1. What did you gain from your experiences as an honors student in the first semester (please consider novels, leadership opportunities, writing, history, projects, etc.)?
Something I gained as an honors student this year was how to prioritize my time better. With all of the assignments we have to do I’ve learned how to get my work done to its best ability and as efficiently as possible.
2. Discuss what you might have done differently if you could do this past semester of honors over again.
If I could redo anything about this last semester I would have spent more time on projects. Certain things I felt I could have improved on more in some of my final essays for projects.
3. Discuss your goals for honors in the second semester.
My goals for next semester is too work harder on making sure that my final project meets my standards and expectations
4. If you could choose any specific parts of literature and.or history for our honors work next semester, what would you pick and why?
I would pick more broad history topics, I know that we must learn about American history but it seems that we really focused a lot on government and laws instead of more famous battles, art, literature, just basically time changing events. This is something I would like to do more of next semester.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Honors History Blog #3
If I were to choose one program from the New Deal to help us in our recession I would choose the Civilian Conservation Corps program. President Franklin D. Roosevelt created this program in 1933. Civilian Conservation Corps was a program that sent 250,000 young men to work camps to perform reforestation and conservation tasks. This program removed the men from cities, provided healthy conditions for boys, and overall provided money for families. When I read about this program it made me think about the hard times we are in now and how we could use this to benefit us. If I were to reuse this program I would change a few things but keep the overall purpose the same. I would focus on teaching young men and women, while giving them jobs, more about the environment and ways that we can make differences. Maybe even give them jobs where that’s all they do, help try and make the world a more eco- friendly place. This program would then give citizens more jobs and also be improving our world. It could really save our economy, many family’s lives, and the Earth. This is why I chose the Civilian Conservation Corps program.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Honors History Blog #2
Dear Mr. President Obama,
There are many pressures that come with your job, you learn how to handle these issues everyday, something I am sure I would never be able to do. The years that you are and will be now running our country in is a very difficult time, a recession. Not just anyone could do this, so I would please like to share my suggestions on how I would handle and help fix this "rut" our country is in.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt said "But while they prate of economic laws, men and women are starving. We must lay hold of the fact that economic laws are not made by nature. They are made by human beings." This proves to me that we as a country got to where we are now and only us, The United States of America, can fix our issue. We should not be depending on you alone to fix our problems but we should all as individual countries come up with one idea on how we can all help to stop this recession and restore our country back to the way it was.
I know this is more of an anti federalist approach on a solution, but I feel that if we all put in input we could get more done quicker and more efficiently. This has worked for many other things through out life, just like if you are in a classroom and everyone should come up with an idea you can have more input and help on making the final decision.
This would take more pressure off of you and also make the country feel as if they are apart of the outcome of important issues in our country. If would give you more respect and get more done efficiently.
I know that there are many other issues you are dealing with such as the war, gay marriage, health care, and much more but with the more respect you can get with this solution I feel you will have more help in completing these tasks as well.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Maira Vierheller
There are many pressures that come with your job, you learn how to handle these issues everyday, something I am sure I would never be able to do. The years that you are and will be now running our country in is a very difficult time, a recession. Not just anyone could do this, so I would please like to share my suggestions on how I would handle and help fix this "rut" our country is in.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt said "But while they prate of economic laws, men and women are starving. We must lay hold of the fact that economic laws are not made by nature. They are made by human beings." This proves to me that we as a country got to where we are now and only us, The United States of America, can fix our issue. We should not be depending on you alone to fix our problems but we should all as individual countries come up with one idea on how we can all help to stop this recession and restore our country back to the way it was.
I know this is more of an anti federalist approach on a solution, but I feel that if we all put in input we could get more done quicker and more efficiently. This has worked for many other things through out life, just like if you are in a classroom and everyone should come up with an idea you can have more input and help on making the final decision.
This would take more pressure off of you and also make the country feel as if they are apart of the outcome of important issues in our country. If would give you more respect and get more done efficiently.
I know that there are many other issues you are dealing with such as the war, gay marriage, health care, and much more but with the more respect you can get with this solution I feel you will have more help in completing these tasks as well.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Maira Vierheller
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Blog #20: Fed vs AntiFed Interview Response
Choose an issue from American History that we have discussed in class recently. Write a brief (one to three paragraph) history of the issue and the Federalist vs. Antifederalist issues involved. In this brief history, be sure to cite relevant sources and make specific, clear references to major historical events:
Something that stood out to me while we were discussing certain historical events that changed history, was when Abraham Lincoln assassinated and the switch it caused from a strong federalist run nation to an Antifederalist nation. This caught my attention because it made our government and nation seem weaker, it also proved to me how big of a difference is between these two factions.
When Lincoln was alive the nation ran under more of a federalist view. Lincoln had created a strong central government that had overcome the South’s more Antifederalist views. It seemed as though Lincoln was going to lead a big change in the nation and unify all of the states, until the night he was assassinated.
This change in government made the change from segregation to no segregation took way too long. Segregation finally ended on “April 10, 1968” when the “Civil Rights Bill banned discrimination in housing”. This took (1865- 1968) one hundred and three years too long, and just again proves how different federalism and antifederalism really are.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080406180625AA4S8hb
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/abrahamlincoln
Then....
Choose at least one person not in this class whose opinion you respect. Interview this person to seek their ideas and opinions about the issues inherent in the element of history you have chosen.
Me: What do you know about the switch from Federalism to Antifederalism after Lincoln was assassinated?
Bruce: That the government made a switch from two different presidents with different views, this switch ended up taking too long for us to fix many issues our nation was in.
Me: Which faction do you think was best for the government back in 1865 (Lincolns Death)?
Bruce: I think a more federalist president (like Lincoln) would have been better. It would have allowed the reconstruction of the south to go smoother, they wouldn’t have rebelled as much, and we would have got a lot more done.
Me: Which faction do you think would be suit our government now?
Bruce: I can see both sides and how they both could be good but I still would say federalism would be better. I have always thought that a strong central government will keep people in line, and it also depends on the president and congress that would be running the country.
Me: What do you think about how long it took for segregation to end? (Around 103 years)
Bruce: It was ridiculous, a shame, and horrific it should have never taken that long. And I still think that today there is lingering resentment to what happened back then.
Me: How do you think the government could have handled it better?
Bruce: I think they (all of the presidents through out the 103 years) should have addressed the issue head on and taken care of it immediately. They have made many mistakes just like this, I feel that America hasn’t been unified until the interstate was created. This allowed people to go and travel around the nation, this is an example of how our government has an issue of not addressing things head on and its been holding us back from progress as a nation.
Something that stood out to me while we were discussing certain historical events that changed history, was when Abraham Lincoln assassinated and the switch it caused from a strong federalist run nation to an Antifederalist nation. This caught my attention because it made our government and nation seem weaker, it also proved to me how big of a difference is between these two factions.
When Lincoln was alive the nation ran under more of a federalist view. Lincoln had created a strong central government that had overcome the South’s more Antifederalist views. It seemed as though Lincoln was going to lead a big change in the nation and unify all of the states, until the night he was assassinated.
This change in government made the change from segregation to no segregation took way too long. Segregation finally ended on “April 10, 1968” when the “Civil Rights Bill banned discrimination in housing”. This took (1865- 1968) one hundred and three years too long, and just again proves how different federalism and antifederalism really are.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080406180625AA4S8hb
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/abrahamlincoln
Then....
Choose at least one person not in this class whose opinion you respect. Interview this person to seek their ideas and opinions about the issues inherent in the element of history you have chosen.
Me: What do you know about the switch from Federalism to Antifederalism after Lincoln was assassinated?
Bruce: That the government made a switch from two different presidents with different views, this switch ended up taking too long for us to fix many issues our nation was in.
Me: Which faction do you think was best for the government back in 1865 (Lincolns Death)?
Bruce: I think a more federalist president (like Lincoln) would have been better. It would have allowed the reconstruction of the south to go smoother, they wouldn’t have rebelled as much, and we would have got a lot more done.
Me: Which faction do you think would be suit our government now?
Bruce: I can see both sides and how they both could be good but I still would say federalism would be better. I have always thought that a strong central government will keep people in line, and it also depends on the president and congress that would be running the country.
Me: What do you think about how long it took for segregation to end? (Around 103 years)
Bruce: It was ridiculous, a shame, and horrific it should have never taken that long. And I still think that today there is lingering resentment to what happened back then.
