ICWA Essay #4

Some concerns I have with the paper are that I do not have a concise thesis that details the policy that I have come up with. The thesis seems to be scattered throught the paper but needs to be stated directly at the begining of the piece. I would like my peer reviewer to make suggestions in terms of structure and formatting of the paper. All the facts and ideas are there, they just lack fluidity and cohesiveness.

Policy Paper Plan

- Some of the main reasons that people today believe marijuana should be legalized are to alleviate financial deficits, for medicinal use and as a way of solving the drug cartel problem and prison overpopulation. Those who remain in support of the prohibition of marijuana believe that marijuana has negative effects on ones health, legalization of the drug will not solve the U.S. debt problem and that adding a third inhibiting and possibly dangerous substance to the market will not only not solve the problems with alcohol and tobacco, however increase them.

- I'm planning to propose a law which is seperated out in steps over a span of time. This will gradually ease the nation into legalized marijuana instead of thrusting it upon the nation all at once. It will also allow for the United States to repeal the law before things become too bad if the law creates too many problems.

- I have done a lot of research on the topic and feel like I am prepared to write this proposal, but if any more research is obviously necessary then I will do it to make sure that my policy is backed by legitimate evidence and support not just my own ideas and bias.

ICWA 11/15/11

I didn't get a peer review email and so I just reread my own paper. The night I wrote it I spent almost an hour reading and editing the paper so when I went back to it last night I didn't end up making any changes. I am happy with where my paper is and don't really see much that I want to change about it. My strongest element is the amount of research that I've done on the topic. With what I had compiled from previous research and the research I did specifically for the paper, I was able to put together a cohesive draft with multiple view supported by strong evidence. One thing I am concened about is that the paper might not fit the qualifications of an 'exploratory' paper perfectly. It all would depend on how one read my paper and views the perspectives.

Chicken in a Henhouse

In his piece, Sedaris discusses the topic of homosexuality and how they feel in today's society. He uses personal stories to explain how he constantly feels like he is being judged by those around him regardless of his actions. He may be doing nothing wrong and even doing something helpful but because of his sexual orientation he is treated differently and most of the time different means worse. Overall he feels as if the current generation, as accepting as they may seem, are still afraid of homosexuality. This fear causes them to not give men and women of the gay community a chance which in turn causes them to be ignorant to what those people are truly like. Though his approach is not quite satirical, it is intended to be humorous. In his dealings with Audrey and her comments directed towards homosexuals, instead of rebutting with a sharp or serious tone, he makes it a bit more lighthearted. This is intended to stray away from a battle type situation in which heterosexuals attack the gay community (whether on purpose or out of ignorance) and there is a counter attack as a result. Overall the main point of Sedaris' piece is exemplified by his choice of title which refers to Audrey's ignorance and her general lack of knowledge on the subject.  

Annotated Bibliography 3

Williams, Nancy J., Bridget Freisthler, and Revel Simms. Evaluating Medical Marijuana Dispensary Policies: Spatial Methods for the Study of Environmentally-Based Interventions. CCPR at UCLA. California Center for Population Research, Oct. 2011. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. <http://papers.ccpr.ucla.edu/papers/PWP-CCPR-2011-011/PWP-CCPR-2011-011.pdf>.

In the article, the authors discuss and analyze research that they have compiled about current medical marijuana dispensaries. The article does not contain many future plans for MMD’s, however it studies the dispensaries and laws concerning them in states where medical marijuana has been legalized. The article has a fairly objective and research based stance, there is no obvious bias towards or against marijuana legalization. Overall they provide critical research on how medicinal marijuana has affected today’s society, which could be useful in predicting how full blow legalization would go. The fact that this paper was constructed under the supervision of the University of California establishes credibility with the reader.

Jacobs, Elizabeth. Effects of Legalizing Marijuana. Glendale Community College, 29 Nov. 2010. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. <http://web.gccaz.edu/~ejacobs/Research%20example%202%20-%20on%20Medical%20Marijuana%20example.pdf>.

In this article, Elizabeth Jacobs outlines a study that she conducted concerning the amount of marijuana in states that had legalized medical marijuana and states that had not. Overall she found that there was no significant difference in the amount of marijuana in these states, in fact some states where medical marijuana was completely illegal had more seized by the DEA. There was a bias to this article because Mrs. Jacobs began trying to prove that states with legalized medical marijuana would have more seized product than the other states. This article can be useful in my paper because it shows that simply making something legal does not necessarily mean that more people will do it as well as shows that prohibition thus far is a failure.

