It's another stressful day

5 things i'm thankful for
1. Getting stressed out to come home!
2. Oh ya know, countin down the days!
3. Letting you [family] know i'm going black friday shoppin with some ladies:)
4. The fact that I'm trippin balls like mad to come home!
5. Talking to Bola today:)

Quote of the Day:
A taste for irony has kept more hearts from breaking than a sense of humor, for it takes irony to appreciate the joke which is on oneself.

Jessamyn West

I need a stress reliever tonight.I am going to conquer the baja challenge at taco bell. I am excited. You chug an xl baja blast all it once. I am so stoked. It's going to be epic. I'm going to puke. But I'll get some taco bell. That's always worth it. I love taco bell. Oh yeah. I'm so stoked. woot woot. I am really stressing out to come home. I don't think American Airlines allows you to take instruments on planes. I can't check my guitars. That's scary. I found out that the 3rd bag costs A LOT. I don't even have my third bag with me yet. this is BAD. oh boy.
I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

I watched New Moon tonight.

5 things i'm grateful for:
1. being first in line for midnight showings
2. playing cards before midnight showings
3. watching girls go crazy and get mad over poor seats
4. watching people go psycho because of midnight showings
5. watching movies at midnight showings

Quote of the day:
Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.
B. F. Skinner

sooooo, I just got back from new moon. It was a good movie. I laughed...a lot. I made lots of insightful comments much to the dismay of those around me. it was a dandy old time. I'm tired. It's very late. Peace out y'all!
I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

I wrote a paper today... I really like the Kanye theme...haha

5 things I'm thankful for:
1. Kanye being funny to Taylor at the VMA's
2. Making fun of Kanye because of what he did to Taylor.
3. Remakes of Taylor Swift songs.
4. Using Kanye's remarks as my paper titles.
5. Having my teacher be proud of me for bringing up the 14th amendment to defeat arguments in class.

Quote of the Day:
It is better for civilization to be going down the drain than to be coming up it.
Henry Allen


I wrote a paper today, I'm tired and don't have the capacity to write much. I hope you enjoy it.


Yo’ Oppressors, I’m Really Happy For You and All [NOT] and I’mma Let You Finish…But Other People Have Rights Too!

The foremost goal that came from the struggles of blacks and women for equal rights was an overall transformation of the American societal structure; it was not equal participation within the existing society. Both the blacks and the women wanted transformation. The transformation, that the two communities wanted, consisted of changing the societal structure whereas as equal participation did not consist of changing the societal structure but rather just a differentiating of the roles played by the blacks and women during the civil rights era. The black panthers—defenders of the black community—wanted nationalism that came from revolution. The black community wanted reparations in the form of land from the white community and for the white community to take responsibility for years of segregation and degradation. Women wanted transformation so that women could be more individualistic and ultimately attain self-fulfillment.
The black community wanted a revolution. The ideology of the black panthers was that revolution went hand in hand with the ideology of nationalism. We see this belief in Malcolm X’s speech when he states, “If you love revolution, you love black nationalism.” Part of the platform for the black panthers states that, “we want the power to determine the destiny of our Black Community.” The black panthers no longer were looking for equal representation or equality of jobs and things of that sort but rather the black panthers wanted complete power over the black community; they were looking for self-sufficiency and self-government. They wanted the protection of the United States Constitution but wanted trials and things of that sort done by a jury of their peer group or members of their black community (Document 6).
The black community had the ideology—that came and grew from the black panthers—that they deserved reparations in the form of land, and also what needed to happen was that the oppressors—the white community—must to take responsibility for what they had done. President Johnson said it best when he said, “White America must accept responsibility.” This was a view not seen prior to the civil rights movement and prior to the black panthers. Malcolm X said, “Revolution is based on land. Land is the basis for all independence. Land is the basis of for freedom, justice, and equality.” For the black community to demand land is to demand power. Land is power. Giving the Negroes the land—that they deserved— was promoting a transformation rather than just equality.
Women craved transformation. The Redstockings Manifesto stated the beliefs of the women at the time of the feminist movement, “Women are an oppressed class. Our oppression is total, affecting every facet of our lives…Our humanity is denied” The women of the civil rights era wanted mans reign of oppression to come to an end. They fought oppression valiantly on many fronts. The main front was the attack on the cornerstone of the Amerikkan society. They wanted to break apart the family. The feminist movement of the civil rights era wanted to pursue individualism and believed that self-fulfillment was possible through individuality (Mashner). Women were no longer looking for equality, they were now concerned with looking for a complete transformation that idolized individualism not family ties.
The primary goal that came from the troubles of blacks and women for equal rights was the transformation of the American societal structure not equal participation within the existing structure. This goal—in the case of the blacks—came from: the black panthers ideology that revolution led to nationalism and also the belief that reparations in the form of land, a.k.a. power, were due and that the white community needed to take responsibility. The goal—in the case of women—came from the belief that their humanity was denied (Mashner).


Sorry, but I'm not looking for opinions on this paper. I was given a paper with choices on what to write about this is what i picked. love it. hate it. don't care.

I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

S oh freaking s

5 things i'm thankful
1. coming home in 6 days!!!
2. writing papers for history and going crazy
3. having genuinely crappy days
4. having people to help me out on said crappy days
5. cinnamon roles that come in vending machines

Quote of the day:

A man's silence is wonderful to listen to.
Thomas Hardy

I wrote a new song. It's title s oh freaking s. tell me how you like it. or dislike it. I'm okay with brutal honesty. I'm starting to write A LOT of songs. I have like 6 in the making right now and about another 8 done. Woot Woot! time to start TCO!

here it is

This makes no sense to me. Why is it that I always come up short? Why is it that you only see my failure and never see my success? I’m trying so hard to make you happy and I’m trying so hard to surpass your expectations but it’s never enough.

This is an s oh freaking s. I’m sick of stupidity. I need someone to save my soul! I’m falling in too deep, falling into your game, somebody please, save my soul!

I go aboce and beyone. Tryin so hard to help you. I’m doing everything for you with nothing in return. The lack of balance I feel is screwing me up. Can you see it? Can you feel it? I don’t think you can. In fact, I know you can’t. You’re too self absorbed to care for anyone but yourself.

This is an s oh freaking s. I’m sick of stupidity. I need someone to save my soul! I’m falling in too deep, falling into your game, somebody please, save my soul!

I’ve tried too much. I have given too much and ultimately I have failed miserable way too many times with you. I’m giving up on you. This time it’s for real. You’ve left me with no other choice. You gave me this ultimatum and I’ve gotta do what I’ve gotta do. I’ve got nothing left from you but an empty wallet and a broken heart.

This is an s oh freaking s. I’m sick of stupidity. I need someone to save my soul! I’m falling in too deep, falling into your game, somebody please, save my soul!

This goodbye is my final goodbye, this goodbye is the permanent goodbye. This time I mean it, this time I believe it. I’d say it was good while it lasted but I don’t believe in lying. This is it, this is real, I am done. Goodbye.

[I am thinking about doing another chorus at the end and then adding a few more verses. I still need a bridge. But I don’t know. How do you like it as of now?]

I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

Mmm Free Sushi:)

5 Things I'm thankful for
1. Free Sushi
2. Free Sushi In Simpson Hall
3. Three Free Flavors of Sushi
4. Getting ready for Utah State.
5. Oh ya know...COMING TO UTAH IN 1 WEEK. 7 DAYS. WORD FOOLS!

I really enjoy sushi. I am going to take people back home out to get sushi. It's just so good. It's part of the daily diet for a lot of people here. There are a lot of sushi joints that I have yet to hit up. I will most definitely change that. I talked to USU and so far so good. I am doing a lot more shmoozing and such with USU the I ever did with Loyola. I know how it's like. I know what to do. I hope that I can work everything out in time. I am very anxious. I GET HOME IN SEVEN DAYS PEOPLE!!! this is a party and a freaking half. I am so stoked. I really can't wait. Anyways, it's time for me to sleep. Goooooodnight:)

I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

third blog of the day

5 things i'm thankful for
1. going to church on no sleep
2. being exhausted while at church
3. being sore beyond belief because of flag football
4. being sore at church
5. the fact that the word bed looks like a bed.

Quote of the day:
A gentleman is a man who can play the accordion but doesn't.

Unknown

I am so tired. I am going to go to sleep now. It is just what I need. Good night. I love you all.
I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

second blog of the day

5 more things i'm thankful for:
1. multiple blogs in one day
2. taco bells on saturday nights
3. getting to sleep after taco bell
4. dr. pepper after taco bell
5. writing this blog about taco bell

Today was an amazing night. It was most definitely a pick me up. I went to taco bell with friends this morning. It was absolutely fantastic. I love taco bell. I was able to enjoy two burritos and a chalupa. I LOVE chalupas. They taste so good. I am really grateful for delicious food. I enjoy the fact that taco bell has a fourth meal whereas other places do not stay open that late. I was excited for McDonald’s either tonight or last night but I was unfortunately informed that they stay open to a measly 11pm. It was quite silly of them. I disagree with their lack of proper hours. Dr. Pepper is a really fantastic drink that I enjoy. I do not drink soda, or pop, or soda-pop, or whatever you choose to call it, very often because I believe it is bad for you. I do not like it. Tonight I bought some Dr. Pepper from the vending machine. It satisfied me. It put a smile on my face. I am rather tired at the moment. My eyes are shutting. But that’s okay I’ll write a little bit more. I love drinking fantastic liquids. I like water. I like lamp. Brick Tamland is a funny character. I love writing more than one blogs in one day. I love the fact that I am going to be coming home in 9 days. That makes me so excited! I am finally under double digits. Woot woot. I can’t wait to see and hang out with everyone. Okay, I think that I have written enough for the day. Sleepy time for James!

