Texas Primaries

[atomheartbevo 88751]

28 minutes ago, Js1 said:

Working on it 

[Guest]

What just happened is that anything Greg Abbott wants, he will now get. Abbott took a big gamble and he won big time. 

I think any hope of the state moving more purple was set back 20 years by Covid migration/culture wars. 

The sitting House speaker -- and the only one ever from southeast Texas -- is about to be primaried. I can't believe it. 

[chainsaw 9441]

Just now, FirstTimeCaller said:

What just happened is that anything Greg Abbott wants, he will now get. Abbott took a big gamble and he won big time. 

I think any hope of the state moving more purple was set back 20 years by Covid migration/culture wars. 

The sitting House speaker -- and the only one ever from southeast Texas -- is about to be primaried. I can't believe it. 

runoff

[MrBig 5101]

Marc LaHood is Nico LaHood’s brother? I fucking hated him when he was the DA in San Antonio. I hope Tim Duncan didn’t endorse this fuckface either. 

[SydneyCarton 47093]

39 minutes ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

So glad I left in 2019. Seriously. Anyone with a modicum of intelligence who is under 50 will get the fuck out of the shithole Texas has become.

Tied at the hip here for at least another decade. 

[Guest]

Just now, chainsaw said:

runoff

Yes, and do you think the more than 50% of people that didn't vote for Phelan are now going to back him? This was Phelan versus "Not Phelan."

I don't see the 47% of Covey voters moving to Phelan and the 10% of people that voted for Alicia Davis ain't doing it either.

[Valmy77 12519]

Only a fraction of those that voted in the primary will vote in the runoff. It depends on whose supporters are more motivated.

[The Original Greaser Bob 2672]

11 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Tied at the hip here for at least another decade.

Same here.  Son in law is the young Turk of Allen residential real estate.  Which means grandson is here which means wife won't leave until grandson finishes his career at QB of Allen High School.

 

[Js1 82369]

33 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

Only a fraction of those that voted in the primary will vote in the runoff. It depends on whose supporters are more motivated.

It’s always the crazies. See, 2012, Cruz/Dewhurst runoff 

For reference:

Dewhurst won the initial round, 45-34.  Cruz crushed him in the run-off, 57-43

Edited March 6 by Js1

[chainsaw 9441]

22 minutes ago, Js1 said:

It’s always the crazies. See, 2012, Cruz/Dewhurst runoff 

For reference:

Dewhurst won the initial round, 45-34.  Cruz crushed him in the run-off, 57-43

Are Democrats allowed to participate in the runoff?

[YGIFS 19443]

Well I'm super glad everybody pulled a D primary ballot so now they can't vote in protect the last few sane republican lawmakers (yeah, yeah---they're all crazy and stupid and cruel.........how's that strategy working out for you?).  And now we get to throw $50mm+ at Allred to watch him lose to Cruz by 8 points.  We all had a chance to beat down Abbott/Paxton primary flunkies for at least the Devil we knew.  And it's all but over now.  But yippie, we got to vote for unchallenged urban Justice of the Peace races on the Blue Side.  I know many of are people of political conviction.  But when you can vote to punish bad people, take it and fuck your principles.  Even my demented ass didn't see the GOP primaries going this horrible.

You are all really not going to like what happens next.

[Guest]

I am absolutely dumbfounded that a president blatantly tries to steal an election and candidates seek and benefit from his endorsement.  

[cactusflinthead 26791]

Just now, chainsaw said:

Are Democrats allowed to participate in the runoff?

Unless you voted in the R primary then no.

[Guest]

Just now, chainsaw said:

Are Democrats allowed to participate in the runoff?

I believe they cannot if they voted in the Dem primary the first go-round.

[Js1 82369]

2 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

Well I'm super glad everybody pulled a D primary ballot so now they can't vote in protect the last few sane republican lawmakers (yeah, yeah---they're all crazy and stupid and cruel.........how's that strategy working out for you?).  And now we get to throw $50mm+ at Allred to watch him lose to Cruz by 8 points.  We all had a chance to beat down Abbott/Paxton primary flunkies for at least the Devil we knew.  And it's all but over now.  But yippie, we got to vote for unchallenged urban Justice of the Peace races on the Blue Side.  I know many of are people of political conviction.  But when you can vote to punish bad people, take it and fuck your principles.  Even my demented ass didn't see the GOP primaries going this horrible.

