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Texas city refuses to give people hurricane aid unless they pledge not to boycott Israel

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soylentgreen

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Texas city refuses to give people hurricane aid unless they pledge not to boycott Israel | The Independent
A Texas city devastated by flooding after Hurricane Harvey is forcing recipients of financial aid to sign a pledge not to boycott Israel.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said the clause on Dickinson city council's application form for relief funding violated free speech rights and was "reminiscent of McCarthy-era loyalty oaths" requiring Americans to disavow Communism.
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I thought at first that this must surely be fake news.
But then i looked this up,
https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/anti-israel-policies-are-anti-texas-policies
Governor Greg Abbott today signed into law House Bill 89 (HB 89), known as the Anti-BDS (Boycott, Divestments, and Sanctions) bill, which prohibits all state agencies from contracting with, and certain public funds from investing in, companies that boycott Israel.
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How do you people even manage to keep up the pretence of having freedom of speech?
 
soylentgreen said:
Texas city refuses to give people hurricane aid unless they pledge not to boycott Israel | The Independent


I thought at first that this must surely be fake news.
But then i looked this up,
https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/anti-israel-policies-are-anti-texas-policies


How do you people even manage to keep up the pretence of having freedom of speech?
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I definitely agree with in that it does seem like a fake news story. It looks like it would be too absurd to be true, but I guess not.
 
Well, someone's about to be jobless.
 
What's more strange:

1. A member of city council or the mayor proposing a city boycott of Israel, setting unprecedented US policy.

2. The feds bribing, extorting, them to not locally establish nutbag US foreign trade policy.

I'm pretty sure foreign trade policy is outside local jurisdiction. I don't think a city can ban products from a trade partner within their locale. I'm quite sure the feds have every right to dictate foreign trade policy to the city.


What if Trump suggested boycotting Israel? At least this is just some jackass city authority in bumpkin Texas. Makes me feel better about living in Florida.
 
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"The city appears to be enforcing a recently passed Texas law that requires all state contractors to certify that they are not participating in boycotts of Israel. While the ACLU does not take a position on boycotts of foreign countries, the organization has long supported the right to participate in political boycotts and has voiced opposition to laws and bills that infringe on the right to boycott."

https://www.aclu.org/news/texas-city-tells-people-no-hurricane-harvey-aid-unless-they-promise-not-boycott-israel

http://www.ci.dickinson.tx.us/DocumentCenter/View/2016
 
Texas gets a few things right, but when they blow it, they really blow it. This is nuts.

Having said that, how is this different than set asides, which use the same logic in the opposite direction?
 
soylentgreen said:
Texas city refuses to give people hurricane aid unless they pledge not to boycott Israel | The Independent


I thought at first that this must surely be fake news.
But then i looked this up,
https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/anti-israel-policies-are-anti-texas-policies


How do you people even manage to keep up the pretence of having freedom of speech?
Click to expand...


if Texans don't like their 'government' then they are free to move else where; correct? Let them eat U-Haul, or Hertz, or (fill in blank)
 
Reminds me of some of those states boycotting travel or state funds to other states that didn't conform to their whims over SSM.
 
cuban smokes said:
if Texans don't like their 'government' then they are free to move else where; correct? Let them eat U-Haul, or Hertz, or (fill in blank)
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They can go ta I-ran!




:lol:
 
It's not like it's uncommon these days. California uses exactly the same kind of tactic to wage social policy war on other states. :shrug:

It's all quite divisive, but let's not pretend this is some kind of "crazy Texas" thing.

As for "foreign policy" or federal business, "sanctuary cities" have been in effect for decades, and now California has (or soon will) declared itself a "sanctuary state." Immigration is entirely a federal concern.
 
Harshaw said:
It's not like it's uncommon these days. California uses exactly the same kind of tactic to wage social policy war on other states. :shrug:

It's all quite divisive, but let's not pretend this is some kind of "crazy Texas" thing.
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I don't think you get it. The crazy Texas thing is them needing a law on the books (an absurd, possibly unconstitutional, enumeration of federal jurisdiction) to prevent tiny localities from setting their own foreign trade policy. A city, of course, has no jurisdiction over foreign trade, that's fed territory.

To make it more ridiculous, these dozen or so people seek to set US trade policy not through treaty, negotiations or other normal means. They're gonna bypass US law, logic and reason to... get da joos.


Florida is not as bad as its reputation.
 
