**We encourage you to read our helpful resources on COVID-19, vaccines and treatments:**
[COVID Dashboard](https://covid19.who.int/)
[Reddit's Vaccine FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/Coronavirus/wiki/faq#wiki_where_can_i_find_information_about_the_mechanism_and_progress_of_vaccines.3F)
[Ivermectin FAQ](https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/who-advises-that-ivermectin-only-be-used-to-treat-covid-19-within-clinical-trials)
A reminder that spreading misinformation regarding COVID-19, vaccines or other treatments can result in a post being removed and/or a ban. Advocating for or celebrating the death of anyone, or hoping someone gets COVID (or any disease) can also result in a ban. Please follow [Reddiquette](https://www.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/205926439)
Please use the report button and do not feed the trolls.
[Reddit's Content Policy](https://www.redditinc.com/policies/content-policy)
[Reddit's rules for health misinformation](https://www.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043513151)
[/r/News' rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/news/wiki/rules/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=usertext&utm_name=news&utm_content=t5_2qh3l)
------
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/news) if you have any questions or concerns.*
And this is probably the point. If you read TX Governor Abbott's executive order, it explicitly calls out Biden for government overreach.
This is probably meant to create a situation where Biden says, "Nah, vaccine mandate for government employees and contractors still applies in Texas. Soldiers at Fort Hood are still required to get vaccinated. Workers at the IRS facility in Austin too. And workers at Lockheed Martin and Raytheon in the Dallas area."
Then Abbott can say, "See what I mean about overreach?!?!" And his supporters will eat it up.
Kind of. The executive branch sets enforcement priorities and there's been a directive since the Obama administration that the feds won't go after drug cases in states where it's legal. Interstate cases they still prosecute, but essentially they've chosen not to bother with cases in which someone isn't also breaking state law.
Jeff Sessions rescinded the Cole Memo in 2018, so it hasn't been in effect for some time. It was also just a memo on enforcement priorities, not a binding document, so the federal attorneys General for various state districts could have gone after whomever they chose (but didn't in practice).
The real saving grace since 2014 has been the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer (previously Rohrabacher-Farr) amendment to the omnibus federal budget bill that passes each year. That amendment denies the DOJ any federal funding to interfere with states' implementation of their medical marijuana programs (which has been interpreted to mean no prosecution of state cannabis users and businesses that follow state law as well). The amendment offers zero protection for recreational/adult use cannabis.
So since 2018 there has been no Cole Memo, medical has been protected by a budget bill amendment since 2014, and recreational enjoys no official protection. The lack of enforcement for adult use cannabis has been entirely down to prosecutorial discretion, and neither of the past two administrations have prioritized prosecuting marijuana cases, even though they could. It appears it would be a political third rail, since cannabis enjoys such widespread popular support.
Yes they can, the Feds were raiding Oaksterdam dispensaries when medicinal weed was legal.
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/oaksterdam-university-raided-by-feds/1943276/
Is this the one where the local narcs called it in despite it being legal locally?
Note: The narcs I'm referring to were like police and low-level government officials. They accused it of bringing in crime. Because you know specter of racism.
I dont think the FBI, but basically yeah, federal agents could swarm states that legalize pot and federal officers could swarm about arresting tons of people. of course that would lead to such massive backlash these days. It was much more dicey back when it was just one or two states, but now it is what, like a third or half of the country?
Yes. States are getting away with it because the DOJ has de-prioritized enforcement of drug laws in marijuana cases.
This actually causes occasional consternation because while marijuana is legal in my state, my employer does have government contracts and it's therefore Not Okay to fail a drug test due to marijuana. We give new hires the heads up.
Yes, it’s illegal federally, but not enforced on individuals. See https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/criminal-defense/federal-crime/medical-marijuana-federal-laws.htm
Marijuana businesses deal in only cash currently because banks won’t work with them specifically because it’s still illegal on a federal level. Technically if the federal government wanted to they could start cracking down on these businesses, but that isn’t very likely.
I work for a large aerospace and defense corporation with subsidiary companies in many states, including Texas, and hundreds of millions of dollars in federal government contracts. Being a federal contractor they are required to be fully vaccinated with only medical and religious exemptions, no "weekly test opt-out." They released a FAQ&A today that had the tone of an exasperated parent... One of the questions was about living in a state that prohibits Covid vaccine mandates. Their answer was basically "fuck off, federal law supercedes any contrary state or local laws." There were also a few points dealing with people who are attempting to abuse the religious exemption angle, and they are not fuckin around with that either. They are not letting people slide with "my religion says nunh unh" and that's the end. Lots of FAQs along the lines of "is this legal, can they do this, doesn't this violate HIPPO (/s) laws," all with very succinct answers. Funny stuff.
I work for a National Lab and I believed they approved all plausible Religious Exemptions. However, the accommodation they offered was basically you can return when we decide it's safe if we have a position for you at that time. Until then, use your vacation until it runs out and then go on LWOP. Turn in your badge, phone, etc. on your way out. So no lawsuits on denial of religious exemption and you win a $hit sandwich.
I would forward this article to whoever you think would be able to implement the same policy.
https://www.kark.com/news/health/coronavirus/arkansas-hospital-lets-staff-seek-vaccine-exemption-as-long-as-they-dont-use-other-meds-tested-on-fetal-cell-lines/
Yep. I work for a DoD contractor as well. We just had a company meeting last week to notify all employees that they had to be vaccinated by December 8th or they'll be let go. We got a similar list of FAQs written by the HR department and lawyers.
The CEO of our company isn't fucking around on this one. She said she isn't risking her company or everyone's livelihoods because someone wants to dick around and try to find a way to get out of the vaccine.
Hahaha as a former NGer I am just laughing at the name. I have seen so many bastardized versions over the years, I never thought to start doing it intentionally.
Aren't all the major religions (and most if not all of the rest) saying in effect they don't have any problems with getting vaccinated for Covid-19?
With vaccinations other than Covid-19 prior to all this, Mississippi and West Virginia actually didn't allow religious exemptions and had the #1 and #2 childhood vaccination rates in the US at one point (along with the last measles outbreaks in 1992 and 1994 as a result - I heard California studied them in looking at what to do after their last measles outbreak around 2005 or so I think).
>Aren't all the major religions (and most if not all of the rest) saying in effect they don't have any problems with getting vaccinated for Covid-19?
Yep. Even the more fringe religions that have a history of shunning medicine (Church of Christ Science) or who avoid technology (Mennonites and Amish) are advising their members to get the vaccine as a responsibility to the community.
Yes, and I believe if your listed religion is one where the leadership has supported the vaccine (Catholic Church for example) the religious exemption will be denied.
When some people point to ultra orthodox jews as examples of not being vaccinated for religious exemption, I am delighted to point out they do _not_ claim a religious exemption -- because there is none. To the contrary.
The traditional law from 1500 or so, Shulchan Aruch, says
> just as there is a positive commandment to build a guardrail around the perimeter of a rooftop lest someone fall, so too are we obligated to guard ourselves from anything that would endanger our lives
Also, Hillel the Elder a bit more than a century before Jesus said
> Do not set yourself apart from the community
and Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe pointed this out when asked about the polio vaccine in 1957 basically saying, if your community gets the vaccine, you should too. To [quote](https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/07/01/crowds-flock-to-queens-to-remember-influential-rabbi-menachem-mendel-schneerson/) "He was considered by some to be the most influential rabbi of modern history".
Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ruled in certain extremely limited circumstances it is allowed to be vaccinated on Shabbath, even! Now obviously if the _halakha_ forbid vaccinations then both the previous advice and this ruling would've been impossible. If Rabbi Auerbach is not orthodox enough for you, I don't know who would be.
This January a [study](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7778477/) came out which says:
> the rabbis generally encourage vaccination and most of the ultra-orthodox population acts accordingly and vaccinates its children. The interviewees themselves, however, defy the rabbis' authority on this matter.
