college – Page 6 – J. Palmer

Margery Kempe and Religion: An Essay

The following is an essay submitted for one of my classes…

ESSAY 2: 100 points. Develop an essay of 500 to 750 words minimum/maximum with an introduction, body, and conclusion. Be sure to argue a particular point of view in your essay (your thesis) and cite varied examples from the readings in MLA format in order to support your perspective. Include a works cited page. Whatever you do, DO NOT give me an autobiography of the author or retell a story.

You may choose your topic for this paper from any one of the forums or literary response questions from weeks 5-9 of the course.

Please draw on the texts from this week’s reading to support your conclusions.

In our fifth week of class we were asked if knowing that Margery Kempe’s book was autobiographical and not a work of fiction changes the way in which we read or interpret the work. In my response, I had stated that having such knowledge did not have any real impact on how I read the stories. In this essay, I would like to take the opportunity to further explore that discussion prompt and expand upon the response I had given.

We cannot deny that Kempe led an interesting life with her varying religious experiences and journeys. Kempe, we are told, had been possessed in some manner following a difficult pregnancy and delivery, was imprisoned for her depression and erratic behavior, was visited by Christ and subsequently relieved of her demons. Kempe continued to have experiences and visits which she attributed to her failures in being wholly faithful—she believed that the failures of businesses which she had involved herself in came from her lapse in faith and morality during those periods. Kempe had attempted to become a stronger follower and believer, and began to fast and practiced chastity—much to the chagrin of her husband. After having been visited once more by the Lord, Kempe agreed to break her fast and lay with her husband, as well as pay her husband’s debts, so that she may embark on a religious pilgrimage.

The way in which these stories are presented may cause the reader to believe that he is reading a work of fiction—a thought which may be amplified through the “knowledge” that these sort of experiences do not occur today. Yet, similar tales have been told and have become the basis of religion the world over. Let’s examine one such story:

A young man named Joseph Smith claimed to have experienced visits by religious entities in the 1800s. Smith, having taken note of all the varying Christian denominations found himself perplexed in trying to find the “right” church—to which God came and told him in a dream that all of the current churches were “wrong”. Having prayed on the matter for some time, he was greeted by an angel that directed him to the location of important religious text and the means to read and interpret these texts. Smith took this newfound knowledge, composed the Book of Mormon and established a religion—The Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

What difference is there then between the Book of Mormon and Kempe’s tales? Two relatively young people claim to have been visited by the Spirit or His messengers and embark upon a religious journey of some sort. Kempe’s is more self-aligned in that she is discovering His word for herself, whereas Smith’s becomes the basis of a religion. Both characters are real. Both characters shared their story either in writing or spoken word. Depending upon who one talks two, both are either considered “nuts” or important figures.

In my first writing on Kempe, I posited whether it would be more surprising—and how our views would change—if we discovered that her work contained fallacies that had been inked in by her scribes. I also questioned whether this change would be as big of an impact as discovering that the Holy Bible—having been transcribed by numerous persons over the ages—was not a “true” work. In addition, I now ask whether finding hard evidence that Joseph Smith, and the men who attested to the validity of his tales, were lying to a group of followers would disrupt the Mormon faith. Personally, I do not believe that any such discovery about Kempe, the Bible, or Smith would do much to alter the viewpoints that the readers of the respective works have. Though there may be an interesting crumbling of LDS and Christian based faiths, the texts would still exist and be read more for literary example and historical review. People would still be interpreting those texts with an eye toward the words containing some truth, as the words included were written or shared by persons who did believe—like Margery Kempe.

Marketing crises…

The following was originally submitted as a homework assignment:

Please post this week’s assignment here for discussion. You should comment on at least two other students. I am looking for feedback on constructive criticism, questions, and general comments on their work.

Consider the Rescola story, what should offices in skyscrapers and large buildings do other than plan for evacuations? Imagine the employees who objected to the training: what would be persuasive messages to them? The 1993 attack was considered a prodrome by Rescola. Why didn’t others see it?

In a crisis situation, using the image restoration theory, how could an organization determine which publics should receive which messages? Why would you send different messages to different publics?

