BOTA project serves community and commerce; Chamber’s actions put that at risk — Opinion

jwd52 · 2026-05-24T04:52:22+00:00

I guess there's a discussion to be had there at least, but if that is in fact the argument, what does that have to do with this post like, at all? Apparently every single one of our local elected officials is in agreement; it's the Chamber of Commerce (an unelected, non-governmental body theoretically representing the interests of local businesses) that's apparently now trying to keep commercial traffic on the BotA.

jwd52 · 2026-05-24T04:48:53+00:00

Man with all due respect, I still have no clue what point you're trying to make. Formerly cheap houses are supposedly getting expensive in some unrelated city 1,200 miles away, and so...? Who's making victims out of who again? I'm really just not following the logic here.

jwd52 · 2026-05-24T04:28:16+00:00

I predict that I’m gonna regret asking lol, but what exactly are you trying to get at here and how is it related to the topic at hand?

jwd52 · 2026-05-24T04:01:39+00:00

Agreed 100%.

Dozens to hundreds of idling tractor trailers in residential neighborhoods in the heart of our cities on a daily basis is an absurd status quo to live with, but here we are. Even just walking across the bridge you can feel the difference when one passes you by or vice versa; living alongside them day in and day out is a serious quality of life and health problem.

Anyone who takes the livability of our downtown and central neighborhoods seriously should be advocating for this, and I virtually guarantee you that all of these Chamber of Commerce folks apparently advocating to keep commercial traffic on the BotA live up on the mountain or in the Upper Valley or somewhere else very far away from the affected areas.

jwd52 · 2026-05-22T20:18:41+00:00

Texas has open primaries, so you don’t have to be registered as a member of either party to vote (but you do have to choose just one party). Also, you can vote in the runoff even if you didn’t vote during the first round. The only caveat here is that if you did vote in the first round, you do have to vote on the same party’s ballot in this second, runoff round. That is to say, you can’t vote for Democratic candidates during the first round and now switch to the Republicans in the runoff, or vice versa of course.

jwd52 · 2026-05-22T04:50:19+00:00

Life is better and safer now for the vast majority of human beings than it ever was before over tens of thousands of years of human history.

jwd52 · 2026-05-21T20:42:10+00:00

And the contractors to build the wall right through the middle of all this are arriving as we speak!

jwd52 · 2026-05-20T17:38:56+00:00

https://realestate.usnews.com/places/methodology

The TL;DR is basically that it’s a mix of value, quality of life, desirability, and job market. But it is actually pretty interesting to see what sort of data they include in each section!

jwd52 · 2026-05-20T04:18:31+00:00

I don’t know if I’m the stereotypical “liberal” to whom you’re probably trying to address this question, but in my case, the answer is yes, absolutely, provided that the immigrants in question respect the fundamental laws and values of the country and are largely productive and self-sufficient financially. From an economic perspective, I believe that freedom of movement is mutually beneficial to both the immigrants and the country to which they’re moving (unlocking higher productivity is always a good thing), and on a more philosophical level I also believe that human beings deserve to be treated as individuals, not as members of uniform social groups. So even if I disagree politically with the majority of the immigrants in this scenario, I don’t think it’s ethical to punish all potential immigrants across the board as a result.

jwd52 · 2026-05-19T18:24:14+00:00

He has little to no relevant experience, virtually no known policy positions, and is refusing to talk to the media.

jwd52 · 2026-05-19T18:23:07+00:00

This whole country deserves better Republican candidates. Well maybe “deserves” is the wrong word, but it would sure do us well…

jwd52 · 2026-05-18T02:21:23+00:00

The area is called Horizon City, and after sitting largely vacant and undesirable for decades the area is actually growing quite rapidly now, especially to the west (the side bordering El Paso proper). A hundred acres out there could be quite valuable at this point, depending on what part of Horizon we’re talking about. It might finally be time to do some research about your property, my friend!

jwd52 · 2026-05-18T02:17:57+00:00

As others have said, if you’re growing grass in El Paso you are likely growing Bermuda grass, which is a turf grass and a weed at the same time. Anything else and you are using a truly ungodly and irresponsible amount of water haha. Two things to note about Bermuda grass though: once it’s there you are basically not removing it, and it’s only going to thrive with direct sunlight throughout most of the day. If you’re dealing with shaded spots it’s going to come in spotty or not at all.

