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You are here: MacNN Forums > Community > MacNN Lounge > Political/War Lounge > Should Texas secede from the United States?

Should Texas secede from the United States?
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stumblinmike
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Apr 17, 2009, 07:34 PM
 
One thing is for sure, everything IS bigger in Texas. Including the idiots. I say "Good riddance!" What good ever came out of Texas? I say we we GIVE it to Mexico. Maybe THEY can straighten those good ol boys out!
     
Andy8
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Apr 17, 2009, 07:38 PM
 
Perhaps you can sell Alaska back to Russia also.
     
stumblinmike  (op)
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Apr 17, 2009, 07:39 PM
 
Touche!!
     
ironknee
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Apr 17, 2009, 08:50 PM
 
yes.

and also the fly-over states
     
ghporter
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Apr 17, 2009, 10:27 PM
 
If Texas wishes, it has the right to either secede, or divide into five separate states (each with its own two senators). You see, Texas was an independent country when admitted to the union, and we came in with "special" accommodations.

Good things that came out of Texas include White Out®, Dooley Wilson and Dan Blocker, Scott and Janis Joplin, Berke Brethed (and Opus), Texas Instruments (whose products include the integrated circuit and the See and Say®), and so on...

Whatever caused you to ask this particular question?

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
Cold Warrior
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Apr 17, 2009, 11:02 PM
 
Originally Posted by ghporter View Post
Whatever caused you to ask this particular question?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/18/us...s/18texas.html
     
chris v
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Apr 18, 2009, 12:37 AM
 
Rick Perry should secede from that damn wig he wears. What an embarrassment.

When a true genius appears in the world you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him. -- Jonathan Swift.
     
AKcrab
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Apr 18, 2009, 01:12 AM
 
Originally Posted by Andy8 View Post
Perhaps you can sell Alaska back to Russia also.


But, we have Sarah Palin!
     
Shaddim
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Apr 18, 2009, 02:00 AM
 
Originally Posted by ironknee View Post
yes.

and also the fly-over states
I'll take the "fly-over" states over New York any day, what a pathetic waste of property. The only thing they can claim is that at least they aren't New Jersey or Massachusetts.
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ghporter
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Apr 18, 2009, 07:43 AM
 
Originally Posted by Cold Warrior View Post
Ah..... I generally ignore Rick-he's pretty ignorable. And this is a good reason why. He's trying to capitalize on anti-politician activism by pretending to be a populist-which he ain't by a long shot.

Originally Posted by chris v View Post
Rick Perry should secede from that damn wig he wears. What an embarrassment.
I agree, but I'm not sure if I should be embarrassed for him or about him.

Oh wait...

Definitely "about" him. (I voted for Kinky, by the way.)

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
stumblinmike  (op)
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Apr 18, 2009, 07:56 AM
 
Yes, I forgot about Kinky. He is good. And ZZ Top. But that's it. Everything else stinks!
     
Doofy
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Apr 18, 2009, 08:01 AM
 
Originally Posted by ghporter View Post
Good things that came out of Texas include White Out®, Dooley Wilson and Dan Blocker, Scott and Janis Joplin, Berke Brethed (and Opus), Texas Instruments (whose products include the integrated circuit and the See and Say®), and so on...
...Angie Harmon, Summer Glau, Amy Acker, Shannon Elizabeth, Piper Perabo, etc., etc..
Been inclined to wander... off the beaten track.
That's where there's thunder... and the wind shouts back.
     
stumblinmike  (op)
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Apr 18, 2009, 08:03 AM
 
Originally Posted by Doofy View Post
...Angie Harmon, Summer Glau, Amy Acker, Shannon Elizabeth, Piper Perabo, etc., etc..
Off to Mexico....See Ya!
     