I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

random writing.

5 things i'm thankful for
1. Flag football
2. scraped knees
3. exhaustion
4. sleep after flag football
5. home in 9 days!

Quote of the day:
It is not advisable, James, to venture unsolicited opinions. You should spare yourself the embarrassing discovery of their exact value to your listener.
Ayn Rand [Atlas Shrugged]

Today I decided to do a free write. It is on my bucket list to write a book or a novel. Can't remember which. Anyways, the more I write the better I get. Unfortunately this writing is atrocious. But hey, at least it's a start. Gotta start somewhere. Optimism is everything. OPTIMUS PRIME! TRAAAAANSFORRRRMERS! I started writing optimism and thought of optimus. I love Transformers.

It was another awful night spent in Yokohama Japan for Piotr Sobczak As the rain came billowing down Piotr thought to himself, “Again? I said I would never do this again, but here I am. No time to complain, time to get down to business.” All his clients knew Piotr as the polish pipe. To be on his bad side was a terrifying ordeal. That’s precisely why he was in such high demand. He was six foot even. Although he did not look it, Piotr was built of iron. His muscles honed from years of business. In lemans terms, Piotr was a beast.

You have ten seconds to comply or I detonate the c4 strapped around your stomach and all that will be left of you will be the miniscule pieces of you that are not consumed by the fire once we torch this place. Nobody will remember Piotr Sobczak. Not looking so tough anymore are we Mr. Polish Pipe, huh? You screwed with the wrong people, you crossed a line and now, I get the pleasure of making things right. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, Sobczak, do you think I’m kidding? Do you think this is a joke? I’M NOT PLAYING AROUND, TELL ME WHAT I WANT TO KNOW OR I WILL KILL YOU, two, one, Piotr, you’re dead. Click, boom.



I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

I've got a big day ahead of me.

5 things I am thankful for
1. My ward activity tomorrow!
2. Playing basketball and being absolutely terrible:)
3. Being home in 10 days!!!! that's fast!
4. Getting my ticket for New Moon!
5. Darlin' by Between the trees:)

Quote of the Day:
I have noticed that the people who are late are often so much jollier than the people who have to wait for them.
E. V. Lucas

I am rather tired today and have to wake up in 6 hours for my ward activity. I'm going to be playing football and then having a Thanksgiving Dinner, I'm excited. I'm really hungry right now....so I can't wait! Anyways, I am listening to Between the Trees right now and I absolutely love their music. It's fantastic. Peace out y'all. love ya.

I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

I Almost Forgot...Shameful!

5 Things I'm Thankful For:
1. GETTING ACCEPTED INTO UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY!!!!!
2. Promises of hugs!
3. Realizing I'll be home in 11 days! woot woot!
4. Super fun video games!
5. Mom worrying when my phone dies:)

Quote of the Day:
Sometimes people are layered like that. There's something totally different underneath than what's on the surface. But sometimes, there's a third, even deeper level, and that one is the same as the top surface one. Like with pie.
Joss Whedon, Zack Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, and Jed Whedon

Mmm, I like me some pie. THANKSGIVING!!!

I went to College Republicans today. I'm pretty excited to get involved even more so...when I go to USU! Yup, I'm an aggie now. I went to half of As You Like It. The production did not leave me impressed...at all. A handful of students performed marvelously but the rest of it was complete blah. The take the used on it was a disaster and made it rather confusing to follow. I wrote a paper for my PLSC class. I'm going to post it so that you can have something to read. Enjoy!!

Yo’ Congress, I’ma Let You Finish…. But the President Has the Most Power All Time…Just Sayin’

*****Yes, that's really the title of my paper. I used it because the teacher asked me if he should call me James or Kanye the other day(because I was wearing my sunglasses...I know, makes no sense) so i figured that Kanye was fair game in my class. My teacher also told us to pick a title that would go straight to the heart of your paper. My title does so. P.s. this was not part of the paper...just fyi:)********

The struggle for power between the President and Congress has been around since the foundation of our country. Throughout history the tables have turned from side to side, power tossed from branch to branch but ultimately the greater power resides with the President.
The first case presented is the War Powers Resolution. The power struggle here entailed the ability to put the troops into action. At the time it looked like this was a clear win for Congress but in hindsight we see that this was not the case. If Congress had actually focused on the legislation at hand rather than the politics they might have been able to come off with a victory. Congress tried to make it look as if they were limiting the Presidents’ power. In reality, Congress did nothing. This ruling has a plethora of loopholes that allows the President to do whatever they please. Probably the biggest loophole comes from Sec. 3 where it states, “The President in every possible instance shall consult with Congress before introducing United States Armed Forces into hostilities” (235). Could they have been any more vague? For a piece of legislation to be so unclear shows that Congress knows that the President needs the power over the armed forces so that he or she can be quick and immediate with a decision.
The second case presented is the Iran-Contra Affair. The power struggle here is the POTUS directly going against legislation that the Congress had passed—the Boland Amendments. These amendments basically stated that the Presidential administration could not sell weapons to Iran and furthermore that the Presidential administration cannot use their own funding to wage war overseas. The Reagan administration broke these laws when they, “had sold arms to Iran” (237.) The majority argues that a flawed process leads to flawed results and that flawed results bring about a weakened government (238). The majority insists that the separation of powers between branches is vital and that taking “shortcuts in the constitutional process” is disrespectful to our founders (241). Congress feels that as elected officials they have the right to know. They felt that the Reagan administration wronged them. They fail to point out that while they are indeed elected, the President and the vice President are the only two people that are elected by the entire country (242). One can see that what happened was a result of the belief that the end justifies the means. The administration needed to go against the law in order to bring about what needed to be done. “The executive’s branch functions are the ones most closely related to the need for secrecy, efficiency, dispatch and acceptance by the one person, the President, of political responsibility for the result” (243). The fact that the President broke the Boland amendments and was not impeached shows the power of the President; he broke the amendments—laid out because of him—and was not tried. That is power.
The third case presented is the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. v. Sawyer. The power struggle here was if the President has the ability to take control of private property. Truman claimed that it was for the good of the economy but the judiciary claimed that Congress must grant the power. This was a loss for Truman. The majority says that the Presidents power to seize property must come from Congress and that there have been no acts passed by Congress that allow the President to seize property (292). The majority decision came with five concurring opinions. This makes it hard to understand the concept of seizure in times of emergencies, this makes it vague and leaves loopholes for the President. Although this was a win for Congress, the President is not left powerless when it comes to seizing properties. He has power left because of the loopholes left by the concurring opinions.
The final case presented is the United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corporation. The power struggle was predicated on the power of foreign affairs. The argument was the Congress was to be in charge of foreign affairs and that the President was doing too much. This was a win for the President because the President has plenary powers when it comes to foreign affairs that are not dependent upon Congressional delegation. Furthermore it is up to the President, “to determine whether or not enforcement of the statute will have a beneficial effect upon the reestablishment of peace in the affected countries”(296). The power lies within the President to uphold the statute.
The case, which gave the most power to the President, was the War Powers Resolution. It did not take away any power away from the POTUS and if anything it gave the President greater ability to work in secrecy when it came to mobilizing the troops. The U.S. Congress focused too much on the political game and wanted the people to think that they were doing something when in reality they did nothing.
The case, which was the biggest win for the U.S. Congress, was the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. v. Sawyer. This was the only case that made the President go against what he had done. Truman was forced to remove the Truamnites from the steel mills. Truman wanted the power to seize property but it needed to be granted through Congress. This decision reaffirmed what the constitution said concerning that. Truman needed to go through Congress in order to seize property—even if it was for the good of the economy.
Although some of these cases can be seen as a loss for the President, the fact that they are hard to comprehend and make it difficult to understand where the President is limited shows the power of the presidency. If Congress wanted to limit the President they would do so. They would make legislation that was directly to the point with no loopholes. According to these cases they have failed to do so thus granting the President greater power than Congress.


I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

getting better!!!!!

5 things I'm thankful for:
1. Finding out that I'll have a deciscion from USU in days:)
2. Talking to people from USU
3. Starting to get over my sickness
4. powerade...the blue kind
5. PLSC papers

Quote of the Day:
Reality is nothing but a collective hunch.
Jane Wagner

I need sleep more than anything right now so that I can fully recover and wake at a proper time in the morning. I love you all. I'll make up for my blog soon.

Oh, I'll tell you this. Today a body washed up from Lake Michigan onto school property. He was "elderly" naked and dead. Weird. I know.

I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

unrequited

5 things I'm thankful for:
1. Sleeping all day.
2. Maroon VHS jacket
3. Canada Dry
4. Getting to sleep REALLY early.
5. Getting to sleep early 2 nights in a row.

Quote of the day:
I like an escalator because an escalator can never break, it can only become stairs. There would never be an escalator temporarily out of order sign, only an escalator temporarily stairs. Sorry for the convenience.
Mitch Hedberg

Today I have a fascination with the word unrequited. Something about it is absolutely brightening my day. I will most likely write a song about it in the near future. Anyways, I need my my sleep. Peace out y'all.

I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

ugh.

5 things i'm thankful for:
1. 15 days:)
2. My alarm clock.
3. Being able to sleep in this morning because class was canceled.
4. Nice people helping me with notes.
5. Writing papers for poli sci.

Quote of the Day:
If you ever start feeling like you have the goofiest, craziest, most dysfunctional family in the world, all you have to do is go to a state fair. Because five minutes at the fair, you'll be going, 'you know, we're alright. We are dang near royalty.'
Jeff Foxworthy

I am sick. I have one of the worst headaches I have ever gone through. I am going to take medicine and wake up next week. No. Not next week, tomorrow morning. It's almost nine and I'm deadly tired. It's unhealthy. I need sleep. I need to feel better. I must bid you farewell. Peace.

