Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

"Meet me in Montauk"

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a movie directed by Michel Gondry, written by Charlie Kaufman. This movie is, in my opinion, was well written and not structured like movies normally produced. When watching this movie it is the kind of movie that requires you to pay attention to small details and actually think and remember what happen in past scenes.
The first thing that may grab others attention, as it did mine, is how the movie first starts out. It starts with a scene where the protagonist, Joel Barish, wakes up and narrates the setting of the day. He states how the time period is Valentine's day of 2004 and how instead of going to work he has the urge to go to Montauk. He meets a woman on the train and they begin talking although he is a bit puzzled, much as I was being the viewer of a movie that begins so oddly.
A literary technique that is greatly appreciated in this movie is the narration in the beginning. It is important because if you watch the movie on mute it would be like watching the movie without the narration, which would make the opening scene even more confusing then it already is.
It then jumps to the middle of the story where he speaks of how the girl does not remember who he is when she sees him. He then sees how she has erased him from her mind and he decides to erase her as well.
It is hard to tell who the villain, antagonist, in the story is. It may be the doctor who erases the minds or it could be the two lovers who are also the victims. Either way this movie is unique in the sense that It is structured in the following order: end, middle, beginning. This structure worked well for the movie because I believe that as your watching it it makes you think "wait, why did that happen?" and it makes you WANT to continue to watch, just to answer the question in your head. The structure works like a "grabber" in a way which is creative.
Another unique characteristic would be the plot and the characters. In stories and movies there are characters who are usually put into a situation (the plot) and it is the plot that will end the story. In this movie however, it seems that the characters are the plot. If you take away the character there would be no plot. It is the characters that end the story not the situation. The characters decided to continue on although the story ends in a way that will keep you wondering. Even after the movie is over and the credits are rolling the story leaves you with room to decide for yourself what could happen, will the characters decide the future or will fate?

Watch the trailer!

Examples of My Best

In the beginning of the year we were assigned a project called "American Icon". The objective of this project was to pick someone who in our eyes can be considered an icon, that person had to have helped, been part of, or come to America in some way. I am particularly proud of this project because I worked hard on it and I put a lot of thought into it. For the writing portion, I made several drafts and had other critique my paper. One significant thing I added to the writing that I thought made the paper a lot better was a short story to start my paper off. I made a small paragraph that explained what inspired me to look up to the icon of my choosing. I got this idea from an in class critique session, when Randy pointed out that Ariannah had started her paper in this way and I thought it was a creative way to begin the writing, especially since I was struggling to figure out how I should start my piece. As for my picture, I felt that that portion of the project was by far easier to complete then my writing.I first had someone take the picture for me then photoshopped it. Overall, I completed this project on time and used my time well. I also find that utilizing all my resources helped my project be great.Another example of my best work can be found here on this blog. Throughout the semester we were assigned a blog to update with our ideas about class discussions and events going on in out society today. These blog assignments are given every Tuesday and Thursday. So far, I have kept up with all my blog entries and each blog entry is well thought out and expresses my ideas throughly. How I achieved this is by making sure that I do my blog when it is assigned and by checking Randy's blog every night when I'm about to do homework to make sure that if there is a blog assigned that I get it done. When I write my blogs I try my best to write them so they sound professional and at the same time try to make them informative and interesting to read. Because of this, I feel I have established a blog worth reading.

Whale Hunts

After reading this article written by Rafi Khatchadourian about Paul Watson and how he goes on these crazy trips to save whales from being hunted I am some what thrown on to which side is actually "right" here. There is Watson who is trying to protect the whales by trying to stop the hunters and then there are the hunters, such as the Japanese, who are hunting the whales. It seems that the obvious choice who is in the wrong would be the whale hunters but that isn't necessarily true when you consider the fact that the whale savers ram their boat into the hunters boat in order to save the whales. This conflict makes you think "who is the good guy in the story?"

Paul Watson is known for protecting the marine life, whales are what he is known for, with a crew of 52 volunteers. They sail out to sea and ram whale hunters boats. In the text it states:

"When Watson is separated from land, he tends to behave like Captain Nemo, which is to say the he does what he thinks is right, even if it involves a violation of custom or the destruction of property."

He feels strongly about the whales and even in the text states that the whales are to be more intelligent then humans. This interested me when I read it so I decided to research that statement little bit further. I read an article on the Scientific American site, it talked about how whales do have larger brains then us humans. It is 8 times larger and has more surface area. The question was then, are they actually smarter then us? It stated

"You need to take into account brain-to-body size. When this is done, the winner is .. well, the tree shrew, followed by humans and then porpoises."

I guess this makes Watson's opinion untrue.
Aside from that subject he believes in saving whales so much that he disregards rules when they "interfere with his agenda". The article talks about different scenarios where he hunts down Japanese whale hunters. As for the whale hunters, although the are wrong for hunting whales, that does not justify Watson attacking their ship.
In the text it states

"The Japanese fleet is run by the government-subsidized Institute for Cetacean Research in Tokyo but the institue has produced virtually no research of any regard, and all the whales that are purported to be under study are also butchered for the purpose of selling whale meat to the Japanese public."

