YouTube exposes the House

So, apparently there is a place for YouTube in Texas politics. In response to public outcry over YouTube videos depicting Texas legislatures’ habit of “ghost voting” on the House floor during legislative session, 10 new fingerprint-activated voting stations are being installed in the House chamber. These new voting stations will be placed outside the brass rails that surround the chamber floor giving members the ability to cast a vote even when they are away from their desk. The idea behind this is to compromise with the public without surrendering their capability of utilizing the “ghost vote”. This new system is not even going to be a mandatory practice. Only members that wish to use the new machines are required to submit their fingerprints to the House computer’s database. While House members will attest that this unconventional voting practice is not being abused, it has been well documented that some lawmakers have voted for their colleagues without their permission or even in their absence. Many members of the public, including myself, are shocked to learn that this practice is widely accepted on a government platform where you would think that the accuracy and integrity of voting would be treated with great regard. However, lawmakers are not only okay with it, most of them seem to hold the position that is a necessary mode of operation. A few legislatures have presented the argument that because of the large number of issues being tackle, combined with the fact that they are only in session for 140 days every other year, that voting has to take place in a fast-paced environment, and for this reason it is impossible for every member to be at their desk for every vote. While I, myself, do not claim to know the intricacies of the house floor, it does seem to me that we ought to be able to provide a more logical remedy to this situation.

A reaction to this post on this blog...

While I usually don’t hop on the “legalize it” bandwagon very quickly, you make a pretty decent argument for the cause. It IS quite curious that the government seems to prefer booze and tobacco over weed, considering the grip they have on society and death toll associated with them. There’s no doubt that enormous revues would be generated from the taxation of marijuana, but you forgot to mention the decrease in crimes that are associated with the distribution of illegal substances. As a result of making it legal to possess it, all crime associated with its distribution would be no more. That’s a lot of crime! Imagine how many organization’s operations are dedicated to the movement of weed. These groups stop at nothing to see that their business thrives, and the characters involved frequently do not shy away from breaking the law to see that it does. Also (as I’m sure you’ve noticed), alcohol is a far more intoxicating substance. Sometimes I am amazed at its legality considering the alcohol related death figures. Having had extensive experience with both substances, I can say that there is no amount of marijuana that one can intake that could deprive one of their faculties on the level that alcohol does. I agree with you whole-heartedly in that the reason that alcohol is legal and marijuana is not is “traditions of me”. We have written record indicating that the consumption of alcohol has been socially acceptable since the establishment of written record and marijuana didn’t come into the public spotlight until the early 20^th century. It still have a strange and unknown characteristic about it that the public hasn’t shaken yet. It would be very interesting to see what the fallout of legalizing cannabis would be.