Final One

       In his blog, my classmate, Arturo Benitez, discusses the topic of funding the Texas state government receives or the lack thereof. While I agree in the sense that Texas doesn't invest as much as it needs to or should in the education system. This is further evident in the USnews article ranking the Texas education system as number 34 out of the 50 states. We as Texans need to elect people who will invest in the education of our future generations and giving them the best possible opportunity to succeed. The part I don't really agree with is the point that the Texas government doesn't make enough or should increase areas of revenue. The Texas government has a tax it collects from gasoline sales and property taxes and it collects money specifically for education with the lands they lease for oil drilling. Texas has one of the largest state economies in the country, however, we elect people into office who seem more concerned with lining their pockets with money from the fossil fuel companies instead of improving the lives of everyday people. This ultimately falls on our hands (the people) to vote for change and then actually show up to the polls.

Anti-Protest

         In her article, Clarice Silber talks about a bill that would increase the penalty for those who trespass or damage oil and gas operations. On the outside, this may look like a bill to try and deter damages against oil and gas operations however upon further evaluation it seems as though lawmakers are trying to impede protest that involves trespassing onto pipelines and oil sites to prevent further damage and construction. While I agree with the idea of penalizing those who are damaging and destroying others property, in terms of trespassing I don't believe you can increase the penalty on someone voicing their concerns in any way possible to get others attention. The point of protesting is to make those they disagree with extremely uncomfortable to the point they are forced to recognize and at least be willing to listen to the other side.

Marijuana Ignorance

I agree with my classmate Estevan Hernandez's view on the marijuana reform. I am a strong believer in treating drug abuse, addiction, and dependence as we would a mental illness. We need to educate people instead of throwing them in jail where there are countless minorities locked away for minor possession. This systemic inability to separate politics from science and facts creates a culture of ignorance and bias when it comes to issues such as marijuana. The science and facts say alcohol kills approximately 88,000 people a year from over-consumption, marijuana has killed a grand total of 0 people from over usage, yet marijuana and heroin are classified are a schedule 1 drug. This kind of discrepancy in the way the average person and the government view cannabis is the reason so many peoples lives are affected by a small amount of virtually harmless marijuana.

A Progressive shift

     Latinos are expected to surpass the white population in Texas by the year 2020. This shift in demographics could be a gift for Democrats, and the progressive movements as Texas, one of the key Republican conservative states, could finally be in obtainable for the democrats reminiscent of the days when Ann Richards was governor of Texas. This is due to the fact Latinos are far more likely to vote for Democrats rather than their Republican counterparts and the fact voter turnout for Latinos was up throughout the state and has been on a steady incline from years past meaning Latinos are becoming more involved in the political process and becoming more informed as a whole.
     This could be a turning point in Texas politics with the Republican party in power for nearly 2 decades. We are witnessing the social and political shift from the conservative viewpoints to a more progressive liberal viewpoint amongst the Texas population.

The Texas state Senate is hearing a bill that would allow professional licensed workers to discriminate under the notion of “freedom of speech”. The author intends to draw out those who are for the rights of people and against any form of discrimination. While I am against any kind of bill that would make it easier to discriminate, I don’t have confidence in the Texas Senate and least of all the conservative majority that currently runs Texas. The author talks about supporters of the bill and their inability to fully rid the bill of any grey areas instead they were unable to fully constitute what “life-saving” means and how to decipher between what exactly is and isn’t life-saving care. The supporters inability to answer these questions goes to show the amount of research on the actual bill and the logistical parts they put together, instead they are so focused on preserving “Christian values”, because we all know they could care less about any other religion, and further push the boundary of separation of state and church.  

           In her article, Kara Dixon Vuic discusses the recent ruling by a Houston judge that the exclusion of women from the selective service system is unconstitutional due to sex discrimination. Vuic’s intended audience is the people who are politically savvy and well informed as well as more progressive in their ideals. She appeals to her audience through the values of men and women should be on even playing fields, whether that be in the workplace or serving the country on the battlefield. Vuic has the credentials as an associate professor at Texas Christian University.

            Throughout the article Vuic, alludes to the discrepancy when it comes to those able to serve in the armed forces of the country. Men and women are not able to serve in the same capacities as each other, as women are steered towards less combative roles (Does not mean there aren’t women in combat roles) while the men are not steered one way or another. Vuic expresses her curiosity on the matter and wonders if this will hold up or if the ruling will be overturned. She is curious as to what excuses the government will make for keeping women out of combative roles and in essence not putting them in harm's way at the rate, they put their male counterparts. She includes the various excuses previously used by the government such as “they can get pregnant” and “the public would never get over their deaths”.

            Furthermore, I concur with Vuic on the belief that women should be able to and held to the same standard as men. While I do not think they are given a “get out of jail free card” I do believe we as a nation need to have a deeper discussion on the sexist and demeaning values we have as a nation in terms of how we treat women and minorities. Through this article we can see the first step towards the ultimate goal of equality for all, however, this is just the first step in what is going to be a long journey.

In their article, Austin American Statesman highlights the efforts of Kirk Watson to find funding for the expansion of I-35. He points to various ways in which the state could fund the expansion of the highway, however, is facing immense opposition to many of his proposals. Some of the proposals include tolling parts of I-35 to fund the project or even doubling the gas tax from 20 cents to 40 cents. Many opposed to these propositions fear this will exacerbate the already growing problem of affordability in the city with the added cost of living expenses. Many agree while there is opposition to the proposal, this is just the start of a larger discussion on what the state will do to accommodate the vastly growing state of Texas.