Still Holding Strong!

The blog I read was, Curious Cat's Guide to Texas Poltics by Rob Catledge. Rob wrote the same article I did for blog 7 but we both had different view points. Rob didn’t voice much opinion about Arizona’s new law he focused more on that Austin should be more focused on Austin itself and not about other states. He did say though that we should just sit back and see what really happens with the law and not be quick to judge Arizona. He also said Rasmussen poll showed that 70% of Arizona voters favor the new law. This shows me he did research on the topic. He believes that the boycott shouldn’t even be taking place and that Austin city council job is to worry about Austin business not other people. Rob also doesn’t understand why Austin is trying to tell residents of another state how to run their state.
I respect Rob’s argument and see the point of telling Austin to be more focused on its own regular day to day activities. But like I stated before I don’t agree with this law at all racial profiling is still a big deal in this law and they can’t just send officers out there and ask them to make a decision between who is legal and who isn’t. That’s not what they are train to do and can’t be taught that either. Even though Austin has its own problems, banning travels from Austin to Arizona is still smart because maybe other cities will follow and won’t be scared to voice their opinion. We know that Washington and San Francisco already are doing the same kind of ban and those are big cities. Rob believed we are jumping on a “bandwagon” just because these two cities did it and I don’t believe that’s the case I think we are trying to send out a strong message that not a lot of people support this law.
The idea of not sending city officials to Arizona to protect them from incidents like being question or any racial profiling is smart. But Rob said that “What makes him think the environment will be hostile? Are the police stationed on the corner, accosting everyone who walks by? Will they breakdown doors and interrupt dinner to check on immigration status?” Maybe they won’t be but we aren’t sure and we don’t want to find out if we send these city officials there and something bad happens before we have to ban it after so we might lay down the ban of traveling now before something bad happens. I think many people still stand strong on that the law should be removed and not enacted at all and hope the federal government can do something about it.

Austin cutting all ties with Arizona?

Austin City Council is preparing to limit city travel to Arizona and ending business relations with the state also. In the article by Sarah Coppola it says that Austin will protest the new Arizona law that will give law enforcement the right to arrest anyone who the suspect is illegal. The law requires that people must carry immigration documents to prove they are here legally and it is a crime if they do not carry these documents with them at all times. "The law is overreaching and does not represent values that we care about or possess," Austin City Council Member Mike Martinez said. People in Austin believe it is important to send a strong message to Arizona and show them that this law is unconstitutional and not what Texas stands for. Governor Rick Perry also stated that this law would not be right for Texas. Which the state of Texas has been known for rejecting harsh immigration laws. Mayor Lee Leffingwell will introduce a resolution on travel and business ban that the council will decide on may 13th. Other cities like Los Angeles and Washington also are getting ready to set a ban on the same ideas of traveling and business. San Francisco already had banned city officials from traveling to Arizona. The city of Austin doesn’t have any information about how many business trips city employees take to Arizona or if they have any business ties but they are working on getting that data together. Two Texas law makers who were not named said they will introduce a same bill when the legislature meets. Perry said on Thursday "I fully recognize and support a state's right and obligation to protect its citizens, but I have concerns with portions of the law passed in Arizona and believe it would not be the right direction for Texas." Perry believes Texas should instead focus should be on border security. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told the U.S. Senate that the Justice Department review is underway to determine if the law is unconstitutional. Leffingwell said that he usually doesn’t like to take a stance on stuff outside Austin but, "Arizona's legislation potentially has a direct impact on our employees, and is generally so offensive that I believe it demands our attention."
I believe that Austin is making a good decision to protest and ban business traveling to Arizona and any business ties they have with the state until this law is removed. This law takes effect in August and will require law enforcement to detain people who they think are illegal without any documentation. I think this will lead to racial profiling, even though the state said they are training their law enforcement not to profile the people which I think is not even possible. I’m glad to see Perry not support this law because a lot of states already made it clear they want nothing to do with Arizona and it is the least liked state right now. If Texas were even close to passing this law if or when it is proposed like the article said there will be a huge back lash to a lot of political figures who support this. This will also affect Texas in the future like we learned in class that in the near future Hispanics will be the majority of the population in Texas and people will have to run campaigns that will appeal to them. This is not a smart move for any state to do because of the rise in population of Hispanics. Even though Austin might not be able to cancel every trip to Arizona or lose all contact with them, it shows Arizona that we and many other cities don’t support them and it will hurt in the long run and this will help our city officials from being in such a place where they can be stopped and asked information.

