Government: The Heart of Texas

Response to Comment on Health Insurance

2008-05-09T22:51:00.000-07:00

In the blog Texas trying to survive without health insurance in The Heart of Texas the author reaches some good conclusions regarding healthcare in Texas. Not only do they track the sources of the problems “the cost…Medicaid”. The fact that the state of Texas has one of the largest percentages of uninsured men, women and children is bewildering to me. How can a prideful state such as Texas put so much concern on issues such as oil but so little into an important issue little health insurance.

Marijuana laws in Texas

2008-04-24T19:47:00.000-07:00

Texas is desperately in need of marijuana reform laws. Our government puts forth millions of tax payers’ dollars to be spent on the war on drugs, mostly used for marijuana prevention, money that could be of better use put towards a multitude of other thing such as education. Much more heinous crimes are being committed everyday that the Texas state law enforcement agency could concentrate their efforts on and better spend their resources (money, manpower and jail space) on. The fact that almost half of all drug arrests are for marijuana rather than for widely used addictive drugs such as cocaine or heroin which can be and often are easily overdosed on. Texas’ prisons are already overpopulated and understaffed, for more arrests to be made because of marijuana than for murder, rape, robbery and armed assault combined just seems ridiculous.

There have always been certain people who dispute the decriminalization of marijuana because of its supposed negative side effects, but in the last several years many state’s laws are changing and politicians are beginning to accept the benefits of marijuana use. The state of Texas however is far behind most other states in its position concerning the possession, use, and distribution of marijuana. In the last year Texas has made one small step reflecting a shift in policy that at one time never seemed imaginable in Texas, House Bill 2391 states it is up to the individual officer’s own discretion as to whether or not he/she will place an offender possessing less than four ounces of marijuana under arrest, even though many cities don’t recognize this law. This new law does not change the level of the offense or the severity of the punishment but has been estimated to save Texas’ jail systems millions of dollars, nor does it take any step in the direction of recognizing marijuana’s benefits.

Harmful drugs that can kill people or cause great harm to their bodies are legal such as alcohol and a very long list of prescription drugs. There is no doubt that marijuana has its negative side effects on the body such as cancer or asthma and it can also impair one’s judgments or slow their natural reflexes. If the government can find a way to properly monitor and educate the public on the uses of marijuana it can greatly benefit from the outcome; happier citizens with cleaner criminal records, heightened economy through hemp products (gasoline, clothing, paper, etc.), broader medical abilities, and one more item to place a high tax on. I don’t feel as though Texas should aim to remove all penalties or boundaries regarding marijuana, only to accept the potential usefulness of it and take steps towards making the many constructive uses of marijuana possible.

Response to Solar Power in Texas

2008-04-11T16:51:00.000-07:00

Jason Lundin’s commentary regarding solar energy use in Texas is very well written, it states the writer’s stance on the subject very clearly. I agree with his opinion that the use of solar power should be more widely encouraged in Texas. He does a good job of including further direction as to where he thinks the project should move in the future. Also the writer addresses the perspective of someone who might disagree with him.

The Money in Texas has been very misdirected.

2008-03-28T20:25:00.000-07:00

For so much money to go to serve the purpose of lobbying and paying the legislature while there are so many counties struggling for money in Texas is absurd. I know in Hays County they are very in need of money, the police department targets the college kids in the city because they are the ones that have money to pay the city or at least their parents do. While the students are doing their part in the community by spending money in shops and boosting the economy, they are being targeted to spend more.

Our Government instead of placing limits on the amount of political spending they make their money up elsewhere like in the form of taxes and fees. After studying lobbying it revealed the corruptness that exists in the under workings of the Government, now bribing is legal as long as you are a registered lobbyist. With the population growing especially in big areas such as Austin and San Antonio more and more schools are needing to be built and expanded on, but because a lack of funding for repairs some schools are being closed at the same time.

Most people don’t have a clue what the majority of the money they pay every year in taxes goes directly to, but for a candidate to reveal and repair these injustices would be a huge issue. Yes some of the money in campaigns is donated or raised but a lot of it is pulled from groups and different agencies that really shouldn’t have to be spending it. If you don’t play the game in Texas and spend the necessary money you and your policy goals will never make it. Texas candidates claim to need so much money to run a campaign in a state the size of Texas, but their name recognition could probably be raised by spending the money that would be used on the campaign to change the direction of big spending in Texas.

