Noteworthy this morning regarding the Texas situation

[mnmoderatedem]

AOC. Not a state she represents. Organizes relief fundraiser and raises 1 million.

Cruz. A state he does represent. Jet sets off to Cancun.

Remember to share this with your conservative friends who maintain there's nothing Cruz could have done anyway if he had stayed.


https://www.newsweek.com/aoc-raises-1-million-texas-relief-houston-visit-1570427

[BeerBarrelPolka]

1. It won't

matter one iota. They are so filled with hatred. They will take whatever they can and not give credit.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

2. Defeatism never wins.

[BeerBarrelPolka]

4. Yeah ok

It's called realism and not living in denial. Repubs have proven themselves time and time again.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

5. Yet we control the WH, the House, and the Senate.

[BeerBarrelPolka]

6. So?

What AOC did is commendable. But when you do something even to a lesser degree, it's not for commendation. You do without asking for anything in return. To expect the repubs to express gratitude shouldn't even be a thought in someone's mind. You raise money to help those in need.

We can control the whole universe. It doesn't mean that people will like you, help you, or even work with you. People "do" sometimes, in spite of others that may stand in there way. They don't "do" only if everyone is in concert. I expect nothing from the repubs. If I did, I wouldn't do anything at all. I "do" because I believe it's the correct thing to do, without looking for glory or acknowledgement.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

10. In 2016 we had none of those. People didn't assume defeat; just worked more.

There are fewer Republicans now. Some high-profile Republicans have switched to Democratic. This doesn't support the argument that "t won't matter one iota".

[Bradshaw3]

20. I appreciate your optimism

It's tough at times to be that way but you make good points, and there are many other reasons to support your view. The only way to change things is to keep pushing forward.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

21. We all get discouraged, frustrated, angry. That's when we lean on someone else.

Somebody is able to keep trudging along while somebody takes a break.

[littlemissmartypants]

9. Optimists are no less realistic than pessimists.

Optimists, however, usually have more help and get more done.

[FailureToCommunicate]

12. Nice.

[littlemissmartypants]

13. Thanks.

I have my moments.

[SammyWinstonJack]

29. +1000000!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

37. Optimists focus on what's good.

Pessimists on the bad.

[littlemissmartypants]

45. Exactly! ❤

~Sir Winston Churchill




A list of positive quotes that will shift your thinking and uplift your spirit...

https://motivationping.com/positive-quotes/

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

46. Oh, heck.

I'm already a very positive person, see the good in most things and situations. Not always that way about people, but I'm working on it.

I am already what those quotes are encouraging. Not sure how I wound up this way, but I am.

[FSogol]

14. See the 2020 GA Senate race. We can win and that's called realism. Texas was already moving

purple. The GOP non-response to the snowstorm will help it move along.

[Magoo48]

15. One way or another, it's about helping a few people get relief.

Some folks will suffer a little less because of her group’s efforts. Good is good in and of itself.

[BeerBarrelPolka]

18. That I agree with

And that is what I posted as a response. You do because it's the right thing to do to help someone.

[Magoo48]

43. Cool.

[gratuitous]

31. You're probably right

But the squelch factor should not be underestimated. Any loudmouth extolling the virtues of Ted Cruz will have to defend his cowardice and explain why their bete noire raising a million dollars for relief efforts isn't all that and a bag of chips.

[Rorey]

3. Somebody right here

Somebody right here said yesterday that there wasn't much he could do. I pointed to what Beto O'Rourke and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez are doing. No response.

Thanks for posting that link to Newsweek.

What Cruz did was to flaunt in the face of his constituents that he just doesn't care about them. This is going to follow him for the rest of his political life. It'll be interesting to see if he's stupid enough to throw his hat in the ring for President in 2024. He just gave his opponents great ammo to eliminate him.

[UpInArms]

7. He would be eliminated in the first debate

Q: what would you do if the country was in crisis?
A: Qruz: Go somewhere else.

[EndlessWire]

38. LOL! n/t

[JudyM]

50. No surprise. Trump golfed while Covid burned the country.

[treestar]

54. I ran into one wingnut who actually said

that going to Mexico did not mean that Cruz did not care. Apparently he could care about them all while at a resort in Mexico.

[BlueMTexpat]

8. While it will not make any difference

to true believers - who have relinquished whatever logic they ever may have had - I am still sharing this with everyone that I know.

