I doodled that picture the other day because of various news headlines. I kept seeing things like:

… dropped bombs on Iran
… running out of munitions, considering demanding payment from EU for bombs given to Ukraine because they owe us.
… trade war with Canada escalates.
… renamed Lake Ontario to Lake America.

If this were a movie, we’d call him Cheeto Supreme. We’d have a great laugh and talk about how this shit is never going to actually happen. We’d be 20 years younger and still so full of hope… Oh wait, the name of that movie was Idiocracy.

Yet, the way these headlines roll across, I can’t help if this is all just random. Someone is waking up, pushing a button, and whatever shit is selected – that’s what we’re doing today! Consequences be damned.

Anyway, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to share any of this because I like to maintain some level of neutrality but, you know, I’ve got Talarico and Hinojosa bombarding me with the “Please send me money or we’re going to lose” requests and I almost feel bad for not giving them anything.

So, this goes out to Talarico and Hinojosa: I’m not giving you my money but I’ll show up to give you my vote… you know, if I’m still allowed to vote.

There’s this billboard…

Every time I get on I-35, drive North, before reaching San Marcos there’s a billboard brought to you by some group of Republicans. The exact wording changes over time but the message is consistently about keeping Texas a red state. Stuff like:

“Stop radical Islam, Keep Texas Red”
“No blue state BS, only red state success, Keep Texas Red”

There was a period right after Charlie Kirk got murdered where they did the Walking Dead Neegan thing: “We are Charlie Kirk.” TBH, that was a little weird.

What does keeping Texas red actually mean though?

Well, so far it seems like it means:

1. THC is bad, mmkay?
2. Education is also bad unless it’s about Jesus. Not a migrate worker but Jesus, the son of a sky wizard and cleanser of your sins or whatever. That’s right kids, the newest approved curriculum is phasing in bible stories.
3. Oh and FLOCK cameras are everywhere. EVERYWHERE.
4. Cities are bad. Or, specifically, liberal cities aren’t allowed to do liberal things or we’ll cut state funding!
5. Did I mention that education is bad? “Objectionable” books get banned in schools but the ten commandments gets a special place in every classroom.
6. Oh and don’t forget the newly minted voucher system stealing money from public schools.
7. Under no circumstance are you allowed to question what Israel is doing.

Do you know who else likes to control every aspect of people’s lives? I’ll give you a hint, it’s those other people you conservatives claim to hate and want to be nothing like.

Come and Take It, Or Whatever.

I told someone once that I liked the idea of Texas. Their response: “You couldn’t pay me to live in Texas.” Sure, fine. There are plenty of states that I don’t even want to stop in when I’m driving through and that person lived in one of them.

I didn’t get to explain, though, that my idea of Texas is a libertarian one. Which isn’t to say that it’s all about a total lack of regulation, it’s specifically about regulation in support of individual liberties. The individual has the right to live how they choose and no right to infringe upon another’s personal liberty. And… you can defend those rights. So, I guess it’s libertarianism with a healthy dose of Come and Take It.

My view values and emphasizes freedom of thought, freedom of speech, equality before the law, opposition to authority, opposition to state power, and so on. It’s something that feels like it should be uniquely Texan even though it has long since stopped being true around here.

The crazy far-right MAGA crowd, or what we might just refer to as Republicans, have increasingly adopted authoritarianism because it’s better to keep you in line than to give you the ability to think for yourself. You must adopt the one true religion, you must not be allowed to read books we deem “offensive,” and you must bow before our almighty party leader.

It’s all a bit too North Korea for me.

Our freedoms are being stolen. From all of us. Right out in the open. They don’t even try to hide it anymore. It’s not just from the previously marginalized groups that were already getting fucked but from everyone.

Purple is the only choice.

I don’t remember ever agreeing to living in a surveillance state that prioritizes recording our every movement and dictating our life choices instead of, you know, providing decent health care, education, and building a fucking road or two.

I also don’t recall ever agreeing that our public schools should be so full of Jesus. It seems like just a little while ago we were all sitting around talking about how we needed to teach our kids critical thinking skills to prepare them for the future. Are y’all aware that teaching faithful obedience to an invisible sky wizard is the exact opposite of critical thinking?

That’s the rub.

I didn’t have to agree because I don’t have actual representation in the state house because the Conservatives are In Charge. When I vote for liberals, they don’t win because they can’t. I’m stuck watching a cycle of ever-more-conservative asshats winning their primaries and then passing through the general because so many people would rather die than just voting for the other party.

And if you think, “Just move to the liberal bastions of Austin or San Antonio,” then you haven’t been paying attention. Any time those cities try to do something liberal now, they get smacked down by the state because the Conservatives are In-Charge.

No single party should be allowed this much control. Ever. Lacking real competition, they have no need to compromise. Without compromise, they stop caring about those other voters. And then they get away with doing these asinine things that I’ve already complained about.

This is it… my call to action, Make Texas Purple.

Talarico and Hinojosa aren’t enough by themselves but it’s a start. Their election can give us hope for a brighter, purple future.