http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/17/opinion/blow-inconvenient-income-inequality.html?ref=charlesmblow
In Charles M. Blow's column, "Inconvenient Income Inequality" he discusses the gap between the rich and poor in the United States. He starts off by saying that according to Americans, more see themselves as better off than not. However, this is not a true view. According to the Associated Press, the middle class in America is shrinking and 1 in 2 Americans have fallen into poverty. He also reiterates the fact that the gap between the rich and poor in the United States has "reached its highest level in 30 years." All of these points lead up to his biggest one, that this income inequality could be economically awful for the United States. He believes that if the United States continues to believe that this income inequality is normal, that that is living in denial and could be very economically dangerous for this country.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Monday Matters 12
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/10/opinion/blow-the-brutal-side-of-hazing.html?ref=charlesmblow
In this column by Charles M. Blow, "The Brutal Side of Hazing", he discusses the hidden and alarming realities of college hazing, and the recent death of a college student who was a victim of it, Robert Champion. He discusses how college hazing is a common thing in the country at colleges, and that most of it is truly dangerous. Many officials choose to pretend that this stuff isn't happening, and turn their attention away from it even though they know that it is happening. Students put themselves through all of this trauma simply to "fit in", and that mindset needs to change, as the practice of dangerous hazing is ridiculous. Blow believes that we need to end hazing as the prices that people pay for it are not worth the "barbaric physical and psychological trauma" students face to prove they are strong. His main way of communicating this point is through is persona experience with hazing when he was young. Adding in this narrative gives him credibility because he truly does understand the brutality of hazing and the stubborn mindsets of its participants. He starts of the column with an abrupt paragraph "The tragic loss of Robert Champion may be another sad case of a college student literally dying to belong". This grabs attention, because there has recently been a tragic young death, and the reason stated for his death seems very pitiful. In order to show how hidden in the background the harshness of hazing is he says, "And we weren’t Animal House-like alcoholics and louses. We were campus leaders. The fraternity prided itself on receiving the high-G.P.A. award, and I was the freshman class president." He says this to show how when you're young and have the desire to belong, it doesn't really matter how smart or driven you are, you can become a victim. He refers to the 2008 study by researchers at the University of Maine, that stated that 95% of kids involved in hazing don't report it. He then goes on to say "I certainly didn't." This should alarm the reader because he described in such detail just how brutal and unimaginable his experience with hazing was, and how much pain he was in. Yet, he still didn't feel the need to report it, as most college students don't. This sad point aids his call to action that "We must end the “conspiracy of silence.”" Outside help of more enlightened people who have lived on this earth for longer than the youth is needed. These horrible acts of hazing will only be put to a stop if it is no longer allowed, and if its illegality is enforced.
In this column by Charles M. Blow, "The Brutal Side of Hazing", he discusses the hidden and alarming realities of college hazing, and the recent death of a college student who was a victim of it, Robert Champion. He discusses how college hazing is a common thing in the country at colleges, and that most of it is truly dangerous. Many officials choose to pretend that this stuff isn't happening, and turn their attention away from it even though they know that it is happening. Students put themselves through all of this trauma simply to "fit in", and that mindset needs to change, as the practice of dangerous hazing is ridiculous. Blow believes that we need to end hazing as the prices that people pay for it are not worth the "barbaric physical and psychological trauma" students face to prove they are strong. His main way of communicating this point is through is persona experience with hazing when he was young. Adding in this narrative gives him credibility because he truly does understand the brutality of hazing and the stubborn mindsets of its participants. He starts of the column with an abrupt paragraph "The tragic loss of Robert Champion may be another sad case of a college student literally dying to belong". This grabs attention, because there has recently been a tragic young death, and the reason stated for his death seems very pitiful. In order to show how hidden in the background the harshness of hazing is he says, "And we weren’t Animal House-like alcoholics and louses. We were campus leaders. The fraternity prided itself on receiving the high-G.P.A. award, and I was the freshman class president." He says this to show how when you're young and have the desire to belong, it doesn't really matter how smart or driven you are, you can become a victim. He refers to the 2008 study by researchers at the University of Maine, that stated that 95% of kids involved in hazing don't report it. He then goes on to say "I certainly didn't." This should alarm the reader because he described in such detail just how brutal and unimaginable his experience with hazing was, and how much pain he was in. Yet, he still didn't feel the need to report it, as most college students don't. This sad point aids his call to action that "We must end the “conspiracy of silence.”" Outside help of more enlightened people who have lived on this earth for longer than the youth is needed. These horrible acts of hazing will only be put to a stop if it is no longer allowed, and if its illegality is enforced.
