Central Texas is Becoming Infected

In schools all around the country staph infections are spreading rapidly. Staph is a growing problem that is a sweeping the country. It is a form of methicillin-resistant staphylococus aureus, or MRSA. Staph is drug-resistant and potentially life threatening.

School districts in Central Texas are now noting how many cases are being reported. What has taken so long? In my hometown of Lockhart, staph has been around the high school for at least three years. Two of my good friends, Derek and Justin, have had staph so far; Derek has actually had it twice. Since getting the infection the second time, Derek has recently quit football, fearing that he may get it again.

Parents of students in Central Texas need to be informed that staph is present in their school. Each time an athlete has it, they report it to their coaches, so why hasn't anything been done sooner? The athletic departments are starting to sterilize lockers, showers, weight rooms, and equipment, but that won't be enough. The school district needs to inform parents and students about this infection before it claims the lives of more students. From my personal experences, Lockhart High School doesn't provide liquid soap. All that is in the restroom is bar soaps. That is not sanitary. If this infection is going to stop, we need the help of everyone... not just athletes who are directly affected.

http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/local/10/24/1024mrsa.html

You're Welcome... If You're Legal

While looking for articles to write this blog about, I came over a number of articles about a Dallas suburb called Irving. In this town, citizens are trying to control the number of illegal immigrants. I completely agree with these people. Honestly, I do not see why LEGAL immigrants, or even US born Hispanics are upset about the US not wanting illegal immigrants. If illegal immigrants were not here, maybe police and even employers would stop profiling Hispanics.
Some Hispanics think that 'Whites' don't like illegal immigrants just because they are Hispanic. I'm sorry, but the 20th century is gone. The reason AMERICANS don't like illegal immigrants is because they are ILLEGAL! Join the country legally and you are more than welcome to be my neighbor.
In an article titled, "Passionate Protestors on Both Sides of Immigration Debate Turn Out in Irving," it states what happened on October 13, 2007, when protesters and supporters of the Criminal Alien Program marched to the steps of City Hall. The Criminal Alien Program allows police officers to turn suspected illegal immigrants over to federal authorities.
The quote that stuck out the most to me was said by Julio Arellano. He said, "Back then, black people were being arrested all the time. Black people weren't allowed to drink from water fountains. I feel that's what's happening now." I do not agree with his statement. Yes, in the past, African Americans were not allowed to drink out of the same water fountain as Whites, but no one is doing that to Hispanics or illegal immigrants. The only thing we want is for the illegals to go home.
Although I do not agree that illegal immigrants should be here, I do not agree with what one supporter of the CAP said. "Our government has not kept to its oath to protect us from invasion," said the group's president, Jean Towell. I do not believe that it is an 'invasion.' I do think that something does need to be done though.
Something needs to be done, but when will any two races agree on the same thing?

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/irving/stories/DN-irvrally_14met.ART0.West.Edition1.424c12f.html

Over Aggressive Cops?

Back in November of 2006, Corporal Thomas O'Connor of the Austin Police Department stun gunned a 32 year old man after pulling him over for a minor traffic violation. After Eugene Snelling questioned why he was being pulled over, O'Connor ordered him out of the car and used his taser after only 45 seconds.



This subject is very touchy to me personally because my boyfriend was actually tasered by this same police officer. He was tasered on Guadelupe Street for 'giving a false name,' even though it was his real name. That isn't even the worst part... At the time, he was 15, hand cuffed and feet cuffed, and sitting on the curb. This officer has a reputation for being over aggressive and needs to be taken off the street.



In this article, it says that O'Conner says that this was his first time firing the weapon, but the truth is, this was at least his second time. Also, he says that he feared that Snelling was going to push him into traffic. If he was scared, he shouldn't have gone to the driver's side of the car that was closest to the traffic.



In one part of the article it says that Cheif Art Acevedo was troubled by the officer's quick use of his taser on Snelling, who is black, and by internal affairs detectives' decision that O'Connor, who is white, had done nothing wrong by using the weapon. I do not agree with the observation. I do not believe that O'Conner was targeting Snelling because he was black. My boyfriend recieved the same reactions from O'Connor as Snelling did even though he is white.

