Tag Archives: Beto O'Rourke

music, politicians, politics, social media, Texas, weather

“At least I’m not in Texas…” Did I actually have the cojones to say that out loud?

The featured photo comes from Wikipedia and references a popular slogan that tough talking Texans like to bandy around about their (or should I say *my* state)… but Bill tells me it was actually an 80s era slogan they used to discourage littering. This post is full of cussing, so if you don’t like that, you know what to do and where to go… preferably not to Texas.

Yesterday, there was an article in The New York Times about Europe’s current heat wave, which I’m sadly enduring here in Germany. A woman went to the Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary, and offered tips on how she stayed cool during her trip. I decided to leave a comment. I will admit, I knew on some level that my comment would probably attract trolls and other assholes, because most comments somehow do… but I decided to leave it anyway, because why not?

Thank God for that! I am a proud native Virginian… which is also where the most famous Texan, Sam Houston, was born. In fact, he was from Rockbridge County, which is where most of my people come from… once they left the British Isles and Ireland. I love Lyle Lovett, anyway… even if he IS from Texas.

My comment was that I live in Germany and I’m so tired of the heat and the drought conditions here. But, “at least I’m not in Texas.” That was ALL I posted. I made no mention of politics. I didn’t bring up the lack of abortion rights in Texas, or any of the other anti-woman or racist policies and attitudes that are so prevalent there. I didn’t post about the crappy power grid and how it failed many Texans during the winter of 2021, causing people to die earlier than they should have. I had no words about the religious fanatics who want to impose their ways of life on the whole population and control everybody. And I wrote nary a word about all the ammosexuals in Texas. All I wrote is “at least I’m not in Texas.”

At this writing, my comment has well over 125 likes, which is unusual for me. It’s also attracted comments from jerks. Or, so I assume, anyway. I only bothered to read one comment, from a guy calling himself “Jay Smith” and claiming to be living in Istanbul, Turkey. He basically made some crack about how Texas isn’t my problem, and I should just enjoy Germany. There was more to it than that, but I’m not going to quote it verbatim, because I don’t want to read it again or see anyone else’s rude responses. The main idea is that I should STFU.

I bet “Jay Smith” of Istanbul talks like this in Texas.

So I responded that while I live in Germany, I am, in fact, a Texas resident, and I still vote there. So Texas actually IS my problem… and I can comment on Texas if I want to (which I’d be allowed to do regardless, as a *still free* person). Then I advised him to fuck off, which I normally wouldn’t do on a Facebook page for a newspaper. What can I say? The heat is making me CRANKY. My house is warm all the time, even when I use the portable air conditioners– which are helpful, but only cool individual rooms. The grass in the backyard is brown and crispy. I sweat all the time. I know that very soon the weather will change, and it will be glorious… but for now, it’s pretty yucky here.

I wonder what made that guy decide to leave me that comment. It genuinely fascinates me. My guess is that he’s probably some right wing turd in a red state– perhaps Texas itself– and he can’t abide anyone making the slightest negative crack about the beloved Lone Star State. Especially when it’s an apparently “liberal” (horrors!) woman who lives in another country. But there’s actually a lot to dislike about Texas, as far as I’m concerned. I didn’t necessarily hate Texas when I lived there for a year, but it’s gotten really weird and dystopian since I left. There were some things I didn’t like about it when I did live there, but I didn’t see it as weird-o-rama as I do now. Ever since Greg Abbott became governor, it’s gone down a very dark and climate challenged road. I sure as hell don’t want to move back, especially if Beto doesn’t win the governor’s seat from Greg Abbott.

But, like I said, I didn’t actually write anything bad about Texas. I just posted that at least I’m not in Texas. For all Jay Smith knows, I was simply posting about the weather there in August. And, in fact, that’s literally what I had in mind when I made my comment. I well remember what August is like in San Antonio. We had a pool in our backyard, but in August, the water was as warm as bathwater. Central air conditioning was an absolute must for a good portion of the year.

We had two air conditioners for the house we were renting, but they hadn’t been serviced in a long while, and the filters were absolutely DISGUSTING. I actually have pictures of how coated in gunk they were when we moved in and changed them. It had probably been years since anyone had done that. Energy prices were insane, too. Just to be comfortable, we had to pay out the ass. And, as my old friend Weird Wilbur sings in his song, “Down in Texas”, it’s always “summertime” down in Texas. I know that’s not actually true. I do remember some chilly days when we lived there. But it’s usually hot and uncomfortable, and not a place where I’d particularly want to endure the onset of menopause, especially when I start having hot flashes (which haven’t happened yet).

