Puerto-Ricans drastically affect the American economy. Puerto Ricans are often mislabeled as Hispanic but the majority of Puerto Ricans identify with the Latino race. Natural born Puerto Ricans are born with American citizenship which leads to high levels of immigration to America. There are estimated to be over four million Puerto Ricans living in America which exceeds the population of Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans have such a large impact on the American economy because of the large amount of legal work eligible citizens.
The aggregate of Puerto Ricans have generally been labeled as poverty stricken. However, stateside Puerto Ricans earned 54.5 billion while the total personal income for Puerto Rico was 42.6 Billion. The turn of the 21st century has seen major improvements for the earning power of Puerto Rican Americans. Puerto Ricans can also be used as an example of the success of American attempts to eliminate gender inequality. The average income of male Puerto Rican Americans in 2008 was $36,572 while the average for female Puerto Ricans was 36,572. Women made about 84% of their male counterparts which is the lowest wealth gaps between gender groups of any other Latino group in America.
Puerto Ricans have a high sense of national pride. The annual Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City is one of the most popular parade events in NYC. The economy of America may be suffering slightly from Puerto Ricans’ devotion to their homeland. Recently migrated Puerto Ricans sent an average of $1,235 to relatives on the homeland. This action taken by Puerto Ricans diverts money away from local American economies but does help the Puerto Rican country to sustain itself. However, since Puerto Rico is an American territory, I believe that the sustainability of the Puerto Rican mainland also benefits the United States of America.
Hello my name is Justin Alexio Vizcaino and I am just starting my junior year at ASU. I love surfing and doing fun outdoor activities. I am currently living in Los Angeles training to be a better improviser. I also love to write poetry so if you like that artsy stuff let me know and we could have a wonderful discussion! Also I love football and the Phoenix Suns. Steve Nashty for life.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
10/26 Blog Reviews
Ricky
I really enjoyed reading your article and I liked how in your Oct 21st post the conclusion really made your voice come alive. You did a great job of offering expert opinions on music and offering your own assessments. I believe that if you spread out your opinions throughout the whole paper it would come alive more. Your second paragraph in particular could use more narrative. Your Oct 19th free write was extremely interesting and I was captivated the whole way through. The only thing I could suggest is for you to generate a more interesting topic sentence. Your first sentence is “It was my first day of college.” By having an enthralling topic sentence, your audience will become invested in your paper and will be eager to read it the whole way through.
Natasha
I really enjoyed your posts and I believed it was organized in an efficient manner. On your Oct 21st post, I believe that you could state your opinion quicker. You state a lot of hypothetical questions and they are very thought provoking but if your opinion on the topic was stated, your voice would come alive quicker. Your second post provides a plethora of good information but I believe that your transitions could be improved. The flow is a little choppy and could be improved if you tie the information together better. The area that needs improved transitions the most is between the end of the first paragraph and the start of the second paragraph.
I really enjoyed reading your article and I liked how in your Oct 21st post the conclusion really made your voice come alive. You did a great job of offering expert opinions on music and offering your own assessments. I believe that if you spread out your opinions throughout the whole paper it would come alive more. Your second paragraph in particular could use more narrative. Your Oct 19th free write was extremely interesting and I was captivated the whole way through. The only thing I could suggest is for you to generate a more interesting topic sentence. Your first sentence is “It was my first day of college.” By having an enthralling topic sentence, your audience will become invested in your paper and will be eager to read it the whole way through.
Natasha
I really enjoyed your posts and I believed it was organized in an efficient manner. On your Oct 21st post, I believe that you could state your opinion quicker. You state a lot of hypothetical questions and they are very thought provoking but if your opinion on the topic was stated, your voice would come alive quicker. Your second post provides a plethora of good information but I believe that your transitions could be improved. The flow is a little choppy and could be improved if you tie the information together better. The area that needs improved transitions the most is between the end of the first paragraph and the start of the second paragraph.
Pg 418 freewrite #3
I believe that Twitchell’s positive assessment of materialism is highly incorrect. “Materialism helps to push productivity and helps society move forward” (Beedles 390). I believe that is a pointless endeavor to produce expendable goods. What is the point of producing expendable goods that do not help society to sustain itself? So many third world countries are not self sustainable and we could aim our productivity to help these countries.
