Stop with the Shenanigans

This editorial was posted on the blog, Grits For Breakfast about Scary rhetoric plans for Border Control. The targeted audience are those who want Rick Perry to live up to the plans he said he had for border control in 2006. The topic of the editorial is to inform Texas residents about the change we have not seen from our Governor, the poor choices Perry has made, and how we have nothing to show for it. "It's about time", the article states, of Texas- Mexico border leaders speaking up and asking Perry to tone down scary rhetoric tactics and get serious about future plans to protect our borders. The blogger provide evidence of Perry's " pants on fire" statements about border crime dropping, and provides a link for the original article, giving proof and credibility for the editorial. The author is also an avid blogger of Texas government, updating editorials almost daily. It is my opinion that the argument bring made here is logically based, in being supportive of those speaking up for the people in their communities. The majority of the blog states Perry's faults and how much of the grants provided for border control were purely wasted. Cities surrounding the border are still suffering despite the activity provided from the grants. The concluding sentences states: "Given that record, the Governor must hope that voters confuse activity with achievement. To be fair, though: They probably will". Following commentary about Rick Perry's use of scary tactics to get vote. I thought this was well stated and completes the article in a concise manner.

Editorial Analysis

This editorial was posted Thursday Feb. 18th, 2010 after the public was notified that Andrew Joseph Stack III flew his single-engine air plane into a building that housed an IRS field office, located near the intersection of highway 183 and Mopac Expy. The author's aim is to speak of how this event will effect how we live our everyday lives. It begins with stating that although Stack's harmful action was not considered an act of terrorism, we are consequently terrified from what we've witnessed. While many may argue that we are not as greatly effected by this event as some may think because Stack died during the intentional crash, no one can argue that there was not a feeling of relief once it was announced that this guy was not a terrorist. Terrorist meaning that he was not foreigner aiming to harm Americans because of his beliefs, but is this true? Terrorism is defined as the use of violence or threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political reasons (dictionary.com). We do not know if this guy intended for others in the building to get hurt, but one has to assume he knew there would be others in the vicinity. What we do know is that his action was an act of retaliation to the Internal Revenue Service, or a threat as some might say. There are a few brief lines taken from Stack's rant letter written before he took action, used to point out his reasoning for intentionally crashing the plane.
This editorial covers full insight from the perspective of anyone who lives here in Texas. From the thoughts that rushed to our minds once we viewed the pictures of the burning building all over the news, to the gratitude felt for our emergency responders, this editorial was able to speak for most Austin residences.
My only critique is of the concluding paragraph. I don't care much for its word choice, bringing the tone of the article down. The reference back to Stack leaving his home that morning, making us feel less safe is to cliche rather than creative, but overall a great editorial.