Guns

I strongly disagree with Alfonso for the article "Gun (Texas GovtAM)". http://texasgovtam.blogspot.com/2011/05/guns.html.  Giving permission to citizens to carry firearms with them all the time, have created quiet a few debates before. Carrying a firearm to work place takes it one step further. Work place is known to be a stressful environment where we tend to spend most of our day time. Being under stress and having to work with different type of people could create an environment for someone to react differently in the moment. Having access to a weapon just at the work place could put a lot of people in great danger which should be avoided. Also, as you mentioned, being in gas and oil industry this could be consider hazardous. In my opinion, we should take all primitive measurements to avoid an incident, if it can be.

Prison escape Be very concened

         May 3rd 2011, I had a chance to read the article "Who or what is, to blame for prison escape?"  http://www.khou.com/news/state/stories/khou070927_ac_escapes.1164381fe.html . Through out the article, Fehling really concerned about prison escape problem, especially in Texas. Moreover, he also emphasized that our government should maximize the prison security as well as reduce its cost. According to the article, Fehling introduced the two most shocking truths about Texas prison: the male guards were overpowered by the inmates, and many prisoners walk away from low security facilities. As the result, this leads to the death of Susan Canfield, one of the female guard. The escapees knocked her out of the horse while they fled in a stolen truck. This is a climax, a cry for help from our Government to find a better solution to stop the crime before it gets much more serious.
        Besides, Fehling also stated that prison policy allows prisoners to work in a vegetable field outside the prison even though both inmates were violent offenders. He also offered a really interesting questioning the article “But are the guards and the policies they’re supposed to be following really to blame, or is there something bigger and deeper at fault in a state that imprisons as many people as Texas does?" About the low security facilities, Texas has very few, on average one of the lowest rates in the nation, hundreds of prisoners escape every years.
          According to Mitchell Roth, teacher at Sam Houston State University, accepted that sometimes guards do deserve criticism, like after Gulule fooled them by putting a dummy in his cell bed. “If you saw the dummy it didn’t look like anything from this earth, and yet they passed on it and didn’t report somebody missing,” Roth said.
        Another problem needs to be solved is the amount of prison staffs, there are about 150,000 prisoners in Texas prisons but only 3,000 guards. Low payment is also one of the reason why Texas is shortage of guards. Problem will become worst because this November, our government plan to build three more prisons which would cost a quarter billions dollars. On the other hand, we also need more guards and they need to be trained. Consequently, this project will cost lots of more money.
Instead of wasting that much money to build three other prisons, I think that government should invest that into training the guard staffs to solve this serious prison escape first, well-equipped our prisons and fix some prison policies such as not allowing dangerous inmates work outside of the security range.

"Smoking Ban"

The article "Smoking Ban (http://txjustice.blogspot.com)" posted by Asad on Wednesday march 2, 2011 is on smoking ban and I strongly Agree with him because he is right. Yes! Cigarette smoke absolutely stinks! I, as a non-smoker, fully agree with the public smoking ban, if it were to go in effect. Second hand smoking is a big health hazard and we non smoker should have a choice to live free of it. Public designated spots should be made available and smokers should be encourage to use them. Also, smoke ban will help discourage smokers and encourage the ones who wants to quit. In the long run, a ban would definitely help us lower our insurance cost. People with medical conditions such as asthma, can suffer asthma attack from the smoke. More and more people tend to visit places where smoking ban is in effect. All in all, by banning smoking in public places have many more advantages and will have the positive affect on the society.

Have He Forgotten Our Civics Lessons

Responding to unjustified attacks on lawyers and the judiciary is a major priority of State Bar President Kelly Frels. In this editorial, "The Role of the Judiciary: Have we forgotten our civics lesson?" (Published in the Houston Chronicle; http://www.texasbar.com/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=15724&TEMPLATE=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm), Frels defends Texas' judiciary branch of government.

"In times such as these, we should recognize that judges are called upon daily to rule in cases to protect the rights and liberties afforded to all of us by our Constitution and laws." Frels takes a stand for the judges, juries, and the rest of the third branch who seems to go unappreciated in times such as these. Some judges and their families are even being threatened when the defendant or their family and friends don't agree with the decision made by the judge or jury.

Frels gives examples of cases of judges' family's being attacked and even killed. Our democratic system will become ineffective if judges are worried about themselves or their loved ones getting hurt. They should have the confidence to make their decisions following the rules the legislative branch lays down without the chance of negative repercussions. Frels intended audience is everyone, especially people who have feelings of contempt against any members of the judicial branch. Faith in America's democratic system is all that is needed for this country to run smoothly. Without faith and trust the well oiled democratic machine won't function, especially if one of its wheels isn't turning properly.

The theme of this editorial is "Have we forgotten our civics lesson?” Frels stresses the importance for Texans as well as Americans to go back to the basics and make sure we understand why our democratic system works the way it does and what makes it effective. She reminds us that "Legislative bodies make the laws and members of the judiciary apply the laws to the facts before them." It is extremely important that we must affirm and support our judicial branch as an independent third branch of government because it is a critical part of our democratic machine.

