A Commentary on My Classmates' Blog

 (Jack Harry Smith — Will the Oldest Man on Texas’ Death Row Die of Old Age Before He is Executed?

           There is no doubt in my mind that the above mentioned case is one of  its kind, and  an odd one, considering how long this man, Jack Harry Smith has been on the death row. It is no secret that Texas is known as the execution capital of the nation; the last count was 500^th execution since the Supreme Court lifted a ban on execution. Reading my colleagues’ write-up, one would come to think that Texas is becoming soft on crime but that is not the case. In fact I agree with my colleague and the original author of the article that State of Texas has failed her citizen so far by having this man still breathing 35 years after he was sentenced to die for the crime that he was convicted of.

          
          I disagree with my peer that rushing to execute this man at this point in time is a noble thing to do. It seems to me that it would by killing him at this time, Texas would be making his wish come through; an honorary exit out of current misery. I will suggest that allowing him to die a slow and a miserable death due to his failing ill health will be a better option at this point in time. The purpose for which death sentence is imposed in the first place is to serve as a deterrent but in the case of Jack Harry Smith, execution at this point in time would only serve his purpose of notoriety in the national media; he has already broken a record as the longest serving death row inmate so why such a rush?

          Let Jack Harry Smith live and suffer a slow and lonely time in the death row till he dies a lonely death, and not noticed by anyone but himself. If we can wait for 35 years, why not wait a little longer.

I am also critical of both my colleague and the original writer of the article for their failure to give me (reader) more useful information as to why this man remained in the death row for these many years. There has to be some underlying issues either legal or otherwise that caused such a long delay because a number one state in numbers of executions cannot be considered lenient on such issue.

        
          I would have appreciated my colleague, and the original writer if they had devoted their effort in explaining why the delay is taking place, and maybe ways to reconcile the situation

An Editorial Commentary

When I was going through Houston Chronicle which  came out on October 15, 2013, and wrote an editorial titled “why we miss Kay Bailey Hutchison”, while it sounds like self- deprecating of its former endorsement of Senator Ted Cruz of Texas several months earlier, it is in fact commendable and noble for a news organization to try to get right what it once did wrong.  It all reminds us of how fast today’s world changes before our own eyes.

          I give Kudos to the Houston Chronicle for being bold enough to correct its mistaken endorsement of Senator Ted Cruz. Up until 2009, and subsequent to 2013, Texas senators were known for their intellect, leadership skill, and of course commanded great respect on corridors of power in our nation’s capital, Washington Dc.  Texas Senators were looked up to in times of great crisis, and they have always made our country and our great state of Texas proud. It would be fair to say that Senators from Texas in the late 1980’s dominated Washington power house; looking back at the presidency of senior George Bush, and later his son. Most presidential candidates looked up Texas senators as potential vice presidential candidates, and several were considered at least the last runners up. Senators Lloyd Bentsen for example, a Texas senator guided the passing of the employee retirement income security Act (ERISA). He championed the creation of individual Retirement Account (IRAS) legislation improving access to health care for low income women and children and tax incentives for independent oil and gas producers to reduce dependence on foreign oil. Under President Clinton, Senator Bentsen helped champion the Clinton economic plan that contributed to $500 billion in deficit reduction and the longest economic growth of the modern time  Senator Phil Gramm on the other hand sponsored several economic initiatives with the cooperation of some Democratic senators; senators Gramm, Senator Fritz Hollings and Warren Rudman devised means of cutting the budget through across the board spending cuts. These Senators worked together regardless of their party in the best interest of the nation.

Senators Gramm and Bentsen provided America purpose driven quality leadership and at the same time brought about jobs and several projects to the state of Texas.

          
          Compared to what we have today in Washington Dc in the names of Senators Ted Cruz, and John Cornyon, we have obstructionist and dialogues who are more interested in being identified as most conservative of the tea party movement, rather than as of leaders. Texans have great reasons to miss Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison who worked as hard as these former great senators for the interest of Texas but at the same time “who understands the importance of reaching across the aisle when necessary”. Under Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison’s leadership, several high tech companies, oil and gas industries enjoyed and got great attention from the white house. At a time when people can agree to disagree on issues, Todays Texas Senators are too busy playing ideological politics, rather than taking the leadership role their predecessors were known for. In all of these, the American people are yawning for leadership. It is only a matter of time that Texas will no longer become influential  in the nation’s capital, and I guess the voters of Texas may wake up this reality sooner than later.

Critique on an article from Texas Insider

I recently found an article on the Texas insider website entitled Star Parker: Tea Party is the solution not the problem.  Nothing captures the distortions being perpetrated more than the above headline by Ms. Star Parker: “Tea Party is the solution, not the problem”

How can and one in the right mind make such a fallacious statement when the facts are contrary to that opinion? Parker’s commentary reminds of an old African adage that says “when a woman cooks a soup that is distasteful to everyone, she claims she cooks it to sooth her own taste”

          
          Star Parker went on to cite several opinion polls, studies, and commentaries that satisfies her claim that the current impasse in congress is no fault of her tea party minority group

The fact remains that Star Parker is a Republican political activist, a politician in her own right, but pretends in her write-up as if she is just an average Joe expressing her opinion.

Stars failed to understand that the minority congress men that call themselves ‘tea Party” cannot hold the will of the American people ransom for their ideologue. The so called Tea Part is not even a legally registered political party, but bunch of ideologues that are bent on destroying the huge gains that the Obama Administration has man in the last 6years in office. Where, where these people when their former Republican president fought two wars without allocating any funds in the budget to pay for either?

          It is no wonder they lost the last presidential election because they refused to be truthful to the American people as what policies or programs they will implement once elected. President Obama unlike his opponent Mitt Romney, A quasi-Tea party candidate refuse to tell the American people the truth about he  would balance the budget or what programs he would purse as president, and guess what the American people saw through their lies and rejected them.  The Tea party crowd and their Republican sympathizers went before the most conservative supreme court of our time to seek redress according to them to kill the Obama care but were soundly defeated. Now the same people are trying to hold the entire country hostage and through “extortion” in the words of President Obama to extract from the American People what they could not get through a general election.

Assuming for a moment that Ms. Star was right in her poll that majority of American do not support the Obamacare, the same majority of American would have supported her Republican Congress who are trying to save them for the impending obamacare doom, but the facts do not add up.

The fact remain that congress has only 9% support of the American people; the lowest ever in the history of this congress.

The give and take approach to governance between the Democrats and the Republicans that once existed has been completely eroded by these new Tea party Ideologues.

These ideologues would not even allow for a floor vote on the congress floor; up or down.

“You can put a lipstick , and dress up a pig, it still remains a pig”