Puerto Rico becoming a state?!
In a recent magazine entitledUpfront by The New York Times, an article named "Puerto Rico: The 51st State?" enforms readers of the possibility of allowing Puerto Rico to be officially apart of the United States, making it the 51st state in the Union.
For the first time ever, Puerto Rico has cast a ballot "in favor of... becoming the 51st state." Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory and has been since 1898, during the Spanish-American War. Now, more than ever, the citizens of Puerto Rico are ready for a major change and hope to one day be an addition to the 50 states of America.
Although the people who live in Puerto Rico are considered American citizens, "those living in the U.S. enjoy full constitutional rights." Puerto Rico is about 1,000 miles from the coast of Miami, Florida and has only one non-voting member of Congress. Also, those living in Puerto Rico cannot vote in the presidential elections, making the residents feel not as important as those who actually live in the United States.
A Puerto Rico local stated in the article that, "[they] are not happy being second-class citizens." Those who support Puerto Rico becoming an official state believe that Puerto Rico would highly benefit from it, both economically and with increased tourism. Those who oppose statehood believe the island would lose it's culture and the residents would then have to pay federal income tax.
This article certainly caught my attention. The fact that Puerto Rico may have the opportunity to become the 51st state is very interesting. It also reminded me how some states were wanting to secede from the Union not too long ago, after the election of President Obama. It's funny how those who are already states and benefit from all America has to offer want to secede, while Puerto Rico would love to join the Union as a state.
It is unfortunate that the residents of Puerto Rico feel like "second-class citizens." It is not sure whether Congress will actually approve the statehood for Puerto Rico, considering it is a very important decision and the United States is dealing with enough issues, including the economy and certain nuclear threats from North Korea. Eventually, it may become an official state though, and those living in Puerto Rico will not stop hoping for this day will come.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Friday, February 22, 2013
CC #4 Trying Times
Trying Times
Times are getting harder as the economy starts to get worse, all that people have known is to go to college, get a good education, and anything to do with college. But is that so much the truth anymore? Dosen't seem like it, because in the artice from a New York Times Upfront magazine they are talking about how the number of college graduates that are unemployed are steady rising, leaving them struggling with debts that have to be paid back, and even just to live.
As Herring says "The end goal is to work in entertainment marketing, but at this time, in this economy, I just need a job" Her dream job that she went to school to major in dosen't have any openings obviously in her area, and she just needs a job doing whatever because some money is better than no money at all.
Stated in the text by Heidi Shierholz "Every way you cut it- by race or gender, with or without a college degree- young people are just not getting the job opportunities they need" What's being said here is that even though most of us don't want to believe it, some people used to get jobs because of their gender, college degree, and sometimes even race. Well it's not like that anymore, it has now gotten to the point to where that does not matter anymore. There just aren't any jobs available. Simple as that. People are starting to retire later now than what people normally do.
Also stated in the text "The difficult job market is comming at a time when paying for a college degree has become harder" Paying for college's high fee's and prices is already hard enough, truth be told most people don't really have the money to pay for college, so they put their house's, cars and etc up. Which is a huge risk. While other's just take out student loans and slowly pay them back over the years. But how will they be able to do that when job opening's for what they went and payed thousands for are not available, leaving them jobless.
I hope and pray that when I graduate college I will not have this problem because it will be so hard to make it, it will be unbelievable. This problem is killing the 'American Dream" of most people because money is a big part of life, especially with today's economy. My biggest fear is having to move back in at home. Once your gone, I believe that you should not have to come back home, you should try and succed the best you can, then IF you hit rock bottom, then you have no other choice but to.
Hopefully overtime this issue will start to get better, because it's not right for you to put in all the hard work and effort to get through the hard times of college just to come out to basically be devastated, because there are no job openings for what you just spent 4 years of your life majoring in. Time will only tell
Times are getting harder as the economy starts to get worse, all that people have known is to go to college, get a good education, and anything to do with college. But is that so much the truth anymore? Dosen't seem like it, because in the artice from a New York Times Upfront magazine they are talking about how the number of college graduates that are unemployed are steady rising, leaving them struggling with debts that have to be paid back, and even just to live.
As Herring says "The end goal is to work in entertainment marketing, but at this time, in this economy, I just need a job" Her dream job that she went to school to major in dosen't have any openings obviously in her area, and she just needs a job doing whatever because some money is better than no money at all.
