We cant spell failure without U Obama

In response to Chase Stewarts blog written on May 5, 2009.

Chase,

I can give Obama a grade. Unfortunately there is no known letter that portrays the "mell of a hess" he is getting us into. You said "Obama's budget would raise taxes by $1.4- trillion over ten years and would double the national debt to over $15-trillion". As I recall while Obama was campaigning he said “if you make less than $300,00…wait $250,000 oh gosh…..Ah yes his last number was $150,000 that you would not see your taxes raised by a single dime” Well who do you think is going to pay for the “stimulus” ? The taxpayers, that’s who. While we’re at it, what is going to happen when the stimulus money has run out? All the jobs that were created to “stimulate” the economy will no longer be plausible. The states that took the money will no longer be able to afford to pay the wages.

The left wing believes it is the most productive 100 days because they get off on big government. The more people that rely on them, the more votes they will get.And as for his relations with our enemies, it is simply embarrassing to our Country that we appear to be running away with our tails between our legs. He is apologizing for all the wrongs done by the previous administration. The most powerful man on earth should not bow to anyone. He should not be shaking hands with a man who has time and time again spoken against America.

Obama will go down in history for being the first African-American elected as President of the United States. He will also go down in history for failing to act on his promises, as well as putting this country in more debt than all previous presidents combined.

Flushing Money Down the Toilet

This past week while studying for the 4th and final test for our government class, I thought it was interesting reading about how Texas has such low per capita funding for students. The result given was the low graduation rate and less than stellar SAT scores.

However I am not so quick to begin writing letters to our Texas Legislator and demand higher funding for schools. I am not convinced that more money equals higher academic performance. I simply use examples of a number of states and cities that have already tried higher funding. In my examples, funding was between 25%-350% more than Texas spends.

However, despite the much higher funding per student, scholastic performance had not improved. In South Carolina for instance, the districts with the highest concentration of low-income families received the most money. These districts are among the lowest performing in the state.

Another fantastic example is schools within our nation’s capitol. Washington D.C. schools are spending astronomical amounts of money per student despite some of the lowest performing schools in the country. The author of the article Andrew J. Coulson points out that at the time this article was written, D.C. was spending more per student than the cost of tuition at Sidwell Friends. S.F. is where Chelsea Clinton attended in the 90’s while living in the White House. It goes without saying the graduation rate and academic performance test scores at S.F. are much higher than local public schools. This coincidentally, is the same school President Obama is sending his children.

With this information I must ask the question. Is funding directly related to better performance? The answer is no. It is something much deeper than just money. Texas needs to completely re-evaluate its education policy. Not unlike when we started bussing students to reduce segregation. Why not bus students from east Austin to Westlake. Education is obviously an extremely important issue, so a farther drive and a little more gas money is worth it in my opinion.

Also, I believe the voucher system should be looked into for a serious contender. I know the separation of Church and State is an issue for some. However there are many private schools in the city that are not based on religion. The teachers make more money also. And the performance of students is well above average.

In no way is this a racist comment but African-American and Hispanic students seem the most at risk of not graduating. If we can focus on the cause of the problem the effects will diminish. By contracting to private companies we can increase the number of schools and lower the number of students per teacher giving more attention to students who are at risk. Maybe this isn’t politically correct but it might work.

In closing, I know nothing I have said is new and hasn’t been said before, but the problem remains. We must do something about our education system. I do not believe it involves putting more money into the system is a fix. Nor are any of the ideas proposed in this blog. A combination of the two however could lead to surprising results. The future of Texas really rests on the outcome of the success of our children. Someone has to take care of us. With the rising cost of “life” for an aging generation, a paycheck from Burger King just isn’t going to cut it.

A fat racist and a skinny racist jump off a cliff, who wins ?.....Society

This is in response to a blog post by Julie the writer of Texas Talk which can be read here.


In response to your post on April 14th titled, what does a U.S. citizen look like? I strongly disagree with your interpretation of the chosen article.

