Note

Indents are hard to see, so the 2nd paragraph begins with the line; Some advice that Congressman...

Outside Reading post 5&6 of 12

Not many jobs require spending half of your time concentrating on them. George Stephanopoulos had to work 14-16 hours a DAY during his time as a White House advisor. The section of the book that I read demonstrates that in order to work in the White House, you need to devote a ton of your energy and time into your job, you have to let it take over your life. When talking about his commitment to his job, Stephanopoulos said, "But my job did come first, for better or for worse. Besides, I didn't have time to be lonely, with work consuming twelve, fourteen, sixteen hours a day, six days a week, and several hours on Sunday. Every day was a dozen meetings, a hundred phone calls, a new crisis, another first" (135). This quote shows that Mr. Stephanopoulos didn't even have time to think, his schedule was so jammed full. If you are going to be part of the body that runs the entire country, you must be determined to work ceaselessly around the clock to keep the cogs turning. When you work in this manner, your personal life gets eaten up too. The author exclaims, "Soon I was too-as a single man...But it was also Joan's final straw, a sure sign of where my heart was. First the campaign, then the transition, now this. My job would always come first. She dumped me a week later-exactly what I deserved" (135). Someone cannot have any distractions when working for the President, including a girlfriend. They do not posses the time to give the adequete amount of attention that a lover deserves, they would barely even be able to see each other! If your job is a serious one with many responsibilities, then you need to be willing to give your full attention to it in order to do it properly.

Some advice that Congressman Tony Coelho gives the author is, "Nobody will remember what happened to you. They'll remember how you handle it" (152). This idea is central in the next passage of my book, where Mr. Stephanopoulos is replaced from the press secretary position. He is talking about how to appear in the best light just before the replacement and recollects, "Listening to the past-tense praise was a little like hearing my eulogies, which was fitting, because that afternoon I would have to perform the political equivalent of speaking at my own funeral. Gergen wasn't set to start for another week, and they hadn't decided who would do the press briefings once he came on board. So I had four more days of facing the reporters who'd become my tormentors. Tuesday noon was the start of my final run" (152). It is necessary to look back at your past accomplishments in order to prepare to transition into a new role. To make your appearence look the best, you need to make it seem like you are not being hurt by the change. Mr. Stephanopoulos needed to make his situation look like a promotion instead of a demotion. When Clinton was announcing that his team was bringing in David Gergen for the job of Press Secretary, Stephanopoulos noted, "Before heading to the Rose Garden, he approached me and congratulated me on my new job. What new job? Nobody's really said what I'm going to do. Clinton's touch was perfect. Now if only I could convince the rest of the world to congratulate me. I hadn't prepared a statement of my own, but my actual words wouldn't matter much. My mission was to look like a man who was bieng promoted" (150). Society as a whole never cares about the intricate history of a situation, they just care about how the person looks while they are confronting it. If they are downcast and dull, then society will view it as a failiure. If the person does the opposite however, society believes that they were successful in their venture, no matter what the truth really is.

The beliefs of the characters in this film vary depending on their social backround and loyalty. Most everyone on the docks inwardly dislikes "their union supervisors" (aka the mob), but would never dream of speaking out against them in fear of them or people close to them bieng hurt. This is a valid fear because the mob has proven that they will persecute those who stand against them, for all to see. Although it may be a valid fear, it is not neccisarily the right thing to do. The men on the docks have a great commaraderie with one another, and lots of them are great freinds. They think of the docks as one big family, feeling others pain, but not always speaking against it. I think that they would define a traitor as someone who tells a party something in order to benefit themselves at the cost of others at the docks. A whistle blower, on the other hand, would be someone who stands up to the mob and valiently tries to tell the truth to set things right. Unfortunatly, anyone who has the guts to do that most likely will be "hooked" by the mob. There are not many examples of traitors or whistle blowers in the film, just the select few who are brave enough to stare death in the face for what they believe is right.