My spelling challenged pal, Weird Wilbur’s funny song about Texas… or one of them, anyway. I don’t talk to Wilbur much anymore, because as funny as he is, he’s also a right wing crackpot. I used to have much more tolerance for them, before the days of Trump. Wilbur’s song “Fuck You, Texas”, is the very best, and my absolute favorite Texas song…

All day, I kept getting tagged in more responses. Some of them might have been kind responses, but my guess is that most were probably more like Jay Smith’s, the obvious troll. So I haven’t read any of them. I keep asking Facebook to turn off notifications, but as usual, Facebook doesn’t care about my preferences. So here I sit, deleting notifications, and fruitlessly asking Facebook to stop sending me comments from right wing Trump supporting jerks.

I’m probably a little crankier about this than I ought to be. I guess it’s because sitting over here in Europe, watching how oppressive and dystopian the United States is right now, gives me a weird sense of survivor’s guilt. It’s so much more NORMAL in Europe, all things considered– even with this relatively oppressive heat and lack of cooling systems due to the fact that Germany doesn’t often get this hot. I don’t routinely see people walking around downtown with huge firearms slung over their shoulders, like I often did in San Antonio. I don’t hear or read about people being shot up, or trying to attack the police for doing their jobs. Leaders here actually seem to care about people, and their jobs… or, at least they put on a convincing show of it.

There’s a much better video of this song, but I can’t share it here. If you search for it by using the properly spelled word, “fuck”, you can find it.

But… for all of my grousing about the Lone Star State, I can see why some people like it. It’s huge, and its populace has a certain bravado. My husband went to high school in Texas… but then that’s also where he met his ex wife, and we know how that turned out. Bill’s mom still lives there, as do some of my relatives. I guess it’s a good place if you like BBQ beef brisket, rodeos, margaritas, and Tex Mex. We have a bunch of friends who live in Texas, and none of them are batshit crazy. There’s even some pretty good wine in Texas Hill Country. But… unlike Tanya Tucker, I hope I won’t be in Texas when I die…

Nein, danke… Germany would suit me. So would Virginia. I’m loving Virginia more these days, although I’m not quite ready to move back there. It is a truly beautiful state, though… and decidedly purple, which I never thought I’d see.

Even if Texas was the most progressive, “woke”, politically correct place on earth, I’d still rather be here than there. For one thing, I’m not that excited about woke or politically correct places. I just want to live in a “NORMAL” place, where all people get basic human rights and I don’t have to worry about being shot. But for the main thing– and the most obvious reason– Texas in August is FUCKING HOT AS FOUR HELLS… and I don’t like that kind of heat, or paying for the energy required to have basic comfort in it. So, for that reason, I am glad that “at least I’m not in Texas.” And I should be able to write that in a comment section without having to deal with stupid trolls who try to tell me to shut up. I’ll thank you to fuck off, because I will never be your ass monkey, mmm’kay? Texas is uniformly HOT and unpleasant in August. For that reason alone, Germany is naturally a preferable location for me, especially at this time of year. It’s perfectly logical and acceptable to state that, and I should be able to do it without crap from Jay Smith and his right wing buddies.

In other news…

Marjorie Taylor Greene is a fucking moron. Sorry, it’s not a nice thing to state, nor is it particularly constructive, but she is embarrassingly stupid. And way too many similarly stupid people follow her. There, I said it. Blame it on the heat and my aging reproductive system, which thankfully will NEVER be forced to birth. Yesterday, I became aware of her recent diatribe about the evils of solar panels, wind turbines, and other “green” energy solutions that might help stave off climate change. She made some outright wrong statements, confidently speaking as if she was a comedian delivering an hilarious routine. And it WAS hilarious, but not for the right reasons. Sadly, her audience was into it, and laughed with her, while the more informed of us were laughing AT her.

I’m not going to go too far into this, because a lot of people are already posting about it… but, I live in a place where lots of people have and use solar panels. And there are wind turbines aplenty. We can’t take a trip on the Autobahn and not eventually pass a wind farm. You know what? We very rarely have power outages in Germany. When we do have them, they are usually fixed within an hour. I did not have that experience in several areas of the United States. Moreover, Marjorie’s district actually hosts the largest fucking solar panel plant in the United States! So… she’s out of touch with her community and reality, and she’s leading more people down the dark rabbit hole of ignorance and stupidity. As her hero Trump would say, “Sad…” But at least she’s not in Texas. They’ve got enough problems.

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communication, politicians, politics, Trump

Beto O’Rourke… a man who really speaks my language!

It’s probably not a secret to those who know me that I enjoy cussing. I always have. I don’t know why I like swearing as much as I do, especially since I have a well developed vocabulary, compared to a lot of other people. I just think that sometimes, a good cuss word puts just the right mood into a statement.

