Journals.
Helpful information on writing in your journal. http://www.hamilton.edu/writing/writing-resources/journal-writing
Go to the link provided for each reading assignment. Print the assignment out. A new reading is due in class each Tuesday.
We are working on #5 currently, "America's Dumbest Idea."
On March 11, bring in a print-out of #6, "Sky's the Limit." We will use this reading all next week. For the following week, print out #7, and so on.
Helpful information on writing in your journal. http://www.hamilton.edu/writing/writing-resources/journal-writing
Go to the link provided for each reading assignment. Print the assignment out. A new reading is due in class each Tuesday.
We are working on #5 currently, "America's Dumbest Idea."
On March 11, bring in a print-out of #6, "Sky's the Limit." We will use this reading all next week. For the following week, print out #7, and so on.
Write 250 words giving your response to the author's argument that we should not allow stores to open on certain holidays. For each journal entry, put the date at the top, along with the name of the assignment. This one is "federal blue law."
1/Federal Blue Law
The cure for retailers ruining Thanksgiving: A federal blue law (Excerpt)
By Paul Whitefield
The cure for retailers ruining Thanksgiving: A federal blue law
Source: http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-holiday-shopping-federal-blue-law-20131111,0,3190338.story#axzz2kSLrUvjw
Lots of us remember the days when stores weren’t open on Thanksgiving or Christmas. Heck, plenty of us remember when no one was open on Sunday. And somehow, America survived — both consumers and capitalists.
Now, some have written that they don’t enjoy the holidays much, that family time is overrated. To them, I say: Get a grip. Get a better family. Get a hobby. Get out and take a walk. Read a book. Unplug. Undress. I don’t care.
But for everyone else, go ahead and call me Don Quixote, but I’d like to tilt at this all-shopping-all-the-time world we live in now. How about we just say no?
What’s that you say? It’ll never stick? It’s against human nature? Well, to paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr., “I have a a dream — and a plan”: Make it the law of the land. That’s right. We need a federal blue law, making it against the law to open on Sundays and certain holidays.
Radical? Yes. But it’s also a bipartisan no-brainer. Which lawmakers are going to stand up in Congress and defend people’s right to violate the Sabbath and Christmas and Thanksgiving just so they can buy another iPad or get their Starbucks fix? You think the tea party types wouldn’t go for a blue law? You think the Democrats and their union allies wouldn’t?
I’m telling you, the votes are there. All we need is a champion or two.
So how about it, Ted Cruz and Nancy Pelosi: Are you with me?
1/Federal Blue Law
The cure for retailers ruining Thanksgiving: A federal blue law (Excerpt)
By Paul Whitefield
The cure for retailers ruining Thanksgiving: A federal blue law
Source: http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-holiday-shopping-federal-blue-law-20131111,0,3190338.story#axzz2kSLrUvjw
Lots of us remember the days when stores weren’t open on Thanksgiving or Christmas. Heck, plenty of us remember when no one was open on Sunday. And somehow, America survived — both consumers and capitalists.
Now, some have written that they don’t enjoy the holidays much, that family time is overrated. To them, I say: Get a grip. Get a better family. Get a hobby. Get out and take a walk. Read a book. Unplug. Undress. I don’t care.
But for everyone else, go ahead and call me Don Quixote, but I’d like to tilt at this all-shopping-all-the-time world we live in now. How about we just say no?
What’s that you say? It’ll never stick? It’s against human nature? Well, to paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr., “I have a a dream — and a plan”: Make it the law of the land. That’s right. We need a federal blue law, making it against the law to open on Sundays and certain holidays.
Radical? Yes. But it’s also a bipartisan no-brainer. Which lawmakers are going to stand up in Congress and defend people’s right to violate the Sabbath and Christmas and Thanksgiving just so they can buy another iPad or get their Starbucks fix? You think the tea party types wouldn’t go for a blue law? You think the Democrats and their union allies wouldn’t?
I’m telling you, the votes are there. All we need is a champion or two.
So how about it, Ted Cruz and Nancy Pelosi: Are you with me?
2/MLK's Dream
Is MLK’s dream for America achievable?
By Bill McKenzie
Source: http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2013/08/texas-faith-is-mlks-dream-for-america-achievable.html/
Is Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream for America achievable?
