Up in Smoke

In response to Mark’s post “*Cough*” he explains his view on the impact of second hand smoke.

From the beginning of Mark’s post he brings a picture into my mind of exactly what I think when I walk by a cloud of cigarette smoke. The smell of cigarettes is nauseating to me and as he stated “I don't even want to think about what it's doing to my lungs.”

As Mark goes on he brought reliable facts from the American Cancer Society website on how harmful second hand smoke really is. I didn’t even know that the number of fatalities tied to second hand smoke was so high! It’s scary to think how many times I may have walked past someone that was smoking and how much of an impact it can have on a person. I know some people can’t kick the habit, but as Mark had explained going off campus can benefit us nonsmokers and leave smokers to do their own thing. 

I appreciate that he showed there is a solution to the problem of second hand smoke by bringing up ACC and how they banned smoking on campus. I agree that this was a great decision and I am glad I can walk into class without harming my health or smelling like a pack of cigarettes.

Distracted driving is blind driving

In this so technology forward era you can’t drive down the street without seeing somebody on their phone in the car next to you. Recently a 21 year old college student name Chase Bothe foretold his future when he sent a text saying he needed to quit texting and driving or he would end up in a car crash consequently he ended up in the exact situation he had texted. Cell phones seem to be an essential item in the 21st century, but is using it on the road really worth it? 

In the article, “Cell phone & texting accident statistics,” it said that at least 6,000 deaths and at least half a million injuries are caused by distracted drivers every year. That is incredibly high amount of fatalities for something that can wait. According to another article, “What is distracted driving?,” it stated that  “sending or receiving a text takes a driver's eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent-at 55 mph-of driving the length of an entire football field, blind.” Using a phone and driving can only mean dire consequence according to these facts. As Chase Bothe said, “Don't do it. It's not worth losing your life.”

In June 2011, Perry vetoed the HB 242 which would have banned texting while driving. Texas needs harsher laws for distracted driving. Only two laws were enacted, one prohibits teens from using cellular devices even if it is hands free and the other prohibits the use of cell phones in school zones. That isn’t enough when we can obviously see that there are so many casualties annually. Texas should ban all phone use on the road. It could change our statistics and make Texas roads safer. With all the crazy things that already happen on the road a cell phone should be the last thing on people’s minds.

Get out the car, we're taking a joyride

In response to Cynthia’s post “Let’s Take a Joyride!” she goes in depth on how an expanded Austin MetroRail would be a great advantage for us and I couldn’t agree more.

Have you seen the gas prices lately? They are just burning a hole in my pocket and laughing at my sad face as I drive off from an overpriced gas station. With the growing population which means more cars and more unbearable traffic, Cynthia explained some great wins for riding public transportation.

Cynthia had some credible knowledge on our Austin MetroRail. Considering the fact she pointed out that most stops will leave you walking and by walking I mean you better have some good shoes on because your destination will be far. I agree that expanding the route could only have a good outcome considering the recent boom in population as shown by Cynthia’s article on the Texas census. An expanded route will get people where they need to go. This brings another one of her points out that an expanded Austin MetroRail “will get more car traffic out of the streets” and “will decrease pollution in the air.” How can someone say no to that!?  Texas traffic is unbearable and anything that can ease that slow snail moving traffic is awesome in my book.

Throughout her post she stated many more valid points on why she supports an expanded Austin MetroRail and I like how her statements can all be credited by the other article she had used. In my opinion I would definitely take that joyride and keep my pockets and the Earth happy.

No fracking way!

In 2011, Gov.Rick Perry signed a bill that required drillers to show what chemicals and the amounts they use while fracking making Texas the first state to do so. The real question is why were the drillers hiding this information in the first place?

