Texas Don't Leave

I found an article in the opinion section of the Austin American Statesman, written by Sanford Levinson entitled “Commentary: States can’t nullify federal law.” This article discusses the ideas of nullification and secession.

Mr. Levinson’s intended audience is anyone interested in the idea of states being allowed to nullify federal laws and the idea of secession. His article draws the attention of both those in favor of the ideas and those who oppose them. In his article, Mr. Levinson uses several different examples to support and contradict the beliefs of those who read his article.

Sanford Levinson is a credible author because he writes for the Austin American Statesman and therefore must adhere to its rules and regulations. Mr. Levinson is also credible because he uses examples from history which can be verified. He currently is a law professor at the University of Texas School of Law.

Mr. Levinson’s argument is strong and valid, because he uses examples form the history of the United States. From his examples he is able to form ideas about the beliefs of previous leaders of our country, which follow a logical pattern.

I agree with Mr. Levinson’s ideas about secession. Having lived in Texas all my life I have heard a lot about Texas being the only state in the Union allowed to secede. Secession is possible for every state, it is called revolution, but the consequences of such an action would be terrible. I personally don’t think secession would solve any of our problems. Just because people don’t like what the government is doing there are other ways to solve problems without a revolution. People need to learn to work through their differences and come up with a reasonable compromise.

One Debate Facing the Candidates

I found an article in the Austin American Statesman written by Ben Wear, titled "Perry's toll road sins mostly in woulda-coulda status now." The article talks about the upcoming Republican Primary, and the debate about transportation between Governor Rick Perry and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.

The Article refers to the issue of transportation in the upcoming Republican Primary. Governor Perry is being criticized by Senator Hutchison for his decisions on toll roads. One of the issues is that Governor Perry wanted free roads to be changed into toll roads, but the Legislature didn't allow it. Governor Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor has been winnowed down to almost nothing and Governor Perry has given up on it. Senator Hutchison is criticizing the Trans-Texas Corridor as if Governor Perry is still trying to make something of it. Senator Hutchison's idea for transportation is to build high-speed rail lines across the state which would be expensive.

This article is interesting because not only does it talk about Governor Perry's idea about transportation, but also about Senator Hutchison's idea to fix Governor Perry's "problems." It is a way for Senator Hutchison to attack Governor Perry's past plans. Most of us already know what Governor Perry did but in this article we get a glimpse of Senator Hutchison's ideas for Texas, which are interesting.