Blog Assignment #18: Newspapers and MSB

My newspaper was a failure. This was because I waited until the last minute to get everything put together. There's no way I can possibly do something like that for MSB because the project is just so big that waiting 'til the last minute would kill me. So, I learned that I need to better manage my time.

Also, MSB isn't a group project, so I'll be to blame for my failure (if it comes to that), not anyone else. I really just need to put 10000% effort into it and it will come out much better than the newspaper.

Honors History Writing #2: Endorsing a Candidate- William Jennings Bryan

With the November election drawing nearer and nearer, it’s no surprise that a good number of people have already decided on who is going to get their vote.

Because of the inconsistent and lax governing that has been plaguing America these last couple of years, the country has slipped into a state of economic depression. In order to get the country back on its feet, there needs to be someone in power who can bring economic soundness to the table. However, this can’t be accomplished if the rich are only allowed to get richer and the poor are left scrounging around at the bottom for scraps struggling just to pay their taxes every month. Why not give the higher tariff to the man who can afford to pay it? That only seems reasonable.

Of the two candidates, there is only one who will definitely lead our country to the economic power it once had, and his name is William Jennings Bryan. He favors lower taxes for the common man and takes the power from the large business owners. By giving these lower rates to the middle and lower class citizens, everyone is better able to pay taxes and keep the economy stable.

With the supposed “extreme” Free Silver movement, the dollar would be reduced to 47 cents, allowing the poorer people of America to pay their debts quicker. If aristocrats aren’t going to do their part in keeping the economy alive, something needs to be done. When money gets in the way, people tend to become selfish and greed takes over. So the value of the dollar would be decreased. That is something that can be adjusted to easily. It’s the fault of big conglomerates and business moguls that nothing is being done about those who can’t pay for themselves. Bryan’s policies can fix all of these problems.

Bryan’s reach is far deeper than McKinley’s. The experiences of McKinley consist of Canton, Ohio. But Bryan was raised in the South, and travels all over spreading the word of his new policies. He is trying his hardest to speak with people that may not be able to hear his words otherwise. What has McKinley done but continue to hammer the minds of his fellow townspeople with the same words over and over again? Bryan is constantly changing the way he presents his information and making sure that he reaches a multitude of people from all walks of life.

Aside from all of that, the eloquence with which Bryan delivers his speeches is unquestionably better than William McKinley. Bryan forms his words in a way that no one before him has, meaning that he can better negotiate with our allies and our enemies. That is a very valuable asset, especially if our country were to enter into an easily-avoided war with problems that simple speech and compromise could alleviate. So far, Bryan is the most well-equipped to combat communication errors.

If elected, Bryan can mend the errors of past presidents and keep all of the problems caused by greed and selfishness at bay. His new standards can usher in a new era of political oneness between the government and its people, without alienating the poor. The upper classmen who once ruled the economic standing of this country can be knocked down and the unheard peons who toil away on the railroads can be brought into the light. The efforts of the working class will finally be recognized, but only under Bryan’s presidency.

With his well-spoken speeches and people skills, not voting for Bryan would be a very grave mistake. What other man have we seen that can create such a connection with his countrymen, all the while working so diligently to dig this land out of a hole that should never have been there? How does it make sense to vote for a man who will keep the poor from getting anywhere in life, yet continue to fill the pocketbooks and wallets of those who are too obsessed with their money to give any of it back? Without a newer, more solid foundation for taxation, America will continue to slip deeper and deeper into a depression.

Play it safe and stick with the man who knows what’s ahead for our great nation. Don’t count on someone who plans to keep the common man begging at the feet of the wealthy.

Blog Assignment #16: MSB Comments, Ideas, Plans, Critiques and more.

From Akari's blog post Possible MSB Products, I learned that there are other ways to make my project than just a photo essay or piece of writing. I realized that I need to broaden my horizons to make a big project like this come out right.

http://akari-adisa1.blogspot.com/

From Marcus' blog post Possible MSB Products, I saw an incredibly good example of a documentary. This showed me that there are plenty of professional products that I can use as examples for my own work, and not just guess as to what to do for my project.

http://maalexander.blogspot.com/

From Grant's blog post Blog #15, I realized how little I have to worry about picking a final product to make. There are so many ideas that choosing one shouldn't be too hard. The biggest part will be putting 100% effort into the project to make sure that it's exhibition-worthy.

http://ggarrity11.blogspot.com/

Blog Assignment #15:

For my first project I was thinking about doing a photo-essay about the times when beaches are dirtiest.

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2008/02/the-2008-palm-beach-poetry-festival-a-photo-essay/
This photo-essay gives the viewer a clear view of what's going on. Even though there aren't any words, it is still obvious what is happening at the event.
Clarity, quality and organization. Those are the three things I will take from this piece.

