Whats going on in america?

[Randorama]

Hmm... have you been to Texas... either rural or urban?

Yes, but two days in Dallas, with no relevant bad experiences to talk about. Actually, some gentleman was surprised that I could eat a 4 lbs. steak (very raw...) without batting an eye-lid, even though I am not Texan. I don't remember the name of the place, but I remember that they had a special offer like a 50% discount if I finished more than two pounds of steak. I also drank a very thick local belgian-like ale which was very, very good.

However, have you been to Marsica (Italy), or rural Austria/Hungary, the poor parts of Glasgow, etc.? Personally, in my hometown, I have been indirectly involved in at least five mass brawls between "fascists" and "communists", two of them involving several stabbings and the intervention of anti-riot teams to sedate the fights. Setting aside the more far-reaching aspects (say, the "us americans must rule the world" type of insanity), I doubt that redneck zones in Europe can be as bad as in Texas, but the mold seems to be mostly the same, as far as I know.

The worst I have experienced myself is people starting fights because I looked at them in the eyes, but to fair they also offered me drinks afterwards, since as 'a softie from the city' I could deck them with ease. I'll spare you the countless murder cases of people arguing over soccer arguments, gang rapes of girls from other villages, and so on.

I agree on Austin, of course. I met several people from Austin and they fall squarely within the description you give. They smoked Jamaican levels of dope, according to my Jamaican roommate (who once stabbed another guy over a cricket argument and attempted a voodoo curse on him, btw).

[rapoon]

I was born and raised Texas. School in Lubbock. Lived in Sherman Oaks & Marina Del Rey for a bit. Moved to Austin in 07, which may as well be another country in comparison to the rest of Texas. The economy and my family steered me back to Dallas. Texas has a bad rep. However, anyone who hasn't been to Texas should make a trip to Austin and/or San Marcos. All the chatter about Austinites being *different* from people in Dallas, Houston, etc. was a fact from my experience. And jesus christ, the food......

I don't think Texas gets a bad rep. It deserves most of what it gets. However, it does have a lot of good points that are often overlooked. Even in the conservative shit holes of Dallas and Houston, people are generally nice and there is a very large population of hot women. San Marcos is fucking unbelievable! The tex mex in these places is pretty damn good, it's cheap as shit, and somewhat clean. As long as you don't talk about politics or religion with anyone, you can probably do okay. Music is another story.

Austin is an anomoly, and I'll go ahead and say it: the most unique place in the United States. The fact that it is so liberal (seriously -- more so than the Bay Area I'd say) surrounded by 110% bible belt is one of these weird freaks of nature. It's like female hyena's and their fake dicks.

Texas deserves the reputation associated with it (to an extent); what I'm saying is places like Austin and San Marcos are often overlooked. Generalizations aside: there are some very cool people in Dallas and plenty of douchebags in Austin. Then again, individuals like that exist everywhere. Some of the most gorgeous women I've met are born and bred Texans: the panhandle to DFW to Austin. When I first moved to Austin and drove around 360, 2222 and down to San Marcos, I didn't even feel like I was in Texas anymore, it's beautiful.

The music scene is the #1 thing I miss most about Austin. Attending SXSW and/or ACL should be on everyone's "100 things to do before you die" list. More liberal than the Bay Area? Agreed. Albeit, I was only in L.A. for 2 years but I made plenty of trips to San Francisco. FFS, I need to gtfo of Dallas.

....according to my Jamaican roommate (who once stabbed another guy over a cricket argument and attempted a voodoo curse on him, btw).

sounds like a cool guy.... seriously..

[BryanM]

Austin isn't in Texas. Texas surrounds it, protecting it.

(You can even see it shine out in that topological map I linked earlier. If you were a hippy and lived in Texas, you'd want to find a safe place to huddle without being slaughtered in the streets, too.)

Things like having the n-word used in conversations about the president are more of a tip of an iceberg. When you're driving by every place where the state's flag is raised a few inches above the country's, that's just a subtle effect of Texas's memes.

