A Tale of Two States

36 thoughts on “A Tale of Two States”

1. BiD, am on pins and needles to hear about MI’s magical citizen power.  IMO, there’s nothing that can be done in TX without the okay of its legislature.  like all travel always has to go through ATL, seems like almost everything in life there is blessed/cursed by those cowboys.

   sorry I jumped the gun and posted your thread while it was obviously in draft stage — obviously that is for anyone who is fully awake and had her coffee.  bodhi, the 15 (feels like a ton at two in the wee hours of the night) lb feline, kept jumping on the bed off and on all night trying to get me up.  he has a perverse sense of time.   

2. a ‘toon take of TX legislature by ben sargent in the texas observer

   

3. https://reasonstobecheerful.world/democracy-michigan-gerrymandering-voters-not-politicians/

   The much-anticipated link is now attached here.

   “So, after Voters Not Politicians got this ballot initiative passed, the task of redrawing the actual map fell to a commission of citizens who identified with different political parties.”

4. speaking about the will of citizenry, volodymyr at a presser today

   and went on to say more

5. https://www.texastribune.org/2018/06/07/texas-independent-citizens-commission-voting-rights-gerrymandering/

   That quote in the header is from this link. (I didn’t publish last night, as I was still mulling this over, and, I know it’s time to turn out the lights when my phone hits me in the face.)

   Of course, it’s a different story in Texas. Still, it’s nice to know Corey’s state did it…but it was quite a long process.

6. BiD, thank you.

   seems everything in TX is different.  kinda like FL’s old motto “rules are different here”

7. The list of states where this could happen is pretty short…but it’s not zero, and that’s good news. 

   And, actually, it can happen more easily in Florida than in Texas. Shhh! Nobody tell Ronny D.

   https://ballotpedia.org/Laws_governing_the_initiative_process_in_Florida

   “Citizens of Florida may initiate constitutional amendments or call a constitutional convention via initiative. Florida residents may not directly initiate legislation or repeal legislation via veto referendum.”

8. Texas is weird.  Folks are generally very conservative and love rules, but they love them while angrily saying they don’t need any rules.  It’s almost like I live in a state filled with 13-year olds…and governed by them, as well.

9. https://www.texastribune.org/2022/03/18/texas-rejected-election-ballots/

   “Nearly 23,000 Texans voted in this month’s party primaries and saw their mail ballots rejected by election officials, evidently an aftershock from new state laws that were supposed to make voting easier and more secure.”

   “And the Associated Press reported, after a survey of 187 of the state’s 254 counties, that 22,898 mail ballots — 13% of the total — were rejected this year.”

   “The normal rate of rejection is 2%. In the 2020 presidential election, the rejection rate was under 1%.”

   “Every eighth person who voted by mail didn’t get their vote counted. Depending on where those voters live and how they voted, that’s a big enough number to change the results of some races.”

   “It’s not like Texas has a lot of votes to throw away. The turnout was dismal in these primaries: 82.5% of the state’s registered voters were no-shows. About 3 million voters took part: a little under 2 million in the Republican primary and just over 1 million in the Democratic primary. About 14.2 million of registered voters in Texas blew off the primaries.”

   Dems did a poor job of turning out the vote. Heck, I think Beto was the only one out there making any noise. It does not bode well for November.

10. The north american goober-troupers are becoming confused and befuddled, searching for the path.  Fools break in and light their way. The tower of babel story is happening to their whole existence. Fracture, crack, rend, and crumple……the languages were made untranslatable, communication ground to a tortured crawl over busted glass.

    The democrats seem to be the ones now with a unified message. The goobers are disheveled, lonesome, orn’ry, and mean, having sold their souls to the pitchfork men.

11. Typical goper, like a parrot:  ukraine bad, ukraine bad, AWK! Ukraine GOOD, Ukraine GOOD.  AWK!

12. Wish I could take the day off to see the Rep Cons on the Judiciary Committee shit themselves while trying to spoil Judge Jackson’s reputation and record. 

