My Argumentative Subject

The Issue: The DNR's solution to stopping CWD is the mass killing of deer in the area for testing or "control kill."
My Side: Despite control killing being an effective way of controlling CWD, there are better and more humane ways of quarantining the disease without destroying a large portion of an area's deer population.

Hannity Argument

The primary conflict/issue is students and people affiliated with Boston College protesting against Conda Lisa Rice getting her honorary degree at BC. The disagreed with her Iraq war strategy and believes shes a liar.

The Debate between Hannity and Professor Almond and Colmes.

1.)The issue that they are debating was not about conda lisa rice but about whether Professor Almond is correct in his thinking and whether or not he has the correct sources to back up his opinions that disagree with Rice and why he quit his job.
2.) Hannity repeatedly asked Almond a complex question if he Voted for Kerry in the last presidential election because he was trying to get Almond to admit to voting for Kerry. Kerry stated that there were nuclear weapons and Hannity knew Almond believes there are no weapons so he's attacking him and trying to get Almond to prove himself wrong. Then he could bait Almond and accuse him to be a hipocrit for quitting his job. Hannity kept asking if he was a true democrat and if he agrees with Kerry and rudely interrupts Almond several times. He uses a few fallacies when attacking him like complex question, red herring, and ad hominem.
3.) Colme's Question to Almond was simply why did you quit your job over Rice getting her degree? He wanted to know his reasoning behind him quitting his job. His point was that there had to of been better pays to protest instead of quitting. He uses Ad hominem fallacies.
4.) Almonds response was ignoring the questions and sticks to his story that morality plays a role and politics isn't always the answer. He believes that Rice is a Liar and gives an example of WMDs. He restates the morality part of his answers and sounds jumbled.

Fallacies not to use in my paper

Argument to logic- just because you've pointed out logical fallacies in your opponents argument, it doesnt make you correct.

Appeal to pity- ex: starving children commercial, animal shelter commercial; ignored proposed solutions and straight appeal to emotion.

Argument to the point of disgust- saying something again and again repeating the point without backing up proposed solutions

Appeal to the public-prove something by proving the public agrees with you. ex: strength in numbers

Non sequitur (it doesn't follow)- doesn't have anything to do with whats going on. ex: Family Guy

After this, therefore because of this- assuming that A caused B simply because A happened before B.

Red Herring- Introducing irrelevent facts or arguments to distract from questions at hand.

Appeal to Authority-when someone tries to demonstrate the truth of the proposition by citing someone who agrees even though that person has no expertise in the given area.

Circular Logic-kid logic, when someone uses what theyre trying to prove as part of the proof of that hing.

Complex Question- implicitly assumes something to be true by its construction. ex: have you stopped beating your wife?

Spoke simply, Le., sweeping generalization- stereotyping, ex: all men are pigs, all old people are bad drivers

Appeal to Nature- pot should be legal because it's natural, sugar is natural, natural is good

Argument to antiquity or Tradition- acceptable because its always been done this way. ex: south's argument against slavery, why stop now its always been done this way, green house gases have been fine in the past so are fine now

Ad hominem- attacking the character or motives of a person who has stated an idea, rather than the idea itself, sarcasm

Argument to Ignorance- hasn't been proven false so therefore it's ok

Slippery Slope- Adopting one fallacy or taking one action will lead to to a series of other policies or actions also being taken. ex: pot will lead to crack and LSD

Straw Man- happens with every president in office, opposition put words into his mouth and creates a different meaning of what he said. distorting someones view, putting words into someone elses mouth

Good Thunder Reading E.C.

           There were two readers that presented some of their writings on Thursday the 17th.
The first was Amanda Shumacher, a young woman in her third year of the MFA program at Mankato. She mainly writes young adult novels to short stories to personal essays. Her reading consisted of a section of one of her young adult novels. It was a scene with a girl named Josie laying in her room looking back on her mother's death and wondering when people will stop grieving for her pain and misery.
           This section of writing was very deep and emotioinal. The details of Josies thoughts were very vivid and painted a picture of what Josie was like. She lost her mother when she died due to a drunk driver. She herself had mostly gone past the stage of grieving of her mother, but there were friends who still reminded Josie of how bad the situation is and how they know how she feels, but she is critical and sees right through these people. She also developed a stealing habit, which suggests her reaching out for attention and something to take her mind off her mother.

