Annexation In Texas :: essays research papers

The legal authority of Texas cities to annex, and the reasons Texas has been a liberal annexer as well as why the pace of annexation has slowed since 1970 are numerous. In retrospect, this paper will discuss and bring to the table some of the finer points of these statements.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Annexation was, for a long time, a typical proceeding in Texas. Everything from anthropomorphic ideologies to governmental necessities is typically discussed amongst the municipalities and councils that govern and operate Texas cities, as to why a specific place should be annexed. In the earliest days, this country was founded by Masonic people who believed firmly in a tenant called E pluribus Unum, meaning from many one. As this statement suggests, we were the formational creation from many states into one consistent union.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Annexation works pretty much the same way, in that a larger body envelops and consumes the smaller one into itself, so that the larger may prosper. As could be said of the residents in our own city of Houston, Bellaire was only recently annexed to the dismay and objection of its citizens. This would preclude to the ideology of Thomas Aquinas, inasmuch as he discussed Veritatis Splendor Aterna Infernum, meaning the splendor of truth is an eternal hell. The truth being that the residents of Bellaire did not really have any coinciding choice in the matter, and thence having to live through the hell of Houston politics as an example of Texas annexation. The ending outcome for this meant for them that their police department, waste disposal, and fire departments would now be governed by Houston as a whole.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the 1970’s the Texas laws changed yet again, not allowing anyone to annex larger amounts of land and thus throwing the governing bodies to a significant halt. During the 70’s, Texas cities maintained their tax base through annexation of land and subsequently when the free flowing waters of taxes began to halt so the cities started to decay, very similar in nature to the dilapidation of the North.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Also, as a major consequence for government here in Texas (both at the state and local levels, respectively), was to preserve the health of the states major cities in the face of economic and demographic change. With this in mind, our viewpoints were redirected during that period towards the consummation of our cities, and in turn, allowed the cities in Texas to grow and rebirth.