Me: How do you think the government could have handled it better?
Bruce: I think they (all of the presidents through out the 103 years) should have addressed the issue head on and taken care of it immediately. They have made many mistakes just like this, I feel that America hasn’t been unified until the interstate was created. This allowed people to go and travel around the nation, this is an example of how our government has an issue of not addressing things head on and its been holding us back from progress as a nation.
Honors History Blog #1
Medicaid is the most significant element of health care legislation in American history because of its positive effect on the less fortunate of society. Medicaid is a government run program that was created in 1965; its purpose is to “provide essential medical and medically related services to the most vulnerable populations in society”. This has led me to think that Medicaid is one of the most significant elements of health care legislation, in American history. Medicaid has helped many different individuals that are suffering and not able to pay for their own treatments. And although this program is very important and is helping millions of people the government, because of the recession America is in, is planning on making a “21 percent scheduled cut in Medicare payments.” This is affecting people everywhere and is causing them to worry that there may be the possibility of not getting their treatments or surgeries. Tiffany Tate is one of those people; Tate is a twenty seven year old who was born with cystic fibrosis. In April Tiffany had gotten a letter confirming that she would be getting a double lung transplant, she was ecstatic. ”Four months later she got a different letter. Tate reads from it, ‘You cannot get this service because state law eliminated this type of transplant.’ ” She was now scared because she knew that if she didn’t get this transplant she would die. But as it turns out “as of October, Arizona's version of Medicaid no longer pays for certain organ transplants for low income patients. They cost more than $200,000 and the state says too often they aren't successful. The cuts will save Arizona $1.4 million, one-tenth of one percent of its $825 million budget deficit.” Tiffany Tate is still trying to get her transplant. This is just one example of why Medicaid is one of the most significant elements of health care legislation in American history. If it were not available many people would lose their lives or go bankrupt from trying to pay the costs of their bills to fight for their lives. Medicaid has helped those people for forty five years and is one of the more respected and important government run programs, this is why I chose it as one of the most significant elements of health care legislation, and overall in American history.
Websites Used:
http://www.policyalmanac.org/health/medicaid.shtml
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2010/April/06/Medicaid-Expansion-And-Payment-Increase-Causes-Mixed-Feelings-For-MDs.aspx
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/12/07/eveningnews/main7127730.shtml?tag=mncol;lst;1
Websites Used:
http://www.policyalmanac.org/health/medicaid.shtml
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2010/April/06/Medicaid-Expansion-And-Payment-Increase-Causes-Mixed-Feelings-For-MDs.aspx
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/12/07/eveningnews/main7127730.shtml?tag=mncol;lst;1
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Role in Trial
What are your character's main goals for the Senate Health Care Hearings?
My character is a lobbyist for the pharmaceutical companies so won’t have a role really in the Senate Health Care hearings, but what I will have a big role in will be before the trail even starts. My main goals will be to convince and talk to different senators to try and get my companies goals into the bills.
What do you want to accomplish?
Specifically my goals are anyway to set and name the prices on the pharmaceutical drugs, make the patents longer on brand name drugs, money for research, tax break for shipping, and to have health care available to more people.
How do you plan to accomplish it?
By talking to and negotiating with different senators, I will also try to talking to different people from both sides of the trial.
Who are you working with to get this done?
Well I am mainly working with Jeff who is the CEO of the Pharmaceutical Companies. But there will also be different senators that I am just going to have a quick discussion about my goals with.
My character is a lobbyist for the pharmaceutical companies so won’t have a role really in the Senate Health Care hearings, but what I will have a big role in will be before the trail even starts. My main goals will be to convince and talk to different senators to try and get my companies goals into the bills.
What do you want to accomplish?
Specifically my goals are anyway to set and name the prices on the pharmaceutical drugs, make the patents longer on brand name drugs, money for research, tax break for shipping, and to have health care available to more people.
How do you plan to accomplish it?
By talking to and negotiating with different senators, I will also try to talking to different people from both sides of the trial.
Who are you working with to get this done?
Well I am mainly working with Jeff who is the CEO of the Pharmaceutical Companies. But there will also be different senators that I am just going to have a quick discussion about my goals with.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
More Opposing Viewpoints Response
Well both of these articles have strong points that kept me bouncing back and forth between which viewpoint I believed in. Some strong points that the health care is to expensive side brought up were how even now we are paying and tremendous amount of money for health care now so how would Obama’s health care bill that is adding millions more not raise up those prices. Something else was how the authors mentioned that if this bill passes then think of all the doctors and nurses who went to that schooling for years only to be paid less and have their hospitals overflowing with patients. The hospitals would be way to crowded because people would go to the doctors more frequently if they had health care to cover their payments.
While some points made by the other authors really changed my mind and they did that by making me think morally. One of the main points having to do with the morally correct thing to do, if you don’t think about the money aspect of this business you know that everyone should have the right to their health and have a chance to do everything possible to live. Some thing else that really changed my mind was the statistics shown in this article, they proved that the United States is paying way too much on our health care. I also liked how they compared it to other countries, this showed me that a working and fully functional health care system in other countries can work and be less expensive.
Both of these relate to my subject because I’m going to be writing about one little girl and her challenges facing Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. Something that struck me when I was researching this subject is how families are able to pay for the medication, physical therapy, etc. All of these things cost a great amount of money and could easily put a family in debt, that’s where these subjects come into play. Both of these subjects could and would change the way that family could function, get treatments and make their payments.
Well overall I personally believe that we should find a medium, health care should be more easily available and our government should take control of the insurance companies. This will help make the payments lower and allow more people to purchase health care. But this will also allow the doctors to not be too underpaid and it won’t raise the taxes too much as well.
While some points made by the other authors really changed my mind and they did that by making me think morally. One of the main points having to do with the morally correct thing to do, if you don’t think about the money aspect of this business you know that everyone should have the right to their health and have a chance to do everything possible to live. Some thing else that really changed my mind was the statistics shown in this article, they proved that the United States is paying way too much on our health care. I also liked how they compared it to other countries, this showed me that a working and fully functional health care system in other countries can work and be less expensive.
Both of these relate to my subject because I’m going to be writing about one little girl and her challenges facing Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. Something that struck me when I was researching this subject is how families are able to pay for the medication, physical therapy, etc. All of these things cost a great amount of money and could easily put a family in debt, that’s where these subjects come into play. Both of these subjects could and would change the way that family could function, get treatments and make their payments.
Well overall I personally believe that we should find a medium, health care should be more easily available and our government should take control of the insurance companies. This will help make the payments lower and allow more people to purchase health care. But this will also allow the doctors to not be too underpaid and it won’t raise the taxes too much as well.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Opposing viewpoints & your topic for Life: The Book Reflection
When I was reading these articles I found myself swaying back and forth between both of the viewpoints on how we should handle our heath care. Both of these arguments were strongly supported to me and made different points that would stand out to me and change my opinion.
Some reasons of why I would support that health care should be a fundamental right would be the fact that it morally correct and how all citizens of the United States have equal rights to certain things why not our health, and the insurance on it. One kind of extreme point that did cover the morally correct statement was the last two paragraphs of Bryan Young’s “ A Good Case for Universal Health Care” article. He covered the Bible and the Sermon on the Mount, this was mainly about how Jesus viewed what was fair and moral or not. While I was reading this article this specifically reminded me of how I would want to be treated in this situation and how horrible it would be if your didn’t have the option of health care or couldn’t pay for it.
Some quotes that really stood out to me from each article were:
A Good case for Universal..: “The total cost of this ordeal if I end up having to pay for it out of my own pocket? In excess of $25,000. But did I have a choice? No.”
Health Care is a Right…: a recent study found that medical problems contributed to 62 percent of all bankruptcies in 2007.”
Health Care as a Human Right: “The for-profit health care system in the United States severely restricts our freedom in a number of subtle and not so subtle ways. Instead of freedom there is fear.”
Some reasons why I wouldn’t support health care as a fundamental right would how its going to affect everyone’s salary afterwards and how a healthy human being could be paying for this and for someone else getting treatment. This could be good but seriously affect people’s income. Another thing would be that the doctors wouldn’t have a right to turn any patients and this will overflow the hospital and the doctors, nurses and staff. Someone who explains exactly what I was thinking was Jacob Hornberger “If you’re a doctor, then it means that you are required to serve my needs, like it or not. If I need an operation, then you cannot say “no” because that would be denying me my right to health care.” This surprised me and started to sway my opinion again.
