For this Project I will be working with Tom G and we are going to be advocating on the topic of legalizing marijuana.

The policy we will be trying to change in our issue brief will be :

The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 is the federal U.S. drug policy under which the manufacture, importation, possession, use and distribution of certain narcotics, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, anabolic steroids and other chemicals is regulated. The CSA was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on October 27, 1970. The addition, deletion or change of schedule of a medicine or substance may be requested by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or from any other party via petition to the DEA.

We will focus as I said specifically on Marijuana and its scheduling and how it makes marijuana illegal under this policy. We will also be looking at how this will benefit the state college community and all who live in it. From the medical uses, to mental health uses and even to the economical benefits that comes from changing this policy.

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Ever since I was child I have been surrounded by role models who risked their lives day in and day out to protect their country. Being from a catholic faith I was taught in the bible, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” This I believe is the most courageous and honorable thing one man or woman could do, to give up their  life for the protection of their friends, even more their country. This why I find veterans and active military personnel to embody this belief completely.

This believe steams from my Great Grandfather on my mother’s side, or little pop as we all knew him. I grew up not knowing him for long but hearing the stories of him as a medic in the army from my grandmother who stressed the bravery this man showed. Little did I know he was scared of war and all it entailed. This little man who stood at a whopping 5 feet 6 inches  who we all loved was in WW2 to do one job and that was to save people who were trying to save us. This idea that he risked his life for not only his country but, the other people who also risked their life for our country. The idea that he was literally laying down his life for his friends and companions, was something I felt deserved the up most respect.

It was my great grandfather and men like him that inspired my own story and aspiration to reach this level of honor they hold in my eyes. This belief that the greatest love comes from laying down your life for that of your friends has become my dream ever since I was a three year old  boy listening to my pops stories. This is exactly why I have joined AFROTC  at the age of 18 and  have pledged my life to that of one of service. I too like my grandfather strive to be part of something bigger than myself and want to  sacrifice, what that of millions before and after him have sacrificed. I don’t hope to gain your praise or thanks by telling you this, but I hope that we as a country can finally see what those in the military truly sacrifice, their life for ones friends.

My ideas for the  This I Believe pod going  cast I was thinking of going one of two ways and talking about how I believe that those in the military and any profession to where you sacrifice yourself for the success and protection of others is the most courageous and honorable thing one man or woman can do.  The second idea and something I believe is that family is everything and even though we don’t get to choose our family, they teach us how to truly live and feel.

For my passion blog I plan to instead of just giving a weekly update on the eagles and their games. I plan to write about the history of the eagles and some of my favorite memories and players and anything big that hits the news about the Philadelphia Eagles.  Also defiantly will talk about the draft and other things related in the NFL like the cowboys and the playoffs that are underway.

For my civic issue blog I was thinking about writing about the military injustice in the united states and how we are not doing justice to our veterans. Since every 22 seconds a veteran takes their own life and how many come home with mental issues that are never discussed and treated. Also how this is leading to terrorist acts through mental breaks and the rate of homeless veterans. My second thought for civic issue that of the distress and broken relationship between police and the community. I will talk about the troubles both sides face and how I feel we can fix the bond that is vital to survival. Also speak of some of the events that have wounded each side and how they could’ve been stopped if the communication was there.  For both these blogs I hope to take a passive voice on an issue while still being able to share my opinion without biasing the rest of the piece.

After watching my Ted talk I feel as though I did a really good job maintaining eye contact throughout my speech. I also feel very happy in the way I portrayed my topic and led my thesis to a conclusion, while being able to share a very personal topic in the process. I am also happy in how I wasn’t distracted through the noise in the room especially when there was a loud thud toward the ending of my talk.

I do thing that I could of done a better job if I just tried to calm down and relax some more because I can see my nerves come out in a couple spots where I tripped up on my own words. Also I think  i could’ve used the clicker a little less violently in order to not take the focus from my presentation itself.