[GaijinPunch]

All pretty informative and accurate posts of Texas. Rando should write a book it seems. I've met some weirdos in my time, but as I'm not multilingual, any fruitcakes I encounter and can actually talk about must speak English (or Japanese). As such, I have plenty of blog-worthy encounters in Japan that range in levels of stupidity but almost none are violent in nature, and are more like, "Really?" encounters. None involve politics or sports.

EDIT: On that note, perhaps it's nice to live in a place where people "don't care about politics" but remember that Japan, who's economy is in utter shambles, is about to oust their 5th PM in 5 years, and Reuters just posted details of a poll that says the next one won't last more than a year either. How's that for a positive outlook on life?

[Blade]

In Wisconsin we're currently dealing with a recall election, so to be honest I don't know what the hell is going on...

As far as I know, the old people are conservatives and the young people are liberals, but that's just my extrapolation.

[BryanM]

It's pretty common to get a guy who goes "the wars? psssh, it's ballooning welfare entitlements that make up the bulk of the debt!"

It's an odd way to look at it. You have two large white elephants in the room (the wars and tax cuts (that Bush wishes they didn't call them "the Bush tax cuts")) and you're going to willfully ignore them.

A good third of the debt goes to getting fuel to the desert, air conditioning the desert, paying huge lump sums in death insurance (because when you go to the desert, you make sure you've taken the max... which puts a dent into your hazard pay so if you live, well, sucks to be you.), flying gunships/drones around to murder guys, maybe some bystanders for gravy, from a few miles away, etc. The figure for the air conditioning is often mentioned - it's more than we spend on NASA. (An organization that was fucked over during the Nixon years when the shuttle was developed. If there has ever been a white elephant, the space shuttle is inarguably one.)

It's just all very artificial and manufactured, these memes. It's like the myth that a "majority" of Obama's campaign donations came from the little people giving little sums.

More texas bashing pliz

A huge chunk of its economy is in the oil industry - exxon-mobil has their HQ there for crying out loud. But they do stuff like allow tips to subsidize employee's wages - you could only have to pay a waiter like $2 an hour.

They like to ignore DNA in death penalty cases and have the most people murdered by the state officially by a crazy margin.

Its economy is also bolstered by corporate welfare in defense contracts, sandwiched in between California and Virgina. Less money into the war machine, is fewer jobs and more angry rich people who won't help hire you back to congress. It's no wonder the tap will never be turned off. Otherwise, that money could go to like a basic guaranteed income or be saved for a rainy day or something and you can't get more unamerican than that.

Also some tidings claim that around half of all new government jobs were located in texas for the past 4 years or so.

So texas = the Beverly Hillbillies who want to kill people.

The only thing that trickles down are commands. And memes - thought cancer - that attempt to justify the unjustifiable.

[CMoon]

Corn Polled

[xbl0x180]

It's pretty common to get a guy who goes "the wars? psssh, it's ballooning welfare entitlements that make up the bulk of the debt!"

It's an odd way to look at it. You have two large white elephants in the room (the wars and tax cuts (that Bush wishes they didn't call them "the Bush tax cuts")) and you're going to willfully ignore them.

A good third of the debt goes to getting fuel to the desert, air conditioning the desert, paying huge lump sums in death insurance (because when you go to the desert, you make sure you've taken the max... which puts a dent into your hazard pay so if you live, well, sucks to be you.), flying gunships/drones around to murder guys, maybe some bystanders for gravy, from a few miles away, etc. The figure for the air conditioning is often mentioned - it's more than we spend on NASA. (An organization that was fucked over during the Nixon years when the shuttle was developed. If there has ever been a white elephant, the space shuttle is inarguably one.)

It's just all very artificial and manufactured, these memes. It's like the myth that a "majority" of Obama's campaign donations came from the little people giving little sums.

More texas bashing pliz

A huge chunk of its economy is in the oil industry - exxon-mobil has their HQ there for crying out loud. But they do stuff like allow tips to subsidize employee's wages - you could only have to pay a waiter like $2 an hour.

