[The Texas Republican Party today approved a platform plank] "calling for a vote “for the people of Texas to determine whether or not the State of Texas should reassert its status as an independent nation.”
Good riddance. When and if Texas withdraws from the Union they will find some dazzling challenges ahead of them. Services provided …
[The Texas Republican Party today approved a platform plank] "calling for a vote “for the people of Texas to determine whether or not the State of Texas should reassert its status as an independent nation.”
Good riddance. When and if Texas withdraws from the Union they will find some dazzling challenges ahead of them. Services provided or subsidized by the federal government would be withdrawn. Federal monies and subsidies would cease to flow to Texas. Frankly, I think "TEXIT" is just what the people of the United States need to see. I'm fairly certain any number of large and small business would pull up stakes and move elsewhere. TEXIT would leave Texas a pathetic cross between the societies described in The Handmaid's Tale and the Hunger Games. I hope clear thinking Texans have the gumption and financial wherewithal to pull up stakes and relocate as well.
How about a Mexican government of over 4 times the number of Texas residents deciding they would like their land back? Texas GQP is a joke of Dr. Seuss proportions.
Today, Juneteenth we celebrate the day 2.5 months after the end of the Civil War when Texas FINALLY got the word that its slaves were free. Today, 157 years later Texas is still a laggard as reflected by its GQP planks.
Faux christians?....hahahahhaaaahaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhahhaaaaaaaa...yeah..GMAFB! And, help me... I who have boarded with Presbyterians, Mormans, Southern Baptists, baptists, Hebrews, Italians(catholics), and farmers....tell me...wtf "IS" a christian, anyway?
Daria Texas reminds me of all those museums that are being obliged to return treasures that had been stolen from other countries. I believe that Texas is in this category.
General Santa Anna, after being captured in 1836, was obliged to sign a document granting Texas independence from Mexico. Clearly this was under unacceptable coercion.
Then in 1846 President Polk authorized an American invasion into what was clearly Mexican territory. [Congressman Lincoln kept insisting that Polk show the ‘spot’ where this incursion occurred.] After a two-year war, America captured Mexico City and imposed a ‘peace treaty’ in which we took over one third of Mexico for our own—Texas, California, and some smaller states.
Currently we have problems with Mexico and its current president. As a sign of Good Neighborlyness, I recommend that we offer to return Texas to Mexico. Wouldn’t that reduce the border immigration problem? Also, Ted Cruz would no longer need a passport when he flees to Cancun.
Daria I am even willing to surrender Wheelock TX (which actually is 12 miles from North Zulch TX). In the early 1830s L. B. R. Wheelock fled New York because of an ‘affair of the heart’—I’ll let you figure out what this meant. He established a namesake town in Texas. (He was smart enough not to be buried there). The river changed its course and Wheelock became an abandoned town dominated by old women dressed in black with rolled up stockings. When I briefly visited this ‘family memento,’ I was careful not to mention my family connection. Bye bye Wheelock—go back to Mexico with my regards.
Good riddance to any state that wants to exit the United States. Let's see how it goes this time instead of wasting 2 million young lives not hardly changing anything.
TEXIT it is. I fully spport letting TEXIT proceed and letting TEXANS do whatever they want and letting TEXANS suffer the consequences of their own choices instead of making a bunch of young people in the north die to try to stop them again.
Yes, let us invite our clear-minded brothers and sisters in Texas to move to AZ, GA, PA, MI, WI, and NC to tip the balance in all and be rid of minoritarian rule in the USA.
Alot! We are the majority being run by a minority. Please don’t define us by this radical right wing extremism. SB 1, voter suppression laws, will be challenging to over come. But it will affect their R voters just the same.
🙏 and what about those Texans in heavily gerrymandered districts? What other laws keep other citizens from voting in Texas? How are schools funded/defunded in Texas? How does a lack of quality in Texas education affect voting? To me, it keeps coming back to institutionalized inequality.
18% in the first primary and 8% in the run offs for voter turnout. But factor in the new voter restrictions that went into place. Ex: mail in ballot application, the mail in ballot is confusing and requires a lot of information that is complicated especially for the senior citizens, 90% provisional ballots get thrown out. Name changes ( mostly affect women), address changes, signature matches. Regulations that cost money that the TXLege did not fund, mainly aimed at large Dem leaning counties. My husband is a poll watcher and he saw a lot.
8% in the first primary and 8% in the run offs for voter turnout." How would those numbers change with a massive massive voter turnout that was able to overwhelm. How long has Texans been voting for the like of Cruz even before the massive voter restrictions?
In terms of my State. 19% voted in the Primary in May. Kentucky is a gold standard for equitable voting. I personally know of a number of educated Democrats who not only ignored the Primary election but consider themselves above politics.
My overall point is the Republicans appear to be much more energized.
