Essay --

John Keen English 101-003 Amy Borders 14 March 2014 The Media Bias That Affected the 2012 Presidential Election President Barack Obama was re-elected to a second term as President of the United States in November of 2012. When giving his acceptance speech Obama was quick to thank his wife and family, his campaign officials, the voters, and everybody that worked so hard to help him get re-elected. One group left out of this display of gratitude, and perhaps the most influential one, was the mainstream media. The media plays a huge role in how viewers formulate their opinions, which in turn become deciding factors when choosing a President. The mainstream media has a responsibility to present the candidates in an unbiased manner, so that the electorate can make a truly educated decision as to the best candidate for the office at hand. While some may argue that the media presents an unbiased view of each candidate, this is not always the case. When looking back at the 2012 Presidential election, there are several examples where the media coverage aided the candidacy of Barack Obama and hindered the candidacy of Mitt Romney. The media outlets handled the candidates very differently when came to blundering comments. For example, the media came down hard on Romney for his comment about 47% of Americans not voting for him. In a secretly recorded conversation about campaign strategy, Romney made the statement the 47% of voters are dependent upon the government, and they believe that the government should provide them with food, healthcare, jobs, housing, along with whatever else they need. He made the comment that these voters would vote for the current president â€Å"no matter what,† and he said that his job was not to worry ... ...ced a great deal of negative reporting during the 2012 Presidential election, the majority of that reporting was about insignificant matters and came during the Primary stage where he did not face any competition. Once the election became between himself and Mitt Romney, the coverage was overwhelmingly positive toward the President. Opponents argue that the criticism that President Obama received over high gas prices, the bad economy, and national health care were unjustified and presented an unbalanced attack on the Obama Campaign. Factual reporting of current events but where were they when the media was criticizing President George W. Bush? National Healthcare has been a subject of debate since the early Clinton administration In weighing the evidence both for and against a media bias in favor of Barack Obama it is important to look at a variety of evidence. Essay -- John Keen English 101-003 Amy Borders 14 March 2014 The Media Bias That Affected the 2012 Presidential Election President Barack Obama was re-elected to a second term as President of the United States in November of 2012. When giving his acceptance speech Obama was quick to thank his wife and family, his campaign officials, the voters, and everybody that worked so hard to help him get re-elected. One group left out of this display of gratitude, and perhaps the most influential one, was the mainstream media. The media plays a huge role in how viewers formulate their opinions, which in turn become deciding factors when choosing a President. The mainstream media has a responsibility to present the candidates in an unbiased manner, so that the electorate can make a truly educated decision as to the best candidate for the office at hand. While some may argue that the media presents an unbiased view of each candidate, this is not always the case. When looking back at the 2012 Presidential election, there are several examples where the media coverage aided the candidacy of Barack Obama and hindered the candidacy of Mitt Romney. The media outlets handled the candidates very differently when came to blundering comments. For example, the media came down hard on Romney for his comment about 47% of Americans not voting for him. In a secretly recorded conversation about campaign strategy, Romney made the statement the 47% of voters are dependent upon the government, and they believe that the government should provide them with food, healthcare, jobs, housing, along with whatever else they need. He made the comment that these voters would vote for the current president â€Å"no matter what,† and he said that his job was not to worry ... ...ced a great deal of negative reporting during the 2012 Presidential election, the majority of that reporting was about insignificant matters and came during the Primary stage where he did not face any competition. Once the election became between himself and Mitt Romney, the coverage was overwhelmingly positive toward the President. Opponents argue that the criticism that President Obama received over high gas prices, the bad economy, and national health care were unjustified and presented an unbalanced attack on the Obama Campaign. Factual reporting of current events but where were they when the media was criticizing President George W. Bush? National Healthcare has been a subject of debate since the early Clinton administration In weighing the evidence both for and against a media bias in favor of Barack Obama it is important to look at a variety of evidence.