Stated in the text by Heidi Shierholz "Every way you cut it- by race or gender, with or without a college degree- young people are just not getting the job opportunities they need" What's being said here is that even though most of us don't want to believe it, some people used to get jobs because of their gender, college degree, and sometimes even race. Well it's not like that anymore, it has now gotten to the point to where that does not matter anymore. There just aren't any jobs available. Simple as that. People are starting to retire later now than what people normally do.
Also stated in the text "The difficult job market is comming at a time when paying for a college degree has become harder" Paying for college's high fee's and prices is already hard enough, truth be told most people don't really have the money to pay for college, so they put their house's, cars and etc up. Which is a huge risk. While other's just take out student loans and slowly pay them back over the years. But how will they be able to do that when job opening's for what they went and payed thousands for are not available, leaving them jobless.
I hope and pray that when I graduate college I will not have this problem because it will be so hard to make it, it will be unbelievable. This problem is killing the 'American Dream" of most people because money is a big part of life, especially with today's economy. My biggest fear is having to move back in at home. Once your gone, I believe that you should not have to come back home, you should try and succed the best you can, then IF you hit rock bottom, then you have no other choice but to.
Hopefully overtime this issue will start to get better, because it's not right for you to put in all the hard work and effort to get through the hard times of college just to come out to basically be devastated, because there are no job openings for what you just spent 4 years of your life majoring in. Time will only tell
Monday, February 11, 2013
Flat tire
CC#3 Topic Of Choice
Flat Tire
Something that is more and more overlooked everyday, and never really though much about is what to do if you have a flat tire. Everyone should know how to change a flat tire, well those who drive anyways and that is exactly what the author of this article is describing how to do.
One thing you will certainly need is a jack to get the car off of the ground and how to properly place the jack underneath it otherwise something could go wrong easily. The text states "The jack needs to go underneath a solid part of the car's frame, not the floorboards!" That would be like putting a jack under a piece of steel, and putting a jack under paper, not going to work. The floorboards would not be very sturdy and the jack could actually come through them and into the car resulting in the car being back on the ground, and now a big hole in your floor.
Next you will need a tire iron, one should come with your car. As the text states "Usually, when you see the flat tire floating about an inch or two above the ground, you're OK to stop raising the car. That's when you can finish taking the lug nuts off, and removing the wheel entirely" Use the tire iron to get the lug nuts off, it might be kind of difficult breaking the factory grip, like when you can't get the lid off a soda, but not to where you can not get it off.
Last you will need a spare tire, most cars come with this smaller sized temporary wheel that looks like a ugly black donut, unless it has already been used by a previous owner. When putting the tire on you should use caution, as the text states "Immediately replace it with the spare, and start threading the lug nuts back on. Don't try to tighten them all the way, though, or you could actually knock the car off the tiny jack by torsional force alone." You should get the spare on as quick as possible but also as careful too because the jack is made to hold the car up, but not for long periods of time, and can easily slip from under the car if bumped.
I personally know how to change a flat tire, there is not much to it. I have had one flat the whole time that I have been driving, but it is still good to know how because it can save you time and money when having to deal with mechanics coming out and such.
The author clearly informs the reader of the article on how to change a flat tire if they were to ever have one, and all the steps needed to preform the procedure both safely and correctly.
Metaphor
Simile
Hyperbole
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Hit and run book review
I really enjoyed this book is because it was full of twists. Once I thought I knew what was going to happen, it would hit me with something totally unexpected. This type of writing that the author uses kept me thinking. This book leaves me worried, as if what was happening in the book had happened to me. Cassie, Scott, Eddie, and Winks are the four main characters. They are all around my age and it seems like I was going through what they were going through. I guess this book can do that to people. Their situations are unreal, and this stuff happens in the real world.
First is the theme, Hit and Run gives the readers a main message. It shows what can happen in bad encounters. It helps readers avoid these types of situations. Bad situations have huge consequences, as the book said, “Having the feeling of terror after they had realized what had just taken place"
Next is the characters. Throughout the rest of the book all of the guilt each of the characters had felt was unbelievable. I would have the reaction like Eddie had. He was scared out of his mind! He was the one driving that gray night under the Hanson Underpass. He wasn’t expecting a man, wearing a blue and red baseball cap, to be standing in the middle of the road. They were only having fun, out on a little “joy ride.” This idea they had, of driving under age, was unexpected. I personally like Eddie as a character, he seems like a pretty good kid, makes good grades and all but just made the wrong choice.
