Commentary on the Expansion of the MetroRail in Austin

The main goal of the MetroRail is first to reduce the traffic on I35 and Mopac and as a secondary motive to reduce the carbon footprint in Austin. Don’t make the mistake of switching the two. True, being environmentally friendly is very important in Austin but even Austinites hate the traffic on I35. It is necessary for us to get away from using our cars to get everywhere and start using public education. True, right now it is not being utilized as much as it can but like any new product it will be some time before the word spreads of the new service. I think Capital Metro needs to constantly be advertising the train route. People also need to spread the word and talk to people about their experience with the railway. I happened to be on the train 2 months ago and was happy to notice that every seat was taken. If Capital Metro expands this will allow businessmen and those who work in downtown to get to work without being stuck in traffic, therefore freeing up the highway for those who do not have the option of taking a train. Austin is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. It would be foolish not to invest in public transportation.

Transportation in Texas

Transportation in Texas is lacking compared to other big cities in the Northeast. True we drive more cars here and have personal automobiles for our selves but that is obviously causing our streets to be crowded and congested. Not to mention it costs a lot of gas money to have 2 or 3 cars per household. I can see the need for transportation lobbying. The fact is we need more people to be pushing for more public transportation but do we need our money to be going to lobbyists or to public transportation itself. I feel as though people’s money would go to better use if the additions were made to the bus systems and train systems of the big cities in Texas. Austin is a perfect example of a city that needs more railways. Capital Metro started the first rail service that travels from downtown to Leander and that has decreased traffic on I35. If we were to give more money to organizations like Capital metro instead of the lobbyist we have more certainty that the money is being used for good. Where does the money come from? It has got to come from either the air or from people. This article suggests that the money come from cities like North Richland Hills and Burleson, which are cities that lie outside of downtown and would see minimal impact in the near future. It is necessary for everyone to pitch in to see that our cities improve on the traffic and movement of people. 

http://blue-dot-blues.blogspot.com/2009/02/north-texas-cities-ask-for-money-for.html

Commentary on You Can't Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too

I see your point Taylor. As a nonprofit, an organization such as a church cannot have such strong outward opinions about the politics of our country. I believe that this church should be an example of what other churches should not be allowed to do. I don’t know if this is a Mormon church or not but I think it is a bad representation of true Christianity or even the Mormon Church. You will always find outliers or extremists in any religion or group. This is a perfect example of that. However, we should not let one extreme church affect the nonprofit status of others. That sign should have never been put up and I will go as far to say that this church is not one that practices what they preach. I hope individuals like Ray Miller don’t steer people away from Christianity, authentic Christianity.

Apathy in Texas

Apathy about our government in the United States has become a very serious issue. Fewer people are getting involved in the decisions made in that affect our every day lives. This is true for us as a country, and even more locally with our state and local government. Two questions I would like to answer are : What about our Texas culture contributes to lack of participation in our government? How does this lack of participation affect our lives?

Hospitality and acts of kindness are common here in Texas. I would say there is a much more laid back attitude than in the northern part of the United States. I wonder if our laid back culture here in Texas has a part to do with our apathy in the government. I think what we have done here is taken his facet of Southern culture and taken it to an extreme. We would much rather just stay at home and watch sports than watch c span. I don’t blame anyone for picking sports over politics. We must however, be willing to sacrifice a little bit of comfort for the good of Texas. According to Vista Online, “If everyone would devote just two hours a year and attend one local government meeting, every local government meeting would have someone watching them.” This can affect our lives in numerous ways. We are less informed about what our elected officials are doing with our tax money. We are in general just less informed about the changes taking place in our community. Worst of all, we are never in a position to effect the decisions our congressman make if we don’t know what decisions they have been making. It is time for us as Texans to take responsibility for our state and start getting more involved with politics in Texas.

Gambling in Texas

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This article contains an email sent to bigjollypolitics.com announcing the launch of a new pro-gambling support group name Let Texans Decide! It explains who the leader of this group is and the positives of legalizing gambling in Texas. The biggest positive is the economic impact it will have. The author of this article states “he is not a fan of gambling personally” but he does see that it could bring Texas revenue that is now currently going to our border states. He intends this article to be for anyone who is old enough to write his or her legislator. We can affect whether or not gambling is legalized in Texas. I agree with the author. I myself am not much of a gambler but I sure do approve of all the revenue it could bring our state. It is obvious that people in Texas who want to gamble will find a way to gamble in one of our neighboring states. If they are going to gamble they might as well be contributing to the Texas economy and not one of our neighboring states. For those people that see gambling as something that can destroy people, well I don’t disagree. I will say however, people with gambling problems will find a way to gamble whether that is here in Texas or up in Oklahoma. We might as well save them the gas money and fuel this economy. This decision should  be left up to the local governments to decide. I am opposed to federal government interference.

http://www.bigjollypolitics.com/wp/2012/09/19/gambling-in-texas-let-texans-decide/

bigjollypolitics.com--> Search Gambling in Texas --> Click the link named Gambling in Texas: Let Texans Decide! Posted on Sept. 19, 2012 by David Jennings

Religion is alive in public square

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In the article, Editorial: Religion is alive in public square, the author comments on Governor Rick Perry’s notion that “secularists and leftists are trying to keep people of faith from the public arena.” The author disagrees with Rick Perry and believes that people of faith “are involved in the public arena, a key ingredient in a healthy democracy.” The author points “this” (Dallas Morning News) newspaper’s Texas Faith Blog is hosting a discussion at SMU to discuss the 2012 election and common good. I believe that the intended audience is conservative Christians or “people of faith” as the author calls it. When he says “people of faith” I wonder if he means people of any faith. His point of view depends heavily on whether he is a Christian or not. I do believe that the author is correct in his view that conservatives and religious people are involved in a public arena but in my opinion I think that involvement has lessened over the years. Involvement will turn into tolerance and tolerance will turn into intolerance. My one critique of this article is the definition of people of faith. There are many definitions of what a Christian is and unfortunately today a person who is conservative and goes to Church every Sunday is called a Christian. There are many of those people that will be at the SMU discussion that will appear to be “people of faith” but don’t know an ounce of the Bible. I do agree with the author that there’s a place for Christian conservatives in the public arena but I don’t think that the author has a grasp on what a person of faith really is.

 

Dallas Morning News-->News-->Editorials-->Editorials:Religion is alive in public square

 

Food Insecurity

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The article Nearly One in Five Texas Households Experiences Food Insecurity (Thursday Sep. 13, 2012) shows the need that families have in this state to stay fed and at very least have enough food to make it through the day. “18.5 percent of Texas households- nearly one in five – were hungry or at risk of hunger” over the past two years. We rank amount the highest in the United States for food insecurity. This shows that we didn’t escape the recession. We should not be okay with any of this. As Texans we need to strive to be better. One in five Texans skip meals so their children can have enough to eat. What alarms me is that earlier this year Republicans tried to cut the food stamp program.  This is an article worthy of being read because it shows us that as a state we need to do a better job so that everyone can have enough food to eat. How to do it is the question.