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[enne40374]

From: enne40374 <enu...@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:57:37 -0700 (PDT)
Local: Tues, Jun 16 2009 8:57 pm
Subject: hello,
hey everyone, my name is enerel nergui. im a student at wlac
transfering this coming fall.
just wanted to say hi and wish everyone good luck and have fun.
im looking forward to working with all of you :)
enerel

From: enne40374 <enu...@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:26:15 -0700 (PDT)
Local: Fri, Jun 19 2009 2:26 pm
Subject: books
hello professor,
i have a book that includes all the works of shakespeare. if so would
i still need to get the one that is required in the syllabus?
enerel nergui

From: enne40374 <enu...@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:50:07 -0700 (PDT)
Local: Fri, Jun 19 2009 3:50 pm
Subject: essay
hello professor,
i was wondering if i can write the essay with a partial refute and the
other half supporting one of the point sbacevich had proposed? i agree
with tucker on the nuclear weapon point but i agree with bacevich on
the environmental solution. how di i do it?
thank you
enerel




student's e1.1

¶1: thesis statement and summary of argument although
bacevich's solution of getting rid of nuclear weapons is not an
effective one, battling the global warming is without a question one
of the most crucial factors for solution.

topic: Bacevich’s/Tucker’s thesis

+

opinion: is wrong because [summary of reasons 1, 2, 3 in ¶2 below],
and what's more correct/practical/useful on the topic is [student's
opinion—explained in detail in ¶3]

¶2: point by point refutation

reason 1: Bacevich/Tucker claims, "[brief quote]," but that's wrong
because…

reason 2: Bacevich/Tucker also claims, "[brief quote]," but that's
wrong because…

reason 3: Bacevich/Tucker also claims, "[brief quote]," but that's
wrong because…



¶3: support for alternate

reason 1: student's alternate opinion is more correct/practical/useful
on the topic because…

reason 2: student's alternate opinion is more correct/practical/useful
on the topic because…

reason 3: student's alternate opinion is also supported by [author,
title, date] because…

although bacevich was able to recognize the problem effectively his
solution is not fully effective.

if history taught us anything it is that greed is doomed to failure.
Our desire to buy bigger things, better things and ever-more things,
he writes, is bringing the country to ruin. It forces us to borrow
(from China) trillions of dollars
we might never be able to pay back and to be involved militarily in a
region (the Middle East) we’d be better off avoiding.

if our economy has literally hit the iceberg as tucker says, it wont
be nuclear weapons that save us, it would be clean water that would
give the people a chance of survival, that is if we manage to keep our
waters.
when any economy of any country has been good? there is always some
more stabilization, more progress, more money is needed. in every
society there are poor people, every person needs healthcare, so are
we supposed
to wait till everybody is rich to start worrying about our own
planet? how about we take care of bigger things first and then go on
to worrying abpout our convenience?
if we manage to keep what we have and minimize the things we get from
abroad, that means that we wont have to make anymore loans for
something we lost because of our own negligence.
if we manage to do the things we do without consuming as much energy
we are not only saving the planet, but we are also minimizing our
dependency on foreign oil.
as tucker said the prices of gas is a sim[ple supply and demand,
consequently our gas prices will drop which would eliminate one of
foregoing problems of our economy.
Of course, as consumption of gasoline has dropped, so has the emission
of the CO2 that supposedly warms our atmosphere. So if global warming
is indeed a problem, a recession should be just what the doctor
ordered.
And the longer and deeper the recession is, the better. That would be
a Bacevich-style solution, a lifestyle change that would end up
improving conditions in the U.S.
environmental pieties says tucker. we already owe trillions of dollars
to foreign countries, and it is our children who will struggle to pay
for it. why not spare them the headache of caring for the
environmetn.
our planet is our home, remember how much easier it is to clean up out
home when it is not so messy yet? and plus doesnt everyone want their
home to be clean and safe.


