HANDS UP...DON'T SHOOT!!!! NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE!!!!

 
In an article posted by Shayy Tavarez on December 1, 2014 title No Justice, No Peace she talks about the decision from the Grand Jury when they decided not to indict Darren Wilson from the shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager. Not only has this decision sent those affected by this decision into an uproar, it has also sent the whole African-American race into an uproar. The decision sparked a fire that has people of all races in an uproar, that they not only took to the streets, they have taken to the capital. In the article posted by Miss Tavarez from the Dallas CBS, they spoke about people who have hit the streets in Northern Dallas to protest the unjust decision that was handed down by the Grand Jury.
     When the decision came down that they were not going to indict Darren Wilson for killing Michael Brown, I have to be honest, I cried for the hurt that this mother is feeling. I too have a son the same age as Michael, and I fear his life, not because he is out here in the streets doing unlawful things, but for the mere reason that he his black, and being a black male in America seems to be the worst thing to since AIDS/HIV and Ebola have surfaced.
    Along with my tears, I was, and still am angry that the police can go out and shoot/kill people and they don't/won't be indicted for the murders they have/will commit. To me, this has told me that no matter how much evidence they have on the police officer (DNA, Video and Witnesses) they are still going to walk, and another family will have to live with knowing their sons killer is still roaming free. I would have liked, and will like to see is for those police officers who are committing these crimes to face a jury of their peers, place all of the evidence out there and allow the public to know the whole truth.
    This is a VERY touchy subject for me, and I can go on for hours about what this has done to the African-American race, but I will end it by saying this: I am proud to see our youth so passionate, informed and knowledgeable on this subject. Thank you, Shayy Tavarez for writing on this subject. You are our future, we hope this doesn't stop here, we hope that your generation will carry on the fight for ALL African-Americans to become equal. RIP Trayvon Martin, Tamir Jones, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Emmit Till and the rest of those who have lost the battle of just being "black."

ABORTION...MORAL OR UNMORAL?...RIGHT OR WRONG?..SAFE OR UNSAFE? WHO'S TO SAY?

In an article published November 25, 2014, in the Texas Tribune "For Rep.-Elect Molly White, Abortion Changed Everything." Rep.-Elect Molly White talks about how she feels that abortion is not safe that cause damages physically, as well as mentally.

Rep- Elect Molly White is using the dangers of abortion and birth control pills as part of her strategy to educate as many Texans as she can on her views on reproductive health. Part of her argument is that: "We are women and we are designed to give birth, we're designed to nurture, we're designed to bond. It's just nature," said White. Though the statement White made may be true, we as women still have a right to do as we may please with our bodies. And to take a right that we have as citizens, voters, tax payers and women away because a few women feel that it is not a safe procedure, or may have had bad experiences or even botched procedures does not constitute them to take this freedom away from EVERY woman. I myself am not for or against abortions. I don't believe that abortions should be used as a form of birth control, but I do believe there are cases where abortions are necessary. If banning abortions all together, what other options are there going to be?

In the article, Rep.-Elect went on to talk about the experiences she had when she herself had two abortions by explaining that after her abortions she not only suffered mentally and physically,  she also experienced, cervical damage, a hysterectomy, drug and alcohol abuse and suicidal thoughts. The experiences that she (Rep. Elect White) had to endure are horrible and can leave a lasting effect on someone, but there are a number of procedure that can also cause these same horrible effects.

Does White honestly believe that someone who does not want to be pregnant or may not have the means of taking care of child want to continue on with a pregnancy, which could cause them more detriment? Yes, adoption is an option, but why make a women go thru that kind of torture knowing they are carrying a child that they didn't want in the first place? That too can cause a lot of mental stress, or even cause the mother to do things that will cause harm to not just herself, but the unborn fetus as well.

I believe that Rep.-Elect has taken her own personal experiences with abortions to the extreme and has not thought about the other outcomes that can come out of not allowing women to have a say so in what they can do with their bodies. If she feels that abortions cause so many problems are unsafe, why doesn't she try and hold a board meeting with doctor's to come up with ways of making this procedure more safe for women? Just my opinion. Let the public be heard versus just those who are in a particular seat.