Thanks for the link!

[TheBlackAdder]

16. Charlatans know that their followers will explain away anything that challenges their expectations.

[Lonestarblue]

19. I'm sharing it, too, because Abbott is up for reelection next year.

I want people to remember. His crappy actions on Covid and his lack of any planning for this storm can be hung around his neck. It’s long past time for Texas to have a Democratic governor, not a Republican lobbyist for anything big business, especially the oil and gas industry, wants.

[BlueMTexpat]

33. Every bit of effort

counts! Let us all help them to remember!

[littlemissmartypants]

11. Kicked. ❤ nt

[mainer]

17. Never forget: Beto ALMOST defeated Cruz last time

"Cruz defeated O'Rourke by a margin of 50.9 to 48.3 percent; the race was the closest U.S. Senate race in Texas since 1978."

Maybe Texas really is turning purple.

[Aviation Pro]

22. It made a difference to those affected by this tragedy

It relieved some of the suffering. She won't get credit from the hardy-hardcore, but that's not the point, you do it because it's the right thing to do.

[KewlKat]

23. Didn't Beto and his team make thousands of wellness checks? CanCruz and his team could have done

this as well.

[EndlessWire]

39. Yep. n/t

[DENVERPOPS]

47. Great ad for Beto

Picture of Beto going out on the streets and helping everyone he car,
Picture beside that one of Cruz in beach clothes on the beach..........

Have a Dem zillionaire put it on billboards all over Houston and other major cities.
I'm not sorry, assholes need to be kicked while they are down......

[Hortensis]

52. BETO is the TX example to point TXns to. On-the-ground aid

contacting hundreds of thousands of senior citizens to make sure they're okay and direct help to those who need it.

Julian Castro also for money raising, heading for a quarter million for Feeding Texas.

Ocasio-Cortez and her national donor base are a good example also of the many from far away who've done more for TXns than Ted Cruz.

[Cozmo]

24. Share with conservative friends??? It would never happen, that would be an oxymoron

[Historic NY]

25. There is also generator and other equipment sitting at the airport sent by Biden's FEMA...

its not doing anything but waiting for Texas to use it.


[link:https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2021/02/18/Biden-orders-FEMA-to-deliver-generators-other-supplies-to-Texas/2951613682400/|]

[csziggy]

26. I wouldn't be surprised if the RepuQs in Texas are doing that deliberately

If the generators are not used, they can let the conspiracy theorists claim that "Biden doesn't care about Texas." No matter what the facts are, they will believe they were ignored and left to died by the Democratic president because they never got the benefits of the supplies sent to Texas.

And of course, the RepuQs don't care how many people suffer and die - that Texas mayor said it out loud.

[DENVERPOPS]

48. Get pictures

of the Generators just sitting there, and time/date stamp the photo on the day when they arrived.

Will make for great billboards. "Sent by Biden who immediately ordered Federal Disaster money, along with sending FEMA"

[efhmc]

27. Just think of the good PR that would have been generated by helping in any way.

Even if you did not do it out of altruism.

[thinkingagain]

28. I think we could make our motto

Democrats care anytime anywhere
Republicans photo op time then get the hell out of there

[keithbvadu2]

30. And Cruz' tweet about a failed state unable to...

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EuW0jb7XYAUiwEt?format=jpg

[IronLionZion]

32. Ted Cruz went to Cancun to lasso the sun and bring it back to Texas

[EndlessWire]

40. LOL! n/t

[BobTheSubgenius]

34. I agree more than a little with the "nothing he could have done" crowd.

But with a little revision. Thus:

"Little he could have done, being who he is. Little he would have done, for the same reason."

[EndlessWire]

41. Gawd Almighty!

He cut and ran, then lied about it.

He wanted to be in charge! Until a huge problem came up. Then, he didn't want to deal with it.

I am willing to bet that the lowliest of the low know that you DON'T abandon your people when they are in trouble. Who cares if he doesn't know how to buy a snow plow and run it! You make yourself available to help! You are THERE! You don't run off to a major vacation spot while your neighbor is freezing. You find that generator and hook them up.

And, he instantly taught his kids the WRONG thing to do. He could have involved them in doing *something,* anything, to help the state.

