"MetroRapid"

I love all of the new improvements! I am also a student at UT, but am honestly kind of afraid of the bus system because the first time I ever used it I found myself on a bus going the completely opposite direction I needed to go, the right bus rout, but I ended up spending 2 hours on a bus that went all over Austin.... oops. Anyway, I have only used the bus a handful of time since then because it takes forever to get from point A to point B and I just don't have time for that. With that being said, I think it would be super helpful and cost efficient for me to use the bus more if it took less time to get where I needed to go because I live pretty far off campus and gas prices are rough right now, so I would save a lot of money if I had the time to utilize the bus system on a more consistent basis. I am super excited for the changes you have talked about in your article and will definitely be using the bus more when they are finalized and put in place!

What is Murder and is it Personal?

Texas has, and continues to be the number one leading state in support of the death penalty. The recent milestone mark of the 500th execution in Texas has given rise to discussions on what kinds of people typically get the death penalty and even who is on death row. Out of the 500 people who have been put to death by a lethal injection, around 40 percent of them have been black. We would love to say that Texas is no longer a highly racial state, but looking at these statistics would make one argue other wise. As I see it, this poses two problems.

 First, if people are given the death penalty for murdering people (for the most part), why is it okay to murder them per say? Do two wrongs really ever make a right? I know that in situations where people are given the death penalty as punishment for murdering someone else seems like simply giving them what they deserve, but if everyone always got what they deserved what would this world be? Would anyone be alive?

Secondly, is our system of government with regard to the death penalty consistent? If it truly is consistent, which honestly I cant fathom to be the case, then why is there such a high percentage of blacks given the death penalty and put on death row? If we really do have a good, consistent way of deciding weather to murder someone because of their actions or not, and blacks truly do deserve to be murdered more often than whites do, then shouldn't we be concerned with why blacks are so violent as a whole? Shouldn't we be digging deeper and trying to focus on the overarching issue of why the black population seems to be more troubled than other groups do, and try to fix that instead of just killing them all the time?

"Governor Perry Stepping Down"

I completely agree that it is a good thing that Governor Perry has decided to not run for another term, but do you think that Texas is ready for a highly liberal leader? I know that Greg Abbott has decided to run, and as you stated, he is very similar to Perry, but if he did not run, do you think Texans would approve of a liberal leader. Texans have expressed concern for the overly conservative views of leaders such as Perry due to things such as increased deficit spending to create jobs, but is it too soon to move to a liberal leader? Texas is still a highly republican state and while we may be moving toward more moderate views, I personally do not think that Texas is ready for a leader who is that much more liberal than Rick Perry (which is probably the furthest thing from liberal as possible).

Lets Meet in the Middle

Governor Rick Perry is picking up quite a bit of flack for signing the new abortion legislation into law. Crazy pro choice supporters running around the capitol with tampons arranged on their hats, and fiery women scream vicious remarks about the rights of their body. I honestly don't understand what everyone is freaking out about. Isn't the legislation a great compromise between both pro choice and pro life supporters. If we really stop and think, the allotted 20 weeks of legal abortion is an extremely generous period of time for a woman to not only find out she is pregnant, but also make the decision to terminate her pregnancy. If anyone should be angry about this piece of the legislation, shouldn't it be pro life supporters, not pro choice supporters?

Finding issue with the new regulations in abortion clinics is much more understandable. While I do personally believe that if abortions are going to be legal, they should be done in clean, hospital like areas, I agree with opposers that requiring regulation wide hallways as well as other various renovations that could cost between 1and 3 million dollars statewide is a little absurd. Even with the money issue created from this legislation, this is a huge step that all sides should, at least, be happy that the legislation is not very drastic in either direction. For once Governor Perry signed a somewhat moderate piece of legislation into law. It could have been much worse, and people should really think about how little this actually effects abortion as a whole. Yes, it could cost us a lot of money, and therefore I guess make getting an abortion a tiny bit harder, but it allows 20 weeks, TWENTY weeks, for a woman to have the choice to terminate the pregnancy as well as leaves room for extenuating circumstances such as a pregnancy that threatens the life of the mother to be terminated after 20 weeks.

