Final Reflectiosn

The blog provided me with a place to just think. It was rather hard to do because of my free thinking nature so a lot of times I feel that it is merely a stream of consciousness about the topic. The blog posts didn't heavily influence my learning ability because I just was writing things that were common sense in my head. Blogging for me just doesn't have the same effect on me as writing a journal. It is less personal to me because I type it out at such a fast speed. I attempted to use the evaluation to improve my writing but it still seems like my consciousness sent out the exact same word of choice within. Blogging in itself may be a good tool for some people to write but it isn't one of the things that I particularly like.

Topic for Paper

This paper was probably the hardest thing I've ever had to think about in regards t o picking a topic. I ran out of ideas. So, I decided to do a law because I saw someone was doing No Child Left Behind. I started thinking what is an even more unpopular law: the Patriot Act. So what I'm doing is going against everything I believe about it and write in terms that we need to renew the bill. It is probably one of the most unpopular bills out there and there is only a small number that believe it is good for the country. So I'm going to take a try to see the side of support.w

"the Hardest of the Hardcore"

Dylan Fujitani's essay on "The Hardest of the Hardcore": Let's Outlaw Hired Guns in Contemporary American Warfare is about a topic I have commonly heard about. Mercenaries being used by the U.S. Forces. I found this article intriguing because it doesn't really show the counter arguments about why we have mercenaries. Groups such as Black water exist because the U.S. Army is strictly volunteer and "volunteer" is basically what they are doing. The paycheck is definitely not large for military forces so people do resort to outside incomes. A show I watched a while ago called "Jericho" would be a good example of the use of mercenaries. Basically there are not enough National Guard to reunite the country so they start hiring out. The group takes advantage of it and starts pillaging everything. Mercenaries are common grounds on all levels of international politics. It can be used to avoid Congress completely if they know the mission will not come to fruition. This article puts into context an outstanding view of what the extremist mercenaries are but fails to take into account how many that are not of the extremist nature. They do their jobs to do the best of their ability. His article nearly put me to sleep because of his number of reasons and the similarity amongst them. Most of the paper he is merely saying they exist so I'm guessing his audience is aimed at people that do not know about mercenaries. But for me at least, 60% of this paper just draws me a slight shutting of the eyes.

Brainstorming

My argument I feel is one that is a major issue right now and which is also a key in the Presidential debates. Are we winning the war in Iraq? There are many viewpoints on this and it is highly controversial. I'm hoping to look at both sides and create a very challenging paper in support that the war is going well in Iraq relative to where we have been. It's one of the main topics between candidates because one supported the surge; the other one is against it.

Persuasive Analysis- Barack Obama site

Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe we must be as careful getting out of Iraq, as we were careless getting in. Immediately upon taking office, Obama will give his Secretary of Defense and military commanders a new mission in Iraq: ending the war. The removal of our troops will be responsible and phased, directed by military commanders on the ground and done in consultation with the Iraqi government. Military experts believe we can safely redeploy combat brigades from Iraq at a pace of 1 to 2 brigades a month that would remove them in 16 months. That would be the summer of 2010 – more than 7 years after the war began.
Under the Obama-Biden plan, a residual force will remain in Iraq and in the region to conduct targeted counter-terrorism missions against al Qaeda in Iraq and to protect American diplomatic and civilian personnel. They will not build permanent bases in Iraq, but will continue efforts to train and support the Iraqi security forces as long as Iraqi leaders move toward political reconciliation and away from sectarianism.

