The Glass Castle Prompt

In the book "The Glass Castle" it describes some very irresponsible parents and the kids who live under their care. I know someone whose situation used to resemble this very much. My friend Bob moved in and out of Siskiyou county very often. His parents lived on food stamps and other welfare sources because they did not want to work. The reason they moved so much was because CPS was trying to take their kids away and bring them into a less toxic environment. My friend Bob has told me many stories that are similar to those found in the book we are reading for class and I experienced some of these first hand at his house when I stayed there. One thing I remember specifically was that they had no electricity and me and Bob had to go buy ice with their food stamp card so that they could keep their food cold in the fridge. Thankfully he now lives with other family and has a better situation at home.

Personal Allusion

On his journey through the desert Santiago reflects on how peaceful the silence of the desert can be. I can relate to this because this summer I went on a 53 mile backpacking trip and the silence combined with the beauty of nature can be amazingly peaceful.

Personal Allusion

In the book "The Alchemist" the main character Santiago befriends an Englishman who studies a lot about alchemy. Santiago was told by Melchizedek that alchemy has to do with the soul of the world and that he had to pay attention to the world in order to learn about it. Santiago tries to learn from the books of the Englishman but finds that some things are better learned through experience. I can relate to this. Although there are many things that must be learned from reading and study, many lessons we learn can only be learned through experience. For example, I could read about wrestling techniques for a long time and still I would learn more from one season than I would any other way.

Clinton Email Scandal

Here's the link: Judicial Watch

This is a very controversial topic and it receives a lot of pressure because it has to do with presidential election. So here is what this is about; Hillary Clinton used a personal email account to send classified information to other government officials, she had her own server set up and was very secretive about the whole thing. In my mind the biggest problem is that she set up her own server and that means that none of the documents that she hid from the public eye can be recovered without her cooperation. Normally these transactions would have taken place on a state server, in which case the state would be able to produce the files at any time. If she had nothing to hide then why would she have set up a personal server where she could keep this information secret. Secrets are the biggest problem in this case, because even when Hillary "revealed" her secrets many documents have been found that she openly stated did not exist.

On one side of this argument Hillary Clinton hasn't done anything actually illegal. She reportedly sent the information only to people who were qualified to receive the classified material. Many democrats say that no matter what Hillary does republicans are still going to call her a liar.

On the other side she still openly lied. Repeatedly she has lied about these files and when they proved she was lying she then proceeded to lie again. So how can we trust Hillary Clinton?

The question I think we need to ask is does the public need to know about those emails. I am a firm believer that citizens have a right to know what is going on in their country. On the other side of that argument there is the fact that somethings need to be kept secret from the US public so that other countries don't know about things like secret missions, foreign surveillance, and other delicate government activities. So what do you think? Does the government have a right to keep information from the American public?

Raising Minimum Wage

The California State minimum wage has recently been increased and will be increased by one dollar per year for another 5 years.

PRO:
People who support the raising of the minimum wage say that it will help fight poverty by giving money to those in need. Other benefits of an increase in the minimum wage include a healthier economy because people will have money to spend, and less people will need welfare or other assistance.

CON:
People who do not support raising the minimum say that although giving more money to minimum wage workers may sound like a good idea, it will have many unforeseen consequences. If minimum wage is raised it will force many small businesses to shut down. Some other problems with a higher minimum wage are that there will be less incentive for people to improve their skills and get better jobs, skilled workers may stay in minimum wage jobs making it more difficult for inexperienced workers to get jobs, and products will become more expensive because businesses need to make up for the higher cost of labor.

For more information visit: The Chicago Tribune

Mood and Tone of The Alchemist

The mood of The Alchemist can be described as happy. The Alchemist has a happy tone because that's what the book is about, finding one's happiness and it has a journey of one boy finding his true happiness in life. The tone of this book is absolutely a philosophical one. You can tell it is a philosophical writing right from the start because the entire novel is filled with philosophical writing.
One example is when the King of Salem tells a story. He tells of a shoemaker who sends his son to a great king in order to learn the secret to happiness. When the boy arrived at the palace the king told him to explore his beautiful palace, but he had to do it while holding a spoon full of oil, when the boy returned the king asked "Did you see the Persian tapestries that are hanging in my dining hall? Did you see the garden that it took the master gardener ten years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library?". The boy had not noticed any of these things because he had been so focused on the spoon. The king then had the boy perform the task again. This time the boy admired everything in the palace, but when he returned there was no oil left in the spoon he had been carrying. "The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never forget the drops of oil on the spoon" the king said. This story shows how well this book entwines happiness and philosophy to help you learn.

Favorite Poem

Good Timber

by Douglas Malloch

The tree that never had to fight                    I have liked this poem for a long time. I like it because
For sun and sky and air and light,                it has a good message and feel to it. So if you are
But stood out in the open plain                    stressed or going through a rough time just remember 
And always got its share of rain,                 that all of your trials will help you grow.
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.
The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.Good timber does not grow with ease:
The stronger wind, the stronger trees;
The further sky, the greater length;
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.Where thickest lies the forest growth,
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life.