In many cases, there is a not so fine line between a traitor and an informant on riminal activity. Depending on your viewpoint, someone could be either one of them. I think that a traitor is someone who assists the enemy of the group they are a part of and therefore hurts the group. A whistle blower is someone who stands up for their personal beliefs, even in the face of danger, to try to make this world a better place. A traitor lacks the ethics to realize that they are harming their own comrades, or is too blinded by greed to care about their real friends anymore. On the other hand, only a select few people in each society posess the knowlege and moral compass to guide them on the right path, and even fewer also posess the courage that is required to carry out your actions. Society will exclude and shame a traitor, while they revere an ethical crusader and immortalize them forever.

Outside Reading post 4 of 12

The saying "The first time is always the hardest" rings true with the Clinton Presidency. Coming off a win in the 1992 Presidential election and a great inaugural speech, the first issue Clinton faced was meeting with the Military chiefs of staff about the situation of Gays in the military. The new President had to make an ethical decision about weather to go and attack strongly in support of his beliefs or play it cool to not make a bad impression as a new president. Mr. Stephanopoulos says of their situation; "I was proud of his argument, but I also knew that we had no cards to play. If we didn't work out a compromise with the chiefs,, they would sabotage us on the Hill" (124). The Clinton staff was confident in their viewpoint, but they did not want to create political uproar, so they were at a fork in the road. They could go for the aggressive but possibly devastating move, or lay low and come to a safe compromise. What ended up happening was bad overall for the Clinton administration, the compromise evidently not paying off, with the author saying; "The compromise satisfied no one, except Republican political strategist, who now had a killer issue for the 1994 midterm elections. The military resented the intrusion, Democrats were furious, the public was confused, and the gay community felt betrayed" (128). In this particular situation, taking the safe route against your beliefs did not keep them safe. The Clinton administration learned this the hard way, as many administrations have done. This problem shows that you have to stand up for what you believe is right, even though it may be risky, or you may end up falling flat on your face anyway.

Answer to Blog Question Q2 AMS

The choice of weather to benefit your family or society is an interesting one, to say the least. This choice is shown through many different people in the play. Characters in Arthur Miller's play, "All My Sons", decide what is more important based on their own selfish impulses. The story is based around Joe Keller, who operated a factory that made airplane parts for the army in WWII. After 21 cracked cylinder heads made by his factory caused the death of 21 American pilots, him and his coworker were put on trial. Joe was supposedly innocent of all charges, but his coworker was put in jail. This case builds suspense throughout the story, until the son of the coworker comes to get Joe to confess, and Kate misspeaks, giving a clue as to why Joe is guilty. Chris gets angry at his father and is interrogating him until Joe cracks and erupts, "Because you know I don't belong there. Because you know! Who worked for nothin' in that war? When they work for nothin', I'll work for nothin'. Did they ship a gun or a truck outa Detroit before they got their price? Is that clean? It's dollars and cents, nickels and dimes; war and peace, it's nickels and dimes, what's clean? Half the Goddamn country is gotta go if I go! That's why you can't tell me" (82). Joe made the decision to send the bad parts out because he was obsessed with giving Chris a good life and keeping his business alive. He might have known it was morally wrong when he did it, but over the years, he slowly convinced himself otherwise because if he lost the respect of Chris then he would have no reason to live. Kate makes it hard on her fellow family members when she refuses to believe that Larry has passed away after being reported missing in action over three years ago. She constantly retorts at them whenever they suggest that he may have passed on, and is immensely stubborn in her views like when she says, "Because certain things have to be, and certain things can never be. Like the sun has to rise, it has to be. That's why there's God. Otherwise anything could happen. But there's God, so certain things can never happen. I would know, Annie- just like I knew the day he went in to that terrible battle. Did he write me? Was it in the papers? No, but that morning I couldn't raise my head off the pillow. Ask Joe. Suddenly, I knew! I knew! And he was nearly killed that day. Ann, you know I'm right!" (28). Kate's reasoning that Larry is alive because she feels it and God wouldn't have it any other way is just a stubborn excuse not to face the truth. She is selfishly keeping to her own world instead of giving in to reality and allowing Chris and Joe some peace of mind. The actions of Joe and Kate show that they are acting on their own selfish desires to make choices in life.