You said “With all the propaganda that was spoon fed to the masses by the Bush administration” as well as your statement “Between the cases of American citizens being wrongfully deported and the building of a ridiculous wall on the border, racial intolerance has only begun to scratch the surface.” I wonder what you meant when you wrote “all the propaganda that was spoon fed to the masses” It couldn’t possibly be about the thousands of people murdered, kidnapped, and tortured by drug cartels running drugs through our borders. Or about that story of a military hummer with a .50 caliber machine gun strapped to the roof, escorting suv’s containing drugs that U.S. border patrol agents had to watch cross the border, but couldn’t do anything because they were out gunned. Maybe it was about the unknown number of illegal immigrants entering the United States every year?...nah, probably not. Personally, I would like to believe if that was my father, brother, friend who was working as a border patrol agent, that having a wall between them and a .50 caliber bullet would be a not so bad idea.

Secondly, I am having a difficult time understanding your believing that the deportation of Pedro Guzman was due to racism. He was deported because he was believed to be here illegally. He couldn’t read or write and was mentally ill, he couldn’t tell the officers in the jail he was housed(for a misdemeanor offence) that he was a citizen. Also, quoting from the same article as you, Jim Hayes, ICE director of detention and removal, said he is aware of only 10 cases of U.S. citizens detained in the past five years. Even if combined with the cases found by the AP, "that's not an epidemic" Jim Hayes also added that “agents investigate any claims to U.S. citizenship, but they often turn out to be false. He said immigration officials never knowingly hold someone they can definitively determine is a citizen.” So this is clearly an isolated instance.

Also, your comment stating “the longer the law enforcement of this country continue to bow down to the radical and overzealous right wing scare tactics” now seriously, I am a proud card carrying member of “The Vast Right Wing Conspiracy” (we don’t actually have a card, but we do have a secret decoder ring) and my beliefs as well as the majority of the right-wing are based on facts. Solid numbers, factual statistics and the law of the land. I believe every single person on the face of this earth has a GOD GIVEN right to be free. I just believe it should be done legally. Wouldn’t it be much easier to simply deny entry to the criminals, while letting the many honest, hard working, law abiding Mexican citizens the chance at the American Dream? My party is not a party of racism and intolerance. Sure there are the extremist, but your own political party houses extremism as well. However, the extremist are not a majority, nor do they have much of a voice. That is why most Americans simply choose to ignore them. Furthermore, how is law enforcement bowing down? It sounds like they are simply doing their job enforcing the law.

In closing, Pedro Guzman was at the wrong place, at the wrong time, doing the wrong thing and got arrested (where was his mom then?). It was not racism. Mexicans are not the only nationality being deported, believe it or not Canadians get deported to (and they look a lot like us). People will fall through the cracks, it happens. I am truly sorry Pedro Guzman had to endure this horrible situation. It must have been terrifying for him and I do not wish that experience on any human being. But the fact remains, that racism had nothing to do with what happened, it was just a lapse in the system that would happen in any kind of administration.

Don't Mess With Texas.....Seriously

"I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground: That all powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States or to the people. To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specifically drawn around the powers of Congress, is to take possession of a boundless field of power,no longer susceptible of any definition." --Thomas Jefferson



Texas Governor Rick Perry’s decision to join with State Representative Brandon Creighton and sponsors of House Concurrent Proposition 50 in support of states’ rights under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was a very good decision.



On the morning of April 14th, 2009 Texas made it very clear to Washington, D.C. that we are not going to sit back and let the National government force us to do anything we do not agree with. Governor Rick Perry said in a statement “I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our state,” Gov. Perry said. “That is why I am here today to express my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm the states’ rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I believe that returning to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution and its essential 10th Amendment will free our state from undue regulations, and ultimately strengthen our Union.”



What brought this mess on? The present administration, including congress has over stepped its boundaries. I believe as do my elected officials, recent federal proposals are not within the scope of the federal government’s constitutionally designated powers and impede upon states’ rights to govern themselves.



It is common knowledge democrats tend to favor big government. It is also not surprising that President Obama since taking office has wounded this country for many generations. Since January 20, 2009 Obama has raised the national debt held by the public, adding more than all previous presidents combined. That’s right, from George Washington to George W. Bush. Since the passing of the stimulus bill, the dow has tanked, down by 25%. Also, most of his “stimulus” spending was allocated to social programs instead of public works.



What does this have to do with what happened today at the Capital building? Well as the Resolution states “all compulsory federal legislation that requires states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties or that requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding be prohibited or repealed”.



