Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)

[unclevlad]

4 minutes ago, Pariah said:

Shut up, Texas. You're drunk.

 

'#Texit': A Texas state lawmaker says he will propose a referendum on seceding from the US because the 'federal government is out of control'

 

How much ya wanna bet his district is 80%+ Republican?  So there's basically no chance he'd be voted out of office.

[BoloOfEarth]

1 minute ago, Pariah said:

Shut up, Texas. You're drunk.

 

'#Texit': A Texas state lawmaker says he will propose a referendum on seceding from the US because the 'federal government is out of control'

 

I heard back in the 1970s that some Texans proposed building a wall around their state to keep the "riff-raff" out.  And that they stopped after discovering most of the donations were coming from adjoining states.

 

While I doubt it's true, it still amuses me greatly.

 

By the way...  How do you piss off a Texan? 

Point out that, if you cut Alaska in half, Texas would no longer be the second largest state in the Union.  (pause)  It would become the third largest.

[Pariah]

No bet, 'vlad. If you set the over-under a little higher, maybe.

[Matt the Bruins]

I'm not surprised to see Rick Crawford on the list. The only good thing I can say about him is that he's not as openly racist as Senator Cotton is.

[unclevlad]

6 minutes ago, Pariah said:

No bet, 'vlad. If you set the over-under a little higher, maybe.

 

Well, you have to allow for the possibility that the gerrymandering made sure to ensure 25% Democrats, so a neighboring district that might be only 60% Republican isn't put at risk.

[Ternaugh]

32 minutes ago, BoloOfEarth said:

 

I heard back in the 1970s that some Texans proposed building a wall around their state to keep the "riff-raff" out.  And that they stopped after discovering most of the donations were coming from adjoining states.

 

While I doubt it's true, it still amuses me greatly.

 

By the way...  How do you piss off a Texan? 

Point out that, if you cut Alaska in half, Texas would no longer be the second largest state in the Union.  (pause)  It would become the third largest.

 

When I was a kid, we traveled around the country in a Volkswagen camper. After spending 2 weeks going through Texas, a local told my Mom, "When you die, you can either go to Texas, or to hell."

 

Mom thought for a moment, and then said, "Well, I've already seen Texas."

[Pariah]

Growing up in Colorado, we had the joke "Why did Colorado get Texans while California got herpes? California won the coin toss."

[csyphrett]

5 hours ago, wcw43921 said:

Condescend much, Mr. Epstein?  Shows what we got to look forward to these next four years.

This guy can STFU. If you earned a degree, then you can be a doctor. It's a doctorate for a reason. This requires a Sam Jackson response, but it is forbidden and I don't want to be on the naughty list

CES

5 hours ago, Pariah said:

Shut up, Texas. You're drunk.

 

'#Texit': A Texas state lawmaker says he will propose a referendum on seceding from the US because the 'federal government is out of control'

This guy is a bigger DA than Epstein. Where do these guys come from?

CES 

[Lord Liaden]

6 hours ago, Pariah said:

Shut up, Texas. You're drunk.

 

'#Texit': A Texas state lawmaker says he will propose a referendum on seceding from the US because the 'federal government is out of control'

 

The irony is, if you look at the government in Washington right now, he's not wrong.

[Lord Liaden]

7 hours ago, wcw43921 said:

Condescend much, Mr. Epstein?  Shows what we got to look forward to these next four years.

 

He's 82, and obviously had his positions calcified some time in the 1960s. But if it's any comfort, at least there's a good chance we won't have to put up with Epstein for four more years.

[Lord Liaden]

1 hour ago, csyphrett said:

This guy is a bigger DA than Epstein. Where do these guys come from?

CES 

 

Sadly, from the people who keep voting them into office.

[tkdguy]

2 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

 

Sadly, from the people who keep voting them into office.

 

I was hesitating about posting this, but it seems fitting.

 

 

[Tom]

3 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

 

The irony is, if you look at the government in Washington right now, he's not wrong.

Unfortunately, it’s the out-of-control of mom and dad arguing about the directions while the car continues on wildly with no one holding the wheel.

[Lord Liaden]

And Dad is the kind who won't ask for directions because he's convinced he knows where he's going better than anyone.

[BoloOfEarth]

As to Texas seceding from the union, there's this:

https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-secede-texit-bill-legislature-2021-session/269-d1e5a05a-36eb-49c5-b205-a691ed8dec74

 

[quote]"The aspiration of the preamble is to create a more perfect union," added UT law professor Sanford Levinson. "Itself suggests that there can be no secession because, by definition, secession destroys the existing union rather than making it more perfect."[/quote]

 

I have two thoughts here:

1. I'm reminded of Robert Wuhl's comments in his excellent Assume the Position show about the phrase "more perfect."  To quote him, "There's no such thing as 'more perfect'!  You're either perfect, or you're not!"
2. That aside, what if a state leaving makes the remaining US a better place?  What if, say, Florida decided to break off on their own?  Do we really want to stop them?  (My apologies to any Floridians among these forumites.  I'm using your state mostly in jest.)

