Brightmoor.

Although I'd like to say that this article suprised me, I can't. The neighborhoods of Detroit are known to be bad, and nobody seems to be doing anything about it. People wonder why the population in Detroit is decreasing at a rapid rate. The reason really is quite logical. Why would anyone in their right mind want to live somewhere with abandoned, dilapidated houses, burglars/robberies on a regular basis, and a city government that doesn't even care? Henderson reveals in his article a couple who deals with the consequences that come along with living in such a neighborhood. I think he used two specific literary devices that enhanced the effect of the article. The first is sarcasm. This increases the effect on reader's because it shows just how ridiculous the whole situation is. After Henderson reveals the Quades' "crime," he goes on to say, "The nerve! It was time to crack down." The sarcasm used here is obviously directed towards the city commission. They are worried about this old couple who almost always keeps their property presentable when there are much worse things happening there. The second device used is logos. Henderson supports his view on the whole ordeal with some very logical analyzations. He talks about how other residents in the neighborhood have their garbage cans out two or three days after garbage pick-up. Even though many others are guilty of the same crime, the city decides to single out one couple. Not only that, the Quades' probably have the best up-kept house in all of Brightmoor. Another good point that Henderson makes is the priorities of the city comission. They don't care about the grabage all over the place, or the crimes that occur on a regular basis, but yet they find it important to have pretty trees lining the street. This shows just how messed up the priorities of the city are. The Quades' have been complaing about this for a long time, yet they havn't gotten any response whatsoever.

From a Student's Perspective

It’s obvious that Darnell’s article has had an immense impact on many simply by scrolling through others’ comments on it. This article has such an effect for various reasons. Darnell is only a high school student. This simple fact contributes to the importance of the essay. It shows how Kwame’s poor decisions not only affect adults in Detroit, but everyone, even students. Darnell’s plea for Kwame to resign is entirely sincere and backed up with good reason. His description of the way students perform in the schools of Detroit and his neighborhood helps to emphasize how our mayor is not doing anything positive for the city of Detroit. Darnell states how some of his classmates have such poor grammar that their literary works are barely legible. He also describes how this makes him almost want to cry, which shows the audience how sincere he is.

Darnell also used a lot of rhetorical questions in his article. This helps to emphasize the effect of the article because it reveals important questions that the mayor should be considering and answering. Also, it helps to illuminate how Kwame isn’t really improving Detroit at all. His questions also help to put down Kwame’s reputation and show the readers his true character. One such example of this is when Darnell is talking about the last few unscripted minutes of Kwame’s speech. The student asks rhetorically after addressing Kwame’s use of the n-word, “The mayor is clearly a sharp man; can he not see the ramifications of his actions?” Although directly referring to the Mayor’s use of profanity, Darnell is also indirectly referring to Kwame’s sex scandal and waste of millions of dollars. These questions help to reveal the negative effects that our mayor is having on the city and how his actions are worsening Detroit’s already negative reputation.

Darnell’s tone throughout the entire article adds to its overall effect on the audience. Through his use of diction and examples, Gardner displays feelings of distress and sorrow for his city. He talks about the desperation in his neighborhood, how gunshots and use of illegal drugs are common, and how his school’s students aren’t improving. He describes his city as “dilapidated, crumbled, abandoned, and lost.” Darnell’s wise choice of words also contributes to the legitimacy of his article, and allows readers to read it knowing that what Darnell is saying is true and heartfelt. He also says how his words are not “tainted with ‘bigotry’ or a product of some ‘lynch-mob mentality.” He is obviously referring to Kwame’s speech to the city. The fact that Darnell is African American and says this shows how what Kwame said is not in the least bit accurate. He attempted to take the blame away from him and throw the racist card. Darnell shuts down that accusation in this article, and agrees that Kwame should be convicted and kicked out of office. This article has further convinced me of just how incapable our mayor is and how much of a disgrace he has brought to Detroit. Darnell’s essay had an impact on me and I’m sure on anybody who will read it.

Prosecution Statement on Kwame

Kym L. Worthy's speech displays concrete reasoning behind the prosecution of Mayor Kwame. She uses two rhetorical strategies to reveal a point that will be talked about later. These two strategies are pathos and ethos. Worthy starts off her speech by displaying the high level of character and morale herself and her team possessed while making the investigation. This helps to validate her words and causes her audience to believe more of what she says. Worthy does this by saying the investigation has been unbiased and open-minded. She speaks of long hours put in to investigating whether Kwame is guilty or not, all of this with "careful, deliberate, thoughtful, and analytical" determination. She is very smart in declaring all of this at the start of the speech. This use of ethos allows the audience to listen to the rest of the speech knowing in their minds that what Worthy is saying is genuine and viable. Further along in the prosecution, Kym appeals to the audience by use of ethos once more. She lists the "fundamental principles of the justice system" and says how important they are in this case. By listing these, Kym helps the audience to understand how Kwame has displayed none of these characteristics throughout the past few months. It shows the audience how little integrity and character our Mayor possesses. “Even children understand that lying is wrong." This statement is sort of a slap in the face towards Kwame. Worthy compares Kwame to a child, implying that Kwame (a grown man) has no problem lying, but a child (not a grown man) knows full well that lying is wrong.

