Matt's school report

[the_kid]

Sorry my microsoft word is down so I needed a place to write this until I can get to school and transfer it to word. It isn't finished but it will be next week. :D





Following the "Great War" America's economy was strong and modernization was in the middle of a golden age. "Technology played one of the most vital parts in bringing the great economic and cultural prosperity that America experienced during the 1920s"(Technology). After the war the automobile saw a huge boost in sales and by the end of the decade nearly every family owned a Ford Model-T(Bruce 80).
Now with automobiles being a common part of daily life workers could get to work easier and travel from greater distances. This led to the expansion of suburbs outside of the cities where people could get away from the crowded city but still be close enough to travel to work. The popularity of the automobile also brought immense economic prosperity. One of the major contributions to the prosperity of the 1920s was the construction of roads and highways, which poured fresh public funds into the economy (Bruce 79). "Spurred on by this federal money, every section of the country launched ambitious road building programs during the 1920s. By the end of the decade, highway construction programs employed more men and spent more money than any single private industry." (Technology)
Henry Ford was in the 1920s what Bill Gates is today. His company dominated the automobile industry and he became one of the richest men in the world earning over $260,000 a day. During this time he also paid the most ever in federal income taxes paying the government $2,467,946 in 1924 (Gordon and Gordon 50).
Ford was able to amass such profits and produce automobiles at such a fast pace because of his use of the assembly line. Many other manufacturers used this technique to increase their efficiency. This brought the prices down on most goods making them readily available to the average American. This created a huge supply and demand system within America that strengthened the Nation's economy and sent wages up about 33%.
Getting a jump with the rise of the automobile was the movie theaters. Movie theaters also experienced a rise in popularity in the 1920s when automobiles allowed Americans access to the theaters. The first movie with sound "The Jazz Singer" was produced in 1922 and movies in color came in 1926 with the invention of Technicolor. The original "Movie Stars" earned about $300 a week before sound and color when filming but that skyrocketed to $5000 a week with some earning $300,000 per film (Gordon and Gordon 68).
Also during the 1920s the radio became very popular with nearly every household owning at least one. The radio became the main source of entertainment within the house with radio shows and cartoons being played all day such as "The lone Ranger" and others.
According to Stevenson:

"... The mechanical inventions of the day were keeping up with the events. Radio not only reported the events but shaped them. Radio strengthened a tendency already working to make the people of the United States feel united and whole; for the first time, it seemed as if they could have thoughts and feelings simultaneously. For certain individuals this was comforting and strengthening. It had the effect of making people wish to have simultaneous sensations. ..." (114)
"... There was a tendency upon the part of a whole population to become amused spectators at events. The hobby of radio listening encouraged the tendency, but the set of mind was a new thing, a feeling that one's country and one's self were exempt from unpleasant consequences. What happened happened to other peoples and other individuals, mostly other kinds of countries and individuals. One lived, one lived indeed well, and had a predictable kind of success, and the tragedies and comedies of life were performed as in a show. ..." (154)

"Health and medicine advanced greatly during the same time period. Surprisingly, a post-war interest developed in nutrition, caloric consumption, and physical vitality" (Gordon and Gordon 14).Leading this movement were the "Flappers" who were liberal women in the 1920s know for their strange appearance and their attemps to "diet away their hips"."Vitamins A, B, C, K, and various subtypes of each were also discovered during the 1920s. Through radio broadcasts, the public learned of the benefits of consuming foods with high nutritional values, and thus a generation of health fanatics was started." (technology) Even with this cigarette sales were up to a record high of $43,000,000,000 and alcohol was being bootlegged even with the passing of prohibition at a rate of $3,500,000,000

[the_kid]

Matt Hall
English III
Mrs. Overall
March 21,2006
Technology in the 1920s
Following the "Great War" America's economy was strong and modernization was in the middle of a golden age. "Technology played one of the most vital parts in bringing the great economic and cultural prosperity that America experienced during the 1920s"(Technology). After the war the automobile saw a huge boost in sales and by the end of the decade nearly every family owned a Ford Model-T (Bruce 80).
Now with automobiles being a common part of daily life workers could get to work easier and travel from greater distances.
This led to the expansion of suburbs outside of the cities where people could get away from the crowded city but still be close enough to travel to work. The popularity of the automobile also brought immense economic prosperity. One of the major contributions to the prosperity of the 1920s was the construction of roads and highways, which poured fresh public funds into the economy (Bruce 79). "Spurred on by this federal money, every section of the country launched ambitious road building programs during the 1920s. By the end of the decade, highway construction programs employed more men and spent more money than any single private industry." (Technology)
Henry Ford was in the 1920s what Bill Gates is today. His company dominated the automobile industry and he became one of the richest men in the world earning over $260,000 a day. During this time he also paid the most ever in federal income taxes paying the government $2,467,946 in 1924 (Gordon and Gordon 50).
Ford was able to amass such profits and produce automobiles at such a fast pace because of his use of the assembly line. Many other manufacturers used this technique to increase their efficiency. This brought the prices down on most goods making them readily available to the average American. This created a huge supply and demand system within America that strengthened the Nation's economy and sent wages up about 33%.
Getting a jump with the rise of the automobile was the movie theaters. Movie theaters also experienced a rise in popularity in the 1920s when automobiles allowed Americans access to the theaters. The first movie with sound "The Jazz Singer" was produced in 1922 and movies in color came in 1926 with the invention of Technicolor. The original "Movie Stars" earned about $300 a week before sound and color when filming but that skyrocketed to $5000 a week with some earning $300,000 per film (Gordon and Gordon 68).
Also during the 1920s the radio became very popular with nearly every household owning at least one. The radio became the main source of entertainment within the house with radio shows and cartoons being played all day such as "The lone Ranger" and others.
According to Stevenson:


"... The mechanical inventions of the day were keeping up with the events. Radio not only reported the events but also shaped them. Radio strengthened a tendency already working to make the people of the United States feel united and whole; for the first time, it seemed as if they could have thoughts and feelings simultaneously. For certain individuals this was comforting and strengthening. It had the effect of making people wish to have simultaneous sensations. ..." (114)
"... There was a tendency upon the part of a whole population to become amused spectators at events. The hobby of radio listening encouraged the tendency, but the set of mind was a new thing, a feeling that one's country and one's self were exempt from unpleasant consequences. What happened to other peoples and other individuals, mostly other kinds of countries and individuals. One lived, one lived indeed well, and had a predictable kind of success, and the tragedies and comedies of life were performed as in a show. ..." (154)

"Health and medicine advanced greatly during the same time period. Surprisingly, a post-war interest developed in nutrition, caloric consumption, and physical vitality" (Gordon and Gordon 14). Leading this movement were the "Flappers" who were liberal women in the 1920s know for their strange appearance and their attempts to "diet away their hips". "Vitamins A, B, C, K, and various subtypes of each were also discovered during the 1920s. Through radio broadcasts, the public learned of the benefits of consuming foods with high nutritional values, and thus a generation of health fanatics was started." (technology) Even with this cigarette sales were up to a record high of $43,000,000,000 and alcohol was being bootlegged even with the passing of prohibition at a rate of $3,500,000,000.

[LouMoreno]

Mrs. Overalls? What kind of teachers are they hiring at Hicksville High?

[bigbadude]

Matt you NEED some pictures for you school report :D

[michellewade]

Megan, you'd better not copy these and use them for your reports :D:D:D:D

[the_kid]

Gordon, Lois, and Alan Gordon American Chronicle. 20 Mar 2006
Tennessee: Kingsport Press, Inc., 1987.

Stevenson, Elizabeth The American 1920s. 20 mar 2006
New York: The Macmillan Company, 196

Bunch, Bryan and Alexander Helkmans The Time Tables of Technology. 20 Mar 2006
New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1993.

"The Impact of Technology on 1920s Life." Technology. angelfire. 20 Mar. 2006 <http://www.angelfire.com/co/pscst/tech.html>.

[esalazar]

have you received a grade yet??

[the_kid]

Not yet.

You know, I was just telling myself that I need to brush up on my early 20th century and BAM! Very informative . thanks matt :D

[esalazar]

06 rocs
1- hole 7 glo 180g
2-hole 7 silver 172g
1-hole 7 red 180 g
1-celtic red 179g
1-baby roc pink 180g
1-flying eye red 180g
1-throwback red 180
Factory Seconds
2-clear 170,171
1-light purple 179 (hole7)
1-dark purple 179
1-blue 179
1-black 180 (baby roc)

05 rocs 2-red special blend 179,180
3-flagstick yellow180,blue179,purple177
3-grafiti red179,yellow179,blue177
4-x-outs 2yellow 179,lime green179,red 180
5-glows (KC 4x) all 180 every color stamp available and all personally signed by Ken Climo
1-spectator 179

04 rocs
2-stars yellow 180
2-claws yellow180,red 180
2-ring of rocs pearl 167
2-hole5 pearl 171
2-heroic battle (sealed) 179,180

03 rocs
1-bird roc yellow 180
1-zonedriven 5 years of blue 179
1-graffiti blueish 177
1-one div one champion green 175

02 rocs
2-star stamp orange 173,169

-I have 3 proto (big star stamp) t-rexs bright green 175,light yellow 175,darker yellow 171

-2 white test run t-rex's 175,173 (small star stamp)#s 37and35 of 60

-4 t-rexX's small star stamp dark blue 171,black 171,2-white with blueish tint 173,174 these are #s 37,94,155,and 215 of 236.