           Also the well known fiction writer George Saunders. George Saunders has won many award for his unique style of writing in his short stories. Along with short stories he has also published children books and books of short essays. In the short fiction story titled "Victory Lap" he read in class he displayed his interesting stlye of writing. The story is written from three points of view and occasionally jumps from one of the character's view to the next. The characters are Allison a pretty young teenage girl who loves ballet and is slightly self obsessed. Next is Kyle, a tall skinny scrawny pale cross country kid who is a bit of a nerd due to the seclusion his parents make him live in. The last is the point of view of an middle-aged overall dumb man who turns out to be a kidnapper.
           Saunder's writing makes it seem like your literally in the head of the character and the character has schytzophrenia. There is not a detailed thought left out of the text on that particular character. At first it was a bit confusing but eventually the story picked up and the random bits of crude humor helped the story keep moving. The plot of the story is an intense heroic one that makes a listener feel good inside. After being inside the three characters heads for half an hour the action picks up when the man kidnapps Allison and takes her to his van to rape her. Kyle saw the whole thing and against his own will convinced himself to run out across the street and gash in the head of the kidnapper with a rock. This is a story of an underdog who prevailed and saved the pretty girl; its an old theme written in the unique style of George Saunders who put a modern twist on the underdog theme.

My Thesis for my Informative Paper

Thesis:
Increasing cases of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) have caused the sudden awareness of the issue's severity in the United States and in particular south-eastern Minnesota.

Intro:

1. The detailed story of hundreds of elk infected with a particular severe are killed off in Zumbrota MN, people's reaction to why elk were killed, Importance of wiping out the elk farm.
2. Thesis
3. Short background info on CWD
4. Relevance to the United States
5. Relevance to SE MN
6. Raise Question "Hoes this affect human beings?/ Why do we car?"

Supporting Ideas:

•  Background Info

1. Origin of Disease
2. What it is
3. Medical Quotes from professionals pertaining to severity of disease
4. Specific severe cases, reason to worry

• CWD relevance to the entire united states

1. Specific nation-wide cases
2. Written map of how it has spread from state to state
3. National public opinion of disease compared to a Professionals opinion
4. What we can expect in the next 5 years on a national level

• CWD impact on local south-eastern Minnesota

1. Block dialogue from local recent newspaper article
2. The local people's opinions and arguments
3. Why are the steps being taken to prevent the disease controversial
4. Quotes from local professionals (DNR officer's, public officials)
5. The future of SE Minnesota and CWD

• How does the disease intervene with the human race

1. Vivid details of disease in humans
2. How this can happen
3. What we have prepared if it does happen

Conclusion:

• Tie The four supporting ideas together
• explain the overall importance of the awareness of CWD

possible usable reference sites:
http://www.cwd-info.org/
http://www.cwd-info.org/index.php/fuseaction/about.map
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/animal_diseases/cwd/
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mammals/deer/cwd/index.html
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/cwd/
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol10no6/03-1082.htm
http://www.mndeerhunters.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=28
http://www.bah.state.mn.us/bah/releases/nr2011-01-21.html

Basic structure of a paper

Strong Introduction

• hook the reader
• Work as a road map for rest of the paper
• Include an obvious thesis statement
• Note: avoid listing supporting ideas that will become the topic sentences for your body paragraph.

Body Paragraphs

• Provide ideas that support the thesis in the form of of topic sentences
• Provide cited ideas and facts-both quoted and paraphrased-from research materials
• Provide accurate analysis and interpretation of the cited material, in your own words
• make claims, provide examples, explain how those examples support your claims
• Transition Sentences 

Conclusion

• Ties together the thesis and supporting ideas
• Poses a final, conclusive statement/claim
• Might include a quote that helps reiterate central themes/ideas
• Might prose questions for further study
• Note: avoid restating thesis and supporting ideas, no "in conclusion"

Narrowing Down Informative Topics

What Intrests me:
Professional and college basketball and football
food
design
art
fast-food
exotic/rare animals
spelunking
new-age/electrical vehicles
radiation from cell phones/lab tops
global warming
UFC
steroids in animals
partying

I'm knowledgeable about:
art and design
animals as a whole
health and working out
football and basketball on all levels
cars
relationships
Minnesota

I want to learn about:
the environment
graphical design
music
singing
how businesses run efficiently
australia
how to cook/make new foods

Narrowed down topic:
Steroids in animals-

• What are the main facts of this idea and where did it come from.
• How do meat companies today use drugs to produce larger animals and what affect does that have on us.
• What are farmers feeding their animals that is different than 20 years ago and how it affects us.