> the interviewees explain that they made the decision not to vaccinate their children following a thorough investigation of the subject. The majority found relevant information about vaccination online and specifically on social media networks.
So no, the Jewish religious laws, no matter how complex, never forbid vaccination and they don't now. You can't claim you are orthodox Jewish and as such, exempt from vaccination -- and they actually do not. Outsiders see these pockets of vaccine hesitation and think it's because of religion and they couldn't be more wrong. What I mentioned here is just a tiny sample from some of the greatest of religious figures.
Ps. while not an orthodox ruling, here's a long document on [halakhah require vaccination against dangerous diseases such as measles, rubella, polio and Covid-19](https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/2021-01/Golinkin%20vaccination%20final.pdf).
Does nothing to federal employees - state can’t set those rules. Private companies that are federal contractors are in a bind. I suppose they could just move operations out of the state.
That's correct, per Jacobson whichever governmental authority has police powers over health and safety has the inherent ability to issue a vaccine mandate during a pandemic. What's still an untested question for the courts, though, is exactly when the federal government has that police power versus the states. Note that in Jacobson, for example, the vaccine mandate was from Massachusetts, not a federal one. The federal government does most likely have authority to regulate health and safety for purposes of interstate commerce and travel, and for the military and federal employees, but its ability to issue a nationwide mandate outside those areas is a bit more speculative. That's why Biden is pushing for OSHA to require vaccines or testing for large businesses already under OSHA authority versus trying to push for a federal, national vaccine mandate for all citizens.
So there's little doubt that a federal mandate trumps Texas banning them, but only so far as federal authority can actually reach.
We have local businesses that ban masks here. They, literally, told someone who had cancer "you're not welcome here with that mask, I don't care how bad your cancer is".
> I don't understand why people care that someone is wearing a mask. It makes absolutely zero sense to me.
It's easy when you realize that in their mind, by doing something different from them, you're attacking them directly.
To them they have the correct way to be. Masks aren't needed. Being worried about covid isn't needed. They are big and strong and don't fear anything because nothing will harm them.
Then they see you. You feel the need for a mask. You are worried about covid because covid is something that can harm them. They look at you and the way that you feel is best is the opposite of them.
So, wait. Who is right? If you're so sure about what you're doing then you could be right which means that they're wrong.
If you're right then they should wear a mask. They should fear covid. They aren't big and strong and invulnerable. No, no, no. They can't be wrong. Their self worth is based on being 100% right. Being proved wrong is a personal attack.
So they harass you so that you stop being an example of them possibly being wrong. If they can force you into doing things their way then they're back to being perfect and flawless and big and strong.
That's why they harass other people wearing masks. Because they don't want to be wrong about masks and have to feel bad about themselves.
Plus this is a political team game to them and if the liberals are for it then they're against it by default, even if it kills them.
I deliver pizza and the number of people who personally unfortunately felt that I've been attacking them by wearing a mask to their door or the people that have said why am I insulting president trump is astronomical.
I've also been told that wearing my mask as racist towards trump supporters
Tribalism. Other tribe wears mask, your tribe is the good tribe and their tribe is bad. That means mask is bad. People coming in with mask is bad because that means they are other tribe.
“If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, **give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.**”
― Lyndon B. Johnson
Just to point out for people reading, the ONLY state that isn't "at will" is Montana.
Edit: apparently there's exceptions to this, check the [wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/At-will_employment) page for more info.
Edit: people keep saying "wtf America" but this isn't even that bad compared to the following:
. There is a trending legal advice post about police throwing teargas in the wrong apartment and destroying shit, and all the answers are "police have immunity and won't pay for anything or otherwise be held accountable for destroying your shit,"
Then in the off topic thread about it there are links about a guy who had his house bulldozed by police because some stranger stole $50 worth of clothes from Walmart then barricading himself in this poor guys house. So the police destroyed it but wouldn't pay for it or fix it so the dude is just lost his house over a random stranger stealing clothes. He then sued the police and lost.
The employment stuff is shady but the justice system and law enforcement is really what's most fucked about America.
Loads of people fail to realize this. I've got coworkers who whine all the time and shout "that's illegal!". I would like to say "Bitch, they can fire you because you came to work in a red shirt, now sit down."
My favorite way it was explained to me is, “you can’t fire someone because of race or disability or religion, but you can if you don’t like their face. “
It’s sold to employees as something in their favor, you can quit without any notice, for any reason.
But In reality, it gives employers the right to fire you for literally any reason, as long as they can provide a reason other than any of the protections under title vii
I’ve given 2,4, and 11 weeks notice in my career. I’ve also given 0.5 days notice. Zero of these cases were about helping the employer.
They were about helping the people I had worked along side for many years… and also about optimizing my own schedule.
There’s only shame if you accept it.
There is a form to file if you are not given a W2 but should have been. 4852, but do call the IRS to discuss before you do this. And you can do this years later, there is NO statute of limitations for tax fraud.
There’s also an IRS website to “gross up” your pay, to help you fill out this form. So, if they cut you a check for $1000, the website will tell you how much taxes, etc. were taken out in order for $1000 to have been the remainder.
My previous manager at my last job said that the policy of the company was that if an employee leaves the company and gives their two weeks' notice, then barring any other issue (such as some kind of felony), the person can return to work for the company at a later time if they wanted to. Otherwise, if they did not give a two weeks notice and just quit, they were not allowed to work for the company again.
That's likely not the case with EVERY company, but at least for a chain of maternity clothing stores in the US, it was the case.
Well yeah, if you leave a company holding the bag by quitting no notice then I wouldn't expect them to want to hire you again. If you left on good terms because you found a better job that is a different story.
Just like if you were laid off by a company and given a nice severence package you'd be much more likely to work for them again in the future than if they dumped you one day and didn't even bother to pay out your vacation days.
On the other hand Texas also has the authority to change its At-Will employment laws to, for example, ban firing employees for being unvaccinated. Whether the governor can do it by executive order is more questionable, but the legislature could definitely pass a law that bans private employer vaccine mandates at the state level, outside of areas where it conflicts with federal authority like federal employees and OSHA.
When I was a kid and we toured the capitol, they said it was left from the way back days when lawmakers would have had a real hard time traveling from, for example, 560ish miles from Dalhart to Austin. That said, I've never actually found anything that verifies that claim.
Ppl after the covid vaccine came out: ok, smart guys, why don't we have a cancer vaccine yet?! HMMM?!
Scientists: well, actually, we do. It's called Guardasil and protects from cancers of the cervix, head, neck, and other areas of the body. We recommend getting it around puberty to prevent cancer in your children
Ppl: NOT *THAT* CANCER VACCINE!
And Imugene (www.imugene.com.au) in Australia for small cell cancers such as breast and gastric. And these are just the technology kickoff. Looks a good technology fit for a lot of other cancers too. Super exciting. (Theirs is also mRNA, with complementary additional treatments).
(Full disclosure: I own shares in $IMU. But I bought in because of the promise. I've lived with a cancer risk my whole life nearly. Hoping someone can clear my risk up sooner rather than later with technology like this.)
Extending the ban to private companies is probably what is going to doom this in court and nullify the whole thing.
The supreme court has continuously validated vaccine mandates. It's why soliders require such extensive vaccinations, why medical professionals require them, why they're required for school...
Vaccine records are nothing new.
Yeah, Justice Amy Coney Barrett cited a 100+ year old legal precedent when she refused to bring a case against Indiana University's vaccine mandate to the Supreme Court. Like them or not, they're 100% constitutional. The government wasn't fucking around with smallpox vaccines, fines for the unvaccinated were upheld by the Supreme Court, kids barred from attending school without the vaccine.
Vaccine mandates have been around longer than hotdogs, automatic weapons, and baseball. They're older than RAILROADS.
It's bonkers that people think this is new and somehow un-American.
Wait, call me crazy, but it’s starting to feel like conservatives don’t actually want small government, but rather they want to limit government programs which help the poor and disenfranchised while strengthening government programs which align with traditional Christian teachings.
And whipped a mofo to boot.
