More Opposing Viewpoints

The topic of Government Health Care expenses relates to my article in the same was that the topic of Health Care in general did. The money used up by health care expenses could lead to less of a money flow food companies, thus creating a greater interest in Genetically Modified Foods, as a means to speed up production and create a more desirable product.

As for the topic at hand, I think that I feel the side of Public Health Care to be the more reasonable. Both anti-Government Health Care articles throw around a lot of numbers, some seeming unreasonable, but don't tell where their information is coming from. How are they supposed to have credibility if they don't cite their sources? For example, Kudlow's article states that "the existing Medicare system is roughly $80 trillion in the hole," even though we revealed in class that the total national government debt is somewhere around 13 trillion. In addition, George Will says in his article that "...over the next two decades, the average American household's health-care spending... will go from 23 percent to 41 percent of average household income,"  without stating where this data came from.

On the other hand, pro-public health care author Joel A. Harrison gives supporting information and tells where he got it from, such as in his quote : "more than 60% of the $2 trillion annual U.S. health care bill is paid through taxes, according to a 2002 analysis published in Health Affairs." He doesn't just leave you guessing. Similarly, Randall Hoven tells where he got his facts throughout the article, such as in "...according to the U.S. Statistical Abstract, government spending on health care in the U.S was $2,168 per person in 2001..." So, I think that simply by making their information credible, they would have seemed correct, but the information itself that they provide make me agree with their stance.

Opposing Viewpoints

My topic for Life: The Book is Genetically Modified Foods, and the effects  they have. I can't really make any immediate links from my topic to the topic of Health Care. However, since "...$2.4 trillion dollars, and 18 percent of our GDP..." is spent on Health Care, there has to be less money available for other uses. This may be one of the reasons companies are looking to make more money, and are turning to Genetic Engineering to get a faster, better result.

As for the issue of Government-given Health Care, I'm not sure where I stand. On the pro-health care side, I agree that, in the case of an unforeseen, unpreventable medical emergency, you shouldn't be worrying "...how will I pay for it?". When your well-being is at stake, you shouldn't have to be afraid that a doctor's visit is going to bankrupt you. And what about all those who are unable to afford Medical insurance, but require it regularly, such as the mentally ill? When they can't get treatment, the results are not good; "The US Department of Justice reports about sixteen percent of inmates; more than 300,000 people; has a mental illness.".  I can agree that Health Care should be a right, not a privilege.

On the other hand, I can see where the defnition of a 'right' has been skewed - "The true nature of rights — the type of rights the Founding Fathers believed in — involved the right of people to pursue such things as health care, education, clothing, and food and that government cannot legitimately interfere with their ability to do so.". Also, I can see how a "...health care “public option” would further increase costs and reduce individual liberty...", as it would increase costs for consumers, as well as could send the nation further into debt. Overall, I think that I believe "...health care is a fundamental right—a human right—and not just a privilege for the most fortunate."

Life : The Book & American History

The United States of America is the only industrialized country that doesn’t provide a public health care option, and so Americans need to find other ways to get their health care. Many get health care benefits from work, and others get it for little to nothing because of their position in the federal government or military. Others may qualify for federally administered health care programs, such as Medicare, which is available to persons aged 65 and over, and Medicaid for individuals and families with low incomes and resources. The rest of the population, however, is stuck paying full costs - 1/6^th of Americans have no insurance. It has been estimated how much Americans without health insurance pay per year at 124 billion dollars, which is more than the cost of the Iraq war during a one-year span. This enormous number has resulted in medical debt for many people; 62% of foreclosures in America are a product of medical debt.

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A compelling character arises in narrative nonfiction or literary journalism by being someone who you can someone connect with – either in their characteristics, background or experiences. You have to actually care about the character in order for them to be compelling. For example, in ‘The Covenant’, an article from The New York Times, there are many opportunities for you to make a connection with the main character, Francis Collins – possibly in his religion, his career, his childhood, or maybe his political stances. Even if you are unable to make a specific association, you are still interested because all of these things make for an interesting read.

An attention-grabbing plot in a narrative nonfiction or literary journalism comes from the author knowing his audience, and writing in a way that they will find intriguing and are able to understand. For example, in the article ‘FDA rules won’t require labeling of genetically modified salmon’, from The Washington Post, you find yourself interested because the plot involves something that really affects everyone, and you want to know more about the topic. In addition, he doesn’t write in jargon, but rather in a way that the audience will be able to comprehend.

In order to write an article with non-jargon science, the author has to write in a way that the average reader will be able to understand. This means using terms that the audience would be familiar with, and explaining what various things mean, rather than just assuming the reader will know.

Authors encourage their readers to connect with their stories by, for one, writing about a topic that is both interesting and has something to do with the audience. Readers won’t want to spend their time reading something that they can’t connect with in any way. Another way that connects readers to the author’s story is to have characters that are compelling and relate to the average reader in some way. As I said earlier, if the reader is able to connect themselves to a character in the book, such as though their experiences or personalities, they will find themselves more involved in the writing.  

Life : The Book & Humanities

1.
      

a)      I’ll be writing about genetically modified foods, and the age that would go along with this topic would be childhood, because I would be looking into the effects that the altered food would have on children.

b)      One government agency that is involved with the topic of genetically modified food is the FDA, who makes decisions concerning genetically altered foods. For example, this article is about the FDA considering whether or not to approve the sale of genetically modified salmon. An article that I read in class explained further that the FDA also is responsible for deciding if these salmon, as well as other genetically altered foods, must be labeled accordingly, so that consumers know what they are buying. Article 

c)      This subject relates to the economy, because food is something that is always in demand. Through genetic engineering, such as is being done with the salmon in the above article, companies are able to create a larger output in less time, thus giving them more money. Article One - Talks about how the FDA favors industry profit over consumer health. Article Two - Talks about how the genetically altered foods save even more money, because they can be pest resistant, resulting in a higher yield.

