WOW!
We are living history tonight, boys and girls. As I said on Monday, no matter the outcome today, Wednesday will be very interesting.
It’s worth taking another look at John McCain’s concession speech and Barack Obama’s victory speech which I’ll embed here once the respective campaigns post them on their YouTube channels.
Making it Official
APELCers, although we’d know the “presumptive” candidates would be their respective parties’ nominees for many months, Barack Obama’s and John McCain’s nomination acceptance speeches at the conventions in Denver and St. Paul made their candidacies official.
I’ve posted an extra-credit opportunity for you on your class page in which I’ve asked you to analyze, and compare and contrast each candidate’s presentation. Here’s video of both for you to consider as you work out the optional assignment:
Barack Obama, Democratic National Convention Nomination Acceptance Speech, Denver, Colorado, August 28, 2008.
John McCain, Republican National Convention Nomination Acceptance Speech, St. Paul, Minnesota, September 5, 2008.
Tonight in Minnesota
John McCain’s running mate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will officially present herself to the American people shortly according to CNN’s countdown clock. Although, she’s not the first woman to run on a presidential ticket (Geraldine Ferraro ran as Democratic candidate Walter Mondale’s vice-presidential pick in 1984; they were demolished in an uprecedented 49 state win by Ronald Reagan and his vice-president Geroge HW Bush), Palin is part of a historic race that will either result in the first black American winning the White House or the election of America’s oldest president and the first female vice-executive under the oldest. I hope you’re watching.
Some interesting news has followed Palin’s candidacy, notably the Governor’s admission that her seventeen year old daughter is five months pregnant. The media storm that surrounded this admission’s been intense and has engendered much discussion particularly about the boundaries between the public and private lives of elected officials. Yesterday I heard this piece on NPR: “Social Conservatives’ Support For Palin Unwavering”. (Pay attention to Summer Vanderbilt’s comments about the “exciting party” full of “different turns” at the end of the piece.)
Is it possible to separate the public and private lives of our leaders? Of ourselves? If our private morals and belief govern our behavior and decisions, how can we leave these at home, so to speak, when we walk out our doors? What think you? Click “Leave a Comment” to share your thoughts.
Wondering about the history of the modern Republican-conservativism? Have a listen to this NPR piece which details the national rise of one of my heroes, Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater (whose autographed photo sits on the northwest bookshelf in T-12): “1964 Convention Established GOP As Conservative”.
Posturing and Rhetoric
I mentioned to third period APELCers today an analysis of the current diplomatic situation between the United States and its NATO allies and Russia over Poland’s agreement to host interceptor missiles batteries (ostensibly designed to deter attacks from Iran). (Here’s a link to Moscow News’ take on the situation. Interesting to note the difference in its presentation and its resulting ethical and pathetic affects.)
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (one of the best news and analysis programs in media) invited two experts to explicate and analyze unfolding drama between West and East: “U.S. Defense Deal With Poland Stirs Angry Russian Rhetoric”. I encourage you to listen to it attentively when you have some time; it is a fascinating and heated discussion in which you can easily distinguish levels of critical thinking and learn about the rhetorical interaction between NATO and Russia.
AP Language Class Notes
Objectives: APELCers 1) completed a practice timed-writing, and 2) evaluated their own and their peers’ timed-writing performance.
Period 2, today you wrote a practice timed-writing, a synthesis essay, which many of you found easier or at least better than timed-writings 6 and 7. You worked in groups and assessed your and your peers’ performance.
A couple of quick items on the importance of worldview. I hope you’re paying attention to the media coverage of our current presidential campaign, because worldview has taken center stage for two of the hopefuls.
Barack Obama has had to distance himself from Jeremiah Wright , his former pastor, for comments the latter’s made on a recent series of speaking engagements .
Meanwhile, John McCain has had to deal with the heat generated by the endorsement of Christian Zionist and Texas megaminster John Hagee , who himself has made controversial comments about Catholics and God’s supposed retribution on New Orleans .
Developing the skills to sort through these ideas and rheotric is essential for critical particiaption in the agora, students.
William F. Buckley
Guardian of American Conservatism and founder of the National Review, William F. Buckley, Jr. died last week at the age of 82. (He’s the author of the most recent piece you just read.) Buckely was an unusually keen observer, agile debater, prolific writer, and imaginative intellectual, but it’d be useless for me to write much else since others who knew the man and his work far more intimately than I have been offering their thoughts since the news of his passing.
