Dustin's Comp 106 Blog

Tensions With Iran: Nuclear Attack Not An Option

2006-04-13T11:23:00.000-07:00

Over the course of US history, military force has been used many times to resolve conflicts. As a last resort, force has proven to be a very effective means for preventing other nations from breaking international laws or treaties. Traditionally, military force used by the nations of the world has been non-nuclear. The horrible consequences of nuclear weapons make them a danger to the very existence of mankind. Since the first use of nuclear weapons during World War Two, the United States has been deeply involved in discouraging other nations from attempting to produce such weapons.

Recently, the middle-eastern nation of Iran has been open with the information that they are moving forward with their nuclear program. Though they claim their program will be peaceful and used only for nuclear power, the US and other nations have many reasonable concerns. The question that arises in this situation is what should the US do? President Bush has made it clear that all options are on the table with regard to Iran. This is a scary thought because it implies that there is a nuclear option being considered as a possible solution to the problem. Use of a nuclear weapon by the United States, in my opinion, would have ramifications which would prove to be catastrophic for the American people, as well as everyone on earth. I feel the “all options are on the table” policy of the current administration must be abandoned as soon as possible.

Although my fears may be considered to be overly paranoid by many Americans, it is still a possibility which people must acknowledge. A recent article in The New Yorker, entitled The Iran Plans, brings credibility to the claim that the US is actually considering the use tactical nuclear weapons against Iran. The article, written by Seymour M. Hersh, is a scary wake-up call to many Americans who thought nuclear weapons would never be considered by the United States. Hersh writes, “One of the military’s initial option plans, as presented to the White House by the Pentagon this winter, calls for the use of a bunker-buster tactical nuclear weapon, such as the B61-11, against underground nuclear sites." If this is true, the Bush administration is far more radical with regard to the use of nuclear weapons than many Americans had previously thought; a fact that may prove to be very dangerous to the people of the United States.

There are several reasons why nuclear weapons should definitely not be an option. First of which is that using such weapons would seem to justify other nations in using them in the future. The US would lose the moral grounds for discouraging other countries from using or producing nuclear arms. Second, it would be extremely hypocritical considering the US is trying to stop Iran from producing such weapons. Using these weapons ourselves severely damages the case we have made against Iran. Do as I say, not as I do, is not likely to fly over well with the other nations of the world. Finally, there are serious moral questions about the use of nuclear weapons. Although the weapons would likely not be aimed at Iranian civilians, no one can guarantee that the radiation would not affect them in some way. In a nation which prides itself on having a high sense of values and morals, use of such a weapon simply cannot be allowed.

Instead of considering nuclear weapons, the US should be busy considering reasonable alternatives such as multinational diplomatic options or possible economic sanctions against Iran. If Iran still doesn’t budge, after all diplomatic and economic options have been exhausted, traditional military force may be justified. However, even in this case, the US cannot act alone. In my opinion, a coalition of the US and its allies is necessary to take on such a task. The United States, as demonstrated in Iraq, simply cannot bear the expenses or the need for man power that a unilateral campaign requires.

There are several reasonable options for dealing with the current situation in Iran. The use of nuclear weapons is simply not one of them. At very least it would be detrimental to the reputation of the United States, at very worst it could be potentially deadly to all people. No matter how you look at it, nuclear weapons are not an option.

Hersh Article-http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060417fa_fact

Arguing A Local Issue

2006-04-12T11:46:00.000-07:00

When trying to determine a local issue to argue about, I have found it a little difficult to gather enough sources on my original topic of Abandoned Homes. There just simply aren't enough articles written on the topic in my area. Therefore I have decided to Abandon, no pun intended, the Abandoned Homes idea for my topic. I am still searching for ideas, if any one has any good sugesstions, by all means share them.

Photo Essay Comments

2006-04-12T07:54:00.000-07:00

I thought that the photo essays which were presented to our class were all very well done. In particular, I though that Nate's, Carl's, and Ashton's essays were very interesting. Everyone seemed engaged in their topics and presented well. We should all be proud of ourselves.

