Reading Up On My Peeps

I read a fellow blogger’s comment today. He raises some concern in regards to Obama’s new plan on environmental regulations in Texas, as well as across the United States. I ask that you read this article and then go see the comment that I left. The article is entitled, "Will the President Elect damper Texas's Heavy Industry?"

Be Supportive, Buy a Local Turkey

Thanksgiving is coming up and we all know what that means. Stuffing ourselves silly, watching the game, getting drunk, and eventually passing out before 8 o’clock. Oh, yeah the family part is always nice too. So, what do these ramblings on have to do with supporting the local economy? Easy, just buy locally grown foods. I read an interesting article from the statesman entitled: Greening up Thanksgiving, One Turkey Leg at a Time, which talks about why Texans have two reasons for buying locally. One, it helps keep down emissions from shipping trucks. And two, buying locally helps our local economy.

Most food we buy from H-E-B or Randall’s, is shipped from out of state. When you go to buy a can of yams for that succulent baked dish we know as Candied Yams, those sweet potatoes probably did not come from Texas. More likely than not, they were shipped from some state like North Carolina. Gas is used to ship those cans from wherever they came from to your local store. What a waste in gas when the yams could have come from North East Texas. That is just talking about the tons of yams that are shipped from out of state, think about all the other produce like pecans and turkey.

Besides gas usage and being environmentally friendly, think about our local economy. The best way to support our economy is to support our farmers. Any money you spend on out of state yams, a portion will go to another state. Yes, I am proud of you for going to H-E-B and not Wal-mart. H-E-B being a Texas grocery store is good and encouraging, but it is even better if the produce you buy from it is locally grown. They sell it at H-E-B too; we just have to look for it. So, whether you decide to go with a tofurkey or not, try to be a little green this Thanksgiving and buy locally.

A Good Read

I recently finished reading a fellow blogger's post and it is most interesting. I highly recommend you check out Scott's Corner and view the comment I left and his article listed below.

To Strike or Not to Strike

A Matter of Tar and Money

Have you ever been walking down the sidewalk and see someone’s car get stuck in a pothole? That’s what happened to a friend of mine as he was walking to class. There he was minding his own business when a girl in her SUV drove straight into a pothole; course she did not see it because it had rained the night before and the water created an illusion of a slight dip. Her eyes were huge! Especially, when she realized she could not get out since one of her tires was deep in the hole.
This story was funny when it was told to me, but if I had been that girl, I would have been infuriated. What kind of city lets its roads be in such disrepair? Why is no money or tar going into our roads? They may be a little important, every so often, for the average Austinite. Sometimes I see major cracks in our roads and yes, they’ve been patched up, but six months later, we all know that they’ll have to be bandaged again.
Have you ever noticed just how wobbly some of the streets are? It is as though we are moving on jell-o. Am I the only one who wants something to be done? At times, you can barely drive in Austin. It is better to walk, which I know is the healthier route, but still we should not have these things like potholes and deteriorate go unnoticed. There could have been an accident if someone had been following that girl. Luckily, for her it was a small side road and nobody was there. Seriously though, Austin, let us try not to be weird for once and fix our roads.

House vs Tree

There’s this guy I like who writes an opinion column for the Austin American Statesman. No I do not have a crush on him or anything I just think he is funny. John Kelso is his name and irony is his game. Every time I read one of his columns there is laughter.

Today I was reading some of his writing and came upon one that could be related to local government. Lack of greenbacks helps Austin keep more greenery; an amusing title. Here he is a bit delighted over the economic crisis because locally it has been keeping the housing industry capped. Many new houses and subdivisions that were supposed to start construction have halted due to the lack of funds and profits. Kelso’s happy about this because that means fewer people living in Austin and then goes on to commenting about the bad traffic here and screwed up faces. In any case, Kelso may find the lack of construction entertaining and a relief, but in actuality it means that even Austin with its bustling economy is suffering overall from the US economy; the trickle down effect if you will.

With fewer people moving into Austin and with fewer companies willing to give money for housing development means less jobs and less money for the city. I, like many people would love to see more trees being kept and planted in the Austin area, but by no means should I want less growth. A big city means more opportunities for individuals and companies, but fewer and fewer places are looking good right now. Progress is nice. I say yeah for more road construction, better light systems and timers, and defiantly green, green, green, but can we not have a good economy and keep the trees? I think we can if we put our heads together. Hopefully, the market will pick itself up again (or another invention greater than the home computer will be invented) and we in local Austin will reap the benefits by finally being able to complete our housing contracts.

Messed Up Texas Schools

Recently I was reading in the opinion section of the San Antonio Express and if you are a student in Texas you just might want to read this. The article is entitled Remedial Classes Cost Students Time, Money and is written by Gloria Padilla. Mrs. Padilla talks about a recent lawsuit settlement involving Bates Technical College and 16 former students. After graduation from the vocational college the students found that they had been ill prepared for their field and blamed the school. Despite having a degree for their line of work, either they were not being hired or could not keep their jobs because of an inferior education. The students complained about the teachers, saying that it was their fault for having not trained them properly.

After laying down the facts of the case, Padilla asks why did the students wait a whole year before complaining. She believes that some responsibility lies with Bates Technical College, but most of it rests with the students and their parents. She goes on to explain that “Mere attendance in a classroom and the ability to pass standardized tests do not produce a quality education.” Long story short, she wonders why so many students need to take remedial classes and who gets the blame for an unqualified education. She thinks that more blame should be placed on the individual and their families.

For the most part I agree with her. Why did the students never protest their teacher’s lack of attendance? Why did they stay with the school? Obviously they should have known better right? Maybe they did not. Maybe, they had never gone to college before and thought that teachers were allowed to skip class. Perhaps they did not know what to do. In any case a teacher should never be so negligent and a student should never take their education so lightly. Both are to blame for their failures. I know that if I was not learning anything in a class at ACC, I would drop it. I would especially contact the dean if I thought the teacher was being irresponsible. Why was this not resolved before a lawsuit? That is the point Padilla is trying to make. Something should be done about this. Schools are more willing to pass students to look better on paper than to bother giving them the skills they need and the students along with their parents accept it without concern. Now that is messed up.

City Code and Free Speech

There is an article I believe is worth reading, posted on the Austin American Statesman webpage. It is about moving billboards and dead fetuses. Strange, I know. Apparently a group called Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, a non-profit organization thought it would show Austin dead fetuses as a result of an abortion. Needless to say there were many complaints about these trucks containing graphic images which many were not too fond of seeing while they ate breakfast. There were several complaints called in to the City of Austin and Austin Police Department that morning regarding the graphic nature of the moving billboards. Several say it violates city code, but others agree it is under the protection of the first amendment for free speech, no matter how disturbing it may be. There are other reasons why the City of Austin allowed such a parade, but I’ll let you find the answers by reading the article. This article is definitely worth reading if not for the sheer awe of city code being twisted for the right-wiged, then for a story to tell your buddies.