You are all really not going to like what happens next.

Well we had some competitive Dem primaries locally to vote for so you can stop your sanctimonious bullshit. 

I continue to be tired of former republicans expecting democrats  to save them from themselves. 

Edited March 6 by Js1

[Guest]

If a voter has not yet affiliated with a party, they are able to vote in either party’s primary election. However, if a voter votes in the primary of one party, they will only be able to vote in that party’s primary runoff election. (§§162.012, 162.013) After being affiliated with a party, a voter is not able to change or cancel their party affiliation until the end of the calendar year. (§162.010)

https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/laws/advisory2020-05.shtml

[chainsaw 9441]

1 minute ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

I believe they cannot if they voted in the Dem primary the first go-round.

A lot of D stayed home. I think the key will be to nudge those people to the polls.

[YGIFS 19443]

1 minute ago, Js1 said:

Well we had some competitive Dem primaries locally to vote for so you can stop your sanctimonious bullshit. 

And I'm sure those elected officials will be well empowered to stop what's coming.  And certainly won't waste money better spent on the races that could actually matter in the handful of competitive races of substance.

[Ghost of LL 15225]

1 hour ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

So glad I left in 2019. Seriously. Anyone with a modicum of intelligence who is under 50 will get the fuck out of the shithole Texas has become.

My friend, Mrs.LL and I will be joining you in NYC in just a few years.  I have to get the youngest out of the house and safely into college (she's in 7th Grade now).  But once that's done, I can get the fuck out of this shithole and never fucking look back.

And by the way, I'm a 6th Generation Texan.  Saying that pains me.  But then I remember that one set of great-grandparents were Nth Generation Czechs; another set of ancestors were once Nth Generation English.  But they all figured out at some point that they needed to leave the shithole they were in to seek their entertainment and fortunes elsewhere.  And it won't take six more generations for my descendants to wonder "why the fuck did our family ever live in Texas?"

[Nice Guy Eddie 13271]

Sheila Jackson Lee had the toughest primary race of her congressional career and still won 60-38. smh. I hate being in her district. She's not leaving until she dies.

[Pato del Muerto 51914]

14 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

My friend, Mrs.LL and I will be joining you in NYC in just a few years.  I have to get the youngest out of the house and safely into college (she's in 7th Grade now).  But once that's done, I can get the fuck out of this shithole and never fucking look back.

And by the way, I'm a 6th Generation Texan.  Saying that pains me.  But then I remember that one set of great-grandparents were Nth Generation Czechs; another set of ancestors were once Nth Generation English.  But they all figured out at some point that they needed to leave the shithole they were in to seek their entertainment and fortunes elsewhere.  And it won't take six more generations for my descendants to wonder "why the fuck did our family ever live in Texas?"

Why do you feel that your kid must stay where she is for school and friends?  

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Why do you feel that your kid must stay where she is for school and friends?  

For us, it's family. Parents getting older. Would like the kid to be near family.

[Js1 82369]

7 minutes ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

For us, it's family. Parents getting older. Would like the kid to be near family.

I can fly back 3-4 times a year to visit my nephews / family. But it’s not going to get better for GoLL and his daughter the next few years. I hope she’s not doing sports bc next thing will be public schools tracking menstruation data 

[Make em eat Taco Bell 1548]

https://mothersagainstgregabbott.com/

[elfenix 34000]

15 hours ago, Longhorn94 said:

I'm a 6th generation Texan. How did we get here?

 

one stat from the 2018 election was that native texans voted for beto, while transplants voted for cruz.  so it's partly due to people moving here for the "texas miracle" veneer the republican party has been selling for the last 30 years.

Edited March 6 by elfenix

[YGIFS 19443]

21 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

My friend, Mrs.LL and I will be joining you in NYC in just a few years.  I have to get the youngest out of the house and safely into college (she's in 7th Grade now).  But once that's done, I can get the fuck out of this shithole and never fucking look back.