[esalazar]

1.Paralybal cyst in the spinal glenoid notch, associated with tear of the posterior labrum.
2.Tiny possible bursal surface tear of the distal supraspinatus tendon, just proximal to its insertion.
3.Some abnormal signal is noted within the infraspinatus tendon, not contacting either the bursal or articular surface, most common with tendon degeneration rather than a focal tear..

[the_kid]

The Government of the United States is made up of many groups of people with different perspectives and ideas on which direction our country should headed. Nearly all of these political parties have some view or liberalism, conservatism, or libertarianism. These three political ideologies are unique in many ways but they also share some simularities.

A classical liberal values rights over traditional values and also puts personal rights before the rights of the state. Most liberals want a free market economy run by the people with limited government intervention. Classical liberals want the country to be controlled by the people with the government protecting personal rights. This group would rather use diplomacy to confront a threat rather thean millitary force. They also see the human life in an individualistic way as compared to being a part of a unit.

Unlike classical liberals, classical conservatives value traditional values over personal rights. They believe in traditional personal rights and freedom over a states power (Ex. purchasing weapons). These conservatives also are hesitant to welcome any change in the government for fear that it will change the tradition of the nation. Conservatism provides strong feelings of patriotism and each person serves his/her country with consistency and loyalty. This also leads to an increased use of the military forces in cases of external threat, rather than in diplomacy.

Libertarians believe in a persons rights over the state's. They oppose laws that restrict the private lives of adults such as sexual relations, drug use, religious beliefs, and being selected for millitary duty. Libertarians endorse full self-ownership and many feel that natural resources can be used by the first person who discovers them or claims them.


In recent years all parties are becoming more closely related even though they seem to be growing apart. They share many ideas in certain areas such as education. All of the parties want to improve the education of the nation's youth but the liberals want set standard for all schools while conservatives want to see schools competing with one another. All these parties also want to protect our counrty from outside attacks. Liberals want to do this by using diplomatic matters and defense while conservatives and many libertarians want to use offense to get rid of any threat. These three parties also believe in having a nation with the national government playing only a partial role in the changes we see around us.

These three political groups have shaped our country into what it is by getting thier ideas out to the people and letting them choose where the country should go. The political parties have worked like competing businesses in the market economy who through thier goal of growing larger have given more options to thier potential voters or "customers" which will only make our nation better. Even though these parties are so different they provide diversity in our government which allows our counrty to keep progressing.

[the_kid]

When the founding fathers of this country were trying to determine how our government was to be set up they 1st established the Articles of Confederation. This lasted the duration of the American revolution but its flaws were soon realized. A new system was then needed to be set in place, this was federalism.

Federalism allowed the national and state governments to work together with each having its own powers. Ever since the great depression the national government has been assuming a greater amount of spending which is getting even larger. Before this date the national government accounted for less than 20% of the spending that went on in the US and now it is greater then 60% with local spending dropping from 60 to 20 percent. This shows that the federal government is taking over many of the responsibilities once held by the local governments.

Also during the end of the great depression President Roosevelt also brought the local and national governments closer together when he proposed many of the "New Deal" ideas which were used to provide the unemployed with jobs. This was the begining of madern cooperative federalism. It seems that now more then ever cooperative federalism is more about the national government placing mandates on the local and state governments forcing them to provide policies in healthcare and education. More often than not these are underfunded leaving the local governments with the burden of finding enough cash to make the policies work.

In the 1800s it was slavery, the 1900s brought abortion, and now the new millenium has brought about illegal immigration. The cases that have been but before the nation's supreme court has changed over the decades and the advances in technology has brought about questions that could not have been fathomed when the constitution was written. These include abortion, regulating and deporting illegal immigrants, stem cell research, and the issue of "pulling the plug". It seems as though the decisions made by the supreme court and its justices have been shifting from a more conservative viewpoint to a more liberal and progressive way of thinking. This can be seen by the decision to allow stem cell research to continue even if it is limited to abilical cells.

The nation as a whole has kept evolving since it was established when we proclaimed our independence from the British. It seems to be speeding up however exponetialy as more ideas are thrown around and as technology becomes more advanced. There seems to be no end to this evolution which could prove to be great for our nation or possibly a virus that will lead to more internal conflict within the government.

[the_kid]

Over the years many opinions and criticisms about our Country's Constitution have been voiced by Americans from all walks of life. The situations these people have been through in thier lifes are reflected in the ideas they have of the constitution.


Thurgood Marshall had many criticisms of our Founding Father's original draft of the consitution stating that it was not true in saying "We the People" as it did not include all individuals. In the original draft slaves were excluded from the rights in which the constitution was to uphold and women were also excluded from many of the rights such as voting in the national and local elections. Not only were they kept from these rights but they were omitted from the constitution intentionaly.

Marshall felt that our "Founding Fathers" weren't looking out for the majority of the Nation's people but only those who were like themselves. Marshall's quote of Governor Morris stating
"the inhabitant of georrgia [or] South Carolina who goes to Africa, and in defiance of the most sacred laws of humanity tears away his fellow creatures from thier dearest connections and damns them to the most cruel bondages, shall have more votes in a Government institutedfor protection of the rights of mankind, than the Citizenof Pennsylvania or New Jersey who views with a laudable horror, so nefarious a practice"
changed the way I viewed the 3/5ths compromise.

At this point I started to drift away from my original thought that our nation was founded in a near perfect manner. When Marshall continued to state that our Country is what is is today not because of our Founding Father's ideas but because of the many things that have taken place since the constitution was originally drafted. Mashall quoted Chief Justice Taney who during the Dred Scott case when the question of Slaves being included in the constitution stated
"We think they are not, and that they are not included, and were not intended to be included....They had for more than a century before been regarded beings of an inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race"
This statement shows one of the ways our Founding Fathers were shortsighted in thier ideas. They say that freedom is for all people while they hold many of our country's residents captive with now just cause.

William Bradford Reynold's ideas were contradictory to Marshall's and written as a rebuttle to Marshall's own writings. The way in which he stated his views did not seem to grab my attention and make me see what he was trying to say. This could have been because he was writting to defend the Founder's of our Nation by seemingly trying to question Mashall's statements and in a sense his credibility. This just did not settle with me and his ideas seemed to not carry as much weight as Marshall's did.

Although he did agree with Marshall in the sense that our constitution was not perfect he still seemed to be glorifying the Founding Fathers and giving them too much credit for the way our Country is. It is almost as if he is trying to give them nearly all the accolades and take away from the citizens who I feel are the ones who really shape of our Democracy and Nation.

****, I hated Government and Econmoics in high school!
Thanks for the flashback Matt!

[the_kid]

I have two more to write tonight. It is an AP course.

[the_kid]

The 14th amendment to our constitution guaranteed citizenship, due process, and equal protection to all American citizens. Even so many areas around the country tried to restrict some of these rights from minorities. They did this through the segregation of blacks from whites.

In 1892 the Plessy v. Ferguson case created the separate but equal doctrine. This stated that segregation alone did not violate the constitution and that laws permitting or requiring the their separation in places where they are liable to be brought into contact do not necessarily imply the inferiority of either race to another.

It wasn't until 1954 when the supreme court reversed its ruling un the Plessy V. Ferguson course. This occured during the Brown V. Board of Education of Topeka. Oliver Brown felt that his 8 year old daughter should not have to go to a black school which was 27 blocks from her house when a white school was 7 blocks away. The supreme court ruled after hearing the case that segregation violated the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. This was because the justices felt that separating blacks from otyhers of simerlar age and qualifications because of race created a sense of inferiority. This was contrary to what was said in 1892 when the justices stated that seperation of races was constitutional.

This case sent America into a frenzy when schools had to integrate blacks with whites and was a great victory for all American minorities. This was also the catalyst for the growin civil rights movement which eventually received its right of equality.

In 1963 the rights of accused persons were greatly expanded after the Gideon V. Wainwright case. The supreme court ruled if you are accused of a felony and you cannot afford an attorney the government must provide one for you at thier expense. This expanded what had previously been available to the accused since only capital cases were allowed to be provided counsel by the government according to the Betts V. Brady case in 1942.

This ruling was one of the first to give more rights to accused pereons and was followed by the Mapp v. Ohio (1961) and Miranda v. Arizona (1966) cases. All of these cases helped shape a good amount of the judicial system we see today.