There isn’t much more that any office, organization, or individual can do than plan for an evacuation of the structure in an event which may cause collapse or other significant damage; those involved, however, have varying decisions to make in regard to the extent to which they make their plans. In the example given with Team Rescola and the preparations of another terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, we can see how Morgan Stanley had planned for such a scenario. Rescola had gone so far as to conduct an outside, in-air evaluation of the building, pondering the possibilities of a flight-related attack—how many other businesses went to this extreme? Security staff for the WTC had issued the recommendation for everyone to stay by/return to their respective tower; Rescola continued to clear his firm’s personnel out of the building. These employees had also experienced evacuation drills through Rescola’s planning.

It would be difficult to imagine having to find creative ways of persuading or pressuring employees into evacuation training today—to motivate a reluctant employee, all a safety coordinator would have to utter is “9/11.” Rescola, however, would have likely found his task to be a bit more difficult as his theories of another attack were imaginative at the time and based on a bombing that took place underground. An effective argument could be made, however, through clever descriptiveness in print or verbal communication and visual presentation—backing these claims with “research” and including a personal connection to the individuals. Proper “marketing” of the possibilities should convince the naysayers and those with the Titanic—unsinkable—mentality.

To discover which segment of the public needs addressing an organization needs to monitor public feedback. Obviously, the organization would want to discover which section or class is speaking the loudest and with the most negative tones. In finding this section of the audience, the organization can then tailor any statement or fashion new images that address and/or rectify these concerns. It is possible for the organization to feed this information and image to other classes, increasing the positive image that has already been carried forth; consequently, it is possible for these statements or changes to have the reverse effect in the favoring camps—there also exists the possibility of making a public statement/commitment and having that information reach an audience that was not even knowledgeable that an issue existed in the first place.

It is imperative for any organization to know their markets and to know which area needs addressing, and whether or not the attention should only be given to a certain sect; otherwise the organization could experience troubles similar to Jack-in-the-Box, where an entire nation is made aware of food poisoning, when the restaurant only served certain markets—and only a small portion of a market was affected.

marveled by Marvell and stunned by Donne…

The following entry was… Oh, heck, you know the drill…

Your literary responses will be one to one and a half pages in length. This equates to 350-450 words. Choose ONE topic from the Analytical Topics each week. And, then respond to only one fellow student in 100 words. Cut and paste your work and student response into the student comment section of the assignment. There is NO need to make your work into a document.

Writing Assignments:
Literary Response #5
See topics below

1. What similarities and differences do you note between the poetry of John Donne and that of Andrew Marvell? In what way does each poet exemplify metaphysical poetry?

2. Discuss the ways in which the Metaphysical Poets treat religion. In what way does it differ from the previous literary period’s treatment of that topic?

In reading the selected works for Marvell and Donne, we can find some subtle similarities between the two authors’ works. First, we may notice that the authors seem to have a knack and desire to make connections between the focal subject and the outside world. The outer world that the authors reference is not limited to simply the environment in which the subject resides; the whole universe—tangible, intangible, theoretical and theological—is potential fodder for the creation of poetic illustration and similes.

In his Definition of Love, Marvell writes of a love that is bound by the mental capacities of a couple that seem incapable of being physically joined. Marvell says that Fate—a notion of some divine power that establishes a clandestine plan; one that he seems to gives weight by making the noun proper through capitalization—holds the loves apart as if they are lying on two equal and parallel, yet separate planes of existence.

Speaking again on love—perhaps the same—in the letter to his Coy Mistress, we see Marvell being creative once more with the outer elements of life, relating them to a pining for the attention and his adoration and near idolization of another’s love. In this work, Marvell states that to be worthy of the other’s attention her coyness should last quite some time—from the period extending from the great Flood to the day of Judgment—so that his love should expand greater than any empire.

Donne draws together quite a few similes in his romantic tales of love. Donne’s passion for love seems a bit darker in some ways, yet shows that there is still illumination should the fires of a love remained kindled in happiness and not extinguished in sorrow. In his Sweetest Song, Donne has the words of a dying or recently deceased lover trying to comfort a grieving partner; the words also offer a viewpoint of how the grieving will bring about a darker depression in the widowed and hurriedly send away the joyful remembrances of lives spent together.

Donne seems to be very passionate about the union of two lovers, as is exemplified in The Flea. Our lovers in this poem have been supped upon by a common pest, and now contains a mixture of the two’s blood, creating a union of the lovers that they might never be able to create themselves. Many have written about the ultimate power, pleasure, and feeling of union can be achieved through intercourse—making love—with his/her partner; many have also expressed how strongly they have felt their love and wished that it was possible to be married in a stronger sense—to be joined and mixed in an even more perfect union. Donne’s flea makes this possible. Unfortunately, our partner murders the flea beneath her nail, not being aware of the symbolism seen by our author.