Quotes Used:
There Isn’t a Such Thing As a Free Lumpectomy: “acknowledges, finally, that health care is a fundamental right—a human right—and not just a privilege for the most fortunate.
”Health Care is not a Right: Whereas genuine rights protect citizens from state coercion, the “right to health care” serves to justify state coercion against a particular part of the population: those who pay taxes.
I personally think that health care should be available to all especially because of the subject I chose, child arthritis. These stories and seeing what the children are going through really changed and kind of set my mind on how everyone should have that right. For example if your child who’s five years old gets hurt and you don’t have a job to help pay for any expenses, you are screwed and could be forced to file bankruptcy, and will have huge credit care payments. So this is why I chose this side of the argument.
Some reasons of why I would support that health care should be a fundamental right would be the fact that it morally correct and how all citizens of the United States have equal rights to certain things why not our health, and the insurance on it. One kind of extreme point that did cover the morally correct statement was the last two paragraphs of Bryan Young’s “ A Good Case for Universal Health Care” article. He covered the Bible and the Sermon on the Mount, this was mainly about how Jesus viewed what was fair and moral or not. While I was reading this article this specifically reminded me of how I would want to be treated in this situation and how horrible it would be if your didn’t have the option of health care or couldn’t pay for it.
Some quotes that really stood out to me from each article were:
A Good case for Universal..: “The total cost of this ordeal if I end up having to pay for it out of my own pocket? In excess of $25,000. But did I have a choice? No.”
Health Care is a Right…: a recent study found that medical problems contributed to 62 percent of all bankruptcies in 2007.”
Health Care as a Human Right: “The for-profit health care system in the United States severely restricts our freedom in a number of subtle and not so subtle ways. Instead of freedom there is fear.”
Some reasons why I wouldn’t support health care as a fundamental right would how its going to affect everyone’s salary afterwards and how a healthy human being could be paying for this and for someone else getting treatment. This could be good but seriously affect people’s income. Another thing would be that the doctors wouldn’t have a right to turn any patients and this will overflow the hospital and the doctors, nurses and staff. Someone who explains exactly what I was thinking was Jacob Hornberger “If you’re a doctor, then it means that you are required to serve my needs, like it or not. If I need an operation, then you cannot say “no” because that would be denying me my right to health care.” This surprised me and started to sway my opinion again.
Quotes Used:
There Isn’t a Such Thing As a Free Lumpectomy: “acknowledges, finally, that health care is a fundamental right—a human right—and not just a privilege for the most fortunate.
”Health Care is not a Right: Whereas genuine rights protect citizens from state coercion, the “right to health care” serves to justify state coercion against a particular part of the population: those who pay taxes.
I personally think that health care should be available to all especially because of the subject I chose, child arthritis. These stories and seeing what the children are going through really changed and kind of set my mind on how everyone should have that right. For example if your child who’s five years old gets hurt and you don’t have a job to help pay for any expenses, you are screwed and could be forced to file bankruptcy, and will have huge credit care payments. So this is why I chose this side of the argument.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Opposing View Responce
Opposing viewpoints & your topic for Life: The Book Reflection
When I was reading these articles I found myself swaying back and forth between both of the viewpoints on how we should handle our heath care. Both of these arguments were strongly supported to me and made different points that would stand out to me and change my opinion.
Some reasons of why I would support that health care should be a fundamental right would be the fact that it morally correct and how all citizens of the United States have equal rights to certain things why not our health, and the insurance on it. One kind of extreme point that did cover the morally correct statement was the last two paragraphs of Bryan Young’s “ A Good Case for Universal Health Care” article. He covered the Bible and the Sermon on the Mount, this was mainly about how Jesus viewed what was fair and moral or not. While I was reading this article this specifically reminded me of how I would want to be treated in this situation and how horrible it would be if your didn’t have the option of health care or couldn’t pay for it.
Some quotes that really stood out to me from each article were:
A Good case for Universal..: “The total cost of this ordeal if I end up having to pay for it out of my own pocket? In excess of $25,000. But did I have a choice? No.”
Health Care is a Right…: a recent study found that medical problems contributed to 62 percent of all bankruptcies in 2007.”
Health Care as a Human Right: “The for-profit health care system in the United States severely restricts our freedom in a number of subtle and not so subtle ways. Instead of freedom there is fear.”
Some reasons why I wouldn’t support health care as a fundamental right would how its going to affect everyone’s salary afterwards and how a healthy human being could be paying for this and for someone else getting treatment. This could be good but seriously affect people’s income. Another thing would be that the doctors wouldn’t have a right to turn any patients and this will overflow the hospital and the doctors, nurses and staff. Someone who explains exactly what I was thinking was Jacob Hornberger “If you’re a doctor, then it means that you are required to serve my needs, like it or not. If I need an operation, then you cannot say “no” because that would be denying me my right to health care.” This surprised me and started to sway my opinion again.
Quotes Used:
There Isn’t a Such Thing As a Free Lumpectomy: “acknowledges, finally, that health care is a fundamental right—a human right—and not just a privilege for the most fortunate.
”Health Care is not a Right: Whereas genuine rights protect citizens from state coercion, the “right to health care” serves to justify state coercion against a particular part of the population: those who pay taxes.
I personally think that health care should be available to all especially because of the subject I chose, child arthritis. These stories and seeing what the children are going through really changed and kind of set my mind on how everyone should have that right. For example if your child who’s five years old gets hurt and you don’t have a job to help pay for any expenses, you are screwed and could be forced to file bankruptcy, and will have huge credit care payments. So this is why I chose this side of the argument.
When I was reading these articles I found myself swaying back and forth between both of the viewpoints on how we should handle our heath care. Both of these arguments were strongly supported to me and made different points that would stand out to me and change my opinion.
Some reasons of why I would support that health care should be a fundamental right would be the fact that it morally correct and how all citizens of the United States have equal rights to certain things why not our health, and the insurance on it. One kind of extreme point that did cover the morally correct statement was the last two paragraphs of Bryan Young’s “ A Good Case for Universal Health Care” article. He covered the Bible and the Sermon on the Mount, this was mainly about how Jesus viewed what was fair and moral or not. While I was reading this article this specifically reminded me of how I would want to be treated in this situation and how horrible it would be if your didn’t have the option of health care or couldn’t pay for it.
Some quotes that really stood out to me from each article were:
A Good case for Universal..: “The total cost of this ordeal if I end up having to pay for it out of my own pocket? In excess of $25,000. But did I have a choice? No.”
Health Care is a Right…: a recent study found that medical problems contributed to 62 percent of all bankruptcies in 2007.”
Health Care as a Human Right: “The for-profit health care system in the United States severely restricts our freedom in a number of subtle and not so subtle ways. Instead of freedom there is fear.”
Some reasons why I wouldn’t support health care as a fundamental right would how its going to affect everyone’s salary afterwards and how a healthy human being could be paying for this and for someone else getting treatment. This could be good but seriously affect people’s income. Another thing would be that the doctors wouldn’t have a right to turn any patients and this will overflow the hospital and the doctors, nurses and staff. Someone who explains exactly what I was thinking was Jacob Hornberger “If you’re a doctor, then it means that you are required to serve my needs, like it or not. If I need an operation, then you cannot say “no” because that would be denying me my right to health care.” This surprised me and started to sway my opinion again.
Quotes Used:
There Isn’t a Such Thing As a Free Lumpectomy: “acknowledges, finally, that health care is a fundamental right—a human right—and not just a privilege for the most fortunate.
”Health Care is not a Right: Whereas genuine rights protect citizens from state coercion, the “right to health care” serves to justify state coercion against a particular part of the population: those who pay taxes.
