Danny's American Studies

Putting the Pieces Together

2009-06-01T08:59:00.001-07:00

I See: I see four puzzle pieces with the words Analyze, Reason, Investigate, and Review. I also see that each piece is a different color.

I Think: These pieces could represent the progress of Obama and his cabinet coming together and maybe adding another piece to the puzzle by choosing Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. Also, our class clearly relates to this image because all 4 of the pieces of this puzzle are steps that one would take when thinking critically.

I Wonder: I wonder if the different colors of these pieces could represent different races in our government?

This was my Final exam for my american studies class. I was limited to 100 words in this assignment so I could not add a few key points that I wanted to make. For the I wonder portion, I want to say that the different races include people like Obama and Sotomayor who both represent minorities. I also would of liked to add in specific times in class when we thought critically. For example, we thought critically about the media many times, we looked at African American Tokenism in television. I really enjoyed this discussion because it was something that has always been right there but I never noticed it. this is just one of many topics that we discussed in American Studies, a class that I really enjoyed being a part of.

American Flag

2009-05-10T18:30:00.000-07:00

This is a picture that I took of an American flag. I used this particular flag because I thought the way it is hung is very interesting. It is hanging from a window on its side and it is covered partially by a plant. I think that it is hanging from the window for easy access, if the family wants to take it up then they can. It is possible that the flag is hanging on its side so it is able to flow in the wind. If the flag was hanging in its normal position then the wind would not have as big of an effect on it. The family may want it to seem like a flag on a flag pole, one that blows in the wind. A flag on a flag pole is the ideal position for a flag according to some people. And because of the lack of a pole, I think that this is the best they could do. There is a plant partially covering the flag on the left side. This plant is not thick, so one can easily see through in order to view the flag. i think that this was done purposefully by this family because they may not want the flag to be the center of attention when someone looks at their house. The people that live here may have strong patriotic feelings and they love their country, but they do not need to shout it to the world. They are perfectly fine with being patriotic, but quiet as well.

Creating My Thesis/Map

2009-04-16T07:54:00.000-07:00

My topic is Why did the NCAA change the age of a "recruitable prospect" from a ninth grader to a seventh grader? And the answer to this question is not clear to everyone. Each individual has a different opinion on the situation. The NCAA says that they are changing this rule in order to protect the young seventh and eighth grade prospects. But, after thoroughly researching the issue I decided that I think the NCAA changed this rule for the very selfish reason of making money. My problem is that I do not know how to turn this answer into a full Thesis/Map. I think that this answer is sufficient enough for just a thesis, but the map is the tricky part. How can I split this up into three body paragraphs? Do I need to find two other reasons for the NCAA's decisionto change this rule? Or is there another way for me to just focus on the money?

Research Overflow

2009-04-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

Over the past week and a half of American Studies class I have been collecting sources in the form of books, articles, and websites. At first glance I thought that I had enough research to write ten junior theme papers on my subject. But once I read the sources that I gathered thoroughly I realized that each piece of research was very similar to the next and very repetitive. For example, I found the same quote in 5 different sources. All of these sources basically said the same things. So I went back and searched for more, but it was harder than I thought. Most of the sources I have been finding have been purely factual, but I am looking for something with an opposing viewpoint to the NCAA. I need some articles that have some biases and that express differing opinions. After searching for a few days I found only a few articles that I feel will really help me write my paper. I am wondering where else can I find articles to support some of the ideas that I have heard about briefly? For example,one of these articles said that the NCAA changed the rules just to make more money. I really like this point of view and want to learn more about it, I just dont know where to look.

Topic Troubles

2009-04-08T06:53:00.000-07:00

Now that we are in the middle of Junior Theme, I have noticed some major problems with my topic. My topic was initially, Why do professional athletes make so much money. But, that was much too broad for a 4-6 page paper, and I understand that. Then, I thought about the topic, Why do Americans idolize professional athletes? But, again that was still too broad. Then after having a few conversations with Mr. O'Connor and Mr. Bolos I decided to choose the topic of, Why are college basketball teams recruiting players as young as students in middle school? Initially, I thought that I had finally found a topic that was concise enough for me to write a 4-6 page paper on it and Mr. Bolos and Mr. O'Connor approved. But, throughout my research I have discovered that my initial thought may have been misleading. Through my research I have found that the answer to this topic is that schools have recruiting these young kids to get a leg up on the competition. They are doing this simply to get to the prospect before their competitors do. After finding this information I thought to myself, How could I write 4-6 pages on a question when the answer is one sentence long? Therefore I attempted to think of ways to expand my topic, but, I am having a lot of trouble.

