if a determination is constitutionally committed to the legislative branch’s discretion, the judiciary is not free to substitute its judgment for that of the legislative branch. It is clear why the lower court dismissed this case as a political question since it did not want to breach the balance of the institutions. However, the constitution also mentions in vague language, “except in the instances herein expressly permitted”. The Supreme Court of Texas agreed, but in this specific dispute, it pertains to the jurisdictional boundaries of home-rule municipalities like Ingleside and Corpus Christi, not a decision to annex…
Felix Longoria’s Wake, is focused on Felix Longoria a Mexican American from Three Rivers, Texas. The story that is told throughout the book is not one that occurred during the life of Felix, but instead the events that unfolded following his death. Felix was an American soldier who was shot and killed by a Japanese sniper in Luzon during World War II. The book highlights the details that followed his death and his body’s return to the United States.…
Big, Hot, Cheap, and Right What America Can Learn from the Strange Genius of Texas, by Erica Grieder, breaks Texas down into its basic components in order to explain to non-Texans what Texas really is. Grieder’s book begins with an explanation of the Texas Miracle, which was a series of “happy coincidences” that brought Texas many jobs and boosted its economy. After that, Grieder describes the Texas Model, which is how we run our state. As Governor Rick Perry put it, the Texas Model is a four-part “recipe,” low taxes, low regulation, tort reform, and “don’t spend all the money.” The next topics she discusses are the Texas revolution and Texas annexation.…
In his book, Sleuthing The Alamo, James E. Crisp goes beyond the mere description of the historical events that took place during the Texas Revolution. Crisp’s passion to uncover why certain events of the Texas Revolution were remembered in a specific way, propelled him to closely examine and critically analyze the motive behind a number of writers and historians. It was this determination that forced Crisp to take no for an answer and to “attempt to separate Texas myth from Texas history”. What makes Crisp’s book Sleuthing The Alamo so unique, in contrast with most historical books, is that Crisp involves himself in his text in such a way that it becomes very personal to him. Additionally, Crisp doesn’t conceal his own personal biases as…
In Sam Houston and the American Southwest, Randolph B. Campbell argues that Sam Houston was a great leader but with a subpar personal life for most of it. The four major moments one should pay attention to when discussing Houston’s time of leadership, are his time governing Tennessee, leading an army during the war for Texas independence, his time running Texas and lastly, his time as a member of the Senate for the state of Texas. Houston made decisions based on what he feels is the best for his people in the long run.…
Bibliography Randolph B. Campbell. Sam Houston and the American Southwest, Third Edition. New York: Pearson, 2006. “Sam Houston and the American Southwest” is a book authored by Campbell Randolph and is a biographical account of the life of Sam Houston, and the important role he played in the development of Southwest (Randolph, 2006). The topic and theme of study for the book is the role and the impact of Sam Houston, who was the President of an independent republic, the governor for two different states, and a US senator for thirteen years.…
Although, Texans fought for their state’s rights they also fought for their love for the state of Texas. “Tell Lissy not to talk to me about marrying up here, for if I ever marry it will be in Texas.” (Document D). He loves Texas so much to where he will try to only get married in Texas. People were so loyal to the state of Texas to…
Although, one may disagree with Ivins claim on how the stereotypes represent all Texans, she does seek to highlight specific issues dealing with cultural aspects, racism, and political issues in Texas. No one ever questions the State they live in. Until one begins to tune in on what is really going on. Ivins in this case is the one that everyone is tuning in on. She states that Texas, is Texas because its “ignorant, cantankerous and ridiculously friendly” (341).…
Political subcultures are “shared set of views, attitudes, beliefs, and customs of people as to how their government should be organized and run.” (Gibson, Robison pg.9) Political culture are sought out to demonstrate the proper role of government, the connection with its citizens, and how it should be govern. Political culture also refers to how an individual views the obligations of government, limits on government authority, and rights and responsibilities of the people. (Miller, S.2) These attitudes and behavior were shaped by groups who immigrated into the United States, and brought it along Texas. Eventually, Texas has transformed from having a dominant Traditionalist subculture to having a mixture of Individualist and Traditionalist…
We can clearly see that the Texas governor is not near to being a powerful government official. And that the governor is no where near to being treated like a ‘mini president’ when it comes to governing the state. If the governor were to have more power, the governor would surely become more effective when it comes to certain bills or policies. However, for the kind of political culture that Texas has, the governor should not be able to have full on control and suddenly become the strongest governor in the nation. But as for now, we will next examine some of the historical reasons that will tell us why the Texas governor is so weak and how the governor’s position became to be so…
Big, Hot, Cheap, and Right: What America Can Learn from the Strange Genius of Texas Erica Grieder. PublicAffairs, 250 West 57th Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10107, copyright 2013. 284 pages. Big, Hot, Cheap, and Right What America Can Learn from the Strange Genius of Texas, by Erica Grieder, breaks Texas down into its basic components in order to explain to non-Texans what Texas truly is. Grieder’s covers four main topics in her book.…
The professor confesses that he wished he could travel to New Mexico and search for Blake. Kathleen responds by saying that she also wanted to go to New Mexico and that it was her “romantic dream” growing up (Cather, chap.11, para. 24). This romantic dream is of course fueled by Outland’s time in Cliff City and is a far from accurate portrayal of the southwest. “I used to swim rivers and climb mountains and wander about with Navajo” (Cather, chap.11, para.…
The idea of what makes someone American comes down to the belief in three rights; life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Americans have rallied behind these inherent rights to form a strong unified nation. In Thomas Bender’s book, A Nation Among Nations, he argues in his chapter, Freedom in the Age of Nation-Making, that 19th century political thinkers believed that an overlapping “space of decision” and “space of culture” was the best way to form national unity and protect the individual liberties of citizens. The “space of decision” is the government established by the people of a nation and the “space of culture” are values and belief systems of the people of a nation. In relation to the Civil War of the United States, the institution…
Immigration Policy The United States more than any other country welcomes in its arms more immigrants and Texas, than any other state, lets in more foreign and domestic migrants. It’s almost half of all the newly arrived migrants residing in the mentioned state are born foreign. Amounting to over four million migrants, Texas has been considered as one of the top three states that has the most number of born foreign migrants living within its parameters. Texas immigration has been considered as both a consequence and a cause of fast state growth. The strength of the economy and business model (fewer regulations, low cost of labor and lower taxes) in Texas have enticed many workers and companies in the recent years.…
Long before the current situation, Texas had immigration issues but in contrasting form. Immigration in Texas during the 1830s consisted of “white, English-speaking Americans who were looking for a better life in Texas. And the authorities who were trying to keep them out were Mexican” (Root, 2012). Centuries later this situation evolved into the illegal immigration issue that Texas is dealing with today. What makes this situation more of a controversy now than before is the vast numbers of illegal immigrants seeking a new beginning in Texas and the limited economic resources that are available to support them.…