REHUGO

REHUGO ENTRY #1 "Thinking as a Hobby" 8-27-10
 * PRECIS: William Golding, the author of a nonfiction rhetorical essay, "Thinking as a Hobby," suggests that people think more deeply, like a grade one thinker. Golding develops his argument by insulting grade two and three thinkers because of their lower level of thinking. His purpose is to persuade more people to think like grade one thinkers in order to make others realize that grade one thinkers are in fact the ones who think "regularly." He makes grade two and three thinkers wonder if they really aren't thinking deeply enough.**

REHUGO ENTRY #2 //The Shack// 8-27-10
 * PRECIS: William P. Young, the author of a spiritual memoir, //The Shack,// claims that having faith in God could potentially change a person's life. Young develops his argument by telling his friend's story about meeting God after losing his youngest daughter. His purpose is to share his Mac's story about meeting God in order to convey how true faith in Him can change a person's //life// forever. He forces a person without faith to think twice about having faith in God through this memoir.**

REHUGO ENTRY #3 //Crazy// 8-31-10
 * PRECIS: Pete Earley, the author of the nonfiction novel, //Crazy//, claims that the mentally ill people are looked down upon and the mental health system in America is corrupt and not paid attention to. Earley develops his argument by telling how the system wouldn't forcibly treat his mentally son Mike. unless he became a danger to society or depressed. His purpose was to inform the reader about what a mental disease could do to a person in order for us to view mentally ill people as equals. He provides stories that changes the readers' views about the mentally ill people.**

REHUGO ENTRY #4 //Washington and Wheatley 9-2-10//
 * PRECIS: George Washington and Phillis Wheatley, a great American hero and a black, enslaved female poet, suggest on the written exchange between one another that they respect each other. Wheatly builds mutual respect by showing praise for Washington through her poem, and Washington builds mutual respect by complimenting her great poetical talents. On the surface, their tones appear to be praising and sincere; however it becomes clear that they are using a respectful tone in order to achieve their own personal goals: Washington wants to gain more support for his political strength, while Wheatley wants to gain support for her ideas of abolition. This written exhange shows its audience that the great people in history are not always good or noble people.**

REHUGO ENTRY #5
 * //"//**//Give the Kids a Break" 9-7-10//
 * PRECIS: Steve Rushin, the author of the article, "Give the Kids a Break," argues that kids deserve to have recess. Steve develops his argument by stating how schools are too cautious about recess. His purpose was to inform** **the readers about the reasons schools were taking recess out of their curriculum in order to** **show what nonsense it is to take away such a thing from children.** **This article shows its audience that recess could be beneficial to the school and the children.**

REHUGO ENTRY #6 //The Inconvenient Truth 9-29-10//
 * PRECIS: Al Gore,** **the 45th Vice President of the United State and a candidate for the presidential election of 2000 in his documentary, "Inconvenient Truth," claims that global warming really exists and states that humans are a main cause to the growing effects of global warming. Al Gore uses statistics and evidence from professionals such as secondary footage taken of the glaciers melting, graphs, and pictures. His purpose in the documentary was to inform the audience about the gruesome effects of global warming in order to get them to treat the environment better. He persuades the audience to conserve energy and help the environment so that the effects of global warming do not continue to worsen.**

REHUGO ENTRY #7 //Super Size Me 9-29-10//
 * PRECIS: Morgan Spurlock, a documentary filmmaker and journalist, in his documentary ,"Super Size Me," justifies that eating McDonald's leads to effects such as depression, liver dysfunction, and weight gain. Spurlock uses statistics and expert testimonies which include his doctor and physician telling him the effects of fast food as he continues to eat McDonald's for a month. His purpose in the documentary was to show a life of a person who ate fast food in order to prevent more people from eating fast food and becoming like Spurlock during his experiment. He successfully alters the minds of the audience** **who think that eating McDonald's has permanent effect to their bodies.**