2009-03-17T15:11:00.000-07:00

American Insurance Group (AIG) has been bailed out twice by the government in order to keep the economy alive. After AIG received their first bailout they threw a boat party for all of the employees to celebrate their "accomplishment". After the second bail out AIG decided to reward their executives with large bonuses. This action made the country furious because the company received 170 billion dollars from the United States tax payers. AIG claims that these bonuses were necessary to attract top talent to run the company and make the business batter. It turns out that eleven out of seventy-three AIG employees who received one million dollars or more in bonuses no longer are employed at AIG. Congress wants to tax the recipients of theses bonuses in order to regain the money and send where it is needed. Although many believe that it is none of the government's business what AIG decides to do with the money, I agree with those who criticize AIG for their terrible decision making. The government is clearly involved in the situation because the money comes from them. I believe that this money should be retrieved by the government and then sent to wherever it is needed.

2009-03-16T09:27:00.000-07:00

March filled with Madness

2009-03-14T15:33:00.000-07:00

When March First comes around everyone begins to talk about the NCAA tournament. The tournament consists of a field of the 65 best teams in college basketball. Some of these teams are automatically given a bid by winning their confrence tournaments, and others are voted in by a comitee full of experts on College basketball. The questions asked are who will make it and of the select teams that do make it who will be crowned as the champion? This year these questions are especially confusing because the confrence tournaments this season have been full of upsets and the teams that many though were the best may not turn out to be. For instance, In the Big East quarter finals both projected number one seeds Conneticut and Pittsburg lost to teams that were questionable to even make the NCAA tournament. Conneticut lost Syracuse in a thrilling six over time game and Pittsburg lost to West Virginia in another thriller. Also a third projected number one seed in North Caralina lost in the Semi-Final game of the Atlanic Coast Confrence (ACC) tournament to a team also on the bubble of the tournament in Florida State. With all of these top ranked teams losing in their confrence tournaments it makes it very confusing for experts to predict a champion.

Madoff Pleads Guilty

2009-03-12T09:54:00.000-07:00

This morning the infamous Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty to all eleven felony counts. He took over 68 billion dollars from over 45 hundred people from across America. This posses several interesting questions. Because he is pleading guilty to eleven felony counts, many ask why is he being permitted to return home for two months before he is sentenced to a lifetime in jail? Also, several of his investors had sent memos to The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the huge returns on people's money that he claimed to have made. Many wonder why he was never investigated? According the National Public Radio (NPR) one of the main reasons that SEC did not investigate Madoff was because they didn't want large funds companies to not talk to them. NPR believes that this is completely ridiculous because the SEC has one responsibility and they are not fulfilling it. Although Madoff spent a large portion of the money on his multiple homes and luxuries, that cannot begin to account for 68 bullion dollars. And the question that many are asking is where did all of this money go and how are the investors going to be reimbursed? A large portion of these investors have lost almost all of their retirement savings. Please leave your comments if you have an answer or opinion to any of these questions.

2009-02-06T08:05:00.000-08:00

TAXING QUESTIONS

2009-02-04T18:56:00.000-08:00

Despite Tom Daschle's unquestionable qualifications to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, I think it was the right choice for him to withdraw his name from consideration because of income tax mistakes he made. Public servants need to live up to the highest standards of ethical conduct in order for them to be effective in their office. Given the challenges our country is facing it is best for our government officials to be able to focus on accomplishing their goals without unnecessary distractions. We must all live with the consequences of our choices and Senator Daschle is not different. I do believe that each case should be handled on an individual basis and the facts and circumstances should dictate the result. Secretary of the Treasury, Tim Geithner also had some tax issues and was confirmed. Honest mistakes should be given more leeway and people can be given a second chance. I believe that Secretary Geithner's tax mistakes are more forgivable given that many people in his situation made the same mistake. While Secretary Geithner's tax mistakes undermine his credibility somewhat, I also believe in giving people second chances. Senator Daschle's mistakes are harder for me to forgive because I think he may have knowingly cut corners thinking no one would find out and if they did he could claim they were mistakes. I don't have any real evidence of this but based on my reading of the events I have lost some confidence in him. There are others who will be able to do the job and it is best that the country move forward from here.

