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9-11 could have been avoided if the Secret Services would have done their Work

2005-04-30T22:48:32-04:00

Preceding the terrible events on September 11th, 2001, the American Secret Services have made many mistakes in regard to the possibility of preventing 9-11. The Secret Services, mainly the CIA and the FBI, have made a great lot of mistakes. After an initial meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where eight terrorists met, the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) let go of them after their meeting, assuming it was unimportant . After the attack on the USS Cole in 2000 they changed their minds, now coming to the conclusion that major agreements regarding the Cole as well as regarding the WTC (World Trade Center) were made in Malaysia. However, it was too late. As the year 2001 approached and warnings accumulated, they still did not react. The September 11th-attacks could have been avoided if the Secret Services would not have been hindered in their work by higher authorities and if they would have cooperated/shared their findings. Mistakes long before 9-11 After the 1996 crash of TWA flight 800, 31 urgent proposals by a White House commission were proposed. The Los Angeles Times: The White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security, created in 1996 after TWA Flight 800 crashed off Long Island, N.Y., recommended 31 steps that it said were urgently needed to provide a multilayered security system at the nation's airports... The Federal Aviation Administration expressed support for the proposals, which ranged from security inspections at airports to tighter screening of mail parcels, and the Clinton administration vowed to rigorously monitor the changes. But by Sept. 11, most of the proposals had been watered down by industry lobbying or were bogged down in bureaucracy, a Times review found. This was not at all done; according to Larry Klayman, CEO of Judicial Watch (a Washington-based legal organization aimed at fighting the corruption in state and Government): During the last eight years of scandal during the Clinton administration, and the first eight months of the Bush Administration, reports this morning confirm that little to nothing was done to secure our nation’s airports and transportation systems as a whole—despite warnings. Instead, cosmetic reform of education, social security, taxes, and other less important issues were given precedence. In addition, the American people were led to believe that appropriate anti-terrorist counter measures were being taken. Instead of telling the truth so the problems could be addressed, politicians painted a rosy picture in order to be elected and re-elected.

9-11 could have been avoided if the Secret Services would have done their Work

2005-04-30T22:48:07-04:00

Who to Shoot

2002-03-04T13:00:00-05:00

The book The Grapes of Wrath focuses on a particular section of America called the “Dust Bowl” during the early nineteen thirties. During this time, when tenant farming was a way of life for so many Oklahomans, there came a drought which drastically cut down production of crops and forced the bank to evict the tenants in order to cut losses. The problem may seem straightforward at first, and maybe it is, but the cause of the problem should not be simplified. Naturally, the three participants in this disaster, the tenants, the bank and the workers, have their own separate, and logical, points of view. Who is right? In the larger picture, events occurring during this time period involving banks and corporations are primitive examples of the widespread greedy capitalism infused in our modern society. One cannot think of the tenants of these farms without feeling some sort of pity or sympathy, because they had no concept of banks or land ownership. To them, land was theirs if they lived, struggled, and eventually died on it; not just because of a flimsy sheet of paper in hand. “My pa come here fifty years ago. An’ I ain’t a-goin’.”(60), was the sentiment expressed by Muley Graves and felt by many Oklahomans when first ordered off their farms. Some reacted quite violently, threatening to shoot anyone who came onto their land with a tractor to tear down their house, but when the tractor came and one of their friends drove it, they laid down their guns in submission. “Who gave you orders? I’ll go after him. He’s the one to kill.”(49), said one disgruntled farmer. “You’re wrong. He got his orders from the bank.” the driver replied. The farmer also found out that the bank got their orders from the East and wondered in exasperation, “But where does it stop? Who can we shoot?”(49) Basically, the tenants were cut off from their livelihood and without hope since they weren’t even sure whom they could kill or what person to talk to in order to keep the land. The Bank. Who is a bank? Is it a person? A physical thing? Couldn’t it see that it was causing such suffering and despair? Although the heads of the bank could sympathize with the plight of the tenants, they felt that for some reason, the eviction could not be stopped. The Bank saw that the land in