"The Fourth State of Matter" Reflection

1. The biggest event in my opinion is obviously the shooting. Several people die and and it is just such an impacting event that it makes me a little sick when I read it. It is written very stately and detailed so it is very cold and serious. Shootings like this happen quite abit in today's twisted society and in most cases like in the story the killer kills himself.
2. At the beginning of the essay her state of mind is more depressed and willing to put up with the dog who is not going to be around much longer. For example she changes the dogs blankets several times a day and tries to comfort it when it is irritated by the squrrels upstairs. By the end, after hearing about the shooting and going through the dog's hardhships, she is somber and almost accepting of the fact she has to let go. She knows its inevitable that the dog will die and her husband will leave for good.
3. The dog is important because it represents death and ending but also her own life. She is clinging onto this dog because she's scared of its death. It relates to her own life and her tendiness to hold onto things like her husband for instance.

A Bad Job

Two summers ago at the age of 17 I got a part-time job as an outdoor maitenence guy at a fairly large town-house property. In other words I was a weed puller. Now I don't mind pulling weeds but I was unprepared for the amount of weeds that were waiting to be pulled at the townhouse site. I spent on average 10 hours a week that summer pulling a variety of weeds from cracks in concrete, the bark under the trees, in the rock by the sidewalks, and of course in the large flowering areas. Soon my back became sore and my shoulders became burnt by the sun. However I did not complain. It was only weed pulling afterall. Then one day my boss told me to focus on getting rid of the weeds on the back road behind the complex which wasn't even on the property. Imagine trying to pull a small tree out of the ground. Now do it over and over again; I had to do it. Even the Round-Up spray didn;t even faze these 4 foot plus tall weeds. Eventually after failing a few times, I just took a large weed whacker to the back road and then had to pick up a quarter mile of weeds scattered on the road. I completed that job very pissed off to say the least because i shouldn't of even been doing it in the first place.
             That job also required me to have not just hands that can pull, but also a brain. I had to do some maintenence around and on the outside of the biuldings. One job was to unscrew the 200 air ducts that were on the ceiling of each porch overhang, spray paint them and screw them back on. I thought it would be easy but it turns out it wasn't, mainly because I didnt think it through first. I climbed up and and down that ladder countless times unscrewing those damn air ducts which were 12 feet high on the ceiling. After two weeks of dealing with mismatching screws and flaking paint and angry people pissed at you for taking off their ducts, I finally finished.

Elements of craft - "Setting"

In the short story “Black Hair,” by Gary Soto there are many detailed descriptions in the plot that describe what the setting is like. The setting in the beginning of the story is an old dirty tire factory in Glendale California. The main character had run away from home and was in search of any type of job possible. He spent his first day of work being told of the places he can’t go: the ovens where the ovens were recapped and the greasy customer service room. He then spent that night wandering the streets homeless. He spent a few hours sleeping under a tree at an abandoned house where he stayed the night before. As it got darker he wandered the residential streets and eventually decided to stay in the backseat of an unlocked car. When he was awoken by the screaming car owner at 4 a.m. he slept the rest of morning under a piece of cardboard on a cold church balcony.

                The rest of the story’s plot is consistently at the old tire factory. The Buffer where he buffed old tires, at the truck where he unloaded hundreds of heavy tires, and anywhere else they needed him at the old and insanely dirty factory. Eventually he saved up enough money to get off the streets and rent his own room. Mr. and Mrs. Van Deusen allowed him to rent their daughters old room. It had lace curtains, scenic wallpaper, canopied bed, and stuffed animals in the corner.

                The author also looks at the setting of some of the main characters coworker’s homes. Rafael, a Mexican national who had worked at Valley for five years, returned to a beaten house of kids who were dressed in mismatched clothes and playing kickthe-can. Sugar Daddy returned home to a stuffy room where he would read and reread old magazines. He ate potato chips, drank beer, and watched TV. The depressing setting of the old dirty disgusting tire factory full of despaired and tired workers adds to the depressing tone of the story.

Embarrassment

There have been quite a few embarrassing moments in my life. Luckily i don't get embarrassed very easily so every time I do something stupid I usually don't get embarrassed. However, i can remember only a few instances where i really embarrassed myself. My sophomore year of bball I started my first game. I had gone through all my pregame rituals and had studied my playbook. I was nervous because it was my first time starting in a varsity basketball game. When they announced starting line-ups i took my warm up pants and shirt off and sat on the bench ready to run out. They said my name and I ran out through the tunnel of my teammates and I was pumped and ready to play. However I couldn't help but notice all the laughing and quiet giggling going on in the entire gym. My fellow teammate convinced me to come back to the bench where he turned me around and took out the 10 inch piece of toilet paper from my shorts.. Apparently when i had torn and laid down the toilet paper over the seat cover (because i wasn't about to put my ass on a nasty away team locker room toilet seat) when i went to the bathroom about an hour before that, some of it got stuck in my shorts. It was clean toilet paper, but let's just say it was embarrassing.

