We cant even stop the trafficking through our prison systems

I read a post written by our classmate Matt. It was about the smuggling of contraband throughout the Texas jail system. Contraband includes anything from stolen cell phones to drugs. I found this a tad bit horrifying that we are unable to keep our jails secure. If this continues without being stopped it becomes a safety risk. One of the major problems with all the contraband trafficking is that the guards who are suppose to be protecting us from them and vise versa are helping trafficking the contraband. As matt said this is because our guards are making minimum wage. I think that this is terrible. Our guards can barley making a living but are expected to face danger everyday and deal with people who could possibly kill them. Because of this is does not surprise me that the guards are helping out to make some more cash. We should definitely be paying our hard working prison guards much more than that. In general we should be paying our countries protectors such as EMS, firefighters and police much more than they already make. I think our country should be giving better wages to the social workers and people who make a difference like teachers as well. Matt says that our prison system and education system are directly connected and I do agree with that but I disagree that because you grew up in a bad place that you will become a bad person and end up in the prison system. People can should what they want out off life and the people in our prison system choose to do something wrong. All of our choices directly effect our lives. Everyone has hardships that we either overcome or succumb too. This was an eye-opening article that was very well written. I agree that our guards need to be paid much more but I disagree that a bad school system equals bad children.

High Speed Chases are Killing People

I heard about a fatal accident yesterday on the news, it was caused by a high speed police chase. The victim was an innocent bystander. This made me question the effectiveness of police chases. It has become more and more common as we hear about car related deaths but I believe that it is very different when the deaths are cause by our own police force. Everyday people die in car accidents but more and more people are becoming victims as people make and race faster cars. Those people who are running from the cops in fast cars are becoming a serious safety liability as cops are forced to chase them down. Is it really necessary to chase down someone who has a faster car than those issued by the police stations? When these high speed chases are in pursuit peoples lives are in danger. Bystanders, the police men and the people that are running are all risking there lives. Only about 25% of people who run are caught. The cops have a 25% chance of catching the speeders. Is it worth risking civilian lives over a lone guy who was speeding on the road? But I do know that if we stop pursuing when a cop tries to pull someone over than there is no bite behind the bark per say. Cops would loose credibility and more people would start running knowing that they could get away. Something needs to be done to protect society. Fines need to be razed and new rules need to be made. I think that if police used better judgment about when to pursue, or how long they should pursue it could save innocent lives. Sometimes the bad guy gets away, but they can’t catch everybody even if they tried. If the police chose to chase at night only that would greatly reduce the chance of bystanders getting hurt. Less people are out at night and many of the high speeders are out at that time as well. Maybe if the police only pursued people for a certain amount of time before then deciding if they can catch them or not. There are things that can be done and there are definitely things that should be done.

The value of just 30 days

I just read a post on my classmate Brittany’s blog. It was about an execution case here in Texas. There is new DNA testing that may prove whether or not this man actually committed this crime. The problem is that he is scheduled for his execution before the testing can be done. It is up to Governor Rick Perry to decide whether or not to give this man a 30 day reprieve. I do agree with Brittany that Perry should definitely give this man a reprieve, it does no one harm and could potentially save this mans life. She questions why Perry would not do this. To answer her question would be to question the morality of her peers. People want action for crimes that have been committed. People feel better when someone has paid consequences for a horrible act. The murder victim’s family would want some closure and that is why I think Perry will not grant this reprieve. As horrible as this whole thing is, it would make people feel better to have this man hanged. I completely disagree with this though process but it is there. I hope that this man gets his reprieve and if the world were a better place a murder would not have been committed at all. He also might not grant a reprieve because it would cost money. Not very much money but money nonetheless.
I think Brittany brought up a very valid argument with her blog. When we look back on why some people were not granted reprieves it saddens us, but if we were on the other side looking for justice all of us would want some sort of closure and justice to be done for our beloved lost one. This was a well written blog but it could have used a little more detail. I would have liked to know a little more about the case and I also think that she could have put forth some more of her own thoughts. Overall it was sad to read but well written. My sympathies go out to the victim’s families and I hope this man gets his 30 day reprieve. What is a little money compared to the value of a mans life.