Marvell and Donne speak of a romantic sort of love and draw comparisons to things and places that we may not or even consider in speaking of love. Marvell with his undying love for one that cannot or should not yet be had; Donne with his love that is fearful of dying—though the authors have slight differences in their vantages and styles, they speak of the same thing in similar tongues.

[EDITED 11/8/2011 to include comments that were made in class since initial posting.]

The following comments were received:

Falyn Dimas:
I completely agree with you that Marvell and Donne were powerful in their ability to make comparisons between things that we would not normally put together. However, Marvell was not writing about a great love in To his Coy Mistress.

“Had we but world enough, and time,
This coyness, lady, were no crime.”

If you read the first line of Marvell’s poem, it sets the tone for the entire rest of the piece. He is sort of using a reverse psychology method telling her that her coyness would be ok if they had an eternity. Then he goes on into the second paragraph to tell her:

“But at my back I always hear
Time’s winged chariot hurrying near;”

Which means that they obviously do not have an eternity. That they will not be able to embrace again when they are dead. Basically, it is a humorous poem because he is trying to convince her to sleep with him but despite his best efforts she continues to be coy (his word for a tease). He sees her virtue as a nuisance which the reader gets from his tone and word choice.

Believe me these are not my own words, I just happened to complete a course where we studied this poem in great length so that is where this information comes from 🙂

Rebekka Austin:
Jeremiah,

The intriguing aspect of the metaphysical poet is his use of wit as an undertone to his works. Other posts hit the nail on the head with her comments about Marvell and his brazen bedroom talk. How would it work out for a guy today to say… you know.. you are really hot right now, but soon enough you will be old and ugly… so let’s have sex now… come on… carpe deim. I doubt this would fly at all! However, this is precisely what Marvell says:

Now therefore, while the youthful hue
Sits on thy skin like morning dew,
And while thy willing soul transpires
At every pore with instant fires,
Now let us sport us while we may,
And now, like am’roud birds of prey…

It is a wonder he wasn’t beaten… however, it is clear that he is using some wit as an undertone, and probably being quite truthful about the mans perspective on prolonging the inevitable actions with coyness.

Good post.

Prof. Maurene Hinds
Jeremiah,

You’ve made some good points throughout here. Even though the poems can be viewed as harsh in some ways (tone, style, etc.), the emotions behind them (even if coming from basic needs) are valid. Perhaps some of the poets were more realistic about certain issues, but the underlying issues and emotions grew from human nature and experience. They simply chose to express those ideas in ways not yet seen before. 🙂

Elizabeth… the blogger?

The following was originally written as a response to a classroom forum:

Forum 4: For credit, post a response (of approximately 200 words) to one of the topics above and to at least two other classmates of 100 words.

1. How does Elizabeth I, in her writing, define the age in which she ruled?

2. One of the reasons we all love Shakespeare is because he is the master at showing the multiple facets of human nature and how our strengths and weaknesses create our experience. Find evidence of this in this packet’s Shakespeare readings.

Expecting to find a lot of definition in the times in which Elizabeth lived through the review of her writings and speeches is much like having the expectation of finding definitions of the times we currently live in through reading any of todays blogs and journals on the Internet. Though there were many instances of her speaking of her current times, there isn’t much beyond her speaking of her life and the lives that interacted or depended upon her. We cannot find her giving description of the mundane and everyday things that she wouldn’t have given much consideration—the little things that we may want to know more of so that we may be able to paint a more accurate picture of the times. The same may be said of the varied writings of the average person we see online today; we may read one telling the tale of how there day had went, but we may not know the full details of how they dressed or how they traveled from point a to b and how their method of transport operates, etc. Instead we are left with the knowledge that the person is just another human experiencing events that they may seem as being somewhat normal.

From my reading of Elizabeth’s works, the only aspect of her life and times that stands out to me is the topic of religion. In her speech On Religion, delivered sometime in 1559 AD, we can see a bit on the connections between religion and political power. Elizabeth spoke wisely on the subject , saying that the basis of everything should take place in the matters of religion—or the morality thereof, at least—yet care must be given so as not to let religion take over as the last thing needed is a jihad. The speech continues to give a little description of the schism within the church and between the church and her monarchy. Elizabeth delivers another good take on the divide between the church and herself as well as her family in a response given in 1585 AD.

