking up that world record 6th Tour de France title this weekend. He's not a republican either folks!! Yahoo!!!


You can waste countless hours researching what else is great about our state here The Handbook of Texas Online:
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/

Texas rocks!

Sonia

[anarchy1999]

85. Dear Sonia, What a lovely list. Thank you.

From a proud patriot in Dallas. You did good. Once again, thank you.

[JayS]

73. The Geezinslaws!

http://www.geezinslaws.com/

I Still Write Your Name In The Snow
Help, I'm White And I Can't Get Down
If Momma Went To Heaven, Why'd She Take The Pickup
Copenhagen
Old Blevins
I Kissed The Bus
The Diet Song
I Wish I Had A Job To Shove
I Love You Period
Peel Me A Nanner
How Can I Miss You If You Don't Go Away

[TexasSissy]

74. I'm in Texas because of economic opportunities.

Texas is very sound, economically speaking, compared with many of the other states. I have not seen the bluebonnets, eaten "Amy's ice cream," or swilled that special beer. Guess I'm merely existing w/o really living!

[lastliberalintexas]

75. Wow, am I the only SE Texan?

Jack Brooks, Cajun food, the Big Thicket National Preserve, Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Toledo Bend Reservoir, Sea Rim and Bolivar marshes (great for birding), the national forests of the Piney Woods, Louisiana close by, and Gulf shrimp, just to name a few.

And to add to the list of great Texans, I'd like to nominate one of the most visible and outspoken proponents of equal rights in the last century, BABE ZAHARIAS. One of the 2 greatest athletes of the last century too, no matter what ESPN would have you think.

Texas has a wonderful diversity (of people, food, climate, geography, etc.), some very good PUBLIC golf courses, and much to offer if people would look beyond politics. It's certainly not perfect, but no place is.



And as far as what you said Texas Yankee, yes the people are for the most part far friendlier than in other parts of the country. It's ironic given our recent voting trends and the idiots we've put in office. But I guess that dichotomy can be explained by the fact that we rank about 48th in voter turnout! Apathy is the murderer of democracy, after all.

[trotsky]

82. Other

The fact that if you added Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Arkansas to the area of Texas, it would be the SECOND largest state in the union!

How 'bout that!

[tanyev]

83. Well, I have to vote for the Lounge Lizards!

The Ballad of Ronald Reagan

--snip--
The military budget grew obese
And justice was entrusted to Ed Meese
He supported South Africa, sold missles to Iran,
A strategic initiative to kill his fellow man--
They call him Ron--Ronald Reagan

The lobbyists are counting their loot
From the man with dyed hair and Teflon suit;
He's our good old president and I am so pleased
'Cause he knows that pollution comes mainly from trees
Because he's Ron--Ronald Reagan

He's our good old president; his policies I curse
But at least he's not Nixon--he's even worse
Yes, he's Ron--Ronald Reagan. Big Ron.

And once you hear the bluegrass version of Brain Damage, you will never forget it. That may or may not be a good thing.

[SkyeTerrier]

86. Um.....

Where's the "None of the above" option? Yes, I live here (temporarily) and I honestly can't think of much to like about the place.

[lostnfound]

87. KPFT Pacifica in Houston, and the C G Jung Center

KPFT is an awesome, diverse progressive station.

The Jung Center is a very interesting place to take classes.

[derby378]

88. Clark's Outpost in Tioga

Damn good chicken fried steak with authentic sawmill gravy. Try the baby back ribs, too. It's worth the trip.

They briefly changed owners a while back, but the food quality suffered so much the original owners have taken over once again. Yee-ha!

[DaveSZ]

89. Hmm

Upside:

Big Bend, Davis Mts, Guadalupe Mts, Austin

Downside:

Lots of fundamentalist nutjobs as mentioned above

This is how Bush has won every election and almost won in 2000.