Blog #11 - In My Humble Opinion 2

Health Care Reform


Word count: 381


In my humble opinion, health care reform is not a good idea because it will create feuds between the upper, middle and lower classes.

There is no doubt that the lack of health care within the American population is a travesty, but the federal budget is already extremely screwed up.


Obama wants to take funds out of the federal budget, but his claim that millions of dollars in savings have been found seems a bit far-fetched.


The main problem with this statement is that our nation is in debt trillions of dollars as it is, which means that there is no amount of money that will justify free health care for everyone in the United States. 


Aside from a lack of funds, the attempt at changing health care is also detrimental to everyone's ability to choose their health care provider.


By placing everyone under the same umbrella of health care coverage it depletes an individual's ability to choose a doctor who they are comfortable with or who they have known for an extended period of time.


Even though Obama promises that you will be able to keep your current doctor, there is evidence that strongly suggests an inability for private practice doctors to stay afloat without opting to buy into the government health plan.


This means that your private practice doctor will assimilate into the ranks of the free health care system.


The wording by Obama seems trustworthy unless you read deeper into the fine print.


Another problem is that there doesn't seem to be any explanation as to how government health care will provide assistance to people with already existing medical conditions.


Obama has good intentions, but his reasoning and procedures to bring about health coverage for everyone are way out of line.


He hasn't taken into consideration the true effects health care reform will have on people.


Not only is there not enough money to cover the costs of millions of individuals, it also negates the ability of an individual to choose the service provider of his or her choice.


Health care reform is an issue that should probably be saved for a later time.


At the moment, American should be more concerned with solving out national debt than spending more federal money on a program that seems flawed.  




Source:


http://articles.cnn.com/2009-06-18/health/ep.health.reform.basics_1_health-insurance-health-care-reform-americans?_s=PM:HEALTH

Ad Redirect

This particular Penzoil ad is focused towards a country music audience because of the use of Tim McGraw as a spokesperson.

 It is also focused towards men because the car portrayed is a jeep that has been driven in the mud and dirt.

The ad embodies the idea of masculinity.

To change the target audience to more gender neutral in something like National Geographic, it would be best to use a more gender neutral car such as an SUV.

The ad should not have a spokesperson at all and instead the current tag line should read "Dare to explore the world around you."

These changes will allow for a more general target audience with a shared passion for traveling and exploring rather than males who enjoy country music.

Fish Out Of Water Broadcast Clip

Blog #7 - Japanese Internment Memorial essay

Word count: 547


After the attack on Pearl Harbor war-hysteria and paranoia caused the United States to isolate thousands of Japanese Americans on the West Coast and in Hawaii.


Those who dwelled in Hawaii faired better, as only a small percentage of Japanese Americans who lived in Hawaii were interned.


For those less fortunate, harsh living conditions and relocation became their fate.


Oddly enough, 110,000 Japanese Americans were interned on the West Coast, but only a small percentage of the 150,000 Japanese Americans were interned from Hawaii.  


With hysteria on the rise, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed executive order 9066, which allowed for the creation of exclusion zones that would be used to seclude the Japanese Americans from the rest of society.


To many, the actions taken by the United States seemed questionable, but the Supreme Court upheld many of the decisions made at the cost of thousands of Japanese Americans lives.


With support from the Supreme Court and aid from the Census Bureau, Japanese Americans had no chance at escaping the fate that fell before them.


Their lives were shattered in mere seconds and they lost everything.  


It is a classic example or prejudice and ignorance on the part of the United States.


To represent the atrocities committed against many Japanese Americans at the time of their internment, Ruth Asawa drew upon her own personal story and created a memorial to the men, women and children who had their lives taken away from them.


Asawa was a Japanese American citizen at the time of the internment and her father had been an American citizen for over 40 years when he was taken away by the FBI.  


Asawa and the rest of her family were then sent to Santa Anita race track in Arcadia, California.


This experience became a valuable part of Asawa's life because while she was there she learned about art from Disney animators who had also been sent to the internment camp.


One such vignette on Asawa's memorial depicts people drawing on easels, which commemorates her experience as a child.


I found this vignette compelling because it demonstrates beauty in a time of difficulty and crisis.


Asawa's experience allowed her to become the person and artist she is today.


San Jose State also played a role in interning Japanese American's.


Uchida Hall was used as a registration and collection point for many Japanese American's before they were sent off to internment camps.  


It is sad to realize this because many of the vignette's portrayed in the memorial show soldiers with guns watching those being held there in case they try to escape.


It is strange to realize that the institution I now attend contributed to prejudices against another race without any actual reason to do so.  