REHUGO ENTRY #8 //Give Me Liberty 9-29-10//
 * PRECIS: Patrick Henry**//,// **an American orator and prominent figure of the American Revolution, gave a speech to the Virginia Convention urging the delegates to vote in favor or starting a war with Britain so that the colonies would be independent from their mother country. Henry develops his argument by stating how the British government mistreated the colonies,** **and also by incorporating biblical allusions to assure that the colonists would be watched over by God. His purpose is to gain support from the Virginians to seek independence from Britain in order to make sure that Virginia would help during the war.** **He changes the views of the delegates who did not agree with the Americans to start a war against their rulers.**

REHUGO ENTRY #9 //Thomas Paine- Common Sense 9-29-10//
 * PRECIS: Thomas Paine, a radical patriot and a Founding Father of the United States in his pamphlet "Common Sense," states the contradictions of the Constitution of England to the colonies so that America could seek independence and build their own, different government. He develops his argument by writing about how the Constitution of England violates the purposes of a government- to protect and provide freedom to the society. His purpose in writing the pamphlet was to spread the fact that the English government was filled with many defects in order to help America's government prosper. He changes the minds of the American people who supported the British government to view their government as an evil one.**

REHUGO ENTRY #10 //Declaration of Independence 9-29-10//
 * PRECIS: Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States and the first Secretary of State in the document "The Declaration of Independence," explains that America is independent from Britain because the British abused the rights of the Americans. He develops his justifications towards the colonies' independence through inductive reasoning by incorporating a list of the abuses committed by the British government to the colonies, then finally stating that their independence from Britain. His purpose is to explain the reasons that caused America to call for its independence from Britain in order to gain support of the Americans. He changes the views of those who don't support America's declaration for independence.**

REHUGO ENTRY #11 //Declassified: The Taliban 10-26-10//
 * PRECIS: //Declassified: The Taliban//, a documentary film created by the History Channel, describes the relationship between, Russia, the United States, Afghanistan, and Pakistan from the takeover of Kabul in 1978 to modern day to show how other countries affected Pakistan's history. The documentary describes this relationship by informing its audience about the indirect war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union and other events that led to the rise of the Taliban due to the results of the war. The documentary's purpose is to convey the troubles that Afghanistan persisted through in order to reveal the background of terrorism in the country. The intended audience for this documentary is the people who don't know the real of history of Afghanistan and the Taliban**.

REHUGO ENTRY #12 //Humanitarian Need Organization: The Hunger Project 10-26-10//
 * PRECIS: The Hunger Project (THP), a humanitarian need organization, hopes to solve the issues causing world hunger through three essential activities: mobilizing village clusters at the grassroots level to build self-reliance, empowering women as key change agents, and forging effective partnerships with local government. The Hunger Project, as a nonprofit organization, receives its funding from individuals who donate money in order to achieve their goals of ending world hunger. THP was founded to end world hunger through alternative methods, rather than giving out food, because giving out food to the hungry will not truly end world hunger.**

REHUGO ENTRY #13 //Three Cups of Tea:// //One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations ... One School at a Time// //10-26-10//
 * PRECIS: Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, the authors of the nonfiction book //Three Cups of Tea:// //One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations ... One School at a Time////,//** **convey the struggles of Greg Mortenson in his efforts to build schools for Pakistan so that their readers' generalizations on the Muslim faith would change.** **They develop their purpose by recalling events that led to** **Mortenson's new objective in his life,** **such as his failure in climbing the K2, accidentally discovering the village of Korphe**//,// **and his commitment to build schools for Korphe and other villages faced with poverty.** **The authors' purpose in the book was to show a different view of Pakistan, a view that is not entirely based on terrorism, in order to show that education is an alternative method to fight terrorism. The authors' direct their story to the people who generalize** **that the Muslim faith is based on t****errorism and violence.**

