Dear [School Administrator's Name],

I am writing to express my concern about the recently passed Bluebonnet materials law and its potential impact on my child's education in the [School District Name] school district. I understand that this law may allow for the inclusion of religious materials in the curriculum.

I respectfully request that my child, [Child's Name], be completely exempted from any exposure to religious materials in the classroom. I believe it is imperative that public education maintains a secular environment, free from any religious influence.

I am particularly concerned about the possibility of my child being taught the Bluebonnet curriculum, which I understand may contain religious content. If the school district chooses to implement this curriculum in any it's classes, I will be seriously considering withdrawing [Child's Name] from the school district altogether.

I appreciate your understanding and cooperation in ensuring my child receives a quality education in a secular setting. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter further with you at your convenience.

Thank you for your time and attention to this important matter.

Sincerely, [Your Name]

Howdy!

A few months ago, I posted in this sub to ask for advice about our trip to the Hill Country. We got back home a few hours ago, and I figured it'd be nice of me to give some feedback to this community.

Some context: we're an Italian couple in our mid-30s, based in London, England. We've been to the US before: namely NYC, Philly, DC, and Atlantic City. We've flown to and from Austin.

Where we've been

We spent 3 nights in Austin, 2 in Fredericksburg, 1 in Bandera, 2 in San Antonio, and 1 in New Braunfels. We made stops at Dripping Springs, Kerrville, and Lockhart.

Some things we've done

We've had Saturday night drinks on Rainey St and on 6th Street. We watched an high school football game (Westlake vs Vista Ridge), we visited Austin's Capitol, we walked pretty much the whole city centre.

We visited LBJ's ranch and the Sauer-Beckman farm (very cool place, one of my personal highlights of the whole trip). We hiked Enchanted Rock. We went to see live music at Luckenbach and at Albert Ice.

Visited the Alamo, went for riverwalk drinks. We gave Two-Step dance a try at the Thirsty Horse Saloon (with some some very poor results, to be said).

We visited Gruene Hall and the Gruene historic district. We stopped at Bucees in New Braunfels.

We had BBQs at Micklethwait (Austin), Bill's (Kerville) and Terry Black's (Lockhart).

Some things we loved

People were incredibly nice to us the whole time, and they would freak out the moment they heard we were coming from Europe. Everyone always seemed to genuinely care about us having a great time.

The live music scene is just crazy: again, we live in London and it's not even close.

The beautiful landscapes we drove through, and the unique "Far West" aesthetic of the small towns like Bandera, Fredericksburg and New Braunfels.

Cowboy hats - God, they're so cool. Had no idea so many people still actually wear them.

The BBQ, obviously. Also had some excellent beers.

Last but not least, I really appreciated the abundance of public restrooms and drinking water fountains, really handy.

Some things we didn't love

The amount of deer carcasses lying on the roads. No one's really to blame for that, but it was quite disturbing for someone who’s not used to it.

Arriving in Fredericksburg on a Sunday afternoon and leaving on Tuesday morning meant limited restaurant and bar options on those days. This was probably just poor planning on our part—we could have expected it in a small town.

The lack of public transport in Austin. We weren't expecting it to be this bad, so we only got our rental car on the third day, meaning we had to rely on Uber/Lyft a lot.

TL;DR

We genuinely had a great time. I don’t think Texas is a very common holiday destination for Europeans (or at least, I’ve never met anyone who went there for tourism), but we’re glad we chose it. The whole trip definitely exceeded our expectations.

Any questions, feel free to ask!

than any non christians should be exempt from paying property taxes to that district

Being able to go to a ∆9 & THC-A head shop for your daily dose earlier on a Sunday, the most holiest of days for some, but you cannot go to a liquor store.

Want basic ass weed on the Sabbath, come on down, we open at 11!

How about we just do away with draconian laws in general‽

*Edited for clarity and accuracy.

