Same Pay More Work

I definitely agree with everything my colleague had to say about the four billiond dollar shortage the Texas district schools had to go through. The Texas legislature should be worring on how to improve education instead of making it worse. Classes should be getting smaller to help individual learning instead they had to unemploy many teachers making classes larger, which only makes it harder on those students that really need that one on one help. It is also unfair for lower income families that have to provide more money for their kids on supplies that they previously didn't have to buy, but now since the school cant afford to continue buying them the parents have to.
The whole process is unfair and everyone suffers from it. Parents because they are having to spend more, yet they have the same job with the same pay. Teachers because they are being unemployed, and the ones remaining have to deal with an increase in class size which makes it harder. Students because they aren't learning as they should. Even the janitors or faculty workers in the schools suffer because their work load just doubled, but their pay has stayed exactly the same.
The Texas legislator needs to reconsider and find a better solution for all the caouse they've made.

Dream Activists

Texas is known to have an immigration problem because it is right next to the border. Many families come here to educate their children where they feel they will have more opportunities. It becomes a hard task to be successful in life if you can't get the career of your choice regardless of how hard they excell in their studies because they aren't legal to work.
I find it outstandingly funny in a bad way how something really drastic always has to happen in our society in order for people to actually pay attention to problems or issues going on in our local government, and take action to make a change.
That's exactly what had to happen in the case of Joaquin Luna, an illegal immigrant student from Mission who committed suicide for a reason we have yet to fully understand, but assume has to do with the rough time he was having in finding employment. Activists in Texas that are known as the Dreamers are using Joaquin's suicide to make a bold statement in their campaings and rally's, stating that they are Joaquin.

The Dream Act that was initially introduced in 2001 benefitting illegal immigrants who had graduated from highschool, and had earned some college credits or served in the military. The Dream Act would allow those students to apply to recieve a legal residency status that way they would be able to use their skills in a career of their choice.
Joaquin Luna's case is perfect for their campaign's because it delivers their message loud and clear. These students should be allowed to persue the Dream Act because these students are studying just as hard as anybody else in University of Texas, and it is unfair for them to be rejected of job opportunities just because of their legal status. It is unfair for them to work hard and feel like it has all been for nothing at the end of the day. I think things should start changing for students. Specially those who work hard.

PLASTIC BAGGAGE REVIEW

I understand why the Mayor wants to discontinue the use of the plastic bags because they are non-biodegrateable, pollute, and fills up landfills as my colleague has mentioned in Texas Government Blogging. I also understand why my colleague feels that we should continue to use the plastic bags because they are inexpensive for lower income households, are used for several different purposes around the household or crafts, and because retail stores already have contracts with companies for the plastic bags.
However, I agree and disagree with both oppositions. I agree with the Mayor that we must put a stop to the usage of plastic bags because they are only costing the city money, that could be used for other purposes, but I disagree in the way that he wants to dramatically put a stop to it all at once. That's where I agree with my colleague because doing so will impact a lot of people and could cause an economic hardship, so I feel that the better solution would be to make the retail stores continue using plastic bags in the mean time until they finish their contracts. That gives us time to slowly stop the usage and educate the people on why they are bad for our city.
This topic as though it may not seem like a big or significant issue for the city to worry about, I feel like if not handled properly it could lead to more severe problems as the one's mentioned by my colleague. My colleague did an awesome job in how he presented his information and on why he disagreed with the Mayor. Great job!

*S*T*A*A*R*

Education in Texas has always been known to not necessarily be the best in our country if anything one of the worst. Better yet to put things in simpler terms we are just not that bright. Well there's plenty the state could do to change that like instead of making budget cuts on education providing more money towards schools. That would give the schools the opportunity to allow more programs for students to attend in and learn in or just providing better materials for their core classes. Our graduation rates in Texas have always been low, and instead of trying to make them higher I feel as if the state is trying to make them lower and is about to start the decrease in 2012. According to the new State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) students in grade levels 3-8 will continue taking their 4 core class exams, but high-school students will be taking 12 end-of-course assessments in Algebra 1, geometry, Algebra 2, biology, chemistry, physics, English 1, English 2, English 3, world geography, world history, and U.S. history. Wow! Long list that I feel is definitely unnecessary. Well the only good news in it for me is that I won't be having to deal with any of it.

However, I do feel that the students who graduate will be smarter due to those exams than those who graduated just based off of the TAKS, but there will be a lot of students who won't be able to graduate because they will not meet the new standards, but would of met the standards of TAKS. So  it all comes down to this: Texas graduates will be smarter than the previous generations, but for awhile it will look as if Texas just keeps going downhill when we really are not. Well at least not in my opinion. Texas needs to combine all resources and not cut budgets on education and that with the STAAR testing combines should hopefully keep us in the game. If they cut the budget and then add a whole new system of testing I'm just scared to see how our state will end up.

I guess we are just going to have to sit back and watch the mistakes be made by the TEA. The STAAR testing system I feel is over the top, but if the state wants to succeed they should provide more money for the schools to be able to keep their students up with the standards. If they plan on cutting back the funds for schools then why change the testing system. Seem extremely pointless. 