In all I am proud of myself and feel I greatly improved from my last speech to the class. I feel as though I was well prepared and did my topic a great deal of justice and was able to stay focus on my thesis, since this topic is very broad. I think there were many things I did well and some things I can fix for the future.

3). The New York Times review of The Circle contends that, in the end, “Mae, then, is not a victim but a dull villain.”  Expand on this notion, while also interpreting the meaning of Egger’s surprising departure from novelistic conventions in the text’s last pages

In the end of The Circle the character we know as Mae has changed significantly since the begging of the book. The quote that in the end, “Mae, then, is not a victim but a dull villain,” is very true. In the end of this novel Mae is a “dull villain” in many regards.  Mae becomes a fully engulfed in the Circles quest for completion. This leads to her betraying Annie by telling all of her viewers that she and Annie had a conversation while she shut her audio off. If this isn’t enough to show Mae becoming a villain, she then has Mercer chased down in a showing of SoulSearch. This tragically ends with Mercer Killing himself in an effort to just stop Mae and all this transparency.  Mae could easily be called a victim of the circle but, she constantly rejects her friends and family’s objections to the circles quest.

Mae’s finally action revealing her true character is when Kalden reveals he is Actually Ty, one of the wise men. He again pleads with Mae to shed light to the viewers that total transparency and completion is a bad thing. He tells her that he never imagined this would happened when he began the circle.  Mae is given a final chance to save her character and identity by turning against the tyrannical circle.  Mae decides to tell the other wise men of Ty’s plan for her to derail their quest for completion. This finally action completes Mae’s transformation from victim of the circle who wants to be part of something, to a dull villain who becomes a robot to the circles will. She slowly hurts everyone she is close with, her parents, Mercer, Annie, and even Kalden/Ty.

This whole shift from victim to Villain is captured through Egger’s choice of departing from novelistic conventions. Egger decides to have the last few pages of the novel be told from a third person view point.  This style give an ominous view at least for me, showing that what were now being told is the end.  It also allowed the reader to enter Mae’s thoughts in a new way than before.  Egger decides to use these three unique pages to Show Mae as completely taken over by the circle’s views.  Egger even chooses to end the novel with Mae thinking about her dear friend Annie who is now in a coma from all the stress she was experiencing from the circle and her newly found out family history. Egger decides to end with Mae becoming angry that she doesn’t know what Annie is dreaming about in her coma and says that she thinks that she has a right to know and decides to bring this up to the wise men knowing they would agree.

This shift in Mae from victim to villain is one that is foreshadowed the whole novel and is perfectly surmised with Egger’s choice of delivery of the last pages of the book. Showing the readers the transformation that Mae has undergone, from victim of herself and the circle to the villain of the entire story.

: Read up to page of 395 of The Circle. Write a 500-word post on the topic of your choice. Some ideas: Mae’s boyfriend figures, Mae’s transparency and perpetual role as a Circle ambassador, the creatures from the Mariana Trench, Demoxie and“closing the circle.”  Make sure you work up an arguable thesis for the topic you choose.

The sea is something that at one point fascinates us all whether because of its vast size, creatures, or unknown there is just something about this dark weightless world that draws on imagination. Even as children we read of stories of pirates or even mermaids, whatever we read about concerning the ocean draws on human curiosities because the ocean is the one place on earth we know the least about. In the book The Circle Mae is assigned to use her transparency in order to broadcast the feeding of animals from the Marina Trench. Mae and her viewers are excited to see things they have never been able to witness before but when the feeding involves the killing of other sea creatures, Mae and her viewers feel saddened from their new knowledge leading to the question are some things better left to  our imagination?

In Maes trip to the aquarium we see two very known animals a shark and an octopus except these animals are different species then the typically shark and octopus society typically  associates these titles with. The shark, the more interesting of the two animals, is being fed. The shark itself is completely transparent or see through lending to new ideology the circle has been promoting . The shark is then fed a lobster which is not seen as a big deal to Mae and her viewers because in society lobsters seem like a logical victim of a shark. Also, lobsters are eaten by humans lending to a commonplace of the viewers and even Mae viewing them as food for humans and well maybe even sharks. This all changes quickly when the next animal on the sharks menu is a sea turtle, a very delicate animal who’s habitat never overlaps with this shark species.

