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.