[the_kid]

In 1965 a new policy was put into place by President Lyndon Johnson that was to help minorities come even closer to equality in this country. This policy was called affirmitive action and was meant to help minorities get jobs and attend schools by forcing employers and schools to have a certain percentage of thier members to be minorities. This sparked a huge amount of criticism of this policy by whites and even other racial groups who were not included in this "Affirmative Action".

After Affimative Action was put into place in 1965 and many African Americans were given reserved slots in the workforce and in colleges many people came out saying that it was unconstitutional. They said that Affirmative Action violated the equal protection act of the 14th amendment alledging "reverse discrimination" or discrimination against those who were not minorities by allowing preferential treatment and quotas to discriminate against those who were not considered minorities.

These feelings about the new policy were 1st reflected in the Bakke case where Alan Bakke sued the University of California at Davis because he was not admitted to the school and instead minorities who were not as qualified took his place. This case ended with the ruling that was not agaist Affirmative Action but Bakke was admitted into the University because it used race as the sole criteria for the reserved minority positions and not how qualified they were. This meant that "while race can be considered "as a factor" among the others in admissions (and presumably hiring) decisions, race cannot be the sole factor."

The Bakke case was followed by the Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena and Hopwood v. State of Texas cases which institutions that admitted employes on the basis of race would be subject to "strict scrutiny" by the courts. The Hopwood v. State of Texas case concluded with the statement that "the use of race to even as a means of achieving diversity on college campuses "undercuts the Fourteenth Amendment"

Each of these three cases helped make Affirmative Action a little more fair in the eyes of "nonminorities" but there is still a large group of people who feel that it is still unconstitutional. Many of them feel that America should be "colorblind" in which businesses, government agencies, and educational institutions do not admit people based on race but on thier qualifications.

Affirmative Action has opened many doors that were once closed to many Americans but in doing so also closed the same doors to others all because of race. It seems that Affirmative will continue to be a "hot button" debate until our government can make it seem fair to all citizens. This will probably not be possible unless the people of our country do indeed become "Colorblind"

[esalazar]

Matt , when will you be enrolling? what is your initial major etc.? how much credit will you have upon enrollment? You are still planning on UT, correct? You going to be living on campus? I may very well be enrolling here myself next semester..As an employee of the university I am allowed to take one course per semester free !! :Dgoing to ACC right now..

[the_kid]

I guess in the Fall and I have a passed three AP exams so I have three college courses already completed. I will probably be living on campus and then playing for Round Rock in 07'. :D

[esalazar]

nice!!!

[the_kid]

When thinking about who is in charge of this county it is common to only think about Republicans and Democrats but it is the interest groups in America who usually influence what our politicians will do. These can be business groups, racial groups, environmental groups, or any other group of people you can think of. Many of the larger of these groups send lobbyists to Washington in hopes to influence a Senator/congressperson's vote. These groups also use the public to sway a politicians position by sending letters or bombarding them with E-mails.

The most well known way that these interest groups try to get their ideas passed into laws is to give large amounts of money and workers to aid in a politician's campaign. In return they expect the politician to vote in their direction if he/she is elected. When dealing with a very large interest group a candidate may receive endorsements from the group which will then cause many members of the group to support and vote for the candidate. An interest group would use this technique because if the politician is elected and helps to get the groups ideas passed in government policies they will most likely receive the same treatment when it is time for their reelection thus allowing the group to have a representative in government for a extended period of time.

Another very effective indirect technique that interest groups like to use is grassroots lobbying. This is when a group gets its members to send a government official E-mails, letters, phone calls, and even establish a meeting with the official so that they can voice their views to him/her. This is very effective because it shows the government official what the public thinks and also can overwhelm them with a certain idea to the extent that they will instantaneouly vote for it. the groups use this as a cheap yet very effective way of getting their ideas to people in government.

The last of the three main techniques is the use of litigation to influence government by bringing a lawsuit against an individual or organization. For example many environmental groups take refineries to court in hopes that they will be able to get the amount of pollution the expell reduced or to get the whole operation shut down until they can reduce the amount of pollutants they release into the air. This may be the most drastic technique that interest groups use but it is usually the most likely to be seen by the public on the news or other media outlets.

These three techniques are currently the most commonly used by interest groups of all sizes. That doesn't mean they are the only ones that exist. Interest greoups also use constituents as lobbyists and use a great deal of effort to create public pressure about a certain issue. So in fact our Nation's policies are not put into place by Republicans or Democrats but the interest groups that both support and pressure government officials so that they can get their views passed.

[the_kid]

BTW I spell check before I turn it in at school. :D

[the_kid]

The technique an interest group uses to lobby in government depends on the issue that it is facing and the size of its membership base. The Nra is a very large national organization made up of mostly consevatives who live in the southern states that has been very involved in the government for many years and is now lobbying more then ever.

Grassroots lobbying and mass mobilization are the most common lobbying techniques used by the Nra as they are cost effective and also very efficient. Most Nra officials feel that they can make a greater difference voicing their opinion to government officials in large numbers then by spending a massive amount of money supporting a campaign. Government leader know that the Nra has a lot of pull in this country and that you want to have them on your side so when they tell them what they would like to see put into local, state, or national policies they usually get the official's attention.

The Nra uses the Grassroots technique mainly because it is produces very positive results and takes very little effort. All the Nra members have to do is exchange their future voting behavior in return for support for their policy position. The Nra knows that it takes a very large amount of money to make an impact on a senators campaign and many times more to support a presidential campaign. Instead the members mobilize to voice support for a particular candidate as to influence others to join.

Therefore the Nra does not use campaign cash contributions for their main lobbying technique because it takes too much money to be effective and the candidate may not even be elected. They have not been using litigation as much recently as they have been the ones who have been ordered to court lately. They prefer to use the voice of the public as their tool for getting policies passed in their favor.

[the_kid]

It seems that as our Country grows older the number of people that influence our government grows smaller. It used to be that government officials would try to please the nations people but now it seems that they want to please the large corporations that give them money so that they can keep the monetary benefits that big business offers. Is this what the founders of this Nation wanted when they drafted our constitution? I think not and feel that we the people must regain the control we once had in our government.

Richard Grossman who is a historian on corporations in America feels as I do that "Big Business" is starting to have too much control in our government and it is time for it to stop. If not the types of economic tragedies which occured when Enron collapsed will continue to occur. Enron used its money to influence local, state, and national representatives and thus shielded what was really going on within the company because none of these representatives had the gall to stand out against them. The bad thing is that "U.S history that made what's happening today--what enron is--totally logical.

Corporations in America have grown so powerful that it is nearly impossible for citizens to stop them since they do not even have the support of the people who are meant to represent them. For example it has come to the point where citizens of a community cannot even protect themselves from being driven out of business by large national chains such as Walmart. When Walmart decides to open a store in a town they are usually met with opposition but there are rarely any cases when the people win. This is because the corporation has a lot of money and pull within the government and uses this to get its way. Most politicians won't try to stop them from coming into thier town and forcing many local stores to close because they do not want thier political office to be jeopordized.


I will finish in the morning.

[CB2]

Yeah I think you using spell check before you turn it in to the teacher is a great idea because you have 4 misspelled word's in your last post.

[seeker]

Re: Spell check and other technological marvels.
Really, by the time you graduate you should learn ALL the shortcuts.

[the_kid]

Re: Spell check and other technological marvels.
Really, by the time you graduate you should learn ALL the shortcuts.



I do use spell check when I transfer it to Word. :D

[the_beastmaster]

I think this is pretty much the best thread ever. Oh, the wonders of technology.

[the_kid]

Yeah or not.

[xterramatt]

Hey Matt, invest in OpenOffice. It's free.

www.openoffice.org (http://www.openoffice.org)

[the_kid]

I will have to look into that. :D

[the_kid]

The point of view expressed about minor parties in the political cartoon seem to be that if you vote for a 3rd party candidate you might as well being throwing your vote in the garbage can. The cartoon also depicts the Ralph Nader as a weak person not fit for office. The picture of the young man throwing his vote away also is meant to plant the image that the people who vote for minor parties are young and dumb.

Minor parties are also at a disadvantage due to the use of pluratlity in or electoralcollege. This plurality means that you either get all of a state's electoral votes or none of them at all. This makes it next to impossible for any of the minor parties to get a foothold in our government by getting one of their candidates in office. The fact tat they can't get anyone in office actually makes it harder year after year for them to get votes and many people who agree with the party's platform will vote for a Republican or Democrat instead because they minor party's candidate doesn't have a chance to win. The fact that run-offs are not common also hurt the minor party's because they are usually competing against more then one other opponent and there is even less focus on them which means it is harder to get their messages out to the public and or often even left out of Presidential debates.

All of the minor parties that have existed in American politics have had some form of influence on the way our elections turned out and thus the direction our nation was to go. The splinter minority groups have had the most profound impact on the other parties making the republicans and democrats reasses their ideas and and the issues surrounding the nation. These minor splinter groups pull voters away from the party in which they split from and can give the other main group an advantage in the polls. The besat example of this was when Theodore Roosevelt ran for the Bull Moose Progressive party when the republicans would not give him their nomination. This ended up taking enough votes away from William Taft and the Republican party to cause the democratic nominee Woodrow Wilson to become the new president.