And by the way, I'm a 6th Generation Texan.  Saying that pains me.  But then I remember that one set of great-grandparents were Nth Generation Czechs; another set of ancestors were once Nth Generation English.  But they all figured out at some point that they needed to leave the shithole they were in to seek their entertainment and fortunes elsewhere.  And it won't take six more generations for my descendants to wonder "why the fuck did our family ever live in Texas?"

Well as much I give people guff for boasting about what generation Texan they are, the one thing they have zero involvement in...I will give you credit for my new band name, "The Nth Generation Czechs."  We're kind of a bluegrass meets polka thing.  

I am just utterly torn.  I want  to stay and improve this place.  My kids love it here.  Wife claims she wouldn't leave because family is somewhat closeby in Fort Worth and Kansas but they're all fucking denial that this is all going to get far worse before it gets any better.  And we have two young girls and every goddamn fucking turn, it's just about punishing women for being women.  And many women are in on it, but for another thread I suppose.  I honestly think we'd go to another country before we went to another state.  Can't afford California, hate the rest of the warm states.  Maybe Hawaii?  I can get a permanent visa to Costa Rica or Portugal through family.  We have right of return status on my mother's side to Israel but obviously not an ideal conversation to have with the wife right now given the situation (and I totally get that).  But my wife just doesn't see what's coming.  She's too optimistic and too sweet and too forgiving of people.  I get upending the only home and life our girls have ever known for political reasons seems bizarre.  But then, her family left Russia for Germany during a Catholic Purge.  I had some relatives that left Europe for being Jews and on the other side, others were conscripted to serve in the Kriegsmarine for the Reich.  I don't want my children to have to make choices like that. 

Let's not be dramatic.  We're not there yet.  But it sure as shit feels like we're at the thing that gets us to the thing.

[Js1 82369]

1 minute ago, elfenix said:

one stat from the 2018 election was that native texans voted for beto, while transplants voted for cruz.  so it's party due to people moving here for the "texas miracle" veneer the republican party has been selling for the last 30 years.

Gas, “low” taxes and freedumb 

Just now, YGIFS said:

Wife claims she wouldn't leave because family is somewhat closeby in Fort Worth and Kansas but they're all fucking denial that this is all going to get far worse before it gets any better.  And we have two young girls and every goddamn fucking turn, it's just about punishing women for being women.  And many women are in on it, but for another thread I suppose.  I honestly think we'd go to another country before we went to another state.  Can't afford California, hate the rest of the warm states.  Maybe Hawaii?

Why not Colorado? You can be Kansas adjacent in a blue state 

[SubliminalHorn 6328]

Unfortunately I’m stuck here until my parents pass on. I told my dad and brother that we need to have some sort of exit plan in case the fascists really ramp things up. My husband and I would have to leave as we wouldn’t be safe. My dad thinks I’m overreacting and we just need to vote. I think he’s just from another time and can’t imagine our state and country going the way of fascism. 
 

 

[Nice Guy Eddie 13271]

3 minutes ago, SubliminalHorn said:

Unfortunately I’m stuck here until my parents pass on. I told my dad and brother that we need to have some sort of exit plan in case the fascists really ramp things up. My husband and I would have to leave as we wouldn’t be safe. My dad thinks I’m overreacting and we just need to vote. I think he’s just from another time and can’t imagine our state and country going the way of fascism. 

For those with elderly parents and kids, these become the reason that many middle aged people end up staying in a location effectively forever. Their elderly parents will never leave, and then eventually you want to be near the kids/grandkids. The cycle perpetuates itself.

If one young-ish parent has a desire to leave Texas, the best path is to convince your kid to go to college out of state. Preferably not in an adjoining state. They live in another state, get married and have kids. 

[Ghost of LL 15225]

16 minutes ago, Js1 said:

I can fly back 3-4 times a year to visit my nephews / family. But it’s not going to get better for GoLL and his daughter the next few years. I hope she’s not doing sports bc next thing will be public schools tracking menstruation data 

Ha--yeah, she's definitely not doing any sports.  She's an arts kid.

And look--nothing really affects her right now.  When they pass vouchers, our school district will be about the last to be really impacted.  When she needs contraceptives, we'll be able to get them from out of state.  There's really no present reason to uproot the family because I can see what's coming (but not here yet).