Grapes of Wrath - Allusion

2000-10-10T14:00:00-04:00

Text: "He held the apple box against his chest. And then he leaned over and set the box in the stream and steadied it with his hand. He said fiercely, "Go down an' tell 'em. Go down in the street an' rot an' tell 'em that way....Maybe they'll know then." He guided the box gently out into the current and let it go" (493). "I figgered, 'maybe it's all men an' all women we love; maybe that's the Holy Sperit- the human sperit-the whole shebang. Maybe all men got one big soul ever'body's a part of.' Now I sat there thinkin' it, an' all of a suddent- I knew it. I knew it so deep down that it was true, and I still know it..." (25). "If you could separate causes from results, if you could know that Paine, Marx, Jefferson, Lenin, were results, not causes, you might survive" (166). Analysis/ Commentary Uncle John's motivated action alludes to the tale of the baby Moses. To save her baby from slavery, Moses' mother sets the infant adrift in a basket. Similarly, Uncle John feels he is 'freeing' the baby from the migrants' miserable condition. Jim Casy, an ex-preacher, constantly shares his thoughts and philosophies about life. Throughout the novel, he indirectly alludes to Jesus Christ. Casy believes that men are holy, and later he, just like Jesus, is killed for opposing human cruelty and suffering. The author explains that the ideas of Paine, Marx, Jefferson and Lenin were not causes of the American Revolution. Rather, they were results of the harsh living conditions. Steinbeck warns the farmers that the only way to survive the sudden changes is to understand the difference between the causes and results of their hopeless situation. Evidence/ Quotations from the Text "But then he says, 'It ain't so bad if you know.' He says, 'French Revolution-all them fellas that figgered her out got their heads chopped off. Always that way,' he says" (424). "Ma said, 'This here's my girl, Rosasharon" (346). Analysis/ Commentary Casy's jail mate assuages his condition by comparing it to the days of the French Revolution. During the Revolution, a group of radicals (the Jacobins) attempted to crush all opposition within France. Suspected traitors (many of which were innocent) suffered harsh execution. The prisoner considers himself somewhat fortunate. The name Rose of Sharon serves as a biblical allusion. The name is adopted from the Song of Solomon, in the Old Testament. "I am a rose of Sharon."

Grapes of Wrath Character Journal

2000-10-10T14:00:00-04:00

Ruthie & her Cracker Jacks: "So they got mad. An' one kid grabbed her Cracker Jack box.... So Ruthie got mad an' chase 'em, an' she fit one, an' then she fit another, an' then one big girl up an' licked her... So then Ruthie cried, an' she said she'd git her big brother, an' he'd kill that big girl..... An' then- an' the, Ruthie said our brother already kil't two fellas...."(455)

Today at camp Pa bought Winfiel' an' me a lil' box of Cracker Jack. Then when I was eating some kids they see and want some. But I didn't give 'em none, I worked good for them lil' box. But then them mean kids come and stoled my Cracker Jack from my hands. So then I chased 'em and hit them. Then this big girl, this stupid big girl, she hit me hard, an' I telled her, my brother, he killed two men, and he'd kill her if she didn't gimme my Cracker Jack. An' then she laughed at me an' calls me a liar. If only Tom were here then I'd show her! I wist' there weren't no kids, jus' me and Winfiel'... I tell ya, them kids at camp ain't no good, they stoled my Cracker Jack. I worked all day pickin' cotton to get that box, it ain't fair! One day, I will get that stupid girl.... Ruthie

Lil' Ruthie got in a fight with some kids today. She tol' em 'bout Tom an' how he kil't two men an' how he's a-hidin'. It fri'ened me, and I had to go warn Tom. I tol' him to go far away, so no one would catch 'im. But that Ruthie, it ain't her fault', she just wanted her box o' Cracker Jack. No use for me hittin' her-she didn't know what she was a-doin. I can't let anger tear apart this famby now, I must keep lovin'. Oh, how I miss dear Tom, how we need him now... Ma Ma came to see me an' brought some good cookin'. We sat in my dark cave an' talked. Then she tol't me about Ruthie an' her fight with the other kids. Ma said Ruthie tol' one girl she ha't a brother that would kil' her 'cause he'd already kil't two men. I don't think that girl believed Ruthie, them kids is always jokin'. But Ma seemed awful worried, an' she tol't

Grapes of Wrath - Characterization

2000-10-10T14:00:00-04:00

Evidence/ Quotations from the Text: "Winfield was breathless in his telling. 'So then they fit, an' that big girl hit Ruthie a good one, an' Ruthie said her brother'd kill that big girl's brother. An' then- an' then, Ruthie said our brother already kil't two fellas. An'- an' that big girl said, 'Oh yeah! You're jus' a litlle smarty liar.' An' Ruthie said, 'Oh yeah? Well, our brother's a- hiding right now from killin' a fella, an' he can kill that big girl's brother too" (456). "Muley continued, 'Well, sir, it's a funny thing. Somepin went an' happened to me when they tol' me I had to get off the place. .. Then all my folks all went away out west. An' I got wanderin' aroun'. Jus' walkin' aroun'. Never went far. Slep' where I was... I'd tell myself, 'I'm lookin' after things so when all the folks come back it'll be all right.' But I knowed that wan't true. There ain't nothin' to look after. The folks ain't never comin' back. I'm jus' wanderin' aroun' like a damn ol' graveyard ghos" (54).