Feminine Care Products

Eileen Smith is a young editor of  the IN THE PINK blog where she uses fiery whit to discuss popular Texas politics. In her recent article  "Is it Because They're on Their Periods?" posted on July 12th she talks about women being turned away from the gallery during the House Bill 2 debate if they were carrying "concealed tampons and pads." Eileen states that women with such products were either on their period (which just creates a mess in itself), or must have been planning to use the products to do some major damage to the people on the opposing side of the argument. According to Smith, the feminine care products could have been used to throw hard plastic tampons at people who disagree with them, or even stuff pads down their throats. Through her hilariously vivd description of menstruating women becoming an angry mob, Eileen Smith really addresses the point of how ridiculous House Bill 2 has gotten. Just as Smith addresses, I also agree that the hype around HB2 has become very out of hand.

I personally feel as if people on both sides of this piece of legislation have lost the perspective of what this bill is really all about. While I do agree that women should not be allowed to throw tampons at anyone no matter what side they are on, I also think that everyone is, as stated in our constitution, granted the right of speech. So many people have gotten so caught up in the heat of the moment that they are beginning to forget what they are really fighting for. I believe that no matter what our opinions are and what stance we take on any piece of legislation being submitted is, we should always remember that we are all Americans. We are all united by where we live and the freedoms we are given by being citizens not only in America, but as Texans. That being said, I think that we should always remember to be respectful to all parties involved even if we do not agree with who they are or what they stand for. Respect and loyalty to one another for being both Americans and Texans will ultimately get us a lot further than being rude and arrogant will ever get us.

Health After Birth

The editorial board of the Austin American Statesman addressed the new abortion legislation that has been headlined all over the state. As stated in a previous post, the legislation would be put in place to to end all abortions after 20 weeks unless the pregnancy is a major threat to the mothers health, and all abortions must be done in "ambulatory surgical centers." In addition to those requirements, the new legislation would also require abortion-induced drugs to be administered and used in person, meaning women could no longer simply get the drug from their doctors and use them in the privacy of their own home. The editorial board is, for the most part directing their argument towards the general public who might be concerned with this issue. The editorial board claims that while this legislation has good intent that it fails to think of the health and protection of women as well as the idea that it may hinder the woman's relationship with their physician. In addition to these if the bill is passed, in order to maintain the kind of regulation and correct facilitation of abortions, almost all of the abortion  clinics in Texas would have to be renovated. This could require anywhere from one to three million dollars worth of improvements throughout the state. I do agree that both the unborn child and the mother should be taken into consideration when addressing abortion rights and laws, but I am a firm believer of  life beginning at conception. If you examine an embryo extensively, you can clearly identify growing and multiplying cells that can within the first week begin to form the brain, spinal cord, heart, and gastrointestinal tract, therefore,  in my opinion this shows that a life begins at conception. I do think there should be some form of legal abortion if the mother is in great danger, but I do not agree with the editorial board's stance of countering House Bill 2. Overall, I believe that the bill is a good compromise for pro life and for pro choice supporters, and if people really did take the time to investigate the entire piece of legislation, they might have a different opinion than they do today. I see the issue that would emerge if Texas had to spend millions of dollars to renovate abortion clinics, but again I am honestly not a supporter of abortion clinics in the first place. I believe that abortions should only be done by physicians that fully believe that the pregnancy is a direct threat to the life of the mother. 

Abortion Legislation

There has been a huge buzz on the abortion legislation recently passed, and The Daily Texan's article, "Texas House Committee Passes Abortion Legislation" does a great job of simply and clearly explaining exactly what this legislation encompasses. The article explains that the legislation voted on by the Texas House committee at 12:01 am Wednesday, July 3, 2013 would completely stop all abortions after 20 weeks, strengthen regulations put on abortion clinics across texas, and increase restrictions on abortion-inducing medications. The article then goes on to explain how various committee members feel about the piece of legislation. I think that this article is interesting and important to read because so many people are talking about this legislation, so I think it is important to actually know what it is about and not just make large blanket statements that are not even true about the subject.