Diddle, all those public hearings this summer in which TxDOT was supposedly listening to us peons were packed. Literally thousands of ordinary folks came to be heard, and they were not.
They were not a "vocal few opponents." They were many. They were not spammers or ignorant knee-jerkers. I know. I was there. I was quiet, but I was there, and I saw, and I heard.
As for those rural folk who're being taken in by your phantom scaremongers, you need to show a little respect.
I am rural folk. My family has been on the land in Cooke County for seven generations. We have degrees and advanced degrees. We also know how to DO things, not just spout and spew and plan. We are not the ignorant clod-hoppers you portray us to be. And we feel like we're being "had" by Rick Perry and his dratted plan to take our way of life.
This country was built by our ancestors, the old-timers who fought in the Revolution, moved West, then moved West again, in covered wagons and by stagecoach, clearing timber and building the homes and farms that we now try to preserve. We, the descendants of those pioneers, have an easier life than our forefathers, but their dedication to hard work and all-American values have been passed down through the generations.
You may be more polished, but you're not one durn bit smarter or more important than the humble folk you scorn.
I don't have a problem with those who actually try to get the facts and then reach conclusions, regardless of their conclusions. I do have a problem with those who simply go to a dubious website or two and swallow the most ridiculous propaganda without question, ya know, like "Jorge Bush wants to merge the US with Mexico so as to smuggle illegal aliens and Chinese weapons into the heartland, because the Bildeburgers have told him to do so." Yes, intelligence has nothing to do with location, that isn't the issue.
I've gotten the impression that you are honest and willing to search out more info, and from both sides of the argument, hence the stark difference in tone in my posts to you versus some who simply spam the latest false talking points and conspiracy theories to these threads. Yes, I unfortunately lost my cool, but it burns me up to see issues decided on bold-faced lies and the duping of honest people. And the term 'ignorance' has a specific meaning that in and of itself is not a pejorative.
If you look into the issue (and digging through 1600 pages certainly is going beyond the call of duty!) and still are against the TTC, I understand.
It's not just you and your family's way of life that is being taken away. Meanhwile, you, I and the rest just sit by and let them take it. I could write for an hour about how the public schools have taken away my life and how government officials have given life to the immoral, the Godless, the rule-breakers, etc., etc. ad nauseum.