Elements of Craft - "Dialog"

             In the passage from the book "Me Talk Pretty One Day," written by David Sedaris there are many examples of dialog that show how the characters interact and their different personalities. The dialog in this story is unique because most of it is in French. Most of the conversations between certain characters take place in a French teaching classroom which is actually in the country of France. Because of the fact the story takes place in France, it is implied that most of the dialog is in French even though in the story it is written in English.

            The main base of dialog in the story comes from the French teacher. As the story plays out she becomes more and more cruel and unruly to her students. On the first day of class her first words to her students were “If you have not meimslsxp or lgpdmurct by this time, then you should not be in this room. Has everyone apzkiubjxow? Everyone? Good, we shall begin.” As the the first day continues she shows her odd teaching style of downgrading her students. “Oh, really,” the teacher said. “How very interesting. I thought that everyone loved the mosquito, but here, in front of all the world, you claim to detest him. How is it that we’ve been blessed with someone as unique and original as you? Tell us, please.” It was these types of sarcastic and crude comments throughout the rest of the text that proved to the reader that this French teacher had a purpose in being mean to her students. Some of her dialog is just so degrading that it could count as harassment.

            There are also many examples of dialog from the author that allow readers to get a feel of the experience he is going through. When asked to present something he liked and disliked in French he replied he detested blood sausage, intestinal tates, and brain pudding. He listed his love for IBM typewriters, the French word for bruise, and his electric floor waxer.  Such an odd assortment of items leads the reader to guess he is not very fluent at all in French. Of course the teacher came back with an insult referring to the word for typewriter is feminine. As days go by the students are completely downgraded by the teacher. The author’s dialog is even limited by the teacher. For example he is scared to say anything French in public or even answer the phone. The only social dialog he had was conversing in fear with his fellow classmates. “Sometimes me cry alone at night.” Clearly the teacher had ruined everybody’s social life.

            When she says to the author, “Every day spent with you is like having a cesarean section,” he realizes that he understands everything she is saying. It turned out that the teacher’s repetition of cruel and degrading dialog she spoke to her students allowed the author to understand the French language.

Elements of Craft

Character:
There are several examples in the story "Shooting Dad," by Sarah Vowell. The author right away sets up a major character. This character is her gun-lovign father. She starts her story off by explaining to the reader how different she and her dad really is. Then she goes on to describe her dad. She describes a story about when they first moved to montana. Her father heard some crows outside so he grabbed the bb gun, ran outside, and started firing away at them. When the wife yelled at him they don't do that type of stuff here he replied, "Why shooting crows is a national pasttime, like baseball and applepie." She sets up the idea that guns are her fathers whole life, and nothing was going to change that, so she would just have to rebel and back away from the guns her father loves so much. Another main difference she explains is their difference in politics. They always bickered at election time. Her dad even calls her in present days to tell her he canceled out her vote. This shows his joking behavior. Another example that shows her father's character is when at just 6 years old he had hera nd her twin sister take their first shot. He's obviously a man who wants his girls to be like him and love guns. Unfourtunatly, only her sister like the feeling of shooting a gun, she despised it.

Family Conflict

Like in every family, my family has quite a bit of conflict. Things don's exactly run smoothly at the Gentling household, or at least in the past they didn't. Currently back home only my mother and father still live there. Against my mother's will both me and my brother have moved out and gone to college. My Brother. My brother Jesse is my only brother and 8 years older than me. I witnessed Jesse's personal style as he grew up and roared through high school and eventually moved out of the house after his second year at a local community college, Jesse is 6'4" probably 270, black hair, has one hell of an independent personality, and doesn't really resemble me at all. He always is an extremely outgoing personality everywhere he goes. I have yet to meet a person who doesn't like Jesse for his bigheartedness and funny personality. I remember he used to bug and tease me a lot when i was younger for being not quite as cool as he was back in the day. "Your what hurts?" was his usual comeback for anything stupid i had to say. Jesse lived in my home town of Rochester all his life, finding decent jobs on the college degree he had. 9 months ago I woke up from a good nights sleep and walked downstairs only to find a note sitting on the dining room table. Jesse would be permanently moving to Oklahoma to work for a distant cousin at a better job. That's when things in my family got hectic.
       My mother isn't exactly the quietest person in the world. At all my football and basketball games in high school my mom was known by my friends as "Mamma Gentling," for how loud and enthusiastic she was on the sidelines cheering. When she got the word Jess  was going to be gone, she had a lot to say. This of course worsened the bad relationship my brother and my mom have. Her pleading turned into yelling as she tried to convince my brother to stay. Jesse was not to be reckoned with. He had gone through 26 years of dealing with my crazy mother and all the boring Shit Rochester had to offer. He knew exactly how to tune her out and how to argue with her, something my dad still doesn't know how to do. He packed up his things form his small house only 20 minute away from ours and moved.
       Currently Jesse lives over 15 hours away from us. And I couldn't be happier. Do i miss my bro? of course but i couldn't be happier he made the decision he did.