Though these speeches/writings give some decent description of the period, we can see that not much progress has been made in humanity since—do we not still have the struggles with church and state today? The times may have progressed, our world may have grown larger and the differences between political and religious activists may have changed, but a struggle between political and religious powers carry on.

Final Exam Question 10 Essay: FEMA

The following was submitted as a response to an essay question on my POLS210 final exam…

Identify one important agency within the federal bureaucracy, such as the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Security Agency, or the Patent and Trademark Office, and explain its duties. In addition, explain how the performance of those duties can create controversies involving elected officials, such as Congress and the President, and among voters.

Final Exam Question 10 Essay: FEMA

In 1979 President Jimmy Carter consolidated many emergency/disaster assistance branches of the nation’s federal programs/entities into a Federal Emergency Management Agency—FEMA (Carter, 1979). FEMA assumed many of the duties of the former Defense Department’s Defense Civil Preparedness Agency, the Federal Insurance Administration, the General Service Administration’s Federal Preparedness Agency, Housing and Urban Development’s Federal Disaster Assistance Administration, the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration, and the National Weather Service’s Community Preparedness Program (FEMA, 2010). By consolidating these entities and placing the duties under one agency the nation was given a centralized agency through which all disaster functions could be performed without the confusion related to having responsibilities shared across a splintered disaster planning/recovery system.

FEMA did not, however, truly become a fully functioning agency with the goal of disaster relief until the early to mid-1990s. This delay is in part related to some of the former agencies’ duties and responsibilities—notably Civil Defense. Though the “Cold War” had been dying over the 1980’s tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union existed until the fall of the USSR in 1991. Throughout that period Civil Defense remained a primary function of FEMA. Following the end of the Cold War, FEMA was able to refocus and reassign duties and funds to disaster relief; many of these changes took place in 1993 under the reform efforts of newly appointed FEMA director James L. Witt (FEMA).

Through the 1990s FEMA was capable of responding and providing assistance for many natural disasters—notably Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The next large test of FEMA’s abilities did not come until the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Immediately following 9/11 FEMA changed focus to strengthen efforts on national level preparedness and homeland security. This near return to the days of Civil Defense came through the cooperation of President Bush’s newly formed Department of Homeland Security; FEMA was soon after placed under DHS. Though FEMA did still exist as FEMA under DHS, portions of FEMA’s responsibilities were stripped from FEMA and placed under other sections of DHS. FEMA was also given a classification of Emergency Preparedness and Response—these changes were essentially reversed in 2006/2007 following the events of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

FEMA has seen praise and ridicule from all over the nation since its inception. Though many praised Carter for consolidating those original departments and creating a centralized agency there were—and still are—those who saw the move as a waste and misappropriation of federal funds. These differing opinions seem to root in whether one believes the nation should provide assistance, and if so, to what extent. In 1992, FEMA saw mixed reviews with response to Hurricane Andrew. Though FEMA did arrive to provide assistance in the aftermath of Andrew, there were numerous complaints to the response time and organization (Associated Press, 2004).

The next large disaster FEMA faced were the events of 9/11. Publicly, FEMA did not face much criticism—aside from conspiracy theorists who question the FEMA presence on 9/10 for a scheduled bio-terror drill on 9/12 (“FEMA was in New York,”). Internally, however, FEMA criticized their response with regard to funding assistance for persons affected by disaster. FEMA provided financial aid to families who lost income related to the terrorist attacks through their Mortgage and Rental Assistance program; however the funds were doled out slowly as there had been no anticipation for such a high need (Chen, 2003).

Since 9/11 FEMA received major criticism for the response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Though there were FEMA representatives dispatched to the areas prior to Katrina making landfall these preparations were not enough. Following the landfall and the increasing floodwater in the areas affected, additional resources were dispatched, however the event proved to be too great at the time for FEMA and other agencies. There are a great number of reasons—factual and suggested—as to why this incident proved to be too much and the response is seen as a failure.