Even though it may be a long time until we see a third party candidate become president they still play a very important role in who becomes president and also what direction our nation is going to go next.

[the_kid]

For the last deacade the United States congress has had to deal with the issue of reforming campaign finance. Two of these reforms are elmininating soft money and limiting indepentent expenditures.

The 1st of these reforms is eliminating "soft money" which is when donations are given to a politcal party and then passed along to one of its candidates. The amount of money donated this way is not limited and has been seen as a loophole which has been used to avoid the limitations put on donations to the candidates themselves. With this reform donating money to political parties which therefore pass it on to the candidate would be eliminated or at least restricted.

The proponents of this reform feel that by eliminating soft money you will also eliminate the policy of "monied voices drowning out the voice of average Americans". On the contrary the opponents of this reform feel that it will hurt the candidates ability to be heard and get their message spread and therefore would only cause the voters to have less information about the issues because the candidate did not have enough money to allow his ideas to reach everyone in all parts of the country.

The other issue that may receive reform is independent expenditures which are when businesses or other interest groups donate money to a candidate. Even though the supreme court ruled that direct corporate expenditures can be limited by the federal and state governments most busines and other groups still can make these independent expenditures and advertise political positions instead of candidates.

The proponents of this reform feel the need to stop the practice of large donations to candidates that are veiled as independent and supposedly not associated with the candidate in any way. Once again these those in favor of the reform claim that the interest groups are using the claim of freedom of speech so that they can continue influencing the candidates and they want this practice to stop.

The opponents on the other hand feel that by llimiting these expenditures you will go against the 1st amendment which in their minds gives them the right to advertise on issues that are important to a particular party or candidate.

[the_kid]

Today in the U.S. in order to get laws passed you need support and if a party has a larger number of members in the congress it is likely that they will get their way most of the time. This can be seen if you look through the history books and is because of a few key reasons. The reasons include the "you vote with me and I'll vote with you" system known as logrolling and the party representation on the committees.

It seems as though whether or not laws get passed is based on how nimble the members in congress can be and how well they can receive the support of others even if not based on political beliefs alone. To get their way in congress many members make aliances in which one decides to side with another on certain topics and in return he will get the others support as well. This is known as logrolling and is a technique used by the members of our congress to influence a vote so that certain laws get passed or blocked.

What party makes up the majority of a committee also plays a very important role in what decisions are made in congress. For example if you have the Democrats making up most of the Armed services committee you would be more likely to see them reduce funding in defense whereas the Republicans would most likely increase defense spending or let it remain at its current rate. The committees in congrees hold a great deal of power and when a specific party owns most of the committee seats you can expect to see their ideas expressed in the laws that are passed.

[the_kid]

The most powerful member of the House of representatives has to be the Speaker of the House which for the past 200 years has been the Majority party's leader. The party in which the speaker belongs has a big advantage when it comes to deciding the agenda, motions, and laws which congress receives. Either the speaker or majority leader can make it to where certain issues never reach the house floor and thus can not be passed just as Tom Delay did during the time when he was majority leader.

The time that a politician has been a member of the House or Senate also plays a big role in what happens in congress. This is especially true in the Senate because the leadership of committees is based off how long he/she has been a member. It could be reasoned that because the committees are for the most part driven by the older members of congress that it may be less likely for drastic changes to take place because it is unlikely that the committee chairs and other members would have different views about issues then they had in the past and thus the ideas of the younger members may be muffled slightly.

The way in which our government works is composed of many things such as logrolling and party representation and I see no reason why this would change in the years to come. Hopefully our representatives will listen to the public and not let these issues engulf them and thier political beliefs.

[esalazar]

I think this is pretty much the best thread ever. Oh, the wonders of technology.



The BAR was the best thread ever!!!!!!!!hands down..
good work , Matt..

[the_kid]

Because our founding fathers set up the system of checks and balances the President must go through congress in order to have something done. One of this things is the appointment of certain federal positions such as cabinet members, supreme court judges, and agency heads. It can sometimes take a lot of effort from the president if he wants congress to approve the person he nominated for a job especially if congress is controlled by the opposing party.

When the need for the president to appoint a federal position arrives he will try to pick someone who is well qualified for the position. This is not enough however because the person he selects must be approved by congress before assuming the position. Gaining approval however can be tough especially when the nominee must pass through a congress controlled by the president's opposition party.

Another problem this can cause for the president is making him steril as a president because he cannot get the people he wants into certain positions. Thus the department may go in a different direction then the President had hoped and this can give him a black eye in the public's view because they feel he has made poor decisions in his appointments when in fact the positions may have been filled by someone other than his "choice" nominee.

[the_kid]

The president can try to over come these problems however because he has the power to fire any official who was approved by the Senate. This however only acts as a way to monitor how an official act in office and is not as fulfilling to a president as getting his own picks into office. Even so this is one way the president can react when congress dissaproves of the presiden'ts nominee and he has to appoint another who turns out to be unsatisfactory once in office.

The President can also try to overcome these problems by persuading the congress to accept his views. The most common time for the president to express these views is during his State of the Union message. He can then convey his thoughts to members of congress such as the Majority and Minority floor leaders in the Senate and the Speaker of the House, Majority, and Minority leaders in the House. If he can get them to agree that the person he has selected is the right person for the job his nominee wil most likely be approved for the position.

The way in which our Government is set up keeps the president from being able to appoint anyone he wants for a position because they must be approved by the congress first. This can be a good control or can also hinder the presidents ability to get the people he feels are most qualified into office. The president does have the right to fire anyone that the Senate approved however so even if he doesn't get his first candidate approved he can still have some control over the actions of the person who is appointed.

[the_kid]

I think this is pretty much the best thread ever. Oh, the wonders of technology.



The BAR was the best thread ever!!!!!!!!hands down..
good work , Matt..



Agreed! This one sucks because I have to write all this BS :D

[esalazar]

I think this is pretty much the best thread ever. Oh, the wonders of technology.



The BAR was the best thread ever!!!!!!!!hands down..
good work , Matt..



Agreed! This one sucks because I have to write all this BS :D



I actually find what you write interesting. I have read most of it. Keep it up amigo!! ;)

[the_kid]

The United States government is a perfect example of an intricate bureaucracy. Most if not all issues in our government are put into the hands of the "Iron Triangle" or the alliance between legislatures in congress, bureaucrats, and interests groups in order to affect policies in favor of the Iron Triangle. Within our large national bureaucracy lies many smaller bureaucracies that operate based on many various network models.

The way the Iron Triangle works seems simple at first but when you look deeper it becomes much more complicated. The way in which the Iron Triangle works can be seen when a specific department in government is working to establish policies that benefit them and they can do this because they have a large number of people associated with them including employees, contractors, and interest groups. This is used to influence the legislatures' into voting with the department's policy so that they can retain possible voters and support.

There are many different ways a bureaucracy can be operated. some examples of these ways include; the Weberian, Acquisitive, Monopolistic, and Garbage Can models. In a Weberian bureaucracy the power flows from the top to the bottom with the decision making shaped by technical rule that encourage similar decisions in similar situations. The Acquisitive model promotes the expansion of bureaucracies in size, power, budget, and the number of staff. A monopolistic bureaucracy has no competitors and thus lacks in efficiency and also reduces the costs of all their activities. A garbage can bureaucracy usually takes action without much thought or foresight and is very loosely organized compared to the other types.

Once again the intricate bureaucracies located within our government just show the complexity withing the workings of our government and prove to be another obstacle in the way of fully understanding our government.

[the_kid]

The Judicial branch is most likely the branch of government in which people no the least about. The Supreme court holds a very large amount of power and can affect many things that our government and many other bureaucracies can do. The supreme court has the power to find certain actions unconstitutional, rule in favor of people opposing the bureaucracy, and also enforce and rule in favor of laws deemed constitutional.

The supreme court will only allow cases into court if they meet certain specifications such as cases that have gone passed the appeals court and were then sent to the supreme court. The supreme court will send cases back that were sent to them for minor complications such as jury representation. Once a case is accepted into court and ruled upon that ruling is final and cannot be appealed.

The supreme court can decide upon a law or act in many different ways. These includes ruling a something unconstitutional, sending a case back to the lower courts, sending a law back to congress for revision, or rule in a way that changes our government's policies. If the court interprets a law in a way in which it is unconstitutional it will either be revoked or at a minimum revised so that it can conform to the constitution. The supreme court can also send a case back to the lower courts if the supreme court feels they can rule on it.

The Judicial branch of our government does not seem to get the acknowledgement for what it does but instead seems to be hidden behind the executive and legislative branches. The supreme court is responsible for maintaining the constitutionality of our government as well as protecting its citizens by passing laws to prevent harm.

[LouMoreno]

The Judicial branch is most likely the branch of government in which people <font color="red"> KNOW </font> the least about.