First Impressions

2006-04-10T21:38:00.000-07:00

Recently, I read the article, First Impressions, by Stuart Ewen. It was an interesting read, which made the contention that style was somehow born from urban life. I agree completely with Ewan, who discusses the immigration of european peoples to the US, New York City in particular. These immigrants wanted to wear the kinds of clothes which gave them the "look" of an American. As the economy progressed, these people were able to afford more clothes which would have been an unneeded luxury for them in the past. Before, most people were focused on the durability and quality of clothing, and around the beggining of the 20th century in New York, many people began to focus on the style of their clothing. A very interesting article which examines fashion from a historical perspective.

Abandoned Homes: Perpetuating Problems

2006-04-03T13:49:00.000-07:00

Throughout the United States, and around Metro-Detroit, lower income cities are blemished with the sights of countless abandoned homes. These sites, once places people called home, are left to sit and deteriorate. The majority of these houses are dangerous to those who live near them. They often provide shelter to drug addicts or a base of operation from which drug dealers do business. Most of all, abandoned homes are a constant reminder to their neighbors that they live in the “bad part” of town. If they lived in a city where people wanted to live, these abandoned houses would be demolished and the land re-developed. So, as it is, these homes serve as a constant visual reminder of the situation they are in. One town in particular, Inkster, Michigan, has its fair share of abandoned sites which residents walk or drive by, daily.

This home, located on Somerset Street in Inkster, is one of three abandoned homes that are on the same block. The front windows have been broken out and the stairs leading up the porch are on the verge of collapse. Not exactly a beautiful, inspiring, site to live next door to.

The inside of the home is just as neglected as the outside. This picture shows the kitchen, where some appliances still remain.

Still touring the same house, this photo shows a hole the shape of a person that has been bashed through a wall.

The stairs which lead to the basement are somewhat shaky. A mildly frightening trip down.

The basement, whose windows have also been broken out, smells horrible.

This is the second of three houses which I visited. It looks to have been abandoned as a result of a fire. The side of the house adorns some minor graffiti. Unfortunately the house is too well boarded up to enter.

The third and final abandoned house on Somerset is also boarded up. It appears that its previous owners stripped it of siding before leaving.

Though many abandoned houses have been renovated or demolished, many more still remain in the poorer communities of Metro-Detroit. These homes provide a bad image to their communities and make neighbors feel poor on a daily basis. This feeling only adds to the problems these people have. If these houses were demolished or rebuilt, it would likely have a positive impact on the people around them.

Graffiti

2006-03-28T11:55:00.000-08:00

Graffiti

After reading the article about graffiti, it changed my way of looking at the way graffiti is used. I used to see graffiti as a form of expression and art. It seemed to me that it was an interesting way to display ones artistic talents. Graffiti can also however, be dangerous. It can be a tool used by gangs to mark their territory or make a hit list. Besides this, graffiti is wrong because it is defacing someone else's property. what gives someone the right to destroy something that isn't theirs? It should not be happening.

Our Fortified Ghettos

2006-03-21T12:36:00.000-08:00

Camilo Jose Vergara explores the inner cities of the United States from an interesting view point. He makes the claim that these communities are being fortified in some way or another, and that this is adding to the problem the cities are facing. He cites iron bars and fences which cover the entrances and windows of countless city buildings and homes. Vergara argues that in brick and sharpened metal "inequality takes material form", referring to the inequality that exists between the suburban upper-middle class and the lower class urban residents. I think that it is an interesting observation, and agree that inequality has caused the fortification, indirectly at least. It is indirect because the inequality itself is not the reason for it. The effects of the inequality cause the fortification of our cities. The lower quality of education in urban areas (which is caused by income inequality) fuels the crime rates in these areas. People with no hope of education or a future tend to resort to crime far more often than others. This crime has forced people to either fortify their property, or move out.