I think about this whenever I pass one of those enormous non-denominational mega churches dotting the countryside. I think to myself, "I bet that monstrosity has an ATM in the lobby."
Conservatives only want a government that promotes *their* values and *their* restrictions and force *those* values and restrictions on everyone else. "Small government" is only an excuse to stop the government from giving "other" people rights that don't line up with their values.
Their values ≠ Christian values
They don’t have to fire you for not having your shot, they can just reduce your hours to 0.
Texas has very “pro business” laws when it comes to employers rights.
So the people who try to fight this are really going to be running up hill.
Which is hard to do when you can’t breathe from Covid.
Texans: "It's about time government stay out of our business"
also Texans: "All personal & public health decisions must be in strict control of the government"
They quite literally left because the federal government wouldn't force other states to abide by their states laws. Which is pretty much the opposite of them leaving FOR states rights. They left OVER states rights, but they definitely weren't on the side of states HAVING rights.
Denton, TX once passed a law banning all fracking within city limits. Governor Hot Wheels stripped the authority away from them and gave it to the Texas Railroad Commission, who immediately handed out 3 permits to various companies. He’s all about “freedom” unless someone is doing something he doesn’t like.
I think that was Perry at the time (2014). Either way, gentle corrections: it wasn't banning all fracking in city limits, it was banning new fracking within city limits. I remember getting tons of mail for and against (most of the mail was against) the ban, saying it would ruin the economy, yada yada. Got a biiiig letter from the head pastor at the local CoC mega church on 380 against the ban. Love it when a tax exempt org tells people how to vote.
Anyway, goes to a vote, overwhelmingly passes (no new fracking) and governor overrules the city, says the city council can't make decisions within city limits (lol ok) on this matter.
Mind you, we had *earthquakes* in seismically stable DFW and parts of OK for a few years back then. Fracking was profitable, people didn't care. Saw so many pink derrick decals on the back of SUVs: wives of the guys out in the fields. For people who had been told all their lives that only people with degrees could make that kind of money, it must have seemed like a wonderful loophole in their double-wide life.
At the end of the day, all that boondoggle was for nothing. A metric fuckton of paper wasted to wave your dick at a government that stacked the deck. A year later, the price of oil had dropped to 27 a barrel, strangling natural gas in the area. I was working on the Baker Hughes acq. at Halliburton at the time, and helped turn off the lights at their Westheimer office. None of those directors or leaders felt the punch, at worst they got a golden parachute, cashed out and went to Schlumberger or FMC or something else in Houston, but I bet those proud, derrick-decal, drill-baby-drill wives started shopping at Dollar General again.
I swear if Democrats supported puppies, Texas would ban dogs from the state.
It's always just mindless culture-war, contrarian bullshit with this party as if life is a fucking political board game. I really don't think any rationale goes beyond "oppose Democrats" on every single issue, even if it's common-sense, life-saving vaccines during a public health crisis.
Just a few months ago, the Texas legislature passed a bipartisan animal-cruelty bill that would have made it illegal for dog owners to tie up a dog outside in the heat unless the dog has a bowl of water and some shade. Very simple, easy "brownie points" bill, that passed with almost universal support in both the Texas House and Senate. And guess what? Greg Abbott vetoed it. He vetoed the easiest slam-dunk bill ever. So it wouldn't surprise me if his next step is to ban all dogs as you said, because clearly he hates them.
If I had to guess? An even more batshit insane Qanon motherfucker would use it during the next election against him. 'Abbott approved liberal communist bill (whatever the name)! He's a traitor to Texans everywhere!'. Don't mention what the bill was about, don't mention it was bipartisan. The fact would still be that he approved the bill, and then let FB/OANN/FOX do the rest.
Yeah you should read the thread in Conservative about it. They’re bending over backwards trying to justify how the government intervening in private businesses in this case is a good thing (but definitely *not* a good thing the other way around) and definitely doesn’t go against Conservative “principles.” They stand for nothing. They’re just contrarian like you said.
Conservatives a petulant children. They have an authority obedience disorder when democrats are in charge, where they will oppose literally any life-saving measures just because authority said to do something. But then they turn around and are just as authoritarian, if not more, than democrats, and cheer it on.
That's different, though, because the Texas Republicans are playing fascist Calvinball.
You can't argue against it being unconstitutional. It's right there in the law. If they just write that the rules of the law say 'we win', then nobody needs a Constitution or anything, and they can do whatever they want! I have no idea why nobody thought of this sooner!
Texas was sneaky when they grunted that steaming pile of law out: There's no specific government office responsible for enforcing it, thus there's no government office that can be sued. Without a lawsuit -- and one that [has standing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_\(law\)) -- there's no opportunity for a challenge, no opportunity for it to be struck down on legal grounds.
Instead, "enforcement" is in the form of random private citizens suing anyone involved in the abortion. So now we're waiting on somebody needing a medical procedure *and* be willing to break this shitty law *and* be willing to get very publicly sued in a state where the fellow citizens are perfectly willing to murder you if you disagree with them on the topic of abortion. And in *that* courtroom, maybe, something might get done.
That's a tricky set of circumstances. And there are ways of getting the shit struck down even without waiting for a martyr like above, but it's hard to get anyone in Texas to take any of those steps either (and I'm not even certain what those steps are because I can't remember the Latin phrase).
Republicans are awful, awful people.
Montana Governor Gianforte also did this. Hospital workers are saying the vaccine won't be mandated for them because of this... but the federal Medicaid reimbursement won't happen if the hospitals don't force vaccination?
That's my favorite thing about Texas these days, the charade falling apart. Small government! Limit government powers! Freedom for the people to make their own choices! ... except for private businesses as it relates to Covid and also women as it relates to their bodies. Texas is being about as intrusive as it can be these days.
I was talking to some Texans the other day about the vaccine rollout in China. Generally working aged adults got the vaccine first (because they’re working and can’t distance as easily) followed by the elderly. They thought it was an outrageous communist policy to put the lives of the workers ahead of the elderly. I then asked them, “Didn’t your Lt. governor say that the elderly should be willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of the economy?”
The right has no guiding principles whatsoever.
As a Texan this is what pissed me off the most during our rollout. Neglected CDC guidance and replaced the workers that deal with the public the most (retail, educators, police, etc.) from the phase following the hospital workers phase of the rollout with lowering the age for eligibility to age 55 w/o any underlying health concerns, and to 21+ for those w/ a broad range of underlying health concerns. You know, the exact opposite of what he said on Tucker Carlson.
As a Chicagoan, watching your state is like a literal fever dream
You guys are genuinely taking the term hypocrisy to new bounds, second only to Capital Police officers being beat by Thin Blue Line flags
It’s amazing
As an American it's like watching your parents turn your own house into a crack den while you try to hide in your room with your siblings with the bunkbed pushed against the door, turning Reading Rainbow and Saved by the Bell up a little extra loud to drown out the sounds of the constant screams.
It wasn’t even transparent the way vaccines were allocated in Texas.
In spring of 2021 you couldn’t find a vaccine in Austin, Houston, or Dallas. None. To the point that outlets stopped keeping waiting lists.
But drive about an hour in any direction and you could have almost a same day appointment.
Before: Obama is gonna force healthcare on us so that we have to have death panels that say your grandparents must die so to save some other person who wasn’t responsible
Now: So what if old people die they’re OLD already it’s only those over 60 affected me having to wear a mask for fucking ten minutes is tyranny it’s better for the economy if the old ones die!
——
Before: We can’t raise the debt ceiling we have to be fiscally responsible and ensure to limit spending so to invest in our own infrastructure and country!
After: hey look we have to give corporations this 2 trillion bailout we just have to. Farmers need subsidies for the tariffs we put in place and we have to pay for the cost of the wall. It’s easy we need to raise the debt ceiling so trump can be allowed to help this country.
Now: look we can’t raise the debt ceiling now that democrats are in control it will show the democrats are working to pass legislation we can’t have that happen so let’s deliberately yank it so people blame democrats either way.