“Materialism does not crowd out spiritualism; spiritualism is more likely a substitute when objects are scarce” (Beedles 392). I believe that materialism can start to serve as a substitute for religion. People try to find the same feelings and comfort from materialism that religion should provide. Religion provides solace, self worth, and security for the soul. People use materialism to buy expensive things to for self worth. Should buying a Mercedes Benz be an acceptable strategy for an individual to feel self worth? I believe that self worth should come from family and friends, and materialism is a cheap way for an individual to generate self worth. When individuals try to self generate self worth, communities become distant and social capital rapidly declines.
When social capital rapidly declines, our community will start to deteriorate. The only way that society is able to civil and operable is because people care about each other. Materialism pushes people apart and pits people against each other. “Young ghetto teens have been known to kill each other for name brand tennis shoes” (Beedles 394). Does the potential for increased self worth validate the larger proportion of America that feels dejected? Materialism will never add to community bonding because materialism only survives if one group is ahead of another. Materialism should be outlawed and we as a society should find better avenues to attain self worth.
“Materialism does not crowd out spiritualism; spiritualism is more likely a substitute when objects are scarce” (Beedles 392). I believe that materialism can start to serve as a substitute for religion. People try to find the same feelings and comfort from materialism that religion should provide. Religion provides solace, self worth, and security for the soul. People use materialism to buy expensive things to for self worth. Should buying a Mercedes Benz be an acceptable strategy for an individual to feel self worth? I believe that self worth should come from family and friends, and materialism is a cheap way for an individual to generate self worth. When individuals try to self generate self worth, communities become distant and social capital rapidly declines.
When social capital rapidly declines, our community will start to deteriorate. The only way that society is able to civil and operable is because people care about each other. Materialism pushes people apart and pits people against each other. “Young ghetto teens have been known to kill each other for name brand tennis shoes” (Beedles 394). Does the potential for increased self worth validate the larger proportion of America that feels dejected? Materialism will never add to community bonding because materialism only survives if one group is ahead of another. Materialism should be outlawed and we as a society should find better avenues to attain self worth.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Pg 386 freewrite
I believe that power is an inherent gene that humans and animals possess. Animals aspire to attain dominance in the animal kingdom through vicious fights and conquering of territory. Humans have had a long history of expressing possession of power through similar means. For centuries countries conquered other countries and power correlated with how physically dominating a country was. Things have suddenly changed within the past one hundred years. The passage of the nineteenth amendment finally allowed women the opportunity to have equal power.
In America, power has traditionally correlated with the attainment of wealth. To this day, in some parts of America there is still a “glass ceiling” that prohibits women from truly being as equal as men. In order to attain power in other ways, some women can turn to alternative means. Women can use their sexual influence to attain power in our modern world. The use of sexual power is seen throughout the pop music culture. “The record company will exhibit a non-authentic version of a person if it benefits the company financially” (pg 367).
Women are often seen as sex symbols, and hip-hop may sometimes be derogatory towards women, but many songs highlight the heavy influence that women have over men. While some women may find power in the way they are portrayed in pop music, I do not think it is right to stereotype all women under this belief. “Once an act succeeds, corporate pressures the artist to stay the same” (Pg368). It is undesirable for anyone to be stifled. I believe that women do crave equal power as men but would rather attain this power in more legitimate ways. A woman’s power in pop music is only valid as long as men let it be valid. The instant that men stop glamorizing women, a woman’s power will instantly dissipate. I believe that women want power that cannot be taken away by men.
In America, power has traditionally correlated with the attainment of wealth. To this day, in some parts of America there is still a “glass ceiling” that prohibits women from truly being as equal as men. In order to attain power in other ways, some women can turn to alternative means. Women can use their sexual influence to attain power in our modern world. The use of sexual power is seen throughout the pop music culture. “The record company will exhibit a non-authentic version of a person if it benefits the company financially” (pg 367).
