Wind Farms: Using natural elements for energy. What a concept!

I completely support the idea of the modern day Wind Farms. What took us so long to finally start using free resources to create energy? Not only energy, but CLEAN energy. This is safe for the environment and will help to fix the problem with our o-zone. Natural elements like sun, moon, water, and now wind are free at our disposal to use for energy sources. Yes they may cost more now but will cost less in the long run. This is not a quick fix to our problem, but it is the best fix. It is aiming in the right direction for our economy and our planet.

Meaningful Images

Two images that come to mind for me are pics of the World Trade Center and Ground Zero. Everyone in the entire world has some form of emotion when they see pictures of either of these images. Chills come over me everytime I see an old photograph of the twin towers. Sometimes you can catch a glimps of what used to be a highlight of the New York skyline in an older movie.

During their existance, held little meaning for most people; but their absence is now felt all over the world. Ground Zero is all that is left of our World Trade Center. These two images have meaning to everyone in the world in some shape, form, or fashion. What these images mean to different people, depends on their connection to these images. For me, the meaning of these two images represents bravery, honor, sacrifice, and also sadness, sorrow and humility. I feel that most Americans share similar meanings as me of these two images only a difference of degree.

Reporters in war

Reporter in war: Why and is it appropriate?
I served in the U.S. Army for 11 years. First of all, never believe the media. You are not getting accurate information. My opinion is that reporters need to stay in the studios and let the soldiers do there jobs without distractions. When a reporter is following a group of soldiers in a combat tour, they can create an unsafe environment by becoming a distraction. This is not a good idea and should not be allowed. However, reporters are not allowed everywhere, and this is why. My opinion as to why reporters are in the midst of war is for a story that sells. They want the best live report with the most action, and excitement in hopes to increase ratings or attract the most viewers. An example of this which was taken from 2003 archives of CNN.com by reporter Brent Sadler, "Shots ring out. OK, that's gunfire. We've just come under attack. Under attack. We're OK, we're OK. Under fire. That confirms our worst fears.
If you're with us, we've just gone through a checkpoint, we've come under automatic machine gun fire, and we've blown through the checkpoint. Our armed guard pulled his automatic machine gun and opened fire to get us through there. " (http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/04/13/otsc.irq.sadler/index.html)

Propaganda: The Good, the Bad,and the Ugly...

What is propaganda?
According to Wikipedia, "Propaganda is communication aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to influence an audience. Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or uses loaded messages to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the attitude toward the subject in the target audience to further a political agenda" (http://en.wikipedia.org).

Is propaganda always bad, or does “good” propaganda exist?
Yes good propaganda does exist! But only when the intent is good. An example of good propaganda that has both good intent and outcome is a "bandwagon" approach to rallying supports to "join together for a good cause" like telethons to raise money to support pediatric cancer research at St. Judes Children's Hospital. Good propaganda can also be seen in advertisements, especially during election year, that demonstrate the importance of being a registered voter.

However, bad propaganda also exists and is unfortunately used more so than good propaganda, especially during an election year. During the debates you see examples of politician's "name calling" their opponents. You also see politicians using the "stroking" technique to the public by tell them what they want to here just to get there vote and once in office they do not live up to their promises.

Propaganda is a powerful persuasion tool that can be good or bad. If we take power into our own hands and make our own decisions after thoroughly researching and analysing the data being presented to us instead of allowing someone else to make our decisions for us, we can make a positive impact in our society.

Writing

Writing for me is a creative act of expression. I must be in a very quiet place, preferable a library or my office where there are no distractions and many resources at my disposal. Before I sit to write, I spend several minutes and sometimes hours brainstorming and tossing around different scenarios of the particular topic I am writing about. I make sure to have pen and paper handy to make notes of different points to touch on. This is the most challenging part of writing for me. Once I have my thoughts organized in a somewhat bullet notation, I can begin to elaborate on each point which usually flows very quickly....then voila, first draft is born.