Lauren Scott
J203
May 19, 2008
Reverend Jeremiah Wright
Reverend Jeremiah Wright has become known because he has been Barack Obama’s senior pastor since 1992. Wright has been said to make some controversial statements during his sermons at his home church, Trinity United Church of Christ. Many of the comments were filmed and taped; these videos have been circulating throughout the media and online sources. In March 2008, a controversy broke out concerning Obama's long-term relationship with Wright, his former pastor. ABC News found several racially and politically charged sermons by Wright.
Wright became the pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ (TUCC) on March 1, 1972. The senior pastor was born in Philadelphia on September 22, 1941. Wright retired from the position of senior pastor at the beginning of 2008 at the age of 66 years. His wife is Ramah Reed Wright, and he has four daughters, Janet Marie Moore, Jeri Lynne Wright, Nikol D. Reed and Jamila Nandi Wright, and one son, Nathan D. Reed. Wright attended Virginia Union University in 1959; in 1961, Wright left college and joined the United States Marine Corps. After two years of service, Wright joined the United States Navy. In 1967 Wright enrolled at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1968 and a master’s degree in English in 1969. He also earned a master's degree from the University of Chicago Divinity School. Wright holds a Doctor of Ministry degree (1990) from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, where he studied under Samuel DeWitt Proctor, a mentor to Martin Luther King, Jr. (tucc.org). In addition to Pastor Wright’s four earned degrees, he has been the recipient of eight honorary doctorates.
Wright and political candidate Barack Obama once had a very close relationship. Since March 2008, it has been discovered that the title of Obama's memoir, The Audacity of Hope, was inspired by one of Wright's sermons. "As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me," Obama said last month. "He contains within him the contradictions -- the good and the bad -- of the community that he has served diligently for so many years. I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community." Obama has been close to Wright since law school, and has likened him to an "old uncle" who sometimes says disagreeable things. "I have been a member of Trinity Church since 1992. I have known Rev. Wright for almost 20 years," he said at a news conference in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. "The person I saw yesterday is not the person I met 20 years ago."
He added, "What particularly angered me was his suggestion, somehow, that my previous denunciation of his remarks were somehow political posturing." Wright, he said, had shown "little regard for me" and seemed more concerned with "taking center stage" (CNN.com).
Center stage, Wright has indeed taken. “The Obama controversy has not made Wright more timid about his convictions. If anything, it has emboldened him” (McLaughlin, Eliott, CNN.com). Wright spoke at the National Press Club on Monday (April 28, 2008), and maintained that the United States had committed terrorism in other countries. "Jesus said, 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' You cannot do terrorism on other people and expect it never to come back on you. Those are biblical principles, not Jeremiah Wright bombastic principles," he said. Also at the National press Club, Wright discussed that Obama has not separated himself from the pastor himself, but the remarks that were made. "He had to distance himself, because he's a politician, from what the media was saying I had said, which was un-American," Wright said.
Moreover, Wright recalled to the National Press Club that he told Obama last year, "If you get elected, November the 5th I'm coming after you, because you'll be representing a government whose policies grind under people."
Obama told reporters, “He’s obviously free to speak his mind, but I just want to emphasize that this is my former pastor. Many of the statements that he has made both to trigger this initial controversy and that he’s made over the last several days are not statements that I’ve heard him make previously. They don’t represent my views and they don’t represent what this campaign is about.” Barack Obama was interviewed on daytime TV shows, Ellen Degeneres and The View on this very issue. Since Obama has handled the issue with such grace and poise, many people continue to support Obama since March. Obama said: “No. I think that people were legitimately offended by some of the comments that he had made in the past. The fact that he is my former pastor I think makes it a legitimate political issue. So I understand that.” Obama does react to Wright’s new found publicity; he also said that media coverage of Mr. Wright had simplified his service in the church, and turned him into a caricature (nytimes.com)
Monday, May 19, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
assignment 9
I Interviewed John Bolton, the owner of Yogurt Creations in down town San Luis Obispo.