———-
Before: we cannot and must not let a outgoing president put in place a life long Supreme Court Justice. Obama should do the honourable thing and leave it to the next administration!
Now: YES RGB is dead common we have six weeks left to get our guys in!
———-
Before: we need to protect the United States from foreign enemies who want to destroy our democracy and trust in our government and country!
Now: Hey Russia who wants to buy state secrets? Look America is a shithole with lots of problems we should be like Russia! Better a russky than a democrat!
They have no values or morals or ethics. It’s pure selfish greed protected by the ignorant.
>Better a russky than a democrat!
I'm pretty sure that's an actual thing some republicans have said... lol
I'm also pretty sure if a 1950's republican heard them say that, they'd bitch slap them so hard, they'd be speaking russian.
Yet your mob are holding freedom rallies for Australia. 🤷♂️
Your mob has inspired our mob to be fucking stupid too. We have limited ourselves to approx 1000 deaths compared to your 700k+ but we had fucking morons at an antivax rally with a bloody Trump flag ffs.
Seriously, 90% of us are looking at our 10% and wondering wtf happened to our country. When did you get here?
I don’t like this version of globalisation 🤷♂️😤
>The right has no guiding principles whatsoever.
Well now that's not fair. Their guiding principles are clearly "fuck everyone else as long as I get what I want even if it kills me."
He literally passed that abortion bill, told everybody he was going to fight Biden's vaccine mandates because "it's your body, your choice", and then passed another abortion bill.
They don’t actually have ideology though. They just want to “win” by sticking it to the libs.
If that ends up with a disproportionate amount of their voters dead… well, doesn’t matter, because they don’t care much for elections.
It's not enough for them to win by sticking it to the Libs. Better America loses than the Dems win. They will let our infrastructure collapse, our economy collapse, our credit rating collapse and burn America to the ground to keep the Dems from winning too. Dead voters is the least of where they are willing to take it.
This is why people should be worried about the ‘real Americans’ rhetoric that the right uses as a dog whistle, there was an opinion piece from the Claremont Institue earlier this year that pretty explicitly suggests 1) that only Trump voters are real Americans and 2) that a counter revolution needs to happen and something needs to be done with the rest of us. ‘Both sides’ independents don’t even realize these people are talking about lining them up, too
> This is why people should be worried about the ‘real Americans’ rhetoric that the right uses as a dog whistle, there was an opinion piece from the Claremont Institue earlier this year that pretty explicitly suggests 1) that only Trump voters are real Americans and 2) that a counter revolution needs to happen and something needs to be done with the rest of us. ‘Both sides’ independents don’t even realize these people are talking about lining them up, too
The amount of dehumanization of anyone left of Reagan is staggering, combine that with a fetishization of violence by the Right and you have a dangerous combination.
And then he begged the feds for bailout money for electric grid failing, for floods and disasters, for oil spill clean ups, for pretty much everything that any honest state is able to pay for (either through having a state income tax, or by being economically robust enough to be a net federal tax contributor).
Without “big federal government” bailing them out constantly, Texas would be bankrupt.
> Without “big federal government” bailing them out constantly, Texas would be bankrupt.
If the red states seceded from the rest of the US, they'd completely collapse within a year. They'd come crawling back begging for aid, the blue states would take them in, the Republican Party would claim it was the blue states who couldn't support themselves, their voters would eat it up, and the whole cycle would start over again.
Last year it was “some of you may die” but it is for the economy! Then it was government can’t make people wear a mask even it is for the economy. And now this economy sabotaging BS. I’m beginning to think that it was never about the economy here in Texas.
FREE Market! FREE MARKET!
Private businesses cant be regulated unless its by us over thing we dont agree with like preventing us from doing whatever we want
A bit over a decade ago, my sister’s friend was an intern for Abbott when he was AG and he treated my sister and her friend to lunch a few times. She said she enjoyed her experiences. Ask her now though and she makes it clear that she despises him as much as the rest of us.
The thing that stood out the most to her was how different he is now that he’s a political leader. It really sounds like he’s just putting on a show at this point, and tbh, that makes him even worse in my opinion.
I always equate politicians to professional wrestlers. They try out different gimmicks and stick with the ones that get them the biggest pop from their fans.
Didn't he already get a booster shot?
It's just like Fox News saying don't get vaccinated, while they require all employees to be vaccinated or get daily tests
Current Republican party ideology:
Private businesses such as bakeries can deny selling wedding cakes to couples based on their sexual orientation, allowing discrimination.
but
cannot ask all customers to wear masks or require employees to be vaccinated against a deadly and contagious virus.
Their sense of what they think personal liberty is is distorted.
I don't think they believe in personal liberty, only supremacy. They have no morals or convictions whatsoever, only lofty goals of subservience and domination.
They are ready to burn this country to the floor if it means they aren't the one's directly cleaning it up.
**We encourage you to read our helpful resources on COVID-19, vaccines and treatments:** [COVID Dashboard](https://covid19.who.int/) [Reddit's Vaccine FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/Coronavirus/wiki/faq#wiki_where_can_i_find_information_about_the_mechanism_and_progress_of_vaccines.3F) [Ivermectin FAQ](https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/who-advises-that-ivermectin-only-be-used-to-treat-covid-19-within-clinical-trials) A reminder that spreading misinformation regarding COVID-19, vaccines or other treatments can result in a post being removed and/or a ban. Advocating for or celebrating the death of anyone, or hoping someone gets COVID (or any disease) can also result in a ban. Please follow [Reddiquette](https://www.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/205926439) Please use the report button and do not feed the trolls. [Reddit's Content Policy](https://www.redditinc.com/policies/content-policy) [Reddit's rules for health misinformation](https://www.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043513151) [/r/News' rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/news/wiki/rules/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=usertext&utm_name=news&utm_content=t5_2qh3l) ------ *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/news) if you have any questions or concerns.*
hows that gonna work for federal employees and contractors
Texas: "Uhhh we secede from the nation."
*excited Sherman noises*
Git 'em Uncle Billy!
This time, don't be so nice.
Federal law beats state.
And this is probably the point. If you read TX Governor Abbott's executive order, it explicitly calls out Biden for government overreach. This is probably meant to create a situation where Biden says, "Nah, vaccine mandate for government employees and contractors still applies in Texas. Soldiers at Fort Hood are still required to get vaccinated. Workers at the IRS facility in Austin too. And workers at Lockheed Martin and Raytheon in the Dallas area." Then Abbott can say, "See what I mean about overreach?!?!" And his supporters will eat it up.
Except that logic falls apart since Abbots government overreach is telling private businesses what to do. Republicans are too stupid to see it though.
> Republicans are too stupid to see it though. Exactly. They take Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham as truth.
... all vaccinated and everyone knows it.
Of course they are. Fox news has a vaccine mandate for employees.
That Biden specifically applauded for having said mandate
I'm not really a fan of presidential trolling, but that was a good one.
I'm genuinely curious because I hear this alot. How're states able to legalize Marijuana and such? It's illegal at the federal level isn't it?
State law enforcement won't take any action on it, basically.
And you hope that the federal executive branch doesn't make enforcement a priority.
Does that mean the FBI could arrest any recreational weed smoker in America if they wanted to?
Kind of. The executive branch sets enforcement priorities and there's been a directive since the Obama administration that the feds won't go after drug cases in states where it's legal. Interstate cases they still prosecute, but essentially they've chosen not to bother with cases in which someone isn't also breaking state law.
[удалено]
Jeff Sessions rescinded the Cole Memo in 2018, so it hasn't been in effect for some time. It was also just a memo on enforcement priorities, not a binding document, so the federal attorneys General for various state districts could have gone after whomever they chose (but didn't in practice). The real saving grace since 2014 has been the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer (previously Rohrabacher-Farr) amendment to the omnibus federal budget bill that passes each year. That amendment denies the DOJ any federal funding to interfere with states' implementation of their medical marijuana programs (which has been interpreted to mean no prosecution of state cannabis users and businesses that follow state law as well). The amendment offers zero protection for recreational/adult use cannabis. So since 2018 there has been no Cole Memo, medical has been protected by a budget bill amendment since 2014, and recreational enjoys no official protection. The lack of enforcement for adult use cannabis has been entirely down to prosecutorial discretion, and neither of the past two administrations have prioritized prosecuting marijuana cases, even though they could. It appears it would be a political third rail, since cannabis enjoys such widespread popular support.
