Commentary on Prison Abuse from Sohell

I am commenting on a blog posted about Texas Having the Worst Record of Prison Abuse on the blog Sohell. Sexual coercion of any kind is a serious topic.

The blog gives a good summary of the original article and it gives a clear opinion on what the blogger feels about the issue at hand. Although the bloggers opinion was clear, it wasn't as strongly states as I'd predict on such a topic. The topic, prisoners being sexual abused, is a concise one, making it difficult to add much to the article. Therefore, the commentary contains mainly facts from the article. The commentary is successful in providing information on what the government plans to do about the sexual abuse in the future and is able to relate the article directly to Texas government.

Prisoners being used as sex slaves for guards creates a violent environment for inmates, not that prison has the safest background, but violence from superiors encourages sexually abusive behavior. Once a person of superior power abuses their power, they usually do not stop there. The experience of getting away with such an empowering crime only gives one the encouragement to go further. In these situations it is easy to let the power take over your actions. Therefore, all guards that face indictments of sexual abuse in these prisons, and all prisons, should be removed until further investigated to ensure safety for the prisoners. They should also be allowed counseling for any psychological damage caused.

Prisoners usually use rape to establish a dominance hierarchy. Prison guards are not provided to make sure prisoners do not escape, and I think some people forget that they are there to protect the prisoners too. Although some may feel that prison inmates are deserving of the negative events that happen in prison, they are humans too.

Yikes Salvinia molesta is coming for our lakes!

Thursday April 1, Gov. Rick Perry announced the launch of a campaign, with the purpose of raising awareness of the rapid spread of Salvinia across Texas' lakes. It is stated that the aim of the campaign is to boat owners because evidence shows that this is how the Salvinia is being spread from lake to lake. The first sight of Salvania is usually at the boat ramps, which indicates its path of spreading.

I must say i like the thought of our governor doing something that's good for our lakes. However, the article makes it seems as though Perry only responded because of the threat Salvinia poses to the fishing industry, "which is worth 2.4 billion to the state economy" (3 Colin).

The invasive aquatic plant is severely harmful to underwater vegetation, blocking the oxygen exchange between the air and water (2). I assume that this alone is enough to get some interest groups roweled up, but as Perry stated, the problem became real when he started to see that the plant poses an economical risk.

Because the money to sponsor the awareness campaign came from a fund given to the Texas Parks and Wildlife, I feel that there should be (and I'm sure that there probably is) some sort of ongoing research to rid contaminated lakes of the Salvinia. Seeing as how the article clearly states the damage it can cause once contaminated, it seems as though there is not any hope for lakes lost to this. They label these lakes as useless now.. I don't think that is acceptable. There are already 17 Texas lakes contaminated and we are just now hearing about Salvinia and its awareness campaign!

However, there is hope, some cities in Texas are saying that they are trying to rid their lakes of the plant by any means necessary. An aquatic habitat biologist in Jasper, TX said they are even trying to remove the Salvinia by hand. That may not do any good though, because as the article mentioned, if every bit of the plant is not removed it will still spread rapidly.There is also the choice of chemically cleaning the lake, which is a hopeful option.