Oscar Zeta Acosta Essay Example for Free

Oscar Zeta Acosta Essay Abstract The paper that I wrote talks about Oscar Zeta Acosta and his impact on the Chicano community. In the leaders contribution I talk about how Acosta was an attorney for the Chicano movement and generated controversy. In the leaders contribution section I talk how Acosta addressed political, social, and educational injustices against Chicanos. Acosta used his time and profession to help the Chicano movement. He contributed through two of his books that are a major part of the Chicano literacy renaissance. He also clashed with the Judicial system a lot of times for reasons that he thought were right. In the section others perspectives I talked about how he was scrutinized by many people but was still recognized through his significance in the Chicano movement. Leaders Context Oscar Zeta Acosta was born in El Paso, Texas on April 8, 1935. A little after he turned five he and his family moved to Californias San Joaquin Valley because his family couldnt make a living during the Depression. His parents started working as migrant field workers. Acostas father was different from other people. He had a passion for competition he had to compete with people more then anything. When Acosta was little his father would always make him argue with him. As he said in his book Oscar Zeta Acosta: The Uncollected Works I guess that is where I became as nasty as I am. (5). When Acosta went to high school he wasnt one of the average Chicanos going to school. He became involved in sports and music he was also president of his class. He got a scholarship for music at the University of Southern California. But he decided not to go. After finishing high school, Acosta joined the U.S. Air Force. Acosta then worked his way through college, becoming the first member of his family to graduate. Acosta attended night classes at San Francisco Law School and passed the California Bar exam in 1966 on his second try. (Oscar Zeta Acosta: The Uncollected works) In 1967, Acosta began working as an antipoverty attorney for the East Legal Aid Society in Oakland, California. Then he moved to East Los Angeles, where he joined the Chicano Movement and generated controversy as an activist attorney during the years 1968-1973. But his activities began in Oakland but it was in East Los Angeles where he gained notoriety. He defended various Chicano protest groups and activists such as the Saint Basil 21 and Rodolfo Corky Gonzalez. As an attorney, he figured prominently in legal cases which addressed political, social, and educational injustices against Chicanos. Acosta is also a well known author of two most important novels of the Chicano Protest Movement. An Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo (1972), and The Revolt of the Cockroach People (1973) . Acostas characteristics involve him being savage, nasty, not giving up nor letting anyone out him down as he said in his novel The Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo I dont give a shit what other people have to say about me(130). I believe that all of these characteristics has made him, become who he was. Because he didnt care what others thought about him, he kept on going when things got hard . Acostas father had to do a lot with him becoming like this, because Acostas father would push Acosta to become better then anyone else made him become the nasty interior person he was. He would never show his emotions and never really found his true identity because Acostas father would always push him to do extracurricular activities, and he didnt have that extra time to spend it with the other Chicanos out on the block. It was until later on working as a Legal Aid and saw the Chicanos rioting and walking out for causes he didnt know existed. Leaders Contribution Oscar Zeta Acosta contributed to the Chicano community through two novels that he wrote. Those two novels were a literary contribution to the Chicano community and movement. He used his profession as an attorney to defend Mexican/ Chicano walk outs for better education. Acosta demonstrated his contribution through joining the Chicano movement. He used his profession as an attorney to defend various Chicano protest groups and activists such as the Saint Basil 21 which was The Catholics for la Raza the coalition in an ill-fated protest at St. Basil’s on Christmas Eve, 1969 and also the Rodolfo Corky Gonzalez where he led a Chicano contingent to the Poor People’s March on Washington D.C and issued a â€Å"plan of the Barrio† which demanded better housing, education and restitution of pueblo lands. Acosta figured prominently in legal cases which addressed political, social, and educational injustices against Chicanos. He frequently clashed with the judicial system, winning ardent supporters as well as making political enemies. He also contributed two novels that he wrote called Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo (1972), and The Revolt of the Cockroach People (1973) . Those were two novels that were highly acclaimed as major contributions to the Chicano literary renaissance. Acosta was a catalyst for change because he contributed his time and profession to the Chicano Movement. Acosta defended his community and race and he also took cases that defended Chicano education, and Chicano rights. He contributed to the Chicano literary renaissance. He is someone that may not be well known to everyone because no one talks about him now but during the Chicano movement he was a catalyst for change because he helped the Chicano community be what it is today by not attaining the injustices they had in the education and in the living of the Chicano community. Other Perspectives Oscar Zeta Acosta is a controversial Chicano author, activist and attorney whose work focuses on ethnicity and ways that people of Mexican ancestry in the United States forge an awareness of themselves and how they get treated by other