Texas leaving the USA??

bobo26b

I saw on the journal that 60K Texans have signed their signature to a petition asking the Federal Government if they can leave the USA. What do you think? would the Texans actually go through with it or are the majority still loyal to the States.

Link to the Journal.ie story: http://www.thejournal.ie/texas-petition-withdraw-united-states-america-672468-Nov2012/

Tombo2001

whats the population of Texas again?

Amerika

It just a form of protest... and nothing new. It has as much a chance of happening as me winning the 2016 presidential election, running on the Green Party with Elvis as my VP choice, and being sworn into office the same day that aliens from the planet Krypton land in the Rose Garden.

TwoShedsJackson

Tombo2001 wrote: »

whats the population of Texas again?

26 million. So that's .25% of Texans calling to secede basically.

Gandhi

The population of Texas is 25 million. 60,000 is a whopping one quarter of one percent of the population. In an era when you can sign a petition with a few mouse clicks or taps on your smartphone from a Facebook or Twitter link without shifting your arse from your armchair.

chickenbutt

20,000 TN residents petition to secede from U.S.

Residents In More Than 30 States File Secession Petitions

Not just Texas. But nothing new, as Amerika says.

RGM

You could get residents in 50 states to sign a petition saying literally anything. Like, if the petition said "anything," thousands would sign it. It means nothing.

Over one million people voted Gary Johnson for president. Meaningless.

20Cent

Letter in reply its humorous but contains a lot of truth.

asherbassad

bobo26b wrote: »

I saw on the journal that 60K Texans have signed their signature to a petition asking the Federal Government if they can leave the USA. What do you think? would the Texans actually go through with it or are the majority still loyal to the States.

Link to the Journal.ie story: http://www.thejournal.ie/texas-petition-withdraw-united-states-america-672468-Nov2012/

Where would they get all the funds that they claim nobody should get? They cry about handouts yet they're one of the biggest net recipients of federal aid.

Don't mess with Texas!

Morons!

MadsL

asherbassad wrote: »

Don't mess with Texas!

Why are you quoting an anti-litter slogan?

Raphael

asherbassad wrote: »

Where would they get all the funds that they claim nobody should get? They cry about handouts yet they're one of the biggest net recipients of federal aid.

Don't mess with Texas!

Morons!

They may get a lot of federal aid, but in funding vs tax stakes they're ranked 33rd (1 being lotsa funding) - They get 85c funding for every dollar they pay in tax, so broadly speaking they'd turn a profit if they weren't a state.

(Practically speaking they'd gain a whole ****-ton of other stuff to pay for as in the letter above)

Tombo2001

Fair point that its the net funding that counts......

Germany 'receives' loads in EU funding but is easily a net contributor to the EU.

But on the other hand...

Would Texas retain the oil rights; and if it didnt where would its tax revenues be then?

Bigger point is.....
10mn Hispanics didnt risk life and limb to get to the US, only to have the state they are living in leave the US.

By continuing this conversation, it gives credibility to the notion that this might actually happen. It wont.

Black Swan

In contrast to the Texas secession petition, there is a petition for Austin to secede from Texas, but remain a part of the United States. If I recall, such petitions occurred by nonrepresentative minorities of dissatisfied voters after the 2008 presidential elections, and now after the 2012 elections.

This is not new. The "Republic of Texas" is a small, nonrepresentative group of Texans that has been calling for secession for several years now (since 1995?). They claim to have 40,000 sympathizers, which in a state with 26,403,743 citizens is very nonrepresentative, and should not be taken seriously. It should be a good source of comic relief material for SNL, Jay Leno, and David Letterman.

Raphael

And then there's my personal favourite, the Petition to deport everyone who signed a secession petition. That ones a few hundred signatures from a response by the president.

Denerick

Texas has long had an independent spirit, was its own independent republic back in the day and Texans are easily the most peculiar kind of American (Well, only slightly more peculiar than someone from San Francisco, but you get the idea)

asherbassad

Denerick wrote: »

Texas has long had an independent spirit, was its own independent republic back in the day and Texans are easily the most peculiar kind of American (Well, only slightly more peculiar than someone from San Francisco, but you get the idea)

"Long had an independent spirit" ?

As opposed to whom and what?
Texas is a state...a patch of land like any other patch of land in the world. People who live on that patch of land are no different. Saying you're from "Texas" which was probably called something different for centuries prior to ...I don't know 1820...., doesn't make you different or harder or softer or wiser or dumber than any other person who was born or killed on a patch of land in England or Siberia or Patagonia or Java or Nepal.

Independent spirit!!!
So other people in the rest of the fcuking world want to be shackled?

Denerick

asherbassad wrote: »

"Long had an independent spirit" ?

As opposed to whom and what?
Texas is a state...a patch of land like any other patch of land in the world. People who live on that patch of land are no different. Saying you're from "Texas" which was probably called something different for centuries prior to ...I don't know 1820...., doesn't make you different or harder or softer or wiser or dumber than any other person who was born or killed on a patch of land in England or Siberia or Patagonia or Java or Nepal.

Independent spirit!!!
So other people in the rest of the fcuking world want to be shackled?

Hmm... You appear to be having your own conversation there, with your own imagined argument. I think I'll leave you to it.

asherbassad

Denerick wrote: »

Hmm... You appear to be having your own conversation there, with your own imagined argument. I think I'll leave you to it.

No I want you to explain this "indpendent spirit" caper.

Denerick

asherbassad wrote: »

No I want you to explain this "indpendent spirit" caper.

Please read Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau, Burke, Paine, Jefferson, Popper ETC. I'm not the first person to talk about a collectivity of individuals, who have banded themselves within an entity called a nation state, and attained certain rights and obligations from said entity. Some 'peoples', not being members of a nation state that they necessarily recognise, will feel somewhat disenfrachised and secessionist. Again, basic political science. Now, for all I know we may have the new Aristotle walking amongst us so I'll open up the floor for you.

asherbassad

Denerick wrote: »

Please read Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau, Burke, Paine, Jefferson, Popper ETC. I'm not the first person to talk about a collectivity of individuals, who have banded themselves within an entity called a nation state, and attained certain rights and obligations from said entity. Some 'peoples', not being members of a nation state that they necessarily recognise, will feel somewhat disenfrachised and secessionist. Again, basic political science. Now, for all I know we may have the new Aristotle walking amongst us so I'll open up the floor for you.

Texas!

:pac:

A ridiculous piece of garbage. A pathetic buffer zone whose inhabitants think that their miserable little patch of scrubland is so important that without it the world would end.

As far as I know, they have the worst educational scores in the country. (probably in the OECD)

rockonollie

Yes, plenty of media outlets have been running these secession stories, but they leave out one important fact.......secession from the Union is illegal

Rented Mule

asherbassad wrote: »

Texas!

:pac:

A ridiculous piece of garbage. A pathetic buffer zone whose inhabitants think that their miserable little patch of scrubland is so important that without it the world would end.

As far as I know, they have the worst educational scores in the country. (probably in the OECD)

I'm guessing that you have never been to Texas ? Having been through Texas several times, I've enjoyed both the countryside as well as the cities (San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Houston ).

Just for the record, you are wrong about them having the 'worst educational scores in the country'. http://www.statemaster.com/graph/edu_bes_edu_ind-education-best-educated-index

CollardGreens

I visited Texas too, great place! Here on the east coast of the States we had many of the same petitions going around and yup, I signed the one for my state. It's just our happy little way of saying "bleep you" to our power hungry controlling government.