Texas vs. Craddick

Recent evidence has pointed to a growing rift in the Republican Party over Tom Craddick's rule of the Texas House of Representatives. This rift has been caused by controversy over Craddick's favor of special interest groups. In (http://www.austinchronicle.com/blogs/)  in the Austin Chronicle, it is stated that Representative Jim Keffer is 100% sure that Craddick will be replaced no matter which party has the power."The sentiment for change is not personal, members in the Texas House just want bipartisan leadership which is committed to restoring the rules of conduct and fairness," Keffer stated. Keffer, who is also running for Speaker of the House, promised that he will be a Speaker for the members and not just the special interest groups.

Mark McCaig, a State Republican Executive Committee member, believes that the only way to keep a Republican majority in the House is for Craddick to not seek a second term. He believes that Craddick has strayed from the conservative principles that Republicans are supposed to promote and instead promoted a lobby-driven agenda at the expense of issues important to ordinary Texans.

Bill Dingus, the Democrat challenging Craddick for his House seat, says this should not be about political parties. "It's about rooting out the special interests and approaching problems in an honest, pragmatic way."

Obviously, the best thing for the Texas House of Representatives is to have Craddick not run for a second term and give someone else the opportunity to be Speaker that will take an interest in the majority of average Texans, not just the special interest groups.

The author's intended audience is anyone who cares about the upcoming election of the Speaker of the House. His argument is very solid because the author mentions several sources who all think the removal of Craddick would benefit Texans, and he provides a quote from Keffer who stated "Those who served last session remember all too well the four months of absolute chaos that preceded Craddick's last minute claim of absolute authority." This reminder can't be good for the hopeful Craddick.

Guns on campus could harm more than protect

This article is mainly arguing the case against hand guns in public places. This article main topic came about because of what had occurred in Arizona where six people were killed, and thirteen were harmed in the shooting, and what had happened at Virginia Tech were a mentally disturbed student Seung-Hui Cho   killed 32 other people. The author countered these two horrible situations by stating that “And of the incidents that do occur, many either last long enough for armed campus security to respond, or are over before anyone can react”( http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2011-03-01-editorial01_ST_N.htm). Another good point that the article brought up was that most college students usually get drunk and at this moment there judgment become impaired also the article mentions that college students usually have bad judgments .Since most kids who are in college and high school tend to  play first person shooting games  they become so attached to it that they think carrying guns on them is acceptable. If one kid carries a gun on him, then everyone else start to carry guns on them which could lead to the following situation. My younger brother is in high school so every week he tells me a story about a fight that happened in his high school. Next we allow them to carry guns on them for safety, they will abuse their right, because when a person is fighting, he does not think of the outcome of using his gun to harm someone he does not like.  This incident will get parents get scared and start worrying too much. People get hurt and everyone starts to think wrong about the government. We need to change the rule, not for us. We need to change it for the future of this country.
    Last week, I was watching the news with my family and I saw a story about a teenager who was carrying a gun on him and it accidentally went off and injured two 15 year old teenagers. This article is saying that Texas is planning to allow for teacher and students who are above 21 to carry handguns on them but other states did not accept this law and Texas should not accept this law either because it is for our safety and bright future.

Therefore the article has a very reasonable solution which is to “The gunmen at Virginia Tech and in Arizona were both clearly disturbed, but both were able to get firearms and neither was in treatment”(http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2011-03-01-editorial01_ST_N.htm). If we can train students to notice any odd behaviors that the other person is showing, may be we can stop horrible incidents such as Virgina tax and or the shooting in Arizona from accruing.

County considers hotel tax to pay for F1-related improvements

Travis County officials are considering a 2 percent hotel-motel tax as a new approach to pay for road and drainage improvements near a Formula 1 race track. They estimate that this operation will probably cost around $6 million. This is expected to draw 100,000 racing fans to southeastern Travis County annually starting in 2010. Some people are considering that F1 should pay and open a road to the site. Most of the commissioners think that this is a very good and appropriate idea.  Because, we wouldn’t have to pay for the large amount of visitors in our state.  Voters still need to approve how revenue from the tax would be spent. The earliest the county could call an election would be 2012.
    Austin currently collects  9 percent hotel-motel tax, and the state collects a 6 percent tax. The most they can tax on hotel and motel rooms is 2 percent and an additional 2 percent county hotel tax.  The county issued a permit last month that allows developers move dirt on the side of the track. Related buildings begins, organizers must obtain the approvals from the county and the City of Austin before the construction of the track.
    According to Country Judge Sam Biscoe, this idea is planning more that anything else, he said. “if there is a way to shift the cost of road and drainage improvement cased by Formula 1 to patrons of the facility, then it seems to me to be fair to county residents and local taxpayers to do it.” In 2009, Austin had more than 21,000 hotel rooms and 885 rooms in the rest of the country, according to county staffers. Harris County’s 2 percent hotel-motel tax in part plays the county’s debt on the Reliant Astrodome and Reliant complex. The sports authority has its own 2 percent hotel-motel occupancy tax for Minute Maid Park, Toyota Center and Reliant Stadium.