Monday Matters 11
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/03/opinion/blow-newts-war-on-poor-children.html?ref=charlesmblow
This column of Charles M. Blow was entitled "Newt's War on Poor Children" and was a criticism of some statements the former House speaker, Newt Gingrich, has made. He basically said that poor children do illegal things, and have no working habits whatsoever. Blow was quick to come to the defense of "America's most vulnerable" - the poor. His main point was that many of the nation's poor, are in fact, employed. 3 out of 4 poor working aged adults have jobs, and therefore most poor kids have at least one working parent. He argues that Gingrich's statements aren't backed up by any facts at all, and that the true facts contradict everything that he's said. And the last point he touches on is that people who are in lack of money do not necessarily lack morals. Just because someone is poor doesn't mean they will steal and fall into other illegal activities, and he backs this up by in recent years America's overall crime rate, especially among juveniles, has dropped even though the poverty rates have gone up. After shooting down all of Gingrich's claims with facts, he criticizes the current status of the Republican party as it is becoming increasingly less compassionate and accurate in the information it preaches.
This column of Charles M. Blow was entitled "Newt's War on Poor Children" and was a criticism of some statements the former House speaker, Newt Gingrich, has made. He basically said that poor children do illegal things, and have no working habits whatsoever. Blow was quick to come to the defense of "America's most vulnerable" - the poor. His main point was that many of the nation's poor, are in fact, employed. 3 out of 4 poor working aged adults have jobs, and therefore most poor kids have at least one working parent. He argues that Gingrich's statements aren't backed up by any facts at all, and that the true facts contradict everything that he's said. And the last point he touches on is that people who are in lack of money do not necessarily lack morals. Just because someone is poor doesn't mean they will steal and fall into other illegal activities, and he backs this up by in recent years America's overall crime rate, especially among juveniles, has dropped even though the poverty rates have gone up. After shooting down all of Gingrich's claims with facts, he criticizes the current status of the Republican party as it is becoming increasingly less compassionate and accurate in the information it preaches.
Monday Matters 10
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/19/opinion/blow-decline-of-american-exceptionalism.html?ref=charlesmblow
I choose to follow the New York Time’s OP-ED columnist, Charles M. Blow. This particular column was entitled “Decline of American Exceptionalism” and was about how U.S. citizens have developed a pessimistic attitude about the status of America in comparison to other countries. He stresses that we once believed this country was superior while we now no longer have faith in the United States being a leading world power. He notes how the young people of the United States are growing up to not have faith in their country. He believes this nation wise pessimism is faltering away from what once was a great country and that this negativity is dangerous, and must be put to an immediate end. In order to communicate his point, he uses a few rhetorical strategies. The article starts off with historical allusions, “Are we, indeed, the “shining city upon a hill” that Ronald Reagan described? Are we “chosen by God and commissioned by history to be a model to the world” as George W. Bush said?” Using these allusions helps him to start the article off by hopefully re lighting past emotions of strong unity and nationalism as a country. Remembering the positive times adds a contrast to the current negative situation he believes us to be in, and greater allows his readers to want to evoke change. He also raises the question of how God plays into American Exceptionalism, “Was our nation’s greatness about having God or having grit? Is exceptionalism an anointing or an ethos?” He goes on to say that if ethos and grit are the answers, then we need to recapture them. This is an appeal to logic, because many people now a days believes in separation of church and state. So by appealing to “ethos” and “grit” he is more prone to uniting people who read this article. He is very clear on his position that we need to change, and that the only way to is through very hard work and decision making. He uses many statistics to support his point such as only 49 percent of the United States believes their culture is superior to others.He also makes many calls to action, “And that means that we must invest in our future. We must invest in our crumbling infrastructure. We must invest in the industries of the future. We must invest in a generation of foundering and forgotten children. We must invest in education.” This makes him more credible because he isn’t just complaining, but proposing solutions to what he believes are major concerns for this country. And he ends the essay again with the historical reference he started off with, “That’s how a city shines upon a hill”, once again bringing the reader back to a feeling of hope that America can shine as a major world power.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Monday Matters 8
There are many different views and opinions on the topic of illegal immigrants. People who are against illegal immigrants believe that it is a crime, and so these people shouldn't be given opportunities and rights like the citizens of our country. They also believe that illegal immigrants take away from people who are citizens in this country by taking their jobs, and causing a strain on our economic system and health care systems. They don't think that illegal immigrants should worsen our already worry some growing population. On the flip side, people who are not against illegal immigrants believe that these people deserve opportunities like how us Americans have. So many people of the world are not blessed to have opportunities, and it takes a long time to be able to legally immigrate into this country. Plus, so many illegal immigrants bring their young kids here. These kids grow up in this country, work hard in school, and deserve the same rights that other kids have, like getting financial aid for college. After going through all these opinions, it's hard for me to form my own. I do understand the point of view that our population is growing rapidly and so it's going to be very hard to account for all of these undocumented people. However, I think the situations of the lives of these illegal immigrants is a sad one, and that they should be given a chance to make it in this country. I don't think that illegal immigrants should automatically be deported. Many of the kids didn't have a say in whether or not they wanted to illegally immigrate here so after working hard in our school systems, they should be able to go to college and have a bright future in this country.