Immigration in Texas?

One of my fellow classmates, Kristen posted an article about Immigration In Texas. She states the article says that illegal immigration should stop and Texas should take control and make their own laws since the Federal Government isn’t taking any actions yet. There weren’t many facts in the article stated about the status of immigration in Texas and she didn’t go into detail why she supported anti-immigration. She did state though that the Migration Policy Institute has reported that over 1 million illegal immigrants and their children reside in Texas at this time. This is a very big number for that many illegal immigrants to be living in Texas. I do agree with my classmate on some extent to the subject. I think we should have a better plan to stop illegal immigrants coming into our state. But I also believe a lot of these immigrants hold jobs that many other Americans wouldn’t be willing to do such as construction. I believe the illegal immigrants that are already here in Texas or anywhere in America should be able to get citizenship so we don’t have this problem and they are paying taxes which seem to be a important issue in this article. I know this very hard to get all these people citizenship but we should try to get as many as we can. People want to come to America and get their kids better education and live better lives so we should be able to give it to them but yes we should also do it the right way and stop people from crossing the border with fake social security numbers and passports. It is hard for me to pick sides on this issue just because my parents were immigrants and I wouldn’t have the things I have today without them coming here. But I do believe we need to have laws to stop immigration but not get rid of the existing ones right now.

Perry Getting Smarter?

Texas Education Agency says the high school drop out rate for Texas is 10.5 percent. This might all change on what Perry is trying to do with a new text book system. The article in the Austin American Statesman by Kelley Shannon says that Rick Perry is trying to replace text books in schools to online technology. Perry believes that text books get out of date quickly sometimes even before they reach the schools. Perry defended his education record which isn’t great comparing numbers to other states. Perry also says that using computer software to teach students will allow schools to update curriculum and students can learn technology. Perry also wants the switch to be done cost effectively and I don’t know how that would happen without spending some big bucks. Texas is already testing the waters in this area, they let some schools last year spend their text book money on electronic instructional materials. This plan could also be great for students who don’t have computers at home which would teach them technology.
I think this is a great idea for the Texas government to adopt. First students will be able to learn new material rather than what is in the old books in some of the school systems today. When I was in High school a lot of the books were way out of date and didn’t provide information to what we need to know in this new era. For Perry this is clearly a re-election tool because of this track record of education compared to other states is below average, but also a very smart idea his term in office hasn’t been great but this could be a step forward to insure that many people in high school graduate and don’t drop out. The four year graduation rate is only at 79 percent and this could help improve the rate. The only problem is that the government will have to reach in to their pockets and find money to fund all these public schools computers for all the students but this would eventually pay itself. Some students don’t have the opportunities’ others do at home where some students have access to computers. These students without computers at home can take advantage in school and learn technology as it is being used. I think for the first time in a while Rick Perry is taking steps to improve our school system and insure people that students will be getting the best education. I hope that Texas can come up with a way to help our high school students for the future.

Religion In School? No Way!

The article I read was written by Ryland Barton in The Texas Observer. The article is about rumored cuts of historical figures from the Texas public school system and how to relate religion into history classes. The State Board of Education (SBOE) brought in two people to give their opinion about religion in history. One of the men appointed was Reverend Peter Marshall. Marshall believes that “high school classrooms should explain that critical documents like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are products of Christian values.” Marshall operates Marshall Ministries in Massachusetts and stressed to the State Board of Education, “the Constitutional values of universal human equality are derived from God.” In his review of the Texas Education Knowledge and Skills curriculum (TEKS), Marshall stated, “Religion in America produced the first written civil documents of governance.” The second Christian advocate to be hired by SBOE is David Barton. Barton was also former vice president of the Texas Republican Party. Barton gave an in-depth review of minority historical figures that should be in the TEKS curriculum. Barton also suggested the removal of Anne Hutchinson, Carl Sagan, and Colin Powell from the historical figures list. Barton also stressed the use of religion in the program, he said students be taught “inalienable rights as being those rights given by God.”
Ryland Barton is happy that the first amendment is tested, but also believes even though the words “creator” and “under God” are used in the Constitution we shouldn’t put religion into school and it doesn’t belong there. Ryland Barton also states that most people view these documents as historical information not connected to religion. Barton gives an example that in the first amendment it states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” This law was made to protect people to follow religion freely and no one religion has to be followed. I believe the authors audience is all of the parents in Texas who have children that go to school and also the students them self. The audience is also people who aren’t religious and don’t follow Christianity so they may be concerned. The author’s credibility is opinion based but he does make good points about the 1st amendment in the Constitution and this supports his ideas of not having religion in school systems because it is forcing each student to follow one faith which our country does not impose.

