Some Texans Have Prepared a Petition to Secede from the USA

I spend quite a bit of time in Austin and always find it to be quite pleasant. Originally Posted by bigtex

You would.

All the folks with brains will leave Texas.... Originally Posted by ExNYer

If "brains" is what made California what it is today, .....

..... then California can have them back!!!!

Texas doesn't need them.

Hey, hey, hey, watch what u say about Mexico ICP. the main reason Mexico is so fucked up now is the U.S. conspired with Columbia to move the Cartels north. They are mostly wonderful hrdworking folks that have a saner and more democratic democracy than we do. Originally Posted by austxjr

Yes, all of Latin America is full of great hard working people. I'm one of them, however the corruption levels, the poverty, the lack of jobs and opportunities are prime catalysts for the drug trade to overrun those countries. I used Mexico as an example because it's right next to Texas, but pick any country from Mexico through Argentina, and they all have the same issues, the only exception being Chile and perhaps Costa Rica.

... the corruption levels, the poverty, the lack of jobs and opportunities are prime catalysts for the drug trade to overrun .... Originally Posted by icuminpeace

One can say the same for the inner city areas in the U.S.

It is also true of Afghanistan.

Not a good "excuse" or "reason" to facilitate it or tolerate it.

One can say the same for the inner city areas in the U.S.

It is also true of Afghanistan.

Not a good "excuse" or "reason" to facilitate it or tolerate it. Originally Posted by LexusLover

That's right. It's not an excuse, it's a fact. The people that tolerate it are the politicians because they gain from the situation.

Amazing.

I don't really think Texans' egos are bigger than other peoples'. They just have larger mouths.

.

His action would be unconstitutional only if he is sued and a court rules his action was unconstitutional.

That's the law. Sorry.Just like Obamacare. No matter how much you hate it, it is CONSTITUTIONAL. At least until another Supreme Court overrules its previous holding. That's why we have a court to decide these things for us.


. Originally Posted by ExNYer

Agreed. Not sure why you are arguing this point IB.

ICP, my apologies, I was just trying to inject a little sanity with humor in this conversation and hopefully not let it turn into Mexico or Latin America bashing. I hate that shit.

One can say the same for the inner city areas in the U.S.

It is also true of Afghanistan.

Not a good "excuse" or "reason" to facilitate it or tolerate it. Originally Posted by LexusLover

There are many reasons for corruption and the main one is anywhere you find people (politicians, lawyers, priests or any other kind of people) you get corruption. IMHO, toleration is not the question, understand that where you have people (and especially where you have more people and those who are poor and/or ignorant) you will have corruption and we should all try hard to get rid of it. It is a little hypocritical to mention inner city areas for prime corruption unless you are referring to Enron, Adelphia, Duke, Haliburton, Tyco, Worldcom, Madoff or Allen Stanford to name a few (just to make a point)? You don't think there is corruption in the suburbs or countryside?

That's right. It's not an excuse, it's a fact. The people that tolerate it are the politicians because they gain from the situation. Originally Posted by icuminpeace

I look at corruption the same way I look at the effectiveness of government vs. private sector (of which I have seen an enormous amount). They are both organizations of people with their own foibles and weaknesses and their efficiency mostly has to do with leadership, mission and how the organization is structured (transparency) as well as the quality of the people in the organization. The big difference is that in business/private lots of inefficiency is covered up by profit in another sector AND whole sections of a business can be eliminated if found to be inefficient because the ONLY goal/mission of business is to generate profit. If you do the same with government, then some people are likely to get hurt or sometimes even die.

Sorry about the soapbox, but I just had to get it out.

DRUG ME AGAIN .... FUCK YOU.... NEXT TIME YOU CLEAN YOUR GUN YOU MIGHT FIND A BULLET IN YOUR FUCKING HXXX...

When South Carolina succeeded, soldiers at Fort Sumter put up a good fight. Fortunately, no soldier died.

For folks who don't have time to dust off the cobwebs on their history books, the Ken Burns' The Civil War is steaming on NetFlix.

Agreed. Not sure why you are arguing this point IB. Originally Posted by WTF

His hatred of Lincoln has blinded him to logic.

Bizarre, considering IB supports the GOP, which was Lincoln's party.

That's right. It's not an excuse, it's a fact. The people that tolerate it are the politicians because they gain from the situation. Originally Posted by icuminpeace

If by politicians you mean elected and appointed officials, the gain, but the benefactors are those who step up with the offers of ... benefits, funds, contributions, exchanges, bartering ... etc. etc.... corruption takes a taker and a giver.

And .. I was not suggesting that the "inner cities" (as that phrase suggests a deteriorating condition) had a monopoly on corruption ... in fact when I quoted the "string" I almost left the word out, but did not to avoid "editting" what is said, because I didn't want this deflection.

I was sort of refocusing on our own country with the idea that one should clean up one's own backyard before one starts telling others how to clean up theirs. My neighbors weeds can get into my yard, but mine can get into the neighbors just as easily. (I recognizing that some on here will "cherry pick" those words and expand their meaning far beyond that I intend for some "clever" debate point ... but don't bother .. I was addressing the specifics in the quoted material.)

If by politicians you mean elected and appointed officials, the gain, but the benefactors are those who step up with the offers of ... benefits, funds, contributions, exchanges, bartering ... etc. etc.... corruption takes a taker and a giver. Originally Posted by LexusLover

That's correct.

I fully support the right of self determination. No question about that. Sorry if I misunderstood your point, but yes, if those counties decide to leave Texas, fine. Originally Posted by CuteOldGuy

At some point this logic turns to anarchy.

Counties leave Texas. Cities leave the County. Communities leave the city. Individual households vote to leave the community.

That line of reasoning has many of the same real world problems that ideal communism has. Both are good in the classroom, bad when applied without reality to our world.

At some point this logic turns to anarchy.

Counties leave Texas. Cities leave the County. Communities leave the city. Individual households vote to leave the community.

That line of reasoning has many of the same real world problems that ideal communism has. Both are good in the classroom, bad when applied without reality to our world. Originally Posted by Old-T

StupidOldFart isn't known for being a deep thinker!