13. yeah, i have to meet up with Manuel Labor and make some progress…..i’d like to see it, though watching it just makes me angry. Angry is not healthy for children and other living things.

14. 

15. LP latest effort

    It will take all of us. The Union is a volunteer-led initiative of The Lincoln Project with one goal: Save Democracy. Visit JoinTheUnion.us for more information. Voice Credit: Peter Coyote

     

16. Missouri has a citizen initiative clause in their constitution. Sometimes it is good sometime not so much. But lately what really become obvious is that there is a big disconect between priorities of the legislature and that of the citizen. 
    Solving that problem would go a long ways toward fixing what is wrong in most of our politics.
    Jack

17. interesting tweets of late

    @ZelenskyyUa

     

     

     

    

    Ukraine government official

    Talked to

    @Pontifex

    . Told His Holiness about the difficult humanitarian situation and the blocking of rescue corridors by Russian troops. The mediating role of the Holy See in ending human suffering would be appreciated. Thanked for the prayers for Ukraine and peace.

    and

    >@HillaryClinton

    ·

    22h

     

    I’d say she’s qualified. Source:

    @washingtonpost

    

18. my morning read 
    In the Russian General “turkey shoot” the score is now up to 7 as Ukraine just picked off the number 2 guy over the Russian Navy Black Sea operations.
    Wow, fricking amazing.
    Bob,
    I just read this piece about the use of drones in the Russo- Ukraine war. It is from the military news website Task and Purpose
    Another interesting article from Task and Purpose about women in combat roles.
     
    Jack

19. Jack, Maybe Andrey should have been on a boat.

20. appears they’re burning candles from both ends

    The heads begin to roll in Russia | TheHill

    European media report that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the house arrest of two senior Federal Security Service (FSB) officers. Colonel-General Sergei Beseda, Chief of the FSB’s “Fifth Service,” reportedly was detained along with his deputy, Anatoly Bolyuk, charged with providing flawed intelligence about Ukraine and their improper use of operational funds. Separately, Oleksiy Danilov, Ukraine’s national security council chief, claimed that several Russian generals have been fired. The implications portend more suffering yet to come, but likewise opportunities to increase pressure on the Russian leader from within.

    Perhaps emulating Joseph Stalin, this could be the onset of a purge and Putin’s desperate ploy to provide his domestic audience with a fall guy for self-inflicted wounds. His call to rid Russia of “scum and traitors” as “a necessary self-purification of society” might be Putin’s theatrical unveiling of not merely a further crackdown against the Russian people, but also his version of a “cultural revolution” to bring further to heel those around him on whom he has counted to take and maintain power. If I were one of the oligarchs or “siloviki,” those from Russia’s intelligence services who profiteered on Putin’s kleptocracy, I’d be more than just a little worried.

    [continiues]

21. Pogo
    Ya think. 
    As Russians don’t make a distinction between navy and Marines, he may have been the equivalent of a US Marine General. 
    Jack

22. Wow, who had putin being the one to go all droolin’ Marius on their bingo card? 

23. A good old fashioned stroke would settle his hash.

24. WTF?  Lindsey is questioning Judge Brown about her attending church frequently?

25. Pat
    That is the problem of having a supreme leader who can do know wrong, someone has to take the blame.
    One of those tidbits I remember from my history class on the Roman Republic was a general who bungled things so badly that they crucified him. I can’t remember the name and google is only concerned about the practice in Palestine
    Jack. 

26. May have been Biggus Dickus

27. https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/22/sport/evgeny-rylov-speedo-russia-ukraine-spt-intl/index.html

    Speaking of which…

    “Swimwear maker Speedo has ended its sponsorship deal with two-time Olympic gold medal swimmer Evgeny Rylov after the Russian attended a rally hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.”

