Take a Look In the Mirror

     While reading my classmates' blog, "What's So Great About Texas" , I was happy to see him point out all the bad things about Texas that Texans don't like to mention. Being it is the last blog of the semester I thought I would take a different approach. Since the author of the blog did a great job pointing out Texas' deficiencies statistically, I'll take a more personal approach. I have no problem with people being proud of where they are from. I'm proud to be from Arkansas and there is neither the need nor the time to point out all of the things wrong with that state. The fundamental difference is that we recognize those faults and never try to claim to better than everyone else. Texas is the only state since the civil war to seriously speak of secession. I've had people tell me, "If you don't love Texas leave it!" I guess that suggests Texans don't love America. Some of my own relatives tell me they would never leave Texas because it's the greatest place on earth. The funny thing is that a lot of them have never left Texas. I have traveled a large part of the world and I would urge all Texans to do the same before making such bold statements. I do ,however, like Texas but I am not blind to reality. To all of you flag waving Texans out there, I urge you to look closely at your state's problems and then look outside of your own borders for possible solutions to them. If you truly love something and it is broken you don't ignore the problem. You demand that the caretakers of your object of love repair it. When you fall behind almost every other state in very vital areas it is not in your best interest to separate yourself from them, but to try to forge a closer bond with them. Television commercials that use your Texan pride as a marketing tool absolutely crack me up. Most of us have seen the Dairy Queen commercial that ends with, "D.Q. that's what I like about Texas!". If you base where you decide to live on the presence of a low rate fast food chain other states probably don't want you anyway. Then there' the Ford commercial that declares that Ford is the, "Truck of Texas,". I've got some news for you. The people working in the Ford factories in Detroit could give a shit less where each truck is being shipped. They make them all the same. From an outsiders standpoint, among states Texas is: the girl who thinks she's alot better looking than she really is, the perennial "one-upper", or the person who thinks their shit don't stink. This is not iintended to be a simple rant about how bad Texas is. Just a plea to all of you to make an effort to make what could be the great state of Texas as good as you believe it to be.

Don't Fear the Reefer

     In class we are always discussing the budget deficit facing our state in the upcoming two years. We also discuss the disturbing ways that we will likely go about closing this gap. Most commonly we talk about the cuts on education and health care. I often suggest the legalization and taxation of marijuana as a possible way to at least make a dent in that deficit. It is usually laughed about, but I believe we should look at the real financial benefits of doing so. Most economists and even politicians such as Ron Paul are against the prohibition of marijuana. Economists estimate that the state of Texas would generate as much as 6.2 billion dollars annually if they taxed marijuana as they do alcohol or tobacco. They also say that the we would save 7.7 billion dollars in state and federal expenditures that are used for prohibition enforcement. I don't know exactly how that translates to Texas but considering Texas incarcerates more people than any other state and we have the most active border; I'm guessing Texas makes up a large percentage of that money. Even if it's only 10 % that equates to 770 million dollars per year. Over a two year span that equates to a total of nearly 14 billion dollars in savings and revenue. That is more than half of the estimated deficit. For all of you prohibitionists out there, you are not stopping people from smoking pot by making it illegal. You are only making it dangerous for them to do so. You are also paying for punishing a person for committing a victimless crime. Think about the price you are paying to keep it illegal. If you think it should be illegal, ask yourself why, and then investigate to see if your reasons are justified. This is a situation where being narrow-minded could rob your own child of a quality education, or even cause many children to go without health care. Maybe it's time for a priority check.

Getting More Dumber!

