Post 8: A final take on your persuasive topic

Capital punishment is a heavily debated issue that has caused great division within our nation. It has been a practice that has been carried out for centuries, but is still something that many people consider morally wrong. I am one of those people. It is absolutely absurd to take another person’s life, regardless of the situation. The United States’ Declaration of Independence gives every person the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” If so, then why are some people excluded from this promise?

Even though criminals choose not to abide by the laws, everyone should not be stripped of their rights as a human. A murderer is a human, a rapist is a human, and even though they have done some wrong things they deserve to live in prison for life. It puzzles me why the judiciary system in the United States claims that criminals should be receive proper punishment for their crimes such as murder, but instead of making them sit in a prison for the rest of their life, they are being taken out of their misery of life by being executed.

To help ensure that capital punishment is abolished, try as hard as you can to write your local governors, or sign as many petitions as possible regarding the death penalty. The governor of Wisconsin, Jim Doyle, can be written to at his Madison Office at the address P.O. Box 7863 Madison, WI 53707. To talk on the phone, he can also be reached at 608-266-1212. Other places that you can make a change are online by signing petitions at three websites: www.petitiononline.com, www.thepetitionsite.com, or www.petitionspot.com. Please do everything you can to help change this horrible act and abolish capital punishment in the US for good.

Blog Post 6- Compare Two Articles

One of the debated topics that have been a deep source of division in the world today is the issue of abortion. Is it the right of the mother to have control over her body, or is it all right for the government to tell women what to do with their bodies? In the article Surprise, Mom: I'm Against Abortion by Elizabeth Hayt, published in The New York Times, many teenagers today hold strong opinions against abortion. Claiming that teenagers and college-age Americans are more conservative about abortion rights than their counterparts of a generation ago, the percentage of youth supporting abortion rights has been dropping since the early 1990’s. But experts are citing a few explanations that they believe explain why young people today have been favoring stricter abortion laws: the decline in teenage pregnancy over the past decade, the society’s greater acceptance of single parenthood, and the opportunity to give up a child for adoption.

On the flipside of this abortion issue, many think that the right of abortion shouldn’t belong to the government, but rather the woman. Caitlin Moran, a columnist of The Times, wrote an excerpt called Abortion: why it’s the ultimate motherly act. Through her own experiences Moran explains that when a woman’s life cannot support a child, she should be in control of her own body. She asks if women are able to host, shelter and nurture a life, should they capable of ending life? Caitlin believes that it is the “ultimate motherly act” to have an abortion when a woman is going to have a hard time raising the child—whether it be due to the demand of a job, family needs, a spouse, or own personal needs.

I believe that the article with the best argument is the Surprise, Mom. Giving both viewpoints of the issue, this article explains that the reason many younger Americans today hold a prolife position is because they have not lived in a time without abortion restrictions. But at the same time, the reason more and more prolife opinions are being formed is because parents that are prolife are able to pass down their views to their child, while the views of prochoice adults cannot be passed to their children.

My opinion of the topic has not changed, and I doubt anything will be able to change it. I hold very strong views able the issues of abortion and capital punishment that will be very hard to break.

Blog Post 7- Celebrity Endorsement

With commercials today commonly going to famous figures for endorsements, it is hard to watch television without spotting one of these stunts. Ever since the Pittsburg Steelers Super Bowl XL win verses the Seattle Seahawks, many of their players have been granted the opportunity to endorse products of certain companies. From Ben Roethlisberger rocking his Nike Cleats in a Dick’s Sporting Goods commercial, to Troy Polamalu giving praise to Head & Shoulders for his great head of hair. But one of my favorite commercials that a celebrity is endorsing a product is Coca-Cola’s “Mean Troy”.

The modern day spinoff to Coca-Cola’s “Mean Joe Greene”, Troy Polamalu is hobbling towards the locker room after a football game when a little boy offers him a Coke Zero. The quiet football star kindly declines the boy’s offer of his Coke Zero, but once Troy accepts the soda, “Coke brand managers” take away the drink from Polamalu’s hands. Claiming that Coke Zero is stealing their commercial, the managers begin running away from Troy with the soda, until he chases them down and tackles one of them. At the end of the commercial, Troy Polamalu is happily enjoying his Coke Zero and gives the young boy the “brand manager’s” shirt as a souvenir.