It was 18% in the first primary and I agree with you. Republicans are more energized, organized and they stick together like glue. Democrats, all over the map and unorganized and fight amongst each other. We live in a Red Co with a handful of Democrats (there may be more but they are probably afraid to admit it). This handful is divided with in-fighting, fighting over stupid stuff. They aren’t seeing the big picture, it’s frustrating and unbelievable. Beto came 3 or 4 points in 2018. The closest anyone has come. He lost because of South Texas, no Democrats went out there to campaign. So, they voted Republican, now wrap your head around that one. All those Latinos voting Republican! There are even some MAGA latinos, one just won a seat that was vacated by a Dem. However, it’s just until November but the Republicans are riding that wave. A Democrat will probably take the seat back in November.
I wholeheartedly and thoroughly agree. Let Texas do whatever it wants as an "independent nation".
And let us make sure we do not waste even one young life trying to stop stupidity in Texas.
Let Texans deal with Texas however they want and keep young people, not living in Texas, out of the mess they "might" create there.
No more dead bodies regarding the US Southern States. Not one.
However, don't give up on Texas yet. I have family there that are not crazy, do not condemn everyone different from them, and, would not agree to become an "independent" nation.
That’s a classic example of how well go it alone Texas has worked in an inner connected world, how many hundreds died because of the failure of the state to provide electricity all because they didn’t want to be on the national grid. The Republicans in Texas have a wish list from hell, and the saddest thing is, that’s really how they think, it astounds me that so many educated people could have their heads so far up their own ass’s.
It boggles the mind. An entire state political party living in the Stone Age. I wonder if they know what a smart phone is. I wonder if they are aware that slavery and lynching are no longer legal.
Dr. Richardson, not infrequently, alludes to the Civil War that ended in 1865.
Today she notes that 2 million young men NOT living in the south died bringing the South back into the Union.
I am arguing that this time, we do NOT waste even one young person (in the north) on a southern state that wants to leave the Union.
This time, we force the southern folks to deal with the consequences of their own choices without wasting even one life external to a state that wishes to leave.
Thank you, Mike. It's so obvious, now that you've explained it. And I agree wholeheartedly; if they want to "run away from home," they need to take care of their own sorry selves.
What happens to the reasonable people in Texas - the ones with healthy, good values? The ones who can't afford to move? I would like to hope that this GQP platform will provide Beto with a campaign tool. Maybe, it could tip the balance? But if not...
Perhaps the sane states could offer to accept Texas immigrants on a pro-rated basis. And then the Nation of Texas can be the independent Nation of Idiocy.
I think what we are reading here is the result of disgust and exhaustion. Let the bigots and haters have their own nation. In pure principle, it makes sense.
Speaking of which, Daria, you mention the challenges Texas would face as a nation. Won't it be interesting to see how they handle the immigration crisis - without Federal support? Hmmm. The incredible irony of the flood of desperate people fleeing the results of Climate Change to find safety in a country that dumped so much CO2 into the atmosphere is the stuff of sci-fi movies.
Bill, if reasonable Texans can't make themselves be heard and they want to leave Texas then they need a way to migrate out of Texas safely. Financial resources must be made available. We pour vast amounts of money as, a nation and as individuals, into places like Ukraine. We must be willing to provide the same sort of support to our own.
Texas without Federal support will be one serious hell hole.
I had a former coworker, and a recruit of mine just retire and move, within the week, to Texas. He was always of the mind that god and guns were the way to go.
Disinformation, Division, destabilization, Annexation. These are the goals of Russian ‘Active Measures’ to Break up the EU, Destabilize America, Russia can’t compete, so bring other countries down to their level. Sure seems like Texans fell in the trap. Texit like brexit is an ‘active measure’.
Russia is a Third World country. A failed nation. They are stealing Ukraine’s agricultural crops, if you can believe it. Anyone who thinks for even a second that Russia is a peer of any democratic country is sadly deluded.
There is always secession talk every election by a few but it isn't taken seriously - usually. Please don't forget that whites are now in the minority in Texas. Texas Republicans are doing everything they can to keep their base voting for them. Problem is they may be going too far now and alienating the moderates and growing left. But please don't say good riddance to people like me.
Nor me. I am hopeful that this public declaration of abominable beliefs can be used now by right thinking Texans to elevate to our state offices, people with brains and hearts and a commitment to upholding the laws. This "platform" reads like a death sentence for most of the people I know. They vote. I, for one, am going to post it every single day on my FB page from now until November. I wish we could initiate a billboard response and plaster it all over the state. I guarantee that my LGBTQ friends who now enjoy being married will do THEIR part to unseat these hate-filled idiots. Sorry, Cathy, for the rant!
Thanks for the reminder. We have family in Austin. My comments about "Texit" reflect a growing and seemingly never ending frustration. The Texas GQP platform just sent me reeling. Hope you are correct that they have gone too far. That list alienates just about everyone except the Klu Klux Klan.
Thank you Cathy for this reality check. I get passionate and heated and want to throw
“Fill-in-the-blank-group” under the bus because I have no other action I can do in the moment to effect change in the situation. And so, when someone like you speaks up and says “Hey, wait a minute!” I really appreciate it!!! We are not groups we are people conveniently put in groups for other’s purposes. I hope in your sphere of influence down there in Texas, you can inspire pushback to what the gop are doing. Best Wishes and Good Luck.
