Death by Debt — Mother Jones
Jessica Madison was a pioneer of the student loan cancellation movement. The relief that could've saved her is now in the hands of the Supreme Court.
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Political Discussion
- Thread starter David A.
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mdmost
Well-Known Member
So my dear wife who is fairly liberal wants to leave Texas for a more left leaning state. She specifically would love to head to California. I had to inform her that there's shitbag Trump type people all over California too. Sadly, in some of the areas she'd like to move to. I could be wrong but there were more people who voted for Trump in that state than any other state he carried in 2020. So it's not the panacea that she thinks it is. There's shitty people everywhere and they're becoming more militant about it because of the endless feedback loop of social media.Even CA isn’t immune to these things
Rainbow flag burned at North Hollywood school where some parents oppose Pride event
At Saticoy Elementary, where some parents object to a LGBTQ+ book reading, a Pride flag is burned. LAPD investigates.www.dailynews.com
yukbon
Well-Known Member
while this is true, it is definitely truest that texas is a conservative wasteland where conservatives have been actively fucking up the entire state for like 30 years in a row. that power grid thing is just a travesty
I mean, i'm a floridian, i'm not casting aspersions -- our governor voldemort gave way to the fucking ron disaster moron
mdmost
Well-Known Member
Well sure but we're in fairly blue Dallas which was my point to her. Outside of the big cities, you're going to get into Trumpland. We see it when we head to the Hill Country for trips to state parks. Trump signs, Let's Go Brandon signs, all dot the landscape. But yes, it's amazing how much they are wrecking the state with either inaction on gun violence, trying to take over Harris County elections (Houston), and giving preference to businesses over individuals in the form of property tax relief. Oh and Abbott trying to destroy our public school system with his misguided push for private school vouchers that even small town Republicans are fighting him on. And this state keeps electing these shitbags.
Job market is still strong and unemployment rates are still near historic lows. This means that yet another rate hike from the feds is likely because the economy just will not cool off and inflation is still persistent.
At the same time, Costco and Macys could be sounding the alarm about trouble to come.
So how can the economy both be hot and in trouble at the same time. What's going on here?
Bull Shannon
Well-Known Member
There's a big difference between "there are a lot of MAGA chuds in the sticks here" and "MAGA chuds run the infrastructure here," and it sounds like you get a lot of the latter in Texas (the whole snafu with the privatized power grid failing in the face of record cold snaps a year or two comes to mind).
I'm not 100% sure what you'd research to figure out what state/city would be ideal for you. From my perspective, Portland is incredibly liberal, but it also gives way to libertarianism which gives way to MAGA-style right-wing extremism; just because our city is considered a liberal enclave doesn't mean we aren't surrounded by a strong right-wing presence (and often our desire to be accepting allows a lot of low-level bullshit to creep in and calcify into high-level bullshit). IMO the latter is exacerbated by the former, leading me to think a more moderate political environment might not drive such a strident discourse. But then there are a lot of deeper, more complicated issues affecting Portland/Oregon which exacerbate both sides.
All this is to say nowhere is going to be ideal. I do think there are cities/town you can live where you don't have to worry about running into cultists the moment you hit city limits. And keep in mind (I have to remind myself this a lot) the one house plastered with Trump paraphernalia and bastardized/mutilated American flags doesn't speak for the other houses on that street; often these people speak really loudly so it feels like there are no other opinions.
The SCOTUS further eroding unions yet again.
And the destruction of property was the loss of all concrete that was prepared for that day.
mdmost
Well-Known Member
It's all been very preliminary, surface level hypotheticals about areas we would love to go to. But there's lots of realities that make a move harder. I'm thankful we have the privilege that we do to not have to worry about this state making life harder for our family like we might if we had a gender fluid child or were a different race. I have an elderly mother still with us that I do a lot for who doesn't want to leave her house. Our kids go to really great public schools here that can open lots of doors for the future. So we're stuck here for at least 5 more years. After that, we're definitely moving to the make things more of a reality phase. We're encouraging our kids to look outside of this state now for college or whatever comes after high school for them. I would've loved for my kids to continue the tradition that's been in my family of attending the University of Texas in Austin. But I have to weigh that against one or both of my daughters staying in a state where they can't even save their own lives or even get the choice to pursue anything if they happen to get pregnant and need to terminate a pregnancy that might be a risk to their life if taken to full term. My niece is over on the West Coast for college and we know she's not coming back.
