I’ve driven thru Texas a couple times, and from what I could tell, they were consistently about 20 years behind Chicago (a pretty conservative city, by anyone’s account.) Oh, plus they have some of the deadliest air & water pollution in the nation.  Thanks to a certain former governor… Overall, not the state I would want to be the most ‘representative’ of our country.

Just in case your point, randall, is that I’m a hypocrite because I’m judgmental

I never claimed I wasn’t-- judgment is a fine thing, it’s what separates us from the kind of idiots that walk into walls

over and over and over again.

But I do try to base my judgments on something other than—well, I’ve got this “feeling”

Or, “eeww, that makes me feel all, you know, yicky inside.”

And I try not to assert that my judgments are the “right” ones for everyone, as I’m very much aware that my world view is as narrow as my experience and education have allowed it to be.

And as a side note, I could make you “appear” to be saying almost anything, if I selectively cut and pasted your quotes from other threads.  My point, in context, was that it is ironic that the same people who are so dead-set against any restrictions of the second amendment are so quick to dismiss the protections granted by the first.

So randall, as a side note, what’s more morally reprehensible-- making judgments about a person’s/state’s/nation’s character by observing its actions, or ripping someone else’s words out of context in an attempt to distort their character?

les, what do you mean it does not surprise you that i’m a texan.  the only thing wrong with texas would be,,,the dallas cowboys and texas rangers (baseball, not law enforcement).

as far as alaska do they really count as a state? they are big and all but alaskans just dont carry the clout as us texicans do.

the name texas is synonomous with honor, bravery, and freedom.  you guys are welcome here anytime.  i would be abliged to give you a tour of crawford the home of the presidents ranch.

and maryh, did you actually drive through texas?  if you did it must have taken you a while.  did you happen to see any “guest workers” on your way through?

and les, i know that you think i am pro-bush because i am christian.  i am actually not pro-bush, and i am not so sure of his christian values either.  but he is from texas!!  yeehaww!

good nite

Well, yeah Randall.  The first time I “drove thru” I was staying with a friend in Galveston for 3 weeks.  We took some road trips around the state, but mostly stayed around Houston and its environs.  I was really young at the time- 13 or so- and this was during the early Reagan era.  I saw lots of ‘guest workers”.  I had the impression, even then, that Houston had a huge divide between rich and poor. 
You grew up in Texas, so you must’ve seen all the Mary Kay stuff?  At the time, the Mary Kay thing seemed kind of scammy to me-- I mean, I just flew in from Chicago, I’m a pre-teen, and within the first 2 days I’m in Galveston I’ve already been unsuccessfully inducted into the MK pyramid scheme twice. If I’m sounding a bit overly critical of Mary Kay, I ask you to consider the kind of thinking that went into Enron, etc.  Houston seems to be the center of the universe for Ponzi schemes.
Overall, not a bad trip for a horse crazy pre-teen, tho’.
Second time thru was in 1993, on my way from Chicago to LA.  Non-stop cop harassment, and I can only conclude it was because of my IL plates. Okay, this is all very subjective, but I got a much different buzz off of TX than I have from any other state.
Just my observations.

I think randall would be happier in Mississippi.  They were still doing prayer in at least one school (illegally) in the mid 90’s. 

The town where it was going on was north of where I was living at the time.  They were calling themselves the “Buckle of the Bible Belt” on tv.  I figured it put me right in the “Zipper of the Bible Belt.”

Whoa, hang on there, Les, I’m a Texan too.  Grew up here, and I’m trying to turn the tide, but it’s hard work (especially when they keep gerrymandering districts out from under you).

I did spend ten years in Chicago, too.  Great place.  (You DO know how Chicago as a city was founded, right?  The folks in NYC said, “Well, we like the poverty and the crime, but it’s just not cold enough.” *rim shot*) I do miss Chicago from time to time.  Especially Giordano’s.

I’ve been all over the world, and Texas is indeed a Whole ‘Nother Country.  Which is both good and bad.  Right now it’s election day and I’m depressed.

(Yeah, sorry, we sent Bush to Washington.  PLEASE don’t make us take him back.  Let him join Aristide in exile; they’d probably have a lot to talk about.)

Randall, what I mean is that you seem to be representative of the mindset of a lot of the folks I’ve met from Texas. Your comment about Alaska not carrying the “clout” of Texas is a prime example, though I suspect you meant it in jest.

As a bit of geography I have no issues with Texas. It’s interesting enough and there’s plenty of natural beauty to take in. It’s the attitude of some of the residents that Texas is somehow only a part of the union because it wants to be and if the rest of us aren’t careful you guy’s will pack up your goodies and leave the union that tends to bug me. It’s the same insufferably superior attitude the French tend to have from time to time and they bug the hell out of me (in general) as well. Texans tend to annoy me only slightly less than Frenchmen, though the French tend to have more tolerable accents. Is my viewpoint judgmental? Absolutely, but not baseless by a long shot.

GeekMom, just as there are Christians (and Frenchmen) who I think “get it” there are Texans who I think “get it” and you’d fall into that camp quite easily. Though I’d probably still poke fun at your accent a little.