Women are often seen as sex symbols, and hip-hop may sometimes be derogatory towards women, but many songs highlight the heavy influence that women have over men. While some women may find power in the way they are portrayed in pop music, I do not think it is right to stereotype all women under this belief. “Once an act succeeds, corporate pressures the artist to stay the same” (Pg368). It is undesirable for anyone to be stifled. I believe that women do crave equal power as men but would rather attain this power in more legitimate ways. A woman’s power in pop music is only valid as long as men let it be valid. The instant that men stop glamorizing women, a woman’s power will instantly dissipate. I believe that women want power that cannot be taken away by men.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Pg 363 Freewrite
Victor was a very loving brother and would do anything for his little brother Thomas. He wanted to give his brother the best Christmas gift possible. Victor had grown up watching MTV as a child. The two most popular shows on MTV were “Pimp My Ride” and “Cribs.” These shows conveyed to victor that in order to be popular in American society, one must attain great wealth. Christmas is usually about families spending time together and connecting in an emotional way. However, Victor needed to figure out a way to attain great wealth and realized that he must not spend time with his family.
Victor missed his family’s plan to go caroling and bake gingerbread cookies. Instead, Victor set out into the world in order to attain the money necessary to buy his brother a lavish gift. He was not able to attain the money as easily as he had hoped. Christmas is supposed to be a time of great joy and happiness but all Victor could feel was despair. In his desperation Victor turned to extortion. He knew secrets of some people that were rich but were not very intimidating. Victor demanded money from these people in order to keep him from publicizing their secrets.
Christmas is a time when people come together but the desperation to buy his brother a good gift was pushing Victor’s friends away. The people refused Victor the money, and Victor then began to hate the world because he felt like a failure. Victor could not attain the money he needed and began to have very hateful thoughts. Christmas is usually a time where people are allowed to escape the pressures of everyday life. Since Victor was in such a horrible state of mind, he went to the local mall and de-bearded Santa in front of all the children. Victor was known as the man who usually told fantastic Christmas stories to the youth in order to keep the youth’s belief. As Victor finally felt his back against the wall, he decided to rob a stranger. Victor had never robbed someone and his hands began to shake tremendously. His trembling fingers accidentally squeezed the trigger and he shot the stranger. Victor fled and traveled to Mexico to avoid arrest. As news of Victor’s whereabouts surfaced to his family, Jason crept silently to his room. Jason took out his wish list for Santa and crossed out the words “Spend time with Victor.” Victor’s brother did not want lavish gifts. All Thomas wanted was to spend quality time with his brother.
Victor missed his family’s plan to go caroling and bake gingerbread cookies. Instead, Victor set out into the world in order to attain the money necessary to buy his brother a lavish gift. He was not able to attain the money as easily as he had hoped. Christmas is supposed to be a time of great joy and happiness but all Victor could feel was despair. In his desperation Victor turned to extortion. He knew secrets of some people that were rich but were not very intimidating. Victor demanded money from these people in order to keep him from publicizing their secrets.
Christmas is a time when people come together but the desperation to buy his brother a good gift was pushing Victor’s friends away. The people refused Victor the money, and Victor then began to hate the world because he felt like a failure. Victor could not attain the money he needed and began to have very hateful thoughts. Christmas is usually a time where people are allowed to escape the pressures of everyday life. Since Victor was in such a horrible state of mind, he went to the local mall and de-bearded Santa in front of all the children. Victor was known as the man who usually told fantastic Christmas stories to the youth in order to keep the youth’s belief. As Victor finally felt his back against the wall, he decided to rob a stranger. Victor had never robbed someone and his hands began to shake tremendously. His trembling fingers accidentally squeezed the trigger and he shot the stranger. Victor fled and traveled to Mexico to avoid arrest. As news of Victor’s whereabouts surfaced to his family, Jason crept silently to his room. Jason took out his wish list for Santa and crossed out the words “Spend time with Victor.” Victor’s brother did not want lavish gifts. All Thomas wanted was to spend quality time with his brother.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Week 8 Blog Reviews
Jacqueline Pridgett
Jaqueline I really enjoyed your articles. I think that you introduced a bunch of good information and topics. You were really able to engage me into the material. The only notes I have is in your first post, Animal Anomalies, you could have supported your information a little bit better in your first paragraph. You said “recent studies have shown” but you did not state which studies validated the point you were trying to make. I liked your second post a lot, I believe that the only thing it could use is a little bit more enticing introduction but the body paragraphs were extremely solid.
