Why the Hell Not?
May the God of your choice bless you.
Last night Lamar was visited by none other then Kinky Freidman. He came and spoke in the Setzer Student Center as part of his campaign and I have to say I was rather impressed by him. He wasn't the most charismatic man I have ever met but, at the same time I think that was part of his charm. Kinky's entire selling point is that he isn't a politician. Kinky hasn't spent years plotting his way to the top and trying to impress everyone he meets, and it's somewhat of a nice thing to see. I didn't feel like he was trying to sell his points as much as just giving an honest explination of his views and what he wanted to accomplish. He didn't do much trashing, He didn't really make any promises, and above all, he didn't avoid questions.
All of this is well and good in a candidate but we all knoe the issues are what matter. Incase someone needs some blanks filled in, Kinky believes in improving education by: eliminating the TAKS test, raising teacher salaries, legalizing gambling and using revenues to improve funding. His theory is that all the Texans who go to Oklahoma and Louisiana to gamble would keep their money in Texas and that more tourists would come and bring theirs. The industry could help get some towns off the ground and provide ample funds for his educational plans as well as some other things. He mentioned a plan similar to one in Georgia that would allow all A and B average students to go to college for four years for free. Another one of his ideas was to utilize a plan I believe he called Texas Care that would recruit retired volunteers to go in to the schools and teach kids at a young age life skills that are being looked over now.
I'm kind of skeptical about his idea of eliminating the TAKS test. Trey asked how he was going to make sure the A and B high school averages for the free college program were fair and equal and he said he would create another standardized test, but I don't see how that will be much different. My guess is that it would end up as a similar jump from TAAS to TAKS, the intentions would be good but we would end up with a less intelligent test.
Other things he supports: Improving health care, legalizing marijuana, elimination of toll roads, personal gun posession, an increase in Houston police, an increase of border patrols who actually can do things, and he is Pro-Choice. I don't 100% agree with the border raising but, at the same time, I see the issues and the strain allowing non directed immigration puts on our state. There were some things about lowering property taxes but I don't remember what he said about that, and probably a few other issues that i'm missing but I think I got the highlights.
In general I liked the guy. I don't know if I would vote for him if I could, but I wouldn't rule it out. And I believe that everyone who has ever stressed upon me the importance of voting will be proud, I actually convinced Mayte to when she turns 18.
For Parental reference: Classes I'm planning on taking next semester:
1361Honors Composition and RhetoricZaniTR8-9:151362Honors US Hist Since 1877ThompsonMWF8-8:501311Beginning Spanish 1CastillionMWF10:10-111371Micro ComputersWangTR9:30-10:454370American Constitutional LawDavisMWF11:15-12:05
Please express any complaints in person this weekend.
Mei Mei