Cosmetic Surgery Essay

Cosmetic Surgery is a widely accepted practice among men and women. You can have anything done to yourself as long as you have the money. With the advancement in today’s technology, more men and women are flocking to have expensive cosmetic procedures done. The percentage of men and women getting some type of surgery done to themselves are drastically different. Women have the highest number on the chart for having cosmetic surgery and men don’t even come close to their numbers. Men and women share the same types of surgery like: breast augmentation, liposuction, Botox and even laser hair removal. Teenagers are slowly starting to climb the charts more every year. The average age for teenagers are between 16-18 years old. Teenage girls and boys go for procedures like; microdermabrasion, chemical peels and nose jobs. Some people believe that it is immoral to have surgery to change your appearance while other people believe that it is all right to have a tattoo. What is the difference between having surgery to change a defect in your appearance and having a tattoo? There is no difference, one can be removed and the other cannot. Every year, the average American spends millions of dollars on the many different types of cosmetic procedures available. Many women would like to have surgery done to enhance the look of their bodies. Most women go through the agonizing pain of surgery for a needed boost in their self confidence. What do you see when you look in the mirror? For most women, they see imperfection and room for improvement. Often time’s people try to change themselves in order to make others happy. Cosmetic Surgery is so popular with the average American, it makes you wonder what our society will look like in 10 years. The most common surgical procedures done for women are; Breast augmentation, and Liposuction. In the year 2007, more than 399,440 women had a breast augmentation and 398,848 women had liposuction ( Mann 2007). Another type of cosmetic procedure people have done are non-surgical procedures. Non-surgical simply means aesthetics are not necessary to be used in order to have the surgery done. Hyaluronic acid treatments, and Botox were the most popular non-surgical procedures for  women. Hyaluronic is just a fancy word for skin treatments or acne treatments. Botox procedures essentially paralyze the muscles in the face to eliminate wrinkles and lines in patients by preventing the muscles from contracting (Sommerfeld 2007). The number of non-surgical procedures women have done are dramatically higher than surgical procedures simply because they are more affordable. Over 2,775,176 women have had Botox injections and over 1,448,716 have had some type of skin treatment done (Mann 2007). Not only are women wanting to change their appearance, men have also jumped on the band wagon. Men are increasingly changing the things they do not like to see. Men and women between the ages of 35 and 50 had the most cosmetic procedures in 2007, a lot of them being men because it is around the time they are going through their mid life crisis. In the earlier years, men were not as concerned about the way they looked, the way they smelled or the fact that they were going bald. With the influx of women coworkers in the job force men have become more self conscious about their looks. The better you look the more attention you receive. The two main surgical procedures men have done every year are liposuction and rhinoplasty. In the year 2008, more than 31,453 men had liposuction done on themselves to appear thinner to the opposite sex, and over 30,174 men changed their facial appearances by getting rhinoplasty done ( ASAPS 2007). The top Non-surgical procedures men have done are: Botox and Laser hair removal. Ironically, while some men are having hair removed from one part of their bodies, they are having hair transplanted to another part of their bodies. Hair transplants are another surgical procedure that is used widely among men and women. Men who are balding and have receding hair lines are having hair put back in order to look and feel younger. Over 225,099 men have received Botox injections and 309,692 men have had laser hair removal on some part of their body ( ASAPS 2007). Cosmetic Surgery is not only for adults, teenagers are jumping at every opportunity that comes along. Due to the parents having so much cosmetic surgery done, they are influencing their teenagers saying it is all right to have cosmetic surgery if you do not like the way you look. The most popular procedures for teenagers were: Laser hair removal, Microdermabrasion,  chemical peel, ear reshaping, and Rhinoplasty. Of those cosmetic procedures, 2 out of the 5 were actual surgical procedures ( Mann 2007). There is a difference between having cosmetic surgery to enhance your appearance and having cosmetic surgery to reconstruct a cleft lip, big ears and a collapsed nose. Having reconstructive surgery can benefit a child immensely simply by bringing up their self-esteem. In today’s society, some children ridicule other children who’s facial features are unattractive or physically impaired. The long-term physical and emotional phenomenon of many popular cosmetic surgeries, including implants and liposuction are unknown ( Zuckerman 2005). Teenagers are unaware of the health risks they face everyday by going tanning, smoking and drinking. Even though teenagers don’t want to accept the fact that tanning is bad for you health, they do not realize that tanning can actually lead to more cosmetic surgery not to mention skin cancer and wrinkles. Cigarettes and drinking make young adults prematurely age in their facial features making them look older than they really are causing another reason for cosmetic surgery. If they are unaware or choose not to pay attention to these risks then they are less likely to pay attention to the risks of cosmetic surgery ( Zuckerman 2005). In 2007, Americans spent more than $13.2 billion on cosmetic procedures alone. Of that $13.2 billion, $8.3 billion was spent on surgical cosmetic procedures, while $4.7 billion was spent on non-surgical procedures (Mann 2007). According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the number of cosmetic surgery procedures has jumped 457% since they began gathering these statistics in 1997. Over 11.7 million cosmetic surgical and non-surgical procedures were performed in the United States, of those procedures, 91% were performed on women. (Mann,2007). That is a whopping 10.6 million procedures done a year, an increase of 1 percent since 2006 ( Mann 2007). Before, men would stand by and let the women get all the cosmetic changes done to themselves and now they are slowly being put on the map. In fact, men had 9% of cosmetic procedures done in 2007, with the number of total procedures increasing 17 percent since 2006, to just over 1 million ( Mann 2007). Teens aging from 16 to 18 years old had less than 2% of the cosmetic surgery procedures. Either this information is not enough to be put on it’s own chart, or it is already incorporated with the men and  women. With the expense of having surgery and all the recovery time you have to take, it makes you wonder how far a person is willing to go for happiness. Some people think getting surgery is disgraceful and immoral, while others think it is all right to have a tattoo. What is the difference between having a tattoo and having a nose job? The only difference would be that, a tattoo can be removed while some of the surgical procedures people get cannot. They are for life, you cannot undo what you already did if you do not like the outcome. Every day more men and women are spending thousands of dollars fixing things they do not like about themselves. They are letting their children know that it is all right to have surgery because they are not developing fast enough, or get their nose done because it’s too big. I have nothing against the doctors that perform these surgeries, it is their job. With out these specific doctors, we would not be able to survive in the cruel world we live in today. They are here to help those of us who really need it, and help those who want it. Does having cosmetic surgery truly make you feel better about yourself, does it make you sleep better to know that you can try to look like someone your not? Does having surgery on the outside make people like you better, even though you are the same person on the inside? Either way you look at it, having cosmetic surgery only changes what you look like on the outside, and if this does not make your self-esteem higher, then your problem goes much deeper than surgery. Mann, D. (2007) Statistics on Cosmetic Surgery from ASAPS. Retrieved March 26, 2009, from http://www.yourplasticsurgeryguide.com/trends/charts-graphs.htm American Society For Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. (2009). Liposuction no longer the most popular surgical procedure according to new statistics. Retrieved March 26, 2009, from http://www.earthtimes.org/article/show/liposuction-no-longer-the-most,750221.shtml Sommerfeld, J. (2002). Liposuction Safety Concerns Assuages. Retrieved April 10, 2009, from http://www.nowfoundation.org/issues/health/whp/whp_fact1.html Zuckerman, D. (2005). Teenagers and Cosmetic Surgery. Retrieved April 10, 2009, from http://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/book/companion.asp?compid=102&id=1

Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll

English writer Lewis Carroll (1832- 1898) is best known for his genre-bending work Alices Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and its sequel Through the Looking Glass (1872). The tale of a young girl who visits a strange land is a classic of childrens literature and cemented Carrolls place in the Western literary canon. Even though theyre widely considered to be important works, the talking animals and possible depiction  of what has been interpreted as drug use have placed Wonderland and Looking Glass on numerous lists of banned books. Lewis Carroll Life and Work Lewis Carroll was actually the pen name of  Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a cleric, scholar, teacher, and mathematician. Before turning to writing childrens fiction, Dodgson/Carroll wrote several mathematical texts while a student at Christ Church College, Oxford, including An Elementary Treatise on Determinants, Curiosa Mathematica and Euclid and His Modern Rivals. He met the Liddell family while a teacher at Christ Church College  and was enchanted by their young daughter Alice. Although he later said his fictional heroine was not based on any real person, Carroll reportedly made up the Wonderland stories, or at least their outlines, as a way of entertaining Alice Liddell and her friends. Carroll wrote several other works, some about Alice, in his later years, but never again achieved the commercial success of Wonderland and Looking Glass. Analyzing Carrolls Poem Jabberwocky Jabberwocky is a poem contained within Through the Looking Glass.  Alice discovers the poem in a book on a table during a visit to the Red Queen. From what we can understand, the poem is a mythical monster who is slain by the hero of the poem. Who is the hero? Who is the narrator? Its almost impossible for the reader to tell  since were already in the weird world of Wonderland. Even Alice doesnt understand what shes reading. Written in a ballad style, most of the words within the Jabberwocky are nonsensical, yet it hews to a traditional poetic structure. Here is the complete text of Lewis Carrolls Jabberwocky. Twas brillig, and the slithy tovesDid gyre and gimble in the wabe:All mimsy were the borogoves,And the mome raths outgrabe. Beware the Jabberwock, my son!The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!Beware the Jubjub bird, and shunThe frumious Bandersnatch! He took his vorpal sword in hand:Long time the manxome foe he soughtSo rested he by the Tumtum tree,And stood a while in thought. And, as in uffish thought he stood,The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,And burbled as it came! One two! One two! And through and throughThe vorpal blade went snicker-snack!He left it dead, and with its headHe went galumphing back. And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?Come to my arms, my beamish boy!Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!He chortled in his joy. Twas brillig, and the slithy tovesDid gyre and gimble in the wabe:All mimsy were the borogoves,And the mome raths outgrabe.