I am in your same shoes in Kentucky. I stopped being hurt by peoples' vitriol towards Kentucky because it is well deserved. I guess we are in the position of guilt by association Cathy.
It might do those radical Texans good to realize a fair amount of the people in the USA would advise them to not let the door hit them on the way out.
Cathy, of course I don't say good riddance to you and other clear headed Texans. I hope that the latest Extreme Right planks horrify enough Republicans and Independents to vote Blue. I also hope that enough people outside of Texas recognize what's going on in Texas so they can work to nip it in the bud in their own states. (Like mine, WV. Don't think I don't understand insidious politicians.) I'm not very optimistic right now.
Daria, You can help Texas and the entire country by getting rid of Senator Manchin and the filibuster and reform the Senate into a democratic republic institution rather than a minority veto obstructionism. We, the People, all of us this time.
Cathy, I hear you. I get Manchin's self promoting newsletter every week. Every week he asks his constituents how he can help make their lives better. Every week I write a respectful e mail. Most weeks I get an infuriating response saying he is doing what's best for WV. Not hardly. Trust me, I get you.
Ted Cruz - the worm who readily turns the other cheek and bends his knee in fealty to the mafioso who smeared his wife, Heidi, and his father - the worm who slithered off to CanCun... Ted Cruz, p-l-e-a-s-e....
I think they were showing their enthusiasm for how many pancakes, hamburgers and home fries that Cruz ate for Breakfast at the morning gathering. They were all impressed.
However, I heard that Cruz ran everyone out of the men's bathroom for most of the afternoon.
I am so relieved my son did not take a job at a small college in Texas! But, I do have a S. Sudanese family (former refugees, naturalized US citizens) who moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area from Massachusetts (they both work at a large national financial services firm) who I never stop worrying about. They have achieved the "American Dream" of homeownership, financial security, and are enjoying raising 4 children. However, because they live in Texas, I fear they will always (literally) have a target on their backs for being Black in America.
While South Sudan continues to be one of the largest humanitarian disasters in the world (as well as the poorest country) with mass starvation (made even worse by the Russian block of 20 million tons of grain from leaving Ukraine) and continuous war, several families are currently getting re-acquainted with relatives in their homeland and Kenya, where they have not been in decades.
All the S. Sudanese I know are appalled at what they see happening in the U.S.; the level of violence and love affair with guns, irreparable division between people who used to share worthy common goals and compassion, dangerous acts of discrimination, tremendous economic inequality, and abject crazy men at the helm. They have seen it before (as have we) and it does not have a good ending.
Janet, I know you must be constantly concerned about your S Sudanese family. What the adults have been through is unimaginable. I know I was a wreck when my daughter worked as a cops and crimes reporter in Texas. She finally left because she did not feel safe. Go Beto is right!
We never stop worrying! And, republicans have given us all so many more reasons to fret. Hopefully, Beto and like-minded Texans will continue to gain traction.
Just a side note: John Grisham wrote Sooley, about a South Sudanese basketball player getting a chance to play in the US…the chapters alternated with him and then his family left in a refugee camp. At the same time there is a documentary about 3 South S. brothers being sponsored through basketball in So CA….I couldn’t put the book down, was alternately fascinating and sad and horrendous. Thank you for your help with them.
Thanks for the tip on the Grisham book; I missed that one. Two others:
1) "What is the What" by Dave Eggers who "illuminates the history of the civil war in Sudan through the eyes of Valentino Achak Deng, a refugee now living in the United States" and
2) "What They Meant For Evil" by Rebecca Deng. I read Rebecca's book on a flight from Boston to LA and couldn't put it down- Carol you summed it up perfectly - fascinating, sad, and horrendous. She is a motivational speaker today and still only in her mid-30's. The resilience of people absolutely amazes and inspires me!
The 2014 film with Reese Witherspoon is worth a watch as well. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2652092/ It has some flaws but definitely hits the mark. Some of our guys were consulted for the film and were on a panel after its release in an independent theater near Boston. Parts were tough for our guys to watch and we all gripped hands as our tears streamed. There were also the parts where we all laughed and nodded about our shared and lighter experiences when they came to the U.S.
I am in Texas and there are a lot of good Democrats here. Huffines and West got 12% each in the gubernatorial primary and that was most of the people at the convention. They were attacking Dan Chrenshaw, calling him “eye patch McCain”. That is straight from Tucker Carlson’s mouth. John Cornyn got booed. Abbott’s people were totally outnumbered at the convention and this was a convention of radical extremists in Texas. It’s frightening but we are not giving up the fight. So, don’t kick us to the curb quite so fast. Instead, donate to Beto O’Roarke and help us out. We are retired teachers, we have family here: my parents, my children, my grandchildren etc. We can’t just pull up stakes and relocate plus there is no guarantee this radical extremism will not rear it’s ugly head in any other state. Your TEXIT comment isn’t helping, we need compassionate understanding.
