Comments on a Collegue's Blog Post #2

     In her blog "Politics A la The Lone Star", my colleague Jessica posted an extremely well written and undoubtedly true post titled "Sex, Lies, and the Classroom." With Texas having the 4th highest rate of teen pregnancy, sex education should have it's own core curriculum. In my opinion, it's just as important as math, history, science, english, and whatever else is thrown into "education" these days. Throughout this post, my colleague stresses the fact that Texas focuses sex education solely based on abstinence instead of pregnancy and disease prevention. 
     I remember in my science class at the end of 8th grade year, we had "the talk" that accompanied a signed form by my parents allowing me to attend the discussion. Abstinence was forced down our throats and slide shows of various sexually transmitted diseases scarred us for life. We were told how to say no to someone who wanted to have sex with us, but we weren't told how to protect ourselves. This is where the system is going wrong. 
     The most interesting piece of information to me in her blog is the huge differences between Texas' and California's sex education. After first taking a sex education class in Texas, and then in California afterwards, my colleague felt as if information was twisted and withheld from her. 

     Our sex education programs are sweeping the root of the problems under the rug instead of facing them head on. Telling teenagers not to have sex is only going to make them more curious, not more cautious.

    

Austin City Limits Music Festival 2014!!!!!

   

     Starting in 2002, Austin has held the annual Austin City Limits Music Festival at Zilker Park. As of last year, this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday massive event has now evolved into two weekends starting the first weekend in October. I always look forward to this awesome music festival, and I have been going for several years now. The event company I work for allows me to get a behind the scenes view at the VIP lounges as well as free tickets to the festival.

     The best part of ACL is its uniquely diverse environment that brings over 75,000 people a day to this festival from all over the world. In addition to the hundreds of artists that the fans come to see, ACL provides local tasty eats and treats, local artists with interesting items for sell, and they even have various kid friendly areas. This festival has so many activities in addition to the great music, which allows anyone to have a great time.
     During the festival recycling is encouraged and there are many opportunities to donate to various charities. In the previous years, you are given the chance to receive a free ACL t-shirt by filling a trash bag full of recyclable items. Because so many people come to Austin specifically for this event each year, it brings in so much money to our city. The tourists and Austinite's like to shop local which keeps our Mom and Pop stores running.
     I'm most excited for this year's lineup that was recently released. In my opinion, this should be one of the best years yet. Artists such as Eminem, Pearl Jam, Outkast, Lorde, Lana Del Rey, and Interpol are scheduled to preform. This widely known festival goes beyond the music. It's all about us coming together from all over the world into one city to really feel the good vibes of Austin.

Comments on a Collegue's Blog Post

     I completely agree with my colleague's "Lonestar State of Mind" blog post titled "Careful...Scary Ghost Votes are Lurking!" Ghost voting is without a doubt unethical and should be illegal. We select who we want to represent us for a reason.  Ghost voting definitely skews the voting turnout if one representative votes in their favor for another representative. Just think about it. As mentioned in my colleague's post, we pay our representatives to be present at their job. Our lives are practically in their hands and a single law can make or break us. It’s insane how the people who vote on laws for us and represent us, don’t even follow their own rules. When a representative is away from his or her desk, their chance to vote is lost and shouldn’t be taken into someone else’s hands. We understand, especially during a 12 to 14 hour period that bathroom and lunch breaks are necessary. But again, as my colleague has mentioned, that’s what we are paying them for.

     The reason why I love this well written post so much is not only because it raises awareness to the horrors of ghost voting, but also because of the solutions my colleague offers. The first solution proposed is to place voting terminals throughout the building to allow our representatives to vote when they are away from their desks. Although this will not affect those who leave the building for a break, it is a step in the right direction. The second solution my colleague suggests is to make leaving the House illegal to help reduce ghost voting. 

     Before ghost voting was brought to my attention in a class lecture, I had no idea that this was going on. It's disappointing to say the least that our representatives aren't taking their jobs too seriously. 

Texas, Give Us Free Birth Control!

