I Couldn't Agree More

      I recently read a post from Raymond Waddell titled, How the Legalization of Marijuana Could Make Texas Billions. It is very refreshing to see the support for the legalization of marijuana gaining some momentum in Texas. I am in complete agreement with Raymond on this issue. The ignorance for this issue seems to be very high here in Texas, so it's great to see intelligent people debating this topic.
      Raymond makes several strong arguments in his piece on the legalization of marijuana and I believe that some of these points will be the reasons that Texas becomes a legal state. It is no secret that Texas is very low in the nation in K-12 education and the revenue generated by legalizing marijuana would give Texas the funds to focus on improving K-12 education. The money generated by this could be extremely helpful for the Texas economy, not only would this make Texas millions possibly billions in 5 years but it would also create a substantial amount of jobs for the unemployed Texans. Another financial benefit Raymond mentions is the money that would be saved by releasing the large number of inmates in Texas that are in jail for growing, selling, or possessing marijuana. This is about 20,000 tax dollar for each one of those inmates.
      Near the end of Raymond's post, he mentions some of the medicinal benefits of legalizing marijuana. I think this is another reason that this issue is gaining such momentum in Texas right now. One point raised by Raymond is that marijuana is much safer than anything else available today such as prescribed painkiller or alcohol. Texas needs more well educated, informed, and intelligent people debating over this issue. The myths about marijuana making people violent, lazy, or even overdose need to be dispelled.

Inequality in Texas Again?

      Once again I'm here with another inequality issue in Texas, but this week it's about equal pay for women. From one article I read on The Burnt Orange Report titled Op-ed: Raise the MInimum Wage in Texas I learned that in Texas women are still facing wage discrimination even 100 years after Susan B. Anthony helped women win the right to vote. Texas State Senator Sylvia R. Garcia recently said, "that a woman makes 79 cents to every one dollar a man make and that African American and Latina women make even less." I really disagree with what is happening to women in Texas. Women make up a majority of the work force which only leads me to believe that they are the ones supporting the Texas economy. Texas needs to make equal wages law no matter gender, race, or any other reason. I think that the inequality is unconstitutional and something must be done to help the welfare of Texas as a whole.

      If there anything that the Texas government can do it would not only be to make pay equal for both women and men but another idea would be to also raise minimum wage. This would be the constitutional thing to do but also very beneficial to the economy here in Texas. I know that women  make up a large part of the money being spent here in Texas but yet many of these women fall under the poverty line. This is unacceptable for the women of Texas. Making wages equal won't be the final solution but it would be a huge step in the right direction.

Marriage Equality in Texas

              Equality seems to be an issue in more than one sense right now in Texas. One major aspect troubling Texas that needs to be addressed is marriage equality. I was very interested in the point raised in Jaren Lynch's blog titled, Gay-Marriage Equality in Texas. The point Jaren raises is that no matter straight or gay it's unconstitutional to deny someone the right to marry the person they love. I completely agree with this argument and am glad to see people fighting for their rights. I live with my girlfriend currently and if we decided to marry and were denied by the law of the state we live in that would be extremely upsetting.
              One argument I could think to raise would be, I don't believe that states should have laws banning same-sex marriage if the national government must already recognize same-sex marriage anyway. Our fore-fathers wrote the US Constitution with the intention of making a nation built off of Equality and that is what every American should be fighting for.

