TOW #13 - Sandy Hook Shooting

When news spread around the country that 26 innocent lives were taken by a heavily armed gunman at a Connecticut Elementary School, a wave of fear and anxiety crashed down on millions of Americans. However, this news hit a little too close to home for Shannon Watts, a 43-year-old stay at home mom living in the suburbs of Indianapolis, Indiana. Instead of sitting around and hoping the same thing wouldn't occur at her child's home, she decided to take action. She logged onto Facebook that same day, and her life would never be the same. She started the organization "Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America" and has also joined what is now called "Everytown for Gun Safety." Her organization, now backed by 3.5 million volunteers, has quickly become a dominant force in the nation's policy on gun control. After recent controversy over the shooting at San Bernardino, people have taken a stand against her organization by saying that nothing has change on gun control since Sandy Hook. Through the use of an argumentative tone, she established an appeal to the audience's logic, thus exemplifying that the controversy of gun control has made great strides over the last three years. To this accusation, Watts responded by running off a list of everything her organization has done to help the ongoing issue of gun control. "We've pressured major retailers and restaurant chains such as Target, Starbucks, Chipotle, Sonic, Chili's and Jack in the Box to establish gun sense policies and prohibit the open carry of guns in their locations." And if that wasn't enough to silence the doubters, she continues with the factual tone to further her argument. "Since Sandy Hook, six states have passed background check laws. In 2015, nine states have enacted legislation to protect victims of domestic violence by keeping guns out of the hands of their abusers." Through her argumentative and factual tone, she gives plenty of reason to the people who believed that gun control organizations had little impact on society. In reality, it's not something that can happen overnight, and for Watts to list of all of those accomplishments shows the major accomplishments of organizations all over the country. With this band of mothers working together towards a common goals, it's quite obvious that these moms will never be silent again. 

Vocab List #3

Fortuitous:

• Context: "It was fortuitous that most of the money had been locked away and that the sum taken was relatively small."
• My Guess: To be very lucky through an unfortunate event
• Dictionary Definition: Happening or produced by chance; accidental // fortunate, lucky
• My Example: John was fortuitous that the large tree fell away from the house and into the street, or else it would have split the house in half
• Connotation: Positive

Mundane:

• Context: "Kanye West has been inundated with fans asking mundane questions after he asked he followers to leave him alone so he can work on his new album."
• My Guess: Obnoxious or annoying
• Dictionary Definition: Characterized by the practical, transitory, and ordinary
• Mnemonic Device: Mund sounds like mud, which is boring and bland
• Another Example: "They decided on buttock tattoos, rather than the more mundane engagement ring, because a tattoo is permanent. You can always pawn a ring." —Mike Royko, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 1988

Opulent:

• Context: :An opulent commercial office and warehouse complex built during the excesses of the mid-2000s — before the big crash — sold Friday for substantially less than its original cost."
• My Guess: Very expensive, or of fancy quality
• Dictionary Definition: Ostentatiously rich and luxurious or lavish
• Mnemonic Device: Oprah is rich… (Op)rah and (op)ulent
• Connotation: Positive

Ostentatious:

• Context: "Ostentatiously rich and luxurious or lavish."
• My Guess: Large and eye-catching
• Dictionary Definition: Intended to attract notice and impress others
• Mnemonic Device: Ostriches are eye-catching and very well noticeable
•  Another Example: "Today, Yudashkin continues to show his opulent designs in Paris and remains inspired by the country he is proud to call home."

Reverence:

• Context: "Reverence for nature and its beauty is evident in the Morro Bay garden of David and Justine Thomas."
• My Guess: Respect towards a certain person, place, or thing
• Dictionary Definition: A feeling of profound respect for someone or something
• Mnemonic Device: A reverend was one associated to the Church in the 1800s and people looked up to them with utmost respect
• Connotation: Positive

Tenacious:

• Context: "You guys have to want it more. More importantly you guys have to play tenacious D." - Coach Wilson
• My Guess: Aggressive and overwhelming
• Dictionary Definition: Pertinacious, persistent, stubborn, or obstinate
• Another example: "The hooks on the end of final strokes indicate a tenacious mind that holds on to ideas and opinions as tight as a snapping turtle."
• My Example: She wanted a car for 18th birthday, and she became a tenacious lunatic when her parents first told her "No."

