Who's Bad?

Texas Justice, it sure is something. I really enjoyed reading Mr. Pickles article about Joe Horn. He did a nice job of really getting his opinion about standing up for what you feel is the right thing to do, no matter what the out come maybe. I agree with Mr. Pickle when he says that he wished that here were more Joe Horns in Texas, because I am sure that there are a lot of bad things the neighbors see that they do not try to stop from happening. For instance, my dad got his truck broken in to while it was in our drive way, and they stole over a thousand dollars of cash, a shot gun, and some of my dads tools. My dad was talking to the neighbors about it the next day, and a guy down the street said he saw three men in our drive way around 11:30 pm, cause he was letting his dog out to use the restroom, but didn’t do anything because he did not think he would be any help. I think he was a coward, and he could have been my dads new best friend, if he would of done something about it. I just feel that you only live once, and I would rather be known for doing something very brave like stopping a burglar, then being that guy that said oh well I thought something was going on but I was not sure.

State boosting outreach efforts

More than 850,000 Texas children eligible for -- but not enrolled in -- Medicaid and CHIP

1.5 million Texas children who don't have health insurance, more than 850,000 are eligible for the Children's Health Insurance Program or Medicaid but are not enrolled. The state Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner announced today. There is a huge urgency to spread the word about the health care programs so we can provide care to Texas children.
"Texas is a very large state, and it's very difficult to get that information out," CHIP/Children's Medicaid outreach campaign manager Geoff Wool told U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who was in Austin for an update on the programs. "We're really looking at every opportunity that's available to let families know about these programs.”
Seventy five percent of children qualify for Medicaid, which is a free program. The rest of the children qualify for CHIP a program that is to help families who make to much money for Medicaid, but can not afford private insurance.
One of Houston’s Pilot programs, relies on churches to spread the word about Medicaid and CHIP, and is hoping it will go statewide .As a debate continues in Washington on whether to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program, Cornyn said it's important to focus on enrolling eligible Texas children.
"The sad part is that Texas has a United States senator that had the opportunity to stand up for Texas children and chose not to," Noriega said. "And he comes back to Texas and panders."
In the year 2007, the Legislature lifted several administrative barriers to applying for CHIP. "We need to do the same for Medicaid," Best said. "These are the most vulnerable families."

Proposition 15

I fee that the author of “ To much Money” discussing proposition 15, has done a good job of stating his opinion for not providing the three billion dollars to cancer research.

I feel like he was a little blunt though in getting his point across, and could have been more considerate to the people who do feel strongly about getting proposition 15 passed.

Instead of saying none of the three billion should go to cancer research, he could of said that splitting the three billion dollars to the top five diseases that are killing people every year would help save more lives in the long run.

Yes I understand how you feel that billions of dollars have been put into finding the cure for cancer and there has been no luck, but it is better to know that we gave it another shot. Rather than having that feeling of doubt…that what if that money had made a difference.

Those families that are actually going through the cancer process with a loved one, have hope that every penny will help to save many lives.

Also, what if you or somebody you love gets cancer, and you did not help support the research, because you thought it was a waste of money. How would that make you feel?

Innocent People that Die on Death row In Texas

In Texas, which in a good year all by itself carries out half the executions in America. Death Row in Texas is like the Roach Motel: Roach checks in, doesn't check out. When George W. Bush was Texas governor, he claimed to carefully consider each and every execution, although a study of his office calendar shows he budgeted 15 minutes per condemned man (we cannot guess how many of these minutes were devoted to pouring himself a cup of coffee before settling down to the job). Still, when you're killing someone every other week and there's an average of 400 more waiting their turn, you have to move right along.
In the movie The life of David Gale, Kevin Spacey who is a professor at the University of Texas, has a strong opinion about the lives of innocent men and women dying on death row all the time. In the movie he is actually framed for the murder of his friend, who also strongly disagreed with the death penalty. He claims to have been framed by right-wing supporters of capital punishment because his death would provide such poetic irony in support of the noose, the gas or the chair. During the last week of his life, he hires a reporter to protest his innocence, and the reporter ends up believing that he is.
I really feel that Governor Perry should grant more clemency to those on death row. Meaning the lessening of the penalty of the crime without forgiving the crime itself. The act of clemency is a reprieve. I Just feel that being sentenced to life, instead of taking another human beings life, just for the chance that some evidence proves the person maybe innocent.

Davis on Death Row

The Travis County jury was deliberating whether Selwyn P. Davis should receive a death sentence for killing his ex-girlfriend's mother asked this afternoon for a court reporter to read back testimony about Davis' incarceration in the county jail. In some jurisdictions, murder is a common law crime, considered so wrong that there is no need for any legislation to define it. In such jurisdictions precedent (case law or previous decisions of the Courts of Law), define what is considered murder. Since Davis’s father shot and killed his mother, Davis then suffered some major problems as a child, some saying he had a “Mental problem.” Most countries allow conditions that "affect the balance of the mind" to be regarded as mitigating circumstances. This means that a person may be found guilty of "manslaughter" on the basis of "diminished responsibility" rather than murder, if it can be proved that the killer was suffering from a condition that affected their judgment at the time. Depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and medication side-effects are examples of conditions that may be taken into account when assessing responsibility.

Life imprisonments without the possibility of parole or death row are the penalties for committing a murder. By giving murderers the death sentence the government is trying to accomplish at getting the message across that if you kill somebody chances are you’re not going to get off.

After taking all of Davis’s past history into consideration, they sentenced him to death row, instead of life in prison.

I personally feel that the jury made the best decision.

More Cops for Houston

Mayor Bill White has decided that the city of Houston will spend an extra $24 million on police overtime in the next three years while boosting the number of officers on the streets by more than 500 in that period. I feel this announcement gives us hope for tomorrow; our children and more vulnerable citizens will reap the benefits of a 10% increase in HPD personnel, which totals well over 500 additional uniformed officers. Since Katrina the crime rate has increased tremendously in Houston, and having a shortage in the Police department is really taking a toll. The department has been waiting on the grants in the wakes of hurricane Katrina and Rita to really crack down on the “hot spots” in crime. The city is expecting $20 million in community development block grants to spend on overtime soon. Mayor White said The overtime money will finance more than 500,000 hours of police work through the fiscal year that ends in July 2010, Approximately 190 additional police officers, from three academy classes added to the four already planned in the next fiscal year. When combined with new academy classes last year and this year, along with next year's classes previously planned, In the next nine months the city will implement a program to permanently replace 78 police public officers now serving on jail duty with civilian jailers. This will result in more uniformed officers being available for patrol and investigations. The city also will proceed with a request for proposal for a new citywide radio system, which will cost in excess of $100 million. Radios for first responders, including police, fire and EMS will be among the first to be replaced. I feel that the additional five hundred officers in the next three years will help Houston clean up a great deal along with the new radio technology.

http://blogs.chron.com/cityhall/

Steriod Bust

First Off I am very glad 120 different steroid arrests were made. My current boyfriend has done one or to cycles and the negative affects which defiantly out weigh the positive effects which make it very hard to have a relationship with them. In the U.S alone the government uncovered 56 anabolic labs 11.4 MILLION doses in all. Among those charged, federal authorities say, are a Chinese manufacturer accused of smuggling these steroids into the country. Four men actually sold them on Myspace. Tons of athletes use steroids and I just feel that its unfair to the players that choose not to have "roid rages" and who can actually say the way they perform on the field and look is all them.

I really feel that this is a great article to read, it really shows what the government is doing to take care of abolishing this drug.

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/gen/ap/Steroid_Busts.html