1. I asked him why he decided to go into business: He told me he was self-employed in 1979 and owned his own horse camping business in San Diego. He was born in Merced and attended Arroyo Grande High School. He opened the first Yogurt Creations in Templeton five years ago. They decided to close the Templeton branch and move to another location. He currently owns four store locations: Atascadero, Arroyo Grande, Santa Maria, and San Luis Obispo. The building owners in San Luis Obispo actually approached Bolton and asked him to move a business into the location in downtown San Luis Obispo.
2. How long has this business existed. Technically, the business has existed for 5 years but this particular store, only two months. He also told me that it took sixth months of planning prior to opening the location.
3. I asked Bolton his average customer profile. He told me that this store attracts mostly college students. The other three stores, however, are very family oriented.
4. Interesting story: He explained how difficult it was to move his business into such a small location. He said that his other stores are all exactly the same size (which is two times larger than the San Luis store). The building was originally used as McCarthy's pub. He told me that there were giant shamrocks everywhere and there were three behind the bar that actually left a physical imprint on the wall. The wall had to be completely resurfaced, not only painted over.
5. I asked him the most valuable thing he has learned from being a businessman. He told me, "Business is business. you work longer and harder than anyone ever associated with your business. "
6. I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up at the age of ten. He told me he wanted to be a US Senator for quite a while. "I realized I was crazy, though. I've learned better, I know better," he said.
7. I asked his, "where to next?" He told me the next place he wants to open up shop is Santa Barbara, and one day Clovis. I live in Clovis and I really like his frozen yogurt, this made me happy.
1. I asked him why he decided to go into business: He told me he was self-employed in 1979 and owned his own horse camping business in San Diego. He was born in Merced and attended Arroyo Grande High School. He opened the first Yogurt Creations in Templeton five years ago. They decided to close the Templeton branch and move to another location. He currently owns four store locations: Atascadero, Arroyo Grande, Santa Maria, and San Luis Obispo. The building owners in San Luis Obispo actually approached Bolton and asked him to move a business into the location in downtown San Luis Obispo.
2. How long has this business existed. Technically, the business has existed for 5 years but this particular store, only two months. He also told me that it took sixth months of planning prior to opening the location.
3. I asked Bolton his average customer profile. He told me that this store attracts mostly college students. The other three stores, however, are very family oriented.
4. Interesting story: He explained how difficult it was to move his business into such a small location. He said that his other stores are all exactly the same size (which is two times larger than the San Luis store). The building was originally used as McCarthy's pub. He told me that there were giant shamrocks everywhere and there were three behind the bar that actually left a physical imprint on the wall. The wall had to be completely resurfaced, not only painted over.
5. I asked him the most valuable thing he has learned from being a businessman. He told me, "Business is business. you work longer and harder than anyone ever associated with your business. "
6. I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up at the age of ten. He told me he wanted to be a US Senator for quite a while. "I realized I was crazy, though. I've learned better, I know better," he said.
7. I asked his, "where to next?" He told me the next place he wants to open up shop is Santa Barbara, and one day Clovis. I live in Clovis and I really like his frozen yogurt, this made me happy.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Assignment 7B
What looks like risk management to Pastrana looks like Insanity to most
Hard: 25 concussions, 60 broken bones, 17 surgeries and 24 years after birth, Travis Pastrana is known for holding the world record for the double back flip on his motorbike.
Soft: The ground pushing a vector force in front of you, resisting the force of the rubber tire beneath you, you leave the ground. You can see the tire rotate in front of you, over your head. The ceiling is beaming down on you as you get closer to it. the ground starts to approach again as the force pushing your thighs to the seat gets stronger. You lean back to see your front tire rotate over your head a second time; while you feel confident with epinephrine, you doubt yourself and wish that you could pause and think about it another moment, just one more moment, to see if you can actually come out of this jump alive.
Hard: 25 concussions, 60 broken bones, 17 surgeries and 24 years after birth, Travis Pastrana is known for holding the world record for the double back flip on his motorbike.
Soft: The ground pushing a vector force in front of you, resisting the force of the rubber tire beneath you, you leave the ground. You can see the tire rotate in front of you, over your head. The ceiling is beaming down on you as you get closer to it. the ground starts to approach again as the force pushing your thighs to the seat gets stronger. You lean back to see your front tire rotate over your head a second time; while you feel confident with epinephrine, you doubt yourself and wish that you could pause and think about it another moment, just one more moment, to see if you can actually come out of this jump alive.
