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Brisketexan

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Everything posted by Brisketexan

  1. Bottom line, since being quite successfully initially, Australia got complacent and both relaxed their gun laws and apparently quite significantly relaxed their enforcement. And all of THAT said.....no set of laws or restrictions is or will be perfect.
  2. Here's the thing they don't get (or don't want to get). One can be for a thing -- say, light rail. One can be in favor of that concept. BUT, one can also be stridently opposed to that thing happening due to (1) the people who would be in charge of that thing, and (2) how they would execute that thing. I use the light rail example because that's exactly where I was on my "no" vote on light rail in Austin some years back. My take was "sure, I can make a case for light rail, it might be a good idea, but I will vote no 100% of the time if we're going to have Capital Metro in charge of it." Because they are demonstrably incompetent, they routinely lie to the voters about what they're planning (including how much it will actually cost, etc.). I told people "put it on the ballot with someone else running it, and I'd probably vote yes." On "immigration enforcement," I - and most of the "CR cabal libtards open borders lovers!" crowd are in favor of the concept. In fact, we can point you to numerous points in our history when we had reasonably effective border enforcement and monitored work permit programs, and our take is "let's do that." Or we point to GWB's immigration reform plan (that's right, us "libtards who just can't see anything worth approving on 'the other side'" point to GWB positively) as a pretty solid approach. What we are NOT in favor of is an administration that (1) lies openly and shamelessly about immigrants and immigration (no, Haitians were not eating dogs and cats), (2) has as an unabashed goal of purging this nation of all who don't meet their preferred vision (aryan nation shit), (3) gleefully and BRAGGINGLY targets people solely because of their ethnicity (note that none of the targeted ethnicities look like @Nicole44 - she will never, ever, ever be thrown to the ground and tossed in a hole for a day because ICE doesn't believe she's a "real American"), and (4) violates the law, the Constitution, and simple standards of humanity with joy and pride. People who support this admin's approach support things like (1) its chief advisers calling for the extermination/expulsion of all 65 million hispanics in this country (I didn't make that up, and Loomer isn't the only one to say it), (2) opposing not just illegal immigration, but legal immigration (see the Charlie Kirk tweet...and any of a hundred other things members of the admin have said and done to kick out people here legally, etc.), (3) implementing things like the newly proposed rule that anyone entering the country has to share all social media for the last five years so the regime can check to see if the person is appropriately loyal to (and not critical of) the Dear Leader. Those are all things that are part and parcel of current "immigration policy." That shit is poison, it destroys our country, the fabric of society, our humanity, our system of an actual Rule of Law, etc. The "medicine" is vastly worse than the condition it's supposed to treat. Immigration is actually something that can be handled quite easily, using tools we've long-had and have used before. We can reasonably manage our border, vet and monitor people who come in for work or asylum or simply visiting, etc. We're not doing that. We are installing and creating a gestapo that is openly used as a private military force in service of the regime, targeting entire ethnicities regardless of legal status, with a stated goal of driving all "undesirable" ethnicities (including mine) from our country altogether. If you are okay with that, just fucking own it. If you are NOT okay with it, you cannot say "yeah, but....they are also busting some illegals, so I'll let it go." No. Some things are deal breakers. At least, they are to human beings with any legal, moral, and ethical compass. I actually think @Nicole44 has such a compass. I just think she's let it get twisted wildly off of any true north, because she's swallowed a line of bullshit (sorry, in terms of all the things that are shitty in this country, immigrants and illegal immigration in particular are about .001% of the problem/cause), and because she's been blind to or cavalier about how bad and dangerous what's happening really is. Any time the regime of a country is built on a cornerstone of demonizing and blaming some "other" -- whether it be hispanics, or muslims, or jews, or anyone else -- which this regime PROUDLY is.....it's as clear a "DANGER WILL ROBINSON!" moment as you'll ever get. That's fucking poison, and it always takes you to very fucking dark places. Don't even start down that road.
