The Commuter Rail is On the Way

The commuter rail has been in the news lately as they will start doing test runs as soon as the end of this month. The shuttle is estimated to have up to 2,000 commuters a day. The rail line will be 32 miles long and will run from downtown Austin all the way to Leander. Although the commuter rail won't be ready for another year, it is still getting a lot of attention these days.

The first time I ever saw a commuter rail was when I use to live in Houston. I thought it looked pretty cool and would save people time and money because it was a good alternative to riding the bus or driving. I have never actually gotten in one before but from the outside it looks safe and sleek. I believe it was voted on in 2004 if I remember correctly and I did not get to vote on the issue of whether or not it should be done.

Once the commuter rail goes up, hopefully traffic will go down a little and there will be less buses on the roads. The buses on the roads are dangerous, slow, and take up too much space. I'm not sure what the rate is for riding the shuttle for the commuter rail.

Capital Metro has had some trouble with the budget plan that was promised to the voters. Capital Metro didn't get the $30 million from federal grants because they did not seek those grants. So now the company is $30 million short and they are trying to get that money through local taxes and fares. The original plan of the entire shuttle was supposed to be at $90 million and it might take more than that.

With all the change in money and also the delayed availability of the commuter rail leads one to believe that some people might have voted differently had they known this were to happen. It seems typical of something like this to happen where a plan is voted on and passed. Then after the plan is passed it becomes tweaked a bit to allow the company to change whatever they want.

I don't think it's right how something like the budget and the time of the its availability can be changed. Especially when voters are promised a certain time and amount for the budget. I can understand some changes, but not as drastic as a huge amount of money. Realistically I guess there is no rush to getting the commuter rail ready and it is expected to stretch out the budget a little bit. But it would be nice for the voters to get what they voted for.

A Reply to “Why you should be registered to vote…”

I completely agree that many people do not vote and that the majority of them are young people. It is everyone’s right to vote or not vote and that's as far as it goes in today’s world. The article is put together with strong points and good information to back up those points.

I myself am guilty of not voting much. At times it bothers me because I become irritated when people win elections that I don't like. But I guess that is what I get for not voting. I think the main reason I don't vote is because I find politics to be very boring and I don't believe that my one vote will make that big a difference. I know these are bad excuses but those are my reasons.

In the article it says, "Young people just like you in other countries actually fight and even die for this right." This quote is dealing with voting and young people. I never really put a lot of thought into other countries and whether or not everyone votes. I guess after thinking about how young people in other countries are fighting or even dying for their right to vote, it makes me feel guilty.

I think it would funny if people running for office in anything only focused on old people for votes. It would be more worthwhile since they vote more. There are too many people out there like me that don't care enough or don't even bother thinking about it.

This article had good insight on the topic of voting and I could tell the person writing it really cared about the topic.

Is the Death Penalty Right or Wrong?

The death penalty has been in the news a lot lately due to executions and criminals that are on death row. With all this executing it makes me wonder if it is really necessary. Capital punishment has been around in Texas since 1819 and since then a little over 1,000 people have been executed. Most executions were for murder, but other crimes such as piracy, cattle rustling, treason, desertion, and rape. Executions have been carried out by a variety of methods including hanging, firing squad, electrocution and lethal injection. Executions are done today by lethal injection and can cost the state over $80 for the chemicals used in the procedure. You also have to think about how much it costs the state just to keep prisoners in jail everyday. It must cost a lot for keeping them in prison under decent living conditions. In this day and age the only crime of "capital murder" or a second conviction for the rape of someone under 14 is eligible for the death penalty.

In my opinion, I think the death penalty is right sometimes and sometimes not. I am the kind of person that agrees with the old saying of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." Although many people don't agree with this there are times that I do. If someone was brutally murdered and/or raped, then I think they deserve the death penalty. Maybe this is because I grew up in Texas and I have been brain washed to accept the death penalty. But at the same time it might be more painful for a murderer to wait out his/her life in a jail cell just rotting away. The other side of me makes me think that the death penalty is wrong because no one should have to go through lethal injection. Plus what kind of a message is it sending to children and the rest of the world if we execute people all the time. What if the person that was just executed is found to be innocent after the execution. That makes me skeptical of there being capital punishment. It also seems like in some counties they just jump at the opportunity of an execution and that's just wrong. Maybe one day the death penalty will be outlawed. Until now the number of executions keep on adding up.