You want to raise my what????

On April 27^th Danis wrote a blog titled “Doubling the Interest” which discusses a debate about raising the interest that is being charged on student loans. I have to admit I was not aware that this was a pressing issue and I am thankful that Obama and Romney are against this. I feel as if both the interest rate and the increase of tuition are a problem for the student. In my opinion it does not affect the student alone, it also affects the parents of the students who assist in paying tuition for the student. With the cost of education already at an increase, adding an increase to the interest rate could possibly lead to fewer individuals pursing an education.  If fewer individuals pursue an education where does it leave their future and our countries future? We will have less people educated and these people could potentially run our country which causes me to be a little worrisome.

Teen's: Think before you push the send button on that message!!!

Today I read an interesting article about a Bill that Governor Rick Perry recently passed. The Bill that Rick Perry passed is regarding the consequences of teenage sexting. Now I am sure that most of you know what sexting is but for those of you who do not. Sexting is the act of sending explicit text and photo messages via cell phone, computers, and other mobile devices

I never thought the day would come when a Bill would be called for in order to keep teens from sending each other illicit photos, but it appears that in the era we are in this has now become necessary. What are the consequences if a teenager is caught sexting?   Teenagers can be charged with a misdemeanor along with be sentenced to take classes that will help educate them on the danger and consequences of their behavior. If the recipient of the messages reports the illicit message within 48 hours to authorities the recipient will avoid prosecution.

I feel as if this Bill was something most certainly necessary as more teenagers have access to cell phones, computer and the internet. This Bill will help protect teenagers from making a mistake that they are unable to simply delete or erase. Teenagers need to realize the severity of them sending out these messages. I am completely for this Bill being enacted as teens need to be aware of what harm these images could cause them in the long run and for them to look past the initial excitement or possible peer pressure. The fact that if a teen is caught being involved in this illicit behavior will cause them to take educational classes makes me feel as if this law attempting to inform teens. The worry I see with this law is the severity of the misdemeanor, this goes permanently on a person’s criminal record which could affect people from getting a job or even getting enrolled in certain colleges.

https://www.oag.state.tx.us/agency/weeklyag/2011/0311sexting.pdf

Texas abortion Law

On March 30, 2012 Maria Jaramillo wrote titled “New Texas Law on Abortion” which mentions the new Texas law regarding abortion. The new law requires that before a woman can get an abortion, the institution providing the abortion is to show the mother an ultrasound of the fetus. I do not feel as if this law is going to create anymore of an awareness then literature will. I do feel as if women should be educated about what is going on with their body and fetus before they get an abortion but I feel as if there are other ways to go about doing so. Another reason I disagree with this law is because some women who are getting an abortion have viable reasons as to why they are doing so. What if the woman was raped? Do you think she would really want to have to see a constant reminder of what happened to her? What about women who have complications with their pregnancy and have to abort in order to save their lives? How is the government going to determine who HAS to have at least 2 ultrasounds? I am all for educating women before an abortion but I feel it is not called for in all situations. I am not sure how one would determine who should or should not be educated but this law should have considered all women and all circumstances. 

The Jessica Lunsford Act in Texas

For once, and possibly just this once I have to say I agree with Texas government passing “The Jessica Lunsford Act”.  The Jessica Lunsford act was started when a 9 year old girl from Florida was kidnapped, raped and murdered by John Couey. John Couey already had an extensive criminal record which had already included 2 instances where he was indecent exposure with a child. Why would this man walking around a free man some might wonder considering his past, well Couey’s time was considered served and he was out paroled. A flaw in the system maybe? After Couey’s third offense with a child which was against Jessica Lunsford, a jury recommended that Couey be sentenced to death.

This is a prime example of why Texas needed to put in place a strict law regarding how to deal with sexual predators.