people. Even though Acosta sometime contradicts himself he is still considered by a few a very great person and activist. The website  ¡Para Justicia y Libertad! said that Acosta was A gifted writer and storyteller, an activist, a civil rights attorney, and is considered the Malcolm X of the Chicano/a community. Also in the article called Oscar Zeta Acosta: One of God’s own prototypes he said Oscar was a legendary, compelling figure in Chicano history his remains in the shadows of the general American culture ( p.1) . There is one thing was for sure that most Chicana would say that he was a feminist and grouse! (Bandido 115) . Some Chicanas even dislike the way he talks about women in his book. He talks about women as if they were objects and he also talks about them in a vulgar way in the books by calling them bitches of hoers. He also talks in a very feminist way, when you read his books you can notice how he mentions or trys to lower the feminine perspective and the mentality of a women. Conclusion Based on the research I have conducted it is my view that Oscar Zeta Acosta was a key component in the Chicano movement because of the role he took by defending the Chicano community when no one would defend them, and especially because Acosta took his profession and his time to defend them. His work affected my life because it showed me that in life you have to pursue your goals to achieve them. Even though it might be tough there reachable. What surprised me about Acosta was his language in his books because I thought an attorney would not talk or especially write a book with vulgar and derogatory language. Another thing that also surprised me about Acosta was that he was a feminist I believed that someone that would defend people like the Chicano community because of the injustices they are facing in society would discriminate other people. Acostas importance during his lifetime was that he was an essential part in fixing the Chicano education and living in the Anglo world. Reflection Leader Selection.I am pleased with my catalyst for change choice Oscar Zeta Acosta. I learned more about the Chicano education injustices and also about the Chicano movement. Even tough there where parts that I wasnt pleased about hearing like on how he was a feminist and how vulgar he talked about women in his books and how he just thought they were objects. I still found my catalyst for change interesting like on how he wasnt like the rest of the Chicanos while he was growing up, he was like an outsider to his own race. Methodology. At first it was difficult to find books that Acosta has written or books that talk about him, because every book store I went to said they did not have them but they could always order them but it would take about to two weeks and when I would say no thank you ill try some where else they would look at me if I was crazy. At the end I ended up going to the downtown public library and I was luck there was only one copy of the books. Maybe next time what I would do differently is choose a person that has sources that are available everywhere. I believe that I did pace my self with reading the books and writing the paper. My time management was effective at times, because there was times I go carried away doing other things but I would still do my paper even though at times I would have to sleep late. Critical Reading. Reading the sources was some what difficult because of the language and sometimes the metaphors he used. What I learned about the whole reading concept is that it is going to be very useful in college and that you have to learn how to pace yourself when you read also that you have to skim the book, also having a dictionary in hand would be very useful to. Note taking did become easier as I worked along. I found note taking very useful since the books I was reading were not mine so I couldnt highlight the important information that I would be using for my research paper. I found the note taking system very useful, probably the other useful thing that would of helped me would have been if the books were mine because I wouldnt have speed threw the books to get them in by their due date. Writing. In writing my research paper the difficulty I faced was not knowing how to get my point across I found that difficult to do because everyone that read my research paper did not know who Oscar Zeta Acosta was. Probably the one thing that would of been useful was choosing a person that people knew at least the name to. The paper we got with the prompt and the instructions on what we had to answer helped a lot because while I was writing my paper I was looking back to see if I answered the prompt and followed the instructions and criteria. The skills that I believe that I need to work on is on my writing and how I try to get my point across because I found that hard to do. The skill that I believe that I was getting better at was knowing how to paraphrase. Experience. I did enjoy working on this project alone because I worked on it at my own pace, but I do enjoy working with others. I believe this research paper would have been better in group because you dont have top rush threw books because everyone can read a book, also because everyone has their own style of writing and looks at the prompts differently so it would have been easier because everyone could have contributed through their opinions and ideas and could have answered the prompt more efficiently. I believe that the most interesting part of this research paper was getting to know everything that your catalyst for change did, because I just knew a couple of thins that Acosta did like being a lawyer and defending the Chicano community, but I didnt know or have a clue everything else he did and how he acted and how he was a feminist. I believe that the most difficult thing about the research paper was the paper itself, because everything was just new to me because I have ever used MLA format before.