The second project I had in mind was a newspaper article about beach clean-ups and the best time to hold them.

http://sdheadliner.com/beaches/san-diegans-continue-to-exploit-loophole-in-beach-alcohol-ban/
This news article is lengthy enough to give a lot of detailed information, yet punches you in the face with the important stuff right away. This article is also somewhat humorous.
Length, relevancy and entertainment value are three possible ideas that I can take from this work.

Blog Assignment #14: MSB Questions & Resources

When are beaches the dirtiest?

How can we preempt the rush of pollution?
What kinds of polltuion are most common during these times?
Who or what is the main culprit of pollution during these times?

http://www.nrdc.org/water/oceans/qttw.asp
Linking storm drains directly to water treatment plants would be incredibly helpful in the fight against beach pollution. Enforcing laws against run-off from driveways would help too, although I don't see how that would be possible or cheap.

http://www.cbs8.com/Global/story.asp?S=11156403
This is an obvious fix. Just put trash cans around and encourage people to put their litter in them. It's that simple.

http://www.tobacco.org/news/286846.html
Another instance of law-breaking among San Diegans. The amount of cigarette butts was incredible, according to this website and cleanup volunteers.

Blog Assignment #13: Industrialization and Coastal Environments

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s threat to veto 700 bills over the past weekend failed to muscle through a plan to overhaul California’s water system. Schwarzenegger told state legislative leaders on Friday that he would veto the bills unless meetings produced a deal on restoring the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and creating new water storage. The governor had until midnight Sunday to veto or sign the bills before they became law. By Sunday afternoon he had signed or vetoed about 200 bills, after concluding that some progress had been made.

1. Governor Schwarzenegger threatened to veto 700 water bills, but couldn't uphold it.

2. The missing information is the reason why Schwarzenegger wanted to veto the bills. As far as I can tell, he has no reasons for the vetos.

3. The next story would probably be about what Schwarzenegger's special session accomplished.

Honors Novel #1: Animal Farm

Contrary to popular belief, being an animal is not exactly the easiest thing in the world. They have to sit around all day and wait until some stupid human comes around to tell them what to do, only to be worked to the bone for no reward other than a small amount of food and shelter. The anxiety from standing under a leaky wooden roof wondering when they’ll be slaughtered is too much for anyone to bear, biped or quadruped. That slop they get to eat can’t be very tasty, either. All these horrifying truths are exposed in George Orwell’s concise and telling novel, Animal Farm. This book focuses on not one, but many characters, who are all forced to question their own lives and identities when a wave of misery and suffering washes over their farm.

Although the book doesn’t have one main character, it can be said that Napoleon, the boar who appoints himself leader of Animal Farm, is the antagonist of this story. He decides that he will become leader and force all of the other animals into oppression, just as the humans had done previously. His rule is very demanding and strict, and causes dissension among the animals on the farm. The oppressed don’t even begin to realize that something is wrong with the perfect life that Napoleon says they are leading until they are all so hurt and confused that there is no way they will be able to stop Napoleon’s rule. He constantly beats the animals into submission and does not allow them to be individuals or form their own thoughts.

The tyranny of Napoleon causes the animals begin to wonder if their lives are worth anything at all. Before Napoleon usurped the humans as “king” of the farm, the animals felt oppressed and worthless, and were willing to let anyone come in and take away power from those two-legged fiends. They were fine with Napoleon and Snowball being the dual leaders of the new revolution. They were even fine when Napoleon drove Snowball out of the farm and became the all-powerful ruler. But all the while they were questioning themselves and questioning their existences. With no reason to live except to meet the needs of Napoleon, the animals began to feel useless as they did before. They have no identity; they are all just one big mass of slaves for the all-powerful Napoleon.

In the middle of this story, the animals do seem to start trying to develop their own places within the farm. Boxer, one of the horses on the farm, is the strongest and hardest worker thanks to his mottos “I will work harder!” and “Napoleon is always right!” However, his identity, because it is based around the selfish boar dictator, is not his own. Boxer is not creating one for himself; he’s creating one so that he can please Napoleon. In reality, none of the characters in this story are able to find a true identity because they are faced with situations they’ve never experienced before and are unable to cope with the speed that Napoleon changes things. To keep themselves alive, the animals make up their own identities.

No one in this book is able to find their own place in life except Napoleon. Napoleon so quickly shows his true identity. From the moment he tells the rest of the animals about his plans to overthrow the humans and make a better life for animals you can see his true colors shine through. He has a fully developed identity that he hides until the perfect moment. The other animals, on the other hand, are left hollow and yearning for a true meaning, with nothing to show for their incredible efforts. For their entire lives they are emotionless workers who will never be able to break free of their shackles.