In my opinion, the Coca-Cola brand made a very good choice in whom to have advertise their new product. With Troy Polamalu being a household name to modern day football fans, the product becomes more appealing to younger audiences. All the while this commercial is still appealing to older audiences because of the spinoff to the popular 1979 commercial with Mean Joe Greene, giving a happy feedback from older viewers. This advertisement was one of the more popular Super Bowl XL commercials and I believe got very pleased, if not better, reviews than the Mean Joe Greene commercial did.

Review of Class Blog- Mr. Spartz' The Mess Hall

In the previous post The Mess Hall - School Lunches and Privatization by Mr. Spartz, he showed how in a previous article in the Washington Post the issue of school lunches was brought up. The author of the article discussed that while children are getting food in school, the content of the food is not nearly nutritious enough as it should be. The only thing that would possibly change this problem though is money, but how much would it cost schools and where would they find the money?

With the economy being is as much debt as it is today, it would only take that much more money to restructure the nation’s schools’ cafeteria. This means rebuilding the kitchens, training the cafeteria workers and even buying fresher foods. In a blog post by Tom Philpott, he goes on to explain how schools in New York “the kitchen staff ‘isn’t trained to do much more than steam frozen vegetables, dig ravioli out of a six-pound can or heat frozen chicken patties in a convection oven.’”

It is a sad sight to see some of the meals that kids a receiving today in the cafeterias across America. I think that one thing everyone can agree on is that the U.S. is putting on weight, and not in good ways. A big reason is due to the lack of exercise in schools today, and also the junk for food that children are consuming. With the huge issue of obesity among today’s society, is it worth our while (and dollar) to make the menus in schools better, or is it too late?

Debunking Health Claims: General Mills' Cheerios

With so many foods claiming to be healthy and that they will do this or that, it is hard to tell which foods are posers and which actually are healthy for the consumer. One of the early morning foods that make the biggest ads for a claim is General Mills’ Cheerios. Declaring, “you can Lower Your Cholesterol 4% in 6 weeks", the cereal got into trouble with the Food and Drug Administration. Even though the FDA allowed General Mills to claim reducing the risk of heart disease because of eating the whole grains from the cereal, it did not allow them to claim a specific rate of the risk reduction.

The issue with making such a specific claim is that everyone is different. While the claim could be factual, lowering cholesterol isn’t this simple because there is much more that goes into the process. One cannot just eat Cheerios every morning for 6 weeks and miraculously his or her cholesterol is lowered; he or she must also have a healthy life style. While eating whole grain oats are good for cholesterol, a person must also eat healthy through out the rest of the day and even exercise habitually.

If someone was trying to lower his or her cholesterol, changing their breakfast to Cheerios could help in the process. The whole grains from the oats, the cereal, are known for lowering the risk of heart disease by putting healthier nutrients into the consumer’s body. I would use this product if I was trying to lower my cholesterol, but I would also be aware that I would have to be motivated to sustain a healthy life style as well.

While Cheerio’s claim of lowering cholesterol could be at the center of some controversy, it could not be debunked for actually doing its claim.

How To Tie a Tie Speech.... Self Evaluation

Overall, I believe that for my Demonstration speech I did an “okay” job. The introduction was relevant to the topic, even though I could have taken a more serious approach to why everyone should know how to tie a tie. The order of the steps were told in order but the speech may have been better if I had better visual aides such as pictures for each step. The area I believe needed the most work on was my conclusion. There really wasn’t much of one since my speech ended with Pat’s attempt to tie a tie. To make it better I could have given a quick review on how to tie a tie again, or even showed a video of someone tying a tie.

I think one of my strong points in my speech was the delivery. While at times I strayed away and became comical about the topic, my enthusiasm, volume, eye contact, and body language all seemed poised and kept the audience drawn in.

The effectiveness of the speech went well. After class a few of the females in the class, and even a guy, told me they now knew how to tie a tie. Showing the common mistake of having the thin side of the tie longer than the thick end I think showed the class that it is not one of the easiest things to do, but with practice it becomes second nature. One of the areas that hurt me the most was the length of my speech. With my video being only three minutes long, it would have been a good idea to demonstrate how properly tie more than one type of knot.

From the feedback I received from my classmates, I think that my topic was very relevant to the class and gave a few of the students a better idea how to tie a tie.