Assignment 7
Hard:
Obama heading to Michigan and Florida
By CHARLES BABINGTON and MATT APUZZO
05/12/08 09:02:01
Barack Obama's surging presidential campaign announced Monday that he will visit politically neglected Florida and Michigan, as he focuses on a general election strategy with his primary race winding down.
My Soft: There is a pain that overwhelms when one watches a great and wonderful movie come to an end. One just wishes there were more: more entertainment, more excitement, more munchkins from Oz. With something so exciting as the democratic primary elections between a black man and a woman occurring, one hates to see this battle come to an end --because there will be a winner, eventually. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign has said that he will be focusing on a general election strategy until the end of elections, visiting Florida and Michigan this week.
Thousands feared dead in China quake
By Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
8:08 AM PDT, May 12, 2008
BEIJING -- A powerful 7.8 earthquake rocked a broad swatch of western China today, leaving as many as 8,000 people dead.
My Soft: Fifth grade American science class included a lecture on plate tectonics and the earths lithosphere. If there were ever a way of learning things “hands-on,” it would be through experiencing seismic waves due to plate shifting: an earthquake. The most recent large-scale earthquake occurred in Western China, rocking fifth grade classrooms with a 7.8 on the Richter scale.
Voter ID Battle Shifts to Proof of Citizenship
By IAN URBINA
Published: May 12, 2008
The battle over voting rights will expand this week as lawmakers in Missouri are expected to support a proposed constitutional amendment to enable election officials to require proof of citizenship from anyone registering to vote.
My Soft: Voting is a right, but only to the rightful heirs of the right. Lawmakers in Missouri are debating over whether or not to support a required proof of citizenship from voters in a proposed constitutional amendment.
Soft:
In Mali, S.U.V.'s and Camels Deliver the Fans
By KEVIN MOLONEY
Published: May 11, 2008
The Festival au Desert, held each January in the remote African city of Essakane, Mali, is a time-shifting experience. This year, as it began to come to life, Tuareg men in billowing clothes and brightly colored turbans ducked in and out of leather and canvas tents. Camels strolled into camp by the hundreds and folded their ungainly legs as vendors prepared their wares for an invasion of foreign travelers.
My Hard: This years Festival au Desert, in Essakane, Mali, included a special guest, Tinariwen, the Tuareg band that recently caught international attention and a spot opening for the Rolling Stones.
Craig (of the List) Looks Beyond the Web
By NOAM COHEN
Published: May 12, 2008
Imagine what it might have been like to be Dr. Kleenex. You invent a modern miracle, the cheap paper handkerchief, and suddenly you become the person blamed for America’s disposable culture, praised for a more convenient life, or both.
There never was a Dr. Kleenex, though — the product was created by a team of researchers at Kimberly-Clark laboratories in the 1920s. But there is a real Craig in Craigslist, and lately he is looking at life beyond his little list that happens to be the seventh-most-popular Web site in the United States.
My Hard: Craig Newmark, the founder of the seventh-most-popular website, is becoming more of a public figure and promoting causes including: the Barack Obama campaign and financing investigative journalism.
That Must Be Bob. I Hear His New Hip Squeaking.
By BARNABY J. FEDER
Published: May 11, 2008
The first time John L. Johnson’s artificial hip squeaked, he was bending down to pick up a pine cone in his yard in Thomasville, Ga. Mr. Johnson looked up, expecting to find an animal nearby.
My Hard: Some patients’ noisy artificial hips are interrupting daily life and raising questions about more serious problems.
Obama heading to Michigan and Florida
By CHARLES BABINGTON and MATT APUZZO
05/12/08 09:02:01
Barack Obama's surging presidential campaign announced Monday that he will visit politically neglected Florida and Michigan, as he focuses on a general election strategy with his primary race winding down.
My Soft: There is a pain that overwhelms when one watches a great and wonderful movie come to an end. One just wishes there were more: more entertainment, more excitement, more munchkins from Oz. With something so exciting as the democratic primary elections between a black man and a woman occurring, one hates to see this battle come to an end --because there will be a winner, eventually. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign has said that he will be focusing on a general election strategy until the end of elections, visiting Florida and Michigan this week.