ShortcutToMoncton
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Apr 18, 2009, 09:28 AM
 
Originally Posted by ghporter View Post
If Texas wishes, it has the right to either secede, or divide into five separate states (each with its own two senators). You see, Texas was an independent country when admitted to the union, and we came in with "special" accommodations.
Originally Posted by Article
It has long been part of Texas folk mythology that because the state was once an independent republic, it has the option of seceding. But historians and law professors say there has been no serious argument since the Civil War on behalf of a legal basis for a state’s secession.
Who is right... and who is dead?

greg
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Wiskedjak
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Apr 18, 2009, 09:42 AM
 
Isn't talk of secession anti-American?
     
chris v
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Apr 18, 2009, 10:32 AM
 
Originally Posted by ghporter View Post
Ah..... I generally ignore Rick-he's pretty ignorable. And this is a good reason why. He's trying to capitalize on anti-politician activism by pretending to be a populist-which he ain't by a long shot.

I agree, but I'm not sure if I should be embarrassed for him or about him.

Oh wait...

Definitely "about" him. (I voted for Kinky, by the way.)
Yeah, if he didn't know what he was doing, I'd be emabarrassed for him. But mainly I'm embarrassed for Texas because we have to endure this pompous, self-aggrandizing windbag.
I voted Kinky too, mainly because he's so much fun, and I just hate Carol Keeton McLellan Strayhorn-Foghorn-Leghorn Rylander.

When a true genius appears in the world you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him. -- Jonathan Swift.
     
chris v
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Apr 18, 2009, 10:32 AM
 
Originally Posted by Wiskedjak View Post
Isn't talk of secession anti-American?
What? He's a Republican. Unpossible!

When a true genius appears in the world you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him. -- Jonathan Swift.
     
Chongo
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Apr 18, 2009, 11:54 AM
 
Originally Posted by ghporter View Post
If Texas wishes, it has the right to either secede, or divide into five separate states (each with its own two senators). You see, Texas was an independent country when admitted to the union, and we came in with "special" accommodations.
Go for it! That means 8 more (R) Senators!
45/47
     
ghporter
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Apr 18, 2009, 12:11 PM
 
Originally Posted by chris v View Post
Yeah, if he didn't know what he was doing, I'd be emabarrassed for him. But mainly I'm embarrassed for Texas because we have to endure this pompous, self-aggrandizing windbag.
I voted Kinky too, mainly because he's so much fun, and I just hate Carol Keeton McLellan Strayhorn-Foghorn-Leghorn Rylander.
I might have voted for Carol (I did when she ran for mayor of Austin), but near the end of the race it looked like either "make a token statement for Carol" or "make a token statement that might help with the spoiler vote and vote for Kinky."

Originally Posted by Chongo View Post
Go for it! That means 8 more (R) Senators!
Not necessarily. The way the 5 separate ex-Texas states would be carved up may just almost balance the parties' representation...Much of San Antonio went straight-ticket Democrat in 2008, as did a large chunk of the metro Austin area. You never can tell with us Texans-maybe there'd be a bunch of Libertarians and Independents elected...

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Chongo
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Apr 18, 2009, 12:24 PM
 
Originally Posted by ghporter View Post
You never can tell with us Texans-maybe there'd be a bunch of Libertarians and Independents elected...
All the better. I registered PND, party not designated when I was 18.
45/47
     
dcmacdaddy
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Apr 18, 2009, 12:50 PM
 
Sure. I was never a big fan of Abraham Lincoln's "preserve the Union at all costs" mentality in the first place.

I imagine there would need to be a number of significant legal arrangements* between the newly independent Texas and the United States but we've seen splintering occur in other parts of the world--some with violence, some with not--so why not. I think it would be better though if that whole corner of the country broke off (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma) into one single independent country.