National Review has begun an archive of appreciations on its founder, and other media have produced their own, NPR’s “Remembering William F. Buckley”, New York Times’ “The Mighty Political Legacy of William F. Buckley Jr.”, and Charlie Rose’s retrospective (below), among them.
Here’s a portion (check out all the segments) of the 1968 debate between Buckley and famed MIT linguist Noam Chomsky (whom he notoriously threatened, as he had once Gore Vidal, to sock in the face) over American intervention in Vietnam:
The videos are interesting, but it may lead you to wonder more about what I mentioned to you in class: “Why Did William F. Buckley Jr. Talk Like That?”
I’d encourage any student to sample his work from the National Review archive of his opinion and analysis. Observe closely his broad, deep, and lucid understanding and command of social, political, and cultural issues.
Linkjam!
Mostly for APELC students, here’re some links I mentioned to you which are germane to our recent activities.
After reading “On Compassion” by Barbara Ascher, I referenced “A Dollar a Day”, a recent, four-part BBC documentary. Worth listening to and wondering about when you plunk down $4.00 or more for a Starbuck’s macchiato.
Eric Wilson, author of Against Happiness: In Praise of Melancholy, was interviewed on NPR this week about engaging melancholy. Interesting listen in consideration of our late encounter with John Stuart Mill’s and his thoughts on happiness.
Finally, here’s an article from Newsweek, particularly noteworthy for Blaise and Eliza who’ve recently referenced the “safety” of one of Amsterdam’s most famous attractions for their argumentative papers in favor of legalized, regulated prostitution: “Turn Out the Red Light?” Seems like the fun’s over in that very special and unusually aromatic section of the city.
AP Language Class Notes
Objectives: APELC students argued and defended a position on a current issue.
Juniors and seniors, today you tackled the following article from The Daily Mail: “Britain kow tows to China as athletes are forced to sign no criticism contracts”. In a delicious twist, I asked you to defend China’s request of participating nations’ athletes, which I thought might be good practice, that is, you fighting for a controversial, perhaps unpopular position.
The discussions were interesting, but Shawn made an incisive point when he suggested that those athletes who felt strongly about the problem of China’s human rights violations should boycott the games altogether, forsaking their training for the sake of their oppressed fellows. How might Tommie Smith and John Carlos have acted differently?
I said I’d post some links to resources that might help background the issue for those interested, and a good place to start, I think, is with the visceral event from recent memory, the Tiananmen Square massacre of Chinese dissidents in 1989. Frontline highlighted the dissidents’ oppression, first with a focus on The Gate of Heavenly Piece, a vivid documentary film ten years hence, and then in an episode simply entitled “Tankman”, which uses one figure’s “lonely act of defiance” as a critical historical lens.
Be sure to examine Human Rights Watch page on the history of China’s human right abuses. It’s difficult, maybe, to wrap our minds around the fact that other people in other parts of the world don’t enjoy the same rights we are secured here, but because it’s difficult doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try or that we shouldn’t act.
Linkjam!
The primaries are in full swing. The race for the Democratic nomination is 243 delegate-strong Hillary Clinton or 158 delegate-holder Barack Obama’s for the taking. And it appears as if John McCain has edged out over his Republican competitors for the GOP nomination (with 97 delegates, currently), but Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney (29 and 74 delegates each, respectively) are still fighting. Super Tuesday is just a few days away though, and it’ll mean the end of the road for some, although the imperturbable Ron Paul (6 delegates) and the unflappable Mike Gravel are refusing to concede.
It’s unbelievably important that you’re paying attention to the rhetoric of the day, kids, and how the press is covering it all. For example, consider the analysis of New York mayor Michael Bloomberg’s curious evasions about a possibly running as a third-party candidate: “Nature Abhors a Vacuum, and Politics Abhors Clear Statements”. (For more on third-party possibilities, check out The Economist’s latest “Democracy in America” podcast.)
Evasion, chicanery, and scandal, though, isn’t new in American politics. If you interpreted Bob Roberts as an attack on Republican conservatism, understand that evasion, chicanery, and scandal are not the domain of any one single group or party as Shawn pointed out when he cited the Chappaquiddick incident involving Senator Ted Kennedy. Serendipitously, US News & World Report recently surveyed “Great Moments in Campaign History” that included many other noteworthy political and campaign missteps.