Les, one might argue that the French tend to be more arrogant because they ARE better.  I mean, when you compare them to Texans, come on, there’s no challenge there. 

No, but seriously, I have actually met some very nice French people.  They were, however, all outside of Paris.

I have yet to meet an accent I couldn’t mangle.  Would a John-Wayne-meets-Yves-Montand flip your nonexistent toupee, Les?

I used to have fun making French speakers listen to zydeco music.  I would explain to them:  “This is what happens to French people when they stay in the U.S. too long.” Woo-eee!

Just as an aside, Les, for some strange reason the state of Bavaria in Germany is very similar to Texas.  They’re both in the south, they think they’re their own country, they’re conservative as all get-out, you can’t understand a word the natives say, and they’re a hell of a lot of fun to have at parties.

I must say I find your sudden reversal of morals predictable. It’s OK to make generalizations about people from Texas (or France) but not about homosexuals. Seems to me that we can have little impact on where we are born, it’s at least debatable as to whether we have a choice on who we’ll have sex with.

Not that I don’t agree with you about the French. I’ve never cared much for the social atmosphere of France, their politics are atrocious, and the superiority thing is detestable. I always thought that all went together: supreme arrogance and a liberal attitude that is. Seems to work that way with all the people I encounter.

My wife works for a French company, and she has to travel there a few times a year. She describes the conditions as much closer to living in a 3rd world nation than visiting a superior culture. So I think you’d have a tough time convincing her that they actually are superior. It doesn’t help that she is generally going there to show them how to fix a technical problem her group spent a couple weeks solving that her counterparts have been trying to fix for months or years (or worse, didn’t realize WAS a problem).

Of course, I find your attitude all the more humorous because I was actually born in the great state of Texas. I applaud any state that takes the attitude “That’s the way we’re doing things here, if you don’t like it, move”. And I think that’s what’s great about states’ rights. If folks in a state can’t form a majority and they dislike a law, they can go live in an area of the same country with folks that share their flavor of thought. And they can enjoy, or suffer, the consequences of their particular shade of democracy.

Obligatory funny Texas story: My step-mother (Texan) was visiting some backwater state (like Michigan) and was doing some shopping. The salesgirl asked her where she was from. When Glenn replied “Texas” the woman lit up and replied excitedly, “oh, when I heard your accent I just knew you were from France or Texas or one of those places!”

I know, I’m a bigot, and you’re just misunderstood. You’re liberal, you couldn’t possibly a racist. *sigh*

My sudden reversal of morals? That’s pretty fuckin’ funny, David. This entry has been up here for almost a year now and you’re describing my “change” as “sudden?” And since when have I ever said that it wasn’t OK to make generalizations about gay people? I generalize a lot and when I do I try to make it clear that I am doing just that at the time.

I always thought that all went together: supreme arrogance and a liberal attitude that is. Seems to work that way with all the people I encounter.

You seem hell bent on proving it doesn’t take a liberal attitude to have supreme arrogance. Doin’ a mighty fine job of it too!

Of course, I find your attitude all the more humorous because I was actually born in the great state of Texas. I applaud any state that takes the attitude “That’s the way we’re doing things here, if you don’t like it, move”.

Yeah, wouldn’t want that pesky Bill of Rights to have anything to say on the matter down there in Texas! Nosiree! It’s Mob Rul… er.. I mean Majority Rule all the way in the Lone Star State!

Considering your expressed admiration for that attitude I find it pretty funny you call Michigan a backwater state.

I know, I’m a bigot, and you’re just misunderstood. You’re liberal, you couldn’t possibly a racist. *sigh*

That’s your preconception, not mine. I’ve known racists liberals in my time as well as racist conservatives. I’ve even been accused of being racist myself.

You really need to stop trying to speak for me. It makes you look less intelligent than you’d like us to think you are.

David, I just can’t wait to fix things around here in the great state o’ Texas, and then if YOU don’t like it, you can move.  And move, and move, and keep moving ... because obviously changing things for the better isn’t an option, right?

Why, you may end up having to leave the Liberal States of America altogether.  Although you’ll probably have a hard time finding another country that doesn’t qualify in your eyes as being Third World (that is, they don’t have pickup trucks and seven kinds of Cheez Whiz).

Either you guys are just too easy, or too thin skinned. I can’t decide, but I’m still laughing.

There are seven kinds of cheese whiz? WOW! I’m off to the store!

BTW, geekmom, on a more serious note, you come off as even more arrogant when you’re mad. Maybe you should work on that, or not, your choice. I think it had more to do with dogs roaming the streets in packs, animals allowed inside markets, lack of suitable phone service, poor sewage service, their Ph.D.s not being able to solve problems the lab techs working for her can do in their sleep, that kind of thing. But it’s true, not that I own a truck, but they can’t build a decent car, either.

Have a nice day, and try to get over yourselves...

You literally have no sense of irony, do you?

I, personally, deeply dig Geekmom.  So bite my pasty white middle-aged ass, David.

Just gotta throw in a ‘ell yeah! for GeekMom! :dance:

David :ignore: whatever.