10 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

Well as much I give people guff for boasting about what generation Texan they are, the one thing they have zero involvement in...I will give you credit for my new band name, "The Nth Generation Czechs."  We're kind of a bluegrass meets polka thing.  

And I'd pay to go see that band.

[BrickHorn 17983]

1 hour ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

So glad I left in 2019. Seriously. Anyone with a modicum of intelligence who is under 50 will get the fuck out of the shithole Texas has become.

I told my wife yesterday we’re leaving after our daughter graduates. That kid is tearing through a full slate of AP classes like Michelangelo through a kindergarten finger painting lesson, and mentioned yesterday that she’s interested in UT. To which I responded “Fuck no. No daughter of mine is attending the University of fucking Texas.” Which stunned me when I processed what I had just said and realized I meant every word of it.

How the fuck did we get here?

[YGIFS 19443]

17 minutes ago, elfenix said:

one stat from the 2018 election was that native texans voted for beto, while transplants voted for cruz.  so it's party due to people moving here for the "texas miracle" veneer the republican party has been selling for the last 30 years.

Was talking with a friend who runs the Texas Polling Project about this awhile back.  How sometimes the party line is "all these coastal, liberal elites are moving to Texas and trying to undermine our political values, etc."  And then the next day, it's ""All these conservative folks are fleeing oppressive blue state governments to come to Texas and enjoy Liberty."  And his team was trying to sort out a poll to get some decent statistical analysis of what was actually happening, and he's s stickler for details.  And after a few weeks of trying to read into the bullshit narrative of our state leadership, finally just said, "Fuck it" and moved on...

16 minutes ago, Js1 said:

Gas, “low” taxes and freedumb 

Why not Colorado? You can be Kansas adjacent in a blue state 

Good point. We talked about Colorado and could likely swing a decent spread up there.  Problem is the girls got their mom's DNA when it comes to cold weather.  Although she grew up in NW Kansas, she can't handle anything under 75 and neither can the girls.  I grew up in some of the harshest winters Chicago ever knew, so it doesn't bother me but the heat does.  I mean never mind our politics, the fucking state's weather is just getting shittier and shittier.  But yeah, gives me something to stew on and chat about with her family when we see them later this month.  The eastern half of Colorado, while not as pretty as the other side is more temperate and closer to her family.  Certainly worth a few conversations. 

Although, I may or may not have a restraining order against me in that part of Colorado if Lauren Boebert wins the new seat because I keep calling her office when I'm stuck in traffic.  My last call ended in "Sir, your harassing calls may result in a restraining order."  To which I replied, "Would she serve me in person, like by hand?"  Then the guy replies, "If that's what it takes, then maybe."  So I said, "Then I'll maybe take the hand serving at Beetlejuice"  He was not amused, but I laughed all the way down MoPac.  

Edited March 6 by YGIFS

[Brisketexan 103148]

56 minutes ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

I am absolutely dumbfounded that a president blatantly tries to steal an election and candidates seek and benefit from his endorsement.  

You should stop being dumbfounded.  Just remember the Brisket Rules for the 21st Century: 1) It only gets worse, and 2) there is no bottom.

That's it.  Those are the entirety of the rules.

55 minutes ago, Js1 said:

Well we had some competitive Dem primaries locally to vote for so you can stop your sanctimonious bullshit. 

And this.  I had some important judicial races here to vote in (and a DA's race, although fat lot of good that did).  But I am also in an area where there's not many competitive GQP races I could have voted in (Ct. of Criminal Appeals and SCOTX, but those wouldn't have made a difference either).

11 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

Let's not be dramatic.  We're not there yet.  But it sure as shit feels like we're at the thing that gets us to the thing.

For anyone who has read ANY history books, we're actually past the thing that gets us to the thing.  The ultimate thing is a lot closer than you realize.  It will happen to us, just like it's happened to other "civilized countries."  And, if we're lucky, decades later, people will be asking "HOW IN THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN?"  The answer will be easy: the same way it always does, as you pointed out above.

[F250 28380]

58 minutes ago, chainsaw said:

A lot of D stayed home

 

[BrickHorn 17983]

8 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

For anyone who has read ANY history books, we're actually past the thing that gets us to the thing.  The ultimate thing is a lot closer than you realize.  It will happen to us, just like it's happened to other "civilized countries."  And, if we're lucky, decades later, people will be asking "HOW IN THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN?"  The answer will be easy: the same way it always does, as you pointed out above.

