Keeping Texans Safe?

I read an editorial by my fellow classmate Carleen about Texas sobriety checkpoints. She makes a really good point about how drinking and driving is very dangerous and ties in Texas drinking culture with it. I think that people needs to understand the true ramifications of drinking and driving.

I completely agree with her that we should enforce alcohol laws and prosecute DUIs more harshly. She says that " Texas needs to enact a no tolerance policy so that repeat offenders are not given the chance to kill innocent people. " and I completely agree. If we strictly enforced alcohol laws and gave harsher sentences to DUI offenders, we would keep our roads safer. 

I believe that the bill that is being proposed to establish more sobriety checkpoints is the right steps but its not enough. I believe that  Carleen would completely agree with that. I think that people should drink responsibly and that whether we like it or not, the government should make sure that just because someone else has a bit too much to drink won't put everyone else in danger. The bars should also make sure that people do not get drunk and drive. There should be some sort of law to deal with that.

I hope that someday we won't have to discuss this issue further because society has gotten more responsible and cleaned up their act. Unfortunately, thats mostly a wishful thinking. For now, sobriety checkpoints is a good start. 

Texas Should Do More To Protects Its Borders

It is no secret that Texas shares the largest border with Mexico. It is also not a secret that Texans are tired of influence of Mexican drug cartels in Texas, especially in the border towns. Governor Rick Perry has recently said that Texas will fight back and I completely agree with him. Mexico is riddled with corruption and the inability of the Mexican government to do anything about its problems is affecting Texas and United States in general. I believe that we should issue an ultimatum to Mexico. The time to stand aside and let people get killed over drugs has to stop. Texas and Mexico are its biggest trading partners and in order for that to continue, both the Mexican Government and Texan Government must do something about it. I think Texas should enforce stricter punishments for drug trafficking as well as human trafficking.

My methods might seem harsh but it is necessary to protect Texas as well as Mexico. Time and time again we hear of Texans getting killed in border town as well as in Mexico just for being there. Rick Perry should also ask for Federal help in order to protect Texas and America in general. Our policy towards Mexico is strict but is not strict enough. I believe that we should also give incentives to Mexicans to curb violence. For example, we can increase our trade with Mexico if they cut down on violence. This will ensure that both Mexico and Texas is safe from drug violence and we can continue having a prosperous relationship with our neighbors.

Politcal Apathy

I had a chance to read an editorial titled "Completely Lost". The editorial raised an interesting point about political apathy amount Americans, especially when it comes to regional politics. It is well known that voter turnout in the US is one of the lowest in the entire world. It is sad yet true that many Americans feel the same way that Kylah, author of Completely Lost, feels. She feels as if none of the parties truly represents her and that "politicians should not be trusted". I appreciate her honesty and straightforwardness, however, I believe that in her post she should have suggested solutions to the problem. The excuse that someone is too "busy" to follow politics is a tired and cliched one. In this modern day and age, news is easy accessible and taking 5 minutes daily to inform yourself of current issues is easily doable by checking the internet, watching the news, etc. Maybe if Americans spent a little more time trying to educate themselves about politics than watch reruns of American Idol, we would live in a better and more educated society.

The Governors Race

This years Governor race is heating up between incumbent Rick Perry (R) and former Mayor of Houston Bill White (D). Most polls tend to point towards Rick Perry and for a good reason. Although Bill White is a very capable politician, Rick Perry has done a lot for Texas since his time as a governor. Texas is one of the strongest states in the Union. In fact, Texas is one of the few states that survived the recession which is amazing because of how big the size of the state is. Texas also gained the most population within the last decade and has had steady employment rate. Sure, Rick Perry isn't responsible for every single of those but his policies and influences has had a lot to do with that. His stance on the border fence is commendable because he does not want to put up a fence that will hinder trade between Texas and Mexico, its biggest trading partner. Rick Perry has helped bring Toyota plant to San Antonio which earned him the endorsement from San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, a Democrat.