Rick Perry a hypocrite?

The article I read was a commentary in the Austin American Statesmen. The article was written by State Rep. Jim Dunnam. In the article Dunnam says that Rick Perry is a hypocrite to Texans and lying to all of the public. Dunnam states that Perry has been one of the longest state employees in the state of Texas for about 20 years full time and 6 years part time. Dunnam quotes Perry in the article when Perry says, “I'm anti-government, I'm an outsider,” and Dunnam says once you say something long enough and loud enough people must think it’s true. He believes many people don’t know how long he been in the Texas government. Dunnam states that Perry is a hypocrite first off by saying that Perry lives in a 10,000 dollar a month, taxpayer-funded mansion, yet he is against out-of-control government spending. Dunnam says how in a recent article Perry refused to allow Texas schools to compete for federal “Race to the Top” funds which are over 4 billion in grants, "Keep your money!" Perry yells, "We Texans aren't having you tell us what to do!" But reality is that over the next two years Perry just signed a budget that Texas will accept $65 billion in federal funds all with strings attached. Dunnam also says his “art of deception” can best be seen when he handle the stimulus plan, when Barack Obama signed the stimulus bill, Perry personally requested and received $14 billion in federal money. Then Perry spends the next six months loudly rejecting over $500 million in stimulus unemployment funds. This resulted in Texas with a $1.6 billion short fall in the Federal Unemployment Trust Fund and Texas faces highest state unemployment tax rate in 20 years. Dunnam also states how when Perry hand-picked education commissioner, Robert Scott he said before the House committee, “(The) thing that actually got me pretty excited was not just the stimulus money... There is another pot of money coming called 'Race to the Top.' This focuses on some really high goals and getting states to compete against each other to meet those goals for kids." Now both Perry and Scott are ignoring the issue like it was never said since Perry campaign theme is "all things Washington are evil." Dunnam then gives facts about our school system in Texas and how since Perry has been governor that Texas is number 2 in public school enrollment, but 49th in teacher pay, 46th in SAT scores, 50th in residents with a high school diploma, 41st in high school graduation rates and 47th in state percentage of state revenue spent on public education. Dunnam ends his argument with what he believes is that Rick Perry is trying to advance his political career and not think about the good for Texas, and how Perry says he against Washington yet he still takes federal money and hides it behind his loud words. I think Dunnam’s audience is all the Texas public who cares about school system and how Rick Perry is lying, maybe not all the time but to make it look like he is the good guy in the situation and everyone else outside of Texas is bad. Dunnam wants to inform the reader think before you vote for your governor and how all these stats about our school system compared to the rest of the 50 states. The author’s creditability seems strong even though its much opinion based article he does prove some facts from other articles written about Perry and gives detail about the school system rankings. I can believe Dunnam because is the chairman of the House Select Committee on Federal Economic Stabilization Funding, so if anybody should know about funding in Texas he would be the first one to turn to.

Perry Takes Lead

The article I read was in the Austin American Statesmen called, Newspapers' poll: Perry has comfortable lead as voting starts, the article was written by Jason Embry and Corrie. The article is about people that were polled who they support for governor in the upcoming election for Texas. The article states that Perry has 45% of likely Republican primary voters, while only 29% backed U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and 17 percent support Wharton activist Debra Medina. Just 8 percent are undecided. The survey was conducted by telephone on February 2^nd-10^th. Blum & Weprin Associates conducted the survey. Perry as an advantage in his campaign because he leads all regions of the state and in every demographic group. 53 percent of all voters surveyed said the state is on the right track. GOP voters overwhelmingly list economic and budget matters as most important; it also states that Texas is in a better economic condition than many other states in America. There also chance democrats can win the election, head to head matchup Perry only has a 6% margin lead over Democratic front-runner Bill White. The poll of 1,508 registered voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. The poll of 464 likely GOP primary voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points. This article is important to the reader because it helps us Texans understand who can win the election and how we can also outcome the elections if people go out and vote.