I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

I need a title for tonight.

5 things I'm thankful for:
1. Talking to Momma for hours on end:)
2. My phone turning back on after dying.
3. Maps by the Yeah Yeah Yeah's covered by The Rocket Summer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VenFKj8oTn4
4. Elliott Smith songs covered by TRS
5. Getting better from being sick.

Quote of the Day:
I am certain there is too much certainty in the world.
Michael Crichton

Today I wrote a song, it's not finished yet. I don't know how to finish. My brain is stuck in a rut. Maybe the ending has yet to play out. Maybe it has played out and I failed to realize it. Who knows? I would love to hear what you guys think about it. I value criticism. It will take A LOT of work for it to go into song format, write now it's only a song because the chorus. Anyways, enjoy.

A Million Sorrys


You slowly started slipping away and I saw it. I didn’t think anything of it. I didn’t think it would change anything. I thought it would be just another one of your moods…but I was wrong. I backed off when I needed to be there most. I pulled away when I could’ve made the biggest change. I made the mistake and turned my back on you when you were pleading for help.

A million sorrys could never be enough on my part. A million sorrys won’t make a difference; I believe that actions speak louder than words so let my actions speak louder. I’m turning up the volume. I’m trying to be difference. I’m trying to bring you back. Me saying my million sorrys won’t make the difference because, yeah, I let you down. But now, let me try.

You say, “All I ask is for the truth.” The truth is—you can’t handle the truth. You can’t handle the unpretentious honesty of what I have to share. My words are simple but the impact I hope they will make is beyond surreal. I want them to turn your world upside down. I want them to change the way you see things. I want them to change you. Don’t get me wrong, I love you just the way you are. I love you for you. But this, who you’ve become? This isn’t you. You know that. I know that.

A million sorrys could never be enough on my part. A million sorrys won’t make a difference; I believe that actions speak louder than words so let my actions speak louder. I’m turning up the volume. I’m trying to be difference. I’m trying to bring you back. Me saying my million sorrys won’t make the difference because, yeah, I let you down. But now, let me try.

You ask me how I can judge you and say you need to change when I’m the one who abandoned you. Who am I to impose this need for a difference in you? Who am I to say I miss you, I love you, I need you and….I can’t lose you? I say this because I know you’d say the same. I know if things were the other way around you be there for me 11 times out of 10. You’d make things right. You’d take care of me and help me. So let me do what you’d do for me. Trust me.

A million sorrys could never be enough on my part. A million sorrys won’t make a difference; I believe that actions speak louder than words so let my actions speak louder. I’m turning up the volume. I’m trying to be difference. I’m trying to bring you back. Me saying my million sorrys won’t make the difference because, yeah, I let you down. But now, let me try.


There it is. Peace.

I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

My eyes and head hurt, I feel dizzy.

5 things I'm thankful for:
1. Pain Medicine.
2. Relief that comes from Pain Medicine.
3. Headaches.
4. The pain in my eyes from my head ache.
5. Drinking lots of water to avoid getting dehydrated.

Quote of the Day:
The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.
-Paul Fix

I know I said I would write a long blog today but I will unfortunately be keeping it rather short tonight. I have had a headache for about an hour now. I was playing basketball tonight and I was extremely dizzy and lightheaded. I don't know what's wrong but I feel it's best that I drink lots of liquid, take it easy, and get some sleep. I think it's maybe that I am somewhat dehydrated, I have been having nosebleeds. And the past two mornings I've woken up and when I hawk a loogie (pardon the nasty image)it's been blood. This I believe is a result from dehydration. I am now upping my intake of water (although I thought I have been drinking enough, so who knows) and hope for the best. Let's hope I get better:)

Sweet dreams everyone. Spread love, spread happiness, spread hope.

I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

basketball is a sport!

5 things im thankful for
1. Playing basketball for hours on end
2. My abysmal free throw percentage
3. My belief that practice makes perfect
4. Finally learning to enjoy basketball
5. Playing...and winning

Quote of the day:
You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
=Unknown

I played basketball. It was a good release. I needed it. I need sleep. Peace out y'all. I'll write up a good one tomorrow.

I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

awe shucks Cami, you bomb!

5 things I'm thankful for:
1. Feeling I will sleep soon and be ready for my test in the morning.
2. Getting ready for bed before midnight.
3. Going to work out and just...sitting on a bike:)
4. Cami's epic response to what I wrote.
5. My Professor's reply.

Quote of the day:
A man with a watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure.
Segal's Law

Here is my Professors response to Cami's reply to my paper. I'll copy and paste it all. P.s. Cami, I edited what you said just a little bit. I took out the information irrelevant to my Professor. Just an fyi.
ALSO THEY ARE OUT OF ORDER. JUST SO YOU KNOW. DON'T BE CONFUSED. YES I AM SHOUTING. AHHHH. AHHHHH. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. RAWR. LIKE A DINOSAUR. RAAAWR!
James,

Your sister is correct on some items and incorrect on many others. In fact, she completely dismisses how structural racism plays a part in the life chances of minorities and, like many mainstream folks--and conservatives, points the finger at individuals (i.e., self-worth, hard work, etc.). Doing this allows her to make all kinds of assumptions about SAT exams, student loans, or even assume that minorities can easily get into the same university/colleges as their white counterparts.

Also, redlining is only one tool in the white supremacy tool box that is used to keep minorities in place. Thus, one needs to look at the bigger picture in terms of wealth (and the legacy of racism), segregation/isolation, etc. These are all discussed in Lewis' book which we covered in class.

We can talk more about this tomorrow after the exam or next week if you want. I'm also cc'ing this to my colleagues (Sharon, Rise, and Rabia) since they are more well versed with issues surrounding education/race than I. They are your resources so you should feel comfortable talking to them about these issues, as well.

DGE

>>> James Porter 11/04/09 3:43 PM >>>
Hey Professor,

I was looking into the concept of redlining and things of that sort and how the property tax goes down and that means less money for the school and in turn that means a lower quality of education. I wrote a paper about it and then after writing it I posted it to my blog (it's my way of getting a dialogue started about racial inequalities and things of that sort). I was given some responses that make me question what I've learned in class or did I completely screw up the concept of redlining?

My sister said,

James, You wrote "[s]ince the property tax goes down, the quality of education available to the children of the area goes down. The lower quality of education you have at the most basic levels, the harder it becomes to gain entrance into higher education." Meanwhile, the school you went to, Viewmont High School, has an average expenditure per student of $5,580 with a racial make up of 95% white (middle-to-upper-class students), 2% Hispanic, 2% Asian and less than 1% Black and American Indian. The school ranks a 7 on a scale of 1-10. Eighty percent of students meet or exceed the science proficiency set forth by the state, 94% meet or exceed the language arts standards, and 56% meet or exceed the math standards.

An inner-city Chicago school, Chicago Academy High School, spends $9,666 per student with a racial make up of 46% Hispanic, 23% Black, 22% White, 7% Multiracial and 3% Asian. This school (spending $4,086 more PER PUPIL per year than Viewmont) has a ranking of 2 (TWO) on a scale of 1-10. In the Chicago Academy High School, 32% of students meet or exceed the reading standards, 26% meet or exceed science standards and 34% meet or exceed math standards.

Let's look at another inner-city school with even more shocking results:
Total expenditure for students at Prospect Heights High School was $17,676 (seventeen THOUSAND) for the 2008-09 school year. This school also scored a 2 on a scale of 1-10. This school has a racial make up of 85% Black, 13% Hispanic, and less than 3% White, Asian, and American Indian. It's not that schools in minority neighborhoods have less money, it's just that the money is NOT going to the students and education. You're telling me that 7.6 million dollars is not enough for a student body of 434 students? (As a side note: this is only one of the 5 schools that meet in this high school, they are broken down into different "specialized" schools with different principals. This school actually has well over 2000 students).

I agree that something needs to be done, but when you say that minority students are getting the short end of the stick when it comes to school funding, you are incorrect. One more thing you need to realize is the ever increasing percentage of minority students attending college year over year. There are more minority students taking the SAT's per capita than non-minority students. Forty percent of the students who took the SAT's last year were minority students and only 26% of the population of the United States not white. Thirteen and a half percent of all who took the SAT were Hispanic, which is up 5.7% in just 10 years.

Lastly, you stated that "there is simply not enough money for these minority students to pay for the education. There is no justice in this. Justice extends a hand of opportunity in education to all equally. Raising the cost of college education does not take minorities into consideration and is therefore unjust." There is enough money for minority students to pay for education--it's called STUDENT LOANS. Many students have to take out student loans, and if the student does well, they will be rewarded with a good job with good pay and will therefore be able to repay their student loans. A college education is not a basic human right. Students who want a college education and who cannot afford one can take out student loans and repay later. What it boils down to is a matter of sacrifice and sense of worth. Do you think that your education is worth going into debt for? If not, then go to a community college and work while you are going to school to pay tuition. If you do, you will suck it up, take the student loans and repay when you're through. That might mean that you don't get to buy a house as soon as you're done with school because you have your student loan financial obligations, but you will have something that no body can take from you, and that is your education.

So, what we need to look at now is (1) where is all the money going in inner city public schools? (2) What can we do to help motivate the students to achieve in these schools? (3) What needs to be reformed in our country's educational policies that will enable students to fully meet their innate potential? And (4) What can you or I do about this?

End of her speaking.

Okay, I am left with the same questions she has. My school had a lot less then some of the schools and my school was fine. What's the issue here?