The whale hunters are suppose to be studying the whales to see when they will be enough to harvest for profit but so far that has not been what the whales are being used for. Even though they are not being used for study I don't feel it gives Watson the right to ram their boat. My opinion on this is is that not only is he putting other human lives at stake but also how does he know that the two boats fighting wont effect the whales? Is it possible that the whales can be harmed while the two boats collide? Is saving the whales so important that you put other humans lives on the line?
To me, I don't think Watson is right for attacking other boats. I think that even though the whale hunters are harming whales, since there are no laws saying you can't hunt them then there not doing anything legally wrong. Killing the whales is sad but to me, harming humans is even more sad. Plus, the Japanese do have good food.

He's Not Black

"He's Not Black" is a short article written by Marie Arana on being bicultural/biracial. It mostly

discusses the issues that are at hand in our society involving race and how we assume a person is a certain race by looking at the color of the skin(or physical features) or by knowing that someone is part of a specific race and just categorizing them as that one race only.
The article starts off with an example of Obama and how he is part black but not full black and yet people see him as only black. The article starts off with a strong statement by saying bluntly

"He is also half wife. Unless the one-drop rule still applies, our president-elect is not black"

The article then transitions into the authors own experience of finding out what she actual is by taking a DNA test. She starts by giving her knowledge before she too the DNA test then her new found knowledge after she takes the DNA test. She uses her own experience and the Latino race to prove that not everyone is just one race.
She goes on to talk about different writers who have written or said things about being biracial. One quote she uses his Langston Hughes where he states:

"I am not black. There are lots of different kinds of blood in our family. But here in the United States, the word 'Negro' is used to mean anyone who has any Negro blood at all in his veins....I am brown"

I believe that by using not just her own experience but also those of others is a good way to incorporate evidence to validate her opinion.
She then ends the article by talking about Obama again. Her very last sentence is

"Isn't it time for the language to move on?"

I think the reason she ended the article with this sentence is because she has a vision that maybe one day America will be able to not just assume that a person is just one race, but rather mulitple making them not just black, or just asian, or just white, but actually biracial. I feel this was a good way to end the article because even if you didn't agree with her article it still makes you think. It makes you think about, do you agree with her the language should move on or is the language fine the way it is.
I noticed that when I read it the first time I myself even thought about that last question. I thought of answers in my own head on why I disagree the language shouldn't move on. My reason being if there is not a significant amount of that race in you (like your 1/700 of that race) then what's the point in even addressing it. To me, that is what this paper sounds like. The author sounds like she wants people to address every single race that is within you and if her point is that everyone has a whole bunch of different races in them then why even mention it? Although I don't agree with the paper itself, I do find that the way it was written was good because it got me to think and ask myself questions.

Night
by Elie Wiesel

Night, by Elie Wiesel, is a true story of what happen to the author at a young age during the time of the Nazi era. the author uses plenty of literary devices in this book but the ones that stuck out to me were character, point of view, and setting. I feel that these literary techniques are the most obvious but at the same time some of the most important. Without these literary devices the story wouldn't be as powerful as it is. These literary devices help make the theme of the book which is a young man's hard life in a Auschwitz concentration camp during the Holocaust.
The first literary device is character. The main character in the story is Eliezer, in the story he is younger, and his father. Eliezer is that protagonist of the story. He tells the story of Night through his own experiences but makes it as if it happen to Elizer. Another important chracter in the story is Elizer's father. Although the story does not focus on him, Elie describes how the father stays with Elizer even in the concentration camp.
Point of view is in what version the story is told. It is who the narrator of the story is. In this book, the narrator would be the protagonist, Eliezer. The story is told from his point of view and gives his own perspective. He talks about moments that has happen to him. One part in particular I remember reading is when he tells his feelings about the lady on the train who is crying and screaming loud on the way to the concentration camp.
The last literary device used that is important to the story is the setting. The setting first takes place where Eliezer and his family grew up which is Transylavia, Hungary. The family is then in a Gestapo and soon after travels to different concentration camps throughout Poland and Germany. The setting is important to the story because it helps show the terror that filled Eliezer. The book Night is a powerful true story that capitivates readers with literary devices used. Aside from the ones stated above, there are plenty more!

Thanksgiving Blog!

What are you thankful for this year?
I am thankful this year and every year for my family and friends.

Three Things I Plan to Accomplish:
1. Begin writing my artist statement
2. Have my design penciled on to my canvases
3. Start painting

I have all this down on my schedule already. I figure that all of the things listed above are very capable to do as long as I make time to try to achieve them. I think if I get these three things done it will take a lot of stress off of trying to do everything close to when it is due.

H2O Project

While researching and finding more information for my project I am finding out a lot more facts about plastic. I find a lot of stuff I read off of Surfriders Foundation's "Rise Above Plastics" campaign very interesting. On their blog they have ons of facts and interesting videos involving plastic and how it effects the ocean. One of the most interesting pieces of information I found was how much oil we spend on making plastic water bottles every year. Their blog entry states:

"The Pacific Institute calculated that it takes 3.264 fl oz. of petroleum to make the average plastic bottle"

I never really though about what it takes to make a plastic disposable bottle. The Rise Above Plastics campaign is filled with other interesting facts about plastic and how it effects how environment.

Something that surprises me about this project is how easy it can actually be. When the project was first introduced I thought it would be relatively difficult to finish all the requirements in a high quality fashion in the amount of time given. As I continue progressing to my final product I see how much easier it is to finish when you stay organized and have a schedule of when you want to get stuff done.

My next step is to gather all the materials and information to write my artist statement and make my painting. What I want to try to do is gather all my information to be able to write my artist statement. But what I would like to do before I write the statement is make my painting so I can reflect on the process and everything else as well. Ideally I would like to have my painting done by the end of Thanksgiving Break.