Lastly is the author's choice of style. It almost seems adventurous and creative, because it almost seemed as if the whole plot was like a dream/fantasy after the climax of the book (the accident). Mostly because it had now only foccused on eddie, the main character, and the mysterious man.
I think this book was written is to give young adults a realization of what can happen when they drive under age. I would recommend this book for people who are looking for an old-school thriller. I kind of liked this book because of that. I also really enjoyed this book because of its twists and it gave me a heads up on what can happen if I ever came upon this type of situation. People never really know what can happen.
First is the theme, Hit and Run gives the readers a main message. It shows what can happen in bad encounters. It helps readers avoid these types of situations. Bad situations have huge consequences, as the book said, “Having the feeling of terror after they had realized what had just taken place"
Next is the characters. Throughout the rest of the book all of the guilt each of the characters had felt was unbelievable. I would have the reaction like Eddie had. He was scared out of his mind! He was the one driving that gray night under the Hanson Underpass. He wasn’t expecting a man, wearing a blue and red baseball cap, to be standing in the middle of the road. They were only having fun, out on a little “joy ride.” This idea they had, of driving under age, was unexpected. I personally like Eddie as a character, he seems like a pretty good kid, makes good grades and all but just made the wrong choice.
Lastly is the author's choice of style. It almost seems adventurous and creative, because it almost seemed as if the whole plot was like a dream/fantasy after the climax of the book (the accident). Mostly because it had now only foccused on eddie, the main character, and the mysterious man.
I think this book was written is to give young adults a realization of what can happen when they drive under age. I would recommend this book for people who are looking for an old-school thriller. I kind of liked this book because of that. I also really enjoyed this book because of its twists and it gave me a heads up on what can happen if I ever came upon this type of situation. People never really know what can happen.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Razorbacks what are we doing!?
We suck
The author of this article Phil Clark shows more of a descriptive side writting about this event because he is describing the new coach throughly, and how the players react towards this new change in their coaching. This has been tugging at my nerves since it all began with a guy and a girl and their relationship. One of these individuals was the Head Coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks, his name was Bobby Patrino. A Coach that had a job as the Atlanta Falcons head coach went to the Arkansas Razorbacks to improve the program, and to him, the assistants, and the fans of the Razorbacks he did just that with ten wins last year the Hogs were hoping to improve to the National Championship team that Hog nation despotically wanted. Then that is when the relationship between Bobby and a young lady got involved Bobby Patrino had had sexual relations with that young lady. At first he lied about the accusations but then he came clean and that is when the NCAA and UofA said get out. Which left the Razorbacks without a head coach that they could look up to and to teach them. After about a month or so Hog nation got their answer for a new head coach his name was John L. Smith. Everyone including me thought this would make us just as good if not better with him stepping up as the Razorbacks' head coach, but then the truth set in. After losing three straight games to UofLM, Alabama, and Texas A&M Hog fans were furious. Most fans were asking if Smith would be fired and when if he was, but Long, athletic director for UofA, confirmed to the fans that he was backing Smith and was going to let him run things until the end of the year. His exact words were, "I am sticking with Smith until the end of his contract". Hog fans were not happy about this decision and I was not happy with it in the slit-est.
The author of this article Phil Clark shows more of a descriptive side writting about this event because he is describing the new coach throughly, and how the players react towards this new change in their coaching. This has been tugging at my nerves since it all began with a guy and a girl and their relationship. One of these individuals was the Head Coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks, his name was Bobby Patrino. A Coach that had a job as the Atlanta Falcons head coach went to the Arkansas Razorbacks to improve the program, and to him, the assistants, and the fans of the Razorbacks he did just that with ten wins last year the Hogs were hoping to improve to the National Championship team that Hog nation despotically wanted. Then that is when the relationship between Bobby and a young lady got involved Bobby Patrino had had sexual relations with that young lady. At first he lied about the accusations but then he came clean and that is when the NCAA and UofA said get out. Which left the Razorbacks without a head coach that they could look up to and to teach them. After about a month or so Hog nation got their answer for a new head coach his name was John L. Smith. Everyone including me thought this would make us just as good if not better with him stepping up as the Razorbacks' head coach, but then the truth set in. After losing three straight games to UofLM, Alabama, and Texas A&M Hog fans were furious. Most fans were asking if Smith would be fired and when if he was, but Long, athletic director for UofA, confirmed to the fans that he was backing Smith and was going to let him run things until the end of the year. His exact words were, "I am sticking with Smith until the end of his contract". Hog fans were not happy about this decision and I was not happy with it in the slit-est.