I hear you loud and clear. I live in Kentucky. McConnell Country. What I do realize is that until the people of my State and yours wake up and raise their voices this will not change. And frankly I've come to realize there are a lot more trumpers in my blue City than I thought. People may say one thing or not say anything and vote MAGA. There is a good reason these folks get elected. More than the radical element (12% or so) are voting them in.
They are like Zombies going to the polls and voting R. No research on the candidates, what they stand for, what their policy strategies are. I also think they have been so brainwashed into thinking a vote for a Democrat is like a death vote. Communist! Socialist! The Republicans are good at scaring people.
Until their Social Security Disability, Medicaid checks stop coming they don't care or realize it is the Republicans who want to take it all away. They sure cashed those Child Care Tax Credit checks and the Recovery Act checks and fail to see the absolute hypocrisy in their thinking. They are indeed brainwashed.
The Republicans have been using scare tactics for decades and they are very, very good at it. They hit their base's emotional buttons with unerring precision. Alas, Dem messaging tends to be factual and dry. Great for those with critical thinking skills...it doesn't connect or sink in with those who have not those skills.
Daria, there are many in Texas who are appalled by this, not all Texans are right wing MAGA extremists. We may be outnumbered but we won’t go down without a fight!
And, unfortunately the fact that guns can (and do) have such a dominant influence is the line we live on now. There is no assist from legislation and good, educated people can't stop bullets. 400 million guns (20 million AR-15 style weapons) in the hands of civilians and a culture that freely embraces misplaced manhood and bravado that encourages the lunacy. I have been to the NRA website once and was sick afterwards. And, that's really only the tip of the iceberg. As long as we allow guns to rule, democracy will end through violence, not by rule of law.
So how do we turn their gun dominance into a weakness? Start making their support for gun violence as visceral as they try to make pro-choice supporters. Let’s start flooding the zone with the aftermath of gun violence that they support. Let’s show the “protection” Hearts and Prayers gives really. Let talk to the emergency room workers dealing with bodies riddled with bullets -or more accurately blown apart by bullets. Let’s show over, and over, and over again, the statistics of gun suicides. Let’s get our artists and creative supporters to come up with ridicule for this insanity. Like a teacher’s lesson plan to teach smearing blood on yourself and playing dead to survive a day in school. Surviving a shopping trip to the grocer by putting on flack jackets and commando crawling the frozen food aisle for ice cream. Flip the Script and create a film where heterosexuality is a sin and parents try desperately to forbid their children from it, banish family members from their lives for it, get people fired from their job for it, and best of all: are made to live opposite from it, because “Hey! it’s just a choice”. Flood the Zone!
Without “Made in the USA” on the label inside their hats anymore, Mexico would annex Texit back as a territory. And then build a trump wall to keep the varmints from sneaking out. 😁
Texas thinks it can survive on its own. The threat that any European country could use the breakup of the United States as an entry port for invasion ( US Civil War in 1861) is now past. Let them put it to a vote. Let them go. Proud Boys Proud
Not to worry, Sen Cruise and the rest of the grandstanding gop will never give up the power, or the stage. And, they sure as hell won’t give up being a welfare recipient State. Too bad.
Even omitting the possibility of secession, the regressive society they envision for their state is, as you correctly note, is right out of a dystopian sci-fi novel or movie. I get a chilling, sinking feeling not unlike when I saw this scene in the TV version of Atwood's Handmaid's Tale:
Daria, this is one of your best, especially the TEXIT reference. I had to read twice the rethuglican plank and both times shaking my head. WTF do they think, although I'm not sure "thinking" is something easily done by that crew. As I mentioned earlier, I think the only thing left out was interracial marriage. GO BETO!
[The Texas Republican Party today approved a platform plank] "calling for a vote “for the people of Texas to determine whether or not the State of Texas should reassert its status as an independent nation.”
Good riddance. When and if Texas withdraws from the Union they will find some dazzling challenges ahead of them. Services provided or subsidized by the federal government would be withdrawn. Federal monies and subsidies would cease to flow to Texas. Frankly, I think "TEXIT" is just what the people of the United States need to see. I'm fairly certain any number of large and small business would pull up stakes and move elsewhere. TEXIT would leave Texas a pathetic cross between the societies described in The Handmaid's Tale and the Hunger Games. I hope clear thinking Texans have the gumption and financial wherewithal to pull up stakes and relocate as well.
How about a Mexican government of over 4 times the number of Texas residents deciding they would like their land back? Texas GQP is a joke of Dr. Seuss proportions.
Today, Juneteenth we celebrate the day 2.5 months after the end of the Civil War when Texas FINALLY got the word that its slaves were free. Today, 157 years later Texas is still a laggard as reflected by its GQP planks.
Wasn’t it 2.5 years???
2.5 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, months after the end of the war.
Thanks for clarifying.
Truth
That certainly is an interesting idea. I don't think México wants the white faux Christians who dwell on the land, though.
Faux christians?....hahahahhaaaahaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhahhaaaaaaaa...yeah..GMAFB! And, help me... I who have boarded with Presbyterians, Mormans, Southern Baptists, baptists, Hebrews, Italians(catholics), and farmers....tell me...wtf "IS" a christian, anyway?