I personally think that health care should be available to all especially because of the subject I chose, child arthritis. These stories and seeing what the children are going through really changed and kind of set my mind on how everyone should have that right. For example if your child who’s five years old gets hurt and you don’t have a job to help pay for any expenses, you are screwed and could be forced to file bankruptcy, and will have huge credit care payments. So this is why I chose this side of the argument.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Life: The Book & American History Response
1. Describe a basic history of American government's role in health care. Be sure to include major ideas such as Medicare, Social Security, the Civil Rights Act, and 21st century health care laws passed under George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
In the early 1900’s many people didn’t own any form of health insurance but by 1958, nearly 75 percent of Americans had some form of private health insurance coverage. Once companies started realizing they could make money off of the insurance they were selling they started to get greedy. Then the AMA (American Medical Association) tried to pass a bill called the Murray-Wagner-Dingell (MWD) bill in 1949. This bill would have provided comprehensive nationalized health insurance to all Americans. The big insurance companies made sure to have this bill not passed. Then they realized that the only way to enact government-sponsored health insurance would be to do so incrementally so they began focusing on the elderly and they created something called Medicare. Focusing on the elderly allowed supporters of this to counter charges that nationalized health insurance would provide health care to individuals who were generally able to pay for it themselves. It was difficult for opponents to argue that the elderly were not among the most medically needy in society, given their fixed incomes and the fact that they were generally in poorer health and in greater need of medical care. This allowed Medicare to become part of the insurance system. The way that Social Security affects people is that it creates a set of rules that all medical personals must follow and can use upon you. It states that any health care practitioner and any other person, including a hospital or other health care facility, organization, or agency who provides health care services will be provided economically and only when, and to the extent, medically necessary; will be of a quality which meets professionally recognized standards of health care; and will be supported by evidence of medical necessity and quality in such form and fashion and at such time as may reasonably be required by a reviewing peer review organization in the exercise of its duties and responsibilities. These laws affect the way that hospitals and any medical care must treat a patient and how they can treat you. And the way that the Civil Right affects us is how we again by law must be treated as patients and the limit that the companies are allowed to treat us too. For one example a bill was signed in 1945, which authorized Federal agencies to provide minor medical and dental services to employees. This has changed and helped many people but the way that the companies still make money off of us is by taking that payment out of your paycheck. And finally the way that Bush and Obama have both changed the health care plans and how they have affected us. One example of how Bush has affect the Health care system has been how the Republican plan would repeal the health-care law passed this year and replaces it with longstanding Republican priorities. Such as controlling medical-malpractice costs, expanding health-savings accounts and allowing people to buy insurance policies across state lines. It would provide health coverage to those Americans who are most costly to insure by expanding high-risk pools and reinsurance programs. While Obama has changed it by signing the Health Care reform act which has changed the entire way the health care system works. For example The Affordable Care act gives Americans new rights and benefits, including helping more children get health coverage, ending lifetime and most annual limits on care, and giving patients access to recommend preventive services without cost-sharing. Overall all of these things affect us and the way that our government, and health care system affects our everyday lives.
2. Describe a basic history of American government's role in scientific innovation.
America’s scientific innovation has really helped us over the years. How the government funds our scientists allows our amazing scientific fields to excel and make more and other scientists want to come to America and join our group of scientists. One main example is how the scientists helped us win World War two, Einstein came to America from Germany warning us about nuclear power and thus creating the Manhattan Project. Our government helped fund this project that has changed the world today, as we know it. Over time this has showed many times and times again that our strong scientific field of research has changed the world.
3. Describe how Americans pay for health care and the government's role in this process.
There are many different ways that people can pay for health care; one main way is through your job. In many companies if a person works full time there the company pays for the persons health insurance. This will help finance many people but the bad thing is that many employers will cut back peoples hours to make them not full time employees and thus not be forced to play for their insurance. The other way that people pay for it is out of their pocket, this will offer lead to bankruptcy and force many on the streets. Then one more way to pay for insurance is through the military, the military get almost free insurance and health coverage for them and their families. So overall your health care usually depends on your job and how the government rewards it.
4. Describe the types of health care problems Americans face, and the government's role in seeking solutions.
One main problem that America faces is the amount of people that can’t pay for insurance. America has the largest amount of citizens living in it with no health insurance in the world. One way that the government is trying to fix this is by the Affordable Care act which gives Americans new rights and benefits, including helping more children get health coverage, ending lifetime and most annual limits on care, and giving patients access to recommend preventive services without cost-sharing. This is one new law that Obama is using to try and help fix our corrupt Health Care system.
1. Using a specific example, describe what makes a compelling character in narrative nonfiction or literary journalism.
A compelling character to me is someone that has a firm goal or belief that you can relate to and that doesn’t give up to get his or her point across or heard. An example of a character to me that did this was Francis Collins, he didn’t let what people thought of him stop him from getting to his dream. This helped him become the leader of the NIH and change the way grants are given to people among other things. Another thing I found that was compelling to me was if the character goes through something traumatic and you can see how it affects them and how they are reacting to it now. An example of this would be the little six year old girl that has arthritis and how she is dealing with the disease.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqyB-cTxvs8&feature=channel
2. Using a specific example, describe what makes an interesting plot in narrative nonfiction or literary journalism.
A specific example of an interesting plot to me was how in the article Darwin’s Surprise it starts off with a conflict and what it is, then it takes you along the journey of many different interesting scientists and their view on the issue. This helped keep your focus and ideas jumping around, it also helped me think of the opposing side and view on it and had me asking many questions.
3. What specific steps do authors take to write non-jargon-based scientific writing?
Well some things I found that helped me understand what was going on during The Covenant was how they had the original names and then provided an example of it after wards. This helped me see what it was in affect and it helped me visualize it, which helped me understand the story overall.
4. What specific steps do authors take to encourage their readers to connect with their stories?
Well some steps I found that helped me connect were where the authors helped develop the character and what they were like before something happened to them. An example would be Francis Collins from The Covenant, the author made sure to explain his home life and how he was a practicing Christian growing up on a farm. When they did this it helped me realize who this man was and what he truly was like and not just his appearance and the judgment of him from others.
In the early 1900’s many people didn’t own any form of health insurance but by 1958, nearly 75 percent of Americans had some form of private health insurance coverage. Once companies started realizing they could make money off of the insurance they were selling they started to get greedy. Then the AMA (American Medical Association) tried to pass a bill called the Murray-Wagner-Dingell (MWD) bill in 1949. This bill would have provided comprehensive nationalized health insurance to all Americans. The big insurance companies made sure to have this bill not passed. Then they realized that the only way to enact government-sponsored health insurance would be to do so incrementally so they began focusing on the elderly and they created something called Medicare. Focusing on the elderly allowed supporters of this to counter charges that nationalized health insurance would provide health care to individuals who were generally able to pay for it themselves. It was difficult for opponents to argue that the elderly were not among the most medically needy in society, given their fixed incomes and the fact that they were generally in poorer health and in greater need of medical care. This allowed Medicare to become part of the insurance system. The way that Social Security affects people is that it creates a set of rules that all medical personals must follow and can use upon you. It states that any health care practitioner and any other person, including a hospital or other health care facility, organization, or agency who provides health care services will be provided economically and only when, and to the extent, medically necessary; will be of a quality which meets professionally recognized standards of health care; and will be supported by evidence of medical necessity and quality in such form and fashion and at such time as may reasonably be required by a reviewing peer review organization in the exercise of its duties and responsibilities. These laws affect the way that hospitals and any medical care must treat a patient and how they can treat you. And the way that the Civil Right affects us is how we again by law must be treated as patients and the limit that the companies are allowed to treat us too. For one example a bill was signed in 1945, which authorized Federal agencies to provide minor medical and dental services to employees. This has changed and helped many people but the way that the companies still make money off of us is by taking that payment out of your paycheck. And finally the way that Bush and Obama have both changed the health care plans and how they have affected us. One example of how Bush has affect the Health care system has been how the Republican plan would repeal the health-care law passed this year and replaces it with longstanding Republican priorities. Such as controlling medical-malpractice costs, expanding health-savings accounts and allowing people to buy insurance policies across state lines. It would provide health coverage to those Americans who are most costly to insure by expanding high-risk pools and reinsurance programs. While Obama has changed it by signing the Health Care reform act which has changed the entire way the health care system works. For example The Affordable Care act gives Americans new rights and benefits, including helping more children get health coverage, ending lifetime and most annual limits on care, and giving patients access to recommend preventive services without cost-sharing. Overall all of these things affect us and the way that our government, and health care system affects our everyday lives.
2. Describe a basic history of American government's role in scientific innovation.
America’s scientific innovation has really helped us over the years. How the government funds our scientists allows our amazing scientific fields to excel and make more and other scientists want to come to America and join our group of scientists. One main example is how the scientists helped us win World War two, Einstein came to America from Germany warning us about nuclear power and thus creating the Manhattan Project. Our government helped fund this project that has changed the world today, as we know it. Over time this has showed many times and times again that our strong scientific field of research has changed the world.