-Steve Malkin-(Danny's Dad)

2009-02-04T09:24:00.000-08:00

Reunion

2009-01-12T09:54:00.000-08:00

I have seen many television shows throughout my 16 years of life, but none better than Seinfeld. Seinfeld is a sitcom about four people and their daily lives. It is one of the most popular shows in television history. I have many Seinfeld fans talk about a reunion of the cast and maybe to do one more episode. Although this would very interesting to see as a fan of the show, I would highly advise against it if I were the a member of the cast. I think that having one last episode would ruin the entire series. There is now way that the cast could come back and recapture the magic from the past. Especially because of the incident with the actor that played Kramer had a few years back. I believe he was being heckled and then he made some racist remarks towards the heckler. I think that bringing back the cast and crew from Seinfeld would be just as disastrous as when Micheal Jordan came out of retirement and decided to play for the Wizards. All of the Seinfeld episodes were so great during the 1990's and if they do one last episode, people will be expecting even better, and I just don't think that is possible.

The Pressure

2009-01-11T17:51:00.000-08:00

Final Exams are a very big part of a students overall semester grade. This causes many students to have allot of stress and may feel a great deal of pressure to do well during this last week of the semester. As a junior at New Trier High School, I have taken a total of four semesters worth of Final Exams. And what I have noticed is that I have rarely had a final that changed my grade in a dramatic way. More often than not the grade I receive on my final Exam is roughly the same as my overall grade in the class. I think that doing al of your homework during the school year and studying for all of the tests and quizzes throughout the year is the best way to prepare for a final exam. Sure if a student studies hard during the week before finals it will improve his or her score, but no matter how hard and how long a student studies for i that week it will never make up for 4 months of slacking off. Students are feeling the pressure to do well in finals and I think that if you have been doing your best throughout the semester then you should have nothing to worry about.

2009-01-09T08:07:00.000-08:00

What is the Problem??

2009-01-05T14:52:00.000-08:00

Chicago Teams this season have let down the city with losses in a disgusting fashion. Each team has their own way to lose. The Chicago Bears had a great chance to make it to the playoffs this season and they blew it. They needed alot of help in order to make it during the last week of the season. Both of the teams that needed to lose did and the Bears found themselves in a situation where if they won their last game then they would bew in the playoffs. Unfourtunatly they lost to a very subpar team in the Houston Texans and let down the city once again. Also, the Chicago Bulls had very high hopes before the season began after getting the number one overall pick in the NBA draft. Now, it does not even look like they are going to make the playoffs and have another dissappointing season. The Bulls have lost their last three games and are now looking at a very lousy 14-20 record. This is a huge problem for the city of Chicago and noone can seem to figure out how to fix this situation. Is it the coaching? Is it the players? Is it the management? All sorts of things have gone wrong for the Chicago sporting teams and please leave your comment if you think you know the answer.

Change is Occuring

2009-01-05T14:30:00.000-08:00

In American Studies class today we were discussing TV Tokenism. Many believe that minorities, specifically African Americans, are not getting a fair shot at television and movie roles. These people feel that changes need to be made in order to solve this issue. But I feel that this change has already begun. The population in the United states consists of around 75% White Americans and approximately 12% African Americans. Looking at these statistics one should infer that the number of African American actors and actresses would be much less than Caucasian's. Studios are still criticized for having African Americans in supporting roles as opposed to the main characters. I do not agree with this criticizm because the studios are certainly making an effort to have African Americans in main roles. Just a few of many African American movie stars include names such as Will Smith, Hallie Berry, Eddie Murphy, Denzel Washington, Queen Latifah, and Chris Rock. Also, in the very popular television show Gray's Anatomy, two of the main characters are African American and another is Asian American. Although this is not the ideal situation for many minorities and this is still a major problem that needs to be addressed, our society is in the middle of a change and hopefully in the near future this problem will be solved.