  3. No. I accuse you of excusing and empowering horrific, xenophobic, white nativist evil bullshit by this admin because hey, I think we need to do SOMETHING about immigration. Want an omelette (enforcement against immigration violations)? Well, you gotta break eggs (violate the constitution like a motherfucker, call for the extermination of all hispanics from the US, call for brutality and expulsion against people with LEGAL status, etc. -- which is exactly what this admin is doing). That's what I accuse you of, and I'm right. Nope. Plenty of white people get this right. But plenty are like you -- zero fucking empathy, because it's not happening to you, and you aren't in the crosshairs. You are walking down the "who cares if 65 million hispanics are targeted every day, wherever they go....because I'M not hispanic, so not my problem." I need to do something about the bugs that get into my house. I COULD support a plan of sealing windows, and calling an ordinary exterminator. OR, I could call in a B-52 strike on my entire block, destroying dozens of homes and killing people, but hey, no more spiders in my house! You are so blinded by your desire of addressing a problem that (1) isn't nearly the level of problem the sources you swallow say it is, and (2) you don't give 1/100th of a fuck about who that plan hurts, whether it's consistent with the law, humanity, or basic American values. So long as we get rid of one dirty undocumented dishwasher, it's okay if we turn entire cities into armed camps and terrorize millions of people solely because their last name has a Z in it or some shit. Yeah, supporting that makes you a bad person. Being like the anti-muslim bigots in this story and wanting to expel every single fucking person who has ever been on a prayer rug from your country - you know, ethnic cleansing - because some shitheels who claim that faith support....ethnic cleansing....well, that's a take. Nope, no irony there.
  4. The land. I forgot about that part, when Venezuela stole all that land from the US. I mean, I have no idea what land this is or where it is, but yeah, they totally stole it from us.
  5. Wait. How does a country A steal oil that is entirely located within country A from....country B? Help me out here. Yeah, I know, he's pointing to their nationalization (which happened like 50 fucking years ago, with additional action under Chavez), but he doesn't understand that at all. Instead, he's a toddler, and everything in the world is "mine" if I want it. We're just going to fucking go to war with a country to steal their shit, without even a hint of an act of provocation. Fucking grand. Oh, and PEACE PRESIDENT! NO MORE WARS! Remember how literally all of the fucking MAGAs told us that's one of the reasons we should vote for Trump?????? Here's a hint -- they were lying. They always were, they always are, it's all they know how to do. Trump and Trumpism are a lie built on lies wrapped in lies. Fuck em all. Come around here and excuse this, Trump supporters. You couldn't stop yapping about how he was going to end all wars, and instead he's just starting them for no fucking reason whatsofuckingever. You fucking idiots, liars, or almost certainly, BOTH.
  6. But see, the Cato institute is clearly a libtard plot. Wait, what's that, they're one of the longest-standing libertarian think tanks? Huh. Interedasting.
  7. Now include the math on how much the Texas Public Policy Foundation, one of the most conservative think-tanks around, saved on construction by using efficient (and likely relatively low-paid) hispanic labor that almost certainly included undocumented workers. And multiply that savings by.....every construction outfit from California to Louisiana, and a shitload of other places. And now include the math on how much consumers - including you - saved on produce harvested by undocumented labor. And now include the math on how much consumers - including you - saved on meals out where the back-of-house staff included undocumented labor. And on and on and on. It's amazing that laissez-faire "economic freedom" types, who demand that the market set everything, with no regulation....don't want to let the market respond to demands and supplies of labor. TPPF wanted a good, efficient construction crew at a fair price. There was a team of brown dudes that originated in latin america ready to meet that need. They met, and the market worked. And EVERYONE benefited. And yeah, even you, because the building you office in is cheaper because it was built, maintained, and is presently cleaned by a crew that very likely includes undocumented labor. Are you mad that your rent is 5% lower than it otherwise would be? That your building maintenance is 5% cheaper? BTW, we could set up a system that allowed for such transactions, tracked the workers doing them, provided for taxes, etc....but we won't, and you know exactly why we won't (GWB tried to do exactly that, and got destroyed by your people). Somehow, I never see people complaining about THOSE effects of undocumented labor. Huh. Interesting. I guess they live in a world where math only works in one direction. Interesting physics, I guess. And yeah, what Brian posted below - it was a bullshit study, and most data on the point has shown, from a TAX DOLLARS PERSPECTIVE, it's a pretty neutral issue. Sorry, the reason your state government doesn't fund your schools and repair your roads isn't because "DEM ILLEGALS DONE TOOK ALL OUR MONEY!" It's because the people you keep voting for want to kill our schools and fuck over the people of the state for the benefit of literally a half dozen billionaires, who have convinced you to ram a stick up your own ass and call it winning.
