Obamacare

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FEUoNkF29o

This video is an ad created by Generation Opportunity that was made to encourage young people to vote against Obamacare. The ad features a young man going in for a check-up after signing up for Obamacare. When the Doctor is informed of the man’s insurance, he tells him to take his pants off and bend over. The words “don’t let government play doctor” then appear on the screen. The ad itself is very creepy and can be seen as disrespectful to the figure of Uncle Sam. There is a political phrase, “bend over,” that refers to the government taking control of people. Generation Opportunity attempted to give this phrase a literal meaning. The argument made is that the government is too involved in hospital visits. They feel that if you vote for Obamacare you will not receive quality care in hospitals. I am not greatly involved with politics, but I do not support this ad. I found the ad to be quite extreme and not very practical.

Glass Castle Presentation

-Successful writer who overcame many obstacles

-Has a hidden identity "secret world"

-Embarrassed (like many others with the same past)

Challenges: 

-Moving homes often

               Not stable jobs

As long as her dad can keep a job

               “the skedaddle”

-Cannot manage money

               Her dad’s alcohol problem

               Her mom’s inheritance money

                              Art supplies

               No food

                              Children often hungry

-Sexual mistreatment

               (Also seen in “Push”)

               Jeannette and Billy/Uncle Stanley

               Dad and Green Lantern

               Grandma and Brian

-Sense of Hope

               “glass castle”

               Positive attitudes at difficult times

               Mom wanted to become artist

               Dad wanted to find gold

-Escapable

               Moved to NY

               Saw mom picking through garbage

Her “secret world”

               embarrassed

-Sometimes it’s a Choice

               Irresponsible decisions

               Desire to live that way

Gay/Lesbian Identity

) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibVlVzGI9y0

"I Want To Know What It's Like"

This video is a combination of statements made by homosexuals expressing how they feel about their sexual identity. Everyone in the video is wearing white and most of them are rhyming their words. The title of the video expresses the unity that the individuals feel about homosexuality. They are metaphorically standing beside each other during their struggles. The video is very personal in that the people are expressing how they feel from their own side. The audience is people who are homophobic or just against homosexuality. The video speaks to the idea of American identity through the eyes of the gay and lesbian people. They feel that America is not accepting of them and that they cannot live a comfortable life. They are constantly being harassed and are not allowed to be open about their feelings. They claim this goes against their constitutional rights as an American citizen. America is supposed to be the land of the free and homosexuality is still not accepted in society. Some of the topics brought up in the video are equal opportunity, full equality and how America is supposed to be "one." This nonacceptance from the American people poses as a big threat to the homosexuals who want to be open about their sexual identity. They feel that America is not following through with its idea of unity and equality. 

NAPW

http://www.napw.com/National-Association-of-Professional-Women.cfm

This is the website for the National Association of Professional Women. The group is a network for women to connect and share ideas. They hold conferences for women to educate women on how to be successful in the work field. The group uses powerful and well-known women to inspire women. These women teach other women about how to be successful in the business world as well as in their personal life. Using famous women can be effective in teaching women in that they have personally accomplished many great things and that other women can too. They emphasize on the power that women hold. The website make the group experience very personal. This website makes learning about the NAPW very easy and accessible to women.

ABC USA

http://www.abc-usa.org/

This website was set up by the America Baptist Church. Their mission is to spread the word of Jesus and open their arms to all people. They say, "As a people of prayer, purpose, and passion, we are in the forefront of creating a community of faith where people of every race, nationality and culture gather as one in worship, service and work." They try to focus their worships on the gospel and rid of any unnecessary aspects that may accompany religious teachings.

The group works hard to unite the members of its group. This relates to the identity that America is united and although there are many different religious groups, they are all related in that they are trying to spread the word of God.

There is a section on the website called "America For Christ" which relates particularly to the identity of America in terms of faith. This section strengthens the idea that the country can be united through religion.

Navajo Indians

http://www.navajoindian.net/

The Navajo Indians are a tribe located in the four corners of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. They are the largest legal tribe in the United States with over 200,000 people.

In earlier years (prehistoric times), they were a part of a large group of Indians who later broke off into several small groups. They were not come in contact with US government until 846. Today, the Navajo Nation has it's own government throughout their tribes in the four corners.

Much of their money comes from goods they make such as jewelry and blankets.

The Navajo Indians are very family-oriented and support each other. They holds ceremonies for those who are sick and they use Sandpainting to spiritually heal the sick.

The website seems to give a very informative overview of the Navajo tribe. It describes the trouble the Indians went through as well as what they have contributed to US history.

I find it interesting that the website continuously used the term "Indian" as well as "Native American."

Push Review

http://www.womanist-musings.com/2011/09/review-of-push-by-sapphire.html

This is a website for women to post blogs and contribute to other woman's posts.

This blog review begins by explaining that she found the reading extremely difficult. She then gives a summary of the book, using many weak words and the overall grammar of the post is seemingly amateur. The blogger does, however, give the reader a sense of just how poorly Clarice was treated at home and school. She discusses a reference to Clarice's description of her mother's foul smell and finds that there is a direct connection in the story between someone's smell and their character. She seems somewhat surprised at the vulgar terms and controversial issues that occur during the book but it seems that she understands the importance of them.

Some parts of the review were a bit unorganized and scattered, but at the end she collected her thoughts and ended with some good ideas.

Hispanic Immigration

ANTI immigration:
http://minutemanproject.com/
The Minuteman Project was created to raise awareness about illegal immigration. They are a group of people who strongly believe that immigration is becoming a problem in the United States and that certain actions need to be taken in order to ensure that all immigrants are legal. On the website there is a section of articles that includes the opinions on immigration from notable people. They are very objective and straight forward when presenting the information.

PRO immigration:
http://www.pewhispanic.org/topics/immigration/
This website supports immigration and feels that immigration has a big effect on American population. They provide statistics and opinions of Hispanic Immigrants themselves. They address the issue in a very informative way and the website includes many topics relating to Hispanic immigration.

K-12 Immigration

The project I have chosen on American Immigration discusses how immigration can impact the education of a student. They believe that immigrants have a certain advantage over natives when it comes to the classroom; they call this the "Immigrant paradox." The project is essentially trying to make immigrants and non-immigrants equal in the education they are receiving. They are addressing issues related to tuition, parental involvement, college promotions, and other assistants for immigrants. I would say this project follows the Salad Bowl because the project is set out to benefit the immigrants in order to help them to succeed and have the same opportunities as the American natives yet recognizing that they are still of different heritages.

http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ920370.pdf

Gay Marriage USA

https://www.facebook.com/GayMarriageUSA

This Facebook page was created to promote the idea of same-sex marriage in America. Their goal is to legalize these marriages in all the states and support those who choose same-sex marriage. Whether or not the founders of this page are homosexual, they certainly agree with the idea of self-expression and are giving people a place to share their own feelings on the subject. The subject of same-sex marriage is a matter of self-identity in America. People who support this Facebook page most likely feel that the choice to marry in the same gender is a personal and very powerful choice in expressing who they are as an individual. They feel that this is a right they should have as an American and they are greatly expressing their beliefs.