REHUGO ENTRY #14 //Teacher Can We Leave Now 11-4-10//
 * PRECIS:Thomas Friedman, in his //New York Times// article, "Teacher, Can We Leave Now?," states that Americans' opinion that their army should leave Afghanistan in order for the United States to live a better future //is wrong.// He develops his statement by recalling the events that occurred in the nonfiction novel, //Three Cups of Tea// when Mortenson visited the opening to a girls' school in Afghanistan, and stating what effect it had on the nation. Friedman's purpose is to assert that the only way to fight terrorism and seek peace in Afghanistan and even other countries in the region is by educating their impoverished children in order to teach them that the terrorist interpretations of the Quran are incorrect. He changes the view of his audience about the war on terrorism and their attitude towards solving the problem of the war.**

REHUGO ENTRY #15 //War Against Unclean Drinking Water 11-4-10// Hendley, Doc. "War against Unclean Drinking Water - CNN.com." //CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News//. Web. 04 Nov. 2010. .
 * Citation:**
 * Category:** opinion, humanitarian


 * PRECIS: Doc Hendley, a 2009 CNN Top 10 Hero and the founder of Wine to Water, a non-profit organization, in his article "War Against Unclean Drinking Water"** **asserts that humans are losing a war not from guns, but from the lack of clean water. He develops is assertion by providing statistics of people without clean water, of deaths per year and per 15 seconds, and his experiences he encountered when he visited Sudan. His purpose is not only to tell us that we are losing a war against nature, but it is also to tell his audience that there is a lack of exposure to the problem of unsanitary water in order to bring the topic up in our daily lives, so that the amount of people without clean water will diminish. He brings the attention to his readers about a problem no one talks about, and changes their views so that they know the lack of clean water in the world is a serious issue in our society today.**


 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY: I agree with Hendley about the fact that this issue is not brought up enough in our society today. Usually, the topics that are brought up are terrorism, and poverty. This issue is indeed part of the poverty issue, but I think that everyone thinks of impoverished people as people with just no food and shelter. I do not think many people think about how many children die because of the lack of sanitary water.**

REHUGO ENTRY #16 //Don't Fear the Rise of China 11-4-10// "Don't Fear the Rise of China - CNN.com." //CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News//. Web. 04 Nov. 2010. .
 * Citation:**
 * Category:** Opinion, Politics


 * PRECIS: Joseph S. Nye, the University Distinguished Service Professor at Harvard University and the author of "The Future Power," claims that there is no need to fear China's rise, even though Germany's rise in power led to a world war. He supports his point by stating that China will have the undeveloped countryside even if China becomes more powerful, and that China is still lagging far behind America in military and economic power. His purpose was to also tell his audience that China will most never cause a war like Germany did because they will never have a military force better than America's in order to sooth the minds of the audience. He changes the minds of the audience members who believed China would someday attempt to rule over the world as Germany did.**


 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY: I believe that China will never surpass the United States militarily, but I do believe China has the capability to surpass America's economic power. This would lead to troubles, because there are already "trade wars" going on between China and the U.S. The result of the "war" could leave the U.S. ruined.**

REHUGO ENTRY #17 //Why does the U.S. need China? 11-12-10//
 * Citation:** Daokui, Li. "Why Does the U.S. Need China? - CNN.com." //CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News//. Web. 11 Nov. 2010. .
 * Category:** Opinion, Politics, Economy


 * PRECIS: Li Daokui, the director of Center for China in the World Economy at Tsinghua University in Beijing and the adviser to China's Central Bank, asserts in his article, "**//Why does the U.S. need China?//**" that the United States needs China because their growing economical powers in recent times. He develops his assertion by providing information that proves China is a great economical powers, such as being the worlds leading exporter in manufactures and holding the world's largest currency reserve, enough to buy the share prices in New York. Daokui's purpose is not only to inform why the United States needs China, but he also asserts that both of the nations are looking for the same end result-to stabilize the economy- and suggests that the two nations work together to sort things out. He alters the minds of the people who don't know China's influence on the world economically.**


 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY: I agree with Li Daokui when he stated that the U.S. does need China. China is just so powerful economically. Everything you see in the U.S. is "Made in China," as China is the world's largest exporter. I never knew China was looking for economic stability. I don't think China and the United States are ever going to collaborate with one another because China made the American credit rate lower right before the G20 Summit meeting in South Korea just a few days ago. This was to make America look bad economically, and the meeting resulted in no free-trade agreement between South Korea and the United States.**