How do media manage, frame, and spin all the information streaming in, not only from all of the United States, but from around the world? Dig the recent BBC Documentary series “Making News”. (Discover more the implications of alternative media such as blogging and the role of the press in democracies in the documentary “Press for Freedom”, and go even deeper with FRONTLINE’s extended series, News War.)
For a break in the midst of all the press and politicking, have a look over at the PBS program NOW’s episode on the tradition of American political satire, and then head over to the The Borowitz Report for a laugh.
All this stumping, reporting, informing, judging, deciding, and fighting may seem a lot to keep track of, boys and girls, but some day soon it’ll all be yours to deal with. Be prepared. You can get a start at DeclareYourself.com or RocktheVote.org.
Top of the World
Sir Edmund Hillary, who, along with his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay, conquered Mt. Everest in 1953, has died at 88. Here’s a groovy 360 of Mt. Everest, which, at a staggering height of 29, 029 feet, is the highest point on our little planet earth.
Sir Edmund and Norgay were on top of the world when they reached the summit of the killer mountain. It was only a matter of time before the story of their pioneering experience was put to song.
Linkjam!
Charity and goodwill aren’t fixed to the holiday season. Here’re some items I found (some that go back to November that I just didn’t have time to post) that may provoke thought or even inspire action for the new year:
There’s the curious story from CNN I mentioned tp some of you before break that highlights an ironic coming-together of the word’s three great monotheistic faiths: “Muslim helps Jew attacked on New York suway”.
In effort to get technology into the hands of learners in underdeveloped nations, One Laptop per Child was highlighted on the NewsHour: “Laptops Offer High-tech Hope in Developing Countries”.
Of course, kids need to be healthy in body as well as mind, and you can help feed families and expand your vocabulary at the same time at FreeRice.com. (Kind of chintzy, but every little bit helps.) And Country Crock has partnered with America’s Second Harvest to help feed families right here in the States, but they need you to tell your story of sharing.
And still back at home, the Alliance to End Homelessness released a study claiming that our veterans make up one quater of the of America’s homeless. While this and other shames are perpetrated on our doorsteps, conditions are even worse in other parts of the world. Doctors Without Borders released it annual Top Ten Most Underreported Humanitarian stories of 2007, and NPR followed up with a piece on the same.
There’s plenty going on in the world boy and girls, but you’re not helpless when it comes to taking action by digging in and helping out.
See you soon.
Hey, Hey, My, My (Updated)
As I mentioned to many of you, there’s sad news from the world of music: Kevin DuBrow, lead singer of the pioneering 1980s metal band Quiet Riot, died Sunday at the young age of 52. “So what’s it got to do with class, Mr. Girard?” you’re probably thinking. Well, this is mostly for APELC, but the freshmen can enjoy it, too.
Quiet Riot scored the first real heavy metal hit with mainstream appeal in 1982 with their cover of the 1973 Slade single “Cum on Feel the Noize”. It was a significant piece of popular rhetoric (ah, there’s the connection), that, along with its sister hit “Metal Health”, argued in the careers of other heavy metal glam and hair bands like Motely Crue, RATT, Twisted Sister, and their (mostly) Los Angeleno contemporaries. The scene was dubious though, in that while it heralded the coming of totally sweet groups like Guns N’ Roses, it also gave unfortunate rise to some real weiner bands like Bon Jovi, and tympana-torturing power-ballad specialists like Poison, Cinderella, and (shudder) The Scorpions (who’d actually been around for years, but whose German rock sound somehow, bafflingly became irresistible to a large segment of the American listening public in the 1980s).
When I was eleven, a classmate, Nate Garza, introduced me to Metal Health, the Quiet Riot album on which “Cum on Feel the Noize” appeared. Obviously I wasn’t the intended audience; the cover freaked me out. But even I couldn’t escape the 80s metal juggernaut, which was very cool and informed the decade’s music culture which was divided among the hair rockers, synthpoppers (who thankfully died relatively early deaths), the burgeoning alt rock/pop and hip-hop scenes, soulpoppers (think New Edition), and the top 40 horrors that were Richard Marx, Phil Collins, Mike + The Mechanics, Tiffany, John Waite, and―the very tired―Starship (to name a very scant few). The death knells of heavy metal officially sounded in 1990 with the simultaneous debut releases of “supergroup” Damn Yankees’ self-titled album with its hit “High Enough” and Nelson’s After the Rain and the hit of the same name it spanwed. (And that is two paragraphs of solid, value-laden context, kids.)
