Commentary on Blogging out Loud's post The first use of Pentobarbital on a Texas inmate

I agree that Cary Kerr does not really have any room to talk about the method of sedation used in his execution. I feel his appeal is a insult to the person he raped and murdered that Kerr feels he has the right to retort to the states choice of sedation method used in his execution. If it was up to me Kerr would not have the privilege of being cognitively absent from his sentence, a luxury he denied his victim. Also I do not believe he is in a place to regard himself as a higher state of being than my pets, they are much better behaved and civil than he has shown himself to be.

House Bill 15: Sonogram before abortion

Tomorrow the final vote for house bill 15 will take place. This bill states that women who are wanting to undergo a abortion will have to have a sonogram 24 hours before the abortion. Since its birth the bill has taken many changes to its original form including that women who live in rural areas will not have to wait 24 hours to have an abortion due to transportation issues, also women will be given descriptions of the development of the embryo or fetus and have a chance to listen to the heartbeat. Women also have the option to forego the description of the embryo or fetus and forgo the audio of the heartbeat.

I personally do not agree with the idea of abortions but I also do not believe my opinion should have an effect on another person’s choice. This bill is a way for politicians to hinder the abortion process due to personal opinions on the matter, so as I do not condone abortions I never believe it is right for people to use politics to inflict their opinion onto someone else. I think informational services should be present as an optional choice for the mother but if a woman wants to blindly walk into an abortion they should have that choice. Many women who have abortions develop in later years severe depression and I think making this process so intimate for the mother and potential child would just add to this problem. And that’s how I feel.

To Carry or Not to Carry Critique

Politics Are Bigger in Texas blog has a post titled To Carry or Not to Carry written by saphia alami. This post shows the two apposing views on if concealed handguns should be allowed on college campuses. The first view is that people should be allowed to carry concealed handgun on college campuses for self protection. The opposing view argues that concealed handguns should not be allowed because it would promote violence on college campuses and could lead to shootings. To carry or Not to Carry efficiently shows the writers personal feelings on the issue and how both views on the issue have valid points. Concealed handguns on college campuses could work if colleges were to closely regulate who is qualified to carry a concealed weapon. If someone decided to start shooting people at a  college campus they would not hesitate because they do not have permission to carry the weapon on the campus.

Texas Legislature in Need of Change

Texas is one of the few states still using the bicameral legislative session. This current Texas legislature is based on the needs of Texas when the presently enforced Constitution was written. The Texas legislature is only in session every odd numbered year for 140 days. Even though special sessions are limitless in the Texas legislature it would be more efficient to give Texas a full time legislature.  This would help with planning things such as the state’s budget since the legislature would no longer have to plan out a budget two years at a time giving the state a more relevant budget.

Currently Texas legislatures are some of the lowest paid legislatures in the country earning a meager $17,920 a year for a regular session. For a group of people that are planning out the future of our state and making important decisions on the future of our state this amount of compensation is ridiculously low. And if the legislature session would be extended to a full time legislative session a increase in legislatures compensation would be even more necessary. Also if the compensation was raised it would bring in better qualified candidates for representatives of the legislature.

The Texas Constitution should be amended so that the legislative is better equipped for the states needs today rather than the needs of when the Constitution was written. The legislative sessions should be lengthened to year round sessions. Also the legislatures should be better compensated to match the amount and importance of work they put in.

Critique of Rainy Day burden is on Gov. Perry

The Rainy Day Fund has been a topic of many conversations recently. In David Jennings Blog site Big Jolly Politics he discusses Texas politics by layout the facts and to give different views on issues from conservative, republican and liberal view points. In one of his blogs titled Rainy Day burden is on Gov. Perry David Jennings discusses the Rainy Day fund and the possibilities for its use. The Rainy Day Fund consist of $9.4 billion set aside for if the state experiences a budget shortage. The main point addressed in this blog is if the Rainy Day Fund is necessary to implement or if Texas just needs to find ways to cut down on spending to make up for the current $4.3 billion shortage in the 2010-11 budget. Also stated in the blog is that the Rainy Day Fund is only in place to fix a budget problem when something has gone wrong so the use of this fund in the 2012-13 budget is out of the question if more money is need taxes will have to be raised to make up the difference. I think Davis Jennings has a good point when he says that it makes sense to use the Rainy Day Fund in this instance because a budget shortage like the one we are experiencing is exactly what it was but in place to deal with. Also the cuts that would need to be made to make up for the shortage will be extremely hard to place. In the end it makes most sense to use the Rainy Day Fund for the shortage since that is why it was put into place if not now when would be an appropriate time.

Anti-immigration sentiments play into redistricting efforts critique

Bob Ray Sanders a seasons journalist of over 40 years wrote a commentary in the Fort Worth Star Telegram titled Anti-immigration sentiments play into redistricting efforts. Sanders compares the voting rights of slaves to those of illegal immigrants. He states that “Making the intellectual link between slavery and illegal immigration isn't hard” And stresses that Texans are only trying to repress minority groups. The main argument presented in this commentary is if illegal immigrants should be counted when deciding the correct number of seats in Congress Texas should receive. He also states that since the Constitution does not specify only counting legal citizens that people who are non citizens of the state of Texas should also be considered as long as they exist within Texas.

I disagree with Sanders when he says that a link between slavery and illegal immigrants is one that can be envisioned with ease. Slavery refers to captive workers of the south that were recognized as property not as humans with rights. On the other hand illegal immigrants are widely viewed as human beings with rights and who even hold the right to vote just not in this country based on their level of citizenship. Since these people are unable to vote in this country to represent them in Congress would be contradicting the fact that they are unable to vote. And for that matter if Texas is to count every person physically present in the state where do we draw the line for who is counted? With this rationale we would include people visiting Texas from other states and countries since we are not placing regulations on which people are count.

Eminent domain bill

On Wednesday the Texas senate approved a bill that would strengthen protection for Texas property owners. This bill states that property would only be able to be seized under eminent domain only for public use. If the initial project has not started up within 10 years of when seized the original owner would be able to buy the property back. Also the bill states that the government will be obligated to pay a fair amount for property seized. The bill is currently being passed on to the House of Representatives for further consideration. More information can be found on this subject though a article posted on the Fort Worth Star Telegram web site.