This. Human beings in general suck. The natural state of affairs is a steady progression towards war, persecution, and general awfulness. Consider it the Second Law of Sociological Thermodynamics. It takes constant work to organize mankind in a way that bucks the trend of increasing fascist entropy. That’s why the assholes spent so much time sabotaging our institutional guardrails. Once those fall, we naturally tumble towards fascism. 

Edited March 6 by BrickHorn

[C-Man 26535]

Reading this thread is sobering AF this morning. Luckily, I've converted my wife into having utter disdain for the Texas Republican Party (and MAGA) and I think she'd probably entertain getting the fuck out of Texas at some point. But she feels she has to remain in DFW due to her parents getting close to 80. Her older brother will be no help when they get to the point they can't really take care of their shit any longer. My folks are in SA but we've lived apart for 25+ years -- no pressure on me there. My daughter is headed off to college next fall but my son is away at boarding school and we're not sure what his future holds. He could come back for his last one or two years of HS and then (hopefully) off to college. Work-wise, neither my wife nor I are well set up to leave. I've spent 10+ years building the network that I have that makes me comfortable in what I do at work -- things are relatively steady. Mrs C-Man could possibly do what she's doing remotely -- or at least with a couple trips back to Texas per month -- but it wouldn't be ideal. They're potentially working on something that if it hits, we could get to a situation where we're a LOT more flexible moving forward. Fingers crossed because this place fucking sucks in many ways.

[Ghost of LL 15225]

8 minutes ago, BrickHorn said:

I told my wife yesterday we’re leaving after our daughter graduates. That kid is tearing through a full slate of AP classes like Michelangelo through a kindergarten finger painting lesson, and mentioned yesterday that she’s interested in UT. To which I responded “Fuck no. No daughter of mine is attending the University of fucking Texas.” Which stunned me when I processed what I had just said and realized I meant every word of it.

How the fuck did we get here?

I had a similar conversation with my son this morning, but probably for different reasons.

It is damned near guaranteed that the 89th Legislature will get rid of tenure at state universities.  And so I explained to him what that's going to mean for the quality of his education and the value of his degree, and he was like "oh, shit."

And then he asked, "but our football team will still be good, right?"  Yeah, son--because we're now basically Oklahoma.

[Smax 3799]

1 hour ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

I am absolutely dumbfounded that a president blatantly tries to steal an election and candidates seek and benefit from his endorsement.  

 

the United States had a good run but its all over now

[Brisketexan 103148]

2 minutes ago, BrickHorn said:

This. Human beings in general suck. The natural state of affairs is a steady progression towards war, persecution, and general awfulness. Consider it the Second Law of Sociological Thermodynamics. It takes constant work to organize mankind in a way that bucks the trend of increasing fascist entropy. That’s why the assholes spent so much time sabotaging our institutional guardrails. Once those fall, we naturally tumble towards fascism. 

Excellent short-form summary.  Humanity is shit.  It takes a lot of work to treat that shit so that it isn't full of pathogens and disgusting.  It takes very little effort to take another big fat dump into the treatment pool and set the whole damned process back to the very beginning.

In my youth, I had faith in humanity, and progress, and "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice."  MLK was fucking wrong.  The arc of humanity is depraved, and as Jonesy said in the Hunt for Red October, it always "comes home to momma."

[Ghost of LL 15225]

4 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Excellent short-form summary.  Humanity is shit.  It takes a lot of work to treat that shit so that it isn't full of pathogens and disgusting.  It takes very little effort to take another big fat dump into the treatment pool and set the whole damned process back to the very beginning.

In my youth, I had faith in humanity, and progress, and "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice."  MLK was fucking wrong.  The arc of humanity is depraved, and as Jonesy said in the Hunt for Red October, it always "comes home to momma."

Yep--that is a nice fairy tale the oppressed tell themselves at night to make themselves feel better about their condition.  But it's a lie.  There isn't a moral-universe arc.  There's just power and force and what you can do with it.

The GQP gets that.