Young Voters Vote

Recently, we watched Barrack Obama take the role for presidency which is a first ever in US history. Having a colored man run for president and winning not only shows how democracy has changed over the years but it can also go to show how things all over the US have changed. In the NY Times article by Orlando Patterson, he talks about how over the years the voters of America have changed as well.

Something that has said to be changed is the number of "young voters" in America. In an article I found by it states that the 2008 election brought in 133 million voters between the age of 18-29. It also states how the younger voters are more prone to vote for the democratic party.

"Sixty-six percent voted for Obama and 32 percent voted for McCain."

A part in the article I found was that the reason why some young voters don't vote is simply because they don't feel it would change anything.

"Other young voters say they didn’t vote because they felt their vote would not count, due to the fact that their states’ electoral votes were going to the opposing party."

I find this interesting. I think it is great how over the years there have been more younger people voting. If I were able to vote I definitly would, I think that young voters can also impact the way America is run if they would just vote. I feel that this election was different and it reached out to younger voters more so then any other presidential election because we in the US we have never had a black president. I feel that maybe it spoke to the younger generation more so because it would be a change for America and that made them step up and vote.

Young Voters Article
An Eternal Revolution

Final Project Examples

My first project idea that I want to focus on is making an awareness shirt for the turtles in the San Diego Bay. The shirt shown to the left is an example of what I want the shirt to look like. Three aspects of it that I really like that I want my finishing product to have is the design that is wearable, it has a message, and simple and not overly done.

I want my final product to be much like this example. Since I want to focus my project on a specific species of marine life in a specif location in San Diego my ideas for my own shirt is to have a turtle holding plastic bags filled with plastic bottles and having the turtle wearing a shirt that says "Keep SD Bay Clean". It's going to be a very simple design with a clear message.

Along with the shirt I want there to be a short little write up explaining what exactly the shirt stands for and why we should be concerned for this problem happening now. An example would be like something this shoe company TOMS does. If you click here you can read what their cause is and what they do to help a problem that effects kids and adults of countries who are not as fortunate as the US to have shoes.

What I really like about their writing is that is clear and to the point. It states facts and isn;t a big long novel that no one wants to read. Much like that, I want my write up to be maybe a page explaining why I am focusing on sea turtles in SD Bay. I want it to include facts, ways to help, and the future of these creatures. I feel that all this is including in my TOMS example and this is what I want to use to guide my final product along.

Review of the Election

The person I personally would have voted for if I could didn't win, although I kind of knew that Obama would win. I am not mad that he won, I just hope that he can shape up America like he promised.
I guess what I feel is that I hope he lives up to his word.

Something that came out of the election that I do not agree with however is Prop 4. I think that because now teenagers do not have the freedom to get an abortion without their parents finding out they may result to getting an abortion in an unsafe environment such as in a different country where the environment isn't so sanitary and they may be prone to infection. When teenage girls were able to get an abortion on their own without their parents consent or without them finding out, then they had more options because they were still able to get an abortion here in the US where clinics are more sanitary and it is safer for the young girl.

What I hope for America is that we are able to steer away from foreign oil and fossil fuels in general and are able to make renewable energy sources a primary source of energy rather then fossil fuels. I hope that we can do this because by doing this it can effect global warming by slowing it down. I want this because I want a cleaner environment and leave a US that is at least livable for my future children and their children. That is one of my hopes for the new country as Obama runs it.

One of my concerns as Obama is the new president is that he may get assassinated because he is the first black president. There are already people who were found plotting trying to kill Obama so that is one of my concerns.

I feel that my own level of civic knowledge has gone up dramatically. Before I never even payed attention to what goes on in the world, but as we started discussing current events in class I have come to find it interesting and most of the time scandalous which is always fun to talk about and be knowledgable of. Something I feel that really helps me understand what is going on in the world are the blogs we do. I think that the blogs gives us a chance to be able to give our own opinion and perspective on the issues at hand. It makes us think about what is going on in the world and gives us a new way to look at things, our own unique way of looking at things.

I think that something we can do more often is have the class discussion on issues like what we had on Wednesday. To me, not only is it a fun way to discuss things but it also lets us physically hear each other out rather then just reading it on a blog. Because of what we have discussed in class I feel that when I hear or when someone asks me about current events, I am able to have a conversation with that person. I like that I am able to engage in conversations because before I wasn't able to so much and it made me feel somewhat stupid. I know feel well educated when I speak with those individuals and it is a pleasent feeling.

How are the sea turtles effected by plastic debris in San Diego Bay?

Thoughts of our Final Product:
We want to create a high quality and well thought out turtle awareness short video for the public. The video will be based on the ideas of how species of turtles are dying off, how turtles have a shorter life span with plastic in the ocean, etc. In addition to that, we also want to produce a calender dedicated to turtles entirely; how they are effected by human life, when they mate, when they come up to lay their eggs, and most importantly how pollution effects them.

Social Issues that connect to this topic:
-public awareness/public education
-solutions on how to decrease the amount of plastic bags in the ocean from private companies(grocery stores, all stores)
-how the people(visitors and residents) view this issue and how THEY help to not contribute to it We plan on going to various locations to talk to experts about how the turtles are effected as well as the facts on how plastic gets into the ocean and how we can help eliminate the plastic.