A Government in Need of a Leader

2009-01-04T15:57:00.003-08:00

The United States of America is in a very difficult situation and the government has many places that need their attention and support. At this time Barrack Obama is the president elect and he is waiting for his time to step into office. Because of the delicate spot that America is in there needs to be a president to the nation and make the decisions necessary to get our country back on track. Unfortunately our current President George W. Bush does not feel that he should play as much of an active role in the government now that Obama has been elected. At the same time Obama does not believe that he should take any action until he is officially named the president. During these two and a half months between Obama's election and him being placed in office we really have no leader of our nation. This is a huge problem because we are in a crisis and a president to lead the United States out of this jam is a necessity. I believe that the layoff period between the presidential elections and when the president elect is placed into office should be shortened by at least one month. This would hopefully contribute to solving the controversy of who should act as president an make the decisions to run the nation.

Who's at fault?

2008-12-15T10:11:00.000-08:00

In class we have been discussing a video clip about a section of a book written by Al Gore that is promoting the impeachment of Goerge Bush. In the video he relates the situaion to a past situation that was tried in court. There was a teacher who for the past ten years was abusing boys that were students at the school he worked at. And the conflict was who should be punished? The "pathological" abuser or the teachers and adminisrators that knew about these terrible acts but did not do anything to stop him. Although the abuser was "pathological" and could not be reformed, I still believe that it was his actio and he should be penalized. It would have been the ethical thing for the teachers to try and stop this act, but at the same time, can you convict someone for not being ethical. Unless there was a rule or law that enforced the teachers to report this type of thing, just as there is at New Trier, I do not believe that the teachers should be convivted of anything. I agree that it was morally and ethically wrong, but as much as it disgusts me, they did not break any laws and therefor the judge made the correct decision in not convicting the bystanders. I believe that the abuser was the one who broke the law and he is should be rightfully convicted for his actions.

A Flawed System

2008-12-11T09:49:00.000-08:00

In college football the champion is not decided by a playoff of a number of the best teams. The wat that it is done is a computer chooses two teams to play in one game against each other. The rest of the top teams don't even get the chance to compete. Also, the only teams that are eligable for the championship game are the teams in one of the six major confrences. These confrences include the Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, Big East, Pac 10, and ACC. Other teams like Utah, who went undefeated this season and beat many big confrence teams, will never get the chance to play for the national championship. Many fans and analysts of the game would prefer to see a playoff of the top eight teams no matter what confrence they come from. Althought it will initially lose money for the NCAA, I feel that keeping the fans happy is much more important and that will ultimately meaqn more money for the NCAA. With a playoff system the BCS will not have to choose the teams they think are the best.

This season was a very contraversial season in college football. There were many teams worthy of playing in the Championship game. This season the game will be between Florida and Oklahoma. Both of these temas have lost a game at some point throughout the regular season. I think that Florida certainly has the right to be in this game, but many would argue that Oklahoma was not the next best team. They did lose to Texas on a nuetral field and many people believe that Texas is the most deserving team seeing as they only lost one game also.

As you can see, the entire system is all very confusing and base on opinion. With a playoff this problem will be solved and there will be no more contraversy.

Big "EGO"

2008-12-03T18:37:00.000-08:00

As you may have heard already, one of the premier receivers in the NFL, Plaxico Burress, accidentally shot himself in the thigh. He was at a night club and he had an unauthorized weapon in his pocket. He supposedly accidentally pulled the trigger and shot himself in the leg. What I don't understand is why he was carrying a gun in the first place? and Where is he going that he would need a gun? In my opinion, anyplace where you need a gun to protect yourself is not the best place to be. It was said that he was at a night club. I personally don't know of any night clubs that someone needs a gun to protect themselves. I think that Plaxico thinks he is a target to many average citizens because he is a big time professional athlete. He believes that many people are out to get him, and he is a target to some degree. But that is still no reason to bring an unauthorized gun to night clubs. If your ego is so big that you think people at a night club are out to get you, it would be wise not to go to those types of places. Rather than making that smart decision, Burress decided to bring a gun and put not only himself in danger, but everyone else also. At the very least he could have at least put the safety on. This was just a pathetic decision on the part of Plaxico Burress.