Vergara also accuses the government of being unfair with the way it builds government buildings in the inner city, saying,"In a truly democratic society there would be no great differences in the quality of buildings the government constructs for the same purposes in different communities." While I do agree that the federal government can be unfair at times, I must disagree with Vergara's conclusion in this instance. The reason that the government puts bars on the buildings of post offices isn't because they are being unfair, it's because they will get broken into if they don't. If people want to have nice government buildings in their neighborhoods, they should stop burglarising and vandalizing them. It's that simple. In certain areas, measures must be taken to ensure the safety of government workers.

Caring For the Wounded in Iraq

2006-03-21T10:21:00.000-08:00

After viewing the photo essay, Caring for the Wounded in Iraq, it made me look at the war a little differently. We always hear about people being injured or read about them in the newspaper, but we rarely see the actual photos. The nighlty news shows some images, but they do not show the worst of the injuries like this essay does. It makes me have even higher respect for the soldiers having to go through this and also more respect for the soldiers who provide medical attention to their injured comrades. It has to be one of the hardest jobs in the world to see friends and colleagues in the conditions they are in. Military doctors are indeed a vital part of the war, even though they are not directly doing the fighting. I don't think I could handle seeing bloody injuries like they do almost daily.

Open Space

2006-03-21T10:12:00.000-08:00

The open space photo essay was an interesting look at development in Grosse Ile. What was once intended to be a sanctuary for wildlife is now being turned into construction and development sites for condos. The author did a very good job of picturing what is going on in Grosse Ile. Including pictures of construction sites right near signs that protect the land in the same frame was also a nice touch.
One weakness of this essay was that the author failed to make a suggestion about what could be done to stop the development or ease the problem. He provided no possible solutions, simply relaying what was occurring. Everyone has heard the story of big business destroying wildlife, and most of us agree that it is bad. So how is he going out on a limb by saying this? What is so original about his topic? It just doesn’t seem that fresh to me. He also fails to conclude his essay, simply ending it abruptly. Just some thoughts.

http://mlogs25.blogspot.com/2005/11/photo-essay.html

Out and About In Ferndale

2006-03-21T10:11:00.000-08:00

Out and About In Ferndale is a photo essay which describes the city of Ferndale as a place that is friendly and accepting toward its gay community members. I like how the author showed how many citizens and businesses are accepting of the gay culture by picturing how many rainbow flags are around town. It was also good to show how nice the new gay community center is. The topic is original and fresh to me, considering I’ve never heard anything about Ferndale being like this.
Although the essay is very strong, there are a few minor things that the author could have done differently to make it even stronger. First of which is that he/she might have included some pictures of the inside of the new community center. This would have given viewers some idea of what it really looks like. Also, the author should have maybe included some photos of actual people, to give the essay more of a human face.

http://stephaniajune.blogspot.com/2005/11/out-and-about-in-ferndale.html

Summary of "Seperate and Unequal"

2006-03-14T10:55:00.000-08:00

The article, "Seperate and Unequal", by David Moberg, discusses the problems facing the cities of the United States. Moberg attributes the decline of the inner city to the inequality that exists between the well-to-do citizens from the suburbs and the poor inner city people. He claims that this inequality hurts both groups. Although the poor people are obviously at a disadvantage, his argument that it also hurts the affluent citizens is a little more difficult to grasp. Moberg cites several sources and says that studies have shown that inequality actually slows down financial growth and hurts everyone. His solution is to mix the two groups together, citing the example that if you put disadvantaged children in the same classes as those who are privalidged, the disadvantaged kids learn more, while the well-to-do kids do not learn less. This adds to his argument that being seperate hurts the overall public good.

My Restaurant Review Decision

2006-03-14T10:33:00.000-08:00

When first given the assignment to write a restaurant review, I was a little stumped as to what restaurant I would do. At first I planned on doing Applebee’s Neighborhood Grille, a popular chain of restaurants which I deeply despise. I later found out that doing a restaurant chain was not an option, so I thought for a while and finally came to a conclusion. I am going to review Rose’s Restaurant, a family owned and operated restaurant in Canton. The main reason I decided to do Rose’s is because it is one of my favorite restaurants and has a wide variety of foods. It’s not too fancy or expensive, but at the same time it is very nice. I’m sure I will have no problem composing an insightful review of the establishment as a whole.

