Comment on "what is choice?"

On November 30, Min Kim wrote a blog regarding self induced abortions. In the article, Kim first states the many reasons why women even consider abortions. As I read she gives plenty of factual an statistic evidence of the rise of abortions in Texas. She gladly gives her opinion on this case as many women can relate and say that it is ones choice to do or not to do. This topic is very controversial and that is why it has become such a big deal. In Texas is is very hard to get an abortion due to the poor amount of clinics that actually do this process. Then after that you still have a chance to be denied the right to do so that is why many women are taking this matter on their own hands.

There are many risks when women have self induced or at home abortions as Kim states, it can even be life threatening but desperation leads as many as 100,000 to 240,000 to do such a thing. 1.7% of women have had these dangerous abortions that kill the fetus inside ones body. Not being economically stable is the number one reason why women tend to use off the counter ulcer drugs and many other actions to get rid of a pregnancy.

Stating whether women should stop or continue to do this would be judging and as Min Kim says this matter completely belongs to whom ever is going through the situation. As a women I can understand how at times it is very hard to juggle many things at once but a child is a very important event in ones life even if the life they live is not the best. I do absolutely agree that every women should have a choice.   


Article What is Choice by Min Kim  http://gstexas.blogspot.com/

English Is Not The Only Language In Texas!

  As we know America as a whole is an immigrant country actually since the beginning its been like this. Now the U.S ranks highest with around a million immigrants moving here.In Texas it is estimated that 1.68 million immigrants live in the state. After California, Texas has the second highest number of undocumented immigrants who reside here. Leading to a much greater population in the states, this is causing a rise in the language spoken at home. According to a Texas Tribune article titled As Texas Grows, More Languages are Spoken at Home Spanish is the number one secondary language spoken, with 6,983,380 people. Of the nearly 24 million people in Texas five years or older, 65 percent speak only English at home. The rest speak more than 160 languages combined. Latin American immigrants rank highest in Texas but recently the share of Asian immigrants has doubled from 17.3 percent in 2005 to 40.4 percent  in 2013.

     Bexar, Harris, Dallas, Tarrant and Travis are some of the largest populated counties in Texas where we see a change of language over the years. Bexar County has the largest share of residents who speak Spanish at home, while Tarrant and Travis counties have the smallest shares. Catherine Bingaman the church director of ESL education states, "People tend to think when we say ESL class, ‘Oh, you have people from Mexico,’” but Spanish-speakers only make up a fourth of the students". Meaning that Mexicans are not the only immigrants as most people think. There's people from Europe, Asia and the Middle East who come across many barriers to live in what they call a dream nation. Seeking for freedoms and rights all humans deserve.
     This is why I believe that Texas should support bilingual education around the state. It is never bad to be able to speak a foreign language and knowing two of the most popular languages would be ideal. According to Psychology Today over the years there's been a drastic change in bilingualism. As president Obama stated "You should be thinking about .... how can your child become bilingual. We should have every child speaking more than one language".
     In conclusion as Texas keeps growing so does the culture that we have. More and more languages are being spoken at home as well as in schools, banks, and other public places. Even to the extend that in many jobs they require bilingual potential employees. In this case with language and communication we see that it is essential in some places to know Spanish and English because of the rise of speakers in the state. A diverse state is the way to go and thus far it is heading that way.
      

College Students With Guns?

      On August 1,2015 all state 4- year college and universities students would be allowed to obtain a concealed handgun license (CHL) to carry their loaded, concealed weapon in these buildings. This bill was passed and titled "Campus Carry" according to a post by Vanessa a colleague who explained with detail plenty of reasons why this bill is absurd and can possibly open the doors to further problems in campuses.

     Allowing guns/weapons in colleges and universities period is not reasonable to me and to the author of the post "Is Texas Crazy" because it puts more people in danger. She did an excellent job in reminding us all that ones brain is not fully developed until the age of 25 and clearly college students do not fall in that range. Meaning "legal adults" (ages 18+) are allowed to make adult decisions, without a full mature brain. Much less if you give them the right to carry a gun around. Also Vanessa wrote about how stressful and exhausting it is to be in college and to have to deal with a personal life all at once. It is as if you are in a competition in life trying to survive and be successful to be the best. All that stress can cause somebody to act without thinking as to commit a crime or something greater.

   The blog was well written and went straight to the point. The information posted was beneficial to me and to many others who I am sure can relate even if they don't agree. It gave me a stronger outlook on this issue and believe should be amended.The evidence given helped understand why she agreed or disagreed with this issue.

     In conclusion, she gave good factual evidence towards her thoughts. I completely agree that taking the law into ones hands is not the right direction to have safer campuses. This can lead to even bigger massacres when more than one person is carrying guns. I personally do not feel safe at all by this bill. This is why I can relate to the author when she says it is a fear that will follow us for the rest of our lives.

