I thoroughly enjoyed the article, “If I wanted to be a Trash Man,” my classmate had written. I enjoyed it solely because it was very informative and filled with numerous amounts of facts. I liked how the author brought attention to the bag ban, and the dangers it can ultimately have. The author of the article explains to people, the dangers of not washing your bags after you have had raw meat in them.  The author expresses that not a lot of people know that they must wash their reusable bags, leaving a whopping majority of 97% of people being susceptible to bacteria, such as e.coli.  He claims that if you wash your bags, you are eliminating 99.9% of bacteria.

In this article, the author expresses his/her resentment towards the new bag ban, and honestly I can’t blame them. With the hard on facts they provide such as, “There are also no environmental benefits to banning plastic bags — but there is potential harm. Compared to cloth bags, plastic bags require less energy to produce and less energy to recycle and produce less municipal waste. Plastic bags generate fewer greenhouse gas emissions and require less water to produce than paper bags. Cloth bags need to be used 104 times before there is any environmental advantage over plastic bags. But most cloth bags are used half that amount. Reusing cloth bags can also lead to cross-contamination and disease." I find these explanations to be solid and valid reasons as to why they are not for the bag ban.

What is my stance in all of this? I am not for the bag ban, because I honestly miss grocery stores giving me bags. One positive to the bag ban I have noticed though - especially in my apartments, there are no more bags lying around haphazardly like they used to be. Although that is one positive, like the author explained, there are many downsides to having this law in place. Like the author, I find that having this ban on bags is overall, inconvenient. Furthermore, I loved their article because it will remind me to wash my bags, because of the potential harm of not washing re-usable bags can cause. 

Legalizing and Implementing Casino’s In the Great State of Texas!

In recent times and in the past, there have been great debates on whether or not Texas should legalize gambling in this great state.  I believe that Texas should legalize gambling because it would be beneficial for the state, primarily financially. Currently, an estimated 3.1 billion dollars is going to our neighboring states. This money, which would be at least a billion dollars in revenue, can go to things such as for schools, college grants, and roads. The money that could help many, would stay in Texas and help the economy overall.  In terms of the economy, I believe that it will be even better, because of the money it will bring. There are many points to consider as to why Texans should be allowed to gamble, these include but are not limited to: tax revenue, job, and huge tourist attractions-leading to business. My main point of focus is the money. Why not allow Texans to gamble? People are already putting billions of Texas dollars into other states economy; why not help our own economy by legalizing it? So, if this is such a good thing, why has it not been implemented? There are two difficulties that stand in the way of the legalizing of gambling to pass legislation. One being Rick Perry and the other complication are the religious Baptist groups. The reason as to why the Baptist groups are not for gambling is because, they think it is unmoral for people to gamble, solely because they believe it may cause addiction. Suzii Paytner who is the director of the Baptist Christian Life Commission says, “…it preys on the poor and caters to impulse…” As for Rick Perry it has been noted that he is opposed to the idea of the legalization of gambling in Texas. While this is their belief, my belief is that people should have the right to choose. As former State Senator John Montfor believes, “We feel like the people of Texas are smart enough, educated enough and certainly savvy about what’s going on that they ought to be able to decide this issue for themselves.” Maybe in future legislative sessions, many will have the option to say yay or nay to gambling in Texas. One way that may encourage the legalization of gambling in Texas would be by petitioning. On the website   www.lettexansdecide.com, one may represent their wants and beliefs by petitioning the legalizing of gambling in Texas. Few may ask the question, does petitioning really work? My opinion on this matter is yes, it does.  Petitioning works because politicians want to know the public’s opinions  and also petitioning on certain matters allows for the general public to get involved and know what is going on. So, get involved and let your voices be heard on your beliefs by petitioning.  In a poll done by  KXAN, out of 500 people statewide, 64 percent of respondents said they have traveled to other states to gamble while living in Texas. All bordering states - Oklahoma, New Mexico and Louisiana – have casinos. That is a lot of people leaving the state and putting billions of dollars into other states economy! Isn’t it ironic that we Texans have to go to other states just to play Texas Hold ‘Em? So, let’s end the irony and allow gambling in Texas! Furthermore, I think we should all get involved in any way we can to help make Texas a greater state by allowing people the right to choose whether or not gambling is right for them.