Armando Teran
I really enjoyed your articles and I really heard your voice coming through your writing. I clearly identified your opinion in the post and was well aware of the stance you were taking. In your 10/7 post you provided facts to back up your claims. I think the facts you provide would have more validity if you quoted a little bit more directly from the textbook. I liked the flow of your 10/5 post and the flow of your transitions was very seamless. The only thing I would suggest to fix is the organization of the third paragraph. Your conclusion gets a little bit lost because you are offering a lot of ideas. Good post I look forward to reading more from you!
Jaqueline I really enjoyed your articles. I think that you introduced a bunch of good information and topics. You were really able to engage me into the material. The only notes I have is in your first post, Animal Anomalies, you could have supported your information a little bit better in your first paragraph. You said “recent studies have shown” but you did not state which studies validated the point you were trying to make. I liked your second post a lot, I believe that the only thing it could use is a little bit more enticing introduction but the body paragraphs were extremely solid.
Armando Teran
I really enjoyed your articles and I really heard your voice coming through your writing. I clearly identified your opinion in the post and was well aware of the stance you were taking. In your 10/7 post you provided facts to back up your claims. I think the facts you provide would have more validity if you quoted a little bit more directly from the textbook. I liked the flow of your 10/5 post and the flow of your transitions was very seamless. The only thing I would suggest to fix is the organization of the third paragraph. Your conclusion gets a little bit lost because you are offering a lot of ideas. Good post I look forward to reading more from you!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Pg 340 Directed Freewrite
I believe that Krueger’s essay could be used to accept arguments that homosexuality is a natural orientation. Many people in favor of gay rights claim that homosexuality is not a choice but the way people are naturally born. Opponents of gay-rights claim that homosexuality is unnatural and that it is a choice to be homosexual. Since humans are mammals, we study the animal kingdom to learn about our own tendencies and genetic make-up. “Bagemihl found homosexuality documented in more than 450 species; as few as 2,000 species have been observed closely enough to reveal their full range of coupling behavior” (Beedles 338).
These 450 species would then account for nearly twenty percent of the observed animal population. This high number of homosexual species could lead to the confirmation that homosexuality is an inborn trait. However, criticisms towards classifying these actions by animals as “homosexual” have arisen. “In species that lack sophisticated language-which is to say all species but ours-sex serves many non-sexual purposes” (Beedles 339). Sex is used as a tool to establish alliances and establish dominance.
It cannot be stated for certain if these animals do or do not experience sexual gratification from homosexual behavior. Even if these animals are discovered to receive sexual gratification from homosexual behavior, humans are a different complex animal and findings may not be able to be directly linked to us. Sexual orientation serves as sexual gratification to homosexual humans but homosexual orientation also serves other social purposes. We need to fully understand the social purposes that homosexuality serves for in order to isolate and fully understand the social and natural purposes. I believe that these potential findings in the animal kingdom will continue to create debate and whenever questions are stimulated, humans usually find a way to answer them.
These 450 species would then account for nearly twenty percent of the observed animal population. This high number of homosexual species could lead to the confirmation that homosexuality is an inborn trait. However, criticisms towards classifying these actions by animals as “homosexual” have arisen. “In species that lack sophisticated language-which is to say all species but ours-sex serves many non-sexual purposes” (Beedles 339). Sex is used as a tool to establish alliances and establish dominance.
It cannot be stated for certain if these animals do or do not experience sexual gratification from homosexual behavior. Even if these animals are discovered to receive sexual gratification from homosexual behavior, humans are a different complex animal and findings may not be able to be directly linked to us. Sexual orientation serves as sexual gratification to homosexual humans but homosexual orientation also serves other social purposes. We need to fully understand the social purposes that homosexuality serves for in order to isolate and fully understand the social and natural purposes. I believe that these potential findings in the animal kingdom will continue to create debate and whenever questions are stimulated, humans usually find a way to answer them.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Pg 301 #1
The progression of science could potentially alter society forever. America for the most part is run on traditional Christian values. Mahogany is the societal norm and infidelity is seen as a severe sin. Our society has continually punished and disgraced people who have committed infidelity. However, could the large amount of unfaithful people be a result of our genetic composition? “While many women prefer candlelight and sweet talk, many men prefer a roll in the sack anytime” (Beedles 296). This fact could be a result of our animal instincts.
