Texas--and national--politics. . .sigh

I really try not to bring politics here. Sometimes, however, I just have to. To say we’re living in interesting times is putting it mildly. Anyone with money in the markets is watching with concern—and growing ulcers—as the prices continue to play havoc with our bottom lines. Yes, there will come a time when the market corrects itself. The question is when and what that correction will be.

There’s a measels outbreak that should concern all of us. This isn’t an issue of whether or not RFK, Jr. supports the MMR vaccination program or not. The disease was almost wiped out when school districts required the vaccine for all incoming students. Then the exceptions started popping up. It finally got to the point where it was little more than a recommendation for parents to vaccinate their kids. And here we are today. You can’t go to the mall or grocery store, fly on a plane or go to a hotel and swim in the pool without risking exposure.

Then we have Texas politics. Our attorney general is, for lack of a better word, a bully. He has shown that he has no problems using his office to advance personal policies and desires. Cross him and he will bring the power of the office down on your head. This has resulted in not only an attempt to impeach him but law suits by whistleblowers that he lost. He used his office and his influence to try to run members of his own party out of office in the last election. Now he wants to be one of our US senators.

Now, I’m not the biggest John Cornyn fan out there. But looking at the big picture, including what committees Cornyn sits on and his influence in the public and private sectors, I have to ask if losing him to someone like Paxton is worth it. More importantly, if we are still in the tarrif war when it comes to be election time and if our pocket books are being hit as badly as I fear, can we risk running someone as divisive as Paxton for Senate if he somehow manages to defeat Cornyn in the primaries? It is already looking like the Democratic candidate will be Colin Allred—who mounted a more than respectable campaign in the last election. This is something voters have to look at because you can be assured the politicians probably won’t.

Then there’s Paxton’s wife. She sits in the state senate. When her husband faced impeachment, she refused to step down. When even the appearance of impropriety or of bias should have been avoided, she refused to sit out the hearings. Fortunately, wiser heads prevailed and she was not allowed to vote in the trial although, iirc, she was allowed to be present during it.

Now, she’s introduced a bill that would require anyone buying a “sex toy” online to present photo ID or go through a 3rd pary verification process in order to make the purchase. Remember, to have a credit card, you have to be over 18, iirc, which also happens to be the age she wants everyone to prove they’ve attained before making the purchase.

With all the issues facing this state, why in the hell are we focusing on this?

But she’s not alone. Another bill has been introduced to make it illegal for anyone to sell sex toys if they are not registered as a sexually oriented business. This means it would be illegal for Walmart or other stores to sell anything that falls under the legal definition of “sex toy”. Why? Because, according to the bill’s sponsor and others, parents don’t want their kids walking down an aisle at their local Walmart or Target and finding such hideous and tempting things as a dildo hanging there.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I can’t remember the last time—or the first—I found a dildo, blow-up Susie doll, or other form of sexual toy at my neighborhood Walmart.

We have more important problems facing the state and the nation than whether or not you can buy a dildo without present photo ID online. Instead of spending taxpayer funds to enforce such laws, assuming they pass, let’s put that money to use rebuilding the infrastructure, increasing teacher pay, securing our border, fighting illegal drugs, making sure there is healthcare available for those who need it.

I’m a conservative when it comes to fiscal issues. I’m probably best classified as moderate on most social issues. There are a few where some of my friends would call me liberal, mainly because I’m not marching in lockstep with the current attempts to force schools to fall back to curriculum that teaches biblical ideals over science.

I look at it as I’m a realist. I’ve lived long enough to have seen much of what certain parts of the Republican party are trying to do cause problems in our schools. I’ve lived long enough to see the dangers of much of the more radical liberal policies as well. We need to quit knee-jerk reacting with our feels and look at the data. What is best, not just short term but long, for our families, our cities, our counties, our states and our country?

And how are we going to come back if everything blows up in our faces in the next election? (No matter what side of the aisle you sit on)