  8. "But it's just about enforcing our laws! Just do it the right way! We have no problem with people who do it the right way!" Fuck off with your motte and bailey bullshit lies about "just enforce our laws." It was never, ever, ever, ever about actually enforcing laws and stopping illegal immigration. It's about good old-fashioned white-supremacist nativist bullshit. It's not even fucking original. It's the same bullshit the same pathetic loser fucks have been spouting for 150 years. Congratufuckinglations, you're just as fucking racist and dumb as a fucking uneducated dipshit living in the 1890s spouting the same stupid rants. The problem in 1890 wasn't the dirty Irish coming over. The problem in 2025 isn't dirty brown people over here. The problem both times was utter fucking idiots who blamed the Irish or brown people for their own shitty lives, which were mostly shitty because they are fucking dumbasses, and also because those dumbasses thought that robber-barons selling nativist bullshit to divide and conquer were actually there to help them. They weren't, and they aren't. They're here to keep you distracted, so they can keep fucking you over. And it still works, because you're still dumbasses.
  9. Oh, and if you wonder HOW we know that this isn't about "ZOMG, WE JUST WANT PEOPLE TO DO IT THE RIGHT WAY," remember the unambiguous statement of one of the most trusted and followed advisers of the administration: Not "11 million illegals," or whatever the number they choose to go with today. 65 million. A number chosen on purpose, with precision. There are 65 million hispanics in the US. @Nicole44, one of the key voices of the administration called for me, and my entire family, to go away. Well, not to go away -- to die. Do you think that I should try to engage in "productive dialogue" with people who plainly, openly, and unabashedly believe that my entire ethnicity must be removed from this country? OUR country? You know, the one I'm a natural-born citizen of? Put your white-ass in my shoes. Or, shit, just imagine you're a jew in 1933 Europe (jewish population at the time: 9.5 million), and one of Hitler's leading advisers said "the good news is, the camps we are building have room for 9.5 million people." What would YOU think? That he was just talking about the, ummm, criminal jews? Or illegal immigrant jews? What would YOU do? This is motte and bailey fallacy bullshit. What is happening now is NOT about "enforcing our laws." It is about ethnic cleansing. "Remigration" is not about getting illegals to leave. It is not even about getting all immigrants - even legal ones - to leave. It is about purging American of everyone who doesn't meet the aryan purity test. 65 million. The regime did not use that number by accident. I am in their crosshairs. So are my children. How would YOU approach that? It's really fucking easy to sit on the sidelines and both sides this shit when you and yours aren't the targets. When you and yours won't be thrown to the ground in a "Kavanaugh stop." When you and yours won't be detained for hours because the authorities won't accept your Real ID as proof of citizenship, and you must be fucking stupid for not traveling with your passport every time you leave the house to go to the store. You don't have to worry about any of that....and thus, you don't care. If THAT is the America you want, fuck you.