Injustices in America

2008-03-04T21:07:00.000-08:00

"Judge accused of DWI still will rule on cases" by Guillermo Contreras and Elizabeth Allen in the San Antonio Express News refers to a current case pending concerning Judge Raymond Angelini. I feel as though this article has been published to reach out to the public and make them well informed of the injustices that exist in the world today. If I were a criminal in his court I would be livid when a judge who is no better than I, who shows the same respect for the law as any average criminal, tries to condemn me for my actions. If this case finishes up and this judge gets off because of his position as a judge or is allowed to keep his job it will only be further proof of how corrupt our judicial system is, I'm glad that Texas has some legitimate employees like the police officers that he attempted to convince into releasing him but refused.

It is ridiculous that somebody who is supposed to set an example for the public is allowed to break a very serious law and not only be allowed to keep his high municipal career position, but he has also received special treatment during the whole ordeal. More background information related to his case and arrest is available in this article also written by Elizabeth Allen.

Do they feel as though a tarnished reputation is enough of a punishment for someone with such a high status, because I sure don't. The punishment for a person in his standing should not be more lenient, not even held comparable to, but harsher that for that of an average citizen. How can he sit up on his pedestal and scorn someone who has broken the law possibly even a law more minuscule than a DWI or a similar charge like a DUI(driving under the influence) which some drunk drivers are given.

He has been disqualified to judge on any cases related to a DWI (driving while intoxicated) for the time being, but he will continue to reside over all other cases. In many school districts you are not able to get a job as a teacher if you have such a charge on your record, which doesn't make much sense because it has nothing to do with that career path, it's not like teachers are so high profile that an issue like a DWI would be made so public or be released to the newspapers. This judge is allowed to keep his job where he is responsible for accusing people of their wrong doings and punishing them for what they did, but this man is able to commit a severe, life-threatening crime showing his level of respect for the laws that our government has put in place, the very laws that he has been hired to enforce.

How will the recent minority majority effect Texas?

2008-02-20T20:16:00.000-08:00

I know the targeted audience in which this article Battle for Texas Latino vote challenges conventional wisdom is referring to, this year I have been bombarded with information regarding all candidates whether I'm walking around campus or at work. As a registered Latina voter in Texas I plan on voting in my first presidential election, before this year I never even paid attention in the primaries and have always been fairly split on the whole Republicans versus Democrats. I've always been under the impression that in such a large state/country one vote can't really count for all that much, but this article gives not only Latinos but everyone it refers to a reason to believe that their vote counts. With new groups of voters to appeal to in a big state such as Texas this election is bound to be an interesting one, Texas' demographics have been changing in increasing numbers in the last several years, and the youth of today seem to be much more interested and active when it comes to politics. With Texas as a newly minority majority state, because of natural birth rates and immigration, the large numbers of different races will play a very active role in this election. Throughout the article the author Juan Castillo who has a typically Hispanic last name (though I would hate to make an automatic assumption that he is), did a good job at remaining unbiased by not particularly showing favoritism toward one ethnicity, nor did he discriminate between one candidate or the other. This article refers to an "antipathy" that they claim exists specifically between blacks and Latinos they say that this dislike may be a cause for Latinos not to vote for Obama, I believe this is an incorrect accusation. Maybe it's a generational thing but this "antipathy" is something that I have never know to exist, at least not anymore than the incorrigible battle of men against women which would affect Hillary, or the stereotypical racism between African Americans and Caucasians. This article is jumping to some conclusions about Clinton's lead with certain voters and the changing of the tides for Obama; the primaries haven't even arrived yet, only time will tell.

Legislature passes new animal bills

2008-02-07T20:27:00.000-08:00

Laws have recently been instated to protect animals and their victims, by making the pet's owners more liable for attacks and making the punishments harsher. Also, stray animals will now be protected like the domesticated pets in animal cruelty cases. It's about time that justice is finally being delivered to the sick people that train animals to deliberately hurt/kill other innocents, or who starve and torture their pets. Man is paying his bestfriend back for years of companionship. It had previously been that if you were busted watching a dog fight in which dogs brutally tear each other to death you'd get a ticket for a class C misdemeanor, which is the equivalent of a speeding ticket, now it is a much more serious class A misdemeanor. This article "Legislature passes several animal bills" was interesting because it is surprising to find out that animals can affect the theme of a legislative session and get several bills passed.