Because That's What Friends Are For

I very rarely plug other people's books, but in this case I'm making an exception. The author and I go way back. WAY back.

'Wyrd Justice- Weekends in Dystopia' is a compilation of six separate stories told consecutively; each encompassing a matter of just a few days spanning an undetermined time frame.

Fate Devine is the heroine who finds herself in the middle of the meltdown of America at the hands of (we know who- and it ain't the Liberals or the poor people or the sinners). She's strong, beautiful, sexy and powerful.

This ain't a G rated book, ya'll. Not by a long shot.

There's detailed sex scenes, some violence, mainly 'adult situations', and also humor, witches, guns, and zombies.

Talk about a 'total package'.

Here's an excerpt-

The woman tapped politely on the door, and waited patiently till the Sheriff looked up from his newspaper.

His practiced look of pained courtesy was usually enough to send most people apologizing and beating a hasty retreat, but he froze mid-look when he saw how damn attractive this visitor was.

Backlit in the doorway, her hair seemed to move on its own in shades of silver, gold and copper; waves of softness framing her serious face and contained only by the black-framed reading glasses perched atop her head.

Wearing a simple matching skirt and jacket in a light spring tweed, the skirt ending just at her knees and the jacket open to reveal the raw silk blouse underneath- the first three buttons undone.

The scent of Black Orchid preceded her into the office and she sat down smoothly and silently across from him, catlike.
She lowered her glasses and read from a small notebook in her hand. “Sheriff Thomas?” she glanced up at him, her brown eyes flecked with green magnified in her lenses. He nodded.

“May I ask you a few questions?” and she pushed the glasses back onto her head, smiled, and sat back in the chair, clearly going nowhere no matter what his answer was going to be.

As she sat back, her blouse opened up just a bit, revealing a glance of cleavage.

Sheriff Smith Thomas was a quick thinker- that’s what’d kept him alive all these years in law enforcement, in life and in his decades-long marriage to Ginny.

He and Ginny had grown up together and their families were best friends together. Any other ending other than being married to one another had never crossed the minds of anyone in either family, including themselves.

Sheriff Thomas cleared his throat, and answered gruffly, “Well, maybe just a few…as you can see, I’m a very busy man. What is this for, Mrs….?”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. It’s Miss. Miss Fate Devine, and I’m writing a book on lawmen of the South- such a noble and disappearing breed.” She flushed at the thought, and his predatory instincts took over.

“Miss Devine. I do have just a short spell here where I can talk with you. What would you like to know?”

She asked him about his motives for becoming a law enforcement officer, how long he’d been Sheriff, and for a few anecdotal stories from his days on patrol. The answers rolled off of his tongue effortlessly- he’d been asked the same thing by everyone from news reporters to 3rd graders and it took no thought at all, which gave him ample time to admire her as she wrote- head bowed, glasses on again, hair shielding her face and framing her long slender neck. He watched the steady rise and fall of her bosom and knew right then where this interview was going to end up.


Here's the link for the Kindle version, ya'll. It'll be up soon in paperback as well.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Luna%20Q%27otu&search-alias=digital-text

I Always Thought Wisdom Would Come With Less Tylenol

"That's quite an accomplishment for someone of your age".

On the other side of the looking glass, that would've been a bigger compliment- back when I was a child and had done something considered beyond my years. But this was recently, when I passed my certification test to become a Certified Veterinary Practice Manager- a pretty grueling task.

"That's quite an accomplishment for someone of your age", said a former employer who had been one of my four required references to even apply to sit for the exam.

Because I'm all old now.

At 54, I'm all old now and had never been to college and one of the requirements had also been 18 college hours of business courses. So I signed up for the courses at the community college in the next town over. Five of them were online, but one was in person.

The first night of class I texted Ward. "If I add up the ages of all the other students here, it'll still be less than my age."

I was older than the teacher. Not by much, but still.

I will admit that having gray hair and bifocals has its advantages.