I took the idea from another blog put up earlier except it was McCain. This paragraph came from www.barackobama.com. The article is a persuasive view on the idea of what should be done in the war in Iraq. It strikes me that the first thing he does is tearing down the manner of the war. Yes, we were careless getting in but should it always be a relation to how the war started. I’m positive that all the candidates are looking for an end to the war. Some candidates want to do it in a different light than others. This paragraph puts blatant emphasis that we should be getting out of Iraq. I’ve seen the debates online and all Obama’s said is completely opposite from the main commanders in Iraq on this issue. Yes, the Iraqi government is working to get itself going but how will the removal be responsible and phased if you have already put an emphasis that this number of people will be brought out at this amount of time? It’s almost a paradox within itself in this paragraph. I have to say the wording of the second to last sentence definitely creates a distinguished light to the Democratic Candidate. “Military experts believe we can safely REDEPLOY combat brigades.” It’s kind of funny because in his speeches’ he only commends a relatively small amount of troops being sent to Afghanistan but where else will he send those that remind? The troops aren’t coming home, they are just being sent somewhere else to fight and die. Of course, he chooses to end with the concept of the fact that this war has gone for seven years now. Yes, it is getting to become one of the longest wars in the modern era but that is a necessary thing when military budgets are creeping slower due to two different branches being of a different political background. The slower we advance our military the quicker the rest of the world is catching up on us. Thus, an increased efficiency to kill is slowly rising for the sides against the US through black market goods.
Wow, I just saw this quote and laughed “against al Qaeda in Iraq.” Whoever put this paragraph in definitely is looking to create a different image than what he puts up. Obama has claimed in several speeches that there have never been any ties to al Qaeda in Iraq. How is this making sense then? The ability to train without a training ground seems redundant and oblivious. In order to train someone, a base has to be set up to train the Iraqi’s. If you plan on moving the base continuously, won’t that cost more to do than just setting up a permanent base? It will take the original amount however many times over to continuously supply help to them. The last sentence is definitely probably the most flawed I’ve seen in a while toward a certain group of voters. Sectarianism exists because of the different beliefs in the Islamic tradition. It’s like Southern Baptists to Methodist. Yes, you don’t see us fighting over it but there have been many instances of it early on in our democratic history. Maryland and Pennsylvania were set up for religions sent into exile relative to the rest of the country. A religion always takes a while to get going under a peaceful manner. Islam is the youngest of the major faiths and thus most likely to be not fully developed into a passive religion.

Chapter 14

Chapter 14 seems to be one of the self-help sections of the book. It introduces the classically way to argue on an issue. Probably the most interesting argument to me is the five stages of developing an argument. The 1st level is the personal opinion or basically a circle stage. It seems to me that broad ranges of people fall into this range today. The 2nd step is argument by one or more reasons. This step I feel is where I’m just beginning to get to throughout most of my writing. The 3rd step is truth seeking. This step is my most challenging because of my strong conservative ideology. I stand by my views even though there may be fundamental reasons why I’m wrong. The 4th stage is articulating the assumptions within an argument. This step is an expansion of truth seeking into forming a new opinion on an issue. Stage 5 is the ability to link the argument to the values and beliefs of the intended audience. Adapt the structure of the argument to the audience at hand. I commonly think of this as the salesmen’s approach.
This entire chapter seems to be about developing yourself into more of a salesmen approach. I don’t really this concept because it can commonly make the person seem more ignorant than knowledgeable. They create a blind ideology of how to make a person believe what you believe when I feel that most peoples’ ideals are not the problem at hand. This is why the country is a democracy; everyone can have a different opinion but all still hold up evenly. Even with the mistakes a speaker can commonly make, it enhances my view that this is about more of a speaking pitch than a writing pitch. I know a speech is merely a paper spoken but its mindset can create fundamental problems with how to make it better so that you can convince others to follow blindly at first. With enough information in one’s presentation, anyone can follow a very thought out speech and think he’s right.
This chapter is definitely going to help me improve in the persuasion caption of dealing with communication. I will though have to say it is not my biggest sense of my mind because I have major differences within most ideologies that I have never seen people take before. Many people would call the views complete arrogance of everything but I take it as I see it.

Blog on paper

This article seems like it is going to be hard to put up a stance against because of the generalizations that occur. You could argue that it is a matter of personal meaning, but can't really be construed upon the onset that the majority of the generalizations are correct except for a few instances. My stance on this paper would probably be in support of the article because I've seen first hand that it is the truth that the school systems now cater towards their students instead of making it as real and harsh as possible. My counterpoints against the argument would be that there will always be discrepancies in any theory. Overall though, it just seems to work for me.

