Summary # 11 T. Burns

After reading the essay "Up Against Wal-Mart" by Karen Olsson, I know a lot more about Wal-Mart workers than I ever have. The essay describes how Wal-Mart is very much against having a union like business. They do not want to pay for their employees to have affordable health insurance. They barely want to pay their employees over the amount of what is required which is minimum wage. The founder of Wal-Mart, Sam Walton, who first started his business in 1945, was a very frugile man and his ways bled down into all of his stores that are apart of his franchise. Some of the employees from the Paris, Texas store were interviewed and they all seemed to be singing the same tune. One was quoted saying, "We'll never bring Wal-Mart to the table store by store. I can get all the cards signed I want, and they'll still crush us. They'll close the frigging store, I'm convinced." This was said by Bernie Hesse and the cards he's referring to our union cards that are collected and once there is enough they could make a change. The hard part is getting enough signed. The turnover rate affects this concept.

Summary # 10 T. Burns

In the essay "Progressive Wal-Mart. Really." written by Sebastian Mallaby he defends the ever so large Wal-Mart Coorporation. He explains how Wal-Mart's critics attack what it is doing and the arguments brought up to make Wal-Mart look bad. To him anti-Wal-Mart campaign is funny to him. The reasons that non-Wal-Mart supporters throw out that is wrong to do are in fact all reasons that every business goes by. For example..."Wal-Mart is plotting to contain health costs, Wal-Mart has a war room to defend its imige, and Wal-Mart aims to enrich shareholders and put rivals out of business." He explains why these reasons are not legitimate because it is in fact what every business trying to get bigger and better will do. According to Mallaby, Wal-Mart in fact helps the lower income families in the world because their prices are more affordable. He states "The average Wal-Mart customer earns $35,000 a year, compared with $50,000 at Target and $74,000 at Costco." This quote in itself shows that the lower end of the income per year families go to Wal-Mart more than they do the other businesses. The argument is a good one in Wal-Mart's defense after seeing the numbers and hearing some of the facts.

Summary # 9 T. Burns

In the essay "The Truth About Wages" by Bruce Bartlett, he explains how in today's economy people are making less than what they were years ago. He gives many statistics showing how everything has fallen and what has risen is people not having jobs or people taking pay cuts to keep their jobs. "Workers have been so beaten down by layoffs and givebacks in recent years that they are grateful enough just to have jobs, even if their pay stinks", he writes. This shows to be true, especially those with health insurance because many have none. In today's World times are tough but it seems they are getting tougher for poor who are getting poorer as opposed to the rich that are getting richer.

Summary # 8 T. Burns

In the essay, "Reality Television: Oxymoron" by George F. Will, he writes of certain reality television shows that degrade the people who choose to participate with them. He tells how good entertainment in most people's eyes is sex, violence, and people degrading themselves for money. One show featured in his essay is Fear Factor on NBC. People on this show basically do whatever they are told to do for money. Some tasks include eating maggots, sitting in a tub of biting rats, and anything else that they basically fear and wouldn't do for no reason. He believes that "America, determined to amuse itself into inanition, is becoming increasingly desensitized." Many reality tv shows are imitations of eachother. It is not only in the US but in other countries around the World as well.

Summary # 7 T. Burns

In the cartoon of "The I.M.s of Romeo and Juliet" there is an internet conversation in the center of the picture and a girl with computer on one side and a boy with computer on the other. The room is a huge mess. Written by the staff cartoonist for the New Yorker, Roz Chast, this conversation shows little of how to actually write. Everything is shortened in some way. Words are mis-spelled by having extra letters get in between the correct letters. They are also just mis-spelled period as if these kids didn't really lknow how to spell. They type to eachother about their day and tell eachother how their parents dislike the other. This shows today that technology is making kids lazier than they were when there was no technology. Roz Chast summed it up by Romeo's Instant Message "scool sucked 2day" and with Juliet's message "cardoza called home, sez im failig spanish btw both my rents hate U". I guess in I.M.s correct grammar and spelling is not a necessity.