*Issues that would need to be resolved
--Removal of federal military bases and soldiers from the state
(The national Guard could stay as it is a state organisation but the state would have to start paying the troops and buy off from the federal government all the equipment they wanted to keep)
--A "licensing fee" from the US government to keep the Johnson Space Center in the newly independent Texas
--Treaties on border security and natural resource rights (water, fishing in the Gulf)
--Agreements regarding continued native sovereignty over any Indian lands in the newly independent Texas
--Modification of any existing trade agreements (NAFTA, FTAA) so that the newly independent Texas could choose to be a signatory to them
--Resolve any issues over currency usage (keep the dollar versus print new currency) and any attendant currency swaps that would need to be done
One should never stop striving for clarity of thought and precision of expression.
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Radioflyer
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Apr 18, 2009, 02:32 PM
 
If you are giving up territory, giving up Point Roberts WA makes sense. Big mistake made by easterners back then with no idea what they were doing.
Cheers
RadioFlyer
     
Andy8
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Apr 19, 2009, 10:55 AM
 
Originally Posted by AKcrab View Post


But, we have Sarah Palin!
Exactly.
     
Kerrigan
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Apr 22, 2009, 03:08 AM
 
The United States will eventually become an anachronistic union, like the Union Kingdom, which faces strong devolutionary pressures from within. Unions between disparate political entities are formed in order to meet contemporary needs, and they are held together by economic and political force. When those needs become a thing of the past, and when the super-state loses its economic and political clout, a split is inevitable.
     
Rumor
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Apr 22, 2009, 03:23 AM
 
Originally Posted by ghporter View Post
Ah..... I generally ignore Rick-he's pretty ignorable. And this is a good reason why. He's trying to capitalize on anti-politician activism by pretending to be a populist-which he ain't by a long shot.

I agree, but I'm not sure if I should be embarrassed for him or about him.

Oh wait...

Definitely "about" him. (I voted for Kinky, by the way.)
I'd vote for someone named Kinky too.
I like my water with hops, malt, hops, yeast, and hops.
     
ghporter
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Apr 22, 2009, 07:09 AM
 
Originally Posted by Rumor View Post
I'd vote for someone named Kinky too.
You REALLY need to know more about Kinky Friedman.... And his hat is already in the ring for governor in 2010.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
ApeInTheShell
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Apr 25, 2009, 08:53 PM
 
Well why don't we leave Iraq and Afganistan, try the last administration with war crimes, and then decide if another civil war is really what this country needs.
     
Shaddim
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Apr 25, 2009, 10:44 PM
 
Originally Posted by ghporter View Post
You REALLY need to know more about Kinky Friedman.... And his hat is already in the ring for governor in 2010.
Kinky's a "good egg" and would make a fine governor. Well, better than what you have now, anyway.
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
- Thomas Paine
     
ThinkInsane
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Apr 25, 2009, 11:53 PM
 
Originally Posted by stumblinmike View Post
One thing is for sure, everything IS bigger in Texas. Including the idiots. I say "Good riddance!" What good ever came out of Texas? I say we we GIVE it to Mexico. Maybe THEY can straighten those good ol boys out!
Good riddance to the single largest exporter of goods in these here United States? You want to Give to Mexico the 15th largest economy in the world, with a trillion+ gross domestic product (about on par with Canada's GDP, I believe)? And why exactly would you want to lose this chunk of the country?
Nemo me impune lacesset
     
stumblinmike  (op)
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Apr 26, 2009, 06:36 AM
 
Because they hate America! They would rather secede than share in America's rebuilding! Good riddance!!!!
     
ebuddy
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Apr 26, 2009, 07:38 AM
 
Originally Posted by stumblinmike View Post
... share in America's rebuilding!
The People's Republic of Amerika!

ebuddy
     
dcmacdaddy
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Apr 26, 2009, 09:55 PM
 
Looks like Governor Rick Perry has changed his mind about seceding from the United States.

Texas Gov. Perry seeks anti-viral treatment for swine flu for Texas | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Texas Regional News

Rule 8 Statement: I love how these secessionist chuckleheads are all for their cause until they need the federal government for something. I say let Texas secede and let them establish their own agency for the study and prevention of infectious diseases. Then that agency can provide the country of Texas with the necessary doses of anti-flu medication.
One should never stop striving for clarity of thought and precision of expression.
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turtle777
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Apr 26, 2009, 10:43 PM
 
Originally Posted by stumblinmike View Post
Because they hate America! They would rather secede than share in America's rebuilding! Good riddance!!!!
Good riddance!!!!