The Katrina incident will likely be remembered by the emergency management community for quite some time—perhaps even longer than the events of 9/11—due to the scale and number of complaints coming from and going against the public and every level of government. Katrina has/had led to a number of arguments and reviews on local, state and federal levels with regard to responsibilities of preparedness, response and recovery within varying agencies and governing bodies. The overall controversy has also led to the firing and resignations of various members of public service agencies and has also altered the election of many officials in and representing those areas.

In 2007 new direction and control was given to FEMA through the Post-Katrina Emergency Reform Act. The Act returned many functions back to FEMA that had been absorbed by DHS. The Act also removed the Emergency Preparedness and Response function from DHS and placed FEMA in its stead. Though still a part of DHS, FEMA was returned to being a separate entity without fear of DHS making changes to its operations and structure as had happened following 9/11. (SEMP, 2008)

FEMA will undoubtedly receive more criticisms as the years continue—being an agency of the government with the mission of helping individuals during times of crisis opens the door for negative comments. With the recent changes, however, these criticisms should lesson as FEMA has a better defined direction and clearer authority. This conclusion has been echoed by many pundits and officials, including current FEMA Administrator, Craig Fugate:

“While we still have more work to do, I am confident that with the authorities and tools given us by Congress and the lessons we have learned through their application during disasters, FEMA will continue to be an agile and innovative Agency that is consistently improving its processes.” (Fugate, 2011)

Works Cited

Associated Press. “FEMA learned from Hurricane Andrew in 1992.” USA Today. 26 August 2004. Retrieved 27 Oct 2011, from: https://web.archive.org/web/20100228011442/http://www.usatoday.com:80/weather/hurricane/2004-08-26-charley-fema_x.htm
Carter, Jimmy. “Federal Emergency Management Agency” Executive Order 12127 of 31 March 1979. Retrieved 27 Oct 2011, from: http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/eo/eo-12127.htm
Chen, D. ” FEMA Criticized for Its Handling of 9/11 Claims.” The New York Times. 8 January 2003. Retrieved 27 Oct 2011, from: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/08/nyregion/08FEMA.html
FEMA. “FEMA History.” 11 August 2010. Web/PDF Document. Retrieved 27 Oct 2011, from: https://web.archive.org/web/20120719090409/http://www.fema.gov:80/about/history.shtm
“FEMA was in New York the Night Before 9/11.” Retrieved 27 Oct 2011, from: http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/fematape.html
Fugate, C. ” Written Statement of Craig Fugate, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency, before the House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications, ‘Five Years Later: An Assessment of the Post Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act’.” 25 October 2011. Retrieved 27 Oct 2011, from: http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/testimony/20111025-fugate-emergency-management-reform-act.shtm
SEMP. “The Incredible Expanding FEMA.” 15 September 2008. Retrieved 27 Oct 2011, from: http://www.semp.us/publications/biot_reader.php?BiotID=537

Final Exam Question 9 Essay: Public Policy

The following was submitted as a response to an essay question on my POLS210 final exam…

Lesson 7 presented several national policy matters that have developed over the past 10 to 20 years. Using these examples (from the Lecture Notes), please explain how public policy is formed in the American system of government. How is the problem identified? Who is responsible for determining solutions or setting the public policy agenda? (Hint: Read the examples and ask yourself these questions as you read the information presented about each.) Fully respond to the question and cite sources used.

Final Exam Question 9 Essay: Public Policy

Public policies are essentially the ideas and tools created to attempt to resolve a problem or fill a need that has been recognized by the government. Recognition of these issues can come from a variety of sources, such as external lobbying—from “grassroots” to corporate sponsored—and internal reviews. Once the issue has been recognized a political figure or group of political figures (senators, representatives, even the President) sets out to advertise the issue and draft proposals and resolutions for the matter. From this point, these drafts go through a process similar to the passing of a law, where the associated committees—elected or appointed, depending upon the issue, level of government or structure of the agency—review and vote up or strike down the proposals; following a passing the policy may become implemented if the associated governing head agrees.

Following the implementation of the policy more review is given to see if the plan is working as it had been designed without causing a greater detriment in any areas related to the issue—worries of financial burden are common. It is not unusual for a policy to be removed after it has been implemented, though it tends to be uncommon. Generally policies are revised to better accommodate and change in needs or regulation.

