Nicholas D. Kristoff
After Super Tuesday, Bracing for a President Trump
The New York Times
March 20, 2016

Nicholas D. Kristoff's article, "After Super Tuesday, Bracing for a President Trump", highlights Trump's lack of background in an elective office or military and how it shows when he delivers a speech or participates in a debate. Kristof backs up this claim by discussing the rhetoric Trump has used in past debates and creates a mock interview with a Trump supporter. Kristof's purpose is to point out how rhetoric and background can show through in a campaign. Given the conciseness and lack of background information in the article, Kristof is writing to a knowledgable audience that is aware of what has been occurring throughout the campaign. 

Nicholas D. Kristoff
'Every Parent's Nightmare'
The New York Times
March 13, 2016

Nicholas D. Kristoff's article, ' Every Parent's Nightmare', asserts that society is averting their eyes to the exploitation of children. Kristof backs up this claim by telling the stories of families who have gone through "every parent's worst nightmare" and had their child sold into slavery. Kristen's purpose is to point out the ways in which society has let down the children of this generation and how the time has come to put an end to child slavery. Given the emotional language used in this article, Kristoff is writing to the nation as a whole; he is to the point and lays down the tragic facts of what is going on in the world around us.

February Monthly Post

https://www.dropbox.com/s/57d90h7ay2u40ee/Steve%20Chapman.docx?dl=0

Steve Chapman
In defense of rattle snakes
The Chicago Tribune
February 21, 2016

Steve Chapman's article, in defense of rattle snakes, explains that rattle snakes are not as scary and dangerous as we have made them out to be. Chapman backs this claim up by pointing out how few people have died from an attack and when one has occurred it usually has involved alcohol. Chapman's purpose is to take the spotlight off of the campaign and cover something that is both interesting and holds prominence in society. Given the playful, "matter of fact" language and snarky comments that Chapman uses he expects his readers to get a kick out of what he is writing while also walking away with some new knowledge. 

Personally, I am terrified of snakes so it was interesting to read about how they aren't really dangerous at all; although  just looking at the snake above makes me quiver. 

The Positive Effects of Netflix

Although my parents would disagree with me, I think that Netflix has many benefits; not only to the individual but to the family as a whole. However, recently I have been told that I have an "obsession" with Netflix, which is ridiculous. Just because I spend a few hours watching Netflix everyday doesn't make me obsessed. Netflix serves as an opportunity to bring people together. Weather it be binging on a T.V series with a good friend or sitting down with someone every evening to watch something.

Netflix has something for everyone, so no matter who the person is or how many different opinions there may be, a general consensus can be met as to what to watch. My family and I sit down every Sunday evening and watch an episode, or two, of "Jessica Jones" which is about a female detective with a dark past who wants to do right by the people closest to her. That may sound cheesy and boring but, it's a tradition, something that brings us together every week.

Steve Chapman
War, peace and the next president
The Chicago Tribune
February 21, 2016

Steve Chapman's article, "War, peace and the next president", asserts that war is an ongoing issue and that it is considered to be the new norm. Chapman backs this claim up with descriptions on the candidates views on war as well as criticism on the campaigns themselves. Chapman's purpose is to point out the flawed mindset of politicians on the topic of war in order to jolt the awareness of the reader. Given the concerning tone used in the article, Chapman is writing to anyone interested in the campaigns.

Chapman continuously covers what he deems to be lacking in the campaign. He claims that the topic of war is not a pressing issue due to the abundance that we've had as well as lax manner in which it is dealt. Chapman is convinces that the next president is unlikely to surprise us with a change.

Free Post

I've heard non stop talk about running from my mom and dad and step mom and step dad and coaches and trainers since I was a freshman. I always blew them off because cross country was never that big of a deal to me; I was never all that good or saw it as a team sport until this past season because we really became a family and it stopped being about winning or losing and evolved into something that will never be taken away from any of us. This season was the last I would have with one of my best friends, Megan. We ran our last race together in November and even though we would always joke about how we hate running or how we weren't any good we both knew that we secretly loved it.

As the season was coming to an end we both started to realize that we weren't as bad as we thought and that we were going to be running in the state meet… together of course. Everyone always joked about how we would always run together and that we would be holding each other back, when in reality if I didn't have her by my side I wouldn't even be able to run in a meet. We pushed each other to run as fast as we possibly could because we wanted to win state; we didn't want to win for ourselves, we wanted to win for each other and for our teammates and our parents and our coaches, but I think we both wanted it a little too late… some would say we ran out of time.

Steve Chapman
Bernie Sanders' fraudulent Wall Street claims
The Chicago Tribune
Feb. 15, 2016

Steven Chapman's article, "Bernie Sanders' fraudulent Wall Street claims", disproves Bernie Sanders' claims that Wall Street is the source of all evils in the world. Chapman supports this claim by using his own experiences as well as explaining his theory on why the financial industry is successful. Chapman's purpose is to point out the flaws of Bernie Sanders' claims in order to further support his own claim that Sanders is a misrepresentation of democrats. Given the passionate tone of this article, Chapman is writing to an audience that feels the same way about Sanders' opinions and may even be writing to Sanders himself. As Chapman writes about this topic he uses such a casual tone that it seems as if he is attempting to belittle Sanders. Chapman has clear, strong views towards Sanders and it will be interesting to see what he writes as the election progresses.