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soylentgreen said:
Texas city refuses to give people hurricane aid unless they pledge not to boycott Israel | The Independent


I thought at first that this must surely be fake news.
But then i looked this up,
https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/anti-israel-policies-are-anti-texas-policies


How do you people even manage to keep up the pretence of having freedom of speech?
Click to expand...

Not much different from Trump's Press Secretary telling the White House Press Corps that it's "inappropriate" to question a four-star general...I guess, 'cause since when should any real American ever be so rude as to point out something wrong that was said or done by someone in the military? Who the heck needs the First Amendment anymore, I guess....
 
ecofarm said:
I don't think you get it. The crazy Texas thing is them needing a law on the books (an absurd, possibly unconstitutional, enumeration of federal jurisdiction) to prevent tiny localities from setting their own foreign trade policy. A city, of course, has no jurisdiction over foreign trade, that's fed territory.

To make it more ridiculous, these dozen or so people seek to set US trade policy not through treaty, negotiations or other normal means. They're gonna bypass US law, logic and reason to... get da joos.


Florida is not as bad as its reputation.
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I really hope you're joking.
 
Harshaw said:
I really hope you're joking.
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The law is for state contractors, because of members of city council in tiny cities wanting to boycott Israel, setting their own city-wide foreign trade policy. It's not for private individuals. The title is misleading.
 
ecofarm said:
I don't think you get it. The crazy Texas thing is them needing a law on the books (an absurd, possibly unconstitutional, enumeration of federal jurisdiction) to prevent tiny localities from setting their own foreign trade policy. A city, of course, has no jurisdiction over foreign trade, that's fed territory.

To make it more ridiculous, these dozen or so people seek to set US trade policy not through treaty, negotiations or other normal means. They're gonna bypass US law, logic and reason to... get da joos.


Florida is not as bad as its reputation.
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To repeat, however, if this Texas law is unconstitutional, then a lot of laws are going down the tubes. Set asides favor one group over another. California does not have the right to demand that states doing business with them must comply with their idea of acceptable treatment of da transgenders. (One of the few powers lying with the feds). States do not have the right to demand that my legally owned and carried weapon is not allowed in their state.
 
jimbo said:
To repeat, however, if this Texas law is unconstitutional, then a lot of laws are going down the tubes. Set asides favor one group over another.
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No, it doesn't. It might be unconstitutional, despite affecting only state contractors. It was put in place, signed by the Gov, because a handful of white supremacists in backwoods villages called cities pushed for a city boycott of Israel. Instead of trying to explain to the scumbags that cities don't have jurisdiction over foreign trade policy, the state law was enacted.

Texas governor Greg Abbott signed legislation requiring all state contractors to pledge not to boycott Israel earlier this year.

"As Israel's number one trading partner in the United States, Texas is proud to reaffirm its support for the people of Israel and we will continue to build on our historic partnership," he said in May. "Anti-Israel policies are anti-Texas policies, and we will not tolerate such actions against an important ally."
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joG said:
It doesn't sound aa though it would survive the Supreme Court.
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It doesn't matter. Backwoods city councils will not be allowed to enact city wide boycotts of foreign nations, Israel or otherwise. The law sailed through state legislation and the governor and he was very specific about what the law targeted. Other means would be employed.

If one would like to debate the constitutionality of holding government contractors to federal trade law, that's something. But to oppose the law on the grounds of its intentions is to support the local supremacist attempts to enact city ordinance contrary to US law.
 
ecofarm said:
The law is for state contractors, because of members of city council in tiny cities wanting to boycott Israel, setting their own city-wide foreign trade policy. It's not for private individuals. The title is misleading.
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So . . . ?
 
digsbe said:
Reminds me of some of those states boycotting travel or state funds to other states that didn't conform to their whims over SSM.
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Cuomo prohibits any state workers on state business going to North Carolina because of the bathroom controversy. People were fine with that. I don't see the difference.
 
Harshaw said:
Yeah, that's about as much as anything you said had to do with what I said.
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It's not a left wing conspiracy to remove freedom of speech by outlawing the protest of Israel engineered by the Zionists. It doesn't mark the beginning of the end. This is not white people's Kristallnacht.

It's a popular state law to deal with a handful of backwards two-teef Texans living in last century. No one is being refused water, as the title implies. It applies only to government contracts, to abide US trade law. Slow the outrage bus and let everyone that's not an antisemite get off.
 
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