Holy Cheerleaders

On October 19^th in “In the Pink”, a satirical political commentary blog created by Eileen Smith a local blogger, an article was posted titled “We’ve Got Spirit, The Holy Spirit.” It is a commentary about cheerleaders in an East Texas school district that have filed lawsuits against the school district for forbidding the cheerleaders to make religious oriented signs for school football games. A judge has signed an injunction siding with the cheerleaders allowing them to bring the religious signs. Furthermore Rick Perry expressed his support for the cheerleaders saying “We’re a nation that’s built on the concept of free expression of ideas,” Perry said. “We’re also a culture built upon the concept that the original law is God’s law, outlined in the Ten Commandments. If you think about it, the Kountze cheerleaders simply wanted to call a little attention to their faith and to their Lord.” Eileen Smith satires the story by making referring to her childhood as a cheerleader whose only interest were mundane teenage activities.

                While the article made me laugh and was well written it is obvious she believed the cheerleaders are ridiculous. But I have to disagree, while I am an atheist and believe in an extreme enforcement of separation of church and state, I am a firm believer in freedom of expression and if cheerleaders and audience members at a football game wish to show their belief and praise in a higher power that is by all means their constitutional right. Having said that, I would be very curious to see how quickly these same people would stand up for freedom of expression if someone should up to their game with a sign that reads for example “Allahu Akbar…GO KOUNTZE HIGH!!!!”  Rick Perry on the other hand is as comical as ever. His assertion that our law is based off the Ten Commandments, which is a very common misconception, is nonsense. Of the Ten Commandments only four are laws, only two of which are serious and all four have exceptions. My concluding point is if people are not willing to support freedom of expression without exception then there is not freedom of expression only freedom to be intolerant. 

Costs and Punishments

I found an article called “Texans Deserve Relief from Prison Healthcare Costs” in the Austin Statesman written by the Editorial Board in an elaboration to a previous article by Mike Ward about prison healthcare cost and how it burdens tax payers. In the editorial it is argued that older low risk prisoners that require expensive healthcare treatments should be released into nursing homes because of the cost the state to harbor these people. The article goes on to give several examples of prisoners that cost the tax payers a sizable amount of tax dollars. In one case it was discovered that 10 inmates cost the state 1.9 million dollars in a single year to cover their medical costs. The article goes on to suggest the state should allow nonviolent costly offenders out of prison to help with this rising cost.

                Now, while I do agree the state of Texas puts too many people in jail for minor offences and we also spend too much money to incarcerate these people, I have to question the logic of this editorial. While I am sure that some of these people would be able to take care of themselves just fine if they were not in prison. There would also be a percentage of people that would not be able to cover the healthcare costs. After all, medical cost is the number 1 reason people are put into bankruptcy. It seems to be that this burden on the Texas taxpayer would be shifted to Medicare and Medicaid. While it certainly would help Texas’ taxpayers, it seems to be just another example of attempting to put a band-aid on an issue that is hemorrhaging.