Easton, Stephen. "Legalize Marijuana for Tax Revenue - BusinessWeek." Businessweek - Business News, Stock Market & Financial Advice. Bloomberg.com, Mar. 2009. Web. 07 Nov. 2011. <http://www.businessweek.com/debateroom/archives/2010/03/legalize_mariju.html>.

This article discusses both the pros and cons of the financial aspect of legalizing marijuana. Overall the report illuminates the possible money that could be made off of the taxation of regulated marijuana. This would transfer profits not only to our economy and government, but also strip profits away from illegal drug cartels. The article does counter however saying that it is not the end all solution for America’s debt problem. These two points cause the source to not have any particular bias towards or against legalization. Overall this could be useful in my paper in showing that there are some positive fiscal benefits and yet those benefits should not be blown out of proportion.

Stimson, Charles. "Legalizing Marijuana: Why Citizens Should Just Say No." Conservative Policy Research and Analysis. The Heritage Foundation, 13 Sept. 2010. Web. 07 Nov. 2011. <http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2010/09/legalizing-marijuana-why-citizens-should-just-say-no>.

In this article, Charles Stimson states the main reasons that pro-legalization campaigners are using. He then goes on to dispute these reasons and attempts to prove them false. The only problem with his article is that he states he has research, but rarely cites that research as evidence. This source is incredibly bias against legalization almost to the point that it is ignorant towards those who support it. The reason I chose to use this article is to show that there are still people who strongly oppose legalization. This will help to make sure that my argument is not blind to the opposition and that I show some knowledge of the counter argument. 

Exploratory Essay Question 1

a. The issue that I have chosen to research and discuss is the legalization of marijuana. The topic is a large issue in the United States and has been since it was first legalized for medicinal purposed in California in 1996. My audience is mainly the young generation, mostly comprised of college student. It may also pertain to the middle aged audience because it could be used to stimulate the economy.

b. It is already medically legal in 15 states and DC however it remains illegal under federal law. For younger generations, it has become almost a commonality at parties and in daily life. For those students who are losing scholarships and possible internships because of a possession charge or a positive drug test, legalization of marijuana would be a positive law. For those of the older generation who are concerned with the national debt problem or the unemployment rate, the legalization and taxation of marijuana would create jobs as well as more profit for the national government instead of tax free drug dealers.

c. Financial: like discussed above, a marijuana industry would provide jobs and rake in tax money. Drug Cartels: the majority of profits for drug cartels, and with the recent rise in violence from mexican drug cartels, if we were to legalize marijuana they would lose a large portion of their funding. Morals: many who oppose the legalization of marijuana do so for moral reasons. They believe it is immoral to poison your mind with drugs. Prison Populations: with prisons in America becoming over crowded, if we were to legalize marijuana, it would decrease the number of arrests and save space in prisons for those who commit violent crimes.

d. I have supported legalization for a long time and feel as if there are many things to be gained from it. Thus far the prohibition has failed and money is being wasted in continuing it.

Annotated Bibliography 2

Miron, Jeffery A. "Marijuana Legalization in California." The Cato Institute. The Harvard Crimson, 27 May 2010. Web. 02 Nov. 2011. <http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=11850>.

In this article, Jeffery Miron discusses proposition 19. He discusses the differences between legalization and decriminalization. Afterwards he talks about all of the similarities of alcohol prohibition from the early 1900’s to today’s marijuana prohibition. Also, Miron illuminates all of the possible benefits that could arise from full-blown legalization of cannabis. His stance seems to be bias in favor of legalization based on the fact that he grazes over the risks involved with the end of marijuana prohibition. I am also bias towards legalization and as a result favor the stance taken in this article. Overall it will be useful when discussing the public opinion of legalization in terms of those who were in support of it.

Reuter, Peter H. Marijuana Legalization. RAND.org. Rand, July 2010. Web. 2 Nov. 2011. <http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/working_papers/2010/RAND_WR771.pdf>.

In this report, Peter Reuter discusses a few of the countries in the world that have legalized marijuana. He does so in order to draw comparisons between such countries and the United States. Some of the comparisons drawn are between arrest rates regarding cannabis possession. He details how there are far too many people in prison in the United States for simple possession charges, which do not actually harm anyone. This article is also bias towards legalized marijuana, but again because I support legalization I agree with many of the author’s views. This piece would be useful when predicting the impact of legalization in the United States. 

