Blog Stage VIII: Comment on a Colleagues Work #2

In an entry from my fellow colleague, it is discussed that Texas has passed House Bill 2908 through legislation.  This bill will make consequences of crimes against law enforcement more severe.  I agree completely with my colleague in the opinion that this is an unnecessary bill.  I do not condone the assault of a police officer, but I definitely do not think that there needs to be further severity in the repercussions for doing so.  It is sad but true that crimes against citizens and injustices by police officers have been a common topic in the media.  With the times we are in, I understand that maybe the House thinks they are protecting their officers from angry citizens by passing this bill--but I don't believe this is the way to go about invoking peace.  What should be looked at is the police force themselves, and ensuring that they are serving this country justly.  There needs to be action taken to make sure our police officers are really serving us and not racially discriminating.  Reacting to the ugly injustices committed by law enforcement in this country by threatening to further punish citizens is completely inappropriate and is not solving the real problem at hand.  It is disgusting that there has been so little done for the people and families that have been killed and harmed by the people that are supposed to be protecting them, but legislation is passed for law enforcement seemingly with ease.

My colleague also makes a good point in referencing "Bad Enhancement Bill Boosts Pressure for False Convictions".  If the problem at hand is that we are unable to trust our law enforcement, why are we giving them more power to harm us?  If we can't rely on them to be honest and morally just, why would we trust them to not twist stories around in their favor to put citizens in jail? These are questions that need to be addressed by the legislature.  It has been a reoccurring theme that the governing body ignores the injustices committed against citizens--minorities in particular.  It is long overdue that action is taken in favor of the people that are being oppressed.  These things can not be ignored if we want to live in a country that truly strives for equality,  not just one that exploits different races for gain when it's convenient but ignores the crimes committed against them.  

Blog Stage VII: Original Editorial or Commentary #2

Austin has easily become one of the fastest growing cities in the country.  Austin locals and surrounding rural areas get to experience the repercussions of this fact every day--with heavily congested roads at almost all hours and stagnant traffic on highways.  In most cities across the country, commuters would have the option to ditch their car for a reliable form of public transportation.  Unfortunately, Austin is a city of incompetent public transportation planning.  It is evident that there needs to be a more efficient way to get around the city of Austin.  To alleviate the ridiculous amount of road congestion there needs to be an extensive expansion of the Metro Rail system.  It seems almost obvious that the MetroRail should be a main-focus for city planners--when looking at any city with a dense population such as Austin, there is a highly utilized and efficient public transportation to accompany it.  MetroRail was first proposed in the 90's and officially launched in 2010, but has since seemed to have lost it's momentum and has stagnated as a small "commuter" line.  Originally, MetroRail had plans to convert to a light rail transit system, a form of transportation used by all major Western and Southwestern cities and many cities with similar size and demographics to Austin.  Imagine, a light rail system in the Guadalupe-Lamar corridor--to be on that route at 5 PM on a Tuesday and not be stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic.  There was planning of a light rail system on Guadalupe-Lamar, but has since remained quiet with no signs of actual pursuit. Action needs to be taken to make these plans reality.  Not only for the citizens of Austin that don't dare go to the grocery store or to the bank nearing rush-hour, but also for citizens that don't want to be reliant on a motor vehicle.  No Austin citizen should have such limited opportunities because they don't have a motor vehicle and their city's public transportation is unreliable.  There needs to be a strong demand for the installation of an urban light rail system, for the sanity of the citizens and to make our lives a lot easier in our highly populated conditions.

Blog Stage VI: Critique

In the blog post "Keep Texas Red", the author argues that Texas should remain a Republican state and be ruled under conservative policies.  The author does this by making comparisons to California, stating that overall California's government is "overall more corrupt and inefficient" than Texas and that "by nearly every measure Texas is better".  Although I think everyone is entitled to their own political ideology and opinion I disagree with these claims because they are factually unsupported. To say that California's government is more corrupt and inefficient because it is ruled by many Democratic policies is a subjective statement with no basis.
It is true that the cost of living in Texas is overall cheaper.  It is also true that Texas is business friendly and it doesn't have a state income tax.  The examples given as to why Texas is "better" is only in the economic sense.  There is no discussion of the overall well-being of citizens-- only that the public shouldn't rely on social services from the government because it would be considered a waste.  Furthermore, even though Texas doesn't have an income tax it still compensates for this by having a higher sales tax and property tax.
I don't think that a State should be considered "better" because it doesn't want to use citizens money to fund services to help their fellow citizens.  The author argues that people should "take personal responsibility" if they think the government doesn't do enough to help the poor rather than "forcefully take from others to support your projects and causes".  This argument implies that people in poverty and unideal circumstances choose to be in that position, which is far from true and why the government is utilized to help.  Using words like "forcefully take" also implies that the money used to fund public services is a negative thing--as if a service that helps aid the public for the greater good is a burden and something to resent rather than appreciate.
As a minority in America, I can recognize that life and opportunities aren't as easy to come by.  It is easy to say that opportunities are equal and everyone is able to earn what they get as long as they try.  In present day America it is sad but true that this isn't the reality.  It is easy to say that people need to just "volunteer" their time and "help raise funds privately" as a solution for the poor but this is not the case.  That is the attitude of keeping the rich people rich and poor people poor, an attitude of people that know privilege and can't empathize with those who don't.  It is with the help of the government that creates real solutions for people that can't help themselves.
Another thing to point out is that the government in Texas is extremely misrepresented.  Mainly comprising of middle-aged white males, and with the growing population of Texas the legislator is becoming less and less representative of the citizens that make up Texas.  If the legislator was made up of minorities and people that actually matched the citizens it represented, it is very likely that politicians would stand on the side that looked out for the well-being of the less privileged--aka the "liberal" point of view.

