What is the true meaning of CHRISTmas?!?!?

This cartoons shows how many people have forgotten what Christmas is really all about. It's not about the presents or the Christmas shopping. The true meaning of Christmas is Christ. The customer is carrying nearly as many presents as she can, while keeping her Visa readily available. When she reads the quote during the show "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", she just thinks that it is a good quote, but she does not see the meaning behind the quote. The quote may not be aiming its point at the birth of Christ, but the quote can be applied during the Christmas season.

There are two obvious visual aids within this cartoon. The shopkeeper is holding his hands together like people do to show the symbol for money. I believe this shows that he knows that the quote contradicts the idea of the customer, but he is willing to do whatever it takes to rake in the money. He is in a business that needs money and he sees an opportunity to earn a little dough. The other symbol in this cartoon is the woman in general. She has a grin on her face that makes Christmas shopping seem fun, when really, it is a stressful hassle. She also is holding many presents and is wearing a sweater with a reindeer on it, showing that she has "holiday spirit" when, truly, Christmas spirit should be focused around the birth of Christ.

"The Fifth Down"

Sean Taylor played the last down of his life eleven days ago. Unfortunately, his last down, was not one that was expected. He was shot when burglars entered his home, expecting him not to be there. I completely agree with the point that Jason Whitlock is trying to make. He claims that: “Black men are targets of black men. Period.” The statistics show that what he is saying is completely true. When you read his article, you might believe that he is being a tad bit racist, but when he is saying it, being a black man, it can only be regarded as the truth and the whole truth.

Jason Whitlock uses many parallelisms in his article. The one that stood out the most to me was the statement that he made about the fat man. "But it's no different than if you saw a fat man fall to the ground clutching his chest. You'd assume a heart attack, and you'd know, no matter the cause, the man needed to lose weight. Well, when shots are fired and a black man hits the pavement, there's every statistical reason to believe another black man pulled the trigger. That's not some negative, unfair stereotype. It's a reality we've been living with, tolerating and rationalizing for far too long." This parallels that when a fat man collapse, it is the automatic assumption that his heart that has failed. Just like when a black man is shot. It is safe to assume that it was another black man that shot him. It is a proven fact that fatter people are more prone to heart attacks than the average size person. Just like it is proven that black people are targets for other black people rather than Caucasian people.

School Dance Article

School Dance Article

Betsy Hart's article is talking about how teenage dances have been out of control in the past years. Teenagers are teenagers and they will do at dances what they want to do. Dancing has changed over the years from conservative to very outgoing. School dances are a place where teenagers get to be around their friends and should be able to dance how they want to a certain extent. The problem is that when teenagers are punished for the way they are dancing, they want to dance that way again even more. Modern dancing is considered sexual behavior when it is really just a way of having fun.

Betsy Hart uses many rhetorical questions in her article. She asks "If the '$400 dress girl' had been sexually assaulted in the parking lot after the festivities because the dance wasn't a 'dud,' would her mom be happy, or suing the school? " This question emphasizes her point because it points out occurrances that could happen due to the lack of control during the dances. She is trying to show that the outrageous behavior within the dances could lead to major problems outside of the dance.

Don Imus Article

Don Imus Article written by Laureen Stiller Rikleen

I completely agree with what Laureen Stiller Rikleen says in her article about Don Imus. What he said was completely wrong, but he did not make excuses for what he said and took the punishment that was given to him. Other people have made remarks that have been much worse than the comments that Imus has made.

The comment that stands out to me the most is Bill O'Reilly's comment. He suggested that African-Americans eating peacefully in a restaurant was an extraordinary event. To go unpunished for that comment, after Imus, who has been banned since April and was taken off the air immediately, is completely absurd. It was the correct thing to punish Imus for what he said, but to let others get away with stating comments that have almost the exact same intentions is completely hypocritical. What both men said were offensive and demoralizing to the opposite race. One man should not be able to get away with a completely inappropriate comment while another was banned from the radio for nearly eight months. Bill O'Reilly escaped his turmoil with little media coverage, but his comment brought up the issue, and all people unfairly turn to Imus when they heard of racial discrimination.

America supposedly has freedom of speech and the press, but yet one man is punished for what he says while another man who says nearly the same thing gets off spot-free. Yes, the comments made were outrageous and deserved punishment, but punishment can't be placed on one and not another. Hypocrisy is a wicked thing, and this example is a perfect showing of hypocrisy.