Bradley,
I think the Mexican government ALREADY decided to convert Texas into a Mexican state.
If you have visited Texas any time in the last 10 years, you will heartily agree.
Nope, deadly serious. Texans love their weapons.
Daria Texas reminds me of all those museums that are being obliged to return treasures that had been stolen from other countries. I believe that Texas is in this category.
General Santa Anna, after being captured in 1836, was obliged to sign a document granting Texas independence from Mexico. Clearly this was under unacceptable coercion.
Then in 1846 President Polk authorized an American invasion into what was clearly Mexican territory. [Congressman Lincoln kept insisting that Polk show the ‘spot’ where this incursion occurred.] After a two-year war, America captured Mexico City and imposed a ‘peace treaty’ in which we took over one third of Mexico for our own—Texas, California, and some smaller states.
Currently we have problems with Mexico and its current president. As a sign of Good Neighborlyness, I recommend that we offer to return Texas to Mexico. Wouldn’t that reduce the border immigration problem? Also, Ted Cruz would no longer need a passport when he flees to Cancun.
Keith, you are ever the statesman!
Daria I am even willing to surrender Wheelock TX (which actually is 12 miles from North Zulch TX). In the early 1830s L. B. R. Wheelock fled New York because of an ‘affair of the heart’—I’ll let you figure out what this meant. He established a namesake town in Texas. (He was smart enough not to be buried there). The river changed its course and Wheelock became an abandoned town dominated by old women dressed in black with rolled up stockings. When I briefly visited this ‘family memento,’ I was careful not to mention my family connection. Bye bye Wheelock—go back to Mexico with my regards.
Keith, that is a great story!
👋 👋 👋
TEXIT. Your term, Daria? LOVE IT!
And yes, good riddance!
Strongly agree.
Good riddance to any state that wants to exit the United States. Let's see how it goes this time instead of wasting 2 million young lives not hardly changing anything.
Division works both ways.
Rose, as far as I know it is. 😉
Well done Daria.
TEXIT it is. I fully spport letting TEXIT proceed and letting TEXANS do whatever they want and letting TEXANS suffer the consequences of their own choices instead of making a bunch of young people in the north die to try to stop them again.
How many citizens of Texas are not Republicans? How many Texans don’t want Texit?
Yes, let us invite our clear-minded brothers and sisters in Texas to move to AZ, GA, PA, MI, WI, and NC to tip the balance in all and be rid of minoritarian rule in the USA.
Thank you for your nice comment.
Alot! We are the majority being run by a minority. Please don’t define us by this radical right wing extremism. SB 1, voter suppression laws, will be challenging to over come. But it will affect their R voters just the same.
Good question. Those who do not want TEXIT need to stand up, be heard and VOTE!
🙏 and what about those Texans in heavily gerrymandered districts? What other laws keep other citizens from voting in Texas? How are schools funded/defunded in Texas? How does a lack of quality in Texas education affect voting? To me, it keeps coming back to institutionalized inequality.
We are.
Many of us!
While I am in sympathy with "Texit", you raise a key point. The answer is a "large minority". What of them?
I think the answer is the majority of Texans do not want Texit. (Democrats + independent + undeclared voters).
When we listen to Judge Luttig, He is warning us all, but I fear the Judge may be too late.
Brava!
Thanks!
You do realize this state is run by a minority.
true, but the majority too often votes against their own self interests.
Then there must be a huge "minority" because these folks like Abbot, Cruz etc. keep getting voted into office.
18% in the first primary and 8% in the run offs for voter turnout. But factor in the new voter restrictions that went into place. Ex: mail in ballot application, the mail in ballot is confusing and requires a lot of information that is complicated especially for the senior citizens, 90% provisional ballots get thrown out. Name changes ( mostly affect women), address changes, signature matches. Regulations that cost money that the TXLege did not fund, mainly aimed at large Dem leaning counties. My husband is a poll watcher and he saw a lot.
8% in the first primary and 8% in the run offs for voter turnout." How would those numbers change with a massive massive voter turnout that was able to overwhelm. How long has Texans been voting for the like of Cruz even before the massive voter restrictions?
In terms of my State. 19% voted in the Primary in May. Kentucky is a gold standard for equitable voting. I personally know of a number of educated Democrats who not only ignored the Primary election but consider themselves above politics.
My overall point is the Republicans appear to be much more energized.
It was 18% in the first primary and I agree with you. Republicans are more energized, organized and they stick together like glue. Democrats, all over the map and unorganized and fight amongst each other. We live in a Red Co with a handful of Democrats (there may be more but they are probably afraid to admit it). This handful is divided with in-fighting, fighting over stupid stuff. They aren’t seeing the big picture, it’s frustrating and unbelievable. Beto came 3 or 4 points in 2018. The closest anyone has come. He lost because of South Texas, no Democrats went out there to campaign. So, they voted Republican, now wrap your head around that one. All those Latinos voting Republican! There are even some MAGA latinos, one just won a seat that was vacated by a Dem. However, it’s just until November but the Republicans are riding that wave. A Democrat will probably take the seat back in November.
