"All Marriages are Same Sex, You Get Married, & Every Night it's the SAME SEX"

      I completely agree with VyVy's blog Homophobia is a Social Disease!, I like how she said "The constitution should be amended to keep up with the current times," she is absolutely right, people are so stuck in what life was like before the 20th century. The world is constantly changing, the first 10 amendments in The Constitution are supposed to respect our rights as people but as you can see those rights are getting took from us every day whether it be directly or indirectly. People are so stuck in the past that the future may never even have a chance to change.
        People should respect same sex marriage. What effect does two guys getting married to each other have on your life? Are you not going to be able to sleep at night knowing that people of the same sex are able to get married in Texas? As people we tend to judge first instead of just accepting someone for who they are and what they believe in. The It Gets Better Program has highlighted some of the violence and bullying young people suffer just because they are gay. Violence should never be the answer especially if the people are doing no harm to you. Research does not show that kids who grow up with two of the same sex parents do bad in school, or are more likely to be depressed or any of those bizarre things. So my question again is, why does it matter so much? We should learn how to just respect people's choices.

No Justice, No Peace.

As we all know, a St. Louis County grand jury has brought no criminal charges against Darren Wilson, a white police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown, an unarmed African-American teenager, more than three months ago in nearby Ferguson, Missouri. The killing, on a residential street in Ferguson, set off weeks of civil unrest and a national debate by protesters’ outraged over what they called a pattern of police brutality against young black men. Officer Wilson was facing charges ranging from first-degree murder to involuntary manslaughter. The decision that this brandy jury has made has effective nearly everyone who has a heart around the world, there is no way in hell that this officer should not have been indicted for killing an unarmed teenager. 
   A post on Dallas CBS talks about how the people of North Texas took the streets protesting about the decision made in that court room. Although the media painted a picture of the protestors in Ferguson as "monsters," the people in Dallas did peaceful protest expressing how "Black lives matter." The people forced the police to close down parts of the highway because of their protesting. I don't blame these people at all, I respect anyone who stands behind their beliefs. There are so many young black men who are getting killed by the law enforcement for no good reasons at all and in majority of the cases the men are unarmed but they apparently pose a threat on these law enforcers. How exactly does that work? I would love to know if these cops are afraid, not properly trained or  should I be ignorant and just pull the race card? I believe the situation is bigger than just race but when the first thing you reach for is your gun to take a person out who is telling you they are UNARMED, you are a coward. Darren Wilson could have easily pulled his taser out and made Brown surrender and if that did not work why not shoot your gun at his leg or in a place where he has no choice but to be at your mercy? In my eyes there are so many other things that this cop should have been trained to do. The protestors have every reason to be upset and do what they are doing and if they do it peacefully I believe some type of change will happen, but like anything else it will not happen over night nor will it be easy. Thank God that the cop involved in this shooting has resigned from the police department. Press On!!! 

Act Like An Adult

     My colleague Danny Cortez wrote a informing blog about the "Dram Shop Act" that Texas has in place. I was unaware that a bartender can be blamed for the reckless driving of a drunk driver, or for accidentally selling a under aged minor alcohol. In his post he makes a really strong argument about why the bartender should not be blamed. He gives an example saying "...the bar only has three bartenders working their best in order to serve drinks as fast as they can... the bartender probably can't recognize how many drinks has been served," there is no way you can keep up with all the people in a bar.
          I agree with his blog post. Of course the servers are trained to know if someone has drunk too much and is either harmful to their self or someone else but how can you measure someones alcohol consumption level on a Friday night in a bar full of loud music and dancing people? You can not wrongfully accuse a bartender for a grown ups bad decisions. The overly drunk person is grown and should know how to properly take care of themselves. At the age of 21 a person, should know that if they are planning on going out and getting drunk they should find a designated driver. As an adult that person should be responsible for themselves. There are too many people who come in and out of bars to remember a certain face that is intoxicated. Also a person could be trashed and they send their friend up to the bar counter to buy rounds for them. There are so many scenarios where it is unethical to cast blame on the bartender, in my eyes that is just an escape for someone who has committed a serious crime. It would be a poor excuse to go into a court room and tell a judge "Oh it was the bartenders fault I got drunk last night, got into my car, attempted to drive myself home, and crashed into someone." If you are an adult, you should be able to act like one and know your limit and take responsibility of your own actions.

Funding For Planned Parenthood

The Help These Women Deserve

In these past few years Texas legislators have been defunding family planning. They are trying to ultimately remove Planned Parenthood out of the state’s women’s health program. 50 clinics have shut down because of this as well. According to the Texas Policy Evaluation Project, 300 pregnant women seeking an abortion were unable to get birth control they wanted the three months before they became pregnant due to the cuts in funding. In this article from MotherJones.com, it is said that there will be nearly 24,000 unplanned births between 2014 and 2015 thanks to the cuts, which will also raise the state and federal taxpayer’s Medicaid cost by up to $273 million.