[Brisketexan 103148]

19 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

Yep--that is a nice fairy tale the oppressed tell themselves at night to make themselves feel better about their condition.  But it's a lie.  There isn't a moral-universe arc.  There's just power and force and what you can do with it.

The GQP gets that.

And we forget that, even when the arc DID bend the right direction.....it did so from the barrel of a gun.  Power and force will be used.  We'd be best-served if the right side would use them.

 

[dcbc 14180]

31 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Excellent short-form summary.  Humanity is shit.  It takes a lot of work to treat that shit so that it isn't full of pathogens and disgusting.  It takes very little effort to take another big fat dump into the treatment pool and set the whole damned process back to the very beginning.

In my youth, I had faith in humanity, and progress, and "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice."  MLK was fucking wrong.  The arc of humanity is depraved, and as Jonesy said in the Hunt for Red October, it always "comes home to momma."

If you guys can distill this down a little bit more, we might be in Surly Motto territory.

[Brisketexan 103148]

Just now, dcbc said:

If you guys can distill this down a little bit more, we might be in Surly Motto territory.

"Assholery will always find a way."

[SydneyCarton 47093]

1 hour ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Sheila Jackson Lee had the toughest primary race of her congressional career and still won 60-38. smh. I hate being in her district. She's not leaving until she dies.

And everyone forgot within months that cunt promised not to run for re-election in the House when she decided to run for mayor. Then she fucking lost and did an about face. I fucking hate her so fucking bad. 

1 hour ago, YGIFS said:

Well as much I give people guff for boasting about what generation Texan they are, the one thing they have zero involvement in...I will give you credit for my new band name, "The Nth Generation Czechs."  We're kind of a bluegrass meets polka thing.  

I am just utterly torn.  I want  to stay and improve this place.  My kids love it here.  Wife claims she wouldn't leave because family is somewhat closeby in Fort Worth and Kansas but they're all fucking denial that this is all going to get far worse before it gets any better.  And we have two young girls and every goddamn fucking turn, it's just about punishing women for being women.  And many women are in on it, but for another thread I suppose.  I honestly think we'd go to another country before we went to another state.  Can't afford California, hate the rest of the warm states.  Maybe Hawaii?  I can get a permanent visa to Costa Rica or Portugal through family.  We have right of return status on my mother's side to Israel but obviously not an ideal conversation to have with the wife right now given the situation (and I totally get that).  But my wife just doesn't see what's coming.  She's too optimistic and too sweet and too forgiving of people.  I get upending the only home and life our girls have ever known for political reasons seems bizarre.  But then, her family left Russia for Germany during a Catholic Purge.  I had some relatives that left Europe for being Jews and on the other side, others were conscripted to serve in the Kriegsmarine for the Reich.  I don't want my children to have to make choices like that. 

Let's not be dramatic.  We're not there yet.  But it sure as shit feels like we're at the thing that gets us to the thing.

This is pretty much exactly where I'm at. My wife doesn't like politics and is in denail about how bad things are, and how bad things are going to get. But I don't want my son to have to make the hard chocies of living under a fascist regime, or worse, getting indoctrinated by it becuase it's the only thing around him. 

1 hour ago, Js1 said:

Gas, “low” taxes and freedumb 

Why not Colorado? You can be Kansas adjacent in a blue state 

Wildfires in Colrado expanding concern me. 

54 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

For those with elderly parents and kids, these become the reason that many middle aged people end up staying in a location effectively forever. Their elderly parents will never leave, and then eventually you want to be near the kids/grandkids. The cycle perpetuates itself.

If one young-ish parent has a desire to leave Texas, the best path is to convince your kid to go to college out of state. Preferably not in an adjoining state. They live in another state, get married and have kids. 

Yup. I'm already priming my wife for "we're sending our son to the best program for what he wants to study, we won't be tied to state tuition." I'd love if that program is somewhere in Europe. They have their own fascist issues, but it will break my heart less to see it every day versus where I grew up. 

50 minutes ago, BrickHorn said:

I told my wife yesterday we’re leaving after our daughter graduates. That kid is tearing through a full slate of AP classes like Michelangelo through a kindergarten finger painting lesson, and mentioned yesterday that she’s interested in UT. To which I responded “Fuck no. No daughter of mine is attending the University of fucking Texas.” Which stunned me when I processed what I had just said and realized I meant every word of it.

