Blog Stage 7

In blog stage 5 I discussed the House Bill 3859, which allows charities donating to child welfare programs to exercise their religious beliefs. Meaning they can deny providing funds because a adoption couple is seen as unfit. If they practice a different religious or are gay, they can refuse to provide funds. Rep. James Frank who introduced the bill says the bill is not meant to discriminate but to create a more diverse group of providers. Which doesn't even make sense in the first place because their "religious beliefs" only consist of Christianity. They're also discriminating gay couples which is the first option people go to for adoption. I think this whole bill is completely unnecessary, because they're not even focusing on the best interest of the children.  They just want to push their own personal agenda onto everyone. Jennifer Allmon, an executive director for the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops says some religious based providers are worried about providing for child welfare without the protection of the bill. The reason behind it is because a lot of providers have been faced with lawsuits for not taking the children to get abortions, or not providing a gay/lesbian couple with a child. Which proves everything I say, they're not looking out for themselves, not for the best interest of the child. The whole ideology behind church and state should be separate should be applied when dealing with politics. If you're holding an office you have to look out for the best interest of EVERYONE, not just the people you have the same beliefs as you.

Blog stage six

 I chose to comment on Barsha Pokharel who's blog is titled "Growing Interest towards Government." I did not know this about the government wanting to subsidize private school funds. I went to a charter school for middle and high school. It was smaller than your average public and private school, but it was still a good school. Charter schools have a harder time getting funding for them since they do not receive money from the state or from parents. They rely on donors a lot. In my personal opinion more funding does need to be invested in public schools. Do you think charter schools could maybe be a solution? I feel with the new secretary of education Betsy DeVos things will get worse regarding funds and public schools. I agree with you completely on the second program. I work and have to pay taxes, and it would make me feel better if I knew my taxes would actually help someone who needs it.

Child Welfare

House Bill 3859 has allowed faith-based providers stop providing donations to child welfare unless those people follow through with their religious belief. When I first read this I was so confused, what does the protection and care of a child have anything to do with these people's religious beliefs. The bill not only stops funding, but allows them to discriminate against foster couples, including gay couples and non-Christians. It would also allow other foster parents to push their own religious agenda on foster kids, and deny them abortions, vaccinations, etc. The foster care system is so broken in America, and more efforts need to be put into the kids themselves, not their religious beliefs. These kids need a home, family, and most importantly safety. This bill has already affected the foster system, Catholic charities have already stopped giving funds to help the foster care system in Texas. One social worker is concerned with fighting too much for these funds, she's concerned social workers will not actually focus on helping the kids. So many kids in America alone go through so much abuse and neglect. Whatever happened to church & state being separate. One adoptive parent accused the state, saying they used this bill as an excuse to cut funds rather than just follow their religious beliefs. In my opinion, don't preach about your religious agenda if you're just going to use it to do things that go completely against it. After all, what would Jesus do?

Marijuana Legalization

Howie Katz is a blogger for Big Jolly Politics and is arguing about the legalization of pot shouldn't be allowed. He discusses in 2013 Obama's efforts to stop enforcing drug laws on marijuana, and has intervened in with the DEA's job. In states like Colorado, California, and Washington have already legalized it. The author argues how marijuana is classified as a schedule 1 drug, the same as heroin and cocaine. The author now hopes with President Trump this will change, and the DEA can now continue to do their job. The author provides arguing statements from people who support the legalization of marijuana. The supporters argue legalizing marijuana will put the cartels out of business, the author argues that is not true. He argues Mexican cartels will still thrive, and continue to sell other drugs. The author gives substantial evidence to support his claim, and he has good credentials. He is a retired police officer, and criminal justice professor. Which helps his argument a lot, he's not just some old guy googling information he actually knows his stuff. For the argument of Mexican cartels will still thrive, he could give better information. He could discuss other major drugs such as, heroin and cocaine to support his claim. When classifying marijuana schedule 1 drug with heroin and cocaine, a lot of people can argue that is absurd. But maybe he can provide any long term effects marijuana has to support his claim.

David R. Brockman is a writer for The Texas Observer, and has a Ph.D in religious studies. His article Religious Liberty is only for Christians in Texans argues that GOP leaders incorporate their religious beliefs into their political stances. When it comes to issues such as, LGBT rights and abortion their views are more than predictable. They often refer to bible quotes when asked why they support movements like pro-life. Although, Brockman has no issue with the religion Pence practices he criticizes Pence and Kaine for trying to push their beliefs onto other people.

 In his article he is supporting abortion, but also trying to argue that maybe it isn't a sin as most Christians believe it is. He refers to bible verses Job 31:15, Isiah 44:2, Psalm 139: 13-16. "Nor does it clearly support the notion that human person hood begins at conception. In fact, Genesis 2:7 suggests that person hood begins at first breath (i.e., at birth)" A direct quote from his article supporting his statement saying the bible doesn't refer to abortion at all. And that a fetus is not even considered a person in the bible.

I don't agree with his statements referring to the bible verses, but I do agree with his statements about Governor Abbot. Church and state should be separate, but it's a very hard thing to do. A lot of the political parties belief are tied to their religion so, it's almost impossible. His references to the bible quotes were good, but he might need something stronger to support that statement as well.

Your guide to the 85th legislative

The 85th legislative session began on January 10th. I recommend for people to read My Statesman.  If you want reliable facts and are interested about Texas and Local State Government. This article covers the main ten issues that are highly controversial: LGBT issues, education, border & immigration,  child protective services, gun rights, transportation, marijuana, ethics, abortion, and state budget. Which all affect our community, and are all topics we're concerned about. This is why it's worth the read. This article discusses the 3 main political figures today: Gov. Greg Abbot, Gov. Dan Patrick, and House speaker Joe Straus--which is a very powerful position.-- Most of you most likely know who Gov. Greg Abbot is. Two of these political figures are up for re-election in 2018. The article also introduces the 3 new house members that will represent Texas in 3 different sections.