Term Exam Sample Paper Essay Example for Free

Term Exam Sample Paper Essay This sample test should only be used as a guide to the styles of questions. The topics covered here are not exhaustive. Your revision should not be based on these set of questions only. The level of difficulty of this sample test is also NOT indicative of the level of difficulty of the actual test. The answers are provided at the end of the document. 1. A reasonable estimate of the annual standard deviation of return of the stock market would be? a. Less than 5 percent. b. Between 5 and 10 percent. c. Between 15 and 25 percent d. More than 30 percent e. Impossible to estimate 2. A project has an expected cash flow of $200, in year 1. The risk-free rate is 6%, the market rate of return is 16%, and the projects beta is 1. 5. Calculate the certainty equivalent cash flow for year 1. a. $175. 21 b. $164. 29 c. $228. 30 d. $212. 56 e. None of the above 3. Share X has a standard deviation of return of 10%, share Y has a standard deviation of return of 20%. The correlation coefficient between the shares is 0. 5. If you invest 60% of your funds in share X and 40% in share Y, what is the standard deviation of the portfolio? a. 10% b. 20% c. 12. 2% d. 14. 0% e. None of the above 4. Richard Rolls critique of tests of the capital asset pricing model is that: a. Given an efficient market portfolio the CAPM is tautology b. The market portfolio is not efficient c. You need to test the model using the market portfolio for all capital assets d. a and c e. a and b 5. The Template Corporation has an equity beta of 1. 2 and a debt beta of . 8. The firms market value debt to equity ratio is . 6. If it undertakes a new project with the same risk profile, what is the project beta (assuming zero tax rate)? a. 0. 70 b. 0. 72 c. 0. 96 d. 1. 04 e. 1. 05 6. Consider following data on three shares: Share Standard Deviation A 0. 6 B 0. 30 C 0. 20 Beta 1. 00 0. 80 1. 29 Assuming that you wished to minimise risk, you would select share if the share was held in on its own, and you would select share if the share was to be added to a portfolio. a b c d e 7. A, A A, B B, A B, C C, A In a portfolio of three different shares, which of the following is NOT possible? a. b. c. d. e. The ris k of the portfolio is less than the risk of each of the shares held in isolation. The risk of the portfolio is greater than the risk of one of the shares. The beta of the portfolio is less than the beta of each of the individual shares. The beta of the portfolio is greater than the beta of one of the individual shares betas. The standard deviation of the portfolio is greater than the standard deviation of the risk free asset. 8. You hold a diversified portfolio consisting of 20 different shares with $1,000 invested in each. The portfolio beta is equal to 1. 35. You have decided to sell all your holding of Edna Average Cosmetics Ltd which has a beta of 1. You will reinvest the proceeds in Aggressive Action Ltd which has a beta of 2. What is the new beta of the portfolio? a. b. c. d. e. 1. 35 2. 35 1. 45 1. 10 1. 40 9. A company is considering an investment in a new project. That project is best evaluated as though: a. b. c. d. e. It is a stand alone project independent of the company and so its risk is measured as variance. Its risk is adjusted to allow for diversification with the companies existing projects Its cost of capital is the weighted average cost of capital Its risk is evaluated as though it were traded in the capital markets None of the above 10 Is the portfolio with the minimum possible variance an efficient portfolio? a. b. c. d. e. Yes No Yes, but only for risk loving investors Yes, but only for investors who will not take any risk. Yes, but only for investors who are risk neutral. 11. For a two-stock portfolio, the maximum reduction in risk occurs when the correlation coefficient between the two stocks is: A) +1 B) 0 C) -0. 5 D) -1 E) None of the above 12. The variance or standard deviation is a measure of: A) Total risk B) Unique risk C) Market risk D) Bankruptcy risk E) None of the above 13. The risk of a well diversified portfolio depends upon the A) Market risk B) Unique risk of the securities included in the portfolio C) Number of securities in the portfolio D) Variance of the portfolio E) None of the above 4. A factor in APT is a variable that: A) Affects the return of risky assets in a systematic manner B) Correlates with risky asset returns in an unsystematic manner C) Is purely noise D) Affects the return of a risky asset in a random manner E) is generally not correlated with stock returns 15. A company has a cost of capital of 15%. However, it is introducing a new product that it considers to be a ver y risky endeavour to a well diversified investor. What can you say about the appropriate discount rate for the project? A) The rate used should be 15% B) The rate used should be lower than 15% C) The rate used should be greater than 15% D) Any rate between 12% and 18% is acceptable E) The rate should be the expected market return. 16 What has been the average annual rate of return in real terms for a portfolio of U. S. common stocks between 1900 and 2006? a. Less than 2% b. Between 2% and 5% c. Between 5% and 8% d. Greater than 8% e. Greater than 20% 17. Mega Corporation has the following returns for the past three years: 8%, 12% and 10%. Calculate the variance of the return and the standard deviation of the returns.

