MC Fresh Breath

To this we are told to just vote harder.

(nm, someone beat me to it)

So I was in Texas for the first time in 2.5 years this past week. Part of it was in Port A. Now, I saw some Trump flags before I moved away. But holy shit, this time they were every few feet. At a beach where some of us are just going to try and have a good day, others just want to spew their hate. And of course add in "Fuck Joe Biden" and the stupid "Let's Go Brandon." And the black American flags with the blue line in them. Every. Few. Feet. The overturning of Roe V. Wade being made official while I was there was pretty much on target. Also seems to be a competition as to how many flags one could or who has the largest. On our last day in Port A managed to find a spot with nobody with their flags on either side of us. But then the flagless went ahead and wore their shirts with the same messages. Its a goddamned cult and it has taken over. Truly brown shirts (because those flags are indeed Nazi flags) just spouting hate and obscenities in a public space full of families. Their whole identity tied in up in having to show you the crazy team to which they belong instead of just enjoying a day at the beach. It was oppressive. I grew up going to Texas beaches. Shit was never like that. I am truly sorry for those of you left there, and grateful to be back in Oregon, away from that crap. Again, though, given how things are going I do wonder if leaving Texas was far enough....

I will say another thing that hits you when you leave Texas is the amount of public land versus private in other States. https://www.summitpost.org/public-and-private-land-percentages-by-us-states/186111

Very similar reasons for me and my family. I wanted a smaller city, and I wanted to experience a true four seasons. I wanted epic nature as well. I have said it in many posts, so I don’t want to be too repetitive, but we fell in love with Bend, Oregon and I don’t see myself leaving unless one year fire forces me out. Moved here at the end of 2019. Love the weather, and the proximity to any outdoor activity you want to do is amazing. I will say I don’t mind cold. But the dry cold of the high desert is different than the wet cold winters elsewhere. We get nowhere near the amount of rain that Portland gets (that’s both good and bad). I have snowboarded and mountain biked on the same weekend. Fun as hell. Four hours to the coast, and the drives are beautiful. Your daily life in a smaller city is just easier. Easier to park, run errands, e.t.c. But you do get a lack of competition in some areas. The only high speed broadband company here sucks ass. There is state income tax, but no sales tax. And property taxes are much lower than in Austin. Legal cannabis, right to die. Abortion is in the State constitution. Like other posters have noted, the cities keep the State blue, but there are plenty of rural Trumpkins to be found. Sadly, lots of reports from people of color that they didn’t feel safe or welcome in Bend, even. That makes me sad, for real. So if I wasn’t white I would not have the same outlook here most likely. edit: while I am happy to be out of the crazy that is Texas, if moving for political reasons, I think you need to look outside the U.S. and even then you better be careful as right wing nationalism is on the rise all over.

I am pretty far from a lawyer or a constitutional scholar. But it sure seems to violate the separation of Church and State. And tax exempt organizations getting tax dollars seems odd.

The numbers don't match up, but if you search the pdf you can find the points. e.t.c. i'm not motivated to go through them all.

Thank you, sidis. Some of these points were what I was trying to glom onto, but didn't have the time/ability to summarize. The so-called possibility of secession is the more salacious discussion point, but these and other actual platform planks are just so bad. And its why I take issue with those who say "ah, that's just written by the fringe." It is the agreed upon platform for the Texas GOP. Just publishing that should sink one's political aspirations in a sane. world.

The secession bit gets all the discussion, but that platform is much more insidious. Here are some of the regressive positions from the Texas GOP, “the party of small government” : texas (reddit.com) Openly anti-anything decent.

Texas is the only state that came into the Union by treaty. It retains the right to secede at will. We have heard them threaten to secede so often that I formed an enthusiastic organization—The American Friends for Texas Secession. This stops the subject cold. They want to be able to secede but they don't want anyone to want them to. ― John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley

Agreed on secession, but I personally have a difficult time discerning between 'fringe lunatic' and mainstream Texas GOP.

Texas full on GQP ahead. The secession stuff imo is just sensationalist (how many electoral college votes would the R's lose w/o Texas?). But there's some other 'fun': Holy fuck. But wait, there's more: and of course, the abortion stuff. Texas Could Vote to Secede From U.S. in 2023 as GOP Pushes for Referendum (newsweek.com)

Lots of new albums. Could not make it through the new Drake. So far digging the new Logic.

I'm all about Griz these days.

Goddamnit. I just started Rebels. Finished Clone Wars before this series. Guess I have to avoid this thread now. Edit: goddamnit it happened again later in the thread. Between that and the “well actually” posts I am out. Surled

3 episodes in and it is really fantastic.

http://hiphopevolution.com/pages/about-the-series/ This documentary is on Netflix right now. Apparently made in 2016. I'm 3 episodes in and I cant' recommend it enough. Awesome production, the interview are great, and I'm learning a thing or two. If you even remotely like hip hop, give it a go.

Today I was in the mood to go check out LF_68's recommendations. Imagine my surprise when I could understand the vocals in this one. So far so good though.

Within the US I'm very happy with where I am after having left Texas. Love it. But, not being Surly elite, there is always the possibly of lose everything my wife and I have with some kind of long term medical issue as we age. That's the reason I would leave--Universal Healthcare. I'd gladly give up a decent amount of tax money for it as well. And I don't think it is ever happening here. The distinct possibility of being destitute as an elderly citizen due to medical costs scares me. However, I'm an older person with younger children. I know I'm here at least through their high school years. So after that, I'm much close to retirement age than go to a foreign country and work age. So most likely going down with the ship and working like hell to stay as healthy as possible.

https://www.dasbootleg13.com/collections/justified-arrogance/products/i-survived-school-today-black

Also, front page of the Onion right now is in its own way impactful. Multiple columns and locations with their "No way to Prevent this" meme.

Don't really know this dude, but I like his thoughts on the matter. https://www.thedailybeast.com/ruben-gallego-rips-nra-and-gop-after-school-slaughter-fuck-you-ted-cruz-and-fuck-your-prayers?ref=home

Actually, they would say "Pick up your damn clothes" and "HAVE YOU DONE YOUR HOMEWORK YET"