I checked the first sentence. Someone else do the rest.

[the_kid]

Thats why i speel sheck when i gat to scool. :D

[LouMoreno]

School shootings are bad.
Leave the gat at home.

[the_kid]

Since the 1st meeting of congress our government has had the burden of regulating national expenditures in a way that will help keep our economy growing. Over the years our government has implemented different techniques including fiscal and monetary policies.

Fiscal policy is the a method in which the government changes spending and taxes in order to alter the economy. The changes in spending are meant to change the rate of inflation, rate of unemployment, interest rates, and economic growth. Fiscal policy was first implemented in the 1930's during the Great Depression when Franklin D Roosevelt put his New Deal into order. Roosevelt lowered taxes and put new government programs into place which began to stablize the economy. However, it was WWII that eventually pulled America out of the depression.

Monetary policy is used by the government by controling the amount of money in circulation. The idea is that when the economy goes into recession the government can increase circulation thus passing more money around. The same holds true if inflation starts to get out of control as the federal reserve will reduce circulation in hopes of bringing prices back down. Monetary policy was responsible for the reduction of inflation that we saw in the late 90's as well as the low unemployment rate at this time.

These policies have both been proven to be effective at times and becuase of them the United States has a very strong economy but inflation is still growing and unemployment is not at zero so there still are improvements that can be made.

[the_kid]

Today foreign affairs seem to be the most important issue facing America. The region of the world that has received nearly all the attention is the middle east where our government is trying to get a pro-american government setup in Iraq. Our nation also has a hand in many other foreign countries supplying food and economic aid.

The policy currently in Iraq is to get the new goevernment up an running to where it can support itself and then start removing troops. This has proved to be tough however as getting the Iraqi government to a point where it is self sufficient has taken longer than expected and therefore the troops have not been removed as of yet. Another issue that the nation has to deal with is North Korea's nuclear technologies as well as Iran's ambition to obtain nuclear energy.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il has admitted to his country having developed nuclear technology and so far has not been very cooporative in talks with other countries looking to lessen the chance of Korea launching nuclear weapons on them. Iran's leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has also openly stated its interest in developing nuclear energy. When this was opposed by many other countries he challenged them basically saying that they would go about it no matter what anyone had to say. The President has also been supporting UN sanctions on Iran in hopes that this will cause them to cease their nuclear developement and associate in a more sensible way with other countries. The worst fear of the US is that Iran would get its hands on nuclear weapons and use them on either Israel or even America.

Our government seems to have these issues very high up on its priority list and want to resolve them before anything can get out of hand. The policies we see overseas may change for the better or worse very soon when the new House and Senate meet in 07'.

[the_kid]

Ok this is for some school profile/scholarship thing.


After I graduate I plan on attending the University of Texas majoring in either aerospace engineering or architecture. I plan on receiving a Bachelors or possibly a Masters degree while I am at UT. If I receive a degree in architecture I will most likely have a position working for a firm owned by one of my close friends and designing structures and landscapes in the Houston area. If I receive a degree in Aerospace engineering I may be interested in taking my skills into the millitary or to a airplane manufacturer such as Lockeed.

[tbender]

Ok this is for some school profile/scholarship thing.


After I graduate I plan on attending the University of Texas majoring in either aerospace engineering or architecture. I plan on receiving a Bachelors or possibly a Masters degree while I am at UT. If I receive a degree in architecture I will most likely have a position working for a firm owned by one of my close friends and designing structures and landscapes in the Houston area. If I receive a degree in Aerospace engineering I may be interested in taking my skills into the millitary or to a airplane manufacturer such as Lockeed.



That would be Lockheed.

Go with Architecture. That way you can repay G back for all those rides. :)

[the_kid]

Ok this is for some school profile/scholarship thing.


After I graduate I plan on attending the University of Texas majoring in either aerospace engineering or architecture. I plan on receiving a Bachelors or possibly a Masters degree while I am at UT. If I receive a degree in architecture I will most likely have a position working for a firm owned by one of my close friends and designing structures and landscapes in the Houston area. If I receive a degree in Aerospace engineering I may be interested in taking my skills into the millitary or to a airplane manufacturer such as Lockeed.



That would be Lockheed.

Go with Architecture. That way you can repay G back for all those rides. :)



Yeah I fixed that before I printed it out Tony.

[the_kid]

Ok I got my Sat score in today and I scored a 1270 on the Math/reading section of the test. That is good enough to get into the honor program at every Tx school but Rice I think so that is good. I am going to take it sometime soon again to see if I can get to a 1300.

BTW I also scored a 530 on the writing section which colleges don't even look at. I did pretty well on the essay as I scored a 10 on a 2-12 scale but I guess there was another part with it that I didn't do so hoTT on.

[esalazar]

good to hear, Matt!! Are you going to be living on campus at UT?

[the_kid]

Yeah. I am looking into USC too.

[tbender]

Yeah. I am looking into USC too.



Matt Hall, surfer dude.

[esalazar]

No Way, not USC!!!!!!! :p :p

[LouMoreno]

Matt, what are you gonna do if Discaliber doesn't renew as a PDGA affiliate? How are we going to read your essays?

[the_kid]

Matt, what are you gonna do if Discaliber doesn't renew as a PDGA affiliate? How are we going to read your essays?



Oh they will renew JUST to read my essays. :DOk I am going to right a college application essay on her later.

[the_kid]

Here's the prompt.



Personal interaction with objects, images and spaces can be so powerful as to change the way one thinks about particular issues or topics. For your intended area of study (architecture, art history, design, studio art, visual art studies/art education), describe an experience where instruction in that area or your personal interaction with an object, image or space effected this type of change in your thinking. What did you do to act upon your new thinking and what have you done to prepare yourself for further study in this area?

I decided to talk about my interest in classical and Roman architechture and engineering.


My drive to become an architech was not spurred by one moment in particular but instead over time through my love for history and respect for our ancestor's engineering and architectual skills. My good friend and architectural company owner was also a huge influence in my choice to become an architech as well as solidifying the University of Texas as my best college choice.

The Romans, Greeks, Ottomans, and other civilizations built numerous buildings and structures with designs and structural features that we still use today. The Romans created the vaulted ceiling as well as the domed roof which were at the time structural marvels and they are still considered to be some of the most efficient, artistic, and aesthetically appealing ways to design a building.

During my Freshman and Sophmore years in high school I was leaning becoming either a history or astronomy major and it wan't until I met my now close friend that I decided to go into architechture. He attended college at UTEP as an architech major and starting footbal player. A

[the_kid]

Here's the prompt.



Personal interaction with objects, images and spaces can be so powerful as to change the way one thinks about particular issues or topics. For your intended area of study (architecture, art history, design, studio art, visual art studies/art education), describe an experience where instruction in that area or your personal interaction with an object, image or space effected this type of change in your thinking. What did you do to act upon your new thinking and what have you done to prepare yourself for further study in this area?

I decided to talk about my interest in classical and Roman architechture and engineering.


My drive to become an architech was not spurred by one moment in particular but instead over time through my love for history and respect for our ancestor's engineering and architectual skills. My good friend and architectural company owner was also a huge influence in my choice to become an architech as well as solidifying the University of Texas as my best college choice.

The Romans, Greeks, Ottomans, and other civilizations built numerous buildings and structures with designs and structural features that we still use today. The Romans created the vaulted ceiling as well as the domed roof which were at the time structural marvels and they are still considered to be some of the most efficient, artistic, and aesthetically appealing ways to design a building.

During my Freshman and Sophmore years in high school I was leaning becoming either a history or astronomy major and it wan't until I met my now close friend that I decided to go into architechture. He attended college at UTEP as an architech major and starting footbal player. Afte

[the_kid]

For some reason it is cutting it off. :confused: I'll post the rest later :confused:

[the_kid]

During my Freshman and Sophmore years in high school I was leaning becoming either a history or astronomy major and it wan't until I met my now close friend that I decided to go into architechture. He attended college at UTEP as an architech major and starting footbal player. After graduating he was hired by an architecture firm and remained there until deciding to move to Houston to open up his own firm. He has talked to me about the benefits of attending UT and all the opportunities that it brings throughout the rest of you life. By doing this he has convinced me that attending the UT architecture school can only bring good things and it is something I full heartedly wish to do.

My Junior year I decided to take AP History partially because I love history as well as the fact that I know you need a good deal of knowledge in World and architechtural history to be an architech. I completed the course with good grades and topped it off with my main goal of passing the AP exam in hopes that it would prepare me for the work ahead in college.

This year I am doing the same in my physics class and hopefully this will better prepare me for the next step in my education.

[gotcha]

During my Freshman and Sophmore years in high school I was leaning becoming either a history or astronomy major



Astronomy, eh? Back in the early 90's, I was an active member of the Ft. Worth Amateur Astronomical Society. I'm ashamed to admit it, but as of lately, my telescope has been collecting dust rather than photons. How did you become interested in that particular field of science?