Down Syndrome Children Interaction with Family and Peers

Down Syndrome Children Interaction with Family and Peers Down Syndrome Children Interaction with Family and Peers: Group Literature Review. Manissha Kaur Nicole Li Xian Nirmaljit Kaur Shakila Binti Shamsudin Down syndrome is the most frequently identified genetic form of mental retardation (Sherman, Allen, Bean Freeman, 2007). It is the prominent root of medical conditions and specific birth defects (Sherman, et al., 2007). It is caused by the malsegragation of the chromosome 21, where there is a third copy of the chromosome (Sherman, et al., 2007). Down syndrome cannot be cured, but it can be diagnosed at an early stage itself; during pregnancy. There are several ways of identifying Down syndrome, which usually can be identified by the child’s physical features and intellectual disabilities. Many early intervention programs, treatments and facilities have been provided for the families and caretakers to help them with the child with a down syndrome. People with Down syndrome have physical features that can be identified. The physical features that are normally notified are the flat nose, the folds in the corners of their upwardly slanting eyes, and the small mouth with a flat roof that makes the tongue stick out somewhat (Barlow Durand, 2012). Down syndrome does not have specific psychological problems but they are still susceptible to having mental health and behavioural issues. In a research done, it was shown that they are prone to problems like depression, anxiety and obsessions (Spendelow, 2011). Apart from psychological and cognitive issues, Down syndrome is also vulnerable to many medical issues, like heart disease and dementia (Zigman Lott as cited in Spendelow, 2011). In this paper, we will be looking at the interactions of the family and peers with the down syndrome children. According to Fogel,; Greenspan; Harris, Kasari, Sigman; Marfo, Cynthia, Dedrick, Barbour; Marcheschi, Millepiedi, Bargagna; Pino; Sander; Sroufe; Venuti, de Falco, Giusti, Bornstein, as cited in Falco, Venuti, Esposito, Bornstein (2009) parent’s association is as crucial to the early improvement of children with extraordinary needs as it is for youngsters experiencing ordinary advancement. As in our perspective, parents are suggested as the majority of the obligations regarding their children to develop mentally. It is exceptionally essential for a child to figure out how to correspond with others, as it is one of the principle methodologies to trade feeling and sentiments. A common youngster may postulate on how to confer as it creates a more established interaction rather than a futile Down syndrome youngster. Concerning this, parents should take more activity to allow them to figure out how to express and impart their insights. According to Bornstein, Putnik, et al.; Martin, Clements, Crnic; Weinberg Tronickas, as cited in Falco et al., (2009) down syndrome kids expresses emotions through their voices, activities whereby folks are able to enamour their young people, guide and maintain adolescent attention, and build the state of mind of expectable dyadic companionship. According to Falco et al., (2009) the study designed on 44 parents–child dyads, 22 children were first conducted with 10 minutes of video as the observations of mental developments of their children. After that, the children were given age-appropriate toys, the parents (mother-child and father-child) were asked to play along with them by using those toys, and their emotional evaluation was recorded and analysed by the video observations. The parents were asked to play individually and together later on, to investigate the gender differences, which focus on emotional evaluation to the Down syndrome children. The results show that during the chronological age of the child, the responsiveness and involvement showed positive effect on the father side rather than the mothers. As such, it may be the case that discerning the uncommon child rearing requirements of their youngsters. Fathers tailor their association style considering their children passionate trades. The moderate level of strength confirms that the child emotional availability, which is additionally identified with singular parental intuitive style, that is most likely due to the historical backdrop of the parental-child relationship. Children with Down syndrome in the study landed at a sufficient level in responsiveness, which showed that they were generally positive and enthusiastically receptive. This does not include their childhood where they demonstrated less clear happiness or adaptation of a situation with more response than being anticipated ideally Biringen et al., (1998). Dyads were similarly conveyed over bunches for the both mother and father relationship with their children. Dealing with Down syndrome children may need extra understanding and extra efforts to bring out their emotional expression as Down syndrome children may not indicate interest by their facial expressions, however they keep their feelings or interest to themselves (Falco et al., 2009), we must handle our children with care especially if they are mentally challenged. It is an undeniable fact that the development of language involves the negotiation between two individuals. Down syndrome individuals are also bound to have difficulties in communicating with typical individuals. Parents play a significant role