at our time of unstability we have to keep a step further and be ready
for the things unimaginable, that is keeping our citizens safe and not
let ourselves face the another tragedy of september 11th of 2001.
the department of defence was ready for any attacks from certain sides
but was not ready for all of them which lead for the manhattan crises.
for anything of sorts not to happen again we not only must keep our
nuclear weapons and
anything thereoff we must have more to keep our indespensebality.
naturally it doesnt mean that we have to use them everytime we get any
sort of disagreement, it says merely that it would not hurt to be a
step ahead and
be ready for any contingensies.
our armed forces are not perfect in fact they are far from perfect,
but it is our goal to strive for perfection as we always do. and
keeping our nuclear weapons and more gets us a step closer to our
goal.
our human force is voluntary, meaning that it is not our duty to go
join the army but a choice. and especially now when a persons
individuality and freedom is hightened as never before it is hard to
rely on our army and its
number. which is why we are in need of more forces to fill in for
people - all the more reason for the nuclear weapons to be kept.


by not using the nulcear weapon we are not only saving the oil we are
fighting for, we are keeping our conscience clean or whats left of it.
by not using nuclear weapon we are not promoting anmy negativity from
other countries which helps us to keep giood terms with them, hence
get the help and money we need.
modern technology was able to come up with a much more effective,
lethal and precise weapons that we dont have to spend our money and
nerves on nuclear weapons.









enne40374 View profile


More options Jun 26, 10:08 pm
hello professor,
on the syllabus it gives us only the due dates for threee essays. and
if i remember correctly, you told us at the in class meeting that we
could write 4 essays for one of them to be dropped. please correct me
if i am wrong or if it is so can you tell me when the due date and
the
topic for that essay can be?
thank you
enerel


essay 1.2 rough draft

title?





Surely what we require today, more than broad condemnations of
American consumerism are very specific solutions to very specific
problems”-says Jonathan Tepperman, an assistant managing editor of
Newsweek International, in his article “we got trouble” posted on
September 18th of 2008, opposing the views of Andrew j. Bacevich’s
book “the limits of power. The End of American Exceptionalism”.
Although Mr. Tepperman doesn’t disagree with Bacevich that that our
nation has a great problem, he doesn’t seem to share the solution and
the very reason that has brought us where we are. An article, which is
a mere report of Bacevich’s book doesn’t have much of neither
Tepperman’s opinions nor solutions, though he didn’t hesitate to
ridicule the solutions proposed by professor Bacevich. Mr. Tepperman
refuses to see that the “grand transformation” we were all waiting for
is not coming anytime soon, which is why even the “small bore”
solutions as living within our means, pursue a more modest foreign
policy, act to abolish nuclear weapons and combat global warming,
might just be our salvation. Over consumerism is no post war
phenomenon, but we afforded to do as we liked before the war and the
meaning of the word freedom had a complete different gist, the one
that doesn’t depend on foreign oil, or goods or even that credit.
Let’s not forget that the problems we are facing today started
creeping up a long time ago, and our nation’s leaders seem to have the
ability to paraphrase the over and over used solutions, that is our
way of getting out is pushing on a closed door without looking for
alternative exits.
“Excess consumption is hardly a post war phenomenon”- says Jonathan
Tepperman in his article “we got trouble”, but what he misses to see
is that Americans were able to afford to use and do all they wanted
because we could afford to do so, and we didn’t have to make debts of
trillions of dollars to support our extravagance. “The immediate
postwar era became the golden age of the American middle class” – says
Mr. Bacevich (the limits of power 25). This is where Bacevich’s
solution of living within our means comes in. He also states that the
United States possessed nearly two thirds of the worlds gold reserves,
the military possessed unquestioned naval and air supremacy, which
leads to the very definition of our freedom. Post war period of our
history has shown that The dependence on foreign oil and products has
changed our way of thinking and the very meaning of freedom that was
established in 1960 – the freedom decade. “The chief desire of the
American people, whether they admit it or nor is that nothing should
disrupt their access to those goods that oil and that credit” – states
professor Bacevich (the limits of power 173). And now, as we try to
not change our luxuries, our mentality of our freedom is changing.
More modest foreign policy along with a combat with global warming is
without a question the first steps we can take towards the resolution.
Professor Bacevich also says in his book:”even presidents – make the
point that dependence may not be a good thing” (the limits of power
173). Number of presidents since the World War II held the same
resolutions for the economic downfall since. It is as if we keep
pounding on the same wall over and over again for exit, instead of
looking for alternatives. Every time someone new runs for president,
we all hope for a new change, without even having the ability to
define that change. Although we say that we are hoping for a new
change, is it change we are looking for or is it that change that we
are afraid of? Regardless, the similarities of policies of our
presidents is not leading us forward, it is helping us to dig our
graves deeper. “Testifying to the spectacular effectiveness of
congress’s reelection of its members, in 2006, 93 percent of senators
and representatives running for reelection won” (the limits of power
69). If we should not be relying on our president to get us out,
should not we try to do something ourselves? It is hard to comprehend
that Mr. Tepperman is not able to see the solutions proposed as
effective.