Young men will reach up and get something from a top shelf at the store or offer to lift heavy sacks out of my cart at the car and it's a lot less stressful to know it's not because they are looking for an opening to ask me out but because I remind them of their mom (or grandmother).

When dealing with difficult people at work, it's much less intimidating and confrontational that I look pretty harmless; like I should have fresh-baked still-warm cookies in my pocket.

And I can generally out-maneuver most anyone in any sort of debate- auto repair, work meeting, political discussion...because yanno. I'm old and stuff and they never expect any opposition, much less expertise out of me.

I am a little disappointed in gravity.

I would think that here in the 'non-science-believing' zone of the US, gravity would've been kinder to me just because I accept its existence. Why is everything on me pointed down now? And I swear I'm shorter than I used to be.

I used to worry about appearance. I know it didn't show, but I did to a certain extent.

I polished my nails and wore makeup and pantyhose- even shoes with heels on occasion.

At some point in the last few years, though, I've stopped worrying about how my parts look and just became grateful that they still work.

I've become accustomed to aching most everywhere most every day and weather the days mostly without the aid of Tylenol. At night I sleep with Ward up against my back, Fizzgig up against my tummy, and a heating pad on my side to warm all the aches. I don't sleep very well for some reason- keep dreaming I'm wedged somewhere and can't get out. Then I wake up needing to pee and realize that I really can't get out, and when you need to pee is NOT the time to have to PUSH against a 15 pound dog who weighs roughly 75 pounds when unconscious.

My hair is graying, my parts are all sagging and squishy, my eyes need bifocals, my hip hurts constantly and clicks when I walk, and my ankle that got caught up in a dog chain 11 years ago will never ever be strong again, but yanno what?

I'm OK with all of it.

So I don't look 25 anymore. I'm NOT 25 anymore and wouldn't be 25 again for anything- that was a horrible time in my life filled with instability, lack of self-confidence and angst.

Don't like how I look? Don't look.

Don't like what I have to say? Tough.

Ward's first wife 'had a lot of work done' in an attempt to look young(er). When he and I became a couple 20 years ago, I told him, "I'm going to get old. I will do my best not to get fat or smell bad, but other than that there WILL be gray hair and wrinkles, so if that's not OK, you just need to know that now."

I'm 20 pounds overweight, but not fat (by East Texas standards, anyway), my hair is gray and I've got wrinkles. My one expensive indulgence is French perfume so I'm pretty sure I don't smell bad and Ward is still here.

That's all that matters.

Head vs. Heart

I always feel so much better when I'm not here.

Whenever we're in Denton, or Austin, or Houston, or pretty much anywhere not East Texas, mentally I'm so much more relaxed and happy. Anywhere I don't feel like I have to don mental armor just to leave my yard to survive the almost constant onslaught of FOX News in every waiting room and restaurant, the never-ending parade of bumper stickers proudly proclaiming ignorant and outright hateful statements about pretty much every single social issue out there, having to walk into a board meeting at work and having financial decisions weighed not by how much money there is in the bank and the profit/loss trends of our business but by, "Lets wait and see what Obama is going to do to the economy", walking into a room full of people and having someone say, "Well, we all gotta watch what we say now...the LIBERAL is here" and they're not poking fun- everyone looks at you like you're the Enemy.

It just gets freaking old.

Even up on Oklahoma City, surrounded by old Baptist ladies, when one of them asked me sweetly if I knew Jesus, she was A-OK with my answer that I was raised Lutheran. When I moved down here I was flat-out told that "Lutheran is a cult." Nothing but Baptist counts, and all those old ladies in OKC would be labeled BINO's. (Baptist in Name Only)

We drive three hours one-way every single week to be in a home school group that believes in EVILution and who doesn't think gay people are going to hell.

"Why don't you move if you're so unhappy?"

Because I always feel so much better when I'm here.