Thousands feared dead in China quake
By Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
8:08 AM PDT, May 12, 2008
BEIJING -- A powerful 7.8 earthquake rocked a broad swatch of western China today, leaving as many as 8,000 people dead.
My Soft: Fifth grade American science class included a lecture on plate tectonics and the earths lithosphere. If there were ever a way of learning things “hands-on,” it would be through experiencing seismic waves due to plate shifting: an earthquake. The most recent large-scale earthquake occurred in Western China, rocking fifth grade classrooms with a 7.8 on the Richter scale.
Voter ID Battle Shifts to Proof of Citizenship
By IAN URBINA
Published: May 12, 2008
The battle over voting rights will expand this week as lawmakers in Missouri are expected to support a proposed constitutional amendment to enable election officials to require proof of citizenship from anyone registering to vote.
My Soft: Voting is a right, but only to the rightful heirs of the right. Lawmakers in Missouri are debating over whether or not to support a required proof of citizenship from voters in a proposed constitutional amendment.
Soft:
In Mali, S.U.V.'s and Camels Deliver the Fans
By KEVIN MOLONEY
Published: May 11, 2008
The Festival au Desert, held each January in the remote African city of Essakane, Mali, is a time-shifting experience. This year, as it began to come to life, Tuareg men in billowing clothes and brightly colored turbans ducked in and out of leather and canvas tents. Camels strolled into camp by the hundreds and folded their ungainly legs as vendors prepared their wares for an invasion of foreign travelers.
My Hard: This years Festival au Desert, in Essakane, Mali, included a special guest, Tinariwen, the Tuareg band that recently caught international attention and a spot opening for the Rolling Stones.
Craig (of the List) Looks Beyond the Web
By NOAM COHEN
Published: May 12, 2008
Imagine what it might have been like to be Dr. Kleenex. You invent a modern miracle, the cheap paper handkerchief, and suddenly you become the person blamed for America’s disposable culture, praised for a more convenient life, or both.
There never was a Dr. Kleenex, though — the product was created by a team of researchers at Kimberly-Clark laboratories in the 1920s. But there is a real Craig in Craigslist, and lately he is looking at life beyond his little list that happens to be the seventh-most-popular Web site in the United States.
My Hard: Craig Newmark, the founder of the seventh-most-popular website, is becoming more of a public figure and promoting causes including: the Barack Obama campaign and financing investigative journalism.
That Must Be Bob. I Hear His New Hip Squeaking.
By BARNABY J. FEDER
Published: May 11, 2008
The first time John L. Johnson’s artificial hip squeaked, he was bending down to pick up a pine cone in his yard in Thomasville, Ga. Mr. Johnson looked up, expecting to find an animal nearby.
My Hard: Some patients’ noisy artificial hips are interrupting daily life and raising questions about more serious problems.
Monday, May 5, 2008
assignment 6B
She bites into the warm fresh goodness with one slow, messy movement. Tomatoes consume the flavor of the first bite; juicy and ripe, the taste of the air at five in the morning in June. She chews that first bite fourteen times; each chew squeezing the small water filled sacs of the tomato pieces, rupturing in a stream of warm sweet liquid. The second bite contains fresh, long, chopped basil leaves; she chews the tougher, spicy, leaves and tastes the greenness of a California mountaintop after a long and warm rainstorm. The green flavor of earth and the taste of health rejuvenates her mouth and reminds her of her youth. She stumbles upon garlic in the third bite; the rich spiciness strongly overcomes the other flavors. A bath of melted buffalo mozzarella, envelopes the three pungent flavors. Each chunk of mozzarella offers a milky break for the palette. The crust tastes moist, like oil, and gives the flavor of smokiness. The smoky flavor tastes like the black side of an old brick oven, lifeless and cold. In one swift motion, she places the last bit of crust in her mouth and chews. The final bite gives satisfaction and finality. She wipes her mouth with her white cotton napkin and sips her cold, hollow, tasteless water. She leaves the table and grabs a spearmint candy. A cool mountainous sensation of Christmas shocks her tongue. A rush of sweetness takes over all other previous flavors. She walks away from the restaurant.
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