Works Cited

Unknown. “Unit 7: Politics and the Economy.” 2010. Web/PDF Document. Retrieved 26 Oct 2011, from: https://edge.apus.edu/access/content/group/155085/Unit%207:%20Public%20Policy/Unit7_PublicPolicy.pdf

Final Exam Question 8 Essay: US vs. Lopez

The following was submitted as a response to an essay question on my POLS210 final exam…

Choose one of the Supreme Court cases presented in Lesson 5. Please describe the basic facts of this case, why this decision was important, and how it changed or impacted Americans. You are encouraged to use external sources (outside the Lecture Notes) to aid in presenting facts and opinions on the case. Prepare a fully developed essay and cite sources used to obtain full credit.

Final Exam Question 8 Essay: US vs. Lopez

United States vs. Lopez was a case brought before the Supreme Court, where a challenge was made to the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990. Alfonso Lopez, Jr. of San Antonio, Texas, had intentionally brought a .38 caliber weapon and five cartridges to Edison High School. Lopez was dismissed from school and charged under Texas law for possession of a firearm on school premises. The following day, however, these original state charges were dismissed in favor of federal charges under the Gun-Free School Zones Act. Lopez was found guilty and convicted in District Court. Lopez appealed to The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, claiming that the Act was unconstitutional as the law did not meet any of the requirements of Congress’ power under the Commerce Clause. The Court of Appeals agreed and reversed the District Court’s decision. The case was then brought before the Supreme Court. (United States vs. Lopez, 1995)

After review of the case, the Court agreed with the Court of Appeals in that at no point was it clearly stated how possession of a firearm on school property would have an effect on interstate commerce. Following this ruling the Act was revised do that federal charges could still be brought on the same basic premise—the revision made the act now read that:

It shall be unlawful for any individual knowingly to possess a firearm that has moved in or that otherwise affects interstate or foreign commerce at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone. (18 USC 922, 2010)

This revision has enabled the Act to work as it was originally intended, by imposing federal charges against any person—other than law enforcement—who brings a weapon onto school property. Additionally, since the revision, there has yet to be a case where the Act has not been upheld in court. The Act, however, now brings into question whether Congress can attach a similar stipulation for any item that has been handled through or could have an effect on commerce in order to regulate it.

Works Cited

United States v. Lopez. 514 U.S. 549. U.S. Supreme Court. 1995. Retrieved 26 Oct 2011, from: http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/93-1260.ZO.html

18 U.S.C. § 922(q)(2)(A). 2010. Retrieved 26 Oct 2011, from: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/usc_sec_18_00000922—-000-.html

lobbying

The following was originally published as a class assignment:

How does lobbying work in government? Please use examples.

Include citations or URLs for your work to receive full credit. Post your response before Friday, and reply to the posts of at least two of your classmates before Sunday midnight.

To lobby the government is to attempt to present a concern or group of concerns to various individual or groups of legislators. Lobbyists can be individuals representing the public, civic groups, or business; there are also professional lobbyists that perform the communication between the individuals/groups and the legislators. Lobbyists can represent themselves in a public forum and/or have a single representative for private meetings with the legislators being lobbied. Lobbying can occur at any level of government and even within government houses with lower legislators attempting to appeal to the higher levels of government.

Lobbying has gotten negative attention over the years as many legislators have been influenced by lobbyists for a cause through the use of gifts and donations to campaign funds. To combat these negative practices there have been many resolutions passed to regulate lobbying practices. One of the most recent acts involving lobbying is the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007. This act calls for punishment of former legislators abusing their privileges of visiting Congress for the purposes of lobbying. The act also changed how lobbying reports are disclosed by increasing the frequency of reports and lowering the amounts required to be reported for political contributions.

References

Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (PL 110-81, 14 September 2007) 121 Stat 735. Retrieved 25 Oct. 2011 from: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-110publ81/pdf/PLAW-110publ81.pdf

[…sorry, can’t afford to go long-winded on this one… may do a complete revision later this week, if time allows.]

The following responses came from this forum posting:

Prof. Keith Carlson:
Are there any situations where lobbying is a good thing?

my reply:
…it’s all a matter of perspective, honestly.

…any person has the right to raise a concern with their government over an issue which they see to be unfair or wrong in some way. This person may also recruit others who feel the same way, so that there can then be a louder communal voice representing the cause. This newly formed group can seek out other groups of people sharing the same view and create a movement. The movement can then get greater attention and have stronger power in lobbying the government for change.

…this can be a good thing.

