Pikes Peak or Bust

“Pikes Peak or Bust”-Saying of the Old West Waking up that morning I saw an extraordinary sight, the sunrise over Pikes Peak. After grabbing an exquisite continental breakfast that included green chili eggs (a staple of the Colorado diet) we headed to Garden of the Gods, a park in Colorado Springs. Garden of the Gods Read More…

Civic Artifact Speech Outline

Speech Outline: Intro: September 11th, 2001 The years that followed: Iraq, Katrina, the 08 crisis A nation in perceived image of a nation in decline The rise of Barack Obama Hope and change Our best days were not behind us but yet to come Forward campaign (2012) Emotional (pathos appeal) Obama believed in the moral Read More…

Civic Artifact Essay Rough Draft

McClane Dyreson September 26, 2018 Rhetoric and Civic Life Dr. Jessica O’Hara The year was 1980, the United States appeared to be a nation in decline. Americans were being held hostage in Iran, record high inflation rates plunged the economy into a recession, and the communist Soviet Union aggressively and threatened the very concept of Read More…

PhilNOT

“We didn’t start the fire. No, we didn’t light it, but we tried to fight it”-Billy Joel  There are moments in life when things unfortunate things just happen. The cause of the Ute Park fire is still unknown but obviously no one wishes that such a thing to happen. However, that was the reality we Read More…

The American Idealists

   Introduction: Reagan: America in 1980: Record inflation, oil crisis, loan crisis, Iranian hostage crisis, Soviet Union, aftermath Watergate and Vietnam, uncertain future Message of hope: morning in America Obama: America in 2008: subprime mortgage crisis, great recession, record unemployment, Iraq and Afghanistan, natural disasters, China Message of hope: Forward Thesis: While presidents Barack Obama Read More…

The Season of Giving

  “All you can take with you is what you have given away”-George Bailey (It’s a Wonderful Life) The Christmas season has always been a time for one to help their fellow person. Americans are statistically the most generous people on earth year-round but over 34 percent of those donations happen between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, Read More…

Rocky Mountain High

  “Depend on your feet and you can climb the highest mountain”-Lao-Tzu Wise words to live by—and words that I came across in of all places, inside of a fortune cookie my friend ate at the Ultimate Chinese Buffet in Colorado Springs.  Life can often be full of surprises, but without those surprises, my amazing Read More…