Smokin’ Rope in Austin

Now from what I hear, scoring some grass in Austin is not a difficult thing to do. And from what I hear, Austin is a central area in Texas for not only that, but consumption of the substance.

And from what I see in the Austin American-Statesman today, I can only conclude that massive quantities of marijuana are being consumed in the Texas Legislature.

Mass quantitites.

Because today we find that the Senate State Affairs Committee has passed a resolution calling on the federal government to amend the US Constitution to require a balanced budget every year.

You know, like Texas does.

Especially when Texas uses federal stimulus money that is meant to be used in addition to what Texas provides for its public schools in order to balance its budget last year.

Does that with one hand and with the other delivers a backhanded slap at the federal government for passing the stimulus bill – a bill that averted, for the time being at least, massive layoffs.

These people are real pieces of work.

But wait, it gets better still.

If the feds don’t accede to the wish of these state senators, they call on them to have a constitutional convention “on the sole issue of mandating a balanced federal budget.” And yes, that could happen if another 33 states make the same request.

But their key qualification, that the convention be limited to just one issue is naïve to the core and tells me that someone has been smoking some serious rope up there in Austin.

The only reason that a constitutional convention has never been held, even though it is provided for in the current constitution, is that anything can happen. No convention can be limited to a single issue. Once you open Pandora’s Box by holding a constitutional convention, anything is on the table.

And the way the crazies seem to be running things in the Republican Party these days, I mean ANYthing can happen.

But it’s fun to watch these people make utter ninnies out of themselves. And it reminds me of my latest favorite maxim that I am going to be repeating many times, I think:

You get what you vote for.