in early intervention of Down syndrome individual. According to a research that was done, both fathers and mothers display different levels of interactions among typical children and Down syndrome children. Graham and Scudder (2007) have stated that the development of both verbal communication and sign language in Down syndrome children highly depends on both the parents of the child. Both Graham and Schudder have videotaped the interactions of a father and mother with their twins where one child is a Down syndrome, and the other a typical child. The mother of the twins chose to be videotaped when she took the twins out for a walk alone and the mother with both the children reading books. The father on the other hands chose to be videotaped when he bathed the twins one at a time and when he played chase-and-tickle with the twins. As a result, both twins had almost three times more vocalizations when interacting with their mother. The twins were more vocal with their mother when they were with her alone, but were more vocal to their father when they were together. It has also been noted that the mother used more sign language towards the Down syndrome child and more verbal interactions with the typical child. In contrast, the father did not show sign language but used verbal interactions with both the children. The factors that were taken into consideration is the surrounding situation in the house as the mother would not have free time to spend with the Down Syndrome child as she has seven children to look after. The parents would also have been more cautious about their behaviour as they were conscious that they were being videotaped. As a conclusion, this study has showed that both parents play significant roles in the development of the child’s language. Apart from what is explained above, the other part of a family that plays an equal vital role in the life of a person even a Down syndrome child are siblings. Based on the research by Rampton, Rosemann, Aimee, Latta, Mandleco, Roper Dyches (2007) siblings of children that are down syndrome preferred to take photographs of CWDS(children with down syndrome) simply because some of them implied that they could now identify and understand people who had disabilities. The siblings also mentioned during the experiment that they like their sibling, which has disability and that some they makes them a better person. Even though the central focus of this research was on the siblings of children with Down syndrome, this positive affection, love and care does affects the child that has Down syndrome as they too have feelings and are as human as a typically develop child. This clearly shows that siblings are important in the life of a Down syndrome child. The age group difference brings another aspect to the research as age differences delivers different results. Saying this, based on Rampton etc. (2007), siblings at the age of 7-9 years old are more involved in the success and triumph of themselves as they are in the industry vs inferiority stage as seen in Erikson’s theory. They tend to take more photos of themselves rather than the CWDS. In contrast, siblings at the age of 13-15 years old are more engaged with the CWDS as they tend be more likely to provide attention and concern towards CWDS than the younger children as the older sibling have greater than before obligation to be concerned for their siblings. One can come up to the assumption that siblings do play an importance on the life of a Down syndrome child as the siblings to express care and love towards their siblings that has a disability. The other interaction that plays yet another significant role in Down syndrome children lives are peers. Peers, as we are aware off, play an equal important role whether in a typically functioning child or a child with disability. Based on the research conducted by Guralnick, Connor Johnson (2009), the social contacts with peers for children that are Down syndrome is comparatively rare. Only a lesser amount of children are capable to form real camaraderie and the large amount of children tend to fall back alone and into aloneness which leads them to make a choice to play unaccompanied rather with peers. Postulating from the above content, one may tend to assume that a Down syndrome child might face challenges to interact with a peer Guralnick, Connor Johnson (2009). On the contrary, according to Iarocci, Yager, Rombough McLaughlin (n.d) Down syndrome children have been, portrayed as friendly with their peers, well behaved in societal condition and relatively energetic in fitting t ogether in a peer group. In conclusion, children who have Down syndrome have limited form of communication as compared to a child who performs normally and having said that, children are still able to interact with their families even given at a minimal scale. It is difficult for them to go out to the society, as they might be bullied or worst still they are unable to voice out or defend as their physical movements too are challenged. Families of Down syndrome children are urged to always keep an eye on their children like a shadow. It is important for parents to know their whereabouts and have a close relationship with them to enable good rapport. There is no cure for Down syndrome and more research ought to be conducted on how to bring more new and effective insights for Down syndrome children, which may prove to be more helpful. References