Whenever we're in Denton, or Austin, or Houston, or pretty much anywhere not East Texas,I can't seem to physically 'settle'. Our friends and like-minded people are in all those other places, and when I'm away (and a lot of the time when I'm home) I look at real estate and take in the scenery and try to settle myself there. I can see the beauty in pretty much any environment and have always been able to- the harsh but resilient desert, gently rolling plains that accentuate the sky, any coastline or water anywhere, even the terrifying mountains are beautiful...from really far away.

And I think, "If I just look hard enough, I'll find enough to love about this place and be able to call it home."

And then we come back to East Texas- the gigantic trees, hills, water, so much like my childhood and young adult home of Wisconsin, but without the death-dealing bone-cracking snotcicle-inducing winters. And I know I'm home here; have been home here since I got here almost 20 years ago. We are fortunate to have brief stewardship of a tiny chunk of this place and I walk over our meager 12 acres of woodland and wetland, creekbank and hillside and know I'm Home.

As soon as we cross into this particular mix of pines and oaks, water and hills, I actually physically relax and sigh deeply.

So I've been stuck between my head and my heart.

Lately, with the push to Turn Texas Blue and the wonders of the interwebs, we've been in contact with like-minded people crouched in fear hiding out who also live in really Red and regressive areas of Texas- been to dinner with some in Denton, had coffee with one here in Tyler, was looked at at the Henderson County Democrats meeting like I was an Ivory-billed Woodpecker when I said I live in Brownsboro and I'm a democrat because 'there ARE no Democrats in Brownsboro!' and last night had dinner with almost two dozen of 'em...right here in Tyler!

Just to spend an evening talking to people and sharing our stories which are way more than about 'living Blue in a Red state'- this Shiny Buckle of the Bible Belt is notorious for being as close-minded and unforgiving as any Taliban- and still be right here, well lemme tell you- was some sort of special.

Oh, don't get me wrong- I was highly skeptical when the organizer told me, "And they said they'd give us the room for groups for FREE!" That smelled like either a trap (and yes- I did check for an alternative exit other than the main door to the room), or proof that they wanted us all where we couldn't 'infect or offend' the other diners. Yes. It's that bad here.

But to be around people who are aware that Texas hasn't always been Red (a common refrain here, uttered loud and proud is "You'll NEVER turn Texas Blue!" Baby- I moved here only 2 decades ago and the first election here voted for Ann Richards. Gimme a break. Mass amnesia?)

Fun fact- from 1848 till 1980, Texas voted strongly Democrat in all but four Presidential elections. "Turn" Texas Blue? It's been Blue up till the last two decades.

So, last night was more than just dinner for us.

It was a beacon of hope.

I now know that there are others out there within reach. And that I just need to look hard enough to find them.

Texas WILL return Blue. That's a given. No matter how much they gerrymander and bully and thump us all on the heads with Bibles, the demographics are changing and that's not going to stop anytime soon.

And no matter how much they try to stop it, the Far Right will be left behind. The very people who embrace and say they live by 'survival of the fittest' haven't looked in the mirror lately.

It's called evolution, baby.

Comparing Movements

Mirror images, or stark contrasts?

Remember Occupy?

Now look at the Bundy situation.

Remember those people who felt so strongly about the over-reach of the corporations and banks and the government's lack of oversight and regulation of those entities that it broke out in a show of frustration all over the country? ALL over the country?

A rancher who has been illegally grazing on public land garnered the sympathy of a handful (compared to Occupy) of supporters, who gathered from all over the country, armed and ready to 'protect his rights'.

Mothers, fathers, grandparents, kids, teens, people from literally all walks of life gathered together in peaceful protest to show that they were tired of the status quo and knew they were being duped and formed a solid block of citizens for each other and against a common cause.

Mostly male, 100% white and 100% armed, the protesters cowboyed-up to form their own little militia and admitted on-camera that they were willing to kill and die for an old man they'd never met over his rights to cheat Americans out of lease fees.

Remember what happened to them?

