Q & A With Senator Barack Obama

In discussing an article on Texas Government and local politics, it seems ridiculous to not go into the subject of the coming year's presidential election. With the majority of the states primaries over, Texas is one of the few big states the candidates have left on their lists. I found an article in the San Antonio Express with Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (Q&A with Senator Barack Obama) which I feel is ideal due to the many Texas-related issues coming under discussion.

In discussing education, Senator Obama refers to the responsibility ultimately belonging with the state government, with the national government being somewhat limited as the constitution does not specifically mention education, it is left up to the states, as a reserved power.

The topic then switches to healthcare, and the fact Texans are the most uninsured Americans in every category. Senator Obama took this opportunity to take this to a national level and briefly address his plan for healthcare, making it more of a priority for the national government and taking some of the strain off the state governments.

Senator Obama also went into the issues of immigration and the war and the impact of both on Texas. Immigration is obviously a large issue here due to the fact that Texas makes up a majority of the border with Mexico, and the war’s role in the country’s national budget.

I was initially afraid articles concerning the presidential election may not delve deeply enough into our local government, but was thrilled to find an article that really hit on so many relevant topics. I would highly encourage anyone to read this article, if not to increase their familiarity with some of Texas government’s responsibilities and current issues, then at least as another facet to learn about Senator Obama’s stance on these issues.

Bush Threatens Veto in Surveillance Laws

For my initial blog entry I've decided to write about an article involving multiple elements we've studied in our first two chapters. The article I selected is on President Bush's threat to veto new legislation in Surveillance Laws (Bush Threatens Veto in Surveillance Laws). President Bush sent a letter to senate leaders over future legislation regarding the US Surveillance Laws. Current regulation on this issue is still set by a law passed in 1978 and is quite controversial due to alleged violation of privacy rights following the September 11th attacks. The surveillance laws are set to expire mid February. The President and US Intelligence Agencies maintain that if the legislation in discussion does not grant enough leeway and leave the government with the tools necessary to pursue the war on terror, the bill will be vetoed immediately. The power to veto is one way the executive branch can influence legislation. Bills must first pass a majority in the house and senate respectively, once this has happened the bill is moved to the President for a signature to pass the bill into law or the president may decide to veto the bill, sending it back to congress for revisions.
The executive branch of the government insists on leaving room for immunity for those corporations that have aided them in the quest for information on US residents after 9/11. The administration is mostly concerned that if retroactive immunity is banned telecommunication companies will not be as willing to aid them with information requests in the future.
Current law allows the US Government to spy on residents without court oversight -- I find it humorous that our checks and balances is working a bit off kilter, the executive branch has their veto power, but where the judicial branch should be involved to protect our individual rights, specifically our right to privacy, the US Government wants to ensure there is no one that is going to tell them no.