Prejudices against El Paso, Texas

(Other ways to access article: http://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily-post/jeff-sessions-likened-el-paso-war-zone/ , Texas Monthly, Jeff Sessions likened El Paso to a war zone)

          On a recent visit to El Paso, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions stated that “[El Paso] is ground zero - this is the front lines, and this is where we are making our stand.” Many critics have claimed these declarations as unfair, offensive, and simply not true, and I agree. El Paso has been declared one of the safest cities in America, and the city has made it to the “Congressional Quarterly's list” claiming the city one of safest “in America for four straight years from 2010 to 2014.”
          Then why would Sessions claim that El Paso is “ground zero?” One simple explanation can be that more people are beginning to view Mexicans as criminals after Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, and according to Borderplex Alliance’s website, El Paso contains more than 80% Hispanics. In an infamous speech made by Donald Trump, he claimed that Mexican Immigrants are “rapist” and “criminals.” This is thought by many to have caused government officials to uselessly scrutinize Mexican-majority cities such as El Paso, but this is extremely unfair to those regions.
          The misleading claims by Jeff Sessions and Donald Trump fill people with fear about these cities and the Mexican community in general. Nothing good can come from these frightful sentiments about Hispanics. First, cities such as El Paso will likely experience less tourism and population growth from outer cities and states which can negatively affect their economy. In addition, people might be inclined to treat people of Mexican descent in a discriminatory manner; this can cause unnecessary conflict between Mexicans who feel the need to a backlash against racism and those who are biased against them. Instead of blindly criticizing Mexicans, Government officials such as Trump and Sessions should spend more time reaching out to these citizens, such as answering their question concerns, in order to understand their culture a little better; this causes a better relationship between the two groups which builds trust and reduces unjust prejudices.

Commentary on Austin and a MetroRail transit system.

Many drivers in Highway I 35 seem to have become more reckless over the years causing irritation and road rage! A driver can wait in traffic for hours before getting from one side of town to the other. Our highway system in Austin was definitely not constructed to withstand the drivers of the fastest growing city in the nation. Therefore, I agree with Jose that a MetroRail transit system would be beneficial to Austin by providing more safety and mobile effectiveness to our transportation system.

Jose mentions that a MetroRail transit system will provide a quicker transportation system in Austin. A MetroRail system would definitely be helpful to overcome Austin’s unnecessary traffic. If more people use this MetroRail transit system it is likely that fewer cars will be on Austin's highways; this would also cause a less compacted transportation system for those who still wish to use their automobiles. In addition, those who use the MetroRail would have an easier and calmer transportation experience than those who currently waste their time and effort on the notorious highway I 35.

Jose also states that a MetroRail system would improve the safety of our city, and I agree with this. He mentions that MetroRail is “eco-friendly” and does not require fossil fuel. I believe this is extremely important since NASA claimed that 2016 was the warmest year yet; if we don’t aggressively attack climate change soon then we’ll be frowned upon by future generations for not keeping the world safe for them. In addition, a MetroRail transit system would reduce the stress that comes with our traffic. Rather than worrying if a driver is about to cut you off on the road you can catch up on work during your transportation experience in a MetroRail transit system. This provides tranquility to Austinites, reducing the chances of one getting an anxiety attack or making irrational and dangerous decisions on the road

Texas and Marijuana

Many Democrats have introduced bills in 2017 that would legalize medical marijuana in Texas and decriminalize small possessions of it, but these lawmakers admit that it's unlikely the bills will be adopted because of our mostly conservative legislature. However, some of the bills have gained some bipartisan support such as HB 81, "the bill to decriminalize low-volume possession," which is supported by Republican Jason Isaac of the Texas House of Representatives. Therefore, the introduction of these marijuana bills to our state legislature is a good strategie from the Democrats because it gives our legilators the opportunity to have serious discussions about the potential benifits that can come from legalizing marijuana in Texas.

In 2017, the Texas government has a very limited amount of money because of things such as tax cuts from the past. According to "a cannabis market research firm," the states that have legalized marijuana in some form have made a 8 billion dollar profit from the plant, and that number is currently growing. Legalization of marijuana could be beneficial to Texas' budget problem by taxing the product and getting it out of the black market.

Another problem that legalization of marijuana could help fix is the issue of criminal reform in Texas. Right now if a Texan gets caught with a small possession of marijuana they have to go to court, pay a fine, and possibly do time in jail. This can cause ones record to be negatively affected and even prevent them from getting certain jobs in the future. Leagalization or decriminalization of this plant can prevent Texans from dealing with the burden of a bad record and even waste of time.

Lastly, marijuana has proven to be beneficial for many medical purposes. For example, many studies have found that marijuana can prevent the spreading of cancer cells, so if this plant can help prevent diseases then Texas should follow the example of other states that approve of medical marijuana. If Texas Republicans keep on failing to acknowledge the benifits of medical marijuana they fail to provide Texans with a complete list of options that they can choose from to improve their health.