The last vignette that I found compelling was of the athletics within the internment camps themselves.


This vignette struck me because it portrays the continuation of life within the confines of the internment camps.


Despite having their lives taken away, Japanese Americans found ways to continue living and building community with one another.  


I do not believe that something of this magnitude could happen again in our society because of the strides we've made towards equality.


There would be an outcry for liberation and upheaval if any group of individuals were treated like this today.

Fish Out of Water: Queer and Asian Panel

Word count: 439

Attending the "Queer and Asian Panel: Religion and Spirituality" on campus gave me a much deeper look into the views and lifestyles of others who are much different from myself.

The event itself was very small scale and was held in the Mod A building on Tuesday from 6-7:30 p.m.

The panel consisted of four individuals from various religious and cultural backgrounds.

The thing that tied them all together was their Asian background, which played a role in not only their religion, but also their gender choices and how it has affected their families as well as themselves.

The religious backgrounds consisted of Buddhism, Catholicism, Christianity and agnostic.

Ethnic backgrounds consisted of Vietnamese, Korean and Mexican.

After hearing each panelist speak about his or her life I began to understand the intense diversity our world has to offer.

It was difficult to wrap my head around certain ideas at times because of my heavily Christian upbringing.

The ideas and beliefs I heard were very foreign to me at times, which prompted me to think about my own views and beliefs as a person.

It was quite evident that the ties between gender and religion go hand in hand in many cases.

Because many religions do not condone homosexuality, the panelists explained the changes and alterations each of them made in order to continue practicing their religion.

In one case, one of the panelists dropped her religion completely and became agnostic.

Because of religious rules and family concerns, it makes sexual variation a very difficult process to incorporate within one's life.

At times, the answers each panelist had to the questions concerning their religion and family lives made me very sad because each of their answers had undertones of hopelessness.

That doesn't necessarily mean they are all sad, but it was very apparent that each of them is fighting a continuous battle both in their outside lives and within themselves.

This outside battle for many of them is in large part due to their parents and the traditional Asian lifestyles they have been raised in.

The lack of understanding on the parents behalf is a direct result, in most cases, of the religion they partake in.

From this I came to realize that we all have something inside of ourselves that we are battling.

Every person has struggles and dilemmas in their lives because we are all human beings.

If we step back from the labels and titles we all wear on a consistent basis we may finally begin to see one another for who we are as people and not our sexual orientations or religious affiliations.

Japanese Internment Summary

Word count: 310

In the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, more than 110,000 Japanese Americans were placed in what the United States called, "War Relocation Camps," but in all reality they were concentration camps.

Despite the reasoning behind these unethical camps, treatment was subjective to location for Japanese Americans.

All Japanese Americans on the West Coast were interned, but only a small percentage of Japanese Americans in Hawaii were given similar treatment.

This is odd because at the time there were more than 150,000 Japanese Americans who made up more than a third of Hawaii's population.

Executive order 9066 was put into effect on February 19, 1942.

Authorized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, it allowed for military personnel to create "exclusion zones," which were used to exclude all Japanese persons from the Pacific Coast.

These areas included California and parts of Oregon, Washington and Arizona.

Despite the questionable actions taken by the United States Government, the Supreme Court ruled that the exclusion orders were indeed constitutional.

To make matters worse, the United States Census Bureau was directly involved in disclosing addresses and personal information of Japanese Americans, leading directly to the interment of many Japanese Americans.

It was not until 2007 that the United States Census Bureau's involvement was proven.

Until that point, it was denied that it had any involvement at all.

To appease tensions and uneasy feelings amongst many Japanese American citizens, Ronald Reagan signed legislation that apologized for the atrocities committed against the Japanese Americans in 1942.

Lack of political leadership, war paranoia and racial prejudice were all included as reasons for the United States actions in the legislation signed by Reagan.

Shortly thereafter, about $1.6 billion in reparations were distributed amongst Japanese American citizens who were directly interned or to the heirs of others who had been interned.

Unfortunately, no amount of money will make up for the choices made by the United States in 1942.

Descriptive Feature: The Statues of Tommie Smith and John Carlos

Word count: 251

Standing at 20 feet tall, the statues of Tommie Smith and John Carlos represent peaceful protest in an age of oppression and violence.

The structure is supported by a cement podium made to resemble the actual podium at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games in which Smith took first place and Carlos took third.

Both statues were built by a San Francisco artist named Rigo, who used a combination of fiberglass stretched over steel to construct the life-like representations of Smith and Carlos.

Blue hexagon-shaped mosaic tiles cover the surface of the statues to create the track suits worn by both athletes at the time of their protest.