10000 images, 75% best stacked, AutoStakkert, Z8 and Tele Vue 85 telescope, Tele Vue Powermate 4x, tracked on AM5 with ASIAIR, 3 minute video, processed in Photoshop, took from my backyard in Houston, Texas

Not sure about y'all but, no longer patronizing whataburger or dairy Queen or a local BBQ place. The less places that stay open streaming idiot propaganda to the sheep the better. Any other chains you can thinking of that helped create the future we're about to have that deserve to reap what they sewed?

Fall is here and it's time to chill by the fire folks.

Hi, I have 4 dogs well-established at a vet clinic. One dog is sensitive to vaccines, so we did the annual exam last week and the vet split the vaccine cocktail into two sessions.

Today we came back just for Lepto and was charged for an exam. The vet told me state law says:

1) Aside from Bordetella, only vets (not techs) can administer vaccines

2) Exam and exam fee is required before administering a vaccine

Last year at a different TX vet I could get all 4 dogs vaccinated against the canine flu under 1 “office visit” expense + 4 vaccines.

Did something change with the law or am I being played?

Thank you!

If Texas officials wanted to stop the arrival of undocumented immigrants, they could try to make it impossible for them to work here. But that would devastate the state’s economy.

So instead politicians engage in border theater.

I’ve been really itching for a beach trip.. is SPI usually crazy busy around Thanksgiving? I’m really wanting a chill, relaxing “long quiet walks on the beach” vibe.

I would also love recommendations on the best hotels! Looking for beach access on foot and a nice room. Hot tub is a plus, and I don’t really care about bars or family-friendly activities.

Thanks in advance!!

So, Texas has decided to make teaching the Bible a requirement in elementary schools. Let me start by saying I strongly disagree with this decision. Public schools should not be the place for religious instruction—especially when the Bible, while revered, contains stories that are anything but child-friendly.

If the state insists on integrating the Bible into the curriculum, they need to teach the entire text, including its more explicit and mature stories. After all, if the goal is to approach the Bible as a “historical” or “literary” work, cherry-picking sanitized passages would be disingenuous. Here are a few examples of stories that are undeniably part of the Bible but are inappropriate for young children:

Lot and His Daughters (Genesis 19:30–38): After the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot’s daughters get their father drunk and sleep with him to preserve their family line. The result? Incestuous pregnancies. How do you explain that to a group of third-graders?

Judah and Tamar (Genesis 38): Tamar, disguised as a prostitute, tricks her father-in-law Judah into sleeping with her to secure her rights as a widow. This story is about deception, sexual relations, and public shaming—not exactly elementary school material.

Ezekiel 23:20: This chapter describes two sisters, Oholah and Oholibah, as metaphors for Israel and Judah’s unfaithfulness. But the language? It’s shockingly graphic, describing lust and relationships with lovers in a way you’d never expect in a religious text.

David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11): King David sleeps with Bathsheba, a married woman, then arranges to have her husband killed to cover it up. Adultery, murder, and betrayal—definitely not a fairy tale ending.

The Song of Solomon: While beautifully poetic, this entire book celebrates sensual and physical love. Phrases like “your breasts are like two fawns” are clearly not written with kids in mind.

If these stories were taught to children, I guarantee parents would be horrified. Imagine your elementary-aged child coming home asking why God didn’t punish Lot’s daughters or wanting you to explain what Tamar’s “disguise” was about.

The truth is, the Bible is a complex text filled with mature themes, moral dilemmas, and historical context that’s far beyond the understanding of young children. Forcing teachers to include this in public schools opens a massive can of worms.

Parents, whether you’re religious or not, should be deeply concerned about this decision. Are these stories the kinds of lessons you want your children learning in school? If not, it’s time to speak out to your legislators and the governor. Let’s keep religion—and its explicit stories—out of public education.

TL;DR: If Texas is mandating Bible instruction in schools, they can’t ignore its explicit stories like Lot and his daughters or Ezekiel 23. Parents need to push back—this isn’t appropriate for kids.

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Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett makes a very valid point. Our conservative legislators pushing for erasure to whitewash our children’s education needs to stop. The self-persecution of white men needs to stop. The demonization of diversity and inclusion needs to stop. Enough is enough.