Thanks!

-James P. Porter

Cami, nicely done:)

New subject. What the heck is wrong with our government?!
Lil' Wayne is going to jail for being caught smoking marijuana and having a loaded weapon whereas Chris Brown goes all UFC on Rihanna and gets community service? Honestly that's bull crap. If you disagree and think what Weezy (nickname for Lil' Wayne) was way worse here is another example. Kanye West (yes, that's the guy who interrupted Taylor Swift [Yes, I'm in love with her] at the VMA's and said, yo' taylor I'ma let you finish....etc etc etc.) is possibly going to jail for assaulting some paparazzo who wouldn't leave him alone. How on earth is that okay? Chris Brown goes crazy and beats a Woman...and gets community service? That's freaking ridiculous. Those lawyers must suck. If it was me he'd be locked up for good and hopefully while in jail get taught a lesson about respecting women. That's ridiculous.

Ok, the whole getting taught a lesson thing is mean. But I absolutely LOATHE "men" who disrespect women. I do not like it. I will fight against it. Always.

I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

Product of Enviornment.

5 things I'm thankful for:
1. Blisters on my toes from basketball.
2. Knowing that eventually my blisters will turn into callouses.
3. Having Cami give me some epic insight that disagrees with redlining:)
4. Waiting for the response from an email to my Professor concerning some new information I learned today:)
5. Playing basketball with friends!

Quote of the day:
Whatever you are, be a good one.
Abraham Lincoln

I played basketball with some friends today. I really enjoyed it. I love playing basketball. It's fun! I am getting blisters on my toes because of my shoes. Still breaking in...ugh. But oh well, I really like um!

Today I received comments from Cami concerning my I conquered you English paper blog. It was some amazing insight and I highly recommend that you all read what she had to say. I shared that information with my Professor and now cannot wait to hear what he has to say. I am thoroughly stoked.

Anyways, it's getting late. I am getting tired.

OH YEAH! TRS will be playing at USU on February 12, 2010. It's almost as if the world is smiling at me for wanting to go there:)

I'm going to bed now. Night:)
I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

Institute today.

5 things I'm thankful for.
1. Finding out the Bryce will be playing at USU
2. The thought of going to USU
3. The thought of being a student at USU while Bryce plays there
4. Having a canceled class result in lots sleep.
5. Sickness, yes, sickness.

Quote of the Day:
Courage is doing what you're afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you're scared.
-Eddie Rickenbacker

DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHURCH IN OHIO, 1831-1834

“But this Church will fill North and South America—it will fill the world.” Wow. This prophecy is being fulfilled at this time. In hindsight it has always been easy for me to marvel at the amazing amount of missionary going on during the beginning of the church. When I step back and look at missionary work right now I am completely awestruck. Right now I have more then ten friends out on missions and it seems like it’s every other day that I hear of someone I know receiving their calls and leaving.
The Book of Mormon says that we aren’t blessed until after the trial of our faith. I have always been taught that the devil can only tempt you and do so much to you, but no matter what he cannot go above what you can resist. This makes me feel sorry for the people who left the church at Ohio. I understand that why there were going through was extremely difficult and in no way shape or form am I trying to belittle what they endured, but still, they had seen that God ALAWYS comes through. Our Heavenly Father always blesses us and He always knows what he is doing. There is a purpose for everything in life.
It has almost been two years since I lost one of my best friends. Shortly after her passing I had an interview with my bishop who wanted to see how I was doing. As we were talking he asked me how my faith was doing in these circumstances. I replied, “when things get rough for me why would I turn away from where I receive comfort and solace? The church is the only place I can find comfort for her death. Because of the church I know I will see her again and that death is not the end.” He told me that when people experience death they tend to fall away from the church. This does not make sense to me. Why would you turn your back on your Heavenly Father? Why would you turn your back on the truth? Our Heavenly Father will always be there to comfort us. We need to put our faith in him and we will receive blessings. It’s not in our time. It’s in his time. The Book of Mormon says something along the lines of even as the heavens are greater than the earth so are my thoughts greater than your thoughts. We don’t need to know everything. I personally feel it’s better to not know everything. Everything will happen in due time.



I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

Saccharine!

5 things I'm thankful for:
1. Hard work paying off in the search for a word.
2. Proving myself right.
3. Knowing I know what I am talking about even when everyone disagrees with me.
4. Knowing that their was indeed a word that meant overly sentimental.
5. Realizing that the word I was thinking of was saccharine!

Quote of the Day:
What this country needs is more free speech worth listening to.
Hansell B. Duckett

In my UCWR a few days ago I was talking about a poem that was overly sentimental and asked what the word for that was. I asked and nobody knew. My teacher kinda mocked me and said, "the word you're looking for is sentimentality." I knew she was wrong so today I spent some time looking for that word. It took 2.5 hours of hard work and I found the word. SACCHARINE. What now teach?

Today I wrote a lot. I've wrote a song and half of another. I will post them which I finish editing them into making sense and such;)

I wrote about some poems in class. Here is what I wrote.

Which Poet Does It For Me?
Why did I choose the poem I chose? That is the question. I used the process of elimination. I did not like the majority of these poems. I do not like ee cummings poetry and therefore did not choose “in just-.”
To ee cummings, first of its E.e. Cummings, don’t think that you’re the next Shakespeare and can do whatever you want with the English language and have it be kosher. Your poetry should follow grammatical rules and please, stop making up so many words, you’re not Snoop.
I am indeed a massive fan of William Shakespeare but I believe that the poem “Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer’s Day?” is absolutely overrated and to “cute.” It is almost as if Shakespeare was trying to write a sonnet for pubescent-drama-plagued-Edward-Cullen-loving-teenage girl. This poem is too sappy and the only reason people give it a look is because Shakespeare wrote it. I believe that we shouldn’t give any literary piece a free ride just because a certain person wrote it. That’s absolutely ridiculous. Sorry Shakespeare, you’ve done better and that’s why I do not pick you.
“I Hear America Singing” this poem is overly sentimental. Another word for overly sentimental is saccharine (you didn’t believe me when I said there was a word for overly sentimental that started with an s, I spent 3 hours and found it). This poem is too patriotic. I love America but I don’t need a poem to tell me why.
“Portrait in Georgia” I did not pick this poem because I do not understand this poem. As I read it, it seemed awful. It used the word lyncher’s, fagots, and talks about different colors. I may be completely misreading this poem but it seems to me like it is about racism and prejudice. I don’t want to write about how anything that has to do with that is good writing. It may be good writing, but I will not defend it.
Rather than pondering over the two huge poems I decided to play it safe and stick with a poem I know to be good writing. “Dulce Et Decorum Est” is a good piece of poetry. I remember going over this poem in AP English and coming to the conclusion as to why it was good.
Why is “Dulce Et Decorum Est” a good poem? This is a good writing because it has really nice syntax. The flow of this piece is nice. It appeals to the audience and is able to captivate us and help us catch a glimpse of war.

Sorry i'm not writing more...but I'm wakin up at 645 to work out. woot woot!
I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

about time internet.

5 things I'm thankful for:
1. Fast Sundays.
2. CES firesides.
3. Realizing how far away marriage is.
4. Getting an extra hour of sleep.
5. When Bryce sang, “you tell me to live” and sang about Jesus everyone started to cheerJ

Quote of the Day:
When I'm lost and it seems the end,
like there's only certain death.
You tell me to live.

When dark clouds cover the sky,
like there's no hope; you are the light.
You tell me to live.

When I'm all by myself,
and I'm scared about my health.
You tell me to live.

And when you heal my broken wings,
yes you heal my everything.
You tell me to live.

You tell me to live.

-BRYCE
in his live version he changed it up and sang about Jesus. It was amazingly beautiful and heartfelt.

Today was a good day. I got to sleep. A lot. That’s a good thing. I enjoy sleep. I went to church. It was epic.

My Internet is being idiotic and decided to flake out on me. I do not know when I when I will be able to post this. I am sorry.

I just wanted to you to know that even though I am unable to post I will still be blogging




I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

HOLY WOW! I AM IN AWE!!!!

5 things i'm thankful for:)
1. The Rocket Summer in concert at HOB Chicago
2. Forever the Sickest Kids in concert at HOB Chicago
3. My Favorite Highway in concert at HOB Chicago
4. Sing it Loud in concert at HOB Chicago
5. Vita in concert at HOB Chicago and being so epic! I love you Vita!

Quote of the day:
Nothing's bigger than love!
-My Favorite Highway

So today, WOW.
That basically sums it up.
I went to the House of Blue in Chicago for an absolutely amazing line up. Good news Utah TRS fans. Bryce DID NOT say, you guys are my favorite or you guys are the best or I love coming here. He really does love Utah:) haha, he's epic no matter where he does his shows. That's for sure. Anyways, I didn't get up to the front. I didn't even try. Didn't have the energy. Anyways, I stayed in the back. There was this ridiculously attractive girl in a cop outfit. I wanted to talk to her...but I was much too shy. When Bryce played he left the stage and went to the back on this little platform. He sang right at me. He stood right next to me. HE GAVE ME HIS PICK!!!! WOOT WOOT. I loved the show and took pictures and video via phone (cameras are not allowed. idiotic. I know) At the end of the show I went to look for my friends and to my surprise Vita was in the back!!! I think she is so absolutely ridiculously gorgeous. Like WOW. She was down to her last poster and I was far from the front of the line, she looked up, looked at me, we stared at each other and she said, "would you like a poster!?" I smiled and said, "of course!" She signed a poster for me wrote VITA XOX and gave it to me. It was her LAST poster folks. I think it's love. It's DESTINY! Anyways, the shoe was fantastic but I missed Club Sound. OH, HOB has a springboard floor, so when the crowd gets bouncin, you really get bouncin. It was a trip! OH, I loved the show!! It was amazing!. Oh yeah, mosh pits are better in Utah. I worked a few kids. haha!

p.s. TRS has a new bassist and drummer. Just sayin.
Also, TRS has a new banner.
ALSO, TRS has 6 lamps they put up that say, hurt, restoration, faith, hope, failure, triumph.
ALSO, TRS has 2 keyboards.
also, Bryce opened with his loop.
Also, Sing It Loud had a band member fall off stage! haha
Also, TRS dressed up like the Blues Brothers.