Coast Keeper
-Can you give us an estimate on how much trash is in the ocean? What percent of that is plastic?
-Why is plastic so bad for the ocean and the marine life?
-How does the trash get there?
-Can you give us some tips on how we can eliminate plastic from getting into the ocean?

Birch Aquarium
-Why are sea turtles important to the ocean?
-How do sea turtles mate/what season(months) do they mate?
-In what season do turtles come up to lay their eggs?
-How long is the baby turtle inside the egg?
-Does the mother turtle come up and take care of the egg till they hatch?
-How do baby turtles grow up to live on their own?
-How are the newly born sea turtles effected by plastic in the ocean?
-What is the potential of certain species of sea turtles dying off due to the plastic debris in the ocean?
-Are there any species of sea turtles that are endangered already?

People of San Diego Bay(Visitors)
-How do you feel about plastic debris in the ocean?
-Do you know ways we can cut down on the pollution in the ocean?

People of San Diego Bay(Residents)
-How do you feel about the current state of San Diego Bay?

People of San Diego Bay(Venders)
-How do you feel about the current state of San Diego Bay?
-Do you use material that is more "environmentally friendly"?
-How do you feel about marine life(sea turtles)being effected by our pollution?
-Do you know ways we can cut down on pollution going into the ocean?
-How can you promote less pollution in the ocean?

Schedule:
This week start scheduling interviews for next week.
Start gathering information through interviews next week and take pictures for calender.
Week after start putting together calender; have at least three of the twelve months done.

Resources Needed:
Camera for pictures
InDesign
A printing company

How is the plankton affected by increasing acidity of the ocean in PB.

With the subject of global warming happening right now some may beg to differ that it is real. Something that has been discovered over the past years is that due to CO2 emissions rising it is not only effecting the temperature of our Earth but our oceans as well which can in turn, effect the marine life. In an article I read it stated: "Acidifying oceans will have major adverse effects on corals and other marine life, especially those that produce shells. The loss of many coral species will negatively impact the oceans and ocean-dependent economies"

A particular ocean organism that can be effected is plankton. Plankton plays a significant role in the ocean food chain. Smaller plankton are a primary food source for larger plankton, those plankton are food for even larger plankton, and from there it makes a snow ball effect until the largest predator of the ocean has their food. Not only is plankton important for food source but they also contribute greatly to global production. Phytoplankton absorb most of the CO2 emissions we emit. But with the increase of how much CO2 we are emitting the question is if the plankton will be able to take it all.

In an article I read it states that as the ocean becomes more acidic a carbon mineral called calcium carbonate can dissolve away. Part of the text states : "Calcium carbonate shells are also used by several groups of planktonic organisms, microscopic floating plants and animals that are critical and abundant components of the marine food web." My hypothesis is that if the plankton is effected by this, then other marine life may very well be too.

Carbon Dioxide in the Ocean(basics)
How Organisms Are Effected Article
Acidic Ocean Article
Plankton Article

How are the sea turtles effected by plastic debris in mission beach.

Plastic is not biodegradable meaning that if it gets into oceans or landfills they have a big impact on the surrounding environment because they will be there for a very long time. In an article by the San Diego Coast Keeper it states: "Fifty percent or more of marine litter is, in some form of plastic, whether it is bottles, food wrappers, plastic bags, or plastic pellets"

A particular species that is affected by plastic and that I want to focus on is the sea turtles. Because of the large amount of plastic in the ocean turtles can be affected greatly. One way would be when they mistake the plastic particles floating around for food, when they swallow the plastic they can choke and die. Also, a topic I want to further explore is how the sea turtles live with plastic in the ocean. Some adapt to it such as when baby sea turtles form to the six pack plastic rings around their shell.

Also, because of all the plastic in the ocean some species of turtles are actually dying off. I plan on further investigating how sea turtles are effected by the plastic in mission beach.

Drowning in an Ocean of Plastic
Plastic and Sea Turtles
Plastic in the San Diego Ocean

A Good Scent From A Strange Mountain
My Reflection

A Good Scent From A Strange Mountain is a book of short stories complied by Robert Olen Butler. They are true tales of the life of a few Vietnamese people who lived in the US, particularly somewhere in Kentucky, after the Vietnam War. The writers of these stories use many literary devices to make their story more interesting to read while at the same time getting their point across. A story within this book titled "Mr. Green" uses metaphors, pathos, and theme to get her main idea across which is how her grandfather was condescending to her in a way because she was a woman.
Metaphors ,comparing two things, were used in the story a few times. Most of the time when the grandfather and the little girl were at the flee market looking at the birds. A perfect example of this is when he compares the blackbirds to old women. The text says "They did not need him to prompt their songs. He growled at them, 'You're just a bunch of old women'" From this text you can see how the grandfather would compare the way the blackbirds would make noise to the way women gossip and talk.
Another literary device used was pathos which is when writing makes you feel an emotion such as sympathy or pity for a character in the story. In this tale the grandfather tends to put the granddaughter down a lot for being a girl. In the story there was a part that said "I felt a strange thing inside me, a recoiling, like I'd stepped barefoot on a slug, but how can you recoil from your own body? And so I began to cry" Here, it makes you feel sympathy and/or pity for the little girl as she cries. This is an example of pathos which makes the writing more intense because it adds emotion.
The last literary device that stuck out to me was theme. I understand that theme is used a lot in literature. It is the main idea of the story, what the story is about. The theme of this story was how she loved her grandfather and although he loved her back he was still condescending to her because she was a a woman. The parrot, Mr. Green, that once belonged to her grandfather was something she thought of as the spirit of her grandfather after he passes away. When the bird dies, she feels her grandfather is finally spiritually gone from Earth and has now accepted the fact that her grandfather may have not favored the fact that she was a woman but she herself is now content with it. I feel that theme is important to any story because it gets a point across. It gives the reader a reason to read the story, to learn something they did not know.
The three literary devices used in this story made for an interestin piece to read as well as an emotionally moving one. I feel that the combination of these devices helped me feel what the author felt during the time this happen. Of course, these are not the only litetrary devices used in the story or even throughout the entire book but these ones stood out to me because they were the steeping stones that made this story capitvating and WANTING to read the story.