Text is an inspiring term. Hope to see it catch on.
Spell check doesn't like it!
Screw spell check, and why are we all up so early?
Damn spellcheck. Texti!
I hate spellcheck
🤣🤣
"Good riddance".
I wholeheartedly and thoroughly agree. Let Texas do whatever it wants as an "independent nation".
And let us make sure we do not waste even one young life trying to stop stupidity in Texas.
Let Texans deal with Texas however they want and keep young people, not living in Texas, out of the mess they "might" create there.
No more dead bodies regarding the US Southern States. Not one.
However, don't give up on Texas yet. I have family there that are not crazy, do not condemn everyone different from them, and, would not agree to become an "independent" nation.
I think the Texas power grid illustrates how well Texas can look after itself.
That’s a classic example of how well go it alone Texas has worked in an inner connected world, how many hundreds died because of the failure of the state to provide electricity all because they didn’t want to be on the national grid. The Republicans in Texas have a wish list from hell, and the saddest thing is, that’s really how they think, it astounds me that so many educated people could have their heads so far up their own ass’s.
It boggles the mind. An entire state political party living in the Stone Age. I wonder if they know what a smart phone is. I wonder if they are aware that slavery and lynching are no longer legal.
Yes, Greg Abbott would make a fine, fine leader of that nation.
Hey, Mike. What's the reference to "young people, not living in Texas..." Sorry, I must have missed the back story to that.
Dr. Richardson, not infrequently, alludes to the Civil War that ended in 1865.
Today she notes that 2 million young men NOT living in the south died bringing the South back into the Union.
I am arguing that this time, we do NOT waste even one young person (in the north) on a southern state that wants to leave the Union.
This time, we force the southern folks to deal with the consequences of their own choices without wasting even one life external to a state that wishes to leave.
Thank you, Mike. It's so obvious, now that you've explained it. And I agree wholeheartedly; if they want to "run away from home," they need to take care of their own sorry selves.
What happens to the reasonable people in Texas - the ones with healthy, good values? The ones who can't afford to move? I would like to hope that this GQP platform will provide Beto with a campaign tool. Maybe, it could tip the balance? But if not...
Perhaps the sane states could offer to accept Texas immigrants on a pro-rated basis. And then the Nation of Texas can be the independent Nation of Idiocy.
I think what we are reading here is the result of disgust and exhaustion. Let the bigots and haters have their own nation. In pure principle, it makes sense.
Speaking of which, Daria, you mention the challenges Texas would face as a nation. Won't it be interesting to see how they handle the immigration crisis - without Federal support? Hmmm. The incredible irony of the flood of desperate people fleeing the results of Climate Change to find safety in a country that dumped so much CO2 into the atmosphere is the stuff of sci-fi movies.
Bill, if reasonable Texans can't make themselves be heard and they want to leave Texas then they need a way to migrate out of Texas safely. Financial resources must be made available. We pour vast amounts of money as, a nation and as individuals, into places like Ukraine. We must be willing to provide the same sort of support to our own.
Texas without Federal support will be one serious hell hole.
I had a former coworker, and a recruit of mine just retire and move, within the week, to Texas. He was always of the mind that god and guns were the way to go.
Oh boy.😔
Disinformation, Division, destabilization, Annexation. These are the goals of Russian ‘Active Measures’ to Break up the EU, Destabilize America, Russia can’t compete, so bring other countries down to their level. Sure seems like Texans fell in the trap. Texit like brexit is an ‘active measure’.
I believe you are right
Russia is a Third World country. A failed nation. They are stealing Ukraine’s agricultural crops, if you can believe it. Anyone who thinks for even a second that Russia is a peer of any democratic country is sadly deluded.
There is always secession talk every election by a few but it isn't taken seriously - usually. Please don't forget that whites are now in the minority in Texas. Texas Republicans are doing everything they can to keep their base voting for them. Problem is they may be going too far now and alienating the moderates and growing left. But please don't say good riddance to people like me.
Nor me. I am hopeful that this public declaration of abominable beliefs can be used now by right thinking Texans to elevate to our state offices, people with brains and hearts and a commitment to upholding the laws. This "platform" reads like a death sentence for most of the people I know. They vote. I, for one, am going to post it every single day on my FB page from now until November. I wish we could initiate a billboard response and plaster it all over the state. I guarantee that my LGBTQ friends who now enjoy being married will do THEIR part to unseat these hate-filled idiots. Sorry, Cathy, for the rant!
This is a good rant. Let's go make some Good Trouble and channel our anger with non-violent actions. We, the People, all of us this time!
Thanks for the reminder. We have family in Austin. My comments about "Texit" reflect a growing and seemingly never ending frustration. The Texas GQP platform just sent me reeling. Hope you are correct that they have gone too far. That list alienates just about everyone except the Klu Klux Klan.