The Jessica Lunsford Act is going to enforce harsher punishments on offender in order to help protect the innocent children from harm against sexual predators. This act is far from being flawless and could use some amendments but I do believe that in its current state it is doing more good than harm. The law includes the statute of limitations on sexual abuse crimes committed against children being doubled or in some cases eliminated. A minimum of 25 year sentence mandatory for heinous crimes and Life in prison without parole or the death penalty.  One portion of the act that I feel strongly should be ratified or amended is the “continuous sexual abuse of a child” statute.  When it comes to the continuous sexual abuse of a child a jury does not have to agree unanimously on the acts that are considered continuous. In any other case or any other jury the decision has to be unanimous, I do understand the severity of the crimes sexual predators are committing but feel as though our court system should stay uniform on how a case is determined by a jury. 

I feel like after some fine tuning this act will soon become enacted on a national level and that we as a society will feel a little safer knowing that these sexual predators will be brought to justice.

http://www.johntfloyd.com/comments/november10/Continuous-Sexual-Abuse-Child.htm

Oh Perry Perry...

In the blog titled Rick Perry Caves, Claims State Has $35M to Fund Planned Parenthood-less Women's Health Program available on Burnt Orange Report, author Katherine Haenschen writes about pressure on the women’s health plan in Texas. In the blog Katherine states that Perry states that he plans on making sure that he can pull together the funds in order to keep the Women’s Health Program intact but also plans on cutting out funding for Planned Parenthood. Katherine points out specifically how large of a budget deficit Texas is already experiencing but yet Perry is persistent in trying to “plug the holes in the budget.” Well those holes will certainly be hard to plug being there are no funds to plug them with.

In my opinion Katherine has a large span of an intended audience. This blog could grab the interest of women, low income families, voters and taxpayers. Katherine also points out in her blog that Perry is using women's health funding as a political game. Due to the large span of audience, the author certainly has the attention of many different groups which she can persuade to also believe that Perry is indeed playing a political gain.

Katherine points out information that CPPP has found during their research that a 150,000 women have already been effected by this funding be reduced and if another reduction were to take place then 80% of women could loose the care they are needed and cannot afford. Once the public was made aware of what Perry was intending to do it of course caused a great concern from the public and caused Perry to retract his initial proposal regarding the shut down of the women’s health program funding. Only time will tell if Perry is truly using this is a political game or he will make sure that funding stays intact.

No shortage of water for Lakeside residents?

The editorial board of Austin American Statesman released an article titled Lakeside residents, your days of free water are over. In the article the author writes about how Lakeside residents have been enjoying unlimited use of water from their nearby lake without any restrictions or management from the LCRA. The area residents are aware that the water is not free for them to consume and the LCRA is aware that residents are not bound by a contract to pay for their water but yet had not enforced any action.

In my opinion I feel as if the author of the editorial is making an attempt to inform the public of the water consumption issue that is occurring while we are experiencing a water shortage. A person reading the article would think that the author is intending for the audience to be the public. The author does appear to be addressing the public but at the same time is making the Lakeside residents along with the LCRA know they are both the parties at fault and pointing out the fact blatantly.

The author claims that the lakeside residents have not been voluntarily paying for the water which they have used, nor has the LCRA been enforcing residents to pay for their usage either. The author of the editorial also made sure to include the fact that our current water levels are below average, which should cause the lakeside residents and the LCRA to take even more strides into managing the amount of water being used so that other residents do not incur a shortage of water. If a shortage of water were to occur and being that the public has now been informed of the “free water” that Lakeside residents have had access to, I am betting that the public will want to have further investigation as to if the shortage was caused by the LCRA’s failure to manage the Lakeside residents water usage.

Dallas District Attorney in contempt

On Monday February 6, 2012 Grits For Breakfast featured an article titled Dallas DA defies court order, refuses to reveal police criminal histories. This article discusses how the Dallas DA is being held in contempt due to their failure to comply with a court order. While this may not come as a surprise to many, the reason as to why the Dallas DA is in contempt is actually quite interesting. A criminal court judge has ordered prosecutors to share criminal histories of police officers with defense attorneys when the officers are testifying in court for misdemeanors, which the DA has refused to do. The main argument with this case comes down to the DA feeling as if releasing police officers criminal background histories is a violation of the federal law due to invasion of privacy. Currently witnesses and jurors are subject to criminal background checks, but police officers testifying are being treated as an exception to the rule.

I recommend this article to anyone who is interested in our justice system and who would like to be made aware of the inconsistencies that witnesses face based on what side of the law they sit on.