For my quick read minutes I chose the American classic, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The setting of this novel is in a small Missouri town right by the Mississippi River. Tom and all of his friends are always getting into new mischief and trouble, especially Tom and his orphan friend Huckle Berry Finn. The passage of the novel that I decided to read starts during the climax of the book when Huck is trying to find out what Injun Joe is doing. When he realizes that Joe and his friends are going to try and kill the widow, Huck braves it out, and figures out Joe's plan so he can help stop him from killing the widow. Huck demonstrates and shows great courage, and that doing the right thing is right because you can help, and save people as appose to hurting people. For more information On The Adventures of Tom Sawyer visit the Tom Sawyer Homepage.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Today I read an article all about making the football season from 16 regular season games to possibly 18 regular season games, if not a few more. I found the article "NFL looking to expand to 18 regular-season games" by Gary Myers on the New York Daily news's website. It talks all about how in an attempt to bring in more revenue the NFL is likely to change two of the preseason games into regular season games, but the only thing holding back the decision is whether or not the players should get paid extra for the two extra games. Already players get paid 60% of the leagues revenue, would they really need any more cash with what they already are making? Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner was quoted saying, "even though they are playing two more regular season games, they should not get an automatic raise where their base salary would be 18 times their per-game pay instead of 16. If a player is making a $1.6 million base salary, which is $100,000 a game, the NFLPA will argue the salary should jump to $1.8 million, while Goodell says any extra money will come as a function of the salary cap system." I personally am split on the decision. I think that it would be great and all to have more regular season games because that just means there will be a ton more fun for all of us. What I am split on is wether or not the player's should get paid more for the extra two games. One side of me says that they are already making a million dollar's plus so why should they get paid more for just two more games. Than the other side of me looks at it like this, they are workers just like everyone and like everyone if your boss said you had to work saturdays also in addition to mondays through fridays for no extra pay we would all be pissed, I mean of course they want extra cash for extra work. Although It won't be a big deal for me wether or not the player's end up getting larger paychecks, what I will really be watching eagerly is the decision on the amount of extra games that will be added to the season.
Today US military forces launched a very rare attack into Syrian territory close to the border with Iraq. Written by Albert Aji from the Associated Press this articles describes a raid conducted by special forces on al-Qaida linked foreign fighters moving through Syria into Iraq. "Syria condemns this aggression and holds the American forces responsible for this aggression and all its repercussions. Syria also calls on the Iraqi government to shoulder its responsibilities and launch and immediate investigation into this serious violation and prevent the use of Iraqi territory for aggression against Syria," This is a quote from the government issued statement from Syria. As a result of the attack many Syrian civilians have been injured and killed, including four dead children. I am very concerned with this news. I think it is out of our authority as a nation to go into another country without permission and kill civilians in an attempt to curtail al-Qaida traffic through Syria. American government officials tried to support the attacks by saying things like,"We are taking matters into our own hands" and, "The one piece of the puzzle we have not been showing success on is the nexus in Syria". I think that we should not just be allowed to go into other countries and just do what we want because we want to. It is things like this that make so many other countries hate the US. I just think it is sad that we do things like this. The right way to go about this would have been to get the cooperation of the Syrian government and then this trouble could have been avoided. To read the full article click here.
I looked at different American war heroes including George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant, and Dwight D. Eisenhower. All three of these men were American generals and later presidents. An American hero must inspire, and show confidence in order for the people to love them and follow them and all three of these men did that. George Washington helped found our country and led our people to freedom on the battlefield. He was a good commander and an even better speaker. He was always able to inspire his troops even in the darkest of times. He later then went onto become Our first president. Grant was also another general during the Civil War. He was known for inspiring his men and being able to win great victories with little. His heroic leadership during the war eventually led him to the presidency. Last but not least Eisenhower, the supreme commander of the allied forces of World War 2. Eisenhower was also known to be able to give great speaches and inspire his troops. He was able to gain there dedicated devotion through speaches deliverd inspiring awe. An overall theme that seemed to be shared by all American war heroes is that they must show confidence, and give assurance to the people following them, they must also show that they know what they are doing. I think this is because people want to follow someone that they like and feel safe following. They need to know that they are in good hands, and people like Grant radiated assurance. Men like these were booeys of saftey in times of wild storms.
This picture shows the Supreme Commander of the Union forces during the Civil War Ulysses S. Grant. The image shows a rugged man who is just like his own soldiers. He was a spectacular strategist, and a symbol of inspiration for all of his soldiers.
"Although a soldier by profession, I have never felt any sort of fondness for war, and I have never advocated it, except as a means of peace." - Ulysses S. Grant
This shows Grant's unwillingness to participate in war. This is a quality that can be considered invaluable to people in leaders. It shows that he does not choose to be apart of war, but does so in order to uphold the country.
In this image General Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme commander of the allied forces during world war 2 is shown giving a final speach before paratroopers depart for their fateful drops into Normandy. Eisenhower always was with his men and this is shown here giving the the idea that he is just one of the regular soldiers.
"You don't lead by hitting people over the head-that's assault, not leadership." - General Dwight D. Eisenhower
This shows Eisenhower's understanding of command, which is what made him the commander he is. He understood that you couldn't force men to do what you want, but you must inspire and convince men that what you want them to do is right.
This image shows the father of our country George W. Washington, our first president. In this portrait George is painted with an aura of confidence and assurance about him. The image shows a confident man who knows how to lead.
"I have no other view than to promote the public good, and am unambitious of honors not founded in the approbation of my Country. " - George Washington
This quote shows that George Washington wanted what was best for his country, and that he truly cares for his country. It showed to everyone that his intentions were not to become a monarch, but to create something that would be the best thing possible for the new country America.
"Although a soldier by profession, I have never felt any sort of fondness for war, and I have never advocated it, except as a means of peace." - Ulysses S. Grant
I think that all of the things I collected show very well how men like Washington, Grant and Eisenhower were good American war heroes. The quotes given show that the men were more than just soldiers, but contrymen and patriots, someone to follow. The pictures give an impression of assurance and confidence in the men being shown. All the things I collected show how the people I talked about were great leaders and heroes.
"Two weeks to go, and already the fight over the constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in California is the costliest campaign about a social issue in U.S. history. Spending by both sides has topped $50 million, and the figure is growing." This is a quote from an article written by MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER of Yahoo News on the battle over gay marriage in California. The article mainly talks about how Many organizations have been throwing money up to help prevent gay marriage from becoming legal, and many celebrities have been giving money to help make it legal, such as Ellen Degeneres and Steven Speilberg. I personally think that gay marriage should be legal. I think that anyone should be allowed to love who ever they want, and marry whoever they want. I do not really understand why some people would feel the need to not let someone marry someone of the same sex, it should not be of their concern.