And what happened to them?

First of all, the media (the corporate owned media) pounced on them and made it look like it was a buncha homeless welfare-sucking dope-smoking hippies just looking for a free ride and some loose-lovin'. Little mini-Woodstocks, if you will.

Well, the Right-wing media went wild with passionate devotion. They did everything but issue a Tiger Beat style magazine with pull-out posters of ol' Bundy and his posse...

As in any huge group of people, there were a few there just to stir things up, and again- all over the screens of America we saw trash on the ground, broken windows, reports of rapes and attacks and pooping on police cars. Oddly enough, rarely well-documented, though. And oddly enough, there was never any footage of the daily meetings among Occupiers designating responsibilities and schedules to keep the ever-changing amorphous crowd informed, and organized, and above all peaceful and good citizens to those around them.

Oh, there were planning sessions, alright. They planned (again- verified by TV interviews with the planners) that if push had come to shove, they were willing to put their wimmenfolk out front to be shot by the Feds. Awesome. Human shields. And as an aside, where WERE these brave little Rambo/John Waynes pooping?

The areas occupied were public spaces and the Occupiers were exercising their First Amendment rights- that Amendment that gets skipped over and covered in dust as the Second one is polished and vaunted and paraded around.

Federal land...armed 'militia'...tax-evading hero.

First. First Amendment. The Founders thought that was the most important one of all, yea verily MORE important than the Second one, even though today's proponents claim that the Second is the one that protects all the others. How convenient for them.

Because rushing across country to the aid of some guy you know nothing about except what FOX News' Hannity squawks about is the American Way. Also guns, horses, flags and stuff.

And what happened to those people, most of them employed and protesting on their off-time, a lot of them retired after a lifetime of gainful employment or in college looking towards being employed responsible adults?

How DID these guys afford to desert their families and jobs? Some are still there. Playing cowboy and keeping an eagle-eye out for injuns the Feds.

If you recall, they got arrested, herded like cattle, detained, tied up, knocked down, punched, dragged, and in some cases pepper sprayed. A large number of these were women and retirees.

Nothing. Not one arrest. Not because they were armed and the Feds were afraid of them and their awesome show of firepower, but because the Feds recognized that they are mostly unbalanced and twitchy and were just itching to Blaze of Glory.

And how did the media respond to this assault (because there is no other word for it) on American citizens?

So what's the media response to the Showdown in Nevada?

With glee.

Glee. They're a gleeful bunch.

"What do I think of Occupy? I think they need to take a shower and get a job!" one of the yammering heads of Right Wing media crowed to huge cheers and applause.

So where WERE these guys showering...and pooping? And again- what kind of job allows them to just saddle up and mosey over to Nevada for a month or so?

Be assured that Occupy didn't disappear. It's morphed into other venues and is working mostly behind the scenes- The Rolling Jubilee is one. Ensuring that enlisted men and women don't have to worry about their family home being foreclosed on is another.

Be assured that this is not the last you'll see of 'armed citizenry'. The Southern Poverty Law Center, who keeps track of hate groups in America, says that this is a growing movement- people ready and willing to take up arms against any perceived attack on their own personal freedom. That those generally do not square with the majority of Americans and sometimes even squelch the freedoms of other citizens apparently is not an issue for these brave vigilantes.

Occupy protests were an awakening for those who didn't buy into the media-tainted propaganda of it, very tangible proof that what a lot of people are feeling today is not just in their heads- things are very wrong in this country and something needs done about it. It was a springboard for civic awareness and action.

This should be a very real wake-up call to Sane America. Allowing the gun lobby to fan the flames of suspicion and hatred has come to this in real life. Don't like the law? Forget the voting booth. Forget peaceful protest. Forget organizing in a civil manner to affect change. Just saddle up your horse, or pickup, or 4 wheeler and cash your (government issued) unemployment or disability check for gas money! NOW is the time to use all that camo-wear and ammo you've been buying up at the Walmart! Because as one of the interviewees said, looking straight into the camera, and referring to Bundy- who he'd never met and lived 1,000 miles away from- "Everyone's gotta die sometime. I'm OK dying for this".