I sent money to Beto.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you Cathy for this reality check. I get passionate and heated and want to throw
“Fill-in-the-blank-group” under the bus because I have no other action I can do in the moment to effect change in the situation. And so, when someone like you speaks up and says “Hey, wait a minute!” I really appreciate it!!! We are not groups we are people conveniently put in groups for other’s purposes. I hope in your sphere of influence down there in Texas, you can inspire pushback to what the gop are doing. Best Wishes and Good Luck.
I stand with you, Cathy.
Thank you! And, I with you.
I am in your same shoes in Kentucky. I stopped being hurt by peoples' vitriol towards Kentucky because it is well deserved. I guess we are in the position of guilt by association Cathy.
It might do those radical Texans good to realize a fair amount of the people in the USA would advise them to not let the door hit them on the way out.
Cathy, of course I don't say good riddance to you and other clear headed Texans. I hope that the latest Extreme Right planks horrify enough Republicans and Independents to vote Blue. I also hope that enough people outside of Texas recognize what's going on in Texas so they can work to nip it in the bud in their own states. (Like mine, WV. Don't think I don't understand insidious politicians.) I'm not very optimistic right now.
Daria, You can help Texas and the entire country by getting rid of Senator Manchin and the filibuster and reform the Senate into a democratic republic institution rather than a minority veto obstructionism. We, the People, all of us this time.
Cathy, I hear you. I get Manchin's self promoting newsletter every week. Every week he asks his constituents how he can help make their lives better. Every week I write a respectful e mail. Most weeks I get an infuriating response saying he is doing what's best for WV. Not hardly. Trust me, I get you.
Indeed I would, Ted Cruz being greeted as a rock star made me heave.
Ted Cruz - the worm who readily turns the other cheek and bends his knee in fealty to the mafioso who smeared his wife, Heidi, and his father - the worm who slithered off to CanCun... Ted Cruz, p-l-e-a-s-e....
He clerked for Luttig!!
You might note that, contrary to Jacobs, Luttig’s did not acknowledge him.
Thing is Jacob[s?] is an ex post facto kind of guy.
A jerk of a clerk.
Ha haha, you ain’t kiddin’
Agreed! Voted for Beto.
Jeri,
I think they were showing their enthusiasm for how many pancakes, hamburgers and home fries that Cruz ate for Breakfast at the morning gathering. They were all impressed.
However, I heard that Cruz ran everyone out of the men's bathroom for most of the afternoon.
TEXIT is such an appropriate term, Daria!
I am so relieved my son did not take a job at a small college in Texas! But, I do have a S. Sudanese family (former refugees, naturalized US citizens) who moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area from Massachusetts (they both work at a large national financial services firm) who I never stop worrying about. They have achieved the "American Dream" of homeownership, financial security, and are enjoying raising 4 children. However, because they live in Texas, I fear they will always (literally) have a target on their backs for being Black in America.
While South Sudan continues to be one of the largest humanitarian disasters in the world (as well as the poorest country) with mass starvation (made even worse by the Russian block of 20 million tons of grain from leaving Ukraine) and continuous war, several families are currently getting re-acquainted with relatives in their homeland and Kenya, where they have not been in decades.
All the S. Sudanese I know are appalled at what they see happening in the U.S.; the level of violence and love affair with guns, irreparable division between people who used to share worthy common goals and compassion, dangerous acts of discrimination, tremendous economic inequality, and abject crazy men at the helm. They have seen it before (as have we) and it does not have a good ending.
Janet, I know you must be constantly concerned about your S Sudanese family. What the adults have been through is unimaginable. I know I was a wreck when my daughter worked as a cops and crimes reporter in Texas. She finally left because she did not feel safe. Go Beto is right!
We never stop worrying! And, republicans have given us all so many more reasons to fret. Hopefully, Beto and like-minded Texans will continue to gain traction.
Just a side note: John Grisham wrote Sooley, about a South Sudanese basketball player getting a chance to play in the US…the chapters alternated with him and then his family left in a refugee camp. At the same time there is a documentary about 3 South S. brothers being sponsored through basketball in So CA….I couldn’t put the book down, was alternately fascinating and sad and horrendous. Thank you for your help with them.
Thanks for the tip on the Grisham book; I missed that one. Two others:
1) "What is the What" by Dave Eggers who "illuminates the history of the civil war in Sudan through the eyes of Valentino Achak Deng, a refugee now living in the United States" and
2) "What They Meant For Evil" by Rebecca Deng. I read Rebecca's book on a flight from Boston to LA and couldn't put it down- Carol you summed it up perfectly - fascinating, sad, and horrendous. She is a motivational speaker today and still only in her mid-30's. The resilience of people absolutely amazes and inspires me!
The 2014 film with Reese Witherspoon is worth a watch as well. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2652092/ It has some flaws but definitely hits the mark. Some of our guys were consulted for the film and were on a panel after its release in an independent theater near Boston. Parts were tough for our guys to watch and we all gripped hands as our tears streamed. There were also the parts where we all laughed and nodded about our shared and lighter experiences when they came to the U.S.
Sooley was great book. I have read every Grisham novel. This was quite different and very moving.
Carol, I will check this book out today. Thanks.
