Tanning? Really?

I must say, people now a days never cease to do something that's so mind boggling, it's ridiculous. Kids wanting to tan at the age of sixteen or maybe even younger? What kind of an image are we planting into the minds of the young today? I would definitely agree with Michael that this is just crazy.
With all the kids wanting to tan and "look good," legislation had to be passed in order to keep things from getting out of hand. This really tells you something. If a sixteen year-old is wanting to tan so badly this time around, what will the next one want to do? Get implants?
I also like how Michael points out one of the lamest arguments made by Rep. Jodie Laubenberg, and his retort to the argument is just classic. Really, why would anyone want to argue against this legislation otherwise. It is fully evident that tanning alone causes health problems. Mix that up with an undeveloped body, a little bit of over tanning here and there, and you got yourself some nice skin cancer.

Source:
Vilaythong, Michael. Teen Tanning Wha?. 14 May 2009

Hey, Nice Wall

I found this blog to be fairly humorous and true. The author probably wrote this to poke some fun at our government at "work." It is about the nice, pretty 18-foot wall that was going to be built along the border of the US and Mexico. The good news is that President Obama decided not to throw in loads of money to build the wall. That will save us billions of dollars or so. On the other hand, the determination to finish the 670 miles of fencing is still present. Thanks to our lovely Bush administration, this 670 miles of fencing will be fulfilled by none other than Obama himself.
The author also writes about a Brownsville landowner who would be screwed by this fencing. Eloisa Tamez is the unlucky candidate that would be affected by this fencing, and I would assume there are many others as well. The fencing would cut straight through her backyard. She has fought two long years to keep the fencing from ruining her home. But the moment she lost, the Department of Homeland Security practically threw up a fence on her property overnight.
I honestly didn't think that putting up an 18-foot steel and concrete wall would really help all too much with the illegal border hopping. And with a wall that size and caliber, you can only imagine how costly maintenance would be. I would definitely like to agree with the author. Her evidence showed that the idea of constructing the gigantic wall was probably one of the worst decisions ever. I would also like to say "thank you, President Bush," for taking care of Texas even when you're no longer in office.

Source:
Bosque, Melissa. "Mr. Obama Tear Down that Wall." 14 May 2009. http://www.texasobserver.org/blog/?p=1332

Note: This is my Blog Stage 4. Blog 7 is one the below.

OH! No Smoking Here!

All the way back in 2007, there was a bill passed, in the House, to ban smoking in the workplace and at bars...sort of, but the bill died by the time it reached the Senate. This time around, in 2009, the Lance Armstrong Foundation is really pushing for the newer bills to be passed. And instead of the "this is banned..sort of, kind of, in a way" type of deal, they are really pushing hard for the full on banning of smoking in the workplace and bars. The reason why the foundation is supporting this bill is because they want to save people's lives and help prevent deaths from secondhand smoke. Rep. Myra Crownover claims that "this will absolutely, positively save lives."

On the opposing end of this bill, the opponents argue that the banning should be left to local business owners to decide. Bob Deuell, a doctor, brings up a very good point: "I hate cigarettes, but I don't think (lawmakers) have the right to regulate private property."

But honestly though, I don't think that this banning would make much of a difference in preventing secondhand smoke. I can see the sanitary issues where smoking would cause some problems, especially in restaurants. I've seen a chef cooking with a cigarette in the corner of his mouth, and the ash barely hanging off the end. It makes you wonder where that ash might be next. I mean, if someone can't smoke in one place, then they'd go off and smoke somewhere else and give other people secondhand smoke. Not to mention, this might hurt some bars that make some revenue off of selling cigarettes to their nicotine addicted customers.