Cafo

If Pollen were to view Cafes purely from the aspect of Job reference, then he would find himself quite pleased with the operation. Cafes are doing a spectacular Job of comfortably feeding Americans and their ever-growing rate of meat consumption; they're satisfying at a satisfactory price tag too. Unfortunately, Pollen finds this seemingly great solution to easy and cheap meat too good to be true. He believes concentrated animal feeding operations may be feeding Americans more negative human health and environmental problems than any kind of positive factors.After my look Into the views and pollens of others, I thoroughly agree with him. It doesn't take much effort to visualize a place housing thirty-seven thousand objects of any sort to be anything but a comfortable environment-?let alone thirty- seven thousand large, living, farm animals. When there are such a high volume of animals in such a â€Å"concentrated† space, health complications would naturally occur. Pollen state s, â€Å"What keeps a feedlot animal healthy-?or healthy enough-?are antibiotics†(78).Some of the antibiotics you can expect seasoning your next pork chop include (but not limited to): erythrocytes, clinician, tetracycline, Virginians, ND pantomimic. All of said antibiotics, with the exceptions of pantomimic, have been approved for use In Cafes by the FDA. Antibiotics are used In Cafes for either monomaniacal or clinical use. The monomaniacal usage of antibiotics Is used merely to promote the growth of healthy animals, versus clinically administering them In order to simply treat sick animals.It's nice enough for these operations to somewhat consider the wellbeing of the animals they're slowly gorging to death with food they arena evolved to stomach, but what repercussions are being felt in the human race? Pollen outlines-?very clearly-?a horrifying end result, â€Å"Most of the antibiotics sold in America today end up in animal feed, a practice that, it is now generally ack nowledged (Except in agriculture), is leading directly to the evolution of new antibiotic-resistant superb†(78). Vegetarians beware!Multiple studies headed by lead researcher Kellogg Schwab -?funded by The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future-?proved that â€Å"†¦ Ingestion of pork products Is not the only pathway of exposure for the transfer of resistant organisms from swine to humans. Environmental pathways of exposure may be equally Important† (Schwab â€Å"Airborne† 137). CAFE animal manure, that Is often times reapplied to the land, can result in scattering of resistant bacteria. Inappropriate also lead to the spreading of said bacteria. After testing surface/groundwater, it was determined runoff can affect the waters surrounding concentrated animal feeding operations.Lead researcher confirms, â€Å"†¦ Bacteria in rural surface water and groundwater sources is important to human health because exposure to these sources could enable the transf er of resistant bacteria from swine to humans, contributing to the spread and persistence of antibiotic resistance† (Schwab â€Å"Antibiotic† 1040). Interestingly enough-?or disturbingly enough-?as the testing of said surface/ground water was being conducted, it was noted that a number of young children were seen ignorantly playing in the same water that was being sampled.They were swimming in the runoff of a CAFE; it was situated only 500 m away. The likelihood of these children becoming exposed to harmful microorganisms -?such as E. Coli-?is quite high. One of the participants of the ground/surface water study was the owner of a well, and that well was the sole provider of drinking water on the property-?prior to the establishment of the local CAFE. Once the CAFE was fully functioning the owner had the well water tested, and â€Å"the water was subsequently deemed unbootable† (Schwab â€Å"Antibiotic† 1044).The majority of my findings through-out the pro cess of surfing the numerous databases-?found on Boohoos-?were very supportive in the aspect of Pollen's argument. You would be hard-pressed to find someone enthusiastic about taking the platform opposing the idea of Cafes inflicting negative health and environment implications on the human race-?and the wonderful Earth that houses us. Somehow all of the factual data proving the negativisms of these operations aren't enough to UT an end to the madness.Apparently, appeasing the appetites of our nation's people takes precedence to our nation's health. After Pollen's up-close and personal experience with this nightmare of a place, he openly states that he couldn't ever imagine wanting to eat CAFE processed meat again. Meet I'm sure that after enough time goes by, and the stink of this place is gone from my nostrils, I will eat feedlot beef again† (84). Eat what you may, but remember you are what you eat; as Pollen would put it, â€Å"†¦ For you are what what you eat eats, t oo† (84). Works Cited Kellogg Schwab, et al.

