Benefits and Challenges of this Project

I think that there are always benefits and challenges to working in group projects. I like these kinds of assignments because the responsibility is distributed, and no one is overly stressed. I think this is especially important since finals are coming up, and many people are going to be very stressed out. The challenges are figuring out when everyone can meet together, distributing the work assignments fairly and equally, and making sure that no one is slacking or pulling too much weight. I really like how our group is working together which makes this assignment even better.

John McCain's Concession Speech

I think that McCain's Concession Speech was very effective because of the organization of his speech. He starts out by addressing the audience as "my friends" which he is known to say frequently. He then goes on to explain the significance of this election in that it is the first time an African American has been elected president. He proceeds to thank all that helped him in his campaign, his family, and all his supporters. He then winds down his speech by saying that running for office was the greatest "honor" of his life, and that he has no regrets. He urges Americans to put their differences aside for the good of the country. He ends his speech with a very powerful set of short sentences: "Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history. Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America." The repetition in these last statements really enhance the ending of the speech.
He also uses a lot of pathos throughout the speech, which also enhances its quality. For example, he talks about what this election means to the African American people throughout the country; I am sure that many emotions were elicited by his comments. Also, he frequently refers to how great and wonderful American is, and how it is the "greatest nation on Earth," which also elicit emotions from many people.
For our speech, we are writing the concession speech of Sarah Palin. I think that the way McCain structures his speech is very effective, and I think we should try doing something similar. On the other hand, while McCain uses a lot of pathos in his speech, it would probably not be a good idea to use so much for Palin's speech. The fact that she is a women already elicits stereotypes about her that she may become to emotional for such an important position so it would be best to stay away from too much heavy emotion. For our speech, it will be more important to establish Palin's credibility since that is something that many people think she lacks. I also think that we need to incorporate something that mentions that great accomplishment that Obama has achieved as the first black president, and that she believes the same great stride can be made for women.

John Kerry's Concession Speech

Overall, I think that John Kerry's Concession Speech was very effective. He did not seem to me to be overly upset or frustrated, and I believe that his speech probably had a more positive impact on the American people than Al Gore's speech.

Throughout the speech, some of his diction choices are very interesting. For example, he says that "Today, I hope that we can begin the healing." He also refers his supporters as "brigades" and "crew mates." Healing, brigades, and crew mates are interesting words to use, and they all convey the metaphor of a war that Kerry was using to describe the election.

Throughout his speech, pathos is by far the strongest rhetorical appeal because he uses it repeatedly. For example, he states, "I wish that I could just wrap you up in my arms and embrace each and every one of you individually all across this nation. I thank you from the bottom of my heart." He also uses pathos when trying to make a connection with all the views by saying that in the election, there are no losers because in the end, we are all Americans. I am sure that both these statements evoke sympathy from the audience, regardless of whether or not they supported Kerry.

Unlike Gore, Kerry does not use any quotes except "God Bless America," but I believe that the use of some probably would have been a good idea. He also does not attempt to use much humor; the speech is very serious, emotional, and to the point.

His syntax is also very effective, and a good example of this would be his closing statement. He says, "So with a grateful heart, I leave this campaign with a prayer that has even greater meaning to me now that I have come to know our vast country so much better thanks to all of you, and what a privilege it has been to do so. That prayer is very simple: God bless America. Thank you." I think this is effective because he talks about a prayer, and I assumed it was going to be something long, but then he ends it with such a short and popular prayer and a thank you. I think that the differences in structures in these sentences is a very good way to end a speech.

Research Experience

Source Search:
Lexis Nexis Academic:
Most of the articles that came up were not primary sources, and many were about the general topic of same-sex marriage. However, after a lot of looking, I did find a some good more specific articles.
Lexis Nexis Congressional Publications:
Most of the bills that came up were state bills which is not what I was trying to focus on so I didn't find this database very helpful.
Lexis Nexis Government Periodicals:
I found nothing in here. Nothing even came up when I typed in my subject, and I thought of many different ways to word my subject.
Gale Databases:
I could only find one article here. A lot that came up where state policies and bills on same-sex marriage or visitation rights which is not what I am looking for.
Presidential Documents website:
I don't know if I am using this website incorrectly, but whenever I type in my subject, I get all these links and a lot of the titles have to do with Prime Ministers and leaders of other countries.
Debates Website:
I really liked this website; I thought it was easy to use, and I found three debates that talked about my issue.
Election Advertisements:
I did not find any advertisements on this website that mentioned anything about hospital visitation rights of gay partners.

Overall, it took me a VERY long time to find my sources. Some of them I found without using these databases and just by using Google. I hope that the sources I found are good enough because I am tired of researching...haha!

Unit 2 Topic

1. For my topic, I am choosing to do hospital visitation rights of gay partners.
2. Politicians that advocate and vote on policies have experience with this issue. Health care workers also have to deal with this issue on a regular basis, and the person that this issue probably impacts most would be the gay patients and their partners.
3. I think the people that talk about this issue the most would be the politicians and the gay people that are being denied their rights.
4. I think testimonies from gay patients and their partners and families would be a good source. Testimonies from the health care workers would also be good sources, and any bills that have been passed would also be very helpful sources.

Humorous Argument

My topic is universal health care, and for my humorous argument, I drew a hospital check-in room. There is a sign above the check-in desk that says "Universal Health Care: Free Care for Everyone." In the picture, there are three very long lines ,and most of the people waiting are not happy. I also have an Approximate Wait Time sign that says the wait is 2:59 hours long and a comment from one man saying, "I guess my broken leg will have to wait!" I think my argument is an example of satire because it is highlighting one of the major problems of universal health care. The picture might not make people laugh out loud, but its purpose is to make the viewer think- which is what satire is supposed to do.

Argument with Humor

For my argument with humor, I chose a political cartoon by Garry Trudeau out of the Star-Telegram. It depicts Sarah Palin as a figurine, like a barbie, that a little girl just received, and her mom is reading the directions about her. The doll says things like, "Obama wants to raise taxes" and "God's will has to be done to get that gas line built!" The instruction booklet that the mom is reading says things like "Enjoy your Sarah sound bites...if you play them enough times, after a while they will actually sound true" and "to hear Sarah before she was reprogrammed by the McCain campaign, press her nose twice." This is an example of satire. Clearly, one can see the problem that the creator of this cartoon is trying to inform us of. I think that the cartoon has a better effect on people than just simply stating things like this because it is funny, and it is hard to get mad, even if you do not agree with what he is saying.