Current Corruption with Delay

I was viewing the article by a fellow classmate in an published article,Our Corrupt Leaders. He argues that former Congressman Tom Delay maybe getting probation for laundering money. This is a serious crime according to our laws. I've have witnessed people getting prosecuted for not paying their child support and they have been prisoned for lack of failure to maintain financial responsibility. But on the other hand, Delay had knowledge of his criminal activity and should be imprisoned. It shows that Republicans are cowards to take responsibility for their criminal actions. Cowards! If I were a juror, I would not show any sympathy to Delay that has no balls.

D for Defend

After the November elections, the Democrats faced a huge defeat by the Republican Party. The victory slogan by the Republicans was "D for Defeat." With this huge victory by the Republicans, it seems there is very little power for the Democrats in the upcoming Legislation. It's mind bothering why so many independent voters would swing with the Republicans during at a time when our local economy was not affected by the last recession. Overall, the Democrats are left powerless in the House, yet remain hopeful in the Senate if the two-thirds rule is not changed. In the Senate, Republicans hold 19 of 31 seats but do not have 2/3 power. If the 2/3 rule changes, this gives the Republican Party absolute power and leaves the Democrats powerless. The Republican Party for 2011 has the scalp positioned to eliminate jobs, pubic education, and health benefits for the needy people. This would be an absolute blow. That is why the Democrats should stand strongly together and help defend their moral beliefs the people they represent. I firmly believe the Republican Party should change their mascot of the elephant with image of the "Raptor." This is only my opinion. I would not bow down to any Republican nor would I walk away because of a defeat, but, I would extend my hand to them to find some possible solutions to our current crisis. I would encourage my fellow Democrats to stand together and defend the people they represent.

Powerless in Texas

I was reading one of my classmates blogs titled "When are backs are turned," about the veto power granted to the Governor of Texas. In his article, he demonstrates a strong argument the the Governor has more power than the legislation given the 10-20 rule under the Texas Constitution. I will agree that we do need a full-time legislation to balance the power between the House, Senate, and the Governor. It's highly unfair to many Texans who need the help of the Texas Government facing adversity. Hopefully in the near future, Texas can establish a full-time Legislation to help bring balance to our Conservative State.

Unwanted Belief

     The Texas Government will be faced with an enormous $25-30 billion dollar deficit in 2011. So many of the state agencies are forced to find ways and cut back their budgets by nearly 15% or more after the actual deficit has been fully recognized. This is a huge problem for many Texans and our state government. The big question is where do we cut back? We don't. Concerns are at the top for many state employees about their jobs and state benefits. Also, state funded education agencies have concerns for students who rely on student loans to fund their education. By slashing state jobs and public education is not a healthy decision for any Texan. Overall, this is darkening nightmare for this CONSERVATIVE state in 2011. Currently, Texas has a Conservative Governor, Conservative Senate, and a Conservative House of Representatives who are stubborn and oppose raising taxes at the top of their political minds. I am not a favorable advocate in raising taxes but I would consider raising taxes by a small percentage. We need to raise taxes to help reduce at least half of our deficit as the Legislation finds alternative solutions to our current problem. Such an action will help prevent an increase in our current unemployment. Students can continue with their education and vocational job training and keep our economy growing versus slowing down. Republicans have always been symbolized by the elephant, which is slow moving and heavy. Lets loosen up the belt and breathe. Texas is a very wealthy state, has 3 of the most populous, and known to have pricey, customized trucks in the nation. I'm sure every working Texan, rich and poor, would not mind pitching a few pennies to their taxes and help reduce half of our deficit. As a native Texan, I would encourage every Republican to remove Con from their title and replacing it with Pre to help preserve our jobs, education, and our homes. By this action of preserving, would be an unwanted belief by the Republicans.

The Harris County Conflict

 What an impressive article by Abby Rapoport  of the Observer.  Abby has written this article about voter intimidation in Harris County from poll observers trained by the local Tea Party Group know as King Street Patriots. King Street Patriots are organized by a conservative group, Republicans, who alleged that there will be massive voter fraud in Harris County. However, the article points to the facts that African-American neighborhoods are targeted with white poll observers and largely white populated neighborhoods have no observers.
 Since the allegations, the local Democratic and Republican chairs, along with DOJ, have trained all the poll observers about the laws and regulations. They ensure that the process will be fair on election day. I'm convinced that all observers have agreed to fairness to and avoid interaction with the voters. In reality during early and election day voting, not every Republican observer will not abide by the laws and regulations that protect citizens rights. That is my opinion on Republican integrity. I'm along the argument with Abby Rapoport because Republicans have always targeted  the minorities. She mentions in the article about Acres Homes, 85% African-American, had white poll observers appointed by the local Republican Party. Several complaints have been made from Acres Homes regarding the poll observers accusing them of intimidation. In the past, there has been history in minority areas that have been suppressed from voting. I would express voters in Harris County to push back back the King Street Patriots. Overall, the article summarizes that Conservative Republicans do not have confidence in minorities. That is the Republican allegation to the Democrats  who represent the minorities of Harris County.
http://www.texasobserver.org/cover-story/the-battle-of-harris-county

A Formal Apology

What an amazing article by the Corpus Christi Caller Times. This article demonstrates how public information is available to the citizens of Nueces, County when an inmate committed suicide inside a public jail. Adan Munoz, executive director of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, released the inmate information to the local newspaper and television station. But according to to Sheriff Jim Kaelin, with the Nueces County Sheriffs Department, mentions that information about the suicide should not have been made public because of an ongoing investigation. Sheriff Kaelin complained to the commission about Adan Munoz's action and the commission sided with Munoz. Since Sheriff Kaelin was unhappy with  the results of the commission, he took his grievance to the District Attorneys Office and Mr. Munoz was indicted by a grand jury for misuse of official information. However, the indictment was thrown out by Judge Sandra Watts stating is was to vague and needed more clarification. I do agree with the editorial panel with the Caller Times that Adan Munoz and the public deserve an apology. This article demonstrates the authority of two public servants doing their civic duty at the state and county levels of government. After carefully reading this article, I can personally feel for Mr. Munoz that his reputation may have been tarnished by a bitter sheriff. The county jail is funded by tax dollars, therefore the residents of the county should be informed when an incident occurs. Furthermore, the sheriff is elected by the county citizens and should inform the citizens when an incident occurs. Since Adan Munoz, an appointee by the commission at the state level, was within his duty to release the information to the local news.
 http://www.caller.com/news/2010/sep/30/public-and-muoz-deserve-apology/

The Triple P's-Perry's Pricey Protection

     Early this summer, Governor Rick Perry went on a out-of-state trip to China, Taiwan, and Korea to expose Texas Business opportunities according to The Associated Press. The cost of security personal expense totaled over $129,000 to protect Governor Perry and First Lady Anita Perry during their 12-day visit. Since Perry in an elected official, taxpayers have to pay the tab for his trip and security personal. What is tickling about this article, attorney David Morales argued that trip vouchers should be kept private from the public.
     This article is worth reading since we live in a world with a human population exceeding over 6 billion people. I am quite sure that citizens of China, Taiwan, and Korea have no idea who Governor Perry is, he's not the President of the United States. I would prefer our tax payer dollars to be used at our local government insuring kids or improving our educational facilities. What do you think? Kids or Trips?
Kelly Shannon, The Associated Press
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/state/stories/DN-travel_21tex.ART.State.Edition1.46f363b.html