3. Describe how Americans pay for health care and the government's role in this process.
There are many different ways that people can pay for health care; one main way is through your job. In many companies if a person works full time there the company pays for the persons health insurance. This will help finance many people but the bad thing is that many employers will cut back peoples hours to make them not full time employees and thus not be forced to play for their insurance. The other way that people pay for it is out of their pocket, this will offer lead to bankruptcy and force many on the streets. Then one more way to pay for insurance is through the military, the military get almost free insurance and health coverage for them and their families. So overall your health care usually depends on your job and how the government rewards it.
4. Describe the types of health care problems Americans face, and the government's role in seeking solutions.
One main problem that America faces is the amount of people that can’t pay for insurance. America has the largest amount of citizens living in it with no health insurance in the world. One way that the government is trying to fix this is by the Affordable Care act which gives Americans new rights and benefits, including helping more children get health coverage, ending lifetime and most annual limits on care, and giving patients access to recommend preventive services without cost-sharing. This is one new law that Obama is using to try and help fix our corrupt Health Care system.
1. Using a specific example, describe what makes a compelling character in narrative nonfiction or literary journalism.
A compelling character to me is someone that has a firm goal or belief that you can relate to and that doesn’t give up to get his or her point across or heard. An example of a character to me that did this was Francis Collins, he didn’t let what people thought of him stop him from getting to his dream. This helped him become the leader of the NIH and change the way grants are given to people among other things. Another thing I found that was compelling to me was if the character goes through something traumatic and you can see how it affects them and how they are reacting to it now. An example of this would be the little six year old girl that has arthritis and how she is dealing with the disease.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqyB-cTxvs8&feature=channel
2. Using a specific example, describe what makes an interesting plot in narrative nonfiction or literary journalism.
A specific example of an interesting plot to me was how in the article Darwin’s Surprise it starts off with a conflict and what it is, then it takes you along the journey of many different interesting scientists and their view on the issue. This helped keep your focus and ideas jumping around, it also helped me think of the opposing side and view on it and had me asking many questions.
3. What specific steps do authors take to write non-jargon-based scientific writing?
Well some things I found that helped me understand what was going on during The Covenant was how they had the original names and then provided an example of it after wards. This helped me see what it was in affect and it helped me visualize it, which helped me understand the story overall.
4. What specific steps do authors take to encourage their readers to connect with their stories?
Well some steps I found that helped me connect were where the authors helped develop the character and what they were like before something happened to them. An example would be Francis Collins from The Covenant, the author made sure to explain his home life and how he was a practicing Christian growing up on a farm. When they did this it helped me realize who this man was and what he truly was like and not just his appearance and the judgment of him from others.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
The Book and Humanities Review
1. Post the stage of life that you will write about and a relevant element of genetic technology that interests you. Feel free to work with Brandon to understand this step.
I was planning on studying Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis in
teenage Years. I would more specifically study the vaccine or anti
inflammatory used to help treat arthritis. Such as these,
Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) are used to
reduce pain, joint swelling and fevers. They come as pills and
liquids. Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs (DMARDs) can
prevent long-term joint damage. They can also relieve pain and
reduce inflammation. They come as pills, liquid and injections and
can take a while to work. Corticosteroids are used to ease symptoms
fast, like when you are having a flare or when you are waiting for
your DMARDs to take full effect. They come as pills, liquid and
injections.
Something else I could focus on can be how the vaccine works once it is inside of the body and how it worked to help reduce the pain.
2. Describe at least one relevant government agency that works in this area. Describe the current news related to your topic & this government agency and embed a minimum of one news story (print, tv, audio, etc.) in your description. (At the bottom of the page)
There were a couple programs involved, one of them is NIAMS and another could be the government health care plan or just the branch in general.
Something else I could research more can be what happened to cause this in that percentage of people and/ or how many teenagers deal with this on a day-to-day bases.
3. Describe at least one relevant historical, cultural, economic, geographical, or literary example or concept that relates to your ideas for your article. Include at least two relevant links to evidence and further research in your writing. Strive for detail & evidence in your connections.
Something that is a conflict could be being a part of how arthritis is usually found in adults to older people so the fact the there is an actual disease and how does the family copes with living with a teenager who has arthritis.
Something else that I could research can be how much do all of these procedures cost and how does it affects different families.
4. Please repeat all of the above steps... This time, focus on a different aspect of genetic technology and/or different humanities content.
I put them up under the previous questions.
Videos To Watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae4ZdRfZR3I&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6291vNPHsY&feature=channel
The Websites I used:
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/children/parents/special/bone/925.membersite.html?video=5523f1608-1f29-2856-349a
http://www.arthritistoday.org/kgat/teens/index.php
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/juvenile_rheumatoid_arthritis/page2_em.htm T
I was planning on studying Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis in
teenage Years. I would more specifically study the vaccine or anti
inflammatory used to help treat arthritis. Such as these,
Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) are used to
reduce pain, joint swelling and fevers. They come as pills and
liquids. Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs (DMARDs) can
prevent long-term joint damage. They can also relieve pain and
reduce inflammation. They come as pills, liquid and injections and
can take a while to work. Corticosteroids are used to ease symptoms
fast, like when you are having a flare or when you are waiting for
your DMARDs to take full effect. They come as pills, liquid and
injections.
Something else I could focus on can be how the vaccine works once it is inside of the body and how it worked to help reduce the pain.
2. Describe at least one relevant government agency that works in this area. Describe the current news related to your topic & this government agency and embed a minimum of one news story (print, tv, audio, etc.) in your description. (At the bottom of the page)
There were a couple programs involved, one of them is NIAMS and another could be the government health care plan or just the branch in general.
Something else I could research more can be what happened to cause this in that percentage of people and/ or how many teenagers deal with this on a day-to-day bases.
3. Describe at least one relevant historical, cultural, economic, geographical, or literary example or concept that relates to your ideas for your article. Include at least two relevant links to evidence and further research in your writing. Strive for detail & evidence in your connections.
Something that is a conflict could be being a part of how arthritis is usually found in adults to older people so the fact the there is an actual disease and how does the family copes with living with a teenager who has arthritis.
Something else that I could research can be how much do all of these procedures cost and how does it affects different families.
4. Please repeat all of the above steps... This time, focus on a different aspect of genetic technology and/or different humanities content.
I put them up under the previous questions.
Videos To Watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae4ZdRfZR3I&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6291vNPHsY&feature=channel
The Websites I used:
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/children/parents/special/bone/925.membersite.html?video=5523f1608-1f29-2856-349a
http://www.arthritistoday.org/kgat/teens/index.php
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/juvenile_rheumatoid_arthritis/page2_em.htm T
Thursday, October 14, 2010
The first thing I chose was Breast cancer, The article I found explains in depth many different treatments and ways to try and help get rid of breast cancer.
1.)
3.) The science component could be: The different treatments and how they are either made or how they affect the body. There are many different types of treatments listed on this website such as radiology, hormone therapy, chemotherapy, etc. Each one has a different and specific way it affects the cells and how the cells react to it.
4.) The humanities component could be: How does these treatments affect the families and the person with breast cancer and how they can be frustrating since there is no cure yet. Breast cancer is found everywhere in the world and has more recently moved up on the list of diseases that people want to make a difference within.
Stage of Life: Teenage- Old age
2.)
Website:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/breast-cancer/DS00328/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs
The Second disease I picked was Parkinson's Disease, The article I found different way that scientists are now trying to help stop this disease.
1.)
3.) The science component could be: How the scientists believe that a way they can help treat this disease is by decreasing the dopamine levels in the brain.
4.) The humanities component could be: How this affects the family tree and travels down the family line, how this affects the families that deal with this and are trying to find a cure.
Stage Of Life: Old age
2.)
Website:
http://www.webmd.com/parkinsons-disease/drug-treatments
The third thing I chose was arthritis, The website I found explains how certain things can help make arthritis more bearable, they are still trying to find a cure.
1.)
3.) The science component could be: How you can get arthritis and how you can help make the pain less and the research there doing, for example they are trying many things with different drugs and heat therapy.
4.) The humanities component could be: How arthritis affects many people all around the world, how many got their arthritis and how they deal with the pain could be some things I could cover.
Stage Of Life: Rarely Teenagers but can happen- Old age
2.)
Website:
http://www.healthscout.com/ency/68/99/main.html
1.)
3.) The science component could be: The different treatments and how they are either made or how they affect the body. There are many different types of treatments listed on this website such as radiology, hormone therapy, chemotherapy, etc. Each one has a different and specific way it affects the cells and how the cells react to it.
