#assignment 14

When she was done she took the bottle back to the kitchen since she barely made it halfway. She washed her hands and she made it back upstairs. She checked to make sure she was still sleeping before heading back into her own room. She crawled back into bed and fell into a good slumber. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been asleep when she heard the cries on the monitor again. Rubbing her eyes she sat up and looked at the monitor. Her baby girl was definitely distressed. Getting up she made her way back to the nursery and she picked her up. She checked her diaper and she was a little relieved to find out that she had a clean diaper. She sat in the rocker with her for a few minutes. She rocked her and it seemed to work for a bit so she put her back in her crib.

Writing 101, Day Fourteen: To Whom It May Concern

Today’s assignment is to “pick up the nearest book and flip to page 29″ and find the first word that jumps off the page, and then use this word as your springboard for inspiration.  The twist: write the post in the form of a letter. I am going to skip the twist and move on to the inspiration.

Interestingly enough, the first words that jumped off of the page were “hands-on experience“. I have…

I think these readings have shown me that what I’ve been taught about American history has been incredibly streamlined. Not false, exactly, but so simplified as to give an overall impression that is false. I understand this tactic for smaller children, but I must believe a grievous error has occurred for me to make it through AP US History with these false impressions intact.

  I was especially surprised by the Malcolm X reading, and the subsequent research I did to better understand it. All I’ve ever been taught about Malcolm X has been in comparison to Martin Luther King. The fiction is that these were two men who wanted the same thing, but went about getting it in very different ways. In discussions and lessons Dr. King’s methods were favored (because what teacher wants to preach the merits of violent dissent in his classroom?) and generally presented as more effective, while Malcolm X was relegated to an angry man who, while he had a legitimate reason to be angry, was obviously not employing the best tactics to achieve equality.

  What I was never taught was that Malcolm X and Dr. King wanted vastly different things. While Dr. King was working for an end to segregation, Malcolm X was, for at least part of his career, looking for an increase, to widen the rift to the point where African Americans would have autonomy similar to that of an individual nation. Nor was I taught that Malcolm X was such a dynamic figure, that his views changes so dramatically throughout his life and this, I think, is important in understanding him.

  This realization has convinced me that I need to be more active in questioning what I learn, read, see, hear. I can’t expect to be given the whole truth on a silver platter. And it’s all so subjective, can be spun so many ways, that I could be given three different dishes on three separate occasions and still call them by the same name. But we live in a wonderful time in history where we have access to all variety of interpretations of history and current events with just a simple internet search. And if we want information about what the government is doing, there’s a law that says they have to give it to us (baring probably some things covered under national security).

  The Corso poem talks about our ignorance, and I think that’s really good point as well as a really big problem. It’s less that we’re stupid and more that we willfully ignore the things we think it will be inconvenient to know. I think it’s vastly important that we not become complacent, that we keep looking deeper, and questioning, and asking for the information we deserve. And that we never forget that the information-getters, Frost and Snowden and others, are true patriots as well as dissenters.

Romney:

1. Ann Romney's comment reminds me of when Mitt Romney said "[He's] not concerned about the very poor." Similar to his comment, it makes her seem ridiculous and ignorant.            

2. I don't think that the Romney's are being unfairly treated. Although it may be out of context, the Romney's need to be aware of their status and watch what they say publicly.  

3. I think that this comment, coming after the one Mitt Romney said, add up to show how truly ridiculous they are. The Romney's, who are incredibly wealthy, first of all don't think about the poor people, but then go on to consider themselves not rich when they have way more than the majority of Americans. 

Santorum:

1. I completely disagree with Santorum. I believe women need access to contraception and studies show most women use it. By being so openly against it, I think that he will detract many women from supporting him. 

2. A neologismand is a newly formed word and Dan Savage is a gay rights activist who created a new definition for ‘Santorum’. The definition is: “the frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex.”  

3. I think that if google has something incredibly inappropriate or offensive then they should investigate and potentially remove it, but for most cases I think that google should not sensor their searches and information. Information being public is part of the package when you are a public figure, and you go into that profession with complete knowledge of this. I was pretty shocked by what google did because it didn't seem like that big of a deal. 

4. The top searches are:

Results for U.S. Republican Presidential Primaries

Campaign for "santorum" neologism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rick Santorum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Spreading Santorum

Pick Rick In Kansas | Rick Santorum For President

Assignment #14a