Analysis/ Commentary: At the camp, Ruthie becomes engaged in an argument that leads to serious consequences. In an effort to preserve her Cracker Jacks, she threatens to call upon her brother, who has killed two men and is now in hiding. Ruthie's revelation endangers Tom and forces him to abandon both his hideout and family. Ma, whose primary goal has been to keep the family together, must bid another painful farewell. Through his speech, Muley reveals that he is stubborn and refuses to accept the fact that things have changed. His home has been seized, and his family migrated to California, but he refuses to leave the land. Muley roams the countryside alone, sleeping and eating like a wild animal. Evidence/ Quotations from the Text "John shook his head. "No. Go on. Ain't goin'. Gonna res' here. No good goin' back. No good to nobody-jus' a draggin' my sins like dirty drawers 'mongst nice folks. No. Ain't goin'....Go ri' 'long. I ain't no good. I ain't no good. Jus' a-draggin' my sins, a-dirtyin' ever'body." (305). "For a minute Rose of Sharon sat still in the whispering barn. Then she hoisted her tired body up and drew the comfort about her. She moved slowly to the corner and stood looking down at the wasted face, into the wide, frightened eyes. Then slowly she lay down beside

Grapes of Wrath: Jim Casey as a Christ Figure

2000-09-19T14:00:00-04:00

In the novel, The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck brings to the reader a variety of diverse and greatly significant characters. However, the majority of each characters’ individuality happens to lie within what they symbolize in the microcosm of the Joad family and their acquaintances, which itself stands for the entire migrant population of the Great Depression era. One such character is that of Jim Casey, a former preacher and long-time friend of the Joads. In this story, Casey represents a latter-day Christ figure who longs to bring religious stability to the burgeon of migrant families facing West. Steinbeck manages to give Jim Casey the exact initials as the historical savior (J.C.), which allows the reader to latch onto this connection from the beginning. Yet, Casey’s relation to Christ goes beyond such mere coincidences, and plays out rather in their similar plans of action. One of the many similarities between Casey and Christ is that Casey had also drifted out to the forests in order to “soul-search” and discover the answers to sometimes hidden questions. In this particular situation, Casey himself states the comparison of Christ’s and his actions while giving a grace at the Joad’s breakfast table, “...I been in the hills, thinkin’, almost you might say like Jesus went into the wilderness to think His way out of a mess of troubles” (Steinbeck ch.8). Casey further goes on during his rather rambling grace, “I got tired like Him...I got mixed up like Him...I went into the wilderness like Him, without no campin’ stuff” (Steinbeck ch.8). With Casey’s character openly admitting, without seeming conceited, that he and Jesus Christ are in some way similar, it continues to bluntly let the reader come to realize that Casey was indeed meant to be the Christ figure of this book. Yet another similarity between Jim Casey and Jesus Christ can be seen when Casey decides to venture off and join a union group in order to prevent strike wages from falling even farther. This represents the event of Jesus Christ and his faithful disciples, traveling with him in an effort to spread their beliefs throughout the people as a whole. In addition, there were many people who wanted to follow Christ and his quest, yet they declined due to fear of persecution, just as the migrant workers feared an upset of government retaliation against trouble-makers or “reds”. However, the greatest significance regarding Jim Casey as

Grapes of Wrath - Jim Casy Chracter Analysis

2000-02-14T13:00:00-05:00

John Steinbeck passionately describes a time of unfair poverty, unity, and the human spirit in the classic, The Grapes of Wrath. The novel tells of real, diverse characters who experience growth through turmoil and hardship. Jim Casy- a personal favorite character- is an ex-preacher that meets up with a former worshiper, Tom Joad. Casy continues a relationship with Tom and the rest of the Joads as they embark on a journey to California in the hopes of prosperity and possibly excess. Casy represents how the many situations in life impact the ever-changing souls of human- beings and the search within to discover one's true identity and beliefs. Casy, however, was much more complex than the average individual. His unpredjudiced, unified, Christ-like existence twists and turns with every mental and extraneous disaccord. Jim Casy is an interesting, complicated man. He can be seen as a modern day Christ figure, except without the tending manifest belief in the Christian faith. The initials of his name, J.C., are the same as Jesus Christ. Just as Jesus was exalted by many for what he stood for was supposed to be , Casy was hailed and respected by many for simply being a preacher. Casy and Jesus both saw a common goodness in the average man and saw every person as holy. Both Christ and Casy faced struggles between their ideals versus the real world. (Despite Casy's honesty, goodness, and loyalty to all men, he would not earn a meal or warm place to stay. Although Jesus had many followers, still others opposed his preaching until the very end. ) These prophets attempted to disengage man from the cares of the world and create a high spiritualism that stemmed joy from misery. (All the migrants found pleasures along their trips and kept their hope and spirit throughout the journey. Thanks to Jesus, the saddest, dullest existence has had its glimpse of heaven.) Casy once remarked, "I gotta see them folks that's gone out on the road. I gotta feelin' I got to see them. They gonna need help no preachin' can give 'em. Hope of heaven when their lives ain't lived? Holy Sperit when their own sperit is downcast an' sad?" Casy wished to reach out to others in spite of his own troubles. He wanted to give them sprit, hope and rejuvenate their souls. Jesus too felt that need and can be considered "the