    “According to pictures on social media, Rylov wore his Olympic medals at the rally. He also sported, reports Reuters, the letter ‘Z’ on his outfit — a letter used by Russian forces as an identifying symbol on their vehicles in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion of the country.”

    “As part of this decision, any outstanding sponsorship fees will be donated to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),” Speedo added.”

28. White House press sec. Jen Psaki says she tested positive for COVID-19: “I will be adhering to CDC guidance and no longer be traveling on the President’s trip to Europe.”

29. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) blames Ukraine for being invaded: “You see Ukraine just kept poking the bear, poking the bear, which is Russia, and Russia invaded. And the hard truth is … there is no win for Ukraine here. Russia is being very successful in their invasion.”

    https://twitter.com/HeartlandSignal/status/1506328524986241028?s=20&t=5OtpQy44gBJxFTF3Skd3pQ

30. jack, about that roman general, this was mentioned in wiki:

    In Carthage, crucifixion was an established mode of execution, which could even be imposed on generals for suffering a major defeat.

    The oldest crucifixion may be a post-mortem one mentioned by Herodotus. Polycrates, the tyrant of Samos, was put to death in 522 BC by Persians, and his dead body was then crucified.

    and there was this disgraced roman general, though not crucified, who did himself in for screwing up in a situation sorta like the one going on between big old russia and little bitty ukraine:

    Wikipedia

     

    Publius Quinctilius Varus (46 BC – AD 9) was a Roman general and politician under the first Roman emperor Augustus. Varus is generally remembered for having lost three Roman legions when ambushed by Germanic tribes led by Arminius in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, whereupon he took his own life.

    […]

    Not only was Varus’ trust in Arminius a terrible misjudgement, but Varus compounded it by placing his legions in a position where their fighting strengths would be minimized and those of the Germanic tribesmen maximized – because he expected no ambush and very little trouble in intimidating the rebels. Arminius and the Cherusci tribe along with other allies, had skillfully laid an ambush, and in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in September at Kalkriese (East of modern Osnabrück), the Romans marched right into it.

    The heavily forested, swampy terrain made the infantry manoeuvres of the legions impossible to execute and allowed the Germans to defeat the legions in detail. On the third day of fighting, the Germans overwhelmed the Romans at Kalkriese Hill, north of Osnabrück. Accounts of the defeat are scarce, due to the totality of the defeat, but Velleius Paterculus testifies that some Roman cavalrymen abandoned the infantry and fled towards the Rhine, but they were intercepted by the German tribesmen and killed. Varus himself, upon seeing all hope was lost, committed suicide by falling on his sword. Arminius cut off his head and sent it to Bohemia as a present to King Marbod of the Marcomanni, the other most important Germanic leader, whom Arminius wanted to coax into an alliance, but Marbod declined the offer and sent the head on to Rome for burial.

31. Marbod’s mommy ain’t raise no fool.

32. MGT = traitor and scum

    Siding with a war criminal.

    Siding with Russians who are killing and starving children, women and the elderly, as well as military personnel and citizens who are fighting for their freedom. Fighting for democracy.

    Shame on her.

33. https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/22/politics/fbi-energy-hacking-warning/index.html

    Deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger said during Monday’s White House briefing that Russia had been conducting “preparatory activity” for cyber attacks, which she said could include scanning websites and hunting for software vulnerabilities.”

34. Had the hearing going on in the background and Judge J seems to be holding up well.  Hawley’s as big if not bigger fucking prick than I thought.  Kessler gave him 3 Pinocchios.  He deserves more.

    Oh, and the rest of the GOP? AS someone near and dear to me would say, “Assholes of the universe.”
     

35. And now, after thinking that it really could not get worse than that sniveling asshole Josh Hawley and even worse, Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton, we end the night with Marsha Blackburn. God help us.  Fucking idiot. Someone needs to shut her the FUCK UP.  I need (another) drink.

36. NEW THREAD

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