Sexuality in Bram Stokers Dracula

In this article we will examine the role of sexuality in Bram Stokers Dracula and how major a role it plays in the book. Because of certain aspects in the writers life and because of certain symbolism a great deal of sexual meaning has been given to every aspect of the book. The character and physical description of Dracula in the novel are very sensual in nature. The other female vampires appear to the reader to be even more sexual and the male characters are strongly attracted to them despite the ever-present realization that the vampires are foul beings.Sexuality in the novel There are many scenes in the novel which despite Bram Stokers denial to admit it appear to have many sexual connotations. These suggest that enhanced sexuality almost a by-product of vampirisim. One of which occurs with Jonathan Harker while trapped in Draculas castle gives very physical descriptions of the vampire one of which I have quoted below:‘There he lay looking as if youth had been half-renewed, for the white hair and moustache were changed to dark iron-grey; the cheeks were fuller, and the white skin seemed ruby-red underneath; the mouth was redder than ever, for on the lips were gouts of fresh blood, which trickled from the corners of the mouth and ran over the chin and neck’ (Stoker- Chap 13) Other scenes involving Lucy are also intensely physical. Lucy even as a human an unstable woman who is attracted to three different men between whom she cannot decide.When she becomes a vampire it seems that she has cast aside any sexual inhibitions. The following description shows the intensely sexual desire she is creating ‘†¦ her breast heaved softly †¦ And then insensibly there came the strange change which I had noticed in the night †¦ the mouth opened, and the pale gums, drawn back, made the teeth look longer and sharper than ever †¦ and said in a soft voluptuous voice, such as I had never heard from her lips: ‘Arthur! Oh, my love, I am so glad you have come! Kiss me! ‘(Stoker- Chap 16, 4)When the sexual aspect of the book is admitted to then it can be seen as symbolic of a breaking out of the repressed environment of the Victorian ages. Indeed after the novel was explored it was seen as full of all forms of sexual symbolism. Professor Miller complains repeatedly in her article that the book is being over examined for sexual references Although as she states that the book has probably been over analyzed for sexual references there are many sexual references in the book. A quote from Eric Kwan-Wai Yu’s article‘Whatever shapes of fear vampirism might evoke elsewhere, in this novel the dominant form has to do with sexual menace or the dreadful perception of sexual perversity. In fact, even the most erotic scene ends with utter revulsion and the chilling recognition of demonic threats posed by the Other’ shows that his interpretation indicates a great deal of sexual connation and the confusion created by the use of language between blood-letting and the sexual act. ‘Lucy is described as seductive, demonic, and bestial at the same time, and there is again the deliberate confusion of sex with cannibalism’However Professor Miller states that there is no conclusive proof within Bram Stokers life or the novel which would justify the kind of interpretations that have been made. However there are many indications that repressed sexuality is a powerful undercurrent in the book which both repulses and attracts. Jonathan Harker is unwillingly attracted to the three vampiric women and is sickened by himself . The scene in which Dracula subdues Mina is interpreted as such by Eric Kwan-Wai Yu explains that Stoker ‘subverts gender definitions and behavioral expectations which keep the imperial subject in place.’ He suggests that there is the feeling of something missing as he compares the time when Harker lies by when Dracula comes to Mina and when Dracula fi rst comes to Mina. He draws similarity in their behaviour. Feminist interpretation Another important accept of the sexuality in Dracula is that it is associated with evil and corruption and in contradiction with the divinity of God. There is a distinctive clash of good and evil in the book although these lines get blurred when Mina is bitten.The two characters of Van Helsing and Dr Steward are specifically very aware of their duty towards God. ‘Thus are we, ministers of God's own wish: that the world, and men for whom His Son die, will not be given over to monsters, whose very existence would defame Him. He have allowed us to redeem one soul already [i. e. , Lucy's], and we go out as the old knights of the Cross to redeem more. Like them we shall travel towards the sunrise; and like them, if we fall, we fall in good cause. (Stoker, 278 , )’(qtd by Yu)The sacrifice of Lucy is an example of how far they are willing to go to fulfill this duty. How sexuality is associated w ith the evil and corruption of vampirism is associated with is made clear in Eric Kwan-Wai Yu’s essay when he talks about how Lucy’s â€Å"voluptuousness,† is a projection of men’s suppressed desires and how this guilt of desiring her is turned into shameful brutal aggression and the act of destroying the vampire Lucy can