Here’re three different presentations of the venerable “Cum on Feel the Noize”. The first, the Slade original (link is now working), is followed Quiet Riot’s take, and then a version by Oasis sung by perennial cry-baby and all-round jackball Liam Gallagher. Pay attention to the different (musical and visual) schemes in each; the Slade and Oasis bookends are live performances, but the tasty Quiet Riot center is the band’s original video with obvious tropes. Ask yourself as you observe: What personas are the bands attempting to effect? What audiences are they trying to reach? What are their arguments? Which is the most effective or are they all effective in their respective contexts?
Raise your lighters to Kevin DuBrow and enjoy the sounds. Hey, hey, my, my…
Slade, 1973
Quiet Riot, 1982
Oasis, 1996
Jena, LA and Little Rock, AR
On Thursday some APELC students were considering the context of Gloria Naylor’s “The Meanings of a Word” and wondering about issues of racism and violence. It’d be nice to think that particularly in the West, we’ve begun to overcome differences of race and ethnicity, but make no mistake: Racism and racially motivated violence (and the eruptions that ensue) are alive and well in the 21st century and in no way are threatening to abate. Witness the winter 2000 riots in Spain, spring 2001 riots in Cincinnati, Ohio, the summer 2001 riots in Britain, fall 2005 riots in France, and the current unrest in Switzerland over apparently racist propaganda.
Hopefully (sentence adverb―score it!), you’ve been following the recent controversy in Jena, Louisiana over some black kids, some white kids, a tree, and some nooses (litotes). These are the events of the day, kids, the events that will define and motivate us to justice and best action.
Take some time to listen to the NewsHour piece, and examine the full coverage of the Case of Louisiana’s Jena Six at NPR. And it might be worthwhile to reflect on the history of race and rights by listening to the story of “Daisy Bates and the Little Rock Nine”.
Don’t be afraid to post your thoughts on these most important issues. Click the link above to leave a comment.
“WE SUCK”
Much more clever than simply chalking up a school (and inconsiderately leaving graffitied windows for the custodians to clean up) is a nifty prank carried out by a few student who took time to plan. If you’re gonna perpetrate a gag to bring attention to yourself, at least make it count, and don’t leave a mess for others to clean up: “Student Pays For Football Game Prank”.
Clinton Drawls
APELC, here’s an exceprt from Hillary Clinton’s address at the First Baptist Church in Selma, Alabama from March of this year. Again, the accent is slight, but noticeable.
You might check out this awkwardly titled article at USA Today posted soon after the event, “Clinton’s headin’ south, will drawl?” and/or check out Camille Paglia’s Salon essay “Hillary vs. Obama: It’s a drawl!”. I’ve only skimmed the latter, but this might be a good opportunity for you to practice some of the critical reading strategies we’ve been talking about in class. Perhaps you can report back to us in class?
Abuse of Power?
It’s not my habit to watch the O’Reilly Factor on Fox News, but as I was folding clothes tonight I happened upon segment of the show with guest-host Michelle Malkin discussing President Bush’s commuting Lewis Libby’s prison term with Jane Hall and Bernard Goldberg (Google them). The latter insultingly seems to think the American people don’t care about the story and doubts most even know who Lewis Libby is. If you don’t know the Libby case, you should familiarize with it a little.
Some commentators have reacted scathingly; witness this scorching piece of rhetoric from MSNBC commentator Keith Olbermann. For another, more sober assessment of the story, listen and/or watch this discussion between the NewsHour’s Judy Woodruff and former Whitehouse legal insiders (RealAudio, video available on the site).
It’s worth looking at the rhetorical effectiveness of each. We’ll be looking at texts like these in AP Language throughout the year, which, with the early and continuing electioneering by Democratic and Republican presidential hopefuls, promises to be quite a mess of persuasion, accusation, defamation, and stratification. Remember, if you’re not paying attention then you’re part of the problem and not part of the solution.
Wanna weigh in on the rhetoricity or style of the commentators, or the story content and its implications themselves? Leave a comment by clicking the link above.
And yes, in the preceding paragraph I wrote wanna, which is a standard modal auxiliary verb in, at least spoken, English; and if you don’t trust Wikibooks, see Professor John Lawler’s comments on the verb, or, if you can stomach heavy grammar, try Professor Grant Goodall’s brief paper on contraction. Score it!