[DShomshak]

Well, some years ago I heard about Texans creating a petition to the Federal government that Texas secede. Promptly, people in other states created a petition that the Federal government insist upon it. And then people in Austin created a petition that the city secede from Texas.

 

I put it all in the eye-roll category as the petition to study the feasibility of building a Death Star.

 

Dean Shomshak

[Pariah]

1 hour ago, DShomshak said:

Well, some years ago I heard about Texans creating a petition to the Federal government that Texas secede. Promptly, people in other states created a petition that the Federal government insist upon it. And then people in Austin created a petition that the city secede from Texas.

 

This is pretty much how the state of West Virginia came to be. Virginia seceded from the Union, and then the western part of the state seceded back.

 

 

9 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

The irony is, if you look at the government in Washington right now, he's not wrong.

 

Perhaps, but not for the reasons he's claiming.

[Pariah]

"I lost everything helping to put Trump in office. My life and career were completely destroyed. Was it worth it? No. I feel utterly betrayed. I will have vengeance," Yiannopoulos vowed on Parler Friday.

 

He then made a pledge to dedicate "the rest of my life to the destruction of the Republican Party."

 

‘We defended a selfish clown for nothing’: Milo Yiannopoulos has meltdown on Parler after SCOTUS decision

 

Music, sweet music.

[unclevlad]

As bad as Covid-19 has been, consider this.

 

If it had waited a year...if the first reports were, let us say, just starting in now...where would we be a year from now?  With Trump likely having been re-elected.

[Lord Liaden]

5 hours ago, Pariah said:

Perhaps, but not for the reasons he's claiming.

 

Hence the "irony" part.

[csyphrett]

2 hours ago, unclevlad said:

As bad as Covid-19 has been, consider this.

 

If it had waited a year...if the first reports were, let us say, just starting in now...where would we be a year from now?  With Trump likely having been re-elected.

Imagine the firestorm if Hillary had been elected. They had 11 benghazi investigations that cleared her every single time, and were trying to start a 12th when she started running for president

CES

[Lord Liaden]

19 hours ago, unclevlad said:

As bad as Covid-19 has been, consider this.

 

If it had waited a year...if the first reports were, let us say, just starting in now...where would we be a year from now?  With Trump likely having been re-elected.

 

That is the terrifying part. America did not reject Trump and Trumpism. Coronavirus, and Trump's own incompetence, were likely the only factors that defeated him this time. Even with all that, he came close to being returned to power. And many of those legislators who most egregiously protected and enabled Trump were reelected.

 

That proves that the rhetoric of fear and hatred and blatant lies is effective in America today. The next aspiring tyrant has undoubtedly taken note of that, because the next one is probably smarter and more capable than Donald Trump.

[Lord Liaden]

20 hours ago, Pariah said:

"I lost everything helping to put Trump in office. My life and career were completely destroyed. Was it worth it? No. I feel utterly betrayed. I will have vengeance," Yiannopoulos vowed on Parler Friday.

 

He then made a pledge to dedicate "the rest of my life to the destruction of the Republican Party."

 

‘We defended a selfish clown for nothing’: Milo Yiannopoulos has meltdown on Parler after SCOTUS decision

 

Music, sweet music.

 

There is a certain satisfaction to knowing there's a breaking point for even the staunchest right-wingers to accept the inept antics of Trump and his rubber-stampers. However, I've yet to be convinced that even this will seriously undermine his base of support.

[unclevlad]

The Electoral College votes are being cast right now.  Each state has its own schedule so they're not all done yet.  Of note, tho, PA, AZ, and GA have finished, all votes going to Biden.  That leaves only Michigan as a potential disruptor, and it wouldn't be enough by itself to shift the overall tally to Trump.

 

So that's one more milestone passed.  I still won't say it's absolutely, positively OVER and Trump is GONE!!! until after Biden takes the oath of office, but this should, I think, make any challenge by Trump almost impossible, and any overt action even more explicitly a coup attempt under the law.  What remains to be seen is how many, or perhaps which, Republicans acknowledge Biden's win.

[BarretWallace]

1 hour ago, Lord Liaden said:

 

There is a certain satisfaction to knowing there's a breaking point for even the staunchest right-wingers to accept the inept antics of Trump and his rubber-stampers. However, I've yet to be convinced that even this will seriously undermine his base of support.

 

For me, it pains me greatly to think of close friends and relatives who remain rabid Trump supporters, even after repeated data (indulging my inner scientist) showing his complete lack of regard for humanity beyond himself.  I have at least one relative who is a rabid Covid denier, and will likely remain that way until it breaches their bubble--and perhaps even that would not be enough to break them of being a Trump zombie.  Yeah, zombies...I can't think of a better word to describe people who support Trump in spite of his hard work to convince us how unworthy he is to hold office.