ACORN Scandal VS Vote Suppression

"Experts who have examined the allegations against ACORN have concluded that there is no significant threat of voter fraud."-CNN

From what I understand, the ACORN scandal was a voter's fraud. In the Wall Street Journal it stated "If voter fraud would ever be ripe for investigation, this would seem to be the year with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (Acorn) having been caught filing thousands of bogus voter registrations in at least 14 states." First off, what is ACORN? ACORN is a community organization of low and middle class families who work together to build a stronger community and gain social freedom.

The difference between the ACORN scandal and voter suppression is that the ACORN scandal is a voter fraud scandal and voter suppression is when people try to make it very difficult or nearly impossible for some people to vote.

The ACORN scandal was made out to be more of a scandal then it actually was. ACORN actually did nothing wrong. What the big hype was about was how ACORN submitted voter registrations that were for people who did not have their license to show to allow them to vote, so no information saying they can vote or they submitted forms with fictitious people on them. So why did ACORN submit the fake registration forms? From a editorial on the Washington post it says: "ACORN did flag some cards as questionable, but by law even those had to be turned in _ only the board can reject them." So by law, ACORN did nothing wrong and the "scandal" had more attention then it deserved.

Unlike the ACORN controversy, vote suppression is a real issue that should be discussed more so. Vote suppression is when people try to keep other people in certain areas from voting at all. Ways people achieve this is a variety of ways, they can prey on college students, inner city people, and even minority groups. An article I found on vote suppression talks about the ways people legally try to keep minority groups from voting. A piece of the text states: "They include letter-writing challenges, residence and citizenship challenges of non-native born Latino voters, and reliance on a provision in the Help America Vote Act on provisional ballots. Worst of all, these tactics are all perfectly legal." Because these people are not born here and may have not lived in the states as long as a native has it may be harder and discourage them to vote.

In one of the articles I read it stated that the government needs to be more worried about vote suppression more so then the ACORN scandal that is said to be a "myth" by McCain.

On the Acorn site here is what they had to say about voter suppression:
"ACORN recently worked to stop Republican voter suppression tactics in New Mexico and Michigan." From this statement it means that the ACORN association wanted to make it easier for people to vote and make it an equal opportunity activity. I think that is a good thing because I think everyone who lives in the US legally should be able to have a say in what and who runs this country.

CNN-ACORN
ACORN site
Video about ACORN
Voter Suppression Incidents 2008
Washington Post ACORN
Legal Vote Suppression Article

Presidential Debates

The presidential debates now a days can relate to past debates by issues going on in society and each candidate talking about how they can change the problem and make society better for the people.

In the Lincoln Douglas debates an issue that was discussed was slavery. Douglas believed that slavery was natural and was nothing more then popular sovereignty, while Lincoln believed it was morally wrong. Douglas stated the following about slavery in the very first debate that took place in Ottawa, Illanois :

"One of the reserved rights of the States, was the right to regulate the relations between Master and Servant, on the slavery question. At the time the Constitution was framed, there were thirteen States in the Union, twelve of which were slaveholding States and one free State."

Lincoln made a come back to Douglas stating the following:

"I hate it because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself. I hate it because it deprives our republican example of its just influence in the world-enables the enemies of free institutions, with plausibility, to taunt us as hypocrites-causes the real friends of freedom to doubt our sincerity,"

In today's presidential debate there are plenty of issues that effect the people that make up our society. Like how slavery effected the colored races freedom, abortion in our society threatens some women's choice to be able to have one. It seems that it would be correct that whether or not a woman has a baby is her own choice but abortion is an issue that is discussed still to this day.
Obama stated the following about abortion in the third presidential debate:

"But I am somebody who believes that Roe versus Wade was rightly decided. I think that abortion is a very difficult issue and it is a moral issue and one that I think good people on both sides can disagree on."

As you can see from this quote, Obama is for abortion and women having the right to decide whether or not a they want to have the baby or not. While McCain stated the following about the topic:

"I thought it was a bad decision. I think there were a lot of decisions that were bad. I think that decisions should rest in the hands of the states."

What McCain was talking about in this quote is the decision of Roe VS Wade in the first place. He believes that abortion should be a state issue rather then a federal issue meaning that each state should decided whether or not they should legalize abortion in that very state rather then having abortion be legal or illegal in all states.
So if you compare today's debates to those that were held in the past you can see that they still relate by issues that effect peoples freedom or the "social contract".

Lincoln-Douglas Debate
McCain-Obama Debate

Internet and Democracy

"Thanks to the Internet, it has become easier than ever to see what you want when you want, and filter out all the rest."