Haughty:

• Context: "The ubiquitous presence of these haughty MPs provided ready proof of the dire domestic situation in Kenya and therefore a reason why other countries must not listen to the country's pleas."
• My Guess: Overly ambitious
• Dictionary Definition: Arrogantly superior and disdainful
• Another Example: "He even persuaded the almighty Oprah to come out of acting retirement and do a comic bit poking fun of her haughty image."
• History: "1520-30; obsolete haught (spelling variant of late Middle English haute < Middle French < Latin altus high." (Dictionary.com)

Enervating:

• Context: "… like any clickbait headline on the internet, tend to disappoint rather than enervate."
• My Guess: To excite someone about an event
• Dictionary Definition: To cause (someone) to feel drained of energy or vitality; weaken
• My Example: The ride to the beach was quite enervating due to the fact that we hit about an hour and a half of traffic on the way.
• Connotation: Negative

Demagogue:

• Context: The author of the Donald Trump article described Trump's campaign as a demagogue, and an effective one as well.
• My (First) Guess: A dictatorship of some sort
• Dictionary Definition: Appealing to the public's passion, instead of a rational argument
• Mnemonic Device: (Demo)graphics are characteristics of a certain population
• My Example: The teacher ran a demagogue in the classroom when he decided to never give his students any homework.

Conundrum:

• Context: An article titled "An alternative to the White Sox market conundrum" which went into problems they had with free agency
• My Guess: A clear problem in a specific situation
• Dictionary Definition: a confusing and difficult problem or question.
• My Example: While Batman was trying to foil the Riddler's, he was overwhelmed by the conundrum of the last riddle.
• Connotation: Negative

TOW #12 - Unbroken

God gives his toughest battles to his toughest soldiers. After my reading of Unbroken, a biography about the hardships of being lost at sea, and the brutality of being a Prisoner of War, it's apparent that Louis Zamperini was one of His strongest soldiers. Throughout the first half of the reading, Laura Hillenbrand revealed the struggles that Zamperini had to face during World War II. Once a man trying to break the world record for fastest mile time, he lost all of that when he went through 47 days lost at sea. He lost 15 pounds, and went through hell, like no other man should on this planet. But that wasn't his worst memory in the war. After 47 days, he finally reached land, just to be captured by the Japanese, and sent to a POW camp. He was abused, exploited, embarrassed, but yet his spirit never quit. He was going to survive, no matter what obstacles were thrown his way. In the biography, Hillenbrand utilized an inspirational tone when discussing his feats and struggles in order to exemplify that Louis should be idolized for not just he perseverance on the track, but even when he had nothing, Louis had something worth fighting for, his life. "To expand his lung capacity, he ran to the public pool at Redondo Beach, dove to the bottom, grabbed the drain plug, and just floated there, hanging on a little longer each time. Eventually, he could stay underwater for three minutes and forty-five seconds." (pg. 34). Louis had a goal in mind, and that was to break the world record, just like any other Olympian runner in the world. However, his training efforts were so driven, revealing not only his physical toughness, but mental toughness, which would be essentially when carrying over to his war experience. "The same attributes that had made [Louie] the boy terror of Torrance were keeping him alive in the greatest struggle of his life." (pg. 116). He had nothing. He was just a man stranded in the Pacific Ocean, and his only companions were his two crew members, and hungry great white sharks. However that didn't shake him, as revealed by the inspirational tone Hillenbrand uses to describe his actions through his toughest battle. By exemplifying his hardships, and utilizing the tone of inspiration to reveal Louis' perseverance, the audience can appreciate that even when you're struggling, or going through rough times, there is always something that makes you keep fighting. 

TOW #11 - JV Squad

Over the past year, the world has experienced endless threats from the terrorist group, ISIS, and yet it seems that only after the attack on Paris has the world began to understand the gravity of the situation. About a year ago, when the ISIS threat was beginning to become imminent, President Obama referred to the terrorist group as a JV basketball squad, and how if they put on a Lakers uniform, it doesn't make them Kobe Bryant. This statement resulted in much debate about the legitimacy of ISIS. Rick McKee, illustrator of this cartoon, has been editorial cartoonist for The Augusta Chronicle since 1998, and now has his own website where his cartoons are becoming quite popular around the nation. Through the uses of ironic humor, McKee effectively communicates his purpose that Washington needs to start addressing ISIS as a ominous threat to western civilization and focusing their attention to eliminating the problem.

