Finally Cracking Down on Human Trafficking

In the blog Everything is Better in Texas, the author wrote an article titled Human Trafficking in Houston, where she talks about new legislation passed in which people found guilty of Human Trafficking will face much harsher punishment than previously. She says new punishments could consist of being registered as a Texas Sex Offender, guilty of a First Degree felony and up to life in prison. She feels as if it is about time human trafficking is exposed to stricter punishments, and it is. I completely agree, why in 2011 is human trafficking finally a First Degree felony? It definitely should have been for awhile now, but like the author says at least Texas legislators are finally taking a more stringent approach to human trafficking.

Is Rick Perry Selling Out Hispanics for Presidency?

The rumors are not yet confirmed, but polls show that Governor Rick Perry would be a worthy Republican candidate for President in 2012. He has been charming his way across America promoting his book, and getting in close with potential campaign sponsors. So how far is Perry willing to go to impress his Republican party? 

It’s crucial as Governor of Texas, which is 38% Hispanic, to be close with the Hispanic community or at least compassionate with them. Rick Perry does meet this standard. In 2001 he signed the DREAM Act, which allowed non US citizen children who have lived in Texas for 3 years and received a high school diploma or equivalent, to pay in state tuition for Texas universities and colleges.

However, in recent months since Perry has been under a magnifying glass, he has been much harsher on immigration. Given his party’s political platform and stance on immigration, it seems only necessary for Perry to step up his game and take immigration by the reins. So that is exactly what he does.

Perry’s current agenda involves passing an immigration bill, in which Texas police officers are given full authority to question any detainee on their citizenship status. When the bill was put on the floor during the Texas legislator’s regular session, it was barely voted against due to the strong sentiments from some Democratic Senators. However, the next day Perry called a special session to push the bill. Many Democrats and others in opposition of the bill, say the bill is racist against Hispanics and it encourages profiling.

Why does Perry try so hard to pass some legislation, at a time where he may possibly be in the run as a Republican nominee for President? Is he just trying to look good for the Republican caucus? It sure does appear that way, and it’s unfortunate that Hispanics are getting the short end of the stick.

Rick Perry for President 2012?

In the liberal Texan blog, The Burnt Orange Report, blogger Katherine Haenschen gives her reasons as to why she believes, despite an official announcement, that Texas Gov. Rick Perry will run for President in 2012. Her article, gives reasons and signs that Rick Perry is gearing up for a presidential election campaign.

The first reason is that after speculating all the details, Perry seems to be one of the best candidates to go up against Obama. He is capable of bringing together most of the conservative groups like Christians and members of the Tea Party, which was a successful strategy used in the Bush campaign. His upcoming prayer rally is also a sign of an interest in presidency, for it's a prime opportunity to meet and gain support from religious right-winged groups and leaders. The release of his new book, Fed Up!: Our Fight to Save America from Washington, gives Perry lots of publicity as he travels through swing states promoting his book and meeting potential campaign sponsors. Haenschen also pointed out Perry's recent attempts to pass harsher anti-immigration laws, once again to gain more support from Republican voters. Her last reason that she believes Perry plans to run for president, is that he has been attending pro-life events that are outside of Texas, with it being well known that abortion is a major deciding factor for many voters.

The Burnt Orange Report is a liberal blog whose overall topic is Texas, mainly politics and government. Therefore, the intended audience would liberal Texans. This is made evident by the author's word choice, like anti-choice rather than pro-life, or GOP nope-fuls instead of hopefuls. The Burnt Orange Report was started up by students, which I am going to guess Katherine Haenschen is also. It seems as though she must have some sort of college education, but I'm not sure how credible she is since her Twitter page has a lot to do with her likeness of beer. Nonetheless, her blog post on Perry running for president has plenty of evidence behind it to make her conjecture plausible.

Rick Perry: Christian First, Governor Second

In an editorial in The Dallas Morning News, the author claims that Governor Rick Perry's upcoming prayer rally is too exclusionary and political. The prayer rally is to be held on August 6th in Houston, where thousands of attendees will "pray for America".

The author feels that by Gov. Perry hosting the rally and his office recruiting evangelicals to help lead the event, he is partaking in matters that intentionally exclude non-christian religions. Also, with rumors of possibly running for president in 2012, the author speculates that the governor is using the rally to gain political support from people being featured on August 6th. The author validates their belief by stating that extreme evangelical pastors will lead the event, and the American Family Association is funding the event. Both of whom have a strong political influence and promote conservative christian values.

The intended audience for an editorial like this would be anyone interested in the affairs of Governor Rick Perry. Most likely people trying to stay up to date on current events, especially those interested in politics. Like all opinionated articles, it's just bringing to light one side of the argument, so even people who don't agree with the author would still read it for the point-of-view.  

The author's name is not provided, and therefore his/her credibility could not be fully determined. However, The Dallas Morning News has been in circulation for over a hundred years, and they have won several Pulitzer Prizes among other awards. For those reasons I would doubt that they would hire anyone less than credible, nor publish an editorial with false information.

I feel that the prayer rally should still go on, but without Gov. Rick Perry being so closely tied to it. By only inviting leaders in the christian religion to help lead the rally, he chose to exclude all other religions. No governor nor any other leader, should ever sell out another group to further his own political agenda.

Texas Legislators Vs. Texas Public Education

In the Austin American Statesman article, As Texas Prepares for Failure, the author feels that Texas legislators are being irrational in trying to cut public education funding by billions of dollars. Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. 
David Dewhurst defend the cut in funding for they believe it is necessary in order to lower taxes. However, the author claims that a business tax Gov. Perry promoted in 2005 is the real cause of the tax structure problem, and therefore public education should not be taking the hit for it. This also comes at a time where Texas public education has already had to make significant reductions in staff and program funding, and any more cuts in funding would only further exacerbate current conditions.

If Gov. Perry has his way, the author predicts even more programs to be canceled and more teachers and staff to be fired. I found the article to be eye-opening and the author convincing. As a student of the public education system in Texas this article effected me as I am sure it effects many others.