APD a mens world

I read about a case on the Austin chronicle where a women firefighter filed a harassment charge against the APD. She claimed that she was being discriminated against for being a woman. To start off with she was given a small room with no furniture while the men got huge comfy rooms with bookshelves and desks. Nona Allen was a “probie” (probationary) firefighter at station No. 15 on Airport Boulevard in East Austin. She was the only female firefighter at one of the city's busiest stations. When she asked for a desk to study at, the whole situation has gotten out of hand. They banned her from having furniture in her room. When the case was finalized the verdict was that this was hazing and it was ok to a certain level in the work place and that it was the culture of the fire department. This is absolutely ridiculous not only is hazing illegal but this is more then hazing this is sexist and discrimination. I am appalled that Austin is unable to give women the same rights and treatment at men. I see it everywhere, discrimination still goes on today and it is ridiculous. I am also very upset with our government. They have made a case to say that hazing is ok in the working environment because it happens anyway. If we want to become more equal we are going to have to change. We as Americans are going to have to have to fight for what’s right.

Is drug trafficing really...NEW?

I read a commentary from the grits for breakfast blog. It was about the Mexican drug trafficking wars spilling onto Texas soil. The author thinks that it is being naïve to think that drug trafficking hasn’t been going on for a while. He states that because it has been going on for so long that the organizations are deeply rooted into the big cities. Building a wall would do absolutely nothing to stop drug traffickers. The author also makes the claim that building a wall cannot keep what is already here out. Mexican war isn’t going to spill over it is not like spilling a soda. He also makes a good point, who is going to watch these new video cameras? Volunteers? We would spend money waiting for a war that’s not going to happen on the boarders.
He makes very good points and made me see his view very clearly. I completely agree that America is being naïve in the fact that they think the wars are just going to spill over into Texas land. He makes very good points by stating the ways that drug traffickers have succeeded in trafficking over the borders. I feel that this commentary was intended to inform the readers of the stupidity and naivety of building a wall to keep out what is already here. I think it was intended for republicans to see the other side or for democrats to read it and agree. I feel that this author is very informed and he seems to know what he is talking about. His writing is persuasive and informative. I want to believe what he is saying.

Primary Shout Out

I read an editorial on Austin American Statesman about the primary that will be going on, on Tuesday March second. It endorses candidates for the both the republicans and the democrats. Its intended audience is the Texas voters. The author seems to be favoring republicans and specifically Kay Bailey Hutchison. He believes that she has better priorities than Perry does right now. I agree that she would make an excellent governor and that her goals of improving public school and making higher education more affordable would be fabulous. The author also endorses former Houston Mayor Bill White for the Democratic Party but did not say too much about him. The author wrote this editorial as an endorsement for the primary that will be happening tomorrow. Although I do not know who the author is he seems fairly credible. Most of his facts came from interviews or the internet. Because there are not many facts I can not come to a reasonable conclusion on his credibility but I will give him or her the benefit of the doubt. I do know that he is ready for another governor and he is favoring Kay Bailey Hutchison. I came to the conclusion he favors her more because he talked the most about her and liked her opinions on how to improve Austin. I like Kay Bailey Hutchison and I wish her the best tomorrow but I to agree it is time for a new governor. I feel that is was an ok editorial, nothing special. It could have used more facts on the other candidates or just been longer in general. to me it was more of a shout out for the primary than an editorial.

Should this be confidential?

I found an application on the Texas tribune that allows people to look up state employees salaries. It is complete with the name,job title and amount of money that they make annually. I found this a tad bit frightening that personal information is being given out freely. In my opinion how much money a person makes is their own business and I feel that it is a person’s choice as to whether or not they would like to give that information to others. Money is a very big deal now-a-days and people could get hurt over this information being to the public. I feel that we should know what is going on with our government and I like that they are sharing more information with the public but I feel that the information they are giving out here is not their information to share. It is a violation of privacy.