No Child Left Behind My A**

Schools are required to provide educational support for individuals with disabilities. For example autism, down syndrome, mental retardation, etc. If an individual has a mild disability, they may go unidentified in the school system and not receive the help they need, continuing to struggle for the duration of their school years. This can  affect their motivation, their self-esteem, and most importantly their ability to obtain a college education. Many people believe that there is a large portion of the prison population that has a learning difficulty/disability of some sort that may have gone undetected. If we identify more of these individuals that fall through the cracks of the education system, we may be able to reduce the crime rate and also lighten the load placed on the prison system. Not only would these statistics potentially go down, but these individual's contributions to society would increase if identified and given the help that they need.

In order to help these individuals, the funding for education in Texas must increase or be subsidized by the federal government. This has always been a problem because Texas is a historically fiscally conservative state, and funding for the school system has always been inadequate. With the current debt the state is in, I doubt the funding for the school system increases very soon, but eventually this problem needs to be taken care of.

Texas Legislature Controlling University Conference Alignment

Here is the link to the post where this comment was made:  http://centrallonestar.blogspot.com/2011/07/texas-legislatures-place-in-conference.html

I absolutely agree with you. I actually wasn't even aware that the legislature could do anything about the conference. Being an aggie I am in favor of A&M moving to the SEC not only for the recruiting boost, but for better competition as well. It's without a doubt not the state legislature's place to control which conference a university is a part of. College sports is not a matter of government. And with the government continuously cutting public university's budgets, the schools have to do whatever they can to keep their program alive. In today's society college sports is an extension of the image of a university. The better a university is at sports, the more prominent and well known it is, and the more potential students that want to go there. So for the legislature to control a school's ability to market itself, they are ultimately damaging not only the school's athletic program, but the school altogether. 

Local Law Enforcement Needs a Tune-Up

I've heard lots of stories, and experienced even more, about cops abusing their power to an absurd extent. Now I'm sure cops are different in various cities and counties, and I'm positive that there are a lot of great police officers in the force. However, where I come from, there are very few of those "great police officers" and an abundance of dirty cops. It's gotten to the point where if you're driving late at night, a cop is very likely to pull you over for no reason at all, and ask to search your car. This past weekend I went to visit my friend in Dallas, and was driving back home fairly late Sunday night (around 11pm) when a cop pulled me over for no apparent reason. He told me I was going 57 in a 60, and that he pulled me over for almost speeding. ALMOST speeding, is that a joke?! And then he asked me if I had any marijuana, alcohol, or grenades in the car. Yes, grenades, as if I buy military explosives regularly. I realize that police officers are essential for our protection and safety, but their abuse of their powers is escalating. Police officers are supposed to set an example for the general public, to be the perfect citizen. And to experience a situation like I did this past weekend really enlightened me to how corrupt our law enforcement officers are becoming. Maybe it's just where I'm from, but nobody I know looks at a cop like he's the perfect citizen. As a matter of fact, most people dislike, if not despise, cops. I understand that they pull some crazy, insane people over sometimes and they have to be careful, but at least have a conversation with me before you assume I'm psychotic. My local police department needs some restructuring and a different attitude, and I'm sure other departments do too. Hopefully one day people will think of a policeman as an upstanding citizen once again.

Fundamental Purpose of Universities

If asked what the fundamental purpose of a university is, I feel that most people would agree that it is to provide a higher education for the students who attend them. Since I started at Texas A&M a year ago, it seems to me, and to all of my friends (including the ones that go to different universities), that the majority of professors are concentrated more on their research than on teaching the students. If you are a student that attends a major university, which I'm sure a lot of the kids taking this summer class are, this blog from Big Jolly Politics written by Ed Hubbard will likely pique your interest. Hubbard touches on a several points, but his main point is that "providing an education is no longer the central purpose of our state-supported universities". He writes that "the central purpose of our universities is now to provide a source for economic growth for the communities in which they are situated", and that offering students a high quality education has become "an incidental source of income to the university rather than its core mission". Hubbard writes this blog beautifully, intended mainly for students who attend universities such as the ones under discussion, but also intended for adults of all ages to realize what our state's (and nation's) finest institutions have become. I think it's important for everyone to understand that a university's sole purpose should be to provide a high quality learning environment for the young minds of today, so that they may become the great minds of tomorrow.

The Death Penalty

The death penalty has been a debate not only in Texas, but throughout our nation for many years. In this commentary written by Rudy Apodaca,  who is a former attorney of 22 years as well as a former judge of 14 years, he states and supports his position on eliminating the death penalty. As I stated in my profile I am in favor of the death penalty, but it is not my wish to see innocent people executed. Rudy argues that many people who are convicted and put on death row are later discovered to be innocent, though sometimes the discovery is too late, and they have already been put to death. Rudy's intended audience for this piece is those who favor the death penalty, and his argument is quite strong. He writes, "Since 1973, at least 138 people from 26 states have been released from death row based on evidence of their wrongful convictions", which is an astonishing statistic. Although it is heart-breaking to know that innocent people are put to death after being wrongfully convicted (showing that our judicial system is undoubtedly flawed), I still believe that any person who takes the life of another does not deserve to have a life of their own. The flaw does not lie in the death penalty, but in our judicial system. The system needs to be reformed instead of the death penalty, and when that is accomplished the anti-death penalty believers will have little to no argument on the subject.    

Marijuana Decriminalization

The legalization of marijuana has been a topic of debate in both state and federal legislature for quite some time now. This article from New York University comments on the bill proposed by two senators, one being Texas senator Ron Paul. The bill will effectively allow each state to individually decide whether or not to decriminalize the plant, essentially saving hundreds of billions of dollars spent towards the drug war. The bill also proposes a tax on the legal sale of marijuana which will generate an enormous sum of much needed money to cut down our budget deficit. The article is really quite interesting whether you oppose or favor decriminalization and should be read objectively, regardless of how you feel personally towards the drug.