Election Reform Amendment Essay -- Campaign Finance Reform, Super PACs

Introduction: In the last election cycle, 132 Americans accounted for sixty percent of all the Super Political Action Committees’ (PACs) money (Lessig 2013). With statistics like this, it is no wonder the average American does not feel as though his or her vote is meaningful. In the scheme of the corruption of political money, it truly isn’t. In the current American way of government elections, the average citizen does not choose the candidate; he or she merely has the opportunity to decipher which best fits his or her beliefs, out of the ones suggested by the large election donors. Since this is what a citizen’s vote currently decides, many Americans feel they are choosing the lesser of two evils when electing a candidate. This is not to say that all elected officials are evil, it just confirms that citizens are not getting the voice they are assured in the Constitution. Year after year incumbents are reelected, but the approval rating of Congress is lower than root canals and head lice (Jensen, 2013). In the 2002 Congressional elections, 94% of the candidates who raised the most money won their races (Ackerman & Ayres, 2002). When these statistics are viewed together, they do not make sense. Why would unpopular incumbents retain their seat in office? The only explanation is funding, and the trend has always been that the candidate with the most funds wins; most notably with incumbents in Congress. Candidates are not all to blame for this happening, a great deal of the problem can be attributed to the way the system has been established. Instead of candidates focusing on key interests, they focus on what will allow them to earn the most money. As Leslie Byrne, former representative from Virginia, was told when coming into ... ...nce (2013). Lester Land: The Corruption of Congress and How to End It. TED Conferences. McPhail, Stuart (2013). "A Million Corporations With a Million Campaign Ads: Citizens United, the People’s Rights Amendment, and the Speech of Non-Persons" Retrieved from http://works.bepress.com/stuart_mcphail/1 Nichols, John, and Robert McChesney (2013). Dollarocracy: How the Money-and-media Election Complex Is Destroying America. New York City: Nation Books. O’Donnell, Ryan (2013). Support for Amending the Constitution to Overturn Citizens United is One-Third of the Way There. Free Speech for People Organization. Retrieved from http://freespeechforpeople.org/node/601 Page, Susan (2012). Why 90 Million Americans Won't Vote in November. USATODAY.COM. USA Today. Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2012-08-15/non-voters-obama-romney/57055184/1.

Essay --

Project 4-1: Develop a Personal Disaster Plan 1. Determine which types of natural disasters are the most common for the region in which you live. In Kansas and Missouri states, the most common natural disasters are occurred by Tornado’s and Snow storms. Kansas is ranked in 3rd position in the frequency of tornados. Missouri is ranked in 8th position. Joplin tornado was one of the biggest disasters in Missouri State. This occurred in the summer of 2011. This disaster took lives of more than 150 people and injured over 1000 people. This disaster caused property damage close to $3 billion. The maximum width covered by this tornado is close to 1 mile. St. John’s Regional Medical Center was one of the most damaged areas of this tornado. Heavy snow falls in the months of January and February and a minimum of over 10 inches snow fall is expected in every winter. So we have to be prepared for the snow storms as well 2. Find out which government or private agencies and organizations have information on disasters for your area. There are several government or private agencies which have information regarding disasters in our area. One of the government agencies among those is Missouri Department of public safety State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA). This has information regarding planning and preparing for disasters. This also has information regarding recovering and rebuilding from the disaster. This will also let people to volunteer for the disaster recovering programs. The plan and prepare section of the official website of SEMA has information on how to plan ahead for the various disasters like preparing for severe winter weather conditions, preparing for tornados, preparing for floods, etc. There is also one more agency ca... ...t state. †¢ Teach them about the first-aid process and other safety procedures. †¢ Mock the situation and practice my family in case of emergency. References:- 1. 2011 Joplin tornado - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Joplin_tornado 2. Retrieved from stormaware.mo.gov/preparing-for-a-tornado/ 3. Retrieved from stormaware.mo.gov/tornado-facts-history/ 4. How to Prepare for a Tornado: 14 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2014, from http://www.wikihow.com/Prepare-for-a-Tornado 5. Kansas Tornadoes. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.disastercenter.com/kansas/tornado.html 6. Missouri Tornadoes. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.disastercenter.com/missouri/tornado.html 7. Severe Winter Weather. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://sema.dps.mo.gov/plan_and_prepare/winter_weather.asp Essay -- Project 4-1: Develop a Personal Disaster Plan 1. Determine which types of natural disasters are the most common for the region in which you live. In Kansas and Missouri states, the most common natural disasters are occurred by Tornado’s and Snow storms. Kansas is ranked in 3rd position in the frequency of tornados. Missouri is ranked in 8th position. Joplin tornado was one of the biggest disasters in Missouri State. This occurred in the summer of 2011. This disaster took lives of more than 150 people and injured over 1000 people. This disaster caused property damage close to $3 billion. The maximum width covered by this tornado is close to 1 mile. St. John’s Regional Medical Center was one of the most damaged areas of this tornado. Heavy snow falls in the months of January and February and a minimum of over 10 inches snow fall is expected in every winter. So we have to be prepared for the snow storms as well 2. Find out which government or private agencies and organizations have information on disasters for your area. There are several government or private agencies which have information regarding disasters in our area. One of the government agencies among those is Missouri Department of public safety State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA). This has information regarding planning and preparing for disasters. This also has information regarding recovering and rebuilding from the disaster. This will also let people to volunteer for the disaster recovering programs. The plan and prepare section of the official website of SEMA has information on how to plan ahead for the various disasters like preparing for severe winter weather conditions, preparing for tornados, preparing for floods, etc. There is also one more agency ca... ...t state. †¢ Teach them about the first-aid process and other safety procedures. †¢ Mock the situation and practice my family in case of emergency. References:- 1. 2011 Joplin tornado - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Joplin_tornado 2. Retrieved from stormaware.mo.gov/preparing-for-a-tornado/ 3. Retrieved from stormaware.mo.gov/tornado-facts-history/ 4. How to Prepare for a Tornado: 14 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2014, from http://www.wikihow.com/Prepare-for-a-Tornado 5. Kansas Tornadoes. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.disastercenter.com/kansas/tornado.html 6. Missouri Tornadoes. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.disastercenter.com/missouri/tornado.html 7. Severe Winter Weather. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://sema.dps.mo.gov/plan_and_prepare/winter_weather.asp