     Honestly, I do not like to bring up racial issues, even though I know they exist, but I would rather like to tackle a different aspect to the issue that my fellow classmate whose blog is called, Texas Politics of "Todayand Tomorrow" had brought to my attention and maybe to many others, without discussing the issue of race. What I do want to bring to other people’s attention is that lives are taken away every day and being taken away at gunpoint while the other is unarmed is not right. I want to acknowledge the fact that things happen and when they do, they should be punished accordingly and fairly. One thing my classmate’s blog had discussed was a young teenaged boy named Marley Lions. He had expressed that Marley Lions was killed, just like Treyvon Martin, but was given no media attention or coverage, like his supposed somewhat same case counterpart, Martin. These teenagers are alike because they were both the same age and were gunned down, while being unarmed. Unlike Lions, whom again, I had never heard of before my classmate had mentioned him, had died at the hands of a grown man, but had no media coverage. I wanted to point out my opinion; my opinion is that I hope that Lions receives the justice he deserves, because at the end of the day, he was a young man with so much to live for. And, just like Martin, I believe he had a life to live, many may disagree but as the saying goes by Oscar Wilde, “every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.”  Although, my classmate has a different outlook on the verdict of the Treyvon Martin case than I do, I hope that with Marley Lions’ case, his case and family will receive the justice that it deserves.  Because things like this should never happen to any child whether it receives the wrong or right kind of media attention or not.

     Overall, I loved my classmate’s blog, it was very informative and I loved the fact they questioned why Martin had so much media coverage and the other victim did not. I believe the reason for this is to stir up things in our society, and stirring up things, it did. On a lighter and happier note, I also believe this case brought a lot more people being aware of our political system and even more wanting to get involved with the political system trying to understand our laws, such as the stand your ground law, and many others, in the hopes that situations like these do not happen again!

 

 

 

Why People Should Support Bill HB866 and Waive NCLB!

There is a new bill that is in talks of being passed, and has to do with education and the wanting to waive the No Child Left Behind Act, and this bill is called HB866. This bill is still being considered and its optimum goal is to lower the amount of testing a student will take before going into high school. The amount that students take before entering high school is 17, which is a lot of standardized test. After hearing about HB866, it had me wondering what is No Child Left Behind? And why are there so many people that are against it? So, I decided to see why a lot of people did, and do not like the No Child Left Behind Act.

No Child Left Behind has been around a long time and this bill came into effect on January 8^th 2002, meaning so far it’s been in effect and around a little over a decade. This bill is not liked by many according to the NAEP.US, because it did not improve academic performance, and students made greater improvements before No Child Left Behind was implemented. Also, No Child Left Behind somewhat ruined educational worth by lessening the curriculum in many schools and by centering its attention on partial abilities using the standardized test. This act has failed many because it relies on uncharacteristically labeling and endorsing schools. Although the HB866 is a bill that wants to lower the amount of testing a child will do before they go to high school, I believe it will not fix the problems that many are facing, but I do think it is a step into the right direction!

     “TheMexican Abortion Option” written by Charles Kuffner, is an article about what would really come of women’s health now that the new abortion law has taken place. Kuffer suggests that women will be more at risk than ever before give or take six months, for the effects of the new law to be acknowledged. Kuffner believes more women will be in danger due to an alternative pill called misoprostelol. He believes the main issue with the pill is that many women do not know the legal dosage to take, simply because pharmacists do not know the proper dosage either, leaving women taking the wrong dosage and dying.

