Daily Show - Mark Twain Freewrite

Overall, the video did make valid points concerning the revised version of Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn" changing the word 'nigger' to 'slave'.  I, personally, think that having the word in the literature creates an idea of what times were like during the period that many slaves were of African descent.  The word 'nigger' has always been a disrespectful name to call someone as such, so with the consistent mentions of the word being placed in the book, there is definitely the idea that slaves were not respected as much as they should have been.  The comical approach to the entire ordeal, though, really made me laugh.  Although the revised book would be more accessible to viewers who are younger and who may take offense to the word, the impact of using the word so many times in a way that is not inappropriate would have a more profound impact on the reader.

NYTimes - "The World We're Actually Living In"

 By Thomas L. Friedman

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/opinion/sunday/friedman-the-world-were-actually-living-in.html?_r=2&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&

"Why Men Fail" - Overview

David Brook's article, "Why Men Fail", creates an argument that generally states that females are doing more successfully, not because the abilities of men are declining, but because females are adapting with current societal context.  Because women are able to adapt, they have lost the feminist quality, whereas males still possess the masculine, 'dominant male' traits; which limit their potential as a part of the human race.   Brook uses much logos, mainly statistics of male versus female school results and involvement in the workforce.  He states that three quarters of males earn D's and F's in elementary school and high school; along with only 40 percent of them recieving bachelor's or master's degrees.  Due to the failing performance of males, the employment rate from males between 25 and 54 had dropped from 96 percent to 80 percent.  Though it is stated that men are still at the top of the 'corporate ladder', women still dominate twelve out of 15 of the fastest growing jobs.  There are many tasks in modern society that men must adhere to, such as being sensitive and paying close attention, but they are not culturally and genetically capable of accomplishing such tasks as fluently as females do.  Ethos plays a large part as well, because he claims many sources such as Michael Greenstone of the Hamilton Project who concluded that over 40 years the median income for prime-age males had dropped by 28 percent.  He also uses more credible sources such as Hanna Rosin and her book, "The End of Men", and the National Federation of Independent Business.  Brook uses pathos in a form that is subtle but effective.  The entire article carries on with pathos, but does not contain any specificities.  The article may make a male more self-conscious of the decline of his kind, while females may find it appealing to know that because they have adapted well and became the "clean slate" in today's  society, they are more prone to be introduced to opportunities.

Romney and Obama - Debate #1

Both President Barack Obama and Democratic nominee, along with republican nominee, former Governor Mitt Romney entered the viewpoint of the audience and greeted each other.  Throughout the night, many compelling arguments were made; along each candidate nabbing eachother about false information.  Once the debate had ended, the winner was clearly Mitt Romney.  The reason for it being so, was due to his assertive and professional approach to answering questions and responding to Barack Obama.  Many have said that Romney was "aggressive", but others may say he is passionate about his viewpoint and wants to get it across as fluently as possible.  He made statements regarding Obamacare making families pay $2,500 more dollars, while Obama claimed families would pay $2,500 less when running for office in 2008.  He also mentioned how middle-income Americans had seen their income decreased by $4,300, and how there have been 122 community and small banks that have closed since Dodd-Frank.  Romney did, however, make an unecessary comment towards PBS and Big Bird.  Obama took a much more subtle, laid-back approach.  He began by wishing his wife a Happy Anniversary in front of an audience of millions of Americans tuned in to the debate; which is a form of pathos.  Barack Obama has been President for almost four years, which gives him higher credibility for preserving his position as President.  He had also mentioned how Obamacare is a more efficient plan, due to the medicare voucher giving a possible cost of $6,000 to the average senior citizen; later using his grandmother as an example - another form of pathos.  Obama's composure was more relaxed, but he did look away from Romney's general direction many times.  Both Romney and Obama went well over their time limit of two minutes on more than one occasion.  Both candidates also had their stronger spots as well as their shortcomings on Wednesday, October 3, 2012. 

"New Rules" - Ethos, Logos, Pathos

Thomas L. Friedman's article in the New York Times, entitled New Rules, describes the modern-day America and how a citizen must work harder than people did in the past to become 'successful'.  In the article, there is a more prevalent use of ethos with statements such as, "Wired magazine reported last week...", "The news from Estonia prompted The Guardian newspapaer of London to publish and online poll...", an Alvin Toffler quote saying, "Illiteracy will not be defined by those who cannot read and write, but by those who cannot learn and relearn.  There are many more uses with Clinton and Obama references and such.  The logos represented is especially noticed within the statement claiming that the unemployment rate is 4.1 percent for people with four years of college, 6.6 percent for those with two years, 8.8 percent for high school graduates, and 12.0 percent for dropouts.  The statistics are highly powerful and convincing, because the reader will be able to comprehend the benefits of having a college education versus not having one.  Friedmanalso mentions how Shanghai's public school system beat the world in math, scince, and reading in 2010.  There is a considerable amount of pathos in the article.  One example is, "We live in a closed system, a world of walls, which were just starting to come down."  Another statement is, "Techonology and globalization are wiping out lower-skilled jobs faster, while steadily rasing the skill level required for new jobs."  The statements are highly eye-opening and make a larger impression on how one must understand progression and how past ordeals are irrelevant in today's technologically advanced society.

Three Questions for Video Essay

1. Will we be penalized, in terms of a grade, for a certain argument we make (Can the argument be too personal or based on opinion)? 
2. Is there a certain way that the candidates should be addressed in the essay? (i.e. President Barack Obama, or Republican Candidate, Mitt Romney)
3. Is too much factual evidence of recent happenings going to hurt the essay?  Does a more casual approach need to be taken for the essay?

"MUSLIM RAGE" Newsweek Article

Overall, the rage and utter disbelief of the Muslim people is presented, simply by the photo.  True anger is represented with their mouths open, yelling; and their faces clenched in emotional pain.  They are all together, somewhat in the form of a riot, plus their hands are either toucing each other or in a protest gesture.  The image was captured at a time that actually "captures" the intensity and turmoil of the situation.  The photographer was able to take a photo of a moment involving protest, anger, scattered emotions, and violations; due to the mocking of their highly loved and regarded deity of their people.  The text at the bottom, read "How I survived it.  How We Can End It" also sends off the message that "surviving it" was a hassle in itself but was able to be done. It sends an amount of hope that it can be escaped.  A major part of it, was the large, headlining text, "MUSLIM RAGE".  The title directs the viewer's attention to the primary subject of the photo.  The cover is also extremely simplistic, so the reader's main focus is the cover story and the importance that is associated with it.  There is not only rage with the Muslim people, but there is also turmoil and sadness, due to the reason that they have a deep love for Muhammad.  The '#muslimrag'e hash-tag trend on Twitter is a more of a sarcastic approach of Muslim people saying what actually makes them angry.  The Newsweek photo portrays all Muslims, in general, as being enraged, when in reality it is only the ones that are so-called 'extremists' that are angry.  It is a positive way of the Muslim people showing how a majority of them are average people with a negative label recently that leaves impressions.