# Texas gives Obama the middle finger
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-gives-obama-the-middle-finger/613852
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [February 24, 2012, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-gives-obama-the-middle-finger/613852 "2012-02-24T16:49:05Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2012, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-gives-obama-the-middle-finger/613852/21 "2012-02-24T18:50:16Z")
Obama has a choice, here, to screw over the poor in one state, or to screw over the poor in 49 states. If he backs down, then all the states will be free to pull money away from the poor, too. This isn’t a _good_ decision, since he doesn’t have any of those available, but it is the _best_ decision.
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### Author:  [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2012, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-gives-obama-the-middle-finger/613852/22 "2012-02-24T18:51:41Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#):
>
> Ah, I see. Regulating 19 chemicals that are used to make narcotics means that chemistry is outlawed. I get it. :rolleyes:
[ol][li]I didn’t say it was outlawed. I said they were against chemistry as a hobby.[\*]You didn’t read the rest of the page, or the passage I even quoted, which mentions more than just a few chemicals.[/ol][/li]
If you’re going to demand a cite, and I am going to give you one, and quote the actual passage, do me a favor and read it, or don’t ask in the first place.
If Texas decided to use this exact wording to cover firearms and bullets, do you suppose someone in Texas might say they’re against guns? Of course they would. And they’d be right.
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### Author:  [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-gives-obama-the-middle-finger/613852/23 "2012-02-24T18:53:34Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#):
>
> If Texas is indeed giving Obama the middle finger, they’ve chosen a particularly lousy and immature reason for it.
Is there ever a mature reason to give the finger?
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-gives-obama-the-middle-finger/613852/24 "2012-02-24T18:54:55Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> Sounds more like Obama giving Texas the middle finger. I doubt he’s counting on Texas to send electors his way, so he doesn’t have any reason to back down. Texas on the other hand is going to get hurt by their own actions, and as usual back down. I wish they’d go through with their secession plans, or we just give the state back to Mexico.
We can’t afford a war with Mexico right now.
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-gives-obama-the-middle-finger/613852/25 "2012-02-24T18:56:06Z")
> [@erislover](#):
>
> [Precursor Chemical Program](http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/RegulatoryServices/narcotics/narcprecursor.htm)
> You can never be too careful in Texas. Someone might accidentally get interested in science.
Or crystal meth.
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2012, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-gives-obama-the-middle-finger/613852/26 "2012-02-24T18:57:07Z")
> [@Ravenman](#):
>
> Everything you say here, with a couple of minor word changes, applies equally to the State of Texas. The state is willing to end health care for large numbers of people simply because of a grudge against one organization that does not use Federal or State tax dollars for abortions.
And that’s the way America will see it.
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### Author:  [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2012, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-gives-obama-the-middle-finger/613852/27 "2012-02-24T18:57:11Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#):
>
> Is there ever a mature reason to give the finger?
Well, if this was a cause with some merit, i.e. a president who was imposing a federal drug law to override a state’s more liberal policies or a state with gay marriage telling the president to shove DOMA up his ass…
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### Author:  [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2012, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-gives-obama-the-middle-finger/613852/28 "2012-02-24T18:57:34Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#):
>
> We can’t afford a war with Mexico right now.
😃 I can see the headlines now. “Mexico declares war: don’t push Texas back on us!”
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2012, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-gives-obama-the-middle-finger/613852/29 "2012-02-24T18:58:16Z")
> [@Simplicio](#):
>
> Also, when these programs are denied federal funding, I suspect the people complaining won’t be woman, but their doctors, who will keep trying to bill Medicaid for womans health exams and either get less money back or will rip a hole in Texas finances by having the whole thing covered despite less federal money to cover it.
And doctors **do** have some collective political influence, don’t they?
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### Author:  [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-gives-obama-the-middle-finger/613852/30 "2012-02-24T19:01:31Z")
I’d rephrase the title to say Texas gives 130,000 low-income women the middle finger. But that’s the optimist in me.
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### Author:  [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2012, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-gives-obama-the-middle-finger/613852/31 "2012-02-24T19:03:49Z")
> [@elucidator](#):
>
> Bar-B-Q. Willy Nelson. Emmylou Harris. 'Nuff Sed.
I’ll give you Texas style BBQ but 1 out of 3 ain’t good.
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### Author:  [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-gives-obama-the-middle-finger/613852/32 "2012-02-24T19:16:25Z")
> [@zoid](#):
>
> I’ll give you Texas style BBQ but 1 out of 3 ain’t good.
