Separation of Church and State

In the article in the Dallas News, Wayne Slater wrote about the issue of politics involvement in church. I think the author's intended audience are the people that teach and work in those churches. I think that he is trying to remind those who have forgotten and reprimand those who are breaking the law without naming names. Because it is against the Federal Tax Law for any minister of a church to try to convince or persuade anyone to join the Democrat or Republican party. I think that his credibility is very rational and believable. He is speaking to a wide range of an audience so he has to be. In the article he says that the ministers have to be very careful in what they say because there could be audits and as well as fines if they do say anything about politics. Mr. Slater had a lot of professors, ministers, and/or rabbi's involved in his blog. I think all of them in one way or another has given their own opinion to many people who are involved in their church. I think it is human nature to work in their beliefs own on the political scheme when they are preparing their sermon or lecture. I think that as a whole the author presented this material in a well written manner and in my opinion was very objective and logical. I think the authors argument and claim is based on facts and law that there has to be a separation of church and state because of the tax exempt status which they claim. I disagree and agree if thats possible. I think that if I was a church member I would want to be informed on how the church views the BIG issues like abortion, education, and taxes. On the other hand, it is the United States of America and you should be allowed to say what you like in however you like without being afraid of the repercussions.  The evidence is quite clear that you can not in any way shape or form influence the congregation into believing that one party is superior than the other. This subject is one of those heated debates that will last my lifetime and then some.

    
So it took a monumental "Texas sized" drought to bring to the attention of the L.C.R.A (Lower Colorado River Authority) the THOUSANDS of dollars (and the billions, yes billions) of gallons of water being siphoned out of Highland Lakes, by their lakeside residents...for free. According to this 'Letter To The Editor' writer, in the Austin American Statesman, residents of this affluent community are supposed to be signing contracts with the L.C.R.A, to pay for the lake water they have been using, for what in this drought is considered 'luxurious', ie; watering lawns and washing cars.  Is this fair? Not according to the author.

Not only is it unfair, it is illegal.  This has been going on for years, and the L.C.R.A has been turning a soft eye to it.  3,000 of Highland Lakes' residents are actually paying for their water on a contract.  A few bad apples in the group?  Well, the author states that 1.6 billion gallons, or most of it, is been taken illegally by the town's residents.  With nothing more than a slap on the wrist for it.  After reading the author's arguments, I toyed between the idea that he was one of the angry "water paying, contract signing, neighbors", justifibly annoyed by the bad behavior of his fellow townsmen, or perhaps  he was the employee of L.C.R.A who had to deliver the "bad news" to the water thieves. Either way, I cannot say I agree with him.  With lakeside residents' property taxes going through the roof, (typically much higher than other areas of the State), why isn't their water consumption taken out of those taxes?  Why should they pay for water, when they spent so much on their land, and yearly taxes, to live on the water's edge. If they are allowed to consume a fish taken out of that same water, it should be allowed, in my opinion, to take use water as well.  The water has to understandably be paid for, I believe it should be incorporated into the homeowner's property taxes.

I am sure there are plenty of people who agree with the author's point of view, though I think that his opinions would mostly be shared by contract owning homeowners in the area.  I do however, understand their frustration at their "doing the LEGAL thing" by paying for their water, when they have neighbors who don't.  I say, "Give the lakeside residents their water!"

Desperate Times in Texas

      In Blanco County, a rancher "Don Casey" has had this land in his family since the 1900's. It dates back to Casey's great-great-great Grandfather, but this drought in Texas may end that legacy for him and his family. In the past 12 months, Mr. Casey has measured a total of 1.6" of rain.

      Since the drought started in 2009, he has seen the price of feeder corn triple to about $400 a ton, the price of hay that used to be $30 a bale skyrocket to $170 a bale. So he has decided to extend the diet of his cows to cotton by-products, which is also known as "gin-trash, the bit of leaf, burr, and seed left after the plants have been through the cotton gin."

      In the article by the Austin American Statesman www.statesman.com/news/local/texas-ranchers-farmers-seeing-record-losses-in-grip-1917547.html Patrick Beach writes,"agricultural losses attributed to the drought have reached a record of $5.2 billion and processing plants and other businesses that serve the farmers and ranchers, the total economic impact hits $8.7 billion."


      I think that this article is worth reading because this situation is going to affect us in the long run. The price of beef, the price of gas, and the price it takes for these farmers to keep their herds alive will increase as the drought continues. The drought could and most likely will affect our lives in one or another. I think it is one of duties as Texans to really think about who we are putting in the offices of State and local Government.