Plato †Justice Essay

1. Introduction In this essay in is a discussion about based on philosopher and which group of people Plato thinks should be ruling and why. The essay will start off with clarifying key concepts, for example what is a philosopher because it is much easier to understand the easy when one understands the key terms in it, terms that will appear throughout the essay itself. Then Plato’s theory will then be analysed in more detail and it is also of great importance that one also talks about Plato’s background because that is where he started to see things and that is when he started having ideas as to how the country should be ruled or governed and who should be doing the governing. It is also very important for a person to look at what was said by other people about Plato’s ideal state. 2. Clarification of key concepts. Bellow will be the clarification of key concepts and by that it simply means that the key words that will be used in this essay will be defined and understood a little more better for convenient reading. 2. 1 What is a philosopher? When one is tackling such an essay it is very important that one understands what a philosopher is and what makes one a philosopher. Well a philosopher is a person who always trying to understand life and why things are done the way they are being done and also find better ways of doing things. Philosophers seek answers to the questions of life and seek solutions. Philosophers use their intellect and also their personal experiences. Philosophers are also people that love to share wisdom and teach others what they already know so that they can also grow. When one talks about philosophers it is mostly about people that are deep thinkers and they think about life and the things that happen around them on a daily basis. According to Benson (1992: 63) â€Å"during the ancient times Greek philosophers would sometimes spend the whole day thinking and for that day they would not talk to anyone, it would be just them and their thoughts†. A philosopher can be anyone and from any gender, anyone who has an interest in the study of knowledge. 2. 2 Theory of Justice According to Pappas (1995: 32) â€Å"justice is defined by Polemarchus as the act of giving what belongs to the person and doing good to friends and not good by enemies†. Theory of justice is all about treating people fairly and by fairly it means as they deserve. Rawls (2001: 83) points out that justice can be defined two different ways, one definition being that a person must earn it for example by merit or an individual can lack it. So according to this definition it is clear that it simply means that one must be treated exactly as they deserve. This â€Å"merit theory† of justice, reflecting utilitarian ethics, uses merit to determine just how individual members of society will be rewarded or punished based solely upon whether one’s conduct is useful or harmful to society. The â€Å"need theory† of justice, which assumes that individual members of society should help those other members who are most in need so as to redress their disadvantages. So this is all about treating people as they deserve and rewarding them as they should be or for some punishing them. 3. 3 Theory of Souls Plato’s Theories of Soul According to Lorenz & Hendrik â€Å"there were various developments that were occurring in the sixth and fifth centuries in the way Greeks thought and spoke of the soul resulted in a very complex notion that strikes one as amazingly close to conceptions of the soul that we find in fourth century philosophical theories, notably Plato’s†. There is thus some reason to think that the philosophical theories in question are best interpreted as working with, and on, the relatively non-theoretical notion of the soul that by the end of the fifth century has come to be embedded in ordinary language. In what follows our main concern will be to characterize some of the theories in question. But we should also attend, wherever this seems appropriate and helpful, to ways in which familiarity with the ordinary notion of the soul might enable us better to understand why a theory or an argument proceeds the way it does. In addition, we should note ways in which philosophical theories might seem to clarify and further articulate the ordinary notion. We begin with Plato, and with a question that is intimately tied up with the ordinary notion of the soul as it developed from the Homeric poems onwards, namely whether a person’s soul does indeed survive the person’s death. 