At heart, King was a minister, not a politician. He relied upon the Scriptures to inform his views of equality, along with his own experiences. He studied theologians like Reinhold Niebuhr, as well as philosopher-leaders like Mahatma Gandhi. And he led interfaith groups on marches, not Republicans or Democrats in their caucuses.
In short, he was more prophetic like Amos or Isaiah than political like JFK or LBJ. The prophets of old presented a vision for their people, whether the people liked it or not.
Similarly, King presented a vision, a modern one where he imagined “the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”
But is that dream realistic? Are we too constrained by our own natures to realize that kind of harmony?
AMY MARTIN, Director Emeritus of Earth Rhythms and Writer/editor Moonlady News Newsletter writes:
Will we ever achieve racial equality? Or economic justice? Or full rights and respect for women? Or environmental sustainability? Or compassion for animals? Or religious tolerance?
Certainly. And when we do, Washington D.C. will have little to do with it. It will require individuals en masse deciding “We don’t want to live like this anymore.” From that simple decision, change happens, creating a chain reaction that eventually reaches the Senate floor.
Why certainly? Because evolution is the engine that drives the planet on all levels. It’s our expectations that must adjust. Evolution is not a smooth process of ascendancy. It proceeds in sprints and saunters, short periods of intense progress and long periods of complacency, punctuated by bursts and backslides.
And so we dance. Two steps forward and one step back is not only progress, it’s a cha-cha.
Is MLK’s dream for America achievable?
By Bill McKenzie
Source: http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/2013/08/texas-faith-is-mlks-dream-for-america-achievable.html/
Is Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream for America achievable?
At heart, King was a minister, not a politician. He relied upon the Scriptures to inform his views of equality, along with his own experiences. He studied theologians like Reinhold Niebuhr, as well as philosopher-leaders like Mahatma Gandhi. And he led interfaith groups on marches, not Republicans or Democrats in their caucuses.
In short, he was more prophetic like Amos or Isaiah than political like JFK or LBJ. The prophets of old presented a vision for their people, whether the people liked it or not.
Similarly, King presented a vision, a modern one where he imagined “the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”
But is that dream realistic? Are we too constrained by our own natures to realize that kind of harmony?
AMY MARTIN, Director Emeritus of Earth Rhythms and Writer/editor Moonlady News Newsletter writes:
Will we ever achieve racial equality? Or economic justice? Or full rights and respect for women? Or environmental sustainability? Or compassion for animals? Or religious tolerance?
Certainly. And when we do, Washington D.C. will have little to do with it. It will require individuals en masse deciding “We don’t want to live like this anymore.” From that simple decision, change happens, creating a chain reaction that eventually reaches the Senate floor.
Why certainly? Because evolution is the engine that drives the planet on all levels. It’s our expectations that must adjust. Evolution is not a smooth process of ascendancy. It proceeds in sprints and saunters, short periods of intense progress and long periods of complacency, punctuated by bursts and backslides.
And so we dance. Two steps forward and one step back is not only progress, it’s a cha-cha.
3/Stop Thanking
Stop thanking the troops for me: No, they don’t “protect our freedoms!” (Excerpt)
Source: http://www.salon.com/2013/11/11/stop_thanking_the_troops_for_me_no_they_dont_protect_our_freedoms/
Why is pro sports constantly jamming military fervor down our throats? Their claims are wrong in more ways than one
Stop thanking the troops for me: No, they don’t “protect our freedoms!” (Excerpt)
Source: http://www.salon.com/2013/11/11/stop_thanking_the_troops_for_me_no_they_dont_protect_our_freedoms/
Why is pro sports constantly jamming military fervor down our throats? Their claims are wrong in more ways than one
reading_3_stop_thanking.docx | |
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4/Gridiron
Violence, Greed and the Gridiron
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/opinion/sunday/bruni-violence-greed-and-the-gridiron.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
By FRANK BRUNI
Violence, Greed and the Gridiron
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/opinion/sunday/bruni-violence-greed-and-the-gridiron.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
By FRANK BRUNI
5/Dumbest Idea
America's dumbest idea: creating a multiple-choice test generation
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/12/schools-standardized-testing-fail-students
America's dumbest idea: creating a multiple-choice test generation
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/12/schools-standardized-testing-fail-students
6/Sky 's the Limit
Martha Armstrong, Staff Writer
http://www.patriotnewsonline.com/opinion/2013/03/13/is-the-sky-the-limit/#sthash.5XrLEULe.dpuf
Martha Armstrong, Staff Writer
http://www.patriotnewsonline.com/opinion/2013/03/13/is-the-sky-the-limit/#sthash.5XrLEULe.dpuf
7/Sweatpants
Sweatpants, practical but not appropriate
By Matthew Ahasay
http://uwpexponent.com/opinions/2013/05/02/sweatpants-practical-but-not-appropriate/#sthash.CrYUKU5X.dpuf
Sweatpants, practical but not appropriate
By Matthew Ahasay
http://uwpexponent.com/opinions/2013/05/02/sweatpants-practical-but-not-appropriate/#sthash.CrYUKU5X.dpuf
8/ Nerdy Teen
I wish someone had told a nerdy teen that someday being smart would be cool!