2.
         

a)      Same as before, I’ll be writing about genetically modified foods, but another ‘stage’ that could be associated with this topic is ‘Beyond’, because it doesn’t really relate to any specific stage of life.

b)      The EPA is involved with genetically modified foods, because they require permits and testing for pest- and herbicide-resistant crops, and are looking into ‘superbugs’ and ‘superweeds’. This concept is that, when altered crops are herbicide resistant, creators will overspray with pesticide, without having to worry that their crops will be destroyed. However, this has led to new strands of bugs and weeds that have become resistant to the pesticides. Article

c)       Another example of a geographical/economical connection to my topic is that GM foods could be a solution to world-wide hunger. Because genetically modified foods are able to grow in and withstand harsher conditions, and produce a higher yield more quickly. Article One Article Two

Life - The Book

Three of the options, from the list we were given, that stood out to me were...

1) Genetic Screenings

          Genetic screenings during pregnancy are performed by 'inserting a hollow needle into the woman's abdomen to remove a small amount of amniotic fluid from around the developing fetus.' This allows for the parents to know if their unborn child would be at risk for various genetic diseases. If the child is found to have a great genetic disease, and that they will not have a normal life, the parents could have the option to terminate the pregnancy to prevent suffering. This is somewhat controversial, because it can lead to more abortions, and so their are many groups against genetic screenings.

2) Cord Blood Banking

          Cord blood banking is the act of collecting and storing your child's umbilical cord blood for future use. This cord blood is desirable because it contains stem cells, which can be used to treat various diseases, such as leukemia or sickle cell disease, should your child ever develop it in the future, or should a family member. Cord blood banking can be viewed as expensive and unnecessary, though, considering you must pay an annual fee to keep the cord blood stored, and the estimated rate of your child actually need their cord blood is somewhere from 1:1000 to 1:200,000.

3) Genetically Modified Food

          Genetically modified food is food (animals and produce alike) that has been genetically altered in order to produce a more desirable result. It is argued that this is a cost effective method, as foods can be altered to grow faster, or be more plentiful, and genetically-engineered food can have potential benefits such as being naturally pest-resistant, which reduces the use of dangerous pesticides. People can be opposed to the idea of consuming something that has been genetically changed, and this process is too new to know of any harmful effects on the body.

Internship Brainstorming

1) The environment I envision myself working in for internship would most likely be indoors, in an office, working with computers (doing what I'm not sure), and working both alone and with others.

2) During Internship, the skills I'd require would depend on the Internship I end up with, and since I'm not sure of that, I'm not sure of what skills I'd need. However, I could imagine myself utilizing skills with various computer programs, such as PhotoShop or Excel, I've gained through school.

3) I have no specific areas, as of now, of what I'd like to learn during Internship. I would pretty much just like to learn what a job/business is really like, and hopefully in a field that I find interesting.

Twitter Article

The article I read was about the Supreme Court's case selection. I found it interesting that they were able to just choose the petitioner's that they wanted - that their selections were able to be biased based on interest. I hadn't really ever considered how the Supreme Court went about choosing the cases to try, but I definitely wouldn't have imagined that it went about this way.

The article that I found to suplement the above article is about the Snyder vs. Phelps case - which is about military funeral protests - mentioned in the previous article. I chose this article to read because it was an aspect from the Twitter article that I'd heard somewhat about before, and had found it interesting. Reading this supplementary article gave me details I hadn't known before, such as both sides of the argument, and how the WBC are defending their actions.  

'Dying for Dixie'

I recently read a chapter out of Tony Horwitz’s book, ‘Confederates in the Attic’, in which a young white man is killed by a several young black males, showing that the Civil War is still alive in some parts of the country. The root cause of Michael Westerman’s death was the Confederate Flag. It was in the Civil War that the Confederate Flag flew, and it was through different interpretations of this symbol that Westerman was killed.

Michael Westerman died by being shot, after displaying a Confederate Flag on his truck. The town he lived in, Guthrie, already had racial divisions prior to his death, which just escalated afterwards. One side of the argument over the flag is that it is a symbol of pride. The town’s high school mascot is the rebel, whose logo is two flag-waving confederates. When there was a movement to change the mascot to something else, in order to ease racial tension, there was a huge uproar. During a school-board meeting on the subject, white woman after white woman protested that their children’s rights were being taken away through equality, and that their mascot was a representation of a proud history (even though their area hadn’t even been confederates). To them, the flag stood as a sign of rebellion in general, not as a flag of the Civil War. They feel that they are being the ones discriminated against, although they are the majority and had the same rights before as they do now, and that the flag is a symbol of stopping oppression.

The other side of the argument is that the Flag is a sign of defending slavery and what went on during that time, as a racist symbol of the past. The simple sight of the flag on the back of Michael Westerman’s truck led to the three boys to shooting and killing him. Black families attending the afore-mentioned meeting felt as if they should have a say in their children’s school mascot – a mascot that stands for the pro-slavery south of the Civil War. To them, the Confederate Flag is “a way of saying what white people have kept bottled up”.

Michael ‘s views on the subject changed based on who you asked. His wife stated that he only sported the Confederate Flag because his friends had done so and he thought it looked sharp. On the other hand, his father made it out as is he had died for the Confederate cause, while others still, such as past coworkers, described him as a racist bully.

Between the two stark views, as well as Michael’s muddled ones, there are many different views and interpretations of the Confederate Flag. People take it for what they want to take it, whether as a sign of rebellion or a sign of slavery. The many interpretations are what led to Michael Westerman dying, as well as the racial differences in the town of Guthrie. Although other things may have contributed, the root cause of both events was the Confederate Flag.