I can’t say I agree with sister Muse and brother Coby on their Prop. 1 ideas. As you may have heard, the politicians on the HISD board came out against Prop. 1 stating that having to pay the “rain tax” would cause them to get rid of teachers. The thing is, they didn’t mention anything else they would cut and I’m sure there’s some administrative waste in there that could be targeted. Perhaps real partnerships can be forged with business and industry to help raise funding for other needs (instead of allowing them to add to the ravaging of public schools with their corporatization of public education through charter school corporations.)
The problem with school finance is not local, it’s at the Texas Legislature. Republicans like the school board president have allowed the ravaging of public school funds in favor of tax giveaways to property-rich corporations in school districts. If you want to look at corporations that get away with much of this, look at the people on the Houston Business and Education Coalition who are either part of or represent these deadbeat corporations (or salivate over sub-contracting deals). Not to mention being part of the public school privatization movement.
So, no, I won’t blame those evil engineers that easily–someone has to design whatever it is that is going to be built. And whatever the engineers design will be built by folks who will get jobs because of Mayor Annise Parker’s Hire Houston First.
Ultimately, if someone supports public schools, then he/she should support Texas House candidates who will support fully funding our public schools, rather than give to candidates who do not support public schools.
So, I’ll stick with LULAC #402 on this one…and with Kuff.
The State of Arizona and the Republicans continue to prove that being on the far-right is not enough unless they actually target whole groups of people–Americans. It is not enough that they want to pick up undocumented folks, they also want to pick up people who “look” undocumented–the definition of that still up in the air and up to individual cops, apparently. They go so far as to targeting the children of immigrants, demanding a change in the Constitution that blocks any child of an immigrant born an American from rights afforded to Americans.
Although there has been some legislative defense (and not much CIR offense), the bottom line is that it is the people who are fighting back. Although a diverse group of people fight back, theyhad not been as diverse as those involved in the marches and other actions around the U.S. this weekend. What was most important in sending a message to Congress, President Obama and the Republicans attackers was the fact that, ultimately, this is about the future of America–the kids.
At all of the marches, it was the messages sent by children that were most powerful, whether they held signs and marched, or showed an interest in politics by taking a pic with an Obama cut-out. The interest is there, the importance of self-determination is evident, and this is what is scariest to those who attack Latinos–at the border, in the halls of leadership, and through the ballot box.
It is equally important that our elected leaders and decision-makers take a stand against Arizona’s racial profiling law. We have heard from the Mayors of Phoenix, San Francisco, San Antonio, and other major cities. But we have yet to hear from Houston. It is time to act, Mayor Parker! These kids are watching.
doscentavos.net 
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