  10. This. Among the people who are critical of the shit that's gone down the past year, I'd bet that 90%+ of us would be totally on board with that approach. But there is no interest in this, because the issue is not about ANY of those things. Listen to the administration when they tell you who they are and what they want. This is about a white supremacist vision for the country, fueled by irrational xenophobia, built on a shitload of lies (they're eating the dogs, they're eating the cats -- and then JD Vance fucking ADMITTED that was a lie, and the rubes still buy it because it's what they want to hear). And this, this, this. On the list of things ACTUALLY causing economic, social, criminal, and other issues in this country and among its residents....immigration is WAY down the fucking list. But it's the issue that gives you the convenient, warm-fuzzy outlet of hating an "other," so that's what matters. Sorry, guys. The reason your life sucks, the good jobs are gone, your roads are in disrepair, your healthcare sucks and is more expensive than ever, etc. etc. etc., is NOT because some Haitian people live in Springfield and work their asses off. It's not because the fantastic construction crew down the street are all fans of mexican league soccer teams. It's largely because of shit conceived by, implemented by, and currently supported by.....the folks to whom you have handed all the keys of power because they have promised to be dicks to Haitians. You keep fucking playing yourselves, and you wonder why shit continues to get worse, not better. Oh, and CSB - one of my favorite examples of the utter hypocrisy and how you are getting played: I office not too far from the fancy new building that is the headquarters of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. You know, the same TPPF (a political advocacy group) that is 100% aligned with the Abbott and Trump administrations. They built that palace, from the ground up. One of the things I liked most about that project was . . . at lunch time, a great taco truck would show up to sell lunch to the ENTIRELY hispanic construction crew. The line to get food was nothing but dudes in hard hats speaking spanish. And, on occasion, me. Because I saw a hack to get 4 great tacos for $6. So, summary: dirty beaners need to GTFO....except while they are building our palace (in which we will have numerous meetings discussing all the ways to crush the dirty beaners), because we are ALL for exploiting their cheap and high-quality labor. Free from all consequences, of course. The project was literally 150 yards from platoons of DPS troopers...yet not a SINGLE immigration check took place. Gosh, what a mystery that is.
  11. Man....that phrase is doing some heavy, unconstitutional lifting there. I guess "detaining an entire east African restaurant due to the ethnicity of the patrons, but whoops, they were all citizens or legal residents" is "enforcing the laws on the books." Etc. etc. etc. And of course, minimal enforcement against ANY of the donor class that employs undocumented workers. Notably missing. Hmmm.....it's almost like the policy AS PRACTICED BY THIS REGIME is primarily focused on ethnic cleansing, not on practical enforcement.
  12. CONGRESS LITERALLY HAD COMPREHENSIVE LEGISLATION READY TO GO. THAT IS THE PROPOSAL. And he said "NO," not because there was any policy problem with it, but because (1) he needs immigration as a rallying point issue, and (2) he needs and wants to be cruel and violent. That's actually the point. When a key element of his governance is "be the fucking gestapo," a suggestion of "maybe don't be the gestapo" is fucking stupid and pointless. This admin has zero interest in immigration reform. FFS, they are openly in favor of DE-MIGRATION. They are actively working to remove LEGAL residents from the US. They have openly stated if you aren't a NATIVE-BORN American (and note, not even THAT is good enough), GTFO. Period. There's no "negotiation" or "honest policy discussion" with that shit. GTFO here with that shit.
  13. None of us have any solutions. Except most of us supported the immigration reform proposal advanced by......noted libtard George W. Bush. An approach that was killed dead largely by the same groups that want to run on "immigration is outta control!" today. Except most of us supported the immigration reform proposal that was going to be passed by Congress in 2024....until TFG ordered his obedient, spineless minions in Congress to kill it so he could keep running on "ZOMG IMMIGRATION BAD!" There have been countless proposals, large and small, to fix our immigration system over the past 25 years. None of them happen. I know why. You know why. We all know why. So, don't tell us that we have no ideas for solutions. Now, you're right, we can't actually impose those solutions....because there is an entire political party and movement, which is currently in power in Texas and the US, and which has wielded inordinate power for at least a quarter century, that WILL NOT ALLOW ANY REFORM, NOT EVEN A LITTLE BIT.
