In Adrienne’s blog she wrote about education, which is a huge issue that I repeatedly keep hearing about. Writing about such a big topic is good because it will capture the audiences attention. She does a good job introducing the topic of education, but it is hard to decipher what her main topic is. At first she writes about art being taken out of schools and then writes about how education is financed. Those two topics could work together, but she does not create a good transition between the two.
I really do like the topic she talks about because it is really important and she provides a good article for the audiences to reference. After she moves on to the financial part of education she becomes more clear with her point, using statistics and historical references. These references show how public education has been financed in the past to how it’s currently being financed. She also did a good job inserting her thoughts on the topic.
It is important to have a good transition between topics, but other than that I believe she chose a good topic. Just creating a transition and elaborating a little bit more would have made this an excellent blog.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
Treason?
The Civil War took the lives of thousands of Americans. Abraham Lincoln took the chance of a Civil War in order to keep the Union together and now Governor Rick Perry of Texas is making comments about possibly seceding.
In a speech, where he was trying to stir up the right wing extremist he said that "the federal government has become oppressive, oppressive in size, and oppressive in intrusion in the lives of citizens." He is not happy with how the federal government is using our tax money, even though citizens in Texas receive 88 percent back in tax returns, which is more than other states. What is ironic about this, is that as soon as the Swine Flu started moving towards Texas, Perry decided that he needed federal assistance. This happened after he stated, " no longer are we going to accept their oppressive hand in Texas."
Rick Perry has become a sort of embarrassment, challenging the federal government about taxes while ignoring the Texas Constitution, which does not grant the state the right to secede from the country. He believes that he is sending a "clear message" that "we won't stand for our pockets to be picked, our children's future to be mortgaged and our rights to be taken away." He says, "we will not be ignored." Obviously, he is not being ignored, with everyone commenting on how ludicrous and extreme his idea of seceding is.
The ideas that Rick Perry is putting out there is similar to the ideas of Rick McLaren, who led a separatist group, which ended up in violence. Hopefully, something like that does not form out of Rick Perry's ideas. It's known that not everyone agrees with what our federal government is doing, but seceding is not the answer. If anything our states need to work together to make things better. And after our new presidential election, we should wait and see how Obama does with fixing things.
In a speech, where he was trying to stir up the right wing extremist he said that "the federal government has become oppressive, oppressive in size, and oppressive in intrusion in the lives of citizens." He is not happy with how the federal government is using our tax money, even though citizens in Texas receive 88 percent back in tax returns, which is more than other states. What is ironic about this, is that as soon as the Swine Flu started moving towards Texas, Perry decided that he needed federal assistance. This happened after he stated, " no longer are we going to accept their oppressive hand in Texas."
Rick Perry has become a sort of embarrassment, challenging the federal government about taxes while ignoring the Texas Constitution, which does not grant the state the right to secede from the country. He believes that he is sending a "clear message" that "we won't stand for our pockets to be picked, our children's future to be mortgaged and our rights to be taken away." He says, "we will not be ignored." Obviously, he is not being ignored, with everyone commenting on how ludicrous and extreme his idea of seceding is.
The ideas that Rick Perry is putting out there is similar to the ideas of Rick McLaren, who led a separatist group, which ended up in violence. Hopefully, something like that does not form out of Rick Perry's ideas. It's known that not everyone agrees with what our federal government is doing, but seceding is not the answer. If anything our states need to work together to make things better. And after our new presidential election, we should wait and see how Obama does with fixing things.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Ben Slater's Cannabis
In Ben Slater's blog, he talked about the legalization of cannabis. The introduction consisted of a brief history of American law's changing when view points change. He used that to relate it to the legalization of cannabis, which starts a strong argument. After that, he goes on to explain marijuana and it's stand point in American law. Showing how marijuana is classified and then later going into explaining the drug and what it does. He writes that marijuana is classified incorrectly by referencing books that have research to back up his claim. Doing this creates a very strong argument.
Later he brings into the argument a possible conclusion to our current recession. He states that legalizing cannabis would help our economy because of taxation. He gives evidence that cannabis is the fourth cash crop in America. This helps the audience to relate to the argument. With people seeing the economy going down and receiving the knowledge from the studies conducted on cannabis, it seems that a large number of these people will agree with him. Listing his sources and embedding the information was a really good choice because people will be able to look up more information that verifies his argument.
Later he brings into the argument a possible conclusion to our current recession. He states that legalizing cannabis would help our economy because of taxation. He gives evidence that cannabis is the fourth cash crop in America. This helps the audience to relate to the argument. With people seeing the economy going down and receiving the knowledge from the studies conducted on cannabis, it seems that a large number of these people will agree with him. Listing his sources and embedding the information was a really good choice because people will be able to look up more information that verifies his argument.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Concealed Handguns on Campus
The editorial, Concealed Carry on Campus, is about Texas Legislature passing a bill entitled HB-1893, which will allow students to carry their gun on campus if they have their concealed handgun license. The author writes this editorial to make an argument for this bill. He wants to open the eyes of the public to motivate them to support the bill being proposed.