John L. Smith is one of the worst punishment coaches there is, in my opinion. When players come off the field Smith tries to act like a coach but the players have so little respect for him they just walk right past without even a glance. If you go and read more articles about how the players think of Smith more than half say they like him a lot more then they did Bobby, but is that because Bobby was a coach before a friend or is it because Smith lacks that drive to push his kids to their ability like Patrino did when he was there. As a fan of the Razorbacks I do not think they are in the condition they use to be in and they also look like they lost some pride and without pride a football team can not survive, especially in the South Eastern Conference (SEC). I believe that Smith is trying to hard to be a friend and not enough on being a coach. He is more like an image then an actual coach. I mean when I would watch Bobby on the sidelines it did not matter if it was an important game, an easy game, if they were up by 25, or down by 25 he was always in their faces trying to make them a better football team. And now when I watch a Hog game it is like Smith just babies them. I have not seen one occasion when Smith got in someones face and just screamed and telling them what they did wrong. And trust me this team has to be doing something wrong to be losing by the massive amounts every game. The worst part about having to watch this as a fan is that it looks like our hogs are starting to give up. I can see it when they walk out of the tonal and I can see it how they play. That kind of attitude does not come from the players themselves it starts out with the coaches attitude towards his players and team.
John L. Smith is a coach that seemed like he knew what he was doing at the beginning but then we saw his true color in the way he handles adversity In my opinion, as a Arkansas Razorback fan, is that we should get a new coach that has that special "WANT" to win. A coach can not just kinda want to win they have to know they will win no matter what. As a guy that has grown up watching and supporting the hogs through good times and bad, I have to say that this year has by far been the hardest on me to stay faithful to my Razorbacks. This situation reminds of back in my jr. high days whenever our basketball coach had to take a leave for a couple of weeks, so they had some other guy come in and try to coach us, but in reality he had no idea of what he was doing, so eventually we just started coaching ourselves overlooking everything he was talking about.
To sum it all up if Smith would start being a little harder on his players, and stop trying to act more like a friend towards them, maybe he could start getting better results out of them. You can't make everyone happy no matter what. So if he would just buckle down everything would probably be fine.
To sum it all up if Smith would start being a little harder on his players, and stop trying to act more like a friend towards them, maybe he could start getting better results out of them. You can't make everyone happy no matter what. So if he would just buckle down everything would probably be fine.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
American dream essay
The American Dream is a personal thing. Every person’s belief or thought on what the American Dream is different than anybody else’s. There is one noticeable theme between every dream though, the dream is to live a better life socially, personally, or freely more then anyone. The conflicts at the time helps determine what aspect of life someone wishes to improve on, but it will always most likely be the same or closely similar to those dreams of others.
To me the "American Dream" is not just a dollar sign, or a perfect job, but the ability to walk into a room or a home, and know that your presence is welcomed and looked forward to. My dream is realizing that in America, we have the resources to make an honest difference. There are not really others that I can really compare my version of the American dream to, because after all everyone's thoughts are different. Go wherever as far as you like, try what all you want, but realize home is always home. That is Why America is great, because you always have that place to call home sometimes.
Today, people’s dreams of what America is to them has changed. Many parents have the dream for a better family life than they had. Family life has changed. Many people are getting divorces and having stepchildren. These children have grown up with a Dream of providing a better Family life by supporting them better, spending more time with them, and expressing their love more readily. I dream that my family will one day back get together, but, I know in my head that won’t happen. This is another common dream, is to make a family that they might not of never had growing up.
The great thing about America even though it is not always about money is, if a person is born into a less fortunate family, he or she has the choice to make things better by excelling towards excellence throughout school, and then later on being rewarded for all their hard work with a degree in a certain area of study enabling them to go on and find high paying jobs that they will actually love doing and not dread. Just like that a person can easily change their life for the better if they just put their mind to it and not give up.
To tie everything back together I believe that anything can be done, dreams, wishes, or whatever it might be as long as you put your mind to it. Don't always think about the money try and think of non-materialistic things sometimes such as family, friends, and how people will take you out in the real world, that is my American dream.
To me the "American Dream" is not just a dollar sign, or a perfect job, but the ability to walk into a room or a home, and know that your presence is welcomed and looked forward to. My dream is realizing that in America, we have the resources to make an honest difference. There are not really others that I can really compare my version of the American dream to, because after all everyone's thoughts are different. Go wherever as far as you like, try what all you want, but realize home is always home. That is Why America is great, because you always have that place to call home sometimes.