4.) The humanities component could be: How does these treatments affect the families and the person with breast cancer and how they can be frustrating since there is no cure yet. Breast cancer is found everywhere in the world and has more recently moved up on the list of diseases that people want to make a difference within.
Stage of Life: Teenage- Old age
2.)
Website:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/breast-cancer/DS00328/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs
The Second disease I picked was Parkinson's Disease, The article I found different way that scientists are now trying to help stop this disease.
1.)
3.) The science component could be: How the scientists believe that a way they can help treat this disease is by decreasing the dopamine levels in the brain.
4.) The humanities component could be: How this affects the family tree and travels down the family line, how this affects the families that deal with this and are trying to find a cure.
Stage Of Life: Old age
2.)
Website:
http://www.webmd.com/parkinsons-disease/drug-treatments
The third thing I chose was arthritis, The website I found explains how certain things can help make arthritis more bearable, they are still trying to find a cure.
1.)
3.) The science component could be: How you can get arthritis and how you can help make the pain less and the research there doing, for example they are trying many things with different drugs and heat therapy.
4.) The humanities component could be: How arthritis affects many people all around the world, how many got their arthritis and how they deal with the pain could be some things I could cover.
Stage Of Life: Rarely Teenagers but can happen- Old age
2.)
Website:
http://www.healthscout.com/ency/68/99/main.html
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Twitter Response
Link to Webpage:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/08/opinion/08brooks.html?_r=1&src=tptw
I chose to read the article The Facebook Searchers, this article was interesting to me because I liked the way that the writer David Brooks compared Facebook to Harvard and how he gave many different examples to explain his point. This helped me understand the point of what Brooks was trying to get across, how social networking has changed schools in the 21st century. I found it funny how he compared the social structure to those of "Animal House" and "Revenge of the Nerds" movies. I also liked how Brooks thought that since now they have changed the WASP exception rule that the school will simply be filled with just brainiacs, so now the colleges are also looking for people with many social skills, like those used on Facebook.
Link to Webpage:
http://www.slate.com/id/2269308/
This article was written by Nathan Heller, and he covers points about the movie The Social Network, which was mentioned in the first article and how the social networking site has changed the 21st century and affected many schools, the same point that Brooks was trying to get across.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/08/opinion/08brooks.html?_r=1&src=tptw
I chose to read the article The Facebook Searchers, this article was interesting to me because I liked the way that the writer David Brooks compared Facebook to Harvard and how he gave many different examples to explain his point. This helped me understand the point of what Brooks was trying to get across, how social networking has changed schools in the 21st century. I found it funny how he compared the social structure to those of "Animal House" and "Revenge of the Nerds" movies. I also liked how Brooks thought that since now they have changed the WASP exception rule that the school will simply be filled with just brainiacs, so now the colleges are also looking for people with many social skills, like those used on Facebook.
Link to Webpage:
http://www.slate.com/id/2269308/
This article was written by Nathan Heller, and he covers points about the movie The Social Network, which was mentioned in the first article and how the social networking site has changed the 21st century and affected many schools, the same point that Brooks was trying to get across.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Dying For Dixie Response
What was/were the root cause(s) of Michael Westerman's death?
In a small racist town deep in the south there was a shooting. Michael Westerman was shot and killed by a small group of African American boys on January 14th 1995. The cause of Michael Westerman’s death was misunderstanding and incompetence from Michael Waterman, Freddie Morrow, Waterman’s wife, and the whole town.
There was a lot of pure pressure in Guthrie, Kentucky and a lot of racial tension which I feel helped contribute and lead to this incident. In the article Freddie Morrow, the one who shot Westerman, didn’t even know about the civil war and what the Confederate flag stood for, he just knew that all of the African Americans in town didn’t like it so neither did he. Morrow had even said that he thought the flag was “…just the Dukes of Hazzard sign” and that he thought white people were using the flag in a taunting way and “just doing it out of spite, to see what we would do.” This to me is sad that Morrow didn’t even understand the full meaning of why he shot Westerman and he just did it because he had a gun and was pressured into it.
Another character who supports my claim of incompetence and pure pressure would be Michael Westerman’s wife Hannah Westerman. She and Michael had been high school sweethearts and got married several years later. They then had two twins together on December 9, 1994; the night of the shooting was the first time they had gone out together after the twin’s birth. But Hannah also contributed to her husband’s death in more ways than one. When Tony Horowitz, author of Dying for Dixie, asked Hannah the reason her husband had displayed the flag in the back of his truck she said that “He wasn’t into all the Confederate history and that he didn’t, like dig into it.” “Was it school spirit” Horowitz asked and she smiled and said “Michael was glad just to graduate from the place. A few of Michael’s friends had started flying the flag from their pickups about the time he bought his truck. He decided to do the same. He’d do anything to make his truck look sharp. The truck’s red. The flag’s red. They match.” I feel that Mrs. Westerman did or should have known the general meaning behind the flag but the fact that she let her husband still put it in his pickup truck and be pressured into that category of people, she in a way contributed to her husband’s death.
My final character that I feel represents my claim is Michael Westerman. This man had been a racist person who always wanted to be noticed and voice his opinions. An example of this is when Michael was at his job, he worked at a small hotel restaurant, and he started harassing one the waitresses “…she screamed “put me down!” and struggled to get free, but Michael wouldn’t let her go. When a black cook intervened, Michael shouted “nigger” and other slurs.” Then the waitress later said “He’d do a few dishes, then sit reading comic books and annoying anyone who walked by. He took things to extremes.” This proves to me that Michael just wanted a lot of attention and later when he decided to put the flag on his truck, he was jut pressured into it by his friends. When he gave into and agreed to put the flag on his truck it led to his misunderstanding of what it truly stands for and it led to his death.
Overall I feel that the combination of incompetence and the misunderstandings led to Michael Westerman’s death and a change of the town. This all could have been avoided if everyone had known what the flag stands for and what it represents. Another way it could have been avoided is if everyone hadn’t given into the pure pressure, if Morrow hadn’t given in to his label and pulled out that gun and if Hannah hadn’t allowed her husband to put the flag up Michael would still be alive. If Michael wouldn’t have done what all his friends were doing he would still be alive today. I believe the cause of Michael Westerman’s death was a misunderstanding and incompetence from Michael Waterman, Freddie Morrow, Waterman’s wife, and the whole town.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
The Civil War... Today? Response
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNu-WZdHzaA&p=A9A0505376CBCE35&playnext=1&index=16
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIVgMvuCM_k&feature=related
I chose these two clips in my video to demonstrate modern day racism. These clips show how the media and history has altered our view on the color of someone's skin. This to me shows how racism still plays a key role in everyone's daily life, this isn't just something that was affect people during the civil war this is still affecting us now. I chose these specific clips because they were candid camera clips. The first test the ABC group did was have three white boys vandalizing a car in a public parking lot, they were only confronted a couple of times and only two people threatened to do something about the crime. Then they did the same test only with three African American boys. Before the test even started the boys feel asleep in a car and someone called the cops on them saying "that they looked like they were going to rob something and that they want them to keep a close eye on them." Then once the boys started vandalizing the car every person who was walking by stropped them. This showed me that even though we all are made equal many people still do judge someone off of the color of their skin, their race, ethnicity and many other things that Lincoln had tried to eliminate by freeing slaves towards the end of the civil war. This is why I chose these two video clips to back up my statement.
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIVgMvuCM_k&feature=related
I chose these two clips in my video to demonstrate modern day racism. These clips show how the media and history has altered our view on the color of someone's skin. This to me shows how racism still plays a key role in everyone's daily life, this isn't just something that was affect people during the civil war this is still affecting us now. I chose these specific clips because they were candid camera clips. The first test the ABC group did was have three white boys vandalizing a car in a public parking lot, they were only confronted a couple of times and only two people threatened to do something about the crime. Then they did the same test only with three African American boys. Before the test even started the boys feel asleep in a car and someone called the cops on them saying "that they looked like they were going to rob something and that they want them to keep a close eye on them." Then once the boys started vandalizing the car every person who was walking by stropped them. This showed me that even though we all are made equal many people still do judge someone off of the color of their skin, their race, ethnicity and many other things that Lincoln had tried to eliminate by freeing slaves towards the end of the civil war. This is why I chose these two video clips to back up my statement.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
The Constitution, The News & You Response
1. Summarize the article, and include relevant quotes.
The story I chose is a fairly famous story that is now being made into a movie, I chose the Tillman case. Patrick Tillman was a pro-football star that decided to become an Army Ranger in 2002. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan until April 22, 2004. He was in the mountains of Afghanistan when he was shot and killed; the government reported that Tillman had been killed by enemy fire. The U.S. government attempted a cover-up the truth, which was that he was killed by “friendly fire”. Which is when someone who is on the same side as you doesn’t know you are apart of the same army and shoots at you. The government waited days to tell the family the truth about Tillman’s death, even though many soldiers new the truth. The family was out raged and Tillman’s mother said, “After it happened, all the people in positions of authority went out of their way to script this. They purposely interfered with the investigation; they covered it up. I think they thought they could control it, and they realized that their recruiting efforts were going to go to hell in a hand basket if the truth about his death got out. They blew up their poster boy.”