Immediately Mae thinks to herself that she hopes they do not feed this animal to the shark. Even quicker her viewers start to comment on their shared hopes that the turtle is spared. This shared thought is due to the image of innocence the turtle displays. Turtles are seen as tranquil, loving animals that are not food in our culture so this feeding seems cruel and unnecessary. The fact that you can see the digestion happen due to the shark transparency allows the viewers to see everything. Eliminating any question and imagination of the unknown. The scary part is that most of the viewers would probably say that they wish they didn’t have to see this but, still agree with transparency. They and the Circle are working their way to a world where there are no unknowns, no imagination. Without the unknowns what reason is their to educate or study if everything is known. What reason is there to dream and have fantasies, since transparency strips society of imagination because everything is view-able.

Full transparency stops children from imagining what space looks like when there are cameras they can just watch or what its like to be a cowboy when they can watch a cowboys camera. Transparency although allowing for more knowledge, allows for everything to be seen, even the ugly side of the world. I say that the only reason the world works and functions today is because of the unknown and ability to imagine. Its a lot easier to think of sharks as animals that just eat, then actually seeing the process happening. I unlike Mae hate transparency, there are things that need to be unknown and although I would like to see the creatures of the sea, I propose the imagination of what could be in the sea is vastly richer then what actually exists.

Read up to page 306 of The Circle. Craft a 500-word response (approximately) to one of the three prompts below and post it under The Circlecategory  1). Page 306 marks the end of “Book I.” Thematically or plot-wise, what holds Book I together? Support your claims with evidence from the text. 2). Eamonn Bailey guides Mae to present three mantras to The Circle to clarify its culture of transparency:  SECRETS ARE LIES, SHARING IS CARING, PRIVACY IS THEFT. Offer a defense or critique of these mantras. Do these mantras have any traction in the “real world”? Support your claims with evidence from the text and from examples from culture. 3). On one of Mae’s visits home, Mercer asks her, “Mae, do you realize how incredibly boring you’ve become?” (263). Is Mercer right, and can Mae no longer distinguish between a real and simulated life (and is there a real difference between the two)? Do you recognize a similar phenomenon in today’s social media culture? Use examples from the text or from culture to support your claims.

3.)   Mae can no longer distinguish between a real and simulated life and she has become boring. Mercer is completely right by telling Mae this because she doesn’t do anything interesting anymore. She has gone from a very adventurous and interesting person to almost a robot like creation of the Circle.  Mercer even says to Mae that she is not doing anything interesting anymore and even states that he bets she hasn’t done anything outside in months. The scary part about this is that it’s the truth, Mae does everything online and even when she does go to a Circle event she is worried about being online about the event. Mae has lost sight of what living is and just purely existing.  Mae has fallen into a realm of existence where she does what she has too, to keep her scores up in her simulated life. The most shocking part about it is that Mae is beginning to believe there is no difference between real and simulated life.

The truth is there is a difference between real and simulated life, just as there is a difference between living and inanimate objects. A simulation is routine it has no error, it is always the same and perfect and real life is never perfect but that’s what makes it real. There are always things that can go wrong but that makes life so precious and spontaneous. Mercer hits at the key point of what makes life real and that’s the adventure or the boringness. It’s clear that Mae has become boring even when she feel her importance has actually grow and is now more fascinating because of her job. The truth is she has become cut off from what life is all about, the adventure and spontaneous happenings in life. Mae begins to view life as sharing with the world instead her old initial thoughts of just living and being in the moment. This is even relevant in today’s society where everyone is so quick to document everything they every do so they can’t forget it or so someone else can see how fascinating their lives actually are. The best example for this is Snapchat Stories from concerts, it seem that people post videos of the whole concert. This leads me to think about how can u enjoy the concert and be in the moment when you are constantly filming and posting about it.  Society has put too much stock in the simulation of life and not life itself.