  14. All I know is that one year, the only year ever, my wife was SO frustrated with our moderate coverage, with HSA, and the PITA of administering all those expenses, that she insisted we do the "buy-up" expensive plan that had low-as-hell deductibles (but the most expensive premium). Cost me an extra couple thousand in premium that year. BUT...it was also the year my daughter had a critical infection and had to be hospitalized for a week, then undergo extensive treatment for months. Total bill was $180k or so. I wrote one $1,000 check for my deductible, and never worried about the cost of her treatment again. Lucky timing. If that happened today, we'd be out $6k or so (I think), at least. Our system is completely fucked and fucky, and the GQP "fixes" are nothing of the sort.
  15. Cold hard truths. My family has been here since it was Coahuila y Tejas, you fucking newcomers. And one of my dad's first jobs was driving shuttle vans to get braceros (migrant workers) to farm work sites in S. Texas in the early 50s. Raging against hispanics in America is as fucking stupid as raging against descendants of englishmen in America. We were here at the inception. And we've kept coming, just like the English, and Germans, and Irish, and Chinese (oh, remember - we hated the FUCK outta them too. And the Irish. And the dirty dagos. Sense a pattern here? Lazy xenophobia much?). What I love about this reactionary "MUSLIMS ARE EVIL AND WE HAVE TO EXPEL THEM ALL!" is that it is literally identical to....the shit that islamofascists say and are demonized for. "JEWS ARE EVIL AND WE MUST EXPEL THEM FROM THE HOLY LAND!" And according to our right-wing thought leaders, the right response to the fact that a small percentage (seriously, it's a very small percentage) of muslims are of the "we cannot tolerate the infidel and must use violence against them" variety is.....to act exactly the same fucking way AGAINST them. Personally, I say we expel all hateful assholes. That way, we get to boot both islamofascists AND Christofascists. If we got to put an islamic terrorist and Tommy Tubberville on the same plane outta here, it would be a massive win for society.
  16. Oh, my friend. Hope is for suckers. Despair following the rules of (1) it only gets worse, and (2) there is no bottom, is where it's at these days. You should join us out on the ledge. I think there's even room for you to lie down.
  17. My great hope is that all of them seem to be pouring all of their energy and wealth into AI.....so when it collapses, it will take them down with it.
  18. "Stupid shit yelled loudly and repeatedly" is perhaps the most valuable commodity of the past 20 years or so.
  19. At this point, an increasingly larger percentage of Americans -- from various spots on the political spectrum -- feels similarly. The hubris of the billionaire class will be their undoing. The problem is, as if often the case in such situations, their well-being is too wrapped up in the functioning of the rest of society, so the collateral damage will be significant when it happens. Plenty of folks have been shouting these warnings for years, including some intelligent and self-aware members of the billionaire class, but human ego, narcissism, and hubris are unstoppable forces. They will stop only when they meet their brutal destruction, by which point it is way too late.
  20. THESE. The problem isn't that there are no good ideas. The problem is that we've created a system where (1) the only ideas deemed "good" are those that will increase the flow of the firehose of money to billionaires, and billionaires only, and (2) ANY AND ALL OTHER IDEAS, because they either serve the common good or create smaller profits and/or profits only for people below the billionaire class, are not just not favored, they are condemned as evil and socialism and we must disband the EU and pass laws against them etc. etc. If you want to know how you get guillotines, this path is exactly how you get guillotines.
  21. Say what you will, but “The Summit of Grifting Cunts” was the best prog-rock album of 2024.
  22. Yeah…that one sucks. Dammit.
  23. This. Short truths: If AI turns out to be all they are promising, we’re fucked (social collapse, job losses, super intelligence that escapes our control, etc.) If AI turns out NOT to be all they are promising, we’re fucked (massive economic collapse with domino effect. AI shit accounts for literally all of our positive GDP right now).
  24. I mean…this is spot-on.
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