They like to ignore DNA in death penalty cases and have the most people murdered by the state officially by a crazy margin.

Its economy is also bolstered by corporate welfare in defense contracts, sandwiched in between California and Virgina. Less money into the war machine, is fewer jobs and more angry rich people who won't help hire you back to congress. It's no wonder the tap will never be turned off. Otherwise, that money could go to like a basic guaranteed income or be saved for a rainy day or something and you can't get more unamerican than that.

Also some tidings claim that around half of all new government jobs were located in texas for the past 4 years or so.

So texas = the Beverly Hillbillies who want to kill people.

The only thing that trickles down are commands. And memes - thought cancer - that attempt to justify the unjustifiable.

QFMuthaF****n'T!

[Randorama]

...and by the way, didn't Texas (and Texans) want to become an independent state? Why they bother with the White House, if they hate it?

[xbl0x180]

...and by the way, didn't Texas (and Texans) want to become an independent state? Why they bother with the White House, if they hate it?

Alaska also has a crazy separatist group. Ask failin' palin's husband about it

[brentsg]

The best part of living in Texas is watching Aggies and Longhorns try to work together after graduation.

They probably don't call themselves Longhorns, dunno and don't really care.

[GaijinPunch]

...and by the way, didn't Texas (and Texans) want to become an independent state? Why they bother with the White House, if they hate it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Texas_(group)

[BryanM]

Reading what I wrote above... I really can't communicate my holistic thoughts very well. Especially when tired. Sorry everyone. I wasn't really suggesting that we wouldn't be constantly at war with random benign things if there was a smoldering crevasse where Texas is, we've got more than enough bloodlust to spare, but I wonder sometimes.

I've seen so many elections that election fatigue has already set in. With how formulaic these things are, it's like we've already been through this already.

* The initial phase, with the election far out, will consist mainly of advertising the clowns and creeps. If someone has really nice hair, so much the better.

* Anyone who says anything definite with the slightest indication of desire to alter the status quo will be slaughtered like a pig by being ignored. Meaningless platitudes like "yes we can" are fine.

* Eventually the real candidate will be decided. They will try to obfuscate it as much as possible right up to primaries. This is an attempt to milk the carecat as much as possible. The die has already been cast however.

* A NEW CHALLENGER APPEARS! Then Obama curbstomps him. Too many billions behind him, and his speeches are more powerful speeches. 4 more years of change. The end.

The only suspense I feel is if they're going to leak Goldstein's corpse photos or not. "More civilized than the terrorists" lol. If the lies were ice cream we'd all be ___________________ .

[Ganelon]

...and by the way, didn't Texas (and Texans) want to become an independent state? Why they bother with the White House, if they hate it?

It's actually a grey area whether Texas has the right to declare itself separate. Texas was the only sovereign state to join the United States so it potentially has many rights such as leaving and splitting itself into mini-states that no other US state does (note that the California Republic was never recognized anywhere). Now, whether those rights still apply is an unclear political/judicial question. That's why Perry's comments about secession years back weren't mocked much by political commentators; it was just a ploy to recall that Texas deserves special attention, not that Texas actually wanted to leave the US.

Another fun fact is that the Republic of Texas singlehandedly defeated Mexico to achieve its independence (albeit with volunteer help from the US). It wasn't until the US annexed Texas that the US officially entered the fray.

[GaijinPunch]

Another fun fact is that the Republic of Texas singlehandedly defeated Mexico to achieve its independence (albeit with volunteer help from the US). It wasn't until the US annexed Texas that the US officially entered the fray.

Yeah... a common misconception (even by residents) that the US fought for Texas. I even thought so until I was a much older man, as I never paid attention in history class.

[CMoon]

...and by the way, didn't Texas (and Texans) want to become an independent state? Why they bother with the White House, if they hate it?

I would be for letting them, but then what about those poor sobs in Austin?

[xbl0x180]

We'll offer them asylum here in SoCal

Now, let's return Tejas to Mejico

[Randorama]

...and by the way, didn't Texas (and Texans) want to become an independent state? Why they bother with the White House, if they hate it?

