Stage Six: Comment on a colleague’s work #1 | My Commentary: Voter ID Laws - The Troubles are There

Blog Stage Six

Stage Six: Comment on a colleague’s work #1

In Mrs. Ileana Kraus’ “Voter ID Laws – The Troubles are There” original editorial, Ms. Kraus claims that it would have been sensible to take care of people who don’t possess IDs before the voter law was passed. I absolutely concur with the said statement. The voter ID law is overall a big hassle.

This voter ID law calls for voters to possess at least one out of seven legal photo IDs. The problem is the hassle of voting is very meticulous – if there’s even one tweak in the placement of middle name’s initial, you would have to confirm this through legal documentation. It’s not worth time and effort to vote if such a small issue of name initial placement proves to be the biggest hindrance in voting for a minute or two. I don’t agree with people who claim that the new voter ID laws don’t cause any change to votes on Election Day. There are many reasons why this statement is invalid besides the fact that they have to show identification upon voting.

Though it makes logical sense for a person to be required to possess a form of identification to vote, that is not the underlying problem. Ms. Kraus maintains that the problem is not that people don’t desire ownership of an ID, but rather not all people have one. She goes on to say that after the law was passed, DPS made an effort to extend office hours so people could apply easier for IDs.

The bottom line is they extended hours only after the laws were passed. Ms. Kraus argues that it would have made more logical sense to consider people without an ID before the bill was signed and placed into effect. In the long run, requiring voters to have an ID to vote limits their options if they don’t meet the requirements of the law. I couldn’t agree more with her sentiment about requiring all citizens to have one of seven forms of identification upon becoming a citizen of Texas. It definitely would have averted any frustrations on Election Day.

She also lists and reveals more obvious problems about post-election day. Lastly, she asserts that “the problem lies not in the law itself, but in the way it was enacted.” She reasons, “If a law had been passed first, that Texans of the age of 18 to have an ID, there wouldn’t have been many reasons to be against the law of voter IDs.” Such a brilliant deduction, I’m on par with the logic there – well said Ms. Kraus!

Stage Five: Original editorial or commentary #1 | The Lack of Knowledge Behind Texas State and Local Government

Blog Stage Five

Stage Five: Original editorial or commentary #1

            There seems to be no discretion about what Texas citizens know about government at the state and local government. First off, the reason why all this is important is because WE (referring to Texas citizens including myself) live in Texas and our opinion. Our opinions are subject to our needs. We pay taxes to the state and the utilization of those taxes must be considered. That being said, we need the right representatives to make our voices known but there’s a flaw in that. Many people don’t know who they should vote because of the lack of education and comprehension of what that candidate stands for.

            Without any knowledge behind our government, virtually a person surrenders their voice unless in the decisions of the government and public policy. Foremost, more and more power is being handed down from the federal government to the states. Which means: for us Texans, our representatives, senators, and governor are being allocated more power to make decisions for us –the citizens of Texas. All of us have a vital role in government, regardless of motivation, we SHOULD have some involvement in saying what and how should our local government handle that power.

            The theme behind this editorial and commentary is citizens’ needs. The more power our local government has, the more we should contribute to its decision making. If the quality of education needs improvement and mending, it’s up to the citizens to demand the need for improvement of the educational system.

            The local government is CLOSER to us, figuratively speaking and literal. Citizens have power to make changes faster at the local level. For example, the abuse of the usage of water – the local government understands the scarcity of water especially during the summer. This concern for the distribution of water should not be taken lightly especially since with the City of Austin’s inclination to be serious states of drought very so often. A person concerned about this matter can campaign to the government about different approaches and methods to conserve water.

            All in all, I personally would not be so concerned with the lack of knowledge of our government weren’weren't for this class. The state education code requires students to learn about Texas State and Local Government. The comprehension of how government functions at the local level is the key to better communicating our needs as citizens. I feel this class is imperative to take, simply because we (students) are the future. The decisions made today will ultimately affect the way we live months and years to come.

             

Stage Four: Critique an editorial or commentary from a Texas blog | My Critique: A Good Steward…When Caught

Blog Stage Four

Stage Four: Critique an editorial or commentary from a Texas blog

In Ross Kecseg’ “A Good Steward… When Caught” article, the author claims that those responsible of oversight are guilty of abuse by insisting that their lifestyle is in need of lavish corporate perks and prestige. He believes the guilty party should instead, “Find a job in the private sector and stop sticking North Texans with [their] bar tab.” I completely agree with Kecseg on this matter. Is it really required for city officials such as the mayor to purchase a $1,500 bottle of wine? That is just unacceptable. Let’s investigate this even further.

 Here is some background information. First and foremost, Mireya Villareal, did a thorough investigation of the utilization of funds by officials at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. The CBS journalist discovered that multi-million dollar funds were spend on travel expenses to domestic and international destinations that include Las Vegas, Dubai, and South Korea. What were these expenditures? These expenditures were first class-airfare, chauffeured limousines, 5-star hotels and $7,000 dinner tabs along with shocking alcohol purchases. Now was all this necessary? Of course not! Think about the money abused here, add them all up, there is so much you can do with that $2.2 million. Like say perhaps donate it to a hospital?

The airport is paid for by traveler fees and airlines. However since it is a public subsidiary of joint owners, the city of Dallas and Fort Worth appoint eleven out of twelve members as trustees to oversee the airport. Trustees can be mayors, city council, and other staff members. One of whom was the Dallas Mayor, Mike Rawlings who is responsible for oversight and accountability. Accountable is not the right word for this mayor who ordered three bottles of wines worth $1,500 a piece along with a $7,300 dinner with Korean Air executive. That excessive abuse of money was only reimbursed after the mayor discovered that CBS had launched a thorough investigation of where and how the campaign funds were allocated to.

 Was this truly a legit business expense? Here’s his reasoning, “Because we need to be good stewards. We do not need to be spending $1,500 a bottle on wine… It was good for the city, but I didn’t want the citizens to pay for it.” Be good stewards, or be major league suck ups and appease international officials? No doubt, I would never pay so much for a bottle of wine in my entire life. How exactly is this good for the city? Why should we even have to pay for it in the first place, you made that call without the citizen’s knowledge, Mr. Mayor and Mrs. Mayor (yes, officials do take their spouses to enjoy a meal worth the equivalent price of seven Apple Macbook Pros.) 

 The truth is Kecseg is right about airlines being attracted to access to profitable routes. Lavish favors do not secure routes between international destinations and DFW. “If your lifestyle requires lavish corporate perks and prestige, find a job in the private sector and stop sticking North Texans with your bar tab,” says Kecseg. I agree with you my fellow Texan. Kecseg as of now runs the DFW office for Empower Texans and Texans for Fiscal Responsibility. The way he titled his blog pretty much sums up how I feel: the mayor was only a "good steward" when he was caught by CBS doing a thorough investigation.