    

"Sanctuary Cities" In Texas

     Today November 5th ,2015 The Texas Tribune posted an article titled Local Battles Brewing Over Sanctuary Cities where they inform us about a new unofficial label called "sanctuary cities" dealing with cities or municipalities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. In result of this issue. Governor Abbot is calling for a new state law to require law enforcement to comply with Federal policy.
     Texas as a state should not adapt this plan of immigration action because once the cities have this control they can use it in their favor.I think immigrants should not have to be separated from their families because of nationality issues but should be helped to become citizens. Canizales states, "I think they shouldn't condemn thousands of undocumented immigrants for one crime that has been committed." Most undocumented immigrants come to the United States to work hard for a better life to support their families. Those are the people that I believe should not get punished for something like that.. As this nation is historically built on immigrants, immigration is rapidly increasing in the United States. According to the CIS immigrant population hits a record of  42.1 million in the second quarter of 2015. Deporting immigrants won't change anything, there should be other ways to fix this issues if possible.
     The Austin City Council and the Travis County Commissioners Court have approved a limit to Travis County Sheriff Greg Hamilton on the amount of cooperation he has with federal authorities. Meaning he will have more control and power over the jails. This would mean that Austin would be added to the list of "sanctuary cities". This can go both ways because if the city has this type of control it can either increase deportations or decrease them. Austin is a liberal city as known but has the highest deportation rates in Texas. The article shows that many Sheriffs from different cities in Texas are either lenient or strict when it comes to immigrants and they should decide who stays or who leaves.
 

 Tasers Used By Law Enforcement Gone Too Far? 

      On October 14 , 2015 Grits for Breakfast posted a blog called City councilman tased for contempt of cop. The blog-spot criticized a scene that happened in Prairie View city dealing with a councilman who approached an officer who was questioning friends of his outside his home.
  Apparently the councilman complied with the officer when asked to stand back but did not go as far as told. The man got teased claiming that what the officer did was not justified.  

     The author of this blog did a good job in interpreting the setting and gave good detail of what happened, followed with a video as evidence. They should have extended their opinion on this particular case as they only added the officers actions had nothing to do with safety. This topic is very interesting to cover that is why they should have provided more information towards this issue. Not only did it lack information it also needed factual evidence of why officers do this type of thing. They are targeting every citizen who lives in the United States because this behavior is happening throughout the states there is no particular place. It is also happening very often and little actions have been taken.

     I agree with the author of this blog because there are some cases where residents don't refuse to follow orders but end up arrested for interfering with public duties and/or resisting arrest. It really depends in the situation and what is being asked by the officer. I have seen an increase in public arrests over allegations with law enforcement in the past few years. I believe that as long as citizens are correctly following proper orders then there shouldn't be a problem. That is their duty but they have to do it suitably according to the situation. 

      

    Empowering All-Girl Schools In Texas

     On October 02, 2015  Dallas News published an opinionated article called Why Opening Another All-girls School in Dallas ISD Makes Sense where the author discusses the advantages for an all-girls, K-8 campus that will focus on STEM ( Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math)  in East Dallas. According to Mike Koprowski the district chief of transformation and innovation they intend to help young girls be successful in these particular subjects.
     The Author builds credibility when she compares current single-gendered public schools like Irma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School and Grand Prairie’s Young Women’s Leadership Academy to a regular co-ed school. Most of the students who took reading and math increased their grade by 5-15 percent. Another good point of view that the author makes is that no interaction with boys in schools can lower all the problems that arise from that and can mean a more successful education. One of the cons that they mention in the article is younger girls interacting with the older students in the schools. The author does a good job in presenting clear and specific points of having these type of schools in Texas. This article is persuasive as they state that administrators say the schools create a sense of empowerment and better self-esteem in the girls.
    In my opinion I agree that they have all female schools but why not make all male school and academies as well. We cannot just help and empower girls but boys as well. I believe it should be equal and fair to both genders especially when dealing with education. The author should have focused more on parents who have male students as well as females.

Poverty In Texas

      On September 17, 2015 Texas Tribune posted the article Rate of Poverty Dips In Texas, But Some Metro Areas See Rise by Alexa Ura and Annie Daniel that talked about the state areas in which poverty is decreasing and/or increasing. Some of the factors that affect these results have to deal with residents gender, age and income.
      According to the information given Texas poverty over all is dropping  but the percentage of poor residents in almost half of the state's most populous metropolitan areas surpassed the state figure. People who are 18 or younger make up more than half of these people and in College Station it is equal to the amount of residents who are living in poverty. Which makes a lot of sense, since most of them are college students I would guess. Kids are also included in here which makes up almost one fourth of children who are poor.
     Following that the consequence of so many children who are living in these conditions probably don't have an everyday meal. That is why the rate of Texans who receive food stamps are very high and continues to rise throughout the years. In the metropolitan areas the gender wage gap between woman and men was higher. In Texas Woman got about $10,000 less than what men received at a job. I believe this article is important because it's an issue affecting the whole state and mainly college students as well as children. Poverty may be decreasing but it affects people who's income is not as high as the rest of the people. Which in this case I and many other people can identify.