A Change is Needed

2008-11-14T10:10:00.000-08:00

In the NFL there are six teams that make it to the playoffs from each confrence. There are 4 divisions in each confrence and the winners of those divisions recieve an automatic bid into the playoffs along with two teams that get wild card slots. In the first roung the two teams with the best records recieve a by into the second round. Then the other two division winners play against the wild card teams to see who advances to the next round. In many cases the wild card teams have a better record than some of the division winners. In the first round the winners of the divisions have home field advantage even if their record is not better than their opponent. I feele that this is a flawed element in the playoffs because I believe that the team with the better record should be rewarded with the advantage. With the current system a team that is clearly better than their opponent may lose because they have to travel a far distance and not have the comfortabuility of being at home. For example, the San Diego Chargers were in a very poor division and won with a record of 8-8. There opponent in the first round was the Indianappolis Colts who came in second in a great division with a record of 12-4. I think that almost evryone picked the colts to win this game and believed that they were the better team. Yet, they still had to go into San diego and win on the road, which is very hard to do. I believe that if the rule was changed so that the team with the best regular season record should recieved home field advantage. This should help to keep the best teams in the playoffs and ultimately find the true champion.

2008-11-12T13:35:00.000-08:00

Rights of a Student

2008-10-21T20:03:00.000-07:00

The Civil Rights of a student is a very popular topic to debate throughout the country. It is true that once the student is at his or her school, their rights are altered. The debate is whether or not this should be the case and which rights, if any, should be altered. I agree that students rights should be changed slightly to protect the safety of the other students. For example, a teacher or another type of authority figure should have the right to check the bags of any student if they feel their could be anything that could possibly harm another student. I do not agree with the people that believe students should be forced to say the pledge of allegiance or even stand during the pledge. I do not think that standing up and saying a few words makes someone any more patriotic than anyone else. But there are many people that do not feel the same way as I do and I would love to hear your opinions so leave your comments please.

Econcomic Strategies and Media

2008-10-15T10:06:00.001-07:00

Just as we were discussing in class, the way that a presidential candidate presents his or her ideas and beliefs are very important. Both McCain and Obama have different strategies to solve the economic crisis at hand. They are presenting their ideas in very interesting ways that will appeal to all people differently. Obama believes that the government is to blame for the falling economy. He believes that the government should have been monitering the housing values in the United States more closely. The secret message in this, is that the government may have to become larger because he will need thousands of people to help him with this plan, which is the what most citicens don't want to hear. McCain on the other hand believes that the "Wall Street Fat Cats" are to blame for the economy crisis in our country. He thinks that they have been greedy and that they need to be punished. This task does not requirwe a larger government because it is a one man job to him and he does not need thousands of other people to help him. As a citicen of the United States and a future voter, I believe that John McCain has a plan that appeals more to the average American and that his plan is much easier to execute than Obama's.

Exceeding expectations

2008-10-03T10:12:00.000-07:00

Althougth the White Sox did not have as good of a record as the Cubs did, they both ended up in the playoffs. And with the cubs losing 3-0 in a five game series against the Dodgers, they have been swept out of the playoffs once again and dissapointed the Chicago fans. Many say that if the cubs did not make it to the world series this year, then it would be a failure, and they were right this season was a huge failure for the Cubs. The White Sox season is already considered a success, just because they won the AL Central division title. They were not even supposed to come close, but they battled the odds and beat out the teams that were supposed to win, like the Indians, the Tigers, and the Twins. The White Sox showed their poise in a tie-breaker game with the Minnesota Twins, where they won by a score of 1-0. The Cubs on the Other hand find a way to choke every year and this year is no exception because they were swept out of the playoffs once again, and all the work that they put in throughout the entire regular season means nothing as they are heading home and getting ready to dissapoint the fans again next season.