Summary # 6 T. Burns

In the essay "Family Guy and Freud" written by Antonia Peacocke, a student from Harvard University, she makes an interesting comparison between the cartoon Family Guy and Sigmund Freud. She tells of how Family Guy is a show that some people are very against because of it's offensive humor. A New York Times journalist Stuart Elliott claimed that "the characters on the Fox television series Family Guy...purposely offend just about every group of people you could name". To some it is crude but to Antonia Peacocke it isn't as bad as everyone thinks. It has been kicked off the air 2 times in it's running but always comes back which proves a point that many people really enjoy this show. Ironically, the writer of the essay used to be one that opposed the show. Now she is a true blue fan of it. The jokes on the show can be a little off-color but mean well. It is either trying to get a good point across or just saying it like it is. Family Guy will most likely be on the air for years to come because of the fan base and people who love and learn from this show.

Summary # 5 T. Burns

In the essay "Your Trusted Friends" by Eric Schlosser he makes an interesting comparison between the founder of Disney Land and World, Mr. Walt Disney, and the founder of McDonald's, Mr. Ray Kroc. There are definitely a lot of similarities between the two men which is what makes this essay so very interesting. They are a year apart and were in the same war as young men. They both have been very successful in the businesses. Although, the two businesses are different they almost go hand in hand with eachother. They are both focused on advertising to children which is most of their customer base. Schlosser states "The fantasy world of McDonaldland borrowed a good deal from Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom." This is proof that the two have worked together and become very popular in the eyes of children from all around the World.

Summary # 4 T. Burns

Fast food restaurants are everywhere you look. As David Zinczenko said "Drive down any thoroughfare in America, and I guarantee you'll see one of our 13,000 McDonald's restaurants. Now, drive back up the block and try to find someplace to buy a grapefruit." It is easier to get fast food than any other food because it does not need to be prepared. Many children and teenagers are eating fast food more than they are eating prepared food because of time. Lots of children are getting diabetes type II due to poor diet. Many fast food places are not advertising correctly, either. Some are even getting sued over it. Fast food is becomming such a thing these days that you almost can't blame the individual eater anymore. Especially if the restaurant is not advertising their caloric intake to the fullest and most honest they can.

Summary # 3 T. Burns

In the essay "Perfecting the Union" written by Roger Cohen, the author conveys that things are starting to change for America. With all the changes that have happened just with President Barrak Obama elected on 5 November 2008, there is no way things couldn't get better. "Obama has spoken without cease about his conviction of American possibility born from this experience." He likes all of Obamas idea's and thinks a lot of good will come out of his presidency. He states "At a time of national soul-searching, what could better symbolize a "more perfect union" and the overcoming of the wounds of that original sin than the election to the White House of an African-American?" He knows it won't be easy but it will get better.

Summary # 2 T. Burns

In the essay "Kidnapped in Pakistan: The End of American Ideals?" Hady Amr writes of his close friend Ayesha and the kidnapping of her brother, Imran, an American citizen that was kidnapped in Pakistan. Ayesha and her family did not want to take advantage of Hady Amr's relationships he had developed while working in Washington D.C. over the years to get the government to help with the locating of the brother at a higher lever. They chose not to because "she felt that the chances of negotiating her brother's release with criminals, terrorists-or both-were higher if the U.S. government, loathed on the local scene, was kept out of the picture and if local channels handled the matter." His take on the situation is that many are to blame due to a "severely damaged reputation" that America now has after the actions that were taken in the following of 9/11. Now America is a distrusted country rather than a trusted.

Summary # 1 T. Burns

"A Fire In The Basement" T. Burns

When Bob Herbert titled his essay "A Fire In The Basement", he is actually referring to a fire in the basement of the United States. He disagrees with a lot of what goes on in the World today as far as politics, economy, and the justice system go. Young men and women these days are joining the military in hopes for a secure job, constant paycheck, and a higher education . It seems times are worse now than they were during the Great Depression. Schools are closing early and closing all together because of lack of funds and he quoted a highschool physics teacher as saying "During the Great Depression we didn't close schools". Basically he is saying the situation seems worse now than it was even then. The justice system is letting people down because people are getting detained even if they are innocent and the government is not worried about that. They like to sort things out later. Any "middle class" tax cuts that President Bush put into affect are not helping the poor. They are giving more money to the richest of the population. Back in the 50's and 60's there were bad times but always seemed to be moving in the right direction. The US, in Bob Herbert's opinion, is not moving in the right direction. He states "Time is not on our side." With all that is going on most seem blind to it. That is why he referes to the United States basement being on fire. The blindness comes in when no one can smell it.