Barlow, D. H. and Durand, V. M. (2012). Abnormal Psychology An Integrative Approach (6th ed.). USA. Wadsworth CENGAGE Learning. Falco,S.D., Venuti,P., Esposito,G., Bornstein,M.H. (2009). Mother–child and father–child emotional availability in families of children with down syndrome. Parenting: Science And Practice, 9,198-215. doi:10.1080/15295190902844381 Graham, T. K., Scudder, R. R. (2007). Parent interactions with twins who are developmentally different: A case study.Communication Disorders Quarterly,28(2), 107-115. Retrieved March 11, 2014 from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/[emailprotected]vid=5hid=114 Guralnick, M, J., Connor, R, T., Johnson, L, C. (2009). Home-based peer social networks of young children with down syndrome: a developmental perspective. Am J Intellect Dev Disabil, 114(5) 340-355. Iarocci, G., Yager, J., Rombough, A., McLaughlin, J. (n.d). The development of social competence among persons with down syndrome across the lifespan: from survival to social inclusion. Retrieved March 10, 2014 from http://autismlab.psyc.sfu.ca/sites/default/files/documents/iarocci_etal_2008_social_competence.pdf Rampton, T,B., Rosemann, J, L., Latta, A, L., Mandleco, B, L., Roper, S, O., Dyches, T, T. (2007). Images in life: Siblings of children with down syndrome. Journal of Family Nursing, 13(4), 420-442. doi:10.1177/1074840707308580 Sherman, S. L., Allen, E. G., Bean, L. H. and Freeman, S. B. (2007). Epidemiology of Down syndrome. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 13,221–227. doi:10.1002/mrdd.20157 Spendelow, J. S. (2011). Assessment of mental health problems in people with Down syndrome: key considerations. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 39, 306–313. doi:10.1111/j.1468-3156.2010.00670.x

How to Research Your Family Tree :: Free Expository Process Essays

How to Research Your Family tree Do you ever wonder who your ancestors were? Do you ever wonder if you're related to anyone famous in history? I would guess that at some point you have pondered these questions. I know that I have. But how do you find out who your ancestors were and what they were like? Genealogy is the study of your ancestors and their descendants. In the last few years I havebecome very interested in genealogy and want to start researching my family history. With very limited experience in the field, where would I start? I figured that I could get at least some information from the Internet, so that is where I went. My home page on the Internet is through ALL so I started with its web page (www.aol.com). On the web page is a direct link to genealogy areas of ALL and links to other sites on the web. On ALL sites, Genealogy Community Center, you can search for surnames by home pages that are linked to ALL. Of course, you can just about imagine that with all the surnames out there this might be a difficulty task. It's not, if you know what you are looking for. Of all the web sites, I visited every one said work backwards from what you know to what you don't know. I started with the farthest point I could remember. I began by searching for the surname "Walker." There are thousand of links to "Walker" families, so I chose a few that looked promising. I went to http://voyager.dvc.edu/~bmckinney/www.sisna.com/users/ryoung/walker/wgaf22.html. This site has an extensive history on Walker families. Names, birth dates, and death dates are all part of the information that is provided. The hardest part of ge nealogy is matching names to names and birth dates to birth dates to get accurate information. If you locate that information, it can lead you to people you didn't know about. But the challenge is getting through the thousands of names that come up. I decided that I really needed to narrow my search so I tried a different web site that could help me. I went to Ancestry.com (http://voyager.dvc.edu/~bmckinney/www.ancestry.com). This web site offers searches of large databases such as the Social Security Death Index. The web site is not entirely free. You can use several of the databases to get information you may need but to use the large databases like birth records, death records, and obituaries you have to be a member of the web site.

Analyzing Themes in Robert Frosts The Road Not Taken Essay -- Road No

Analyzing Themes in Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken This is a wonderful poem with many different themes and ideas. One of the biggest themes is not being afraid to take a chance. Some of the other themes include, not following the crowd, trying new things, and standing for something. This poem stated that the author "took the one (road) less traveled by, and that has made all the difference" so the author is telling the reader that we too should not be afraid to take another path. The Road Not Taken is a twenty-line poem written in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme ABAAB. This poem starts with the author walking through the woods. He comes to a fork in the path and is torn by which path to take...does he take the path that is traveled by everybody, or the one rarely traveled upon? He decides to take the road less traveled by. By taking this path he changes his life in some way unknown to the reader. We get the idea that the poem starts out in the fall, "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood" (5). The season fall represents the year coming to an end, and e...

