The Big State Complex

“Everything is bigger in Texas” or so the saying goes. My argument is simple. Bigger is not always better. A prime example of this case is the Texas State Constitution. If you have any interest in reading it is available in all its poorly grammaticized and holey glory on a public website here and yes I spelled holey like that for a reason. The Texas constitution has had 643 amendments proposed, of which 467 were approved by voters and 176 were rejected. This makes our constitution one of the longest in the entirety of the U.S. The only exception… is Alabama. The length of this document is forgivable if only the contents could be deciphered or even remotely understood by the common man, but alas, this is not the case. Texas decided to rewrite the constitution on February 15, 1876 shortly after the civil war ended and the southerners who were not given the ability to control anything politically were finally given power back. The entirety of Texas southern officials decided they needed to stick it to those “Dang Yankees” by writing a constitution that set them apart from the so called “oppression” that doubtless they felt they were under. As a result this hastily written document has remained our constitution and all we have done as a state is add amendments. Gaping holes have been left in the constitution from when it was written. Inexcusable grammatical errors have remained to this day and if you search through the pages you will find more errors than a middle school student trying to write a college level physics paper. What baffles me to no end, however, is why we do not sit down as a state, staple our pants to the seat, and rewrite this mumbo jumbo of words? I will not deny it would take effort and time but is it not worth being able to proudly say “I am from Texas! I love my state AND my constitution!”? There are some who believe the document should be kept the way it is. More often than not this is because people have found loopholes galore in the tangled mess of words and are reaping the benefits. I say that we stop these actions. The people and officials of Texas should take the initiative and be able to be proud of every aspect of Texas Including its founding documents that makes us a great state.

A Pipeline to Wealth?

     We have already discussed in class the ramifications of such a pipeline, but while searching for an article on which to write this blog i came across a man making a case for Texas by proposing a pipeline to increase the money making ability of this state. It was interesting to read his issues and how he explained that in order for Texas to retain its wealth and maintain our money making abilities we MUST build this saving grace of for our beloved Texas. It was also interesting to note that at the very end of the article it is noted that he is a member of the Texas Railroad Commission, which is a main contributing commission to this project. Would this not mean that the writer of this argument clearly stands to gain from this building project? I appreciate a good emotional appeal to readers just as much as the next guy, but this just seems a little too loose around the edges for my taste. While trying to convince the rest of the populace to support this pipeline and making valid points that this would increase revenue he fails to mention that more likely than not only certain big name companies will stand to gain any REAL monetary value from this business venture. Neither does he mention what possible environmental impact this construction project could have. I might have believed him if not for his failing to reference these issues.