I think that it is appropriate to put the needs of your family before the needs of society only when you are not directly harming society by doing so. Joe Keller does not share my thinking because he effectively causes the deaths of 21 pilots just to keep the respect of his son and stay away from jail. As a human being that is part of society, you have to take responsibility for your actions even if that means that you take some punishment in the process. Just because you might of had a stroke of bad luck like Joe Keller does not give you the right to pass that on to society, which in Keller's case, caused many deaths. The classic conundrum of stealing bread to feed your hungry family is an interesting match to my view. I would steal the bread only because it does not do a great amount of harm to society and it saves active participants in that society, my family. Stealing bread from another hungry family is a different story, because you would be doing harm to them if you stole it. 

Outside reading post 3 of 12

The section of my book that I read this week started with a scandal that accused Clinton  of dodging the Vietnam draft. Reporters had found a letter from him to Colonel Holmes that started with the line "'I want to thank you, not just for saving me from the draft...'" (74). This letter started a downward spiral that ended up with Clinton being projected third or worse at the New Hampshire primary. In politics, even when you seem to be out of the race, if you work hard enough and strategize well, you can still win. After an accusation that claimed Clinton wanted to give a job in government to someone he allegedly had an affair with, Mr. Stephanopoulos wanted to give up the race. He gives his interpretation of Clinton's attitude by saying, "I was sure all was lost, but Clinton demonstrated that power of pure will. He was determined to touch and talk to every voter in New Hampshire. We staffers left the suite in shifts to accompany him, but we were superfluous. This was all about Clinton-his pride, ambition, and anger, his need to be loved and his drive to do good. Watching him made me wonder if you had to be a little crazy to become president. What did it do to you to want something so badly?" (79). To win, Clinton would almost have to talk to everyone in New Hampshire, but this quote shows that he had the determination and drive to do it. In order to come back from the pits of despair in a political campaign, you need to want to win with every ounce of your being. Clinton's staff, including Mr. Stephanopoulos, worked tirelessly around the clock at their base in Little Rock to fend off every Republican attack that came their way. They used a simple, but deadly, three phrase election manifesto to head their strategies, the ideas were Change vs. More of the Same, The economy, stupid, and Don't forget health care. The author's thoughts on it were, "I thought of it as a campaign haiku-an entire election manifesto condensed to nineteen syllables.  James drilled it into our heads, and every speech, every event, every attack, and every response had to reflect one of these three commandments" (88). These three ideas fended off every attack the Bush campaign threw at them, lessening the distractions and allowing the campaign to gain some ground. With this premise, Mr. Stephanopoulos and his fellow staffers were able to strategize well enough to get right back into the race.

Outside Reading post 2 of 12

The section that I read from my outside reading book, "All Too Human", by George Stephanopoulos, was about how the Clinton campaign emerged as the frontrunner for the democratic primary and the challenges from the media along the way. In this part of the book, Mr. Stephanopoulos conveys that in order to have success in a political campaign, you have to over analyze every situation and think about the outcomes of your actions. During the campaign, Clinton was told a dirty joke by the then front runner Bob Kerrey, which was caught on tape. In order to avoid a major fiasco, Mr. Stephanopoulos strategized; "Of course, we couldn't pretend that Clinton had been offended by a joke he had obviously enjoyed. Explaining that he was laughing just to be nice was disingenuous, and it would call too much attention to the fact that Clinton had laughed at the joke rather than focusing fire on our rival who told it. So we would try to keep Clinton out of the story" (42-43). This long and intricate thought process shows that when analyzing an issue, Mr. Stephanopoulos goes over every single aspect  and reflects on the possible outcomes of the situation. Strategies like this one narrow your possibilities down until you come to the best option. Later in the campaign, the Star ran a story that Clinton had affairs with 5 women, allegations that had been raised in one of his gubernatorial races. Clinton's advisors and aides thought; "We wanted to avoid an on-the-record denial if possible, not only because it could ceate a story but also bcause if Clinton denied some allegations, his silence about others could be construed as confirmation. Since Clinton had admitted to "problems" in his marriage, we knew there had to be at least one woman out there whose charges he couldn't deny. More likely, many more. So we tried to avoid the trap by attacking the tabloid messenger. Paul cooked up some lines about other Star scoops like the discovery of "alien babies" and I came up with a no comment denial: 'I'm not going to comment on that tabloid trash'" (56-57). An originally dangerous article was turned into a laughingstock after Mr. Stephanopolous and his colleagues came up with the right plan of attack and how to coordinate that attack. The world of politics is one of the most intricate and complicated things to ever exist on this earth. With endless possibilities and battles to be fought, the only way to stand a chance is to gather intelligent people around you and go deep into the situation.