Reading Response

Really, I can’t think of what to say for this essay because it is completely and entirely…true. It provides an essence that I can see relating college life to now a simplified high school life more or less. It seems we still fit the exact relative attitude of melancholy. Any strain outside the norm creates a sign that ultimately is seen as ostracizing. Most recently, I had my annual breakdown and everyone distanced himself or herself from me. Instead of realizing deficiencies and living with them, they choose to separate them away. This was probably the biggest theme that I took personally out of the essay. College courses are aimed towards institutionalization now for a lack of a better word. Instead of taking courses that pertain specifically to the area of life, we are forced into places where otherwise we would never touch. It seems relatively like high school before anything else you must complete your GENERAL education. How is general specifically going to help my life with the career that I will go down? Right now, I’m partaking in a Global Politics course that as of yet has not given me any great perspective into life except “read the news.” (Which I have done before that) I feel a response to this essay is going to be quite hard to do against the grain because everything in it has directly influenced me so far in creating this image of what college life is like.

Chapter 6 Reading

Personally, I thought this chapter would provide me with the most help because I tend to read at either surface level or so in depth that of ten arguments are lost within how much I think about a piece. Creating two perspectives will hopefully help me better understand my thinking and I think the reading against the grain and with the grain is the best possible way to do this. I don’t really know though how anyone could read against the grain for the tattoo article in this section because it is highly developed on ideas that are quite commonplace today even though it was written over ten years ago. Summarizing has been a major problem in the past because I leave things highly developed and often trailing what the original point pertains. I am feeling this chapter has helped my idea of what a summary is. This chapter is general was very strong on understanding the comprehension of a work of literature. I still wonder what against the grain reading would be for the tattoo article because the only thing I could consider is completely moronic in views on what tattoos are used for. The idea of what a strong responsive essay proved highly intricate and took me a few times to comprehend certain pieces of what it was trying to convey about how to write.

Assignment Page 99

Part A- The Two Descriptions
The Positive Description
Within the dimensions of looking outside through a pane of glass, there exists this courtyard of unique beauty and ease. Racks of bicycles intermix with the surrounding green trees and asphalt. In the distance, the red of the morning sun is just beginning to come into focus while the light of fluorescent lamps still shows through the windows of other dormitories just within eyesight. The light emphasizes our view of how far our country has succeeded within technological aspects since the early and dark time before Edison. In a window, a blue sign stands perfectly square within frame: “McCain”. Signs of architectural integrity promote the intertwining feel of nature within the sparkling trees beginning to form a layer of moisture and the architecture of red brickwork and sedimentary rocks of Chandler and Eagle Halls.

The Negative Description
Within the dimensions of looking through this cold and hard piece of human innovation, there can be seen a scene of complete travesty slowly showing the wavering of what is and what is to become. Cold harsh metal stands surrounding a view of asphalt, ashtrays, and trees poorly trimmed with a mass of dirt surrounding the base. In the night sky, the light of the streetlights drains the sky of its beautiful stars and enhancing a scene that the sky is slowly bleeding into nothing. The effervescent lights in the far off squares of cold hard rock show people still up working at something that should have been finished long ago. Within a window stands a sign perfectly squared but crumpled in certain locations of the sign creating a mixed scene of pride and contempt. The boxes are all shaved into the exact same scene of efficiency yet still there beer cans lay directly outside my window opened and punched indicating a shotgun.

Part B: Self Reflection
In writing the two descriptions, it was necessary for me to portray this feel that this courtyard of Chandler and Eagle Halls were a view of areas of JMU that have not gone through a project of beautification. It’s clearly shown that I am a negative thinker on viewpoints because my negative seems a lot more developed. I tried to find ways to make the positive reflective scientific development and how much we have achieved. In the negative, I try to portray that the achievements have taken away natural beauty. I feel my descriptions involving the positive can yet be dismal because I’m comparing it to what it was say even as close as 300 years ago. The negative I had a bit more fun with on diction. The best phrase probably includes the bleeding of the sky because it helps portray a loss of natural beauty within the heavens. I relate it to the present with the McCain sign because it brings up the patriotism within me yet has been placed where it can wrinkle and distort the view of what he is trying to promote. Architecture was a bit harder to incorporate because of its relative simplicity to the rest of the scene. It is really quite unremarkable and I had a truly hard time creating a positive image out of it. The beer can was completely avoided in the positive because I feel there is no way to describe discarded trash in a positive aspect. I’ve learned quite a lot from this assignment in understanding how hard it is to write from an omnipotent point of view. There will always be a slight bias no matter how much you try to cancel it out. Since doing the assignment, I found some of the books that I read to be quite biased.