Source:
MacLaggan, Corrie; Yadron, Danny. "With time running out, statewide smoking ban in limbo." Austin American Statesmen. http://www.statesman.com/news/content/region/legislature/stories/05/07//0507smoking.html

Response to "JACKPOT $$$ (x10)"

When I read Mai's post about gambling, it reminded me of the gambling issue that I wrote about in my earlier blog. I would like to agree with what she is saying. Despite all the money that could be brought in from tourists, coming into possible Texas casinos, gambling could cause a huge a problem. I myself have witnessed crazed gamblers with my own eyes. Throwing down everything they have in their pockets and hope to win back what they have already lost. By the end of the night, they walk away empty handed. And by implementing credit card usage with the gambling machines, that can only spell game over. You can pull out money and lose it with every swipe; now that's what you call "losing your life with every swipe."
If gambling is made legal in a down time like this, people will be burning their wallets and pawning their houses. This can only cause more and more trouble. More families can end up falling deeper into debt, more bills going unpaid month after month, more houses being foreclosed, this can only spell disaster. Before you know it, you can pawn your whole life away before the fat lady gets a chance to sing. But on the bright side of things, lawyers, therapists, and psychologists will be turning some profit.

Immi what? Immigration?

A controversial topic of illegal immigration, here in Texas, raises fists and eyebrows alike. Whether the immigrants have green cards or not, whether they legally stepped in to Texas soil or hopped the border, immigration has become a problem with benefits. Immigrants have helped the Texas economy by providing cheap labor. Although, due to the tremendous amounts of immigrants being classified as the “working poor,” it is draining tax money that the citizens of Texas have to pay. Commonly, the tax money that is used is for healthcare. Many bills have been proposed to deal with the problem of illegal immigration. Some of the bills would include things that would restrict certain services to illegal immigrants as well as bills that would harshly punish businesses that would employ illegal immigrants. Some of the bills that were proposed would include: denying birthright citizenship to babies that are born of parents that are “illegal.” Also a bill that would deny tuition benefits to “illegal” children and would require them to pay a higher tuition fee.

Many complain about how “those illegal immigrants are taking our jobs” but really, they’re doing the jobs that we personally won’t do. It is very hard to fully support the idea of illegal immigration, but it’s also something that is hard to prevent. Statistically, there are many benefits that some may overlook, though; some can argue that illegal immigration causes nothing but trouble “and money is coming out of our pockets for nothing.” Also, a sense of morality sets in. Seeing how most, if not all, of the illegal immigrants are working for dirt paying salaries brings about a sense of pity. Some can also argue that due to the large amounts of influence from the immigrants, some fear that Texas would one day completely lose its culture.

Source:

Ratcliffe, R.G. Illegal workers the talk of Texas. Houston Chronicles. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4440332.html

45-Day Notice Before Getting Kicked Out the House

After browsing through some editorials, I found one about giving Texas homeowners foreclosure safeguards. I would agree with some of what the author is saying in this editorial. In these bad times it is good to try to help homeowners keep their homes. The author is most likely targeting households that are facing foreclosure or those households that are very close to it.
I definitely agree that a 20-day notice period before a foreclosure is way too short for anything to happen. Most likely the homeowner would not be able to secure a loan within that short amount of time. It seems like Texas doesn't like to wait for very long before kicking someone out the house.
According to the author, Attorney General Greg Abbott has called for legislation to help homeowners keep their homes. The author has presented some data about bills that are being proposed to extend the foreclosure notice to 45 days. Also, there are some bills that would provide the members of the household 31 days to move out if the property is foreclosed.
I agree that the mortgage problems have contributed to the current recession. I believe that because people are spending money that they don't have on things that aren't really necessary. And because of all of this overspending, homeowners are racking up their debts and falling short on their mortgage payments.

Tribal Gambling Made Possible

I was just browsing through the Austin Statesman and this article just caught my eye. Just the title itself, Bill would allow tribal gambling, was enough to tell me that this article would be pretty interesting. What is this "tribal gambling" that this speaks of? Maybe something to do with wearing loin cloths into casinos? It turns out that the article is about American Indian tribes, in Texas, wanting a bill to be passed to reopen their casinos that were shut down in a previous legislation. The tribes argue that their casinos are a significant source of income and the money generated would provide health care, education and other "tribal necessities." The outcome is looking very grim for these tribes because Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Kay Hutchison shun the idea of having gambling in Texas. This has lead to several controversies. Some argue that allowing gambling in Texas would be harmful to the state's economy, especially in these times, because the revenue that the casino generates is pulled from local economy. Others say that people drive to other states to spend their gambling money anyways, so why not keep it here in Texas.