Marking Period #4

In Fight Over Piracy Bills, New Economy Rises Against Old- Jonathon Weisman, New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/19/technology/web-protests-piracy-bill-and-2-key-senators-change-course.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&sq=PIPA%20and%20SOPA&st=cse&scp=10

In Jonathon Weisman's essay, the New York Times' columnist addresses the transformation of an old to new economy, where individual citizens are rising up against government legislation. Websites, such as Reddit, Google, and Wikipedia blocked their websites in protest against internet restrictions. Due to widespread protests against the PIPA and SOPA bills, prominent supporters of the bills eventually waned. “The problem for the content industry is they just don’t know how to mobilize people. They have a small group of content makers, a few unions, whereas the Internet world, the social media world especially, can reach people in ways we never dreamed of before."- John Feehery.

The proposition of these two bills greatly impacts modern lives, including myself, because I was born into a technological revolution, where the internet and media dramatically impact my life. With the imposing PIPA and SOPA bills, millions of internet users will no longer be able to access certain web pages- we essentially will be losing our world wide freedom due to government suppression.

MARKING PERIOD #3

COLUMNIST: GAIL COLLINS of the NEW YORK TIMES


Article #1: An Early Holiday Hangover
In this article, columnist Gail Collins comically addresses the controversy between political parties, as well as the church, concerning Planned Parenthood and other topics related to sex and abortion. Collins envelops her topic with the aura of the holiday season, contrasting the light hearted atmosphere of the holidays with the darker environment of disapproval and political objection. She addresses the issues in order from least to most important: beginning with Planned Parenthood funds and activists, and ending with the problematic relationship with the Roman Catholic Church and the newest insurance plans that cover the cost of contraceptives.

*Writer's position: Women have a right to control their reproductive lives.
*How her position is communicated: "Dog on the roof," unconstitutional security bills, use of current political issues/rights, incorporation of holidays- "Jingle Bells."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/17/opinion/collins-an-early-holiday-hangover.html?_r=1&ref=gailcollins

Article #2: Housebound for the Holidays
In this article,  columnist Gail Collins evaluates the dilemmas between rivaling political parties, mainly concerning fiscal issues related to taxes, Social Security, and Medicare. She approaches the subject in a humorous matter, addressing the unfair favor of Republicans towards the rich, and stating that "nothing can ever get done," that is, compromises can never be reached in politics. To enhance her point, she compares the rivalry to war movie, Braveheart, to show how out of control the situation has gotten.


*Writer's position:
*How her position is communicated:


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/22/opinion/collins-housebound-for-the-holidays.html?ref=gailcollins

Article #3: Remember the Alamo
In this article, columnist Gail Collins assesses the speedy pass of a two month extension of a popular tax cut, and analyzes its connection to the famous Texan Alamo. She claims that either the "valiant" Republicans in the House would be remembered fondly, or that the government is actually allied with the people. She states "I digress" to allow her audience to come to their own conclusion, and ultimately concludes that the moment an old idea is questioned, fighting will occur between parties, including presidential nominations.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/24/opinion/collins-remember-the-republican-alamo.html?ref=gailcollins