EBOLA. WHAT ARE WE (UNITED STATES) GOING TO DO?

In a post dated October 14 by Mitchell Rico, he talked about a article that was posted in The Texas Daily titled "Real Ebola crisis' in Africa, not in United States. I have to agree with Mitchell's statement as well as the article, that we need to help contain Ebola in Western Africa.  The few outbreaks that have occurred in the United States are far fewer than the millions of Africans who have been affected. Like I mentioned in my post Living in fear...Ebola, as long as the citizens of the United States can receive the health care needed in treating this virus, then why worry about those who are dying everyday in Western Africa? SMH. It upsets me to know how insensitive and selfish the people of the United States are. But wait! This should not come as a shock to me, let alone upset me, because I see the behavior in every day life from the way people are less fortunate are being treated here.

To elevate the frantic behavior, and put the citizens at ease, we need to provide as much aid as we can to those in Liberia, and we need to find a way of providing it fast. Mr. Rico is correct in saying " Maybe if we didn't ignore the fatal virus in the first place and gave a better helping hand we would not be experiencing cases in the U.S." Very well said Mr. Rico! I couldn't have said better myself. 

PLANNED PARENTHOOD...WHOA! WHY ARE WE BEING PUNISHED?

I'm sorry, but I do not support the decision that was made by the Supreme Court allowing the Texas Legislature to close nearly 50 of its Planned Parenthood clinics. How do you agree with this decision when it obviously is taking the rights of women? If I'm not mistaken, this is 2014, we do have rights when it comes to what we want to do with our bodies! How did we go from having a freedom of speech to NO voice at all?

For those who had fought so hard to getting these clinics closed, I wonder if they really know the detriment this decision is going to cause? In an article published in  Mother Jones titled "This Is What Happens When You Defund Planned Parenthood." It is said, "In the past two years, Texas legislators slashed funds for family planning and passed up $30 million a year in federal Medicaid money, largely to squeeze Planned Parenthood out of the state's women's health programs." And, "Researchers say nearly 200,000 Texas women have lost or could lose access to contraception, cancer screenings, and basic preventive care, especially in low-income, rural parts of the state."

Now knowing this has occurred, not only will health risks for women increase, the rate for unplanned pregnancies will also increase, which will result in taxes being raised to cover the expenses. How in the world can someone allow for funding to be cut, clinics to be closed and for the freedom of each woman to be taken away from her. A new resident of Texas, and living here for a little over 3 years, I am appalled by how Texans' have allowed the legislators of this state to run it the way they "think" it should be ran, like it is the 1960's.

We as Texas residents, hell, not just Texas, US citizens need to stand up and stop allowing these legislatures to dictate how we should live our lives by expressing our constitutional rights...VOTING! With that being said, I truly believe that Texas needs to rethink the way they the health care of its women. 

LIVING IN FEAR...EBOLA!

In a blog published October 16, 2014 in the Texas Insider, by Ann Coulter titled "We'll Tell You How Dangerous Ebola Is After the Election?" Now that Ebola has now reached the United States and the level of paranoia has peaked, Ann Coulter took to  her blog on how banning travels to Africa will prevent the spread of this deadly disease, and basically placing the blame on President Obama and his administration.

In her posting, Ann went on about how this past summer, "the U.S. government imposed a travel ban on Israel simply to pressure Prime Minister Netanyahu into accepting a ceasefire agreement. But we can't put a travel restriction on countries where a contagious disease is raging." She then goes on ranting about how the head of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Tom Frieden, justifies Obama's refusal to prohibit flights originating in Ebola-plagued countries, saying, "A travel ban is not the right answer. It's simply not feasible to build a wall - virtual or real - around a community, city or country." Ann stated, "Until there's a treatment, we can't put out the disease there, or here. The only thing Americans will be doing in Liberia is changing the bedpans of victims, getting infected and bringing Ebola back to America. When there's a vaccine, we can mail it."

There is a lot more to this blog, but I decided to stop there to give you just a little bit of how the Conservatives think. SAD!