Although this cartoon was originally created in August of 2014, after watching the chaos that transpired in Paris last month, the irony in McKee's cartoon is magnified to an even greater scale. With Obama focusing on his golf game, we see him brush off ISIS "the JV team" acting as if they were no big deal. The irony - the figure representing the terrorist group has shoes that are just as big as Obama himself. With the attacks on Paris, the entire world was forced to turn their attention to the conflict that ISIS proposes. It is time to stop avoiding the war on terror, and time to address and eliminate the issue that the entire western hemisphere is beginning to face.

Vocab List #2 - 12/1/15

Magnanimity:

• Context: We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them…
• My Guess: The greatness of a person
• Dictionary Definition: The virtue of being great of mind and heart. It encompasses, usually, a refusal to be petty, a willingness to face danger, and actions for noble purposes
• History: Derived from the Latin roots magna (great), and animus (mind) in term meaning literally greatly generous
• Other Example: George Washington had the magnanimity like no other, making him the obvious candidate for the first president of the United States of America

Consanguinity:

• Context: They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity
• My Guess: The unity in a specific system of government
• Dictionary Definition: Having the same ancestry or descent; related by blood.
• History: Derived from the Latin word consanguinitas meaning "blood relation"
• My Example: John Hart, the one who signed the Declaration of Independence, and are similar in consanguinity

Rectitude:

• Context: Appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People…
• My Guess: Correctness of any action
• Dictionary Definition: morally correct behavior or thinking; righteousness.
• Mnemonic Device: Rechts means "right" in German, so rectitude means the rightness of something
• My Example:  When Dan stopped to help pick up the girl's books, which he accidentally knocked out of her hands, he exemplified rectitude.

Usurpation:

• Context: We have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations…
• My Guess: Wrongful actions
• Dictionary Definition: Wrongful or illegal encroachment, infringement, or seizure
• Connotation: Negative
• My Example: When John painted graffiti in the bathroom, it was considered usurpation.

Forbearance:

• Context: He was merciful as a conqueror, stern as a disciplinarian, enterprising and wary as a general; while his courage, loyalty and forbearance seem to have been almost unsullied.
• My Guess: Tolerance for something
• Dictionary Definition: The quality of someone who is patient and able to deal with a difficult person or situation without becoming angry
• Connotation: Positive
• Mnemonic Device: To bear with someone is to be patient with them, similar to forbearance

Loquacious:

• Context: Recognizing the fact she had the habit of being rather loquacious, Amy fought to hold her tongue during the meeting.
• My Guess: Talkative
• Dictionary Definition: Talkative or tending to talk freely
• My Example: Sandra was a loquacious young teenager, making it hard for her to keep a secret.
• Connotation: Negative in most cases, but can be positive.

Ubiquitous:

• Context: The first of these was an unimportant affair, probably nursed by the agents provocateurs of Fouche's ubiquitous police.
• My Guess: Having a great presence
• Dictionary Definition: Existing or being everywhere, especially at the same time; omnipresent
• History: The word ubiquitous is derived from the Latin root ubique meaning everywhere
• My Example: While driving up the mountain, the ominous fog was ubiquitous.

Aberration:

• Context: They described the outbreak of violence in the area as an aberration
• My Guess: Unusual chain of events
• Dictionary Definition: The act of departing from the right, normal, or usual course
• My Example: It was an aberration when Jimmy ordered a bacon cheeseburger, when he always would order the cheesesteak!
• Connotation: Negative

Deleterious:

• Context: The deleterious influence of high blood pressure has engaged the attention of physicians and pathologists
• My Guess: Having a negative impact
• Dictionary Definition: Causing harm or damage
• My Example: The deleterious impact of his parent's divorce was that he was always on the move from his dad's house to his mom's house, never staying at the same place for more than a couple of days.
• Mnemonic Device: When you delete something, you get rid of it

Surreptitious:

• Context: The actions of George W. Bush choking on a pretzel was surreptitious, knowing full well he would've been heckled if word got out.
• My Guess: Actions that are usually frowned upon in society
• Dictionary Definition: kept secret, especially because it would not be approved of
• Connotation: Negative
• My Example: John was cheating on his girlfriend, yet he was quite surreptitious, knowing that he would be in a load of trouble if she found out.