Along the sides of their pants are red and white mosaic tiles that create a white and red stripe.

Green, red and yellow tiles create necklaces around the necks of both men and a white badge with the caption, "Olympic Project for Human Rights" rests on their jackets.

The black gloves worn by both men represent civil rights, which was the sole focus of their protest, not black pride.

By each of their feet lays a black Puma athletic shoe to represent poverty and oppression.

By taking their shoes off they were able to show their black socks, which also represented civil rights at the time.

Both shoes are hollow and are made of steel.

Smith's number, 307, is placed on his back in navy tiles with a white background and Carlos' number, 259, has also been placed on his back.

Word of the week #10

1. Tragicomic

2. I found this word in a reading from my philosophy class.

3. Sentence where word was found: But the conception our time holds of technology - let the reader reflect a moment on his own - places us in a really tragicomic situation.

4. Definition: A play or novel containing elements of both comedy and tragedy; Part of speech: noun.

5. My sentence: Many plays written by Shakespeare may be describe as being tragicomics because of their use of tragedy and comedy.

Word of the week #9

1. Profundities

2. I found this word in a reading for my philosophy class.

3. Sentence where word was found: If we seriously intend to find an answer, we must be ready to plunge into certain unavoidable profundities.

4. Definition: Great insight; Great depth of knowledge or thought; Part of speech: noun.

5. My sentence: The library is a vast sea of profundities and answers to questions that would otherwise seem abstract.

Word of the Week #8

1. Corroborating

2. I found this word while reading a book for my linguistics class.

3. Sentence where word was found: Evidence corroborating the claim that the mind contains blueprints for grammatical rules comes, once again, out of the mouths of babes and sucklings.

4. Definition: confirm of give support to (a statement, theory, or finding); Part of speech: verb.

5. My sentence: His corroborating words encouraged her to chase her dreams.

Word of the Week #7

1. Venerable

2. I found this word while reading quotes from my favorite novel, Siddhartha.

3. Sentence where word was found: He had started to suspect that his venerable father and his other teachers, that the wise Brahmans had already revealed to him the most and best of their wisdom, that they had already filled his expecting vessel with their richness, and the vessel was not full, the spirit was not content, the soul was not calm, the heart was not satisfied.

4. Definition: Accorded a great deal of respect, esp. because of age, wisdom, or character; Part of speech: adjective.

5. My sentence: He paid his resects to his venerable grandfather after he passed away on Friday.

Blog #6 - In My Humble Opinion

Proposition 8

Word count: 393

In my humble opinion, the debate over Proposition 8 should not have been given another opportunity to reach the federal court of appeals in California.

I have both a gay uncle and a lesbian aunt that I love very much, which is why I would like to preface my background before initializing personal opinions and statements.

I believe that people should be able to choose who their sexual partners are and should even have the right to live with that person in a domestic partnership, but I do not believe that marriage can be defined as a homogenous relationship.

Our society is plagued by a large percentage of failed marriages and by adding the notion of same-sex marriage within our society, it begins to create a disconnect at an early age regarding children who are taught to view marriage in a certain way based upon society's definition.

The notion of gay marriage unsettles the idea of marriage between a man and a women, which breaks down marriage further and causes ambiguity within a definition that has been intact for thousands of years.

When looking at California as a whole, it was observed in the year 2000 that more than 61 percent of voters on Proposition 22 believed that marriage is defined as being between a man and a women.

This was overturned by a few key San Francisco judges who chose to legalize gay marriage, despite the beliefs of the people.

The main problem I have with the transformation of marriage into an idea that encompasses gay marriage is the redefinition of marriage as an institution.

Marriage has always been defined as being between a man and a woman.

Gays have the right to live their private lives in any fashion they please, but it seems wrong to redefine marriage for everyone else.

With this redefinition of marriage comes the reshaping of the public school system and ambiguity within an institution that is already in need of structure, not more complications.

These complications have begun because many people view this issue as a civil rights case, but in reality it is an attempt at reshaping a traditional and holy institution.

This institution is designed to prosper our world and provide structure from a family perspective.

Everyone has the right to choose who they date based upon gender, but reshaping the institution of marriage borders on unjust transformation.

Sources:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-02-21/prop-8-marriage-ban-appeal/53198460/1

http://www.protectmarriage.com/about/why

http://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/past/2008/general/argu-rebut/argu-rebutt8.htm

Blog #5 - Mystery Character

Word count: 241

He has brown hair and blue eyes and stands at 6-foot-3-inches tall, while weighing in at 178 pounds, according to his profile.