Even though fracking is considered a cheaper and cleaner source of electricity than coal it could cause big potential dangers environmentally. Texas should ban fracking because it can cause more problems that may have an outcome that is hard to fix.  In the news article, “Natural gas “fracking”boom in South Texas,” Actor Mark Ruffalo asked "Where did we get to a point, when we are even considering, there's even a debate, not to wait, and test, and make sure that what we are doing is safe?"  After reading this question and looking at the cons I don’t see why fracking is used. If not done properly fracking can contaminate our water and by contaminating I mean you could literally set your faucet water on fire. Fracking also uses large amounts of water, it has been linked to earthquakes and it leaks more emissions than coal.

So is it really worth it? I believe not with water being very important to us covering about 70 percent of the earth and composing most of our body how could we even think to endanger it. What we really need to do is try and stop ourselves from relying so much on nonrenewable resources. We are harming our home and instead of trying to find newer and safer ways to run ourselves we continue to find ways to suck all the life out of it.  

Time for a Change?

On Thursday July 19th, 2012 Paul Burka posted an editorial on his blog, Burka Blog, about Obama’s recent declaration of Texas future as a swing state. In the article, “Politicio: InAustin, Obama predicts Texas will be a swing state,” it talks about Texas’ future as a dominate Republican state. The article is directed towards the Texas population, mainly Republicans to decide whether Obama’s statement could become true. Burka’s claim is stated towards the end where he flip flops from agreeing with Obama’s prediction that Texas is “destined” to change, but he then disagreed with the time frame stating the change will not occur till “2020.”

After reading this article it seems Democrats still have a fighting chance. In the article, the author had very acceptable proof to back up his claims. He had interviewed party chairman Steve Munisteri in a previous column and got his opinion towards the whole situation. Munisteri brought up demographics as a clear win for Democrats. He also brought up the fact that with the rising number of Hispanics and the absent relationship between them and Republicans that this could make or break Republican’s hold on Texas.  

After reading more facts presented and also doing a little research on Munisteri  I was persuaded to agree with both the author’s claims. I believe demographics are exactly what may change Republicans dominance over Texas. I also agreed with the author’s statement about how it might take a while because for one, like stated in the article, Texan Hispanics don’t vote and most have the values of a Republican which may take Democrats a while to change. Secondly, Steve Munisteri  is trying to make a relationship with Hispanics which could keep the Republican train moving and keep the Democratic party chasing after.

No Money?.. No Care!

An editorial posted on July 9, 2012 from the Dallas News elaborated on why Rick Perry’s response towards changes to Texas health care was not an excellent one. The editorial, “Rick Perry’s predictable call on health care”, addresses the Texas population to contemplate on why the decision may have caused significant problems for Texas. From the very first paragraph of the article the author offers his claim as a disagreement with Perry stating that “we are the worst in the nation” in regards to health care and that is why we need to change our system.  

Before I began to read this article I was a little hesitant to agree with this whole new health care system only because I had not read up on it. In the article, it lays out a fact that “one out of every four residents has no health insurance” which was outstanding to read. When health care is so substantial how can a person be denied of it? Reading on the author brings logical evidence forward including how eligibility standards are preventing working people from getting health insurance. If citizens are working why deny them of health insurance only because of their income? I mean taxpayers are already paying for the uninsured as stated in the article. The author added many more pro health care statements to the fire and concluded the article with what could be the stats of coverage for the Texas population.

As for me I couldn’t help myself to change my mind and agree with this article. It made me read more into this situation and even though there are some flaws it could be a really good change for Texas. Perry just shut it up so quickly. It seems like he just needs to get off his high horse and notice the people he’s stepping on, for it seems like he doesn’t see the fear in those uninsured who have to live without care.

Disappearing Democrats?

Austin AmericanStatesman posted an article about the weakness of Democratic dominance over Texas. The article focused on reasons why Democrats are not stepping up to the plate even though they have plenty of resources. Many ideas were shown one being that because Democrats are outnumbered in the state they have a lack of authority. Another reason was that there is a depleted image of the party. So after reading the question came to mind, are the Democrats losing their spark and pushing themselves under the rug? Others believe that is not the case and that the future looks bright even though it might be a long road ahead. This article informs readers on some interesting ideas about where Texas Democrats are and how there might be solutions in the future that will bring them back to fight.