I’ve been especially cranky lately, because it’s very hot and dry in Germany right now, and I have a stuffy nose, cough, and am sneezing a lot. That makes me grumpy. Actually, a lot of things make me grumpy nowadays. If cursing is all I do, that can’t be too bad, can it? At least I didn’t try to shoot up the local FBI office, right? Trump supporters are exhausting.

Anyway, I was delighted yesterday, when I saw an article in the Washington Post about a speech that Texas Democrat Beto O’ Rourke gave on a campaign stop. Beto was very passionately talking about gun violence in school, particularly the 19 children and two teachers who were murdered by an unhinged young man in Uvalde, Texas this past May. A Greg Abbott supporter heckled Beto, laughing at him, when Beto suddenly whirled around and said, “It may be funny to you, motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me!”

Go Beto!

Now, I am technically a resident of Texas, even though I’ve lived in Germany since 2014. I am in Germany on SOFA (status of forces agreement) status, so that means I am not a resident of Germany, even though I’ve lived here for years. That means I vote in Texas, even though for MANY reasons, I don’t ever want to live there again. The fact that Greg Abbott is the governor there is one reason I would not want to move back to San Antonio or any other Texas city. But… if Beto wins, maybe I’d reconsider. I like him. I even gave him money! And the fact that he uses the word “motherfucker” to a MAGAt at a campaign rally is just icing on the cake.

Below is a more complete video, showing the moron Abbott supporters, holding up their signs and LAUGHING at Beto, who is speaking about something that could easily affect them personally. They totally deserved to hear Beto cussing at them. At least they survived the verbal assault, right? We can’t say the same thing for those poor children in Uvalde, or their brave teachers, who perished because of Texas’s ridiculous gun laws. Meanwhile, Greg Abbott wants to force women to give birth in that Godforsaken state.

Yea!!!

I really hope Beto wins. I’m going to do my best to help him in his quest to become governor. I’m sick and tired of the complete craziness unleashed by Donald Trump and his minions. I’m tired of reading about violent people with guns, threatening law abiding citizens and killing children who are just trying to learn. Especially when women’s rights to privacy and competent healthcare are also being threatened! So I’m with Beto. Fuck MAGA… Fuck Donald Trump and the empty headed people who still follow him, as he allegedly sells national security secrets from classified documents that he stole. Fuck the white supremacists who want us to go back to 1950. Fuck ’em all. Beto gives me some hope. May we see, and HEAR, many more like him as November approaches.

As for Trump, and the allegations regarding what was searched for and found in his tacky home in Mar-a-Lago, I don’t yet know much about it. I just got up a little while ago, and haven’t had the chance to research it. What I did hear and read is that it’s possible that Trump took documents that threaten our national security. It wouldn’t surprise me if he did it just to make more money… or because one of our enemies has him by the balls and he’s doing it because otherwise, he might end up murdered. I think Donald Trump’s presidency is the biggest political disaster I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. I may never see the United States fully recovered in my lifetime. It will take decades to undo the damage, and that is not to mention the many family relations, friendships, and romances that were ruined due to Trump’s divisive rhetoric.

Last month, I lost my uncle, with whom I had not communicated since 2017, when he berated me for not being a Trump supporter. It broke my heart that he called me names and verbally abused me, just because we had different political beliefs. There was a time when he was one of my favorite relatives.

My uncle had four sons, one of whom is also not a Trump supporter. As his father was dying, my cousin sent me a private message on Facebook, lamenting that his youngest brother– as much of a Trumper as my uncle ever was– wanted to argue about politics while their dad was crossing the bar. My cousin said that he really didn’t like his brother… actually, he wrote “really don’t like this person anymore.” Knowing them both as I do, that really struck me. They were always close, but Trump and his crazy bullshit have driven them apart. That’s just one example of what I mean.

I remember that George W. Bush was an unpopular president, but even he never caused as much polarization and division as Trump has. It’s refreshing to hear someone speak with passion, conviction, and compassion as Beto has… and yes, that includes hearing him call a heartless Abbott supporter a “motherfucker”. I hope he keeps it up as he marches to victory… something else Beto can literally do, but Abbott can’t. 😉

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healthcare, law, politicians, politics, Texas, Trump

More money where my mouth is…

On July 1, I wrote a post called “Putting my money where my mouth is.” In that post, I wrote about my decision to donate money to pro-choice causes, namely NARAL Pro-Choice America and Planned Parenthood. It was something I had never done before, but I felt compelled to make donations to those causes, because I am so absolutely appalled by how women’s rights are being rolled back 50 years.