First Post on Outside Reading

For my outside reading I am reading a book called "All too Human" by George Stephanopoulos. He reflects on his time in the White House during the Clinton years.

George Stephanopoulos rose from humble beginnings to a political advisor in the White House for more than five years. It took a lot of thought and many decisions but he proved that with the right moves, you can go places in life. Only through many risks and experiencing new things can a person hope to achieve great things. After serving under a few insignificant congresspeople for a number of years, George was offered to be Dick Gephardt's (the majority leader of the house) floor man in 1988. This endeavor was much different from interning for a few congresspeople, and he reflects: "In my old job with Feighan, our successes had been satisfying but small, like successfully petitioning for the release of a political prisoner. With Gephardt, I would get the chance to help set a national agenda for the Democratic Party, to figure out how to blunt Bush initiatives and force Bush vetoes" (22). The simile that Stephanopoulos makes while comparing the two campaigns stresses the fact that he was able to have a whole other political experience. It also illustrates him slowly climbing the ladder toward higher opportunities. You will not always be given the next step, however. George took a huge risk when he decided to run with the Clinton campaign in the 92 election, he was not expected at all to win the nomination. He talks about his choice in an interesting manner by saying: "That evening I felt pulled in different difections. The idea of Kerrey was still appealing, and I thought he had the better chance to win. But compared to Clinton, the man I had encountered was distant and unfocused. He didn't seem to know what he would do as president, and his team didn't seem as enthusiastic about having me on board. Clinton was more impressive up close, smart and ready" (30). George was going on a big hunch when he eventually decided to go with Clinton because of his charming personality and readiness. This proves that you cannot just wait around for life to hand you upgrades, you have to make them yourself.

Work Cited:

Stephanopoulos, George. All Too Human. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1999.

I couldnt underline "All Too Human" for some reason, and the citing may look wrong but I did it right while writing the post.

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The citing looks wrong on the actual post but was right when I was writing it

The plan to kill Obama "White Power"

I read an article on how two white supremacists planned to kill Barack Obama and black students, they were arrested in Tennessee recently. The names of the two charged are; Daniel Cowart, 20, of Tennessee, and Schlesselman, 18, of Arkansas. They planned to drive their vehicle as fast as they could towards Obama and shoot at him from the windows. The killing of 88 people and beheading of 14 African Americans was also in their plan, 88 stands for "Heil Hitler" (H is the 8th letter in the alphabet), and 14 represents a 14 word white power saying. Personally, I feel very sad for anyone who believes in "white power", mostly because it was simply the way that they were raised. Almost everyone whos parents spent a lot of time with them in their childhood begins to mirror their views. For example, if your parents are part of a certain religion, you are most likely part of it too. The only possible way someone could believe in something as horrible as "white power" and the idea that all races not white should be exterminated must have been strongly influenced early on or simply be mentally sick. So even though it might seem crazy to not totally blame them and feel sorry for them, I dont blame them and am very sorry for them because it is not their fault that thier mind is severly screwed up.

Work Cited:

Lichtblau, Eric. "Arrests in Plan to Kill Obama and Black Schoolchildren." NYTimes.com. 27 Oct.

2008. 28 Oct. 2008 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/us/politics/28plot.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin

I could not indent the second time for some dumb reason and could not put brackets cuz of the html thing.