In reality, he is about 5-foot-11-inches tall with light brown hair and a very light complexion.

Shaving on a regular basis, he never appears to have facial hair.

He has been known to wear his long hair in a surfer-style fashion, while at other times choosing to cut his hair very short.

Time then goes by and he lets his hair grow out again, which seems to be a pattern of his.

His lanky athletic build makes him seem skinnier than he actually is, while ultimately maintaining a very muscular body.

His brow protrudes over his eye sockets slightly, causing his eyes to seem dark and reserved against his facial structure.

His crystal-clear blue eyes teem with intensity and he rarely smiles.

Instead, he wears an almost constant glare across his face as if he were preparing to go to war.

When he does smile, it is usually because he is laughing at something.

He most often wears shorts, a t-shirt and a pair of Nikes, but he is also a man of sophistication and fashion, which he portrays through the high-end suits he wears from time to time.

On the other hand, a simple set of jeans accompanied by a jacket or clothing any "average Joe" would wear are also part of his wardrobe.

Who am I?

Word of the Week #6

1. Punitive

2. I found this word while reading a scholarly journal article about MP3 regulation.

3. Sentence where word was found: With the public discourse around filesharing veering towards punitive extremes, our aim in this essay is to reframe the issue in two ways.

4. Definition: Inflicting or intending punishment, (of a tax or other charge) extremely high; Part of speech: adjective

5. My sentence: The club took punitive measures against those involved in starting the fight on Saturday.

Word of the Week #5

1. Accentuation

2. I found this word during a power point presentation in my Comm 174 class.

3. Sentence where word was found: ...accentuation of differences...

4. Definition: The action of emphasizing something. The prominence of a thing relative to the normal. The manner in which accents are apparent in pronunciation, or indicated in writing; Part of speech: noun

5. My sentence: The sun caused an accentuation of the gold bike lying on the field.

Fairy Tale Leads

1. Prince Charming's kiss awakened Aurora from a deep sleep after spending many years in a dragon guarded castle.

2. A local mermaid made a deal with an evil sorceress to become a human and almost lost everything.

3. A local girl saved China from the Huns and restored her fathers honor with the help of a dragon named Mushu.

Word of the Week #4

1. Impalpable

2. I found this word while reading the poem, "If You Forget Me" by Pablo Neruda.

3. Sentence where word was found: ...if I touch near the fire, the impalpable ash...

4. Definition: Unable to be felt by touch; Part of speech: adjective.

5. My sentence: The sun's rays became impalpable as the clouds rolled over the horizon.

News Story

Tuition Hikes Still Affecting SJSU Students

Word Count: 207

With the school year at San Jose State University more than half way finished, tuition increases implemented before the fall semester are still taking a toll on students.

The idea of tuition increases is not something new to SJSU students.

For more than two years now tuition has steadily increased anywhere from 10 percent to 12 percent annually.

Many people choose to attend SJSU because it offers a quality education at a reasonable price, but within a few years this will not be the case.

With uncertainty around every corner, "It makes education nearly unattainable for poor people," said Brendan Lien, 20, an engineering major at SJSU. "That being said however, I understand the university needs to increase tuition to cover costs that the state of California is no longer funding."

Despite the drastic increases in tuition, the quality of education at SJSU seems to be diminishing.

Departments have cut out entire courses and laid off many professors as well.

As tuition continues to rise, "You would think that all of this extra money that we are paying would affect our quality of education, but in reality it has actually been noticeably worse," said Shawn Niknam, 20, a biology major at SJSU.

With no sign of hope in the future, something must drastically change in order to alleviate rising tuition fees for students at SJSU.

Blog #3 - Comparing Media

Word Count: 321

"Linsanity" is the hot topic in the NBA right now, but unfortunately Asian-American point guard, Jeremy Lin, has become a target of racial profiling as well as a victim of racial slurs within the media.

In comparing coverage of the racial slur made towards Lin amongst three different types of news media, it is easy to spot a few key differences.

The New York Times released an article today, which outlined the details tied to the racial slur posted yesterday on ESPN's mobile site as well as a similar slur made by ESPN anchor, Max Bretos.

The article consists of five paragraphs with a length of 287 words, which explain the contexts in which the racial slur was used and the consequences of those actions.

Both ESPN and Bretos are quoted regarding the slur directed towards Lin.

Each source gave a direct apology to Lin and the Asian community.

Because this article is short and direct, it contains no charts, graphs or photos.

When comparing online news coverage of the same story from a Yahoo Sports blog, noticeable differences include a picture of Lin and an additional video clip embedded on the blog.