     According to a statistic published by the Office of Adolescent Health, "Texas was ranked 5 out of 51 (50 states + the District of Columbia) on 2011 final teen births rates among females aged 15-19 (with 1 representing the highest rate and 51 representing the lowest rate)." If that isn't an eye opener for you then I don't know what is.
    Up until about two years ago, I had received free birth control regularly from Planned Parenthood over a course of three years without any problems. On what I thought was going to be a regular visit, turned out to be far from it. I waited a long while in the waiting room for my name to be called as usual, only to be told that I could no longer receive free birth control. It would now cost me $100. What? It couldn't be. They must have had a mix up! At 18, I didn't have an extra $100 laying around to spend. I left the clinic extremely worried and without birth control. I am now only spending a $60 copay for each visit, which I still don't think I should have to pay for.
    It is very crucial for Texas to provide absolutely free birth control to all women who are sexually active. If there was free birth control available in Texas, I know for a fact we wouldn't be one of the highest states for teen pregnancy rates. The rate of unwanted pregnancies would drastically decline due to the fact that most cannot afford the ridiculously expensive cost of effective birth control. With birth control being a big expense, most people decide to skip this preventative measure. Free birth control should be available to every woman no matter our age, ethnicity, religion, beliefs, or income. Period. Texas needs to provide this free health service to all women to help reduce the many problems that lead to unwanted/unplanned pregnancy.

Fees, Fees, and More Fees....

    Yesterday in The Daily Texan, Amanda Almeda published an opinion article titled "Planned fee for campus Internet saddles students with extra cost." During a meeting on March 5, the University of Texas' Information Technology Services brought up a proposal to begin charging students for wifi access on campus. In this proposal, students would pay $4.25 a semester for 5 gigabytes of data. Although this is just a proposal for now, financial concerns are arising from UT students. Almeda stresses the fact that even though the cost is less than $5 a semester, it is very easy for all of the fees to accumulate. For the students who do not use wifi on campus on a regular basis, this fee would prove to be a waste of money. 

    Almeda states that UT has admitted that "the new policy will help protect the University against liability issues that occur when a student does something illegal using Internet proved to them by the University." Almeda and various UT students have already voiced their disagreement to the proposal. This ridiculous plan is just another way to get more money out of students. The intended audience of this article is not only UT students who regularly use wifi on campus, but especially for those who can't afford another fee.

    The logic of Almeda's claim can easily relate to every college student who is facing fee after fee for something we should never be charged for in the first place. Evidence that this proposal is yet another way to get money out of college students is shown by UT openly admitting that funds are low. To strengthen her credibility, Almeda includes statements from networking director William Green who is UT's Information Technology Services. She provides additional statements by David Villarreal, the incoming Graduate Student Assembly president, that supports the disagreement to the proposal. 

    We must keep our eyes open and fight against yet another unnecessary fee. If this new idea becomes a reality, it could spread like a disease to other colleges and universities across Texas.

Decriminalize Marijuana

      In the opinion column of The Daily Texan, Ali Breland published a great article tiled "How decriminalizing marijuana would benefit Texas' health, equality." In this article Breland touches on how decriminalizing marijuana would benefit our economy, our health, and even Texas' racial equality. Recently, at the The World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Governor Rick Perry stated that he wants to "implement policies that start us toward decriminalization and keep people from going to prison and destroying their lives." Even though Rick Perry has yet to implement any decriminalization policies, his advocacy is progress.
     Each year Texas arrests around 80,000 people for marijuana possession, resulting in the cost of $10,000 for one single arrest. Think of all the money Texas would save! Breland also points out that racial profiling is more apparent in certain races compared to others. Low income and minority neighborhoods are also seen to be targeted when it comes to marijuana arrests. Decriminalizing marijuana can help decrease the problem of racial profiling that is apparent in Texas and help increase social equality around the world. The medical benefits of marijuana include everything from relieving migraines all the way to helping lessen the harsh symptoms and pains of cancer.
      All in all, whether you are for decriminalizing marijuana or not, this article gives you many good points to think about. I perceive the attended audience to be those who are in favor of decriminalizing marijuana. What enhances this article is the amount of quotes and claims Breland includes from various major university professors and from other credible sources. These eyebrow raising statics and claims add to the credibility of her opinion article. She provides the link to the 2010 census as well as two other links to articles from the New York Times that supports her logic. I loved this article. :)

Think Before You Drink!!!

      On Monday, February 10, 2014 KVUE.com posted an article titled "Elmore found guilty of intoxication manslaughter." Back in November of 2011, former paramedic, Terri Elmore hit and killed Pastor Jackson Boyette and his wife Barbara in a head on collision. Elmore was clearly intoxicated, with blood alcohol level tests proving that she was over twice the legal limit. This mother of five recently remarried eight months ago and is well known for being an active volunteer at their church. Today, Elmore was found guilty of two counts of intoxication manslaughter and can face up to a total of 40 years in prison.
     This article is definitely worth reading because one bad decision can literally ruin your entire life. It doesn't matter who you are, if you have a good career, or even if you have a family. Drinking and driving endangers your own self as well as innocent others.