Women are designed to only have a baby once every nine months. Women also only have a limited time of fertile eggs while men continually produce sperm throughout their lives. This short stint of fertile eggs leads women to be more selective with whom they mate with. Men on the other hand, could theoretically impregnate an infinite number of women in order to spread their genes. The further probing into our genetic make-up could lead to the discovery that our normal social structure is going against our genetic structure and could therefore be unhealthy and doomed to fail. After all, the divorce rate in America is over 50% and the relationships that due succeed are done so with great difficulty.
“Perhaps love at first sight is no more than an inborn tendency in many creatures that evolved to spur the mating process” (Beedles 305). Could this revelation lead to the idea that love only stems from the natural instinct to breed? If further probing starts to lean towards this opinion, we may soon discover that true love does not exist. If true love were to not exist I believe that society could crumble. Our society is based on collaborating and caring for humanity. If true love does not exist, then wars will erupt and we will lapse back into a one-for-all animal-like society. Complex civilized society will not be able to thrive without compassion between humans.
Women are designed to only have a baby once every nine months. Women also only have a limited time of fertile eggs while men continually produce sperm throughout their lives. This short stint of fertile eggs leads women to be more selective with whom they mate with. Men on the other hand, could theoretically impregnate an infinite number of women in order to spread their genes. The further probing into our genetic make-up could lead to the discovery that our normal social structure is going against our genetic structure and could therefore be unhealthy and doomed to fail. After all, the divorce rate in America is over 50% and the relationships that due succeed are done so with great difficulty.
“Perhaps love at first sight is no more than an inborn tendency in many creatures that evolved to spur the mating process” (Beedles 305). Could this revelation lead to the idea that love only stems from the natural instinct to breed? If further probing starts to lean towards this opinion, we may soon discover that true love does not exist. If true love were to not exist I believe that society could crumble. Our society is based on collaborating and caring for humanity. If true love does not exist, then wars will erupt and we will lapse back into a one-for-all animal-like society. Complex civilized society will not be able to thrive without compassion between humans.
Blog Post Reviews 10/5
Jacqueline Pridgett
Jacqueline I really enjoyed reading your post and it was evident that you understood the readings. I believe that the highlight of your paper is the application of the readings to your analysis. Some things that I think could be improved on are the transitions between paragraphs particularly the transmission between paragraph two and three of your 9/30 post. Also, I think it would benefit your post if you further explored the reasons that people enter mahogany. You mentioned spiritual reasons and personal reasons but could there be more? Does mahogany benefit social structures or could mahogany have potential health benefits?
Armando Teran
I really enjoyed your posts and I especially liked the relevancy you incorporated in your 9/30 post. I think that you could give more examples of how the media affects relationships. In your 9/28 post I really liked the examples you quote from the book but they should be cited properly in order to add validity. I liked your conclusion on the 9/28 post and the general overall tone. The only other thing I would add to your 9/28 post is a more enthralling introduction sentence to entice the reader to continue reading.
Jacqueline I really enjoyed reading your post and it was evident that you understood the readings. I believe that the highlight of your paper is the application of the readings to your analysis. Some things that I think could be improved on are the transitions between paragraphs particularly the transmission between paragraph two and three of your 9/30 post. Also, I think it would benefit your post if you further explored the reasons that people enter mahogany. You mentioned spiritual reasons and personal reasons but could there be more? Does mahogany benefit social structures or could mahogany have potential health benefits?
Armando Teran
I really enjoyed your posts and I especially liked the relevancy you incorporated in your 9/30 post. I think that you could give more examples of how the media affects relationships. In your 9/28 post I really liked the examples you quote from the book but they should be cited properly in order to add validity. I liked your conclusion on the 9/28 post and the general overall tone. The only other thing I would add to your 9/28 post is a more enthralling introduction sentence to entice the reader to continue reading.
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