National Guard troops were dispatched to Texas ranches

[walkingman]

The dispatching of troops to the sprawling private ranches, far from the border, raises questions about the use of National Guard troops, who have widely decried the mission as aimless, political and oversized, as the cost of the effort has already ballooned to $2 billion a year.

“We really don’t understand why we are there,” a service member told the Tribune. “We’re essentially mall security for ranches that already have paid security details to protect them.”

https://www.texastribune.org/2022/03/16/texas-national-guard-king-ranch/

[Biophilic]

1. Texas is so F'd up. Now they're using National Guard to protect ranches...from what?

[walkingman]

2. It all about the GOP donors ---the people of Texas keep electing these assholes

simply because they holler "Guns, Gays, and God" and they are screwing them and laughing all the way. An obvious sign our Texas education system is terrible or maybe a reflection on Texans in general.

"The Texas Military Department sent troops to stand guard outside the famed King Ranch, the largest ranch in the United States, which covers more ground than the state of Rhode Island.

It also sent troops to the Armstrong Ranch, the property of a longtime Republican family that has hosted GOP leaders like Karl Rove, former Gov. Rick Perry and former Vice President Dick Cheney. In an infamous 2006 incident, Cheney accidentally shot his friend in the face during a hunting expedition at the Armstrong Ranch. The injuries were nonfatal."

[Biophilic]

3. I still don't understand what they are guarding against. I must have missed something big.

[walkingman]

4. No - You are correct - they are not that close to the border and have

their own private security anyway. It is all a big show to impress these wealthy donors - you know they are "big shots". Think Jerry Jones (redneck that owns the Cowboys) on steroids. Living in Texas is literally like living on another planet occupied by people that escaped from the looney bin.

LOL - I live here (outside of Austin) and keep hoping it will go back to the way it was in the 70's but it just keeps getting worse and worse. Too damn old to move and too damn hardheaded to give up.

[Biophilic]

5. Thanks, unfortunately that makes sense. I honestly have no room to critize you all in Texas,

last fall I moved to Florida. Maybe only a little less insane here. But wait.... I'm sure the governor will try to catch up with Abbott. Talk about a race to the bottom. We'll just have to keep rowing 'cause the end goal is worth it. I refuse to let democracy die completely while I'm alive.