Then there's part of me that gets angry that I have to consider leaving my home state because of what's being done here. It's like Michael from Office Space. Why should I have to change, they're the ones that suck? The sad reality is I feel places like Texas and Florida are just going to tilt more and more towards the right as they accumulate power and have the means to ensure they can maintain it through redistricting and changing laws to suit their lust for power. That's why I'm glad to live in our little progressive enclave of East Dallas. There's been lots of talk about Texas turning purple but I just don't see it. Yes, we're becoming a minority majority state but I worry there's a segment that sides with the "strong man" and they will vote against their own interests. I simply don't get how Republicans can do what they do here and people keep voting for them. There's a point where it will no longer be worth it to live here, even in Dallas.
Then there's part of me that gets angry that I have to consider leaving my home state because of what's being done here. It's like Michael from Office Space. Why should I have to change, they're the ones that suck? The sad reality is I feel places like Texas and Florida are just going to tilt more and more towards the right as they accumulate power and have the means to ensure they can maintain it through redistricting and changing laws to suit their lust for power. That's why I'm glad to live in our little progressive enclave of East Dallas. There's been lots of talk about Texas turning purple but I just don't see it. Yes, we're becoming a minority majority state but I worry there's a segment that sides with the "strong man" and they will vote against their own interests. I simply don't get how Republicans can do what they do here and people keep voting for them. There's a point where it will no longer be worth it to live here, even in Dallas.
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yukbon
Well-Known Member
This is the thing that kills me the most about the states like this (not just TX). "things are terrible!" well who's been in charge for the last 40 years fuckers?
yukbon
Well-Known Member
There's No Such Thing As a Smart Fascist
But don't get it twisted, there's no such thing as a safe one, either
catvalente.substack.com
mdmost
Well-Known Member
Oh that's easy. They just blamed Clinton then the Democratic Congress for 8 years then Obama for 8 years then Democrats again and now Biden. It's all the Federal Government's fault.
threesunrises
Well-Known Member
We did all we could for our kids - paid as much tuition as we were able, but they both walked away with student loans. Cost of living in the northeast is so high, I just want the balance of their loans forgiven - they have both been paying (while there wasn't a freeze on it)
As Medicaid Purge Begins, ‘Staggering Numbers’ of Americans Lose Coverage — KFF Health News
In what’s known as the Medicaid “unwinding,” states are combing through rolls to decide who stays and who goes. But the overwhelming majority of people who have lost coverage so far were dropped because of technicalities, not because officials determined they are no longer eligible.
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So, the vast majority of people are being dropped due to technicalities rather than no longer being eligible. Sounds about right for our government programs.
At New Chicago Walgreens, You Can Only Browse 2 Aisles — The Rest Of The Store Is Locked Away
SOUTH LOOP — A South Loop Walgreens has unveiled a renovated interior where most of the merchandise is kept away from customers — and some shoppers say
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mdmost
Well-Known Member
I had to go to Home Depot to get a specific brand of trimmer and leaf blower that I've been studying as I make my way towards all electric lawn care products. I had to wait about 20 minutes to have a team member open the locked cage that held the giant box for the combo kit I was buying. While waiting I walked around and tons of aisles had either stuff behind cages or locked with chains. I asked the guy who eventually helped me just how bad the problem is and he said they've had a ton of smash and grabs over the past year. Just people walking in, grabbing a tool set and running off. Of course, the employees are trained not to pursue as that could be highly dangerous, especially in gun loving Texas. So this was what corporate came up with. Inconvenient for me but I'd rather have this than lose a store I utilize. They just need a better system to call someone over to open the cage. The guy had to walk my purchase up to the front. I'm curious if certain people get profiled on the walk.At New Chicago Walgreens, You Can Only Browse 2 Aisles — The Rest Of The Store Is Locked Away
SOUTH LOOP — A South Loop Walgreens has unveiled a renovated interior where most of the merchandise is kept away from customers — and some shoppers say
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Nee Lewman
बैस्टर्ड
I’ve had mixed results with the way Lowe’s and Home Depot handle this. It always takes forever. Buying hammer drill was easy enough but got the escort. Trying to buy a tool chest, I eventually gave up and ordered it online for pick up. What bothered me that day was the amount of staff walking around who appeared to be doing nothing but could not assist me.
mdmost
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I guess going forward I'll buy in advance and have them hold it for me or buy online. I try to be really diligent and support my local mom and pop hardware stores but they don't stock Ryobi products. But for smaller items, I go to them every time. And yes, it took a while and eventually I had to go find a guy who could then call a guy and then I still stood around for 10 minutes. Just add a call button so I could get someone myself though I could see that's been used to distract employees so you can run scams.
Jan
Well-Known Member
Utah parent upset by book bans gets Bible pulled from school shelves to expose ‘bad faith process’
"You’ll no doubt find that the Bible, under Utah Code Ann. § 76-10-1227, has ‘no serious values for minors’ because it’s pornographic by our new definition,” the parent wrote.