When  reading this blog, I have to admit it upset me how people in this country look at those in other countries as being beneath them when they don't have anything to gain. It amuses me that until the disease came to the United States, Americans could've cared less that it was killing innocent men, women and children. But now that it has reached American soil, everyone is in a frenzy. SMH. I know many won't agree; however, I have to agree with the head of CDC Dr. Tom Frieden when he said that prohibiting flights from entering into Africa, or flights entering America from Africa isn't going to control this disease anymore than it is now. Do I believe that  Ebola should be a concern? Yes, but Americans with all the advanced technologies that we have, have more of a chance in getting treatment for this disease, than those who are in Western Africa. Instead of sweeping this problem under the rug and allowing more and more innocent lives in West Africa to die, we should be trying to aid them. If we don't do something to give those people the treatments that they are needing, how can we say we are a country that is built on morals and values? Wait! Or does that statement ONLY apply to the people of the United States?

Let's talk about the one key factor Ann forgot, and that is, the man who first brought the disease to the states was NOT of African decent, he was one of our own, and was there aiding those who are/were stricken with this disease. So, I think before Ann goes throwing rocks at a glass house, she should start sweeping around her own front door by looking past her Conservative ways be a human, and look at the picture as a whole. The picture is BIGGER than what the Conservatives, Liberals, Americans and Africans think and feel should happen. This is a problem that should call for humans to come together to end WORLD destruction.

  

Education Improvements and Funding

      In a blog published October 3, 2014, in the The Daily Texan by Amanda Voeller titled, "When discussing education improvements, emphasize more than just funding." Seeing how public education seems to be one of the issues that is being discussed amongst Texas candidates in their races; Amanda thinks legislators should balance their focus on methods to improve education without having to spend more money.

Proposed methods to improve education consists of:
  
Parents prioritizing their involvement in their children's schools leading the students to perform better, but because a lot of  these parents are working parents and cannot devote a large amount of time to their children's school activities, schools should do everything possible to work with parents to develop flexible ways that would allow those parents to be more involved. She also goes on by suggesting teachers should have a larger role in determining how the state allocates its education budget because no one knows better than what is needed, than a teacher. Based on her findings, two of the eleven members of the Texas House Public Education Committee have been teachers.

     After reading this short blog, I have to agree with Amanda on the methods that she proposed to reduce funding costs for education. Although funding education is great, and I'm all for providing children with higher education; however, placing emphasize on what is exactly needed for that child to excel is more important. Amanda made a good point when she suggested that parents need to prioritize their time by being more involved with their children's school, and by doing this legislature should work with the schools to  provide ways parents can participate in their children's school and class events. I too agree with the writer when she suggest that more teachers need to have more input on decisions pertaining to school board needs. Teachers are more aware of what is needed, than someone who has NEVER worked a education professional.

As for this blog, the writer did a good job in proposing some methods she believes that will reduce the cost of education, by placing more responsibility in the hands of those who know vs. those who are just trying to make a legal decision.

                
              

   On September 22, 2014 an article published in the Texas Tribune, titled "State, Feds Target El Paso Hospital Over TB Exposure" talks about how more than 700 infants might have been exposed to tuberculosis at an El Paso hospital.

        After the discovery of the infants exposure to TB(turberculosis), state and federal officials say the facility has been placed on track to lose crucial funding if it does not take corrective action. As of today, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services advised that Providence Memorial Hospital's Medicare funding after the an investigation by the Department of State Health Services last week "cited the hospital for deficiencies that represent immediate jeopardy to patient health and safety," advised department spokeswoman Carrie Williams. The hospital has been given until Oct. 11 to fix the problems or it risks losing federal money that is keeping it's doors open.

    The outbreak occurred when a test confirmed a healthcare worker who works in postpartum and the nursery with newborn babies had an active case of tuberculosis. The worker tested positive on Aug. 25. The hospital conducts annual TB screenings on employees, but officials believe the infected worker contracted the disease after their most recent screening.

    From an email on Monday, Williams said, "This is one of the largest TB exposure investigations we've ever been involved in, and it involves infants, so this is particularly sensitive."

   I chose to discuss this article because as a mother it hit home, and to know that more than 700 infants as well as other health care works had been exposed to this "highly contagious and deadly disease!"