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Friday, November 30, 2012

High Five to Texas

I'm spending a few days in Austin, Texas and while I was in the Capitol earlier this week, I came across this sign in a hallway:


The Texas House of Representatives has a committee that does nothing except focus on state sovereignty issues, as guaranteed by the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
Basically, the Texas Legislature has an official "Don't Mess With Texas" committee. How awesome is that? 

Florida's Governor Rick Scott has been adapting some of the good ideas Governor Rick Perry has instituted in Texas (for example, see this article about a new initiative to reduce higher education costs), so maybe he could chat with Speaker Will Weatherford about adding a "Don't Mess With Florida" committee to this list

Addendum: Texans are very, very proud of their state and the Capitol building shows it. There are star logos and "TEXAS" on almost everything, signs, doors, light fixtures, chairs, etc. Here's the view of the rotunda, with "TEXAS" spelled out around a star:


Even the door hinges to the legislative chambers show some Lone Star State pride:


Strong commitment to state sovereignty and a healthy dose of swagger? High five to Texas.

Follow me on Twitter at @rumpfshaker

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for your kind words about Texas. Our Capital is a great building. My father served in the Legislature and I got to see many more places than the general public usually gets to see.
    Unfortunately, the 10th amendment is merely a "truism" without the repeal of the 17th amendment

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