[the_kid]

As I was growing up things always came easy to me and I never really had to work hard to achieve anything. Most people think that is a blessing but in fact it can be a curse because you will not always to go through life in that way because you will most likely fail when it matters most. This changed however when I picked up what began as a hobby and then became a passion.
7 years ago when I was visiting my father I noticed some strange looking baskets in the park behind my Dad's house. That day there was a festival at the park and I realized that people were throwing frisbees into the contraptions. I ran home and grabbed my frisbee and decided to try it out. I was horrible and had no clue what I was doing but I had a blast and decided to try it out again the next day. My dad and I went out to the park the next day and met a man who was playing as well and he told us that the game was called Disc Golf and that they had special discs designed especially for the game and that we could buy some at academy. With that my dad and I hopped in the truck and took off to purchase some of these "discs". We came out of academy with 5 each and my dad had spent $65 but that was the best $65 he ever spent because it set us up for the game we would come to love.
The 1st few months we played casually and a few of the local courses but never really took it seriously until we were told that there was a league starting up and anyone could play. We entered the league and as soon as we did the game became a sport and all the experienced players offered us tips and anything else they could do to make us have a better time. I still wasn't very good and came in dead last out of 50 people but I had a great time and wanted to at least beat someone the next time. Well I did beat someone the next time and my dad and I finally decided that it was time to try out a tournament and see what it was like.

[the_kid]

My 1st event was the TX State Disc golf championships and I won the Jrs division by 44 strokes! After that there was no turning back and I was hooked. We continued to play in events and I moved through the ranks from Novice division to Intermediate and eventually Advanced. In 2004 we took a trip to compete in the Amatuer World Championships held in Des Moines Iowa. I entered the Jr <16 division and battled hard eventually besting all 32 other players in the divison and bringing the title back to Houston.
This event is what changed the way I viewed the way I went about thing because even though I won I had not really put a tremendous amount of effort into becoming the best that I could have been and everyone told me that I wouldn't be able to win the Advanced title in 05'. What they said inspired me to train so that I could win the World title in the top amatuer division the next year. Beginning the next day I trained for two hours a day no matter what they weather was like practicing my driving, putting, approaching, and even my mental game.

[the_kid]

When the next season began I went in feeling confident but had no idea how sucessful I would end up being. I won my 1st event ten my 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and eventually ended up breaking the longest win streak tacking together 11 wins before finally finishing outside of the winners circle. I was not discouraged however and continued to work hard and won my next 3 events leading up to the World Championships. I made the Trip to Flagstaff Arizona feeling good about my chances but knowing that I would have to play my best to win and reach my ultimate goal. I played well all week staying on the leader card and even tying for the lead but I eventually dropped back to finish in 2nd place. Even though I came up short I couldn't be happier because I knew that the best player won and it could not have gone to a better guy. I also knew that when I went back home that everyone would be proud of me even though didn't win because they knew I gave it my best shot.
It seems strange that a game would be the thing to change the way in which I work towards my goals but I have carried my drive to do better from disc golf into the classroom and I always strive to do the best I can do even if that means working for it.

[my_hero]

How did i overlook this thread? I'd give you an A. :D

[the_kid]

A.E. Housman was considered by many to be the greatest living English poet of his time and yet he went against the poetic norm. Housman's poems were unintellectual and blunt yet their message to the reader in only a way he could. This blunt nut meaningful style can be seen within all his poems and in a way his style makes him to be an "anti-poet".

Housman acquired his unique style through a very tough childhood in which he lost his mother at 12 and never was close to his father and thus went through a very lonely adolescence. During his youth he came to appreciate nature and all aspects of the outdoors as well as his British heritage. This led to his writting of "simple poems that celebrate the virtues of the British soldier and country people, and the beauties of nature,but are overshadowed by thoughts of the shortness of life, lost youth, and above all of death" (Chalton 56).

Housman's career in poetry started very early in his life when he won a scholarship to the Bromsgrove school and went on to win poetry contests with his writtings of "The Death of Sacrates" and "St. Paul on Mars Hill" (Goodman 14). His fascination with death in his poetry was show in these two poems and what makes this even more incredible is that he was only eleven when he wrote these poems.
After his mother's death when he was twelve he abandoned christianity and converted to deism(Goodman 14). This was a huge change in his life because before her death he was an avid christian and even taught he younger siblings in bible study. He also taught them astronomy as well as poetry and the subject of thier 1st poem was death (goodman 14). On top of that he was pushed even farther into seclusion while in school after being taunted in school and being called "mouse" and "stinky"(Goodman).
He was a perfectionist and thus was very hard on himself and his works. He wrote home from College stating that the Latin spoken at the enrollment ceromony didn't meet his standards and even chose to drop a class on his 1st day do to his professor's lack of attention to detail (Goodman). Housman showed his lighter side in the articles he wrote for the College magazine he founded called "Ye Round Table". This went against his dark and secluded life that preceeded his college entry and helped to grow his literary articulation and manipulation.
Housman entered St. John's college with superb entry exam scores but failed to pass his final exams. There are many possible reasons for this including his father having a stroke but most critics agree that his failure in college was the foundation on which he wrote his famous poem "when I was one-and-twenty" (Goodman).
Housman eventually received his degree from Oxford and taught at the Bromsgrove school which he had attended as a teenager. He moved on to become a Professor of Latin an University college in London (Goodman). After moving to Cambridge and while teaching at Cambridge University Housman wrote his most famous compilation of writings which he titled "A Shropshire Lad". This book was turned down by many publishing companies and Housman finally decided to pay the publishing costs himself. some of his most famous poems were written in this book such as "When I was one-and-twenty" and "To an athlete dying young". This book can be seen as a look into his life and the experiences he had as a young man growing up in a cruel and unforgiving world. He once again showed his fascination of death in the following lines from "An athlete dying young";

"And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears"

His book was not a bestseller by any means when it was released in 1896 but by 1922 he had one of the largest language audiences of any poet (Goodman). "To an Athlete Dying young" was one of his most popular and influencial poems.



"The poemholds a tension-inherent in many of Housman's poems-between the conceptof worldly life being a place where vibrancy exists, especially in youth, and the idea that it might be better off to die at the peak of life rather than grow old and exist when one's achievements or honors will not be remembered." (Napierkowski)


Housman also withheld the fact that he was Homosexual throughout his life due to the fear of being arrested and this was not uncovered until after his death when writtings about his former roomate and possible lover were found.

A.E. Housman is a prime example of how the occurances earlier in a poets life effects the way in which they write.
The taunting he received as a child, loneliness while he was growing up, and even more so the death of his mother was responsible for his dark yet meaningful poems that he wrote. These poems did however send the reader a message that you should enjoy life especially while still young because you only have one life to live and tomorrow is never gaurunteed.

[the_kid]

A.E. Housman

A.E. Housman was considered by many to be the greatest living English poet of his time and yet he went against the poetic norm. Housman's poems were unintellectual and blunt yet their message to the reader in only a way he could. This blunt nut meaningful style can be seen within all his poems and in a way his style makes him to be an "anti-poet".
Housman acquired his unique style through a very tough childhood in which he lost his mother at 12 and never was close to his father and thus went through a very lonely adolescence. During his youth he came to appreciate nature and all aspects of the outdoors as well as his British heritage. This led to his writing of "simple poems that celebrate the virtues of the British soldier and country people, and the beauties of nature, but are overshadowed by thoughts of the shortness of life, lost youth, and above all of death" (Chalton 56).
Housman's career in poetry started very early in his life when he won a scholarship to the Bromsgrove school and went on to win poetry contests with his writings of "The Death of Socrates" and "St. Paul on Mars Hill" (Goodman 14). His fascination with death in his poetry was show in these two poems and what makes this even more incredible is that he was only eleven when he wrote these poems.
After his mother's death when he was twelve he abandoned Christianity and converted to deism (Goodman 14). This was a huge change in his life because before her death he was an avid Christian and even taught his younger siblings in bible study. He also taught them astronomy as well as poetry and the subject of their 1st poem was death (Goodman 14). On top of that he was pushed even farther into seclusion while in school after being taunted in school and being called "mouse" and "stinky"(Goodman).
He was a perfectionist and thus was very hard on himself and his works. He wrote home from College stating that the Latin spoken at the enrollment ceremony didn't meet his standards and even chose to drop a class on his 1st day do to his professor's lack of attention to detail (Goodman). Housman showed his lighter side in the articles he wrote for the College magazine he founded called "Ye Round Table". This went against his dark and secluded life that preceded his college entry and helped to grow his literary articulation and manipulation.
Houseman entered St. John's College with superb entry exam scores but failed to pass his final exams. There are many possible reasons for this including his father having a stroke but most critics agree that his failure in college was the foundation on which he wrote his famous poem "when I was one-and-twenty" (Goodman).
Houseman eventually received his degree from Oxford and taught at the Bromsgrove School which he had attended as a teenager. He moved on to become a Professor of Latin at University College in London (Goodman). After moving to Cambridge and while teaching at Cambridge University Housman wrote his most famous compilation of writings which he titled "A Shropshire Lad". This book was turned down by many publishing companies and Housman finally decided to pay the publishing costs himself. Some of his most famous poems were written in this book such as "When I was one-and-twenty" and "To an athlete dying young". This book can be seen as a look into his life and the experiences he had as a young man growing up in a cruel and unforgiving world. He once again showed his fascination of death in the following lines from "An athlete dying young";

"And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears"

His book was not a bestseller by any means when it was released in 1896 but by 1922 he had one of the largest language audiences of any poet (Goodman). "To an Athlete Dying young" was one of his most popular and influential poems.

