Through the Back Door

As the title says the time has finally come to write the paper which i have been researching about for more than three months now. The biggest problem, for me at least, is how exactly am I actually going to do this and not completely suck at it. So…..I have had to do a lot of thinking about how to actually write this paper. As most people who have actually heard me talk about my topic at length will realize it is something that i actually believe in and at this point to write something like this and actually have it be worth a damn you have to be.

So what I have been thinking is that this paper needs to make the person reading it understand why I feel the way I do, but with facts. You cant really look someone in the eye and tell them they are wrong for thinking a way just by putting words on a page. Throughout our history, great writers have been able to do what I seek. You have to try and change the ideas that the reader has from the begining and try to open their eyes to a new way of looking at things, which is never easy. So in my search to do this, I am also trying to remember that nothing in the world is black or white. The all knowing ‘grey area’ is everywhere all around us. While the firebombings of Japan and Germany were war crimes, at the times, we have a great way to justify them. I have been playing around with that idea in my mind for weeks and came to a great conculsion. Anyone can justify murder, if they are crazy enough to think it is okay.

-Nick

Tags: 08Fern299

So in the day of the internet it is becoming more and more obvious that much of the information that is presented on the internet is not accurate true, or that some things about it are not exactly right. Also we are living in an age where plagerism is becoming more prevalent and few people really care about ripping other people’s work off as their own. So the things that I have written in this space have only been a few things that pertain to a class that I am in, but does that mean that my content information makes me an expert? Of course not. this doesnt mean there isnt plently of great sources out there to be had on the net. For example…. Good Source.

This first source is very easily decipherable as a great source. The article is written with an excelent bibliography to show you exactly where all of their sources came from. The next big thing for me, is they have very good contact information that legitimizes the organization they are claiming to be. Another thing that helps to show the legitamicy of the source is the URL. It clearly shows that the site to some extent has an affiliation with the government and is being used to help provide information to interested parties.

Now that we have seen that excellent source, lets look at a really terrible one….. Bad Souce

So lets analiyze this one. Well they have obviously put some time into thinking about looks i mean that pink is just…. well its really freaking pink. But they lots of facts and pictures. The last source had a lot of good facts. Lets try to find some contact info, wait, oh wow, this site is someone’s project on Japanese information…….yeah. This “Darkchilde” yeah, no idea who this person really is and if they have any expertese in this subject at all, but yet this person’s site came up 3rd in google. Just goes to prove we cant believe everything we read on the net. Yes, much of the information that is on this site is factual and some of it is correct, but there are no sources on which to back this up. Without that this is just garble thrown up on a page.

-Nick

Tags: 08Fern299, internet, sources

So, many of my friends know me very well as a liberal due to the fact that whenever a political debate arises I am always in the muck trying to make sure my point is heard. So with that in mind please view my post respectivly and dont hate too much.

My basic point that I have to make is that McCain picking Palin as his running mate was great amazing politics. I really dont think there is any other way to explain it. By picking a female running mate he is capitalizing on many women’s want to see a woman high up in government, especially those who are already conservative. I myself have had to sit through talk of the fact that Hilary didn’t get the nomination being an exercise in sexism and try not to say anything but I think it is about time I did. There is no glass ceiling in my opinion in politics. People can say what they want to me, but it is my own personal belief. So the fact that Hilary didn’t get the nomination wasn’t becasue she was a woman and Barack didn’t get it just because he was black. Obama won the nomination because he was the superior candidate as decided by the people. So, with that said, part of me thinks that John McCain simply picked Palin to pick up the votes of the women in the middle, and Hilary supporters who are weary of Obama. That is the only reason for me that it would make sense.

Palin has only been a governor of Alaska for a little under two years and has absolutly no international experince. Some people like to try to use that one on Obama who has been on the Senate Committie on Foreign Relations for the past few years. Even if that is a problem, Biden is the chairmen on the same committie so the arguement cant be used both ways. Palin is inexperinced and in my opinion not ready for the office which she has been selected to run for, BUT the politcs of getting votes is so important she is. Say what you want about my assesment, but I would feel much safer with Biden one step away from the presidency than an unexperinced novice on the world stage. I am completely for women in politcs, but the qualified ones should be the ones selected.

-Nick

Tags: Election, Election 08, Obama, Palin, Politics

First off this video was the insperation for my topic. Watch it before reading.

-Nick

Tags: 08Fern299, History, Japan, WWII

I’m sitting here thinking what in the hell am I gonna write this paper on. I am no shit freaking out about it because I have always been one of those people who just kind of rambles about what they are researching and I really need to focus.

Well, I know I want to write about either something related to WWII military history or the Arab-Isreali Conflict, but the wall I am hitting right now is I have no idea what to talk about. Maybe some research will help and maybe I should just chill out.

“We learn from history that we learn nothing from history.” - George Bernard Shaw

From the small age of about ten I have had a genuine interest in the study of history. It was always me best subject in school. When told to go to the library to get books to read, looking back now, I realize the large majority of the books I chose were related to history. I was captivated by the Romans, the Greeks, and even things that had happened in the 60’s. I think my parents encouraging me to learn as much as I could had a large amount to do with this as well, as little as they may realize it.

Although I had always maintained an interest in history, it wasn’t until I reached high school that a two of my teachers over my time there were able to make me realize how important history really was to me. On the first day walking into freshman history, my teacher had written on the board, “Those who do not learn from the past, are doomed to repeat it.” I had heard this before but it wasn’t until after I took his class that the depth of that so well known statement really began to stick with me. During my junior year of high school I was graced with an amazing teacher, a man by the name of Kevin Trent. He had been my long time swimming coach for years, but I was now a student in his class. I never in my entire high school did I discover a teacher her was able to teach and encourage his students to learn more. It was after this that I realized what I had to do. I had to teach.

Finally I had discovered what it was I was supposed to do. I would help to try and show the youth, the so called “future” of every generation that we don’t have to keep repeating the same mistakes like we have. Many will look at this and say, not everyone has the influence to change the decisions of a nation, or prevent people from fighting wars over the same topics such as religion or lack of resources. The response I developed to that line of thought was that it is not just something that we have to do if we are in power, everyone has the ability to do this in their lives. Every now and then stop and reflect on the past and see what you can learn from that, to take your life in the direction you want to, and to maybe not make that mistake a second, third, or fourth time. I am a strong believer that without our past we do not know the complete image of who we are, due to the fact that the decisions every day effect the human we become. I feel a need to help students learn that history is not all about old white men in wigs or names and dates, but the facts and events that shaped how each and everyone of us are today.

“He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future”

-George Orwell 1984

Tags: 08Fern299, History

Welcome to UMW Blogs. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging! If you need some help getting started please refer to the support documentation here.

We recommend you change your password and activate the spam filter plugin Spam Karma as soon as possible.