Kym also uses pathos to her favor in this speech. She appeals to the audience’s emotions by stating a few of the consequences that have occurred as a result of Kwame's scandal. Kym reveals how the policemen's lives have been changed, their reputations ruined, and all because they chose to tell the truth. This makes the audience feel bad for the officers, mere victims in Kwame's crime. In addition to feeling remorse towards the officers, this may cause a feeling of anger towards Kwame for having no regard towards the welfare of these policemen. A feeling of resentment is also established when Worthy talks about the betrayal and destruction of the public's trust. Kwame lied about this scandal, so how is the public supposed to believe anything that he says from now on? The issue of public money - also destroyed - adds to the whole mess. Worthy discusses all of this in one paragraph in an attempt to enhance the public's feeling of dislike towards Kwame.

These rhetorical strategies previously discussed all contribute in revealing an underlying point in this speech. Worthy talks a lot about the importance of witnesses being truthful, no matter the cost. She also says how witnesses take an oath saying that they will tell the truth, and nothing but it. These statements allude to Kwame. Kym is essentially saying that Kwame is no exception to obeying the law. He lied in office about his scandal and should not be treated any differently because of his political status.

Our Mayor

At this point, I must say that my opinion of our mayor has sunken to a very low level. In these final words of his speech, all he is trying to do is make the people of Detroit feel sorry for him and his family. Now I don't know the whole scandalous story, but I what I know is enough to infer the we shouldn't be feeling sorry for him, rather, he should be apologizing to us. This tactic that he is using to try and save his reputation is futile in my eyes. From what I've heard, he does not sound at all like an honorable man (but I could very well be mistaken).

Now in his speech, Mayor Kwame uses various rhetorical strategies to enhance and reveal his point. One that really sticks out is the use of pethos. He appeals many times throughout the speech to the emotions of the citizens of Detroit, trying to make us feel sympathetic towards him. One such example is when he talks about him AND his family being called the n-words many times in the past thirty days. Some people listening may have felt a hint of remorse towards him after saying this. Not only has he been called the n-word, but his family too. I think that Kwame brought his family into the speech for the sole reason of making people feel sorry towards him, and it might have worked for some. Another rhetorical strategy used that might have produced the same effect was that of diction. Kwame used carefuly crafted words in order to extract a certain emotion from his audience. An example of this is when he says, "This unethical, illegal lynch mob mentality has got to stop." These descriptive words make it seem like Kwame is being attacked for no good reason. he once again appeals to the audience's emotions and tries to make them feel apologetic towards him. He thinks that by whining about this, maybe he will gain support back and win the people over.

Liberals Show How They Really Feel

This column by Larry was a bit shocking for me. Of course, I knew that Liberal didn' t really care for Conservatives, but I was not aware that their dislike for us was so strong. Elder presented this column using plenty of "they say" arguments/statements. This really helps to authenticate his main point, because it provides evidence. If Elder had simply complained about how mean and one-sided liberals were without any concrete quotes or proof, I'm not entirely sure I would have believed him. Almost all of his quotes are from liberals, and not conservatives. This also helps to prove his point because liberals can't say that he's just making all of this up. Larry uses specific situations throughout the column where liberals speak much too harshly regarding conservatives. One specifc example of him using the "they say" argument is when he's getting his hair cut and the barber starts degrading the Bush Administration. The barber belived with his whole heart that Bush was a "puppet" and that he was behind 9/11 and it was all his fault. This shows how very one-sided liberals are, and Elder presents this information using quotes from an actual liberal, rather than a conservative. No matter what happens, liberals seem to blame conservatives, and overlook mistakes that their own party has made.

What Americans Really Vote For

This cartoonist is attemtping to depict the attitude of most Americans towards the presidential election. The woman could obviously care less about voting; the only voting she will be doing is for American Idol. I think this is a very good portrayal of how the importance of media has surpassed the importance of our government. The cartoonist strategically places the cell phone in the woman's hand to support the point that he's trying to make. That is, people care more about their TV shows than who will be running this country. The cartoonist is making a very bold statement, but in my opinion, a rather accurate one as well. The contrast in the characters' facial expressions also reflects where their values in life are. The man looks all giddy and excited because he gets a chance to make a difference in who will be elected. The woman, on the other hand, has an almost annoyed look to her. It seems that she would rather be talking to her friend on the phone about the latest episode of "The Desperate Housewives" than conversing with this young man about who who will become president.

Potential Presidents?

This is the link to my column: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080116/COL33/801160439/1203

This columnist is going over the results of the Michigan primary that took place on Tuesday. Henderson addresses both Romney's and Hillary's struggles that they still have to overcome if they want a chance in winning the election. Even though Hillary won the democratic vote, Henderson believes that most democrats would rather vote for a republican than to elect Hillary as President. On the other hand, he thinks Mitt Romney faces problems of his own. He says that Mitt needs to work on his credibility and gain more republicans' votes if he wants to win. I agree with this column. Although I have no desire for Hillary to become our President, I'm not sure how i feel about Mitt. I also agree with the fact that if both candidates want to win presidency, they have a lot of work to do.

This column was intended for readers of 18 years and older, with an good education and high interest in politics. If it was designed for a kindergarten class to read, I would make a great deal of changes. I would definately have to start the column with a more "catching" introduction. Five-year olds don't usually have that great of an attention span. The topic in and of itself would be hard to convey to little kids, but there would need to be less statistics and such. I would display the information in the simplest way possible. Kids of that age don't really understand percentages and fractions, so using them would lose their interest. Also, the vocabulary used would need to be toned down a bit. Kindergartners wouldn't be able to comprehend much of the language used in this column. There would have to be more backround about the candidates given, as young children usually don't follow or have any interest in politics.