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.