Summary of Let a Hundred Cities Bloom

2006-03-14T10:32:00.000-08:00

The article “Let a Hundred Cities Bloom”, by Peter Shaw is an argument about how to fix the large cities of America. Shaw begins the article discussing the downtown area of cities. He writes, “A downtown of deserted, mausoleum-like buildings, surrounded by black slums: this is the definition of most former cities of the United States.” The point that Shaw is getting at is that once thriving cities of our country have declined into slums, abandoned by decent citizens. He goes on to identify two groups of people who have been content with seeing this happen. The first group he identifies are the people who remain in the inner city. These people, according to Shaw, have “accepted deteriorating living conditions in exchange for the lures of welfare.” He says that they all enjoy the benefits of welfare and so continue to live in its area. The second group of people Shaw cites are suburbanites. Making the claim that people from the suburbs view the inner city as a convenient “catchment” area for the people they moved away from. He says that nothing will ever change as long as these two groups continue to be satisfied with the current situation.
Shaw then moves on to possible solutions to the problems facing our cities today. His first step is to eliminate the “bureaucratic practices that perpetuate the location of dependency populations in the city core.” In other words, cut everyone off from the housing and welfare programs which they are dependent upon. Next, Shaw advocates beefing up the police forces in our cities. He feels that police force is much more effective than city planning, saying, “kill all city planners.”

Response to Jane Slaughter's review

2006-02-23T12:43:00.000-08:00

The review of Pampas Churrascaria, a restaurant in the metro-Detroit area, was by someone who obviously disliked the restaurant. She makes it clear from the beginning that you pretty much have to be drunk to enjoy the food. I thought that her arguments about the meat being overcooked were valid. Citing a personal friend from Brazil to add support to her claim was a good idea. Though her contentions were fairly supported, I though Jane's language was much to harsh. She did not have to be quite so mean, suggesting that anyone who ate their supported cruelty to animals. Other than some of these over the top, nasty remarks, her review provided an idea of what people can expect to encounter if they decide to eat at the restaurant.

Analysis: On the Train to Redemption

2006-02-21T12:18:00.000-08:00

The profile On the Train to Redemption, written by Erin Chan, is an interesting look at the life of Rev. Lottie Jones Hood, a pastor in the Detroit area. The article focuses on Rev. Hood's attempt to turn her church, First Congregational Church of Detroit, into a museum where people can experience the Underground Railroad. The church was actually used over a hundred years ago to help escaped slaves reach freedom. Rev. Hood has turned the church basement into a site for interested people to take a guided tour and learn about the Underground Railroad. Chan does a good job of linking the history of the church with the path that Rev. Hood's life has taken. While the church was a key part of helping African-Americans overcome slavery, Hood's life was about overcoming addiction. Both would overcome the adversity they faced, and now their stories are intertwined in history.

The article is most vivid when it describes Hood's appearance while giving a sermon one Sunday:" Jones Hood turns to the congregation, her trademark ponytail perking upward, her lips upturned, her teeth gleaming, her index finger pointing with delight." This description gives a picture of what she was doing at that particular moment. However, I feel that the writer could have included more vivid details of what she actually looked like. Was she tall? thin? short? Ect.

Overall, I think a good profile includes an original way to connect the person with their environment. In the case of the above mentioned profile, the author compares Rev. Hood to being just like the church she leads. This is an interesting approach and is much more engaging than simply listing dry facts about her. It provides some kind of context about how she affects the community. Doing this provides some kind of insight and opinion about what she is like as a person. It goes beyond dry fact and elaborates about her character.

Link to article: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060221/FEATURES01/602210382/1025/FEATURES

Thoughts on Rap on Rap

2006-02-20T09:28:00.000-08:00

The main contention that the author of the article is trying to argue, is that rap is not black music, but rather an industry run by upper class white businessmen. The writer contends that they have picked up on a form of entertainment which is wildly popular among middle class white audiences: the portrayal of black males as violent gangsters. He writes, "the more rappers were packaged as violent black criminals, the bigger their white audiences became." This illustrates the writers point that white people enjoy listening in on the exciting (so called) reality of street life, which they will never see in person. He notes, "It's like going to an amusement park and getting on a roller coaster ride--records are safe, they're controlled fear, and you always have the choice of turning it off." This makes a lot of sense to me because in my experience this seems to be very true. A upper-middle class white person would never actually venture into a bad neighborhood. Instead they just pop in their rap CD and pretend like they know black culture.