REHUGO ENTRY #18 //Congress' New Change for Clean Energy 11-12-10//
 * Citation:** Gordon, By Kate. "Congress' New Chance for Clean Energy - CNN.com." //CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News//. Web. 11 Nov. 2010. .
 * Category:** Politics, Economy, US, Opinion


 * PRECIS: Kate Gordan, the vice president for Energy Policy at the Center for American Progress, and Jake Caldwell, the director for policy for agriculture, trade, and energy at American Progress, claim in their opinionated article, "**//Congress' New Change for Clean Energy//**," that now is the time to innovate the use of clean society in America, especially since the midterm election results made it clear that Americans wanted a government that worked for and with the people. They develop their argument by providing the benefits of using clean energy: it will create more jobs as the unemployment rate continues to rise, and it will help our environment shift away from the necessary use of oil. Their purpose is not only to promote clean energy, but it is also to inform that clean energy will cut many costs in America, as Americans pay 500 million to 1 billion dollars a day on foreign oil. This article is targeted towards an audience is who not fully aware of the negativity that oil brings to America.**


 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY: It would be amazing if our society was able to shift away from oil, but I find that very unlikely to happen. Our society is revolved around oil... There are hybrid cars that use electricity or other fuel sources (Clean Energy), but most of the people choose to use normal cars that run on gas. People spend up to 1 billion dollars a day //foreign// oil, which makes it more likely for people to shift to clean energy. I like the idea of using more clean energy though.**

REHUGO ENTRY #19 //Support Memorial for Disabled Veterans 11-12-10//
 * Citation:** Sinise, By Gary. "Support Memorial for Disabled Vets - CNN.com." //CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News//. Web. 11 Nov. 2010. .
 * Category: Military, Political, Opinion, Social**


 * PRECIS: Luis Pope and Arthur H. Wilson, co-founders of the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit organization, assert in their opinion article, "**//Support Memorial for Disabled Veterans// **," that a memorial in honor of the disabled veterans should be placed because they have done so much for our country as well. They develop their assertion by providing information regarding how often a person returns home with a mental or physical disability such as statistics stating that for every one death of a combatant, there are sixteen injuries, which shows how many people are affected from battle injuries. Their purpose is not only to gain support to build the memorial for the disabled veterans, but to also expose the fact that there are so many veterans who have come back with disabilities that are always credited less than they should be. They change the minds of people who aren't informed about the veterans who return to America.**


 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY: There should be a memorial just for the veterans who are disabled. Americans who fought and returned to America should definitely have a memorial made in their honor, because most of them have disabilities ranging from post-traumatic stress and amputated body parts. Many Americans' lives are altered, and I think they deserve to be honored in the memorial specifically for the disabled veterans.**

REHUGO ENTRY #20 //We Must Act Decisively to Save Our World 11-12-10//
 * Citation:** Ford, Harrison. "We Must Act Decisively to save Our World - CNN.com." //CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News//. Web. 11 Nov. 2010. .
 * Category:** World, Opinion, Environment


 * PRECIS: Harrison Ford, a famous actor, environmentalist, and Vice Chairman of Conservation International****, asserts in his article, "**//We Must Act Decisively to Save Our World//**," that the conditions of the world are slowly becoming worse and that the amount of natural resources are decreasing. He develops his assertion by providing information about the plummeting health of our world like the fact that the rate of species extinction is currently 1,000 times faster than the natural rate, and he also provides solutions to this international problem such as making a policy protecting 15% of Earth's land mass and 25% of Earth's water mass. His purpose is not only to expose the decrease in natural resources, but to also expose the fact that people's decisions could completely alter the direction of problem. He targets an audience who has little to no care for the natural resources in our ecosystem.**


 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY: It is indeed necessary to conserve our natural resources as much as possible, especially the nonrenewable ones. Ford's argument is credible because he provides solid facts about the bad conditions around the world. It would be hard to get governments to protect 15% of the Earth's land mass and 25% of the Earth's water mass, but I definitely think it is worth a try because it could preserve our natural resources.**