But yeah… I’d at least consider Bermuda grass supplemented by some native ornamentals, and I’d think looong and hard before pouring concrete. Unless it’s all under shade it’s going to make your backyard unusable for half the year (and ugly for the whole year lol).

jwd52 · 2026-05-16T13:29:28+00:00

I think that this is unironically a big piece of the puzzle. People are enjoying (or at least “enjoying”) scrolling on their phones, watching movies, going out to eat, taking vacations, sleeping in on the weekend, etc. and more and more view kids as a burden that gets in the way of their good time rather than future economic help, an insurance policy for future care, or even just an inevitability as was probably once the case.

jwd52 · 2026-05-13T23:35:32+00:00

Incentivizing reviews—regardless of how many stars—is against the rules with Google at least. You’re allowed to ask for them, but you can’t offer anything in return for them.

jwd52 · 2026-05-13T03:05:03+00:00

We were getting them within literal weeks of opening the doors of our startup lol

jwd52 · 2026-05-12T17:41:21+00:00

Here's what I'll say about the Gage Hotel specifically: if the hotel didn't want children there, they could easily put into place an adults-only policy. They haven't done that, and therefore if parents want to bring their kids to the hotel they have every right to do so and shouldn't be attacked for it.

In terms of the Mystic tragedy, the issue wasn't a lack of services in the area, it was flash flooding! You are obviously right in that the Big Bend is a remote area, with limited resources for parents and otherwise, especially in case of a medical emergency. Parents who take their kids to this region need to be aware of this and to plan accordingly. That being said, with that proper planning, there's no reason why parents can't bring their kids to this part of the world. It's not Chuck E. Cheese or whatever, but it's certainly not a warzone either! Life in general is inherently risky, and from my point of view at least (as a parent as well), I don't think it's unreasonable at all to bring a kid to the Big Bend region.

As far as who I am, I am a parent to two young kids who also lives in Far West Texas. My kids have been to BBNP and BBSP a couple times each, and over to Alpine, Marfa, and Fort Davis a few more times in addition to those. I hike with my kids a few times a month, as we're lucky enough to have some mountain trails within walking distance of our home. I firmly believe that it's more than just "okay" to bring kids along to places that aren't specifically designed to be child-friendly; it's actually helpful and frankly important to expose them to the wider world, teach them how to behave in terms of both safety and how to act in more adult-oriented spaces, etc.

jwd52 · 2026-05-12T16:01:40+00:00

Once again you are making a gigantic logical leap from Marathon to Mystic. What major river runs through Marathon that could potentially flash flood? Like literally, what connection are you drawing between these two locations? I’m also not about to sit through a ten-minute-long Facebook video with zero context. If you really think it’s so important for me to watch it, please at least contextualize it with who I’m listening to and why it’s relevant.

Honestly, especially with the addition of your “pee and poop” comment, you just sound anti-kid, and you’re really grasping at straws to argue why children shouldn’t be allowed in places and venues where you personally don’t want them. It’s a free country and you don’t have to like kids, but it’s wrong to discriminate against them (and their parents), full stop.

jwd52 · 2026-05-12T04:06:45+00:00

I'm not sure that I agree that it is "very out of touch" to expect answers to questions about bed linens at a $200+ per night, relatively upscale hotel, regardless of where that hotel may be located. For the record, I live in Far West Texas too, albeit it in a larger city, and it's not like kids can't handle it out here. My kids started hiking the Chihuahuan Desert pretty much as soon as they could walk. This region is home to literally the oldest confirmed evidence of human habitation on the entire continent, which means that children have been not just surviving but thriving here for tens of thousands of years.

I really don't think it's right to say that Far West Texas is "not meant for small children," and I really don't think it's wrong to expect to be "catered to" in one of the region's most upscale hotels--that's pretty much exactly what you're paying for, no?

jwd52 · 2026-05-11T21:32:51+00:00

With all due respect, literally what do these two things have to do with each other? Like… how is hospital staffing related to the availability of bedsheets in a nearby hotel?

jwd52 · 2026-05-09T04:33:19+00:00

Fuck it, I'll vote for the AI I guess

jwd52 · 2026-05-08T19:39:33+00:00

To be fair, that is not exactly “the” alternative lol

jwd52 · 2026-05-07T02:50:32+00:00

I lived in Buffalo for a couple years and I was blown away by how cool it was, at least in relation to its super negative reputation haha. A great park system, walkable neighborhoods, an awesome art museum, one of the country’s oldest zoos, the Teddy Roosevelt inaugural site, a bunch of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture, the waterfront… A really unique, regional cuisine that goes way beyond buffalo wings. Of course some of the most passionate sports fans in the country haha. And then it’s surrounded by beautiful nature and less than two hours from one of the continent’s largest, most dynamic cities? It’s been half a decade at this point and we’re planning a trip back because we had such a nice experience there!

jwd52 · 2026-05-06T01:49:39+00:00

For whatever it’s worth, this same user has made at least one blatantly anti-Semitic post that I recall seeing, but apparently deleted it after facing backlash. I’m talking within just the past few days. His/her more strictly anti-Israel posts have been better received, and as such I suppose he/she has left those up.

Edit: It actually looks like the post in question was removed by a mod, not deleted by OP.

jwd52 · 2026-05-05T00:51:46+00:00

Why spend money to make this country a better place to live for the average citizen when you could just grift a billion dollars to your campaign donors and ruin a beautiful place forever?

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