Criminal Cowboys and Idiots One, Great-Grandmothers and American Landowners Zero

Cliven Bundy is the new hero for the Far Right.

Cliven is a rancher and the story goes that the mean old environmentalists were insisting that he can't graze cattle on land he's been grazing them on for YEARS because 'it might hurt a tortoise'.

He 'stood strong' and defied the bad old government and thousands of armed citizens held a tense stand-off, all to defend HIS right to graze HIS cattle on HIS land.

Except that's not what happened.

It's not his land. It's federal land.

And he hasn't been paying his $1.35 per cow/calf lease fees for TWENTY ONE FUCKING YEARS. He owes the American taxpayers, including the idiots who were defending him, over a million dollars.

Meanwhile, the Keystone pipeline has been laid over land seized by eminent domain...PRIVATE land seized by eminent domain that is now used to bisect our nation over aquifers that supply millions of people with water and millions of acres of farmland with irrigation with a pipeline that is already leaking some of the dirtiest, foulest sludge imaginable and piping it (mostly) down to the international port of Houston.

It has to get to Houston for processing (taking billions more gallons of fresh water- something drought and fire-ridden Texas can CLEARLY spare)because it's not staying here. 100% of it is being sold overseas. Oh. And the pipeline itself is owned by a foreign corporation.

Where the FUCK were the thousands of armed citizens when THAT happened???

Nowhere. Families took the corporation to court and little old lady landowners handcuffed themselves to bulldozers and protesters were arrested and hauled away and all were berated and belittled and it was labeled some sort of ridiculous granola-crunching falderal by the far right ignorant, belligerent, incessantly yammering honking heads.

This was THEIR land. Not federal land. Taken. By a foreign entity. With the help of our government.

And yet...even here in gun-totin' gubment-hatin' Texas...NOTHING.

Just to the north of here- land that'd been in a family for generations, huge trees, pecan orchards (do you know how long it takes for a pecan tree to get to production age? A SHITLOAD longer than for a cow and calf to get eaten, Cliven)...all ripped out and replaced with that pipeline.

But where were the thousands of armed citizens to protect great-grandmother Eleanor Fairchild, who got hauled off to jail for trying to defend her property and her orchard? WHERE???

Guess she just wasn't 'cowboy' enough to warrant their attention.

Rather they make a big fucking deal out of an old criminal in a cowboy hat who cheated them out of one million tax dollars.

Way to pick your battles, assholes.

Dear Hobby Lobby...

I confess. I went into Hobby Lobby recently. I used to go all the time, before Michael's moved into the strip mall that's closer to where I work. I remember that Hobby Lobby and Michael's were essentially the same store.

Maybe I'm seeing things through different eyes now, but I don't remember HL being quite so in your face Christian before.

Walk into Michael's and it's...craft stuff, home decor, art supplies. Sure, in the home decor area there's stuff with crosses on it and sure in the picture frame area there's frames that say whoever's photo you stuff into it is a blessing to you somehow, but that's normal- especially here in the Bible Belt.

Hobby Lobby?

Holy shit. Really- the entire store is nothing but holy shit.

It was everywhere. I could literally not swing a cat without hitting something with the word 'Jesus' on it.

*And lemme tell you for the record- neither the cat nor store security considered that a valid measure, but it's a measure that's always served me well so I'm sticking to it.

Seriously, ya'll. Not only in home decor, but every single aisle had something bible-related prominently displayed. Every single center-of-the-big-aisles island was mounded up like it had been burped straight from the bowels of the Sea of Scripture- one little craggy atoll of religiosity after another from stem to stern the entire length and breadth of the store.

If I hadn't needed a cupcake pan for my snacks class in our secular, non-Christian liberal-lovin' co-op I would've walked right out.