Monday Matters 7
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/10/16/fewer-babies-for-better-or-worse/downsides-of-high-immigration?scp=5&sq=illegal%20immigrants&st=Search
Our nation's population is growing tremendously every year. One million illegal immigrants enter the U.S. every year. There is no way we will be able to account for this many people, there would be a strain on our resources, and there wouldn't be enough jobs for everyone. There are also many legal immigrants who are waiting their turn to come in, and it's delaying their time with all of these illegal immigrants coming in. The immigrants who come in should be young people who are skilled and willing to work hard to benefit this country. It's also difficult for us to get unemployed Americans back to work when immigrants are taking their jobs.
Our nation's population is growing tremendously every year. One million illegal immigrants enter the U.S. every year. There is no way we will be able to account for this many people, there would be a strain on our resources, and there wouldn't be enough jobs for everyone. There are also many legal immigrants who are waiting their turn to come in, and it's delaying their time with all of these illegal immigrants coming in. The immigrants who come in should be young people who are skilled and willing to work hard to benefit this country. It's also difficult for us to get unemployed Americans back to work when immigrants are taking their jobs.
Monday Matters 6
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2007%2F10%2F28%2Fopinion%2F28sun4.html&ei=Khe7TtPYGsuLsALW25CtCA&usg=AFQjCNHabh_y-3Q0Ct6VjZt5ZFIp8o27mw&sig2=XGb5T4AdfE7aFqPPvlujgA
Many of America's distasteful views for illegal immigrants, comes from the word illegal. The country wants these people out, and wont be satisfied unless they are deported. But, just because these people are illegal, they should get another chance. Many people who do illegal things in this country get a second chance, so it's not right that immigration reform is so hard. Similarly, the Constitution grants rights to all people, not just citizens, so people shouldn't get so upset when they find out that illegal immigrants DO have rights.
Many of America's distasteful views for illegal immigrants, comes from the word illegal. The country wants these people out, and wont be satisfied unless they are deported. But, just because these people are illegal, they should get another chance. Many people who do illegal things in this country get a second chance, so it's not right that immigration reform is so hard. Similarly, the Constitution grants rights to all people, not just citizens, so people shouldn't get so upset when they find out that illegal immigrants DO have rights.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Monday Matters 5
http://americanpatrol.com/REFERENCE/isacrime.html
Some people believe that illegal immigration IS a crime and that it hurts American citizens, especially ones who are poor or living in unfavorable conditions. They believe that it hurts our public funds and prevents us from being able to provide things like health care to people who are legal citizens of this country if we continue to allow illegal immigration. Similarly, it also hurts the citizens of this country if illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from citizens who are in need of jobs. And finally, illegal immigration is contributing to the massive population of the US, and is causing problems like over crowding and straining of our resources.
Some people believe that illegal immigration IS a crime and that it hurts American citizens, especially ones who are poor or living in unfavorable conditions. They believe that it hurts our public funds and prevents us from being able to provide things like health care to people who are legal citizens of this country if we continue to allow illegal immigration. Similarly, it also hurts the citizens of this country if illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from citizens who are in need of jobs. And finally, illegal immigration is contributing to the massive population of the US, and is causing problems like over crowding and straining of our resources.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Monday #4
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/08/us-immigration-california-idUSTRE7971SK20111008
Whether or not illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the US has been a heated debate for some time now, even more of a controversy is whether or not they should be given certain opportunities, such as financial aid for college. In California, the second part of the Dream Act was passed. This allows illegal immigrant college students to get state funded financial aid. Many people believe that since so many illegal immigrants are studious and extremely intelligent, they deserve the chance to go to college. Unfortunately, many of them don't have the money to go to college so they are being deprived of the education that they deserve to help them get somewhere in life. For many of these immigrants, they were brought to the US when they were very young, and it isn't really their fault that they're here illegally. People are arguing that giving these immigrants financial aid is taking away from deserving citizens who to get financial aid. However, at state universities, this law is only going to affect less than one percent of the students enrolled in the current school year.
