There are many reasons for Texas and Texans to be proud!

I moved from California to Texas. ´nuff said

Unfortunately, we all know what happens when blue staters flee to red states...like a virus, they infect everything with their lefty ideals.

In all seriousness, Texas should be the first State to secede, beginning a gold rush by other red States. By the time enough red States secede, the business-friendly, low-tax model will have been demonstrated to be a rousing, prosperous success that will begin a stampede by blue States to copy the model when they lose enough of their tax base.

SECEDE, Texas! Lead the way and tell California to bugger off.

I passed up a really ugly piece in Salon this morning. The headline was "Southern Poverty Pimps" with a photograph of an angry looking Governor Perry. Of course the point is that lots of jobs in Texas are low-paying and that Texas is a Right-to-Work state. Beyond that, the article was just a jealous snark.

The article does not mention Texas´ dirty ugly secret. Something that few outside Texas know about. The Texas leglislature only meets for six months every two years. In other words the state only has a part time leglislature. And whats more, we don´t pay them very much so they have to maintain real day jobs. Yet dispite all this we somehow manage to fumble along.

Loser-Pays tort liability and 5 business day ave approval time for on-line oil permits for operators with proven records are just 2 of the other benefits.

#3 is right, no need to go trolling for trouble. They will eventually find their way to Texas if they have half a brain. keep their money out of your TX politics or you will become just like NC or worse CA.

The argument by the leftists is that Texas is "lucky" because it is producing all this oil shale bring in huge revenues. California has a butt-load of oil and always has. Historically, say the last 30 years, California has ranked #3 in oil production. The problem is the liberals do not allow oil production off the coast and do all they can to limit production. That is the same as with their gold mines. There are a lot of old gold mines that could be reentered, but environmentalists stop it.

Re#5: "Of course the point is that lots of jobs in Texas are low-paying and that Texas is a Right-to-Work state."

A low-paying job is better than a NO-paying job. Plus, they get to live in Texas. Pretty good deal.

Don´t want the Calif. leftist moving to our great state!

´Low paying jobs´ are entry level jobs. It allows a first timer to get a job so that he/she can work their way up the chain to financial and personal success. Don´t knock ´low paying jobs.´

Just about any honest presentable person today can eventually get a job at any big box store (Walmart, Lowes, etc.) They need lots of employees and the prospect for moving up into management is quite good.

If I could stand the weather, fire ants, and cedar fever, I´d move back to Texas in a hummingbird´s heartbeat. California can´t decide whether it wants more to suck or blow, so all levels of government are doing their best to do both at the same time.

The left does not like anything that works, because it is so difficult for them to fix it. However, they make the utmost effort to fix it until it does not work.

I´m seeing a bunch of CA license plates here in Central Texas. I want them out!

My home, which is in the average Houston range, would go for over a million dollars in most parts of California.

So I don´t need a huge salary in order to justify a huge mortgage.

Cost of living in Texas is low compared to NY/CA. That´s why we do well.

Quality of life is better as well. And with technology, humidity, fire ants and pollen are easily controlled.

Idiots.

#5 and #12, I was synopsizing the Salon article´s point, not expressing my opinion. I fully agree with both of you. I am a multi-generation Texan, my family going back to Comanche-fighting days along the Trans-Pecos. I will defend my state any place and for any reason, most especially, to the clueless at Salon magazine.

I recently had an interesting conversation with my new-American-Citizen son-in-law who was born in Mexico, grew up in California. He said the longer he stays in Texas, the more self-confident and self-sufficient he becomes and the more he notices the difference is attitude when he visits his friends in California. Of course, I attribute some of the change in attitude to his being with my daughter who was brought up in a conservative household and who has that Texas independent attitude.

If you know any young Hispanics, you should make a real effort to influence them into adapting a conservative attitude. It may be the best thing you´ll ever do for your country.

#16 ("Quality of life is better as well. And with technology, humidity, fire ants and pollen are easily controlled.")

Not so easy for folks who are allergic to that godforsaken species of cedar. The stuff´s unbelievable -- gave me mind-numbing vertigo for up to a month every year when I lived in Austin.