Critique of " Death Penalty in Texas!"

In A.J’s Texas Justice Blog he comments about the death penalty in a posting on his blog. He states that the death penalty should be eliminated and argues that there is no significant effect on the crime rate with the death penalty in effect. He also specifically states that Texas has one of the highest death penalty percentages, and one of the harshest. I agree with AJ that the number death penalties here in Texas should be reduced; however I do not agree that it should be eliminated completely as he suggested in his blog. I believe the death penalty should remain as a form of punishment but on the same hand, limiting the number of people being tried for the death penalty. The cost to keep an inmate on death row is incredibly high and is hard to sum up, but rough estimates are around 1.2 million tax payer’s dollars! To an American resident this seems outrageous and a waste of resources that can be employed towards improving health, education and infrastructure.  The death penalty should only be used in extreme cases for individuals who have committed heinous crimes, such as mass murderers and serial killings. The average time an inmate waits on death row to be executed is approximately 10 years. Which means for ten years we are debating on whether or not to pursue with the death penalty in costly court cases. However AJ does a good job defending his argument by stating this statement “Death is one penalty which makes error irreversible and the chance of error is inescapable when based on human judgment”. He does a good job to persuade the reader towards anti-death penalty.

Legalize It!

Have you ever questioned the law that makes marijuana illegal in Texas? Nearly 46% of the Texas population admits to smoking marijuana at one time or another in their lifetime. Individuals living in the state of Texas deserve the right to decide if they choose to use marijuana or not. I believe the government limiting our use of certain substance is violating amendment rights of the citizens which they deserve. However Texas legislature is considering legalizing medical marijuana for other purposes than pleasure, like for the uses of medicine which can help stimulate appetite, and relieve nausea in cancer patients, and many other medical healings. This will prevent a lot of unnecessary arrest for possession of marijuana, and slowly decrease the number of people in jail. This will also save the Texas government money, and not having authorities cracking down for drug bust, and participating in the “War on Drugs”. The procedure for a marijuana trail is a costly when everything is taken into account, meals, shelter, health care, attorney fees, court costs, and other expenses are all applied when putting people in jail. Another argument to make is that prohibition might not decrease the drug use in the state of Texas, if the state chooses to legalizing marijuana; it might actually surprisingly decrease the usage, because some people use it only because it is forbidden and they like the thrill of sneaking around from the police. In a conclusion I believe it will be better for our state if marijuana is legalized with limits enforced on consumption

Eliminate school police for budget savings- Critique

            Almost all schools now are required to have a police officer on duty for protection of the student’s safety, and maintaining order throughout the school. However Scott Henson writer of  the Blog “Grits for Breakfast” thinks otherwise in his blog posting. He states that if there are budget cuts to be made in the school district the non- teacher jobs should be cut first. Mainly stressing on the schools’ police officers and other non teacher jobs that are less important when it comes to teaching the actual curriculum to the students. In Henson’s opinion he believes that schools were functioning well (or in a good standing) without police officers patrolling the schools when he was in school, so there should not be any need for them now. He states that in the last 20 years in Texas public schools have increased the campus police officers, which he thinks is unnecessary.  In my opinion I believe it entirely depends on the school district and the behavior of the students who attend the school. Without the campus police more responsibility will be put in the teacher’s hands when it comes to disciplining the students and making sure everyone is safe. But however I do agree with Henson on the terms of eliminating more non teacher jobs, and preserving the teaching position. A benefit that should result of this is the teachers’ salary should increase by a little, since they will be faced with more duties and responsibilities.

Chopping block: Eliminate the death penalty, Critique

The death penalty has been used in a form of punishment in America dating back to the 1600’s, since the first settlers arrived here in North America. Influenced by the British, Americans soon came adopt this style of punishment. In the society we live in now, the outlook on retribution has changed from the cruel and harsh punishments to less extreme measures.  In Bobby Cervantes commentary about the death penalty, he makes some legitimate arguments on the cost of the death penalty, and challenges us to think if we should sill continue with this type of punishment. He first starts off by mentioning that there is no chance for elimination of death penalty in the state of Texas. Due to its conservative base, Texas will probably be one of the last states to do away with the death penalty. Most Americans who are anti death penalty, are against it from a moral perspective against inhumane treatment that violates the Bill of Rights provisions against cruel and unusual punishment. However, few take into consideration of the actual cost of capital punishment. The cost is hard to sum up, but rough estimates are around 1.2 million tax payer’s dollars! To an American resident this seems outrageous and a waste of resources that can be employed towards improving health, education and infrastructure.  The death penalty should only be used in extreme cases for individuals who have committed heinous crimes, such as mass murderers and serial killers. As costs continually rises, judges must weigh the pros and cons consider carefully and determine whether if it is really worth pursuing capital punishment based on the reasons outlined above.

Sharia Law or the Constitution? America Must Choose

William G. Boykin a retired army lieutenant general, and now a professor at Hampden-Sydney College, Virginia, goes into detail on Sharia law which is Islamic religious code and way of life, based on Quranic teachings and practices of the Prophet Mohammad.

In Boykin’s article he exaggerates many statements about Islam and indulges in fear mongering for a section of Americans who are ignorant enough to believe him. Boykin a born-again Christian, has cast the "War on Terror" in Biblical terms has made controversial statements on Islam in the past.

In the article, http://www.texasinsider.org/?p=42440 he writes that there should be a separation between church and state, and points out “nor does Islam recognize any separation of church and state.” This maybe true in some circumstances with a few religious extremist, but the majority of Muslims in America view the separation of church and state as a requirement for protection of minority religions. Boykin then makes few more arguments against Sharia Law, claiming that if Muslims follow Sharia law in the United States, terrorist activities will increase. He gives two examples of religious extremist conducting terrorist like behavior against Americans. Their actions and decisions were wrong but I don’t think Sharia had any effect on them. The reason why I chose this article to comment and elaborate on is to show our class how different view points can be misinterpreted, or over exaggerated at times. However are listening to each others arguments we are still entitled to our own opinion