Politics in the classroom

2008-09-29T09:59:00.000-07:00

I believe that expressing ones opinions is very important and that everyone should be able to state their opinions. Also, if a teacher acts completely equal and unbias to both sides of any issue, the students will see an unrealistic view of how people are supposed to act and what people really think. I feel that by not expressing their own opinions, they are sending a message to their students, saying not to express their opinions and that they should not think for themselves. I very strongly disagree with this way of teaching and it can easily be solved with simple disscussion and the expression of everyones opinions, including the teacher's. In addition, as hard as it is to believe, I think that by the teacher not stateing his or her opinion, they are actually changing the thoughts of their students more so than if they do state their opinions. Everyone is naturally biased, including teachers. And if the teacher states his or her opinion, the students can take into account that the teacheris bias in one way, and that they can use that information to form their own opinions. If the teacher acts as if they are unbias, then the student will have no idea which way the teacher is swayed and they will take the information as unbias and purely factual evidence. But, the teacher is infact bias and is still portray his bias opinions, even if the students do not realize it. So, I believe that it is better for the students to understand that everyone, including their teachers, have biases, and that the teachers should emphasize this lesson in their classes.

Rookie Evaluation

2008-09-18T07:14:00.000-07:00

Draft picks are very valuable things to have for an NBA team. Just look at all the hype that the Chicago bulls got this summer for wining this years number one pick. There was a huge debate on wether they should take Derrick Rose or Micheal Beasley. The Bulls ended up choosng Derrick Rose over Micheal Beasley even though the Bulls clearly needed a big man and they also had surplus of gaurds. The fact of the matter is, the bulls just thaught Derrick Rose was the best available choice ad that he had the most talent of the two. Some believe that this upcoming class, the class of 2008, has great potential and could be the best Rookie class ever. I do not agree with the people that already think this rookie class will be the best ever because we have no idea ow well they willplay at the proffesional level. The two classes that have been proven to be some of the best over the years have been the 1996 class and the 2003 class. The 1996 class consisted of NBA greats like Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Jermaine O'neal, and two time MVP Steve Nash. In comparison, the 2003 class consists of many good and great NBA players like Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Kirk Hinrich, and of course Lebron James. I believe that the better class so far has been the 1996 class, but this is partly because they have had more time to accomplish their goals and to dominate the league. But if you give it a couple of years, the class of 2003 may just become as great or even greater than the legendary rookie class of 2003.

Is Treadwell a Savior?

2008-09-14T19:30:00.000-07:00

How would one describe Timothy Treadwell. He describes himself as the savior of the bears. I do not consider him a savior as much as I do an educator. Although everybody has a different opinion on the topic, I believe that Treadwell's main accomplishment in his work was the lessons and information that he taught the children he spoke to. This is the most important of his accomplishments because he is preventing the future of society, the children, from harming the bears, and maybe some of the kids even protecting and preserving the bears just as Timothy Treadwell did himself. Although protecting the animals from poachers and anyone else with the goal of harming the bears is a very important task, education is just more important in my opinion, and even though he is not living any longer, Timothy Treadwell is still protecting the bears by teaching the younger generation through the videos that he made during his adventures. To find out more about Timothy Treadwell and his trip to Alaska, to save the bears, click here.

Presidential Election Strategies

2008-09-07T13:24:00.000-07:00

There are many factors that go in to running a good presidential campaign and making speeches. Sometimes, even the most subtle details can effect the opinions of the viewers sub-consciencely. For example, the clothes of the speaker can say alot about the speech being given. If the speaker is wearing a suit that is buttoned to the top, with a white collar and a tie, then he or she may is more than likely speaking to the higher social class, or white collar workers. If a speaker is wearing a more casual shirt, with the top unbuttoned and a blue undershirt, then one can infer that he or she is speaking to the middle class, or blue collar workers. Also, the background that is behind the speakers is also very important and is a decision that the candidates take very seriously. Although it does not seem like a big deal to you and I, all of these little details are chosen very carefully and they can sometimes have a larger effect than predicted on the outcome of the election.

Testing

2008-09-03T07:45:00.001-07:00

Test post