A Conservative View

TEXAS POLITICIANS LOVE DONATIONS FROM OUR NEIGHBORS!

TEXAS POLITICIANS LOVE DONATIONS FROM OUR NEIGHBORS!

We have been fighting in Austin for several years over the lack of funds to improve education. The colleges demand more revenue to hire more professors to reward them with tenure. The professors demand that we better educate the children before they are admitted to higher learning. In the past two years we have eliminated the number of teachers by slashing the revenue to the local school districts.

Anyone with a scintilla of common sense can understand that slashing the funds for the local school districts will not possibly improve what the children can learn. Most school districts can’t increase taxes as they controlled by State Laws passed by the Legislature. The colleges admit that the children are ill-prepared for higher education, indicates senseless educational decisions are obvious and factual.

The largest growth in educational spending for pre-college students over the past few years is in state level administration and services. The local school districts must use standardized curriculum, illogical standardized testing developed and administered by a foreign company and use full time state advisors and monitors to ask for help. We have made huge increases in funds to measure the level of knowledge of the students but instead of helping teachers teach, they are blamed for the children not improving.

This is exactly like our federal government who hire more people to regulate every facet of our lives then blame others when problems like Obamacare are screwed up.

Education in Texas is shamefully inadequate and our Governor and Legislature have no conception of how to correct the inequities. They have the same re-election disease we watch 24/7 in the media. So far the majority in power has been afraid to use the usual political solution for lack of funding, raise taxes. They know it will likely cost them the next election. The democrats always want more taxes but in Texas they are re-elected regardless of anything as they win automatically with the help of the Justice Department, minorities with their hand out and the local cemetery for enough names to win. Eric Holder is the only thing they need at this time.

The sad thing is our Texas leaders in power can get enough political donations to stay in power from Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico for denying Texans the right to vote for casino gambling. The real losers in Texas are the children.

We Texans have a lottery, racing, bingo and more illegal gaming at local levels than anyone will admit. It is hard to find a truck stop and in many cases convenience stores in rural areas that do not have semi-hidden slot machines that are called other names. All of this produces taxes.

Americans have gambled all of my life. I am old enough to remember when illegal gambling was openly available in Texas and actually produced tax revenue. I watched as a boy in Corsicana Texas when gambling was stopped and hundreds of slot machines were destroyed by inmates with sledge hammers at the county jail. My best friend’s dad was Sheriff and we helped pick up the pennies, nickels and dimes as the machines were destroyed.

Today casino gambling is legal in the United States and this past weekend I spent two days at a Shreveport casino that pays taxes to the State of Louisiana and the Federal Government. My oldest son met me there and told me that he was going to what will shortly be the largest casino in America next Saturday in Oklahoma. I have been to New Mexico several times to enjoy casino gaming. I live only four miles from the central Louisiana border and I have access to some nine casinos from Shreveport to Lake Charles. Does anyone wonder why 90% of the Louisiana casinos are along the Sabine River near the Texas borders? Same for how near the Oklahoma casinos are near the Red River.

I truly believe that we should respect the will of the majority when things like gambling, drinking and other vices are involved. If the majority of Texans vote to prohibit gambling, drinking and prostitution, the will of the people should be honored. Old age and the gout has eliminated my casual desire for a gin and tonic. I never believed in, had a need for or a desire for a prostitute.

Old age provides me with time and I do enjoy moderate gambling. We help local groups like the Catholic Church, DAV, VFW and American Legion (I’m a member) by playing bingo. Another sad fact is every one of the ones where we play are also in Louisiana.

I recently received a request to donate money for Greg Abbott who is running for Governor of Texas. For educations sake we are finally not faced with four more years of Rick Perry. I have only donated and voted for one Governor in the past several years, Kinky Friedman, who promised to let the people vote for casino Gambling. I advised Mr. Abbott that my donation was contingent on his vow to let the people decide this issue. I have not received or expected to get an answer.

I wish we could allow children to vote as they are penalized from learning at their potential because our politicians are hypocrites and refuse to consider additional funding to assure them a brighter future.

What really scares me is when Congress votes to nationalize all casinos and collect all of the tax money. They can then increase and expand welfare money to the majority of those who we play bingo with and see as the majority at most casinos.

Dumb down most of the children so they can be puppets instead of leaders, seems to be the objective of all politicians at all levels and bi-partisan.

Well, I suppose the politicians have earned our thanks for helping better educate some children. The inequity is that those children live in Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Would you call this “Common Sense”? Sadly, except for teachers and local administrators, no one seems to care.

C Brewer