Legalizing it, in Texas

        In 2012, according to the Texas Department of Pub­lic Safety, 57% of the 116,634 adult arrests for drug possession, and a astonishing 81% of the 8,132 juvenile arrests for drug possession, were for possession of pot. Consider a low-level offender popped for pot and sentenced to a year in county jail – in Austin that costs taxpayers an average of $38,548 per inmate per year. If Texas were to legalize the use and possession of marijuana and hemp this would not only make the state a substantial amount of revenue but it would also benefit Texas taxpayers by saving them a large sum of money per year. It would also relieve some of the major over-crowding that Texas jails are experiencing. Under Texas law a conviction could follow that person by not allowing them the to go the college, or even get a well-paying job. This is not only detrimental to the people be convicted but also to the Texas taxpayers and even the Texas economy itself. According the Huffington Post, in the first month Colorado topped over $14 million dollars in its sale of marijuana for recreational use. Texas a much larger state could possibly even make more than that.
        Another positive would be the medicinal benefits for cancer and AIDS patients. Marijuana is much less harmful to the body than Chemo Therapy, radiation treatments, or even strong narcotics when ingested orally through food or essential oils and not smoked. There are countless medicinal qualities associated with marijuana including eating disorders, pain, anxiety, and sleeping disorders. The legalization of marijuana could potentially be a major cash crop for Texas farmers and the economy. Some believe that decriminalization is "on tap" for the 2015 legislative session. That is a step in the right direction but there is much more work to be done for the legalization of marijuana in Texas.

A Step Foward

On February 26, 2014 posted by Charles Kuffner,on the liberal blog Off the Kuff, was Federal Judge Strikes Down Texas' Anti-Same Sex Marriage Law which took a look at the ruling of the San Antonio federal judge where he deemed that the law banning same-sex marriage in Texas is unconstitutional. I do believe this posting was very clear on the point the author was trying make. I think the credibility of the post is established by the use of quotes from the judge and other activists of same-sex marriage. The quotes also explain why the decision was made which was also very informative. The author also makes some other strong points using the quotes and excerpts but also in their own words. I liked the fact that this posting was straight to the point and that the author specifies that this does not mean the fight is over but that this is a big step for Texas. There are other postings about the ruling but of all this seemed to be the most well thought out, clear, and informative one I read. I would have liked to see some of what the opposition had to say about the ruling and what they plan on doing. I felt the posting was very one sided in its take on the situation but I did like the overall clarity of the posting in general. I think that a different point of view would have made the post itself that much stronger. I think everyone would benefit more if each side of the view is truly considered and taken into account, instead of being pushed aside.

Is a Weak Mayor Really Better for Austin?

On February 4, 2014 in the opinion section of the Austin American Statesman an article was posted titled, What Kind of Mayor Best for Austin Under New Governing System? This article is explaining that Austin is currently going through a transition in its governing system. I feel that the source used seems to be credible in his opinion. Although, I don't think the author of the the opinion article provided enough elaboration on the thoughts of Terrell Blodgett, a professor emeritus in urban management for the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. There is a clear one-sided point of view as well, I Believe this article would have been more effective with more a in depth look into the pros and cons of each side of the issue. It seems the author's intention was to use Blodgett's opinion to persuade readers to agree that Austin should be a city that uses single-member districts like, San Antonio, Dallas, and Fort Worth. I don't think Austin is like these other major cities but I do think that the mayor having more influence could be a positive thing for the city. An Austin resident with some experience in my opinion with moderate amount of influence would be the best thing for the city of Austin. Overall, I understand the point but some things are left unclear. I think this article should have gone farther into the what are the impacts of the change in the governing system. The conclusion in my opinion the article could have been stronger with some deeper explanation.

Davis Demands Abbott Settle School Finance Lawsuit

On february 10th KVUE posted an article titled Davis demands Abbott settle school finance lawsuit, which outlines one very important point relating to both the race for governor and to the students all around Texas. This is important because it is directly effecting Texas government and about 600 school districts around Texas. It has been ruled by the 250th Civil District Court Judge John Dietz that the major budget cuts of about 5.4 million dollars in 2011 was unconstitutional. After the testimonies ended on friday he announced a decision will be made in the following weeks. Wendy Davis the Democratic front-runner suggested that Attorney General Greg Abbott, the Republican's front-runner should have settled this on going battle already outside of court. This is going to be another key point during the course of this year's election for governor.