INWA

The problem is that the US Government is restricting a substance which is not only less harmful to humans then caffine, but also has known medicinal benefits.
It is important to address this issue because marijuana prohibition has failed thus far, so if we cannot beat it we should accept it as a part of society like Amsterdam has and gain from it.
The people who are affected by this are glocoma patients, people with cateracs, those with suppressed appitite from AIDS and many other sickly people. People with diseases such as this outside of the 15 states (and DC) cannot get access to legalized medical marijuana. Even within the states that it is legal, the federal law which makes it a criminal offense still is in effect.
People might disagree that it should be legalized because we already suffer from the negative effects of alcohol and cigarettes and we should not add another drug to the marketplace.

Annotated Bibliography

Brichard, John. "Marijuana and Medical Marijuana - The New York Times." Times Topics - The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 Oct. 2011. Web. 31 Oct. 2011. <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/m/marijuana/index.html>.

This is an article from The New York Times that reports on the topic of medical marijuana in America. It discusses the possible uses of medicinal marijuana as well as the laws in states that have legalized it. The piece does have a slight bias against medical marijuana but overall is mostly just a report on events that have happened regarding the plant.

York, Anthony. "Prop. 19 Headed to Defeat, Exit Polls Show - Latimes.com." Blogs - Latimes.com. Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2010. Web. 01 Nov. 2011. <http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2010/11/prop-19-headed-to-defeat-exit-polls-show.html>.

This piece discusses California’s Proposition 19, which was a proposed law to legalize recreational as well as medical marijuana. It would allow people to grow and posses marijuana without a medical card or note from a doctor. This piece details a survey done at multiple voting polls which suggests that the proposition will be voted down. 

National Shudders CR

1. The piece is arguing that Americans are so used to the crutch of a picture, graph, video or heading that when presented with a block of text and asked to find useful information within it, they are unable to do so.  This is obvious by the situations presented by the author. He gives an example of a Boston man's uneasy reaction as well as another man from Chicago with a similar response. The examples show how unappealing and difficult a solid block of words appears to today's Americans.

2. The hyperbole used in the piece is comparing the block of text to an almost Godzilla-like character that is terrifying to the entire American public from coast to coast, in every city. It gives the piece a light hearted feel while still getting across the point that Americans all over have become too reliant on crutches to gather useful information.

Research Paper Topics

Google scholar might be one of the most frustrating and useless tools I've ever used while doing a research project. All of the articles it found either had nothing to do with what I was looking for, or if they were on the topic they were from 1976. I would rather search through the internet myself on sites I know are credible then sift through the garbage presented to me by Google scholar.

The topics that I did end up researching on my own are the effects of Lattimore being injured on South Carolina, how the American people feel about Obama's presidency thus far and specifically his decision to end the war Iraq, and finally the legalization of recreational and medicinal marijuana.

Overall the topics were not hard to come up with, but they were a little difficult to find credible sources on. The issue of Marcus' effect on South Carolina appears on plenty of sports websites but is mostly opinion based and bias. There is a similar story with the issue of Obama's ratings. How people feel about the President differs greatly from site to site and article to article. Sources which have a more conservative history tend to have a negative view of the President's progress. The easiest topic to research by far was the legalization of marijuana, this is because it is a topic which greatly interests me and has for quite some time now. I already know of a few sites and articles that I can use for the paper and because of that, research was a breeze. As a result, I will most likely choose this topic for my paper.

What Defines a Sport Response

1. In his article. Andriesen doesn't really take a stance on the definition of a sport, he simply reports on the many ways which he has heard it defined. He Mostly focuses on Rodney Fort's criteria in defining a sport. The reasons established by Mr. Fort is constantly contradicted by well known sports which don't meet the given criteria. Overall the closing of Andriesen's article is where we learn that his opinion is that as long as people are having fun doing something, it is a sport.
2. Personally I don't really see a need in declaring a sport official. I think the only thing that should be required for a sport is something that takes physical skill, takes practice and is competitive in nature.