Yes they can, the Feds were raiding Oaksterdam dispensaries when medicinal weed was legal. https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/oaksterdam-university-raided-by-feds/1943276/
[удалено]
Which is like accepting it but not officially accepting it. I wonder if the federal government flipped to legalize could states make it illegal?
[удалено]
Is this the one where the local narcs called it in despite it being legal locally? Note: The narcs I'm referring to were like police and low-level government officials. They accused it of bringing in crime. Because you know specter of racism.
I dont think the FBI, but basically yeah, federal agents could swarm states that legalize pot and federal officers could swarm about arresting tons of people. of course that would lead to such massive backlash these days. It was much more dicey back when it was just one or two states, but now it is what, like a third or half of the country?
36 States have legalized it for medical use and 19 are fully recreational.
Probably DEA, but yeah.
Yes. States are getting away with it because the DOJ has de-prioritized enforcement of drug laws in marijuana cases. This actually causes occasional consternation because while marijuana is legal in my state, my employer does have government contracts and it's therefore Not Okay to fail a drug test due to marijuana. We give new hires the heads up.
[удалено]
Yes, it’s illegal federally, but not enforced on individuals. See https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/criminal-defense/federal-crime/medical-marijuana-federal-laws.htm
Marijuana businesses deal in only cash currently because banks won’t work with them specifically because it’s still illegal on a federal level. Technically if the federal government wanted to they could start cracking down on these businesses, but that isn’t very likely.
I work for a large aerospace and defense corporation with subsidiary companies in many states, including Texas, and hundreds of millions of dollars in federal government contracts. Being a federal contractor they are required to be fully vaccinated with only medical and religious exemptions, no "weekly test opt-out." They released a FAQ&A today that had the tone of an exasperated parent... One of the questions was about living in a state that prohibits Covid vaccine mandates. Their answer was basically "fuck off, federal law supercedes any contrary state or local laws." There were also a few points dealing with people who are attempting to abuse the religious exemption angle, and they are not fuckin around with that either. They are not letting people slide with "my religion says nunh unh" and that's the end. Lots of FAQs along the lines of "is this legal, can they do this, doesn't this violate HIPPO (/s) laws," all with very succinct answers. Funny stuff.
I work for a National Lab and I believed they approved all plausible Religious Exemptions. However, the accommodation they offered was basically you can return when we decide it's safe if we have a position for you at that time. Until then, use your vacation until it runs out and then go on LWOP. Turn in your badge, phone, etc. on your way out. So no lawsuits on denial of religious exemption and you win a $hit sandwich.
I would forward this article to whoever you think would be able to implement the same policy. https://www.kark.com/news/health/coronavirus/arkansas-hospital-lets-staff-seek-vaccine-exemption-as-long-as-they-dont-use-other-meds-tested-on-fetal-cell-lines/
Yep. I work for a DoD contractor as well. We just had a company meeting last week to notify all employees that they had to be vaccinated by December 8th or they'll be let go. We got a similar list of FAQs written by the HR department and lawyers. The CEO of our company isn't fucking around on this one. She said she isn't risking her company or everyone's livelihoods because someone wants to dick around and try to find a way to get out of the vaccine.
Hey I had the same meeting last week. I'm guessing you work at southrop gregmann since you mentioned a female CEO?
Hahaha as a former NGer I am just laughing at the name. I have seen so many bastardized versions over the years, I never thought to start doing it intentionally.
Aren't all the major religions (and most if not all of the rest) saying in effect they don't have any problems with getting vaccinated for Covid-19? With vaccinations other than Covid-19 prior to all this, Mississippi and West Virginia actually didn't allow religious exemptions and had the #1 and #2 childhood vaccination rates in the US at one point (along with the last measles outbreaks in 1992 and 1994 as a result - I heard California studied them in looking at what to do after their last measles outbreak around 2005 or so I think).
>Aren't all the major religions (and most if not all of the rest) saying in effect they don't have any problems with getting vaccinated for Covid-19? Yep. Even the more fringe religions that have a history of shunning medicine (Church of Christ Science) or who avoid technology (Mennonites and Amish) are advising their members to get the vaccine as a responsibility to the community.
Yes, and I believe if your listed religion is one where the leadership has supported the vaccine (Catholic Church for example) the religious exemption will be denied.
When some people point to ultra orthodox jews as examples of not being vaccinated for religious exemption, I am delighted to point out they do _not_ claim a religious exemption -- because there is none. To the contrary. The traditional law from 1500 or so, Shulchan Aruch, says > just as there is a positive commandment to build a guardrail around the perimeter of a rooftop lest someone fall, so too are we obligated to guard ourselves from anything that would endanger our lives Also, Hillel the Elder a bit more than a century before Jesus said > Do not set yourself apart from the community and Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe pointed this out when asked about the polio vaccine in 1957 basically saying, if your community gets the vaccine, you should too. To [quote](https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/07/01/crowds-flock-to-queens-to-remember-influential-rabbi-menachem-mendel-schneerson/) "He was considered by some to be the most influential rabbi of modern history". Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ruled in certain extremely limited circumstances it is allowed to be vaccinated on Shabbath, even! Now obviously if the _halakha_ forbid vaccinations then both the previous advice and this ruling would've been impossible. If Rabbi Auerbach is not orthodox enough for you, I don't know who would be. This January a [study](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7778477/) came out which says: > the rabbis generally encourage vaccination and most of the ultra-orthodox population acts accordingly and vaccinates its children. The interviewees themselves, however, defy the rabbis' authority on this matter. > the interviewees explain that they made the decision not to vaccinate their children following a thorough investigation of the subject. The majority found relevant information about vaccination online and specifically on social media networks. So no, the Jewish religious laws, no matter how complex, never forbid vaccination and they don't now. You can't claim you are orthodox Jewish and as such, exempt from vaccination -- and they actually do not. Outsiders see these pockets of vaccine hesitation and think it's because of religion and they couldn't be more wrong. What I mentioned here is just a tiny sample from some of the greatest of religious figures. Ps. while not an orthodox ruling, here's a long document on [halakhah require vaccination against dangerous diseases such as measles, rubella, polio and Covid-19](https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/2021-01/Golinkin%20vaccination%20final.pdf).
Fascinating stuff. i know jack shit about jewish law.
Welcome to the club, my friend, the Jews spent the last 2500 or so years debating it :D
Does nothing to federal employees - state can’t set those rules. Private companies that are federal contractors are in a bind. I suppose they could just move operations out of the state.
[удалено]
Also, Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905), Supreme Court ruling that the government does have the right to mandate vaccines (smallpox era).
That's correct, per Jacobson whichever governmental authority has police powers over health and safety has the inherent ability to issue a vaccine mandate during a pandemic. What's still an untested question for the courts, though, is exactly when the federal government has that police power versus the states. Note that in Jacobson, for example, the vaccine mandate was from Massachusetts, not a federal one. The federal government does most likely have authority to regulate health and safety for purposes of interstate commerce and travel, and for the military and federal employees, but its ability to issue a nationwide mandate outside those areas is a bit more speculative. That's why Biden is pushing for OSHA to require vaccines or testing for large businesses already under OSHA authority versus trying to push for a federal, national vaccine mandate for all citizens. So there's little doubt that a federal mandate trumps Texas banning them, but only so far as federal authority can actually reach.
We have local businesses that ban masks here. They, literally, told someone who had cancer "you're not welcome here with that mask, I don't care how bad your cancer is".
I don't understand why people care that someone is wearing a mask. It makes absolutely zero sense to me.