So what will the state of Texas do for 2012?

Rick Perry ... Bad for Women?

Going through the lists of blogs I read one that just really caught my eye, Mean Rachel: What a Rick Perry President would look like for women. This editorial is not poorly written, but i just feel as if she's just against Rick Perry in general and is just trying to find anything that would make him look like a bad guy. The editorial is very bias. It's as if she got angry at him one day and decided to write a hatred letter that was never really suppose to be publicly read. Rachel, the author, only focuses on all of Perry's "wrongs" as she sees them because technically they could be a good in someone else's eyes. Rachel's primary intended audience is definitely women. She talks about how Perry is so old school that she even placed him in the category she has the cassette player and an AOL subscription, and how Perry feels that taking care of children is a women's job. In my point of view however there is a controversy on birth control and abortions even within women. I would say that on both topics it is 50 50. Some women are strongly against abortions and would say that Perry's proposals are brilliant and will help the life of women, as for Rachel on the other hand and the women that are for pro choice think differently and fear for Perry to win Presidency someday. They feel as if Perry's proposals to make women that are 8 to 10 weeks pregnant and seek abortion to have to mandatory transvaginal sonograms is just awful and wrong.   Perry also highly emphasizes that we need to practice abstinence and is planning to roll back on health insurances that cover birth control.
I don't necessarily agree with Rachel, but I don't disagree either. I just feel though her credibility through the whole article could go either way, and nothing she said made me feel as though Perry was old school or a bad representative for women. Her argument is very vague and open for very many different interpretations. There will always be people both women and men on either side of her topics such as birth control and abortions. Religion also plays a major factor in some of her arguments because many people are against both topics because it goes against their religion. I have my own opinions on Perry, but nothing in this blog editorial made me think that Perry was wrong for women. Whether he is a wrong for people in general is a different story but that I'll keep to myself for now.

Immigration debates on FIRE!

          Wow! I was reading through the Austin American Statesman, when I came across a commentary (Navarrete: In Need of an Honest Immigration debate) that just immediately brought my attention to some issues that I had been ignoring.  I think that Navarrete did an outstanding job in his argument because he recognized the truth in the Republicans as well as the Democrats, and mentioned their flaws as well. It just really seems to me that he saw the arguments from both sides and just inspected them from every angle. I feel that Navarrete's audience focus was on Hispanic voters, and in a sense enlightening us on the facts that we may not know. I am Hispanic, so everything he had to say I definitely connected to. He  did exactly what he intended to, which was to get Hispanics to want to engage in the political views in our government. Now I am normally not the kind of person that takes much interests in our government and how it works, but I am taking a lot of things into consideration that have been screaming for my attention lately, and my voting status this November will definitely reflect on it. Now as mentioned in this commentary every month 50,000 U.S. born Hispanics turn 18 and become eligible to vote. ( WOW! ) Navarrete's claim on how the Republican Party needed to tone down their regards towards immigration or then risk the possibility of loosing a large growing group of voters here in Texas just strikes me. I feel as if he is absolutely correct Hispanics are growing and could possibly be the majority here in Texas in like a decade, and as Navarrete mentioned, "The Republican Party had better hope these folks have short term memories & don't hold grudges towards those who tried to turn their parents into scapegoats." That's is just hilarious! Another point that got my attention was how it is mentioned by Canseco, "We have a broken system because we have wanted it broken." That phrase just reminded me of the Texas Constitution and how it remains the same way even though it has a lot of proof reading errors. Now i know they are two different topics, but gosh does it just make me wonder how it all may just connect to one another.
          Now everyone has their different opinions on immigration, but in my view Navarrete did a fabulous job in his claim, evidence, and logic. I most definitely agree with Navarrete.  

Funding Slashed for Family Planning

September 1, 2011 was a nerve wrecking day for a great number of people in Texas, not only because of the bills that were being proposed and waiting to be passed law on that day, but because some where already set to take effect on that particular day. Like the Family Planning Funding that was slashed by two thirds for women who take birth control or would like to have a cancer screening. The article on The Texas Tribune "Day 15: Texas Family Planning Funding Slashed" explains how Planned Parenthood use to get funded by the Texas state to provide free or cheap birth control, STD check ups, breast and cervical cancer exams, wellness exams for both men and women, and more to young girls up to the age of 21 and even beyond that if they qualified due to low income. Now, however, any woman that would like to continue taking birth control has two options, which are to pay cash on the spot for her needs of contraceptives or to apply for The Women's Health Program ran by Medicaid. Medicaid is now the only source of funding some lucky young girls have. With all that the government still isn't satisfied and wish to soon remove The Women's Health Program to be used for those purposes. The article goes in to detail as to exactly how much money was slashed from them. This article is definitely worth reading not just because of the budget cut off the state has made towards Planned Parenthood, but because of consequences that have already resulted from this, like the loss of employment of nurses and less working hours. Now with all those young girls that will be going without birth control it is led to assume that there will be 20,500 additional unwanted births. My worries are if they didn't have enough money for birth control itself they probably will ask for Government Support later when their child is born such as WIC and Food Stamps. Will that come out of my pocket? Yes, is the answer so that is why this article is definitely worth reading.