Women’s suffrage. Racial equality. These two issues are, for the most part, seen as good examples of how positive lobbying can be. The reason why these issues show cause for lobbying being a “good thing” is that we agreed on these issues.

…I do not dare go into giving any other examples as I do not know which way the compass points for the rest of the class…

…but, in my opinion lobbying is (almost) always a good thing as it has the potential of raising discussion.

Ryan McFarland:
Jeremiah, thank you for introducing that acts are now put in place to regulate lobbying. I did not know of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007. It is interesting how people can be bought for as little as support in a campaign. What is our country coming to? What is the punishment for indivisuals who abuse their privileges?

Michael Baker:
Hi Jeremiah,

Nice post!, The Honest Leadership Act is interesting and I think it is very important in improving politics and accountability. I think with these acts, it will help curve bribery in politics which influences another party or organization to overlook the rules or
boundaries, rather than working with them. Bribery is the act of giving favor to someone in power so that your work gets done. It can be said without any doubt that bribery in no way is ethical or moral and it cannot hold grounds.

Resource Cited:
Encarta (, 2009). Define Bribery. Retrieved from http://www.bing.com/dictionary.

…shootin' at the walls of (religious divide); BANG! BANG! I am the warrior…

The following was originally posted in response to a classroom forum:

Forum 2: For credit, post a response (of approximately 200 words) to the topic below and to at least two other classmates of 100 words.

1. The Anglo-Saxon Period in literature begins to merge an ancient warrior past with a new awareness of religion. What evidence of these influences do you see in the readings from this packet?

The best examples of the mixing of Christian and varied pagan beliefs that I can see lie in the tales of Beowulf and the Dream of the Rood.

In Beowulf we read of a king who is serving of his people and fearless of his travels in far lands with varied spirits and elves abound. Obviously our strong heroic leader and adventurous exploits are familiar of the pagan faiths. Yet, there is also mention of God and and his divine creation of the world; elements which are undeniably Christian. Further, we might be able to make some sort of a tie between Beowulf and Christ, though no mention was made of the Savior. Telling of how mighty the king was, and how he helped his people and bore faith in the troubled times, battling evil might easily sway someone to see how a heroic and noble savior of earth could be able to rise above. If one could have faith in this story, then one could have faith in the Christian stories.

The Rood applied persuasion in a similar manner to Beowulf. In the Rood, we here the telling of the Crucifixion; further we hear the telling from the viewpoint of an element of nature—an item which a pagan could easily see as being as alive spiritually as man. We are told of how Christ—an almost every-man, yet something more—bore such terrible inflictions from his evil captors. We see Christ as a hero—a man who should be honored and worshiped for the pains and suffering inflicted upon him in our names. This piece helps show how older selfless acts leading to martyrdom still exist in this new religion, and that the greatest martyr for the cause is the son of God.

These stories are quite successful in mixing and selling the concepts of Christianity to people of pagan faiths.

Kempe

The following was originally submitted as a homework assignment:

Forum 3: For credit, post a response (of approximately 200 words) to one of the topics below and to at least two other classmates of 100 words.

1. Does Mallory treat Arthur or Lancelot as the hero of the Arthurian legends? Back up your opinion with specific references to the text.

2. Margery Kempe was an actual person; she is not a literary character. How does this fact impact the way in which you read her work?

For my response, I chose to speak on the Kempe subject.

Having the knowledge that Kempe was an actual person has little to no effect to how I read her work. Reading Kempe would be much like reading a personal journal or blog and even the tweets or posting to facebook walls of today. Though there may be some slight change, as I might be able to forge some sort of personal connection with the subject, the differences end there. Still, that difference isn’t that strong. Any story, if well-written, should be able to draw the reader into the tale and create a bond; otherwise the text being read is no better than an instructional manual.

Furthermore, for those of us who may have faith in a higher being, we reads text which is claimed to have been written of or by real people or entities. There is no physical proof to back these claims; yet we believe them and connect with them wholeheartedly. Are our views changed by having heard others claim that these words may be false? If our views are affected by these claims, the change is typically minute and causes a strengthening of our connection to the verses we hold so dear.

I would want to question what would happen if we discovered–with hard certainty–that Kempe was a character of one’s imagination after having believed that she was real for so long. I would then ask would this cause as great of an impact as discovering that whatever deity we choose to follow was the creation of someone’s dream.