response to "Because I Said So"

I am writing in response to Erin's column "Because I Said So." I couldn't agree with you more on how our state is held together by an unchanging document. This is not the late 1800's and government policy should not reflect that period in time. As I have learned this semester our state constitution is not one to be proud of. How do we fix such a tattered document when it has been tried before? Pondering on Politics raises some good questions about how long this binding document of goverment can last.

Will the President Elect damper Texas's Heavy Industry?

Its no joke that one of President Barrack Obama's main goals once in office is to curb America's dependence on fossil fuels. The question yet to be answered is will this upcoming federal regulation of greenhouse gasses affect the Texas and not to mention other state economies? Because of the amount of coal and natural gas power plants in Texas, as well as chemical and oil refineries, Texas's economy could be significantly affected by this future regulation. Texas Governor Rick Perry has urged for the same example that Texas has set at renewable energy, to be copied at the Federal level. Texas has chosen the route of increasing its wind power development, rather than regulate greenhouse gasses.
However if change is what the new President-Elect is about then perhaps it will be time for such states like Texas to begin regulating their greenhouse gases. A good example of non-regulation would be the Martin's Lake coal power plant, just outside of Longview TX. This plant is argue ably one of the top ten dirtiest in the nation, with smog reaching clear to the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex. Just recently Texas Energy giant Luminat (formerly TXU) was notified that the Sierra Club intends to sue for thousands of air pollutant violations.
Perhaps Texas's economy will be hindered by this new regulation; but it seems the most moral direction to take at this point. Oil, coal, natural gas; these resources are not going to be put on the shelf and forgot of anytime soon; but they can be made better, cleaner...regulated. Texas has a budget surplus of well over $11 Billion, perhaps its time that Texas considered drastically improving its energy infrastructure.

Democrats on the verge of a Comeback?

Texas has been a Republican state for close to thirty years now. With Governor Rick Perry serving in the highest office in the State, for close to a decade and with aspirations to serve more than a decade; it's a little hard to digest the fact that the Texas Democrats are even remotely close at knocking the Republicans off their high-horse. However what seems like a party's long run at state domination, is minis cal in comparison to the Democratic Party's domination of the State Government. From around 1870 on up through 1960 (rounded off) Texas has been a democratic state. That dominance could be on the verge of another breakthrough. A growing assumption is that sentiment of the Republican Party at the Federal Level is now spilling over into the State Level. Of course there are always going to be the hard line voters who only vote democrat or only vote republican, but for everyone caught in the middle; lets face it; voters are mad over the condition this country is in, and they want action. Again this is an assumption but across the board, federal and state, republicans are going to lose some votes, due to the problems facing this country at the federal level. Texas Republicans had better brace themselves for this tsunami of Democratic appeal. Perhaps the biggest foretelling of this "changing of the guard" is the simplest indication: Money. The State Democrats have raised in the last month close to 3.5 million in funds, while the State Republicans have raised 1.3 million in funds; it should be mentioned that Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick has been the biggest contributor to the Republican Party, giving $200,000 to the Party and $500,000 to his political action committee "Stars Over Texas." The State Republican Party's back is against the wall, and it is clearly possible that the Republican dominance of the State could be up for grabs in the next election.

We'll hold down the ranch...Ya'll go have fun!

An article printed in the October 10th issue of the Austin American Statesman by an unknown author, describes that life isn't so bad for us folks back home during the Texas OU RedRiver Shoot Out....no to be politically correct, its the Red River match up. However if your from the part of the state where the author of this blog is from; Denison TX, you'll hear a different "tall tale" of what the Red River Shootout is.
None the less, Austin residents probably found it a little easier to navigate around Austin during the Texas OU rivalry weekend, according to the unidentified author. Apparently the author wasn't planning on reaching out to all of those 46,000 Longhorn fans that went to the game, about how nice it is to stretch the legs for a weekend. A noteworthy claim, but a claim made in denial, and made to make us all back at home feel a little better.
Furthermore, economics is brought into the picture. The amount of money that is brought into the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex for the weekend, is more than needed. However the author has done their homework, with every UT home game bringing in 26 million to Austin, we can afford to kick back and stretch our legs here.
Once again, not a bad article on the author's part, but deep-down inside this person is wishing that he or she were at the game. Good job on making the roughly 700,000 other Austinites that couldn't go to the game, feel a little better. Unfortunately, now its back to the stop and go traffic of the biggest little city in Texas.

Taking out the trash....

In an editorial by an unnamed author in the American Statesman, the new Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo is cleaning up the old corrupt ways of the Department.
The citizens of Austin will be well informed by this editorial that police officers fired for bad conduct, will have a tougher time being re-instated. The unidentified author also goes on to say that favoritism; something which ran rampant under former Police Chief Stan Knee, will not be tolerated. No matter who the officer is, if the use of force is proved to be excessive, strict punishment will be implemented for the officer in question.
This editorial stems from the 2006 case of Austin Police Officer Griffin using excessive force on a 24 year old mentally ill man, at a bus stop. Joseph Cruz; the victim, received a broken nose as well as cuts and bruises from the altercation. The city of Austin was forced to pay the Cruz family $55,000 in the civil lawsuit that followed.
According to the author, Acevedo plans to clean out the current system by "establishing a higher standard for the conduct of Austin Police Officers." Also, Officers are required to attend training sessions, to assure that they are confident with the the disciplinary standards of the Department.
The author's credibility cannot fully be judged, since the author is not identified by the Austin Statesman. The fact that the editorial was published in an established newspaper does give the author some fair amount of credit. The author is fair when it comes to critiquing the department. One example of this is the suggestion that Officer Griffen should have accepted responsibility for his unprofessional conduct. Another is the author's claim that the previous Department's leadership was corrupt.
However, a slight hint of a biased feeling can be seen in the author's final paragraph. The author admits that controversy will always be possible, but to "put the past aside" and to not judge the Department, but embrace the new politics that are taking place inside the Department.
It is difficult to agree or disagree with the author. Only time will tell if Chief Acevedo can prove his word, or if he is just putting on a show because he is the new "Chief in town." At present, the editorial is agreeable, because it sets out to prove that change needed to take place in the Austin Police Dept. and that change will be taking place. Whether or not the Department will slip back into its old ways, remains to be seen.

Were doing better than the rest of the country...

The state unemployment rate is lower than the national average, according to an online article taken from KXAN, Austin. The website http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=9040396 gives a positive outlook for the current unemployment numbers. The devastation from Hurricane Ike is also cited as being a catalyst for job growth in the state.

Speaking of hurricane Ike, I found this article very fascinating. I'm not quite sure if everyone has seen the picture of the lone house in Gilchrist. It's pretty surreal just to look at, everything is completely destroyed, it almost looks as if a nuclear bomb went off. Here is the web address for the article. It comes from a CNN, IREPORTER, http://www.ireport.com/blogs/ireport-blog/2008/09/18/the-last-house-standing I'm willing to bet that contractor is going to be extremely busy now. Personally I'd like to shake the guys hand!