Blog Post 3

The meal I am preparing is one that I have made ever since I was 10 years old—a quesadilla. It is a quick and easy meal that doesn’t take too much brains or cooking skill. The only ingredients you need are at least two tortilla shells, shredded cheese (preferably Mexican), and salsa, if you’d like.

First you must preheat the oven to about 275 degrees. Make sure you take out a baking sheet to cook the quesadilla on. Get out two tortilla shells and place them on the baking sheet. Put about two full pinches full of the cheese onto the shells. It is essential to make sure that the cheese is distributed evenly and not overflowing the shells, onto the sheet. Once the cheese is evenly on the bottom shell, place the other shell on top of the cheese and bottom shell. You must wait until the oven has preheated to 275 degrees so this may take a few minutes. Once the oven has reached its desired degrees, put the sheet into the over; make sure that the quesadilla is in the center of the baking sheet and not off-center or else the food will cook unevenly. Set a timer for about 7-8 minutes and wait for the meal….

As the timer goes off, make sure to put on oven mitts, and take out the cooked goods. And WAAALA! You have your very own, Conor O’Neill’s quesadilla!

I agree with some of the things that Pollan say, but the one thing that stuck out in my mind was that now the tendency in America is to eat food and run, rather than wine and dine. Today, many more Americans are eating fast food, or having soup-to-go or anything to keep up with their busy daily lives. It partially shows in my 10-minute quesadilla recipe. It takes only about 2 minutes of work time to make that quick snack. It shows how America has evolved into such a fast paced country.

Blog Post 2

In the growing age of processed foods, today’s society is able to get a first hand experience of how foods are evolving. Food companies are processing foods such as fruits, vegetables, and meats. One of the main foods that I remember eating while growing up was my mom’s homemade, hand-breaded chicken fingers. She would make them as a treat for nights after I had a good game or did something good in life. But today, the only chicken fingers I will have are the packaged chicken tenders served at training table or in my kitchen.

Many say there isn’t a difference between processed foods and “real” foods, but I disagree. To me, “fake” food just isn’t the same; it doesn’t feel, look, or even taste the same as the “real” food. What producers are trying to do is get the processed food so amped up on steroids or pack in so many preservatives that it ends up not even imitating the original product, but becoming a SUPER food. This article shows how much has gone into and some negative effects of eating processed foods.

The only reason I made the switch from my mom’s chicken fingers to the processed chicken fingers was because of me becoming a college student earlier this summer. If it were my decision, I would go home right now to my mom and dad’s cooking. I don’t enjoy eating the “fake” chicken fingers as much because growing up I was so spoiled by my parent’s glorious cooking. Processed foods will never be able to replace my parent’s cooking, and even I have big shoes to fill for my appetite.

In Defense of Food- Blog 1

In the first forty pages of Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food shows his strong views about food processing. Through his various tones of sarcasm and plethora of facts, Pollan brings the embarrassing truth to our attention: the food “we’re consuming today is no longer the product of nature but of food science.” He goes through the various stages such as in the 1980s when shelves in food markets were being occupied by nutrients more than traditional foods. Next Pollan dives into what nutritionism is; essentially it says that all foods are the sum of their nutrients. He talks about how in terms of nutrition, eventually processed foods may be considered “healthier” than natural foods. Pollan goes on to say that when facts on nutrition are updated more frequently and old facts become obsolete, processed foods can be endlessly altered to overcome the most recent nutritional myths.

I think it is somewhat stupid how much effort and time goes into the processed food business. The world of nutrition is constantly changing and the processed foods have to keep up with these changes to stay in business. With the world changing so frequently, it is only a matter of months until this week’s hot sale in isle two is outdated and unhealthy.

The one point that stuck out to me the most though was in the beginning of the introduction on page three: “most of us no longer eat what our mothers ate as children, or for that matter, what our mothers fed us as children.” The reality of that statement is a very scary one. Tradition meals from back in the 1950’s has evolved into microwavable TV dinners. People today are eating less healthy foods that are more “nutrients” than actual foods. Another big contributor to the change in our diets is the improvement in the canned food industry, as shown in the attached article. Back when our mothers were children, the food packing and preservation was far less advanced as it is today. Before, food had to be prepared by natural ingredients for the best meal. Today though, traditional dinners are not together as a family or are made with “nutrients” instead of natural foods. It is very scary and sad to imagine that our technology is so advanced that we are losing traditional meals and now eating less healthy foods because of it.