Commentary on What Happen'd To Freedom of Speech and Expression

While reading Lonestar Political Chat's blog I found an interesting entry about South Park creators receiving death threats from a Muslim extremist group due to showing the prophet in an episode. South Park is famous for its crude, surreal, satirical, and dark humor on a wide range of topics which sometimes includes things that could be offensive to some people.

I agree with the blogger and SA express editor Jonathan Guwitz about making fun of the Islamic religion, or any other religion, should not be an issue. This is America and the cartoon South Park is just expressing the first amendment with the freedom of speech/expression. I believe if the Muslim extremist group finds this particular show offensive they do not have to watch it and could just change to channel to watch something else. This issue is ridiculous especially sending out death threats to the two creators of the show. If every offensive remark or comment received a death threat we would all have a few because in every show, movie, and song there is something that offends somebody in the world, because of the fact that we cannot please everybody.

Tanning salons feel targeted by feds

“New health care law imposes tanning tax to help fund indigent care.” As the new healthcare law has recently passed it added a new tanning tax.  The new tax will enable more revenue for the uninsured Americans.  Tanning salons feel as if the feds are picking on the little guy because they just don’t have the money for this new tax. Originally the tanning tax was not part of the health care bill (Obama Plan) and instead it was a tax on cosmetic surgery, but dermatologists persuaded the senators to substitute the tanning tax for the cosmetic surgery tax. 

I am completely against the tanning salon tax.  I am not a regular tanner and I have a free tanning bed at my apartment complex but I believe this tax is unfair.  They are targeting the little guys, why substitute a tanning tax for a cosmetic surgery tax, if anything they should target cosmetic surgery.  Since the goal for taxes are to create revenue for uninsured Americans they would receive more money through the taxation of cosmetic surgery because it occurs often and cost much more than a visit at a local tanning salon.  

Commentary on Immigration

I read the blog link titled “Don’t Mess With Texas” and they wrote about the Immigration debate.  Currently in the United States, especially Texas we are experiencing issues with illegal immigration and this has sparked national debates in United States Congress.   I believe this is an extremely sensitive subject particularly because state representative Leo Berman is trying to deny state services to undocumented children and their American-born children.  But I absolutely agree with my classmate, the blog writer, and Leo Berman.  It’s not fair that we have to provide for the children of illegal immigrants because they do not pay taxes and provide revenue to our society so why should we grant them the opportunity to public services.  I believe if the parents or guardians do not contribute to public services then in turn the children should be denied the right to use them.  This may seem unfair because they are children but in the end nothing in life is free and things are never fair.   

Electronic Textbooks?

On Saturday Texas House gave preliminary authorization that allows schools to use their textbook allowance from the state to buy appropriate electronic materials.  When I first learned about this improvement of electronic textbooks I had mixed feelings about the issue.  Replacing textbooks with electronic books is a good idea but not everyone is ready for 21^st century technology.  I don’t believe this will benefit younger children in elementary school or even middle school because they are irresponsible and would possibly break the e-reader devices.  But even using computers to read the electronic textbooks would not be a great idea because it would cost a lot of money to provide every classroom with enough computers for a classroom full of children.  This could possibly benefit high school and college students because they are more responsible and could keep up with a personal e-reader device, especially college students who currently spend hundreds of dollars on books a semester anyways.  On the other hand this would be an unrealistic cost for parents of high school students in public school because these devices cost approximately $300 because not everybody would be fortune enough to provide this for their child.  I personally cannot read an abundance of text on the computer and need to print out to read it.  I am personally against this idea, I believe it’s a good idea but not everybody is completely ready for electronic textbooks and need to currently stick with the old ways by using an actual textbook.  This idea has dollar signs written all over it and would cost too much money at the moment, especially with the status of our current economy.  

Texas Among Big Winners In Healthcare Reform Vote

While reading the article Texas Among Big Winners In Healthcare Reform Vote in Capital Annex, it is obvious the author is agreeing with the Obama healthcare bill. They stated Texas will be one of the biggest benefactors of this new healthcare reform due to Texas having the greatest amount of uninsured citizens. This article is targeted toward middle to lower class citizens that will benefit from this new Obama bill. This bill will benefit citizens by enabling lower income families to the opportunity of health insurance. The evidence provided was the statistics for every state dollar we currently spend we will be granted nine federal dollars within ten years from now for this healthcare reform. I personally agree with this new Obama bill because as a humanitarian I believe in helping out the less fortunate and providing them opportunities to save and better their families lives. Those who were not able to receive adequate medical attention prior to the passing of this bill will not legally be turned away because of previous insurance regulations prohibiting them from being insured. This bill is what the United Stated needed to learn to regulate and reform healthcare insurance companies.

Will ‘worst legislator' be Mr. Justice?

While reading the Houston Chronicle I came across a commentary by Rick Casey titled "Will 'worst legislator' by Mr. Justice?". The author, Rick Casey, is writing with absolute sarcasm when he believes that Ricky Green could make things happen due to having a lot of mishaps with prohibition but having his record cleared, and named the "worst legislator" from Texas Monthly.  This article is targeted towards Texans who are voting in the election including the Texas Supreme Court.  Rick Casey doesnt believe that the Texas Supreme Court should be more like our State Board of Education and Rick Green would be making that happen.  Rick Green is a graduate from University of Texas Law School and a former legislator from Dripping Springs, Texas.  Green has spent a lot of time in the political spectrum from lobbying to being a former legislator.  I think Rick Casey has a good argument and some Texans might agree while others will disagree depending on their stand in this current election against Jeff Brown, Debra Lehrmann, Jim Mosely, Jim Sharp, Rebecca Simmons, Rick Stranger, and William Strange all fighting to become Texas Supreme Court seats.  He is arguing that people should not vote for him by making a decent argument in smearing Rick Green.  It doesn't say too much about Green's opponents but he is just throwing him under the busing by giving his personal views and showing you all the bad things on this particular candidate Rick Green.     s

1986 tax law change was source of anger

Everyone in Austin has heard of the recent plane that crashed into a Northwest Austin building on February 18, 2010. Andrew Joseph Stack III was responsible for this crash because he was angry at the IRS. Before the accident he posted a rant online against a 1986 tax reform that redefined the status of some highly skilled technology industry contract workers. Previously, the workers did not have tax money withheld from their paychecks but instead made quarterly payments on their own based on estimated income. Stack was angry and looking for a way out of the withholding system. In the end he tried to "prove" a point, write a blog against the 1986 tax reform, burnt his house, and crashed his plane into an IRS building. 

I thought this incident was very interesting because nothing like this ever happens in Austin, Texas.  In the beginning people were thinking this was some sort of terrorist attack but instead it was an angry person who did not want to pay his taxes.  Instead he takes his anger out on the IRS and crashes his plane into a building which in the end killed one person.

Austin American Statesman