I am in Texas and there are a lot of good Democrats here. Huffines and West got 12% each in the gubernatorial primary and that was most of the people at the convention. They were attacking Dan Chrenshaw, calling him “eye patch McCain”. That is straight from Tucker Carlson’s mouth. John Cornyn got booed. Abbott’s people were totally outnumbered at the convention and this was a convention of radical extremists in Texas. It’s frightening but we are not giving up the fight. So, don’t kick us to the curb quite so fast. Instead, donate to Beto O’Roarke and help us out. We are retired teachers, we have family here: my parents, my children, my grandchildren etc. We can’t just pull up stakes and relocate plus there is no guarantee this radical extremism will not rear it’s ugly head in any other state. Your TEXIT comment isn’t helping, we need compassionate understanding.
I hear you loud and clear. I live in Kentucky. McConnell Country. What I do realize is that until the people of my State and yours wake up and raise their voices this will not change. And frankly I've come to realize there are a lot more trumpers in my blue City than I thought. People may say one thing or not say anything and vote MAGA. There is a good reason these folks get elected. More than the radical element (12% or so) are voting them in.
They are like Zombies going to the polls and voting R. No research on the candidates, what they stand for, what their policy strategies are. I also think they have been so brainwashed into thinking a vote for a Democrat is like a death vote. Communist! Socialist! The Republicans are good at scaring people.
Until their Social Security Disability, Medicaid checks stop coming they don't care or realize it is the Republicans who want to take it all away. They sure cashed those Child Care Tax Credit checks and the Recovery Act checks and fail to see the absolute hypocrisy in their thinking. They are indeed brainwashed.
If they get back in control they will be stepping on the necks of their own voters without hesitation.
The Republicans have been using scare tactics for decades and they are very, very good at it. They hit their base's emotional buttons with unerring precision. Alas, Dem messaging tends to be factual and dry. Great for those with critical thinking skills...it doesn't connect or sink in with those who have not those skills.
Barbara Perhaps you might follow the suggestion from The Mikado: “I have a little list. They never would be missed.”
Rachel. I hear you! I am being facetious. I have family in San Antonio and elsewhere in Texas. Permit me a bit of foolish hyperbola on Father’s Day.
Happy Father’s Day, Keith!
Thank you Rachel this was lovely to hear
Daria, there are many in Texas who are appalled by this, not all Texans are right wing MAGA extremists. We may be outnumbered but we won’t go down without a fight!
Maria-Elena, I do know that, believe me.
And, unfortunately the fact that guns can (and do) have such a dominant influence is the line we live on now. There is no assist from legislation and good, educated people can't stop bullets. 400 million guns (20 million AR-15 style weapons) in the hands of civilians and a culture that freely embraces misplaced manhood and bravado that encourages the lunacy. I have been to the NRA website once and was sick afterwards. And, that's really only the tip of the iceberg. As long as we allow guns to rule, democracy will end through violence, not by rule of law.
So how do we turn their gun dominance into a weakness? Start making their support for gun violence as visceral as they try to make pro-choice supporters. Let’s start flooding the zone with the aftermath of gun violence that they support. Let’s show the “protection” Hearts and Prayers gives really. Let talk to the emergency room workers dealing with bodies riddled with bullets -or more accurately blown apart by bullets. Let’s show over, and over, and over again, the statistics of gun suicides. Let’s get our artists and creative supporters to come up with ridicule for this insanity. Like a teacher’s lesson plan to teach smearing blood on yourself and playing dead to survive a day in school. Surviving a shopping trip to the grocer by putting on flack jackets and commando crawling the frozen food aisle for ice cream. Flip the Script and create a film where heterosexuality is a sin and parents try desperately to forbid their children from it, banish family members from their lives for it, get people fired from their job for it, and best of all: are made to live opposite from it, because “Hey! it’s just a choice”. Flood the Zone!
Without “Made in the USA” on the label inside their hats anymore, Mexico would annex Texit back as a territory. And then build a trump wall to keep the varmints from sneaking out. 😁
Salud, fab Daria!
Salud, my dear Christine!
You two are cute
Texas thinks it can survive on its own. The threat that any European country could use the breakup of the United States as an entry port for invasion ( US Civil War in 1861) is now past. Let them put it to a vote. Let them go. Proud Boys Proud
Not to worry, Sen Cruise and the rest of the grandstanding gop will never give up the power, or the stage. And, they sure as hell won’t give up being a welfare recipient State. Too bad.
Even omitting the possibility of secession, the regressive society they envision for their state is, as you correctly note, is right out of a dystopian sci-fi novel or movie. I get a chilling, sinking feeling not unlike when I saw this scene in the TV version of Atwood's Handmaid's Tale:
https://images.app.goo.gl/GXcwzCoZGU6Dagtf6
Daria, this is one of your best, especially the TEXIT reference. I had to read twice the rethuglican plank and both times shaking my head. WTF do they think, although I'm not sure "thinking" is something easily done by that crew. As I mentioned earlier, I think the only thing left out was interracial marriage. GO BETO!