Over aggressive and arrogant police officers do not help any situation, they just make them worse. When you get pulled over you are already upset, and having a prick for a cop does not make anything better. APD needs to realize what kind of cops they have and do something about it. Personally, I am glad to see Cheif Acevedo come to Austin. He seems to be trying to make an effort to get Austinites and APD get along.





http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/09/30/0930video.html

When someone is taken to jail, police officers usually say, "This is for your own safety." But what happens when you pass out and none of the jail officers notice? This happened to Sarah Trevino and it cost her her life. She was arrested in Caldwell County after the annual Watermelon Thump for suspicion of public intoxication.

After Trevino's autopsy, the medical examiner concluded that her alcohol blood level was only .03, less than half of Texas' DWI limit is. She also had traces of Xanax and two narcotic pain relievers.

In my opinion, this article is worth reading because it lets the public know what can happen behind the bars of jail. Don't think that just because someone you love is in there means that they are safe. The Caldwell County officers should have checked on this woman more and not had to of have another inmate tell them that she passed out and was turning blue. The police officers' actions, or should I say the lack there of, does not justify anyone abusing prescription drugs and alcohol, but it should raise awareness on what can happen inside the Texas jails.


http://www.statesman.com/search/content/news/stories/local/09/06/0906autopsy.html

How Do We Deal With Illegal Immigration?

Illegal immigration needs to stop. If someone wants to come into this country to make a better life, they need to do it the right way. Take the test, pay the money, and get your green card! Yes, illegal immigrants are hard workers just trying to make a better life for their family, but what about Texas families? We should be working to improve OUR economy.

In Biting the Hand That Feeds You, Congressman Steve King of Iowa noted:

What would the May 1, 2006, illegal immigration boycott look like without illegal immigration?

• The lives of 12 U.S. citizens would be saved who otherwise would die a violent death at the hands of murderous illegal aliens each day.
• Another 13 Americans would survive who are otherwise killed each day by uninsured drunk driving illegals.
• There would be no one to smuggle across our southern border the heroin, marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamines, which plague the United States, reducing the U.S. supply of methamphetamines that day, by 80%.
• Our hospital emergency rooms would not be flooded with everything from gunshot wounds, to anchor babies, to imported diseases, to hangnails, giving American citizens the day off from standing in line behind illegals.
• Eight American children would not suffer the horror as victims of sex crimes.

Most crimes witnessed by illegal immigrants go unreported. Illegals are afraid to report crimes because they are scared their residency status will be checked and they don't want to get deported. Many of the violent crimes committed by illegal immigrants are sexual crimes. Researcher Deborah Schurman-Kauflin Ph.D. of the Violent Crimes Institute, reports on the analysis of 1,500 violent crimes from January 1999 through April 2006 that included serial rapes, serial murders, sexual homicides and child molestation committed by illegal aliens. The Schurman-Kauflin study noted that "63% of the illegal immigrant sex offenders had been deported on another offense prior to the sex crime." Should women and children have to suffer from sex crimes just to save ten cents on a head of lettuce? NO! We need to protect our border!

The media and Congress always say that illegal immigrants do the work that Americans won't... But what is never mentioned, is that illegal immigrants are the only ones who will do the work at such low wages.

The prestigious Wall Street investment firm Bear Stearns recently published a report, The Underground Labor Force is Rising to the Surface, which claims that the illegal alien population is double the official government estimates and that the Government vastly underestimates the cost of illegal immigration. According to Bear Stearns:

• The illegal alien population of the U.S. is about 20 million - roughly the population of New York State.
• Between 4 and 6 million jobs have shifted to the underground economy since 1990. These are not "jobs Americans won't do, but rather jobs Americans used to do.
• On the revenue side, the United States may be foregoing $35 billion a year in income tax collections because of the number of jobs that are now off the books.
• There are approximately 5 million illegal workers who are collecting wages on a cash basis and are avoiding both income and FICA taxes.
• The United States is hooked on cheap, illegal workers and is deferring the costs of providing public services to these quasi-Americans.

Before these "non-American" jobs were done by illegal immigrants, they were done by Americans. Someone had to mow yards, dig ditches, flip burgers, and clean hotel rooms. These entry level jobs were done by guest agricultural workers, the working poor, legal immigrants, and during the summer, by students. There are still plenty of legal Americans who would do this work at a fair wage.

In order to solve the immigration problem we have to do two things: First, slowing down and eventually preventing entry by illegal immigrants. Then, make it harder for existing illegal immigrants to live and exist in the US while simultaneously "encouraging" them to go home, as well as deporting others. But, before we can do that, the US has to recognize the growing problem this will have on the country.