Internet Article Response

The author's claim in "Factory Food" is that today's food and food of recent years is of poor quality and that now more and more people are becoming aware of that. His reasons for this claim are that the conditions in which animals are raised are unnatural and unhealthy for the animals. Cows are fed nearly poisonous feed and thousands of chickens are cooped up together at two massive plants. This causes the food we eat to contain less natural vitamins and proteins. Overall the recalls that have been happening due to this drop in quality has alerted the American public and turned people on to this problem. Overall the author does a solid job of supporting his points, however his argument is too general and elementary. He does not convince me to care about the issue more so then just being slightly concerned that what I am eating is bad for me.

Fear Factories Response

In the article, Scully attacks conservatives and their neglect for the rights of animals. He uses real world examples such as court cases and his own personal visits to these animal farms in conversations and analysis of conservative actions. He details his belief that conservatives use basic moralistic principles, mostly derived from biblical ideals, to establish laws for man kind. As a result Scully believes that these conservatives need to stop turning a blind eye to animal cruelty and make laws for the animals just as they would for humans. He believes that conservatives need to stop treating animal farming with a sense of obligation to kill the animals in as humane a way as possible, and start treating the animals in a humane way while they are still alive. Overall Scully seems to be disgusted with how little conservatives, and sometimes liberals, are doing about the animal farming business and other cruel businesses such as guaranteed hunting just to make a dollar. He calls them to action in order to take a stand for the rights of these animals because he believes that if we treat animals in such an inhumane manner, that we become animals ourself.

Advertisement Outline

Car Ad Outline

1)    The advertisements are aimed at different age groups

a)     The Lincoln advertisement appeals to an older audience of men most likely over the age of 35.

i)      In the picture the car is depicted as the center of the piece and has a strong look to it as if to resemble the strong look of a father

ii)    The car is said in the text to be a “luxury” oriented car, which mostly appeals to an older audience who wants to appreciate the finer things in life.

iii)   The brand Lincoln itself has it’s own appeal to middle aged men. Although it is not explicitly in the ad, Lincoln’s symbol has become synonymous with success and class.

b)    The Nissan advertisement is more aimed at the younger audience under the age of 35 who have rocketed into wealth early.

i)      The styling of the car both in the picture and in real life are aggressive, which represent young entrepreneurs who go out and attack their careers, not wait to let them develop over time.

ii)    There is a picture of the Nürburgring as well as the words “we went back to the track” on the ad. This appeals to many young mans dreams of materializing their childhood video game cars.

iii)   The branding is again important in the overall appeal of the car. Although Nissan and Infiniti are part of the same company, the decision to put a Nissan badge on the car instead of the Infiniti logo shows that the car was not designed to be luxurious, but aggressive for a younger generation.

2)    The advertisements are geared towards different financial audiences

a)     The Lincoln MKZ is a cheaper car which is still luxurious

i)      In the ad, Lincoln promotes their car as “reasonably priced” as if to suggest that it is inexpensive but not enough to skimp on quality.

ii)    The car is priced low in order for successful families who can afford luxury but are still careful with their money

iii)   The ad also suggests that Lincolns have a reputation of being expensive but this one is unlike the rest

b)    The GTR is for the entrepreneurs who are looking for a little excitement

i)      In the ad it lists the price of the car as being less then 90,000 dollars. Although that’s expensive, it is not nearly the cost of some other super cars

ii)    This price is set so that young people who have made a good bit of money but are not yet multi-millionaires can still purchase it

iii)   For that price, the car offers a performance, which is comparable to million dollar cars for a fraction of the cost. This is to appeal to a young audience who is financially competent and spends their money in an intelligent manner.

3)    Both car advertisements promote a specific aspect of their car’s performance

a)     The Lincoln advertises an efficient luxury car. 

i)      The ad states that the new MKZ is able to get 41 miles per gallon in the city

ii)    Although the Lincoln brand has been known for its luxury, it is now introducing the concept of fuel efficiency which will draw in the environmentally conscious customers

iii)   The Lincoln, while maintaining its classy style for which it’s known is now able to save customers money on gas because it gets such good gas millage.

b)    The GTR is faster even then its predecessors

i)      In the text of the ad is where the new GTR’s performance shines. The ad describes all the improvements made to the GTR, which make it even faster then the previous three models.

ii)    The time posted inside of the Nürburgring sketch is remarkable especially for a car with a price tag under 100,000. Although it would take previous knowledge of lap times to know this, for anyone who is familiar with the Nürburgring, this is impressive.

iii)   The ad also states that the GTR has been restyled to be more aerodynamic in order to increase the downforce generated while driving. Again this would require a previous knowledge of cars but small details like this matter to true car enthusiast.