Editorial Argument

For my Editorial I went to the most recent New York Times newspaper. It is titled One Last Chance for Energy published September 28, 2008 only one day ago from this blog post. The author makes the claim in the first paragraph by saying that the congress has made no progress in the energy policy, and indeed they have gone backwards. I think that the authors purpose is very important to the perilous times we are in concerning the environment, and through strong and specific evidence. The author takes a very logical approach to her argument, basically pointing out how the disagreements in Congress are leading to our country's demise. The author also makes it seem ethical, that it is right to notice these problems and act, rather than look the other way. She almost made me feel as a reader that I should get up and do something about it, and through this it made me trust the author which seems exactly what she is trying to get across. The author uses very interesting logic, she points out the problem, then shows a possible solution that one side of congress come up with, but then shows how the other side contradicts it, thus showing the never ending cycle that ultimately leads to nothing getting solved. It is a very interesting way to look at it, because it shows that we have good ideas of how to fix these problems, but it is a matter of everyone agreeing on a solution. For me as a just the reader it makes me feel that the government needs to figure out a solution that satisfies both chambers of congress but it is obviously easier said than done. overall, I liked the argument, it made me think, it appealed to a good audience being the average reader, and strives towards a good purpose in solving the world's energy problem.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/29/opinion/29mon2.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin

City on a Hill Once Again

We have been studying the early Puritans who were the first immigrants to the New World, and through this I have learned the many ideals of their lifestyles. Along with with their belief of predestination, and their duty to be the shining city upon a hill, I could not help but wondering if there were any Puritans left?
As I thought of this question, I have pre-existing knowledge that Puritanism was just one branch of the christian faith, and that along with many of the branches there aren't many people left believing in the less popular religion. I also know that through the first chapter of The American Dream by Jim Cullen, that as the generations past the new generations were less and less like their ancestors in strength of faith. But, as concrete as this information is it seems that there obviously has to be some full bread Puritans still in the United States. After research there are some articles which show that there are some people out in United States that are still Puritans. but through my research I came up with a new question, what would Puritan Society do to our Modern Society? The economy? etc... Well to do this I think that I will take the Puritan values and relate them to modern day issues. First off America may be losing its way as a world leader, and I think I speak for all of us when we say we are always striving for the best. I think that with the Puritan sense of dedication to thier dream of being a model for the rest of the world, we need to rededicate ourselves to this notion of being the "city on top of a hill", something that Senator McCain and Obama have referenced in the future if elected president. Another part of the Puritan state is following a strict social norm. This I think would ruin something great in our society, something that defines us as people, our individualism. Not only our individualism but our great skill of having many individuals coming together to become a community. So the Puritan Society would have negative and positive effects on Modern day issues, but I think the most important is as we elect a new leader of our country we have to consider rededicating ourselves to the idea of being the "city on a hill" for the rest of the world once again.

Searching for Native American Music

As i was doing my homework i did my normal routine, ya know, do a little homework then go on facebook, then a little more, then go on itunes. So I was on Itunes and I thought it might be interesting to type "Native Americans" into the search bar on the top right of the screen and see what would come up. I was thinking of Coyote Springs in the novel Reservation Blues, and to see if any bands like them had made it big and onto Itunes. But to my surprise I did not see one band like them. In fact I don't even think any of the songs were by any legitamit artists. The things that came up were song titles like "Native American Flute I, II, and III" all sounding strangly the same. As I scrolled further down the page, I came to realize that the song titles were pretty much the same but changed to "Native Amerian Flute I and drums" with the same flute sound with a soft "indian like" drum kit in the background.
This got me thinking, what if there really are no bands like Coyote Springs. Even though they are a fictional band I think they bring a very important sound to the world's music library, and that they are a voice that needs to be heard. I have read the book and it has taught me the hardships of a Contemporary Native American, and the view point of the native american narrative that needs to be told to the world. It just got me thinking, that we need to experience Indian culture to understand thier problems and to help them, and a perfect way to do this is to listen to their music.

First Post 9/3/08

this is the first post