Blog Assignment #12: MSTB Questions

1. What are people already doing to help save the beaches?
I want to know so that I can draw from their ideas and possibly take them further.

2. When are beaches the dirtiest?
I ask this so that I can figure out what time of year people should be active the most. When to action is as important as why or what your taking action against.

3. Who already monitors the cleanliness of the beaches?
This would be an incredible resource to have. Anyone who directly works for beach clean-up crews or conservation would be invaluable to my project.

Blog Assignment #11: Magazine Article

I recently read a news article about that wacky representative from South Carolina, Joe Wilson, the man who yelled “You lie!” at President Obama a few weeks ago. The article stated a lot of things that many people believe to be true. Joe Wilson’s comments are based on racism. Joe Wilson is against immigrant rights. Joe Wilson is just your typical Republican extremist who can’t stand the fact that America now has a black president. These are all accusations. Of course, Wilson doesn’t think of himself as racist, so he’s making amends. But others aren’t like Wilson. Wilson is remorseful. Wilson realizes now that what he has done is wrong. Some racists from South Carolina and other parts of the South are calling him a hero and applauding his actions.

Racism is incredibly outdated. Maybe it was cool to be a racist all the way back when anyone who was anyone owned slaves, and it might have even been acceptable for someone to be racist if they had friends or family who were Confederate soldiers. It might even be fair to say that racism was embraced in the South up until the 1960’s. However, we’re in the 21^st century. Why is all this hatred still around?

The answer may seem simple, but it runs a lot deeper than most people know. Human nature is a huge road block. We as humans in general are afraid of people that are different from us. We want to be associated with people of their own heritage and beliefs, and get uncomfortable around those who don’t share these same things. Honestly, being racist nowadays is just a way of saying that you are living in the past and don’t feel like updating your mindset to accommodate new social rules and ways of life.

Extremists are what keep these things alive though. People who continue to call themselves Confederates and perpetuate this hatred and fear of the different are the reason that America isn’t completely past our dark history. Certain members of society would rather focus on the past than move forward into a brighter future where everyone is accepted and racism is slowly weeded out of society. They want the Civil War to continue. They want there to be more and more deaths fueled by an outdated concept. The official war ended in the 19^th century, but thanks to these individuals, the war won’t die.

What kind of person wouldn’t want to usher in a new age of understanding and compassion because of longstanding racist sentiment? The answer should be obvious. The same people who hate others for seemingly no reason are the same people who are just angry that they couldn’t get anywhere in their own lives. This is discussed in one section in chapter five of Tony Horwitz’s Confederates in the Attic. Certain people in the piece don’t want people of another race or people that they feel are below to them have better lives than themselves, going as far as violence to make sure that these so-called “inferior” people are kept down.

The certain people that I speak of are those who are still living in the past—people who can’t accept that they’ve failed in their endeavors. And, they’re so afraid of the community realizing that they’ve failed that reverting back to pre-Civil War beliefs is the only way they know to numb the pain of failure. The idea of former slaves having better lives is sickening and disgusting to these people. The whole reason for their existence is to make the lives of a once lesser people miserable, because their own lives are such train wrecks. There is some value in saying that the Civil War was the beginning of modern America, but thanks to these people it stays stuck in limbo, halfway between the days of hate and oppression and the days of acceptance and understanding.

It’s not Joe Wilson’s fault that we’re not moving forward. It’s the people who have the same upbringing as Wilson, but can’t admit they’re wrong and don’t want to take the time to learn tolerance. Wilson obviously learned to accept the ideas of the 20^th and 21^st centuries, because he knew that what he had done was wrong. He is an example of someone with a racist upbringing who is willing to go against others like him and help move America into a new era. If only everyone who was raised like he was could embrace these ideas and join in the furthering of American ideals.

Blog Assignment #10: What's the Deal with Reconstruction?

Reconstruction was the period of time after the Civil War where former slaves were finally able to fight for their rights as citizens. Unfortunately for them, a great many people from the South still believed that slavery shouldn't have been abolished, meaning that there were a lot of post-War laws that kept the former slaves down. There weren't a lot of aspects of the Reconstruction that went well for anyone but the South. After Abraham Lincoln was forced out of office by a bullet, Andrew Johnson took over and basically reversed what Lincoln had done in his term. Then, Ulysses S. Grant got into office and took a cavalier approach to the slow and steady recapture of the South by Confederates.

The Reconstruction is relevant today because of the number of African-Americans that are allowed to take part in politics. Without the Reconstruction (as corrupted as this country was at the time was), America would probably have stayed an incredibly segregated country. Now people of other races have all of the same rights as the racist whites who didn't want them to even be part of our country. We would definitely not have a black president if it weren't for the Reconstruction.

Having trouble finding a news article. Since this is already late I'll look when I'm done with the essay...