Folks, what I am saying is that the current administration has become oppressive and bordering on the line of socialism. The administration has already proven to me that they are incapable of making this country a better place. But now they want to demand our state pass legislation to promote their agenda. If we do not, federal funding will be withheld, and there is a possibility of civil or criminal penalties. This is ridiculous. The 10th amendment says the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states. It seems to me that this year the states (Texas) have been treated as agents of the federal government. Also, the United States Supreme Court ruled in New York v. United States, 505 U.S. 144(1992) that congress may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the states.



Twenty-six states have proposed a sovereignty resolution. I am proud to say that I live in one of the four states that have already adopted the resolution and are standing up for our Constitutional rights. This IS Texas State and Local Government at work. If we do not fight this, then the United States Congress will cripple our rights to have our own sovereign government. That is unacceptable.

Spend it like a rock star....Obama finds use for Military

TexasRainmaker is one of my favorite blogs. TexasRainmaker's intended audience is going to be a right-wing conservative thinker who enjoys a good laugh and can appreciate the humor even though the average reader strongly disagrees with the inspiration for his writings.

TexasRainmaker blog is a conservative lawyer's view of the world through analysis and humor. Rainmaker has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal and Time Magazine. More information about TexasRainmaker can be found here.

In this post, TexasRainmaker takes issue with the strain being put on the United States Military by Obama for his European visit this week. The enormous cost, and wasteful tax-payer spending have the author a little upset. TexasRainmaker also accuses Obama of spending like a rock star.

He claims that Obama's European trip has strained Air Force heavy-lift capabilities and obliged the military to hire more foreign contractors to help resupply U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan. Also, the large delegation traveling with the president in Europe required moving several transports. Furthermore, the problem is not only with vehicles and helicopters that were needed for heavy security, but also the unusually large number of people travelling with the president.

The logic behind this post is simple. Why is the President spending/wasting so much money during these extremely tough economic times. I do not think Obama really needs to take the White House kitchen staff with him. Also, bringing 500 people seems ridiculous, what are they doing, are their jobs so vital that they can't be done in Washington? In my opinion, the President should at least appear to cut back spending like most of us have had to do. All of us are having to watch our wallet a little more. Instead Obama is living it up like a rock star, and that is why I agree with TexasRainmaker.

Capital Metro Derailed Before Leaving the Station

This article has been a long time coming. The author is writing to an audience who would typically use public transportation. The argument is a clear one, why has the rail service been delayed for a fourth time? Where are the cash reserves that were once plentiful? And lastly, can Cap-Met even handle the promotion to Austin’s main mass transit provider. I have not lived in Austin long, but I understand this is not the first problem with Cap-Met. There is a history of carelessness with business dealings, as well as several contracting and financial scandals. The author is quick to point these out in the article and reminding some that it was the public who voted for this rail service. The public approved this service, we approved raising taxes to pay for it and we have not gotten what we paid for. It is time for there to be an investigation into the questionable practices of the people running this show. There needs to be a change in leadership. Someone needs to be brought in who can get this ship under control. It is ridiculous that hearing and vision tests have gone undone. Also, train engineers who have driven the trains on tracks without clearance. These are very serious allegations and should be taken seriously. All we need is some untrained joe schmo to hit a wrong button and people could be killed. I completely agree with the author in this case. Like my grandfather used to say, “It’s time for a come to Jesus meeting” We need to figure out what isn’t working and at all costs fix it. It is unacceptable for this to be happening.

Trans Fats Could Be Banned In Texas

Trans Fats Could be Banned in Texas. This article is an interesting read. I believe it would greatly benefit everyone involved. Educating the public about the foods they are consuming and the risks involved with certain diet decisions can lead them to make better choices. Making better choices can lead to a longer healthier life. Also, it can work in the states favor by reducing strain on the healthcare system and drastically reducing the cost associated with obesity. State Representative Carol Alvarado has proposed two bills, 1522 & 1523. Fifteen-twenty-two requires fast food establishments to post nutritional information and 1523 would ban any restaraunt from serving food with trans fats. For those of you who do n0t know exactly what trans fats are, trans fats unlike other fats are not essential, they do not promote good health. The consumption of trans fats increase your chance for coronary heart disease, they lower your good cholesterol and raise your bad cholesterol. Passing these bills will be a win for government as well as it's citizens. Besides, the longer we live, the more taxes we get to pay.