Hates Irrational Justification :: essays research papers

Hate’s Irrational Justification On Sept. 6, 2001, Richard Baumhammers, â€Å"a 36 year-old immigration lawyer, received five death sentences plus 112  ½ to 225 years in prison for a mass shooting rampage in April 2000 that killed his Jewish neighbor, two Asian men, and Indian man and a black man.† (â€Å"For the Record†) This incident was classified as a â€Å"hate crime† (a crime motivated solely on hate). Hatred is an extreme, on-going outburst powerful resentment and dislike of something or someone. How can something so powerful, such as hate, fulfill the minds of so many people? The odd thing about it, also, is that, hate does not cloud the minds of certain people only, the range of people is too great to be able to even start classifying them. Hate, like human feeling, is not rational but it has its reasons. Hate is irrational. Hate is created when people lose their ability to properly reason with anyone or with themselves for that matter. Hate is felt when someone feels trapped, unable to find another way of finding a solution to something that does not sit well in their minds. The Ku Klux Klan, who openly demonstrate hate towards African Americans, for example was compiled of middle to lower class white citizens that felt like their families, jobs, and lives were being threatened by the increase of African Americans living in the United States (Office Copy: Hate). As a result of this feeling of hopelessness and fear, they lynched and attacked African Americans for many years. Even till this day they have not completely seized harassment. Many people will agree that this is not a suitable solution for anything. Nothing was done to peacefully solve this conflict or mediate, instead, the KKK resorted to violence and open hatred. Another example is the Neo-nazi formation in the U.S. (Intel ligence report magazine) The Nazi party headed by Hitler in the nineteen thirties and forties hated Jews and anyone not part of the, so-called â€Å"Aryan nation† because they also felt threatened. As a so-called, â€Å"solution† to their insecurities they persecuted Jews. So why would Americans adopt this now, in the twenty-first century? According to William Pierce. Leader of the National Alliance, â€Å"†¦American people permitting the Jews to run their government and use American strength to advance Jews’ interests†¦ †(Published Interview) What Jewish interests? Pierce fails to say exactly what. No sense is being made.

Machiavelli, A Founding Father?

Machiavelli advocated centralization and concentration of power in The Prince while the authors of the Federalist Papers call for the separation of powers and a system of checks and balances.   The Prince, however, was a job application to Lorenzo di Medici the son of Piero di Medici.   Lorenzo had just inherited the principality of   Florence by settlement of a war with the Pope and his mercenaries ( Lerner xxvii) in 1512. Machiavelli, was however, not as alien to the ideas of the Convention espoused by the various   Federalist Papers.  Ã‚   For much of his life he was staunchly republican in his outlook; the loss of the Florentine Republic and his position as an advisor to the powerful were powerful motivators to write a pro-monarchy text to regain his former position in the new state.( Lerner xxviii) During this imposed exile from the halls of power Machiavelli’s works included the Discourses, an analysis of the Roman Republic, its power structure, and its defects.   In The Discourses Machiavelli is plainly pro-republic, though he also manages to treat the issue of a monarchy as well.   Machiavelli’s ideas are included to some degree in the Federalist Papers and the Constitution of the United States. Machiavelli, Hamilton, Jay, and Madison would all find agreement in some of the most important aspects of the governing of a Republic; including the use of a standing army and the separation of powers. Standing Army The issue of a standing army was a touchy one for the convention.   The military was part of the executive power and a standing army could be abused.   Indeed he warns of this in Federalist #8 : But in a country, where the perpetual menacings of danger oblige the government to always be prepared to repel it, her armies are must be numerous enough for instant defence.†Ã‚  Ã‚   The importance of the of the soldier is enhanced and the military state is elevated above the civil. In territories that are often the theatre of war , are unavoidably subjected to frequent violation of their rights; and by degrees the people come to consider the soldier their superiors. ( #8, p35)However , the Convention left the raising of regular troops solely under the authority of   Congress, and not the President. Thus   they are under the control of the people; the Congress shall decide when a standing military is necessary; before a President has them to Command.   Hamilton says that the power to maintain a standing army in time of peace is a necessary caution given the fact that the Dominions of Britain and Spain border the fledgling nation.(#24, p120). Machiavelli would agree: â€Å"Such princes and republics of modern times as have no national troops for defense or attack ought well to be ashamed of it†¦.† (prince 175) and I conclude, therefore, that no principality is secure without having its own forces† (Prince pg 52-53) Separation of Powers The separation of powers has been regarded as the hallmark of republican principles.   