I find what Mercer said to be absolutely true for Mae and even society today. We have become boring and simulated in our lives, everyone is so absorbed in our technology that we can look up and see the amazing moments before us. Everyone wants to be popular and have followers and have the most likes so they have to post first and fast. Just like how Mae has become consumed with the Circle and that life we have become consumed with social media. This is shown in how Mae doesn’t stress about never having fun or being happy, she is more concerned with her rankings and numbers. The problem can’t be put on The Circle or social media but it must be put on ourselves letting these things to make us boring and becoming our focus in life.  Mae and society today has be unfaithful to ourselves as living humans and instead become a boringly simulated version of our true selves.

Topic: Inequality of African Americans in America

Purpose: To compare Black lives matter movement against Campaign Zero

Thesis Statement: Black Lives Matter and Campaign Zero are both movements that are focused on stopping Inequality in america, especially of black Americans through different uses of rhetoric, images, and shocking extrinsic proofs to pull on the heart strings Americans today in order to pull their viewers to action against the inequality..

Introduction
Attention Strategy; A shocking fact on the violence against African Americans in America today.

Orienting Material: Talk about recent events like for example the killing of people like Trayvon Martin and the backlash that has followed events like these in our country.

Preview: Can expect to hear the stances of both movements and how the artifacts differ and compare from their rhetoric, images, and intrinsic/extrinsic proofs.

Body
I. Main Idea – What Black Lives Matters artifact is stating its hard hitting claim that the inequality of African Americans is state violence.
A. The rhetoric
B. The goal of the rhetoric

II. Main Idea – What Campaign Zero’s artifact is stating and how it is stating its claims of inequality being not just a government problem but a community problem.
A. The rhetoric
B. Their plans to fix the problem

III. Main Idea – Comparing bold intrinsic and extrinsic proofs in these artifacts that African Americans are seem as inherently bad and shocking facts of the injustice they are facing, analyze the images and rhetoric chosen and how they play on emotions of Americans who want to join these movements.
A. How Black Lives Matter is more intense in their statements, where Campaign Zero is more approachable especially if your a Caucasian who wants to help.

Conclusion
Summary Statement – Remind us of the main points you addressed
Concluding Remark – A closing statement; last words

Reference Page(s): http://blacklivesmatter.com/about/
http://www.joincampaignzero.org/#vision

Topic: Black Lives Matter

Purpose: Discuss the movement and their stance as I interpret the artifact

Thesis Statement:  My civic artifact, a Black Lives Matter Poster, calls attention to the mistreatment of African Americans who are being deprived of their basic human rights and dignity. Through the shocking rhetoric used in the poster Black Lives Matter takes a strong stance against state violence utilizing symbols and extrinsic proofs to rally African Americans against racism and discrimination.

Introduction

Attention Strategy:    Shocking statistic

Orienting Material:    Give them a background on the movement and their stance on certain issues

Preview:        A in depth analysis of the rhetoric used in the artifact, symbols, and extrinsic proofs

Body

1. Main Idea – The Rhetoric used in this Artifact is aggressive and very revealing.
2. Will pull up specific words used and how and what they show about the movement.
3. More about the verbiage and aggressive tone taken in their artifact.

1. Main Idea – The Symbols and color used in the artifact play on the pathos of the viewer.
2. talk about the shocking color choice.
3. How they play on their anger and sympathy they try to pull from the viewer.

• Main Idea – The facts they do choose to share are very powerful and leave a distinct message.

1. How striking they are and why share those facts.

Conclusion-not sure yet

Summary Statement – Remind us of the main points you addressed

Concluding Remark – A closing statement; last words

Reference Page(s) http://blacklivesmatter.com/about/

Artifact-