Summary Response of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter From a Birmingham Jail

Summary:

In Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter From a Birmingham Jail," he responds to criticism from fellow Religious leaders who didn't approve of his nonviolent direct action. His use of nonviolent direct action was crucial in getting across his point of eventually ending segregation. Dr. King cites several personal and religious examples to argue his point of the severity of segregation. Dr. King justifies his use of nonviolent direct action as the best method of change in his specific situation. He also deconstructs critics arguments and explains his disappointment in the church's lack of action against segregation.

Response:

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote this letter to his fellow religious clergymen in response to the overwhelming segregation he had witnessed Birmingham. He realized there still are so many steps that need to be taken before justice is reached and segregation is quieted. His tone was overall very humble and professional towards the beginning and end of his letter but in the middle his voice is stern as he describes the problems with segregation and the steps that need to be made immediately.  However his message was clear as he addressed his main points. His message was that there is a major injustice in America and especially in Birmingham. This injustice is hate and sinful ways that comes with segregation. His sit-in protest was not violent action but it was action that is necessary in ending this segregation. He claims we must keep standing up against unjust laws by being proud and willing to take the punishment. The time is now for action. Eventually Our actions will have a great effect on our future.

Judy Brady, "I Want a Wife " Summary Response

Summary:

In Judy Brady's essay, "I Want a Wife" lists the responsibilities of the stereotypical wife in the 1970's. The overall purpose of the article was to show the audience how wives have been classified not as a person but tool that respond to their husbands. Through Brady's role reversal into the eyes of a husband she lists countless expectations that a husband wants in a perfect wife/mother. These expectations are listed out is several paragraphs. Brady proves that wives are mistreated and not an object that women can take advantage of but human beings that demand respect. The overall tone is negative and sarcastic.

Response:

The reasoning for Brady to write this article came after an encounter with a male friend fresh off a divorce. She was fed up with the Treatment women and wives get by men who have little respect for a woman's rights. She wanted to show men and also other wives how ridiculous and broad the expectations are for most wives. Brady wanted to point out the countless demands, labors, and incorrect justifications that are associated with being the perfect wife. Even though the article is slightly exhaggerated, its very accurate to what most mens expectations of wives were back in the 70's. Her overall message was to portray women and wives as a man's tool in order to get recognition of the issue and support woman's rights.

Respose to Kevin Carter Starving Child Photo

Initial reaction:
I was shocked, lost for words, and overall very sick to my stomach about 5 seconds after witnessing the photo. After looking at it a while i manly feel ashamed. Ashamed of my self and ashamed of the fact that this child is allowed to sit there and starve. I know the facts about world hunger and know its most likely the biggest problem with the world today, but still looking at the picture just set up a reality in my mind that the world is a much harsher place than it seems. It is extremely difficult to stare at the image for to long before guilt and dismay set in.

The Image itself:
The photo is of a small Sudanese child bent over on the rugged barren ground, looking terribly skinny and malnourished, basically wasting away. There is a vulture looming only 10 feet behind the child eying its likely next meal. It appears to be a hot day and the child is completely alone on the ground, looking to be close to death.

The Meaning behind the photo:
On the surface there is a starving child very close to death with a vulture looming behind. The underlying message of  the photo is simply saying wake up. Wake up to the American public and other nations around the world. There are cases of starving children just like this all over third-world countries and there is basically nothing being done about it compared to what could be done about it. These awful scenes of starving and sick human being are wake up calls that first shock viewers and make them realize that their world is suddenly not as kind as they thought it was. But their is also a question arising with this picture. And that question is what will/can you and the public as a whole do to help these situations become better.

After reading the subtitle:
The subtitle explains that the photographer took the picture as the child was crawling toward a food camp not far away. The photographer left directly after taking the picture. A few months later he committed suicide due to depression. This fact proved to me the impact that world hunger has on certain people and how it is such a heavy serious problem to have on one's self-consious. I now know that internal pain of one person can outweigh the external pain of another.