Whether or not illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in the US has been a heated debate for some time now, even more of a controversy is whether or not they should be given certain opportunities, such as financial aid for college. In California, the second part of the Dream Act was passed. This allows illegal immigrant college students to get state funded financial aid. Many people believe that since so many illegal immigrants are studious and extremely intelligent, they deserve the chance to go to college. Unfortunately, many of them don't have the money to go to college so they are being deprived of the education that they deserve to help them get somewhere in life. For many of these immigrants, they were brought to the US when they were very young, and it isn't really their fault that they're here illegally. People are arguing that giving these immigrants financial aid is taking away from deserving citizens who to get financial aid. However, at state universities, this law is only going to affect less than one percent of the students enrolled in the current school year.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Monday Matters 3
http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=USRTR2RQTB#a=18
The above image was taken in Haiti. It's a picture of demonstrators protesting the UN relief cause in their country. Their president is about to speak at a UN general assembly in New York. They blame this relief cause to have brought disease and rape into their country.
This photo comes across as chaotic and cluttered with people all over the place. This helps to demonstrate how this problem in Haiti is chaotic. The arm going down the center of the photo obstructs the view of the on looker a little bit. Their problems in Haiti aren't being seen. Anyone who heard of this relief effort wouldn't think that it has brought all of these problems into Haiti that are hurting them even more. The fact that this whole picture is a reflection in a mirror gets across the overall main argument. The people of Haiti aren't being listened to properly. A relief effort is supposed to benefit their country, but it isn't. It's ironic because the thing that was created to help them is just hurting them and pulling them down even more. Mirrors show things for what they are. This picture is showing Haiti's current state for what it is, and the relief effort for what it is. It's displaying the chaotic status of the country and angered state of the people. Even if the relief effort was meant to help, this is what it is actually doing.
This photo comes across as chaotic and cluttered with people all over the place. This helps to demonstrate how this problem in Haiti is chaotic. The arm going down the center of the photo obstructs the view of the on looker a little bit. Their problems in Haiti aren't being seen. Anyone who heard of this relief effort wouldn't think that it has brought all of these problems into Haiti that are hurting them even more. The fact that this whole picture is a reflection in a mirror gets across the overall main argument. The people of Haiti aren't being listened to properly. A relief effort is supposed to benefit their country, but it isn't. It's ironic because the thing that was created to help them is just hurting them and pulling them down even more. Mirrors show things for what they are. This picture is showing Haiti's current state for what it is, and the relief effort for what it is. It's displaying the chaotic status of the country and angered state of the people. Even if the relief effort was meant to help, this is what it is actually doing.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Monday Matters 2
After the shootings in the Florida nightclub, many are outraged and are now living in fear. Some people who live near the nightclubs want to move after what happened. They don't think their town is safe now. A policeman called the whole thing "heinus" and was very upset. Overall, people are just in shock and don't feel safe anymore and are not sure that they will ever feel safe again.
"Florida Authorities Search for 2 Gunmen In Deadly Nightclub Shooting." Crime and Courts. 09/11/11: 1. Web. 18 Sep. 2011. <http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/09/11/2-killed-22-injured-in-florida-night-club-shooting/>.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Shooting at Florida Night Club
http://news.yahoo.com/two-killed-22-injured-shooting-florida-nightclub-200421227.html
Early Saturday morning, on September 10th, two gunman starting shooting outside a Florida nightclub. The club was Club Elite, in Palmetto, Florida. Two people died, and 22 people were injured. Gwenette Matthews and Trayon Goff were the two victims who were killed. There were about 150 people 25 and older inside the club, and although the shooters were outside, somehow a few bullets got inside the club. Many of the victims have been treated and released, and police believe that one of the shooters escaped in a getaway car. So far no suspects have been made, nor has a reason/motive been made for the shooting.
Early Saturday morning, on September 10th, two gunman starting shooting outside a Florida nightclub. The club was Club Elite, in Palmetto, Florida. Two people died, and 22 people were injured. Gwenette Matthews and Trayon Goff were the two victims who were killed. There were about 150 people 25 and older inside the club, and although the shooters were outside, somehow a few bullets got inside the club. Many of the victims have been treated and released, and police believe that one of the shooters escaped in a getaway car. So far no suspects have been made, nor has a reason/motive been made for the shooting.
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