10 Songs About My Community

2006-02-16T11:35:00.000-08:00

1) Pennylane (The Beatles)- This song represents the kind of everyday acitvity that goes on in my city. It makes me think of downtown plymouth and everything that happens on like a summer night.
2) Time (Pink Floyd)- This song, to me, illustrates the passage of time in my city. How things change, people move away ect.
3) Imagine (John Lennon)- This song represents the sense of brotherhood and community that takes place in my city. For example, I have a very close relationship with my neighbors.
4) Forever Young (Rod Stewart)- This song makes me think of being young and hanging out around my neighborhood.
5) My Block (Tupac Shakur)- This song represents to me the life of some of the less fortunate people who live in my community.
6) Workin' for the Weekend (Loverboy)- This song represents to me the way so many people work all week in my community and then relax and have fun on the weekends.
7) Summer in the City- This song makes me think of the hot summer days spent hanging out with friends in my town.
8) Another Day (Paul McCartney)- Makes me think of the repetition and sameness of almost everyday during high school.
9) Another Day in Paradise (Phil Collins)- Makes me think of the poor people in my community and how difficult it must be for them to survive day to day.
10) Cocaine (Eric Clapton)- Reminds me of idiots I knew in my neighborhood who did hardcore drugs in high school.

New Profile Topic

2006-02-13T13:01:00.000-08:00

Although in a previous post I stated that I had decided to do my community member profile on a teacher I had in high school, i've decided to make a change. It seemed to me that the majority of my classmates were doing a teacher, which made me feel like it was being overused. My profile will now be about Jon Loos, a former co-worker of mine who has served in the US Marines. He has been to many countries, including Iraq, and is truly worthy of recognition. My thesis will be focused on the fact that the war in Iraq does not affect the everyday lives of Americans as many other wars have. For example, during WWII the entire US economy was changed to support the war effort. This is just not so today, many people go about their lives and are virtually unaffected by the war, while members of the military and thier families bear the brunt of the burden. I have already conducted my interview with Jon and have many exciting facts to include in my paper.

Class Discussion

2006-02-12T19:04:00.000-08:00

During the past few class periods, our class has had some heated discussions about a variety of issues. Race, in particular, has been one of the main topics of debate. Many class members offered their opinion about how race affects the way people are treated. For the most part, I feel the class was very respectful with their comments and enjoyed hearing what others thought. I like these kinds of discussions because they allow me to see things from an angle which I may not have previously thought of. Hopefully we can continue these class debates, as they are a crucial tool for developing speaking, thinking, and reasoning skills.

Response to Live From Death Row

2006-02-07T13:00:00.000-08:00

The thesis of the article by Mumia Abu-Jamal entitled "Live From Death Row" was that the criminal justice system us rigged to favor the rich and powerful, while at the same time designed to hurt those who are poor and powerless. He best represents this contention when he writes,"the 'right' to a fair and impartial jury of our peers; the 'right' to represent oneself; the 'right' to a fair trial, even. They're not rights--they're privaleges of the rich and powerful. For the powerless and the poor, they are chimeras that vanish once one reaches out to claim them as something real or substantial.'' This passage is a frighteningly realistic description of the way the US court system operates. Rich people hire successful, competant attorneys while the poor are forced to make due with often imcompetant public defenders with relatively no stake in the outcome of the case. The unfairness of the court system is a serious problem that needs to be addressed by our society and Abu-Jamal argues this in his paper.