Essay 1.3
student's e1.3
¶1: thesis statement and summary of argument
topic: Bacevich’s/Valkovic and Burton’s thesis
+
opinion: is wrong because [summary of reasons 1, 2, 3 in ¶2 below],
and what's more correct/practical/useful on the topic is [student's
opinion—explained in detail in ¶3]
¶2: point by point refutation
reason 1: Bacevich/Valkovic and Burton claims, "[brief quote]," but
that's wrong because…
reason 2: Bacevich/Valkovic and Burton also claims, "[brief quote],"
but that's wrong because…
reason 3: Bacevich/Valkovic and Burton also claims, "[brief quote],"
but that's wrong because…

¶3: support for alternate
reason 1: student's alternate opinion is more correct/practical/useful
on the topic because…
reason 2: student's alternate opinion is more correct/practical/useful
on the topic because…
reason 3: student's alternate opinion is also supported by [author,
title, date] because…

Point 1: valkovic – arm trainging is still the same – training is the
basic knowledge of anything, it is practice that makes skill solid
Point 2: If you realize you re ina hole why keep digging? Vietnam war
“never again”
as if cooptation of foes were not a well-established component of any
counterinsurgency.
Point 3: cooptation? We are at war! Since when coopting with the enemy
has become a way of leading a war? If we were to be friends, why are
we at war?
Matthew E. Valkovic is a first lieutenant in the US Army currently
deploying to Iraq. Brian M. Burton is a research assistant at the
Center for a New American Security and a graduate student in
Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program. The opinions
expressed here are those of the authors and do not reflect the views
of the Department of Defense or Department of the Army.

Notes on military crisis:
Military pays to post fake news to Iraqi media
Soldiers turned into social workers
Waste of a lot of money, time and lives
Then indecision brings its own delays, and days are lost lamenting
o'er lost days”- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
If 7 years of loss and war has not won us anything what makes some
people think that another seven would
“Operation Iraqi Liberation” the initials “O.I.L.”. Thus, the
confusion in the purpose and the way this war is progressing.