I think the internet has effected the way democracy is by having so much information being accessible to everyone so easily. Not only that but the internet gives out information that isn't even necessarily correct. So many people alter the information to have it mean what they mean and not what the actual information is saying.
I think this effects history and our democracy by when people need to find information on something and they go to look it up, they can possibly get the wrong information which can soon lead to other people thinking the same thing.


NYTimes.com

By STEPHEN LABATON

Published: May 13, 2001

Link

Newspaper Reflection

Something I contributed to our newspaper "The Daily Ari" that I really liked is the pull-out quotes. I like the layout of them because I feel it looks very professional and clean. The lines surrounding them give them a clean break away from the text. I enlarged the text within the lines and bolded them so the stood out more and I feel by doing that, it achieved exactly what I wanted which was to make them stand out from the text and be eye catching.

Something I contributed that I would improve on would be the text of my article. I feel like maybe one more draft and it could have been a lot better. There was some evidence that I wanted to include but I felt like my article was already so long I wouldn't have the room on the newspaper to fit it all on there. I think the story I have on the newspaper is good but it just could have been better if I added that extra evidence, that way my article could be more informative because I know when I read an article I like to know as much as possible about what I'm reading. Something else I would improve on is the empty space at the bottom of three of the articles. Visually, that is not appealing. I feel like in those three articles, maybe I should have added another pull-quote or filled the space with a creative ad or something along those lines. The reason why is because in real newspapers all the space is filled up, each space is used to fit more information to inform the reader on even more things or make it fun for the reader and that's what I wanted to do with our newspaper.

I think overall, I did a good job managing my time and using my resources. I think Wednesday I could have used my time better by waiting to look for pictures at home and continuing revising and adding to my article because for me, writing the article was more challenging then finding the picture I wanted to use. Also, on Wednesday if I was looking for pictures I should have photoshopped them to make them more creative and so that no one else in the class would have the same photo as me. I don't know why I didn't do that. It just didn't occur to me but if I could do this over again, I would find a day where I had a little bit of extra time and photoshop a picture. Also, if given more time I would add that extra evidence to my article, seeing how when I put the actual paper together and I hade some extra room I should have done that but I didn't think of it. I was trying to get the paper done and make it so it looked nice but knowing what I know now and after looking our paper over, I would have done that to my article.

Interesting Topic We Have Discussed

A topic that we have discussed in class that I found particularly interesting is how debates between candidates have changed over the year. It has become more easier for candidates to answer and just say what pleases the crowd rather then back then when they had much more time to talk and say an actual speech rather then just a short two minute answer to a specific question. It just goes to show how things have changed over time. The reason I say this is because when I think of the presidential debates now of days and compare it to the debates that took place before, it seems like those aren't the only things that have changed over the course of time.

We briefly discussed in math how math education levels have gone down. It now seems more socially acceptable to be illiterate in math but not so much in something such as reading. For me, it just seems that knowledge back then was much more valuable to people. I know that certain readings back then, such as Common Sense by Thomas Paine, was read to people who didn't know how to read, just for the fun of it. I'm sure it was a lot "cooler" back then to be an educated person, compared to now, it's acceptable not to understand something and at the same time not even want to give an effort to learn it.

Just like the debates that seem to have grown easier over time, I feel that everything is growing to be so much easier for us. Thanks to the help of technology, I feel like people depend more on a machine then their own brain. But I'm not blaming technology or anything.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

The Lincoln-Douglas debates were a series a debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas for an Illinois seat in the United States Senate. The debates were held in seven different towns and normally ran about 3 hours long, one candidate speaking for an hour, the other candidate speaking for 90 minutes, and the other candidate speaking again for another thirty minutes.

The main issue that was discussed during the debates was slavery. Douglas was for slavery and popular soverignty which is where states can decide for themselves if they should keep slavery in their state or not. Lincoln, on the other hand, was against slavery and against letting other states vote for if they want to keep slavery around or not.

Regarding the Dred Scott case, Douglas stated the following in the second debate:

"Then again, I wish to call his attention to the fact that at the time the Nebraska bill was passed, the Dred Scott case was not before the Supreme Court at all; it was not upon the docket of the Supreme Court; it had not been brought there, and the Judges in all probability knew nothing of it. Thus the history of the country proves the charge to be false as against them"

From this quote you can see how Douglas acts as if the Dred Scott case isn't even important.

The following is Lincoln's response to the Dred Scott case.

"He denounces all who question the correctness of that decision, as offering violent resistance to it. But who resists it? Who has, in spite of the decision, declared Dred Scott free, and resisted the authority of his master over him?"

From this quote, I know that Lincoln is defending the Dred Scott case. Early in the speeche Lincoln also states:

" That decision declares two propositions—first, that a negro cannot sue in the U.S. Courts; and secondly, that Congress cannot prohibit slavery in the Territories"

Lincoln blames the the Supreme Court rather then saying Dred Scott can't sue becuase of his color. So in terms of the Dred Scott case, it is very clear that Douglas would be against Dred Scott suing for his freedom, while Lincoln was more accepting of it.

To me, I feel that the Lincoln-Douglas debates were more challenging then the 2008 debates going on now. Reason being, the candidates now are given a minute or two to answer a question given to them. The answers given usually sound very rehearsed and sound like something they made up just to please the crowd to get them to vote for them.
With the Lincoln-Douglas debates I feel they spoke more from what they really wanted America to be rather then just saying what the people wanted to hear. Also, they had a longer amount of time to talk so they had to have the skill to speak very well and also be able to transition from one subject to another.
Overall, I think the debates back then were more challenging and better.