REHUGO ENTRY #21 COLUMNIST 1 //Too Good to Check 12-1-10//
 * Citation:** Friedman, Thomas L. "Too Good to Check." //New York Times//. Web. 30 Nov. 2010. .
 * Category:** Opinion, Media


 * PRECIS: Thomas L. Friedman, an internationally known reporter, author, and columnist, in his N.Y. Times article** //"Too Good to Check//**," asserts that the rumors of the costs of Obama traveling to India are false. He backs up his assertion by speaking about how Anderson Cooper, a CNN reporter, traced back to the source of whoever said the trip would cost 2 billion dollars to discover that the source had no name and no proof at all to back up the report. His purpose is not only to spread the awareness that the story about the 2 billion dollars is false but to also spread awareness that rumors are too easily spread today in order to further expose the number of invalid sources. He targets an audience who believes everything that is on the news, so that the audience may be like Anderson Cooper and investigate on bizarre reports.**


 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY: To be honest, I read the story of Obama traveling to India with 3,000 people. The report said that the administration was going to rent out 870 rooms for a week or so while Obama was in India at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel (or something like that). It said that the trip would cost them 200 million dollars a day (2 billion dollars total). I believed it, and once I read this article, I now noticed that there was no valid source proving the trip would cost that much.**

REHUGO ENTRY #22 COLUMNIST 1 //Teaching for America 12-1-10//
 * Citation:** Friedman, Thomas L. "Teaching for America." //N.Y. Times//. Web. 30 Nov. 2010. .
 * Category:** Opinion, Education


 * PRECIS: Thomas L. Friedman, an author of five bestselling books and a renowned columnist in his N.Y. Times article,** //"Teaching for America,"// **points out that America's education is being "out-educated" by several countries such as Denmark and Finland. Friedman further develops his point by providing the poor statistics of high school graduates and the number of high school students who end up in the streets yearly- 1 million. His purpose is not only to point out the weaknesses of America's education, but it is also to point out solutions for this issue such as improving teaching standards by accepting people who were in the top third of their college class rank in order to become the most well-educated country in the world. Friedman targets an audience who recruits teachers because half of the baby boomers who teach will soon retire, and hiring better qualified teachers will help improve the statistics of the nation.**


 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY: I believe that we do need higher teaching standards (not in every school, but in many). I don't think teachers should be hired based on their college rank, but also based on their ability to interact with the students. The ability to interact with students (I think) allows the teacher to know whether or not he/she is getting the lesson through to the students' heads. This should definitely increase the number of high school students who graduate, etc.**

REHUGO ENTRY #23 COLUMNIST 1 //U.S.G. and P.T.A. 12-1-10//
 * Citation:** Friedman, Thomas L. "U.S.G. and P.T.A.." //N.Y. Times//. Web. 30 Nov. 2010. .
 * Category**: Opinion, Society


 * PRECIS: Thomas L. Friedman, an internationally known author, reporter, and columnist, in his New York Times article,** "//U.S.G. and P.T.A.,"// **asserts that unemployment rate is high only because of the government and the parents of America. He develops his assertion by restating an article that reported a teenager sending and receiving 27,000 texts a month and he also states how the government has become so industrialized that it caused many low-end workers to lose their jobs because they were no longer need. Friedman's purpose was not only to assert that the unemployment rate his high because of the government and parents of America, but his purpose was to also argue that the society must work together in order to lower the unemployment rate which could also lower the high school drop out rate. He targets an audience consisting of parents and adults because their actions on the children today decide the future for America.**


 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY: I do believe that the future lies on the government, and I never thought about parents being so crucial to America's future, but they are. I am not very into the government topic, but I believe we will pull through this crisis. For the parents, they should become more strict on texting and using technological devices because it transgresses into their children's studying time, which could impact whether or not they get a well-paid job ten or twenty years.**