Not because I'm allergic to Jesus (I'm sure those hives came from something in the air...) but because of their whiny-ass complaining (all the way to the Supreme Court) that they don't want to provide reproductive health care for their female employees under that mean ol' healthcare bill.

Specifically this- (from their own Wikipedia page) "In September 2012, Hobby Lobby sued the United States over new regulations requiring health insurance provided by employers to cover emergency contraceptives, stating that, "The Green family's religious beliefs forbid them from participating in, providing access to, paying for, training others to engage in, or otherwise supporting abortion-causing drugs and devices."

What they're talking about is stuff like 'the morning after' pill- that flushes out a woman's uterus BEFORE THE EGG CAN BE FERTILIZED. So...not an 'abortion-causing drug or device', just something they think is icky and might encourage 'loose behavior'.

I can see that. I can see where a corporate person (because they're ALL PERSONS NOW thanks to Citizens United) would live such a godly and upstanding life that they'd never, ever EVER be in a position to need something as tawdry as a morning-after pill.

Nothing they'd ever have to walk back on and think, "That was probably not my best life choice."

Wait. Lower down on their Wiki page is this (italics from the page, bold is mine)-

"In September 2013, a shopper reported being told by an employee of the store in Marlboro, New Jersey, it did not carry merchandise celebrating Jewish holidays. While the store carried Christmas items, they did not carry items related to bar mitzvah, Hanukkah, or Passover. The store employee told the shopper that these items were not sold, due to the owner's Christian values. In response, Hobby Lobby apologized for the employee's comments, stating that it has carried Jewish holiday items in the past, and would do so in test areas beginning in November 2013."

'Test areas'? What are they testing? To see if people who dive into Hobby Lobby for a full-on Jesus immersion would be offended by a section celebrating some OTHER religion?

Oy Vey.

Dear Hobby Lobby,

It's me- the old heathen hippie who darkened your pristine doorstep to purchase a cupcake pan for use in a totally secular home school co-op. We meet in a Unitarian Church, but I know that counts for nothing in your holy book. Because there are books on ALL religions, spiritual beliefs AND SCIENCE on the bookshelves of that church and you need only the one book. Whatever.

I just wanted you to know that I won't be back.

Oh, I could stand the almost total scriptural suffocation suffered from every shelf of your store...although you may consider changing your name to "Hobby Lobby Christian Craft Store"- that would both bring your flock flocking in even more fervently as well as warn us sinners to maybe not wear our pentagrams on the day we go to Hobby Lobby. Maybe.

I just can't abide the hypocrisy.

See, everywhere I read something about you, the one thing that's stressed when you're being small-minded bigots is that you're doing it out of the goodness of your Christian Values.

Now, I grew up Lutheran which I know is not considered a 'real' Christian religion down here, but we were taught that Jesus Christ (where the word 'Christian' comes from in case you forgot that) was pretty big on forgiveness and charity and compassion...all those words today's real corporate and political Christians think are 'weak and sinful'. He was big on loving humans- all of us imperfect messed-up carbon-based creatures who slog through life doing the best we can most of the time. He was huge on second chances and not a big fan of hypocritical assholes, especially those who chose to judge other people.

I don't think Jesus would approve of your Christian Values.

So you've gone all the way to the Supreme Court to defend your (defenseless) 'right' to not provide the morning after pill to your female employees. What, exactly does that save you? Pennies? Percentages of pennies? What is it costing you? Millions? More than millions?

Here's the thing, Hobby Lobby. You're not a church. You're a public business. You may have a Christian owner, but you're not a Christian entity. Sort of like the US is not a Christian nation, but it has a majority of Christian people. An ever-shrinking majority thanks to shenanigans like this.

Your employees might not all be Christians. Because siphoning your employment pool to only include one Faith is illegal as hell. Maybe I'll go apply at Hobby Lobby. I'd love to see what your interview process is like...

As a public company, you may not force your religious beliefs on your employees. May not.