Link to Speeches

Demographics of San Diego

Describe questions you have regarding demographics

A question I have regarding demographics of the US is why does it seem there are more other nationalities but when you look at a demographics sites with demographics and statistics it says that race only makes up about 16% or less. To me, this seems like such a low number because I see so many different races more so then white people but the demographics sites say that the dominant race is the white race. At times, it seems to me that other races are more dominant then the white race.

I also noticed today while on American Fact Finder that people living along the coast, closer to the beach, make more then the average American. I saw that in Point Loma families made at least $20,00 dollars more then a family living inland. I can kind of understand how they would need more money to live along the coast because living near the beach can be more expensive then living inland but what I want to know is what are these families jobs where they are making so much money?

Explain how a particular demographic may be impacted by—or could impact—the election of one of the candidates for President.

I feel that the issue of abortion will have an effect on who they will vote for in this coming election. I know that McCain is opposed to abortion unless having to do with incest or rape and I feel that women will be against that. I feel that women will think that it is a woman's right to decide if they want to have the baby or not but I feel that sometimes women do take advantage of being able to have an abortion. I have heard stories of women using abortion as a form of birth control, having up to four abortions in their life. I know that not all women do that but I think that women will vote for at least being able to have the comfort of having an abortion if they need to, therefore swaying their vote to the candidate who is for abortion.

Abortion Article
Demographics of San Diego

Civil Rights After the Civil War

After slavery was abolished in 1865, colored Americans had their freedom but were still discriminated against
It seems that when slavery was discarded, the blacks were still treated unfairly. They had to use separate bathrooms from the white, attend different school from the whites, and were even considered the very bottom of a racial hierarchy. This is confusing to me because the time the Declaration of Independence was around so it made me think is this Constitutional? It states in the Deceleration of Independence “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,”. Did this not apply to the colored Americans?
(Colored Only Hotel)--->
Even when the blacks fought for the US they were still treated unfairly. AN excerpt from a letter from James Henry Gooding, a black soldier, to president Lincoln stated, “On the 6th of the last month, the paymaster of the department informed us that if we would decide to receive the sum of $10 per month, he would come and pay us that sum, but that, on the sitting of Congress, the regiment would, in his opinion, be allowed the other $3” He goes on to talk about how white soldiers were paid $10 plus $3.50 for clothing expenses. A question that pops into my head as well as in James’s letter is, were they soldiers or were they laborers?
In 1964 the 24th amendment abolished the poll tax which was instituted to make it harder for poor coloreds to vote. This was good progress for blacks trying to achieve equality.
The day all discrimination was legally prohibited was July 2, 1964 when the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, outlawing segregation in schools, public places, and employment.
(The Civil Rights Act of 1964 below)
A part in the Civil Rights Act that I find especially important was an excerpt that talks about how blacks are entitled to the same education as the whites "SEC. 402. The Commissioner shall conduct a survey and make a report to the President and the Congress, within two years of the enactment of this title, concerning the lack of availability of equal educational opportunities for individuals by reason of race, color, religion, or national origin in public educational institutions at all levels in the United States, its territories and possessions, and the District of Columbia."
Before the Civil Rights Act, coloreds went to school separate from whites, which meant a poorer education for the coloreds, which was bad because education was and still is extremely powerful. If you wish to read more about school segregation you should read Jasmine Bell’s blog.
I think that a good education was and still is the most important thing in someone's life especially in today's society. Without an education you would not be able to survive, you would not be able to get a job which means no money which means no materials to assist you in living.
The Civil Rights did not just change life for blacks it helped mold how all society is today.

"Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964."

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). 3 Oct. 2008 .

"The Declaration of Independence : full text."

Founding Fathers quotes, Bible and Abortion, Free Patriotic Music Downloads, Homeschooling. 3 Oct. 2008 .

"Letter to Pres. Lincoln from James Henry Gooding."

The Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War. 3 Oct. 2008 .

Supreme Court Case Before 1865

In 1831 in Southampton County in Virginia Nat Turner, an American slave, rebelled by gathering other slaves and going from plantation to plantation killing men, women and children. It was said that the reason he did this was because of religious visions he was getting. The clan of slaves gathered more supporters as they went on but were captured when they ran out of ammunition. When Nat Turner was finally caught he was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. He and about eighteen others were hung.

The impact of this case was that supposedly it set back the slaves even more time from having their freedom. A quote from James Hammond describes this by saying “But if your course was wholly different-If you distilled nectar from your lips and discoursed sweetest music…do you imagine you could prevail on us to give up a thousand millions of dollars in the value of our slaves, and a thousand millions of dollars more in the depreciation of our lands?” From reading this and how the slaves rebel I would like to think that because they rebelled it did set back the cause of their emancipation a little bit. It makes me think that because I think back then the slave-owners were thinking that because they are causing such a disruption then why should they let them be free? If they were going to act crazy like that then should they be treated as humans?

However, I think the slaves had a right to rebel because I can see how they wanted to be free and be treated as equals. Especially after the Declaration of Independence was written I definitely think they had a right to freedom. A quote that I particularly like was by Fredrick Douglas on the fourth of July in 1852 “What to the American slave is your Fourth of July? I answer, a day that reveals to him more than all other days of the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim.” The quote goes on to say how is the Declaration of Independence applied to the slaves and if not then the celebration of independence is a sham.