I think that Texas should fund Planned Parenthood because it was just more than an abortion clinic. The place provided birth control, contraceptive counseling, screenings for cancer, HIV test and other key problems women faced. The government not funding these middle class and poor women just keeps them in poverty. Some women may not even be able to get the proper care they need because of the cost. Also without the Planned Parenthoods being open women will have to travel hundreds of miles to get a safe, legal abortion. The funding of Planned Parenthood helped alleviate some of the suffering for poor women. Instead of having women have kids because they aren’t able to get the funds for an abortion or get to a nearby clinic, the government should at least help them have a choice.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/03/what-happens-when-you-defund-planned-parenthood

http://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-south-texas-surgical-center/abortion-care-services/abortion-care-fund

http://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-greater-texas/newsroom/press-releases/building-our-future-fund

http://www.utexas.edu/cola/orgs/txpep/Researchers.php

"Dont Panic, It's no Big Deal"

I am sure by now we all know about Ebola in Dallas and the seriousness of this virus. On October 16^th 2014, Heather Willhelm wrote an article in the Dallas News called "Heather Wilhelm: Government under-reaction to Ebola is condescending and dangerous," commenting on how the officials of the CDC and the President say we should not panic about Ebola and how it really is ‘no big deal.’ At first it was said that Ebola could only be caught from “close contact” with exotic “bodily fluids” like blood. But as of today we are aware that the virus can survive on dried surfaces for hours and could potentially be passed through a sneeze. Her article is informing us Americans that we should be concerned she says “Literal irrational panic, of course, is a bad thing. A bit of healthy fear and caution is not.” I agree with her statement. Of course we should not be running around her like maniacs about the virus but we should be cautious and take proper care. Them saying, “Don’t panic! It’s no big deal!” actually makes it a even bigger deal considering the fact that Ebola has be contracted in a Dallas nurse who was told by experts that she had absolutely nothing to worry about. Heather says that “this is a serious problem, and it is being handled by profound unserious people.” She is absolutely right the government not being too concerned about this virus can led to a sudden panic because they are so chill about it and mistrust within Americans. This article is very informing both on how the government sees things and how people will react. She is trying to let people know that acting like this is no big deal is condescending and it could turn out to be deadly. She has some very strong points in this article. In the beginning she actually talks about how when the 9/11 terrorist attacks happened people were told not to panic and its no big deal.

            

QUIT DEFENDING ABUSE

             In a opinion paper posted on the Texas Insider September 25,2014 called, "Quit Defending Abuse". Linda Chavez talks about how people are constantly defending Adrian Peterson and his case he has about him whooping his four-year-old son. She feels like there should be a line drawn between spanking and beating your child. She is surprised at how many Americans believe its necessary to discipline a child with a good spanking. She says there should be clear rules and disciplining a child should never include hitting bare flesh. Linda is targeting everyone as a society who believes spanking your child is ok.

             I do not agree with some of the things she has stated in this editorial nor do I condone child abuse. She is saying that he abused his four-year-old child by whooping him with a switch but I would like to think differently. To me, child abuse would be more like him constantly beating on his child every day or doing something sexual to him. In this case he is disciplining his son. Apparently the son did something unpleasing and got an old southern butt whooping for it. I remember growing up as a child and having to go get my own switch off of a tree to get a whooping, and I bet not get a small one or a skinny little branch because I would really be in trouble then! She talks about how corporal punishment is not effective in discouraging future bad behavior, and is likely to increase the child’s own aggressiveness but I believe that if you discipline your child your child will be well off in the future. I am not saying,because you whoop your child they wont do the same thing again but when you whoop them for their wrong doings they often times learn from their mistakes. It’s like teaching them a lesson. If you put a child in the corner for “time out” exactly what do you think they are going to get from that? Not much. She goes to say that he is an “angry thug” for disciplining his child. According to Dictionary References the definition of a thug is a cruel or vicious ruffian, robber or murderer.  Linda should have chose better words; it was ignorant of her to say he is a thug. I am a mother of a two-year-old little girl and I do not condone any type of abuse but if I need to discipline my daughter I will.

Gay Marriage Rights

         I chose to read an article from the Texas Tribune titled,"Law Enforcement Groups Come Out for Gay Marriage." The article is about a group of law enforcement officers who have filed a brief in federal court supporting gay marriage. They are saying the state has failed to give them “the equal dignity and respect they deserve.” The brief was filed in the U.S 5^th Circuit Court of Appeals. They are hoping to force the state to recognize same-sex marriage. They even want Texas to grant the marriages that are outside of the state. The president of the conservative group Texas said, “he is thankful for the service of first responders, but marriage should remain between a man and woman.” Experts are thinking this case will make it all the way up to the Supreme Court so a higher court can make the decision.

        I chose this article because I feel like it should be someone’s choice whether they want to marry the same sex, the government should not be entitled to have a say so in this situation. These police cops put their lives on the line everyday to protect the community and its people, so for them to be treated unequally because they are gay is a form of discrimination. I believe the Government should mind their own business and stop trying to control every single move that people choose to make. If the choice someone makes is not harming our government then it should be non of their damn business!

http://www.texastribune.org/2014/09/16/law-enforcement-groups-come-out-gay-marriage/