3. Plato’s background In understanding Plato more it is very important that one also knows Plato’s background. Plato was born in the year 427 BC and was born in an Aristocratic family. An Aristocratic family is one that is on the one hand impractical, reason being that they were based on a God-like willingness to place the good of the community before the rulers own interest (Heywood, 2007:28). According to Plato politics in natural and not artificial. It is also important that one states that Plato’s greatest influence was Socrates as he learned a lot from him. 4. How Plato views democracy and who should rule according to Plato Heywood (2007: 71) states that thinkers such as Plato as well as Aristotle had a different view to democracy and they saw it as a system that was there to rule masses at the expense of wisdom and property. Plato wanted people to be ruled by philosophers. According to Heywood (2007: 76) â€Å"political equality was useless and he attacked it on grounds that the people possess neither the wisdom nor the experience to rule wisely on their behalf†. So according to Plato the best people for the job of representing the people it was the philosophers. Plato believed that the philosophers were wise educated people that would apply logical thinking and also use experience too. According to Plato in his book â€Å"the republic† Plato stated that government should be placed in the hands of the philosophers being the kings and guardians. And their rule will be that viewed as dictatorship. Plato called this â€Å"Rule by the virtuous† (Heywood, 2007:76). As it was said by Plato himself that the states troubles will never end and civilisation itself, till the world is ruled by philosophers being kings. Plato states that political power must be in the hands of kings (Plato, 2007: 192). One can say that Plato came with really good points as to why knowledgeable person should be the one’s put in charge to rule and govern the world and for them to bring happiness and justice to the world; it may look like the ideal Republic. But still with all that said it is still unrealistic. And to further show that that is unrealistic, as it was said by Aristotle â€Å"man by nature is a political animal and it is inevitable for all†. People will always have something to say as to how they would like to see things happening and people will always want to voice out their opinions about what they do not like and how it should be done. People want to be involved in decisions that will affect them at the end of the day. Plato’s argument is seen as unrealistic because it is like he is asking people to just turn a blind eye in the political process and also to leave their rights and opinions in the hands of the philosophers and is so doing they will be giving in to being dictated. All one sees is that Plato’s ideal state will be just unfit, the same thing that he said about a democratic state, and it is just unfit. Plato’s argument could be seen as valid as he states that philosophers have the â€Å"capacity to grasp the eternal and absolute†, as it is clear to see that common men or the public have no true knowledge of reality to govern themselves (Plato, 2007: 204). Nevertheless, this argument is not persuasive or realistic in contemporary politics and the modern state, for a number of reasons. Plato’s idea of specialization is also linked to justice, which he considers to be structural, as political justice is a result of a structured city, where individual justice is a result of a structured soul, and where each member of the polis has a â€Å"specific craft for which he has a natural aptitude† (Reeve; 2009, 69). â€Å"Ruling †¦ is a skill† (Wolff; 2006, 68), which requires special training available to few. At the same time, philosophers must possess qualities that enable them to rule; for instance, they must be able to recognize the difference between friend and foe, good and bad. Above all, philosophers must â€Å"love wisdom† (Nichols; 1984, 254), as the rule of the wise leads to the reigning of justice, as philosophy becomes sovereign. Justice is a virtue, as is knowledge, which requires understanding. Understanding refers to goodness, and thus, knowledge and goodness are one. The philosopher kings have virtue as they have knowledge, and thus, according to Plato, their rule is justified. Conclusion.