"The poem holds a tension-inherent in many of Housman's poems-between the
concept of worldly life being a place where vibrancy exists, especially in youth, and the idea that it might be better off to die at the peak of life rather than grow old and exist when one's achievements or honors will not be remembered." (Napierkowski)

Housman also withheld the fact that he was Homosexual throughout his life due to the fear of being arrested and this was not uncovered until after his death when writings about his former roommate and possible lover were found.
A.E. Housman is a prime example of how the occurrences earlier in a poet’s life affect the way in which they write. The taunting he received as a child, loneliness while he was growing up, and even more so the death of his mother was responsible for his dark yet meaningful poems that he wrote. These poems did however send the reader a message that you should enjoy life especially while still young because you only have one life to live and tomorrow is never guaranteed.

This is the edited version.

[LouMoreno]

This blunt nut ...


Love it. That should be your message board user name. /msgboard/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

[the_kid]

Ok I was picked to be the rotary student of the month so I get a scholarship and have to go to a lunch thing tomorrow. Anyway I have to write about myself so this is it.


I am a Senior at LHS and have lived in Livingston for the past 5 years. I have participated in many sports including basketball, baseball, and track as well at FFA and Student Council.

During my free time I like to play disc golf and get ready for my tournaments on the weekend. Most weekend is travel all around the state playing different events and in the summer I travel throughout the country.

I enjoy history as well as science and after graduating from High School I play to attend the Univesity of Texas in Austin and major in architecture as well as architectual history.

[esalazar]

Ok I was picked to be the rotary student of the month so I get a scholarship and have to go to a lunch thing tomorrow. Anyway I have to write about myself so this is it.


I am a Senior at LHS and have lived in Livingston for the past 5 years. I have participated in many sports including basketball, baseball, and track as well <font color="red"> at FFA</font> and Student Council.

During my free time I like to play disc golf and get ready for my tournaments on the weekend. Most weekend is travel all around the state playing different events and in the summer I travel throughout the country.

I enjoy history as well as science and after graduating from High School I play to attend the Univesity of Texas in Austin and major in architecture as well as architectual history.

[the_kid]

Matt Hall

Questions about the Cafeteria food.

Last Thursday I was just finishing up a project at 8:45 and as I was walking from the Architecture building to the Towers all I could think about was getting my 1st meal of the day. As I walked in I swiped my card and went in to grab some food. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was, well, nothing. There was absolutely no food out and the only thing that you could get was a burger if you waited in line while they were made. I grabbed a burger and a drink and after sitting down I started to question what I was getting.

1.How healthy is the stuff we are eating? How do students go about finding this out?

2.Why isn't there any sort of variety of food after 8:00 when the cafeteria doesn't close until 10:00?

3. The food they do have isn't ever made. Why is this?

4. Why are the tables always left dirty?

[the_kid]

Matt Hall

Believing and doubting that grades are an effective means of motivating students to do their best.

Believe
From many experiences throughout school I feel that grades are great motivation for many people. The system is set up in a way that it creates competition between the students and causes many of them to try even harder to do better on their next test so that they can get an "A" for the grading period. Grades can also show students what they need to work on as well as what they understand and this allows them to study their weak points before the test. The way that grades encourage students to do better is not always positive and sometimes a student will work hard to get a certain grade so that they can dodge the consequences that would come if they do not do so. There are many other ways that grades encourage students to try harder and to do better but they are just a way of showing a student where they are and what is needed to get where they want. After that it is up to the student to do what they need to do.

Disbelieve
There have been times when I have seen people get so down on themselves when they see their grade in a class that they let it hurt themselves even more. If they are barely passing a class and get a low test score they lose all confidence in their work and make even more mistakes. I have even experienced this when I would turn in an assignment and be confident that I did everything right. After getting it back and seeing a bad grade I would feel like I had worked for nothing and that I may not be able to understand a concept in time for the test. There are also the type of people who are content with just getting by and use the grading system to do just that and nothing more. These people may see that they can do bad on a paper and still pass and that is their excuse to do so. So in a way grades can have a negative effect on how well a student works and the confidence they have in the work they do.

[esalazar]

Matt Hall

Questions about the Cafeteria food.

Last Thursday I was just finishing up a project at 8:45 and as I was walking from the Architecture building to the Towers all I could think about was getting my 1st meal of the day. As I walked in I swiped my card and went in to grab some food. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was, well, nothing. There was absolutely no food out and the only thing that you could get was a burger if you waited in line while they were made. I grabbed a burger and a drink and after sitting down I started to question what I was getting.

1.How healthy is the stuff we are eating? How do students go about finding this out?

2.Why isn't there any sort of variety of food after 8:00 when the cafeteria doesn't close until 10:00?

3. The food they do have isn't ever made. Why is this?

4. Why are the tables always left dirty?



WE have good food @UT :p

[LouMoreno]

... and hotter co-eds.

[the_kid]

... and hotter co-eds.



There are plenty here.

[the_kid]

Matt Hall

Believing or doubting flight or invisibility

Believes flight is better
Flight is better than invisibility because you can get to where you want faster and you get to see some cool views when you are flying. When you are invisible you can sneak into places but that is a little shady and you shouldn't be snooping around. Unlike that flying is cool and people like to see it and see what you can do unlike being invisible because you can't see anything. If someone is able to fly they will inhierently be good and sports because they can get an extra push. You would also be great at the pole vault and high jump whereas the invisible guy will only be good at hide 'n seek. Being able to fly would also be more economical because there would be no need to have gas. The only way the invisible guy gets a free ride is if he sneaks in to someone elses car which I'm pretty sure is illegal. If you are able to fly you won't have to worry about death due to a high fall off a cliff.

Disbelieves that flying is better than invisibilty

Invisibility is much better than invisibility mainly because you can save a lot of money at sporting events. I mean you can watch the Superbowl sitting on the sidelines or sit on the field at baseball games. The same can be said for concerts where you could go backstage at anytime and then turn visible and meet the band. Being invisible doesn't mess your hair up like flying and that is always a good thing. If you were invisible what you wore wouldn't matter. It is really cold when you are flying but nice and warm when invisible. It is easy to get into clubs free when you are invisible as well as any other place that requires admission. When invisible practical jokes become much easier. The best thing about being invisible is that you wouldn't have to deal with other people's crap.

[esalazar]

... and hotter co-eds.


no doubt!! and this year is exeptionally good. ;)

[james_mccaine]

What is this? i can't beleive I've been in this building for five years now and never opened this door. Matt's school report? Is Matt a squatter staking claim to this club's space?

I read the early twentieth century piece to start the thread, a lot of which I had learned before, but this I never knew:


Believes flight is better
Flight is better than invisibility because you can get to where you want faster and you get to see some cool views when you are flying. When you are invisible you can sneak into places but that is a little shady and you shouldn't be snooping around. Unlike that flying is cool and people like to see it and see what you can do unlike being invisible because you can't see anything. If someone is able to fly they will inhierently be good and sports because they can get an extra push. You would also be great at the pole vault and high jump whereas the invisible guy will only be good at hide 'n seek. Being able to fly would also be more economical because there would be no need to have gas. The only way the invisible guy gets a free ride is if he sneaks in to someone elses car which I'm pretty sure is illegal. If you are able to fly you won't have to worry about death due to a high fall off a cliff.

Disbelieves that flying is better than invisibilty

Invisibility is much better than invisibility mainly because you can save a lot of money at sporting events. I mean you can watch the Superbowl sitting on the sidelines or sit on the field at baseball games. The same can be said for concerts where you could go backstage at anytime and then turn visible and meet the band. Being invisible doesn't mess your hair up like flying and that is always a good thing. If you were invisible what you wore wouldn't matter. It is really cold when you are flying but nice and warm when invisible. It is easy to get into clubs free when you are invisible as well as any other place that requires admission. When invisible practical jokes become much easier. The best thing about being invisible is that you wouldn't have to deal with other people's crap.



Matt rules!!!!

[esalazar]

hola senor Legend! welcome to the discaliber forum. there are some really nice pics in here as well.. ;)

[LouMoreno]

James, you would've loved "The Bar." Good times!
Thanks for the memories, Gainesville.