Blog Stage V: Original Editorial or Commentary #1

Planned Parenthood is a non-profit government organization that seeks to provides a number of affordable medical services such as preventative contraception, health screenings and treatments, sexual education and last but not least, abortions.  It is an organization that seeks to improve the well-being and quality of life for the men, women, and youth of our country.  It is a sad but evident truth that for years many Republican politicians in the Texas government have been pushing to reduce or cut funding for Planned Parenthood clinics.  Because Planned Parenthood is a government organization it relies heavily on funding from public health programs.  The cutting of funding for Planned Parenthood would result in many low-income citizens who already struggle financially from receiving the health care they can afford and more importantly, the care they deserve.  The Texas Government is heavily represented by conservative Republicans, most of which are opposed to government funded health care, and are widely known to be anti-abortion.  The majority of conservative politicians that want to cut funding are largely influenced by the fact that Planned Parenthood provides abortions, which actually only accounts for three percent of its services--abortion being a service that isn’t even federally funded.  With this in mind it doesn’t make sense to cut funds for an organization that has only benefitted the health of our society, especially since no government funds go to the service provided that anti-abortion Republicans are so against.  Furthermore, many of the government officials in favor of cutting funds for Planned Parenthood aren’t the ones who would suffer from the consequences of these actions.  Due to the misrepresentation of minorities in the Texas government, millions of citizens that do not have a voice in our government would suffer tremendously.  Without providers such as Planned Parenthood, low-income citizens would have no place to turn.  As an American it is our fundamental right to have access to affordable health care, a fundamental right for women to have a choice, and a fundamental right to have a government that will support programs that benefit our society for the greater good.

Blog Stage IV: Commentary or Criticism #2

Hello!  In this post I will be commenting on a blog post featured on Texas Monthly, "Doctors, Patients Need to Talk About Care Costs".
In this entry it is discussed how often doctors and patients rarely discuss the cost of health care. Much like medical students, or even students with other degrees, don't discuss with their professor whether they can afford to take their classes.  It is kind of an unspoken thing exists, but no one feels they should bring up because there doesn't seem to be anything that can be done about it.  Paying for health care and insurance has been a top concern for any American, and is going to become even more so with the new administration that is likely going to cause health care deductibles to continue growing.  With this being said, I agree with the blog completely in that physicians need to keep this in mind when helping their patients.  With the number one health problem being the health costs, doctors should look for their patients best interest by looking for the most cost effective solutions and giving their patients access to resources to find these solutions.  While deductible costs seem to be out of the hands of doctors, answers that could help their patients financially are not.

Blog Stage III: Commentary or Criticism #1

Hi all, in this post I will be referencing an essay written in the Texas Observer.
This essay is written by the Observer's founding Editor, Ronnie Dugger, who is a highly acclaimed author and journalist.  In this essay he is speaking to the people of Texas, (namely the liberal democrats) and addresses that now is a more critical time than ever to "fight for democracy".  He makes a good point that because Democrats have been out of power in Texas for so long, it seems they have given up in their political drive.  This is unfortunate because all of the history-changing Democrats that have risen in Texas have started from the bottom--precinct organizing at the neighborhood level, which seems to be a forgotten concept.  Dugger argues it is imperative that the liberal Democratic recognize their roles and stand their ground in order to maintain the health care system, fight racism, raise minimum wage, and oppose the many other agendas that politicians like Trump have.  I agree with all the points Dugger makes, especially being a member of a generation that takes little political action.  We are highly affected by policies that are made by people whose views and interests differ greatly from ours, yet we persist to let it happen.  We are extremely capable of impacting our government, but our inaction doesn't allow us to do so.  In order to accomplish anything, it all begins with the individual.  As American's we have to realize the fate of the country rest's in our hands, even if the efforts seem futile at times.

Blog Stage II: Article Introduction and Colleague's Blogs

Hello all!  I'll be referring to this news article, "Hundreds Fill Texas Capitol to Oppose Anti-Sanctuary Cities Bill".

This article refers to the resistance meeting recent anti-immigration legislation, Senate Bill Number 4, being pushed by Governor Abbot and Texas Republicans.  The bill would ban the existence of sanctuary cities (cities that have adopted policies to protect unauthorized immigrants by not prosecuting them, and ensuring they have access to city services) state-wide.  This bill would be enforced by cutting grant funding to any district that doesn't fully comply with immigration jails, and would also combine local law enforcement with federal immigration agents.  As one can imagine the bill raises much distress especially for immigrant families who will be torn apart, as well as any citizen who fears living in a state that supports discriminatory policies.  Over 1,000 people gathered at the State Capital to protest this bill, but despite their efforts the Senate State Affairs committee passed the bill on to the full Senate for further review and possible approval.