Here is a montage of all the pictures. It has Do You Feel playing as it goes.
you've been warned.




Video of the concert to come:)

I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.

I get sick at the right times...

5 things I'm thankful for
1. Cleaning my room.
2. Canada dry ginger ale
3. refilling a bottle of canada dry ginger ale with 7up
4. Knowing how to get better when i'm sick and shoving it in your face...sickness.
5. Realizing I get to go to a dope concert later today:)

Quote of the Day:
Self-reliance is the only road to true freedom, and being one's own person is its ultimate reward.
Patricia Sampson

I am really tired. I cleaned and did some laundry today. It makes me pretty happy. I am sick. I am tired. I am getting over my sickness though. That's a good thing. I get to see Forever the Sickest Kids, The Rocket Summer, Sing It Loud, My Favorite Highway, and Vita today! I'm really excited. I get to go to the House of Blues. I'm pretty sure that that was a goal on my bucket list. I hope it was. I can't wait to accomplish it. It'll be epic.

Love you all:)
I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

This Darn Blog

5 things i'm thankful for
1. Medicine.
2. Vitamin C.
3. Realizing I'm starting to get sick.
4. Knowing how to remedy that.
5. Knowing I need sleep and will shortly have it.

Quote of the Day:
Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.
Oscar Wilde

Okay, I was in bed and I was wondering why I couldn't sleep. I couldn't sleep because I knew I hadn't written in my blog yet. Crazy how epic habits are.

Anyways, it's bedtime. PEACE.
I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

I conquer you english paper, I WIN. Don't forget that. PUNK.

5 things I'm thankful for:
1. Staying up til 6 am to write a paper.
2. Writing an epic paper for English.
3. Endless hours of revision on this paper.
4. College life, stayin up late to write papers...it's a party.
5. the fact that I notice the difference between 1-4 in the thankful things:)
6. The fact that I know Mom and Dad will probably fret because I haven't gone to sleep yet...:) But since I wrote this, you are no longer allowed to worry!
7. The feeling you get when you finally finish something.
8. The ability to break my own Blog rules.
9. Share my English paper with you!

Quote of the Day:
It is not worth an intelligent man's time to be in the majority. By definition, there are already enough people to do that.
-G. H. Hardy

James Porter
Professor H. Cramond
UCWR 110-057
22 October 2009
Justice
What is justice and how do we reach it? Is it possible to achieve justice? Justice can be attained through tolerance and acceptance, a desire for change, action orientated people and ultimately justice is achieved through education. If one cannot tolerate why would they look to bring justice for others? Tolerance is only the beginning. Tolerance alone is not sufficient. Beyond tolerance one must accept the people. Once acceptance is reached one can begin to care and understand which can lead you to want to make a change. Wanting change because you sense an injustice and you want to make the difference. It is not merely enough to want to make the change, you must be action orientated. Action orientated means that you will bring about change. You will do all that you can do in your power to make the difference.
Tolerance and acceptance, desire for change, and being action orientated—this describe the mission of Greg Mortenson. In a just society, education would be given to all who sought after it. Mr. Mortenson and the Central Asia Institute seek to do just that—bringing justice, through learning, to Pakistan and the Middle East one school at a time.
Mercury Reader devotes their first chapter to social justice. In “Arm-In-Arm for Justice” by Daniel Hartnett, S.J. four main steps are given “to form true leaders for justice”(p. 1). The four steps are experience, understanding, imagination, and action. Greg Mortenson goes through the steps and hence—according to “Arm-In-Arm for Justice”—is a true leader for justice.
Experience according to “Arm-In-Arm for Justice” is implying direct contact. In order to best help serve people one must get his or her hands dirty. The only way to help people is by getting to know them. Greg Mortenson stumbled into the city of Korphe where he was taken in and treated with incredible hospitality. He lived, learned, and loved with the people of Korphe. He gained his experience by being accepted by the people of Korphe. In the words of Bill Clinton,

He (Greg Mortenson) is the ultimate social entrepreneur ... a guy with a good idea, prepared to start small and stay with it as long as it takes to have a big impact and commit a lifetime to it. ... He is effective in an area where Americans are not popular, because he relates to people as human beings.

When his time to leave Korphe had come, Greg Mortenson related to the people and therefore came to understand the people of Korphe.
Hartnett says it perfectly, “It is not enough to empathize with victims of injustice” (p. 3). Basically, feeling bad for them is not enough. One must try to understand what is the cause of the people’s problems, what is causing them injustice and how can it be remedied? Greg Mortenson did just that. The lack of education was crippling the people Korphe. The solution was a school. Greg Mortenson provided the solution through—not just merely empathizing, but—understanding. He now understood what he needed to do, but how was he supposed to get funding for such a project? Alas, imagination!
Imagination is where great ideas are formulated. Mortenson used his imagination to figure out new and creative ways to increase funding and cut costs on first building the bridge and later building the schools. In a place that severely lacked in the education department there are now currently upwards of eighty schools in the Middle East thanks to the imaginative thinking of Mortenson and the Central Asia Institution.
Quite possibly the most important step of the whole process is the final step—action. Without action the other steps become a nice thought. Newton’s law of motion say that if an object moves or changes its course it is due to the fact that it was acted upon. Acted upon is the phrase that requires attention. Things do not change and will not until they are acted upon. Mortenson made good on his word. Mortenson made a difference because he acted. He put himself into action in order to make a better life for the people of Korphe. Greg Mortenson became a true leader of justice. In order to best exemplify the steps Hartnett sets Mortenson shows that he is able to tolerate and accept, he has a desire to change, and he is action orientated.
One might ask, how is this applicable to everyday life and how does this apply to us? In south Chicago on September 24, 2009 Derrion Albert was brutally beat and murdered on his way home from school, there have been forty-five deaths in the past twelve months, and from September 2008 to September 2009 398 students have been shot. In this school year alone [2009] four students have died. Due to the violence a safety and security strategy has been announced. According to this strategy they will target “high-risk” teens and get them mentors, part-time jobs and do what they can do in order to keep these teens off of streets. The $30 millions dollars funding this will come from the federal stimulus grants. The plan also has will provide students with a safe passage to school buy placing security personnel along the way. These safe passages have not yet been put into place. (Belkin)
Will this work? For some, yes, but unfortunately for the majority it will not work. The people responsible for the safety and security strategy are assuming that there is a one size fits all solution. This is not the case. They are going to be offering students low paying part-time jobs when the teens know full well that they can go out into the streets and make all the money from a paycheck in a matter of minutes. Their hearts are in the right place, the minds behind the safety and security strategy see a problem that they want to change and they are action orientated. Unfortunately they neglected the foundation, they do not understand the true issue here. They think that by offering part-time jobs, mentoring, and counseling they will successfully be able to lure the teens from off the streets. Regrettably the lavish life of the street is much too appealing to be dismayed by such a feeble attempt. It is unjust to try to propose a one size fits all plan for these teens. Understanding needs to become a main factor before proposing a plan and there will not be a successful change until this understand takes place.
A college education is steadily becoming more and more expensive. The cost for public colleges has gone up 6.5 percent and the cost for a private education has gone up 4.4 percent. It’s hard to comprehend how the economy can go down and we still see this universal increase in the price of tuitions. It is important to remember that the majority of the students do not pay the full price. These students tend to receive some sort of assistance. In fact, approximately two-thirds of college students receive grants. Two-thirds of grant money being given out is merit-based without even taking into account the recipients actually financial assistance needs. Grants are not sufficient; the amount of money being borrowed in order to pay for education has also increased. (Lewin)
The higher cost of a college education is fueling the socially-constructed-racial-monster. From the beginning minorities have it hard. The higher the cost of a college education directly translates to the lower the amount of minorities in said colleges. We know this because the depending on where the minorities are born—if they are born into a lower class area—they are redlined. As defined by Rachel Dwyer, “Redlining is a form of discrimination in credit markets where banks and financial institutions identify entire neighborhoods as too “high-risk” for financial investment in both residential and commercial property.” Property taxes pay for schooling. Since the area is redlined the property tax goes down. Since the property tax goes down, the quality of education available to the children of the area goes down. The lower quality of education you have at the most basic levels, the harder it becomes to gain entrance into higher education. Furthermore, the students that—by some miracle—make it through the system are living in a lower income area and therefore are unable to gain funds in order to pay for the rising costs of higher education. Although the families realize that the students aren’t paying the “sticker price” of their college education there is simply not enough money for these minority students to pay for the education. There is no justice in this. Justice extends a hand of opportunity in education to all equally. Raising the cost of college education does not take minorities into consideration and is therefore unjust.
Justice can be achieved through tolerance and acceptance, a desire for change, action orientated people and ultimately justice is achieved through education. The time for a change is now. We must be actively immersed in a good cause. It is time for a revolution of justice. The time for educational justice to reign supreme is now. Just is achieved though tolerance and acceptance. Justice is achieved through a desire for change. Justice is achieved through action-orientated people. The time for justice is now. Let us be “Arm-in-Arm” for justice. Let’s unite and bring forth this justice that the world so desperately needs.

