I would be for letting them, but then what about those poor sobs in Austin?

They would sacrifice themselves for a good cause!

[CMoon]

...and by the way, didn't Texas (and Texans) want to become an independent state? Why they bother with the White House, if they hate it?

I would be for letting them, but then what about those poor sobs in Austin?

They would sacrifice themselves for a good cause!

Lol, they'd use Austin like Escape from NY. Meanwhile the rest of us would be sending them care packages.

[rapoon]

...and by the way, didn't Texas (and Texans) want to become an independent state? Why they bother with the White House, if they hate it?

That's a really good question..... I've been too busy stocking up on MoonPie's, exchanging my US bills for Texas currency (coins made of dried cow shit, snuff and gunpowder) and
I just leased a new horse. wtf is Perry thinking....

[BulletMagnet]

Not to mess with Texas, but if any of you out there are still crying yourselves to sleep at night because this country is just so anti-business!!!, you might want to read this, for starters.

[ncp]

...and by the way, didn't Texas (and Texans) want to become an independent state? Why they bother with the White House, if they hate it?

Err, if you want to secede, wouldn't the second best thing be to make the rest of the country more like you? Then you wouldn't have to secede?

How terrifying.

[rapoon]

Not to mess with Texas, but if any of you out there are still crying yourselves to sleep at night because this country is just so anti-business!!!, you might want to read this, for starters.

~18,000 investigations.... jesus christ. If there is truth to any of this (which I believe there is), it's a fucking disaster.
My first thought once I began to read it was "why haven't I heard this; I read the news daily." I then read:

As a federally protected whistle-blower, Flynn is not permitted to speak to the press.

I watched the DOW day by day, hour by hour last week. Down 500, up 100, down 350, up 200, etc. Gold up > $100 in one day.
I had the opportunity to buy 1oz Krugerrands at $850 a pop almost 2 years ago.

[BryanM]

Err, if you want to secede, wouldn't the second best thing be to make the rest of the country more like you? Then you wouldn't have to secede?

How terrifying.

.... Azathoth help us.

[BulletMagnet]

So apparently Republicans ARE willing to raise taxes...as long as they only affect those earning less than six figures.

[yojo!]

So apparently Republicans ARE willing to raise taxes...as long as they only affect those earning less than six figures.

thank you in advance Mr Obama for letting this one pass in the upcoming months in the name of "concensus"/"compromise". Bush was Karl Rowe/Dick Cheney's puppet; Obama has turned into a Republican puppet since he passed that private health care plan BullShit. America is socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor.get used to it.

[BryanM]

Well he was always a hand puppet for his owners.

I missed this one last year: rich professor married to a hot rich oncologist complains about his lot in life.

Additionally, it would appear that his taxes actually would have gone down in the bizarro world version of our planet where Barack doesn't love the bush tax cuts.

[neorichieb1971]

Surely if you divide people on taxes you divide them on everything.

Do republicans really think a higher tax bracket is going to affect their lives? I don't really understand. It could cripple a family working at Walmart but it wouldn't 6 figure republican voters drinking fine wine and living in EXACTLY the same comforts they are now.

Thats juts fucking cruel.

[Ex-Cyber]

The wind-up and the pitch.

Do republicans really think a higher tax bracket is going to affect their lives? I don't really understand.

That's okay; they mostly don't really understand either. Most notably, they tend to not understand (or pretend to not understand) that the tax brackets are marginal. That is, you don't get a higher tax rate on your whole income when it goes over a bracket boundary; you only pay the higher rate on the amount that is over the boundary. So we hear a lot of rhetoric about how progressive tax rates are "punishing success" and how people will allegedly limit their income (and, by implication, their productivity/success in society) so as to avoid "being in" a higher tax bracket, even though such ideas are utter fucking nonsense.

[dcharlie]

Apparently, Warren Buffet is a complete socialist....


.... bwahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Tax increase -PLUS- cuts - i just don't see what argument there is against this.