I think that 2 out of 3 Texas BBQs ain’t good, but that’s cause I’m an Eastern Carolina guy myself. 😛
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### Author:  [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2012, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-gives-obama-the-middle-finger/613852/33 "2012-02-24T19:23:18Z")
Change is coming to Texas, at a glacial pace, but it is coming. That is why I cheer for my lefty pals and gals in the Lone Star state. From _waaaaay_ up here.
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### Author:  [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-gives-obama-the-middle-finger/613852/34 "2012-02-24T19:27:06Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#):
>
> So why can’t it be both Texas and Obama giving Texas women the middle finger?
>
> And with the title I thought it wa a 50/50 chance it would be a literal middle finger.
Because the final outcome is different. One allows any state to decide they aren’t going to use their Federal funds the way they are supposed to, meaning, amongst other things, people will lose care. The other gives women additional care that they wouldn’t otherwise receive.
Obama will only be giving these women the middle finger if he backs down. And he won’t be giving it to just those women.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-gives-obama-the-middle-finger/613852/35 "2012-02-24T19:27:33Z")
And I already covered Texas BBQ with my mention of the Lockhart Exception.
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### Author:  [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-gives-obama-the-middle-finger/613852/36 "2012-02-24T19:40:24Z")
> [@erislover](#):
>
> They’ve decided chemistry can’t be a hobby, and there was the furor over science books. Basically nothing surprises me about Texas anymore.
They’ve elected and re-elected Rick Perry, the most stupid presidential candidate in the history of the republic. No one should expect any intelligence to come out of that state.
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### Author:  [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-gives-obama-the-middle-finger/613852/37 "2012-02-24T19:42:15Z")
> [@Ravenman](#):
>
> The state is willing to end health care for large numbers of people simply because of a grudge against one organization that does not use Federal or State tax dollars for abortions.
Inb4 “But they do use State and Federal money to support their other initiatives, which frees up resources to perform abortions.” Which, to be fair, is a legitimate argument. One with which I disagree vehemently, but legit.
I’m with the “no one wins here” crowd. Either direction, poor women are used as a pawn. I would philosophically side with the administration in our hypothetical, however. Both steps on Texas’ part–threatening to bar PP from Medicaid funding, then doing it anyway knowing the consequences–are intended to push a moral agenda against a legal medical procedure. If it were a way to initiate another court challenge to _Roe_, that might be understandable. But I don’t see that even being a possibility here. It smacks of phony brinkmanship intended only to inflame.
> [@samclem](#):
>
> I think that 2 out of 3 Texas BBQs ain’t good, but that’s cause I’m an Eastern Carolina guy myself. 😛
Damn skippy. Anything slathered in spicy ketchup isn’t worth eating. Except possibly Emmylou Harris. Mrowr.
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-gives-obama-the-middle-finger/613852/38 "2012-02-24T19:46:57Z")
> [@andros](#):
>
> Damn skippy. Anything slathered in spicy ketchup isn’t worth eating. Except possibly Emmylou Harris. Mrowr.
And as with any other barbecue, slather on that sauce right before you dig in-don’t let it cook on the meat for hours.
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### Author:  [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-gives-obama-the-middle-finger/613852/39 "2012-02-24T19:48:06Z")
I will readily concede that there are strong anti-science forces at work in Texas, but the precursor chemical laws aren’t part of it. Their purpose is to cut down on an epidemic of methamphetamine production and meth lab explosions. Nobody gives a shit about hobby chemistry. The federal government tightly regulates fertilizers like ammonium nitrate and anhydrous ammonia because they can be used to make bombs and drugs, not because the United States is opposed to hobby botanists.
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### Author:  [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-gives-obama-the-middle-finger/613852/40 "2012-02-24T19:48:36Z")
> [@Ravenman](#):
>
> It’s pretty well recognized that virtually any Federal money comes with certain strings.
I didn’t know those strings were to give it to whoever the current administration likes the most.
> [@](#):
>
> Everything you say here, with a couple of minor word changes, applies equally to the State of Texas. The state is willing to end health care for large numbers of people simply because of a grudge against one organization that does not use Federal or State tax dollars for abortions.
The state wasn’t going to end anyone’s access to medical nor did it want to. In fact, there was no talk about ending anyone’s access to medical care _until_ the Obama administration stepped in and tried to stop Texas by threatening to cut off its Medicaid funding, essentially hurting a large group of people, unless Texas axed their new requirements. Texas balked at that, went ahead with its plan and that’s where we are now. Either Obama will stand his ground or he’ll back down. As I said, I personally think he’ll back down.
I’m not sure how you can say Texas is at fault here and you cannot tell me that Obama has the interest of “women” at heart, either.
> [@](#):
>
> What do you think of the argument that the Texas defunding of Planned Parenthood violates the Social Security Act?
It doesn’t.
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