Works Cited
Anderson, Vicky, Heather Cramond, Jackie Heckman, Amy Kessel, Allison Locke, Margaret Loweth, Roxanne Schwab, Cayenne Sullivan, Sandra Urban, Paige Warren, Sharon Walsh, and Sherrie Weller, comps. Mercury Reader. New York: Pearson Custom, 2009. Print.
A Custom Publication for Loyola University

Belkin, Douglas. "Violent Deaths Shock Chicago Into Action." The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, Inc., 7 Oct. 2009. Web. 20 Oct. 2009. .

Dwyer, Rachel. The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology. Ed. George Ritzer. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell, 2007. Blackwell Reference Online. Wiley-Blackwell, 2007. Web. 20 Oct. 2009. .

Lewin, Tamar. "College Costs Keep Rising, Report Says." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 20 Oct. 2009. Web. 20 Oct. 2009. .
Marshall, John. "Bill Clinton speaks to P-I in advance of his latest trip to Seattle." Seattle PI. Hearst Seattle Media, LLC, 1 Nov. 2007. Web. 20 Oct. 2009. .

Mortenson, Greg, and David Oliver Relin. Three Cups of Tea One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time. New York: Penguin (Non-Classics), 2007. Print.
















Reflection.
This was probably the most difficult paper to write yet. This paper forced me to think probably more then I have in my entire college experience today. I had to figure out how to compare the two stories and then on top of that show the correlation to the current events. This paper was difficult because I was forced to write about something that I am extremely passionate about and keep a cool head. This is a very difficult thing for me to do. My temper tends to flair and when it does my writing goes downhill. I had to constantly remind myself that it was okay and I was just writing a paper.
The revision of this paper was quite rough. I probably spent 10 hours going over my rough draft. If you think it’s bad now…you should’ve seen it before! I have an addiction to comma splices and I am trying my hardest to avoid them and completely eradicate them from my writing. Comma splices are something that has plagued my writing since my ninth grade year. I never learned to remedy this atrocity and am trying my hardest to avoid them. Screw you comma spliced. Comma splices are the root of evil!
I can’t believe that I am finally finished with this assignment. With hard work comes great relief. I feel I have worked hard and am excited for my relief—sleep. Peace.








img src=” I love you all, goodbye.
I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

Exhausted and ready for bed

5 things I'm thankful for:
1. Playing basketball after institute.
2. Being on a team with my institute teacher.
3. Being on a team with my institute teacher that went 2 for 3 on the night.
4. Exercise post institute style.
5. Being told I have a nice floater shot.

Quote of the day:
Courage does not always roar. Sometimes it is the quiet voice at the day, saying, “I will try again tomorrow”.
- Anonymous

Today I wrote something for institute. Here it is.

GATHERING TO THE LAND OF ZION

Something that stood out to me in this reading was that it seemed like whenever the Saints were going through the roughest of rough times, they were happy and content. It seems to me that it is as if with all the suffering they were going through they were always able to see the Lord’s hand in their lives and his blessing showering down on them. What they did must have taken so much faith. I cannot even begin to imagine how difficult is must have been. They Saints were preparing for Zion and Zion’s potential so I see why they were happy and optimistic, but at the same time, it’s bound to be difficult when things are “inconvenient.” I did not know that Levi Hancock was related to John Hancock! That was something extremely new and exciting to read. I also did not know about the explosion of missionary work while the Saints were in Missouri. I thought that they focused all their attention on building Zion and preparing it but it never dawned on me how illogical it would be to focus solely on building Zion rather then branching out. We are a faith that branches out and tries to teach and give others the blessed enlightenment we have. Why would they stop? It makes complete sense.
The Lord has a reason for everything He does. He is the beginning and the end. He knows His reasons. He knows what He is doing. We are not required to know everything. There is a time and a place for all things. If we put our faith and trust in the Lord, He will direct us to where we ultimately need to be. It will not be easy. It will be difficult but He will bless us beyond our beliefs. I know this is true. I know my Heavenly Father loves me and cares for me. I know He wants the best for me.


I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

No way...she's not sixteen, you lie!

5 things I'm grateful for:
1. My little sister.
2. My baby sister.
3. My younger sister.
4. My youngest sibling.
5. ASHLEY MICHELLE PORTER!

Quote of the Day:
A sister[Ashley] is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit,
a golden thread to the meaning of life.
~ Isadora James

My baby sister is...sixteen years old today. October 27th is her day. I can barely believe it. Ashley! You were supposed to stay my baby sister forever! Ashley, I am so happy that you're my sister. I know that I can turn to you. You're always there and whenever I'm having a rough time you do something sweet to help me. I miss being home and I miss being with you. It’s ridiculous in my eyes that you are already 16. I’m okay with you being 16 as long as you don’t go out on any dates…or drive.

Ashley, I love you so much. When I get home in December I want to take you out on a date. Just you and me, and we’ll go somewhere nice. I want you to know that I will ALWAYS be here for you. I am your big brother and will always have your back. I hope you know that you can talk to me about anything and everything and I’ll be there to help you and do anything and everything in my power to help you. If it came to it I would raise heaven and hell for you Ashley. I love you so much. Words fail express the way I feel. I love you with all my heart. I am so grateful that God has blessed me with such an amazing little sister and more importantly I am so grateful for having God bless me with my best friend. I love you Ashley.

P.S. NO DATING!!!

I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

I Love You, Sleep.

5 things i'm thankful for
1. FBI hat
2. Huge Gatorade water bottle
3. My Basketball
4. A somewhat cleaner room
5. TWLOHA sticker on my electric guitar finally.

Quote of the Day:

Here's another song from Bryce!

Hills and Valleys

I'm on top of the world
I can see it all around me
Such beautiful words
Leaving and oceans
(Woo-hoo, Woo-hoo)
I can feel it
Never felt this before
(Woo-hoo)
Yeah, yeah

I got a beautiful woman
We're coming off of
The hard end of harder times
Gonna be starting something
That gets us straight up outta here
(Woo-hoo, Woo-hoo)

I can fix it
Let me take us away
(Woo-hoo)
Yeah, we leave at night
We stay by day

Say you're with me
There's gold ahead
There's golden dreams
And life's hills and valleys
(Woo-hoo)
Yeah, will you hold on with me?
(Woo-hoo, Woo-hoo)
Let me take us
Let me take us away
(Woo-hoo, Woo-hoo)
Away

We drove out to California
Straight through the desert of Arizona
Sweet Texas, I'll kiss ya
Hope to be back
But now I gotta leave ya
(Woo-hoo, Woo-hoo)

I can fix it
Let me take us away
(Woo-hoo)
Yeah, we leave at night
We stay by day

Say you're with me
There's gold ahead
There's golden dreams
And life's hills and valleys
(Woo-hoo)
Yeah, will you hold on with me?
(Woo-hoo, Woo-hoo)
Let me take us
Let me take us away
(Woo-hoo, Woo-hoo)

I wouldn't know just how sweet this tastes now
No, if at first I deny, girl
The bitter times, the bitter places
I'll see you lata' the new battles
But, for now, we're here

Say you're with me
There's gold ahead
There's golden dreams
And life's hills and valleys
(Woo-hoo)
Yeah, will you hold on with me?
(Woo-hoo, Woo-hoo)
Let me take us
Let me take us away
(Woo-hoo, Woo-hoo)
Let me take us
Let me take us away
(Woo-hoo, Woo-hoo)
Let me take us
Let me take us away
(Woo-hoo, Woo-hoo)

Listen to it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqMRvd0t0bQ

Today I slept all day. It felt amazing. The funny thing about sleep is when you sleep all day, at the end of sleeping you sleep so much it makes you tired. I love it. Thanks extra sleep for making me sleepy. Due to the fact that I am so sleepy I will be turning in shortly.

P.S. CAMO IS HOME!!!!!!!!!!
I had no idea his mission was over already.. like what the heck man?! that was quick! I'm excited to go home and see him:)


I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

Here is the video

I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.

Rogers Park Halloween

5 things I'm thankful for:
1. Hershey's factory hats.
2. Staying up til 5a.m. decorating for Halloween.
3. Going downtown and going to the Hershey store.
4. Bad acting in scary movies.
5. Uploading pictures!

Quote of the Day:
To know the road ahead ask those coming back.
-Chinese Proverb

A picture is worth a thousand words. So, basically I'm writing a plethora of thousands of words:)

The first pictures are of the decoration in my dorm hall. We won the competition for the best hall. We now get a beanbag in our lounge.Basically everything you see is drawn of done by kids on my floor. Amazing eh? YES! The next pictures are of going downtown. We went to the Hershey store. It was delicious. But it was also absolutely awful. I ate too much. It was painful. Haha. Anyways, Enjoy!

(the video isn't working I will try to post it up ASAP)

I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת

10k

5 things I'm thankful for:
1. 6pm.com they have great deals y'all.
2. When people from colleges email me back.
3. People commenting my blog and me finding out about it later:)
4. My choice of college narrowing down to basically one!
5. Everyone decorating for the kids from Rogers Parks for Halloween.

Quote of the Day:
Think of life as a terminal illness, because, if you do, you will live it with joy and passion, as it ought to be lived.
-Anna Quindlen

it's 11:11 for me. I'ma make a wish!

Today I found out that it is illegal to trick or treat in Chicago...how sad is that? Simpson Hall (my resident hall) has decorated the entire building and tomorrow we having the kids from Rogers Park (the local neighborhood) coming over to trick-or-treat! Yes, it's completely epic. I know.