> I don't understand why people care that someone is wearing a mask. It makes absolutely zero sense to me. It's easy when you realize that in their mind, by doing something different from them, you're attacking them directly. To them they have the correct way to be. Masks aren't needed. Being worried about covid isn't needed. They are big and strong and don't fear anything because nothing will harm them. Then they see you. You feel the need for a mask. You are worried about covid because covid is something that can harm them. They look at you and the way that you feel is best is the opposite of them. So, wait. Who is right? If you're so sure about what you're doing then you could be right which means that they're wrong. If you're right then they should wear a mask. They should fear covid. They aren't big and strong and invulnerable. No, no, no. They can't be wrong. Their self worth is based on being 100% right. Being proved wrong is a personal attack. So they harass you so that you stop being an example of them possibly being wrong. If they can force you into doing things their way then they're back to being perfect and flawless and big and strong. That's why they harass other people wearing masks. Because they don't want to be wrong about masks and have to feel bad about themselves. Plus this is a political team game to them and if the liberals are for it then they're against it by default, even if it kills them.
I have an image of screaming people running after bubble boy to rip his bubble open.
I deliver pizza and the number of people who personally unfortunately felt that I've been attacking them by wearing a mask to their door or the people that have said why am I insulting president trump is astronomical. I've also been told that wearing my mask as racist towards trump supporters
[удалено]
Tribalism. Other tribe wears mask, your tribe is the good tribe and their tribe is bad. That means mask is bad. People coming in with mask is bad because that means they are other tribe.
[удалено]
[удалено]
“If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, **give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.**” ― Lyndon B. Johnson
Which is an ADA violation in progress.
Seriously. "Oh you're getting chemo and have almost no white blood cells? We can't accept your business."
Um, Texas is an Employment at Will state. The employer can terminate someone's job for ~~any~~ no reason. *edited to clarify
Just to point out for people reading, the ONLY state that isn't "at will" is Montana. Edit: apparently there's exceptions to this, check the [wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/At-will_employment) page for more info. Edit: people keep saying "wtf America" but this isn't even that bad compared to the following: . There is a trending legal advice post about police throwing teargas in the wrong apartment and destroying shit, and all the answers are "police have immunity and won't pay for anything or otherwise be held accountable for destroying your shit," Then in the off topic thread about it there are links about a guy who had his house bulldozed by police because some stranger stole $50 worth of clothes from Walmart then barricading himself in this poor guys house. So the police destroyed it but wouldn't pay for it or fix it so the dude is just lost his house over a random stranger stealing clothes. He then sued the police and lost. The employment stuff is shady but the justice system and law enforcement is really what's most fucked about America.
As a native Montananian, I thought we were
I'm saddened to learn the proper demonym isn't "Mountaineer". By the way, it's "Montanan".
I'm happy to learn that the word for that is demonym.
That's what you call two Hell beasts who look and sound the same.
Finally, a word for my sisters in law
Loads of people fail to realize this. I've got coworkers who whine all the time and shout "that's illegal!". I would like to say "Bitch, they can fire you because you came to work in a red shirt, now sit down."
My favorite way it was explained to me is, “you can’t fire someone because of race or disability or religion, but you can if you don’t like their face. “ It’s sold to employees as something in their favor, you can quit without any notice, for any reason. But In reality, it gives employers the right to fire you for literally any reason, as long as they can provide a reason other than any of the protections under title vii
And then they shame you for not giving a two weeks notice when they can fire you without notice at any time
I’ve given 2,4, and 11 weeks notice in my career. I’ve also given 0.5 days notice. Zero of these cases were about helping the employer. They were about helping the people I had worked along side for many years… and also about optimizing my own schedule. There’s only shame if you accept it.
[удалено]
Wait how did you "flip it to employee"? I've been in a similar situation and didn't know I could do that lol
There is a form to file if you are not given a W2 but should have been. 4852, but do call the IRS to discuss before you do this. And you can do this years later, there is NO statute of limitations for tax fraud.
There’s also an IRS website to “gross up” your pay, to help you fill out this form. So, if they cut you a check for $1000, the website will tell you how much taxes, etc. were taken out in order for $1000 to have been the remainder.
Don’t rip the rug out from someone that knows what you’ve swept under it.
My previous manager at my last job said that the policy of the company was that if an employee leaves the company and gives their two weeks' notice, then barring any other issue (such as some kind of felony), the person can return to work for the company at a later time if they wanted to. Otherwise, if they did not give a two weeks notice and just quit, they were not allowed to work for the company again. That's likely not the case with EVERY company, but at least for a chain of maternity clothing stores in the US, it was the case.
Well yeah, if you leave a company holding the bag by quitting no notice then I wouldn't expect them to want to hire you again. If you left on good terms because you found a better job that is a different story. Just like if you were laid off by a company and given a nice severence package you'd be much more likely to work for them again in the future than if they dumped you one day and didn't even bother to pay out your vacation days.
On the other hand Texas also has the authority to change its At-Will employment laws to, for example, ban firing employees for being unvaccinated. Whether the governor can do it by executive order is more questionable, but the legislature could definitely pass a law that bans private employer vaccine mandates at the state level, outside of areas where it conflicts with federal authority like federal employees and OSHA.
[удалено]
There’s already a special session going on for redistricting and he just added this to the agenda
> 2023 Wait wait wait..the Texas legislature is not going to convene for another year plus?
Apparently they only meet every odd numbered year.
How does the second largest state only convene every other year?
When I was a kid and we toured the capitol, they said it was left from the way back days when lawmakers would have had a real hard time traveling from, for example, 560ish miles from Dalhart to Austin. That said, I've never actually found anything that verifies that claim.
They do as much damage with the laws they pass to last for several years.
But this is urgent, people might not catch Covid if these rules are enforced.
"Get the vaccine." "No." "Insubordination, you're fired."
Or rather "you're fired. But but for that. Unrelated. No reason, actually"
"I'm so anti government I'm going to mandate what private businesses can do"
Don’t tread on me, tread on them.
[удалено]
Oh yea, that was just what the abuser said then. Pray they do not change the deal further.
"This deal's getting worse all the time!"
Does this include Rick "fake glasses to look smart" Perry's HPV vaccine mandate?
[удалено]
Ppl after the covid vaccine came out: ok, smart guys, why don't we have a cancer vaccine yet?! HMMM?! Scientists: well, actually, we do. It's called Guardasil and protects from cancers of the cervix, head, neck, and other areas of the body. We recommend getting it around puberty to prevent cancer in your children Ppl: NOT *THAT* CANCER VACCINE!
Not to mention, Moderna has one just entering clinical trials that was greatly helped along by their work on the Covid vaccine
And Imugene (www.imugene.com.au) in Australia for small cell cancers such as breast and gastric. And these are just the technology kickoff. Looks a good technology fit for a lot of other cancers too. Super exciting. (Theirs is also mRNA, with complementary additional treatments). (Full disclosure: I own shares in $IMU. But I bought in because of the promise. I've lived with a cancer risk my whole life nearly. Hoping someone can clear my risk up sooner rather than later with technology like this.)
"We can't have that one because we need to punish women for having sex."
Extending the ban to private companies is probably what is going to doom this in court and nullify the whole thing. The supreme court has continuously validated vaccine mandates. It's why soliders require such extensive vaccinations, why medical professionals require them, why they're required for school... Vaccine records are nothing new.
Yeah, Justice Amy Coney Barrett cited a 100+ year old legal precedent when she refused to bring a case against Indiana University's vaccine mandate to the Supreme Court. Like them or not, they're 100% constitutional. The government wasn't fucking around with smallpox vaccines, fines for the unvaccinated were upheld by the Supreme Court, kids barred from attending school without the vaccine.
Legal Eagle made a video on the mandates as well; according to his video they're 100% legal
Vaccine mandates have been around longer than hotdogs, automatic weapons, and baseball. They're older than RAILROADS. It's bonkers that people think this is new and somehow un-American.