Texas is poised to become the strongest state in terms of economics and research in the next decade. Out of the potential candidates for governor, Rick Perry is the most qualified to make that happen. However, Texas still lags behind in education which I believe Rick Perry should try tackle the education of Texas children a bit aggressively. Texas is only as good as its citizens and education is one of the most important contributing factors in becoming a good citizen. Rick Perry can definitely lead Texas towards the future and help reform education to come up to standards and overall be a good governor.

Rick Perry's Political Machine Is Selling State Government

In the Burnt Orange Report, there was an article about how Governor Rick Perry approved a $4.5 million award to a company that was founded by one of Perry's major contributors.The biggest problem with this award is that the company failed to win the endorsement of a regional screening board. Perry's representative said that there were no conflicts because " the law establishing the tech fund allows applicants to appeal decisions by regional reviewers". The opinion that the writers at at BurntOrangeReport had was that it was illegal and Perry lied about being able to give the award. They did their research and found out that there were no mention of law in such appeals. This blog piece did not have too much editorial but a lot of text from news clips were highlighted to show their viewpoint. It is obvious that Burnt Orange Report is supporting Bill White for the governor's race this November. They also posted a video highlighting Perry's corruption during his tenure as the governor of Texas.
I do agree with Burnt Orange Report's viewpoints that Governor Perry should not have awarded the money without proper endorsements.It is especially bad since the founder is one of Perry's major financial contributors. I think the blog should have tried to find a source or some opinion that balanced out their anti Perry viewpoint but this is obviously a liberal blog.This November race is going to be exciting and with different blogs trying to influence the constituents, it would be interesting to see how much effects do these blogs really have and what are their opinions after the election is over.

Dallas News Recommends Dewhurst for Lt. Governor

Dallas News has recommended current Lt. Governor David Dewhurst to be elected again for the third time during this November Election. Dewhurst has been the Lt. Governor of Texas since 2003. Dallas News feels that since Dewhurst has invaluable knowledge of state agencies which would help alleviate some of the state's $21B budget deficit. They also feel that he has a sense of fairness and can help "spread the pain around".

Dallas News also believes he did a good job with state's water, transportation and educational issues. He hasn't killed bills that would help the state grow. They feel he is better suited than the Democrat nominee Linda Chavez-Thompson.

In my opinion, I believe that Dallas News is right in recommending Mr. Dewhurst to continue being the Lt. Governor. I haven't been in Texas long enough to know any other Lt. Governor, however, from what I have seen, he has done a good job. During a time when a lot of states has faced many issues, Texas has stood strong. It is one of the reasons why many people has moved to Texas. I agree that education, water and transportation are important issues to Texas. Texas is one of the fastest growing states and its infrastructures has to be updated in order to meet the needs of the new population.

I believe Dallas News was targeting the general Texan voting population and trying to influence them to vote this November election and vote for Dewhurst. Dallas News does a good job of engaging its readers and providing solid evidence. How influential is this editorial? We might have to wait until November to find out.

Source: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/editorials/stories/DN-dewhurst_1004edi.State.Edition1.16713bd.html

Gov. Rick Perry Criticizes House Minority Leader & Supports Tea Party

Governor Rick Perry has criticized the House Minority Leader John Boehner over his statement that he would vote for Obama's plan of raising taxes for certain Americans. According to the Statesman, Governor Perry has said that he is supporting Tea Party candidates that won the primaries in Delaware and New York. The support of Perry highlights the growing division among the Republican party supports between its more vocal Tea Party supporters.

Perry believes that the Tea Party stands for what the Republican party stands for, which is "fiscal conservatism" and "small government". However, the Tea Party has been known as very outspoken on several issues and has been portrayed as bigoted, racists, and even as a fringe group.

Perry's support of Tea Party candidates and his criticism of the Republican House Minority Leader should be concerning for the GOP. Perry is a favorite to run for the presidential election in 2012 even though he has denied it on numerous occasions. We should closely follow his support for other candidates and his position as he runs for reelection this November against former Houston Mayor Bill White.

Source: http://www.statesman.com/news/texas/texas-gov-perry-criticizes-gop-leader-boehner-922047.html