[esalazar]

James, you would've loved "The Bar." Good times!
Thanks for the memories, Gainesville.


most def some fond memories.. hey lou do you remember the VB (http://www.beer.com/beer.com-Content_C-section_id-1126642898596_vb.html) ..killed several days of progress at work for me.. :D http://www.beer.com/assets/images/virtualbartender/vb2_th.jpg :D:D

[LouMoreno]

How could I forget...

sing
maid
benny
fight
psycho
gun
jedi
pretend
guitar
strip
banana
cherry
frank
blackjack
poker
chicken
barbie
breast compare
breast show
rub
strip
breast
beer
nipple
fire
light
butt
wild
pitcher
salute
magic
kiss
kiss
jump
bend
can
dance?

[the_kid]

Trip’n the U.S 07’


This past summer represented not only the most enjoyable time I have ever had but also the time in which I started to support myself and prepare for life away from home. I experienced some pretty crazy things while on the road and picked up on a couple of things that I have brought to college with me.
After a very long night of festive activities following graduation I had to wake up and board a flight headed to Minneapolis to begin my summer Disc Golf trek. It was 7:30 in the morning and the traffic was horrible on the way to Houston and I didn’t arrive at the airport until 9. I made past checking, all the way up to security, and up to the X-ray Machine when it decided to stop working. After this happened the security screeners stood around for a good 15 minutes tinkering with the machine to try to get it to work. They were unsuccessful how ever and instead had to thumb through everyone’s bags by hand.. I showed up to my gate just as the plane was starting to board so I stood in line, flashed my boarding pass, and made my way to seat 12C. The plane connected in Atlanta so I decided to grab some lunch before the next flight left. When the plane touched down in Minneapolis I called my buddies Nikko and Devon “The Dude”. I hurried up and picked up my bags and made my way to the exit to be picked up myself. I waited outside for about 20 minutes before I gave them a call to see where they were but both of their phones went directly to voicemail. With that I called a few other guys to see if they had seen Nikko and “The dude” without too much success and I ended up sitting there for another hour before they finally showed up. The thing is that Minneapolis has like 4 airports and they never really knew which one I was at so they ended up going to 3 of them before they got it right. These two idiots also had let their phones die so that they couldn’t even give me a call or even receive one to find out where exactly I was.. When they arrived I squeezed my luggage into the back of Devon’s car and we made our way to the place where we were spending the weekend. We stayed at one of our sponsored players brother’s house that weekend and it was a pretty tight fit. There were 6 guys in his little one bedroom apartment all sharing the same bathroom so it wasn’t the most luxurious place in the world but it was something even better and that was free.
The next day we woke up at six in the AM, grabbed our gear, and headed for the course. Nikko and I headed off to play a few holes to get warmed up and to just get a feel for how the holes were playing. At 8:30 the player’s meeting began and we all headed up to the lodge where the tournament director laid out all of the course rules and event info. The first round began at 9:15 and I was on a pretty good card, playing with two guys that were top 20 in the world. One of those guys started off the round on a tear with birdies on 5 of the first six holes and finished the round with a pretty solid score of ten under par. The co-leaders Nikko and Matt-O both shot –13 and I was stuck with a not so great score of –5, 8 strokes back. Lunch consisted of a whole lot of pizza and as we ate we all watched as the clouds began to roll in letting us all know that the weather and the tournament were both about to get pretty sloppy in the second round. The clouds weren’t lying and right as the start signal was given the heavens opened up with a beatdown of hail and extremely cold rain. Play isn’t stopped when we play unless there is lightning so we were forced to begin our round. I threw a pretty bad drive on that first hole that put me in a fairly tough spot but with the weather it was made even worse. Without taking up too much time I grabbed a disc and stepped up to my lie but when I went to throw I had

[the_kid]

some major slippage issues which caused my shot to hit the tree 5 feet in front of me and kick off of the fairway into the schule(basically crazy dense woods). After I threw we saw a bolt of lightning and the airhorn was blown giving the signal to bring it in back to the lodge. Play was suspended for about and hour which was just enough time to grab some cold pizza and relax a bit while the rain was passing through. When the round resumes I went back to my lie in the rough where I hacked my way to a triple bogey 6 on the par 3. The next three holes weren’t any better where I took a 5, missed a birdie putt, and then took a 4 taking me to 5-6 strokes behind everyone else on the card after only 4 holes. I guess something finally clicked because I tore the course up the rest of the round birdying 11 holes and scoring no extra bogeys to bring me to another –5 which was better than the 1st round due to the conditions and the fact that some holes had been extended. After the totals for day one were tallied I was sitting in a tie for 10th which was too bad for how I had played and the $600 paycheck that came with it didn’t seem too bad either.
Sunday marked the day of the final round which was to be 27 holes at the Highland Ski and Snowboard resort just outside Minneapolis in Bloomington. This course had kicked my [censored] the year before and this year I went in trying to return the favor. After taking a par on the first hole I started a pretty good birdie run getting the next 5 holes and it was then that I started to think about moving into the top 5. Those hopes were stopped short with a bogey on the next hole and from then on everything went way downhill and it seemed like that for every good shot I would throw there would be 5 bad ones as well as a little bad luck too. I stepped up to the final hole [censored] off that I had shot yet another horrible round on this god forsaken hill and all I wanted to do was get a 2 on the 770ft downhill 27th hole. There was quite a long wait on the tee which wasn’t too bad of a thing because it allowed all the players to take in the beautiful view of the Minneapolis area which could be seen from the top of the huge hill. After waiting for a very brief 20 minutes our card finally was ready to tee off and throw this hole that can be either very fun or a nightmare. The three guys ahead of me threw shots that were fairly safe but not the biggest crowd pleasers in the world. I decided that I was going to go for it and see what would happen so I stepped up and aggressively drove down the hillside and as I released the disc sailed down for what seemed like forever until finally landing about 20ft from the basket. With that the crowd lit up and that helped to calm my nerves a bit and after putting out for the 2 we added up the scores. I had shot the same exact score from the year before but this year it was worse because of how hot the round had started off and because I totally chocked giving up 9 spots to fall into 19th place as well as $400. When it was all said and done I received $200 which helped to pay for the weekend and then some but I was still feeling pretty [censored] that for the 2nd year in a row. I had choked.
The next morning we packed up and began our journey to Kansas City for the next stop on the National Tour. We stopped on the way in Iowa for a couple of days to visit a couple of buddies and to stay at Devon’s house so we wouldn’t have to hotel-it all week. The morning after we arrived in Iowa I noticed that my wallet wasn’t in my back pocket and my heart started to race. I jumped up and went through all of my bags with no luck and finally realized that I had lost it. Luckily I had my $200 check and there was only twenty bucks in the wallet but the thing that sucked was both my ID and ATM cards were gone. That’s when I had to make the uneasy phone call back to Texas telling my parents what had happened and getting them to send me my spares as soon as possible. I

[the_kid]

caught a lot of grief from them about being responsible and so on but after enduring that all was well.
We arrived in KC on Thursday and played a few practice rounds to prepare ourselves for the weekend along with just passing the time so that we didn’t have to stay at the hotel all day. Friday marked the 1st of 3 days in which the event would take place and I started out with a decent round of –4. The next round took place about 15 minutes away in another park and I played decent there as well shooting –2. After the 2nd round Nikko, Devon, and I decided to head back and rest up for the big Saturday round. The round on Saturday was at the fairly new Blue Valley Park which covers 15,000ft in total walking distance and with the hills this course can really test your endurance. Once again with what was becoming common I shot another decent round of 62 (-6 under par) but Steve Brinster took the lead with an awesome round and course record 57. After the round we headed to the player’s party where we ate some KC Bar-BQ and listened to the live band. Once things were staring to wind down we headed back to try and get another good nights sleep before the final round on Sunday. When we showed up to the course Sunday we were going to head off and play a few holes when Nikko started to freak out because he couldn’t find his disc golf bag. We came to find out that he had left it at the player’s party the night before but for that round he ended up using some spare discs and carrying them in a plastic CVS bag. The round didn’t go too well for Nikko but I continued my trend of decent rounds and finished in 9th place which payed out $420. Brinster had a rough round and fell into 2nd place behind the hard charging Kyle Crabtree who ended up taking the title, the cash, and his 1st National Tour win.
After the finally wound I split with Nikko and “The dude” and met up with one of my buddies from TX. We spent the night at a big hourse were many of the touring Pros were staying and enjoyed a pretty fun night of beer pong , food, and swimming. The next day Robbie and I began the trip back to Houston and I couldn’t wait to get back home.
While on my little disc golf adventure this summer I learned a few things that I have started to work on and since then I have always had my wallet on me, done my own laundry, and well basically taken care of myself because right after arriving in Houston I made my way to UH to start the fall Semester.

[esalazar]

next!! :D

[vinnie]

STAY OUT JAMES!
We don't need your kind round here

[LouMoreno]

V, every time you post, a donkey gets its wings.
http://www.images.generallyawesome2.com/photos/funny/photos/donkey-pulling-cart.jpg

[vinnie]

lol