blog # 9

During the 1920's the Eighteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution was passed, prohibiting alcoholic beverages in the United States. Even though the sale of alcohol was illegal, alcoholic drinks were still widely available and many people had private bars at their homes in order to serve their guests. A large amount of alcohol was smuggled from Canada and overland. Limited amounts of wine was aloud inside one's house but people took it overboard. Whiskey could only be obtained through a doctor's prescription but doctors began to give them out without a reason. People had the urge to consume alcohol since they were not allowed to. The Great Gatsby has a correlation with the prohibition in the 1920's since it took place during the 1920's and the rich would serve a lot of alcohol at their extravagent parties. It was obvious that there were ways to go around the laws on prohibitng alcohol and Gatsby in the book had parties every weekend with an endless amount of alcohol for his guests even thought alohol was prohibited which meant that people with power were still able to get a hold of alcohol. The fact that there was alcohol at the party was emphasized greatly in the book showing how it was a popular topic at the time. People attended the weekly parties in order to have a good time since it was hard to get a hold of alcohol during that time.

Blog #8

An article called "Fifth Graders In Washington Accused Of Plotting To Kill Fort Colville Elementary School Girl," was posted on The Huffington Post on February 15, 2013. Two fifth grade boys admitted to plotting a little girl's death. The students were ten and eleven years old and they were arrested on February 7, 2013 because they were found with a knife, a pistol, and a full ammunition clip. A fourth grader noticed that one of the boys had a knife and he went and told one of the teachers. Their reason to why they wanted to kill their girl classmate was that she always made fun of them and their friends and she was rude. The older boy was going to stab her and anyone who tried to respond to what they did would be replied to with the pistol. The boys are facing charges of conspiracy for attempting to commit a first degree murder. An insult from a classmate may even drive children to think about killing a friend. These children should have consulted with a teacher about the girl's rude remarks instead of planning death.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcKswwkTVyE

In this video, John Stewart satirizes negotiation tactics. He targets John Boehner who does not agree with Obama on the fact that taxes should be raised, because Boehner feels as if it is unacceptable. John Stewart's target is on the low level of negotiation skills and the house committee chairman's. John's purpose is to bring a recognition of common sense and to make people realize a change in the way decisions are made should change. He is trying to show people that there is something wrong. In order to reach his goal, he uses techniques such as innuendo, exaggeration, understatement and diminution. John Stewart responds to John Boehner's remark about taxes, by directly questioning his skills at negotiating on issues. His use of exaggeration, especially in his tone, makes the people realize the problem automatically. Understatement was used when the issue on the fact that the house is made up of all white males was brought up. John Stewart used understatement and diminution by completely down sizing the issue and trying to come up with ways to make the house look like it is diverse when it really is not. His use of understatement was used to draw attention to the truth and show its faults. The satirist wants us to know the idiocy behind some of the remarks politicians make and the faults in what they do by directly using satirical techniques.

"Procrastinating Surgeon Putting Off Coronary Bypass By Cleaning Entire Hospital"

The article "Procrastinating Surgeon Putting Off Coronary Bypass By Cleaning Entire Hospital" was written on January 13, 2013 in theOnion.com. Columbia University of Medical Center reported that Dr. Robert Klinge, who is a cardiac surgeon procrastinated when he needed to perform an important coronary bypass procedure. Dr. Robert did not putt of the surgery because he was on an important call, but he had the urge to clean the hospital mess. He vacuumed, recycled and made sure everything was aligned perfectly. He thought that if he did not clean it then he would worry about it all throughout the surgery, as if the surgery is just another task on the side. Dr. Robert thought it would not be a problem if he left the surgery for the next day. He was adding a coat of pain and due to that he did not hear the call that indicated a "code blue." A coronary bypass surgery is not a simple thirty minute surgery that can be put off, especially for cleaning. A doctor should not be satisfying his OCD needs when he is responsible for another human's precious life. People trust doctor's with their life and doctors like Robert Klinge should be caring and smart enough to know that a patient comes before cleaning the hospital. I thought workers are hired to clean the hospital and not a heart surgeon that is on call.

"Dad Forgets Baby In Car For 8 Hours On Cold New York Day"

The article, "Dad Forgets Baby In Car For 8 Hours On Cold New York Day," was written on January 25, 2013 in The Huffington Post.  A New York man left his year old son in the car for eight hours on an extremely cold day. If it was not for his wife, he would not notice until the day was over because his wife called him in middle of the day asking about the child which resulted in the father realizing that he had not taken his child to day care that morning. He forgot to drop his child off at day care and instead he parked his car in front of his office for eight hours. As soon as he realized, he rushed his son to the hospital. The baby did not suffer any injuries but his body temperature barely reached 15 degrees. They have not determined if the father should be charged for his actions. People forget at times and make mistakes but being a parent is a big responsibility. Everything that has to do with one's child should be on top of their list and making such a huge mistake could have resulted in the one year old dying.

Nature

As I take a seat on the stairs and take a look around me, I realize there is so much to enjoy outside. The birds are speaking to one another in their loud yet soothing language and the wind is making a sound that almost feels like music to the ears. Cars are passing by, causing the leaves to make a crunchy sound. The trees are moving in a rhythm with one another as if they have a routine and the fresh air blows in my face making me feel so calm. As I stared at the buildings and cars on pause, I felt relaxed due to the lack of noise. The soft and white clouds in the blue sky made me feel at peace and it made me forget about all the was in my head before I sat down. Technology keeps me away from this beauty, and at times I do not even notice it. I could get used to this soothing feeling.

"Nicholas Tankersle Allegedly Forced Female Inmates To Strip In Indiana Jail"

The article, "Nicholas Tankersle Allegedly Forced Female Inmates To Strip In Indiana Jail," was written on January 19, 2013 in The Huffington Post. An Indiana jail officer had been charged for convincing the female jail inmates into stripping for him. Not only did he ask for something very wrong but he also promised to give favors in return for their "work." He promised the women that he would provide them with extra sheets, oranges, ink pens, if they stripped in front of him. He asked two jail inmates to perform a sex show for him and he touched another inmates breasts while she was on her bunk in her cell. The officer admit that he added previous jail inmates on Facebook but his wife told him to remove them. This man not only broke jail rules but he also went against morals. Jail is supposed to serve as a punishment for people who have gotten themselves into it and not a place for give and receive from the officer. Not only is the officer supposed to be punished for his sick actions but the jail inmates who agreed on doing such things for "favors" deserve to be punished also. Jail officers are supposed to move in a strict manner.