I've noticed something epic. College is a time to experiment, to learn, to "find yourself." I have found myself. I am learning. All is left is to experiment. While the majority of my peers choose to experiment with worldly things i.e. drugs, alcohol, sex, etc. I choose to experiment by testing my limits. Since I got to Loyola I have pushed myself more then I have ever before. I've run my fastest mile here. I've run my first 5k here and have run many since. I have been teaching myself MMA stand-up here. And today, I ran my fist 10k. I am pushing my body to extremes I have never known about before and am loving every second of it. I working out and teaching myself new things. It's enjoyable.

Oh, in other news. At the Flo Rida concert last night I dislocated my shoulder. Thanks to my new found love of working out, it's feeling pretty good. Yes it is sore. Yes it hurts, but the muscles are developing around it and is already recovering. I worked it out today and it was holding up quite well, for this I am happy:)

I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

Flo Rida, not Florida!

5 Things I'm Thankful For:
1. Free Concerts!
2. Watching Flo Rida for free.
3. Rap....it makes me truly appreciate my taste in music, I can't wait til TRS!!!
4. Realizing my quote of the day stands:)
5. Dancing at Flo Rida!

Quote of the Day:
"You can't spell crap without rap!"
-I first heard it from Dad, but I'm unsure of who originally said it.

Today I went to a concert at school.

(wow, I wrote a good page on this. But unfortunately the computer flaked and I lost everything. it's three a.m.) I'll write about this tomorrow.

--10 minutes later--

Well, I'm having troubles sleeping so I'll just write about it now.

I went to the concert and it was honestly one of the most bittersweet things I have ever been to. I was rude. I shouted insults the whole night. But it was for good reason. I HATE being asked stupid questions. If I am at a show. Why wouldn't I want to hear another one of your songs? Why wouldn't I want to dance? That's obviously why I am there. Don't ask silly questions because if you do, I will reply with an answer you don't want to hear. "Do you wanna hear another song?" to which I reply. NO, Get off the stage and let a real musician up. "Do you want to dance?" No, I don't want to dance because nobody here can dance. These comments of mine went on all night. People around me were laughing...so it's all good! If I was up on stage, of course I would try to get the crowd going and work the crowd and all that jazz...but I would also try to do something motivational. If I were on stage, during the dull moments I would talk about a cause. I would try to raise awareness...That's why rappers aren't as fly as me.

I've decided that I want to be a rapper. They have the easiest job in the world. All they do is get on stage, take their clothes off, sign stuff, and throw it out to the crowd. You don't even have to be able to sing anymore...cough T.I. uses autotune cough... to be a rapper. All I heard tonight was, Yo yo yo, yea, yeah, yeah, uh huh, haha, yo, yeah. It takes quite a bit of musical genius to come up with their lyrics, "yo yo yo, When I say hollywood. you say hollywood." do that every song, at least 10 times and then you've basically got every single one of Hollywood Holt's songs down.

I'm not gonna lie I had a great time tonight. I love music. No matter how crappy it is. If it has a beat and I can dance...trust me. I'll dance. Everyone knows I love to dance...and it's even better when it's flo rida singing about apple bottoms jeans. Remember him Dad? That was the only rap song you'd listen to:) Apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur. Yup, that's flo rida. Shawty got low low low low low. I know I'm no shawty, but I a'int afraid to get low low low low low. Dancing is fun. I almost lost my voice from singing along. I was with friends. I had a great night.



Here are the pictures(in video format hope it works:
(this video is silent, feel free to watch at work, at school, wherever you read.)



Here is some video from the night as well.

WARNING: These videos are loud. It's VERY loud. Turn down the volume. Throw up some headphones, put it on mute. Do what you gotta do. You've be warned.
video 1


video 2


video 3



Sorry for all the poor quality. This was all done on my phone.

I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.

New Song by Bryce

5 things i'm thankful for
1. staying up all night for english
2. listening to new TRS music while doing so.
3. thinking of beautiful music to come quite soon.
4. the amazing lyics of you gotta believe
5. talent in that song alone that inspires me to want to do more.

Quote of the Day:

Bryce Avary's newest released record, from his coming EP, You Gotta Believe, to be released on October 27, 2009.

Lyrics:

Sir, excuse my rudeness
But I believe that I know something
That you don't because you are talking down to me
Like you think I'm a nothing
And I won't allow it, this pompous prowess
Though I respect you, even through the prejudice
You're blind leading blind, its not hard to see.

You gotta believe, oh yeah, don't fear, don't break it, you gotta be free
I hope your blinded eyes will see.

You can ask me anything,
I may not know the answer to everything
No I won't, and all I can do is speak from the heart, a valiant sentiment
And although you're clever with your endeavor
Try to prove me wrong I will remember
You're blind leading blind, its not hard to see, yeah.

You gotta believe, oh yeah, don't fear dont break it, you gotta be free
I hope your blinded eyes will see
You gotta believe, dont fear dont break it, you gotta be free
I hope your blinded eyes will see, yeah.

Whatever the cost, whatever I lost,
Whatever I gained, whatever I fought,
I knew was a test and I am the furthest from what you think and it is worth it.

You gotta believe, oh, alright, don't fear don't break it you gotta be free
I hope your blinded eyes will see
You gotta believe, yeah don't fear, dont break it, you gotta be free
You gotta believe, don't don't let them hold you down,

Come on, come on, sing it
Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa
Yeah, oh it hurt my eyes to see.

You gotta believe.

THANK YOU BRYCE!!!!!


I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

I Think I'd be Happy If It Was A Saturday!

5 things I'm thankful for
1. Bryce singing Saturday:)
2. When random people piano while I'm in the piano room. It's beautiful
3. Taking some awesome pictures of the parking garage tree.
4. Singing along to Saturday
5. Learning about the Gathering To Ohio

Quote of the Day:
But my disciples shall stand in holy places, and shall not be moved; but among the wicked, men shall lift up their voices and curse God and die.
-D&C 45:32
This scripture provides me with comfort when I see the evil in the world.

GATHERING TO OHIO

Many members in the church were thinking of going to Ohio. In December of 1830 the Lord commanded his people to move to Ohio. As I read this part it affirmed that the Lord gives personal revelation yet does not reveal revelation for the entire church—unless the revelation is to the Prophet. I may be wrong, but from reading this it seemed that some of the people knew that were going to Ohio. I personally feel that they had the revelation for themselves. They felt that they [personally] would be moving to Ohio rather then the whole church. It was until after December 1830 that they realized it was the church as a whole.
As I read this chapter it made me sad to see that Satan will try to needle his way in wherever he can. It’s absolutely ridiculous. When revelation was given that the Saints needed to move to Ohio people immediately began to murmur. The book says, “Not everyone at the conference was in harmony with this revelation.” The Lord does NOT give pointless revelation. The Lord has a purpose for each and every single thing he does. His words are not just mere words. They are words with meaning. We cannot be picky and choosy with what we obey. We can’t want to obey certain aspects of the gospel and not other aspects and expect to get a lot out of it. I’ve learned through personal experience that the more I invest in the gospel the result is the more I receive from the gospel We must do our part. The Lord always makes good on his promises. If we obey, we WILL be blessed. There are no ifs, ands, or buts. If there is revelation given, all we need to do is obey! A few weeks ago in class I learned that it was said (I don’t remember who gave the talk but I remember the general idea) that if we listen in conference and do everything we have been told to do we would be set. All we have to do is obey! It’s sounds so simple because in reality it is so simple. It’s just as easy to obey, as it is to disobey. It’s all a matter of perspective. At first obeying is hard. But once you start it becomes natural and becomes easier and easier. Is this to say that we aren’t tempted? No. But it is saying that we will be closer to our Savior and have a better relationship and therefore we will be able to make the correct choices. I know that this is true. I have experienced this. I know that when I put faith in Christ and I do my part I am blessed. It’s simple—obey!

I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

What's Wrong With Optimism?

5 things I'm thankful for:
1. Helpful people at stores
2. Liz being my best buy buddy
3. Seeing maserati's downtown
4. Taking pictures of said car
5. Talking to Karley on Skype:)

Quote of the Day:
We are at the very beginning of time for the human race. It is not unreasonable that we grapple with problems. But there are tens of thousands of years in the future. Our responsibility is to do what we can, learn what we can, improve the solutions, and pass them on.
-Richard Feynman

I find it funny that people have a hard time with my optimism. I am a happy person. No, it's not always natural. But I have been on the opposite side of the spectrum I do now what it is like to deal with pessimism and complete sadness. That's not the life for me. That's not the life I choose. So yeah, sometimes my happiness and optimistic display is a little exaggerated but if it is. It's probably because I'm feeling down and need to find joy in the small things. It's not my personality that needs a fixer. It's yours. PEACE!

I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

Photoshop Princess

5 things I'm thankful for:
1. Applying to colleges while in college.
2. When someone gives a talk and it was for you.
3. Meeting with your branch President and he tells you you'll have a calling soon
4. Writing songs and feeling oh so happy.
5. Mom reminding me that when I get home...she's the first date:)

Quote of the Day:
A wise man can see more from the bottom of a well than a fool can from a mountain top .
-Unknown

Today I wrote a song. It's called Photoshop Princess. Tell me how you feel about it?

You search the magazines trying to find the modern look.
The world has you, baby, you’ve bitten the hook.
They’re reeling you in, distorting the view of real beauty.
They’re transforming you into something unknown, someone I don’t know.

When I first saw you, you were wearing sweat pants, your hair was such a mess,
Your makeup was nowhere to be seen, the sweater you wore was oversized
Baby, that’s when I knew that you’re beautiful just the way you are,
Don’t you know you’re gorgeous? Don’t you know I love you just the way you are?

You take millions of pictures; you’re using billions of angles
Adjusting the light, trying to look the perfect height.
You take picture after picture deleting fifty to every one you keep.
Thinking, “ Am I just not good enough, can’t I be like the models I see?”