REHUGO ENTRY #24 COLUMNIST 1 //Got to Get This Right 12-1-2010//
 * Citation:** Friedman, Thomas L. "Got to Get This Right." //N.Y. Times//. Web. 30 Nov. 2010. .
 * Category:** Opinion, Politics


 * PRECIS: Thomas L. Friedman, the author of five bestselling books and a columnist of the N.Y. Times in his N.Y. Times article,** //"Got to Get This Right,"// **asserts that America needs to rebuild the nation. He develops his point by stating that there was a 10% increase of people who though America's best days were in the past before Obama's inauguration into presidency and that America's peers are out-educating Americans, which will further result in out-competing them. Friedman's purpose is not only to assert that America needs to be rebuilt but he also asserts that we have to get this nation-building //right// because America doesn't have anything to fall back on as it is already 14 trillion dollars into debt. He alters the perception of the people who don't know much about the economical situation America is facing today.**


 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY: I agree that America needs nation-building. Like Friedman said, America is doing bad economically with the infrastructure and unemployment and educationally with the low international test grades in math and reading comprehension. I think we're in some deep trouble unless we doing something quickly and I hope that the Obama Admin. will figure something out that will gradually get us out of this slump.**

REHUGO ENTRY #25 COLUMNIST 2 //A Show Me State 12-15-2010//
 * Citation:** Brownstein, Ronald. "A Show-Me State - Wednesday, December 8, 2010." //NationalJournal.com//. Web. 14 Dec. 2010. .
 * Category:** Opinion, Economy


 * PRECIS: Ronald Brownstein, National Journal Group's Editorial Director, asserts in his article //A Show-Me State,// that most Americans believe that neither the Republican nor Democratic Party could restore the country, especially in an economic standpoint. He supports his assertion by providing statistics on the heavily divided opinions of Americans, through well-conducted surveys that conveyed the opinions of how the opposing party would go too far in turning back their programs in place. Brownstein's purpose is not only to show the split American thoughts, but to inform that the two parties must work together in order for the country to return to its old self. He alters the perception of those who absolutely hate their opposing party, so that they could sometime learn to reach a consensus with them.**


 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY: I personally am not too into politics. However, it would always be better if the two parties could reach agreements instead of arguing about whose policies or programs will benefit the country more. Every policy has its pros and cons.**

REHUGO ENTRY #26 COLUMNIST 2 //Down From the Pedestal 12-15-10//
 * Citation:** Brownstein, Ronald. "Down From The Pedestal - Wednesday, December 8, 2010." //NationalJournal.com//. Web. 14 Dec. 2010. .
 * Category:** Economy, Opinion


 * PRECIS: Ronald Brownstein, a renowned columnist who provides weekly columns on the National Journal and the Atlantic, informs in his article //Down From the Pedestal,// that a majority of the American people have accepted the fact that they are no longer the number one economic power in the world. He supports his information with polls stating that at least 66% of Americans believe that they will no longer be the top economic powers in 2030 and statistics that show that the American people fear that the economy may worsen even more. His purpose is not only to acknowledge the decrease in America's economic power, but to inform that the American economy may slowly continue to worsen due to the lower-wage workers around the world in order to emphasize that America is in an economic crisis. His target audience is mainly the American people who believe that they will always be the number one economic power in the world.**


 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY: I agree with Ronald Brownstein's information: America is no longer the most powerful economic country in the world. Countries such as China, and other Eastern Asian countries are rising up to the top of the economic chain because their workers work at such a low rate. Americans live at a higher standard, so I do not believe that people will work at lower wages as people do in China. Therefore, America, in my opinion, will never recover to its old, economically strong, self.**

REHUGO ENTRY #27 COLUMNIST 2 //Awaiting Act 2 12-15-2010//
 * Citation:** Brownstein, Ronald. "Awaiting Act 2 - Thursday, December 9, 2010." //NationalJournal.com//. Web. 14 Dec. 2010. .
 * Category:** Opinion, Economy


