Our Corrupt Leaders

 Recently, former Congressman Tom Delay was convicted of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Now from what I've heard, he's probably going to be sentenced to 10 years probation instead of possible jail time. A slap on the wrist for a serious white collar crime? Really? To me that's absolute bullshit (pardon my colorful language).
Delay did wrong knowingly and willingly and now he might get to pass on jail time. It doesn't matter if he's a congressman or even the President of the United States, he shouldn't get a pass for a crime as serious as this. If I were the one to make the decision, I'd lock him up just like everyone else who's committed crimes like this. No one, and I repeat no one deserves to get what he might get. Now that I've ranted about this, I'd like to bring up another point.
I know for a fact that Mr. Delay isn't the first politician to be convicted of a crime, but I also know that there are plenty of politicians out there who are just as dirty, if not dirtier than Delay. I know politicians take bribes, steal money, abuse their power, and etc. Some of them are brought to justice and some easily slip away from punishment. Now I'm speculating here, but if the people who are supposed to keep these people in check aren't catching them, why do they still have jobs? Delay laundered money for years and now he's getting punished (lightly). That seems inefficient to me and if I ran the show, I'd definitely be keeping a close eye on these people. Well, that about does it for my rant and hopefully in the future politicians are kept on a tighter leash. Ha, yeah like that would ever happen.

Let the Votes Decide

Let the Votes Decide
Ms. Cayla Cravens and I have a similar mindset about Texas politics and politics in general. If how I interpret her words is correct then, yes we both have the thought that Perry isn't particularly right for Governor and maybe Texas needs a change. Again, this is purely speculation on my part so I'm not entirely sure if I am correct about my assumptions.
Anyways, she brings up the term limit discussion on how it should or shouldn't be limited. She states that people in power should be in power for as long as they are voted in as political officials. That's fine with me (although I don't actually support our current Governor or anything, but we live in a Democratic nation where people's votes do matter). I mean it sucks for the people who vote and support those who lose the elections (like myself) but it's totally fair.
I think of it this way, one of these days Perry will be ousted and someone (hopefully better) will replace him and that person will have no limit in how long they stay as Governor, just like Perry has been the last 10 years. So in short, Ms. Cravens blog post to me is very well argued and written. She makes valid points for both sides of the argument and I have a similar feel about her political opinion on the matter. I'm hoping I interpreted her post right and I don't sound like an idiot for posting this, but from what I can tell about her post, this is how I feel about her writing. I praise my fellow classmate on her insightful and interesting post.

The Calm Before The Storm

Election Day is tomorrow, November 2nd. It's a day where everyone can cast their vote to either keep someone in office, or perhaps make a change in who runs the show. However in Texas, many people (such as myself) assume that there will be no big change in the political power in this state. Many will probably elect the Republican candidates who either want to keep or gain office, since we Texas citizens live in a primarily red state. Unfortunately, this means of course that people like Rick Perry may keep office and continue to reign over Texas. Great! Now us Democratic voters get to endure another four years of hell!!! But in all seriousness, it's just another election where the votes mainly support the Republicans and the Democrats just put their tail between their legs and accept defeat. However, maybe there is some hope.
Maybe Bill White miraculously defeats Perry to become the new Governor of Texas. Maybe everyone just realizes that voting Democratic is the way to go and Texas changes from a red state to a blue state. Could it happen? Maybe so. But is it realistic? I'd have to say no, because in this state never really wants to change its mind from a political standpoint. But it doesn't entirely count out all Democrats either. Sure, Republicans will probably continue to be the dominant party, but the Democrats won't be entirely shut out of public office. People like Patrick Rose fight an uphill battle, but he's been a representative for his district for about eight years and looking to extend that this year.
Democrats may not win each battle, but year after year they line up their candidates and give it their best shot. I look for a similar situation this year with Texas politics. Now, I may not be glued to the TV just to hear results of who wins what office, but I definitely look forward to a close, competitive election here in 2010. I hope the Democrats make some kind of a push for power in Texas, but like everyone else I'll just have to wait and see who wins and who loses.