Invisible Man Essay

In Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, the character of Trueblood is unique and well developed. Trueblood is a man who impregnates his wife, and at the same period of time commits incest and impregnates his daughter. This character’s reasoning for having sexual relations with his daughter is that he was dreaming when this happened; a feat that while fantastical, could also be plausible due to Trueblood’s nature. Trueblood, while a moral character aside from his transgression, is also oblivious. A good example of this happens on page 48 when Dr.  Norton asks â€Å"You feel no inner turmoil, no need to cast out the offending eye? † to which Trueblood replies â€Å"I’m all right, suh. My eyes is all right too†. Regardless of his ignorance, Trueblood shows remorse for his actions, and believes that a â€Å"man don’t leave his family†, which attests to the morality of the character. Much like the Invisible man, Trueblood found his own morality which did not exactly follow society’s guidelines. When explaining his situation, Trueblood brings up the issue regarding awareness of reality, since according to him he has sex with his daughter during a dream state. As he describes it on page 59, the dream seems to be a metaphor for what actually happened: â€Å"I runs and runs till I should be tired but ain’t tired but feelin’ more rested as I runs†¦ Only I’m still in the tunnel. Then way up ahead I sees a bright light like a jack-o-lantern over a graveyard. It gits brighter and brighter†¦ it burst like a great big electric light in my eyes†. Trueblood comforts himself by saying â€Å"You ain’t guilty†; he does not admit his guilt since he does not see fault in what he did since he was not in control of himself. This is his perception of reality. Again, this unawareness of reality is parallel to the Invisible Man’s life, who cannot see anything as real until understanding he is invisible. The way Trueblood has been treated by the white community, however, seems to be one of the major issues. Before impregnating his own daughter, he claims his life to have been hard: â€Å"Every time I think†¦ what a hard time we was having I gits the shakes† and â€Å"it was cold and us didn’t have much fire†¦ I tried to git help but wouldn’t nobody help us†. After his sinful act, surprisingly enough, it was the white community which came to his aid. Not only are the police ssisting by giving Trueblood protection from the black community, but also assisting by giving him money. To this, Trueblood says â€Å"I done the worse thing a man could even do in his family and instead of chasin’ me out of the country, they gimme more help than they ever give any other colored man† (67). Again, morality is the theme here – the white community is treating Trueblood in a way as if rewarding him, even though his act was actually reprehensible. While this could be seen as the white community’s moral obligation to assist someone who was ostracized from their own community, it could also be seen as moral hypocrisy.

Air Resistance, Tyres And Friction Essays - Classical Mechanics

Air Resistance, Tyres and Friction Blake Smith Dragsters use a combination of large wide tyres or the rear and small narrow tyres on the front this combination is used for the following reasons: The front wheels: The front wheels are very narrow. This is so a minimum of air resistance or drag affects the dragster with lower drag better acceleration an in turn a better top speed can be achieved all leading to a better pass (race time). Now lets try to understand the concept of air resistance and drag. A basic example is placing your hand out the window with your palm facing forwards as you are driving your car along at about sixty kilometres per hour. You will feel a strong force of the wind (air resistance) pushing back at your hand. Now turn your hand side or so that your little finger is facing the front and your thumb is facing the rear at the same speed. The force of air resistance exerted on your hand is greatly reduced. This force is similar as to that exerted on the front wheels of the dragster. Now dragsters reach speeds of up to five hundred kilometres per hour, imagine the force needed to hold your hand against the wind if your palm was facing the front. It would be much easier to hold your hand side on. The same as it would be much easier for the dragsters engine to push the narrow front wheels compared to large ones. Air resistance is a form of friction (namely fluid friction) a friction from the air, as we know friction is defined as a force that opposes movement. The formula used to determine aerodynamic drag is as follows: Drag = 0.5 * rho * Cd * v2 * S Aerodynamic drag is a function of the following: - rho is the air density, which we cannot change. - v2 is velocity squared which is endeavoured to be maximized for the best time and/or pass. - S is the frontal or cross sectional area which we want to minimize. I.e. less frontal area means that a less significant amount of air resistance impedes the top speed and acceleration. - Cd is the coefficient of drag, which we want to minimize. So the two things with which can be worked with or changed, the frontal area and coefficient of drag, both of which need to be to minimized for the best results. Having very narrow front wheels minimizes the frontal area. This is the main reason why narrow front wheels are used. If the smaller the wheel the lower the drag, why not have the wheels narrow and very short as well? You ask. Well the reason is that if the wheels were very small they would drop into all the bumps and cause a loss of speed not to mention control. As the wheels would bounce into the depression and then launch up into the air as they come out of the bump. This is extremely dangerous in that the driver can no longer steer the vehicle that is travelling at near five hundred kilometres per hour, the car can also get air flowing underneath the car, with the effect of air resistance the car will lift up of the ground and flip through the air. Also the rotational force is much harder on the bearings causing more wear and friction meaning slower times. Large wheels are used because they will skim over the bumps and keep the car moving along a flat plane. They also exert less force on the bearings meaning less friction and better times. Now if drag cars use narrow front wheels so they can get less air resistance and a better top speed why don?t all racing vehicles run narrow front wheels? The answer is friction. The front wheels of drag cars do not have high cornering or driving force travelling trough them. I.e. they are only there to hold the front of the car up and allow it to roll along the road. In conventional racecars high forces are exerted on the tyre in the horizontal plane meaning that they need to have a good tread area so that they grip the road well and hold the car on the track so it does not slide off