Film Review of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystall Skull"

"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull": 0 out of 4 Stars

Campbell Housh

The  movies in the Indiana Jones trilogy are some of the most well-known and respected movies in all of Hollywood. Yes, you heard me right, trilogy. I don't even consider "The Crystal Skull" part of the Indiana Jones series because it is so absolutely horrendous that it almost tarnishes all of my memories of the other three. You can tell that movies put on 20+ years after the originals are just made to scrape up some extra cash based on the success of prior films (Star Wars I-III, anyone?). It wasn't little things that tore this movie apart, it was how the whole entire concept of this particular treasure hunt was so weird and unlike past films that no amount of stellar acting could save it. I have great respect for Harrison Ford, and do not blame him in the least (you cant really say no to Indiana Jones 4, no matter what the plot). But I do not know what Steven Speilberg and George Lucas were thinking when they came up with a plot that centered around aliens, of all things. Seriously, when people think of Indiana Jones, they think of legendary artifacts and historical relevance, not some Sci-Fi centered twist! The fact that the plot was about aliens ruined the whole experience for me. I was so amped up to see an Indiana Jones movie in theaters but came out totally exasperated. Instead of the Ark of the Covenant or the Holy Grail, the treasure in this movie is "ultimate knowledge"! The Indiana Jones faithful don't want that! We need a relic that is priceless and something every archeologist would dream of, not a freakin flying saucer! If the writers of this movie would have replaced everything alien with, for example, and Aztec god, then the movie would have been great! The bottom line is that Spielberg and Lucas tried to dig too deep when a simple idea like the one I just thought of would have satisfied every Indy fan out there. We just wanted to reminisce and re-live the Indiana Jones experience. This whole experience just goes to show that directors don't need to overthink or change their autopilot for adding on to a classic idea, they just need to show us the same characters and idea that we know and love.

The works cited looks wrong, but it was right when it was in the "create post" box, I did indent it but that does not show up well on the real blog.

Outside Reading-"Palin is Ready? Please."

As many of you probably already know, Sarah Palin participated in an interview with Katie Couric in this last week. I read a Newsweek article reflecting on that interview, and I have to say that I completely agree with the author. Palin made an absolute fool of herself when responding to a question which asked her how living next to Russia gave her foreign policy credibility, and she said; "It's very important when you consider even national-security issues with Russia as Putin rears his head and comes into the airspace of the United States of America. Where-where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there. They are right next to-to our state". This quote did not in any way prove that she gains foreign policy credibility, it does quite the opposite. As the author of the article puts it; "Two weeks ago I flew to Tokyo, crossing over the North Pole. Does that make me an expert on Santa Claus?" This proves that she was completely unprepared and had no real reason to support her argument. She thinks that because she "can see Russia from her house" it makes her a foreign policy expert. Palin is not specific about anything, and amidst her gibberish she conveys the general idea that because her state is close to the country of Russia and is the place where "Putin rears his head and comes into the airspace of the U.S.A" she somehow is skilled at having diplomatic relations with them. Personally, I am very afraid for the future of our country. If McCain wins the election and dies within his term, (which is very probable considering he is 76) we will have a person who is totally unprepared and clueless as our president. Some people may counter that Barack Obama is unexperienced, etc. etc., but he can speak well and MAKE SENSE while doing it. He may have only been a senator for one term, but he has shown that he is capable and prepared for the job. Another note is that presidents Teddy Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were younger than he is when they were elected and both were superb presidents.

Work Cited:

Zakaria, Fareed. "Palin Is Ready? Please." Newsweek.com. 27 Sep. 2008

http://www.newsweek.com/id/161204

(Couldent do carrots because it wouldnt let me post because of this html thing, couldent underline Newsweek.com becuase there is no underline and I tried control+U, it didnt work)

Is Odysseus the Kind of Hero We Want in Modern Times?