     While reading my classmates blogs, I came across a blog written by Mr. Trevino called , "Who's Paying for the 25 Billion ?". The blog is referring to the huge budget debt the state is facing and the likely methods the majority republican state government will use to close the gap. I must say that I agree with Mr. Trevino and would like to add some additional reasoning as to why these are not good methods. He first discusses the fact that education seems to be the first place the government is looking to make budget cuts.Let's take a look at how Texas stacks up to the rest of the states when it comes to education. These stats come directly from the state comptrollers web site..
#14 Percentage of 4th-graders scoring at or above proficient in math in school year 2005 (40 percent)
#20 Percentage of 8th-graders scoring at or above proficient in math in school year 2005 (31 percent)
#35 Number of schools identified as needing improvement based on adequate yearly progress, school year 2004 (199)
#35 Percentage of 8th-graders scoring at or above proficient in reading in school year 2005 (26 percent)
#35 Percentage of 4th-graders scoring at or above proficient in reading in school year 2005 (29 percent)
#36 High school graduation rates in school year 2002 (68 percent)
#46 Average math SAT scores in school year 2005 (502)
#49 Average verbal SAT scores in school year 2005 (493)
It seems like cutting education budget would be like pourring salt into an already wounded system. It does make sense though. Keeping the education level low creates uneducated laborers, which benefits corporations. The main concern of Republicans.
     Mr. Trevino then points out the next place to make cuts will likely be law enforcement. Texas currently ranks 37th in # of homicides per 100,000 people. This means that you are less likely to be murdered in 36 other states. Texas also ranks #44 in crimes per capita and #39 in number of violent crimes per capita. Seems to me this is another bad place to look for budget cuts.
     According to U.S. census figures. in March of 2009 alone the state of Texas paid government employees a salary of  $1,225,533,903. With those sort of numbers it is hard for me to imagine that better places to make budget cuts do not exist. The people of Texas will , however, continue to vote these people into office. Somebody, please give me an educated reason why! Please tell me soon because at this rate the "educated Texan" will soon be extinct.

When Our Backs Are Turned

     I just learned today of a very disturbing law concerning the Governor's veto power over legislation. The Texas state constitution gives the Governor the power to veto bills that have been passed by the legislature.
Though this a very powerful tool I believe it essential, and one of the few things that strengthen the generally weak office of Governor in this state,but it seems it is being used in an unfair and dishonest way. Once the governor receives a bill he has ten days to veto, if there are still ten days or more remaining in the 140 day session. If there are less than 10 days remaining the Governor is given 20 days to veto. Once the Governor vetoes a bill the Legislature is given the power to vote down the Governor's Veto, requiring a 2/3 vote to do so. The problem with this law is that it is being manipulated by the Governor's office to take the power of voting down a veto out of the hands of Legislature. Once the legislative session has ended, the legislators go home and no one is there to vote down the veto. Governors often wait until the last day available to them to veto a bill so there veto can not be overturned. This essentially makes our Legislature powerless. These are the people we vote into office to protect our interests in government. We should be very concerned that constitutional laws can be used in such a dishonest manner. Clearly the intention of the law is to provide the Governor more time to make decisions on bills at a time when his or her desk tends to be a little crowded. The law is definitely not there to strip away the power of the Legislature. This is especially crippling to the legislature due to the fact that the Governor alone has the power to call for a special session. This means that if the session has ended when a veto takes place there is nothing that the Legislature can do about it. This could potentially cause a very unjust law to be upheld for at least two years, until the Legislature meets again. The argument has been made that Legislature should not wait until the last minute to submit bills to avoid this situation. I believe that this frame of mind would cause Legislature to prioritize every issue presented to them and could cause some issues to be overlooked all together. I also fear that some complex issues may require the entire session to address properly. If this is the case it places the most important issues in the hands of one person. The situation could also arise where an important issue does not come to light until late in the session. I, for one; do not want Legislature making hurried decisions about anything. I can think of two possible resolutions to this problem. One possible solution is for Texas to adopt a full time legislature. The other would be to allow the legislature to call for special sessions to deal with these issues. Maybe a 2/3 vote would be needed to call the special session. Something has to change since it is apparent that no Governor will call a special session to have his own veto overridden