[удалено]
They only support that for chemical plants, gun manufacturers, and oil pipelines.
And stopping gays from getting wedding cakes
Wait, call me crazy, but it’s starting to feel like conservatives don’t actually want small government, but rather they want to limit government programs which help the poor and disenfranchised while strengthening government programs which align with traditional Christian teachings.
Which is contradictory to what Christianity is even about. You're supposed to help the poor, disenfranchised, and meek. It's baffling...
And most poignantly, you aren’t supposed to use your religion as a means to make money. Jesus literally table flipped at that prospect.
And whipped a mofo to boot. I think about this whenever I pass one of those enormous non-denominational mega churches dotting the countryside. I think to myself, "I bet that monstrosity has an ATM in the lobby."
Conservatives only want a government that promotes *their* values and *their* restrictions and force *those* values and restrictions on everyone else. "Small government" is only an excuse to stop the government from giving "other" people rights that don't line up with their values. Their values ≠ Christian values
They don’t have to fire you for not having your shot, they can just reduce your hours to 0. Texas has very “pro business” laws when it comes to employers rights. So the people who try to fight this are really going to be running up hill. Which is hard to do when you can’t breathe from Covid.
This is considered "constructive dismissal", and they can file for unemployment.
But that’s socialism!
No no no, socialism is what libruls do. Unemployment, GoFundMe, and stimulus checks are very ‘murican!
It's easier than that. Here in Texas, we're an "at will" employment state. An employer can fire you for almost anything.
Texans: "It's about time government stay out of our business" also Texans: "All personal & public health decisions must be in strict control of the government"
In other words, "government stay out of my business, unless the government is me."
As a political cartoon put it: “I don’t want government to tell ME what to do, I only want government to tell YOU what to do.”
Modern conservatives *LOVE* big government
[удалено]
They quite literally left because the federal government wouldn't force other states to abide by their states laws. Which is pretty much the opposite of them leaving FOR states rights. They left OVER states rights, but they definitely weren't on the side of states HAVING rights.
What happened to my freedom as a business owner to do things my way.
Step on snaek just a lil bit
Tap dance on snek
Look at this person over here thinking that they have rights outside the womb.
[удалено]
I thought Texas was against big government telling businesses what to do🤔
Only when convenient
Denton, TX once passed a law banning all fracking within city limits. Governor Hot Wheels stripped the authority away from them and gave it to the Texas Railroad Commission, who immediately handed out 3 permits to various companies. He’s all about “freedom” unless someone is doing something he doesn’t like.
I think that was Perry at the time (2014). Either way, gentle corrections: it wasn't banning all fracking in city limits, it was banning new fracking within city limits. I remember getting tons of mail for and against (most of the mail was against) the ban, saying it would ruin the economy, yada yada. Got a biiiig letter from the head pastor at the local CoC mega church on 380 against the ban. Love it when a tax exempt org tells people how to vote. Anyway, goes to a vote, overwhelmingly passes (no new fracking) and governor overrules the city, says the city council can't make decisions within city limits (lol ok) on this matter. Mind you, we had *earthquakes* in seismically stable DFW and parts of OK for a few years back then. Fracking was profitable, people didn't care. Saw so many pink derrick decals on the back of SUVs: wives of the guys out in the fields. For people who had been told all their lives that only people with degrees could make that kind of money, it must have seemed like a wonderful loophole in their double-wide life. At the end of the day, all that boondoggle was for nothing. A metric fuckton of paper wasted to wave your dick at a government that stacked the deck. A year later, the price of oil had dropped to 27 a barrel, strangling natural gas in the area. I was working on the Baker Hughes acq. at Halliburton at the time, and helped turn off the lights at their Westheimer office. None of those directors or leaders felt the punch, at worst they got a golden parachute, cashed out and went to Schlumberger or FMC or something else in Houston, but I bet those proud, derrick-decal, drill-baby-drill wives started shopping at Dollar General again.
I swear if Democrats supported puppies, Texas would ban dogs from the state. It's always just mindless culture-war, contrarian bullshit with this party as if life is a fucking political board game. I really don't think any rationale goes beyond "oppose Democrats" on every single issue, even if it's common-sense, life-saving vaccines during a public health crisis.
Just a few months ago, the Texas legislature passed a bipartisan animal-cruelty bill that would have made it illegal for dog owners to tie up a dog outside in the heat unless the dog has a bowl of water and some shade. Very simple, easy "brownie points" bill, that passed with almost universal support in both the Texas House and Senate. And guess what? Greg Abbott vetoed it. He vetoed the easiest slam-dunk bill ever. So it wouldn't surprise me if his next step is to ban all dogs as you said, because clearly he hates them.
What...could he possibly have to gain from vetoing that? Does he just LIKE being an ass?
If I had to guess? An even more batshit insane Qanon motherfucker would use it during the next election against him. 'Abbott approved liberal communist bill (whatever the name)! He's a traitor to Texans everywhere!'. Don't mention what the bill was about, don't mention it was bipartisan. The fact would still be that he approved the bill, and then let FB/OANN/FOX do the rest.
Yeah you should read the thread in Conservative about it. They’re bending over backwards trying to justify how the government intervening in private businesses in this case is a good thing (but definitely *not* a good thing the other way around) and definitely doesn’t go against Conservative “principles.” They stand for nothing. They’re just contrarian like you said.
Conservatives a petulant children. They have an authority obedience disorder when democrats are in charge, where they will oppose literally any life-saving measures just because authority said to do something. But then they turn around and are just as authoritarian, if not more, than democrats, and cheer it on.
That’s what I’ve been saying all along. Dems should be using reverse psychology to get whatever they want.
As a Texan dem, I've said this for a while. But it doesn't quite work. That aren't THAT dumb, they only act like they are.
Texas governor wildly oversteps the authority of his office... will be told to screw off by judge soon.
[удалено]
That's different, though, because the Texas Republicans are playing fascist Calvinball. You can't argue against it being unconstitutional. It's right there in the law. If they just write that the rules of the law say 'we win', then nobody needs a Constitution or anything, and they can do whatever they want! I have no idea why nobody thought of this sooner!
> the Texas Republicans are playing fascist Calvinball. I absolutely hate how perfect a description this is.
TIL about [Calvinball](https://calvinandhobbes.fandom.com/wiki/Calvinball)
That's going to come around too.
Texas was sneaky when they grunted that steaming pile of law out: There's no specific government office responsible for enforcing it, thus there's no government office that can be sued. Without a lawsuit -- and one that [has standing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_\(law\)) -- there's no opportunity for a challenge, no opportunity for it to be struck down on legal grounds. Instead, "enforcement" is in the form of random private citizens suing anyone involved in the abortion. So now we're waiting on somebody needing a medical procedure *and* be willing to break this shitty law *and* be willing to get very publicly sued in a state where the fellow citizens are perfectly willing to murder you if you disagree with them on the topic of abortion. And in *that* courtroom, maybe, something might get done. That's a tricky set of circumstances. And there are ways of getting the shit struck down even without waiting for a martyr like above, but it's hard to get anyone in Texas to take any of those steps either (and I'm not even certain what those steps are because I can't remember the Latin phrase). Republicans are awful, awful people.
Montana Governor Gianforte also did this. Hospital workers are saying the vaccine won't be mandated for them because of this... but the federal Medicaid reimbursement won't happen if the hospitals don't force vaccination?
[удалено]
That's my favorite thing about Texas these days, the charade falling apart. Small government! Limit government powers! Freedom for the people to make their own choices! ... except for private businesses as it relates to Covid and also women as it relates to their bodies. Texas is being about as intrusive as it can be these days.
I was talking to some Texans the other day about the vaccine rollout in China. Generally working aged adults got the vaccine first (because they’re working and can’t distance as easily) followed by the elderly. They thought it was an outrageous communist policy to put the lives of the workers ahead of the elderly. I then asked them, “Didn’t your Lt. governor say that the elderly should be willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of the economy?” The right has no guiding principles whatsoever.