Odysseus is so revered by Homer in The Odyssey that he always is complimenting him on his smarts and even going to the extent calling him "godlike". Even though Odysseus lies and cheats, his bravery and perseverance overshadow all of his wrongdoings and make him a hero our modern society should embrace. Odysseus' good values are rare to find in someone nowadays, and when used together can allow someone to accomplish amazing things and provide a good example for fellow citizens. When Odysseus ventures into Polyphemus' cave, he is courageous enough to be able to think straight as he sees two of his men eaten alive in front of him. Even after witnessing that terrible ordeal, he comes up with an ingenious plan and pierces the only eye of the cyclops, effectively blinding him and allowing for escape. Only the combination of the intense bravery and efficient planning of Odysseus could have allowed for that outcome. In our current society, it is hard to find someone who has real courage enough to face something that terrible. The amount of obstacles that Odysseus had to go through after fighting a 10 year war are amazing in themselves. What is even more awe-inspiring is that he has the perseverance to  battle a cyclops, escape an evil witch, journey to the underworld, and many things more. He is tempted many times, with the option to stay and labor no more, but his never dying spirit urges him on. In these contemporary times, it is extremely commonplace to give up on something if it doesn't go right the first time, or you think it is impossible when you first try it. People would be much more successful at everything they attempt in life if they had the undying perseverance of Odysseus.

The character of Odysseus leis and cheats constantly throughout The Odyssey, but these flaws are miniscule when you compare them to his attributes. Every human has certain faults to them, and when you are gone from home for decades then certain longings become unbearable. When Odysseus cheats with Calypso and the witch Circe, it seems to the reader that he is being unfaithful to his wife Penelope when she is being faithful to him. In modern times, cheating on ones wife is one of the most horrid things a man can do, so people from this era see that as a terrible trait. Back then, it was not viewed bad at all to cheat on your wife, because your wife was considered to be your property. This particular flaw is still a bad one, but it is blown out of proportion in our society compared to ancient times, and when Odysseus cheated, it was not considered bad. The deceitful art of lying has been around since man could speak. Odysseus used this art as part of his cunning, and he used it well. He lies many times throughout the book, and one in particular is when he pretends to be a beggar in front of his wife, so that he can keep his identity a secret. When someone is in the situation he is in, lying stops becoming a deceiving flaw and starts becoming a way of survival. He has to lie in order to be able to surprise the suitors and permanently remove them from his house. It is only because of his crafty lies that he is able to survive so many perils over his decades long journey. The values of courage and perseverance are shrinking from society and would be greatly valued if someone were to posses them. Cheating is considered terrible these days, but back then it was just another normal example of extreme patriarchalism, and when you lie to stay alive it becomes a need instead of an untrustworthy flaw. Odysseus should be a hero for modern times because the context of his flaws differs from ancient times to now, and his positive attributes would be valued in the extreme today and gave him much glory in ancient times.

MLA format for latest blog

"Chinese Baby Formula Sickens Many. " New York Times. 2008. 18 Sep. 2008

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/18/world/asia/18china.html? _r=1ref=world&oref=slogin

I could not put in carrots because it would not let me post because of this html thing.

  

This is where the article is

http://www.nytimes.cm/2008/09/18/world/asia/18china.html?_r=1ref=world&oref=slogin

6,000 babies sickened

The thing I read is an article in the New York Times about how 6,000 babies were sickened by bad baby formula. I think that it is terrible that a company would be selfish enough to not care to check for illegal chemicals in something that is bieng fed to babies. I feel for those families that are forced to buy this because their income is not high enough, and I am sad that there is a downward spiral attached to bieng poorer, because you are forced to buy low quality things. It genuinely shocked me that over 6,000 babies were infected, and who knows how many will come after that?

A spoonful of soup

I would just like to inform everyone that this post is purely to welcome people to my blog. It would be good to let you know that this blog will be 100% opinionated on every single post I will ever make. Why dont I start that right now. Personally, I think that it is odd that 60% of my homework so far has come from EE10, and hopefully this will not continue. I like this class, but not all of the homework involved in it. I cant believe we have to do our own blog, comment on others, and answer a question every week. Oh well, this is high school, I guess. I do look forward to voicing my opinions and thoughts and complaining enough for all of us. Until next weeks assignment, goodbye.