Loose Change

The Prelude to Loose Change is just one of the many conspiracy theories around 9/11. It is a complete travesty to go and parade on the date meant to remember and honor the victims. The last piece of it is especially a daunting example of angle of vision- “Shhh, NY’s best kept secret”- which is clearly not about 9/11 but used to create a perspective of hidden messages.
The government did know that there was something going on at the time around 9/11. They didn’t know exactly what was coming though. 9/11 did change perspective on what censorship was. The video itself states the ultimate truth of this piece: “Those that control the images will control public opinion”. It clearly shows that this is only an angle of vision. All speeches used from credited sources are only one to two sentences and thus can be taken out of context to create an image that never actually existed.
Clearly the footage has been edited to only show pieces of a speech out of context. How is the truth about an online resource more credible than an actual video of Osama Bin Laden? How is the fact that they go to strip clubs relevant to whether or not they prepare for paradise? Is it possible that they were living life to the fullest before the final end?
Personally, this video is reprehensible at best for only stating one of the views possible revolving around this event. Technically, it was foreseen over 400 years ago through the works of Nostradamus. Information can be found that can coincide with an event after the fact. The only way that it can be claimed is if it has already happened. The angle of vision in this piece is clearly set up to tear down any chance that this was all circumstantial at most. When an aircraft is ripped apart, the atmospheric pressure between the inside of the plane and the out side of the plane will directly pull anything not weighted down straight out of a plane. We don’t know for sure that the documents were in his pocket. They could have been relatively anywhere.
In conclusion, I feel this video is a complete fallacy built around circumstantial evidence that in no way can be rightly claimed as absolute truth. Speeches are taken out of context, documents are scrutinized under different levels, and paper trails are deemed planted just because of the likelihood that this could happen.

U. R. Riddle Letter

To whom it may concern,
Although I have not been in contact with Mr. Riddle recently, I frequently worked with him as a student several years ago. I am hoping to portray as accurate a picture as possible of what I remember of him.
Mr. Riddle was not known for having a punctual nature and a heavy criticism for the overall appeal of my class. He has issues with prioritizing and a lack of responsibility. Mr. Riddle missed the midterm for being out of town during the time signed up, but when the test was taken, he received an A on it. He has shown major theoretical principles through his term paper on the psychology of management. It has proven to be one of the best term papers I have ever read.
In the business world, his presentation would not be up to par. His appearance was commonly unkempt. His appearance also reflected his attitude. He commonly was considered a loner and had trouble interacting with other classmates that could reflect badly into a business team atmosphere. He failed to participate in a group project because he openly criticized other students as “idiots”.
Although he had a very intellectual mind, Mr. Riddle failed to show promise in the business world. From my perspective, he didn’t show the necessary qualities necessary for the job.

Sincerely,
Chad Hanna
Kristen Walters
Loren Stoehr

Chapter 3 of Allyn and Bacon

Chapter 3 has been expressively interesting to me because I take visual images to the extreme of what persuasion can do the common person.  I am always interested in learning techniques that challenge the mind by way of subtle bias.  I find it natural to assume that anything that is seen, heard, or thought will naturally have a bias.  Take for example the Preacher that comes around to campus facilities and preaches that hell will be met by everyone at the campus.  His  persuasive argument is through a biased view of the Bible and an incomprehensible psyche to other possibilities.  Is it possible for someone to get so caught up in his or her own bias that he begins to impede on those around him or her?  The other interesting thing about this chapter was the clothing bias and how everyone wants to wear what the hottest models are wearing.  What would happen if all the models chose to wear out of fashion clothes for a while?  Would people start to wear that style as well?  Would those that avoid fashion suddenly wear what was fashionable?

