Commentary
Bye, bye Texas – sorry, but we won’t miss you.
I haven’t written in a while. Although I’ve been pondering a story that sums up all the outrages we’re facing in America and in the world…some travel, some other writing projects and a lot of ennui, have kept me far from my keyboard.
And then this morning I received an email that snapped me out of my lethargy.
The email was from Reddit. Now, full disclosure, I have no idea what Reddit is. And while I’m sure I’ve received emails from Reddit before, I’ve never opened one. Until now. Why? After reading the subject line, “Texas Could Vote to Secede From U.S. in 2023 as GOP…,” I had to read more.
Reddit, I learned, is a social news aggregation, content rating, and discussion website. This particular Reddit post was submitted by a user forwarding an article from Newsweek. The Newsweek story began,
(All bold emphases mine)
“Texas Republicans are pushing for a referendum to decide whether the state should secede from the U.S. The demand for Texans to be allowed to vote on the issue in 2023 was one of many measures adopted in the Texas GOP’s party platform following last week’s state convention in Houston.“
Among the other “many measures” adopted at the convention:
- A resolution declaring that President Joe Biden was “not legitimately elected;”
- A call for full repeal of the Voting Rights Act of 1965:
- A plank describing homosexuality as “an abnormal lifestyle choice,” also declaring that the party opposes “all efforts to validate transgender identity;”
- A call for a total ban on abortion and “equal protection for the Pre-born;“
- Planks on education that include:
- The education system should focus on “imparting essential academic knowledge, understanding why Texas and America are exceptional and have positively contributed to our world, and while doing so, also offer enrichment subjects that bless students’ lives;”
- Calling for students to learn about the “Humanity of the Pre-born Child,” including teaching that life begins at fertilization.
- Demanding that the state legislature pass a law prohibiting the teaching of “sex education, sexual health, or sexual choice or identity in any public school in any grade whatsoever.”
Maybe it’s time to re-think applying to the University of Texas, boys and girls.
But back to the main subject of this essay – Texas’ threat to secede from the Union.
According to Newsweek, “The U.S. Constitution makes no provision for states to secede and in 1869, the Supreme Court ruled in Texas v. White that states cannot unilaterally secede from the Union.
Even the hero of the SCOTUS right, the late Justice Antonin Scalia once wrote, “If there was any constitutional issue resolved by the Civil War, it is that there is no right to secede.”
Not surprisingly, I find myself once again disagreeing with Justice Scalia.
I say, if Texas wants to secede, let them. The values espoused in the Texas GOP’s platform do not reflect my values. And, they don’t reflect the values of the majority of Americans. So go, Texas, leave. And don’t worry about closing the door on your way out. We’ll close the door…and double lock it so you can’t get back in!
By the way, if double locking doesn’t work, anyone want to help “build that wall?” I guarantee that we’ll get Texas to pay for it.
Around the Block 
Great article Ted. I feel badly that the cowboy heroes of my youth were largely from Texas but the place has gone downhill since then.
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Thanks for the feedback,.
Don’t know when your youth was, but it appears from your comment that your favorite cowboy hero was probably the Lone Ranger, Ke-mo sah-bee. Guess you weren’t a fan of those Hollywood cowboys, Gene Autry and Roy Rogers.
Hate to make light of it, but based on the news out of Uvalde this morning, it seems, similar to the Lone Ranger, Texas law enforcement today is still using precious ‘silver bullets’ which must be too expensive to use. Why else would they have waited outside that classroom for almost an hour, more heavily armed and protected than the shooter, and not charge in and, perhaps, save the lives of some of those kids?
It is pathetic! It is criminal! It is heartbreaking! It is Texas! It is America!
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Ted, what is been put in the Texas water supply?
Sent from my iPhone Dr. Larry Block Forgive Siri if she misspells some words.
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It’s Florida water. DeSantis sells Zephyr Hills water to Texas at a markup; profits go to his campaign PAC. Abbot swaps out the label, calls it “Yellow Rose Pure Texas Water,” marks it up again with the profits going to his campaign PAC. No ones’ the wiser, particularly the morons in FL and TX who support these miscreants.
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The only problem I see with your suggestion, Ted, is allowing a new nation to exist thst is so backward thinking that its citizens will be mistreated, and its governing bodies will only get stupider and stupider because they will not allow any opposing views. Not all Texans want this kind of bullshit, I talk to some of them regularly on Word Press. They have lived in Texas for generations, they really don’t want to be forced to move.
On the other hand, maybe some of the wingnuts in other States will move to Texas “to be free.” That could mean a better outcome for progressive peoples living in Red states, improving the quslity of American citizenty. Or, maybe, it will lead to more secessions, which would have the same effect.
All in all, though, I would rather see the federal government work to get rid of the autocratic politicians, and teach the GOP members of those Red states the vslues of a true democracy.
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rawgod, as ever your comments are on the mark. I, like you, know Texans who don’t want this kind of bullshit. That’s why the image I used shows Austin, arguably the sanest area in the state, shouting out, “Help, I’m surrounded by Texas.”
But as you suggested, a mass move of, as you described, “wingnuts” from other states moving to the new republic of Texas would be a win-win. You can’t get any better than ridding the U.S. of the insaneness of Texas while at the same time purging the rest of the country from non-Texas wingnuts.
Unfortunately, your wish that the federal government can rid the country of autocratic politicians while teaching Republican voters about the value of a true democracy is, I hate to say, is a pipe dream.
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I would call it a desire, much more than a wish. It could be a pipedream, but then, if someone could invent the Anti-Kool-Aid that is needed, things could change wuite quickly.
Though things seem hopeless right now, and many people are feeling defeated, it still helps to have a touch of optimism, or you might find yourself in unrecoverable depression. That gelps no one.
As for Austin, maybe they can vote to secede from Texas. Tit for tat, and that kind of stuff.
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I love your idea that Austin should secede from Texas. That would make them like a 21st century Berlin when it was surrounded by East Germany. Then we could airdrop supplies in and Austin could have its own Checkpoint Charlie.
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Lol. As long as there is no Austin Wall. Going through Brandenburg Gate was one of the scariest times in my life. Being inside the tunnel, rocked by the sounds of machine gun fire coming from outside, echoing to make it sound even worse, if that were possible. And the border officials acting like this was a common occurence, business as usual. “Passport, please!”
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