The first part of these notes paraphrases points from the rubric. As
with essays 1 and 2, students should frequently refer to the rubric
while drafting and revising the essay. This essay 3 assignment is one
6-page essay; no separate sections this time.
As before, the thesis topic is composed of topic plus opinion. The
topic for the essay should be a specific aspect of US military
culture, perhaps a topic Bacevich discusses, or a topic from recent
headlines or personal interest. (Note, for example, on a larger scale,
Bacevich’s three wrong lessons and four more correct conclusions from
Iraq and Afghanistan, pages 133—169.)
The opinion on the topic includes several parts:
1a) the correct course of action on the topic, as concluded from
analysis of research;
1b) a comparison between 1a) above and one character from
Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens; explain how metaphorical lessons from
the character can help achieve success on the topic;
1c) judgment on the value Bacevich’s analysis provides in
understanding 1a) above;
2a) the incorrect course of action on the topic—for many this will be
what’s wrong with the current situation or that what Bacevich and
others suggest is wrong;
2b) a comparison between 2a) above and one character from
Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens; explain how metaphorical lessons from
the character can help avoid failure on the topic.
Here are a couple sample thesis statements listed point by point as
above. Note that these examples are based on the essay 2 readings of
Bacevich’s Ch. 2, Political crisis, and Wilde’s Dorian Gray. Students
should use Bacevich’s Ch. 3, Military crisis and Shakespeare’s Timon
of Athens.
Topic:
Corruption in US political culture, as represented by recent federal
and California legislature
Opinion:
1a) must be fixed by practical human logic and, not by any supposed
magic of capitalism/democracy or the kind of irresponsibly wishful
thinking that recently has pushed huge deficits and debt off until
future reckonings;
1b) although Dorian knowingly commits dishonest and dishonorable acts
and attempts to conceal them, he does finally end his bad deeds
himself; this is what will end corruption—people finally deciding that
enough is enough and a different way of operating is required;
1c) Bacevich is right: neither our political structure or our
politicians are inherently corrupt; rather, gradual compromise and
minor acts of greed ultimately lead to thorough corruption. Similarly,
neither Dorian nor his powerful position were inherently evil; rather,
beginning with a minor selfish thought, Dorian’s acts gradually sank
him deeper and deeper, until he was thoroughly corrupted;
2a) what’s wrong now is that so much money is at stake in government
budgets and whomever can present the most attractive package of ideas
can secure millions, even billions, that all sorts of dishonest
deceit, graft, and abuse occur;
2b) although Dorian finally makes the right decision to stop
committing bad deeds, he still represents not only so many hurtful
decisions made earlier but also the wrong way of attempting to atone
for those mistakes: suicide will not solve anything, just as our
current politicians who persist in their corrupt ways until arrested
offer little helpful solution to the problem. What we need are more
politicians starting to make more honest, logical decisions;
topic:
partisan political disagreement and conflict
opinion:
1a) is not wrong: it’s right to fight for what you believe in and
want. Political groups/countries should capitalize on opportunities.
Even if disagreement leads to conflict, in a democratic system of
majority rule, the preponderance of votes carries the issue: some win
and some lose. It’s better to win some real victories (even if this
means suffering some defeats) than to negotiate with those wrongly
motivated and achieve false victory through compromise that leads to
ultimate defeat;
1b) Timon’s friends take good advantage for themselves when
opportunity presents itself, and they protect their assets from
unacceptably risky investments. If it seems like they used Timon,
that’s only a coincidence of perspective: they consistently
capitalized on all opportunities and avoided loss;
1c) Bacevich is wrong to call the current political situation a
crisis: as he paraphrases one of his favorite sources, Reinhold
Neibur, “the charge to love thy neighbor applies to personal
relations, not international politics,” (174). It natural for politics
to be conflicted, even divisive, in a democratic system where votes
are swayed by persuasive campaigning. Bacevich is wrong to expect so
much cooperation, both within the US and internationally: limited
resources are already unable to meet demand, which is growing
exponentially;
2a) it would be wrong for political parties, interest groups, and
sovereign countries to seek peace through constant compromise that
leads not to communal success but to universal failure. Fighting for
self-interest is not only natural but necessary;
2b) Basil Holloway and Alan Campbell hoped to remain true to
themselves while gradually becoming corrupted by Dorian. They should
have kept themselves clear of his influence and stayed true to
themselves. They both gained nothing but found only ruin from becoming
involved with the corruption Dorian represents.