     Throughout the article Kuffner offers readers many sources, which back up his claims that this new law on abortion is dangerous. Lucy Felix, a community educator declares, “The only option left for many women will be to go get those pills at a flea market,” Ms. Felix said. “Some of them will end up in the E.R.” Another source in the article, who works at a clinic that may soon be shut down because it does not follow the new guidelines for abortions says, “In nine years and thousands of abortions… the McAllen clinic has sent only two patients to the hospital, both for readily-treated bleeding."

     Furthermore, by Kuffner offering his audience numerous amounts of sources, it shows his credibility. Solely because it indicates that he did an extensive amount of research on the subject before writing the article. Kuffner also shows he is a credible by offering the price of the pills, an actual woman who has just had an abortion, and workers at the clinics that may soon be shut down. With all of these sources in one article, it is hard to discredit him for all of his noticeable effort and extensive research that was concocted together.
    Kuffner’s intended audience is any and everyone who knows someone that is in their reproductive years. With the estimated deaths that are to be expected, due to the new laws that are in place, this can happen to any female. Many people do not know the facts, and that is what Kuffner offers when he expresses the feelings of actual women that work at these kinds of places.  I would also say that I agree with what Kuffner has written about abortion and this "go to pill". I think there will be more deaths because more women will try to take matters into their own hands and die because they don’t have the proper resources or guidance.

The article, “The Top Ten Things I Will MissAbout Rick Perry” written by Cindy Casares, is an article that actually pokes fun of the governor of Texas, Rick Perry. When you look at the title, one may think this article is about the praising of the governor for his many years as governor, (whom he just announced his leaving of office on July 19, 2013). But, in this article you will find the author jokingly giving actual facts about the soon to be former governor.

In this article, the author uses sarcastic humor. Although, the article is funny, it is also quite informative. I believe anyone who has no idea or clue as to what Rick Perry has done, or who he is as a person, should read and watch the videos provided in the article Casares has written. Casares did an extraordinary job at making the argument that Rick Perry was not fit to be the governor of Texas in the first place.

Although, I would like to agree with the entire article, one thing that I did not like was the author’s mocking of Perry’s proclaiming that he’s a Christian. As a Christian myself, I liked how he was not ashamed to profess his beliefs to the world. One thing I can agree with the author on though, was the fact that he took his beliefs a little too far, when he briefly brought up his views in regards to gay people. My belief is that we should love everyone, and gays should have rights. Other than that, I believe Casares did an amazing job, on the examining of Rick Perry as a person and governor.

Casares’ targeted audience I believe is every Texan, young or old. It is targeted to everyone, because every Texan was affected by this, solely because Rick Perry has been our governor for over a decade! I also believe Casares did an amazing job at providing valid and hilarious reasons as to why she and others should be celebrating the departure of Perry from the governor’s position.

One thing that should be noted is the credibility of Casares. She is a very credible person. She has many accomplishments under her belt, which include: being a columnist for the Texas Observer, editor of a blog called Guanabee Meida, the holder of a master’s degree, and has even spent ten years in New York City as an advertising copywriter. With the list of accomplishments which doesn't seem to cease, I find her to be a very reputable source. Furthermore, while I find her to be a very intelligent woman, she still offers readers an easy and understandable view into the world of politics, which I admire. With her article piece on Rick Perry, she allows any and everyone who is interested, a chance to be a part of the political world.

The article, “When tampons are outlawed, only outlaws will have tampons," written by Charles Kuffner, was interesting. This article is about tampons being taken away from women before they can enter the Texas Senate Chamber, in regards to the hearing of the abortion bill. I found this article to be enlightening and hilarious, even the author stated, “this is one of those things you just can’t make up.” In which honestly, who would have thought that one day women would get their clean and unused tampons taken away from them, for so called safety procedures. This leads me to thinking what other rights are slowly being taken away from women? With the abortion bill that everyone is talking about, to more minimal things happening like tampons being taken away. We as women need to stand up for our rights, because it seems like slowly and surely, people are trying to take them away from us.