David, I just can’t wait to fix things around here in the great state o’ Texas, and then if YOU don’t like it, you can move. And move, and move, and keep moving … because obviously changing things for the better isn’t an option, right?

From his email addy, it looks like he’s in the Pennsylvania/New Jersey area. 

********************************
We are trying to make Texas a better place to live.  Even with the nutjobs in Austin who feel they have to legislate things like the minute of silence and enforced pledges. 

I may be left of center, but I do live in Texas, vote, and own guns.  Guess that makes my political leaning “armed liberal”. 

Ragman, armed liberals are the bestest kind!  Who says you can’t shoot back? 

David, I’m so sorry your wife wasn’t able to figure out how to use the phone in France, and that someone’s poodle in a supermarket scared her.  And I’m real sorry her folks in the US built such a counterintuitive, messed-up system that only THEY understand it well enough to fix it ...

But hell yeah, you’re right.  The best country is the one that builds the best cars.  Meet you in Tokyo, babe?

Geek(PULL!)Mom

Now that is really offensive. Let’s meet in Stuttgart or Munich instead. Wolfsburg in a pinch.

Oh, wait. You’re just baiting me, aren’t you?

Guilty as charged, El baby.  Besides, the phone system there is too hard to figure out how to use.

Geek(Fahrvergnügen)Mom

I live in texas and I can safely say we don’t do this we instead have the moment of silence around 11 am rather than the morning. also some people have been sickened and are fighting this at my school while others couldn’t care less that some people are wanting to stand up. I choose to continue sitting thinking about getting the hell out of texas.

Well, geekmom would actually have to be able to READ to know that I wrote that I was born in TX, and in other posts I have mentioned I live in PA. I also wrote suitable, as in poor quality connections and lack of availability making internet usage difficult, not mentally challenging. Generally, my wife doesn’t bother figuring out how to use a phone system, that’s what secretaries are for, dear. Someday, if you decide to become a useful member of society, perhaps you’ll be able to help her out in that capacity. Oh, I forgot, the reading thing might present a barrier to that endeavor. But I’d be glad to send you a primer, never let it be said that I wasn’t willing to give the uneducated a leg up. And I think it was more the poodle’s puddle while she was shopping in a food store that offended her, not the animal itself. But then, considering your cultural standing I’m sure you’re far more comfortable eating among animals than she is, you win.

I have to ditto everything elwedriddsche wrote. Except I’d go to Ingolstadt before Munich.

But bait would be the operative word in all these posts. You guys really are too easy. If we’re going to continue to trade slams, can’t you come up with anything better?

Irony… lol… you’re funnier than you think, Les.

Passau.

David, I did read that you said you were born in TX (you were probably referring to the quote from Ragman, not from me), and I’m just pointing out that saying that something isn’t “suitable” may very well mean that it’s not suitable for YOU. Comments like that usually say more about you than they do about the thing you’re criticizing.

But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter WHERE you’re from; your ethnocentricity clearly marks you as someone who doesn’t know very much about anything outside of your comfort zone.

Secretaries?  Been one, had some.  It wouldn’t occur to me to try to win an argument by bragging about having people work for me, though. Do you often try to impress people by telling them that your wife has a secretary?  Do you really think that’s the Big Time?  Woo, woo!

(I am, however, very glad to see that in this enlightened day and age, men can feel comfortable claiming status points by what their wives do or earn.  Why should women be the only ones to ride on their spouse’s coattails?)

OK, you got me. What’s in Passau?

Yeah, geekmom, having 3 secretaries is not as common as it used to be. But I’m far more impressed by the number of PhDs that work for her. And it took me awhile to figure out what your one comment meant, I think I get it now. But I don’t think the Americans invented chemistry or biology. In fact, if anyone, the French might be able to lay claim. But neither designed it. There was a designer? Who said that?

And it’s not me I was defending, you took a swipe at her. But yeah, I think that there is a coattail effect. I always thought that’s what the Bible taught: I lift her up, she lifts me up. But again I suppose you’d disagree. It must be another complete accident that womens rights are far better in Christian cultures than non-Christian cultures.

Impress you? Why would I want to do that? You’re the one claiming to be cultured, I’m just a cheezwiz eating, turck driving, ethnocentric, married to a women too stupid to operate a phone. Heck, I’m surprised I could find the on button on this here computer.

Now, if I get caught laghing out loud again at my PC, someone is going to call the in the nice men with the big butterfly net and the nice needle. So I’m going to have to leave this alone for awhile. ttfn.

It must be another complete accident that womens rights are far better in Christian cultures than non-Christian cultures.

Oh, David, you’re such a card.  Are you really purposely trying to make all Christians look this ignorant?  I’d resent it, if I were they.  (Even the ones who are busy submitting to their husbands.  Bwahaha.)

Yeah, go hose your chair down and amuse yourself some more with your wife’s org chart.  Take a break. But please do try to come up with some logical arguments next time to support your absurd assertions, other than “my wife is too important to use her own phone.” Those of us who can manage a staff AND dial a phone at the same time will be out here waiting for some sign of reasoned debate to issue forth.