The Grapes of Wrath

1999-11-24T13:00:00-05:00

The Grapes of Wrath is a novel by John Steinbeck that exposes the desperate conditions under which the migratory farm families of America during the 1930's live under. The novel tells of one families migration west to California through the great economic depression of the 1930's. The Joad family had to abandon their home and their livelihoods. They had to uproot and set adrift because tractors were rapidly industrializing their farms. The bank took possession of their land because the owners could not pay off their loan. The novel shows how the Joad family deals with moving to California. How they survive the cruelty of the land owners that take advantage of them, their poverty and willingness to work. The Grapes of Wrath combines Steinbeck adoration of the land, his simple hatred of corruption resulting from materialism (money) and his abiding faith in the common people to overcome the hostile environment. The novel opens with a retaining picture of nature on rampage. The novel shows the men and women that are unbroken by nature. The theme is one of man verses a hostile environment. His body destroyed but his spirit is not broken. The method used to develop the theme of the novel is through the use of symbolism. There are several uses of symbols in the novel from the turtle at the beginning to the rain at the end. As each symbol is presented through the novel they show examples of the good and the bad things that exist within the novel. The opening chapter paints a vivid picture of the situation facing the drought-stricken farmers of Oklahoma. Dust is described a covering everything, smothering the life out of anything that wants to grow. The dust is symbolic of the erosion of the lives of the people. The dust is synonymous with "deadness". The land is ruined ^way of life (farming) gone, people ^uprooted and forced to leave. Secondly, the dust stands for ^profiteering banks in the background that squeeze the life out the land by forcing the people off the land. The soil, the people (farmers) have been drained of life and are exploited: The last rain fell on the red and gray country of Oklahoma in early May. The weeds became a dark green to protect themselves from the sun's unyielding rays....The wind grew stronger, uprooting the weakened corn, and the air became so filled with dust that

The Grapes of Wrath

1999-05-18T14:00:00-04:00

The Grapes of Wrath is an eye-opening novel which deals with the struggle for survival of a migrant family of farmers in the western United States. The book opens with a narrative chapter describing Oklahoma, and the overall setting. It sets the mood of an area which has been ravished by harsh weather. "The sun flared down on the growing corn day after day until a line of brown spread along the edge of each green bayonet. The surface of the earth crusted, a thin hard crust, and as the sky became pale, so the earth became pale, pink in the red country, and white in the gray country." (Steinbeck pg.3) Steinbeck, in a detailed fashion described the area in great detail. Not only was the area stricken by a drought and extreme temperatures, but to add to the difficulties, the families of the area were bombarded by high winds and dust storms which barraged their houses, crops, and moral. The idea was made clear, quite early, that the farming plains of Oklahoma were a cruel and difficult place for a family to make a successful living. The reader is first introduced to a character by the name of Tom Joad, a man who has been released early from the penitentiary on parole after serving four years of his seven year sentence. Tom, once released, begins the trip back home to his family on their forty acre farming estate. Tom, through the aid of a helpful truck driver, is given a ride to the general area of his house. It is interesting to see how Tom manages to hitch a ride with the truck driver, who under normal circumstances, would not have given any rides to hitch hikers, simply due to a sticker on his cab which reads "No Riders." Tom however, through cunning reasoning skills, is able to get what he needs. "Can you give me a lift mister," said Tom. "Didn't you see the No Riders sticker on the wind shield?,"the driver proclaimed. "Sure, I seen it. But sometimes a guy will be a good guy even if some rich b&%#@rd makes him carry a sticker."(Steinbeck 11) Technically, if the driver refused, he would not be a "good" guy , and if he took the hitch-hiker, he would be a "good" guy, and would prove that he was not one whom a rich boss could kick around. Through