A fellow students great insight!

In a blog post titled "Is the Texas Legislature Trying to Raise Texas' Youth?" Alina Villarreal did an excellent job of informing her readers of the various bills looked at by the Legislature. She also gave her personal opinion on the issues and although I did not entirely agree with her originally, she gained credibility and changed my mind! Alina Villarreal developed her stand point by explaining her own experiences growing up in a different culture. By doing so, Villarreal allowed me to understand her point and see things differently. Overall, I find her blog post very informative, interesting, and personable. 

Could Texas really seek Leniency?

The Austin American Statesman article Leniency Sought for some mom’s who kill infants, outlines a bill that has recently been proposed. State Representative Jessica Farrar, a Democrat from Houston has proposed a bill that aims to “lessen penalties for some mothers who kill their infants.” Farrar recognizes that the bill has a slim chance of becoming law, but has pushed the legislation regardless in an effort to bring awareness to a condition called postpartum psychosis. The condition is caused by the hormonal shifts women may experience after giving birth. It can cause women to have extreme behavior up to a year after delivering a child. Postpartum psychosis is said to be rare and has been connected to child murder cases such as Andrea Yates, a Texas women charged with drowning all five of her children. 

If Farrar’s bill is passed, a women who has killed her child can argue in court that the her “judgment was impaired by the effects of birth or lactation.” This would only apply to women who had given birth within 12 months. As a result, the mother’s crime would be reduced to a state jail felony. This means the mother would receive anywhere from a sentence of 180 days to 2 years in prison.

The article mentions that many who oppose the bill see it as “extending abortion rights beyond pregnancy.” I completely agree and I am shocked that such a bill could be proposed! Children are so innocent and need to be protected. I cannot fathom how a person could kill a child, let alone a mother kill her own child. And then to think that our state law could allow that mother to be released within two years! Absurd! I realize the bill is not meant to degrade the worth of the murdered child, but rather focus on a condition which “causes” women to kill their infants. Even still I find it appalling. Fortunately I do not believe this bill has a chance of becoming law because Texas, as a whole, is conservative. I find it hard to imagine the majority of Texans would be okay with this passing legislation. I strongly feel that our government needs to do all that it can to protect the youth and this bill simply does not. 

Texas legislatures need to seek cleaner air

Texas state senator Kip Averitt, a Republican from Waco, has proposed a clean air bill, which calls for tighter regulations and modifications of vehicles, plants, and other air-impacting technologies. The bill is currently being considered by the House and if passed, will ultimately result in cleaner air throughout Texas.

The state of Texas is home to several large cities, which could benefit exceedingly from such a bill. Clean air has been a concern for an extended length of time and it demands attention. Areas with large populations such as Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio seem to suffer a great deal from pollution. However, the rural areas of Texas are not omitted. Much of Texas’s rural populations are effected by large plants, which emit a tremendous amount of pollution every second. Having lived in the panhandle for two years I am familiar with the constant smoke rising from the refineries and plants. I lived in Borger, Texas, a small town but home to several plants, including the world’s largest inland oil refinery. The air in this region of Texas is polluted in the form of carbon black and desperately needs cleaner air. I would assume the unmentioned regions of Texas have similar cases. 

For the sake of the citizens and the future of Texas, our legislatures need to be seriously investigating opportunities to improve our environment. The severity of this issue is not one to simply overlook. I am grateful that Senator Averitt has taken the initiative and proposed a plan. I believe that if passed this bill has the potential to improve the health of Texans for many years to come. 

Will Texas Accept Whistle-blower Protection Bill?

The author of an editorial published in the Austin American Statesman declares that the "Whistle-blower protection bill should be law in Texas.” This author does not believe that it is imperative that journalists be used as “an investigative arm of law enforcement.” The author maps out the recent progress of the Free Flow of Information Act, a bill that is in favor of allowing Texas journalists to protect their sources. In addition, the author also provides specific circumstances in which a journalist would not be dismissed from testifying even under the protection bill.

It is inevitable that the author of this editorial, clearly a journalist, would support the Free Flow of Information Act. Yet the author does not establish his or her credibility in greater depth than by simply being a journalist. However, he or she did present their opinion effectively and thoroughly. It is clear that the authors intended audience is fellow writers and perhaps the general public because if this bill is passed it is possible that more Texans would feel at ease approaching a reporter with information.

The editorial may have been more influential to readers if the author had gone into greater detail when explaining why the protection law is so important, and how it affects the common citizen. The author was rather vague in such areas and provided few examples; none of which seemed of great importance to individuals outside the journalism realm.

Overall it is a well-developed editorial that informs readers of the Free Flow of Information Act in the state of Texas. It is an intriguing read because it outlines the amount of protection the law would provide. I simply wish the author had built his or her editorial more on independent thinking rather than on a list of concrete information.

Christianity in Texas Politics

The Austin Chronicle article titled "TFN Looks at the Lege Demagogues" is highly interesting and worth reading because it provides information on various Texas officials regarding their Christian standpoints. The article written by Lee Nichols is an attempt to inform Texans of the influence religion is playing in our government, as well as recognize Texas Freedom Network as a nonprofit organization committed to "counter[ing] the religious right." This article is particularly important to me because I am a Christian and I am intrigued by how much room we do or do not leave for Christ in our politics. I will admit I was rather frustrated with this article after quickly reading it over. However, I was more grateful after reading it a second and third time. Being someone who does not give politics the attention that it deserves, I was unaware that so many of our states representatives held such strong Christian grounds and acted upon their views so directly. I feel that Nichols' article is a great source for everyone, both Christians and those who devote their faith elsewhere. Religious issues seem to be a growing concern among the majority of people within our nation. Though some phrases used throughout the article are too derogatory for my taste, it does provide valuable insight on how Christianity is effecting Texas politics.