Dust Storms A' Comin'

Dust Storms have been plaguing the West Texas plains for as long as most can remember.  And the older community members, can remember as far as the "big one" in the 1930's.  But the past 80 years or so, have not been as bad, until just a few months ago, in Lubbock.  According to experts, due to the modern day irrigation of farm land, this should not be too common, but how do you stop a raging drought?

The problem we have here is the drought.  And a severe one.  The farmers used to keep plants growing in their fields, which would "hold the soil" down, for when those winds did come.  The plants have died, the cotton fields which once held everything down, are almost non-existent.  Texas farmers also do something they call "sand fighting" to keep the dirt from blowing away, by using a layer of silt on top of the ground, and the farmers poke small holes in the dirt, creating small mounds, like ant hills, that create a sort of resistance to the wind.  And this isn't just wind, it's wind speeds reached 74 mph in some places and visibility was far less than a quarter of a mile.  Dangerous conditions to say the least.  The wind also knocked out power lines (along with trees and other structural landscape) servicing about 210,000 of the city's inhabitants.  Dust so thick it hung in the air after the storm, filling the noses, ears and mouths of the folks living in the town, as well as anything that was located outdoors. Hopefully, Congress will not cut funding on the federal Conservation Reserve Program which keeps many farmers on the survival list, and comes up with new ways to minimize damage in the future.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44999113/ns/weather/t/more-dust-storms-expected-texas-drought-lingers/#.Tyc6DUYxzOk

Texas Drought Affecting More Than Texans

We take little notice of how the severe drought in Texas is affecting the world, and not just our backyards.    Texas produces over 50% of the cotton grown in the United States, which is then sold to other countries for their textiles.  The drought has had a severe affect on the cotton fields, leaving many farmers, with nothing but lint in their pockets, while international buyers are now turning to other cotton producing countries, like Brazil and Australia for their cotton needs.


Texas also supplies food to many areas of the country.  Farmers are now wondering how they are going to afford to keep their cattle alive, without water.  Many are selling the cattle they have, to try to make provisions for the ones they have.  But the problem is still lack of food and resources for these animals.  One rancher, Mr. Casey is trying to come up with some inventive ideas to keep his herd fed, and once his supply of what he calls "Cotton Trash" (byproduct of cotton gins that has the seeds and fibers removed), is close to "drying up", he is going to have to resort to burning thorns off prickly pear cacti that grow on his farm, to make them edible for cattle. Others order hay from hundreds of miles away from their farms, adding to the financial strain.  He, along with other farmers in his situation say that the situation would be less stressful if they knew what to expect.  But how does one plan for this?


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/31/business/energy-environment/catastrophic-drought-in-texas-causes-global-economic-ripples.html

Hotter than ???!

Memories of this past summer, should have been of swimming pools and ice cream cones, but it wasn't.  Everyone talked about the same thing, and it wasn't of their child's soccer game, it was, "So, what about this drought??"


According to meteorologists and and other weather fearing professionals, this upcoming summer is going to be the worst of Texas history thus far.  "I've started telling anyone who's interested that it's likely much of Texas will still be in severe drought this time next summer, with water supply implications even worse than those we are now experiencing," said John Nielsen-Gammon, the state climatologist and a Texas A&M University professor. And the reason for all of this?  La Nina. La Nina usually implicates a warm, dry winter, which though sound nice, can mean big problems for Texans. If the drought persists into next year, the state of Texas won't have the buffer of nearly full water reserves.  This is very scary.  Instead of daydreaming of summertime water sports, we need to be worrying about drinking water instead. Kind of makes "alternate lawn watering" days seem pretty insignificant.http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/This-summer-s-drought-may-worsen-next-year-2136436.php

Lost and Found

Since a severe drought has hit my home state, everyone talks about everything that has been lost.  Homes due to wildfires, cattle to dehydration and crops literally disintegrating from lack of water.  But what do you feel, when something you have lost, or in this case, SOMEONE you have lost, emerges from the lack of water?

The remains of a woman was found in a local farmer's lake, still strapped into her vehicle, due to the drought.  The farmer, and his grandsons investigated by boat, what they thought at first was a barrel, and turned out too be a car in their lake.  After local divers took a look further, they discovered the body of a woman, who had been declared missing by her family since July 2008.  Her family is finally getting closure on her disappearance after all this time. We are learning that this is less common than one would hope.  The drought is turning up all sorts of things, including the archeological remains of Native Americans, and parts of the Spaceship Columbia, which blew up in 2003.  I guess you never know what mysteries you'll find when it stops raining!http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/30/us/texas-drought-is-revealing-secrets-of-the-deep.html