(Other ways to access article: Austin American Statesman, "Texas lawmakers wighing flurry of marijuana-related bills,"

http://www.mystatesman.com/business/texas-lawmakers-weighing-flurry-marijuana-related-bills/TLd7JNkw5lXz9nRTFQ8XCO)

Texas Democrats need more progressive candidates.

          In the Texas Legislature, Democrats and Republicans constantly compete for seats in the senate and house of representatives. However, in her article "It's Time To Primary DINOS," Andrea Greer claims Democrats haven't been able to present a real challenge to the Republicans in modern history, and have only been able to maintain the seats that they currently have. Greer claims that the main cause of this is due to the failure of Texas Democrats, such as Texas Senator Eddie Lucio Jr, to promote real progressive ideas and because of their support for very conservative legislation; consequently, many Democratic Texans avoid showing up at the polls because they don’t trust the government. Therefore, I agree that the Texas Democratic Party should promote more progressive candidates in order to politically engage communities that have historically and culturally felt omitted by the government and so that their voices can actually be represented in our state legislature.
          Andrea Greer uses the fact that Democrat Eddie Lucio Jr has voted for restroom restrictions for transgender people and voted against bills that would make it easier for women to get abortions as evidence that some Texas Democrats are too closely related to their conservative counterparts. These type of Democrats only make it harder for progressive Democrats and their ideas to succeed in our legislation. Furthermore, this causes people that have historically voted in low numbers, such as minority groups, to distrust government even further and to become confused about what party to identify with. For example, if an individual who finds politics irrelevant comes to find out that certain party members aren’t even loyal to their party's platform, his or her interest in politics will only decline because they’ll feel that they can’t trust politicians.
          Greer suggests that the Democratic party should promote sincerely progressive Democrats in order to engage communities, whose “disgust in the system is growing,” in politics and government in order to for their party to possess a greater challenge to the Republicans. If Democrats were able to reach out to communities such as minority groups and transgender people, and prove that they truly represent their interest and not the interest of the Republicans than more of these communities are likely to show up at the polls which could provide the Texas Democratic Party with more power.

(Other ways to access article: Burnt Orange Report, Andrea Greer, "It's Time To Primary DINOS," http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/32530/time-primary-dinos )

The lie told by Greg Abbot concerning border safety.

Governor Greg Abbott's statement that “ISIS is running through a border made porous by Barack Obama’s policies” was criticized as “ridiculous” by Politifact Texas. I agree with Politifact Texas' claim that this statement was completely false because of the proof presented by them in this article. For example, Politifact Texas asked the Texas Department of Public Safety for information regarding ISIS activity at the border, and a DPS spokesman told them that they didn’t have that sort of information. In addition, spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, Marsha Catron, told Politifact Texas that “DHS does not have any credible intelligence that terrorist organization are planning to attempt to cross the southwest border.” These statements prove that government intelligence disagrees with Abbot’s claim. However, in order to avoid bias, Politifact Texas also asked the same question to non-government experts who replied in a similar manner. For instance, Victor M. Manjarrez, “director of the National Center for Border Security & Immigration at the University of Texas at El Paso,” told Politifact Texas that claims of terrorist activity in the southwest border have been discredited. Politifact Texas also found evidence that contradicted the idea of “a border made porous by Barack Obama's policies.” For example, Richard Nelson of the Center for Strategic & International Studies notified Politifact Texas that Obama has provided a large amount of resources directed for border security. Other federal figures, according to Politifact Texas, claim that these resources caused “apprehensions of individuals crossing the border without legal authority” to decrease; in 2015 the number of apprehensions at the border was 331,333 which is 39 percent lower than apprehensions in 2009. These facts provided by experts on immigration show that Greg Abbott's statement of the safety of the Texas border was not only false but irresponsible as well.

(OTHER WAYS OF FINDING ARTICLE:
Politifact Texas, "ISIS is running through a border made porous by Barack Obama's policies," http://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2016/jun/17/greg-abbott/greg-abbott-makes-unfounded-claim-about-isis-runni/ )

Ted Cruz vs the people.

The article "Ted Cruz Locks Constituents Out, Won't Make Appointments," speaks of a recent event of voters denied access to speak to our Senator Ted Cruz. For a while now, constituents have been trying to reach Senator Ted Cruz in order to voice their thoughts concerning Donald Trump's nominees. Voters have attempted calling Cruz’ staffers but their calls go straight to voicemail; which is so full that staffers are “unable to accept new messages.” On January 24, 2017, a few people visited Ted Cruz’ Houston district office, and two people were allowed to talk to staff members only to be told that only “representatives of groups” could meet with Cruz and that they had to schedule an appointment by phone!
I believe this article is worth reading because it allows us as Texas citizens to get a better understanding of how our senator regards the people that he represents in Congress. One can conclude from this article that it can be next to impossible to speak to our Senators. If we allow our Senators or any elected candidate to get away with these actions of misrepresentation than they’ll be forced to believe that there is no problem to be solved.

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