By Will Sheff
http://www.salon.com/2013/11/19/okkervil_rivers_will_sheff_i_wish_someone_had_told_a_nerdy_teen_that_someday_being_smart_would_be_cool/
9/Changing American Family
The Changing American Family
By NATALIE ANGIER
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/health/families.html?hp&_r=0&smid=pl-share
10/Conspiracy Theories
Conspiracy theories: Why we believe the unbelievable In cases such as JFK's assassination, why do so many people refuse to accept the simple and obvious conclusion that Oswald did it? Psychology.
By Michael Shermer
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/nov/26/opinion/la-oe-shermer-jfk-conspiracy-theories-20131126
11/Overpopulation
Overpopulation is behind climate change and energy shortages
By Doris Taylor - Dallas Morning News letter to the editor
http://letterstotheeditorblog.dallasnews.com/2013/11/overpopulation-is-behind-climate-change-and-energy-shortages.html/
12/ Emotional literacy
YOUR IDEAS: A NEW PLAN FOR CHICAGO
Teach emotional literacy
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-10-30/news/chi-plan-letter-subchareon_1_literacy-great-success-people-value-money
— Varut Subchareon, student at Wilbur Wright College, Chicago
13/ Hair Commercial
Hair Commercial Portrays Gender Labels Effectively
By
Ruchika Tulshyan
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ruchikatulshyan/2013/12/06/this-amazing-hair-commercial-portrays-sexist-labels/
Conspiracy theories: Why we believe the unbelievable In cases such as JFK's assassination, why do so many people refuse to accept the simple and obvious conclusion that Oswald did it? Psychology.
By Michael Shermer
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/nov/26/opinion/la-oe-shermer-jfk-conspiracy-theories-20131126
11/Overpopulation
Overpopulation is behind climate change and energy shortages
By Doris Taylor - Dallas Morning News letter to the editor
http://letterstotheeditorblog.dallasnews.com/2013/11/overpopulation-is-behind-climate-change-and-energy-shortages.html/
12/ Emotional literacy
YOUR IDEAS: A NEW PLAN FOR CHICAGO
Teach emotional literacy
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-10-30/news/chi-plan-letter-subchareon_1_literacy-great-success-people-value-money
— Varut Subchareon, student at Wilbur Wright College, Chicago
13/ Hair Commercial
Hair Commercial Portrays Gender Labels Effectively
By
Ruchika Tulshyan
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ruchikatulshyan/2013/12/06/this-amazing-hair-commercial-portrays-sexist-labels/
14/Silicon Valley
David Lowery: Silicon Valley must be stopped, or creativity will be destroyed Silicon Valley's making money off the work of others. David Lowery is on a crusade for copyright, fairness and art
http://www.salon.com/2013/12/04/david_lowery_silicon_valley_must_be_stopped_or_creativity_will_be_destroyed/
By Scott Timberg
David Lowery: Silicon Valley must be stopped, or creativity will be destroyed Silicon Valley's making money off the work of others. David Lowery is on a crusade for copyright, fairness and art
http://www.salon.com/2013/12/04/david_lowery_silicon_valley_must_be_stopped_or_creativity_will_be_destroyed/
By Scott Timberg
15/Illegal at Home
Suddenly, Illegal at Home
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/13/opinion/suddenly-illegal-at-home.html?src=recg
Suddenly, Illegal at Home
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/13/opinion/suddenly-illegal-at-home.html?src=recg