No, I think that "he couldn't have done anything anyway" is wrong. He is still a rat weasel. And, to think that they could have had Beto. What a lesson to learn! Well, what they learned is who cares for them, and who does not.

[tblue37]

35. AOC has raised over $2 million now.

[Qutzupalotl]

36. Or put another way...

[Aussie105]

42. To some people, AOC is the enemy

and not worthy of any praise for doing something positive.

Cruz is one of the 'good guys' and gets excused for being a deadhead.

No helping some people.

Texas, you are not a third world country, so stop acting like one!

[BrightKnight]

44. 20 years of GOP corruption. They let the utilities cut every corner

In exchange for a few pieces of silver. Only a few energy companies and corrupt politicians benefited.

[NBachers]

49. You can contribute to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's relief fund; and one for the Castro bros here:

You'll be filling up the Democratic Party's Texas gas tank. Any donation you make will bring immediate relief to Texans who need it right now; and it will put fuel in the tank to bring true representative Democracy to Texas. Think of it as foreign aid to lift a disadvantaged population.

AOC's fund passed $2,000,000 hours ago; it's probably well on its way to its third million by now.


AOC:
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/aoc-social-20210219?refcode=tw20210219&fbclid=IwAR1GgYspDzEHmPU07J5ALUT1Eex66Z-ml3FkFMKCD0iXZi9-phIzi3p0IqE

Joaquin and Julian Castro:
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/peoplefirstfeedingtexas?abt=facebook&fbclid=IwAR2_DIz3AgUPYVwu-BnDDIYuByikmx-cfHi1ozDpF-7yc8eH8EeDDEGbYJA

[Dorian Gray]

53. I have a question about those act blue fundraisers

I was under the impression that they were related to PACs, so I'm terribly uncomfortable sending money to one of them to do the work of a non-profit. Am I wrong???? Are we guaranteed that money will go directly to the people they're raising the money for?

I would love to see an accounting on their pages with a running amount of what they've raised and where it's been spent.

I like AOC and Joaquin Castro very much, and I believe that they will spend this money the right way, but without proper accounting and the Actblue donation site, I'm a little wary.

[NBachers]

57. Both Representative Ocasio-Cortez and Julian Castro say 100% of donations will go to help Texas.

From AOC's ActBlue page, and her Twitter page: "100% of your donation will automatically be split between these organizations on the ground providing immediate relief"

From Julian Castro's People First Future: "We're directing donations to Feeding Texas, the largest hunger relief organization in the state. 100% of your contribution will be sent to Feeding Texas."

Without trying to dig deeper than this, when AOC or Julian Castro say 100%, I will believe that 100% of what I contribute, minus whatever tip I factor in for ActBlue, will go to Texas relief.

[Dorian Gray]

58. I believe them 100%

And I know that Act Blue was set up to be a grassroots fundraiser site to make it easy for people. But I also fear that in the wrong hands, the money could be a little less stable and some people could say they're raising it for a cause but it's going to their own team, instead.

I donated to Castro's fundraiser, as AOC had raised over 3.5 million. I also gave directly to about 6 organizations spread out throughout texas that help deliver emergency aid or homeless shelters.

I am sure happy that people are looking out for Texans. I have a lot of friends down there, and I know they are all good people.

That the government allowed this to happen is another matter. Gah.

[ananda]

51. I just got my power back yesterday after 80 hours and...

Wed night I got a call from one of AOC’s group.
She was so nice and helpful. It felt good knowing
someone cared.

I was literally living in my car yesterday until Austin
Energy drove by and said they were about to restore
power.

I have a 2008 Honda Civic hybrid that idles on the hybrid
battery while recharging it at the same time. I spent
many hours there warming up and recharging devices.

What I really missed most was my electric blanket ...
The last night it was 48 degrees.

All I could do was tough it out. There was a lot of snow
and ice for a long time. Now there are water and food
issues. I never lost water thankfully and have food.
I used candles to see at night and burned down quite a
few.

I know a lot of people had it worse. Texas has a lot to
answer for here. I blame Republicans.

[mnmoderatedem]

55. glad your power is back on and sorry you had to go through that

and kudos to AOC and her workers. So cool they go to those lengths.

[ananda]

56. I know.

I've always liked AOC. She may have been a bit immature,
but her heart has always been in the right place.

She and Beto are huge faves with me right now.