The separation of power among three distinct branches of government prevents any one person from acting as â€Å"legislator, judge, and executioner.†Ã‚   In this way the abuse of power leading to Tyranny is avoided. Machiavelli states much the same in The Discourses: ALL those who have written upon civil institutions demon- strate (and history is full of examples to support them) that whoever desires to found a state and give it laws, must start with assuming that all men are bad and ever ready to display their vicious nature, whenever they may find occasion for it. ( 117) An early form of the system checks and balances was the formation of the Tribunes in the Roman Republic.   The Tribunes served to act as a sort of Legislative judge curbing and investigating alleged excesses by the Senators of Rome.( Machiavelli, â€Å"Discourses†, 118)   The Convention went further; it gave executive authority to the President, but withheld the purse, and it gave the Sword to Congress but required the Executive to wield it, and gave the Law to Congress but allowed both the Justice and Executive to disapprove it, gave Congress the means to remove an executive or a justice from office, but made the members of Congress answerable to the whole of the People. Madison says that â€Å"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judicial in the same hands, whether of one, of few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of Tyranny.†(Carey lxx)  Ã‚   So both men believed that the separation of powers in a Republic is a fundamental principle defending the liberty of the citizen.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Both men also believed that the authority of the supreme executive should to some respect be stronger than that of the regional powers. While the Federal system resembles more closely the â€Å"Prince and Baron† model warned against by Machiavelli; through well-thought out assignment of the powers to the Federal Government the position of the regional powers (Governors of the States) approach the â€Å"Prince and Servants† model advocated by him.   The Convention took the middle ground with the powers of the Executive (federal) being supreme only in its assigned sphere and that of the regional to be supreme within its own sphere.   Conflicts between States and the Federal authority were to be resolved by the Supreme Court.   Therefore no one State was in a position to help outside enemies to oppose the Federal government, but simultaneously the Federal authority could not rule by fiat as a Prince might have done. Conclusion: So which model was more capable of maintaining order and curtailing disorder from below?   History seems to indicate that the careful checks and balances and the general separation of powers have been more enduring than a centralized Monarchy.   France proved the wisdom of the system of checks and balances when the National Assembly seized all power for the purpose of reforming the government.   This attempt, while its aims were noble, failed catastrophically and subjected the People of France to a series of tyrants, emperors, and various violations of their civil liberties for nearly a century. Absolute Monarchy as Machiavelli said, is stable only so long as the ruler is ruthless when necessary and is either loved or feared by its people.   The problem seems to be that this merely builds up pressure in the people; who will begin to rebel the moment any hesitation by the monarch is shown either internally or through circumstance such as war.   This process happened on a world-wide scale and was experienced by Britain, France, Egypt, Iran, and may be happening now in Saudi Arabia and the Emirates of the Middle East. Machiavelli states that all laws of liberty come from the open opposition in the legislature between two classes; the Nobles and the People.(Machiavelli,   â€Å"Discourses†, p119)   The constitution eliminated the Nobility but a similar problem of factions: Those who have power, those who want power, those who want to oppress.   In a similar fashion to the Tribunes of Rome the various divisions of power executive, legislative, judicial, the National, and the Regional allow open discussion and opposition without providing any overt favor to one faction over another;( Madison, â€Å"Federalist #10†, pp 42-48) ensuring that laws of liberty continue to come from the discourses of those vying for power. ( Madison, â€Å"Federalist #10†, pp42-48) The Republican ideas that Machiavelli held and published in his works might well mark him as one of the founders of   the modern republic along with Locke, Montesque, and the other Enlightenment philosophers. Works Cited Carey, George W. and James McClellan. Reader’s Guide. The Federalist. By   Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison. Indianapolis:   Liberty Fund 2001 Hamilton, Alexander, John Jay, and James Madison. The Federalist. Ed. George W. Carey and James McClellan. The Gideon Edition. Indianapolis:   Liberty Fund 2001 Learner, Max. Introduction.   The Prince and the Discourses. By Niccolo Machiavelli. New York: Random House 1950 Machiavelli, Niccolo. â€Å"The Prince†. Ed. E.R.P Vincent. Trans. Luigi Ricci. The Prince and the Discourses. New York: Random House 1950 Machiavelli, Niccolo. â€Å"The Discourses†.   Trans. Christian E. Detmold. The Prince and the Discourses. New York: Random House 1950