How the fuck did we get here?

Yeah. I've made large financial committments to Texas athletics, and I can trace a line of my life path directly back to attending UT. And yet if my son got accepted to UT and wanted to attend, I'm pretty sure I'd feel sick to my stomach. 

[hookem2010 2510]

So what im gathering from this and the presidential thread is there's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and staying to fight is going to get us all killed. Great. If this is how we're all feeling today, imagine how waking up on 11/6 is going to feel.

[Brisketexan 103148]

Just now, hookem2010 said:

So what im gathering from this and the presidential thread is there's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and staying to fight is going to get us all killed. Great. If this is how we're all feeling today, imagine how waking up on 11/6 is going to feel.

Life is going to get more horrific than you are capable of imagining.  That's how these things go, all throughout history.

[Foosters 17624]

As someone who has very fond memories of growing up in Texas, I expressed to my wife that I would love it if our daughter went to the same summer camp that I attended every summer for 8 years. I was met with a resolute "no," and told that if she goes to summer camp in Texas, she'll befriend lots of native Texans, who will then mostly attend college in Texas and our daughter may want to do the same. 

Couldn't really argue. I've spent the last decade explaining that Texas isn't "that bad" and the extremists don't really represent the state, but I really don't have a leg to stand on anymore.

[RDCanecutter 25769]

11 hours ago, cactusflinthead said:

@RDCanecutter and @BamaATL

Any background on this?

Those two bottom corners of the state have very little in common with each other. In the SW, Mobile's got that French/Spanish Oughta-Be-Louisiana vibe (with a civilized semi-Florida across the bay in Baldwin County.) All conversation centers around the price of shrimp. In the SE, called "The Wiregrass" (because "Strip Club Outside an Army Post" was already taken) it was settled relatively late by people from Tennessee who brought that twang. They used to shoot at Army helicopters.

Moore's chunk of the district liked him better than Carl's chunk liked him. The two halves don't have a major Interstate connection between each other-- in fact, the fastest drive from Dothan (main town of the Wiregrass) to Mobile is to drop down through the Florida Panhandle, which is convenient for visiting Tommy Tuberville at his home. I did the drive on the Alabama side in the 80s in a VW Bug with crazed preachers blaring on AM radio, by the time I'd hit even a small town it was like seeing the Manhattan skyline.

Moore will presumably be helicoptered about. He beat a felony rap ten years ago. There are two types of Moores in Alabama-- my doctor, who is normal, and all the rest, who are as crazy as sewer rats.

Just a gut thing, but Mobile, even though it's a decent-sized metro, doesn't seem to be a great place for starting a political career outside of Mobile, Don Siegelman being the one governor I know of from there who succeeded, and who went on to a Federal position.

Well he did. Federal prison is Federal.

[David Dennison 17660]

7 minutes ago, hookem2010 said:

So what im gathering from this and the presidential thread is there's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and staying to fight is going to get us all killed. Great. If this is how we're all feeling today, imagine how waking up on 11/6 is going to feel.

Not all of us are feeling that way. Not even if Donald Trump wins.

But I sure hope it doesn't happen.

[BrickHorn 17983]

4 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Yeah. I've made large financial committments to Texas athletics, and I can trace a line of my life path directly back to attending UT. And yet if my son got accepted to UT and wanted to attend, I'm pretty sure I'd feel sick to my stomach. 

I used to say that if there’s a heaven, mine will be an eternal freshman year at UT. The institution and my love for it has been an integral part of my life and identity for as long as I can remember. I met my wife in Jester. I met lifelong friends at UT. My sister graduated two years after me. My brother in law and a cousin attended shortly after me and had many of the same professors and classes. The first piece of clothing we dressed my son in was a tiny little Longhorn onesie. After law school, I could have worked anywhere in the country. We chose Austin because we loved the city and the university and we wanted our kids to grow up here.

The plan was always, always, always to encourage the kids to be Longhorns. But thanks to the fascist assault on everything decent and rational, we’ve done a complete 180 in the last year. 

Fuck Texas. There’s no way in hell I’d ever send my kids to a college in this shithole state. And we’re getting the fuck out as soon as our youngest graduates high school.