I think the impact of Nat Turner’s rebellion was that even though he was sentenced to death, slaves who rebelled and tried to fight for their freedom kept the spirit and hope for their own freedom to one day come and to not give up. And they got their freedom and it still goes on today.

Nat Turner Article

and

"Slavery Without Submission, Emancipation Without Freedom" text

Reflection

What are you most proud of on your blog? Why?

I am most proud of how I'm able to take stories and make it so it relates to the topic that was discussed in class and the blog topic given. I'm proud of that because I think it's difficult to relate stories that are normally thought of as irrelevant and relate it to a topic, especially history. A specific story I'm proud of is my McDonalds big mac story. It makes me most proud because how many people can connect a man eating 23,000 big macs in 36 years with communism and the Declaration of Independence?

What will you improve during future blogs? Why? How?

Something I want to improve on in my future blogs is reading other blogs or other pieces of information and incorporating that into my blog, rather then taking information from just one article. Or reading other peoples blogs and writing my own entry and my own viewpoint on the topic. One classmate of mine who's blog I was highly thinking about writing my views on is ANA's blog entry about the designer who couldn't attend his own fashion show. The reason why I don't post other people's article as my own is because I like to have original articles that no one else has. I plan on changing that and just using other peoples articles and writing my own viewpoint on them so that I can not only in cooperate my peer's blogs into my own, but also their viewpoints as well.
I also want to improve on how much I write in them. I know that i can write more on the topic and article I read but to be honest the reason I don't is because I get in a rush to finish my blog and I try to cram all my thoughts and ideas into a quick paragraph. I really want to try to actually take time and think about what I am going to put in my blog and write it in such a way that makes it sound very well thought out. A way I plan on doing this is by not trying to finish my whole blog entry in the amount of time I'm given in X-Block. I plan on starting the entry in X-Block but not rushing through it and finishing the rest of my thoughts at home to ensure I get all my ideas out there.

How has blogging impacted your understanding of the US? The media? Current events? "Old News"?
I feel that writing these blog entries have given me a better understanding of what is going on in society today. I feel this way because when doing this assignment it forces me to read current events and make me think about them and give my opinion on it. I feel that if we didn't have to do these blogs I would carry on not reading or watching the news and still be oblivious to what is going on around me in society.
I feel blogging has also given me a better understanding of events that have happened in the past by me having to read current events and having to relate it to the blog prompts which most often involve having us relate the current event back to the class topic which was usually an event in history.I will be honest my knowledge of important events that have happened in history are not very good but I feel that blogging has given me a better understanding of what did happen. By connecting current events and historical events it gives me a better understanding. I feel that current events are like examples of what has happened in the past. I also think that it has helped me understand the US better today, both the past and the present. Especially when it comes to the government. I have learned a lot about how our government came about but also how it is ran today.
As far as a better understanding of the media goes, I don't think I have a better understanding of it. I like to think that the media is a reflection of the content it is holding (the stories) and the stories are usually stories about people doing strange and obscure things, like killing someone or something. And I don't understand someone who would do something like that. Therefore, I don't think I'll ever really understand the media fully.

John McCain's Renewable Resources Campaign

In the article I found, it talks about John McCain's campaign ad and how he states "Renewable energy to transform our economy, create jobs and energy independence, that's John McCain" but his plan doesn't have any specific spending on renewable energy. The article states that in his campaign it has pictures of wind turbines in the background but he doesn't actually talk about what renewable energy sources he would use. It also states that he has talked more about nuclear power and "clean coal" and has even talked about the cost of it, but has not talked about the cost of the renewable energy sources like wind, hydro power, and solar power, the energy sources that would never run out.

My opinion on this is that its ok how he talks about the nuclear power and "clean coal" and how he pretty much has a better game plan for that rather then the other renewable energy sources. I think its ok as long as he uses those energy sources to help build the renewable energy sources that will never run out. I think if that was his idea that he should have mentioned it because it the people of the US are paying for it in taxes I think they would like to know what they are paying for and would be happier if they know its going to something that is helping build energy sources so that America would not have to rely on oil and foreign countries for it.

Factcheck.org, August 8, 2008

Link to Article

Drilling To Make Things Better

"This is 'yes, but no drilling in Alaska, no drilling in the Eastern Gulf, no drilling inside 50 miles.' This is 'yes, but no litigation reform that will prevent radical environmental attorneys from tying up leases even before a single shovel of dirt is turned.'"

This article was about a bill that was passed on Tuesday that allows the US to drill within states in the US to get oil. I think this is relevant to how our economy is right now with the stock market doing bad and people losing their jobs. I think that America needs to find a way to boost their economy more.

I think that drilling may be part of the answer. My opinion is that drilling in the US will help the economy a little, if not, a lot. If America now depends on other countries for oil and that is money we are spending for that when we have our own oil but won't drill to get it then I think that is unnecessary money we are spending. If we drilled in the US and used our own oil to find more renewable energy sources then maybe one day we would even be able to not rely on oil at all, maybe.

The thing is, is that with this bill that was passed there are a lot of places they are saying that you cant drill. My opinion is is that if you are going to pass a bill saying that you can drill in the US for oil now then we should be able to drill wherever we need to to get the oil.

CNN.com September 16, 2008
NYTimes.com, Eric Dash, September 15, 2008
Stock LINK!
Drilling Bill LINK!