In the argument the author claims that restricting guns on campus by people that are legally allowed to carry them is wrong and will not benefit the public any more. Throughout the article the author has reliable statistics about the effects of the concealed handgun license. They even put a website if the audience wants to look up more information or verify the information the author has provided. For the evidence the author used statistics showing the decrease of gun related accidents and deaths decreasing after the concealed handgun license was passed. The author also pulled quotes from students that are for concealed handgun licensing. These quotes are all very persuasive; however, it would have been more interesting to also see quotes from students that are against carrying guns on campus. If the author would have included a couple of those and argued against them to make his point it would have even made a stronger argument.
Everything in the editorial is well organized and sticks to the main point. This argument was very strong and persuasive. Because of it’s good logic and persuasiveness it helped me see the authors viewpoint. Overall it was a good argument and I’m interested to see the opposing sides argument and see how it compares.
In the argument the author claims that restricting guns on campus by people that are legally allowed to carry them is wrong and will not benefit the public any more. Throughout the article the author has reliable statistics about the effects of the concealed handgun license. They even put a website if the audience wants to look up more information or verify the information the author has provided. For the evidence the author used statistics showing the decrease of gun related accidents and deaths decreasing after the concealed handgun license was passed. The author also pulled quotes from students that are for concealed handgun licensing. These quotes are all very persuasive; however, it would have been more interesting to also see quotes from students that are against carrying guns on campus. If the author would have included a couple of those and argued against them to make his point it would have even made a stronger argument.
Everything in the editorial is well organized and sticks to the main point. This argument was very strong and persuasive. Because of it’s good logic and persuasiveness it helped me see the authors viewpoint. Overall it was a good argument and I’m interested to see the opposing sides argument and see how it compares.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Stem-cell Research Rider
Recently Senator Steve Ogden has been trying to pass a rider to make sure that stem-cell research will not be funded by Texas money. He said that he wanted to make a statement about the bill so it will continue being silent. The commentators on this article were against this bill. They did not want this bill to be passed. They disagreed because it seems that the rider was only being passed because of Senator Ogden's personal beliefs. Because it is a commentary, they are lacking evidence. All of the commintors seem to be for stem-cell research, stating that the senator needs to "represent the best choices for his constituents" and stem-cell research is not a "flat-earth mythology and ghosts n' goblins" but "health and safety."
Personally, I am indecisive about the topic because of my upbringing. I have not researched the topic enough for me to have a solid opinion on the topic. I feel like I am in the middle. Part of me wants the research to continue, but then part of me does not believe in using embryos. I guess I will have to do some research so that I can make a solid decision.
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/politics/entries/2009/03/24/stemcell_research_advocates_se.html?cxntfid=blogs_postcards
Personally, I am indecisive about the topic because of my upbringing. I have not researched the topic enough for me to have a solid opinion on the topic. I feel like I am in the middle. Part of me wants the research to continue, but then part of me does not believe in using embryos. I guess I will have to do some research so that I can make a solid decision.
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/politics/entries/2009/03/24/stemcell_research_advocates_se.html?cxntfid=blogs_postcards
Friday, March 6, 2009
Treatment Works Bill
I just read an article about a bill that Sens. Rodney Ellis is trying to pass. The bill is called “Treatment Works Bill.” This bill focuses on getting low-level, non-violent, drug offenders out of the state jails and prisons. With drug offenders being out of prison Texas could save $500 million over five years according to the Legislative Budget Board. Doing this during a time of poor economy would be a great idea.
The drug offenders would be put in community supervision and drug treatment. This will still cost money, but the treatment would be paid by the offenders unless they are eligible for government help. This would still cost less because it only costs $3,241 per person with the treatment, but to keep a person in prison costs between $14,000 to $16,000. After the treatment the offender may ask for a nondisclosure allowing him to find a job and funding for education, which also will help them stay clean.
This article is an interesting one to read because it also tells you about prior attempts to pass this bill. Before reading this article I never realized how many people are incarcerated for drug possession and how much our government is spending on keeping them imprisoned. By passing this bill they will be able to save money, spend it on other things that Texas needs, and possibly help offenders get back on their feet without future offenses.
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/HomeLinks2?previewDate=2009-03-06&cachebuster=1236380560
The drug offenders would be put in community supervision and drug treatment. This will still cost money, but the treatment would be paid by the offenders unless they are eligible for government help. This would still cost less because it only costs $3,241 per person with the treatment, but to keep a person in prison costs between $14,000 to $16,000. After the treatment the offender may ask for a nondisclosure allowing him to find a job and funding for education, which also will help them stay clean.
This article is an interesting one to read because it also tells you about prior attempts to pass this bill. Before reading this article I never realized how many people are incarcerated for drug possession and how much our government is spending on keeping them imprisoned. By passing this bill they will be able to save money, spend it on other things that Texas needs, and possibly help offenders get back on their feet without future offenses.
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/HomeLinks2?previewDate=2009-03-06&cachebuster=1236380560
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