Comment on Priscila's Post

As many people know Texas is known for guns, among other things. Priscila wrote a blog on being able to , with proper licenses, to carry a hand gun. I agree with her point that it is absurd to have this law in effect.  As much as we see that their has been an increase in shootings and an increase in gun violence there was been little to no movement in trying to better this law. I feel that in order for this law to properly work, there needs to be more requirements and more control over who gets to openly carry these weapons. Although some people might be open to this law due to the idea that it might increase safety, it also increasing the amount of gun violence.

Comment on My colleague Berehanu

So on his most recent post, Berehanu wrote over the usage of cell phones while driving. I think that the idea of the police department and of the state to raise the penalty for using a cell phone while driving and while in a school zone is a great idea. This will allow for users and drivers to be more aware of what is going on around them and be aware of their surroundings. We tend to see an increase in accidents and in rates caused by the use of cell phones. The fine for passing a school bus when loading and unloading children should be increased, because one is never aware of when a child may come behind the bus to to cross the street or when kids may appear out of anywhere. It may not be a solution to the use of cell phones while driving but it can definitely increase the awareness of everything that is happening around us,

Will our Child Protective Services get better?

For many problems that we encounter in our life, we try to see if money is an option to fix it. Money is the thing that we rely on to fix at least half of our problems. But why is it that, in order for the children in the care of Child Protective Services (CPS) to receive the adequate care after being abused and after being removed from their families, we see that money is the only way for them to get what they really need.

Texas is willing to tap into its emergency funding and pull fifteen million dollars in order to help the Department of Family and Protective Services fill the gap that they need in order to help these children. As I am reading this article I keep reading that they are hiring a little over eight hundred workers and raising the annual salary of the current workers nearly $12000. Why is it that the money that they are supposed to be using for these children, they are using to give these workers a raise. Yes, it might be key for the workers to stay and not quit due to low pay, but what are the children receiving from this? My question is, why are we not using this money in order to create more community homes for these kids? Or even to help better their education?

On my opinion we shouldn’t be using this money in order to increase the salary of the workers but we should be using that money in order to better the life of these children, especially for those at the younger age that might not fully understand what is happening. 

Public Education at its Finest!

As many families rely on it, public education is at a point where it is hard to keep students at the level of understanding that they need to be. For many families here in Texas, public education is key. It might be due to the fact that many can’t afford to have their children go to private schools, or it may be due to the fact that it is convenient. In the past month, eleven school districts have received notification that the superintendents need training in order to help these low performance schools. As the article states, these schools need to create a plan in order to help improve “low test scores, low graduation rates, high dropout rates, and poor college readiness." 

Although the superintendents are the ones running the school, I do believe that the teachers are the ones that should be talking the training. It isn't the superintendents teaching our students the essentials that they need in order to graduate, it is the teachers. The teachers are the one that are having the one on one meeting with our students. They are the ones that affect and have the most impact on our students.  It is up to the teachers to make sure that everyone single one of his or her students understands the material that is being taught in class. 

We, as students, as parents, and family members cannot put all the blame on the public education system for the mistakes that these students make. We cannot blame schools for low dropout rates if parents are agreeing to their kids being taken out; we can also not blame our school system for low graduation rates if students don't have the mindset that they need in order to succeed. As parents of the new generation, it is becoming harder to educate and discipline our children the way that we would like.  

Therefore, I believe that it isn’t only the superintendents that should be attending this mandatory meeting to improve these school districts, but also the teachers and employees. I do feel that in order for these schools to be more successful, their needs to be communication between parent, teachers and students. 

Texas sees a surge in Latino Voters

In this blog, written in the Texas Monthly, Ratcliffe tells us about the current voting numbers and how Hispanics/ Latinos are changing that. The main reason that we are helping change that is because more Latinos are voting. One of the main reasons that we are seeing an increase in young Latino voters is because as the blog states, “{They} are likely the U.S born children of undocumented Immigrants who arrived in the late 1980s and early 1990s.” The blog has a point, most of the young Hispanic population that is allowed to vote, will vote due to the fact that they fear for their parents if Trump does become president. The issue that most of these young voters and their families fear is the idea that if Trump becomes president all the undocumented people will get deported and the idea of the wall being built to keep out future immigrants. The idea of the wall that trump talks about is clearly absurd. It is just an idea in his head that will most likely not be possible if he becomes president.

I, as one of those Hispanics, did not doubt twice about who I was voting for. My parents are documented but having relatives with no papers, made me vote straight democrat. All though the “odds remain low for Clinton to carry Texas,” the increase in Hispanic voters might have a small chance to change this,  The audience for this blog leans more to the liberal side than the conservative side when it comes to the issue of immigration I the political campaign. It tends to be more liberal because it talks more about the fact that Hillary is closing the gap between her and Trump here in Texas and that there is an increase in the Hispanic population in voting. All though the odds are slim, we don’t stand a chance of winning if people do not go out and vote, and most young Hispanics voters are aware of that and that is another factor into why there is an increase in voters. 

In Texas, Trump Signals a plan for victory

In this article written in the Texas Observer, Patrick Michels gives his opinion on Trumps visit to Austin. He states how everything that he is saying is not supported, and questions the fact that Trump came to Texas (knowing it is prominently Republican and knowing that he will probably win) to try to get votes. He states in the article that “His [Trumps] campaign is a joke.” The author of this article is tackling mainly the way that Trump is starting to present himself and the way that people start viewing Trump. As quoted in the article “…asking why Trump does something is like asking why a bird flies into a window or a frat bro shoots fireworks out of his ass.  Coming to Austin, like just about everything he’s done, doesn’t make sense.” For the most part it is true. He tends to talk so much about immigration and fixing our job situation in America, but he has done nothing to prove that he is actually making a change in the way that our government is currently being presented. I agree with everything that is being said in this article, because as president, Trump does not have what he needs to make these changes to the United States. One of the main examples is the wall that he intends to build and having Mexico pay for it. “A significant portion of his base truly believes he has the power to bring factories back from China, make coal mines roar back to life, and kick out the Mexicans.” These are the things that he says he wants to do, but he doesn’t say how he is working on how to fix these ‘problems’ that he sees in our society. Yes, he has talked so much about the wall, but how is that going to change from the immigration that is caused by Chinese, Africans, French, Indians, and many more. The only thing that he is getting out of the wall is nothing. The one thing that we tend to not realize and tend to oversee is the fact that he loves to talk about the things that make our society so screwed up, but no real effort is seen to change it

Sandra Bland and Police Brutality

On September 16, 2016,. the Texas Tribune posted the most recent update on the police brutality case against Sandra Bland. As many people know, police brutality is a one of the major issues that is circling the country at the moment, and that is seen mainly used with African- Americans. Another issue that comes attached with police brutality is the idea of being discriminatory towards the victim, or the officer. In this popular case, Sandra (the victim) was arrested for not signaling a turn and then was found dead three days later in her holding cell. The family filed a wrongful death suit and is content with the 1.9 million dollar settlement that they will receive. Yet, the settlement is not 100 percent set, due tot he fact that the court is just waiting for approval to give the money to the family, the Bland family, will be happy with the amount that is said for them to receive.In my opinion, I believe that the family should not worry about how much they are receiving for the death of Ms.Bland, but they should be worried about making sure that the truth on how she died is revealed and that it should not be covered up with money. Yes, it is nice to receive a settlement for that amount, but will it cure the pain that the family has received due to her death?