 * PRECIS: Ronald Brownstein, National Journal Group's Editorial Director, states in his article //Awaiting Act 2//, that Obama's tax-cut deal alone won't boost up the poor economy of America. He supports his statement by providing additional actions, such as another act (Act 2), that will stimulate the economy. His purpose is not only state that Obama's cut won't help our economy, but to urge that there must be more acts passed that will help our national debt in order to truly start recovering our economy. His target audience is those who have an opinion on the renewal of the Bush tax cuts in 2001.**


 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY: I believe that Brownstein's opinions are usually valid, in my opinion. One act from the government cannot compensate for everything that is going bad in our economy. Obama's tax-cut agreement is one step closer to improving the economy, or keeping it as it was. A second Act that helps to diminish America's enormous national debt will surely help our economy stabilize.**

REHUGO ENTRY #28 COLUMNIST 2 //Trade Cities 12-15-2010//
 * Citation:** Brownstein, Ronald. "Trade Cities - Friday, December 10, 2010." //NationalJournal.com//. Web. 14 Dec. 2010. .
 * Category:** Economy, Opinion


 * PRECIS: Ronald Brownstein, a renowned columnist who publishes weekly columns on the National Journal and the Atlantic, states in his article //Trade Cities,// that exports are important to more than the coastal cities who pursues opportunities with Asia, Europe, and other economic powers. He supports his statement by providing a map that shows all the metropolitan cities that export goods and a chart showing the growth of exports in the metropolitan cities. His purpose is not only to state that exports are important to metropolitan cities, but to inform that the rate of exports in these metropolitan cities are growing. He targets an audience who believes exports are only important to the cities on the coast.**


 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY: I am well aware that metropolitan cities export goods, but I never knew that the rate has grown so much. The article stated that their exports doubled since the 70s, which is amazing. I am one of those targeted audience members who believe that exports are only important to the coast cities. I thought that their economy was kind of based on exports since they are near the coast.**

REHUGO ENTRY #29 COLUMNIST 2 //Competing Cures 1-5-11//
 * Citation:** "Competing Cures - Friday, December 17, 2010." //NationalJournal.com//. Web. 04 Jan. 2011. .
 * Category:** Opinion, Economy, Politics


 * PRECIS: Ronald Brownstein, a renowned columnist who publishes weekly columns on the Nation Journal and the Atlantic, states in his article //Competing Cures//, that Obama's health care spending are costing the country too much money**. **He develops his statement by assertively stating the methods of cutting health care spending by the Democratic and Republican Parties, and stating that the health care spending is piling up onto America's debt. His purpose is not only to reveal the problems of the health care plan, but to also imply that both Parties must set their views aside and work together in order to truly solve issues that could lead to a worsening in the country's condition. His target audience is those who are strongly associated and follow their own party without respect for the other.**


 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY: The health care plan, as well as every other privilege we are able to have, have their pros and cons. In this case, this plan does help the poorer families in the country, but it also worsens taxes for the richer people in the States. These people consists of doctors, etc. who also have things they need to pay off, such as their school tuition which could take many years to pay off. If the government changes the incentives of the people or the providers, there will always be more dispute, and it is important that both Parties work together to solve this financial crisis the country is facing.**

REHUGO ENTRY #30 COLUMNIST 1 //We've Only Got America A 1-5-11// Freidman, THOMAS L."We’ve Only Got America NYTimes.com. Web. 4 Jan. 2011. .
 * Citation:**
 * Category:** Opinion, Politics


 * PRECIS:** **Thomas L. Friedman, an internationally known reporter, author, and columnist, in his N.Y. Times article** //"Too Good to Check//**," asserts that America has to protect what it has right now, because there are other powers that threaten to take over America's throne of the most powerful country. He develops his assertion by pointing out what China and the Wikileaks hackers have been doing that threatens the US. His purpose is not only to inform that America's influence over others is weakening, but to also state that the other countries could possibly follow China, or any other superpower that would turn the world upside down. His target audience is the people who are not informed with recent news such as the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony as well as the information leaks.**


 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY: I agree with Friedman, because like he said, China is continuing to rise in power and it may be possible that the US is not at the top of the world anymore. This would be very depressing to watch, watching China do everything while America sits back because it has no power.**