Pop Culture Society

2006-02-05T10:24:00.000-08:00

I often find myself thinking about what Americans idolize and value most today. When I think about the pop culture society in which we live, I can't help but feel like we are wasting time and energy on things that do us absolutely no good. Every time you turn on the tv a reality show is showing some washed up celebrity making a fool of themselves for the world to see. To me, these shows are absolutley not entertaining and a waste of time. To the majority of Americans, these shows are loved and watched on a regular basis. Besides television, Americans consume so much crap about celebrities it's sick. There are countless magazines dedicated to following the lives of celebrities, all of which are gobbled up by the celeb-crazy American public. As I look around at this society which is in love with pop culture, I wonder why we idolize many of these stupid celbrities. No celebrity makes my case better than Paris Hilton, an original rich chick who is famous for, well, being famous. Has anybody ever thought about how she became famous? Apparently not because if they did they would find out that she is famous because she's filthy rich and likes to party. If you ask me, thats not really enough to gain my respect and admiration.

Maybe my idea of a person to be admired is a bit skewed, but in my opinion, a person who deserves fame and admiration is someone who has accomplished something worth doing. What's worth doing you ask? Hmmm how about: feeding starving children, curing a deadly disease, educating America's youth, freeing a race of people, you know, little things like these that our society really doesn't value as much as we used to. In my opinion people should stop wasting the days of their lives consuming all the crap which pop culture feeds them and start doing something positive for themselves. For instance, they could read a newpaper and learn about the things that really affect them in the US and around the world.

I know that pop culture will never disappear, but I hope that some day people will realize how rediculous it is to admire people for the simple reason that they are good looking and rich.

Community Member Profile

2006-02-03T08:08:00.000-08:00

For the newest assigment about a well known member of my community, I chose to profile Dr. Stephen Williams. Dr. Williams is a teacher at Canton High School who I had for philosophy during my junior year. He has been teaching at the school for many years and is well liked among his students and co workers. His doctorate is in educational philosophy and he has a passion for helping students understand the importance of a good education in the knowledge driven economy of the United States. I'm still thinking about what my original thesis will be but I'm sure I will have no problem figuring it out once I interview him.

More About the Essay

2006-01-30T09:35:00.000-08:00

Over the last week I have been trying to figure out what the thesis of my paper is going to be. The more I thought about it, the more I could not figure out what kind of thesis I could come up with about the importance of Joe Louis Arena to Detroit. Finally, I came up with the thesis i'm going with. It is that Joe Louis Arena is the heart of the Red Wings and a place that hockey fans cherish. I'm not sure if this is a very imaginitive thesis because it is so obvious. Despite this, I will make my case as best I can in the essay.

A Refuge in the Storm

2006-01-30T09:25:00.000-08:00

In class we read an essay entitled A Refuge in the Storm, written about Fordson high school in Dearborn, Mi. The essay was well written with regard to grammar, punctuation, as well as sentence structure. However, the essay did have jump around a little when it came to its focus. The thesis of the paper was that Fordson high school had a student body of 90% Arab-Americans, and this has produced many obstacles for the school to overcome. The author explains her point very well throughout the paper. Her main weakness is that she doesn't really include enough about her main point in the intro of the paper. The introduction is what gives the reader an idea about what your thesis will be, which is why it is so important to include your thesis in the intro. If the author would have done this the paper would have been much stronger. Finally, the title didn't really have anything to do with the thesis of the paper at all. It implies that the Arab students are finding refuge at Fordson rather than facing adversity. At any rate, the paper was pretty well written and I would probably give it a solid B.

Progress on essay

2006-01-22T15:33:00.000-08:00

On saturday I had a chance to visit Joe Louis Arena. Although I have been to the arena many times in the past, I thought that it would be smart to go back and try to make some observations that I may have missed in the past. My observations didn't really provide any new breakthroughs for my essay. However, I did get a chance to watch the life surrounding Joe Louis Arena on a day when nothing was happening.

I also have figured out who I will interview. After repeated attempts to get an employee of Joe Louis Arena to sit down and have an interview, I made the decision that I would interview people who have been to the Joe frequently and get a couple of viewpoints on the Arena and the role it plays in detroit life. Justin Loos, of Canton, and Michael Lochirco of Grosse Point, have agreed to give me some of their thoughts about the Joe.