Today, people’s dreams of what America is to them has changed. Many parents have the dream for a better family life than they had. Family life has changed. Many people are getting divorces and having stepchildren. These children have grown up with a Dream of providing a better Family life by supporting them better, spending more time with them, and expressing their love more readily. I dream that my family will one day back get together, but, I know in my head that won’t happen. This is another common dream, is to make a family that they might not of never had growing up.
The great thing about America even though it is not always about money is, if a person is born into a less fortunate family, he or she has the choice to make things better by excelling towards excellence throughout school, and then later on being rewarded for all their hard work with a degree in a certain area of study enabling them to go on and find high paying jobs that they will actually love doing and not dread. Just like that a person can easily change their life for the better if they just put their mind to it and not give up.
To tie everything back together I believe that anything can be done, dreams, wishes, or whatever it might be as long as you put your mind to it. Don't always think about the money try and think of non-materialistic things sometimes such as family, friends, and how people will take you out in the real world, that is my American dream.
Friday, January 11, 2013
California School Shooting
School Shooting
In this article Michael Martinez, the author of the article, is explaining the horror activities that had taken place at a California High school. All caused by a student that had been mistreated and bullied all the time, that had, had enough of the non-sense and reacted violently. Going for the two students that had been picking on him constantly, One of the two kids was hit and was in critical but stable condition and the other one was fine.
"The student did not show up for school on time Thursday, Youngblood said, instead appearing about half through the first period of classes. He was caught on school surveillance cameras, the sheriff said, using a side entrance instead of the school's main door and "appearing nervous" as he tried to conceal the shotgun when he entered the school" The student did not show up until about halfway through 1st period because of what he had planned to do, he wanted to make sure everyone was in class, therefore making it easier for him to target his victims.
"Youngblood laid out a detailed scenario of the hours before the shooting, saying the student planned the assault the night before, and took a shotgun belonging to his brother" I can not very well say that his only intentions were to kill his two victims or others. But from the looks of everything, it looked as if only he were trying to get them and shot others that tried to run.
"The gunman fired directly at one student, who was hit, then as students rushed to flee, the gunman fired again, Youngblood said" This clearly explains that he had intentions to only hurt the ones that had hurt him in the past, I'm not saying this is okay but that is usually the case in these types of shootings.
If I found myself in this type of situation. I would not over react, and get up to start running. I would stay calm and try to figure out what my next move would be. Running students only make another easy target for him to shoot at just for the fun of it. You would think people would know this, but I guess they just panic and do not think of what the results will be.
Everyday school shootings are becoming more and more common for us to hear about in the news, and its sad that our world has come to this type of crime, but if everyone would leave others alone and not bully and pick on people I do not think this problem would be as bad as it is.
In this article Michael Martinez, the author of the article, is explaining the horror activities that had taken place at a California High school. All caused by a student that had been mistreated and bullied all the time, that had, had enough of the non-sense and reacted violently. Going for the two students that had been picking on him constantly, One of the two kids was hit and was in critical but stable condition and the other one was fine.
"The student did not show up for school on time Thursday, Youngblood said, instead appearing about half through the first period of classes. He was caught on school surveillance cameras, the sheriff said, using a side entrance instead of the school's main door and "appearing nervous" as he tried to conceal the shotgun when he entered the school" The student did not show up until about halfway through 1st period because of what he had planned to do, he wanted to make sure everyone was in class, therefore making it easier for him to target his victims.
"Youngblood laid out a detailed scenario of the hours before the shooting, saying the student planned the assault the night before, and took a shotgun belonging to his brother" I can not very well say that his only intentions were to kill his two victims or others. But from the looks of everything, it looked as if only he were trying to get them and shot others that tried to run.
"The gunman fired directly at one student, who was hit, then as students rushed to flee, the gunman fired again, Youngblood said" This clearly explains that he had intentions to only hurt the ones that had hurt him in the past, I'm not saying this is okay but that is usually the case in these types of shootings.
If I found myself in this type of situation. I would not over react, and get up to start running. I would stay calm and try to figure out what my next move would be. Running students only make another easy target for him to shoot at just for the fun of it. You would think people would know this, but I guess they just panic and do not think of what the results will be.
Everyday school shootings are becoming more and more common for us to hear about in the news, and its sad that our world has come to this type of crime, but if everyone would leave others alone and not bully and pick on people I do not think this problem would be as bad as it is.
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