When I first saw you, you were wearing sweat pants, your hair was such a mess,
Your makeup was nowhere to be seen, the sweater you wore was over-sized
Baby, that’s when I knew that you’re beautiful just the way you are,
Don’t you know you’re gorgeous? Don’t you know I love you just the way you are?

You get on your computer; you plug your camera in. You scan through all your pictures.
Deleting every other picture saying that it’s, “just not good enough.”
Once you have the ones you want you open up Photoshop and attack them mercilessly.
After you’ve attacked it looks new. It looks nothing like…you.

When I first saw you, you were wearing sweat pants, your hair was such a mess,
Your makeup was nowhere to be seen, the sweater you wore was oversized
Baby, that’s when I knew that you’re beautiful just the way you are,
Don’t you know you’re gorgeous? Don’t you know I love you just the way you are?

Boy: I love the girl you used to be. Girl: fall in love, in love with this created me. Boy: you’ve changed too much, I feel I’m losing the real you Girl: I need you know more than I’ve ever needed you before.

[Harmonize:]
Boy: I’ll be the one to wipe away your tears.
Girl: Be the one to wipe away my tears.

Boy: I need the girl I fell for from day one.
Girl: I need the boy who wanted me from the start.

Come back, please, come back. Be the girl who knew her real beauty, be the girl who knew her potential. Run away from the world that drags you down. Turn away from the magazines that rip you to shreds. Come back and realize you’re more then I could’ve ever dreamed. Come back and realize you’re perfect in every way.

When I first saw you, you were wearing sweat pants, your hair was such a mess,
Your makeup was nowhere to be seen, the sweater you wore was over-sized
Baby, that’s when I knew that you’re beautiful just the way you are,
Don’t you know you’re gorgeous? Don’t you know I love you just the way you are?

I love you just the way, just the way, just the way you are.


I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.”/>

Black sweater makes me sweat.

1. my black hockey sweater that makes me sweat
2. working out for 3 hours
3. USC winning!
4. Norte dame losing!
5. Playing the piano while listening to TRS.

Quote of the day:
"There's no time for hating, what we hate we make."
-Bryce Avary

Just a heads up, I think I am going to start a new Blog. This one will remain the personal one. The other one will be one where I can critique and stuff. Just lettin y'all know. I need popcorn. Peace.

I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.

13.8

Things I am Thankful for:
1. Flight to Utah:)
2. Emails from Dad letting me know of said flight.
3. Going 13.8 miles on a bike.
4. Starting to feel sore from that 13.8 miles.
5. 12:57 Popcorn.

Quote of the Day:
A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author.
-G. K. Chesterton

I love reading. I haven't had the opportunity to free read that much. It's rough. I am going to try to start adding more personal reading into my life. It is late and I am tired. Sorry this is so short. I'll write something epic soon. That's a promise.

I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.

What are you willing to read?

Things I am Thankful for:
1. Taco Salads with Chipotle sauce.
2. Getting free snowcones
3. Getting free pizzas
4. Watching pie eating contests
5. Watching people make fools of themselves on a mechanical bull.

Quote of the Day.
"I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go. Things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right. You believe less so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together"
- Marilyn Monroe
I agree with this quote:)

P.S. I find it absolutely hilarious that I can type in Marilyn Monroe and have it be not get the red squiggly, I can even type in Jedi(as long as I capitalize the J) and not get the squiggly, but I can't type in the name of our President--Barack Obama--without getting the squiggles. I thought that was funny.

Anyways, I told you all about my paper for history. I have no doubt you all want to read it. I will therefore be posting it. Hope you enjoy.
The 1920’s were a time of great reform for women in America. Prior to this era women were considered to be chattel—granted they were not as oppressed as bad as the blacks or Native Americans—they were still not rich white men. The Women in the 1920’s lacked rights. They lacked the most basic of rights; the right to vote Even after the reform men continued to limit women's rights. Social scientists appeared in both print and oratory in an attempt to expand the roles of women in the home, workplace, etc. Their work both defined and reflected the identity of the “new woman.” The writings of the social scientists redefined sexuality, domestic jobs, and the workplace of the American woman in the 1920’s. Even after this redefinition of the “new roles”, Women still lacked equal rights.
One of the first points made in the papers concerning sex and sexuality of the American woman comes from William I. Thomas who states, “She is not immoral because this implies the loss of morality, but rather a-moral—never having a moral code.” Social scientists redefined the sex and sexuality of women in the 1920’s by showing women of this era as nothing more than a piece of meat waiting to be devoured by the next hungry male counterpart. We see this as the term “flapper” was coined in the 1920’s. The word “flapper”, in this era, brought to light a “brand new breed” of young women who broke away from societal norms. With the flappers came new style; they wore short skirts, they weren’t afraid to show a little skin. They had no problems openly disagreeing and dissenting with the societal norm of the 1920’s. Flappers were notorious for wearing makeup in copious amounts, smoking, drinking, and most importantly, having casual attitude towards sexual intercourse. They listened to the new music of the time—jazz. Jazz was to flappers as rock and roll was to hippies. It was freedom in sound. The flappers drove cars. They did everything that society had taught them not do to. One can argue that the social scientists were just writing about the time and how things were. Contrarily, it can also be stated that social scientists were fueling the fire and blowing this reform out of proportion. They were doing this to show that the new women coming forth in America was a bad thing and that this reform should be stopped. It is probable that writing and showing this to be more than it truly was, was the only way that the social scientists felt they could prevent this reform. The social scientists attempted to portray this new expression of sexuality of the “new women” in such a negative way as to try to ruin it. Prior to the 1920’s women’s sexual appetites were completely dependent on the man. Gerald Leinwand states, “sex was in the background and women were subservient to the appetites of men and only reluctantly partook of sexual intercourse.” This changed with the flappers. Flappers wanted equality in all aspects, not just economically when it came to jobs, but also when it came to sex. The flappers opined that if men could have sex freely that they, the women, should also be allowed to have sex freely. The women of the time became more and more aware of their sexuality and were freer with their sex and sexuality. They did not hide it like they once did, they were proud of who and what they were. Flappers were somewhat of the predecessors of the second wave for the feminist movement in the 1920’s. The flappers wanted equal rights and that is what the feminists fought for. Although they fought for equal rights, equal rights were not granted and have yet to be granted to women. The social scientists of this time redefined the “new American woman” by showing her as a “new breed” of women.
The domestic jobs of women were redefined by social scientists but merely reiterating them. At the time women were beginning to make strides, women were advocating change. The redefinition from the sociologists came from the belief that women should be housekeepers. Christine Frederick best shows this example by her sample schedule which states, “6:00-6:30 Rise and dress; start water heater.” The schedule is replete with similar chores and was seen to be the epitome of a woman during this era. This was an extremely sexist belief. In essence it is saying that if you are a woman, you belong in the house and that you should do all in your power to better yourself. An opposing view is argued by Lorine Pruette who declares, “The married woman who lets herself go upon the easy tide of domesticity is offering herself as a victim in a future tragedy.” This is saying that women should get as much education as possible and that domesticity is too easy and not suitable for the “new American woman.” The problems with Lorine Pruette’s argument come from Willystine Goodsell who provides a succinct summary of women’s absolute subservience in domesticity. Willystine Goodsell says, “Can it be in the divine order of things that one Ph.D. should wash dished a whole life time for another Ph.D. just because one is a woman and the other a man?” Why would a woman invest copious amounts of time and money in obtaining a higher education when it would just be thrown in her face and she is left to work at home? Women did not have rights in domestic jobs. Women were expected to put up or shut up. There was not a “new American woman” when it came to domestic tasks. They were expected to work full time at home and have everything ready for their families. Women who were not this stereotypical woman were not held in high esteem and viewed as being a bad wife and bad mother. The social scientists redefined the women of the roaring twenties by basically saying that their job was to be housekeeper and her ultimate job was to please her family, which was not a “redefinition” but an affirmation of the status quo.
The workplace in America can be pinpointed as one of the major sources of greatest inequality during the 1920’s. Women were seen in masses in the workplace because of World War I. Once the war was over, in the words of Alyse Gregory, “women were admonished to hurry once more home and give the men back their jobs. It was too late.” Workplace reform had taken place and it was there to stay. Women in the workplace liberated women. It allowed them to not have to be dependant on any other person but themselves. It gave women a freedom they had never experienced before. Although women had found a new-fangled freedom there was still a supreme lack of equality within the workplace. The inequality between men and women is blatantly seen through the graph provided by Alice Rogers Hager. While working in the factories the men averaged about thirty-two dollars a week. Conversely Women averaged a paltry seventeen dollars a week. Men were making nearly double the weekly salary of women. Women finally had financial freedom but men limited it. Women did not have the equal rights that they wanted so badly. The social scientists of the time redefined women of the 1920’s era as a woman who wanted to work and therefore have her independence.
Women of the roaring twenties were making strides, such as the nineteenth amendment, yet every way these women turned they were met with opposition from the opposite sex—men. These male-chauvinist-pigs prevented women from reaching their full potential. A lack of equality continues between and women in our society. Men still make more money than comparative women. Society is trying to tell women to, “just settle down and marry a man that will take care of you and let you focus on raising your children.” This shows that even though these papers were written and that these speeches were delivered, the inequality of women did not change, ultimately the writings of the social scientists of the 1920’s redefined the woman’s sex and sexuality, their domestic jobs, and their role in the workplace but it did not give them and still has not given them the equal rights which they deserve.


I love you all, goodbye.
Mi amor a todos, adios.
אני אוהב אותך כל, סלאמאת.