2. Explain what Constitutional concepts are relevant. Some may be obvious, but others maybe more subtly related. Explain the Constitutional connection in your own words, but also reference the specific Article & Section or Amendment(s).
This story to me relates to the Freedom of Speech because it showed how many government officials lied to cover up their appearance to America and how they didn’t want to be perceived differently in the eyes of the public. All of those generals had the freedom of speech to say as they wanted even though it was later proven wrong they still had the right to say those things, even if it wasn’t morally right. Another important thing to know is that was that after Tillman died, within--instantly, within 24 hours certainly, everybody on the ground, everyone intimately involved knew it was friendly fire. There's never any doubt it was friendly fire and none of the soldiers used their right of freedom of speech to speak up for Tillman.
3. Explain what interests you about this article and/or the Constitutional connections you found.
What interests me about this article is how I have just heard about this now and it surprised me that those men could lie like that just to keep up a good image. Another thing that surprised me was that after Tillman died, everybody on the ground, everyone intimately involved knew he died from friendly fire. There's never any doubt it was friendly fire and they didn’t use the freedom of speech to speak up.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
What Stands Out So Far??
What stands out to you in your learning?
Well something that has stood out to me personally in my learning is that I realized I can do most work quickly and more efficiently than last year. If you just place me in front of a computer and I know what is due and when it is due by I can get my work done and do it to my best ability. Another thing that has stood out to me was how much my writing has improved from just these first weeks of school. I have learned so many helpful tips that have improved my writing skills and ability to produce my best work.
What is working well in this class?
Something that worked well for me is when you tell us what is due in-depth than you give us the time to work on anything that is due. Whenever we have this I realize what I need to get done and when its due by and I prioritize my work better.
What can you do to build upon your successes?
I feel that I can keep up my writing tips and also I can take better notes in class to make sure that I grasp the content to my best ability. If I do this I will be able to look back upon them and reflect on what we learned and help put it into practice.
What very specific, concrete & manageable steps can you take to make the most of your opportunities to learn in this class?
Well like I said before I can take better notes on the content we are learning. When I do this it helps me understand what we are learning, what needs to be done with our work, and it helps me understand what is expected of me as a student.
What are your goals for the next few weeks in class?
One main goal I have is learning how to prioritize my work better, because I find that now I have more work over all as an eleventh grader, I need to be more organized and I need to meet the requirements that are expected of me. Another goal I have is to ask more questions if I don’t understand the content of what we are learning. These are just some of my many goals for next week.
Well something that has stood out to me personally in my learning is that I realized I can do most work quickly and more efficiently than last year. If you just place me in front of a computer and I know what is due and when it is due by I can get my work done and do it to my best ability. Another thing that has stood out to me was how much my writing has improved from just these first weeks of school. I have learned so many helpful tips that have improved my writing skills and ability to produce my best work.
What is working well in this class?
Something that worked well for me is when you tell us what is due in-depth than you give us the time to work on anything that is due. Whenever we have this I realize what I need to get done and when its due by and I prioritize my work better.
What can you do to build upon your successes?
I feel that I can keep up my writing tips and also I can take better notes in class to make sure that I grasp the content to my best ability. If I do this I will be able to look back upon them and reflect on what we learned and help put it into practice.
What very specific, concrete & manageable steps can you take to make the most of your opportunities to learn in this class?
Well like I said before I can take better notes on the content we are learning. When I do this it helps me understand what we are learning, what needs to be done with our work, and it helps me understand what is expected of me as a student.
What are your goals for the next few weeks in class?
One main goal I have is learning how to prioritize my work better, because I find that now I have more work over all as an eleventh grader, I need to be more organized and I need to meet the requirements that are expected of me. Another goal I have is to ask more questions if I don’t understand the content of what we are learning. These are just some of my many goals for next week.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Final Artist Statement and Picture
Changing the World One Story at a Time
By Maira Vierheller
On July 12th 1993, four journalists were killed. The young journalists raced across Mogadishu, Africa to cover the bombing of what was thought to be General Aideed’s headquarters. The U.N. forces bombed the house but Aideed was not there, instead nearly 90 men, women and children were killed in the bombing. When the journalists were taking pictures of the aftermath, a horrible event took place. All four men were beaten, clubbed and stoned to death by an angry mob; furious about the death of their friends, fathers, and brothers at the hands of U.S. and U.N. soldiers. One of the massacred men was named Dan Eldon.
When Dan Eldon was just seven years old he moved to Africa with his family. Eldon loved joining his mother, a journalist in Kenya at the time, as she was assigned to stories in the local area. He witnessed and experienced firsthand the events of the war and corrupt government. Soon Eldon was taking pictures, with his mom and they were used in the local newspapers. This was when Eldon decicded that he wanted to make a career out of journalism and use it to help better the world.
Eldon had said “The journey is the destination.” This helped me realize that no matter how big my dream is; I can achieve it. If I try and succeed long enough and have passion behind what I’m doing, I can do anything. He also taught me that no matter what your age is you can help out in your own way. He made me realize that everyone can make a difference, no matter what you are doing or how old you are.
Dan Eldon was also was a huge inspiration for one of my favorite companies and charities, Invisible Children. The two creators Jason Russell and Laren Poole went to Africa to create a movie and came back with the truth. Dan Eldon was the one to inspire them to create this company and tell the world about the horrible events taking place in Africa. After some time Invisible Children made the decision to raise awareness to a younger audience, that’s when they decided to go to different schools. This is when they came to High Tech High Media Arts, and where I first learned about the company and cause.
Learning about this war changed my life; I am always trying to help in as many ways as I can, even if it is telling someone about it. It helped me become more involved in a community and try to help make a change in the world. I feel that Dan Eldon and his story have changed my life. He has made me think about living in the moment and never letting anything hold you back. He has changed the world as his inspired continuum does and will for years to come.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Questions About Our Writing...
1. What aspect of the American Icons artist statement has been most successful for you? Why?
The most successful part of my writing for me is my first paragraph. I think it was successful because I tried something new and decided to start the story out with an anecdote about Dan Eldon's death. By doing this I expanded my writing technique and my story.
2. What writing tip(s) have been the most helpful? Why?
Going back and going over all of my sentences individually. Also when we read "The New Yorker" magazines, those were great examples for me and helped inspire my first paragraph. They also helped show me what I want my writing to strive to become.
And...
3. What aspect of the artist statement has been most challenging? Why?
What has been most challenging for me while writing my artist statement has been trying to get the point I want across in as little words as possible. I have a lot of thoughts and all of them mean something to me so when I write them down on paper of mine its always been difficult to try and simplify them.
4. What writing tip is most challenging? Why?
Well one the hardest tips was "Concerts not Pancakes" because my ending paragraph was hardest for me to end strong with. I was also struggling with leaving the reader thinking about what is next or about my writing and who Dan Eldon is.
And....
5. Post a section of your writing that you are currently working on. List at least three questions that, if answered, would help you improve your work.
Sample Of Writing (Last Paragraph):
Learning about this war has changed my life I am always trying to help stop this war as many ways as I can, even if it is just telling someone about it. I feel that Dan Eldon has changed my life. As his inspired continuum does and will for years to come.
1) How does this leave the reader thinking about your icon or what your icon stood for?
2) What else have you done to help inform people about the war?
3) How else will his continuum live on?
The most successful part of my writing for me is my first paragraph. I think it was successful because I tried something new and decided to start the story out with an anecdote about Dan Eldon's death. By doing this I expanded my writing technique and my story.
