Comment on colleagues work #2

After reading Luis Ruelas "Reconsider getting pets while in college," this is what I had to say:

"I agree that many pets are not being well taken care of, but not everyone abuses their pets. Although college is a hand full, that does not mean a student isn't capable of caring for their pet. Yes students have to go to class, do homework and sometimes even work, but if someone really truly cares about their pet they would make time for them. Plus I believe having a pet helps people... pets can be a best friend. Talking and caring for a pet can help students forget about their problems and school for a bit. Caring for a pet can also be a learning experience for some students. They would have to figure out what kind of responsibilities it takes to care for another life. And although some apartments require pet deposits and charges rent for pets, that shouldn't be a reason to stress. If someone can afford it then why not."   

Taking Culture Wars to the Toilets

By now, everyone has heard all about Target allowing transgenders to choose which bathroom they want to use. Meaning a male could use the woman's restroom and a female could use the men's restroom. Many people are extremely upset about the news. Many of Targets loyal customers (mainly parents) have decided to never shop there again due to this choice. Parents aren't too happy about this because of the fact that their little children could be in the same restroom with an opposite sex adult. Although I do support transgenders, I know some people are creeps so you can never be too safe. Women/ men deserve privacy and should be able to feel safe in public restrooms. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in an interview said, “I think the handwriting is on the bathroom wall: Men need to stay out of the ladies’ room. This isn’t about equal rights. This isn’t about being against anyone or anti-any person. This is about common sense, common decency and allowing women to have comfort when they’re in the bathroom.” It would be a surprise if the Texas Legislature doesn’t try to pre-empt whatever cities are doing with anti-discrimination ordinances by passing a state law requiring people to use the stalls set aside for the gender that’s on their birth certificates. If a bathroom ban were to pass, Texans born as men who identify as women would have to use the men’s room, in their dresses and high heels, while those born as women and now identify as men would have to use the women’s room, with their beards and mustaches. Yes that would be weird, but at least parents would feel safer with letting their children use a public restroom. 

Comment on a colleague’s work

"Very interesting topic. It is sad to realize that gossiping happens in such a professional career field, but the truth is it happens everywhere. People are entitled to their own opinions and are free to say whatever they like, but there should definitely be restrictions to what you say while at work. I understand that certain people may not be the greatest to work with, but respect should always been shown. As a waitress, I have definitely served many rude guest, but I have never disrespected them or even gone to my coworkers to speak negatively about them. My job is to make sure they have a pleasant experience, therefore while in uniform I know I should act a certain way and can only show nothing but respect. That is the way it should be at all jobs.
- Jennifer Silva"

http://localkim.blogspot.com/2016/04/make-gossiping-illegal.html#comment-form

Editorial: Don’t be afraid of our self-driving-car future

On March 23, 2016 The Dallas Morning News published an editorial called "Don't be afraid of our self-driving-car future". The company Google has released 56 self-driving cars to test on the streets of Mountain View, CA, Austin, TX and Kirkland, WA. At first the idea of self-driving cars was a bit scary... actually a lot scary. The idea would take a lot of thinking about and getting use to, but overall it seems pretty great. With a car that can operate normally without anyone in control you can do a lot. A person can "get that time back to read, email, text or even snooze — all without breaking the law." That honestly sounds wonderful, especially because I hate driving.

A few pros of having a self-driving car: (1) Mass time savings from fewer cars stopping-and-going along the highway, (2) Mass fuel savings from those smoother starts and stops, (3) Speed-limit adherence from a computer-controlled engine. It is also possible that car insurance rates would fall, and how wouldn't that be a dream come true? If we have a computer-controlled car, then human error would be subtracted from the equation, meaning less worries for insurance companies. According to the editorial, "human error is responsible for 94 percent of our 33,000 annual traffic fatalities." Therefore,  putting computers in control of the wheel is a great idea.

Even though some people are totally in love with this new idea of self-driving cars, others are not completely convinced yet. Some people do not believe that a computer can fully understand the concept of driving. Even with these doubts, Google’s goal is to have cars to market by the end of 2019. Will enough of us have enough confidence by then? The Dallas Morning News advice: " Just input your destination, sit back and relax. Let the future come to you."

Why we don't need to start an Austin vs. San Antonio feud

On Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016, Eric Webb from American-Statesman published "Why we don't need to start an Austin vs. San Antonio feud." According to this editorial, there is a big debate between San Antonians and Austinites. The debate is over which city is better, but Webb argues that the whole debate is dumb and really uncalled for. He even started his article with "Do we really need San Antonio? Yes!" 

So why are some San Antonians trying to pick a fight with the great city of Austin? Apparently a San Antonio newspaper called "MySA" published "10 reasons to hate Austin beyond their breakfast-taco arrogance." That sparked some anger in some Austinites. Webbs response to the article was "To be honest, our feelings are hurt. Wounded, even. Austin doesn't have any particular quarrel with the Alamo City, aside from their Meek-Mill-esque desire to start a beef with our state's capital city." Sounds like San Antonio is angry that Austin has been getting a lot more attention lately. With Austin growing in popularity, San Antonio hasn't been receiving as much love as they are used to.

Although Webb mentions that there are many reasons why Austin is loved (making it clear that Austin is better than San Antonio), he also mentions that the feud should be buried and everyone should just get along. He even cracks jokes at the situation; for example he says, "there are enough tacos to go around, friends. No need to tear each other down." By making his argument a laughing matter, it shows how childish the whole debate is. But Webb makes it clear that Austin is not the city to mess with! 

After Deportation, Killer Returned Easily to U.S.

On Thursday, February 11, 2016 Jay Root published an article titled "After Deportation, Killer Returned Easily to U.S" on Texas Tribune. This article is focused on the issue of border security and immigration. The main discussion is over the case of Juan Leonardo Quintero. Quintero, an immigrant, shot and killed a Houston police officer and also sexually assaulted a 12 year old girl. After committing this crime, he was deported because he was an illegal immigrant, but he soon found himself back across the border. Quintero mentioned in a recent interview that he's still surprised at how easily he could return to the United States and resume work after being deported for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl. “When they deported me, they just forgot about everything — that I had a driver’s license or whatever I had,” he said in fluent but heavily accented English. “They should be more ... I don’t know a word for that — pay more attention to everything they were supposed to have.” That raised a lot of controversy. Why was a deported criminal able to make his way back into the U.S without any issue?

I believe this article is worth reading because it shows the weak side of our government. We currently have many political figures, like Donald Trump, who make such hateful statements about immigrants. Articles like this one make it hard to disagree with those statements, but not all people are the same. Border control does indeed need to improve, but good people shouldn't be affected by it.      

Hello!

I'm looking forward to a great semester with you all.