Why don't you go to Mexico? Your drivel is just annoying.

-t
     
stumblinmike  (op)
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Apr 27, 2009, 06:22 AM
 
Originally Posted by turtle777 View Post
Good riddance!!!!

Why don't you go to Mexico? Your drivel is just annoying.

-t
Because I LOVE America!
     
Wiskedjak
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Apr 27, 2009, 08:27 AM
 
Originally Posted by ebuddy View Post
The People's Republic of Amerika!

You say that like a joke, but isn't that *exactly* what America is? A republic of the people, by the people and for the people?
     
ghporter
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Apr 27, 2009, 09:37 AM
 
Originally Posted by Wiskedjak View Post
You say that like a joke, but isn't that *exactly* what America is? A republic of the people, by the people and for the people?
It IS a joke because "People's Republic" has been cooped by innumerable Communist regimes. Technically China is "The People's Republic of China," and you can see just how populist and representative they are. North Korea's formal name is "The Democratic People's Republic of Korea," but it's actually an ultra-Maoist, "cult of personality" dictatorship.

So "People's Republic" may be an accurate description of the original intent of the Founding Fathers, but the term itself has lost its ability to express that because of layers of Socialist doublespeak that have accumulated on it.

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LegendaryPinkOx
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Apr 27, 2009, 10:40 AM
 
Originally Posted by ghporter View Post
You REALLY need to know more about Kinky Friedman.... And his hat is already in the ring for governor in 2010.
I think I'll move to Texas if Mr. Friedman is elected governor.
are you lightfooted?
     
Dork.
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Apr 27, 2009, 11:17 AM
 
Nate Silver at fivethirtyeight.com proposes a hypothetical division of Texas into five states, and also helpfully includes a map with the vote margin from the 2008 Presidential Election by county as a guide for how this hypothesis might play out.

In a nutshell, this type of split would give Republicans a net gain of seats in the Senate, but since the former Texas's Electoral College votes would be split up, it would give Democrats an edge in the Presidential elections, (assuming all the demographics stay the same), since it's hard to divide the state up fairly and not end up with at least one Democratic majority state.

FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right: Messing with Texas

The map's pretty neat, but Nate won't let me hotlink it, so you'll have to click through to see it
     
amazing
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Apr 27, 2009, 12:35 PM
 
Best Texas governor joke I've heard was from Leno, so good it was subsequently reprinted in the Times mag:

Leno said there were rumors that Lance Armstrong was going to run for governor of Texas! Leno was very enthusiastic, going on and on about how good this would be for Texas! Best thing ever for Texas!

The punch line:

Texas would finally have a governor who could ride a bicycle!
     
Dakar V
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Apr 27, 2009, 12:41 PM
 
ugh
     
hyteckit
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Apr 27, 2009, 10:04 PM
 
Should the US help out Texas, a different country, by sending them 37,430 courses of anti-viral medicine that the country of Texas is requesting?

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...2.4a91400.html
Bush Tax Cuts == Job Killer
June 2001: 132,047,000 employed
June 2003: 129,839,000 employed
2.21 million jobs were LOST after 2 years of Bush Tax Cuts.
     
turtle777
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Apr 27, 2009, 10:43 PM
 
Originally Posted by stumblinmike View Post
Because I LOVE America!
So, you'll fit right in with 110M Mexicans...

-t
     
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Apr 27, 2009, 10:47 PM
 
Originally Posted by amazing View Post
Best Texas governor joke I've heard was from Leno, so good it was subsequently reprinted in the Times mag:

Leno said there were rumors that Lance Armstrong was going to run for governor of Texas! Leno was very enthusiastic, going on and on about how good this would be for Texas! Best thing ever for Texas!

The punch line:

Texas would finally have a governor who could ride a bicycle!
     
   
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