2. What writing tip(s) have been the most helpful? Why?
Going back and going over all of my sentences individually. Also when we read "The New Yorker" magazines, those were great examples for me and helped inspire my first paragraph. They also helped show me what I want my writing to strive to become.
And...
3. What aspect of the artist statement has been most challenging? Why?
What has been most challenging for me while writing my artist statement has been trying to get the point I want across in as little words as possible. I have a lot of thoughts and all of them mean something to me so when I write them down on paper of mine its always been difficult to try and simplify them.
4. What writing tip is most challenging? Why?
Well one the hardest tips was "Concerts not Pancakes" because my ending paragraph was hardest for me to end strong with. I was also struggling with leaving the reader thinking about what is next or about my writing and who Dan Eldon is.
And....
5. Post a section of your writing that you are currently working on. List at least three questions that, if answered, would help you improve your work.
Sample Of Writing (Last Paragraph):
Learning about this war has changed my life I am always trying to help stop this war as many ways as I can, even if it is just telling someone about it. I feel that Dan Eldon has changed my life. As his inspired continuum does and will for years to come.
1) How does this leave the reader thinking about your icon or what your icon stood for?
2) What else have you done to help inform people about the war?
3) How else will his continuum live on?
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Icons Loop Response
Opening Paragraph:
On July 12th 1993 four journalists were killed. The four young men raced across Mogadishu, Africa to cover the bombing of what was thought to be General Aideed’s headquarters. The U.N. forces bombed the house but Aideed was not there, and instead nearly 90 men, women and children were killed in the bombing. When the journalists were taking pictures of the aftermath a horrible thing happened. All four young men were beaten, clubbed and stoned to death by an angry mob furious about the death of their friends, fathers, and brothers at the hands of U.S. and U.N. soldiers. One of these men who was massacred was Dan Eldon.
Closing Paragraph:
Learning about this war has changed my life I am always trying to help stop this war in as many ways as I can, even if it is telling someone about it. I feel that Dan Eldon has changed my life. As his inspired continuum does and will for years to come.
1. Explain why you chose this opening/closing combo.
Well I chose to write about his death in the first paragraph because it is an anecdote and it takes place in the past and it was one thing that made him famous besides his pictures and journals. The reason I wrote this as my closing paragraph is because it sums up how Dan Eldon has changed my life and how he has helped me change others lives.
2. How does it tie together your big ideas?
Well as I explained in the last question I decided to write about his past and the biggest event that happened to him first and then I wanted to end it on something positive and how he has directly affected my life and many others.
3. Explain the types of thoughts that you hope your reader has when they are done reading your work.
Well I would love for people to go and look up Invisible Children after reading my writing, another thing I would love is if they went home and researched more about Dan Eldon. These are things I feel that more people need to be aware of and I hope my essay can help raise some awareness. And some thoughts I want people to walk away with is mainly "How could I have not known about his death and who this man is?" or even "How could I have no known so much about what is going on now and what did happen in Africa?"
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
American Icons & Resources Response
Part 1: Icons
The two things I chose to link to my icon were Africa and Jason Russell and Laren Poole. The reason I chose these two things is because they both play a strong role in my artist statement. These are both connected by the African war; the two men are the creators of Invisible Children while Africa is the actual location Dan Eldon lived. The only way these two topics are different is that Jason Russell and Laren Poole don’t live in Africa where they are trying to help stop the war.
Part 2: Resources
Websites I used to help me:
http://www.invisiblechildren.com/home.php
Resource: Website and an article on website
Description/Explanation: This website was helpful to me because it helped teach me more about what Dan Eldon inspired, it also was where I first heard about him and how I learned more about Jason Russell and Laren Poole.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Eldon
Resource: Website
Description/Explanation: This website was helpful to me because this is where I got most of my information on Dan Eldon and who he really is.
http://www.daneldon.org/site/
Resource: Website
Description/ Explanation: This website was helpful for me because it was all about Dan Eldon, it had a lot of information on him. It is also where I got to see videos on him and some of his actual footage.
The two things I chose to link to my icon were Africa and Jason Russell and Laren Poole. The reason I chose these two things is because they both play a strong role in my artist statement. These are both connected by the African war; the two men are the creators of Invisible Children while Africa is the actual location Dan Eldon lived. The only way these two topics are different is that Jason Russell and Laren Poole don’t live in Africa where they are trying to help stop the war.
Part 2: Resources
Websites I used to help me:
http://www.invisiblechildren.com/home.php
Resource: Website and an article on website
Description/Explanation: This website was helpful to me because it helped teach me more about what Dan Eldon inspired, it also was where I first heard about him and how I learned more about Jason Russell and Laren Poole.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Eldon
Resource: Website
Description/Explanation: This website was helpful to me because this is where I got most of my information on Dan Eldon and who he really is.
http://www.daneldon.org/site/
Resource: Website
Description/ Explanation: This website was helpful for me because it was all about Dan Eldon, it had a lot of information on him. It is also where I got to see videos on him and some of his actual footage.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
American Icons Responce
1. Dan Eldon
1. What does this Icon represent to you? Why?
Dan Eldon was an amazing man who moved to Africa when he was just seven years old. He witnessed firsthand the events surrounding the coup and was around to experience its aftermath. Eldon joined his mother, a journalist in Kenya at the time, as she was assigned to stories in the local area. Soon Eldon was taking pictures, which were used in the local newspapers. He then wanted to make a career out of it and when he was just fourteen, Eldon started a fund-raising campaign for open-heart surgery to save the life of Atieno, a young Kenyan girl. His sister and he raised $5,000 for the surgery but sadly Atieno died from hospitals neglect. Later when he was fifteen he started journalism and photography with his friends, he then started keeping a journal of his life. This man never stopped trying to uncover the truth and he wasn’t afraid to prove something right, this is sadly what killed him. But he helped raise awareness to people and he also was the man to help inspire Jason Russell and Laren Poole, the creators of Invisible Children just as he inspires me to try and help change the world.
5. Who and what did this Icon inspire?
Dan Eldon helped inspire many of his classmates to get into journalism and try to help make a change in the world. He also was the one to inspire Jason Russell and Laren Poole to go over to Africa and make a documentary which helped start Invisible Children and helped spread awareness all around the world about the wars in Africa.
4. How did this Icon become important to you?
Well the war in Africa has been something that I feel strongly about stopping for a while now, another thing that I have been trying to be as involved as possible with is the company Invisible Children. So to find the man who helped inspire those people who now are inspiring so many is amazing. 
2. Jason Russell and Laren Poole
3. Who and what was important to this Icon? Why
Both of these men are the creators of Invisible Children and they are very passionate about helping everyone who is tortured by the corrupt government and Joseph Kony in Africa. They first went over to Africa to film a documentary called “Rough Cut”. What started out as a filmmaking adventure transformed into much more when these boys from Southern California discovered a tragedy that disgusted and inspired them, a tragedy where children are both the weapons and the victims. So they started the company Invisible Children to raise awareness about it in the United States.
4. How did this Icon become important to you?
Well in ninth grade when I found out about this twelve year long war I wanted to help try and make a difference. So when I found this company it really inspired me and helps me make the change I want to.
5. Who and what did this Icon inspire?
These two men inspired many people to join in on the cause; they now have a big staff all around the world. The find it very important to try and inform as many people as possible about this unfair war. They have even come to our school and many others to raise awareness to younger adults, these men inspire change in our world.
5. Bob Fosse
4. How did this Icon become important to you?
Bob Fosse completely changed dance for today, he created and taught a style so different from anything anyone had seen that it inspired many different styles like modern, lyrical and jazz. This affects me directly considering that I dance these styles all the time and it also inspires me to think outside of the box while I’m dancing and try to think about doing different moves no one has done before. He completely changed my viewing on dance and how it now is even more creative to me.
1. What does this Icon represent to you? Why?
Bob Fosse was an amazing dancer; teacher and I loved how he proved one person could change how people view something. But Bob Fosse was not just a dancer he was also an actor musical theater choreographer, director, screenplay, film editor and film director. Bob Fosse made a huge impact on the arts and he inspires me every day.
2. Who and what was important to this Icon? Why?
Something that was always important to Bob Fosse was that his dances be perfect. He had a long line of drug abuse and he was quite the player but he would leave all of that alone and work on his dances to make sure they were new and creative. He would use everything as inspiration and turn it into a dance number or even plays. Another thing that was very important to him was his daughter, she was the one person he loved the most in the world and she helped inspire him and helped a lot with his work.
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