be interpreted as destroying what is sexual in her and ‘murdering the â€Å"devil temptress† can be further rationalized as an honorable duty’Here they are destroying Lucy the vampire but it can be interpreted as suppression of her sexuality if we read the description of Lucy after the stake has been driven. ‘but Lucy as we had seen her in life, with her face of unequalled sweetness and purity ,†¦. One and all we felt that the holy calm that lay like sunshine over the wasted face and form was only an earthly token and symbol of the calm that was to reign for ever’. The association of sex with evil is an extremely common one.Many visual interpretation of the devil show him a creature with over-sized genitals so the symbolism of vampirism with sex does make sense. This if interpreted as a suppression of women’s sexuality can be seen as a suppression of women. Judith Weissman states the fight against vampirisim and the fight to reclaim Mina is to keep women from knowing what men and women all of the ages have known that women’s sexual appetites are greater then mens. (qtd in Miller)It is also interesting to note that Mina after the destruction of the vampire Mina goes back home to be a wife and a mother but when she is infected and Dracula is alive she is an intelligent women who is an integral member of the group who destroys Dracula. She shows mental fortitude by going to mental contact with Dracula while struggling to maintain her own identity and not be overwhelmed by him. Perhaps the interpretation can be extended further then sexuality over here it could be see n as an effort and a fight to keep women on the same roles as they have been performing and to avoid change.The scene in which Dracula cuts his breast and forces Mina to drink from it drink from it as mentioned in earlier seems to have ‘subverted gender definitions’. Protestant Work ethic An important point in Eric Kwan-Wai Yu’s analysis is that this sexual fear and repression creates a powerful Puritan work ethic in the ‘Crew of Light’. Minas vampirism and her deep fear of turning into the ‘Undead ’ is what pushes her to work hard and use her intellectual capacities to their fullest.Yu states ‘The main thrust of my argument is that fear aroused by the paranoiac perception of sexual perversity begets a curious kind of work ethic in the imperial subject, reaffirming Enlightenment reason and scientific progressivism while, at the same time, betraying the very unreason in reason and the profound anxieties underneath the confidence in progress ’Yu also sees Dracula as a highly educated man who is thirst for more knowledge. The sexual aspect can lead us to forget this.He also states that one can see Van Helsing as representative of objectiveness of all the qualities of rationality that the Enlightenment extols and vampirisim is representative of everything that violates reason . Vampirisim explains what is uncanny and ‘unplaceable’ in the enlightened age and the violence of reason itself. This violence of reason is the brutal way in which Lucy has to be killed so that her soul is reclaimed and she is saved.Van Helsing is the voice of this reason who remains calm even when planning in what way to finish Lucy. The fear of this group from vampirism which pushes them towards hard work is shown as being symbolic of the sexual fears that created the Puritan work ethic. This theme again connects vampirism and sexuality. Symbolism Also a part of the book are the sexual symbols. For example the stake be ing symbolic of the phallus. However Professor Miller believes that perhaps at times a wooden stake is just a wooden stake.Even William Myers despite his assertion that the book is erotic in content also states that it is important to note that our interpretation depends on the time we live and all the movies depicting Bram Stoker’s Dracula as intensely sexual are bound to do this because today’s movies require that they do and not necessarily because the book itself is that sexual. ( For the Purity of Our) Conclusion In conclusion it can be said that book does allow for sexual connotations and despite Bram Stokers denial it can be said that repressed sexuality is a part of the book.This allows for an interesting conclusion by Yu which states that the book is symbolic of the fear of sexuality resulting in the Puritan Work ethic. The feminist perspective states that it can be linked to suppression of specifically female sexuality. A scene considered representative of th is is the staking of Lucy who is so sensual and voluptuous before the staking and is purified and redeemed after its There is of course the sexual symbolism in the book.However it is important not to over-interpret or read into works simply because it suits the age in which we live. Work Cited Stoker, Bram. Dracula Bibliomania Online Yu, Eric Kwan-Wai ‘Productive fear: labor, sexuality, and mimicry in Bram Stoker's Dracula. (Critical essay)’ Texas Studies in Literature and Language. 06/22/2006 Miller, Elizabeth ‘Coitus Interruptus: Sex, Bram Stoker, and Dracula’ Romanticism on the Net Issue 44, November 2006 Meyer William ‘For the Purity of Our Precious Bodily Fluids: an Essay on Eroticism in Vampire Films’ Latent Image Spring 2000