Blog 2- Arthur Miller

Personally, Arthur Miller’s article sounds a bit sarcastic on a possible solution to America’s views on creating an understanding 

of what a criminal’s rights are once they have committed a crime so unimaginable that there can only be one solution for his or

her life: death.  Public executions may just be crazy enough to work.  An example that comes to mind is the movie “Starship 

Troopers 3” in which government wishes to find anyway possible to make its citizens one hundred percent loyal to the country.  

They condemn traitors on television to hanging and this fuels patriotism in those that do believe and hate within those who do not.

Believing

            Public executions have been a form of entertainment in the past that many people have actually gone to watch.  The Wild 

West was known for attracting attention to a criminal’s death through hanging instead of an electric chair.  Privatization would 

fuel an increased feeling of patriotism in people that would result in a view that will ultimately create a more idealized society.

Executions would bring in profits that would truly be a way to a debt free America.  People pay to watch violence.  Look to all 

the movies that have become Blockbusters.  Americans have an idealized view that violence is the only solution to solve 

problems.  Take for example: gangs.  All gangs have a sense of extreme brotherhood because of the brutality they have 

committed to enter it.  Americans may get the same brotherhood from watching executions.

Doubting

            Unfortunately, those that watch the execution and like it are figuratively always the ones that show support for the 

country.  The other percentage will become more rash towards their feelings on government.  Public executions would turn them

towards create problems.  If enough problems persist, the government will have to make a change.  In prisoner of war camps, 

executions for crimes quite often result in more attempts to escape or injury to the camp guards.  It increases the pang to be 

free from any repression of physical rights.  Even if the person is in the wrong, people still will view him or her as a martyr and 

thus use him or her to increase the number of people trying to challenge the authority.  Private executions may prove 

advantageous for adults but children will become mentally scarred from the experience.  They will develop a sense of shock and 

awe towards murder.  Government does it to show that crime should not go on, but in essence, it is doing what it wishes to stop.

Blog 1

As I looked through the website for  The Breeze.  I came across an article that particularly peaked my interest.  The article was "Guest Column: Candidates Must Get Educated" posted on 2 September 2008 by Jesy Leifer.  The article sets forth a problem that commonly is an issue upon all persons hoping to get into the education field.  How should classes be split up?  His argument compels the reader onward by slipping only the information that the candidates have a plan in the making for the future of the country on this issue.

Nationally, the biggest problem with this issue is amongst elementary schools and the minimum curriculum they have versus the number of students and each of his or her abilities.  Obama has proposed reform to the No Child Left Behind Act and make sure the most qualified teachers have the highest pay.  McCain believes that the issue should be left amongst the states and a merit system set to weed out the "bad" teachers.  Quickly, the author through the ideas and dismisses them as only political speech due to the lack of experience on the subject by these candidates.  He places the plans against the current situation and deems that they will have no effect in improving conditions.  The smart and the mentally insufficient are being forced to the back in comparison to the "average" person.  This is a problem that relatively everyone has come to know by some means.  So, how can we stop this trend?  The method proposed is "ability grouping."  The process separates students based upon performance.  This process is already employed by means of AP classes, specialized classes, and advanced courses at the middle and high school levels.  The author ends his argument with a natural conclusion for all solutions.  There will be bugs but it is better than what we have.

This article really hit home with me because I was one of those students bored out of his mind because he was ahead in the class.  I remember being scolded for reading during topography because I already knew all the information. I was constantly striving to find something to keep me occupied while the rest of the class was busy doing work that I had learned already.  I also have a strong interest in the candidates of this election and creating an image of their flaws.  I am hoping that this article might make it out of this newspaper and into the echelons of political theorists and help create an inquiry into this possible solution.

About Me

I am currently a freshmen at James Madison University.  I am currently undeclared and hoping to become a major in either Music Education or History.  I am currently a member of the Marching Royal Dukes playing the trombone.  In addition to my adoration of music, I like to play chess, watch the History Channel, jog, and taste exotic foods.  I prefer to be outside most of the time (especially during thunderstorms) and watch the marvels of the world around me.  I am originally from Pennsylvania but moved to Virginia when I was about eight years old.  I consider myself a yankee one hundred percent at heart.  I have traveled all over the East Coast, pieces of the Midwest, Germany, Austria, Lichtenstein, Switzerland, and Canada.