Gay Marriage

Murchison, William. "The Gay Marriage Fantasy." Real Clear Politics. Creators Syndicate Inc., 8 Apr. 2009. Web. 26 Sept. 2011.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/04/the_gay_marriage_fantasy.html

The author, William Murchison, writes about how there really isn't such a thing as gay marriage, it is what some people simply "call" gay marriage. He states that a marriage, a real one between a man and a woman, brings them together for mutual society and comfort, but also, more deeply, for the long generational journey to the future. Also, he describes marriage, as historically defined, across all religious and non-religious views, is about children and the childbearing process. However, a so called gay marriage, is definitionally sterile and is impossible for extending generation purposes. The author's intent is to persuade people that gay marriage should not be considered marriage at all, in fact, should not be even legal. Murchison's main audience pertains to those who are for gay marriage as he tries to persuade it is not right for gays to get married. William Murchison is very bias throughout the entire article especially when he says, "The Iowa court's decision in the gay marriage case is pure nonsense." The article was informative, however, it was very bias and one sided in his argument. I think this would be a great topic to write a paper about, but I may choose a different artice to use other than this one. I also believe it would be a great topic for others to write about as it is a rising conflict in America today.      

Lethal Injection

Brulliard, Karin. "Lethal Injections Called Flawed." Washington Post. The Washington Post Company, 15 Apr. 2005. Web. 26 Sept. 2011.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54799-2005Apr14.html

Washington Post writer Karin Brulliard states that some prisoners who are receiving lethal injection treatment are not being sedated properly and are awake enough to suffer agonizingly painful deaths. She also researches that among 49 inmates, only 6 had levels of thiopental, the anesthetic, high enough to perform surgery making the other 43 susceptible to feeling significant pain throughout the entire process. Without the proper amount of anesthesia, the study says that inmates would endure suffocation and extreme pain during lethal injection. The author's intent is to persuade people that without proper sedatio, the lethal injection process can be quite painful deeming it unjust and unconstitutional. Karin Brulliard's main purpose is to get government officials to recognize lethal injection is bad and should be illegalized. This article was very informative and remained unbias during almost the entire article. Brulliard researched the studies of doctors who sought to find out whether lethal injection was cruel and unusual or not. I believe this would be a great topic for me because I strongly believe in the promotion of lethal injection and this article would help with my opposing views. I think this topic could be quite interesting for others, but yet at the same time could be totally against their morals to support lethal injection.  

Athlete Obligations

Hamm, Mia. "Mia Hamm Writes of Athlete Obligation to Community." Who Gives?. Athletes For Hope, 27 Nov. 2009. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.

http://are-athletes-obligated.org/2009/11/mia-hamm-challenges-misty-may-morgan-pressel-warrick-and-julie-foudy/

Mia Hamm, a successful professional soccer player for the United States, tries to encourage other celebrity athletes and non-athletes to give back to their community whether it's through funds or simply volunteering. She tells a story about how her borther was diagnosed with aplastic anemia and had to watch her hero gracefully leave this earth. Mia Hamm tries to urge other athletes to come up with their own foundations like she did with The Mia Hamm Foundation. Mia Hamm's main intent was to persuade others to give back to the less fortunate and those who need extreme attention in the medical area. Also, her main audience is everyone who is more fortunate than most others, basically all of mankind but mostly other pro athletes like herself. There aren't any fallacies or biases in this article because it should be everyone's civic duty to volunteer when they can. The article showed how important it is for people to participate. Also, it shows that pro athletes aren't just millionaires with so much money they can't even spend it all, they are responsible people who can show who they really are through actions rather than words. I think this would be an okay topic to write about, however, a lot of people don't necessarily think of pro athletes as bums. It may be a good topic for people who enjoy sports or reading how they impact others' lives with foundations they create on their own.  

Abortion

Peikoff, Leonard. "Abortion Rights are Pro-Life." Capitalism Magazine. Capitalism Magazine, 23 Jan. 2003. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.

http://www.capitalismmagazine.com/politics/abortion/2404-abortion-rights-are-pro-life.html

Leonard Peikoff, a writer for Capitalism Magazine, focuses on the big debate about abortion and how others perceive it. Peikoff explains that the embryo inside the female cannot be compared to a real life human being because basic rights only apply to individuals already born, not to collective parts within that particular woman. He goes about how it's the female's decision and no one else's. It may not be right to have an abortion, however, the woman carrying the fetus should not be put at fault if she feels she isn't fit for taking care of the child. Peikoff's intent is to persuade all people that abortion isn't unjust, it's simply a life decision containing consequences that may or may not be right. His intended audience mainly deals with anti-abortionists because he wants them to realize some people aren't fit to raise babies and they shouldn't be shunned or looked down upon by society for getting an abortion. Leonard Peikoff believes it is a fundamental principle of freedom to have an abortion. Peikoff's article was very informative and provides great insight for people who may believe that abortion is wrong or simply unjust. There was one particular bias remark he made which was "To compare an embryo to an infant is completely ludicrous." I think this would be a great topic for me to write about because I've always been interested in this highly debated issue and have been asked to share my views on it quite often. I also believe it would be a great topic for others because they should investigate the negatives and positives about what may be a life changing decision for them one day.  

Illegal Immigration

Franks, Trent. "Enforce Immigration Laws." The Opinion Pages. The New York Times Company, 6 Sept. 2011. Web. 13 Sept. 2011.


Trent Franks, a republican member in the House of Representatives from Arizona, states his opinions about enforcing laws about illegal aliens, or also known as illegal immigrants. He goes on explaining the United States was founded on law and justice, and it was simply the founder's dream to have a janitor and senator completely equal in both benefit and constraint. Franks also believes it is merely the government's job to protect and serve America by enforcing illegal immigration laws. Trent Franks intention is to persuade government officials to take action against the rising illegal immigration numbers. He is primarily trying to persuade the government and possibly eligible voters to do something about this particular problem in our country today. As Franks states, "The Obama administration has arrogantly refused to enforce existing immigration laws, and states have been left with no option but to enforce the laws and protect their citizens themselves." This statement ensures the article of being extremely bias because Trent Franks does not believe Obama has done anything about the illegal immigration problem, even though he doesn't take Obama's point of view into perspective. This article was extremely bias, but it was to be expected considering Trent Franks is a republican and President Obama is a democrat. I think this would be a great topic to write about for myself because illegal aliens are a rising problem in the United State of America. I also think it would be a great topic for others, however, I wouldn't use this article as a source because of the extremely bias comments Franks makes.

Lowering the Drinking Age

Cloud, John. "Should the Drinking Age be Lowered?." Time U.S.. Time Inc., 6 June 2008. Web. 12 Sept. 2011.

John Cloud, an author for Time magazine, tries to disprove John McCardell Jr. and his followers by stating specific percentages and other data against lowering the drinking age. McCardell provides reasonable information on why the drinking age should be lowered, however, Cloud believes it isn't enough to lower the drinking age. Cloud also gives specific examples on how drinking fatalities have actually decreased in America since 1984 even though McCardell takes a different position thinking they have increased since then. Cloud is mainly targeting adults and soon-to-be young adults, particularly the driving class parents. John Cloud's intent is to persuade people to not vote for lowering the drinking age in America or anywhere for that matter. For the most part, Cloud is not very bias with his remarks toward the drinking age being lowered. This article provides decent information about drinking, however, it lacks many other factors that may play into lowering the drinking age. I think this topic would be a great one for me because of the many young adults, like myself, are being targeted. This article could potentially be a good topic for others because they are also being targeted and may have some interest in drinking at an early age.