January Monthly Post

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mpnk8kxrtfw5plx/Robert%20SAMUELSON.docx?dl=0

Robert Samuelson
An Upbeat Economic Story
The Washington Post
January 17, 2016

Robert Samuelson's article, An Upbeat Economic Story (2016), asserts that African American employment rates have risen, while others have surprisingly fallen. Samuelson supports his claim with statistics and claims cited from the EPI. Samuelson's purpose is to point out the shift in employment rate that has recently occurred make readers aware that they stereotypical unemployment rates are beginning to change. Based on the casual tone of this post, Samuelson is writing to a general crowd with prior understanding of what he is discussing. Samuelson uses this article as an opportunity to point out that blacks are taking steps in the right direction while whites, hispanics and Asians are regressing. This is not to say that black's employment rates have surpassed what was expected; Samuelson is simply pointing out that their numbers are refreshingly shocking. 

Spanish Project: Making Churros

On Sunday afternoon around 11 my two friends, Audrey and Trevor, came over to work on our Spanish Project, which requested that we cook a dish from the country we chose to research. Our country was Spain and we decided to make churros. Our adventure began with a trip to Walmart, how exciting, we needed to get flour, eggs, ducks. The Ducks were for Audrey so she could fulfill some crazy plan on how to ask Brennan to Sadie's.

When it came time to make the churros no one knew what they were doing but Trevor, because he's made them before. We decided to bake them instead of frying them because it was supposed to go faster, bad idea, they ended up not looking appetizing at all. On top of that when we brought them to school the sugar that we sprinkled on top had turned into a sticky, liquidy mess! Basically the moral of the story is that we clearly don't know how to cook. 

Robert Samuelson

The Washington Post
January 23, 2016

Robert Samuelson seems to have a fascination with the stock marker; his last 4 or 5 posts have been discussing how the economy is going to suffer from the stock market. In this post he talks about how oil prices and the economy are related. Samuelson uses a plethora of quotes and other sources to support his statements about what the economy is predicted to look like while also using data and numbers. Samuelson explains that even though low gas prices look good to us they may be what causes the demise of the economy. His final statement states that "with risks now rising and rewards falling, firms and households might cut their spending just a bit- and cause the very slump their trying avoid" which leaves the reader to wonder what life would look like if this were to happen as well as if they can catch themselves cutting back. 

Free Post

Cole Massengale
January 16, 2016

These past two weeks have been extremely stressful and have caused me to cark about my future. I don't really seem to get what all of the ado is about AP and honors courses anyways; in all veracity I only take them because I feel like it is expected of me to do so. I really don't even think that it matters weather or not I took any AP classes because in the end my GPA is what it is and it hinders the excitement of senior year to be bombarded with a million things to worry about for next year when this year isn't even over. The anxiety over next year perturbs me and distracts me from stressing about this semester.
My college counselor suggested to me that I invest my time in an AP history class instead of taking an AP english course, he could tell I wasn't that interested so all he asked is that I go and talk to Mrs. Howell. I never did. My thought is that if i'm going to be required to go above and beyond in a course then it should at least be something that I am interested in. After this stressful week I definitely got a much needed good sleep.

Robert Samuelson
Is the Next Recession on its Way?
The Washington Post
January 17, 2016

In this article Samuelson discusses the recent global problem that is the stock market. He explains the domino effect that has occurred, which originated when their report for manufacturing activity surfaced and they had a sharp drop in their stocks; which then spread to the U.S and Europe. Throughout his post, Samuelson, uses key words or phrases such as, "Consider:" and "It's hard not to wonder:",  to prevent his reader from being lost in the complexity of his topics. Samuelson doesn't waste space or time when discussing his topics either; he uses short and to the point sentences in order to get his point across to the reader which is extremely effective when it comes to this issue in particular. The stock market is very delicate and can make or break our economy depending on which way it swings. In the end Samuelson takes this top heavy issue and adds a weird, humorous statement to his post which reads, "Whatever happens, this is not your father's business cycle" which, I think, only contributes to the understanding that the stock marker is extremely difficult to understand. 

Over the weekend I did….

Cole Massengale

January 9, 2016

Over the weekend I babysat, basically the hired hands to watch and help out, my 8 week old Cousin, Vance, in New Orleans while my Aunt went to a party. She was gone for about 5 of the longest hours I have ever experienced. Vance cried about EVERYTHING and there was nothing I was able to in order to calm him down. I held him for about an hour until he finally stopped crying and fell asleep but after about a 1/2 an hour he was right back to his shenanigans. After 3 hours i finally got his pattern down; Crying leads to Sleep. Sleep leads to peace. Peace leads to him waking up and crying again. The next morning my back and arms were so sore from holding him i could barely move. His crying was worth it in the end though because I got to hang out with my aunt who i don't see all that often. 

Robert Samuelson
The Start up Slump
The Washington Post
January 10, 2016

In this post Robert Samuelson addresses how the number of startup companies is dropping and the survival rate of these companies is even lower. Samuelson takes an odd approach to his posts and uses the pronoun "we" when discussing things such as the economy or anything that could relate to the audience. By doing this it allows for Samuelson's audience to relate more to the topic and have a better understand of what it is Samuelson is attempting to discuss. Samuelson uses data and reasoning to back up his claims and always gives information that will support his ideas.