Textually speaking, the blog is equally as long as The New York Times article with a length of 273 words .

The same two sources, ESPN and Bretos, are used in this piece as well.

The mix of text and video in this piece creates a feel similar to that of broadcast coverage.

A television segment was released by ESPN today as well, which issued a direct statement concerning the racial slur directed towards Lin.

The story lasted a mere 35 seconds and only included ESPN as a source.

Compared to the newspaper article, this short television segment only gave the main details of the story and made no mention of Bretos whatsoever.

Unlike print journalism, broadcast news coverage must be concise and timely in order to deliver information fully and efficiently.

Sources:

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=7591994

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/20/sports/basketball/espn-fires-employee-for-slur-in-lin-headline.html

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/daily-take/201202/espn-fires-lin-headline-writer

Word of the Week #3

1. Antiquated

2. My friend, Brendan, used this word while we were having a conversation.

3. Sentence where word was found: These computers use an antiquated form of technology now.

4. Definition: old-fashioned or outdated; Part of speech: adjective.

5. My Sentence: Sending letters has become antiquated in an era dominated by the internet and e-mail.

Blog #2 - Your Favorite Writing

Word Count: 310

The world is comprised of an infinite set of decisions and choices that directly affect even the smallest areas of our lives.

One of my favorite pieces of writing, "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost, is a true testament to this statement.

Written by Frost in 1916, the poem examines the predicament of either taking a path untraveled or a path that many have already taken.

I enjoy this piece of writing very much for a few reasons.

Being a poet myself, I enjoy reading the works of other writers because it allows me to draw inspiration and examine writing styles that differ from my own.

Frost uses language that expresses what it truly means to be a human being.

He takes a very simple situation and breaks it down into finite components, which can then be applied to the human decision-making process.

The illustration of the two roads is beautiful because it is timeless.

These roads are ever-present and will therefore remain in place for every human being who must choose a path to follow.

I enjoy the message of this particular poem very much because I tend to think a lot about the decisions I've made, the decisions I'm making and the decisions I'm going to make in the future.

Each of these decisions is plagued by consequences that I reflect upon in the back of my mind.

Like Frost, I too understand that the path less traveled is the path I wish to take.

It is a path that is not only fresh and exciting, but also expressive of who I am as a person.

One of my core values is individualism, which is why I make it a point to set myself apart from the crowd.

At times the road may seem lonesome, but I certainly do not plan on taking a different path anytime soon.

Robert Frost, Mountain Interval (New York: Henry Holt, 1921), pp. 9. Original publication date: 1916.

Word of the Week #2

1. Exacerbated

2. Found in my Intercultural Communications textbook.

3. Sentence where word was found: And conflicts may be exacerbated by power differentials, with some values privileged over others.

4. Definition: To make (a problem, bad situation, or negative feeling) worse; Part of speech: verb.

5. My sentence: Staying up to study all night exacerbated the cold I caught a few days a go.

Word of the Week #1

1. Ontogeny

2. Hauser, Marc D. (1997). The Evolution of Communication. Massachusetts: The MIT Press.

3. Sentence where word was found: A close look at what we know about human language suggests that our understanding of mechanism and ontogeny is sophisticated, whereas our understanding of function and phylogeny is relatively poor.

4. Definition: The development of an individual organism or anatomical or behavioral feature from the earliest stage to maturity; Part of speech: noun.

5. My Sentence: The ontogeny of a species heavily depends on its genes, the environment in which it is raised and any other random factors that may contribute to the overall make-up of an organism.

Blog #1 - All About Me

Word Count: 266

Working with Capernaum, a ministry for kids and adults with mental and physical disabilities, has taken me to places such as Kauai and Macedonia where I help lead week long camps with a team of individuals.

I am a public relations major at San Jose State University and would like to do something in either sports or music/entertainment.

My passion for music has allowed me to dive deeper into who I am as a person.

I write my own songs, play guitar and write poetry in my free time because it allows me to express myself better than any other way.

I'd love to start playing at different places in the near future to share my gifts with others.

I come from a Christian background and it is definitely the core of who I am as a person.

A huge part of my life are my two brothers, Zack and Sam, who are my best friends.

When it comes to writing, I feel that I am a very strong creative writer and that I am good at adding details to encompass the message at hand.

I struggle with commas a lot as well as cutting down on my descriptive language.

At times it can become a bit overwhelming.

If I had to pick one favorite color it would definitely be blue because I love the sky and the ocean.

In my spare time I like to play my guitar and take pictures.

Photography is my newfound hobby and I am having so much fun going out to different locations in order to take new pictures!