Lets Test our Luck.

We as Texans can feel the impact of the deficit in our lives. Although its not only the adults who are losing jobs, but also the children who may face the deficits impact in  their learning environment. As I was going through my classmates blogs I came across Tri Nguyens' blog Gambling Anywhere But Texas, and I can say that what Tri states about allowing gambling in some cities in Texas would bring more money to our grand state.Tri tells us about how we spend 2.5billion dollars in other states because of gambling. He also tells us that its not just gambling that brings in revenue to the state its also the shopping, the tourist spots, and the fine dinning. He allows us to see a bright idea about where we could get more money and he explains it very well. He clearly tells us about why this would benefit the state and that it's not just the gambling that brings money in. If someone says good things about the tourist spots in Texas, the good places to eat, and all the good things to do in Texas then people will be compelled to come visit our beautiful state. I enjoyed reading his blog and found to hold good point of view that i wish our state officials would have. We need money and thats a fact, but instead of cutting corners where they shouldn't we should build a stronger base for a better tomorrow for our children, and allow them a good education(well as good an education public schools give). 

Thus There is No More Bill.

           As I have talked about in a previous blog post i'm not all that comfortable with letting individual carry concealed handguns on school grounds. On May 3 an article was posted regarding a bill that was amended by Sen, Jeff Wentworth R-Laredo to allow concealed handguns on school grounds, the amendment would only apply to public schools. This new amendment to the bill would not include private institutions like Baylor University and Texas Christian University and according to Sen Wentworth it would also save the other higher education but according to Sen Ziffrini thats not enough for her to let them add that amendment to her bill because she opposes letting students carry a concealed handgun. The bill was pulled by Sen Ziffirini and was ''left in limbo'' like the author has stated. This bill was not passed by the house but is still left to be voted on by chamber. 

        I feel a bit more at ease knowing that this bill has not been passed by the house. In class I can now sit with a piece of mind knowing that there won't be a student who has a gun, and there wont be a problem with what if there is someone in here with a weapon and he is displeased with a grade or has a heated discussion with a fellow  classmate or teacher. The author does a good job with telling us about how this happy moment has happened, well happy for me. I feel he did a good job in explaining how the bill was pulled and even though it was going to get passed that Sen Zaffirini pulled it anyways. He also told us the amendment that Sen Wentworth would make to the bill and what it would exclude and include. Texas Senate takes up another round of guns debate this the name of the article if you wish to read further and it's at Statesman.com

            

Save our Education, and Let it Pass...

An artical was posted in the blog called "TexasGovsta" titled "Cut the 911 Budget!" by launicanena24. In this post she talks how Rep. Paul Workman , R-Austin plans on making budget cuts to the 911 answering services. Ms. Alvarado mentions how the bill would cut down cost in the less trafficking places like; Elgin, Lago Vista, and some other places that are getting less calls.

I agree with her, because like she states why do we have to make cuts where they really effect do effect us. We need those teachers, librarians, and other staff they plan to cut for our children to get a better future. She clearly states how she feels about this bill and she makes it clear how the bill is going to work and explains that are more parts to it than just that. Ms. Alvarado has a good standpoint she worries about our education, and the education of our grand state. All in all  i agree that this bill is better for the states future than overstuffed classrooms, not having counslers, and not having librarians. Thank you Ms. Alvarado for the enlightening article and putting me more at ease knowing that there is such a bill being evaluated.

Danger, Danger

           As I was searching the state newspapers for interesting article that would catch my attention I came across an article that terrifies me, the article talks about the possibility of individuals being able to bring concealed weapons into schools, bars, and even churches. When did it become okay to even consider bringing a gun into a church the place that is sacred. Wayne Slater tells us about the reasons behind why Texas law makers would consider on passing the law. In the article it mentions the shooting of Congresswomen Gabrielle Giffords, he mentions the fear that Texas Government officials have about going to certain places and being in the open, but would it make a difference if they had a gun, or would having a gun make the bad situation worse? 

         The article mentions that citizens that want this "privilege" of carrying a concealed hand gun would only have to take a class that is all but 10 hours and pass a background check. These measures don’t really prevent someone who is mentally unstable but hasn’t shown signs of being unstable from passing the course and the background check, there are so many scenarios to what could happen and as i see the Texas officials are only thinking about themselves. The article depicts the reasoning as to why they have considered it at all and as far as i can see the reasons are only for their protection, they don’t mention anything about the citizens’ protection with these laws. Wayne Slater presents a good article for the purpose it was meant for but he should have talked about the bill and restrictions the bill has. I feel that he hasn’t fully explained how this law would work but in the end the article was mainly to talk about the why the law makers would consider passing it, if you care to read more about it you can read it at Dallas Morning News and its titled Measure would let Texas legislators carry concealed weapons into bars, churches, schools by Wayne Slater.

And the Truth will set Us Free

After I began  reading the blog entry Your money now belongs to the state, but don't worry - it's not a tax posted on march, 21 in Harold Crooks blog Letters from Texas i realized the state politicians are very shady in how they get tax money, and how they use the money they manage to get from us. Cooks clearly lets the reader know what a tax revenue is and where it is, and that is real good for someone like me who has no or little interest in politics. He also talks about the way that this tax revenue isn't included when the budget writers are coming up with our budget.
        I adore the way Cooks said how the government tries to say that the things that they make us give them aren't taxes when in reality they are. He says they were once ours but now they're the governments, and they say there not taxes. Cook points out taxes the citizens don't even notice anymore, for instance the ones in our utility bills and the ones in our phone bills. This money accumulates over the years because like the author has mentioned very little or none of it has been spent, so instead of taking away teachers, librarians, counslers they should use that money to compensate for the a little of the shortfall we are facing today. Lastly he ends his entry in a way that gets the readers mind going. He states that the investigation that should be done cant be done because it takes money, he also says that they should lay out  a plan and that would be a good solution to like Cook said get us back on track financially speaking.

More school budget cuts

The article in the statesman,  No magic hat for Austin schools' budget woes it states a sad but true reality for the students in the Austin school districts, a reality that will force teachers to teach classrooms that over stuffed, because of the 350 faculty staff cut and a third of librarians. this leaves children not getting the attention they require because the classrooms will be crammed. A district-appointed task force has also suggested that the shutting down as many as nine schools, and once again this leads to the fact this will create a crammed learning environment for the students to learn and the teachers to teach in.
           The author of this article states that the schools that are at risk of being shut down are the schools that deal with minority children. These schools that face the risk of being shut down has an affect on the students, because this will make it harder for them to attend school, because they will have to change schools. They will attend schools and be put in classrooms that are to full, and they wont be able to get the help they need from teaches because of the classroom size. Ultimately it all leads back to what the children of today have to deal with because the legislature has done a poor job with the state budget. We as a state wouldn't be facing this crisis of layoffs and faculty cuts and the ones that pay the price of others poor judgment are the children. If this article caught your eye and you are interested in our children future this article can be found in Austin American Statesman.

No One is Safe...

          In the article " Funding cut hurt Dallas' homeless" it shows that in this state wide budget cut  there isnt anyone who wont come out hurt from it, even our homeless get effected by the budget cuts. The cuts are forcing The homeless assistance center in Dallas to turn away around 300 million people because of the $1 million dollars they will not be getting this year.The Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance has said that this has placed about 960 people in homes, has brought down the crime rate in downtown, and has saved the tax payers money, so in other words the money given to places that help the homeless have helped not only the homeless, but also others as well.This comes to show that the pretty picture the Gov. Rick Perry painted for everyone in his speech was just a delusion that came from the shock of how big the deficit is.