I'm back from the beach
And Rep. Candy Noble says incest is good, actually.
My husband, our dear friends, and I went to Port Aransas this past weekend for our annual Eurovision Song Contest/beach house hole-up. We enjoy three whole days of uninterrupted snacking, TV watching, beach reading, pool time, hush puppy eating and supportive talks about life. This was our third year and I love this tradition, even when it doesn’t quite go our way, which is how it went this year. Lots of little annoyances and large life things going on.
But for the couple of hours that we spent on a quiet, Friday afternoon beach, we vibed. We watched nearby dogs enjoy the surf. One friend got in a good, long beach nap. The other walked until he found an amazing stick. My husband continued to read Reddit, I guess. I read a terrible book set in Port A by a self-published author and laughed at the awful sex scenes.
My husband and I went back to the beach for a couple of hours on Sunday. Anytime I walk out into the moving waters, I think of Low’s Walk Into the Sea:
I could walk into the sea
And choke away the memory
Do I have to stay alive
Just to keep our dresses white?
You come to me in dreams
With all the other pretty things
You tell me about a Savior
And how the soul lives on forever
And time is just a hunger
It bleeds us out to nothing
And when it finally takes us over
I hope we'll float away together
Yeah, time's the great destroyer
Leaves every child a bastard
When it finally takes us over
I hope we'll float away together
I stood waist-high in the rushing waves that wanted to push me back to shore and hugged my husband, our feet firmly in the sand, leaning toward the great destroyer.
Oh right, this is a newsletter about the Texas legislature. There is very little time left to get bills heard and passed. The Texas Tribune put together this handy list of the most impactful bills that are currently moving that they will update through the next couple of weeks:
The House spent a LONG time yesterday dealing with the far-right idiots who are trying to derail SB 646, which would expand student loan forgiveness to mental health professionals who are trying to become school counselors. This program has already been in place for 10 years — a program proposed by a Republican, no less — but was hijacked by trans-panic weirdos worried that school counselors are trying to “socially transition” children.
I dunno, guys, do you think Texas schools need more school counselors? Given everything that we’ve seen in this state? The mass shootings, the suicides? I guess it’s more important that no mental health professional ever refer to your son by their preferred name that they’re afraid to tell you about!
They tried to brag on Twitter about how very STRONG they were in the face of BULLIES like Reps. Senfronia Thompson and Barbara Gervin-Hawkins:
But here’s what it really looked like:
And Christian Manuel (D-Beaumont) for the assist:
As of now the bill is still pending a final vote.
Oh, today Rep. Candy Noble (R-Allen) made it clear that she’s fine with children of incest because she knew one in college:
Did you just feel the Overton Window move a little, because I sure did.
Headlines from the past few days:
Texas House, Senate lawmakers reach $8.5 billion school funding deal — This deal raises per-student spending by $55. This is embarrassingly little. “Since 2019, there has been no increase by lawmakers to the basic allotment, despite inflationary price increases of up to 19% on everything including supplies, utilities, and other school operational expenses.” I suppose they can now claim they’ve raised the basic allotment, but not even enough to cover inflation.
Texas bill clarifying when doctors can perform life-saving abortions wins early House vote
This Texas bill would ban offshore wind farms in state waters from connecting to ERCOT's grid
Texas Legislature Passes Bitcoin Reserve Bill — *eyeroll*
Three. Good. Things.
The most fun song (and clean, because there were some fun FILTHY songs) to come out of this year’s Eurovision was Tommy Cash’s Espresso Macchiato:
Unless you’re a very adventurous sort of person, I wouldn’t look up the rest of Tommy Cash’s works. Just fair warning!
The cool cashier at my local grocery store that I say hi to anytime I’m there told me to “be careful” as I was leaving the store today. I will, friend!
Our new foster kittens, Burger and Fries.