So here's what I suggest. I suggest you take that millions of dollars you're willing to spend on a non-defensible and totally reprehensible stand and do something good with it. Put it towards school programs that actually TEACH the birds and the bees and not just 'don't do that', so that young people won't have just old-wives tales about when you can and can't have sex to not get pregnant.

Saying you 'love the sinner but hate the sin' has a lot more meaning when your boots-on-the-ground includes education beforehand rather than focusing on punishment afterwards.

Spending millions of dollars to prove how godly you by denying your employees legally available (and NOT ABORTION-INDUCING) health care seems more than a little assholish to me when it could be spent in many more...Christian endeavors.

What WOULD Jesus do?

Sincerely,

Sheri Dixon

You Learn Something New Every Day

Today was the primary election here in Texas, and it went about how it always goes for me.

The primaries are 'straight party' elections, so you choose to vote R or D. Here in East Texas, they used a potted palm to sit in the chair of the D side until I moved here, and now they need a real person to do it. She brings her knitting and waits for me to get there, then she can go home. I am mostly not kidding.

It was a philodendron.

I admit to not really paying much attention to the other stuff. The stuff at the end of all the names you can vote for. The propositions. I just always assumed they were the same for both parties. Turns out, they're not.

The propositions at the end of the names you can vote for are chosen by each party as things that they want to put forward in the general election in November. Shit that's really important to them.

Lets look at them here and you'll get a pretty good idea about Texas politics. Everything from here on in and in italics is typed directly off of the news reports and not my own wittily embellished stylings.

DEMOCRAT PROPOSITIONS-

ON IMMIGRATION REFORM- The United States Congress must pass immigration reform; including an earned path to citizenship for those individuals contributing to the economy and the dependents of those individuals. 86% for/13% against

A LIVING WAGE FOR ALL TEXANS- Congress should pass legislation raising the federal minimum wage to at least 110% of the federal poverty level for a family of four without exception. 90% for/9% against

MEDICAID EXPANSION- The governor and the Texas legislature should accept federal funds; as provided in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010; for the expansion of Medicaid to provide coverage to millions of uninsured and underinsured Texans. 89% for/10% against

NON-DISCRIMINATION LEGISLATION- The Congress and the Texas Legislature should adopt legislation that expands protections against discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based upon sexual orientation and gender identity. 88% for/11% against.

REPUBLICAN PROPOSITIONS-

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM- Texans should be free to express their religious beliefs, including prayer, in public places. 97% for/2% against

SECOND AMENDMENT- Texas should support Second Amendment liberties by expanding locations where concealed handgun license-holders may legally carry. 86% for/13% against

FRANCHISE TAX- Texas should abolish the state franchise tax, also known as the margins tax, to encourage business growth. 88% for/11% against

WELFARE REFORM- Texas recipients of taxpayer-funded public assistance should be subject to random drug testing as a condition of receiving benefits 95% for/5% against

NO LAWMAKER EXCEPTION- All elected officials and their staff should be subject to the same laws, rules, regulations and ordinances as their constituents 99% for/1% against

OBAMACARE- The Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare", should be repealed. 93% for/6% against


Alrighty, then. Lets recap, using only the actual propositions and not my interjected interpretations.

Texas Democrats are for immigration reform, a living wage, the FREE Medicaid expansion that would insure millions more Texans and non-discrimination.

Texas Republicans are for public prayer(I'm sure that includes Muslims), MORE GUNS, less taxes on the rich, drug testing the poor to punish them as much as possible, (actually- the NO LAWMAKER EXCEPTION one is ridiculous- they already have to abide by the same rules we do, ya morons but I LOVE that the 99% actually did outvote the 1% on this one) and to repeal Obamacare...which isn't even the name of the damn thing so as far as I'm concerned- you want to literally repeal OBAMACARE??? Repeal away, idiots!

What a bunch of short-sighted, small-minded selfish assholes.