Joe Louis Arena

2006-01-18T19:56:00.000-08:00

Joe Louis Arena is the historical site which I chose to analyze and write about for our up coming essay. It was my first pick for this assignment because I already know a little bit about the arena and have visited it for Red Wings games on numerous occassions. The Joe Louis Arena is a very influential building in Detroit history. Named after legendary boxer Joe Louis, the arena is home to the Detroit Redwings, and also hosts a variety of other events when the Wings aren't playing. Ice shows and rodeos are among the events the arena occasionally hosts. Joe Louis Arena to me, represents the best of Detroit's history. All to often, Detroit is recognized for all of its downfalls. Joe Louis Arena represents the dynasty of the Detroit Red Wings. Over the last ten years, the wings have won the Stanley Cup three times, and have made the playoffs all ten years, a feat not many hockey teams in the country can match. Since most of these wins have come inside the Joe, the arena has been the venue for many happy hockey fans over the last decade. These are just a few reasons I feel that The Joe Louis Arena is a worthy site for my essay. Of course, I still have much work to do in expanding my points, but I feel I made a good choice for my site.

Hooks Article

2006-01-18T19:29:00.000-08:00

The article entitled Homeplace: A Site of Resistance, written by Bell Hooks, was quite an original piece of writing. Hooks writes about the important role the homeplace has played in African American family life throughout history, and the influence black woman have had on creating a loving homeplace for their families. Hooks claims that the escape a loving home has provided to black families gave them the courage to accomplish great things, as well as fuel the civil rights movement. She contends that more black woman should create a strong homeplace today saying, "When we renew our concern with homeplace, we can address political issues that most affect our daily lives." Hooks notes that many of the current problems facing the African American culture have formed do to lack of a strong, loving home.
I agree with Hooks on many of her key points. Having a strong home, in which you can feel safe, confident, and loved, is one of the most important ingredients to becoming a success in life. Thats not to say, however, that someone from a broken home could not become successful, there are many other factors, including personal ambition which affect a persons success in life. Though Hooks seems, in my opinion, to be accurate with many of her claims, I feel that her lack of encouragement for black woman to pursue higher education is a weakness in her article. Simply having a homeplace is not as good as having one which provides the right influences. It seems to me that woman with higher education could better prepare thier children for the competitive, knowledge based economy they will eventually enter.

My First Thoughts About Comp106

2006-01-13T13:20:00.000-08:00

Going in to Comp 106, I wasn't really sure what to expect. I had read the course's description, but still felt clueless and unsure of whether I would enjoy the class. After attending the first two classes I feel considerably more relaxed, having seen the course syllabus and met Bill. It seems as though the class will be a challenge, as well as an interesting way to explore new ways of writing that may not have been covered in Comp 105. Blogging is one form of writing which I have never attempted, so hopefully I will catch on quickly. Overall, I am confident that Comp 106 will help me advance the writing techniques that I have and teach me some new ones along the way.

Herron Article

2006-01-13T12:22:00.000-08:00

Recently, I had the opportunity to read an article entitled Niki's Window: Detroit and the Humiliation of History, written by Jerry Herron. The article discusses Detroit's troubled past and goes on to talk about recent attempts to revive the city. In particular, Herron sights Greektown, a so called ethnic district in the city, as an example of fake history being turned into business. Herron claims that Greektown is nothing but a conjured up representation of Detroit's history that never really existed. Inside Greektown is a place called "Trapper's Alley", which Herron describes as " a gaudy piece of fakery." Herron clearly does not appreciate the way Detroit's citizens have forgotten their real history.

Personally, I feel that sometimes the past is so bad that it should be forgotten. Greektown is good for Detroit's economy, and provides jobs to people who may otherwise not have one. The fact that it is not really a part of Detroit's history is really not that important to me.

My Neighborhood

2006-01-11T21:36:00.000-08:00

My neighborhood is in Canton, Mi. The following is a list of interesting things I observed around my neighborhood:

housing developments
Pheasant Run Golf Course
Heritage Park
Canton Public Library
Plymouth-Canton Educational Park

Test Post

2006-01-10T13:01:00.000-08:00

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