Let us Pray for Tollerance

     In a blog written by Fred Witzell, in " The TexasFred Blog", called, Group wants prayer cancelled at city council meetings, Texas Fred attacks a group, known as the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF), for supporting a citizen who wants the opening prayer conducted at city council meetings to be stopped. This article is obviously directed toward the conservative members of the community. He is extremely biased and seems to be a bit immature when he makes statements like, " She just needs to shut up." His motive seems to be to paint the woman as a god-hating citizen who is trying to corrupt the community. He specifically cites the constitutions statement about the government should not interfere with the free practice of religion, but doesn't religion then owe the government the respect of not interfering with government proceedings. He himself also states," No restrictions are placed on religions except perhaps that a religious denomination cannot become the state religion." doesn't it seem that that would apply to a city as well. It is apparent to me that conservatives are behind freedom of religion as long as only their religion is free. If the city council led an Islam based prayer to begin each meeting would he not have a complaint? Would the (FFRF) then become his friend or would he simply, " Just shut up!"? Let's keep in mind that a lot of these people screaming for freedom of religion are also condoning the burning of the Koran. It seems to me that throughout history religion mixed with government has been the driving factor behind almost every war. I am a firm believer in God, but I belong to no denomination. I don't believe God cares how you pray only that you mean it when you do. So let us stand, kneel, bow or heads, or whatever you prefer; but don't deprive your city of the possible good  ideas of a citizen by forcing them to do the one that suits you best.

A War We Can't Win

     I have always believed that the "War on Drugs", was and still is a war that cannot be won. I find it very frustrating because I can't understand why a government would label a substance, illegal, and then spend billions of dollars seeking out those who sale, transport, or use the substance. That only leads to the additional costs of punishing, housing and feeding these so called criminals. It seems so illogical for a country or state in such financial turmoil to spend so much money trying to stop something that they simply can not stop. I do, however, understand that all reasonable people, including myself, do not want there children exposed to drugs.I don't want my children exposed to alcohol either, but I can't watch a football game without seeing a dozen commercials glamorizing alcohol use. As, what some would call, a liberal Democrat I have always taken the same stance on drug use. Legalize it and teach responsible use (or non-use) at the family and community level. I would be very worried if one of my children were using drugs, but the fact that law has dictated that getting some pot involves interaction with a pistol packing fugitive worries me much more. As frustrated as I have been with this "War", I have been encouraged by the recent changes in marijuana laws that are taking place around the country, even here in Travis County. It seems that conservatives have been the major opponents to drug legalization. I have always contributed that to there supposed moral and religious beliefs, but it seems to contradict so many of the other things they stand for. An article in the Austin American Statesman, Drugs and Conservatives, does an amazing job of pointing out those contradictions. The article is directed toward conservatives. It attempts to explain why the war on drugs is detrimental to the success of other things they are trying to accomplish. The author makes several good points about how the war on drugs weakens our defense against terrorists and strengthens terrorist factions. One of the major sources of Taliban income is the protection of opium fields. Immigration is another issue that could be eased by legalization of drugs. Many immigrants come to America fleeing the violence created by drug prohibition in their own countries.( Most of these immigrants are coming to Texas). Gun control advocates would have less of a reason to press for gun control if drug related shootings were to go down. There are so many reasons to end foolish effort. Lets take the estimated 88 billion dollars this is costing our country and and our state annually and spend it on other foolish things like education, homelessness, or medical research. Great article! Conservatives, I beg you to read it with an open mind.

Democrats gaining ground

     A Texas Observer article, "Have Texas Democrats Already Won?", points out the reralistic chances of  Democratic candidate Bill White winning the race for Governer. It tells how recent polls show that the margin between Perry and White is rapidly shrinking. The article sites the fact that Texas has become a non-Anglo majority state as big reason for Whites projected success. The voting pattern is begining to reflect the demographic, giving Texas Democrats a reason to be optomistic about the future. Even if Perry wins in a close election this will be a victory for the Democratic party. There is a nation-wide belief that Texas is an unbreakable Republican stronghold. A strong showing for White in the polls may begin to shift the point of view of candidates for national positions. Most Democratic Presidential candidates put little effort into campaigning Texas because they view it as a lost cause, and Democratic candidates for congress usually get very little national support. Maybe a close loss for the Texas Democrats will be thier biggest victory in a long time. http://www.texasobserver.org/purpletexas/have-texas-democrats-already-won