Faulkner, Absalom Absalom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Faulkner, Absalom Absalom - Essay Example Though this method allows the reader to see differing points of view, as well as examine the contribution of memory to the myth-making process as the story is told and retold, it raises the issue about how personal experience has a bending effect on memory and narrative. Speculation, guesswork, and alleged fact all play roles in the narrative process – with the accompanying contradictions in logic – leading us to wonder about a larger question – what is the actual truth, and whether truth can only be relative and selective, and never absolute. It also emphasizes how narrative is understood – often not by what is literally said, but by what is hinted at or implied, and often left unsaid. Faulkner does highlight the racial issues that plagued the South before and after the Civil War in this novel, and indeed race is a central theme in most of his work. However, it is disappointing to note that none of his works present an opportunity for black characters to speak in their own voices. The story is wholly from the white point of view, which is a one-sided approach to say the least. The downfall of the novel’s protagonist, Thomas Sutpen, can be traced back to his obsession with the founding of a dynasty. The single-minded pursuit of this goal precludes Sutpen from engaging emotionally with the people around him, be the family or townspeople, and this is the cause of his descent into alcoholism, ruin, and ultimately his murder by Wash Jones, a squatter on the Sutpen plantation. While Faulkner does not try to base his novel on research and factual data, such as dates and historical incidents, it is obvious his aim is to present an equally powerful history, â€Å"a few old mouth-to-mouth tales†, based on sentiment. (Faulkner 100). Thus what we see is an emotional history of the Civil War period contrasted with the factual history of the era. Faulkner’s epic novel mirrors the unsure feelings of love and hate, most Southerners, including

LensCrafters Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

LensCrafters Case Study - Essay Example These factors, together with the chain’s value chain and potential challenges are the principal focus of this paper. LensCrafters’ operations strategy and sustainability based competitive advantage LensCrafters was the first optical vendor to promise its customers quality eyeglasses within a short duration of one hour. The chain is able to attain this challenging feat by introducing autonomous onsite optometrists, fully equipped optical laboratories, as well as, a broad range of glasses’ frames at every outlet. LensCrafters’ operations strategy is guided by its mission, which explicitly states that the chain focuses on being the world’s best optical outlet. This happens through creating a loyal customer base, by promoting formation of a dynamic team of leaders and associates, who craft high quality eyewear in just one hour, and deliver superior services that meet customer’s personal needs and preferences (Collier & Vans, 2011). It is clear th at LensCrafters is a distinctive optical chain in marketplace, since it offers full laboratory analysis onsite and is also able to provide the customers with quality eyeglasses or contacts within one hour or even less. This service is coupled with a ninety day guarantee, which allows customers to return their spectacles unconditionally or exchange them, if they do not meet specifications. Additionally, the optical retailer offers an extended protection scheme and optometrists to give customers’ a comprehensive eyes’ examination, while offering them the chance to pay later. This allows them to broaden the customer base, since everyone can afford services provided (Collier & Vans, 2011). In terms of sustainability, the company has a broad range of strategies that give it competitive advantage over rivals in the optometric industry. For instance, LensCrafters has focused extensively on its philanthropic efforts in the diverse societies in which its service outlets are loc ated. An excellent example is the optical retailer’s partnership with Lions Club’s branches to facilitate recycling of used spectacles, in order to help those individuals that do not have enough money to purchase new eyeglasses. This distinctive service is provided not only in the chain’s American domicile, but also in developing countries like South America’s Puerto Rico. This philanthropic act enables the optical dealer to provide its immense expertise to needy individuals. The strategy has brought the company a lot of goodwill among customers, since they know that associating with LensCrafters allows them to reach out to the underprivileged in society. Humanitarian efforts, therefore, gives LensCrafters competitive advantage over other global optical companies. For specificity, the company has programs like â€Å"Give the sight gift†, in which the company offers vouchers to needy customers, for them to acquire free eyeglasses. There is also the â€Å"See more† program, whereby official company vans travel to public schools locally and internationally giving free eye care to kids (Collier & Vans, 2011). Another important aspect is that, LensCrafters’ staff work for longer office hours. This allows them to cater for many customers, in an economic environment characterized by extremely busy work schedules and little free time. The firm also upholds environment protection efforts, an action evident from its eyewear recycling program. All these efforts clearly depict LensCrafters’