Last night, I read an article about Beto O’Rourke’s run for governor in Texas. I am a Texas voter, and I absolutely despise what Greg Abbott has done since he became governor. Much of the anti-choice bullshit that has come up recently had origins in Texas. So I commented that I can’t wait to vote straight blue in Texas. Many people liked the comment, but I got a few rude comments from MAGA assholes. To the last one who commented, I wrote, “Thanks for reminding me to donate to Beto’s campaign.” Then I went to Beto’s page, and donated $250. He might lose the election, but I have to do what I can to see that he has a chance against Greg Abbott. It’s the least I can do for younger women. I also noticed that after I made that comment, no one else took me on. The MAGA jerks don’t like it when you match their snarky comments with money for the opposition.

I’m for Beto.

Maybe it’s just my stubborn, oppositional personality, but the more people on the right “laugh” at and ridicule my outrage, the more left I find myself leaning. I’m really not that liberal leaning, if you want to know the truth. There’s a lot about the liberal side that I don’t like. But at this point, the Democrats are the only party that can win against the Republican Party, and I will not vote for people who want to pass laws that marginalize everyone except white Christian males. Some things are more important than money, which is really the only reason I can see to vote for Republicans. The right to privacy and access to comprehensive healthcare is of paramount importance to all people. So I have to do what I can to preserve that. I hope that by writing this piece, I’ll inspire others to do what they can, too.

Yesterday, a woman named “Becky” decided to come at me with anti-abortion rhetoric. I looked at Becky’s page. She’s clearly beyond her childbearing years, and based on her comments to me, she’s not a very happy or pleasant person. One of her responses to me was, “If you don’t want to be pregnant, use birth control.”

My retort to Becky was, “Should the ten year old rape victim have been on birth control?” She never responded to that. Do people like Becky really think it’s right to compel children to give birth? Can they not see why sometimes abortion is the right choice? Why do they think that poor child should have to justify having an abortion?

I just read an op-ed in the Washington Post by Jennifer Rubin about how Jewish women are making the argument that there should be a religious exemption to abortion bans. After all, Christians have pushed for allowing medical professionals to opt out of providing certain medical procedures and not prescribing certain medications due to their religious beliefs. Jewish people, in general, don’t have an objection to abortion, as they don’t believe that life begins at conception. So why shouldn’t they be allowed to get abortions based on their religious beliefs? A lawsuit has been filed in Florida. I thought the op-ed was excellent. Unfortunately, I ran out of articles to gift this month, so I can’t unlock it for readers. But the Washington Post is fairly inexpensive for a newspaper. Maybe it’s worth a subscription. I did pause when I read this article in the comment section in the paper.

Never a conscience exemption. Not ever!

Any woman looking for an abortion would claim it. 

Nor one for mental health of the mother. Physical after a three member physician panel with no prior knowledge of her makes a decision.

Does this person not realize that sometimes women find themselves in life threatening medical situations that wouldn’t allow time for three doctors to come together for a “conference”? And how does it impact this person that “any woman looking for an abortion would claim it”? Why does it even matter to them? How would that affect an uninvolved person in the slightest? I am so tired of the cruelty and hypocrisy… this person must hate women! They obviously don’t trust them to take care of their own health or make their own decisions! It’s so scary to me that in 2022, there are people out there who think women shouldn’t have their own autonomy.

I am so tired of writing about this… but every day, something else outrages me anew. And this is how I process it. However, I also know that abortion is really a distraction from an even bigger, scarier picture. Yesterday, I watched a video by George Conway about Donald Trump’s sinister plans, should he be re-elected. Folks… it would be a true disaster. He wants to be a dictator. He would like to completely gut the government and put in sycophants who are loyal to him. It would destroy the country.

Holy shit!

I am glad I sought out the above clip, if only because I found this joke there…

An assistant to Donald Trump told him she had a fantastic dream last night. There was a huge parade down Pennsylvania Avenue celebrating him. Millions lined the parade route, cheering when the President went past. Bands were playing; children were throwing confetti into the air, there were balloons everywhere. It was the biggest celebration Washington had ever seen. Trump was very impressed and said, “That’s really great! By the way, how did I look in your dream? Was my hair okay?”

His assistant said, “I couldn’t tell, the coffin was closed.

One can only dream… I hope people wake up soon. And I hope that anyone else who is as disgusted and horrified as I am about the state of things right now will put their money where their mouths are, too. I don’t know about other people, but in my case, it was something I felt compelled to do. Otherwise, I feel completely helpless, watching democracy being whittled away by a malignant narcissist.

In other news… I feel markedly better today, although I did have a coughing fit that made me lose breakfast. But overall, I have more energy, am coughing less, and have less gunk. So I think I might be improving. However, I have learned about dashed hopes, so I’ll just be cautiously optimistic that I’m getting well.

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