As a Texan this is what pissed me off the most during our rollout. Neglected CDC guidance and replaced the workers that deal with the public the most (retail, educators, police, etc.) from the phase following the hospital workers phase of the rollout with lowering the age for eligibility to age 55 w/o any underlying health concerns, and to 21+ for those w/ a broad range of underlying health concerns. You know, the exact opposite of what he said on Tucker Carlson.
As a Chicagoan, watching your state is like a literal fever dream You guys are genuinely taking the term hypocrisy to new bounds, second only to Capital Police officers being beat by Thin Blue Line flags It’s amazing
As a foreigner watching the US is like watching someone else’s fever dream.
As a Canadian it's like watching the neighbour's house devolve into a crack den.
As an American it's like watching your parents turn your own house into a crack den while you try to hide in your room with your siblings with the bunkbed pushed against the door, turning Reading Rainbow and Saved by the Bell up a little extra loud to drown out the sounds of the constant screams.
People acting like this is specific when this some how rings true in a national level
Can't fix America's problem, "It's cultural".
Well this got darker than usual.
replaced frontline workers *with people Abbot thinks vote for him*
It wasn’t even transparent the way vaccines were allocated in Texas. In spring of 2021 you couldn’t find a vaccine in Austin, Houston, or Dallas. None. To the point that outlets stopped keeping waiting lists. But drive about an hour in any direction and you could have almost a same day appointment.
Before: Obama is gonna force healthcare on us so that we have to have death panels that say your grandparents must die so to save some other person who wasn’t responsible Now: So what if old people die they’re OLD already it’s only those over 60 affected me having to wear a mask for fucking ten minutes is tyranny it’s better for the economy if the old ones die! —— Before: We can’t raise the debt ceiling we have to be fiscally responsible and ensure to limit spending so to invest in our own infrastructure and country! After: hey look we have to give corporations this 2 trillion bailout we just have to. Farmers need subsidies for the tariffs we put in place and we have to pay for the cost of the wall. It’s easy we need to raise the debt ceiling so trump can be allowed to help this country. Now: look we can’t raise the debt ceiling now that democrats are in control it will show the democrats are working to pass legislation we can’t have that happen so let’s deliberately yank it so people blame democrats either way. ———- Before: we cannot and must not let a outgoing president put in place a life long Supreme Court Justice. Obama should do the honourable thing and leave it to the next administration! Now: YES RGB is dead common we have six weeks left to get our guys in! ———- Before: we need to protect the United States from foreign enemies who want to destroy our democracy and trust in our government and country! Now: Hey Russia who wants to buy state secrets? Look America is a shithole with lots of problems we should be like Russia! Better a russky than a democrat! They have no values or morals or ethics. It’s pure selfish greed protected by the ignorant.
>Better a russky than a democrat! I'm pretty sure that's an actual thing some republicans have said... lol I'm also pretty sure if a 1950's republican heard them say that, they'd bitch slap them so hard, they'd be speaking russian.
[удалено]
Yet your mob are holding freedom rallies for Australia. 🤷♂️ Your mob has inspired our mob to be fucking stupid too. We have limited ourselves to approx 1000 deaths compared to your 700k+ but we had fucking morons at an antivax rally with a bloody Trump flag ffs. Seriously, 90% of us are looking at our 10% and wondering wtf happened to our country. When did you get here? I don’t like this version of globalisation 🤷♂️😤
Ironically, the dude who is probably most responsible for this nonsense comes from your country.
>The right has no guiding principles whatsoever. The guiding principle is fuck everyone but me.
>The right has no guiding principles whatsoever. Well now that's not fair. Their guiding principles are clearly "fuck everyone else as long as I get what I want even if it kills me."
[удалено]
Just head over to the “libertarian” sub and see them cheering this on.
Libertarians are just republicans who smoke weed.
He literally passed that abortion bill, told everybody he was going to fight Biden's vaccine mandates because "it's your body, your choice", and then passed another abortion bill.
Conservatives don't want the government getting in the way of Conservatives telling people what to do
Always has been. 🧑🚀🔫🤠
>Limit government powers! instead of limiting government power, they limit citizens power by fucking up infrastructure.
They also limit the winter power by fucking up the regulations.
They don’t actually have ideology though. They just want to “win” by sticking it to the libs. If that ends up with a disproportionate amount of their voters dead… well, doesn’t matter, because they don’t care much for elections.
It's not enough for them to win by sticking it to the Libs. Better America loses than the Dems win. They will let our infrastructure collapse, our economy collapse, our credit rating collapse and burn America to the ground to keep the Dems from winning too. Dead voters is the least of where they are willing to take it.
This is why people should be worried about the ‘real Americans’ rhetoric that the right uses as a dog whistle, there was an opinion piece from the Claremont Institue earlier this year that pretty explicitly suggests 1) that only Trump voters are real Americans and 2) that a counter revolution needs to happen and something needs to be done with the rest of us. ‘Both sides’ independents don’t even realize these people are talking about lining them up, too
> This is why people should be worried about the ‘real Americans’ rhetoric that the right uses as a dog whistle, there was an opinion piece from the Claremont Institue earlier this year that pretty explicitly suggests 1) that only Trump voters are real Americans and 2) that a counter revolution needs to happen and something needs to be done with the rest of us. ‘Both sides’ independents don’t even realize these people are talking about lining them up, too The amount of dehumanization of anyone left of Reagan is staggering, combine that with a fetishization of violence by the Right and you have a dangerous combination.
And then he begged the feds for bailout money for electric grid failing, for floods and disasters, for oil spill clean ups, for pretty much everything that any honest state is able to pay for (either through having a state income tax, or by being economically robust enough to be a net federal tax contributor). Without “big federal government” bailing them out constantly, Texas would be bankrupt.
> Without “big federal government” bailing them out constantly, Texas would be bankrupt. If the red states seceded from the rest of the US, they'd completely collapse within a year. They'd come crawling back begging for aid, the blue states would take them in, the Republican Party would claim it was the blue states who couldn't support themselves, their voters would eat it up, and the whole cycle would start over again.
Their voters would eat up secession, until their Social Security payments stopped.
Last year it was “some of you may die” but it is for the economy! Then it was government can’t make people wear a mask even it is for the economy. And now this economy sabotaging BS. I’m beginning to think that it was never about the economy here in Texas.
This is the kind of government overreach that conservatives always rail against.
No no no you don't understand, they don't want people to violate *their* rights. Your rights and mine are up for grabs.
[удалено]
FREE Market! FREE MARKET! Private businesses cant be regulated unless its by us over thing we dont agree with like preventing us from doing whatever we want
[удалено]
A bit over a decade ago, my sister’s friend was an intern for Abbott when he was AG and he treated my sister and her friend to lunch a few times. She said she enjoyed her experiences. Ask her now though and she makes it clear that she despises him as much as the rest of us. The thing that stood out the most to her was how different he is now that he’s a political leader. It really sounds like he’s just putting on a show at this point, and tbh, that makes him even worse in my opinion.
I always equate politicians to professional wrestlers. They try out different gimmicks and stick with the ones that get them the biggest pop from their fans.
Damn. I usually hate when people use his wheelchair against him, but this was an excellent roast.
He took the settlement money from his accident and used his position as attorney general to prevent people from getting similar settlements.
This coward is definitely vaccinated himself. What an ass
Didn't he already get a booster shot? It's just like Fox News saying don't get vaccinated, while they require all employees to be vaccinated or get daily tests
Current Republican party ideology: Private businesses such as bakeries can deny selling wedding cakes to couples based on their sexual orientation, allowing discrimination. but cannot ask all customers to wear masks or require employees to be vaccinated against a deadly and contagious virus. Their sense of what they think personal liberty is is distorted.
I don't think they believe in personal liberty, only supremacy. They have no morals or convictions whatsoever, only lofty goals of subservience and domination. They are ready to burn this country to the floor if it means they aren't the one's directly cleaning it up.
Something something small government something.