A few reasons why I'm glad that I don't live in Texas

[MrScorpio]

1. Repression and exploitation of the stripper class:

>>San Antonio's City Council last week approved a measure requiring exotic dancers to apply for permits that they must wear while performing.

Law enforcers say the permit rule, which goes into effect next week, is intended to allow background checks on dancers and to quickly identify who is breaking local nudity laws. Full nudity is not allowed in San Antonio strip

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2953380

Looks like Texas public officials will do just about anything to go to the strip club and make it look that they're on official business.


2. Insanely applied parental consent laws:

>>Supporters of restrictions on teen access to contraceptives say the issue is not one of costs, but whether parents should know what is happening in their children's lives.

"Whatever the cost, if these laws force even a few teenagers to talk to their parents about these issues, then they're worth it," said James Sedlak, vice president of the American Life League, an anti-abortion group.

"If a young girl is afraid to talk to her parents about using contraceptives, then she knows she's doing something wrong."<<

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2953109

Well, Jimmy Boy, I hope that you'll wish a hearty congrats to all the thirty year old grandparents that you'll see this year.

3. Pitiful support for women's rights:

>>RESOURCES STATISTICS

• The state: Domestic violence shelters in Texas turned away 20 percent of those requesting services in fiscal 2004.
• The county: Harris County turned away about 62 percent.

Sarah carries scars on her arms and face from the times her former boyfriend pushed her from a moving car and cut her along her jaw with a screwdriver.

Last summer, Sarah, 26, fled to a shelter for victims of domestic violence. Sarah is not her real name. She had to leave the shelter at the end of its maximum 90-day stay. She was jobless and, after calls to other shelters, still without a bed.<<

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2953490

This is just too sickening to make light of.

4. The reelection of Tom Fucking Delay and the consequences thereof:

>>A group of House Republican lawmakers, stewing over a Democratic ethics complaint filed against Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), is pressing for the GOP to file a reciprocal complaint against Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for violating campaign-finance law.<<

http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/121504/ethics.html

Texas can just kiss my black ass.

(With all apologies to all Texas-based DUers who have to live there)